Internet Pro News

November 30th, 2009

LA Times Show Real Transparency With New Social Media Guidelines

The LA Times has updated their social media guidelines for their journalists and there is the usual ruckus about everyone being too restrictive. Originally written in March of this year the update makes sense since the 8 months or so that have passed since the first take is like a lifetime in the social media world. In fact, the real story here may be that the LA Times hasn’t taken a ‘set it and forget it’ approach to their social media guidelines so please take note everybody.

Editor & Publisher and the Huffington Post are both talking about the updates. Interestingly enough, I heard about it from @michacha101 who is one of those people that I have no idea why I follow on Twitter but have gained value from doing so. Having said that (and given them a plug) I am learning more about the openness of the social media environment and the value that can be taken from it. Journalists drool over this kind of exposure and availability of information. Trouble is that for the sake of ‘objectivity’ or ‘political correctness or whatever there will always be rules and regs that restrict just how effective the medium can be.

November 16th, 2009

Facebook Helps An Innocent Man Go Free

Usually, when we see Facebook and arrest in a story, the story is filed under The World’s Dumbest Criminals. Like the guy that made fun of his DUI charges by posting pictures of himself in a jailbird costume. Or the burglar who logged into his Facebook account at the victim’s home. Or the woman who violated a restraining order by poking her victim.

But this time, Facebook is finally saving someone’s bacon. Or, oddly enough, his pancakes. As the New York Times says,

November 2nd, 2009

Google Adds New Music Search To The Mix

What’s the name of that song?

You know the one. They play it a lot at NC State football games?

C’mon, you know it. “Boom, here comes the boom….”

No?

Forget it! I’ll Google it instead!

October 19th, 2009

Saving Your Blog From The FTC

One of the big discussions both here at Blogworld Expo and in the blogosphere in general is the implication of the new Federal Trade Commission’s new regulations for online advertising practices from the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

October 5th, 2009

Facebook Creates Easier Website Ad Managing

I have to give the folks at Facebook credit. They keep grinding forward with news that is relevant to making money and providing a better service for marketers. Earlier this year everyone wanted to throw the whole Facebook thing in the center of the ring and stone it to death. They couldn’t do anything right ranging from redesign issues to terms of service debacles. Now Justin Smith of Inside Facebook is reporting that a new API for the Facebook ad platform is being rolled out to a few agencies and could be out in the general Facebook population very soon.

September 21st, 2009

Do Newspapers Need A Bail Out Or Restructuring?

Over on “the hill” a blog news site comes news that there is a newspaper tax bailout bill being seriously proposed in Washington. Newspapers do not need a bailout bill; they need to restructure to meet the needs of the new way of doing things.

Much like buggy whips, assembly before the assembly line, the introduction of the steel belted radial tire, we have allowed companies to fail. This sudden and disturbing interest in bailing out companies so that they can continue on with their old business models that do not fit where technology and society is going is going to fry innovation in its tracks. Sorry, while I like the New York Times and the Seattle Times, it was not a big loss to me to lose the Seattle PI, the Rocky Mountain News or other newspapers that have shutdown or gone out of business.

September 8th, 2009

AOL Picking Up Big Names Amid Time Warner Spin Off

AOL has made some waves this year that have mostly centered on the people that are coming on board rather than services that will turn the companies fortunes to the plus side. Tim Armstrong has come over from Google and injected a sense of purpose and urgency (one would guess) as the unit of Time Warner speeds towards its spin off which occur later this year.

As further evidence that Armstrong is trying to get the right people on the bus he has hired Brad Garlinghouse to head up the Internet and Mobile Communications operations of AOL’s business. According to Om Malik of GigaOm, Garlinghouse will have some pretty serious responsibilities especially when one considers that this is the once might AOL being talked about here.

August 24th, 2009

How To Valuate And Purchase Internet Domains

Buying domains can be a tricky issue. A crucial factor in the success of an online start up is a fantastic domain name. It is easy for people to remember and link to the site. Domain names should be easy to spell, easy to say and have a .com extension.

If the domain name aptly represents the industry or niche it does business in, it can get direct traffic where users type it into the address bar and reach the site. It also represents your company in cyberspace and is the first port of call online.

There are two tricky issue involved in the buying of domains. The first is that you cannot use comparable sales figures (as in the case of real estate). The second is the intrinsic value of the domain name itself (as in the case of vehicle, jewellery etc). These are intangibles and cannot be used as bargaining chips at the negotiating table.