In Front of 37,500 People

With all dramatic intents and purposes aside, I can completely and honestly say that my life has recently changed. Technically, the start of the good news came a couple days prior, but President Obama’s Rally at USC on October 22nd, 2010 meant more to me than I ever thought a political commemoration would.

Although staying up until 1:44 am is not abnormal in my daily regimen, it’s not common for me to wake up before daylight at 5:15 am to volunteer and then present an opening speech for our seated President of the United States. So it all makes sense to feel a sudden compulsion to start writing about my once-in-a-life time experience while the adrenalin is still pumping through my mind and body.

I’m not sure exactly who will read this, aside from the people I send this to whom I think might be interested, but I figured I should write it all down so I won’t forget every facet that happened. Though I doubt that will happen any time soon, it’s always a challenge to try to document something so momentous into words.

So now it’s time for me to do a little reflection, something I wasn’t mentally able to do while on stage. And as I’m curled up on my bed listening to some calming Yiruma, I can’t help but feel slightly emotional, overwhelmed, and curiously anxious even as I look back on the whole experience in hindsight.

I might as well start off with how it all happened so as to keep my mind from running wild. Last Thursday, October 14th, I met with three members from the Organizing for America campaign team to discuss how I could easily disseminate the news to students across the university. Our Helenes advisor, Heather Larabee, selected me as one of the approximately 10 student leaders to meet with them and, due to some luck, I was able to meet with them first. In appropriate Helenes fashion, I welcomed them to the university. With my suggestions and explanation of our organization as the official hostesses of Helenes, I guess I made some impact…

Since then, I had been communicating with Lars Thorn, one of the OFA organizers, all throughout the next week outlining the Helenes responsibilities, coordinating training sessions, and establishing what role we played during the big day. On Wednesday, October 20th, I carried through with my typical Helenes responsibilities of printing out the agendas and directing the standard hour-long meeting. Keep in mind that Wednesdays are always my comforting times, that go-to day of the week when I know I’ll get to see my Helenes and Rosebuds who not only make up a huge part of my friends, but also my family. That, in itself, makes Wednesdays priceless.

After the meeting, I prepared and expected for 2 classes from 3:30 pm – 9:30 pm straight. And although I still would have never anticipated the news that I was about to hear later that night, having 1 class entirely canceled and the other ending 1 ½ hours early (with the quiz postponed as well) helped make that day even more unusually uplifting.

So I used that extra time to work on homework, watch Glee with the roommates, and eat dinner. Then I took a break and drove with my friend, Alex, through the McDonald’s drive through, when Lars called me with news that, even now, keeps me mesmerized.

He said, “Hey Ashlie! I have some exciting news for you.” He sounded quite calm.

“Me?” I asked, confused and simultaneously intrigued.

“Yeah! Are you nervous?”

“Nope. Just excited!” I think I recall a slight chuckle escaping in between those words.

“I was told that we need a student to present the opening speech for President Obama’s Rally on Friday and I said I knew the perfect person.”

I’m positive that Lars said much more than that with some other explanations as to the content of the speech, what to expect, and other parameters of the event, but everything started to blur. All I could manage to repeat was, “Me?” needing affirmation that what he said did in fact come from the same person on the other end of the line. At this time, I was pacing around the McDonald’s parking lot since I abruptly left the car…probably looking foolish.

Fast forward through the speech writing, microphone checks, and volunteer site walkthroughs to Friday morning at 5:15 am when it was pitch black outside and drizzling. Hoping that it wouldn’t stay misty all day, I volunteered with my fellow Helenes from 6-9:30 am and waited for further instructions until about 12:15 pm when it was show time.

After Mayor Villaraigosa kicked off the rally, he introduced his cousin, California Assembly Speaker, John Perez. This was it. After Speaker Perez’s speech, I was honored that he addressed me with an introduction that, according to my roommates, was amazing and extremely thoughtful (something about exemplifying leadership at USC…). But my senses were shut-off for a brief moment before walking up to the podium. Everything seemed to glaze over me to the point where the words just echoed those of Charlie Brown’s iconic teacher and the thousands of faces in the crowd just appeared to be dots. When I heard my name, that was the cue. And I went.

From what I heard from later feedback, I think the speech went as according to plan, with the appropriate pauses and emphases, tone of voice, rate of pace, and enunciation that I practiced. Before public speeches, my hands usually feel slightly clammier and I can detect a sudden, irregular jolt in my heartbeat. But this time, I felt nothing, which turned out to be absolutely perfect and exactly what I needed. I felt no doubt, no apprehension.

But the most incredible part of my experience was the intangible emotions I felt even for those few, short minutes. I know that I’ll never get the chance to speak again for 37,500+ people, on the steps of Doheny Library on my university’s campus, as the one representative of over 33,000+ undergraduate and graduate students, with more press and secret service than I could have ever imagined, standing alongside Senator Barbara Boxer, Jamie Foxx, Jerry Brown, Grammy-award winning band Ozomatli, Kal Penn, and opening for our current President of the United States. I knew I had to drink in every single moment.

Though the coordinators kept mentioning that this was a party of history, it didn’t really sink in until after I walked back to the bleachers behind President Obama. I undoubtedly had the time of my life, but this was a moment I seriously needed to internalize before I could jump up and down like I normally do. I guess this is the result. The verdict: this was one of the best, most memorable and inspiring moments of my life.

Hearing President Obama speak in person, being in such proximity, and shaking his hand was absolutely surreal. It’s difficult for any individual to command respect without asking for or demanding it. But now I know, first hand and in person, that as soon as he opens his mouth to speak, it’s hard not to respect him as our leader.

There are a few people who I want to give a special thanks to, regardless of whether this is read or not, but their impact meant more to me than I could have possibly fathomed.

To the USC Helenes – You girls are my rock. I can’t describe into comprehensible words how much you all mean to me. Your continuous optimism, heartfelt words, and undying support complement how gracious, poised, and beautiful you are. Everyone on the OFA campaign team appreciated your generous time and energy and I can only hope that your experience was nothing less than amazing. You all totally deserve it and they recognized it. I hope you know that you make a big difference to the university and, now even more so than ever, the entire country and planet. You exemplify what it means to be the future of change and I’m inspired by each and every one of you.

To my parents – I love you both so incredibly much and I appreciate you not only being there for me at the rally, but also showing your support and dealing with all the craziness that ensued over these last few, short days. Getting up so early, playing phone tag all morning, waiting for hours, and dealing with claustrophobia was no easy feat, I’m sure. I’ve known for a long time now that parents know best, but this is another one of those first-hand experiences that make that true…I’m pretty sure you know what I’m referring to. Oh yeah, and I’m sorry for keeping you in suspense for so long.

To my sister, Stacie – I wish you could’ve been there, especially since I know how politically savvy you are. I think you would’ve appreciated all of the speeches, seeing how the media functioned, and just all of the details that are required to make an event such as this run without a hitch. Thanks for taking the time to provide input with the speech, even though you were in the middle of moving heavy boxes!

