Happy Holidays from Axiom, See You in 2011!

The holidays are upon us, and Axiom will be closing its doors until 2011. It's been a great year for Daily Axioms, and I fully expect 2011 to be the same. So, even though I know I said last week was the last video post, here's a special holiday greeting to all of you on behalf of Axiom and we'll see you in the new year!

Coke's Android-vertising

One of the things that I love about Android devices is the Live Wallpaper feature. However, but because my phone doesn't support that particular feature, I'm left to envying those that have those animated wallpapers (playing with the display devices at Best Buy).

Well, now Coke has taken advantage of Android's popular Live Wallpapers by releasing a holiday-themed Live Wallpaper of their own. The wallpaper, like all Live Wallpapers, responds to touch and movement. In this case, if you tilt your phone, it'll send a man in a shopping cart rolling across the screen. Also, if you shake your phone it will start to snow, essentially turning your phone into a snowglobe.

It's a neat idea, mostly because it's fun and well-timed with the holidays. However, I'm not sure we'll see this become a trend with other companies, because Coke has one big advantage over most other companies: cultural icon status. 

What I mean by that is that Coke doesn't just have strong brand awareness and recognition, but that the brand has extended beyond the levels achieved by most companies and has become a cultural symbol. That's why it's nice to see Coke take advantage of their status and venture into this new form of advertising.

The Lesson Any Company Can Learn from Mint.com

Mint.com has quickly become the premier financial management app for keeping track of accounts across multiple banks. And today, Mint.com announced they are partnering with educational publisher Scholastic to launch a free, online curriculum aimed at educating high school students about personal finance.

But this post isn't about fiscal responsibility (I'm by no means an expert on that subject), but rather the idea of taking on that educator role. This program is a good idea for two reasons.

1. Mint.com is directly speaking to a large age demographic (high school kids) that doesn't typically use finance-management tools. However, many high school kids have smartphones, which makes them a potential user base and a growth opportunity for Mint.com.
2. Mint.com is taking efforts to establish itself as a thought leader in both the finance and mobile industries.

That second point is the primary takeaway that we can all keep in mind. Mint.com is by far the most popular app of its kind, so in many ways it doesn't need to educate a mobile user base that typically doesn't even use their product. However, by doing so they are better positioning their brand in the public arena.

Facebook Friday: Update Oopsie Reveals Future of Facebook

The blogosphere was in a frenzy yesterday with the unceremonious and unexpected launch of Facebook's new features. There was just one slight problem...

The update wasn't supposed to happen.

Unfortunately, the new features were gone as quickly as they came, leaving the social media news giants scrambling to piece together what some off the changes were. Based on user comments and screenshots, a few things start to emerge:

• The new Pages layout, which was revealed last week, is still set happen along with the ability to switch accounts at the click of a button.
• There's a new RSS feed-like feature called "Outside World" to filter news outside of Facebook.
• There's also a new "Memories" feature that is apparently a snapshot of status updates and new friends from previous years.
• Photos are also getting upgraded with a Lightbox UI to better display photos. This feature has been alluded to before (back when Facebook upgraded its photo resolution capabilities).

Of course, because this was an accidental launch, well have no idea if/when these changes will officially take place.

But what we do know is that the old adage of "give them an inch and they'll take a mile" still rings true, because that accidental inch Facebook slipped up on has led to miles of content and speculation for blogs and news sites across the web.

Video Post: Social Media's Impact on News in 2010

For the final Daily Axioms video post of 2010, I look back at the a couple of the biggest news stories from this year and the role social media played in how we as a society viewed them. From the Winter Olympics to the Chilean miners' rescue, it was a big year in the headlines and social media had a definite influence.

What I Learned from the Science of Blogging Seminar

Last week, Hubspot's Dan Zarrella (@danzarrella) held a webinar called The Science of Blogging based on his research into blogger and blog reader habits. It was a great seminar with some eye-opening points, and if you didn't get a chance to check it out, here are some of the main takeaways.

• Analysis of 170,000+ blog posts show that links about videos get more hits than photo links. 
• However, photo links get more comments than video links. 

• Incentivizing commenting by the audience tends to work, because the word "giveaway" gets by far the most comments.

• Something to keep in mind when sharing blog posts on Facebook: As the reading level required for a Facebook post goes up, the chance it gets shared goes down significantly.

• Most blog views and links happen early in the week, but blog comments and retweets happen later in the week.
• Blog articles posted around 10am tend to get the most amount of views.
• Most re-tweets happen between 2pm and 5pm.

With the hundreds of thousands of blogs out there, obviously bloggers have to keep the best practices in mind if they are going to set themselves apart from the rest.

Buying the Cow When You Get the Milk for Free

Who wants to buy the cow when they get the milk for free?

Apparently I do, because I recently upgraded my Evernote account to premium, officially taking my first step into the cow-buying-after-free-milk-getting realm of online startups.

That got me thinking about the whole idea of monetization of online services in an increasingly accessible world. With so many mobile apps and networks out there, companies have to ask themselves more and more if and what to charge for their services.

On one hand, having a free service means there's no risk for people curious to try it out. And the more people you have actually trying the service, the better the chance that they'll adopt it for the long-term. But on the other hand, free services have a harder time making money. Sure, you can sell ad space, but you run the risk of diluting the experience for the user and losing that adoption rate.

I remember seeing a study back in July that showed the percentage of people who would be willing to pay for Twitter should they stop offering the service for free: 0%. I know we're dealing with some complex statistics here, so I'll break those numbers down: Nobody is willing to pay for Twitter.

Sarcasm aside, that study did provide an important lesson for startups. Given the same features and relatively same user experience, users are not willing to start paying for a service they already had access to for free.

That's why I like this emerging trend of the freemium service, where a startup offers a basic version of their service for free but has upgradeable options. There was an article recently about Evernote's freemium business model and how the free note-taking service is now a $10 million dollar business.

For developers and investors, stories like this are great because it shows there is indeed a market for online services, even if they're offered for free. For consumers, it's great because that means we should continue to see innovative services.

The biggest takeaway from all of this is that if people really like the milk, they'll be willing to buy the cow either way.

PR Curators for the Digital Age

Do you like Axiom's new tagline? No, it's not official, but it points to the direction we want to go as an organization. What we want to do is make it easy for our clients and partners to evaluate new media options. And there are plenty out there. New iPad apps, Android apps, and new automated curation tools like Flipboard.

We need to be ahead of our clients when it comes to social media. Steve and Heidi probably won't agree, but I tend to think FaceBook and Twitter may be gone in a few years as they grow beyond their original intent, to be replaced with something new. But the main point is that we can't be satisfied as a company simply offering the same, safe strategies and tactics that have been used in the past.

Upwards of 50 million tablets will be in the hands of consumers in a few short years. We need to make sure our clients are integrated into that platform, much like they have been in newspapers and magazines. What comes after that is anyone's guess, but I hope we'll still be here talking about it.

Video Post: Axiom at Feed My Starving Children

Right before Thanksgiving, I talked about the entire office here at Axiom spending the afternoon volunteering at Feed My Starving Children. It was a fantastic experience and the consensus is that we will definitely be doing it again at some point. And in true Axiom style, Dave Sniadak put together a great little video about our time there.

Don't Worry, Be HAPPO

HAPPO (Help a PR Professional Out) has been gaining a lot of steam over the last few months with its mission of connecting PR professionals with job and internship opportunities through its blogs, LinkedIn account, and Twitter stream.

Founded by Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon, HAPPO is led by 35 PR industry leaders from across the country looking to make a difference and offer their expertise and knowledge.

