Archives for October 2006

Where’s the Roaming Gnome?

October 31, 2006 by

In case you haven’t noticed, Travelocity’s roaming gnome has dissapeared.  No, I’m not entirely concerned for the gnome as I don’t think it’s that big of a deal for a lawn ornament to be lost.  However, I thought I would point out one of the most interesting ad ploy’s I’ve seen recently.  It’s right up there with the coke/mentos videos running on google video.

Check out Gnomewatch at Yahoo! 360.  It’s an entire fake news site, complete with a fake attractive news anchorwoman.  The entire intent and purpose of the site is to find that gnome and uncover the mystery of where it went.  Oh, and the footage they have as evidence are commercials for Travelocity.

Genius!

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Wired acquires Reddit

October 31, 2006 by

Wired News is reporting that Wired Digital has acquired social bookmarking site Reddit.  Details weren’t disclosed, but you can bet it isn’t as much as YouTube.  Or anywhere near that.

First, Reddit has no revenue model.  Second, while it does have over one million users, it just doesn’t command the traffic that sites like Digg and Del.icio.us do.

I’m not even really sure what range to put a guess in.  I’d like to say something around $20 million, but I don’t know enough about it to say that confidently.

Wired plans on integrating the Reddit functions into all of the CondeNet sites.  That could be enough to help rocket Reddit into more of a mainstream light.  They already are one of my favorites and I use them just as often as I use Digg and more often than I use Del.icio.us.

Overall, it’s a good pickup for Wired and I think we can safely say that Wired most likely won’t destroy the site.

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Blogosphere: Pure as the driven snow?

October 30, 2006 by

Jeneane Sessum, one of the most honest bloggers I read, rants often.  And more often than not, she makes complete sense.  She’s done it again.  She’s decided to give PayPerPost a try and in the process manages to make a brilliant point about why PayPerPost isn’t all that bad.

How much ad revenue are the folks dissing PayPerPost making? EVERY SINGLE CRITIC of payperpost I’ve seen so far makes money through blogging. I do too. Some of us command significant ad dollars because of YOU. Because of your traffic, your downloads, your click-throughs.

Ok, that’s a bit of an indirect jab at the “A-list” but a well deserved one.  And that’s where she makes her point.  The same people who are calling services like PayPerPost and ReviewMe are the same ones who make money through their blogs already.  What’s the difference?  Well, most of them say that they just put up banners instead of a post.  True, but you still get paid.

I’ll jump on the bandwagon and state that you really must be transparent if you’re going to use a site like PayPerPost and clearly state that you are being paid for the post.  Positive review or not.  That’s what makes it on a level playing field with the banner add on TechCrunch’s sidebar.  It clearly is a paid advertisement.

Thank you Jeneane for making your(our) point so well.  I couldn’t agree more.  Except for the “Big open male mouths” bit.   But that’s another day and another post.  Let us know what you think of PayPerPost.

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Ufos and stolen pigs

October 27, 2006 by

Well, if that title doesn’t draw you in, nothing will. I’m sure that the story is already making it’s way across the ether and will end up on Maury Povich or some such.

A boy(16) in Tappen, ND appearantly witnessed a group of 5 8-9 foot tall aliens abducting a pig from his family farm. He claims that he actually shot one of them, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence of that.

Looking out a window, the boy saw something moving in the corral that is home to several large hogs that are basically family pets.

Thinking it might be a coyote, he grabbed a gun and walked into the corral.

There, he encountered two creatures standing 8 to 9 feet tall that were doing something to one of the hogs. The boy fired his .22-caliber rifle at one creature and was pretty sure he hit it, judging by the unearthly scream it emitted.

Another creature then grabbed the boy and threw him to the ground, causing him to black out.

When Evan Briese awoke, he found that Ruthy, a 450-pound sow that had been ready to give birth, was gone.

Unable to completely recall the event, a hypnotist was brought in to clarify things for him.

In truth, I shouldn’t even be saying anything about this as I’m sure it will further dirty the image that us North Dakota folk have.  They even brought in a UFO expert that happened to be in town that week and he thinks the boy is telling the truth.

Wow.  You can read the rest of the story in the Fargo Forum.  And yes, news really is that slow up here.

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