To my friends and family – You guys are the best! I can’t thank you enough for your messages, texts, chats, e-mails, calls, and thoughts all throughout the day. You are so considerate and there aren’t sufficient words to capture the magnitude of how much I appreciate everything you’ve done. The cheers did not go unnoticed and it’s people like you who make our country what it is. I wasn’t lying when I said that my peers keep me going. Special thanks to all the people who listened to me practice the speech to the point of monotony: Alex Hoang, Kelly Coble, Richie Pizano, Dayna Walker, Kimberly Newberry, Lauren Rowe, Bridget Ward, and more.

And last but not least: to Lars Thorn – When you told me that political events and rallies cause emotional roller coasters from all the tiny details to last-minute preparations, I knew you weren’t kidding. Johanna explained to me later that when you were about to tell me the news, she said, “Aren’t you excited? You’re going to change this girl’s life!” Then you told me that my enthusiasm and excitement inspired you again. But in reality, you were the one who changed my life with the most remarkable experience that I will never forget. I can’t thank you or express my gratitude enough, because I can’t iterate it in words. Your optimistic and genuinely joyful personality is enough motivation to keep every member of the rally just as upbeat. Thanks for all the accommodations, returned phone calls, and overall sincerity. Good luck with everything you do! I know I’m going to hear, see, or read about you in the news soon.

I’ve learned so much within the past week. More than I could have ever even anticipated. I hope I made my friends, family, peers, teachers, advisors, and USC, as a whole, proud.

I know that I am certainly proud to be an American. So I hope to continue to spread the message that summed up my purpose in the rally: vote. No matter your age, nationality, or socioeconomic status, just vote. Don’t let others speak for you. And don’t ever underestimate how much power you have to change and make an impact on the world. I definitely did, but this experience played a huge part in convincing me otherwise.

Speech: 10/22/10

Good afternoon fellow Trojans and neighbors of the Los Angeles community.

There are few opportunities in one’s lifetime where we can turn our heads and see thousands of individuals around us united in support of one cause. A cause that is tied to our civic duty and a cause that is for the betterment of our country.

As the President of the USC Helenes, the official hostesses of the university, and on behalf of the students, I’d like to welcome you all to the University of Southern California. It is truly an honor to be speaking at this celebration commemorating our right to elect our leaders and to share a stage with President Barack Obama, the leader we chose in 2008. There is no doubt in my mind that USC offers the best education to be found in our nation. And the encouragement I get from teachers, administrators, and peers to participate in our nation’s democracy enriches me now and keeps me striving for a better country and a better future.

No matter where we come from, we’re all here together with priceless opportunities that should never be taken for granted. At America’s core is the right to vote, and it’s so important for us to remember that not everyone on this planet has that same right. Indeed, we need to remember that not only is voting a right, but it is also a privilege.

Our nation is a model for democracy. And our nation will remain a model of democracy only if you keep it that way. Only you have control over your beliefs, your voice, your vote.

This November 2nd marks a responsibility. You and I will be making crucial choices at the ballot box and we must support our leaders to continue to make progress for Los Angeles residents. To ensure our nation’s prosperity at home and abroad. And to continually strive for more. Because anything less than that would be an injustice to America and to its people.

So, if we continue to turn our heads to our neighbors with the unspoken agreement that “Yes, we can make a difference. We can make a difference together,” we can vote to turn this abstract idea of change into a tangible reality.

My fellow students, the future is truly up to you. And knowing the USC community, I have no doubt that WE will be the ones who keep this country moving forward.

Thank you and Fight On!


Live Speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q99gExSJs0s

The End of a Chapter

It's funny how one minute, you feel like you're walking into an entirely new environment sitting across some students you've never seen before and some you feel like you've known forever.

In a nutshell, commencement has returned once again to some people's relief, but to my dismay. This means another year has flown by, but more importantly, some of the most inspiration people in the Class of 2010 are embarking on a new chapter in their lives. Both exhilarating and frightening, I wish them all the luck in the real world even though I know USC has prepared them for the best and the worst.

This summer's plans land me back in summer school as well as tackling two different internships: one as a personal marketing assistant at MetLife Financial Services, and the other as a social media marketer with IFC Advisory. My jobs allow me to apply the knowledge I learned in class about social media public relations and tactics and bring them to fruition in the real world. It's extremely gratifying and, of course, interesting to put this information to the test!

While I have my own chapter to close and start, it feels so surreal -- I'm eager to postpone this process as much as possible and slow down time.

The New “Tweetie” Bird

It’s a beautiful morning. No cloud in the sky, and the birds are definitely chirping. But what’s causing this celebration for these birds in particular?

In its adventure towards ever-expanding, Twitter has just announced that it polished and launched its popular new application for the iPhone called “Tweetie”. Now called “Twitter for iPhone,” the price is dropping from the reasonable $2.99 to the even better free! Loren Brichter, the developer who also created Atebits, just joined the mobile team for Twitter, and they could not be more relieved. With his help, Twitter is also planning to launch another application with the iPad coming soon.

Jason Kincaid, writer for TechCrunch, deems this as both a surprising and unsurprising move. Twitter investor, Fred Wilson, just wrote that the developers must stop “filling holes” with Twitter’s services in order to continue its success. In doing so, this requires building entirely distinguished businesses versus same-name products. Last Friday, Twitter just launched the officially BlackBerry application so that theory just seemed to fall flat on its face.

Twitter has an extremely strong and popular presence with the iPhone platform and other Mac products, so this did not seem like an entirely earth-shattering decision. There is even a Tweetie desktop application still in the works, but strategically kept hush hush. Tweetie has been perfected to arguably be the best, but other applications still need some tweaking.

But why the change in name? Twitter CEO, Evan Williams, claims that people actually seeking the Twitter application on iTunes are not finding the name. Naturally in this fast-paced, yet lazy world, searchers give up when they find no search results for Twitter instead of pursuing “Tweetie”.

Perhaps this will expand Tweetie’s database even more!

Another ZyngaVille

As if Zynga needed another “ville” game...another one is back and projected to make millions!

Farmville, believe it or not, has over 80 million monthly users! In addition to that, Zynga has launched FishVille, YoVille, PetVille, and practically any other “ville” you can think of. As ridiculous as they may seem, there is no gimmick. These games are exactly what they portray: brainless (arguably), addicting, and definitely revenue generating.

In a nutshell, the game description is as follows: “Howdy Pardner! Let’s explore a new life on the frontier. You gotta chop trees to construct buildings, clear land to raise livestock, plant crops, and raise a family. The untamed wilderness is hazardous, but your fellow pioneers are there to help.”

Now, I’m no FarmVille expert in the slightest, but it seems as if FrontierVille is just another one of those “survive in the wilderness with your friends” games. The funny part is that it’s more than likely to be another hit.

Maybe we should all take notes and think simplistically. In this case, simple = $$ = better. The equation makes sense for Zynga!

iPhone Features Strike Again!