For instance, tonight from 8pm-9pm, HAPPO will be hosting a free Twitter chat (under the #HAPPO hashtag) that is open to anyone and everyone, including those looking for a job, those looking to hire or those just looking to provide advice or words of encouragement for job-seekers.

The theme for the chat is New Year’s Resolutions for PR Job Seekers–How to land a job in 2011. A wide range of topics will be discussed, with everything from job-seeking tips to resume-building and interviewing advice making it into the mix. 

Even if you're lucky enough to already have a PR job, there's obviously enough being discussed at the #HAPPO chat to make it more than worth your while.

For more information, Valerie Simon covered all of the event details in this National Public Relations Examiner post.

Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole

Remember the surreal feelings of despair and confusion whenever Facebook or Twitter were down?

Well, many users of the popular blogging service Tumblr went through that same social media melancholy after the site suffered a crippling blow and was down for over 24 hours (practically an eternity in Internet time).

Okay, I admit that may be a bit overdramatic. But the fact is that Tumblr was down for an inordinate amount of time and a lot of people took notice.

It seems that Tumblr may have been a victim of its own success, with the company stating it was heavy traffic that caused the meltdown. In some ways it's a good problem to have because it means you're growing, but there needs to be a solid infrastructure to support that growth.

Unfortunately for Tumblr, the wake-up call for those infrastructure repairs and growth support down the road have come at the cost of a lot of angry tweets and Facebook posts and a fairly substantial image backlash.

Were you affected by Tumblr's downtime? And do instances like this change the way you view different sites and networks?

Google's Billions Don't Sway Groupon

The rumor mill was churning last week, with most of the focus on Google's potential buyout of social buying site Groupon.

The blogosphere was buzzing with articles and posts pondering the impact the move would have and what it would mean for Groupon. However, all of the prognosticating and predictions were for nothing with the news over the weekend that Groupon turned down Google's $5.3 billion offer.

A lot of people couldn't comprehend Groupon's decision to turn down $5.3 billion for a startup reportedly bringing in $500 million annually. Financially, it's a valid argument...unless those earnings figures are wrong (and luckily for Groupon, they are). There have been reports coming out recently that Groupon is actually making $2 billion annually.

There are arguments to be made about possible non-monetary reasons behind Groupon saying no to Google, but I honestly think that this was simply Google making what would have been a nice offer for a company that was doing well (but not spectacular). Unfortunately for Google, the earnings numbers they probably based their offer on were off and Groupon is obviously looking to greener pastures.

Microsoft Shows No Dis-Kinect with Consumers

Way back in June, I questioned whether or not the gaming industry was on its deathbed after being pushed further and further into anonymity with the rise of smarthphones and social gaming.

In that post, I noted that Microsoft was going to unveil its controller-free game system at the E3 Conference. And while I didn't say how I felt about Microsoft's controller-free approach in the article, to be honest I felt it was fairly gimmicky.

Boy, was I wrong. Microsoft has announced that its Kinect system has sold 2.5-million units in the 25 days since its public launch. To put that number in perspective, the iPad (you know, the device that has been called the fastest-selling device of all time), took twice as long to surpass the 2 million mark.

In my opinion, their success boils down to two things. One, the much-lower price point compared to the iPad is always conducive to higher sales. Secondly, Microsoft has been very upfront with their support for developers hacking their Kinect for other purposes.

It was an ingenious move on Microsoft's part, because people have pondered the potential outside of gaming, and dreamed of Minority Report-like computer navigation and web-browsing since the system's unveiling.

I don't believe the Kinect will kill off the Nintendo Wii, although I wonder what effect it will have on the Playstation Move's sales. However, the public has obviously latched on to the idea of controller-free gaming and the Kinect's success should boost a struggling gaming industry.

Video Post: State of E-Reader Report

With the holiday shopping season in full swing and rumors of an upcoming e-bookstore from Google, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the current e-reader market to see what options are out there. Tablets also get looked at, on the heels of a recent report on the iPad's impact on the e-reader market.

The 140-Character Future of RSS Feeds

I admit it. I was a bit late to the Twitter party, just getting into the tweeting game a few months ago. And although I've fully embraced it now, it took me a month or so to figure out how to get the most out of it.

Starting out, I (like many others) used Twitter as a sort of RSS feed for news or sports. Apparently, the discussion forum Quora has latched on to the idea as well. Since it's early days, Quora has allowed users to follow topics on the site to view new or edited questions relevant to them as they appear.

But now, Quora has created Twitter accounts for nearly all of their topics. There are accounts for very broad topics like "social media" (@q_socialmedia) or "science" (@q_science) and brand specific accounts like "Nikon" (@q_nikon). If you already have a Quora account, the accounts for the topics you follow show up here.

Now it's not exactly a true Twitter account, because the @QuoraQuestions account tweets out any questions and, if the question is about the topic you subscribe to, retweets it to the topic-specific feed.

It may be a modified Twitter account or it may be a new form of RSS feed, but either way it's still an intriguing method of sending out data and good for Quora users who spend way more time on Twitter than in their email inboxes.

The Missing Link?

As the guy who has taken over programming and web design duties for Daily Axioms the last few months, I've had to make decisions about different sharing features, most important of which have been about what sharing buttons to put up on our site.

What was once an easy decision (one Share This/Add This button and you're done) has been expanded to Facebook buttons, TweetMeme buttons, Twitter buttons, Evernote buttons, and scores of others that I can't rattle off the top of my head. 

Now LinkedIn has added to the mix with a sharing button of their own. That in itself isn't necessarily newsworthy, but what it means for the future of LinkedIn is. 

LinkedIn has achieved rare success and become a part of that pantheon of social media elite along with the likes of Facebook and Twitter. It's carved out and dominated its niche as a professionals' network, steady progressing and evolving along the way.

That's why this new button worries me. Yes, there has always been (and will always be) link-sharing with large social networks, including LinkedIn. The issue is that the entire concept of sharing buttons is predicated upon making link-sharing as fast and easy as possible, which is perfect for networks like Twitter and Facebook.

But LinkedIn isn't meant to be a barrage of links. Users, myself included, enjoy LinkedIn because you aren't inundated with links. And while I understand the reason for posting the occasional story to LinkedIn because it pertains to your industry or has some relevance to your professional life, LinkedIn may be opening the flood gates to overwhelming users with pointless links that other users have no interest in.

Of course, all of this depends on web developers actually implementing it into their sites, which has yet to be seen. And maybe I'm off the mark with how LinkedIn users will receive this new sharing button, but I for one don't believe LinkedIn should try to be something it's not and should stick to being the professionals' network that made it successful in the first place.

Black Friday Leads to Green Weekend for Online Retailers

Welcome back, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and successful Black Friday shopping excursion. And yes, I do mean excursion because every mall and shopping center was a madhouse over the biggest shopping weekend of the year.

But even though lines of eager shoppers camped outside stores in anticipation of great deals and specials, Internet retailers enjoyed Black Friday success as well.

There were several Black Friday spending reports that came out in the aftermath of the sales frenzy, with comScore reporting a 9% increase in online spending this past Black Friday versus the same day in 2009. 

Also, a Coremetrics report that came out over the weekend reports a nearly 16% increase in online spending. There may be varying reports, but the general consensus is that online retailers showed marked improvement. That improvement is even more impressive considering another report showed that retailers only saw a 0.3% increase in in-store spending from last year.

The Coremetrics report also highlights a 26.7% jump in the number of people utilizing mobile websites, illustrating the importance of a strong mobile website. If shoppers can't easily access your website on the go, chances are they'll move on.

So as another Black Friday has come and gone, it's a good economic sign that we saw at least a slight increase across the board for retailers. And the significant spike we saw from Internet retailers is an even better sign for mobile and online development in the ongoing holiday shopping season.

