"Newspapers by computer...a few years off"

Check out this amazing video of a 1981 KRON report that predicts that the day will come when we get all of our newspapers and magazines by computer. I love the guy they interview that "Owns Home Computer". It took about 20 years for the majority of newspapers to go online and be accepted by a large audience...I wonder what another 20 years will look like and how many people are going to make fun of the iPhones we are all obsessed with!

Are we Sure Martin's Not Behind This?

Who said you could only Twitter about the inauguration? Here the confluence of bacon, sausage, and the computer pages comes together swimmingly.

1 Second Super Bowl Ads

The annual tradition of gathering with friends to feast on seven layer dips, cheezits and chili is coming up...the Super Bowl. And with that comes the best and most expensive advertisements for the whole year. However, this year Miller High Life is breaking from the tradition of paying millions of dollars for 3 minute commercials, and has annonuced it will focus on the brand's current campaign that features the burly High Life delivery man who aims to reinforce the brand as a "good, honest beer at a tasty price," with a one-second ad for its Miller High Life brand during the Super Bowl broadcast.

The Business Journal of Milwauke reported that air time for a 30-second commercial during the game is selling for as high as $3 million.“Miller High Life is all about high quality and great value, so it wouldn’t make sense for this brand to pay $3 million for a 30-second ad,” said High Life senior brand manager Kevin Oglesby, in a press release. “Just like our consumers, High Life strives to make smart choices. One second should be plenty of time to remind viewers that Miller High Life is common sense in a bottle.”

To build anticipation for the debut of the one-second ad, which may not air in all parts of the country, High Life has launched www.1SecondAd.com. The Web site features several of the one-second ads that didn’t make the cut, as well as a 30-second teaser ad that begins airing later this week. The ads were created by Saatchi & Saatchi of New York City.

Wish list for Facebook

A very appropriate article in Silicon Alley Insider about creating friend groups...

From Henry Blodget:
Please develop a new feature called "Personal Friends" or "Work Friends" or "Extra Special Friends" or "BFFs" or "Friends You Want To Hear Meaningless Trivia About All Day Long." Please give me the ability to put friends in these groups without telling them I have done so (and, more importantly, without telling the friends I haven't put in the groups that I haven't. I REALLY don't want to offend anyone).

Please develop this feature soon, so I can be friends with everyone who wants to be my friend and yet can also follow my actual friends without pissing all my other friends off. If you do that, by the way, I'll finally also be able to just unplug LinkedIn.
Thanks, Facebook!

Anyone want to make 65 cents?

Some disclaimer is needed here: I work on the Seattle PN Technology Reviews team. However, I’ve never paid anyone to post a positive review on user sites and I wouldn’t recommend that tactic to my clients.

Today I read a blog post about Belkin apologizing for doing so and I wondered why in the world anyone would have thought that was a good idea. In this age of transparency, how could anyone at Belkin think that paying people to post reviews on their behalf would lead to anything but an uproar?

Not only is it bad business- it’s also, um, unethical.

(Also, as a consumer –yes, I do have a life outside of work- I am inherently distrustful of a glowing review of any product. Every product has its bad points- even my beloved iPhone.)

The funny thing is- Belkin was offering 65 cents. I mean, the Santa Live app makers were paying people $4 per positive review. Maybe it’s the economy…

You know times are tough when...

It's almost the end of winter (although it doesn't feel like it) and personally one of my favorite times of the year is when I head to my local supermarket only to discover the Girl Scouts are out front slangin cookies. My favorite are the Tagalongs.

This year though, select Girl Scout cookies will contain less cookies in the box than in years past according to The Dallas Morning News. What's the reasoning? As with everything else these days, a struggling economy paired with rising cost of operation. Other options included raising the price of the cookies or to use lower quality ingredients.

So, as you buy your Thin Mints, Do-si-dos and Tagalongs (Don't worry Samoa lovers, your cookies contain as many as there ever were), do so knowing you're still donating toward a great cause, which is the spirit in which the Girl Scout cookies were intended.