It seems as if almost all of the new articles coming out regarding the iPhone make me want it more and more.

The iChat feature has finally found its way into the iPhone software…sort of. Though it’s still in the developing and secretive stages, there are promising things to come for this application. The iChat feature ranges from inviting fellow friends to terminating calls. Different sources can verify that Apple is testing video chat on four different servers, three of which are hosted on Apple’s intranet and the other one open to the world.

About 30 various sources did provide more insider information to 9to5mac.com, but everyone else is keeping everything under wraps. However, Apple is strategically dropping hints in this semi-private public sphere even though the company loves to keep even the smallest bits of information in secrecy. In this World Wide Web, people are sure to find out; perhaps Apple is embracing the marketing world through the beauty of rumors and word-of-mouth to draw attention to the product.

Greg Kumparak thinks that iChat on the iPhone will not be able to compete or surface with leading third-party applications out there. But Apple may still be using parts of the iChat foundation to power the video chat service.

I’m sure we’ll hear more news in the future. Apple will make sure of that.

IPG Lab: An Overview of their Tests

Location-based advertisements? Cell phones as the major web source? Netflix powered through our phones?

Technology has come a mighty long way! Josh Levison coming to our class gave us a direct and insightful perspective on what to expect for mobile and gaming aspects in the near future.

When we first discussed cell phones as the primary engaging online tool in the next three years, my circumstance directly applied. It makes sense that more and more people are converting to the 3G networks, whether that be via the Blackberry, Android, or iPhone due to the 2-year contract upgrades (or should I say gimmicks). I guess I’m one of the suckers (60% to be exact) who has an electronic 3G device that is less than 12 months old. However, I am an exception in that do not use my wifi on my phone as much as I do with my computer.

I also learned that over the next few years, Josh predicts that our smart phones are going to come equipped with wireless keyboards, a docking station, and be set up to substitute our computers. That is completely mind-blowing, since I am a dedicated computer-user who will only typically use my smart phone for emergencies or when I have (rare) downtime.

At 80 megabits per second, the speeds are becoming faster with more space available for content. Josh stated that calling our smart phones as just “phones” is almost a disservice to the product itself, when in fact, we rely on the electronic device for so much more than that. What’s more is that it’s purposely built and capable of doing that and more.

Josh also mentioned that “appointment TV” is useless. These shows rely on people who are dedicated enough to watch a specific show at an exact time for a certain time range. TimeWarner and the other cable companies are looking to face near obstacles, especially since online television programming has a fraction of the commercials and requires less dedication or focus. As soon as subscriptions for live television become more widespread on the internet, we can all follow Clint’s actions and strategically split the cost with our friends and family!

But a great message that I noted that Karen and Josh shared was the theory that human nature does not change. Even over the past 150 years, our behavior still has similarities with the past. As we start our own businesses or start-up companies, it does not matter if we’re completely original or not. Chances are almost guaranteed that someone has thought of that same idea before or it’s already been in the works.

Just get there faster or beat ‘em to the punch!

What's all the fuss about the Apple iPad Apps?

As I entered Google Reader and perused TechCrunch's latest stories about the digital world, I felt bombarded by the sheer number of consecutive titles lauding or criticizing the Apple iPad. Even though both pros and cons are presented, all the buzz is just getting ridiculous. But at least for Apple, buzz is better than no buzz...

The iPad Apps were released live in the iTunes store before the actual launch of the tablet. With over 2,000 iPad applications, the choices are plentiful, yet overwhelming. In another TechCrunch article, it's been reported that only 20% of the iPad apps are free. According to Erick Schonfeld, here are some of the most popular free and non-free apps for the latest technical toy on the market that will be continued in subsequent blog posts:

iBooks:

Apple rivals the Amazon Kindle with iBooks, which transforms the tablet into an electronic book reader. The iBook allows readers to flip through virtual fingers with a simple touch equipped with a built-in search option and dictionary. Other features include font size/brightness adjustment, book-marked/highlighted pages, and a choice of vertical or horizontal viewing. The book store provides options just like the iTunes format with best-seller and most-popular lists, but this application definitely has its downsides. While the application is free, the actual electronic books are not. This cost could add up to big bucks depending on how much individual reading you do. While some books are free, many range in price from $9.99 to $14.99.

iPad Kindle:

Although I just described the advantages and disadvantages of the iBook application, the Amazon Kindle app has brought new and old offerings to the table. It has a full-color touchscreen, animated page-turning, font-size and brightness adjustments, vertical or horizontal options, and a direct iPad download feature once purchased from iTunes. But Amazon has a larger book selection: 450,000 compared to iBook's 60,000. Thought it doesn't have a search and dictionary function, Amazon's Whispersync technology links the Kindle, iPhone Kindle App, Blackberry, Mac, and PC together and knows what page you last left off. Luckily, the Kindle application all offers all the customer reviews from Amazon customers, so the data and information is backed by their hard-earned reputation.

The application itself is also free, but the books are also priced differently on iTunes.

Since reading comprehension is so important in school, perhaps we should all order Apple iPad's for everyone in class. And at the top of the list, it's apparent how important and vital reading is to life and society...or just how lazy Americans oftentimes are.

YouTube as Essential to our Education

Who said that YouTube was only for entertainment?

Now YouTube EDU has celebrated its 1-year-old birthday and has found a ton of success. YouTube EDU, similar to its original founding brother YouTube.com, is a collection of videos from universities and colleges all around the world. Now there are some stats to track its accomplishments.

Over 300 accredited sources contribute to the video portal with a wide-range of content from 10 different countries and 7 languages. In addition to the large amount of content, YouTube uses auto-captioning, which automatically translates English lectures to other languages.

iTunes U also plays a large factor in contributing to online educational videos. Over 600 universities and colleges, twice the amount of YouTube EDU, has over a quarter of a million free lectures, films, videos, and resources -- however, there are some major differences that favor YouTube EDU. Schools partnered with iTunes U can restrict certain content to students, while YouTube videos are public and available to everyone with computer access and internet access.

So maybe we'll all soon be watching YouTube videos during class...as an assignment from the professor...

Zynga Goes Local

Although Zynga has made its mark on online social media sites, such as Facebook, it has jumped off the digital screen into the physical world.

Zynga, the gaming company that owns and develops online games, is now selling pre-paid game cards at dozens of major U.S. retailers for their games. Some of these major retailers include 7-Eleven, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop – all of which are big corporate companies that will sell gift certificates to nearly 13,000 stores. Of course, the most popular games we all expect to see and recognize will have corresponding gift cards available such as FarmVille, YoVille, and Mafia Wars.

Zynga, following the steps of Playdom targeted in Walgreens and British retailers, started developing this idea last fall and hopes to garner revenue from a dual stream. For those who do not have a credit card or bank account can now purchase money and take control of their status; this is a great marketing tactic especially if a large sector of the target audience consists of young teens not yet responsible for owning their own account.

