The new xxx domain names for adult content become available to the general public later this year. The domain names went into operation on April 15th of this year and the sunrise phase is already under way (it ends on October 28). During the sunrise phase only those with trademarks can purchase the domain names. So if you are a brand that wants to protect your name this is the time get on board and secure your domain name. Depending on your brand name it could be difficult to obtain the domain later on.

I recommend that every business at least purchase the domain name as a General Availability domain. This means you can own the domain and have no intention of hosting a site. The last thing you want to do is expose yourself to the possibility of having your domain be the hottest place on the Internet for illicit content.

The landrush phase is between November 8 and November 25, 2011.  After this domain names will become available to the general public starting December 6, 2011.

photo credit: chacrebleu

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I know infographics are all the rage these days and everyone seems to love them. I struggle  to understand why people love them so much because quite frankly I don’t like them. They might look pretty,colorful and appealing, but in terms of conveying information they’re not very easy to use.  The only infographics I’ve liked are the animiated ones, but I’m not sure those are called infograhics.

Here are five reasons why I don’t like infograhics:

1. Hard to follow. Once you start down the image it becomes hard to follow. Most don’t have a general flow to them. I often get frustrated and overwhelmed.
2. Distracting. Will all the different fonts and colors it’s hard to know which informaiton is important and which is not. I don’t have the time to learn the color codes and visual cues.
3. Complicated. You can say the same thing in nice bullets. Much easier to read and follow.
4. Overly cute. For the most part infographics tend to be overly cute and artsy for a information sharing vehicle. The layout and presentation get in the way of conveying valuable information.
5. Efficiency. I’ve never created an infographic, but just looking at them I begin to wonder how much time and effort went into creating it. Given the snippets of information it conveys is the time/effort worth the information conveyed.

At the end of the day I feel they solve a problem that doesn’t exist. However, they look pretty and the word is in vogue, so I’ll tolerate them.

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I consume a vast majority of content via Google Reader. Most of the sites I’m interested in offer RSS feeds and many of them offer their full RSS feeds – so it’s just the same as going to their websites.  I love the convenience of this setup. The only reason I go to any site is based on their content and it is usually to leave a comment. That is why nothing irks me more than subscribing to a RSS feed and only receiving their partial feed. Why? Why? Why? Do this to your readers?

As a blogger I offer full RSS feeds to all my content and I don’t see how I’m losing anything in the process. Even big name, celebrity bloggers and content providers offer their full RSS feed for the most part. So when a small time local dude wants me to visit his/her site for their content, I choose to unsubscribe (for the most part), rather than go through that one last step.

Take Poll

Today I’m not going to give you all the arguments for or against providing partial or full RSS feeds. There was a great debate on this topic a few years ago and you can read up on it here if you wish. Today, I simply want to get a pulse on where you stand today. If you are content provider or content reader vote below and tell me which you prefer, a full RSS feed or a partial RSS feed:

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Image via CrunchBase

MyBlogLog connected people before there was anything like Twitter or Facebook (at least not in its current form). It put a face on the blogosphere and made strangers friends. Soon we will be saying bye bye to MyBlogLog. Although this is old news, I wanted to write and say farewell.

Dear MyBlogLog Customer,

You have been identified as a customer of Yahoo! MyBlogLog. We will officially discontinue Yahoo! MyBlogLog effective May 24, 2011. Your agreement with Yahoo!, to the extent that it applies to the Yahoo! MyBlogLog, will terminate on May 24, 2011.

After May 24, 2011 your credit card will no longer be charged for premium services on MyBlogLog. We will refund you the unused portion of your subscription, if any. The refund will appear as a credit via the billing method we have on file for you. To make sure that your billing information is correct and up to date, visit https://billing.yahoo.com.

Questions?

If you have questions about these changes, please visit the Yahoo! MyBlogLog help pages.

We thank you for being a customer on Yahoo! MyBlogLog.

Sincerely,

The Yahoo! My BlogLog Team

In all honesty this shows Yahoo’s inability to capitalize on a potential social media opportunity and not a reflection of MyBlogLog.

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Guest post by Frank Eybsen, see bio at end of the article.

Social media and online marketing are constantly evolving with new products launched and innovative ideas announced daily. Pinpointing the next big thing certainly isn’t a science, but five new social media platforms have already got people buzzing online.

Hashable

Hashable helps users to keep track of their relationships using an app, via Twitter, or by logging on their account on Hashable.com. Hashable allows users to exchange contact information, to see who their friends are networking with, and to privately or publicly track phone calls, meetings, and events.

It’s akin to an address book that allows you to keep notes of when and how you met contacts and to see which of your contacts are also connected to each other. You can also tag each of your contacts – with such labels as #thanks and #just met – to make it easy to remember who is who.

Click here to see what the buzz is about and to judge for yourself.

Daily Booth

Let’s call it Twitter with photos, only instead of Tweets, users snap – directly from their computer or their cell phones – photos of themselves, which are posted automatically to their accounts. Originally marketed toward the teenage crowd, Daily Booth is starting to garner interest among small businesses and online marketers.

