Do you think it’s fair to charge for services online? According to this editorial by Steven Hodson on Mashable, it is - and you better get used to doing it.

Advertisements have traditionally paid for online services to remain free for their users, but as more people brag about iron-clad popup blockers or their superior ability to tune out online ads, how long before advertisers start pulling ads in favor of other more reliable avenues of brand awareness?

With presumably fewer advertising dollars coming in, users are either going to have to subsidize the service themselves or risk losing forever the time, energy and data that was invested in the company.

The biggest point he makes is that we shouldn’t be whining at all for having to pay for online services and really, he’s probably right. Plain and simple, why should we feel that we’re “owed” anything for free? Space costs money whether online or not.

If it ever came down to that, I know that there’s certain sites I would be willing to contribute to. I already pay $24.95 a year for Flickr pro and I’m sure I would be willing to pay a reasonable amount for Facebook and a bit less for Twitter, but I definitely wouldn’t be forking over anything to join new startups that I wasn’t 100% positive would be worth it.

How much (if anything) would you be willing to pay for the online services you use everyday?

The rumors have been around for a while, but it’s finally been confirmed: Twitter has bought Summize, the ever-popular Twitter search tool.  And it’s official official here, folks - the Twitter logo has replaced the Summize logo on Summize.com

I have some reservations about this, but not because I don’t like Summize.  I love Summize.  In fact, it’s the only thing that’s ever really worked for me when tracking the most important term on Twitter (mseasons) 100 percent. Everything else has let me down time and time again.  Let’s go through the list, shall we?

• Twitter-based text alerts for “mseasons” barely ever work now (except for direct messages).  In fact for the last two months I think I’ve received two texts, despite the fact that I’ve checked that I’ve done my tracking correctly at least 10 times.
• After text proved unsuccessful, I used TweetScan.  I used to laud it, but then it started randomly leaving Tweets things out.
• Then I moved on to Quotably and Flaptor, but mainly because I felt like I had to use more than one tool to cross-reference for accuracy.

Four different avenues and I wasn’t really happy with any of them.  So, left with nothing to do but search for a new alternative, I found Summize, which never seems to miss a thing.

However, with Twitter’s not-so-stellar reputation for reliability and the fact that they’ve hired five out of six Summize employees, it makes a bit worried that Summize will start to go the same way.

**UPDATE** And now Summize/Twitter search has not reported any of my Twitter activity for the last 24 hours.  I was sooooo right.

Controversy and pessimism seems to be fueling a lot of blog posts and ideas of mine lately, but not today. I’m going to be all sunshine and rainbows with this nice little story about the power of social media on a local level…

A couple weeks ago, I went with some friends to catch one of Ann Arbor’s better bands, Starling Electric, play a show in Pontiac, which is a little over an hour’s drive from Ann Arbor. After a couple hours, it became quite clear that we missed their set. (Granted, this is mostly due to my inability to read signs and therefore miss the fact that they were up first and NOT second, but still, we drove all that way for almost nothing.) Being the pseudo-Japanese tourist/social media geek that I am, I documented the journey from dinner to the crap headliner band we didn’t mean to see and posted everything on Flickr.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon when I get a Facebook friend request from someone named Jason DeCamillis. While uncontrollably rolling my eyes from what I was sure was another spam profile, I decided to check it out. Turns out he is from Starling Electric.

*Side note: I felt bad not knowing who he was considering one of my best friends used to work with the guitarist at Whole Foods and my ex still works with the lead singer at another health food store in A2.

**Side side note: This town is too damn small.

Somehow Jason came across my Flickr photos and felt so bad about the situation (I guess they went on earlier than expected too) he offered to put me on the list for the next Starling Electric show at the Blind Pig in two weeks as well as invite me to the after-party. W00t!

Moral of the story: If you bitch loud enough about something online, there will always be someone there to make things right, whether it’s a company as big as Comcast or an up-and-coming indie band.

Kidding (sort of).

Check out Starling Electric on MySpace or on Last.fm. And while I’m pimping, here’s the really weird Second Life-esque video for The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

It’s finally happened… This morning I received a spammy friend request from a non-person on Facebook:

Hi Ms Seasons

Let’s be friends! We are the staff at a Buddhist magazine and this is our new profile.

Oh, how this annoys me. Part of the reason I like Facebook so much is that I don’t get bombarded with these ridiculous requests like I did on MySpace. What’s next, Facebook webcam girls?

I have no problem plugging a store or person or product, but it has to be my own perogative. This is why I like Fan Pages so much - They’re free, they’re not spam and you’re likely to get into a News Feed as long as you get it to the right people (say, I dunno, the subscribers of the magazine, perhaps?)

