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Facebook Not Selling Out–But Should They?

posted on February 3, 2009

Methinks the Telegraph was hoping to spark controversy when they published this article yesterday:

Facebook is planning to exploit the vast amount of personal information it holds on its 150m members by creating one of the world’s largest market research databases.

In an attempt to finally monetise the social networking site, once valued at $15bn (£10.4bn), it will soon allow multinational companies to selectively target its members in order to research the appeal of new products. Companies will be able to pose questions to specially selected members based on such intimate details as whether they are single or married and even whether they are gay or straight.

And yes, were it true, that would definitely be . . . well, if not cause for alarm, at least attention-getting. Let me say it again: were it true.

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T-Mobile Plans More G Phones for 2009

posted on February 3, 2009

T-Mobile has announced, albeit in a pretty vague manner, that they will be introducing more G phones in g1phonethe “coming weeks and months”. With that kind of clarity on delivery dates I am sure that most folks will be holding off on their iPhone and BlackBerry purchases for sure.

T-Mobile is indeed motivated to get these Google Android devices on the market because they still lag behind other carriers in adding new customers. The company added 621,000 new subscribers which was down a bit from the prior quarter of 691,000 and pretty far off the same period numbers from 2007 which were 951,000.

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SponsoredReviews Announces the Launch of LinkSets

posted on February 2, 2009

If you’re trying to launch a new service or get some blog buzz for your new start-up, SponsoredReviews.com offers a transparent solution for buying some eyeballs.

The paid review site has just made it easier for advertisers to vary the links and anchor text used by publishers with the launch of LinkSets.

SponsoredReviews’ LinkSet system will automatically rotate through all of the defined LinkSets for a review and assign them to bloggers as the advertiser purchases reviews. They give a couple of examples of how this can work:

For Example: If you have 12 different URL’s on your website that you would like to build links to, you could define those 12 URL’s in our LinkSets and have the system automatically assign those links to bloggers as you purchase reviews.

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How Michael Phelps Screwed-up His Google Reputation in Just 24 Hours

posted on February 2, 2009

In case you missed the news, Olympic superstar Michael Phelps was caught on camera smoking cannabis from a bong.

Say it with me: IDIOT!

While Phelps has admitted the photo is legitimate–and apologized to his fans–there can be no doubt that for an athlete of Phelps’ caliber, any scandal that involves drugs is going to have a hugely negative effect on his reputation.

To prove just how quickly a squeaky clean Google reputation can come crashing down, here’s a look at Michael Phelps’ Google reputation after just 24 hours!

If the swimmer’s sponsors decide that they no longer wish to be associated with a drug-taking athlete, Phelps could lose as much as $100 million in endorsements.

Some observations:

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The Best Super Bowl TV Ad? Here’s My Vote

posted on February 1, 2009

So, what did you think of this year’s Super Bowl TV ads? I personally thought they missed the mark compared to previous years, but I did laugh out loud at one ad.

Yes, I admit to LMAO at the E*Trade Baby ad that featured the investing baby trash-talking the older golf player.

Grey New York is the ad agency behind the TV ad, and they were on the ball. Not only did they ensure there were companion Facebook and Twitter profiles, but the agency ensured E*Trade’s ads were immediately up on YouTube–and even sent out a media advisory before the Super Bowl ended.

I’m sure we’ll hear lots of stats about the success of various Super Bowl ads, but you can kick things off by telling me which ad you enjoyed the most.

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Dilbert Cartoon: How Not to Manage Your Online Reputation

posted on February 1, 2009

I don’t know how far ahead Scott Adams creates his Dilbert cartoons, but I have a sneaky suspicion the one below comes courtesy of the recent Belkin scandal.

Enjoy!

Dilbert.com