Entrepreneurs might want to snap photos of themselves, any employees they may have, their latest products, and even projects in progress. A construction firm, for example, may want to snap photos of the stages of their latest buildings to keep their clients up-to-date on what’s going on and perhaps even getting consumers excited about purchasing when building is complete.

Snap photos, start an account for free (no photo required), or check out Daily Booth and see what you think.

Quora

Launched in 2009, Quora has been called social media’s version of Yahoo Answers and is growing in popularity with entrepreneurs, journalists, and others who want to share their expertise while subtly marketing themselves.

Users have their own profile pages, which they can also link to Facebook, that includes all the questions they have answered. As with Twitter, Quora members can follow other members and vice-versa.

The key to success with Quora is to answer questions in which you have expertise and to illustrate your knowledge rather than outright promoting your business. It is important, of course, to mention your business name and experience in your profile. However, avoid self-promotion in your answers.

See if Quora is the next big thing with your business.

Qwiki

Qwiki provides an “information experience” for its users, making research an interactive experience.

Here’s how it works:  Users simply type in define: followed by the topic of their research, such as San Francisco, a restaurant review, or a businessperson’s biography, and Qwiki answers the query with a combination of photos, graphs, and videos that are narrated for viewers.

You can use Qwiki with both computers and smart phones, making it easy to access wherever you are. The company aims to one day allow all users to create their own Qwik page, which could prove to be an invaluable marketing tool.

See Qwiki in action.

Hearsay Social

Branding itself, “the first social media platform for businesses with many local branches or reps,” Hearsay Social allows businesses to effectively manage their social media campaigns, keep track of new posts, and analyze the results of their social media campaigns.

Users can download content and immediately send it to local branches or representatives for use, can make sure that the business brand is consistent across the branches, and can measure the social media campaign success.

Hearsay Social also ensures that all of your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media posts are in compliance with federal regulations, if applicable. For example, if your industry is governed by the Federal Trade Commission, Hearsay Social will ensure that your posts are all within laws and regulations which, it asserts, will protect your reputation and your business legally.

You can learn more about Hearsay Social here.

photo credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

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I consume all of my blog content through Google Reader. If you asked me what the homepages of some of my favorite blogs look like, I would have no idea. That doesnt’ mean I don’t visit the blog. I often times will click on an article and visit to leave a comment. When I do that I come right back to Google Reader. But I still want to stay connected with the comment stream. Not all of these blogs have a “email subscription” option for comments. That means if I want to see a follow up comment I have to go back to the blog. This can be hard to keep track of.

It would be cool if next to the “star” on Google Reader there was another button that you could click to indicate that you left a comment on that particular post. That way it’s all grouped together and I can follow up on comments. Right now I click the “star” button, but that’s reserved for favorites and everything gets mixed in together.

Does anyone else have another suggestion for this? I’d like to hear how you deal with this issue. I can’t be the first one to face this.

photo credit: Elisabeth Voglsam

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A shocking number of people sleep with their cell phones. Below are some numbers.

Do you? If so why? Or why not?

It’s frustrating composing messages on the “itsy-bitsy” tiny keyboard on a smartphone. Its great to be able to get important emails and messages but responding can be a chore.  I personally do not enjoy it and quickly turn to the nearest laptop or desktop. Here is a new keyboard format that makes sense. The best thing about it it is mimics writing (as if you’re using your finger). Take a look. It’s about time something like this was more widely adopted.

I’m on the look out for new keyboard ideas so if you see something else that looks good, let me know.

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Looking back at the year 2010 I see that this blog started off with great intentions but the pace slowed as the year went on. This is partly because a lot happened this year, and I wish I had devoted more time to sharing my thoughts on the major developments as they occurred. Nevertheless, I wanted to share my thoughts on some of the major developments in the world of Internet marketing (from social media and search marketing to branding and technology).

Here are the top five developments, events, news items (whatever you want to call them) that caught my attention this year.

Google Instant Search solves a non-problem

Sure it sounds like a great idea, but its a non-innovative innovation in my opinion. Plus Yahoo already had this back in 2006 and didn’t think much of it. My main problem with instant search is it improve to the search experience. The main issue with search has always been relevancy not speed. Getting irrelevant search results fast isn’t better than getting high relevancy search results a little slower (0.1s slower). Serving highly relevant search results is what made Google, not speed of search. It seems like Google is forgetting this as the years go by and very few of their recent innovation is focused on improving the search experience.

Online ad spending exceeds newspaper ad spending

This just happened in December so it’s fresh news and very significant. While it is not new news, it does confirm what everyone has been saying over the past few years. On the flip side this shift in advertising dollars means the advertising industry will be under greater pressure to deliver a directly measurable ROI. Marketing agencies will need to improve their tracking and reporting mechanisms to build confidence with clients. Furthermore, a premium will be on data analysis to continuously optimize and increase performance. In many ways marketers will need to start moving towards a mindset that CFO’s can appreciate.

