Written on 8/16/2011 07:16:00 AM by Martha Ballesteros
I just came upon an article by TechCrunch entitled Androids Are For Cheap Pessimists, iPhones Are For Worldly Optimists. Didn't really think that one's phone can determine his or her personality, likes, and dislikes, as well as political affiliation.
Written on 4/15/2011 12:33:00 PM by Martha Ballesteros
If you have a Yahoo email account, you might have received an email notification about their upgrade. I upgraded a few hours ago and I think it's just OK. It lets you connect you account to your Facebook. Plus, the chat feature opens its own window. In the current version of Yahoo chat in your email, the chat just opens in another tab. With this feature why still bother to download Yahoo Messenger???
How about you? What do you think about Yahoo's latest mail interface.
Written on 2/14/2011 03:55:00 PM by Martha Ballesteros
First of all, Happy Valentines Day everyone!!! :)
It's been a while since I posted here. I would just like to share an informative and detailed video comparing a website or link's click-through rate (CTR) from Twitter and Facebook.
By Margaux Salcedo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 15:42:00 01/22/2011
GEORGIA opened a restaurant sometime between 2000 and 2010. It was received well by the public. It quickly gained popularity by word of mouth. Before long, the country’s most read newspaper (“balanced news, fearless views”) wrote about her, expanding her restaurant’s clientele even further.
One day, The (PR) Firm approached Georgia, telling her that she could increase her sales by three if she hired them. Georgia gently declined, saying that she had been lucky in receiving good reviews from the press. “But we can also help you through social media,” The Firm’s representative said. “We call this service ‘buzz creation’ or word-of-mouth generation,” the rep explained.
The Firm said that if hired for this service, they would invite bloggers to eat at Georgia’s restaurant and blog rave reviews. They would also create a restaurant Facebook page and make sure that a significant number would “Like” the resto’s page. When the resto would be featured in a blog, they would make sure that there are positive comments on that post.
To the dear readers who don’t blog, let me give a briefer. A blog is one’s online page. For example, I have a blog where I talk about my restaurant experiences; its URL (site address) is www.margauxlicious.blogspot.com. A blog works like a personal diary or notebook (you could name yours Minnie’s Musings or Trina’s Travels) but it is instantly published for the whole world to see (or not, i.e. you can also opt to keep your posts private).
Posts could be as mundane as snippets of a lazy day, as heavy as Manolo Quezon’s take on the Arroyo Administration, as hurtful as attacks on a woman’s Belo’d boobs. But soon enough blogs became so popular that otherwise private personalities became public figures and personal posts became practically public sites. Some food bloggers have become quite powerful in the sense that a post could draw a crowd to an otherwise neglected restaurant or drive customers away by ranting that the service, the soup or some such thing was terrible.
Food bloggers, especially, were revered as reliable sources because they were perceived to be independent of any influence, paying for their own meals and untouched by PR firms. Certain bloggers, like the Marketman (www.marketmanila.com) or Lori Baltazar (www.dessertcomesfirst.com) have worked hard to maintain this integrity.
But PR firms have caught on. Marketing is no longer limited to tri-media or traditional media, i.e., TV, radio and print. It now also extends to social or new media: a website, a Facebook page, mentions on Twitter, online directories and blogs. The Firm that approached Georgia told her that if she was willing, they would make sure that her restaurant got positive reviews on the Net. Still, Georgia declined, believing that she would succeed on her own merits.
A few days later, Big Bad Blogger ate at her restaurant. He smiled, ate like a regular blogger, took pictures with his ginormous SLR, and paid for his meal. He wrote a raving review about the restaurant. She thought it was a sincere review.
However, a few days after THAT, The Firm called Georgia again. “Have you seen Big Bad Blogger’s post?” they asked. Of course she had. “He works with us. We have an arrangement with him. We can make sure that more bloggers write about your restaurant the same way if you hire us.”
How much? Georgia asked. The price demanded: P120,000 a month for a year. “What?!” Georgia thought. “These guys are crazy.” And again she gently declined. They lowered the offer to P80,000. (That’s P80,000 per month x 12 months or P960,000; almost a million bucks.) Georgia still declined.