I don’t want to be the Negative Nancy that cries “This is the End!” but I remember when this started happening on MySpace and it became a slippery slope very quickly.

Oh, and Happy 4th of July! Enjoy the day off, America. I’ll be sleeping in.

I love it when big companies get their knickers in a twist for getting coverage on things they didn’t mean to get coverage on. Like when Diet Coke got upset at the Mentos video or Google started sending out cease-and-desist orders for anyone who used their name as a verb.

Enter JCPenney. The ugly and cheap department store is apparently really upset that this video, which hints at teen sex, was leaked by someone, somehow, somewhere. (Although all signs point to a rogue at Saatchi & Saatchi, Penney’s ad agency, who I doubt will have a job much longer). Both companies are staying as far away from the controversy as possible by attempting to have the spot “removed from public circulation.” Removed as in, deleted from the Internet.

::Queue laughter::

From the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Boylson [chief marketing officer] said he still was questioning Saatchi late Monday to find out how the video got made and has instructed Saatchi to take any action it can to have the ad removed from the Internet. “It’s obviously inappropriate and nothing we would ever condone,” he said. “We’re very disappointed that our logo and brand position were used in that way.”

Saatchi was quick to apologize, issuing this statement:

Saatchi has a long history of producing principled and respectful advertising for JCPenney and its entire client roster. The Speed Dressing TV commercial, which was submitted to the 2008 International Advertising Festival at Cannes, was created by a third party vendor without JCPenney’s knowledge or consent. It was produced and released to the public without any knowledge or prior approval from JCPenney. Saatchi & Saatchi did not enter the spot and deeply regrets the message this ad presents. Saatchi & Saatchi apologizes to JCPenney, its associates and its customers. The commercial is being removed from public circulation.”

Oh boy, I’d like to see them try. If anything, the buzz surrounding this one will ensure that the video lives online for a long long time.*

UPDATE: Looks like the video I posted originally was taken off YouTube. But never fear, you can never remove something completely. It lives on!

TechCrunch eat your heart out: Web 2.0 is taking over the world. And lucky us, I think Michigan is somewhere around Tumblr. We’re important like that.

Ap Appeal via The Presurfer

I had one of those lovely college-esque Saturdays where I left in the morning to do something responsible like shopping for produce at the Farmer’s Market and ended up getting back some 14 hours later after bottomless mimosas at Cafe Felix, getting caught in a thunderstorm, a Summer Solstice wine party, Top of the Park and reunions with old friends. Needless to say I was pretty useless on Sunday. In fact, besides a fantastic brunch, I would say I spent the majority of my Sunday thinking about potential blog posts. And you know what I came up with? About six drafts of nothing.

Gah… Is the Internet making me so stupid that I can’t actually sit down for more than a few minutes without completely zoning out? Even when I’m bored?

Even now, I’m sitting here in a lovely cafe, listening to a guy who sounds strangely like a cross between Eddie Vedder and Connor Oberst (but otherwise free of distraction) and the only thing that’s translating to type is a long-winded bitch session about how I can’t write anymore!

I’ve decided therefore that there need to be some changes in my life. I need to get my attention span back and I think the only way to do it is to drastically cut down the time that I spend watching television and surfing the Internet with no real purpose.

See, most people when they come home from work at night get to take a break from their jobs, but considering my job and this blog is mostly about surfing the Internet, it’s kind of hard to get away. Isn’t it sad that I’ve caught myself coming home from work and going immediately to the computer to check my e-mail and Facebook when I quite literally checked them both at the office 15 minutes earlier? It’s becoming an addiction and while it would be impossible to go cold turkey, I’m instituting some ground rules:

1. Read. I just started a new book and I hope to have it done this week.
2. Turn off the computer at 8:30 (not sleep mode, not energy saver - off).
3. When watching a DVD of a TV show, watch two episodes max. There is no need to sit and watch six hours straight of Arrested Development episodes you’ve already seen 27 times.
4. Cook a proper dinner more often, especially experimenting with more ambitious sauces.

That said, it’s almost 8:30. I’ll let you know how it goes…

Photo: Simon Letch taken from Sydney Morning Herald

Continuing with my as of late trend on Fridays where I write posts that generally have little to do with London, avant-garde PR or the pastafication of tofu, I must declare my absolute adoration for the new Sigur Rós album: með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust. I’ve listened to it back to back all day today and it’s just about the only thing keeping me afloat. Festival and Ára bátur, in particular, have already made me cry at my desk. Twice.

