Hello and welcome to Odds and Ends, the one place where we can talk about ideas and concepts that tend to go unnoticed. With that said, here we go:

Question #1: How is the text message advertising campaign going?

Answer: Not so great at the present moment. After a few “dry runs” using cell numbers from around the office, we found that the service leaves much to be desired. We are currently reevaluating our options and are planning to work with an alternative service shortly.

Question #2: How is the mobile website coming? Have any late breaking updates to share?

Answer: No, not at the moment. That said, we highly advise that you continue watching this space. You will definitely be seeing something big come down the pike sooner rather than later.

Question #3: I see. So … what are your opinions on the current tech scene?

Answer: Rather boring and uninspired. It seems as if everyone who is involved with the tech industry right now — programmers, so-called “idea men,” the media — are more interested in gently mocking Twitter users and ignoring the continued success of MySpace than trying to find the “next big thing.” Now I do realize that much of this trepidation comes from the questionable state of the world’s economy and the effect it has had on “angel funding.” After all, it’s hard to build the next “Digg” if the kindly old rich guy down the street is suddenly and justifiably reluctant to “share the wealth,” as they say. That said, we are truly shocked at the speed in which “the creative elite” grabbed their C.Crane wind-up emergency radios and headed for their private “bad economy” bomb shelters. Until the day comes that they emerge to create once more, we “on the surface” will be stuck in the same boring cycle of Tweets, Facebook Walls, and Google news.

Question #4: Well that’s … um … really depressing. Is there anything that excites you?

Answer: Yes. The Creative Zii. And here is four reasons why:

1. It’s a highly powerful media device that doesn’t have a lowercase “i” attached to it. It’s nice to know that tech such as this still exists.
2. Users have the choice of two operating systems — the proprietary Plaszma OS or Android. It should be interesting to see what Google’s mobile OS is like away from HTC’s sub par hardware and T-Mobile’s mediocre mobile network.
3. It oozes with HD features – 1080p television tuner, support for high-def video formats, and a built in HD camera, just to name a few.
4. Few things get our creative juices flowing more than playing around with a promising new gadget.

…And there you have it. Until tomorrow, we bid thee adieu.

Okay gang, it’s time for yet another highly popular round of “ask me a question.” So without further adieu, let us get to it.

Where is part three of “Web Programming for Smart Phones?” – Part three, tentatively entitled “The Waiting Is the Hardest Part,” will be hitting a web browser near your within the next few days. the series is very important to us, but honestly, we also wanted to establish our other concepts as well.

Oh? Such as? – Building our own mobile site, for one. High class, high quality mobile sites should not just be limited to the likes of million dollar computer firms or folks whose personal wealth rivals that of Scrooge McDuck. We intend to prove that it is possible to build, maintain, and most importantly advertise, a mobile site without spending a ton of cash. We are so confident that we can make this happen, that we set our design budget to an unthinkable, unheard of sum of zero dollars American. That’s right. We will have a top shelf mobile headquarters, and it will not cost us a dime. And the best part? A site like this can be yours as well. It’s all about smart design, forward thinking, and a great ad campaign.

Wait … I thought you said you were for tailoring your existing site to fit the needs of mobile users. What gives? – We still are. Still, it doesn’t mean that we cannot explore other options.

Will this be programming intensive? I hate programming. I have guys who do it for me. – Nope. This will be about theory, content, advertising, marketing, and overall presentation. Not one line of code will be printed in this blog. I assure you of that.

Works for me. How’s the text advertising project coming along? – As we said last Friday, it usually takes a little while for this kind of thing to register. Ask us again in a few days.

I hate the “geek” stuff. More advertising news, stat! – We hear you. We here at the Free Line promise that there will be more talk about marketing your site and/or product in the future.

Great. Do you have anything that I can check out right now? – I do, actually. For those interested in the emerging world of mobile advertising, I highly suggest reading “Mobile Marketing Without Being Annoying” by Chris Crum. Essentially an expanded interview with Yahoo’s Tom Foran, the article explains the ins and of out of advertising on the so-called “mobile web” without being too confusing or geeky. While some of his suggestions and tactics are not exactly “free,” the piece is still worth the old “once over.”

…And there you have it. Until tomorrow, we here at the Free Line bid you all good day.