Axiom Gives Thanks

A common topic of discussion around the office the last week or so has revolved around the Thanksgiving dinners we all plan to cook and enjoy in a few days. But while most of us will be eating ourselves into a coma (as I plan to do), there are many out there who don't get that luxury.

That's why I'm excited about the opportunity our office is getting to help out some of those in need when we go volunteer at Feed My Starving Children this afternoon. It's incredibly easy to give up a few hours and help out, especially when you consider how much good it can do.

It's also a fitting end to the work day before we close down the office for the week. So I'll be taking a short break from blogging and analyzing the social media universe while the doors are closed, but you can be sure Daily Axioms will be back up and running on Monday.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Scanning TSA's Troubles for Any Signs of Hope

Remember when the worst thing people said about the TSA were jokes about its initials meaning "Thousands Standing Around"?

Boy, have things changed. In the wake of full body scans and pat downs, the TSA has seemingly become more hated than BP in the eyes of the Internet. They've inspired numerous parodies on Twitter and lots of scathing blog posts.

Is the social media hate justified? For the most it is, because many of the things we've all been hearing since these new security procedures have been implemented show egregious lapses in judgment by the individual TSA agents.

But that's the thing; it's been individuals showing the lack of professionalism behind these horror stories.

This is why companies and organizations have (or should have) a solid PR team behind them, because it's the PR team's job to assure the public that the actions and immaturity shown by several of their agents is not indicative of the organization as a whole. More importantly, the TSA PR team needs to let us all know that they are taking steps to solve these issues.

The TSA's response? A Twitter account...that spams links from its TSA blog to users who tweet out negative comments about the new scanners and pat down procedures. A Twitter account can be a useful weapon in the crisis management arsenal if its used effectively, which it isn't in this case.

But this post isn't about full body scanners or pat downs, because I still believe that it's been a lack of professionalism by the TSA's individual agents that the root cause of most of the controversy. However, the oversights made by the TSA on the PR front are making things worse by not taking advantage of social media to influence their image or public perception. 

And until that happens, I'm afraid the TSA may be securing their place at the top of the Internet's no-fly list.

Video Post: Blood is Thicker Than Water

We've covered our blood donations here on Daily Axioms several times in the past, mostly because it is something we really care about. Unfortunately, however, the need for more blood donations is still incredibly high. That's why we decided to show how easy the process is and why it's so important.

Video Post: It's a Blog Eat Blog World

Traditional journalists often criticize bloggers for plagiarizing content from actual news outlets, but that doesn't mean the "old" media isn't immune from taking liberties with the work of others. In fact, cooking magazine Cook Source has been raked over the coals recently for publishing a blog post without the blogger's permission. I look into the controversy and its impact on today's video post.

Making Sense of a Manic Monday

Whenever Facebook unveils a new feature, you can be sure everyone will take notice.

If Google launches a new service, it's going to dominate headlines.

When Apple announces any updates, a frenzy hits the news and blogosphere.

But what about when all three online giants make announcements on the same day? Besides being inundated with updates in my RSS feed, I was left struggling to decide which one to cover in today's post.

So instead of prioritizing, I'll give a brief rundown of what all three companies announced on Monday.

Thinking outside of the (in)box.

Facebook unveiled a revamped version of their messaging system. While rumors flew that this was designed to compete with Gmail, Facebook claims this new messaging system is not an email killer.

The new messaging focuses on being a social inbox with seamless messaging and a conversation history. Users will also receive an @facebook.com address based on their username. Other features include off-site emailing, compatibility with other systems, and integration with SMS and mobile Web apps, all of which will take place on this new message platform.

Turning up the location-based heat.

Google is once again venturing further into the location-based arena with Monday's release of Hotpot, a Yelp-style recommendation engine. Hotpot takes all of their existing Google Places features like reviews and ratings with a friendlier user interface. Hotpot allows users to link and recommend services directly from their account, as opposed to aggregating the data from outside services like Yelp or Gowalla.

Beatles and iTunes come together.

After years of going back and forth, the families of the Beatles have finally agreed to sell the back catalog of songs to iTunes. Rumors had been swirling that the Beatles would finally be landing on the music service, and those rumors were proven true with Apple's announcement Monday. And if you go to iTunes, you'll notice that Beatlemania has taken over iTunes both musically and visually.

So as you can see, it was a very busy day for anyone covering the latest tech and social media news. Hopefully, this gives sheds some light on a very busy Monday.

Video Production Internship

It’s official! Axiom Productions, the video department of Axiom Marketing Communications, is looking for a new video production intern. With the explosive growth of online video, now more than ever we are in need of new talent to help out with the video production process from start to finish.

Responsibilities

The video production internship will encompass all components that go into a professionally produced video. From initial concept creation to on-set directing, this internship offers a variety of opportunities for the up-and-coming video pro. Not only will the intern help produce and edit client works, the video production intern will spearhead the Daily Axiom Vlogs you see here on a weekly basis.

Qualifications

• Must be a college graduate with a degree in mass communication, video production, broadcast journalism, or related field

• Must have experience with video production editing software, specifically Final Cut Pro

• Must be able to multitask and coordinate several video projects simultaneously

• Must be detail oriented and have the ability to work both independently and in a team environment

How to Apply
If you think you’ve got what it takes and are interested in joining the Axiom Productions team, send an email to Creative Director Dave Sniadak with a cover letter, resume and three samples that highlight your video production/editing experience.

To see some of our award winning video work, feel free to check out our YouTube and Vimeo pages. Questions? Let us know below, or find us on Twitter.

The Path of Least Resistance

The big social media news today revolves around the launch of Path, a startup formed and funded by a bunch of big name players in the online development community. But what's most interesting about this new addition to the social sphere is how un-social it really is.

On its surface, Path is a photo-sharing service. The catch, however, is that you are limited to sharing with 50 friends...maximum.

Obviously, this is a very different approach than Twitter, Facebook or Flickr, where there's that race to build up followers and friends. This anti-social network isn't necessarily a deterrent, because I'm sure there is a market for a more personal photo sharing service like this.

And while limiting network size is refreshing, there are a couple of potential obstacles in the path that Path has taken.

1. Photo-sharing standards thrown out the window.

• No ability to comment or like any photos on Path.
• No editing ability or filters, a major draw for current popular photo-sharing apps like Instagram.
• Limited tagging allowed. With Path, there are three categories to tag with each picture (People, Place, and Thing), but you can only create one tag for each category.

2.  Doesn't play nice with others.

• No external social media integration, which means you can't share Path photos to Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Currently only available on iPhone. Sorry Android fans, you'll have to wait a while before trying it out (on your phone at least).

3. Exclusivity is the name of Path's game.

• You can't view someone's Path profile unless you are friends with them.
• You can invite people who aren't on Path to join, but email notification settings can't be adjusting outside of "muting" a friend whose updates you don't want to see.

Path has dubbed itself as "The Personal Network" for your close friends and family. It's good for those of us who share lots of inside jokes or you-should-have-been-there pictures on larger social networks like Facebook and Twitter and are afraid of confusing the rest of our friends/followers with pictures that aren't meant for them.

So yes, Path's limited network can be difficult to wrap your head around, especially if you're used to Twitter and Facebook. But if you're looking for this kind of anti-social network, Path may be worth a look.

However, given the lack of features and integration, I personally won't be taking this particular Path.

Facebook Friday: Gloves Are Off Against Google

I've touched on the Google-Facebook digital arms race before, mostly in reference to the constant changes both companies were making updates to gain as much ground as possible in the online space.