(Let the ridicule begin.)

Anyhoo, if you haven’t heard the new album yet, stream it here. And if you’re the kind of person who cried at the end of (and pretty much throughout) Big Fish, make sure you have a box of tissues next to you.

Zappos has made quite the splash online lately. There was the mention in that awful piece on 60 Minutes, B.L. Ochman professing her love for the company several times on What’s Next and more Twitter accolades than I can count. Now, Zappos is so sure about their place as a Super Company Number One that they’re daring their new employees to quit by offering an incentive to do so.

During an intense new employee training course of four weeks, Zappos comes out with The Offer, which basically says “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.”

The thought process is that if you’re willing to take the money, you don’t and will never have the commitment and enthusiasm Zappos is looking for in their staff.

It’s hard to describe the level of energy in the Zappos culture—which means, by definition, it’s not for everybody. Zappos wants to learn if there’s a bad fit between what makes the organization tick and what makes individual employees tick—and it’s willing to pay to learn sooner rather than later.

It’s an interesting idea, but I can’t help thinking that it’s a little pompous. What person knows if they’re going to like a job within four weeks? It generally takes me a few months before I can decide whether or not I’m comfortable where I am and with the people I work with.

Even if you did take the buy out, what would that look like on your resume? It gives off the impression that you’re not even willing to try. And that’s not exactly a quality people look for in new hires.

From Discussion Leader via The Denver Egotis
Photo from Team Sugar

There have been a few things I’ve been playing around with online that I want to pass on…

The first is SonicLiving. I mentioned a few weeks back the ridiculous amount of shows that were coming up in the Detroit area. Most of the time I heard about them through word of mouth or by the sheer fact that I went to the band’s site to look up tour dates because they had just released an album. SonicLiving changes that.

The site features a calender interface where you can import your iTunes library and your Last.fm and/or Pandora profiles so that they get a sense for the type of music that you like. Based on that music, SonicLiving alerts you when one of your artists is coming to your town

Why I like it: You can sign up for as many cities as you like (so if you’re moving soon or going on vacation, you’ll be able to see who’s where when). I’ve already been notified of a few bands I didn’t know were touring. You can also find tickets and set up show reminder alerts. Rock on.

Second we have Social|Median. I received this invite through a special offer on PitchEngine

Social|Median is a news service crossed with a social network. The main feature of the site are the daily news updates based on the news networks you choose to be a part of, whether they be as broad as ’sports’ or as narrow as ‘iPhone’ (ok, maybe that one isn’t so narrow) . If you don’t see a news network you’d like to get updates on, you can create one and submit stories to it through the site or a toolbar application. More social network goodness includes the ability to share and comment on these stories, which they call ’snips.’ How 2.0 of them….

Why I like it: It’s nice to be able to expand outside of my RSS feeds for news. I’ve been able to discover new sites to subscribe to as well as stories that somehow missed their way into my Bloglines.

What really impressed me, though, was an e-mail I received from Jason Goldberg, one of the founders of the site. Within one week of me signing up, Jason e-mailed me to ask how things were going. It was a basic e-mail, asking for site feedback, nothing schmancy, but the fact that it even happened made me feel appreciated. My feedback was that I would like to be able to click through directly to the story from my daily e-mail instead having to go through the Social|Median site.

Social|Median is currently in alpha with just over 3,000 users, but if anyone is interested I have a couple invites to give out - Just leave a comment. For more info, check out their FAQ.

…it might go something like this:

Happy weekend, everybody!

via Valleywag

I really hate the term Millennials when it’s applied to someone my age. I did not grow up during the 2000s. I grew up on Fraggle Rock and Zoobilee Zoo. I played with Popples and Barbies who wore hideous shades of neon. Hell, I wore hideous shades of neon myself - just ask my mom about the home video she has of me dancing in our living room to Billy Ocean in a neon pink spandex unitard.

I was always told that I was a part of Gen Y (you know, that one after Gen X), so you can imagine my consternation when in the last year, I’m suddenly being labeled a Millennial. It bugs the crap out of me. Why? Take a look at this video from 60 Minutes.

I’ll warn you, the piece is 12 minutes long, but it’s worth it (if not for the scowls I’ve seen on the faces of anyone 23-30 who have had the pleasure). If you don’t have time, I’ll summarize: Anyone born after 1980 is an ungrateful tech-saturated brat who believes everything should be served to him or her on a digital silver platter without having to lift a finger.

Some quotes from the transcript:

They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. And if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it.

