Bits and Pieces
Social Media Update:
Over the years, I've written about a variety of social netwporking, from MySpace to Plurk. (If you've been deliberately ignoring it, or are new to the Internet, social networking are web destinations built by users who share information - videos, lists, home pages, articles, etc - with other users either by invitation ("friends"), or universally.)
Naysayers were sure these were just flash-in-the-pan phenomena. This was particularly true for activities like "tweeting" on Twitter, or Plurk. These are simple, short messages that can be shared with subscribers, keeping them abreast of moment-by-moment activities of the tweeter.
Interestingly, Twitter has been exploding lately. Partly, I'm sure, because it's been adopted by such users as then-candidate Obama (and suddenly, other users saw the benefit of keeping one's "constitutents" updated regularly); and partly because users are finding new ways of taking advantage of constant contact.
More and more tweeters are using tweets to signal followers of new material posted to website or blogs where more substantive messages can be shared. And sadly, yes, marketers are befriending masses of people to share directed marketing messages.
I read an article recently, too, that indicated that Facebook was no "so over" because "old people" had taken it over.
Well, the second part is kind of true (it's open to everybody, all ages, which didn't used to be the case); but I think they've got it wrong about it being "over." Yes, there are still some idiotic games and time-wasters associated with Facebook, but as more and more people have entered into the game, more and more others are finding genuine fun and benefit in sharing photos, activities, interests, and updates with friends, old and new.
I've found new music, books, movies, rediscovered old friends, shared lots of photos...yes, kids, Facebook is probably no longer where you're going to want to go to rhapsodize over your latest crush. But it's still a community of "friends," so the content you share can be age-appropriate, and there's something for everybody!
Beware the e-Taxman
The various state governments have long been drooling over the Internet's $150B sales tax opportunity. But the complexity of quantifying and collecting has delayed any serious efforts to go after it. But with the economic downturn, and state budgets getting squeezed, such reluctance to jump in the fray may be over.
According to Kiplinger online: "Most consumers are supposed to pay a "use tax" when they buy goods from a retailer that doesn't collect sales tax because it has no physical presence in the state. But most folks don't pay, and few states make the effort to collect, leaving an annual tax deficit estimated at several billion dollars.
Efforts have been under way since 2000 to simplify tax-collection procedures for online and catalogue retailers. But so far, just 22 states and about 1,000 retail volunteers participate. This could be the year that Congress passes federal legislation to make collections mandatory, perhaps as part of an economic stimulus package, says e-commerce lawyer Stephen Kranz.
"Meanwhile, New York has decreed that even outfits without a presence in the state must collect taxes if they get business referred from in-state sources that benefit from a sale. Amazon.com and Overstock.com are fighting New York in court; expect a ruling this spring.
"The debate will be even more heated over efforts in New York and elsewhere to tax downloads. Five states passed download taxes last year, bringing the total to 11; others will consider the issue in 2009, says Kranz. 'Budgets are bleak.'"
Just In Case You Missed It
Matt Harding of "Where the H*** is Matt?" fame (Matt spent over a year traveling the world, video taping himself performing a funny dance - often accompanied by enthusiastic locals - on location in nearly 50 countries. His exploits were posted on a website, and of course, YouTube, where he is ranked as the 80th all-time highest viewed poster.
Speaking of dance, the 2008 top champ YouTube view is ocmedian Judson Laipply's Evolution of Dance, a 6-minute dance routine spanning 50 years and 32 songs (and dances). It was added to YouTube on April 06, 2006 and has since gone on to attract 55.8 Million views. Seven of the top ten are (professionally-produced) music videos, making Laipply's feat all the more amazing.
Just For Fun
Create Your Band in 3 Steps!
1)Go to Wikipedia and select "Random article." The entry is the name of your band.
2) Go to "Random Quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3) Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click http://www.flickr.com/expl
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Just so you know, my band is "Helm of Darkness," and my album is "Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone."