The Printed Blog

The most interesting blog/print synergy I've seen.

From their Website: "The Printed Blog is the world's first daily newspaper comprised entirely of blogs and other user generated content. The result is a revolutionary newspaper that reads and functions like a web feed--yet can still be enjoyed on the train or spread across the kitchen table, for an uniterrupted, pleasurably tactile experience."

Is it just me, or is this a little weird?

Way to go Seattle Tweeple Connectors.

This definitely calls for some special Fridayside award...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/porternovelli/3209693267/

Change May Come To YouTube's Terms of Use

Earlier this week I posted about how YouTube has set up pages for both the House and Senate for them to use as a place to talk about what they are working on and to post clips of them on media sites like CNN. It sounds like YouTube and the General Services Administration are in talks now about YouTube's terms of use. In order for federal agencies to be able to post videos, they need YouTube to tweak its terms-of-use language.

We all know about all the hoops we've had to jump through in the past in order to post coverage of our clients' on YouTube - it's pretty much impossible so getting these rules changed would be a big step for us!

We Shoulda Thought of This...Seriously.

In the "Easiest. Gimmick. Ever." category.

http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/

You Are What You Eat

In case you need another reminder about the sensitivity of social networking, Peter Shankman shares a great example of what NOT to do: http://shankman.com/be-careful-what-you-post/

Who Knew You Could Just Automate Your Tweets to Send Out Every Few Minutes...

According to Pogue, Guy Kawasaki does: http://tinyurl.com/84ktwb

Better than a lip dub?

Cool video with a fun concept: http://fiftypeopleonequestion.com/ Next question please!

Steve Jobs has "more complex" health problems

Watch what happens to Apple stock as a result today...

This also has to be the first internal company memo I've seen turned into a media advisory.


Apple Media Advisory

Welcome to Congress, YouTube

With 1 week to go until inauguration, Obama's social media campaign tactics, which included Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others, have already inspired change with YouTube and congress. YouTube announced yesterday that it has teamed up with congress to create YouTube pages for both the House and the Senate in order to show you what it is lawmakers do everyday. From Washington you can view Senator Cantwell's page, Congressman Dave Reichert (who has been on YouTube since 2007 - kudos to Dave!)Doc Hastings and Jay Inslee.

Promoting transparency in government is definitely a change and one that can only lead to good things. Maybe this will encourage more companies to do the same. As we see more lawmakers using YouTube to post clips from their appearances on news channels such as CNN, maybe we'll see some of the rules change on YouTube as well since we all know that companies aren't currently allowed to post third party content with out permission from the news channel.

From the YouTube Channel:

"This is your backstage pass to the U.S. Senate, on YouTube. Find your Senator's YouTube channel by clicking on the map, or discover senatorial committee channels by clicking on Washington, D.C.The content in each Senator's YouTube channel is controlled by each Senate office. The Senate Hub is maintained by YouTube.com, as a way for you to engage directly with your Senators on YouTube."

Cutting out the middle man

Seattle PI's Big Blog: After a month of severe weather stories, the Washington Department of Transportation is getting public praise for the up-to-the-minute, multi-platform news updates it's been posting via Twitter, Flickr, YouTube and its own blog.

The Seattle Department of Transportation, the Secretary of State, King County and County Executive Ron Sims are among several others who have expanded the role of their public relations departments to create new content in online media.

It's worth a read: http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/159071.asp

Anyone Wanna Buy A Paper?

KING5: Seattle P-I to be sold or shut down
According to KING5, a source close to the deal says that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's owner, Hearst Corporation, will announce, as soon as tomorrow, that it's putting the P-I up for sale.
For the latest on this story, go to http://www.seattletimes.com

60 New York Times Reporters on Twitter

A couple weeks ago Rob posted a list of journalists to follow on Twitter. There may be some overlap but to add to his list check out this one from Stephan Davies who posts a list of over 60 journalists from the New York Times alone.