‘It’s their way or the highway. The rest of us are old, redundant, should be retired. How dare we come in, anyone over 30. Not only can’t be trusted, can’t be counted upon to be, sort of, coherent.’

‘These young people will tell you what time their yoga class is and the day’s work will be organized around the fact that they have this commitment. So you actually envy them. How wonderful it is to be young and have your priorities so clear. Flipside of it is how awful it is to be managing the extension, sort of, of the teenage babysitting pool.’

But for sure, there is an almost evangelical fervor about this work philosophy — no stick, all carrots. And believe it or not, all this prodding, praising, peddling, cajoling and psychobabble is worth $50 billion a year in business. Ain’t America great?

So who’s to blame for the narcissistic praise hounds now taking over the office?

Faced with new employees who want to roll into work with their iPods and flip flops around noon, but still be CEO by Friday, companies are realizing that the era of the buttoned down exec happy to have a job is as dead as the three-Martini lunch.

So basically they got the oldest correspondent on TV to condescendingly judge our work ethic, our parents’ abilities and how technology has made us incapable of having any sort of communication skills.

I’m not having any of it. The first two points I won’t comment on as it’s all very circumstantial. My parents, for example, were amazing in teaching me the ethics and values one needs to be successful in life, but I know that’s not the case for everyone. However, the whole attitude toward technology in this piece - as in just because you know how to operate your iPod you think you are entitled to a six-figure salary - pissed me off.

Technology plays a huge role in my life today, but it wasn’t always the case, which is precisely why I don’t consider myself to be a part of the Millennial generation. Gen Y remembers what life was like before the Internet, Millennials do not.

This is not to say that computers weren’t a part of our lives at a young age. We had typing class in elementary school, we learned how to program our Turtles in 5th grade and we all lost pixelated family members to dysentery on the Oregon Trail, but I still remember learning the Dewey Decimal system, dammit! I didn’t even get a proper computer with an Internet connection (America Online dial-up, naturally) till almost high school. And even then the Internet didn’t become a huge part of my life until I went to college and got broadband.

It’s fine if we want to try and define our generations. From a marketing standpoint, we have to know who we’re selling to, but I don’t think we should be to quick to lump decades and decades into one generation like we did in the past. Technology is changing the way that we live our lives, and while previous generations have been defined by world events, I believe that future generations will be defined by the technology that surrounds them. It’s going to go much faster too. That’s why we can’t forget Gen Y. We’re the only ones who are able to bridge the gap between the often less tech-savvy Gen X or Boomers and the Millennials who have no concept of a life without the Internet.

Thanks to Lish for the video!

Left-handed Toons: Almost as good as Toothpaste for Dinner. Almost.

I am planning on getting a 3G iphone when it comes out in June, but to be honest, they’ve always scared me a little. While in Florida, I had a chance to use my friend’s to check my e-mail (and check it way too often considering I told myself that vacation was a time to cut off technology, I might add). It was my first real experience tinkering with the device. Shocking, I know. Well, I certainly have some complaints, but 75 percent of them have to do with me being dense. Mainly:

1. The Internet connection is not really that fast.
2. I’m bad at typing.
3. Probably because my fingers may just be too fat to do so.
4. It took me far longer to get the hang of it than I care to admit.

The last point is particularly important as I came across this video of a 2-YEAR-OLD doing a bang up job of demonstrating the iPhone’s many features.

Way to rub it in, cutie.

via Geek Sugar

I remember probably about a month or so ago a blogger giving kudos to Big Bad Comcast for monitoring Twitter conversations for any cable or Internet problems from disgruntled customers. The blogger complained via Twitter about Comcast and a couple minutes later received an out-of-the-blue response from Frank Eliason, known in the Twitterverse as “Comcastcares.”

Now for most people who have had to deal with Comcast customer service, Comcast Cares is a complete and utter oxymoron. Whether it’s the video of the repairman falling asleep on the job, their acquisition of Plaxo or just general bitching about the customer service, Comcast is an easy target for American consumers. Personally, I can’t even tell you how many awful experiences I’ve had with that company over the phone.

When I heard about the Twitter monitoring I thought it was definitely a cool idea (if not a little Big Brother-ish), but didn’t really give it much thought. That is, until I came home a couple weeks ago to find the Blue Screen of Death on my television.

It was a Friday. All I wanted to do after a long week of work is sit down and watch 30 Rock. When I found that I couldn’t, I took my anger to Twitter. Within five minutes, I got this:

W00t! Someone does care. Or at least is being paid to care. On a Friday night, no less. Frank and I chatted on the phone, which was an even more personal touch. Turns out my credit card expired and I forgot to update my information for my auto debit. We even had a little conversation about the vitriol Frank is exposed to every. single. day. He’s doing his best to convince people – one Twitterer at a time – that not everyone who works at Comcast is the devil. Being in PR, I can certainly identify with that.

