Daily Accidents

Bad news. Steve Retka, a regular contributor here at Daily Axioms broke his hand last night after a dramatic fall in his Lakeville home. By dramatic, we mean he was walking slowly in a straight line and took a tumble.

So when you see Steve at the Minnesota Blogger Conference or at the Renaissance Festival, take it easy on him. Just because he has a splint on doesn't mean he's not heavily drugged.

An Instant Hit?

Just two days ago I wrote about Google's push into the music-streaming market, questioning its continuous expansion into new ventures while ignoring its biggest strength as a search engine.

That's why I was glad to hear that the Google Instant launch yesterday was aimed at bettering its search capabilities, because it's Google's power as a search engine that has made it the cultural icon that it is.

Basically, Google Instant allows more search results with less typing. For instance, if you type in the letter "a" the first result is Amazon.com and typing in "w" will bring up Weather.com. And although it's just been launched, Google Instant is getting pretty positive reviews.

Obviously I had to try it out for myself before passing judgment, and was pleased with what I found. The results that pop up aren't just the globally popular ones like eBay and Facebook, but seem to take your search habits and location into account. Typing in "x" not only brings up XBox but Minnesota giant Xcel Energy as well (it actually listed Xcel Energy ahead of XBox), while "v" brings up both Verizon and Valleyfair.  The top 5 results for "d" even included Dakota County where I live.

The implications here could be big, both from a consumer and business standpoint. For consumers it means less typing for presumably better results. Also, the affect of Google Instant on SEO for businesses is being heavily debated. Some are claiming Google Instant will kill SEO while others saying it will improve it, and Google's Matt Cutts wrote a great blog post about it.

So I'll give Google Instant my stamp of approval for now, although it has yet to be integrated with the browser. But more importantly, the launch of Google Instant shows that Google isn't forgetting what made them famous by re-focusing on search capabilities.

Hello OnStar? I Just Crashed My Car...But I Need to Update My Facebook Status First

Slowly but surely Facebook has poked, updated and friended their way into nearly every facet of our lives. We've seen company after company integrate with the social networking giant, but the latest one should raise a few eyebrows: OnStar.

That's right; the in-car communication system is branching out from its typical only-use-this-in-an-emergency routine with the addition of entertainment features like this Facebook integration.

General Motors, the company behind OnStar, is trying to compete with Ford's Sync system. Obviously Ford beat GM to the punch when it comes to in-car social media integration, but Sync was a whole new system created with social media in mind. OnStar, on the other hand, had already established itself as a practical emergency service, with a pragmatic and utilitarian focus.

I don't think it's the best move for OnStar, because it's broadening their focus too much. OnStar has branded itself as practical, and is now trying to reposition itself as social. I'm sorry, but those are largely conflicting ideas from a brand perspective.

Maybe I'm wrong with my take on this, but I think GM and OnStar worked too hard to position itself as safety-minded (which I think they succeeded in) to now promote a service that neglects safety and driving focus to worry about your Facebook status instead.

I think I've stated my case here, but let me know what you think in the comment section below.

What Will Be the Big Trend in 2011?

Most social media minds like to wait until the end of the year to start predicting what the big trends will be the following year.

However, a bit of a pattern is starting to emerge and I'm going to throw out an early prediction for what will dominate social news headlines in 2011: music and music-based networking.

We're starting to see a huge social-musical push already, starting with hugely popular music-based apps like Shazam and Grooveshark. There's also a growing trend of music streaming sites expanding to other venues like Pandora's Facebook integration or MOG adding a music-related news hub.

Add in last week's launch of Apple's social media music service Ping, which drew 1 million subscribers in the first 48 hours, and it's safe to say that this musical integration is a legitimate evolution in the social media space.

But it doesn't stop there. The latest news from Google is that the search giant is hoping to get a music streaming service up and running late this year in an effort to compete with iTunes and hopefully knock the music download king off its throne.

I can't (or won't) say whether or not Google will be able to overtake iTunes, but I would not be surprised if we see a lot more music-based services, apps and networks next year. Of course with how fast the social media space changes, I could be singing a different tune come December.

Axiom's Calendar Heats Up As Temperatures Cool

We have officially entered conference season. Not that our Axiom-ers don’t get excited about our Twins making it to the playoffs or the Vike’s 50th season, but what gets circled three times and highlighted twice on our calendars are the great conferences we get to be a part of in the coming months.

Minnesota Blogger Conference
Coordinated by Minnesota’s own Arik Hanson and Melissa Berggren, September 11 marks the first-ever Minnesota Blogger Conference. Heidi Bobier and Steve Retka will be making an appearance, so make sure to say 'hi' to these Daily Axioms bloggers if you were lucky enough to grab tickets before they sold out.

Type A Mom Conference
Now less than a month away, the Type A Mom Conference in North Carolina will host hundreds of the nation’s top mom bloggers to meet and mingle. Axiom’s Social Media Manager Heidi Bobier will be speaking on the panel, “Bloggers and Companies: How to Work Together for Everyone’s Benefit” alongside superstars Amy Lupold Bair, Angela LoSasso and David Griner. With a few clients there as well, it’s going to be a busy September!

I Blog
Iowa-based I Blog welcomes bloggers of all levels from the Midwest to join in a regional conference this November. Axiom Productions Videographer Dave Sniadak will be leading the discussion, “Video Bloggling: The Basics and Why You Should.” Held in Perry, IA, I Blog shows you don’t have to go far for a great blog conference.

With many more conferences on the horizon, these are just a few that we’re looking forward to most. Which ones will we be seeing you at?