2 – Online Technology

Hitler Schools Constantin Films on Copyright and Viral Marketing

November 2nd 2009

Brad Templeton, chairman of the board of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has produced his own “Downfall” parody video, making fun of the fact that Constantin Films has issued DMCA notices to remove all of the “Downfall” parody videos from YouTube. This little-known film has become an Internet sensation and, as I note below, Constantin Film’s […]

Teen Burglars Use Tabloid Smarts to Rob Celebrities

October 30th 2009

In a season where teen vampires are all the rage, can a drama following a real-life band of teen burglars looting celebrities be far behind? (For Halloween, I’ll be dressed as them!) The Net was their accomplice. The teens tracked the movements of stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton and broke into their […]

Website Competitive Intelligence: Don’t Manage to Bogus Data

October 23rd 2009

How can you determine the size of a blog or website’s traffic? Finding reliable website competitive intelligence benchmarks is hugely important, and a real challenge on the web. Too often people buy-in to bogus measures. There is perhaps a false hope to find that big “standings board” similar to major league baseball.  After all, standings […]

Peter Quinn & How Microsoft Smeared Its Way to Winevitability

October 20th 2009

The InformationWeek cover story had two elements. First was the illustration, which featured a compass with Windows 7 at true North, the headline “Winevitable,” and the question of how you will get there. That’s the kind of positioning money just can’t buy. Imagine producing software whose inevitability is proclaimed on the editorial cover of magazines. […]

Verizon CEO says Their Voice Business is Dying. Time To Go Into TV?

October 13th 2009

Okay, though he used a little more nuance, that’s the essence of what Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon’s CEO, said loud and clear in recent comments at Goldman Sachs. The issue there is perhaps it is like the dog chasing the bus a little bit. So what I need to do is get ourselves focused around the […]

Creative Briefs Are Where Good Site Builds Start

October 2nd 2009

Otis Maxwell is a copywriter who likes to mouth off on marketing, technology, and food. He’s also a great creative. Last week he asked me what was on my short list of projects, and to my surprise I immediately said “Creative briefs.” After all, they really are what keeps chaos at bay, and more importantly, they […]

The Four New Pillars of Digital Marketing: At DMA in Palo Alto

September 25th 2009

This morning I visited the DMA of Northern California to offer some thoughts for a round table discussion on the Four Emerging Pillars of Digital Marketing.  I appreciated hearing about the projects and challenges group members are taking on, and to share some of what we’re up to at Sokolove Law. We got on to […]

Google Adds Option to Play Video as Part of Search Listings

September 10th 2009

Finding videos via search isn’t new, but playing them inside ad listings is. For example, if you enter the word “Fame” in Google, you may have the option to play the movie trailer, which will roll surrounded by all the other search results. Google expects increasing video in ad results. This gets searchers to video […]

Add Video to Your Marketing Mix Now: 10 Reasons Why

September 9th 2009

1. Audience Reach According to research from the Pew Institute, the number of online users who have watched video in the last month has doubled from two years ago.  That audience is now larger than the base of social media users.  It’s three times larger than those who have listened to a podcast, and five […]

Why Online Video is the Most Effective Way to Sell Consumer Legal Services

September 2nd 2009

Dave Wieneke’s mantra for consumer marketing: “Reading is for suckers” Nowhere is this more true than when lawyers sell their own expertise.  By nature, lawyers write in legalese. It’s their training. I offer that legal writing and copy writing use opposite muscle groups. However,  when lawyers speak, they phrase things in ways that connect with […]