As many of you already realize, there’s more to advertising your site, brand, or genuinely “hilarious” YouTube video than just posting a note on Digg. No, if you want your media project of the future to be a true success, you’ll have to do more than hang out at social hot spots. Mastering the basics (and possibly the intermediate level) of search engine optimization is always a good thing to do. Making sure that you understand the “ins and outs” of various browsers, hardware platforms, and programming languages doesn’t hurt, either. Still, there is even more that you could be doing to draw new faces to your site. And what is this magic fix that I speak of? Viral advertising.

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Is he crazy? I can’t pull that off! It’s too expensive and time consuming!” Now before you call the nice young men in the clean, white coats to take me away, hear me out. Not everyone who sets up a viral campaign is trying to pull off a J.J. Abrams style Alternate Reality Game or is trying to sell a badly put together ring tone to teenagers. In reality, most viral marketing campaigns are rather small, low-key affairs that deliver their pitch to prospective users with a minimal amount of trouble or annoyance. Simply put, it’s targeted advertising done right.

To prove the ease that I speak of, we will engage in our own campaign. Yes, that’s right. The Free Line is going viral. At the present moment, our campaign will rely heavily on SMSDelivery, a handy little service that allows us to create text message campaigns for free. Everything we do — our successes, our failures, and so on — will be reported here. Before we call it a day, allow me to answer a few questions.

So … which plan are you going for: free or paid? – Free, of course. We wouldn’t be able to call ourselves the Free Line if we actually paid for things like this. It’s against the rules.

I want to get in on the action. What do I text where? – Our account is still firmly in the “setup” phase right now. According to the official website, it sometimes takes as long as two business days to get things working properly. As soon as we get a number, we will definitely pass it along to you.

…And there you have it. Be sure to come back Monday for part three of “Web Programing for Smart Phones.” Until then, we bid thee adieu.

…And we’re back! What better way to celebrate our grand return than with a little bit of what we like to call “news of the weird.” First up: we have the very meaning of the word “irony…”

- A few days ago, the big brass at Amazon accidentally discovered (read: informed by a lawyer in an official sounding letter) that their eBook store was selling unauthorized copies of a few “well known” novels. The lawyer simply asked for the books to be removed from the store. Amazon, fearing the legal threat, decided it would be best to not only delete the “bootleg” copies from their servers, but from their customers’ Kindle eBook readers as well. As you might have already guessed, this did not sit well with Kindle owners, who said that they should not be punished for the mistakes of another company. In a statement, Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener apologized for the move, assuring everyone that this kind of thing would not happen again. So what were the books in question, you ask? 1984 and Animal Farm by George Orwell.

- It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that advertising is seemingly everywhere these days. Video games have them. Sitcoms have them. Even other commercials have them. (Anyone who has been told by a pleasant sounding spokesman to “type ‘Pontiac‘ into Google” knows what we’re talking about here.) Still, there is one place that remains completely ad-free: the Moon. That is about to change. A company mysterious new entity called “Moon Publicity” has announced that they will be the first firm to bring advertising into the final frontier.  The company intends to pull this daring feat off using something called “shadow shaping” — a process by which a small little robot draws forty foot pictures into the lunar surface. The giant ads would then be visible to the citizens of Earth during “certain phases” of the Moon. Needless to say, not everyone is thrilled with the idea of turning a heavenly body into a gigantic billboard. Some have even gone as far as saying that the entire plan borders on comic book style super-villainy. The folks at Moon Publicity see things a bit differently, however. To them, it’s not about the ads. It’s about the very survival of the human race. “Any number of global catastrophes could and eventually will end live on Earth,” writes the company in a press release. “Space travel is more than just footprints and flags; it is vital to our survival. Just as we back up hard drives in case they crash, we need to back up mankind on other worlds. Creating images on the Moon provides a commercial incentive for turbo charging space travel technology.”  Those interested in this “unique” form of advertising have until October 20th to get in on the action. At the time of this writing, bids start at a “mere” $46,000 per shadow shaping robot.

Hello and welcome back to “Web Programming for Smart Phones,” our landmark five-part series dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of the mobile web. Today we continue our journey with looking at your friend and mine, in-site content.

