From the release:

Ben Carlson, Chief Strategy Officer of BaM, explains the thinking behind the campaign, “Almost everything you’ve experienced on the World Wide Web in the past 15 years or so has been seen through Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

I hope Internet Explorer 8 does not mean a bookend for Microsoft and the browser wars. Now that people are switching to Google Chrome and Firefox in droves I think the window in which people view the Internet is slowly changing.

I only use Internet explorer now for antiquated systems that refuse support for new browsers. Without naming names I can say that I use IE for a major bank, a major piece of enterprise software, and an email provider – all do not work on FF and definitely do not work on Chrome or other browsers.

I think continued upgrades and new releases are great for consumers (albeit difficult for developers) and new browsers create further innovation. Ultimately, consumers will win out, but standards must continue to be met.

There are even campaigns to try to end the usage of IE 6 as I found here and as the date says (March 2009) that time is now.

I will keep moving between Firefox, Internet Explorer 8, and Google Chrome for the time being – but I hope to report back soon on the changeover to only one browser choice.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Internet Explorer’s browser market share shrinks – because IE6 is finally dying (venturebeat.com)
• Chrome could get Firefox-like extensions by May (news.cnet.com)
• Browser wars update: Firefox is up, IE is down, Google dumps IE6 (wisdump.com)

Checkout the Weezer Pork and Beans Video

For more info Wired has an interview with the director of the video Mathew Cullen.

I am still not sure why they do not allow embeds – almost seems hypocritical to the way in which many of the meme stars in this video got started. You can keep watching the Weezer channel for more content in coming weeks.

photo

credit: Guillermo Ruiz de Loizaga

There are a lot of meme’s that go around the Internet, some of them worth participating in. I was recently tagged in the 4×4 Meme by Adam over at The Future Buzz (via: Matt).

I thought this would be a great opportunity to share some information about myself and my life, as well as subject others to this task that I would like to hear more about. I think this is a good opportunity to hear some details about people you include in your daily feed reader, but would otherwise never get a chance to ask. Here we go…

4 jobs I’ve had:

The first job I ever had was a bus boy at a restaurant. My parents stopped giving me allowance at this point as they claimed “I was now capable of earning money on my own.” Although I agreed with them about my earning potential – I tried to negotiate allowance on top of my job as a reward my efforts. This did not work.

I worked at a startup company in 1999 that went under in early 2000. The business was focused around putting high school yearbooks – online. I learned a lot at this job. I learned about deal structuring, negotiating, sales, angel funding, and how to change copier toner. This is where I fell in love with working at a startup.

I worked at a large investment bank in Manhattan one summer between my Sophomore and Junior year of college. This is where I learned that being in a cubicle farm was not my destiny.

Through various summer jobs I learned how to sheetrock, spackle, paint, put up shingles, and many more construction related items. Not very conducive to my current job in Search Engine Marketing, but great to know in general life.

4 places I’ve been:
Cuba (yes, legally) – I went on a study abroad program in 2001 and it was unforgettable
Israel – I went on a BirthRight trip (TL458!) for 10 days. Probably the best trip I have been on in my life where I made some amazing lifelong friends.
Edinburgh – Put the Edinburgh Castle on your list of places to visit.
Changing it up a bit: The next place I would want to go is Italy.

4 bands or artists I am listening to:
Why not give them a listen!
Gnarls Barkely – New album – The Odd Couple

4 of my favorite foods:
1. Steak
2. Chinese food on Sundays
3. Lobster
4. Penne a la vodka
5. Sushi

And here’s 4 bloggers I’d like to tag to learn more about: (and you should read)

Seth
KidInTheBack
Dick
Chas

Want to participate? Then link this post and answer your own 4×4 questions!

Linked-In and Career-Focused Social Networking

Linked-In is a career-focused social networking service that allows one to communicate, connect and reach out to colleagues, acquaintances, and old friends. On a personal level, Linked-In helps people stay in touch like never before. One might argue that Linked-In has revolutionized professional networking for both employers and prospective employees.

On a business level, Linked-In allows one to search for contacts at any company in the world. One can look for people to reach out to and connect with those who maintain similar interests. After an in-person networking event, it is also common to connect with others on Linked-In after exchanging business cards as well.

If you have an interview at a company, in many cases, you can find out crucial information on the person or company that you will be meeting with via Linked-In. For example, if you were interviewing for a job at Marketing.fm, you would be able to find out important information about Eric and myself from our profile. Perhaps we have a friend in common or at the very least, you may have a better understanding of your interviewer. Recruiters can use the service to find ideal candidates through advanced search features.

