Last week Google launched a new service named Google Latitude which allows registered users to track people, with their permission, using Google software and the GPS device in their mobile telephone. The ‘tracked’ individual’s location appears on Google Maps after the ‘tracker’ has logged into Latitude.
This service is similar in many ways to conversations Facebook were reported to be having linking its mobile site to the GPS device in phones allowing members to see the current locations of their friends.
Good idea or Orwellian Big Brother?
One of the statistics used regularly in presentations available for download at http://www.daemondigital.com/ is that of 1 in 8 marriages in the US being derived from an online meeting. If past use of the web created 1 in 8 marriages, could future use of Google Latitude be the catalyst for 1 in 8 divorces?
As an alternative, is there a less sinister humanitarian upside with Latitude helping to locate disaster victims on land or at sea with Google’s equally new Google Ocean’s. Furthermore, will parents sleep better at night if they can see their teenagers whereabouts online at the touch of a button?
Find out for yourself by downloading Google Latitude at www.google.com/latitude
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Veggie Love
Commercial spots in the SuperBowl are, and it seems always have been, the most expensive adverts money, or at least media buyers, can buy. So having one of your spots banned would concern most organisations - not so PETA.
‘Veggie Love’ was banned by NBC this year for being too sexually explicit using the premise that vegetarians have better sex! The ad itself depicts lingerie clad models being ‘intimate’ with vegetables.
However, an extremely brief piece of Google based research by Daemon Digital, found the PETA TV channel which shows ‘Veggie Love’ and the other 11 spots that PETA has created that have also been banned at various points in time.
An even briefer search on You Tube found, on the first two pages of search results only, 30 uploads of the 30 second ‘Veggie Love’ spot which had been viewed over 1.61 million times (2 February 09). In addition, there were also a number of uploads of the behind the scenes video and interviews with each of the model’s.
This would seem to be a great example of how to use online social networking to communicate a traditional media message at a significantly reduced cost, not to mention the additional traditional media exposure and commentary in the blogosphere that NBC banning the commercial has generated.
For those of you keen to review the rest of this year’s SuperBowl commercials, try http://superbowl-ads.com/ or to view ‘Veggie Love and propagate the free publicity, try You Tube.
‘Veggie Love’ was banned by NBC this year for being too sexually explicit using the premise that vegetarians have better sex! The ad itself depicts lingerie clad models being ‘intimate’ with vegetables.
However, an extremely brief piece of Google based research by Daemon Digital, found the PETA TV channel which shows ‘Veggie Love’ and the other 11 spots that PETA has created that have also been banned at various points in time.
An even briefer search on You Tube found, on the first two pages of search results only, 30 uploads of the 30 second ‘Veggie Love’ spot which had been viewed over 1.61 million times (2 February 09). In addition, there were also a number of uploads of the behind the scenes video and interviews with each of the model’s.
This would seem to be a great example of how to use online social networking to communicate a traditional media message at a significantly reduced cost, not to mention the additional traditional media exposure and commentary in the blogosphere that NBC banning the commercial has generated.
For those of you keen to review the rest of this year’s SuperBowl commercials, try http://superbowl-ads.com/ or to view ‘Veggie Love and propagate the free publicity, try You Tube.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Monetising Facebook
The Sydney Morning Herald, filing from Davos, reports that Facebook is planning to harness the personal information it holds on its members to make one of the world's largest market research databases available to corporate buyers.
Facebook has struggled to monetise its strength with advertising revenues slow to start and the aborted attempt to monetise member behaviour through the Beacon software system which tracked member’s activity both through Facebook and through third party sites which also had Beacon installed.
Online research panels have been in existence for some time and do offer a very cost effective alternative research solution for a range of research assignments. This is an interesting move from Facebook and a very logical and sensible way to harness member’s time on site whilst providing some reward for member’s loyalty to the royalty of online social networking.
Facebook has struggled to monetise its strength with advertising revenues slow to start and the aborted attempt to monetise member behaviour through the Beacon software system which tracked member’s activity both through Facebook and through third party sites which also had Beacon installed.
Online research panels have been in existence for some time and do offer a very cost effective alternative research solution for a range of research assignments. This is an interesting move from Facebook and a very logical and sensible way to harness member’s time on site whilst providing some reward for member’s loyalty to the royalty of online social networking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