Why should I worry about my content? – As we mentioned last week, most of the major smart phones feature a screen resolution of 320 by 480. Having a wall of text that rivals Stephen King’s “The Stand” or tons of high bit rate images are simply not good ideas. This isn’t ten years ago, when mobile devices were as powerful as a graphing calculator and featured a small, blurry, monochrome screen. The iPhone, for example, is more powerful than the standard desktop built in 1999. Simply put, mobile users matter. Lose them, and you can potentially lose a large chunk of your audience.

So people on smart phones have short attention spans. – No, not at all. Look at it this way: staring at a pocket-sized screen is naturally harder on the eyes than staring at that beautiful flat screen you have at home or at work. Having a site with tons of small text and/or several massive image files will not be doing your mobile user base any favors. The “trick,” for lack of a better work, is to have a nice, easy to use site that is accessible to mobile users, while not insulting the traditional desktop and laptop crowd.

Wouldn’t it be easier to just make a mobile site? - Not necessarily. For the average site proprietor, spending a load of time, effort, and most importantly, money on a separate site does not make sense in this current financial environment. At this point in time, it would be best to concentrate your efforts into perfecting your main site.

Content gone bad – The “bad content for a mobile computing device” award goes to tech industry news site WebProNews. Every last article we clicked upon appeared to be nothing more than line after line of blurry, incomprehensible text. While it was nice that the ads were visible to the naked eye (we here at the Free Line prefer to live in the real world), they had a tendency to both overpower and overwhelm. For all of the effort it took just to make everything readable, we could have found a similar article on another site.

Good examples of mobile content – Out of all of the major tech sites — present company excluded, of course — TechCrunch fits the criteria described above the best. Each article and advertisement is easy enough to read on a mobile device, yet still carries all of the appeal and charm of a “traditional” news site.

Our suggestion – Our advice boils down to one, easy to remember phrase: keep it all within proportion. The last thing that anyone would want is a site filled to the brim with overpowering pictures and unreadable text. Still, you have to keep in mind that a site filled with pages and pages of text will bore the living daylights out of your “on the go” constituents. If you keep everything on an even keel, your site should be ready for any situation that might present itself.

…And there you have it. Be sure to come back next Monday for our part three of our series: Load Times. Expect the classic Free Line for the rest of the week. Until then, we bid thee adieu.

As we have established before, we live in a society that is growing increasingly dependent on information. When things work the way that they are “supposed” to work, no one complains. When several major “news sources” come up dry and ultimately bring nothing new to the table, however … things seem to break down fairly quickly. It is at this point that we in the blogging community try to make something — anything — interesting and unique. A few days ago, the major tech sites were all abuzz about the Chrome operating system and the surprising success of Bing. Today, on the other hand, the sites were overflowing with stories about several “minor” Twitter updates and a merger of two companies that, quite frankly, no one has ever heard of. If you got lucky, you just might have “stumbled” upon a discussion about Steve Ballmer or the various health issues facing Steve Jobs. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes or Lenny Briscoe to notice that their just might be a problem here.

The obvious solution to this “problem,” of course, is simply to turn off our monitors, put down the keyboards, and wait for something to happen. Be it right or wrong, life does not exactly work in that way anymore. So we fill the void with various media sources, hoping that it will fill the “dead space” of a slow news day. Some watch Brock Lesnar beat poor Frank Mir until he cries on YouTube for the five hundredth time. Others go to TMZ in order see the “forgotten” footage of Michael Jackson’s hair catching fire. Still others figure out a way to watch the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court hopeful Sonja Sotomayor. While all of these activities do give us our “media fix,” they are about as productive as watching paint dry. One can only watch a former professional wrestler insult everyone within earshot, burning hair, or politicians yell at each other for so long before going completely insane. So we decide to go back to work on our pet projects, hoping that one day it — and by extension, we — will become successful enough to be covered the likes of Michael Arrington and Henry Blodgett on a slow news day.

And therein lies what makes this moment in time different than the media controlled dystopia of Max Headroom: power. We are ultimately in control of the content given to us, not some cryptic television network run by Charles Rocket and Jeffery Tambor. The New York Times doesn’t decide what news is “fit to print,” we do. While it’s great to scope out The Drudge Report or Mashable for new things to read and/or learn about, it is more important in our society to “create” that next big idea. So we work on our blogs and fiddle with our various web 2.0 applications, all with the hope that our contributions will turn the “information tide” our way. This is our time, and we will make damn sure that we get every last second out of it. Biz Stone did it. Tim Brenners Lee did it. Now it’s our turn.