Cut to a year later when Georgia opened another restaurant. Big Bad Blogger visits. Again, he smiled, ate like a regular blogger, took pictures with his ginormous SLR, and paid for his meal. This time, though, he wrote a scathing review. A few days after that, The Firm called Georgia again. “Have you seen Big Bad Blogger’s post?” they asked. Of course she had. “He works with us. We can make sure he retracts his comments and clarifies that your restaurant is not bad but really good after all.” For the same price.
One can draw one’s own conclusions from this. Maybe Georgia is overreacting to a negative review. Maybe The Firm was only claiming to have relations with Big Bad Blogger for their own sinister purposes, unbeknownst to Big Bad Blogger. Or maybe the suspicions are true and Big Bad Blogger bows to the highest bidder. Whatever the case, one thing’s for sure: Georgia is now afraid of the blogging community. And this fear resonates among other restaurateurs who have had the same experience.
In fact, when I asked Georgia if I could name her, she pleaded not to be named, afraid that the blogger might retaliate: “They pretend to be unbiased and unpaid but they are now being used by PR firms.” She shared that for the launch of a dessert product, the PR firm invited bloggers and gave away Lomo cameras. “But they’re worse than traditional media,” Georgia continued, “because we never experienced that kind of extortion from food writers. What happens now is you have to pay the PR firm for your protection from these bloggers. The thing about blogs is that not a lot of people know that they are already becoming a PR arm.”
This is sad because the blogging community was that one last community that we could rely on for the truth (aside from the Sunday Inquirer Magazine, of course *wink*). Now while this is solely Georgia’s story, resonated by others who have likewise been approached by The Firm, for us writers, and especially for bloggers, it is likewise tragic, because it gives writing, in general, and blogging, in particular, a bad name.
There’s nothing wrong with expressing one’s opinion. Just make sure it is indeed your own. There is also nothing wrong with trying to get a free meal. Just please don’t make the rest of us writers and bloggers pay for it. Certainly neither writers nor restaurateurs have the right to tell the Big Bad Blogger or The Firm to stop doing business. This is just a little request to please not give blogging a bad name. We’re watching you. •
Though this expose has been informative to businesses, the consuming public, and netizens, this kind of bad publicity doesn't really help me and my fellow web/online marketers in the business. Not only does this lessen clients' confidence in us but also, put negative marks in Filipinos' global competitiveness.
On the brighter side, the article can also serve as a reminder for businesses to only look for reliable and competent marketing professionals, if they ever need one,and not just accept whoever offered to do the job.
Do some research, get the facts and figures straight, and don't be fooled by these con-artists/bloggers.
Written on 1/24/2011 12:40:00 PM by Martha Ballesteros
Word around the web is Google CEO Eric Schmidt will step down from his post effective April 4 2011. His successor will be Google co-founder Larry Page.
If you're thinking that Schmidt will totally be out of Google, well..you got it wrong. He'll still be around but, this time he'll assume the role of Executive Chairman. Schmidt will focus more on external deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach, as well as technological improvements. All of which are very essential for Google to maintain its leadership in the search engine industry.
You can also check out Eric Schmidt's Twitter account for direct updates.
An update from the Chairman
1/20/2011 01:01:00 PM
When I joined Google in 2001 I never imagined—even in my wildest dreams—that we would get as far, as fast as we have today. Search has quite literally changed people’s lives—increasing the collective sum of the world’s knowledge and revolutionizing advertising in the process. And our emerging businesses—display, Android, YouTube and Chrome—are on fire. Of course, like any successful organization we’ve had our fair share of good luck, but the entire team—now over 24,000 Googlers globally—deserves most of the credit.
And as our results today show, the outlook is bright. But as Google has grown, managing the business has become more complicated. So Larry, Sergey and I have been talking for a long time about how best to simplify our management structure and speed up decision making—and over the holidays we decided now was the right moment to make some changes to the way we are structured.
For the last 10 years, we have all been equally involved in making decisions. This triumvirate approach has real benefits in terms of shared wisdom, and we will continue to discuss the big decisions among the three of us. But we have also agreed to clarify our individual roles so there’s clear responsibility and accountability at the top of the company.
Larry will now lead product development and technology strategy, his greatest strengths, and starting from April 4 he will take charge of our day-to-day operations as Google’s Chief Executive Officer. In this new role I know he will merge Google’s technology and business vision brilliantly. I am enormously proud of my last decade as CEO, and I am certain that the next 10 years under Larry will be even better! Larry, in my clear opinion, is ready to lead.
