…And we’re back! As you might have noticed, we have been a bit “preoccupied” as of late. Because of this, we have let a few “newer” services fall by the wayside. So obviously, there is only one thing that we can do to rectify the situation: Have a Showdown! So sit back, relax, and enjoy this massive, two-day journey through the new and scary.

App #1: Yahoo Meme

Website: http://meme.yahoo.com/home/
Developer: Yahoo
Type: Web service
Speciality: Microblogging
Why We Consider It to Be New: The service itself was released early last August. The API was released yesterday.
First Impression: “It’s cute. Not as cute as Plurk, but cute nonetheless.”
Potential Roadblock: English language users seem to be in short supply at the moment.

App #2: hi5

Website: http://www.hi5.com/
Developer: hi5 Networks
Type: Web service
Speciality: Social network
Why We Consider It to Be New: Hi5 has undergone what some might call a “gimmick change.” Instead of being a straight social network, hi5 now puts much of its focus on casual gaming. (Note: We here at the Free Line hate the terms “casual games” and “casual gaming.” From this point forward, all games of that nature will be referred to as “fidget games.”)
First Impression: “I love me a good fidget game.”
Potential Roadblock: None at the present moment. The Showdown is still young, however.

App #3: CNN Mobile

Website: N/A
Developer: CNN Interactive Group, Inc.
Type: iPhone Application
Speciality: News app
Why We Consider It to Be New: …Because it is. According to the iPhone app store, version 1.0 was released on September 24th. That seems pretty darn new to me…
First Impression: “This … Is (the iPhone-centric, mobile version of) CNN.”
Potential Roadblock: One can only take “so much” of cable news before going completely off of his or her rocker.
Note: I will be judging the app itself, not the reporting that lies therein. The Free Line is roughly 99.995% “politics free,” and I plan on keeping it that way.

App #4: iDrudge

Website: http://www.drudgereport.com (Original site)
Developer: Joseph Nardone
Type: iPhone Application
Speciality: News app
Why We Consider It to Be New: Again, it is. Version 1.2 was released at the beginning of October.
First Impression: “Why did the program close just now?”
Potential Roadblock: The program seems to be a tad “touchy,” as they say.
Note: Remember the disclaimer to the CNN app? The same exact thing applies here. As far as this blog is concerned, the app is everything.

App #5: Photoshop.com Mobile

Website: N/A
Developer: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Type: iPhone Application
Speciality: Photo editor
Why We Consider It to Be New: It’s five-days old.
First Impression: “It’s free?! I wonder what’s wrong with it…”
Potential Roadblock: This isn’t the original “Photoshop” that we’re talking about here. It’s Photoshop.com. Remember our last go around with Photoshop.com? If you do, then you know firsthand why we consider this to be a roadblock.

There are some stories, concepts, and rumors that seem to live on blogs like this one. Most of the time, these stories deserve the “star status” that they have been given. Every now and then, however, you run into a”Brett Farve” — a report that used to be interesting, but has been driven into the ground so much that it has become downright annoying. So on today’s episode of the Free Line, we are going to take a look at five of these stories, keeping a close eye on what exactly went wrong.

5. The “Twitpocylyse” – As you might have noticed, there has been one word on the lips of every mover, shaker, and outgoing athlete in the past year: Twitter. But for every one story about the insanely popular service, there seems to be two talking about its eventual end. According to some, the end is going to come when the number of users exceed 4,294,967,295. When this happens, the sites say, many Twitter-based programs will simply stop working. Interesting? Yes. Scary? Well yes, if you’re a Twitter addict. Still, there is one small problem with this theory — it was supposed to have happened once before. See, June 12th was supposed to bring about the end of all Tweets as we know it. The actual result? Two programs stopped working, but both were fixed within twenty-four hours. Maybe take two will bring about the end. We can only wait and see.

4. Google Makes the Greatest Things Ever – If there is one thing that everyone can agree upon, it’s Google’s track record. They make good products, plain and simple. Unfortunately, that sort of reliability has the tendency to be overblown by us in the press. Chrome isn’t a promising browser and/or operating system; it’s the one-two combination that will send Microsoft into bankruptcy. Android was being called a “sure fire iPhone killer” months before anyone even saw a screen shot. The latest program on the bandwagon is Google Voice, which is supposedly poised not only to take down Skype, but Apple and AT&T as well. Praise is great, but sometimes, it can go a bit too far.

