It would seem one of Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 8 ads is a little more than some viewers can stomach, prompting the company to pull the ad from its Better Browser site and YouTube Channel. Microsoft’s explanation: “While much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it.”
We wrote yesterday that the association violent illness and one’s product launch might be ill conceived. The ads, created by Indiana firm Bradley and Montgomery and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, feature Dean Cain spoofing 1950s era infomercials while touting the features of Microsoft's new browser. But this one, employing a too-disgusting-to-mention porn site and projectile vomiting to make its point, made some people gag. Literally.
The video made the rounds on the Web yesterday; by mid afternoon, comments on the YouTube page were mounting, while journalists and bloggers linked the video all across the Internet. So while we’ll leave it to you call this ad what you will (comments we heard ranged from “insipid,” to “brilliant”) we’re not sure we can call it unsuccessful.
Just two weeks after launch, in measuring its success, Hunch has determined that its decision engine has had, well, measured success. According to a blog post by co-founder Chris Dixon, Hunch is doing "pretty well, although we still have a ways to go."
Hunch answers users' questions by asking the user more questions. For instance, you can ask anything from "what author should I read?" to "what is my bedroom personality?" Hunch then asks you a short series of questions, comparing your responses to others' and narrowing the possible field of outcomes until it comes up with a series of prioritized answers or recommendations.
Hunch has created its own metric, which measures the number of times users click "Yes" to one of the top three results without clicking "No" to any of the others. When the site launched in beta with 500 topics, the success rate was about 70%. Since going public, the site is up to 3,500 topics with a success rate of 81%, not too shabby for two weeks' work. In those two weeks, the site has seen 1.6 million topic plays and received 1.3 million feedbacks, enough data that Dixon feels confident in the numbers.
Hunch also allows users to create a profile on which they can answer questions about nothing in particular, allowing the site to create a profile of preferences and tastes, helping the engine hone its recommendations further. So far, users have answered 20 million of these questions and offered 3.8 million feedbacks on the 63,000 results currently in the system. As Dixon points out, that's about 62 feedbacks per result, indicating a good deal of user engagement with the site.
Hunch also launched a new prioritizing feature that allows you to indicate a preference when you can't have it both ways. For instance, when asked "What's the best watch for me?" Hunch counters by asking what price you're willing to pay and if you want a watch that's simply functional, sporty, or elegant. If you choose "under $40" and "elegant," Hunch can't reconcile the two, so it asks which is more important to you, elegance or price?
Keeping in mind that the more results it generates, the more precise the engine becomes, the numbers suggest Hunch is off to a strong start. The goal, Dixon says, is a 95% or better success rate. We have a strong feeling Hunch just might get there.
After laying off 30% of its U.S. work force and gutting its overseas operations, MySpace's leadership promised radical change, and it seems that change is finally here. In an effort to reverse declining viewership, boost advertising revenue, and recast its image as the social network of choice, MySpace has (cue the drumroll) changed its logo ever so slightly. The tagline "a place for friends" was removed from the site's logo late yesterday. Now, it's simply MySpace (the old logo is below).
Why did MySpace do this? It's not saying, of course. In fact, it hasn't even confirmed that the logo has changed. But as Michael Arrington pointed out on TechCrunch, at least there's still someone answering the phone at MySpace HQ.
The site recently engaged in a major push to recruit new users. A massive pop-up not so subtly encourages users to log into their email accounts and spam their contact lists with invites to MySpace, and the "People You May Know" widget was added to every home page. TechCrunch also reported an unconfirmed rumor that some of the least-sightly ad units will be removed from the site today, though it's unclear if MySpace is trying to clean up its cluttered interface, or if there are simply no advertisers to fill the space. For the sake of its remaining staff, here's hoping the company can right the ship before another mass-defriending is necessary.
Would you take a Prius over a Porsche? An Escape over an Escalade? Global research firm Synovate asked more than 13,500 people in 18 global markets if--given that money is not an object--they would purchase a "dream" car or a "green" car. Six of 10 people said they would take the green car. But the deciding factors tended to be more economical than ecological.