This strategy will help establish and popularize itself even more as it continually rolls out more games and reaches a larger demographic. With over 67 million global users and 235 active users reported per month, Zynga doesn’t look like it’s going to crash anytime soon. In fact, the gaming site raised $180 million last December.

Now that’s a pretty penny…

Voicemail Gets a Makeover

If you’re like me, I frequently find out that my mailbox is full only after people tell me. Why is that? With text messaging so prevalent with almost every cell phone provider and carrier nowadays, who has time for voicemail?

But to be perfectly fair, voicemail isn’t as inconvenient as I just made it seem. But settling just isn’t in our 21st century digital vocabulary anymore. Now we have YouMail: Love Your Voicemail. And now we can do just that. This “digital secretary” service offers cell phone users visual voicemail, voice-to-text transcripts based on voice analytics, custom greetings, and smart filtering.

With over 1 million users strong only available in the United States, YouMail has dealt with over 300 million calls since its introduction in 2007. It’s safe to say that the numbers have hit the ground running. Good news for those with the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry is that free applications have been made available.

Most of the user-base consists of service professionals who cannot miss essential voice calls or want to personally greet callers by name or with a message. Luckily, the YouMail service is free and supported by advertisements. On the down side, the especially appealing voice-to-text transcription is only available through a paid, premium service.

Backed with $6.4 million from Vantage Point Venture Partners and Tech Coast Angels, its main competitor is Google Voice. However, the advantage difference with YouMail includes an API, Facebook integration, and personalized caller greetings. It’s nice to see a company facing a Google sector head on.

Just like the logo shows, there’s a new reason to smile.

Piece of Twitter Up for Sale!

Bit.ly for Twitter Part II for songs? It's all yours for a low price of $50,000!

Song.ly is a new web service that allows users to share music links through Twitter and hopefully allow more unique discoveries. And Flippa can put it right into your hands -- to own.

The auction on this website has two options to acquire it. Anyone can "Buy It Now" for a mere $50K, but the auction will continue for 12 days with a minimum bid of $15,000. All joking aside, not that money grows on trees, I'm surprised that this price is so reasonably low. Anything associated with Twitter with a decent domain name is an attractive catch.

All you have to do is enter a song title into Song.ly and the web service searching for those tracks. Simultaneously, the links shorten in order to accommodate for Twitter's character limitation and compacts the song in a Flash player that works with Firefox and Internet Explorer with possibilities as an open API.

AND! When you order now, for a limited time, the sale comes with the Twitter account "@ song_ly". The PageRank is at 5 and attracts about 175,000 pageviews per month. The creators of the content claim that they have not considered monetizing the site, which means either it's a risky move or there is much potential to tap into. To run the service would only require about an hour and $80 per month to upkeep.

So make your bid and don't take no for an answer...

Twision de Espana

What's the deal with all the rumors about a possible Twitter television show? Ridiculous...yet enticing.

Last year, talk of a potential Twitter television show was heating up around some American networks to pull in tweets on a talk show. What's the catch? So far, it's only in Spain.

Twitter's VP of Communications tweeted that Twision is the new Spanish show that debuted a couple weeks ago. While it airs late at midnight (which is considered early in that culture), the hour-long show allows viewers to send in live tweets that two hosts, with laptops and a large television screen in the background, can interact with.

The two talk show hosts are set into a studio where they show videos and other content via Twitter to talk about. The latest stream of tweets also comes up next to the video player. This will pave the way for social media to pervade other outlets and I think it'll be a great success as long as they keep it light and casual, yet informative for the audience. I expect the demographic to primarily reach college students and young adults.

Though it's in Spanish, we may be able to anticipate a new show in the making in the U.S.

"Just Dance...It's [Definitely] Gonna Be Ok"

Whoever said that Lady Gage wasn't an innovative, avant-garde artist may be right, but how do you explain her accomplishment of passing 1 billion views on her viral videos?

Surprisingly, Soulja Boy's "Crank Dat" video is currently ranked as the number 1 watched video of all time at 722 million views. However, Lady Gage just soared to the top of the charts as the first artist to pass one billion views across three of her extremely popular videos including "Poker Face" with 375 million views, "Bad Romance" with 360 million views, and "Just Dance" with 273 million views. How's that for measuring popularity? If not popularity, then it's just plain curiosity.

But how are these extraordinary numbers calculated to the tee? Visible Measures estimates views across all the major video-sharing sites including the embedded links. They just updated their Hundred Million Views Club of viral videos, but essentially there is no guarantee that the numbers are exactly accurate because some smaller videos sites may not have been taken into account. So far, there are 65 videos with over 100 million views, with most of them music videos.

Some of the most popular videos demanded today include Beyonce's "Single Ladies", Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle, and the Twilight Saga trailers reaching 984 million views. But some user-generated videos about kids have created quite a stir among web browsers of all generations from YouTube: Charlie Bit My Finger Again (with 289 million views) and David After Dentist (with 113 million views).

Who knew that a simple home video could create so much buzz with such little effort?

Yahoo Incorporates Facebook Facet

Yahoo implementing aspects of Facebook's social presence? Letting Facebook do what it does best? That's probably one of the best decision Yahoo's made in a long time...

At the end of 2009, Yahoo pledged that the company would be pairing up with Facebook Connect and utilizing Facebook's products as the world's most renowned social source. And this monumental step demonstrates the beginnings of this new relationship: Yahoo Contacts is connected to Facebook.

Yahoo makes it easier than ever to add your Facebook friends and their e-mail addresses to your Yahoo Contacts through Facebook Connect. In addition to G-mail and Hotmail accounts, users can now select Facebook contacts and import them from the landing page on Yahoo. After approval of the Facebook "credentials", the e-mail addresses will be transported to your Yahoo Contacts. What's more is that Yahoo will automatically scan the imports and delete the irritating duplicates that would be so tedious to sort through personally and individually. How's that for service? I'm impressed; Yahoo has really kicked it up a notch.

Rather than trying to replace the social media sites that have already been established, such as Facebook, Yahoo's e-mail, address book, and messenger application seems like it has to either keep up or just give up. As evidence of this, Yahoo also joined with Twitter to formulate even more unique products. The ever-elite Google is still trying to build its social graphs and create newer technological advancements.

Yahoo just needs to find a way to catch up...and it looks like it's taking the right steps!

Gregory and a Social Media Perspective

So we’ve all heard about how Social Media, Search Engine Optimization, and Search Engine Marketing can be such a profitable industry. But the aspect that I thought our noteworthy guest speaker, Gregory, communicated was the tips and tricks of the trade that most people would not discuss.

First, he discussed the feelings and coping strategies of being laid off a job. Especially during the hard economic recession, this is a very pertinent piece of advice. Even though we may all think that the situation has turned for the worst and the natural, immature reaction is to throw stuff across the room, this could actually serve as a golden opportunity. We should embrace this freedom and trek down another path. If we remotely feel that something is not right with our life, we can be empowered and change it. Opportunities exist everywhere and oftentimes find us right when we need it most. As Gregory simply put it, “We’re constantly surrounded by how NOT to do things.” All we have to do is filter them out and find what’s right.

