Dr. Horrible Isn't So Horrible

Dr Horrible

The Emmy is a television production award. One of the most honored awards to receive. How would a show that didn’t surf on the television air waves receive an Emmy you ask? For that answer, we’d have to ask Dr. Horrible. You see, his sing along blog (a contraction of the term web log) won an Emmy this year. His blog chronicles the failed misadventures in both his personal and business life. And as busy as his life is, it seems he doesn’t have the time to sit down and answer our questions as he contemplates his next move to guarantee a seat in

the Evil League of Evil.

Dr. Evil’s blog does have some professional production value at its back, but it does go to show that content does not need to be aired on TV to get viewers or recognition. It can be argued that the internet is just as a powerful medium for entertainment as the television is. With so much content available on the interwebs, users have a treasure trove of media at their fingertips.

Television stations recognize the reach the interwebs have on our daily lives and have made their programs available online as well. You can now watch most of the popular shows online at your convenience. The interwebs can also be a testing ground for new shows and concepts. Televisions stations may one day air test pilots on the interwebs as opposed to wasting precious TV air time. Marketing for a new show or pilot is considerably cheaper on the interwebs too, as opposed to on air advertisements. There have even been movies that were funded based upon

concepts and short films like Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. User created content such as vlogging (a contraction of the term video web logging) is another avenue of entertainment one can find on the interwebs. With sites like YouTube and Qikwhere users can broadcast to the world and the cost of admission is only a webcam, expect to see the next hit show come from the interwebs.

Dr. Evil’s evil show…http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog

Web Analytics

Data Analytics

It's a Sunday afternoon and you've taken a break for a moment to do some online shopping. You see a particular item that is in stock from the online store but you would like to check the availability of a store nearby so that you can try it on first. You search around and no such luck. The company does not maintain those records. It's as if the online store is a separate entity itself. Or what if you are obliviously looking at men’s clothing, but the online advertisements keep pushing ads focused on the female persuasion. Does the website know something you don’t know? I hope not! Out of frustration, you turn off your computer and go back about your usual business.

Unbeknownst to the store, they have just lost a sale and possibly future sales from you as well. What happened? You didn’t find what you were looking for and nothing the web site offered pertained to you? Say hello to web analytics. Web analytics, say hello to your customer.

Web analytics is the collection, measurement and analysis of internet data. The premise is simple; one database with real time evaluation and interaction. The single database stores all the information pertaining to the products sold as well as all the information it has on its customers. Based upon current web activity, the information is fed to a program that determines what is appropriate for the shopper. If a customer is searching for women’s tops, then offer relevant ads that actually might interest the customer. Show banner ads that are complimentary to what is current displayed on the page. The goal is simple; learn more about your customer’s spending habits and get them to spend more money. The end result, customer get more of what they want and the company takes a few more dollars out of their wallet.

Tweet Tweet

A list of various applications for use with Twitter...

GeoChirp: A Twitter and Google maps mashup that allows one to search for Twitter users with similar interests in any particular geography around the world.

Uses: Event organizers could search local twitterers with similar interests and send mass tweets. Think of it as walking the local streets and handing out flyers.

http://www.geochirp.com/

TwitPic: Enables users to share photos on Twitter. This is one of the more popular photo hosting tools on Twitter.

Uses: This tool has a wide spectrum of uses. Companies can publish photos of new products, marketing campaigns, and even local stores. People can publish photos of their vacation, their current locale, or even share pictures of their friends.

http://twitpic.com/

TweetFeed: Have your RSS Feeds automatically post to your Twitter account.

Uses: Users who may not have access to a computer but have their cell phone handy can still get their news and updates.

http://twitterfeed.com/

Tweetube: The video version of TwitPic. Enables users to share personal videos, YouTube videos, as well as photos.

Uses: From the obvious sharing of various moments to capturing crimes in action or recording a concert. This could also be seen as an extension to those who have a YouTube community.

http://www.tweetube.com/

TweetDeck: Unifies users MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. It also enables users to manage multiple Twitter accounts.