It is worth noting: while Linked-In is very much embraced by those in the interactive space, the network has spread well beyond the seemingly tech-savvy. It is has participants in all industries and professions.

If you don’t have a Linked-In profile yet, sign-up here: LinkedIn.com
View Lee Jones’s profile

Related Links:

Self-Marketing 2.0 Part 1: Job Search & Personal SEO

Self-Marketing 2.0 Part 2: Blogs

Marketing Podcast #8: Paul Forster, CEO of Indeed.com

[tags] linked-in, marketing.fm, social networking, networking, linked in, self-marketing 2.0 [/tags]

3/8 Update:

HopStop Mobile: HopStop Mobile has another feature tailored specifically to mobile phones and text messaging. If you send a text message to 47867 with different two locations in the message body. HopStop will text you back with step by step directions.

Google has a similar service if you send a text to “googl” or 466453 and you can get the the street address and phone number of any business listing.

Combined, these two text features offer quick and easy information on the go.

Google Home Page: Do you have a customized Google home page with weather, stocks, gmail, and rss feeds? If not, you can now have one on your phone, pda or blackberry. It’s pretty nice actually – I just made it my home page.

January 2007 Update:

Google’s Mobile Applications: Google offers free and trustworthy applications for pda’s, blackberry’s and mobile phones. Many of the mobile apps that I’ve downloaded for the blackberry do not function very well but the below google apps function reliably:

Gmail - This flash-based mobile application is like having an exchange server for your gmail (well almost). The program enables almost all of the same great gmail features on your blackberry, pda and most mobile phones – you can: search your entire archive of mail and sent mail; it memorizes all contacts and anticipates email address in the “to” field; it functions much quicker than one would imagine. Beware of steep data fees from your phone company (but it could be good to have on your phone in case of emergency…). I highly recommend it. Click this on your mobile browser: gmail.com/app.

Google Maps – Google Maps allows you to search for businesses, plot map directions, view cross streets, or view satellite imagery of a specific location. This program works much better if you have an EVDO or EDGE data network.

Google Talk – (blackberry only) Chat with gmail friends in an IM format. Hopefully Google will collaborate with AOL Instant Messenger someday. In the meantime, RambleIM (free) works decently well on blackberries for AOL Instant Messenger.

11/14 Update:

Bitty Browser: m.bitty.com offers a collection of mobile friendly websites and if you go to bitty.com, you can create your own condensed version of your favorite sites. Hit tip to Micropursuasion for putting me on to the site.

Skweezer.net: Skweezer continues to be a favorite tool for “skweezing” websites for the mobile screen. This is much easier to use when you’re on the go than bitty.com. To learn more about it, tune into our interview with Kevin Perkins, CEO of Skweezer on marketing.fm podcast #3.

Helpful Blackberry Websites: This collection is provided by RIM and can be accessed from the Blackberry help link in the browser. Most of these sites are terrible! Some of the recommended sites are completely dysfunctional too. I can’t believe that RIM doesn’t have a better reference.

10/3/06 Update:

Mobile Newsweek – this site is limited to headlines. Maybe it will prove to be an effective marketing tool or a purchase inspiration for those on-the-go. I would personally prefer more inclusive content and at least a few full articles. Mobile marketers, especially in the News industry, should look to the NYTimes and BBC Mobile sites for inspiration.

–

Time Magazine - I enjoy any mobile access to news however, I don’t necessarily like to read long articles. This site is good for reading headlines and cover stories but I prefer the BBC and NYTimes for breaking news throughout the day.

Digg.com – Digg is a great resource for the hottest developments on the web (primarlily tech news and blog coverage). I love having access to these stories on the go.

The New York Times

TechCrunch – Thanks to Dave Weiner for making this possible. TechCrunch is one of my favorite sites and I am happy to have a mobile version.

Marketing.FM – the mobile version

Yomoblog – enables mobile blog posting via mobile browser (Free registration required).

Amazon Anywhere – Access the entire Amazon.com library of books, movies, reviews etc. You can even buy from the road.

Ebay Mobile – Check on your bids or items for sale from your mobile phone or blackberry.

IMDB (Internet Movie Database) – Find out exactly who was in that movie on the tip of your tongue.

AdAge Mobile Edition – AdAge Headlines Condensed

NYTimes.com Mobile – This site is very new. I still prefer the older avant go version.

