How the iPhone Could End Up In Second Place

Via Gizmodo:

Here are the US mobile web traffic figures for iPhone OS and Android, getting ready to collide: Android, on its way up; iPhone, on its way down. So when will Android overtake the iPhone? Try next month.
Gizmodo >>

Hold Everything... Android Tablet Prototypes Support Flash [VIDEO]

Drooling over tablets, but worried about lack of Flash support on the iPad? Sit tight, because a slew of tablets running Android will be emerging shortly with full Flash support, thanks to the NVIDIA Tegra platform team’s work with Adobe.

Pads, "Passionate Programming" and Reckless Pragmatism

Yes, I'm going to get one. I'm going to bite the bullet and get an iPad.

No, I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with it. I don't know what purpose it serves, I can't think of a practical reason for owning one, and honestly, the purchase might be classified as "reckless", "impulsive", or... dare I say, "stupid".

But I do have one idea, and I think it trumps any argument for not getting one: Programming.

I think this device IS going to change the game, and I DO think that there is going to be an amazing new world of development possibilities that arise as a result.

And I want to be a part of it.

So I'm going to get one. Then I'm going to download the Software Development Kit. Then I'm going to spend my evenings learning how to write apps for what I sincerely believe will be the next great platform. I'm going to tinker with it, I'm going to play with it, and most importantly, I'm going to learn.

"He's dead, Jim..."

So it looks like our HDTV kinda died over the weekend. I suppose it was bound to happen. She was a first generation Cathode-Ray Tube widescreen TV. Technically the best picture quality you can buy. Superior to LCD, or Plasma, or any other projection or flat panel technology. No "contrast ratio". Black is truly black, and white is truly white for a picture that's pretty much stunning. Seriously, nothing else comes close.

We've called the TV Repair guy (AKA Spicoli's dad). He's got this awesome set of tools, and he can fix it.

But secretly, on the inside...

I'm tempted to just let it sit for the summer.

Oh sure, I'd miss the gaming, without a doubt. But the rest? TV? Really? It pretty much sucks. I can count on less than one hand the shows I'd miss, and honestly? I'd just download 'em and watch 'em on the laptop.

TV... "meh".

Yelp for Business: 4 Steps for Success

Yelp for Business: 4 Steps for Success via Mashable:

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

For local small businesses, Yelp isn’t just an option — it’s a necessity. People in urban centers use it to choose where to go to dinner, where to buy clothes, and where to be entertained. Users decide where and how to spend their money using Yelp, so if your business is local, you need to curate your Yelp page.

If your business has been around long, you probably already have a page; you’re just not holding the reins yet. You’ll want to step in and take control of it as soon as possible, because using it correctly can bring you new business and prevent any negative word of mouth from hindering your growth and success.

Claiming or creating your Yelp business page is easy; just fill out a couple of online forms and answer a quick, automated phone call. It takes less than five minutes. Once you’re signed up, you’ll have access to tools that will help you engage your customers and spread the word about what you’re offering to the community. Here are a few basic tips for successfully leveraging the tools Yelp offers you for the benefit of your local business.

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1. Fill Out Your Business Info Completely

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Customers refer to Yelp business pages to learn about a business before going out to visit in person. If the information on the Yelp page is incomplete, they’re likely to move on to a competitor that provides more details simply because they’ll better know what to expect and are less likely to be surprised, be disappointed or have their time wasted.

The administration page for business owners offers a slew of fields and choices for sharing information to make it easy for users to know exactly what to expect. If you provide the information they’re looking for, they’re more likely to become reliable, paying customers. So fill out as much information as you can, and keep it up to date.

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2. Respond Constructively to Customer Reviews

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Last Spring, Yelp gave business owners the ability to respond to negative reviews, either to privately make apologies to reviewers or publicly correct misinformation. Don’t skimp on using this feature because you’re afraid of making things worse; it can turn a bad situation around. Dissatisfied customers will often give you a second look if you communicate to them that you value their input and are making changes to improve your business.

Yelp published an easy-to-use guide to constructive user review responses on its website. It includes examples of how not to respond to user reviews and how best to. Some of the tips are obvious, but some of them aren’t. They’re worth a look, as is my colleague Josh Catone’s recent post, “How to Deal with Negative Feedback in Social Media.”

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3. Make Offers and Announcements Regularly

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Yelp allows you to share special offers and announcements not just with the people who visit your page, but with members of the larger community who might not even know about your business. When you create an offer or announcement on Yelp, it appears in the offers and announcements directory for your city. People who have never heard of your business will see them there. They’ll even find you in search results.

The more of these offers and announcements you make, the more likely it will be that Yelp users will discover your business, so come up with creative ways to draw people in, then share the news.

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4. Display Yelp Badges on Your Website or Blog

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Yelp provides badges that you can embed on your business’s website or blog that show that you’re on Yelp and engaged with your community. They’ll even tell visitors how many positive reviews you’ve had.

These badges give potential customers the impression that you have existing satisfied customers vouching for you, so they’ll be more likely to trust you with their business. The badges also act as links between your Yelp page and your other online outreach efforts. People can click a badge to read reviews or get more information. If a satisfied customer visits your site or blog, the badge might lead that person to leave his or her own positive review.

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Is Advertising on Yelp Worth it?

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You may also choose to advertise on Yelp. It costs between $300 and $1,000 per month — it’s kind of like a premium account — but there’s a chance that you’ll increase your exposure if you opt in, because you’ll appear at the top of the list when users perform a search related to your business.

There are a few other benefits as well. For example, you’ll be able to feature one good review of your choosing at the top of the list on your business page. You still can’t edit, move or delete other reviews, though.

It’s difficult to measure exactly how much these premium benefits will help you; it depends on a number of factors unique to your business and your city.