Uses: I for one use this personally. It allows me to update my Facebook status messages and manage my personal and professional Twitter accounts. Others may have different Twitter accounts specifically geared towards certain areas of interest.

http://tweetdeck.com/beta/

Ways To Use Twitter

After searching for hours furiously on the interwebs, it seems everyone has find a way to utilize Twitter to their advantage; some more obvious than others. I personally follow a wide variety of tweeters and marvel at their ingenuity.

The more obvious ones are those of the retail sales outlets. Customers who like their goods follow them for product updates, sales, or even store closings. As such, companies will reward these followers with advance notice of sales or even higher discounts at the mention of the tweet.

Dana White, the frontman and voice of the UFC organization will tweet about preliminary fight outcomes, upcoming events and current contract negotiations. He even tweets his whereabouts on fight nights where followers can find him and receive free tickets to that night’s events. Everybody likes things for free and it’s a great way to generate interest about the event and its organization.

One of the most inventive ways of using Twitter is tweeting live coverage as it happens. From gallop polls during the latest election to road closings due to the flooded streets from the heavy rainfall during this past week, you no longer have to be on the computer, listening to the radio, or watching the TV to get your news anymore. You are able to get your twitter updates from your phone; you essentially have the news in the palm your hands.

Twitter 101

From Twitter 101

5 Things To Know Before You Tweet

1. Tweet anything you want, as long as it’s 140 characters or less.

People tweet about their personal experiences and daily happenings in their lives. Companies tweet about updates, new products, or even promotions. Some use it to vent to the world, others to discuss what’s currently happening in the world.

2. Public or private?

Do you want the whole world to know what you’re tweeting? If not, you can make your profile private and only your followers will able to see your tweets.

3. @replies and mentions

@replies is when someone is replying to or directing a tweet to you. Mentions are when tweets contain your user name within them.

4. Direct Message

This is a private message that is sent to you and only you can see, no matter if your profile is public or private.

5. Following & Followers

You may follow anybody you like, friends, family, companies, or even news outlets. Anybody may follow you as well, though you have more control on this end. You may block anyone who you do not want to follow you.

Opera Web Browser

Opera

Their mission is simple..."to develop a superior Internet browser for our users through state-of-the-art technology, innovation, leadership and partnerships."

What they’ve done is tackle almost every front where the internet can be accessed. Their browser supports Linux, Mac, or Widow’s based computers. They have also extended their range to the mobile market where cell-phones can run Opera mobile or Opera Mini. They even have a browser for the Nintendo Wii and DSi.

Opera offers many features for its browsers which include tabbed browsing, pop-up blockers, fraud protection, a download manager, web feed aggregator and search bar. It is not merely a web browser though; Opera has their own social network as well as an internet portal. Their social network focuses on blogging and photo sharing within the community. Their internet portal is still in beta, but it allows you to setup and customize your own home page.

One of the latest and neatest developments that is still in development is Opera Unite. By utilizing a plug-in called “Services,” you are able to add web server capabilities to the browser. This allows you to host a site, stream media, and even allow file sharing. File sharing, thats a whole other topic.

Here is a quick blurb about Opera's Unite...

http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/Opera_Unite_Puts_a_Web_Server_in_Your_Web_Browser

I am a Wikipedia ninja!

Ok, so no, not really. I am not a ninja, let alone a Wikipedia ninja. What I have become is a contributor to the world of Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. And when I say anyone, I mean anyone who signs up to create an account and can click the 'edit' link. That is essentially how easy it is to make a change to an entry.

With such ease of access to make changes, one would assume that there is a lot of erroneous information on the site. It is up to other users to catch and edit those errors. As such, Wikipedia does not guarantee the validity of it's contents. So it stands to reason that using Wikipedia as a information should only be done with caution.

