Voter Turnout

Perhaps more people would vote if the political candidates were on Dancing with the Stars.

LOLCats: Um Why Didn't I Think of That?

I recently read an article about the phenomenal success of Seattle-based I Can Has Cheezburger and asked myself why didn't I think of that? Probably because I don't think pictures of cats are funny. But who cares what I think. These guys told CNET that they will reach one billion page in 2008. What an amazing success story!

Wave of the Future: A Press Release Machine?

One of my colleagues had the brilliant idea of creating a do-it-yourself press release generating machine. It's really a great idea and one that could save start-ups time and money. The entrepreneur types in two or three sentences with the actual news like "new CEO" or "$12 million in venture funding" then the machine adds in words like fast-growing, momentum, leverage, etc. and minutes later spits out a ready to go press release. Ok so maybe the idea is a bit over the top. Although I do believe that press releases are on their way out and what we'll see in the future is news being communicated via short, succinct blog posts with links to all relevant data. Here's a great example from Google.

Why Can't I Get Parking Spot at The Mall?

The Conference Board released new data yesterday - U.S. consumer confidence plummeted to its lowest level on record this month. Businessweek reports that "consumers are extremely pessimistic." Consumers expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months surged to 36.6 percent from 21.0 percent. So can someone please tell me why the malls (at least in my local Seattle area) are still packed? If people are so depressed about the economy and afraid they will lose their jobs what are they doing shopping? Perhaps all the parking spots are being taken up by mall walkers or those resorting to meals at the food courts? It will be interesting to see what holiday shopping season brings and if we'll see the crazy post-thanksgiving shopping stampedes this year.

Straight Talk Express For Agencies

Should you fire your marketing agency? Great article from Clay McDaniel at Spring Creek Group with five key questions to ask. My favorite: "Do you know how I make money?" Especially in today's economy your marketing agency should understand what makes your company successful and what impact their work has on your bottom line.

The Power of Mommy Bloggers

Mom Central distributed a study last week titled "Illuminating the Power of MomBloggers." The report cites the power and influence of mommy bloggers on brands. Interesting facts from their press release:

- 96% of Moms value recommendations they find on Mom Blogs
- Over 78% of Mom Bloggers now review products and services
- 94% of Moms rely on other Moms to make purchasing decisions

Which mommy blogs are most influential? How do they work with brands? I'm putting together a list of the top mommy blogs and will be posting that soon.

Social Networks Now Mainstream

AdWeek reports that Forrester is out with new research today showing significant growth for social media. Their poll shows that 75 percent of Internet users participate in some form of social media, up from 56 percent in 2007.

Great list of social media conferences

Check out this list of social media events and conferences from Mashable. Another good place to find shows in the e-commerce, online advertising space is Internet Retailer. I'll be posting a compiled list here soon so stay tuned.