Archive for February, 2007

� Search for “Internet Marketing Consultant” in Google USA - Personalized Search Off.� � I also saw it for another search or two (as I reproduce it, I’ll post the queries) These are in the sponsored links on the right side.� Probably a temporary glitch, but very odd.

 

 

 

 

Well, if you’re going to be in Lexington between Feb 19th and Feb 23rd, you can take part in University of Kentucky’s Geek Week, being put on by the College of Arts and Sciences.� � � After you pick up some shwag, you can take part in any number of events, here are a few:

� Monday, February 19, Patio/Plaza Main Building, Noon-1p.m.� Kickoff: “Got Geek” with the Arts and Sciences Ambassadors. Also featuring “Paws and Listen,” a Step Show and the UK Wildcat, Scratch. T-shirts, programs, book jacket posters & refreshments.

Monday, February 19, 230 Student Center, 3p.m.-4p.m.� Panel Discussion based on the highly acclaimed book, “Lost Mountain” written by Dr. Erik Reece, UK English Department. Panelists include: Dr. Erik Reece, English, Dr. James Krupa, Biology and Dr. Thomas G. Barnes, Forestry.

Tuesday, February 20, Room, 230 Student Center, 3p.m. to 4p.m� Panel Discussion with Bobbie Ann Mason, UK Writer in Residence and Dr. Suketu Bhavsar, from the UK Department of Physics and Astronomy. Together they will discuss topics such as “dark energy” and “string theory” and how these topics were researched for use in her fiction book entitled, AN ATOMIC ROMANCE.

Wednesday, February 21, Recital Hall, UK Singletary Center for the Arts, 7p.m.� Keynote Speaker: Dr. Kim Edwards, UK English Department and author of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. A Reception will immediately follow the reading in the east lobby of the UK Center for the Arts.

Thursday, February 22, Room 230 Student Center, 2p.m.-3:30p.m. Presented by: UK Japan Studies Program, the History Department with the support of the Dean of Arts and Sciences and the UK Asia Center.� Speaker: Dr. Sayuri Shimizu, Michigan State University “Transpacific Baseball: Baseball in U.S.-Japan Relations before WWII.” Professor Shimizu argues that, “the diffusion of America’s national pastime in Japan became possible through the manifold forces of globalization that began to shape the contour of U. S.-Japan relations in the late 19th century. More than a story of an American cultural form being transmitted across the Pacific, the spread of baseball highlights an intersection of modern technology, the movement of ideas and aspirations, institution-building, and human networks.”

Thursday, February 22, President’s room, Singletary Center, 4p.m.-5p.m.� Speaker: Caroline Weber “Marie Antoinette: Queen of Fashion” Caroline Weber will speak on the importance of fashion and the role it played in the politics and culture of Marie Antoinette’s reign at the French court of Louis XVI. She will also discuss the current film directed by Sophia Coppola, Marie Antoinette.

Thursday, February 22, Room 303 Slone Building, Lecture Hall, 4 p.m.-5p.m. Speaker: Professor Allen Dennis, University of South Carolina-Aiken. Title: “Breaking Up Isn’t Hard To Do: Terrane Dispersal in the Central Appalachians” Hosted by the A&S Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Friday, February 23, 6:00PM, Room 153, Chemistry-Physics Building “Reading Bones” with Dr. Jim Krupa of the A&S Biology Department Just like current TV shows, come and see how you can look at bones and read them. By reading them one can determine what the animal ate, where it lived, how it moved, etc. We can read the animal’s ecology and behavior right off the bones…actually, mostly from skulls! Find out what indicates a creature is an herbivore, carnivore, predator, omnivore, fish eater, grass eater, bone crusher, etc. This will really be a lot of fun.

Friday, February 23, 7:15PM: Room 139, Chemistry-Physics Building CHEMICAL REACTION ATTRACTION, Professors Jim Holler and Jack Selegue with Mr. Ed Duhr. Description: Elephant toothpaste! Spontaneous combustion! Explosions large and small! The famous electric pickle! The Chernobyl� reaction!