Groupon puts social commerce on the map

The recent failed Google move to acquire Groupon signals the rise of social commerce and the role it will play in the coming years. However, I’m not sold on the Groupon business model because too many retailers who have used its service have indicated that they will not be using it again. This is a big problem in my estimation and indicates that once the novelty of the idea fades it will become more difficult to sustain. Groupon should have taken the Google offer, because in a year their valuation will be significantly lower.

Facebook becomes ubiquitous

It’s hard to ignore a company that is becoming increasingly ubiquitous to the web experience. From sharing data with third party sites like TripAdvisor to churning out new features, the company is always in the news. While I think marketers are spot on to try to engage customers on this social networking site, I question outsourcing company web functions to Facebook. Its akin to moving from a house you own to a rented apartment. Using precious marketing dollars to advertise your Facebook page is counter productive and very short term thinking. Marketers need to think more long term and need to figure out a way to develop their brands through social networks but still retain domain equity in the process.

The iPad paves the way for the tablet

I’m not a Mac guy and I don’t have a puppy love crush on everything Apple does. Having said that I tried a Mac laptop earlier this year and it only confirmed my thinking. I know Apple is an innovative company and it bring lots of great products, but for some reason their market share seems to tap out and the mass market always seems to move towards a better performing, lower cost alternative (see the rise of Android). I think the iPad is significant because it has now positioned the tablet as a viable product alternative to laptops. However, in a few years Android based tablets will surpass the iPad in adoption and use and relegate the iPad to secondary status.

So, there you have it. My thoughts on what I perceive as the major events of 2010. It has been a tremendous year but I’m looking forward to 2011 and all that it will bring!

Finally, I’d like to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have a great celebration this season and are greatly blessed and enriched with family and friends.

Thanks for reading.

Top Photo: Slideshow Judge on Flickr
Side photo: Dan Taylor on Flickr

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With the way technology is changing there is quite a robust debate on whether it is better to have a mobile application or a mobile website. I know there is no hard and fast answer – and many situations both may make sense.  There is certainly a balance given the cost of  developing applications across multiple platforms and the loss in functionality on a mobile website. Here are some very interesting perspectives from technology experts that can help clarify the confusion – or add to it!!

Time Inc., Hachette execs go head-to-head on mobile Web versus app debate

NEW YORK – While Time Inc. and Hachette Filipacchi Media both have mobile Web sites and applications, executives from each company took different stances on the debate at Netbiscuits Partner Day 2010.

One the one hand, client applications are red-hot right now and can offer a richer device-specific experience than a mobile site. However, the mobile Web offers greater reach than downloadable applications—a mobile-optimized site can overcome the fragmentation of the various App Stores and mobile operating systems.

“The mobile browser is the killer app—mobile Web sites will come up in search results, as opposed to downloadable apps, where discoverability is an issue,” said John Paris, director of mobile products at Time Inc., New York.

Read full article.

Does HTML5 make mobile app downfall inevitable?

An Adobe Mobile Study found that consumers prefer the mobile Web over smartphone applications, which has huge implications for mobile advertisers, retailers and content providers.

Within the consumer products, shopping, media and entertainment categories, 66 percent of respondents cited that they prefer the mobile Web for accessing content compared to 34 percent who cited a preference for downloadable applications.

“I am not a great proponent of apps as a commerce destination to drive reach and frequency with your shoppers,” said Gary Schwartz, president of Impact Mobile, New York. “There is tons of value for the shopper in certain apps but they do not necessarily drive your retail sales goals.

Read full article.

The end of the app

Coming years

Now, with my thoughts on applications, I believe that in the coming years mobile developers will not be out of work. But I doubt that most of the mobile developments will be in application. The only reason we use applications is because the mobile browsing experience is not very user-friendly at the moment. The fact that we need to download, install and click on an application for every little thing is pretty awkward.

HTML5 is great for usability and easiness of use, both for the developer and the user. However, it is not a set standard yet. That HTML5 will end the immense amount of application developments is pretty sure. On the development side there is a huge advantage with HTML5.

No need to develop your application for all existing and new platforms, such as Bada, Android, Symbian, Maemo, BlackBerry,iPhone and Windows Mobile – it just works.

I think it is fair to predict that improvements to mobile Web browsers such as HTML5 and Flash will render the vast majority of applications obsolete. I give it another three to four years max.

Read the full article.

Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch Defends Flash, Warns HTML5 Will Throw The Web “Back To The Dark Ages Of Video”

Adobe’s Flash technology has been taking a beating lately. Apple still won’t support it on its upcoming iPad or its iPhone. Steve Jobs calls it buggy and crash-prone and dismisses Adobe as being lazy. Adobe is trying to fight the negative vibes emanating from Cupertino and elsewhere. It has already pointed out that it will be easy to convert Flash apps into iPad apps, and now CTO Kevin Lynch is weighing in to defend Flash.

Read the full article.

So, where do you stand? Would you recommend a mobile application or a mobile website? Or both? I don’t think neither is an option anymore.

photo credit: Benjamin Humphrey

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