rants
Good Search Has Spoiled Me
by Nicholas Ward on 01/06/2010 at 1:29 pm in Commentary, Mobile Search, Within Range
The other day, the navigation software on my BlackBerry disappeared without reason. It was nowhere to be found. I could uninstall it, but I couldn’t open it from anywhere. After some research I figured out what happened, and the official fix from Sprint was to search the software store for “nav” and to download and reinstall the software. A direct link would have been nice, but I digress.
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 StoryThe Retail Sky is Falling
by Vic Drabicky on 04/13/2009 at 4:48 pm in Commentary, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
The list goes on and on – and needless to say, you don’t have to look very far to find bad news. Correction: you don’t have to look very far to find catastrophic, world-ending, save the women and children because we are all going to end up out of our jobs, homeless and living under a bridge type of news. But to be honest with you (“you” meaning my mom since she is likely the only person reading this), I am sick of the bad news. I am sick of everyone screaming the world is ending. I am sick of hearing that consumers will never shop full price again. I am sick of hearing that everyone from the big guys like Saks and GAP to the small mom and pop stores are all doomed. So please, just stop.
Full StoryThe Fear of the Dream Realized
by Danielle Smith on 02/06/2009 at 12:26 pm in Observations, Opinion Editorial, PPC, Within Range
The frustration felt when you see a client throw hundreds of thousands of dollars at short-lived, easily forgotten campaigns while allowing their brand positioning in something as basic as paid search to be ignored is maddening. You go home after days like that and just beat your head into a wall. Then you wake up and go at it again. That is until now.
Full StoryA Dig Through the Archives or A Dig Through My Wallet?
by Danielle Smith on 12/17/2008 at 11:24 am in Industry News, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
It certainly caught my attention so I clicked through only to find out that in order to access THE GOLDMINE I’d have to pay for the whitepaper. Sigh. Exactly AdAge, release a paper that was only created because of the*unforeseen events of today’s economy and then charge for it! Brilliant! Thriving in your own downtime and then pimping it out to my inbox. Disguised as help! You sneaky little devil.
Full StoryAmerica, Lover of Nonsense
by Danielle Smith on 12/03/2008 at 3:15 pm in Commentary, Industry News, Within Range
It turns out we live in a world that is completely out of its ever-loving mind. While I realize that most of you know this, the recent release of Yahoo’s top 10 searches for 2008 merely confirms. Before we take a look at the psyche of American searcher’s though, let’s just quickly rattle off a few things we’ve collectively lived through these past 11 months.
Full StoryI’d Rather See Those Cans Full of Beer Cups
by Range Blog Admin on 05/05/2008 at 10:15 am in Opinion Editorial, Within Range
A couple weekends ago, I attended the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. I know what you are thinking, how does a programmer have time to attend a PGA golf tournament? Well, we will leave that for another time. But spending the past 10 years in one internet capacity or the other, one thing I have learned, or, at least have had pounded into my skull is that spammers are totally evil.
Full StoryThis Episode of the Range Blog Brought to You By:
by Range Blog Admin on 04/14/2008 at 12:03 pm in Observations, Opinion Editorial, Within Range
So anyway, as another week goes by without a new episode of Lost, I’m left with my imagination running wild, pondering the possibilities of what I’ll see when the show returns on the 24th. Is the Temple another station or does it have something to do with the statue? Why did Michael get a haircut? Will they have written Walt’s apparent sprint from whiny, obdurate ten-year old to morose, scowly teenager as a function of the Island’s peculiar temporal effects? And what brand will exclusively hold my attention during the story breaks?
Full StoryOnline Fights for Budgets, While Offline Does Advertising Like This
by Vic Drabicky on 04/07/2008 at 4:07 pm in Commentary, Observations, PPC, Within Range
It still amazes/frustrates/baffles/confuses me how hard online agencies and marketers have to fight for even the smallest of budgets. That’s not to say we shouldn’t have to make a case for why we need an extra hundred thousand dollars here, or million there, but whenever I see ads like the one below (whose production costs alone probably top the entire annual online marketing budget), it still baffles me.
Full Story