Opinion Editorial
An Open Letter to Proprietors of Products on Facebook
by Danielle Smith on 01/21/2010 at 4:33 pm in Commentary, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
It’s bad enough that I know I’m 32, but now you know too and are just throwing it in my face! All in the name of some sort of commerce?! Tacky. I’m wondering if you can explain how my being 32 connects me to your product?
Full Story3 Point Wednesday
by Danielle Smith on 08/19/2009 at 5:53 pm in Observations, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
Danielle’s three random points of the day! Much like Woot.com’s two for Tuesdays only I’m not selling anything and this won’t be a recurring theme. But you’re welcome to bid on my three things regardless.
Full StoryIn the BINGinning
by Blake Suggs on 07/22/2009 at 2:56 pm in Industry News, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
Needless to say, there has been much ado about Microsoft’s recent release of BING. Everyone seems to have their own opinion about the initial release, what it means to advertiser and agencies and what we can all expect as far as how it’s going to affect the way we do business. One of the most exciting aspects of BING, at least for me, was the travel engine platform. The way Microsoft made it sound, advertisers were going to have tons of opportunities to expand sales to the Microsoft travel audience. What we have found in our initial foray is a bit different, though.
Full StoryAre You Ready for the Next Big Th(b)ing?
by Herndon Hasty on 06/15/2009 at 11:35 am in Industry News, Opinion Editorial, SEO
If you’re looking for news about the next big engine change that’s going to destroy Google, set fire to Facebook and (my recent favorite in the tech-or-information-replacement-genre) render Nielsen obsolete…you won’t find it here. For all the hype behind MSN’s new incarnation in Bing, it’s not much of a change from current search options and probably won’t change search engines…or decision engines, whatever they want to call it.
Full StoryFeeling a Little Bad, For Dear Old Dad
by Parks Blackwell on 06/05/2009 at 1:05 pm in Commentary, Market Research & Data, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
Fathers Day is a tough holiday. What do you buy for the guy who has pretty much everything he wants or worse, responds with “I don’t need anything”? Asking me to be a creative gift-buyer is borrowing trouble. If you collected my Father’s Day gifts and put them in a box, you might think you were at the Goodwill. I wait around until the last minute and then go buy whatever I can find at the checkout counter at my local Walgreens.
Full StoryWhat’s In a Name?
by Danielle Smith on 06/02/2009 at 1:30 pm in Industry News, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
Not to compete with all the truly credible press out there currently swirling around in cyberspace, but I’m going to weigh in on Bing, MSN’s latest search engine scheme. I’m not here to give you the technical reasons why I think MSN’s latest venture Bing will be a success or failure. What I am here to do is talk about the name and a couple of anecdotes that have come about since it was first released.
Full StoryWhat Would Sarah Connor Buy?
by Price Glomski on 05/08/2009 at 11:03 am in Industry News, Opinion Editorial, Performance Marketing, Within Range
I recently saw the trailer for this summer’s Terminator Salvation, the third sequel to the 1984 low-budget hit that made the Governator a full-fledged movie star. One of the themes of the franchise is the dangers of totally awesome-looking technology. I guess if machines end up taking over the world, then they hopefully do it in the form of chrome robot skeletons with glowing red eyes. Anyway, along the path to our destruction by merciless cyborgs are some new online technologies from Microsoft and Google that are kind of creepy and ominous, but I actually think they’re pretty cool.
Full StoryBeware of Miracle Cures for Dark Times
by Vic Drabicky on 05/05/2009 at 9:21 am in Commentary, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
With all the bad news out there, we are entering a time when we all craving good news – a time when we all need a little positive news in our lives. We are entering what I like to call the “Infomercial Times” – a time when we are all willing to buy that ShamWow or Silver Bullet just because we all truly want something that works as well as the pitch man says it does and because we can get it at such a great price. We just need something positive to grab on to, which means it’s a salesman’s dream.
Full StoryRecession Proofing: Is That Like Winterizing?
by Parks Blackwell on 04/20/2009 at 1:32 pm in Observations, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
The term most recently being used is “recession proof”. This makes me a little concerned. Marketers calling things recession-proof? And car companies providing “assurance”? Scary. Car dealerships aren’t typically known for being trustworthy. But what do I know? It seems like these promotions are actually working. It’s not drawing people out of the woodwork, but it is causing a bit of an uptick in large ticket purchases like vehicles. Terms like sympathy and compassion are being tossed about quite often as well. From car dealers. Possibly even with straight faces.
Full StoryYou’ve Got Another Thing Coming
by Range Blog Admin on 04/16/2009 at 12:31 pm in Opinion Editorial, Social Media, Within Range
I’m not really a fan of Twitter. I think it’s useful if you’re taken hostage by militants, and it should be useful if you are waiting to see overrated bands at SxSW (assuming you can connect it to your phone, which I couldn’t do), but otherwise, it’s just another annoying toy for tweens. From what I’ve seen, what Twitter diminishes is an 11-year old’s capacity to sort out what’s interesting in life and what’s merely self-interesting. If anything, I think Twitter helps a young brain assimilate information more quickly, scanning for what’s relevant and what’s hysterical garbage. Frankly, I don’t think kids need to read a lot of what’s in the news, because a lot of what’s in the news is sensational, biased or fluff.
Full Story