Next, we learned that we’re never in stasis. We’re always in motion. Even if we have our platform or foundation that we are working toward in life fully established, whether that centers on family or a career, there’s still room to search. Scanning for threats or keeping an open eye for more opportunities are all worthwhile adventures. Keep researching, look up new information, and ease your curiosities.

Another third piece of advice that really resonated with me was to be honest and do the best work possible. Even though it’s very difficult, this has come up many times – and it’s all too often not loud enough. In the book I reported on, What Would Google Do?, I also read about the importance of candid relations. Honesty will drive the most efficient companies and employers as well as fellow employees will appreciate you more and refer to you as the invaluable resource that commits to honesty. I don’t see why people shouldn’t be honest anyhow…

The guest speaker’s presentation today consisted of intangible advice that could not have been more appropriate in this day in age. He spoke with so much passion that it would actually be difficult to not believe him. And coming from Gregory, this advice must be honest in every sense of the word.

A Happy Camper -- at a Very Young Age

Now THAT'S a million-dollar smile. Quite literally.

In fact, that's a potential BILLION-dollar smile. Facebook has just been documented at the top 10 list of IPO candidates for 2010. Mark Zuckerberg’s creation that originally started in a college dorm room has now expanded to 400 million account users and is profiting more as it hits their IPO goal.

However, The Wall Street Journal published an article that revealed Mark Zuckerberg’s hesitation to going public – despite everyone else’s interest. It also reported that Facebook executives estimated revenue for this coming year to reach between $1.2 – 2 billion. Whatever the number is, we know for a fact that it’s big. Now that’s a pretty penny.

Another update that Facebook and its users can look forward to is the tool that will provide your physical location with Facebook. Zuckerberg also has a tendency and liking toward “delayed gratification” because he has control over all of Facebook and when the site will ultimately IPO. At this point, what Mark decides is the last say.

Additionally, the article from TechCrunch provided some “gossipy” stories about Zuckerberg and his business antics. One of the Facebook engineer employees wrote an internal memo entitled “Working With Zuck” that warned others about Zuckerberg’s acknowledgments. Mark Zuckerberg isn’t one to pat a fellow employee on the back for creating something innovative. He thinks that moving forward is just natural progression, whereas reaching your goals the first time, every time is the right model to adopt.

Facebook means business.

Boredom Leading to Twitter Stardom

When Conan O'Brian is bored...what does he do? Simple. He creates a Twitter account.

It's hard to believe that a TV show star as famous as Conan O'Brien could ever be "bored." But after his exit from The Tonight Show on NBC, Conan decided to finally create an account that would undoubtedly call attention to the masses. Within two weeks, he already gathered a fan base of over half a million followers. Even though people flocked to his Twitter account, he did the opposite. He refused to follow anyone else.

Until today! And just who is this special someone?

Conan just publicly announced that he has decided to follow someone. In fact, his random action could only warrant a random following -- and that's what he did. He tweeted “I’ve decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.“

And without a doubt, it has. Sarah Killen, a girl from Michigan, gathered over a thousand followers just a few minutes after Conan tweeted about her. This number will most likely skyrocket by the hour.

Case in point: In an update following the TechCrunch post, a few minutes later, Killen had 2,600 followers.

What does this mean for society? Is this what Twitter has become? I still believe that Twitter has some positive aspects, such as an easy tool for information dissemination, but this is a good example of why I was so deterred from using Twitter in the first place. It's just a joke to some, and the ones who actually tweet meaningful posts are often overshadowed by the big names.

Apple Stock Shooting Through the Roof

With more money-crunching numbers, it has now been deduced that Apple is...well, very successful. To say the least.

With the iPad pending shipment on April 3rd, give or take a few days, Apple stock has hit the fan at an all-time high of 219.70. Now, I'm no expert, but at that value per share and beating its previous high of 215.59 on January 5th, that increase in two months indicates big bucks.

Originally quoted to launch in late March, the iPad is going to be delayed somewhat. But Apple fans don't seem to mind, especially since the rumors were actually more substantial than just a couple of days. And the customers are more relieved than angry.

With this anticipated launch, Apple's market cap is at $199.17 billion -- that's almost $200 billion. Google's market cap at $179.73 billion is close behind, but the companies are seemingly trying to constantly one-up each other. I guess when you hit 12 digit figures, you have that right.

What Would Fiverr Do?

So let's get down to the chase: What would you do for $5? Fiverr has some exciting options, literally, in store.

Fiverr is the new online "marketplace" that sells gigs for the low cost of $5. But how does it work?

The whole concept is a bit Craigslist-like, only the prices are consistently $5. You can sell or buy a task for an Abraham Lincoln and post just about anything. Anyone can post a small service on the site and visitors can browse and/or purchase those gigs. Fiverr benefits by taking $1 off of the $5 fee, so posting essentially trivial or mindless gigs still benefits their site and boosts the profits.

These tasks have a wide, miscellaneous range. From installing WordPress on a server to reading Tarot cards, to writing a special Haiku, these services are organized into categories such as Funny/Bizarre, Graphics, Writing, Technology, Social Marketing, Business, Silly Stuff, and Programming.

Because Fiverr charges buyers upfront, there is actually no guarantee that you will receive your gig. But hey, that's the fun of it and it's only $5 when worst comes to worst. But Fiverr also allows post-buyer feedback which will reveal to all viewers which posters are legitimate and which users are scammers. So it's in the poster's best interest to carry through with the task with efficiency and care. What a profitable business from such an entertaining site.

In this case, karma will come to get you.

Lucky Number 10 Billion

Of all the sites created out there, there is actually one that monitors the number of total Tweets on Twitter since its conception.

Gigatweet, a site launched to calculate how many Tweets have currently been cited, noted yesterday when Twitter was an hour away from the 10 billionth tweet. The number of tweets on Twitter has exponentially increased, with the last 5 billion posted in the short span of 5 months. When you boil down the math, that's 1 billion tweets PER MONTH!

But how was this estimation calculated?

Gigatweet is basing this anticipated "hour" on the previous posting data. The range of sources it used showed that Twitter received about 50 million tweets per day.

To find out when Twitter would hit the first 5 billionth tweet, watchers were looking at numbers associated with the URL of each tweet sent. Thusly, 9996229078 = 9,996,229,078. Whomever came up with Twitpocalypse for every 5 billion tweets will probably see that term soon in on Urbandictionary.com.

Ryan King, a Twitter employee, admits that this "science" is considered more numerology than calculating math. Although the number is not 100% accurate, it's a big responsibility -- and his job. Interestingly enough, the 5 billionth Tweeter now works at Twitter, possibly opening up an opportunity for lucky number 10 billion.

On a follow-up, the 10 billionth tweeter used a protected stream which limited username visibility. And Twitter co-founder, Ev Williams, said the whole crew anticipated this monumental tweet together on the big screens. Perhaps number 15 billion will come in a matter of months.