The key phrase there is "arms race" because it was purely a competition for innovation. We didn't see Facebook and Google taking direct shots at each other publicly, instead focusing their energies on new features and products. But that seemingly-good natured race is over, given the feud that's been boiling over the past week.

For those who missed it (or are just confused by the barrage of headlines), here's basically what happened:

• Nov. 4: Google changed their terms of service to prevent Facebook from importing Google contact data without allowing Google to do the same with Facebook's data.

• Nov. 8: Facebook hacked their way around Google's data protection effort, letting them keep their access to Google's data without giving up their own.

• Nov. 9: Google takes a shot at Facebook, in response to Facebook's what's-mine-is-mine-and-what's-yours-is-also-mine approach to data access, saying how "disappointed" they were that Facebook would do something like that.

• Nov. 9: A Facebook engineer shoots back at Google, stating that "[data] openness doesn’t mean being open when it's convenient for you." He went on to claim that Google has flip-flopped on data openness in the past, while Facebook has remained consistent with their policy.

• Nov 10: Google retaliates by sending users trying to import their Google data to Facebook to a jump page warning that Facebook is guilty of data-trapping: 

You have been directed to this page from a site that doesn't allow you to re-export your data to other services, essentially locking up your contact data about your friends. So once you import your data there, you won't be able to get it out.

So there it is, the feud between the two biggest online titans revolves around data portability. And while most people are pondering who won this fight, it's pretty much a split decision. Google has seemingly won the moral high ground, painting Facebook as data-hogging bullies. However, the fact is that Facebook is still the one with all of the data.

That being said, it's hard to tell whether this is a win-win or a lose-lose situation for these two digital giants. What we do know, however, is that their battle for Internet supremacy got a lot more personal.

Video Post: I_Blog Conference Recap

As we mentioned last week, Axiom's own Dave Sniadak spoke at this past weekend's I_Blog Conference in Perry, Iowa. His "Vasics" of Vlogging seminar helped bloggers understand how to incorporate video into their blogs and make those videos the best they can be. And for those of you who couldn't be there, Dave discusses some of the key points from his seminar and his I_Blog Conference experience in today's Daily Axioms video post.

Foursquare's Nip/Tuck

Not content to stop at just adding new badges, Foursquare continues to roll out updates. This time, they've cleaned up their website with what they themselves called "a little nip and tuck."

The emphasis of the update centers on friend management. The home page now features a Twitter-style stream of your friends' recent checkins and accomplishments. There's also a big "Find Friends" button at the top of the page.

This "Find Friends" feature is perhaps the biggest update to the website, and the most needed. This feature allows you to pull contacts from Gmail, Facebook and Twitter to add as Foursquare friends. Location-based networks like this are much more fun with more friends and a larger network, so streamlining the process of adding friends should bolster users' networks and foster more frequent use.

Managing your network is also a lot easier on the website now, because you can see which friends you have in common with other friends or potential friends. This alleviates the hesitation of adding Foursquare friends you don't know at all.

This is a good move by Foursquare because before this, there hasn't been much use for the website with so much focus on its mobile utility. Also, a more popular website opens up more monetization and advertising options should Foursquare choose to go down that road.

So although these updates are in their early stages, the overall opinion of this little location-based facelift seems to be very positive. Hopefully, this streamlined and improved friend management platform will give the Foursquare website a much-needed identity and purpose.

Will the Dell's Duo be Dynamic or Disastrous?

Last week Dell released a short teaser video for their upcoming Dell Inspiron Duo tablet, which should hit the market by the end of the year.

Obviously, Dell faces the same challenge that every tablet has faced since the iPad was launched. They are trying to not only separate themselves from Apple's hugely popular tablet, but from the sea of other tablet that have dominated technology headlines in recent months.

And what is Dell bringing to the table?

For starters, the Inspiron Duo sports a full QWERTY keyboard in addition to the standard tablet touchscreen. And to get to that keyboard, the Inspiron Duo has a really cool flip lid that turns the touchscreen 180 degress. So what you end up with is a combination tablet/netbook.  It's hard to explain, so I recommend checking out the video for yourself.

The number one question facing technology developers today concerns multifunctional capabilities like this. Do people want a device that does a little bit of everything, or a device that does one thing really well?

The prime example is the tablet vs. e-reader debate. Many feared that the iPad would kill off the Kindle because it could do a lot more in addition to functioning as an e-reader. However, despite a very successful tablet release by Apple, the Kindle is still going strong as well.

Given the success of both product categories, I think that, assuming the Inspiron Duo performs well as both a tablet and netbook, it has a real chance to gain ground in this very competitive tablet market.

All's Fair in Love and Facebook

Nearly 9 out of 10 web users have searched for password hacking methods online, according to a recent BitDefender survey. I'll let that sink in for a moment, but here's why we all need to take notice of statistics like this.

Let's face it, nothing ruins your day faster than having your online privacy breached. Here at Axiom, we've had our Twitter profile hacked, and I personally have had my credit card information stolen. Neither situation was fun to deal with, and both required an overhaul to how I/we set up passwords.

But before you start hyperventilating over the thought of millions of hackers trying to steal your online identity, we need to look at why so many people are apparently interested in password hacking. The answer seems to center on love and relationships.

The survey found that 72% of respondents had wanted to read their significant other’s personal messages. And if you think that ending the relationship would solve your privacy issue, you'd be wrong, because 64% of potential password stealers had thought about exacting some online revenge by changing passwords or information in their ex-boy/girlfriend’s social network account.

So with all of us moving more and more facets of our lives online, the risk of being hacked is obviously going to go up. However, your biggest threat probably isn't some professional hacker with the latest code-breaking program, but the people you already love and trust. I guess Nietzsche had it right when he said, "there is always some madness in love."

Axiom Staffer to Speak at Blog Conference this Weekend

Online video has seen an exponential boom among web surfers since the early 2000's. According to comScore reports, more than 34-billion videos populate the internet, with more than 183-million users consuming that video. With all that video floating around, how are we ensuring that quality content is being created?

Axiom's Creative Director, Dave Sniadak, will be speaking at the I_Blog Conference in Perry, Iowa, Saturday, November 6th to deliver a Vasics of Vlogging seminar. He'll attempt to enlighten bloggers with some tips on how they can not only incorporate video into their blogs, but how to raise the production level a few notches.

Some of the topics Dave will be addressing are the three kinds of vlogs that users generally create, and three key components producers should heed before hitting record for their next vlog. Among other things, Dave will attempt to produce a real-time vlog post with some brave session attendees. Check back early next week for a session recap.

Only 4% Online Adults Use Location-Based Services

The unfortunate side effect of following social media news as closely as many of us do is that we sometimes forget that not everybody uses, understands, or even cares about it to extent that we do.

For instance, looking around the social media news headlines you'd think that location-based services like Foursquare or Gowalla are dominating the social sphere. However, a very surprising report from the Pew Research Center shows that these services have a long way to go before they can be considered mainstream staples.

The title of the report, "4% of online Americans use location-based services," pretty much says it all. The rest of the study dives further into the numbers, but all of the statistics point to the same conclusion that these location-based services aren't being utilized across multiple demographics.

The report breaks down the use of these services by several categories, and if you piece together the highest percentages, the ideal geolocation user is an 18-29 year old (8%) Hispanic (10%) male (6%). But even the highest percentages are lackluster, given that the study covered online adults.

But this low usage rate is by no means a sign that location-based services are doomed to fail, it only means that they are not mainstream as of right now. However, these statistics should be taken into account by companies looking to launch any sort of location-based campaign, because the numbers show that it may have some trouble reaching a large majority of the online population.

