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Our way of keeping you in the loop. You can thank us later.

November 4, 2010 • 4:15 PM 0

Target to sell iPhones to all


If you don’t own an iPhone yet, chances are, that if Apple hasn’t fixed the daylight-savings bug yet… you won’t over-sleep and miss your opportunity to be one of the first people to purchase one, at a Target store near you.

The Minneapolis-based discount retailer said its 846 stores with Target Mobile centers will carry the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS and offer in-store activation.

Just imagine… You’ll be able to buy toilet-paper, cereal, and an iPhone all at the same place.  Could you ask for anything more?

Filed under: Business, Tech, , , , , , , ,

September 6, 2010 • 10:23 PM 5

Facebook…coming soon to a brick & mortar near you…


So this isn’t breaking news per se, as it already happened, this past Sunday.  BUT, if you didn’t know about this, then…BREAKING NEWS!!

Facebook is officially making their foray into retail stores, by way of gift cards.

The new Facebook gift cards will be available in values of $15, $25 and $50 at all of Target’s 1,750 retail stores and at Target.com. Two or three more national retailers will start selling the cards in coming months.

I know people who like to play those ridiculous games, ie. Oregon Trail, Mafia Wars, and Farmville,..but had no idea that

More than 200 million people play free social games on Facebook each month, according to Facebook.

Or that

(And) many of them are beginning to spend money on premium goods and services associated with those games.

More power to Facebook, for finding new creative ways to get people to spend money on ridiculous crap.  If people are willing to shell out money to play these virtual games (when they could be doing real life things…I mean, farming?? Really, when was the last time you planted a bushel of corn?? Does corn come in bushels? Clearly I’ve never played Farmville, so excuse my lack of knowledge), then why not make it seem like it’s halfway normal…by making the payment in gift card form.

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Social Media, Tech, , , , , , ,

August 24, 2010 • 10:48 PM 2

Are you having second thoughts with Google?


Google Labs is testing a new feature in Gmail, which is basically like the ‘recall message’ function in Outlook.

[The] “undo” button on Gmail gives you 30 long seconds to stop an email from reaching your boss, your husband or your soon-to-be-former best friend.

Here are directions on how to add this feature.

FYI – I just added it – remember to change the settings from 10 seconds to 30 seconds!

Filed under: Business, Social Media, Tech, , , , ,

August 16, 2010 • 8:37 AM 1

You know you’ve been spoiled by technology if…


…any of these 21 warning signs speak to you.  They certainly made me laugh.

A few of my favorites:

I must admit, I do this often –

6. You can’t attend a meeting or go to dinner without hiding your BlackBerry under the table and secretly responding to e-mail. Worse, you don’t even care that other people wonder what the heck your thumbs are doing down there.

Haha.  If only…

10. Somebody cuts you off in traffic, and you immediately search your steering wheel for the ‘Thumbs-Down’ button. The good news: Even when you’re short on thumbs, you still have two middle fingers.

The rest of the signs are really funny.  I recommend you check them out!

Filed under: Business, Random, Tech, , , ,

August 16, 2010 • 7:15 AM 0

If you want to roll like a billionaire, ditch your cell phone


A few months ago, while at a convention for work, my iPhone was stolen.  My immediate reaction was shock and despair.  My phone contained my whole life, it was an extension of me.  Surprisingly though, after I accepted the fact that my phone was gone…I actually felt fine, great even.  Suddenly I was in control…. If I needed to get a hold of someone, it was under my terms.  If someone needed a question answered via text or email, they’d have to wait.

Not having a cell phone is a way of getting the world to run on your time. A lot of powerful people are already on to this. Warren Buffett doesn’t use one. Nor does Mikhail Prokhorov, the 45-year-old Russian billionaire who owns the New Jersey Nets. Tavis Smiley doesn’t own one, either.

While it was an interesting experience, to be without a phone…as soon as I returned home from my trip, I decided to buy another iPhone.

Who was I kidding?

Filed under: Business, Tech, , , , ,

August 10, 2010 • 8:30 AM 0

If they pick em (online ads), they will watch (so they hope).


Next month (September), in an attempt to make online ads less irritating, sites like like: MSNBC, Yahoo & Hulu, will let the consumer choose the ads they want to view.

The new ad-selecting tool is called ASq and may step up development of the $3.1 billion global video ads market, already online advertising’s fastest-growing segment. While it may not end unwelcome commercials for car insurance or weight-loss pills, it may help websites command higher rates while letting marketers attract more eyeballs and improve consumer targeting.

I’m anticipating a bunch of “superbowl” worthy online video ads…bring on the creative.

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Tech, World, , , , , , , ,

August 7, 2010 • 2:16 PM 1

If you’re a big brand, and haven’t registered your .co extension…you may be outta luck


To keep up with the influx of individuals and/or companies registering new URLs,  or the lack of options for smaller businesses….  allow me to introduce you the newest web domain: .co

If the extension seems a bit familiar, it was once used as the country domain of Colombia.  Now, it has officially become an alternative to dot-com.

The issue here has to do with cybersquatting.  I myself, was unsure of the term, so here’s a definition:

Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting), according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.

Although

Many companies—especially those with recognizable brands—were quick to reserve their own .co sites during a “sunrise” period before they became available to the general public on July 20.

A lot of really large companies, ignored the debut, and are now sort of in between a rock and a hard place.  They can either ignore the fact that someone has purchased a domain name with their trademarked brand, or they can contact the individual and try to get it back.

Gannett.co and GeneralDynamics.co are now in the hands of David Stone of Warrenton, Virginia.-based Assurance Agency Inc. Redskins.co and WashingtonCapitals.co also belong to registrants who have nothing to do with the sports teams.

I guess time will tell…

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Random, Tech, World, , , , , , ,

August 4, 2010 • 9:13 PM 1

If you can get movies in a vending machine, what’s so far-fetched about wine?


Two supermarkets in PA are going to test the ‘wine vending machine’ idea…if successful, 98 additional machines will be placed across the state.

How can this be legal?  What’s the catch?

After selecting your wine of choice, you insert your driver’s license into the machine (so that it can verify your age). Now, you may be thinking, like I was, that a computer within the vending machine would scan your license to verify age, like when you rent a movie at a Redbox, you scan your credit card, and it’s automatically charged. Well, if that’s what you were thinking, then you’re wrong.

Their identify is verified via video link by a member of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) who can see the customer in front of a camera installed in the kiosk.

This may be an interesting way to add jobs to the marketplace…

AND then

…customers must blow into a breathalyzer to make sure their breath-alcohol level is not more than 0.02, or just one-quarter the legal limit for driving. If it is, the sale will be denied.

I had no idea that the PA state government strictly controls the retail and whole alcoholic drink trade (apparently since 1933 – end of Prohibition), which makes it all the more strange that it is the first state to test this new concept.

Filed under: Business, Random, Tech, , , , , ,

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