3. The Demise of… – We are all familiar of the pop culture phenomenon known as “the backlash” — an odd social  movement in which a celebrated musician, trend, or celebrity goes from hero to “public enemy number one” seemingly overnight. This happens in the tech world as well, only in a slightly different fashion. Instead of mocking the offending tech product on talk shows and the like, we talk about how the company is on the point of death. Yahoo, MySpace, and eBay have all been subject to the “web services death watch.” While all of the companies mentioned have seen better days, the suspicious timing of these articles, and well as the dubious suggestions on how to right the proverbial ship (e.g. “Do what the competition is doing … it’s not ripping them off at all!”) , have us rubbing our collective temples in frustration.

2. Is Biz Stone Going to Sell Twitter? – For media outlets such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated, the aformentioned “Brett Farve watch” is a bonafide dream story. They can spend hour after hour and page after page sitting out on the man’s lawn, hoping that he will eventually come out and say “yes, I am coming out of retirement to join the Minnesota Vikings football team.” And if he doesn’t, who cares? The simple fact that he didn’t make an appearance is a fine little story within itself. The tech crowd has their own “Farve Watch,” but it has nothing to do with “sticking it” to the Green Bay Packers. No, ours involves the looming sale of Twitter by Biz Stone. Like Farve, Stone knows exactly how to play the media to his liking. All he has to do is drop a few key words into an interview — “monetize,” “Yahoo,” “Microsoft” — and the tech crowd is talking about it for a week. No matter when or if Stone decides to set his prized creation adrift, we can almost guarantee you that like Brett Farve’s third comeback attempt, the reality of the situation will not live up to the hype.

1. Fun With Microsoft and Yahoo – Everyone loves a good “will they, or won’t they?” story. In the 1970’s, we had Satuday Night Live’s lampooning of Fransisco Franco’s deathbed drama. (Spoiler: Franco is still dead.) In the 1990’s, we had the ongoing love affair between “Friends” Ross and Rachael. In the new millennium, we have the ongoing merger talks between Microsoft and Yahoo to keep us guessing. It seems like everything is going well, but oh no! Then-Yahoo president Jerry Yang has shot it down! Everything appeared to get back on track, but then Microsoft head Steve Ballmer announced that his company wants “absolutely nothing to do” with Yahoo. Things went on … and on … and on … like this until last week, when the two companies finally worked out a search deal. While it’s great that Yahoo has gotten their company in order, we sort of wish that they wouldn’t have “teased” us for so long.

…And there you have it. On behalf of everyone here at the Free Line, good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.

My apologies gang, but we’re going to have to cut this one short today. Still, I don’t like to leave all of you empty handed. So before I go, I will give my brief opinions on the four apps covered in Wednesday’s Showdown.

1. MotionX GPS – It’s a nice program. It really is. I just can’t figure out how to work the thing properly. It will eventually come to me … I hope.
2. GasBuddy – I said it before and I will say it again: Anything that is designed to get me cheap gas is a good thing.
3. TripIt – I question whether or not signing up for a travel based social network is worth the hassle. I am leaning towards “yes,” but I am still not entirely sure yet.
4. Traffic – If it will help me get past those construction-related tie ups in West Virginia and Pennsylvania without losing my mind, then this app will quickly become my best friend.

…And there you have it. Be sure to tune in Monday for part two of our travel-themed Showdown extravaganza. Until then, I bid thee adieu.

As many of you are already well aware of, we in the Northern Hemisphere are knee deep in something that we like to call “summer.” Now to most people, summer means only one thing: complaining about the heat seeing movies in which things explode for no apparent reason going places. On part one of our special three part Showdown extravaganza, we will be taking a look at four apps and services that are designed to make the summer trip just a tad bit easier. But before we do, however, our good friend “Triple N” (aka “the dissenting opinion”) has something to say.

Triple N: “Hey … What gives? I thought you said that there would be more marketing stories.”