Across the board, if money was no object, 37% of those surveyed said a green car would be preferable to a dream car, while 22% claimed their dream car is a green car. Just 30% said they would take a gas-guzzling dream car over a more eco-friendly one. But those pushing for green cars didn't come from lands of climate change bills or EU energy summits. Thailand (77%), Korea (76%), China (75%) and Brazil (72%) showed some of the strongest support for green automobiles, while only 42% of U.S. respondents took the green option (though only 35% said they would buy the dream car).
Incidentally, China offers economic incentives for manufacturers of green vehicles and the citizens who buy them, and Brazil gives buyers of eco-friendly cars a break as well. For Koreans, the government doesn't even have to offer a tax break. According to Synovate, Koreans see eco-friendly cars as more fuel-efficient, and the cost savings of driving a car that burns less fuel is incentive enough.
The dreamers, predictably enough, come from places where an aspirational, upwardly mobile middle class is emerging. Over half of South African respondents would take the dream car, as would almost half of Indians.
The data shows environmental concerns play a role in consumer decisions, but economic concerns still trump, suggesting tax incentives for manufacturers and consumers of green cars can pay ecological dividends. But perhaps more importantly, the survey indicates the global collective consciousness is attuned to the challenges ahead and warming to ecologically responsible lifestyle choices. That's a global warming we can all get behind.
A lot has been said about Microsoft's advertising over the past year, both good and bad. But a new batch of ads for Internet Explorer 8 has elicited a response unvoiced up to this point: Blechh! The ads, created by agency Bradley and Montgomery and starring former TV Superman Dean Cain, are based upon the notion that making silly acronyms out of various Web surfing behaviors is both funny and a good way to promote a Web browser.
For instance, take this humorous swipe at those who dispense unwanted Web arcana:
Mildly entertaining, even if "lolcats" ceased being funny around the time I Can Has Cheezburger? was published in print. Most people can relate, at least, and relating seems to be the gist of the campaign, as evidenced by two other ads in the same series poking fun at Internet addicts and old people.
But Microsoft literally made us gag with this one, which sells IE8 based on the idea that you don't want to know what your spouse has been looking at on the Internet. (Note: do not watch this while eating.)
As hard as it is to say, Microsoft may have been better off with the nonsensical, non-product-pushing Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates ads than with these. At least Seinfeld's face conjures warm memories of laughter past rather than what we ate for breakfast.
With the odd exception here and there, commenters on YouTube seem less than thrilled with the campaign as well:
When Barnes & Noble scooped up e-book seller Fictionwise.com--owner of eReader.com and eBookwise.com--back in March, the company said the purchase was part of an overall digital strategy that would culminate with the launch of its own e-book seller later this year. While B&N didn't elaborate further on its digital strategy, part of it came to light this week when eReader changed its pricing to match the price of books for Amazon's Kindle e-reader.
Previously, there was no standing pricing for the books in the eReader store; the prices were as variable as those at a brick-and-mortar retailer. Now, all new e-books sold on the site will be $9.95 or less (and no book will be more than $12.95). Amazon already offers its e-books, old and new, bestseller or obscure, at a single $9.99 price point, making them cheaper than the average hardcover at a bookstore.
As Fast Company contributing writer Adam L. Penenberg wrote in this month's cover story, Amazon is redefining the cost of a book in readers' minds, forcing other e-book sellers to follow suit and in turn forcing publishers to play ball. Publishers are still trying to get as money much as they can from e-book sales, and Amazon loses money on many of its $9.99 titles (paying publishers as much as $12 or $13 for some titles). B&N's new pricing indicates that Amazon is dictating to everyone else what an e-book should cost, much the way Apple defined the price point for digital music.
A behemoth like B&N can afford to jump into the game of losing money now to make money later, but smaller start-ups will have a hard time undercutting Amazon's pricing by cutting deals with publishers. Thus, B&N's concession to Amazon's pricing structure could mark the beginning of a brave new world in e-books, one ruled by the dictates of Amazon. Once readers have it in their heads that an e-book is worth ten bucks and no more, everyone from publishers to writers to competitors like B&N are going to have to bend to that price. It would seem that paradigm shift is already underway.
Dell has been developing an Android-powered mobile device similar to the iPod Touch that runs apps, allows Internet access, and plays various media while fitting comfortably in your hip pocket. But as PC manufacturers and cell phone makers work their way toward the middle in the burgeoning smartphone and netbook markets, the question is, why?