Be sure to check their official website� for the full list and any last-minute changes.

Starbucks.com� now lets you design a branded t-shirt with your favorite drink printed right on the front.�

“It’s all about personalization and individuality,” says Tricia Moriarty, spokesperson for Starbucks Coffee Co. “It’s a fun and interesting way to communicate our beverage choices.”� � � Starbucks has more than 5,000 drink combinations. The campaign is designed to ease the intimidation factor of ordering a beverage and get customers to try something new, Moriarty told Amy Johannes.

Perhaps… but for me, I’ve decided to make one for my favorite independent coffee shop (pictured.)

But seriously… let’s think about a crowded Starbucks on a typical weekday morning.� So when they ask what’ll you have, you just…

• put down your laptop bag
• unzip your coat
• unzip your sweater
• open your sweater
• tell the guy behind you to shut the hell up, you’re ordering your drink.
• show the barista, who will need to step on tippie toes to read it around all of the CD displays.
• turn a little so they can see it in the light a little better.
• zip up your sweater.
• zip up your coat.
• get your laptop bag.� Oh wait, where’s my damn laptop!!!!???
• Don’t you want your coffeeeee?

I applaud their cool idea, but they gotta expect guys like me to make fun of it.

I� multi-task a bit too much for the new animated avatars and their little digital timers.� They are� left� wondering why I haven’t clicked on them in the past “x”� seconds and start their banter� “I can’t help but� notice that you’ve not clicked on anything yet.” says the guy from the� UPS Whiteboard site.� I didn’t make a choice for a while and he got all fidgety.� He takes a cell phone call.� � Then eventually starts to juggle…� this guy is seriously bored waiting on me.� � Hey man!� I’ll be there in a bloody minute!� � While the UPS guy was polite about the whole waiting thing, the gal at msdewey.com was downright annoying!� I never want to hear her whiney voice again.� � Hey, perhaps we could get Ms. Dewey and the UPS guy together to go out for a night on the town together while we get a little work done?

Is this the start of the age of annoying avatars?� � � The sitepal� avatars were just plain creepy - the way they follow your mouse around.� I thought they were going to be a short-lived fad, but now we have these young comedians popping up.� The whiteboard navigation concept is sticky, though - and I feel pretty confident that you can transfer a lot of information in a short amount of time that way.� � I am even considering the purchase of an electronic whiteboard so I can make screen recordings of whiteboard sessions without having to use my little 8×10 tablet.� Perhaps I’ll set up an ebay search for it.

Hey, perhaps someone could make a browser toolbar or Firefox extension called the “Duct Tape” toolbar.� With it, you simply “tear off” a virtual length of tape and stick it on the avatar’s mouth while you continue moving over the website.� There, that’s better.� Hey, haven’t you clicked on a new post to read yet?�

I’m setting up a list of feeds created as output from Yahoo Pipes. Have you managed to make it do some great tricks? Got a collection of awesome feeds that do something special? Let me know and you can be included! No adult, hate, etc. etc. feeds. Once I have a decent set, I’ll publish the OPML for everyone to check out. Your feed must be created as output from Yahoo Pipes, and combine at least a few interesting things to be included. Post your feed in the comments - spammers cheerfully ignored.

The list so far….

Daniel Raffel - All of the Official Yahoo Blogs.
TKaiser - All the Official Google Blogs

SeoBrien� sends us:
Online Commerce blog mashup
Search Marketing blog mashup
Search Marketing in Spanish (uses Babelfish)
Online Commerce in German (uses Babelfish)

• your pipe here!

How’d you like to see just about every smart Internet marketing blogger that exists in one great list?� Well, just fire up the over 300 blogs on the Search Marketing Blogs list at TopRank Marketing and you’ll give your RSS reader a real workout.� I’ve found a mixed bag of content, but overall, pretty damn good.� There’s an OPML and text� version so you can load them into your reader.� I may post my faves from this list sometime, but for now, I’m still sampling the whisky.� � I’ve narrowed it to active, interesting bloggers without regard to their “stature” (A-list, etc.) and am going to let it sit a while before I pass too many judgements.