Shopping SIte Adopts Wiki Format

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Just launched ShopWiki, a search engine that crawls 120,000 stores to create its index of products, is using the anyone-can-edit Wiki format for the site's buying guides. In this manner, we suppose ShopWiki has jumped into the social media space. While it's not that different from a bunch of Amazon reviews, the Wiki is a single, ever changing document as opposed to a collection of individual comments/guides written by users and manufacturers. While we do like the concept of this shopping meets blogging concept, we wonder just how fluid we want our product information.

ShopWiki claims its search engine, which crawls the retailer's site rather than relying on a data feed, is more accurate and can provide better results to complex queries. Currently in beta, ShopWiki plans to go global in Fal 2006.

by Steve Hall    Apr-20-06    
Topic: Consumer Created, Online, Weblogs



Men's Grooming brand Launches Barber Blog

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Men's grooming brand Sharps has launch a blog called Barber Blog. Now if you think a blog about barbers would be weird, you would be right. But, that's the whole point with Barber Blog which likes to talk about the Chewbaca haircut, Puff Daddy's cologne and barber documentaries called Cutting Edge.

by Steve Hall    Apr-13-06    
Topic: Weblogs



Starwood Hotels Joins Blogosphere

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Launched in late March by Starwood Hotels, TheLobby promises "to help keep Starwood Preferred Guests on top of the latest travel trends." The blog offers general travel information as well as programs available at it collection of hotels including the Westin, Sheraton, St. Regis and W. The Wall Street Journal analyzes the whole thing but we'll sum it up. It's a blog. Great. They don't accept comments. Bad.

by Steve Hall    Apr-12-06    
Topic: Good, Weblogs



Subway Gives Reggie Bush Commercial, Blog

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Subway has has signed a deal with USC running back Reggie Bush who is featured in the chain's recent commercial which just launched today. The commercial, which we like very much but aren't really sure why, promotes a...wait for it....yes, a blog called SubwayFreshBuzz. The blog launches April 8 and will feature 2-3 daily posts from Reggie (or someone writing for him but let's hope not) offering us his thoughts as he enters his rookie year. There's also chat, videos and other good stuff about Reggie and, of course, promotion of healthy eating habits via Subway's healthy menu. You can view the ad here.

by Steve Hall    Apr- 7-06    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Weblogs



Adland Celebrates Tenth Anniversary.

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Before there was Adrants or AdJab or AdPulp or Adverblog or Advertsing for Peanuts of AdFreak or AdHurl or AdPunch or AdScam or Adverbox or American Copywriter or Beyond Madison Avenue or Copyranter or creative Criminal or Jaffe Juice or Madison Avenue Journal or MediaBuyer Planner or MarketingVOX or The Media Drop or MIT Advertising Lab or all the countless other weblogs, there was Adland, the site/weblog that came before any of the rest of us even had the twinkle of a blog in our eyes.

Today is Adland's 10th anniversary. Yes, 10th. We thought four years was commendable but that's nothing compared to Dabitch's achievements over at Adland so congratulations Ask (sorry, I don't know how to do that "oomlot" whatever thingy).Great job. Keep going. You are an inspiration to us all.

by Steve Hall    Apr- 3-06    
Topic: Weblogs



Consumer Created Content The New 34DDD

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Hearing Joe Jaffe talk about the three C's of consumer created content with Pete Blackshaw and Jackie Huba on his Across the Sound podcast, we were reminded of having once said to a male co-worker in front of a female co-worker in reference to something completely business-related and without regard to the the female co-worker's very curvaceous figure, "three D's are better than one." Needless to say, awkward smirks and giggles followed. Thankfully, that wasn't the case after listening to this week's Across the Sound podcast which discussed the many aspects of consumer created content, consumer generated media, citizen's media or whatever label you want to place on the trend.

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by Steve Hall    Mar-29-06    
Topic: Consumer Created, Podcast, Trends and Culture, Weblogs



Plagiarism, Blog-Hype, Blog-Trashing Prevalent At OMMA West

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Underscore Marketing President Tom Hespos is out at OMMA West in Hollywwod and has offered up some observations about the first day's interactive online marketing conference. While Tom heard from many people today eager to jump on the blogging and consumer-generated media business model bandwagon, most of them didn't have a clue what they were talking about. He also mentioned that the blogging is being unfairly trashed with flawed stats and treated as if it were some sort of braodcast playground waiting to grow up into a "real medium." In listening to the various presentation, Tom noted much of what he saw seemed to have been lifted from other's mouths with agency wonks attributing their own names to the content. And finally, Tom realizes he's been mispronouncing Publicis' new agency wrong. It's De-NOO, not DEN-you-oh. The conference concludes Tuesday.

by Steve Hall    Mar-27-06    
Topic: Industry Events, Weblogs



'Strumpette' Plans to Liven Up Public Relations Industry

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The PR industry is all a flutter over the launch of a new blog Media Orchard tells us about called Strumpette which promises to be the Gawker of public relations. It's written by Amanda Chapel who says "Strumpette is a totally naked journal of the PR Business." Apparently, she plans to take the lid off the industry and hold it up to a mirror.

In describing herself and her approach, we'd agree some serious gossip lay ahead. Amanda writes, "I am 5' 4" tall, athletic, Pantine shoulder-length black hair, perfect perky boobs. I present well and am most accomodating. I've slept with clients. I sleep with my boss. I am the consummate PR strumpette. When I was 7 my mother told me I'd "never get anywhere with that mouth." I've apparently dedicated my life in proving her wrong."

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by Steve Hall    Mar-26-06    
Topic: Weblogs



Rocketboom's Amanda Congdon Loves Adrants

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We are pleased the witty, the wonderful, the beautiful, the famous Amanda Congdon, host of the Rocketboom video podcast, has named Adrants one of her top ten sites. She says a good blog "will teach me something and it will entertain me while I am learning."

We're in good company with Scripting News, Stuff on My Cat, BuzzMachine, Pink Is The New Blog, Waxy.org, Gawker, Blogspotting, Crooks and Liars and Boing Boing. Damn, that really is good company if we do say so ourselves. We're pleased we can entertain and inform you, Amanda. Thanks for the nod.

by Steve Hall    Mar-25-06    
Topic: Announcements, Podcast, Weblogs



55DSL Adopts Social Media to Promote Brand

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Bucky Turco tells us fashion brand 55DSL is looking to recruit two people to travel the world, photograph an film their experiences and blog about it. It's an actual paid gig on one, if done well. will certainly create a following and hence, awareness for the brand. It's a nice adoption of and twist on the social media space and one that may permeate the brand throughout the space.

by Steve Hall    Mar-24-06    
Topic: Consumer Created, Good, RSS, Weblogs