The Wall Street Journalreports the device is slightly larger than an iPod touch, will run on Google's Android operating system, absolutely does not make phone calls, and could be on the market later this year. That is, if it comes to market at all. The WSJ's "people familiar with the company's plans" have acknowledged the device could be delayed or scrapped altogether in the meantime, a move that might prove prudent for Dell.
Why? For one, Nokia has already made three such attempts at trapping some of the perceived market between media players, cell phones, and computers, none of which ever gained any legs. While the success of the iPod Touch proves there is something of a market for pocket media players that are Internet-capable, the degree to which smartphones have progressed and proliferated since the iPod Touch hit the market, coupled with the emergence of netbooks, has taken the edge off of that space.
There's also the fact that Dell is extremely late to the party. The idea that Dell (whose original designs for smartphones were rejected by carriers for being less than sexy) is going to pull the rug out from under Apple and Microsoft's upcoming ZuneHD isn't easy to swallow either. The iPod brand is deeply entrenched in the portable multimedia player space, and Microsoft isn't going to simply hand over any market gains it's made against its arch-nemesis.
But the bottom line is that smartphones that perform all the functions of a mobile Internet device as well as the functions of a phone are becoming more ubiquitous (and cheaper) every day. Dell is currently working on a fresh batch of Android-powered smartphones, a move that could prove far more lucrative in the long run. Spending R&D resources to get more Android-enabled smartphones to market before the end of the year rather than pushing into a space that's slowly being absorbed upward anyhow just seems, well, smarter. Wouldn't a smartbook be even wiser?
Egos at Amazon must be riding high this month. The retailer sold out of its flagship product, the Kindle DX, not once but twice. Then, to cap it all off, this morning investment research and banking firm Cowen and Company called Amazon a "next generation Wal-Mart."
Analyst Jim Friedland wrote in a research note: "In our view, Amazon is a next-generation Wal-Mart, and we believe the company's focus on lower prices and a superior shopping experience versus online and offline competitors will result in substantial share gains over time."
The reasons for Cowen's vote of confidence are numerous, citing greater penetration in non-media categories, more orders per customer resulting from Amazon Prime (a discount shopping program) and the ability to reinvest profits (a la Wal-Mart) from higher margin revenue sources into lower prices across the board. The report notes that Wal-Mart has 7.7% of U.S. retail share, while Amazon owns only 0.3%. That's a lot of room to grow.
Friedland was particularly impressed by Amazon's positioning as a result of the Kindle's success. The company estimates Amazon will sell 900,000 this year and 1.4 million next year. By 2013, Kindle penetration could reach 10% of Amazon's customer base, or 2% of the U.S. population, the report says.
So is Amazon on the way to Wal-Mart-like highs? Much like Wal-Mart, Amazon's growth potential stems from its ability to sell everything from Kindles and MP3s to patio furniture and kitchenware, and to do so at very competitive prices. A recent push into private label products suggests Amazon has its eye on those non-media categories, and the immediate availability of many Amazon products, its easy searchability, and its investment in customer service lend it a competitive advantage over both online and brick-and-mortar rivals. Much as Wal-Mart redefined the retail model over the past three decades, Amazon may rewrite the book for the Internet age.
Without explanation or details, the Chinese government has suspended the enforcement of the new rule mandating that Web filtering software, known as Green Dam Youth Escort, be included with every computer sold in that country. The rule was scheduled to go into effect tomorrow, ostensibly to keep pornographic material from reaching Chinese youth.
The rule drew the ire of free speech groups, foreign governments, and American computer manufacturers Dell and Hewlett-Packard in recent weeks, as many see the mandate as a thinly veiled attempt to stifle free speech and censor politically sensitive material. A California software maker added a new wrinkle to the controversy when it claimed the Green Dam software included pirated programming code from its own parental monitoring software. But Chinese officials stood firm, and U.S. manufacturers were scrambling to comply during the last week.
The suspension of the rule could be a sign that Chinese officials are softening their stance, but more likely the state is concerned about several security flaws detected within the Green Dam software that could make Chinese networks vulnerable to cyber attacks. The government has not said how long enforcement of the rule will be delayed.