The One-Man Act

Social Media and Online Marketing = music to our ears. Especially with our background based in Online Communities, I’m excited to focus the next two weeks on social networking sites and media strategies associated with it.

Having Matt Singley speak solo to us in class was a great experience. His prestige and expertise in this industry is something that I’m extremely interested in as a possible career in the future. And as well all know, digital is the future. Matt even said that social media marketing agencies are going to increase as 2010 zooms by.

One of the most interesting topics we discussed in class was the controversial issue of the Audi brand that referenced the Green Police from Nazi Germany. When an angry customer posted a negative blog post about how Audi should be ashamed of themselves, Matt had to fight the fire as the Senior Director of Strategy. But when we were first asked, “What would we do?” I thought of my book presentation What Would Google Do? written by Jeff Jarvis.

According to Jarvis, companies must remedy mistakes fast and give control to the consumer. He would have publicly acknowledged this issue so no secrets are kept from the customers. And he would do so fast. That way, people can see that they acknowledged the issue and are paying attention to their customers individually. Sweeping an issue under the rug is just not smart.

Coincidentally (or not), that’s exactly what Matt did at M80. They publicly addressed the blog post only once and proceeded to settle the issue privately so that the problem does not escalate. By satisfying the original complaint and controlling further negative press from the public, the brand image can be salvaged.

So for all those companies wanting to expand their brand image or have found themselves in quicksand from a simple PR mistake, have no fear, M80 is here.

Another Technological Gizmo -- at my fingertips

Just when I thought technology could do me no wrong, my LG ENV2 phone screen dies on me.

Great...without a cell phone, the whole world seems to be moving a lot slower. And what's worse is that the front panel buttons on that phone hasn't worked for months. After frantically calling the nearest Verizon stores, I called my parents to tell them the not-so-fun news. It's time for a new phone.

Luckily, my dad said that with the 2-for-1 deal currently happening with Verizon, the company is offering two phones for the price of one. But with new activation. As I trudged home to Arcadia (of course, in the pouring rain), I was just fortunate to get anything that would function.

After all the discounts, upgrade credits, and mail-in rebates, my dad purchased the Droid while I received the Droid Eris. As my first smart phone, I'm really excited to see all of the functions it has. I must admit, I have to get used to the touch-screen pad, because my fingers were so used to the flip phone keys instead. Although none of these new technological features such as e-mail, Facebook, and web browsing are new, it still blew my mind probably because it was directly applicable to me this time around.

Changing settings have never been easier, yet I'm still trying to get used to it. I'm especially excited to get GPS with this phone since it's so useful around Los Angeles. It's rare when a car full of people are lost and not one person has a smart phone. The possibilities are now endless, but it might even be a distraction.

Let's just hope I don't drop my phone as frequently as I did before. My dad and I are still contemplating whether or not to invest in the insurance policy. At $5.99 per month plus $75 deductible, I'm not sure if it's worth it. However, the store manager highly recommends it. It makes logical sense, but why wouldn't he say that, anyway? It's just another sale and money going into the company.

So far so good! I like the features and the shape of the phone over the Droid, even though the screen is smaller. I hope I still feel the same way in 30 days!

Update: I left the phone charger at home in Arcadia...

Another Social Network Down and Out

As Facebook rises in power, another one falls victim.

With FriendFeed, this was no exception. Yet another social network crumbles due to the popularity of the enviable Facebook. When FriendFeed's site crashed for over an hour on Thursday, February 25th, the buzz wasn't large. In fact, only about 50 people on Twitter found it worthwhile to tweet about it. Sadly, some of the tweets were repeats from the same users.

So out of the tens of millions of Twitterers, less than 50 of them showed enough care about FriendFeed's well-being. Even though it wasn't huge, FriendFeed still had a relatively large following. The infamous 500 Internal Server Error made the site look abandoned; what one might call: outdated.

That means that of all the tens of millions of people around the world on Twitter, a full 50 of them care enough to tweet when FriendFeed is down. It’s hard to imagine any other service that got to the size FriendFeed did (which, granted, wasn’t huge), only getting 50 tweets if it goes down. Many old FriendFeed employees now work for Facebook, almost like a cross-town rival.

Could this be the end of FriendFeed? When it finally does recover from it's "major power outage", maybe people won't even notice. Maybe even a tweet will require too much effort.

For all you Apartment-Hunters: a Craigslist rival?

Especially around these months for college students, the drag of finding a place to live has had a strong presence.

Finding an apartment or a place to live in a great neighborhood for a low price can get, needless to say, very stressful and disappointing. However, the new start-up website, Naked Apartments, helps hopeful home renters and landlords find each other quickly and efficiently. The site's mission is to help qualified to-be home owners with landlords by processing their needs through search criteria.

First, renters sign up using anonymous profile accounts that ask for statistics such as annual income, preferred monthly rent, preferred apartment size, and preferred move-in date. As a further incentive, Naked Apartments will provide a free credit check to figure out the renter's credit score. Landlords and brokers can then search through these profiles and contact the renters who satisfy the requirements if they wish.

But how is this site monetized? The brokers and landlords have to pay $2 to contact a renter. This is a good catch, because landlords typically want to contact as many potential buyers as possible. Contacted renters can then choose which apartments are of interest to them. Ideally after the renters interact with the broker, they will write reviews of their experience regardless of the outcome. That way, other members will know which people to trust and search.

Naked Apartments also allows searchers to be proactive by allowing them to contact landlords about specific details on properties. So far 2,000 renters have found their dwellings through Naked Apartments with 100 brokers and landlords out of 13,000 total apartment listings for rent. The concept of Naked Apartments is solid in theory, but it still runs the risk of losing business to established sites such as Craigslist and Zillow.

The theme of the day: Corporate Branding and Communities.

POM Wonderful...and how wonderful it is!

It’s always such a pleasure to hear from past APOC students who have made it in the professional world. Especially with the economic recession, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Jeff’s position as the Director of Marketing keeps him responsible for managing everything online for POM Wonderful. As a huge pomegranate fruit and juice fan, I was immediately interested and invested in his advice. With the biggest transition occurring last year to focus on building a community instead of a website, the time could not have been better. I perused the POM Wonderful site prior to the class lecture, and it does exactly what Jeff aimed for it to do: build a community. While some of the interface applications and content deals with the product, most of the homepage focuses around the community.

Even though POM Wonderful is off-season (defined by when the pomegranate fruits are sold and harvested), the campaign online still exists and must thrive. Just off the home interface, one of the major tabs is labeled “Community” with an easy-to-sign-up option to the right of the button. Below, it labels community activity and shows what people are posting about POM and its products. With an opportunity to see what fellow fans are twittering, how many other fans joined the Facebook page, and the stories people can share about their love for POM, the community has definitely and successfully been engendered.

Under the POM Community and Engagement, the interactivity and targeting is there. And it’s apparent on its easy-to-use interface. Customer testimonials and even contests centered around POM cleverly give viewers motivation to get involved. And it has been ingrained in our mind that the biggest, most die-hard product fans can serve as the best marketing. Word spreads like wild fire and one tweet can reach tens of thousands of people.

