Marketing Pilgrim

I have decided that whenever a “report” comes from anywhere, even a “well-respected” source, that is not based in an actual announcement but is “rumored” to be in the works by “as early as” a certain date, that the title of the post will have a question mark? Why? Because it used to be that news was about something that has actually happened and is being reported on. Now the definition that works better, especially in the Internet and social media marketing space is “something that has been maybe, kinda, sorta leaked by someone in a company looking to make an impression on a news agency OR an intended leak by a company to build buzz about something that is at least 90 days away fromreality.

What do Gilbert Gottfried, Kenneth Cole and GoDaddy’s CEO Bob Parsons have in common?

They all made the 2011 list of Marketing’s Biggest Social Media Blunders. The list, which was put together by AdAge, details the worst missteps and mouth-offs from celebs and brands who are smart enough to know better.

In some cases, it was the brand who suffered the damage after an underling Tweeted without thinking, but sometimes it was the brand itself that messed up (we’re looking at you, Ragu.) And sometimes it was just living proof that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Just in time for the holidays, Google+ has thrown the switch on facial recognition for photo tagging. Now, you won’t have to spend hours identifying all those relatives who you won’t see again until next year — Google+ will do it for you.

Matt Steiner, the engineering lead on Google+ photos, announced the new feature a few days ago on his wall. They call the tool ‘Find My Face,’ which is both childlike and creepy. Like a game of Where’s Waldo, only you’re Waldo.

It’s an opt-in program that you switch on and off from your profile settings. Even after you turn it on, the tool still asks for your approval before it tags photos with your name. So, yes, you can avoid being associated with the karaoke crew at the office Christmas party.

The title pretty much says it all. Google has been giving free phone service (albeit a bit choppy at times but hey it’s free!) for a while now. This generous offer was set to expire at the end of 2011 but apparently not enough folks are getting it quite yet so Google is now offering it through 2012.

From the Gmail blog

As the holiday season approaches, we’re happy to announce that we’ve extended free domestic calls within the US and Canada for 2012.

This is our way of helping you connect with friends and family across the country. And you can still call the rest of the world from Gmail at our insanely low rates.

Aol is at it again. It is busy reorganizing and re-inventing itself while the world sits on the sidelines wondering where the whole thing is going to land. At least the dial-up business is going to be tucked away into another area of the company so we don’t have to watch that dry up and wither as well.

According to Bloomberg

AOL Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Armstrong plans to reorganize the company to combine its dial-up Internet access business with its Web services, including AOL Instant Messenger.

The new AOL services group would be one of four business units to be created under the new structure, Armstrong said yesterday in an interview. The details will be presented to employees on Dec. 14, before the plan takes effect in January. The other three divisions will consist of advertising, local services and the Huffington Post media group, he said.

So much that happens in the online space is dependent upon measurement. The ability to measure results also greatly influences the ability to forecast, predict or prognosticate about where all of this is going. It sounds very clean cut and very exact doesn’t it? Well, it’s not and it is extremely important to understand that before you make any marketing decisions based on ANY data whatsoever.

A recent study from eMarketer called “Local Online Advertising: Digital Trends, Challenges and Opportunities” (buy the study here as an eMarktere subscriber only; MP has no financial arrangement with eMarketer) looks at one very active discussion area of the online space which is local and finds that how local is defined will greatly impact any predictions about its future growth.

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