With that said, my personal experience with Wikipedia has been a fruitful and pleasant one. Resources and links are usually referenced so you can go to the acutal site where the information came from originally. One of my favorite cars is the S2000. It has won many accolades, too many to list in its 10 year production run. Looking through the list, it wasn't hard to find entries that could be added to its long list of reviews and awards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_S2000

S2000

Reality Augmented, For Your Viewing Pleasure

Imagine having the 411 on everything that was in your line of vision. You place your iPhone in front of you as you gaze into its display. You see a neon sign appear above the restaurant, in it appears the name of the restaurant, its hours of operations, maybe even coupons to entice you to come in and spend your hard earned dollars. You tap the sign to download the coupon into the phone to use at the restaurant. Sound too futuristic, too science fiction, or too good to be true. That day is upon us.

What has been labeled as the Information Age is about to enter a new era; The Augmented Reality Information Overload Age. Ok, so I made the name up. It does have a certain cache to it doesn’t it? With the compass, GPS, and accelerometer built into the current generation iPhone, it now knows where you are, at what speed you’re traveling, and in what direction you’re facing. With this information, it can create a virtual computer-generated (augmented) reality whose elements are merged with the real world environment that is captured on the screen on the iPhone. What you see is a mash of the real world with a computer generated layer on top. Examples can be seen below.

From Blogger

From Blogger

From Blogger

Imagine the possiblities of the different applications that could be implemented? With facial recognition software (assuming there is a national database) you could identitfy anyone you met through your phone. Depending on what that national database held, you may be able to find out their address, phone number, maybe even blood type. The display in the Terminator's head isn't looking so Sci-Fi anymore is it? Augmented reality applications coming soon to the App Store near you.

May The Force Be With You

I come from a relatively technical background with no business background at all. One of the most desired dreams for many Americans is to open their own business; to be their own boss, to work their own hours, to start from scratch. How many of them actually sit down and come up with a game plan? How many of them take an educated approach to deciding what the chances are of them surviving in a competitive marketplace?

Porter’s 5 Force Analysis model does just that. It takes a comprehensive approach to analyzing the current industry and building a foundation for a business strategy.

1. Threat of substitute

2. Barriers of Entry

3. Supplier Power

4. Buyer Power

5. Degree of Rivalry

From 5 Forces

Think about how unique your product is. Are there others like it? Why would someone choose your product over the competitors? What does it take to get started? How much capitol must be raised? Who are your suppliers? What kind of relationship would you have with them? Who are your buyers and distributors? And what happens when you fail? How easy is it to leave the market place? What assets do you have and how would you rid yourself of them?

It is said that nine out of ten businesses fail within the first five years. Those are staggering odds, but with due diligence, careful planning, and a solid business plan, you can build a solid foundation for your business.

The Jesus Phone

Apple's iPhone has gotten a lot of press since its introduction and is one of the most popular smart phone on the market today. There are many reasons for that; the intuitive operating system, the beautiful hardware design, and the App store.

These are the reasons that the University of Georgia's Masters of Internet Technology has chosen the iPhone as a focus for mobile web and application development. It's one of the reasons I am really excited about this program.

As enough time has passed to where I got bored with the iPhone, I started to hear about jailbreaking. Jailbreaking is essentially equivalent to hacking, just another term for it. It's a way to open a backdoor to the iPhone so that you can make changes to it. Please note that Apple strongly cautions against installing any software that hacks the iPhone OS. It is also important to note that unauthorized modification of the iPhone OS is a violation of the iPhone end-user license agreement and because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software.

With that said, one of the most beautiful elements of the iPhone is the graphical user interface (GUI) or lack thereof. You basically have pages upon pages of apps, placed in any order you wish as long as you can remember where they are on what page(most people list them in ABC order). What I've found is that you do not have to follow Apple's rules. You can essentially change the way the GUI is layed out. From the wallpaper, to the icons, to even the format of each individual page. Jailbreaking has also allowed me to peak into the file structure of the iPhone OS as well. I may not be able to see source code for the OS, but I am able to see the elements that make up the GUI and the different file types associated with each.

My current GUI on my iPhone.

From Whitoken

Jailbreaking is kind of like a grassroots approach to development and there is a huge underground community dedicated to such. Their extent reaches beyond just GUI enhancements to incredible apps that aren't offfered by Apple in the App store, data tethering for one.

A great place to start...http://www.iclarified.com/finder/index.php