Want to know if there's construction in the Midtown Tunnel, or to track the spending of federal stimulus dollars on projects in the Five Boroughs? Check your iPhone. At least that's what Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes you'll do. Bloomberg, making good on a promise of increased civic transparency for New Yorkers, initiated an annual contest this morning awarding cash prizes to Web developers that create innovative Internet and mobile applications using city data.
The Big Apps contest will work through the recently announced ".nyc" domain, where all public city data will eventually be housed in a machine-readable format. Once the site is operational (sometime next year), developers will be able to connect to the data.nyc portal to update their apps with the freshest available data streaming in from all city agencies.
"What we're trying to do here is create the connectedness that will benefit the city economically, civically and socially," Bloomberg told attendees of the Personal Democracy Forum, a conference on the intersection between technology and politics. Bloomberg wasn't able to attend the conference, but his presence was beamed to New York City's Lincoln Center via Skype.
The amount of data coming out of New York City agencies is fairly tremendous, so there's a lot of creative room for developers to play with possibilities. Developers have already created apps that provide transit maps and service updates for NYC trains and buses. But what about interactive maps that keep drivers up to date on street/lane closures and repairs or quick statistical snapshots of taxation and property values in different neighborhoods around the city? Or perhaps real time traffic data that syncs with Google maps? Or, to use Bloomberg's example, what about a mobile app that taps into the report cards the health department keeps on city restaurants? That could come in handy for the grand-prize winner, who has been promised a dinner on the town with Bloomberg himself.
After 
The site recently engaged in a major push to recruit new users. A massive pop-up not so subtly encourages users to log into their email accounts and spam their contact lists with invites to MySpace, and the "People You May Know" widget was added to every home page. TechCrunch also reported an unconfirmed rumor that some of the least-sightly ad units will be removed from the site today, though it's unclear if MySpace is trying to clean up its cluttered interface, or if there are simply no advertisers to fill the space. For the sake of its remaining staff, here's hoping the company can right the ship before another mass-defriending is necessary.
Across the board, if money was no object, 37% of those surveyed said a green car would be preferable to a dream car, while 22% claimed their dream car is a green car. Just 30% said they would take a gas-guzzling dream car over a more eco-friendly one. But those pushing for green cars didn't come from lands of climate change bills or EU energy summits. Thailand (77%), Korea (76%), China (75%) and Brazil (72%) showed some of the strongest support for green automobiles, while only 42% of U.S. respondents took the green option (though only 35% said they would buy the dream car).
The data shows environmental concerns play a role in consumer decisions, but economic concerns still trump, suggesting tax incentives for manufacturers and consumers of green cars can pay ecological dividends. But perhaps more importantly, the survey indicates the global collective consciousness is attuned to the challenges ahead and warming to ecologically responsible lifestyle choices. That's a global warming we can all get behind.
Previously, there was no standing pricing for the books in the eReader store; the prices were as variable as those at a brick-and-mortar retailer. Now, all new e-books sold on the site will be $9.95 or less (and no book will be more than $12.95). Amazon already offers its e-books, old and new, bestseller or obscure, at a single $9.99 price point, making them cheaper than the average hardcover at a bookstore.
The Wall Street Journal 
There's also the fact that Dell is extremely late to the party. The idea that Dell (whose original designs for smartphones were rejected by carriers for being less than sexy) is going to pull the rug out from under Apple and Microsoft's upcoming ZuneHD isn't easy to swallow either. The iPod brand is deeply entrenched in the portable multimedia player space, and Microsoft isn't going to simply hand over any market gains it's made against its arch-nemesis.
Without explanation or details, the Chinese government has suspended the enforcement of the 
Want to know if there's construction in the Midtown Tunnel, or to track the spending of federal stimulus dollars on projects in the Five Boroughs? Check your iPhone. At least that's what Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes you'll do. Bloomberg, making good on a promise of increased civic transparency for New Yorkers, initiated an annual contest this morning awarding cash prizes to Web developers that create innovative Internet and mobile applications using city data.
"What we're trying to do here is create the connectedness that will benefit the city economically, civically and socially," Bloomberg told attendees of the Personal Democracy Forum, a conference on the intersection between technology and politics. Bloomberg wasn't able to attend the conference, but his presence was beamed to New York City's Lincoln Center via Skype.