CNet Mobile Edition – The complete website is condensed for mobile pleasure.

NY Post Mobile Edition – Access NYC News, Gossip, and Sports

ebbogie.com – This Site provides a number of decent mobile website links worth checking out.

BBC World News Mobile

MoviePhone.com Mobile – Find a theatre or movie by zip code. This site could be a lot better than it is.

Google Mobile – Search the web, images, or access a mobile version of Gmail. This is a particularly well designed mobile website (what do you expect?)

Variety Mobile Edition

Technorati Mobile

Marketing.FM

Bloglines Mobile – Great for reading your feeds on the go.

Mobile Friendly Websites

[tags] google, mobile apps, gmail, google maps, ramble im, google talk, pda friendly websites, mobile friendly websites, google home page, mobile websites, blackberry websites, mobile, marketing.fm, amazon anywhere, New York Times mobile, Time, pda, blackberry, skweezer, bitty, hopstop mobile [/tags]

It all started with a first blog post called Joining the conversation on March 3rd 2006 and we havnt looked back since. (first post here)

Our initial message is still true today and hopefully we have fulfilled our promise to cover the latest and greatest in marketing and advertising.

As the curtain in front of Marketing.fm is pulled away you will see a different approach that allows novices and experts alike to participate in the conversation and learn together. One of the biggest problems I have seen to date for a “late adopters” (i.e. most large agencies) is that there is no starting point for vocabluary, knowledge, or comprehending new and innovative ideas. This blog will cover learning about new media, learning about emerging media, and explain all aspects of interactive marketing for beginners.

Many of you (our readers) joined us along the way and most likely missed the posts from the beginning and may have missed some others too. Below is a brief collection of posts that stood out above the rest and a few of my favorites. You can checkout more in our interactive archive.

How to make a brand evangelist for life
Apple gives 1 billionth song downloader a ton of cool apple products.

The end of the big advertising agency
The big advertising agency days are numbered…

Which agency size is best?
Our first interactive reader poll.

The future of advertising My interpretation of where advertising is heading.

Advertise Different
(First AD post: Johny Walker ad)
After seeing campaigns, ads, and other interesting marketing around the web and in real life we wanted a way to share with others and give some thoughts and opinions around them. This category features some interesting commercials, advertisements, and marketing memes that were around in 2006 or before. Some of them were very popular – others were simply campaigns that caught my eye.
Advertising Different: ING Direct
Advertise Different: ABC Network
Advertise Different: RFID Advertising
Advertise Different: Audi – Streets of Tomorrow
Advertise Different: US Open 2006

Although we criticize often – we also give praise where it is due. These great articles outline some initiatives and strides that were worth noting.
Wake up call to traditional Ad Agencies
Ad Agencies thinking differently
Saatchi & Saatchi Reacts to New Media

Oh and we do have a sense of humor too!
iPod parody video from Microsoft
Lego & Eggo Team Up! (what could be better?)
Web 3.0
Marketing Cliche’s
EggVertising (possibly coined here first?)
The Apple halo affect

Dont forget about SEMSEO:
Enterprise Search
Search articles on marketing.fm

One meme we continue to cover and probably contribute to speculation on: Internet TV & Google TV
The Future of TV Sponsored by Google AdSense and Search
Coming Soon: Google Television
Google gets into video advertising

Upfront Coverage:
Some advertisers opt out of the Upfront (Coke + Johnson & Johnson)

iPhone Coverage back in May 2006
The iPhone and Apple Marketing

We also try to introduce new technologies and insight into how to use them to our readers. Understanding that everyone is at a different level articles like What is RSS went over well with the newbie and expert crowds.
What is RSS? What is Really Simple Syndication?

Sometime back in June 2006 we began running our Marketing Links section which featured a roundup of links from blogs and the internet. These articles have small digestible links with only the info you need.
Marketing links 1
Marketing Links 2
Marketing Links 3

One of our biggest accomplishments has been the successful introduction of our Marketing and Advertising Blog Network which was highlighted first here in the marketing network launch post. We have been lucky to have such amazing members and have even grown into a major force combining our efforts into the Marketing and Advertising Network on Feedburner.

We even have a new contributor Adam Perlis who wrote a great article called State of the TV Industry: Part I look out for part II coming soon. Welcome Adam!