But who knew that 1,200 blogs posted specifically about POM Wonderful? But the new pills, bars, and concentrated product shots will give Tweeters something to Tweet about. Seeing POM focus on grassroots blogging and low cross-product promotion gives them a great avenue to move forward.

I’m sold. And now I’m more prompted to actively seek and try their other products. After all, POM is building a community, one member at a time.

This is What Google Would Do

What Would Google Do? Perhaps one of the most sought out questions to date...

Similarly to Google, Jeff Jarvis has successfully pervaded the internet world. With his BuzzMachine blog, creation of Entertainment Weekly, and multiple articles for The New York Daily News (just to name only a few of his innovative successes), Jarvis uses his journalistic skills to introduce his readers to the Google mindset.

Sure, we all know what Google is and how successful the company has grown. But do you really know how this Fortune 100 Company rose in the ranks to the top? Jarvis delves deep into Google’s mission statement, marketing techniques, and ideals on the future in an attempt to help us succeed in our own start-up businesses. Even though his advice makes sense, it’s easier said than done. Accomplishing even just a couple milestones that Google has achieved is noteworthy in itself.

I can honestly say that I judged this book by its cover and felt genuinely intrigued by the title. I mean, who wouldn’t want to read about Google and its multi-faceted corporation? And without fail, my preconceived notions deemed accurate and I feel excited and privileged to be able to share a piece of Jarvis’s insight. I really lucked out with this book.

What Would Google Do? outlines its topics into different categories and describes them in further detail with helpful sub points that were fascinating and informative with every turn of the page. With limited technical jargon to explain his easy-to-understand examples, Jarvis wrote a book that everyone in and out of the technical world can benefit from. After all, who isn’t affected by the web these days?

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The three main takeaway points that Jarvis makes are all packed with obvious points, but the level of success with which Google has perfected these techniques…wow. Find me a suitable rival and I will be more than impressed. For all of you aspiring to start your own business online, or any website at all for that matter, follow these “simple” guidelines:

1. When people are in control, they will be your best friend
2. The business model to success – digital, niche, and free
3. Advice for future start-ups: stay up-to-date

Let’s take a deeper look into each one:

1. When people are in control, they will be your best friend:

Give the people control.

There is a reason that Jarvis wrote about this in the first section of his book. Everyone wants to be in control, right? Right. Especially big companies who have operated with a top-down model for the past few decades. And of course, it’s worked so far. But times are currently changing, my fine, corporate friends.

With the dawn of the internet age, the World Wide Web allows “regular people” and “regular browsers” (like you and me) to form ourselves into organized groups, spread valuable information, and challenge the norms. In a nutshell: to take control.

However, if you don’t give people control, they will let it be known. One person, no matter where they are in the country and as long as they have internet access, can make or break a company. You’ll be surprised as to how impacting one negative comment can be. First it starts off with one, then that person can start a conversation, and the next thing you know, an online community has formed with the intent to take that company down.

Google would advise to listen and listen with open ears, never shying away from criticism.

Case in point: Jarvis vented about Dell’s products and customer service in a not-so-nice blog post. After people swarmed to Jarvis’s blog to show support, Dell scrambled for damage control. Luckily, Jarvis outlined tips that Dell should take for PR, and now they directly contact complaining customers and seek feedback on their ideas forum. And with that turn-around, rather than spreading bad PR, customers are continually impressed with Dell’s attention to detail and emphasis for customer satisfaction. For Dell, Jarvis could have caused its demise. Instead, he was mercifully the best thing that ever happened to them.

2. The business model to success – think digital, niche, and free:

Google has made very smart, calculated moves to reach the status it’s at today. But many people don’t realize that free is actually a business model. That’s right: FREE is a business model…and a successful one at that.

Jarvis begins this section of the book stating that Free is difficult to compete against. Who doesn’t like free? According to Google, a free marketplace is the most efficient one and money just makes things difficult for both the sellers and the customers. But the obvious goal for any business is to make money.

But Google’s model to make money requires no ownership of the assets, meaning that Google wants to be JUST a search engine. They believe that knowledge should be free online so Google can freely organize it to their advantage.

For example, putting old magazine content online for free instead of through subscriptions would enable Google search to send loads of traffic and ads, of course, to that site. Because nothing deters customers more than signing up and paying. As with Blogger and Gmail, Google keeps storage and accounts free, while the biggest advertisers come running to them because of its powerful search organization.

When Jarvis states “Atoms are a drag,” he starts to reprimand the importance of physical “stuff” and emphasizes the smart shift toward digits and clouds. For companies selling commerce, online transactions require little, if any, storage, no retail rent, no sales clerks, and discounts of purchases in bulk.

Companies, such as Amazon, found great success in digital content delivery through (free) reviews, recommendations, and branching from physical goods to digital music and video. Customers can trust and connect with other like-minded customers all the while boosting Amazon’s brand and mission – again, all for free. And with practically unlimited content ready to be purchased and resold, niches finally rival the mass market. Of course Harry Potter, The Dark Knight, and Avatar will prevail as mainstream content, but consumers will gladly pay for a hard-to-find book from the 1960’s. Look no further.

3. Advice for future start-ups: stay up-to-date

When Google preaches, start-ups should listen.

Join a network. The internet, and companies like Google, provide a powerful network that we can join. According to the brilliant formula, the more we search, the more we click, the more content Google can organize. The smarter Google gets, the better the search results become, and the more we want to use Google. Advertisers then flock to Google (or maybe your own) site because it’s just so darn attractive. Finding anything within seconds can’t get much faster – and 4.4 billion searches per month in 2008 is quite impressive to say the least.

Think distributed. Back in the good ‘ol days, companies expected customers to come to them. Marketing budgets focused on centralization. But Google thinks distributed and is visible wherever and however it can. Through the search boxes, nifty API’s, and range of content, Google is the company sought after without having to lift a finger (but that may actually be difficult when operating a keyboard). Google is not the end, but rather the means to directing customers to where they want to be without an inundation of ads on their simple home screen.

Make mistakes well. While most companies fire their employees for making mistakes, Google encourages its workers to challenge themselves because change is good. If a mistake is made, fix it well and fix it fast. There, no harm done. To return to the Dell example, if the customer service representatives had addressed Jarvis’s dilemma adequately, no damage would have been done. And the time span to respond and fix a problem must be instantaneous. If Amazon suffers from mailing issues, address the problem with the customers and track it down immediately. Fixing customer mistakes personally can even lead to a lifelong brand loyalty that could extend to friends, family members, and future generations. Learn the hard way, because life isn’t always easy.

