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Couple Sues Google for Street View Photos on Private Road

posted on April 4, 2008

We’ve heard all kinds of privacy concerns since Google Maps launched its Street View photos last May, most of which have had little legal merit. However, this week a new lawsuit about Street View images could change that.

Aaron and Christine Boring (yeah, seriously) of Pittsburgh, PA, are suing Google for posting images of their home which is located on a private road. The suit, filed Wednesday in Pennsylvania, asks for $25,000 in damages and the destruction of all photos of their home in all media (including film . . .). The suit does display a basic knowledge of the Street View program (other than the film part). It was filed on Wednesday (so this isn’t an April Fools’ joke).

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Pilgrim’s Picks for April 4th

posted on April 4, 2008

It’s Friday!

I’ll let that sink in for a second…..

Yeah, now you’re feeling it…it’s FRIDAY!

OK, so that the boss thinks you’re doing "important research" have at least one Marketing Pilgrim post open in a tab throughout the rest of the day. And with today’s cool Picks, it may as well be this post. ;-)

  • Loic Le Meur’s startup Seesmic has acquired Twitter app Twhirl. If you use Twitter, you’ll love Twhirl. As for Seesmic? Can’t tell you much, other than it’s like Twitter but for video. If I ever get hooked-up with a "closed alpha" invite, I’ll tell you more about it.
  • Valleywag–the bastion of tech rumors–reports Google executive chef Josef Desimone has left the company to join Facebook.

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Google Admits to Gambling $4.6 Billion?

posted on April 4, 2008

Now that the FCC has awarded the coveted 700Mhz spectrum to Verizon Wireless, Google is lifting the “cone of silence” surrounding its bid.

As suspected, Google’s bid for the new mobile airwaves was really just a big bluff. Sure, Google did ante up the $4.6 billion it promised it would bid–if the FCC adopted Google’s conditions–but it has pretty much admitted it only really cared about the adoption of greater openness and choice for wireless customers.

Google’s top priority heading into the auction was to make sure that bidding on the so-called “C Block” reached the $4.6 billion reserve price that would trigger the important “open applications” and “open handsets” license conditions….

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Contest Reminder: Enter by Sunday; Win Amazon Certificate and/or New Computer

posted on April 4, 2008

I know I sprung the Radically Transparent contest on you pretty quickly, but time is running out to get you entry in for week one.

All you need to do is post to a blog, video, or podcast, your favorite lesson/tip from my new book Radically Transparent. You don’t have to write up a thesis, so even a few lines (or minutes) will qualify you.

Enter this week and you’ll be entered to win the fabulous Eee PC laptop and the weekly prize of a $25 Amazon gift certificate. Plus, you can enter again over the coming weeks, as we move on to the next round of the contest.

You have until 6pm PT April 6th (full details here).

Good luck!

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The Truths and Myths of Google News as a Reputation Management Tool

posted on April 4, 2008

By David Snyder.

Much has been made around the Web about the “Truth and Myth” post by Software Engineer Andy Golding on the Google News blog. There have been quite a few posts written about how the ideas discussed by Golding relate to publishers, SEOs, and PR professionals.

What about the social media marketer and corporate reputation manager?

Many people, who have not found the value of great reputation management tools such as Trackur, utilize Google News Alerts to find out what is being said about their company on the web. The question is, how does this recent post effect how these professionals obtain and utilize information?

Among the myths and truths discussed a few are of significant importance to those that monitor and repair reputation.

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MySpace Announces iTunes Rival

posted on April 3, 2008

current myspace music headerMySpace announces today that they will launch MySpace Music, a service to rival Apple’s popular iTunes music player and marketplace. Like iTunes, MySpace Music will feature streaming music, paid DRM-free MP3 downloads and music-related merchandise.

MySpace Music is a joint venture with Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. The other major recording company, EMI, may still sign on, possibly even before MySpace Music launches. The launch dates has not been set, but MySpace CEO Chris De Wolfe says that commercial features will roll out over the coming three or four months.

MySpace Chief Operating Officer Amit Kapur told Reuters that through this venture, MySpace Music “goes from being a promotional vehicle to being a commercial vehicle.” MySpace already features 5 million artists and 30 million members who listen to music through the site.

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Book Review: Corporate Reputation by Leslie Gaines-Ross

posted on April 3, 2008

Dr. Judy Strauss and I couldn’t make the claim that Radically Transparent is the most comprehensive guide to online reputation management, if we hadn’t quoted the research of Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross. Gaines-Ross’ work in corporate reputation management is legendary and she’s followed-up her excellent CEO Capital book with the equally informative Corporate Reputation: 12 Steps to Safeguarding and Recovering Reputation.

The book is a must read for any company executive facing a corporate crisis–or is smart enough to realize that pretty much every company faces a reputation crisis at some point. If Radically Transparent is the blueprint for monitoring and managing your online reputation, Corporate Reputation is the book that fleshes our corporate reputation repair in the offline (real?) world.