Us: Don’t worry about it. There will be. Besides, you don’t have to use these tools on vacation. You could always employ them on your next business trip. There’s more to “work” than just staying in the office, you know.

Triple N: Good point. Carry on then.

…With that said, here we go:

Tool #1: MotionX-GPS

Service Provided: GPS
Platform: iPhone
Programmer/Host: Fullpower Industries
Why We Checked It Out: To many, a good GPS system is a must. The problem is that we don’t necessarily have one. The closest thing we have is an unlocked Nokia smart phone that contains full maps for Finland and Germany. While that would be great if we wanted to drive from Helsinki to Dusseldorf, it makes driving from Atlanta to, say, Pittsburgh neigh impossible.
First Thoughts: I honestly have no idea what I am doing here. There is a compass, a scrolling banner and several intimidating looking buttons, all of which are doing something completely foreign. This is definitely going to be interesting…

Tool #2: GasBuddy

Service Provided: Gas station locator
Platform: Web/iPhone
Website: http://www.gasbuddy.com/
Programmer/Host: GasBuddy (Website); Bottle Rocket (iPhone app)
Why We Checked It Out: Finding a place to get cheap gas is always a good thing.
First Thoughts: The website is absolutely perfect for the rookie traveler, telling us everything that we could possibly need to know in a straightforward, timely matter. The iPhone app, however, left us scratching our heads in confusion. Still, the trip (and the Showdown) is still young.

Tool #3: TripIt

Service Provided: Social Travel
Platform: Web/iPhone
Website: http://www.tripit.com
Programmer/Host: TripIt
Why We Checked It Out: It’s always a good idea to keep track of your travel plans. Hey … It beats writing everything down on paper, right?
First Thoughts: The site, while a tad cryptic, looks to be rather promising. We will have much more on this intriguing looking social service in a few days.

Tool #4: Traffic

Service Provided: Traffic guide
Platform: iPhone
Programmer/Host: CLO Software
Why We Checked It Out: Just because we know the lyrics to “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” and “Feelin’ Alright” by heart doesn’t necessarily make us experts on “Traffic.”
First Thoughts: The reviews on the app store were the very definition of the word “mediocre.” Here’s to hoping that our experiences buck the current trend.

…And there you have it. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a more in depth look at each of the services listed.

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.

On today’s award winning episode of the Showdown, we will be reviewing four iPhone apps that went overlooked. Some are good. Others show promise. One … well… some things are best left unsaid at the moment.

Google Voice

Original Showdown: VoIP on Mobile Devices
Website: https://www.google.com/voice
Developer: Google
Country of Origin: US
Note #1: As of this writing, Google Voice is not a “VoIP” service in the strictest sense of the acronym. It is actually a “middle man” service that dials out to a handset of your choosing before calling the person or persons in question. The quality of the call will largely depend on the quality of your phone service.
Note #2: You are able to avoid all nationwide long distance charges with this service. You are not, however, able to avoid your cell carrier’s “monthly minutes.” If you decide to let the service call your mobile device, you will be subject to the terms of your phone plan.
Note #3: Since there is not an official “Google Voice” iPhone app, we used a third party app called “GV Mobile.”
Overall: N/A — Google Voice is a nice service, but the sound quality is totally dependent on your phone. Because of this, we will not be giving this service a concrete score at this time.

Oceanus

Original Showdown: Proprietary Mobile Browsers (iPhone Edition)
Developer: Vikas Singla
Rendering Engine: Unknown
First Impression: “It’s pretty. I like the load bar on this one.”
Ease of Use: 7
Positives: Everything we tried — search, tabs, even a speed test — was almost on par to what one would find on a traditional desktop browser.
Negatives: Full screen mode is a bit a odd to work with at times, and buttons on the toolbar are a bit too small for our tastes.
Overall: 8

Perfect Browser

Original Showdown: Proprietary Mobile Browsers (iPhone Edition)
Developer: Ingenious Creations
Rendering Engine: Unknown
First Impression: “I like the transparency on the bottom window.”
Ease of Use: 9
Positives: The Perfect Browser pulls off what both iCab and Oceanus could not: a full screen mode that actually works as advertised. We were able to hide, then re-enable, both the address bar and the icon list in a matter of seconds.
Negatives: Try as we might, we could not find an options screen to save our lives.
Overall: 9

