This blog is taking a summer vacation. I wish I could go with it!

Check back in Q4. Thanks.
 

I use Comcast for my high-speed Internet access, so I wasn't pleased to learn that Comcast was selling its customers' online browsing history ("clickstream") to anyone willing to pay for that info. Here are some excerpts from a transcript of a roundtable discussion at last month's OpenData 2007 Conference, in New York City:

"Seth: So for 40 cents, Comcast is selling what of mine? They are selling... my entire clickstream?
"David: Your entire clickstream, and some user info that identifies you. So if 123 is your user ID per the time that you're a Comcast customer, and your entire clickstream.
"Audience member: So that's essentially the same [as the] AOL data [sale issue] that there was a lot of furor over.
"David: It's beyond that.
"Audience member: It's way beyond that...

[later]
"David: When I see some of the information that our client have on users, it seems a lot more scary to me than what you can gain from clickstream information. It might just be me, I might be numb to the clickstream information. But some of the credit card information that we know some people are capturing is a lot more scary...than some of the exhaust on the clickstream side...

[later]
"David: We get clickstream information, basically like the history looks like in your browser. We don't get the underlying information like what kind of videos have been played or [other] rich elements. Although...it is available."

Great news, huh? Has anyone seen this reflected in Comcast's Privacy Policy? I sure haven't... Read More...

 
Google just announced another great service -- Gmail Paper, an innovative option that allows users of its free email service to also send paper copies of their correspondence via the U.S. Postal Service. And the amazing thing is this service is FREE - the cost of postage is paid for by ads that Google prints on the outside of your envelope.

This screenshot shows the extra button that's added to your Gmail menu bar (click the screenshot for a larger view), and here's more information on Gmail Paper as a whole.

"Revolutionary" is not too strong a word for Gmail Paper. True, some people only use email (digital) communications, but the rest of us -- the silent majority, I'd say -- still find comfort in the tangible presence of printed (analog) communications... letters, memos, paper receipts and whatnot. It may pile up on our desks at times, but we feel somehow safer knowing it's there (except, possibly, in the event of a building fire).

For the time being, Gmail Paper is beta, but count on the fact that it's here to stay. I predict that by the end of 2007, virtually every postal mailbox in America will be a little fuller, thanks to the reassuring (albeit slightly retro) presence of Gmail Paper...

Remember -- You heard it here first! Read More...

 
Yikes – those darn marketers have my two college-age sons squarely in their sights! This MarketingSherpa article gave me considerable pause...

How Text Messaging Helps Financial Services Marketer Target College Students

"SUMMARY: If you want college students to think about life issues as mundane as financial services, well, you’re obviously going to have to speak to them in their language: text messaging.

"Step #1. Collect names, email addresses and cell phone numbers

"Step #2. Send credit-card bill reminder to cell phones

"Step #3. Send credit-education newsletters to email addresses

"Step #4. Wait for students to come to the site..." Read More...

 
This MarketingSherpa article answers that age-old question, "Do tchotchkes really work?" (Answer: No. Reporters are ethically prohibited from accepting them. But make sure you invite them to your suite and have plenty of steam table shrimp on hand... That's a different matter entirely.)

How to Get Reporters to Write About You at a Busy Trade Show

"Want to become famous with the press at the busiest trade shows of the year? Discover five practical steps on getting face time with the top industry reporters.

"Should you drop off a pile of news releases in the press room? Should you spend tens of thousands on a blow-out party so everyone’s writing about your company? What about scheduling CEO interviews?

"Here are six steps on how to improve your chances of getting quoted..." Read More...