With the exception of a few complaints, most people are completely onboard with Comcast’s digital efforts. I can give full kudos to Frank for being so personable, and as much as it pains me to say it, I have to acknowledge Comcast as a whole for bringing customer service to the digital age.

::shudder::

Last week BlogHer and Compass Partners published a new study examining the online habits of women. Most of the findings are predictable (the majority of women engaging in the blogosphere are in the 18-24 age range, more people are reading blogs than writing them), but the one that’s making headlines is the “Would you give up ______ for blogging?” question asked of the participants. Here’s what they found

• 55% would give up alcohol
• 50% would give up their PDAs
• 42% would give up their iPod
• 43% would give up reading the newspaper or magazines
• 20% would give up chocolate

Chocolate? Really? Maybe I’m being overly sensitive, but I’m somewhat offended by this. I mean, I love chocolate just as much as the next woman, but gah, could we be more stereotypical? I’m surprised they didn’t ask how many women would give up Sex and the City.

Only thing is I can’t tell if I’m more disappointed at the women who wouldn’t give up chocolate for blogging or the surveyors for asking such a loaded question. Do you think they’d point it out if it was something like 80 percent instead of 20? I highly doubt it.

Photo Marina Oliphant

I meant to write a Florida post last week, but as what usually happens when you come back from vacation, I spent the last two days of the week catching up on e-mails from the previous three. It went by quickly though!

So, yes. Florida was lovely. The weather was perfect, Radiohead was amazing (as usual) and Busch Gardens got me really psyched for Cedar Point on Saturday. Enjoy a few pictures. You can see the rest over on the Flickr set.

If you have a moment today, please click on over to From Dates to Diapers for a peak at my first ever guest post. Christine, one of my favorite Mommy bloggers, asked me a couple days ago to write a little bit on how PR selects certain blogs for engagement; Never one to miss an opportunity to talk openly about blog outreach, I was happy to do so.

It has just been insane around here lately, although I have to admit it hasn’t just been with work. I’ve mostly been spending my free time avoiding blogging. Instead, I’ve been basking in the sunshine on restaurant patios and attending a ridiculous amount of amazing shows in the Detroit area.

It’s been great to veg out for a little while. I’m wrapping up this work week in anticipation of next, when I’m off to Florida for a Radiohead show and to sit out on the beach with an umbrella-adorned drink. I will not be bringing my computer with me

Vacations can be trying, though, if not simply because of the work that seems to accumulate while you’re gone. Well, I’ll probably kick myself for saying this later, but ::knock on wood:: I don’t think that this time around will be too bad. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot going on in the social media scene and my day-to-day work (for once) has not been overwhelming.

And even though there will only be light posting on here the next few days, you will be able to find me elsewhere (albeit not by e-mail, Facebook, work phone or this blog). Tomorrow I’m being interviewed by David Strom for the MediaBlather podcast and I will also be doing a guest post on one of my favorite Mommy blogs.

And no, I’m not a Mommy. Just thought I should put that out there.

Within about ten minutes, unbeknownst to either of us because wonky Lotus Notes delays e-mails anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours, my colleague Todd and I sent around to the office two very similar comparison/measurement tools we found online (I was first, Todd, remember that): Twist and and the Facebook Lexicon.

It seems like with every social media conference or gathering, the topic of discussion is how to measure the impact of social media. Nobody can seem to agree how to do this (or even if we should), but I think Twist and the Lexicon give us a little bit of a starting point to work off of.

With both tools, you can search for one or more keywords to spot buzz trends in the application. Going a step further, Twist incorporates a Tweet Scan-like function that produces a real-time feed of all Tweets using that keyword.

The only thing that doesn’t seem to be effective is searching for low-volume terms. For example, if you search for “mseasons” on Twist, you can see a minuscule number, but no real graphic evidence. Apparently I’m not kind of a big deal. You need to be very broad with your terms to have any visual value. One of the examples they give on the homepage is the comparison of “hillary, obama,” which as you can imagine has been talked about a lot (note the spike during the Pennsylvania primaries).

I’ve not had a whole lot of time to play around with them and have yet to incorporate them in a practical sense, but I dig the concept. Being able to compare trends over the long term could be an incredibly valuable correlation tool between word-of-mouth and conversion - especially if they could be broadened.