…And there you have it. On the behalf of everyone at the Free Line, we sincerely hope that you have enjoyed our three-part series about the future, media, and everything in between. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more of that web 2.0 news you can use. Until then, we bid thee adieu.

If there is one thing that everyone knows about, it’s advertising. No matter where we look, there always seems to be a thirty-second television spot, billboard, or conveniently placed Coke can within eye shot. While that sort of bombardment does have the tendancy to be annoying at points, it could always be worse. We could be living in the media obsessed dystopia of Max Headroom. In the series, advertising is present in three unique, highly diverse ways. On today’s installment of Twenty Minutes into the Future, we will take a look at three techniques and discuss how each are being used in today’s culture.

Technique #1: The Cheviot Method

Championed By: Ben Cheviot (George Coe), founder and president of Network 23.
Thesis: People first, ads second.
Explanation: According to the “Cheviot Method” of advertising, it is imperative to remember that it isn’t robots and/or lemmings watching these ads. It’s people. If “advertiser A” uses their predetermined ad time to insult the viewer, or if they try to do to much, the viewer is less likely to return. If such behavior keeps up over time, the viewer will simply “give up” and simply stop caring about your product or service. By treating people like people, not only do you get the viewer to care about the product, you make hem more willing to investigate other products or services that have your name on it.
In-Show Result: Network 23 is consistently number one in the ratings.
Real-World Example: Anyone who tows the Free Line concept practices this advertising method.

Technique #2: The Grossberg Method

Championed By: Ned Grossberg (the late Charles Rocket), the president of Network 66 and Cheviot’s mortal enemy.
Thesis: People exists to buy things, so they might as well be buying those things from us.
Explanation: When this particular advertising method is employed, the consumer essentially becomes secondary to the items that are being shown on the screen. Although the company involved might see a initial spike in “audience participation,” the numbers will actually be lower overall. To compensate for this, the advertiser/network is forced to employ a variety of gimmicks in order to coerce people into coming back for more. In the show, these gimmicks ranged from ridiculous (“Watch 66 in your sleep! You can do that now!”) to horrifying (one second long “blipverts” that had a nasty habit of making fat people explode) to the downright bizarre (a reality show about the life and times of super genius infants).
In-Show Result: Grossberg is made to look like a fool on a fairly regular basis; network ratings go down sharply.
Real-World Example: Any company labeled as an “evil corporation” has been accused of using this advertising method at least once in their existence.

Technique #3: The Zik Zak Method

Championed By: A fairly mysterious, multi-national corporation called “Zik Zak.” While it is implied that Zik Zak makes everything from furniture to prescription drugs, the company’s main products are soft drinks and fast food.
Thesis: People?! Who cares about people! Buy our stuff and quit complaining!
Explanation: People who employ this kind of advertising structure simply do not care about anyone or anything other than their product. It really doesn’t matter if people get “inconvenienced” or even find themselves in a sticky situation. They still bought the product. The “in-world” example of this tactic is the NeuralStim, a “free bracelet” that caused people to crave cheeseburgers. In the case of our hero, Edison Carter, the bracelet made him nearly die from overspending.
In-Show Result: The “faulty” bracelets cause Zik Zak to nearly go bankrupt.
Real-World Example: In a fictional TV show, it’s called a “NeuralStim.” In the real word, it’s called “malware.”
Special Note: During my research, I ran across three very different organizations that call themselves “Zik Zak.” Please keep in mind that the comments above only apply to the fictional corporation, not to the these real-life entities.

Our Advice: The “Cheviot Method” is the only way to go. As I said a few days ago. These are your people. Never forget that. Your customers (and everyone else, for that matter) will thank you in the long run.