Gaggle

Original Showdown: Proprietary Mobile Browsers (iPhone Edition)
Developer: Trippert Labs
Rendering Engine: Unknown
The Gimmick: Gaggle touts itself as the first “social web browser” for the iPhone.
First Impression: “Why is it giving me an ad?”
Ease of Use: 1 — “It’s not really ‘hard’ to use at all. It’s just dumb. Really, really dumb.”
Positives: As we mentioned above, Gaggle makes it easy to share links with your compatriots on Facebook and Twitter.
Negatives: So what is it that we hate most about Gaggle? Is the gigantic ad that sits at the bottom of the screen at all times? It is the horribly touchy zoom feature? Is the fact that for whatever the reason, the now standard “horizontal display” option has been permanently disabled? The answer: It’s all of those things, and so much more. Our apologies for sounding like elitist snobs, but we here at the Free Line would like the ten minutes we spent on this browser back.
Overall Score: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The search through our “virtual basement” — also known as the wiki — is almost finished. Needless to say, it just gets stranger and stranger from here…

Service #1: Broong

Website: http://www.broong.com/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Office_and_Productivity_Software
Service: Social note taking
First Impression: “I am not familiar with the thing that I’m seeing.”
Ease of Use: N/A — Just type in your email address and your set.
Positives: It’s a community bulletin board that just happens to be online. Broong also has one major advantage over said “message boards” of old: each user gets five gigs of storage space for free. It’s hard to go wrong there.
Negatives: It’s a community bulletin board that just happens to be online.
Overall: 7; “It really is a nice service. It just looks a little odd.”

Service #2: Gnu Privacy Guard (GnuPG)

Website: http://www.gnupg.org/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Security%2C_Spyware%2C_and_Viruses
Service: Security
First Impression: “Where did it go? I honestly cannot find it on my system.”
Ease of Use: -4; “What’s going on? What is it doing? Why do I have to type a message?”
Positives: Well … it probably is a really, really powerful privacy protector. Too bad that we could not figure out how to use the darn thing. We may or may not have to compile it ourselves.
Negatives: This is honestly the most difficult, most cryptic program that we have attempted to run in Windows. Case in point: once we finally found the root GnuPG file, it told us to “type a message.” We still have no idea what that means.
Overall: N/A, as we didn’t have a chance to do anything of merit.

Service #3: Websnpr

Website: http://www.websnapr.com/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Web_Apps
Service: Online screen capture
First Impression: “Aww … that’s cute. It’s tiny!”
Ease of Use: N/A; All you have to do is type in a web address. The actual service does the rest.
Positives: It’s different.
Negatives: We are still trying to figure out what purpose this application serves. Who out there would exactly want a small little “snapshot” of their favorite website, anyway? Wouldn’t it be more productive to actually, you know, go to the website in question?
Overall: 6; “It’s a well put together program. We just do not see the point.”

Service #4: MixedInk

Website: http://mixedink.com/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Social_Media
Service: Collaborative news
First Impression: “What’s with the logo? It looks like the ‘I’ is giving the ‘M’ a back breaker.”
Ease of Use: 8; “Setting up your account is easy. Posting your opinions is even easier.”
Positives: It is incredibly simple to use. It makes the likes of Digg and Reddit look like the Gnu Privacy Guard by comparison.
Negatives: It seems as if most the topics are about politics. While that’s great for political junkies, it’s bound to annoy everyone else within earshot.
Overall: 6

Service #5: Domainr

Website: http://domai.nr/
Wiki Link: http://www.freelinereport.com/wiki/Website_Creation
Service: Domain naming service
First Impression: “There’s a domain search service out there that isn’t ‘WhoIs?’ Neat.”
Ease of Use: 9
Positives: The results given by the service can be very creative at times. A search for the “Free Line Report,” for example, netted us such gems as “freel.in/ereport,” “freeline.re/port,” and “fr.ee/linereport.”
Negatives: …On the other hand, some of the suggestions can be a bit “odd” for daily use.
Overall: 9; “It’s entertaining.”

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.