Surfrider Foundation Europe: Ocean Initiatives 2010

Via I Believe In Advertising Blog:

Surfrider Foundation Europe: Ocean Initiatives 2010:

“In the sea, there’s no such thing as a little bit of rubbish.”

Advertising Agency: Young & Rubicam, Paris, France
Creative Director: Les 6
Art Director: Sébastien Guinet
Ass Art Director: Julien Hérisson
Copywriter: Josselin Pacreau
Photographer: Ben Stockley
Retoucher: Asile
Art buyer: Sylvie Réveillard
Model Maker: Jean Benne
Published: March 2010

How Republicans eat crow

From DailyKos, crossposted from Congress Matters:

Joe 'You Lie!' Wilson (R-SC-02) on the floor earlier today, discussing the health insurance reform proposal:

"On the good side, The Hill today reports, front page, the Senate bill provides for citizenship verification to buy insurance."

Wilson, you'll recall, screamed out 'You Lie!' when President Obama told Congress in an address to a Joint Session that the health insurance reform bill would not offer coverage to illegal immigrants.

And guess what? Today he says it won't. Well, I'll be!

So what does a Republican do when forced to eat crow? Pour a little Freedom Ketchup on it! Before even drawing a breath, Wilson concluded his speech with this:

"In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget September 11th and the global war on terrorism."

Uh, yeah.

Android Growing RIDICULOUSLY Faster Than All Other Mobile Platforms (In the US)

From Phandroid.com:

Comscore has just published their smartphone reports detailing statistics from October 2009 through January 2010 and although we knew Android grew incredibly – the actual statistics are quite staggering. Take a look at this chart which shows market share from RIM, Apple, Microsoft, Google and Palm:

Second to last place with hardly more market share than Palm? How is that staggering? Well… as Kevin Tofel explains it is all a matter of how you look at the numbers. What we SHOULD be looking at is growth rate – that is – percentage growth from October through January:

That is HUGELY indicative of the momentum Android has and the deceleration of other platforms. Looking just at market share gain/growth you might not realize how poorly Microsoft is performing, how Palm is slowing more than any other platform, and how little RIM and Apple are improving. And for that matter, how ridiculously quickly Android is growing.

The numbers are looking good my friends and I would fully expect these various momentums (momentii?) to continue. Apple always gets a huge uptick with a new iPhone, and WebOS should perform better when they finally offer some new devices (if they’re unique), but I don’t see Android slowing down much over the next 10 months – at all. Not domestically or globally.

Holy crap, has it been 7 days already?

Boy, lose your laptop and all hell breaks loose.

Things I've done since my hard drive died:

1. Played more X-box. Seriously, Bioshock 2 is the greatest fucking game of the year (so far). I'm seriously in love with that game, the return to Rapture is astonishing. But more important, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 came out. This is a perfect example of short-term and long-term gaming. I'll play Bioshock for the next month non-stop. I'll beat it to death. Then I'll send it back to Gamefly. Battlefield? I'll still be playing Battlefield next fall. I currently have 109 hours into Battlefield: Bad Company, and if the first hours of this game are any indication, I'll easily outpace that time. On a side note. 109 hours of Battlefield may sound like a lot, but if you consider the PC game, I'm afraid that's child's play. I've got almost 300 hours into the PC version of the game. So if you only count those two, I've got over 400 hours of Battlefield play under my belt... and we haven't even discussed Battlefield: MC for Xbox.

2. Read more. I'm currently hip deep into "The Passionate Programmer" and I love it. This is a fantastic book. It's all about finding happiness and fulfillment as a programmer. In fact, the full title of the book is, "The Passionate Programmer: Creating a Remarkable Career in Software Development". The mantra of the book is "Be Remarkable". Who wouldn't love that? I've also picked back up my Fantagraphics Popeye Collections and started back where I left off last winter. When we last visited our squintyy-eyed sailor, he was searching for Dooma, "a lost city of gold in an unknown sea". Constantly thwarted by Merlock Jones and his insidious disguises, the story culminates with the introduction of Popeye's greatest nemesis, Bluto (in his only appearance in Segar's strip). Between "The Passionate Programmer" and "Popeye" I'm almost tempted to let the Macbook sit for another couple of weeks.

Almost.

3. Ride my bike. Finally! After weeks of discomfort, I'm finally on a perfectly fitting bike. I will blog EXTENSIVELY about that, but suffice to say, if you ride a bike, please, by all means go and get a professional fitting! I spent three and a half hours with the guys from Trek and I'll never get on another bike again without having it precisely fit to my body. To think that I rode 4,600 miles last year on my bike the way it was set up. It's enough to make a grown man cry.

Anyway, so no laptop for about a week now, but damn if it hasn't been the best week in recent memory! I should destroy hard drives more often!

What an immensely rewarding weekend spent doing absolutely nothing of significance.

In the past seven days, I've had what can only be described as "some of the best professional and personal accomplishments in recent memory".

But you know what? In less than a month, I will have probably forgotten most, if not all of them, and moved on to bigger and better things. I won't look back. That's the nature of what I do. It's rewarding, but it's fleeting.

However, I don't think I'll ever forget spending Saturday morning, putting together a playhouse for my daughter, while she drew on the concrete with chalk and "helped me". You see those green squiggles in front of her house? Why, that's grass, of course. And that checkerboard pattern to the left of it? That's her hopscotch game. When I was finished building it, I went inside, made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and left it for her on the window sill of her new house.

On Sunday, her cousin, who lives down the street, came over and the two of them played "Catwoman" for two hours in her new playhouse until their noses were runny from the cold, stopping only to come in once to use the bathroom and eat oatmeal cookies.

So while the past week was filled with amazing times both professionally and personally, it's a lazy Saturday morning spent putting together a cedar playhouse that will forever be etched in my memory.