Anyone who lived through the late 1980’s ought to remember Max Headroom, the hyperactive, pseudo-CGI “head in the box” portrayed by actor Matt Frewer. The Max Headroom character was everywhere in those days, from music videos to ads for Coca-Cola and seemingly everything in between. What many people don’t remember, however, is the science fiction program that bared the character’s name. This was not the lovable, wacky Max that called Cinemax and England’s Channel 4 home. This Max exists in a world where the major television networks are in charge. Because of this, such every day items as the off switch and the mute button are deemed to be illegal. Televisions are everywhere, including bathrooms and junk yards. Simply put, no one could ever escape the grip of the mass media, and the people like it that way.

Working within the confines of this odd, “Network-meets-The Matrix” world is Edison Carter (also portrayed by Matt Frewer), ace reporter for the highly-rated Network 23 and the “basis” for Max Headroom. It is his mission to bring his viewers the truth, no matter the situation. In the show’s fourteen episodes, Emerson and company does everything from thwart a sentient supercomputer to blowing the lid off of a dangerous subliminal advertising scheme run by Bill Maher, using nothing more than quick thinking and a heaping helping of brutal honesty. The viewer, both physically in the show and otherwise, are constantly reminded that the world is a better place thanks to people like Emerson Carter and his “computerized” alter ego. As long as there are people fighting for the truth, there really is nothing to worry about.

In many ways, we are approaching this basic existence, only with a different concept serving as our vice. Instead of thriving on a flashing picture, we are addicted to information. I don’t just mean the “TMZ/Perez Hilton” style celebrity gossip columns. I mean anything. Pick your topic — President Obama, professional wrestling, U2 — and I bet there is someone, somewhere talking, tweeting, or blogging about it at this very moment. We need to know about what is going on, and we need to know it now. Take the recent “best of seven” series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic for example. Five years ago, we would have had to wait two to three days to hear former Laker Shaquille O’Neal talk about his former team. Thanks to Twitter, we heard it minutes after the Lakers cliched the NBA title. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that this kind of “instant feedback” can become addictive.

Now despite what some might be thinking, things really aren’t all that dire. Our world isn’t based upon the idea of two-way television sets or networks that can make commercials so compact that they make people’s heads literally explode. We’re simply talking about the delivery of information, not a re-creation of 1984. It’s human nature to want to know what is going on around us. Exploiting that desire, on the other hand, is something else entirely. It all comes down to priorities. Those who put more effort into their advertising than their content are more likely to alienate their audiences than the people who put their “product” front and center. By ignoring the very thing that got you into this very situation to begin with, the writer/blogger/YouTube “star” is actually sending a message that your fan base’s mouse click means more than their physical presence. Who cares if the content is good nor not? You clicked the link. It’s your loss.

While it might seem like a good idea now, turning your audience into a group of mind-numbed automatons randomly clicking things will not help you become a success in the long run. The trick, if you want to call it that, is to adopt what I like to call the “Edison Carter” approach to content creation and maintenance. It all breaks down to three basic principles:

1. Your users are more than just a group of random mice clicking a white box. They’re people. Your people. Always keep that in mind when developing your content.
2. Stay genuine to your cause.
3. Stay open to the needs and concerns of your user base.

Do this, and the world just might become a better place. If you don’t, well … let’s just say living in an “off switch-free world” is not anyone’s idea of a good time. Be sure to come back tomorrow for part two of our three part series. Until then, this is Brad Fallon signing off for Network 23 the Free Line.

As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, it seems as if 95% of the tech world has two things on their collective minds: smart phones and Twitter. Since I think we have covered Twitter, Twitter clones, Twitter apps, and that goofy “Twitter apocalypse” thing that didn’t really happen to death, we are going focus on the wonderful world of mobile phones. But as you might have already guessed, I am going to do more than just merely “talk” about these phones. I will actually give one of these lucky mobile devices a thorough going over, making sure to tell you everything that you would ever need to know. Let’s face it: “smart phones” such as these could very possibly be the future of mobile computing. If your business isn’t ready for it, you could find yourself in very, very hot water. It is our duty, nay, our mission to make sure that this does not happen to you. Before we begin however, I do have a few notes:

Note #1: While the iPhone is definitely on my “smart phone” shortlist, we will not be doing a write up about it in this post. The reasoning for this is simple: anyone who is anyone already knows about it. We don’t know about any of you, but none of us here are necessarily fans of regurgitating common knowledge.