Switching Teams: Why Facebook Places Might be Worth a Second Look

Without a doubt, the office favorite here at Axiom is Foursquare. If any of us use Facebook Places, it's rare and infrequent--in opposition to some staffers' obsessions with checking in daily on Foursquare. First Facebook took MySpace, then it took our beloved chatting services MSN & AOL, and now we're about to witness its first real attempt to take down our favorite location-based social network.

So what did Facebook Places do to make us take a closer look? They combined it with our nation's newest obsession: local deals. Simply titled "Deals," the service will provide four different special offers available only through Facebook Places. Individual Deals will offer a single deal just for you, while Friend Deals will allow you and a buddy to be in on the savings. Loyalty Deals will be similar to Foursquare Mayorships for frequent customers, and Charity Deals will allow you to donate to a particular cause.

And of course, in true Facebook fashion, every time you cash in on a deal it pops up on your newsfeed.

What does this all boil down to? Where Foursquare held the monopoly in the location-based marketing arena, they now have a direct deals competitor with a social networking giant. Sure, Facebook doesn't have the bragging rights that can only come from a legit Foursquare Mayorship, but with brands like Chipotle and GAP already signing onto Facebook Deals, there might be reason to switch.

Virtually Fired

Some of you may remember this summer’s run-in with Axiom’s own Foursquare Cheater. Some unknown user had checked into the Axiom offices often enough to steal the mayorship from an employee.

It just so happens this employee is very competitive and did not appreciate the virtual lies.

After a few emails to Foursquare urging them to reconsider their security system, we finally learn that they’ve granted businesses the authority to fire fake mayors. According to Foursquare representatives: 

Yesterday we gave verified business owners the ability to oust a Mayor if they have reason to believe the Mayorship was not gained through legitimate check-ins. If a Mayor is flagged by a business owner, they’ll be removed from office immediately and the next user in line will take over as Mayor.

That’s right. Businesses can now go all Donald Trump over cheaters, given they’re paying enough attention to know who’s legitimate and who isn’t. Even though this hardly matters for an office such as Axiom, I imagine it will cause quite a stir amongst bars and restaurants that are offering mayoral perks. But what happens if a newly-fired mayor was let go by mistake? What if the next in line causes a fuss over the legitimacy of a mayorship? Will businesses need to listen to this back-and-fourth rivalry to ensure their mayors are authentic?

Even though I was able to earn the Axiom mayorship back by old school check-ins, I don’t know if firing mayors is helping or hurting the issue. Nothing says 'don’t patronize my business' more than virtually getting fired.

Axiom Brings Home the Daveys

Not long after Axiom was awarded with a Gold MarCom for our 1K Country Adventure campaign with Country Inns & Suites, we learn we are also being recognized with two Davey Awards!

We're proud to share that our 1K Country Adventure campaign was awarded with a Gold Davey in the Online Marketing Effectiveness category. In case you missed what the campaign was about, here's a recap from our esteemed videographer.



We also won a Silver Davey for our Toro Facebook video titled, "How Old is Your Toro?" The video was created to showcase the durability and longevity of Toro mowers, and we were blown away with the number of responses.



We're all honored to have received awards for our work, especially from the International Academy of the Visual Arts and the Davey Awards.

To see more of our award-winning work, visit us online at www.axiomcom.com.

Foursquare Adds a Dose of Duper with New Swarm Badges

When I first signed up for Foursquare, my sole mission was to unlock the once-elusive Super Swarm Badge. I still remember hitting refresh over and over as I watched the number of other people checking in slowly grow until at last it peaked at 253 people.

But the pride I felt for that 250-person accomplishment dwindled with each subsequent check in at a baseball game (with 300 other people), concert (400 other people) or music festival (with over 600 people checking in).

Every one of those massive check ins made my just-barely-qualifying 253 person check in seem downright puny, and I longed for Foursquare to add some new Swarm badges.

Finally, my location-based prayers have been answered with the introduction of Super Duper and Epic Swarm Badges. The Super Duper Swarm Badge is for groups of 500 users checking in at the same place and the Epic Swarm Badge is for when 1,000 or more users get together.

With a user base just hitting 4 million and growing fast, it seemed it would only be a matter of time before we saw larger Swarm Badges.

Now I just need a ticket to SXSW and I'll be all set, because you can be sure Foursquare is anxious to make a big return to the event that launched it to the forefront of location-based social networking.

Questionable Moves by Google Worth a Second Look

Usually when I talk about recent developments from Google, it's in reference to some big announcement or new feature and why it is/isn't a good idea. But today, I'd like to switch things up a bit and talk about a couple non-product issues that have come up over the past 24 hours that I found interesting.

The first was a story from TechCrunch about MySpace getting ripped on the discussion forum Quora when a user asked whether or not MySpace will be able to recover. Not so bad, right? But what was surprising was that one of the answers came from Google's VP of Corporate Development, who responded with a very sarcastic "Is this a real question?"

The reason this caught my attention is that Google is a major advertising partner with MySpace, so I'm surprised that Google would publicly criticize them. But is this a sign of an upcoming split, or Google simply being realistic?

The second move by Google yesterday was the announcement that new Flickr users will now be able to use their Google account to sign in, rather than using/creating a Yahoo account. My main criticism of this move is the fact that existing Flickr users still have to use their Yahoo account (which I only use to get into Flickr, usually after 3 or 4 failed attempts because I can never remember my Yahoo login info!)

My personal criticisms aside, there is one other huge reason people are questioning this move; Google owns Picasa, a direct competitor with Flickr. At first I agreed with these critics, but let's face it: Flickr is the gold standard of photo-sharing and Picasa is a distant second. So in many ways this a win-win, because Google will keep people from creating new Yahoo accounts to use Flickr while Yahoo will get more people to use Flickr instead of Picasa.

Both of these moves by Google show that even the little moves a company makes can have a major ripple effect.

Video Post: Companies Like to Show QR IQ

We've seen more and more QR codes popping up all over the place, with most of them allowing users to view websites or more information about a product or brand. And now, a website called Likify generates QR codes that automatically "like" your brand on Facebook. I dive into these codes and more in today's video post.

The Much-Anticipated MySpace Facelift

The Joan Rivers of the Internet, MySpace is continually fighting the online aging process and trying to stay in the social media conversation. Its latest facelift is actually its biggest overhaul to date, with a change both to its look and to the way the site is used.

Visually, MySpace is going with a modern, block look that you'd expect to see with iPad-optimized online magazines. But ascetics aside, there are several new features that are worth getting into:

• Everything but the kitchen sync - No longer wanting to compete directly with Facebook, MySpace has made it very easy for users to sync other accounts to their MySpace profile.
• Entertainment emphasis - MySpace has been trying to establish itself as a music, movies and media hub, and really pushes for that emphasis with the new user interface.
• The power of suggestion - MySpace now boasts a recommendation engine algorithm that provides suggestions based on your other activities.
• MySpace has unlocked the Badge-making Badge! - Keeping current with today's social media trends, MySpace users can unlock various badges and earn different levels of distinction.

With account syncing, profiles and social gaming, it seems MySpace is defining itself as a social network that's not sure it wants to be a social network. It's a confusing brand direction, but one that has raised a few eyebrows and garnered some much needed publicity.

Axiom Wins MarCom Gold

Obviously nobody gets into public relations for the recognition, but that doesn't mean we don't appreciate it when it happens.

And we here at Axiom are proud to announce that we've received a MarCom Gold Award in the MarCom Awards 2010 Competition for our work on a social media campaign that we put together for Country Inns & Suites by Carlson.

The MarCom Awards is an international competition for marketing and communication professionals, administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, recognizing professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of marketing and communication programs and print, visual and audio materials.