Be honest and transparent. I have no doubt that the majority of the successful companies do not strive to create a manipulative or evil image. So why not embrace bluntness? Be direct, straightforward, and to the point – there is no incentive to read your blog or browse your website if you’re just feeding lies. With dozens of links to click on that page and millions of web pages to peruse, the attention span is quite limited. Especially for online websites, be open about your mission statement, position, “about us” section, and business relationships. Tell us your background, what have you got to lose? Secrets just push valuable eyes away. Google even launches different products before the finished versions in order to generate ideas from others in an open, collaborative way.

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In the latter half of the book, Jarvis also discusses how Google could implement their business strategies in different industries and essentially dominate the world. From utilities, to retail, to public welfare, Jarvis knows exactly how to tactfully approach the world Google-style and help these fields.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely!

There aren’t many books out there that get audiences genuinely excited about business models. I’m so glad that I found this book, ironically on the recommendations list at Amazon.com. Who would have thought that that really works? What Would Google Do? is a delightful read that I am excited to share with anyone who will listen. Rather than resort to the Golden Rule, some of us can now just ask “What Would Google Do?” I’m pretty sure the results will still yield positive results.

Questions for the Speakers

It's not everyday that we're allowed to ask questions to employees of established companies.

One of the most rewarding parts about the APOC Program is that we can interact with these executives. Here are some of the questions that I have for businesses such as POM Wonderful:
1. What is the most profitable month for POM Wonderful?
2. How do the online and print PR strategies differ?
3. How does POM Wonderful deal/contact people who complain about their product?
4. Is there a way to contact the CEO directly as a consumer?

Questions for Teleflora:
1. How emphasized is the PR for flowers during months outside of Valentine's Day and Mother's Day?
2. How has the economic recession affected flower sales?
3. What has been the biggest obstacle in attaining your position at Teleflora?
4. How is management structured in this organization?

There's so much to learn, which is amazing especially at this age. I'm looking forward to hearing from all the speaker this program offers!

Owyang, Starbucks, and Jarvis have the Same Idea

What do Jeremiah Owyang, Starbucks, and Jeff Jarvis have in common?

They all highly value customer feedback. At first, I disregarded who wrote the assigned reading article about Starbuck's ideas garnered from customers. As I finished the end, fascinated by how much power customers have with large business corporations like Starbucks, I realized that the style of writing and perspective seemed oddly familiar.

Then the light bulb clicked and I made the semi-obvious connection. My book report book for this class, What Would Google Do?, is also written by Jeff Jarvis. I just finished reading a chapter about how valuable customers will be to any company, from start-ups to already-established enterprises. Starbucks and Owyang undoubtedly agree.

I was fascinated by Owyang's article that articulated how company websites should be transformed to being communication and transparent-friendly. It's true, most people do not enter a corporation's home site because they get inundated with all the biased, glittery goodness of the product. Most of the time, they enter and search with a pre-conceived notion of what to expect and the likelihood of what they will purchase. CEO's should all step down on the hierarchy, even if temporarily, to interact with customers. With the Dell incident, they should all know that one person could be the downfall of a company's rigorous PR system. That's right, just one. And that one person could be you.

In the Starbuck's article, it was interesting to see the different ideas stemming from the public. After all, a million heads are better than...oh, let's just say 40-50 (that was a complete estimate). Coffee ice cubes, bathroom shelves, and sipping plugs are all great ideas that, although not 100% economically feasible, corporate probably would not have thought of otherwise. Change is good and that's what customers are bringing to the table.

And the "pre-ordered" order on a card, shorter lines, and online requests are all something the company should mull over. Even if they don't directly use that idea, dozens of other solutions could stem from it. Knowing that a CEO is listening is not only flattering, but will also generate customer loyalty to your brand. That, as we all know, carries a lot of weight and spreads through the online realm faster than we can say "grande iced vanilla mocha latte with no whipped cream."

These posts and authors are all successful in the online world for a reason. Customers are #1, they're always right, and if you don't listen, that will be your downfall.

NBC Losing Fanatics Over Coverage Delay

Aside from the good news that America has been dominating with the Winter Olympic medals (20 to date), there has been some grumbling from audience members on the West coast.

NBC is making Internet viewers crazy and causing much frustration over the tape-delayed coverage of the Olympics until prime time.

Twitter especially has been the source of significant spoilage. On the Twitter surveys, called Twitter Sentiment, 68% of users tweeting about the Olympics is negative. Specifically, people are upset that the Olympics are delayed because fans have to watch old footage that they already know the outcome of.

Social networks, such as Facebook, also give away results through statuses so there is no need to watch the Women's Downhill race when you know which American has been disqualified. In fact, I think this is a detriment to NBC, because viewers may not tune into the program since the news is old. Been there done that you might say.

It's always been a struggle to be excited to watch taped sports events. Many people argue that it should always be live, especially for an event as momentous as the Olympics. Otherwise, the hype dies and that's the last thing NBC should want.

Gift Cards as Good as Cash

I love gift cards. Some people think they're either border-line tacky or an easy-way-out present. But let's face it: everyone loves them and it's just as good as cash...pending the gift card is for an actual store that you go to.

And that's where CardPool comes in.

For those who just got married or turned a milestone age, people often receive gift cards as the default present. But what do you do when you're stuck with a card for a business you never utilize?

Trash it? No. The value would be wasted. Re-gift? Maybe. But you run the risk of yet another tacky encounter. The solution now is to sell your cards back to CardPool for a profit. Even though this concept is not new, CardPool is different. Auction-like online marketplaces, such as Plastic Jungle, Rackup, and even Ebay, allow members and users to buy and sell gift cards directly to each other.

But CardPool's twist is that the company will buy and sell the cards immediately for you without the hassle of communicating with others. CardPool buys your unwanted gift cards at a smaller value and sells others at various discounted rates.

CardPool prides themselves in their fair pricing model, because they determine the buyback and selling rate by how desirable the card is. For example, a highly desirable Forever 21 gift card would be sold for 90% of the original dollar value. On the other hand, you can purchase a Forever 21 gift card at 5% off the value. For less popular gift cards, discounts can hit up to 30%! As I sit here typing about these gift card discounts, I realized how convenient and beneficial it'd be for people who plan ahead or anticipate purchasing gifts at unlikely places.

In addition to the attractive discount and buyback rates, CardPool allows a 100-day return for cards, which differs with other leading competitors. CardPool also won't sell gift cards that have expiration dates or other initiation fees to be fair. Their main source of revenue comes from the money made off buying and selling cards.

Amazingly, this start-up company has a small staff with the two co-founders running the site. But they are looking to create partnerships with larger corporations, such as Barnes and Noble and Best Buy, to sell gift cards and discounted prices. Who knows? Success could also stem from our APOC class sooner than we know it.

I’m a fan of the site for a few reasons. The plus about CardPool is that it allows returns for cards for up to 100 days, and many of its competitors don;t have an expansive of a return period. Also, CardPool won’t sell gift cards that have expirations or fees. CardPool makes money off the spread between buying and selling cards. The startup is lean, with its two co-founders running the site, keeping overhead low. The company is also looking into forging partnerships with retailers like Barnes and Noble, Best Buy and others to sell their gift cards at discounted prices from CardPool.