Paying for Popularity

In this article from Ad Age Digital, I read about the new social network Badoo, based in Great Britain, that has recognized our disdain for the high volumes of advertising present in the "standard" social networks, like MySpace and Facebook. Badoo offers a service called "Rise Up," charging $1, 1 pound, or 1 Euro depending on your location, per access, and has banned advertisements. I personally feel as though it shows the power of advertising--sure, you have a way of opting out of them, but then you tend to realize just how much of an effect that they truly have. Badoo would charge me a dollar per time I accessed it. If I used it as much as I use Facebook now, that could run up to $10 on a really slow day at work. I get irritated with ads sometimes, but I haven't found the ones on Facebook to be so intrusive that I would seriously consider an alternative. I'm curious to see where they'll be and how much profit they can get--in other words, how much people are affected by ads...

Even Electronics are Going Green

In keeping with the ever-popular "Go green!" movement that has recently been gaining momentum, the EPA is now working with cell phone manufacturers and service providers. An estimated 150,000,000 phones are replaced each year, an astounding amount of waste considering that many are still operable and potentially hazardous if dumped in land fills as well. Three major service providers (AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile) have joined forces with the EPA as they launch a public education campaign striving to raise awareness and get more cell phones recycled. They're primarily targeting 18-34 year olds through lifestyle and technology publications. The campaign is further targeting this demographic by creating a podcast, and the EPA is making a list of drop-off drives available as well. Sprint is also going so far as to offer customers credits on their bills for as much as $50 when they turn in their old phones to the store.
Given the target audience and message that the EPA is working to put out, in addition to their big name partners, I think that this movement will catch on and end up helping the environment. And with over 250 million cell phone customers, it has the potential to have a truly substantial impact.

Google Earth: The Next Level

If you've ever wanted to get as close to the full experience of doing something without ACTUALLY doing it, this is your chance. In this New York Times article, I learned that a website has been launched called EveryScape that gives virtual tours of the insides of stores. As this is obviously a tedious project, the focus thus far has not left Massachussetts (only Cambridge and Lexington, to be exact), in terms of virtual tours of the towns. Other stores can get EveryScape to give customers inside tours for a price ranging between $250 and $2000. While it's cool that we have the capacity (and computer space) for such an innovation, if I'm going to see the inside of a store, I'm going to get the real-life experience. Unless of course EveryScape created a virtual way to avoid Black Friday...

Thinking Pink

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, many technological companies have come out with special products (in pink, naturally) in recognition of the goal of the month. Microsoft's Zune has teamed with Ford Motor's Warriors in Pink (a campaign endorsed by the cast of "Grey's Anatomy," too) and released a pink Zune, 100% of whose profits are donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. There are several other products, including a pink Sony VAIO and Target's special edition of the iPod Shuffle.
Although there's no new technology involved, as the daughter, niece, and granddaughter of a breast cancer fighter and two survivors, respectively, it's gratifying to know that so many others are helping the fight.

Nike has just done it

In Dr. Shamp's 2020 class last fall, we learned that Nike had combined their easily recognizable shoes with Apple's iPod, which is getting more and popular by the day. My initial impression was something along the lines of "you must be kidding," but come to find out, they definitely weren't. In this article from the New York Times, I learned that there's actually a website that is attached to the rest of the offerings from the product. People can interact with each other online, discuss their runs, and maybe even get together and hang out, if they so choose. The fact that this has come from what appears to just be a pair of tennis shoes is a little incredible to me, and as I keep reading on, I'm discovering that I would like a pair, too. There's a sensor in the shoes that connects with your iPod, sending a workout rundown to the MP3 player that you can view when you dock it. This is just one of the ways that the company is branching out, and inevitably away from traditional advertising vehicles.
As an ad major, I'm a little concerned about that, but definitely a lot happier to be studying new media.

Email-free = Casual?

According to this article in USA Today, "Casual Friday" is trying to, in fact, be more professional. Email has become the top method of communication for businesses, and many companies are trying to cut back on it a little bit and encourage more face time with clients, and just co-workers in general. Some go so far as deleting their inboxes on Fridays. While I appreciate the more personalized approach that face-to-face meetings offer, I do not feel that email should be shunned so completely. With gas prices up, it is more of an inconvenience to attempt to handle everything face to face. Although Friday is just one day, there are generally about 5 of them in a month, which can still add up over a long period of time.
I feel like email is probably the greatest innovation to hit offices since the computer--at my job, it is something I use as much as possible. Conversations through email are saved and it's so much more efficient than faxing (which, yes, we still do). If we're getting rid of things on Fridays, I'm game for doing away with work all together.

Starbucks + Apple = Domination?

Apple is going one more step farther into taking over the world as they take over our coffee shop. Beginning tomorrow, people with iPhones and/or iTunes on their laptops will be able to download songs playing over the speakers in the store for the normal $0.99. Although they aren't the first ones to do this sort of thing (Verizon has been offering it for about a year), they seem to have the best chance of catching on, as they are latching onto the quintessential components of their target audience's life: coffee, convenience, and technological gadgets. Combined. They seem to want to rule our worlds, and it's pretty safe to say they're on the right track.