The social media campaign, called the 1K Country Adventure, took place throughout the week of June 6-12, and featured three families making their way across the country on a 1,900-mile-mystery road trip from here in Bloomington, Minnesota to College Station, Texas to help celebrate the 500th property to open in the Country Inns & Suites brand.

This campaign was very social media-intensive and relied heavily on the technological support of several partners as the families were guided on their mystery road trip with mobile videos that we produced in-house called Suite Stops (which you can find here). It took a lot of hard work and planning, but we were incredibly pleased with our results, and are honored that AMCP felt the same way and selected us to receive their MarCom Gold Award.

HP's new tablet

I'm a diehard Apple guy (unlike my friend Steve), so HP's new Slate 500 is less than compelling to me. I'm old enough to remember the early Windows-based tablets that never really worked, since the OS was designed for a keyboard and mouse, not a stylus. Now we have the Slate, which is based on the much-better Windows 7 OS, but still was designed for a computer, not a tablet (ie. something you control with your fingers).

I'm sure, like the old Palm Pilot, that developers will design specific apps for it, but at first glance, it looks like general consumers would be better off with a generic Windows laptop. As for me, I'm taking a look at the new Apple MacBook Air, especially the one with the 11-inch screen (I already bought an iPad for the office!)

What sets the iPad and the Mac laptops apart is that their software has been customized for the hardware...it's been this way since 1984 and unfortunately, many Windows devotees just haven't had the opportunity to experience this seamless connection between software and hardware. If you try out an iPad, you'll see it doesn't work like a laptop, because it isn't meant to do the same things. It's primarily designed to consume media like movies, books, magazines and TV shows. Sure you can email and surf the web, but you'll be much happier creating content on a laptop or desktop computer.

As for the Slate, I don't think you'll be happy at all.

One-Third of iPad Owners Are App-less

With Apple's announcement yesterday of the App Store coming to the Mac, most people assumed it would be the move that will push the new Macbooks to unprecedented success when it's launched.

But I'm not so sure, especially after seeing a recent Nielsen report about app-buying habits on the iPad. Shockingly, over 30% of iPad owner have never downloaded an app for their device. The reason this is so surprising is that app support was one of the major selling points behind the device.

Apple should take notice of these statistics, because a third of your users going app-less on a device aimed to be used for apps can't be taken lightly. And while app support is a cool feature and certainly hasn't deterred people from buying iPads, we all may have overestimated the impact of apps on non-smartphone devices.

Additionally, there are two main takeaways from this study. One, Apple will have to make sure that apps never become the primary selling point for any of their devices given the high percentage of people who don't utilize them outside of their iPhones.

Secondly, this is good news for iPad's competitors who have been criticized for not supporting apps, because obviously there are a multitude of other reasons why people buy tablets. This means the tablet playing field might be a lot more level than we originally thought.

Gender Confusion for Android

Android may still be the third must popular smartphone brand behind Apple and Blackberry, but it may not stay that way for long based on a recent Neilsen report. But despite the growth rate suggested in the report, Android is still dealing with a largely-male user base that lacks universal appeal. I look into both of these issues in today's video post:

Starbucks Adds A-Latte to Online Experience

Starbucks made a splash when they started offering free Wi-Fi in their coffee shops, but now they are hoping to rope in even more coffee aficionados with the launch of the Starbucks Digital Network (or SDN for short).

It's basically an exclusive content network curated by Starbucks and meant to add to the customer’s experience while in the store. Customers who use Starbucks' free Wi-Fi at any of their 6,800 or so stores in the U.S. will be greeted with this SDN.

SDN is a collaboration between Starbucks and Yahoo, offering access to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today, with more content centered around six channels (News, Entertainment, Wellness, Business and Careers, the Starbucks customer channel My Neighborhood, and a channel focused on Starbucks' social media outlets).

It's a smart move, because there is a large demographic of caffeine addicts like myself who hang out in coffee shops quite a bit. But honestly, I think the free Wi-Fi is still more important than this personalized network. I'm not necessarily saying that people won't use the SDN, just that I doubt the impact of this SDN alone.

However, this a unique branding opportunity and it will be interesting to see if any other franchised companies who offer free Wi-Fi will try to duplicate Starbucks' efforts and make digital networks of their own.

Clicking Away Our Photo Freedom

When I signed up for Twitter, I, like many people out there, didn't even bother to skim the Terms of Service section before clicking I Agree (c'mon, why would I want to read 5 pages to start sending 140-character tweets?). But if you're one of the millions who upload photos to Twitter, you may have clicked away the rights to your pictures.

Although most of those Terms of Service sections are pretty generic legal lingo, the writers at Photofocus uncovered a sneaky little curveball Twitter threw in. I'll start by laying out what's actually in Twitter's Terms of Service:

By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).

 Unfortunately, it goes a bit further:

You agree that this license includes the right for Twitter to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter for the syndication, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such Content use.

If you're confused by all of that, I'll summarize it Twitter-style in 140 characters:

If you post a picture on Twitter, we can do what we want with it and sell it to whoever we want. You want a royalty check? Sorry Charlie...

Now I won't rake Twitter over the coals too much here, because in all fairness they did put it right there in black and white. But given the backlash, I wouldn't be too surprised if Twitter did go back and change their stance on photo posting.


However, anyone who posts pictures on Twitter needs to be aware of this and needs to accept the fact that those pictures could end up somewhere else without their permission. This is especially true for photography enthusiasts and professionals, because they lose all licensing rights to their photos once they're posted on Twitter.

More importantly, this is a wake up call that we do need to start paying attention to every Terms of Service agreement, because you may end up clicking away your freedom.

Say What? Teens Send 3,300 Texts Per Month

Like most other millennials, I spent my high school years covertly sending text messages under my desk, afraid to go an hour without any contact with my fellow text-addicts. I also remember being scolded by my parents on a regular basis for racking up 500 or so texts a month.

Boy, have things changed.

A recent study showed that the average teenager sends over 3,300 texts per month. It's an incredible number when you think about how that breaks down. That's over 100 texts a day, or about 6 texts per hour factoring in 6 hours of sleep. It's also twice as many texts as millenials (18-24 year olds) are sending these days.

Teenage texting technology has made some advances over the years, and teens nowadays would scoff at using the same chunky flip-phone I was using back in my English class (back then, War and Peace couldn't hold my attention nearly as well as drama over the homecoming dance could).

Not only are smartphones becoming the norm in high school hallways, they're being used with greater efficiency.Both of these factors support the rise of texting so far, and more importantly show that it's likely to continue its stellar growth.

Facebook Friday: One Small Misstep for Users, One Giant Leap Back for Company-kind

Staying true to their inability to be happy with their layout, Facebook is rolling out more changes, this time with plans to remove the profile tabs.

As a Facebook user, I don't really have strong feelings either way about this change. I don't think Facebook has gone more than a month without changing something on their site, and with each new feature or different placement I've been left with mixed feelings about its usefulness.

But as a social media professional, I'm worried about the impact of soon-to-be-tabless profiles. And if you work with Facebook at all from a corporate or brand standpoint, you should be worried too.

I understand that most Facebook users only have the basic tabs for their Facebook wall, photos and notes that can be accessed other ways. However, most companies utilize other options as well, with different contest pages or promotion-specific tabs. The reason why companies use the tabs is that they are easy to find and navigate, and removing those tabs eliminates their usefulness.

Ease-of-use is so critical when organizing any sort of online presence. Websites need to be intuitive and social media channels need to be intertwined and be easily navigable. Making a website or Facebook page hard to use is the quickest way to lose traffic, and I'm afraid that Facebook's decision to remove the profile tabs will limit what companies can do on the world's largest social network.