Note #2: The touchscreen Blackberry that Verizon peddles is all but out of the equation. First of all, it’s a Blackberry. Aside from the touchscreen, there really isn’t much different between the new phones and old “trackball” versions from last year. Secondly, I am not a big fan of Verizon Wireless. While their overall network is a bit better than the competition, it doesn’t justify the bloated, overinflated price that they charge. In short, I can get better equipment at a cheaper price. ‘Nuff said.

…With all of that laid out, here we go…

G1 (Dream)/G2 (Magic)/MyTouch 3G

Manufacturer: Google (OS); HTC (Phone; more phones from other companies will be arriving at some point in the near future)
Cell Network (US): T-Mobile
Open Source?: Yes.
Positives: Having been able to actually use this phone, I have to say that this phone’s biggest asset is the Android operating system. It has more of a feel of a scaled down desktop OS instead one designed for a mobile device. The ability to run a few third-party applications in the background doesn’t hurt things either.
Negatives: there’s something about the physical phone hardware than I just don’t like. It feels “cheap” and really isn’t all that much to look at. If I do decide to go with this phone, I will wait until the myTouch 3G is released in August.

Palm Pre

Manufacturer: Palm
Cell Network: Sprint
Open Source?: Yes
Positives: Palm is finally back. This is the phone that loyal users have been waiting for for quite some time now. While some might be upset at the loss of “classic” Palm OS software library, most will find the available apps to be suitable replacements. (A “classic OS” emulator is available for those who do not.)
Negatives: Not everyone likes the Sprint network.

- The world of Top-Level Domains has yet another superstar name on its hands — .ME Originally designed for the Eastern European country of Montenegro to signify its independence from Serbia, the fledgling TLD has become a hit with users who wish to give their sites a “personal touch.” According to industry site WebProNews, the relatively new .ME domain has been registered roughly 250,000 times since the initial “sunrise period” last year, and is only continuing to grow in popularity. The .ME TLD is available now through several registrars, including GoDaddy, Afilias, and the Montenegro-based Me.net.

- Despite rumors to the contrary, advertising will not be coming to a Twitter account near you anytime soon. In a post on the official Twitter blog, co-founder Biz Stone says that running banner ads “have always been low on our list of interesting ways to generate revenue.” Still, he’s not quite ready to close the door on ads just yet. Writes Stone: “We say traditional web banner advertising isn’t interesting to us which is true. However, to say we are philosophically opposed to any and all advertising is incorrect… [F]acilitating connections between businesses and individuals in meaningful and relevant ways is compelling. We’re going to leave the door open for exploration in this area.”

- The search engine known as Kumo might be making a public appearence sooner than anyone has ever expected. According to those close to the situation, Microsoft is planning to unveil the much anticipated replacement for Live Search as early as next week. In addition to the new name, Kumo is expected to bring a few much needed “enhancements and innovations” to the table, including the ability to group search results by category. The folks at Redmond reportedly have high hopes for the new engine, which could conceivably put them in the same elite category as Google and Yahoo. Microsoft is currently third in the “search engine arms race” with a disappointing 8.2% adoption rate.

- Cable network ESPN has struck a content deal with YouTube. According to the terms of the agreement, the sports giant will provide the online video megastar/Google subsidiary with original, ad-sponsored material designed to “compliment” the network’s programming. All of the videos in question will be available on the base YouTube site, but will feature a video player designed especially for ESPN. No live games or programming events are currently planned, but many believe that content from the broadband network ESPN 360 will be added in due time. A solid launch date is as of yet unknown.

- Popular music service Pandora has received a major upgrade. Called Pandora One, the new strategy is designed to “reward” paying customers while not “punishing” those who prefer the free-to-use player. Aside from the total annihilation of both banner and audio advertising from the site, the “pay service” has one major thing going for it — a desktop application powered by the Adobe AIR runtime environment. Thanks to the app, users can now stream their music at a higher bitrate (192 kbps), fill that space left by the advertising with fully customizable backgrounds, and more. Critics  point out that while the program does improve the overall desktop experience, Pandora’s penchant for repitition makes long-term use difficult. Others say that the app’s price ($36) might be a bit too steep for many users. Still, there is one thing that almost everyone can agree on: despite its faults, Pandora One is a nice little antidote to the predicable, sanitized nature of most FM broadcasts. Pandora One is available now for all paying customers.