Highlights

Online Brand Protection Gone Wrong: ILoveJackDaniels.com

November 5th 2008

Dave Child is a web developer from Brighton, UK. He ran sites for Juno Records in London, and does online marketing. Along the way, he picked up the nickname Jack Daniels for the bottle he kept on his desk. So when he wanted to start a site to provide tech resources to other programmers, he registered […]

Presidential Campaigns Turn to Email SPAM: “Yes, They Can”.

November 3rd 2008

In the last days of the longest and most expensive presidential campaign ever, both sides are using email aggressively.  And why not? Email is cheap, campaigns are desperate, and they are exempt from CAN-SPAM regulations. That’s right. Political and religious speech are explicitly made exempt within CAN-SPAM’s regulations.  When this law was framed, the exemption […]

Dave Wieneke on the Benefits of Email Personalization

November 2nd 2008

When is email definitely not spam? When it’s relevant and people really want it. Email service provider ExactTarget quotes me in their corporate blog today on the benefits of creating highly personalized email communications. Along with the “use benefits” I quantified for them, I’d also offer that personalizing communications often shifts the editorial voice to […]

UK Police to Get Mobile Fingerprint Scanners

November 1st 2008

I can hear it now in Britain: “Fingers? Fingers? Where are your fingers?” Within the next 18 months, every police officer in the UK will be equipped with portable fingerprint scanners, and will be able to carry out identity checks at the drop of a bobby’s helmet. The official (and implausible, given past history) claim […]

Presidential Pumpkin Politics

October 31st 2008

Simultaneously the most stupid and awesome thing about this election: political pumpkin carving. I’m not being snarky – go watch this video from “Yes, We Carve” and just try not to break out laughing. It’s terrific because of all the things we know beyond what the video says. Right after 9-11, one of my neighbors […]

Nonpartisan Minilinks: I’m Fixated by Election 2.0

October 30th 2008

Video your vote YouTube and PBS have teamed up to ask US voters to document their voting experiences. You’re invited to upload video of you voting to their site Video Your Vote. Our friends at the Berkman Center’s Citizen Media Law Project have even made a video about how to make a video while you […]

The Christian Science Monitor’s “Middle Road” To Greater Utility

October 29th 2008

Yesterday’s announcement that The Christian Science Monitor will end daily publication this spring in favor of online journalism and a new weekly publication is more a relief (and a joy) than a shock to many of its biggest fans. I spent several years working with the church’s publications, including helping set online strategy for the […]

Is Leaving Negative Feedback on eBay Libelous?

October 29th 2008

Can you be sued for leaving negative seller feedback on eBay? Chris Read, a 42-year-old mechanic from the UK, purchased a mobile phone on eBay for £155 (about $246). When it arrived, he discovered it was not the model that was advertised and that it was not in very good condition. Read followed standard eBay […]

Useful Arts Co-Founds “Ask the President Elect”; You Can Too

October 27th 2008

Eight years ago we saw online campaigning emerge. This year the current presidential election established the interactive channel as the decisive element in fundraising, organizing and getting the word out. Now, candidates and supporters appear ready to transform online political networks into an ongoing dialog that will be as integral to governing as it has […]

Tiffany v. eBay Webinar – You’re Invited!

September 17th 2008

This is your invitation to attend a free webinar on the recent Tiffany v. eBay ruling and its impact on brands of all sizes, and those of us who support and promote them. (Since this event has already happened, please follow this link to listen and view the recorded event in its entirety, or hear […]