Google rolled out Buzz on Tuesday. I am unsure how this will integrate into the great scheme of social networking. At least at first blush it is very like Twitter. We don’t see Google as a social tool set. We use Google as a office and work flow tool set. We had a hard time finding a good use for Google Wave, but we are going to see what Buzz can do and see what shakes out in a couple of months.
Another Social Outlet
Feb 10
Google Says What?
Sep 21
Browsing the geek blogs today I came across an interesting write up from Google. We all know that how the Google search engine has been shrouded in secrecy and small bits of information are rumored but never confirmed – not any more, well at least one small topic. Keywords!
The posting that I read today confirmed that Meta Keywords hold little or no value in your search ranking and indexing. Don’t start deleting your keyword tags just yet. Granted Google holds a majority share of the search volume on the interweb, Yahoo, MSN and Bing still use the Meta Keyword tag for ranking and indexing.
Q: Does this mean that Google will always ignore the keywords meta tag?A: It’s possible that Google could use this information in the future, but it’s unlikely. Google has ignored the keywords meta tag for yearsand currently we see no need to change that policy. Matt Cutts, Search Quality Team(Google) Read Full Aricle
We here at TechnoStones still recommend keeping your keywords present in your markup, even if only remind you what keywords you should be targeting. Other factors will play a bigger role into how your site is indexed and ranked among your competition.
What is this blog thing?
Aug 24
I will start blogging again soon. Really, I will.
2009 will be the year that many business’s will be tightening their spending belts and find more cost effective ways to market and advertise their product or business. Online advertising will increase and traditional advertising will decrease as the cost is much higher to produce. In 2009 review your ROI and investigate how to spend your budget wisely and not go with the saying “this is what we have done for the last 5 yrs”.
If you are unsure of where to begin with Online advertising, TechnoStones Interactive will answer any questions you might have. Let TechnoStones Interactive evaluate your current Marketing/Advertising plan and provide the insight on how you can use online advertising in the upcoming year.
I am unsure if this is good for the 3d community. After the aquisition of Softimage, Autodesk will own almost every major high end 3d software package on the market. The only 3d software manufacurer that is still hanging on is NewTek. Interesting!
I will interested to see how Autodesk will differentiate between Softimage and Maya. Both can produce high end 3d renderings. Which one to choose? 3ds Max – play nice with your office mates.
Create a Cartoon of yourself
Aug 30
Came across this nifty little start up. http://www.faceyourmanga.com Yes, you too can look like a cartoon! First one is free.
More people are using Firefox 2+ and IE 7 as their browser of choice. There is good reason, tabbed based browsing, better data optimization and more flexibility using Web 2.0 technology. Many company’s that provide online applications are starting to drop support for IE6. 37 Signals, a development firm that brought us BaseCamp announce that as of August 15, 2008 it will no longer support IE6:
IE 6 is a last-generation browser. This means that IE 6 can’t provide the same web experience that modern browsers can. Continued support of IE 6 means that we can’t optimize our interfaces or provide an enhanced customer experience in our apps. Supporting IE 6 means slower progress, less progress, and, in some places, no progress. We want to make sure the experience is the best it can be for the vast majority of our customers, and continuing to support IE 6 holds us back. – http://productblog.37signals.com/
We here at TechnoStones Interactive applaud their move to drop support for IE6. Moving forward with technology is always hard, especially when you drop support for a platform with the penetration of IE6.
Internet TV
Jun 13
With more people turning off the Television and logging on to get information and entertainment, Internet Television is gaining popularity.
Old School
Imagine wanting to see your favorite sitcom, or documentary but you worked late and missed the time it was typically scheduled. Oh well missed – maybe you can catch a rerunNew School
Same situation, but you go to your computer and you can watch your programing when you want and how many times you want. Not held down by a programming schedule.
The old school way it was simple to sell advertisements for a program. More viewership more money for your 30 second spot. Now advertisers are finding new innovative ways to connect with the audience. More interactive ways to engage their audience and more than the mind numbing 30 second spot. Below is a screen shot of an advertisement for a interactive portal by Kleenex. Yes, you can design your own tissue boxes – how cool is that!
Adobe has finally launched their new Media Player. There has been alot of buzz about the player and what it can and can’t do. So to keep up with the other bloggers, I am going to deposit my two cents into the blogoshpere.
I visited Adobe.com to download the new Media Player. I could not miss the download as it was taking up the main branding image on the home page. So the download is very quick 1.4mb, this download also forces you to install Adobe Air the platform it was built on. About a 45 sec install on a broadband connection.
Once installed double clicked on the Shortcut on my desk top. A nice clean interface appeared with call outs to prompt me to click on something. After a few clicks I was into the actual video content.
Once into the actual video content the compression quality was very good, even at full screen. The video compression utilizes the VP6 or H.264 codecs. But, some footage was compress from some very sad start quality. A sample of that is inside PBS Great Performances with Eric Clapton. That compression looked as though it came from VHS.
Stay Tuned – I will be diving into the whitepapers next!!
Web 2.045 – Virtual Worlds
Mar 24
I recently attend a small seminar on Virtual worlds. The presenter commented on how the younger demographics are bored with Facebook and Myspace. It is a flat page with no where to go - I somewhat agree with them. Facebook and Myspace are great platforms for the 18-40 crowd, but more and more pre-teens and teens are flocking to the virtual world of Second Life and Webkinz. If you are marketing to this younger demographic – look into the virtual worlds available and get your brand identity out there. Remember if teens are using it now – us older folks are already outdated!!!