Marketing Podcast

On September 3rd 2006 we began our Marketing Podcast, had our first episode and never looked back! We have had an amazing 5 shows and interviewed some amazing people.
Marketing Podcast 2
Marketing Podcast 3
Marketing Podcast 4
Marketing Podcast 5

We have many interviews, topics, and shows schedule and invite anyone interested in coming on the program to contact us or send in some feedback.

Some recent amazing milestones:
We were invited to cover the Youth Marketing Conference and THE Conference on Marketing.

We were invited to join the 9Rules blog network on 12/18/06. We are a part of the round 5 9rules members and could not be happier with being included! I have met some amazing people and even connected with some great service providers helping us improve the site.

Blogging has taught me some amazing things in 2006 and 2007 and I have met some amazing people through marketing.fm. Sometimes it is hard to keep blogging with a full time job and everything else that comes with life, but looking back I am glad I did. We have kept up a momentum that has truly paid off.

I would like to give a special thanks to my blogging partner and co-editor Lee Jones. Lee has written some amazing articles over the past year and is directly responsible for keeping me motivated and working on this blog. It is always great to have a good partner in business as you can push one another to achieve greatness. I think we have both accomplished quite a lot over the past 365 days of blogging and we have even more planned for year 2.

If you have made it this far….thanks! We have some exciting news for 2007, and although I cant give everything away now – stay tuned for some MAJOR site improvements, contributors, amazing interviews.

I cannot complete this post without thanking the most important part of our blog – the audience. I want to personally thank each and every person who takes the time to put marketing.fm into your feed reader, browse here daily, or subscribed via email. Without our readers we would not have a blog. As of today – 03/03/07 we have an amazing 414 loyal readers. To me this is quite an accomplishment.

Looking forward I hope to meet the following goals over the next year:

1. Reach 1000 feed subscribers!
2. Post our 50th Podcast episode!
3. Grow our consulting practice
4. Grow the Marketing and Advertising network to 150,000 readers (currently at 100,000)
5. Cross over to a traditional marketing and advertising medium with our work

Last but not least is a special thanks to some of the people who have influenced this blog and kept me motivated:
Seth Godin
Guy Kawasaki
Fred Wilson
Lee Odden
SearchViews
and many more…

Like I said in the first post ever made on this domain – “Welcome to the Future:)”

[tags] anniversary, apple, upfront, itunes, iphone, johnson & johnson, coke, coca-cola, marketing.fm, marketing, advertising, polls, blog birthday, joining the conversation, 9rules, RSS, what is rss, marketing links, advertise different, eggvertising, feedburner, marketing network, advertising network, marketing podcast, marketing.fm podcast, podcast, marketing bloggers, seth godin, guy kawasaki, fred wilson, lee odden, searchviews [/tags]

http://www.marketing.fm/2006/08/02/orbitz-mobile/

Let’s face it, travel companies should be leading the pack when it comes to developing websites and services for the mobile browser. Out of all people, travellers and those who are on the road could really benefit from mobile access airline, train, or ground transportation information.

For example, I am now stuck in traffic on the way to JFK airport and I am trying to check the status of my flight since I’m running late. I figured I would try out the orbitz website but to my dismay, www.orbitz.com no longer works on the mobile browser! I tried to find the American Airlines pda site too but the only link I found was inactive.

Oh well. Companies, especially airlines should step in to the mobile space and change things for the better. Apparently there is still room for “first mover advantage” too.

[tags] marketing.FM, marketing blog, orbitz, mobile, mobile friendly websites [/tags]

Do you send emails, faxes, letters, mailers, brosures, and other materials? Each of these items is a permanent extension of your company and has the power to sway opinions. You may not realize it but each and every piece of data that leaves your grasp when running your own business, brand, service, or idea can and will help influence what your customer thinks of your business.

Every time you send an email you are essentially re-packaging your story.

This is the core of the “Outbound Marketing Department” or O.M.D. idea.

If you begin to think in terms of how your story is being told and how you can continue to reach people even after your original group of reciepients, you are now thinking through the O.M.D. filter.

Now for those cynics out there I am not suggesting that you startup and build another buerocratic approval department. I am rather suggesting that you simply think twice.

Before you hit send, submit a form, reply to a voicemail, or communicate outside your company walls – think about the Outbound Marketing Department meme and make sure your message would have “their” approval.

It doesnt matter if you are a one man operation or part of a 500 employee agency – make sure your message caries the right information and can continue your story. Pass your next message through the O.M.D. filter and see how it goes…

[tags] outbound marketing department, marketing blogs, marketing.fm, meme, advertising, think different, [/tags]