Video Post: The Gap Flap

Another week has come and gone since our last video post, and Gap has been the company making a splash the last several days...but not exactly for the right reasons.

The short version of the story is that Gap unveiled a new logo design that was ripped by the social media masses. Gap then decided to crowdsource new logo ideas via Facebook submissions, before ultimately scrapping both their new logo and any Facebook submissions and returning to their original logo.

The issue here isn't necessarily about ascetics or Gap's design savvy (or lack there of), it's about re-branding. Preparation is crucial, and it's especially important to have a plan in place in the event of a social media backlash.

To view the AdRants.com survey cited in the video, click here.

Are Long Posts Finally Acceptable?

For years, the rule of thumb for anything you post online had been "keep it short and sweet." Videos had to be less than 2 minutes, blog posts had to be a couple paragraphs maximum, even legitimate news organizations had been shaving down their online articles to keep pace with our short attention spans.

Here's the problem...I talk a lot, I admit it. And if I really get into a story, it tends to turn into something resembling a novel more than a blog post.

Normally, those long-winded blog posts would have me concerned that my readers might get bored and move on halfway through a story. But just like we saw a cultural shift from longer newspaper-style articles to short Twitter-esque posts, we are now seeing the pendulum swing a little more the other way with a renewed focus on lengthier stories.

One innovation we have to thank for this is the rise of bookmarking apps and websites like Instapaper and Evernote that allow people to easily bookmark stories to read later. The way they work is simple; you see an article you like but don't have time to read it (or are working and shouldn't read it) so you send the link to one of these services and you can read them from your computer or smartphone when you have the time.

I've been using both Instapaper and Evernote for a few weeks now and it's been great for me as a reader, but they are even more important to me as a writer, That's because they open the door for me and every other blogger out there to write more in-depth. The reality is that it's extremely difficult to analyze anything in two or three paragraphs, and this emerging trend of social bookmarking alleviates the pressure.

So there you have it, a long-winded post about how it's okay to write long-winded posts.

Twitter's Billion-Dollar Question

"A million isn't cool. You know what's cool? A billion."

This is one of the more famous lines (albeit paraphrased) from the Facebook movie The Social Network, and I think Twitter co-founder Evan Williams must be a fan of it based on his recent comments.

When asked whether or not Twitter could hit a billion users, Williams did not hesitate in affirming that it would. And while he didn't give a timetable for this goal, there's still the question everyone is now asking: Can Twitter hit one billion users?

Let's look at where Twitter's at right now. In June, Twitter COO Dick Costolo reported they had 190 million users. That's a solid number already and it continues to grow, but it seems rather bold to predict a billion users when you're less than a fifth of the way there. Mark Zuckerberg didn't even say Facebook would hit a billion users until it had already crossed the 500 million mark.

The other factor revolves around user retention. There was a recent infographic making its way around the Twittersphere, and there was one point specifically that was garnering a lot of attention. According to the infographic, only 3% of users have more than 100 followers. This is a problem because Twitter's success comes from higher levels of involvement, and low follower counts are often a sign that the engagement is lacking.

This illustrates the over-arcing obstacle Twitter faces in hitting their billion-user goal; Twitter is hard to get into. Sure, making an account and following a bunch of friends or celebrities is easy enough, but getting the most out of the service requires much deeper levels of engagement.

But there is hope. Twitter continues to grow with a very successful new redesign and increased ubiquity in our online culture. And if more users can get past that steeper learning curve and really become more involved with it, it's hard to doubt Twitter's potential to one day answer this billion-dollar question.

Google Goes Knight Rider All Over California

In true Knight Rider fashion, Google has been developing self-driving cars. And this isn't a rumor or plan for the future, they've been testing these cars on actual California roads for months now.
As a tech-geek, you can bet I've read the slew of articles about Google's new endeavor and am very curious/excited/salivating-over the what this technology may bring. But I won't get ahead of myself, because there are a few issues to address before we see swarms of robot-cars on our highways.

The first, but potentially most divisive, question is also the simplest: Does the public want self-driving cars?

Here's a few different takes on this question, starting with why people do want cars that drive themselves:

• Safety concerns: Over a million lives are lost each year to road traffic accidents (according to the World Health Organization). It's hard to think that self-driving cars wouldn't help bring that number down significantly.
• Stop the texting menace: In the same vein as that first point, there's a big push these days to stop people from texting while driving. Cars that drive themselves would eliminate the threat that texting causes.
• Far more productive traffic jams: Not having to drive would allow people to actually get work done during those long morning commutes, which could have a big impact on overall productivity.
• We're a techno-centric society: In our modern world, innovation breeds aspiration. If it's new, a lot of people will want it solely for that fact.

On the other hand, here are the obstacles Google will likely face:

• Safety concerns: Yes these cars could save some lives, but as with any new technology there's a margin of error, and the thought of being in that margin while cruising along at highway speeds will deter people.
• For the love of the road: Sure, it might make those morning commutes and road trips more tolerable, but let's not overlook how many people honestly love driving. A lot of people like hopping in the car and going for a drive, and this technology practically eliminates it.
• 'Green' technology: I'm not talking about hybrids here, I'm talking about money. Remember, Google is a business and businesses need to make money. Google has admitted they're not completely sure about monetizing this technology, and expensive experiments like this need strong financial backing to avoid an early death.
• The times they are a-changin' (but we don't like it): With the millions of people in this country, it's a given that wide, sweeping change is usually met with hesitation and scrutiny, and game-changing technology like this won't please everybody.

So whether you're already planning to be the first in line to buy one of these self-driving cars or writing an angry letter to Google as we speak, I offer the following advice. First, let's stay realistic, because we won't see these cars hit the public for a few years yet.

More importantly, both sides need to take the others' point of view into consideration, because regardless of who or what's controlling the car, we all need to drive on the same road.

Facebook Friday: All About Groups

The social media headlines the past couple of days have been dominated by stories about the new Facebook groups feature. And even as a social media professional, it took a while for me to wrap my head around the concept.

But for those who haven't heard (or just aren't sure what it's about), here's a brief breakdown:

• You can now create groups of friends centered around a certain topic (for instance, I'm part of the MN PRSA group).

• Members can post comments on the group page that other group members are notified about.

• There's a new group chat feature, where any and all members of a group can chat with each other rather than having to talk to each individual in separate chats.

That's the basic three-point breakdown of what these new group features are, but will they be a welcome addition?

An early complaint involves those notifications I mentioned in the second point. If you're part of a particularly large or talkative group, you may find yourself bombarded with emails and notifications about new posts and comments. You can limit these notifications or turn them off completely, but you must go into the group and do this manually.

Likewise, membership to the group is now opt-out as well. This means that if someone invites you, you're instantly added and must manually leave the group. And if a friend adds you to one of those large/talkative groups, chances are your inbox will be full of notification emails within minutes.

The one new feature here I do like is the group chat, which is effectively an AOL Instant Messenger-style chat room. I, like many, have had to deal with the frustration of having to chat with several mutual friends about the same topic in separate chats, but this group chat should eliminate this problem.

Regardless of how you feel about them, these changes will have a big impact on how Facebook is used. Naturally, it will take some time before we get a good handle on just how useful it really is, and we will definitely revisit this topic in the near future.

Video Post: Apple's Slice of the Pie

News outlets and blogs tend to jump all over any story about Apple or its upcoming products, but is it really dominating the news headlines like we think? There was a recent study done by the Pew Research Center that looked into that very topic, and Steve discusses it on today's Daily Axioms Video Post. You can find the article about the study here:

Final Cut Pro or Avid

As the video production intern, I want to give you my two cents in the age old debate: Final Cut Pro(FCP) vs Avid. Having used FCP and Avid I see both sides of the argument. Before coming to Axiom, I interned in New York City for City Lights Media Group. At City Lights I used Avid and became an advocate for Avid. Since coming to Axiom, I have switched to FCP.

