Does Microsoft have the horsepower to kill banner ads for good?

I agree that banner ads can be annoying but not nearly annoying as pop-unders, pop-overs, AJAX and DHTML floaters and ... you get the picture. If it makes a noise or obstructs my view *that* is annoying Carolyn. Banner ads? If they don't flash lime green and yell about occasionally having diarrhea I'm probably okay with them.



Reinvent that.

Amplify’d from www.adweek.com

Microsoft Looks to Reinvent Display Ads

Gobal ad sales chief Carolyn Everson has conclusion: banner ads stink.

Oct 19, 2010

- Mike Shields, Mediaweek

After her first 100 days on the job, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of global ad sales Carolyn Everson has reached this conclusion: banner ads stink. With this in mind, she’s planning to reach out to a partner less familiar to the software/media giant -- the creative community -- for help. Indeed, Microsoft is planning to set up a series of meetings with creative agencies and executives as part of an Everson-led effort to reinvigorate online creative and to attract more traditional brands in the process. Everson, previously COO and evp of U.S. ad sales at MTV Networks, wants to sit down with the current generation of Don Drapers and spark nothing short of a revolution. “We have to completely reinvent display advertising,” she said. “The digital industry faces [the] challenge [of convincing advertisers] that the Internet is a good place to build a brand. That’s why I want to reach out to the creative community. That’s priority No. 1.” Read more at www.adweek.com

 

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Turn $1 into $4400 with Iraqi Dinars ... ORLY?

I remember when some very close friends bought into the "German bearer bonds scam" from Jim Gilmore on the back of an SBC Chorco - Les Chorlton designed scam that did not end with Chorlton's killing. Supposedly $1000 invested was to return $10,000,000 or some equally ridiculous number.



Research it yourself: http://www.crimes-of-persuasion.com/Crimes/InPerson/MajorPerson/Prime/komax-chorco.htm



The thing about a scam is that it is seasoned with the truth. Sometimes they are statements that simply cannot be disproven and therefore "must be true". The dinar scam is not immune. "Bush signed a contract", "the dinar is powered by Iraqi crude investments" and similar pepperings exist in this story.



Read on, this is not a new story but it is picking up new "investors" every day:

Amplify’d from bizcovering.com

The Iraqi Dinar Scam

Published on April 4, 2007 by Ender">Ender in Investing

Are you thinking of investing in the New Iraqi Dinar? Make sure you know all the facts. This article covers the scams associated with the Dinar, and a comparison of the prices of online sellers.

If you bought 1 million New Iraqi Dinars at the current exchange rate (costing you $677), and then waited for the dinar to climb back to the Saddam exchange rate, your million dinars would now be worth 3 million US dollars. You would have turned 677 US Dollars into 3 Million US dollars.

Then why does the Utah Division of Securities, list the selling of the New Iraqi Dinar as number two in their list of the Ten Most Common Scams? Read more at bizcovering.com

 

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From the mind to the canvas - amazing illustrations

Amplify’d from designerscouch.org

Jaw droppin' illustrations by Tiago Hoisel

This is some of the best stuff I've ever seen! I'm stunned by these illustrations! Tiago Hoisel is an illustrator based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

See more at designerscouch.org

 

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Over sensitization leads to lunacy

Seriously. It is lunatic. NPR thinks Juan Williams expressing what the majority of people think is worse than the obviously left bent obsession much of their reporting displays. Though heralded as the "just the facts" network we've all heard NPR reporting melt into commentary - at least in undertones.

Amplify’d from mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com

Mr. Williams said he was being honest when he said on “The O’Reilly Factor” Monday night that he worried when he saw people in “Muslim garb” on an airplane. “I have a moment of anxiety or fear given what happened on 9/11,” he said in an interview on Fox News, where he is employed as a paid contributor.

He said he asked if they could meet in person to discuss the issue: “We don’t have that chance to have a conversation about this? And she said, there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind. This has been decided above me and we’re terminating your contract.”

Though he said he suspected that “the powers-that-be at NPR pretty much think what Juan thinks,” Mr Kristol wrote: “The standards of political correctness must be maintained. Pressure groups speaking for allegedly offended Muslims must be propitiated. And so Juan had to go.” Read more at mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com

 

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Starbucks getting hungry for your dollars

Starbucks. Remember how anti-capitalist they were supposed to be? There were supposed to be the cool, social coffee spot embracing European fluffery and serving coffees with funny names and sizes you've never heard of. Well, seems they are tired of losing your capital, and significant amounts of it, to MacDonald's.



I have a real capitalist idea for Starbucks: start serving coffee that doesn't taste like it came from the bottom of a 3 year old fry-daddy then tossed into a grass fire, set a reasonable price and tell your employees to smile and serve instead of being so condescending (reference to my only visit to a Starbucks this year in Cary, North Carolina.)

Amplify’d from www.rdmag.com

Starbucks hopes free songs, e-books lure customers

Starbucks is adding a venti-sized dollop of free books, news and entertainment to its Internet offerings starting Wednesday.

The coffee chain's new digital network promises customers free e-books, movies and other exclusives, including free access to some paid Web sites such as The Wall Street Journal, is meant to get customers spending more on drinks and content they buy through the site. Read more at www.rdmag.com

 

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Your number's up

Seriously. We're almost out of IP addresses - at least the version most of us have known for a couple of decades. The familiar 192.167.111.111 format (IPv4) is coming to an end. What next? So glad you asked - and we'll be talking about that on http://SocialMediaEdge.com tomorrow at noon eastern!

Amplify’d from www.zdnet.com

The final stages of the squeeze are arriving: of the 4.3 billion Internet addresses possible with today's Net mainstream technology, 95 percent are gone. Read more at www.zdnet.com

 

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Choosing a mobile phone getting more difficult?

These are serious questions which need answered for people who depend on their fleet of mobile phones and mobile devices to power their business. Hopefully we will be answering these and other questions on Social Media Edge radio.

Amplify’d from socialmediaedge.com

Which phone do you chose?

With the announcement the Windows7 phone is heading for the market and with multiple manufactures in the game the field is widening, again. At first it was pretty much Palm. Then RIM, then Apple, then Google, now Microsoft. There is a hint at Facebook which may involve Skype.

Which phone will be viable long enough to justify the investment?

Who is developing the most effective applications for my business needs and on which phones/OS do they function? Read more at socialmediaedge.com

 

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