twitter's ad strategy

So twitter has announced their advertising strategy.... which involves serving ads when a user uses the search feature. I can't remember the last time i used Twitter's search -- i think it may have been Summer 2009. Hmm. Can't imagine this is going to be a hearty stream of revenue for Twitter for the long-term.

Myth | The Internet is anonymous

Just read a great article on how news sites are gradually abandoning the ability to post anonymous comments. [http://tinyurl.com/y64usxa].

While this is no surprise to anyone who works in media.. it really had me thinking: i think the belief that the 'Internet is Anonymous' is probably one of the biggest myths out there. Sure, maybe first generation Internet services provided true anonymity... but not these days.

And with the decline in online anonymity, we've also seen a much greater increase in the quality of user contribution.. because users are accountable for their content. I think Facebook has gone a long way in helping to pave the round with the general population in making users accountable for their postings. Everyone has a Facebook account these days (well, almost everyone). And almost everyone had an account that reflects who they really ARE: not their online personas, or screennames (thank you AOL), but real people.

Online UGC content is much better now that there is better transparency as to who's writing it. Authentication and transparency have had a meaningful impact.

twitter's redesign

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100409/twitter-will-look-different-in-some-way-some-day/

Am i the only one who finds an article about the "new look of twitter" a bit odd? Who cares what the look of twitter is -- it's a service, not a destination. I tweet from a range of other destinations: tweetdeck, tweetie, destination sites that enable sharing, etc. I honestly don't remember the last time i tweeted via twitter.

Twitter is a service, not a destination.

iPad Magazines

I'm loving my iPad, but so far i've been very disappointed in the publishing industry's first-generation iPad apps-- particularly the magazine industry. So far, i've not seen any iPad magazine experiences that are particularly good. The best executions just seem to mimic the print experiences (GQ). The worst executions are cluttered, convoluted, un-navigatable messes (Time).

And none are doing anything interesting with advertising explorations.

I know these apps will get better as time progresses, but so far i'm unimpressed. The bar is not very high.

So I bought an iPad.

So I bought an iPad.
I genuinely think this will be a giant step forward for publishing. One touch purchasing of a book... or even getting a sample of a book.
New York Times Editor's picks.... like browsing through the morning paper... only no newsprint all over my hands, and no mess on my coffee table afterwards (I always did hate the newspaper laying all over my living room once we've gone through it all).

Anyway... it really is an amazing device. My heart has been racing since i opened the box.

White Space

Just read an article on "5 Ways to improve a website's 'brand voice'". http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/26360.asp

There are so many things wrong with this article... i'm not sure where to start, but the first thing that came into my head is the question, "what's wrong with a little 'white space'?". You want to make a brand's voice come across... well, give it some air.

T Minus One Day

It's one day until the iPad is officially launched, and the publishing game gets forever changed. Particularly the world of magazines.... Digital content, advertising, features, and functionality for magazines will never be the same. It's going to be an interesting ride.