Choosing between FCP and Avid is like choosing between what kind of car you want to drive. Mercedes or Lexus? Both will get you to work but one might be more expensive and have some features that other does not. With that said that does not mean the other is less attractive because it is more affordable. Avid is double the price of FCP. That is why 50% of the market sales for NLE's are going to FCP according to Apple.

In my experience with both, I've found out that Avid works better for bigger productions such as feature films and TV series. For example, last year's Oscar winner for best movie "Hurt Locker" was edited on Avid. On a feature film you might have multiple editors and Avid is more stream line for bigger productions. With Final Cut Pro it works better with smaller productions such as internet videos. Usually FCP users are the only ones who are editing. Also FCP is more user friendly and the learning curve is shorter.

They both will get the job done. There are few advantages for either systems but ultimately it's still your job as the editor to utilize the system and make a great finished product.

Here at Axiom, we run the full Final Cut Studio system. How about your shop? Avid or Final Cut Pro?

Panasonic's Upcoming Gaming Device Raises More Eyebrows Than Expectations

Taking a look around the techno-blogosphere, it's clear the "it" technology this year is the tablet. All the buzz right now focuses on iPads, Dell Streaks, Samsung Galaxies, and any mention or rumor of a new competitor in this fast-growing market.

The allure of these tablets are obviously the different functions they serve, whether it's as a laptop, media player or a gaming device. This means that if you're a device that only does one of those things (I'm looking at you, gaming devices), you've probably already seen your popularity slipping.

I've made this point before when talking about the impact of smartphones on gaming devices, but the latest move by Panasonic warrants a revisit to this topic. Panasonic is diving into the already-shallow waters of hand-held gaming devices with the upcoming release of the Panasonic Jungle.

It's a questionable move to say the least, because as I mentioned earlier, the hand-held gaming market has taken some serious hits over the last couple years due to the rise of smartphones and tablets.

This raises the obvious question; why doesn't Panasonic scrap the gaming-only device and focus on creating a tablet? They have the resources and the credibility, and a device that only does games provides serious limitations. A tablet could still be used for gaming, but would provide the added functionality and utility of a laptop.

I'm aware my suggestion is a hard left turn from where they were originally going, but if Panasonic is set on diving in to those gaming waters they might find that it's not so easy to stay afloat.

LinkedIn Quietly Making Big Strides

These days, if you don't completely overhaul your website's layout or have a possibly-scandalous movie coming out, it can be hard for your social network to get much attention.

This is the problem LinkedIn has been facing, because despite being an afterthought in the minds of many people across the social media universe, the professional-centric network has actually made a few solid upgrades over the last week or so.

These changes include a couple of beta projects like a LinkedIn-Twitter hybrid called LinkedIn Signal (which filters and displays tweets from people in your network) and a LinkedIn Career Explorer that lets college grads see data and stats about their prospective fields to better gauge where their industry is at.

But my favorite change is the upgrade to the company pages on the site, which now feature more prominent "Follow Company" buttons, easier-to-view employee profiles, and graphs that allow you to see the composition of the company. These graphs show the different job functions of the employees, as well as the educational degree and where the employees went to school. Most impressive, you can see the experience levels of the company's employees. Here's Axiom's experience level graph:

As you can see, graphs like these provide simple and usable data that even casual LinkedIn users can get something out of. Also, these graphs will require that employees keep their profiles updated to better ensure their accuracy.

So although LinkedIn's 80 million users are dwarfed by the hundreds of millions who use Facebook and Twitter, they are making the necessary upgrades to stay competitive with these larger networks.

Facebook Friday: Will Photo Upgrade Be A Flickr Kicker?

Just a day or so after I wrote about the online arms race between Facebook and Google, Facebook announced more upgrades, this time to their photo-sharing feature. But before I get to the affect this will have, here's the low-down on this high-res photo upgrade:

• The biggest difference will be a larger photo size, increasing it from the current 720 pixels to 2048 pixels (184% increase)
• This larger display size means support for high-resolution photos, which is good considering how prevalent high-res cameras are nowadays.
• Facebook will use a lightbox display for photos, meaning you won't have to jump from page to page to view each photo.
• As expected, internal upgrades should allow for faster upload times.

So that's the technical side of the upgrade, but what about its impact?

Clearly, this puts Facebook in direct competition with Flickr. Until now, Flickr carved out a niche for itself as a photo enthusiasts/professionals' network with high-res capabilities, while Facebook was the place to share snapshots and family photos.

It's same dynamic we see between YouTube and Vimeo, where YouTube (like Facebook) is the much more popular site with lower quality videos and Vimeo (like Flickr) is less trafficked but specializes in higher quality videos.

And even when YouTube started supporting HD videos, we didn't see Vimeo fall off the map. That's because the professionals who had helped position Vimeo as design-oriented saw no need to switch websites because Vimeo is as much about the site's demographic as its HD capabilities.

This is why Flickr shouldn't be too concerned with Facebook's upgrades. Photography enthusiasts and professionals will continue to use Flickr because that's the niche it's carved out, and it goes beyond the high-resolution features. That's why these upgrades are nice, but not enough to muscle out Flickr.

Remember, no amount of organic products can turn a Wal-Mart into a Whole Foods.

Say What? Twitter Just Now Surpasses MySpace

I remember about 6 months ago when our house finally got a DVR, and me excitedly telling my friends about it. But instead of sharing in my joy, they all blankly stared at me wondering, you didn't already?

That's the same reaction I had yesterday when I saw a Wall Street Journal article about Twitter finally surpassing MySpace in unique monthly traffic.

I wasn't at all surprised about Twitter outpacing MySpace, but I was shocked (and I doubt I was the only one) that it hadn't already passed MySpace years ago.

Even more surprising were the numbers themselves. Twitter had 96 million unique visits in August, a 76% increase from the same time last year. But Twitter just barely beat out MySpace's 95 million August visitors, and that's after the original social networking giant took a 17% hit to their traffic. This makes Twitter the 3rd-most trafficked network behind Facebook and Microsoft's Windows Live network.

Both companies are hoping for significant growth over the next year or so, with the new Twitter.com launch getting positive reviews and the upcoming overhaul from MySpace.

Still, if Twitter were tell me they surpassed MySpace last month, I'd probably just blankly stare at them wondering, you didn't already?

The Facebook-Google Arms Race Heats Up

In the sea of Internet innovation, there are two big fish that we tend to see swimming the most: Facebook and Google.

And while other social media channels like Twitter are huge as well, the major trend right now is integration and moving towards conglomeration-type online hubs. Just look how Facebook expanded from simply social networking to multimedia and cross-platform integration. Meanwhile, Google's been dominant as a search engine and email utility and expanded with the addition of Google Instant and Google Talk/Voice phone and video chat.

Both companies have their strengths, and both companies have tried muscle in on the other one's territory. Google has gotten in on social networking with Google Buzz, and now Facebook has its sights set on Google with their developing partnership with Skype.

This is important because Skype is hands down the biggest player in the video chat game. Skype has already been integrated with Facebook to a degree, displaying which Facebook friends were on Skype at the time. Reportedly, this new integration will allow you to login to Skype with your Facebook credentials (nothing new there) and chat with your Facebook friends directly (definitely something new there).

Obviously, the 500-million-plus Facebook users won't see much of this new integration for a few weeks. But this is yet another step in the continuing race between Google and Facebook to establish Internet-wide dominance online.