Over the years, I've written about a variety of social netwporking, from MySpace to Plurk. (If you've been deliberately ignoring it, or are new to the Internet, social networking are web destinations built by users who share information - videos, lists, home pages, articles, etc - with other users either by invitation ("friends"), or universally.)
Naysayers were sure these were just flash-in-the-pan phenomena. This was particularly true for activities like "tweeting" on Twitter, or Plurk. These are simple, short messages that can be shared with subscribers, keeping them abreast of moment-by-moment activities of the tweeter.
Interestingly, Twitter has been exploding lately. Partly, I'm sure, because it's been adopted by such users as then-candidate Obama (and suddenly, other users saw the benefit of keeping one's "constitutents" updated regularly); and partly because users are finding new ways of taking advantage of constant contact.
More and more tweeters are using tweets to signal followers of new material posted to website or blogs where more substantive messages can be shared. And sadly, yes, marketers are befriending masses of people to share directed marketing messages.
I read an article recently, too, that indicated that Facebook was no "so over" because "old people" had taken it over.
Well, the second part is kind of true (it's open to everybody, all ages, which didn't used to be the case); but I think they've got it wrong about it being "over." Yes, there are still some idiotic games and time-wasters associated with Facebook, but as more and more people have entered into the game, more and more others are finding genuine fun and benefit in sharing photos, activities, interests, and updates with friends, old and new.
I've found new music, books, movies, rediscovered old friends, shared lots of photos...yes, kids, Facebook is probably no longer where you're going to want to go to rhapsodize over your latest crush. But it's still a community of "friends," so the content you share can be age-appropriate, and there's something for everybody!
Beware the e-Taxman
The various state governments have long been drooling over the Internet's $150B sales tax opportunity. But the complexity of quantifying and collecting has delayed any serious efforts to go after it. But with the economic downturn, and state budgets getting squeezed, such reluctance to jump in the fray may be over.
According to Kiplinger online: "Most consumers are supposed to pay a "use tax" when they buy goods from a retailer that doesn't collect sales tax because it has no physical presence in the state. But most folks don't pay, and few states make the effort to collect, leaving an annual tax deficit estimated at several billion dollars.
Efforts have been under way since 2000 to simplify tax-collection procedures for online and catalogue retailers. But so far, just 22 states and about 1,000 retail volunteers participate. This could be the year that Congress passes federal legislation to make collections mandatory, perhaps as part of an economic stimulus package, says e-commerce lawyer Stephen Kranz.
"Meanwhile, New York has decreed that even outfits without a presence in the state must collect taxes if they get business referred from in-state sources that benefit from a sale. Amazon.com and Overstock.com are fighting New York in court; expect a ruling this spring.
"The debate will be even more heated over efforts in New York and elsewhere to tax downloads. Five states passed download taxes last year, bringing the total to 11; others will consider the issue in 2009, says Kranz. 'Budgets are bleak.'"
Just In Case You Missed It
Matt Harding of "Where the H*** is Matt?" fame (Matt spent over a year traveling the world, video taping himself performing a funny dance - often accompanied by enthusiastic locals - on location in nearly 50 countries. His exploits were posted on a website, and of course, YouTube, where he is ranked as the 80th all-time highest viewed poster.
Speaking of dance, the 2008 top champ YouTube view is ocmedian Judson Laipply's Evolution of Dance, a 6-minute dance routine spanning 50 years and 32 songs (and dances). It was added to YouTube on April 06, 2006 and has since gone on to attract 55.8 Million views. Seven of the top ten are (professionally-produced) music videos, making Laipply's feat all the more amazing.
Just For Fun
Create Your Band in 3 Steps!
1)Go to Wikipedia and select "Random article." The entry is the name of your band.
2) Go to "Random Quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3) Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click http://www.flickr.com/expl
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Just so you know, my band is "Helm of Darkness," and my album is "Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone."
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