Sergey has decided to devote his time and energy to strategic projects, in particular working on new products. His title will be Co-Founder. He’s an innovator and entrepreneur to the core, and this role suits him perfectly.
As Executive Chairman, I will focus wherever I can add the greatest value: externally, on the deals, partnerships, customers and broader business relationships, government outreach and technology thought leadership that are increasingly important given Google’s global reach; and internally as an advisor to Larry and Sergey.
From left to right - Eric, Larry and Sergey in a self-driving car in a photo taken earlier today
We are confident that this focus will serve Google and our users well in the future. Larry, Sergey and I have worked exceptionally closely together for over a decade—and we anticipate working together for a long time to come. As friends, co-workers and computer scientists we have a lot in common, most important of all a profound belief in the potential for technology to make the world a better place. We love Google—our people, our products and most of all the opportunity we have to improve the lives of millions of people around the world.
Written on 1/10/2011 12:59:00 PM by Martha Ballesteros
Over the weekend, there have been reports claiming that Mark Zuckerberg announced that he will shut down Facebook on March 15th. Here's where the "news" started,
PALO ALTO, CA –Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will be shut down in March. Managing the site has become too stressful.
“Facebook has gotten out of control,” said Zuckerberg in a press conference outside his Palo Alto office, “and the stress of managing this company has ruined my life. I need to put an end to all the madness.”
Zuckerberg went on to explain that starting March 15th, users will no longer be able to access their Facebook accounts.
“After March 15th the whole website shuts down,” said Avrat Humarthi, Vice President of Technical Affairs at Facebook. “So if you ever want to see your pictures again, I recommend you take them off the internet. You won’t be able to get them back once Facebook goes out of business.”
Zuckerberg said that the decision to shut down Facebook was difficult, but that he does not think people will be upset.
“I personally don’t think it’s a big deal,” he said in a private phone interview. “And to be honest, I think it’s for the better. Without Facebook, people will have to go outside and make real friends. That’s always a good thing.”
Some Facebook users were furious upon hearing the shocking news.
“What am I going to do without Facebook?” said Denise Bradshaw, a high school student from Indiana. “My life revolves around it. I’m on Facebook at least 10 hours a day. Now what am I going to do with all that free time?”
However, parents across the country have been experiencing a long anticipated sense of relief.
“I’m glad the Facebook nightmare is over,” said Jon Guttari, a single parent from Detroit. “Now my teenager’s face won’t be glued to a computer screen all day. Maybe I can even have a conversation with her.”
Those in the financial circuit are criticizing Zuckerberg for walking away from a multibillion dollar franchise. Facebook is currently ranked as one of the wealthiest businesses in the world, with economists estimating its value at around 7.9 billion.
But Zuckerberg remains unruffled by these accusations. He says he will stand by his decision to give Facebook the axe.
“I don’t care about the money,” said Zuckerberg. “I just want my old life back.”
The Facebook Corporation suggests that users remove all of their personal information from the website before March 15th. After that date, all photos, notes, links, and videos will be permanently erased.
In light of this rumor that alarmed a lot of people, here's the truth,
There’s a silly rumor exploding on the Internet this weekend, alleging that Facebook is shutting down on March 15 because CEO Mark Zuckerberg “wants his old life back,” and desires to “put an end to all the madness.”
[UPDATE] We have official confirmation from Facebook Director of Corporate Communications Larry Yu that the rumor is false. We asked him via e-mail if Facebook was shutting down on March 15, to which he responded, “The answer is no, so please help us put an end to this silliness.” He added, “We didn’t get the memo about shutting down and there’s lots to do, so we’ll just keep cranking away like always.”
Let’s think about this for a minute. Would Facebook decide to shut down the company just a few days after announcing a round of funding, consisting of $450 million from Goldman Sachs and $50 million from Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, on a valuation of $50 billion?
The spurious report was started by a site to which we refuse to link, known for its reports of impending attacks of alien spaceships and false reports of a Michelle Obama pregnancy.
The fact that this absurd hoax spread so efficiently makes us wonder: Will people believe anything?
I hope this clarified the silly rumor going around the web.
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