Author: Damian Davila

Ideas and concepts from Damian Davila, Ecuatoriano thriving in Hawaii. Pro marketer and blogger. Find him at @idaconcpts on Twitter.

U.S. and Brazil Lead Google’s Top 10 Censorship List

U.S. and Brazil lead Google’s Top 10 Censorship List.

Yes, you read that right.

Brazil and the U.S. are the respective #1 and #2 on Google’s Top 10 Censorship List.

China is hardly the world’s only Internet censor.

According to information released April 20,  2010 which excludes China and several other countries, Brazil and the US lead the world in the number of requests for user data and for the removal of content.

Below is Google’s Top 10 Censorship List.

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Coachella 2010 Using Bing Twitter Maps

Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, Funnyordie and Coachella 2010 worked together the weekend of April 16-18, 2010 to engage with music fans from all over the world using geolocation technology.

Everybody knows Coachella is one of the biggest live music events in North America, but there are also millions of fans following the festival online through  initiatives such as Bing Twitter Maps.

What is Bing Twitter Maps?

Bing Maps has a a Silverlight interface, its own version of Google Map’s Street View (called Street Side), Photosynth and Twitter integration–it even has an app store. Bing Maps Twitter’s geolocation API to map out tweets that deal with topics relating to your neighborhood. Bing Twitter Maps places each tweet on the map, along with the Twitterer’s username and avatar. You can drill down based on topics or locations as well.

Here’s a sample screenshot:

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How to Lose Your Twitter Followers in 5 Easy Steps

how to lose twitter followers in 5 easy steps

Twitter has proven itself a massively successful social media tool both for recreational and professional networking use. Equally as popular these days with businesses as celebs, the site has exploded into unprecedented popularity over the last 18 months.

But it’s not quite as simple as just logging on, typing up a short message about what breakfast cereal you’re having and then finding instant micro-blogging success. Nope! Gathering followers takes patience and a little imagination with those ‘Tweets’. However, there are plenty of hints and tips blog posts around for those looking for a little advice on getting people following them. I’m going to take a slightly different angle with this post and aim it at those who are feeling a little ‘social media suicidal’ and want to get rid of all their followers!

Yes, here’s exactly how to lose your followers in 5 easy steps!

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How Facebook Does E-mail Newsletters III

facebook logoThis is the 3rd part of a series analyzing the successes and failures of  Facebook in the art of writing and implementing e-mail newsletters.

In the first part, we analyzed an example of a Facebook e-mail newsletter that was a great example of how to implement permission marketing, how to avoid the brochure mentality, and how to do seamless product placement.

In the second part, we analyzed the mistake that Facebook is doing by  by using a no-reply e-mail and hiding away its contact form from its users.

In this third part, we will discuss how Facebook Research did right and wrong when sending a recent survey e-mail on Tuesday, Apr 13, 2010 at 6:04 PM (HST).

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Is Facebook the Right Marketing Channel for You?

For a while organizations hesitated to jump on the Facebook bandwagon.

A couple brave organizations ventured into creating a Facebook Profile, Group or Page to manage its online presence on this social network.

However nowadays everybody and, even your mother, is present on Facebook.

On a daily basis, I receive questions at @idaconcpts, on whether or not a certain organization should have a presence on Facebook.  My answer is always the same, it depends.

It depends on:

1) Your objectives.

2) Your target audience.

On this post, we’ll address the second point: your target audience.

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Worldwide Use of Twitter Stats

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access.

The use of Twitter’s application programming interface for sending and receiving text messages by other applications  such as Tweetie often eclipses direct use of Twitter.

Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained notability and popularity worldwide.

Here are some stats on the use of Twitter worldwide and the implications of these stats to Twitter’s future.

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Response to 3 Problems with Apple’s iPad

Back in March 1, 2010, we discussed 3 Problems with Apple’s iPad.

I choose the image on the left because talking about the iPad is literally a hot topic.

Whether you support or hate the iPad, if you talk about it, you will easily find that people have a strong opinion about it.

On the previous article, it was concluded that:

Unclear customer value, unreliable data network service of AT&T, and poor brand name cast a shadow of doubt on the performance of the iPad.

I received a lot of comments, both positive and negative, regarding this conclusion and the 3 problems that were pointed out.

Here is a further discussion of those 3 points based on feedback received from readers at https://idaconcpts.com, followers at @idaconcpts, and online forums.

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5 Key Points about Social Media

social media bandwagonJump on the social media bandwagon!

For business, the rising popularity of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks presents a great opportunity for reaching out to their consumers.

As millions of people (e.g. Facebook reports more than 400 million active users as of March 2010), flock to social media networks to chat, flirt, swap photos, and talk with each other, companies have the chance to tune into these conversations.

Companies can pitch a product, gather consumer feedback, or test new ideas.

However, a lot of  hard working small companies don’t know how to get started. Here are 5 key points about using social media that every small business owner should know.

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What Twitter Users Want

twitter birdWhat do Twitter users want?

From obsessed Tweeterers to so called Twitter socialites to marketers, everybody wants to find out what is popular on Twitter right now.

Finally, thanks to Chitika, Inc. they all can put down the magical 8-ball and have some guidelines.

Who is Chitika?

Founded in 2003, Chitika (pronounced CHIH-tih-ka), is a full-service on-line advertising network serving over 2 billion monthly impressions across more than 80,000 websites.

How did Chitika find out what Twitter users want?

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A Review of Online Casinos

Time Warner Cable has several funny TV ads for its Road Runner Internet service.

Comedian and actor, Mike O’Malley appears in many of them.

He’s on the left picture holding a happy monkey.

In one TV ad for Road Runner Internet service, Mike uses his high speed Internet service to explore the true potential of the Web including different people, cultures and online relationships…

BLACKJACK!

Suddenly we realize that he has been playing online blackjack this whole time.

There are several Paid and Free Online Casino options all around the Internet.  Let’s take a closer look at the online casino industry to understand what is all about.

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