www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghSe23tc2ew

I’ve gathered some stats that were as accurate as I could get earlier today around 12:30 and probably don’t begin to measure the total impact of the campaign, as they don’t even begin to measure the blog posts and Facebook shares, etc. of the videos.

149 ‘response’ videos thus far and it’s probably more than that by the time I finish writing, for a combined 3,347,742 views. The average video has been viewed 22,468 times.

Tweets @oldspice in the past two days are at 12,066, and he’s getting responses on Facebook, YouTube, etc, also. (That number grew by 30 in less than one minute).

New videos are getting about 130 views within minutes. Within 20-30 minutes, they average around 300 views. Overnight, viewing numbers explode as blogs pick up their favorite videos and they are passed around virally.

So far, the campaign has: Endorsed libraries, facilitated a marriage proposal, responded to many articles from outlets like: Huffington Post, LA Times, Perez Hilton, 4Chan(!) and G4 TV, responded to celebrities and online personalities such as: Ellen Degeneres, Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Biz and Ev, Kevin Rose, Guy Kawasaki, Ryan Seacrest, and carried on an ‘online fliration’ with Alyssa Milano. Oh, and they responded to the official Starbucks twitter account, getting in on the action.

I went to my old university the yesterday to see a friend and when I arrived they had been watching these videos for awhile. This is a huge success story for Old Spice in updating their brand from the previous perception as an ‘old person’ brand. (College-aged friend’s words, not mine.)

Yap stated that Asia’s virtual economy is five times the size of the United States’ – and it is growing quickly. This means faster evolution on the web of new business models due to fragmented and evolving consumption modes. Mr. Yap said that Singapore is focused on creating networks where they are needed, in areas such as health, transportation and employment. This will create simplicity for everyone from everywhere and digitize physical interactions. Yap described his concept of an “information shadow”, the idea that capturing physical interactions with the world could create corresponding data online, fueling the kind of information that can create new insights and industries.

Singapore is uniquely situated to capitalize on this digital revolution by orchestrating elements of social networks, design, businesses and creative works. Michael Yap says cross-discipline and cross-border collaboration is not just the future of Singapore, but also the outlook for the world.

Read more Notes from TEDxUSC.

The ruling of the U.S. court system is that fashion is too “utilitarian” to be protected by copyright. Imagine if only one designer was allowed to use buttons, or zippers? She was focused on finding a model of ownership that fosters innovation. Blakley also said that copyright is bad for some industries, and the sales or market share of those industries is far smaller than the share of industries with less copyright protection.

The way forward, in fashion, comedy, and perhaps other industries, is to create a ‘style’ or ‘quality’, a personality of the brand that cannot be ripped off. This is certainly food for thought, and mirrors an online culture that values ‘open source’. To learn more about the Norman Lear Center’s project on copyright, visit http://www.readytoshare.org/

Check out Johanna’s talk below:

Read more Notes from TEDxUSC.

Recently, I attended the second annual TEDxUSC event and participated in an exciting day of speakers, artists, and an interactive reception.

Maja Matarić introduced to the audience the concept of socially assistive robots. By creating non-contact assistive robots, Matarić hopes to solve part of the healthcare problem. Her robots have had success in being companions for people with special needs, such as the elderly, stroke patients, and children with autism spectrum disorders. She found that stroke patients who needed to complete a daily exercise regimen were far more likely to do so with one of her robot “coaches” than someone who was asked to do it on their own. She envisions her robots of the future as personalized one-on-one coaches, monitors, motivators, and companions. Her initial results sound like a positive direction for both health motivation and a practical application of robotic technology within the healthcare arena. Learn more about her work in this article from the New Yorker, or visit the USC Robotics Interaction Lab.

Read more Notes from TEDxUSC.

Twitter’s “Promoted Tweets” ad platform has launched with a high-profile  partner in Virgin Airlines.

Twitter selected a few partners and approached them about advertising opportunities during the first phase of rollout for the new promotion platform. Among them, Virgin Airlines has a reputation for social-media and internet savvy that made them a good prospect as an initial partner.

The promotion for Virgin is highly focused on drawing the attention of consumers who would appreciate the unique features of Virgin, such as in-flight WiFi. In a move that Virgin America’s VP of Marketing described as not wishing to disrupt the follower relationship, the promoted tweets are linked to very specific and non-obvious keywords. The tweets are difficult to find for most, and consistent with the company’s pre-existing channels.

Virgin is promoting customer-to-customer interaction with a few discount codes, but mostly, to encourage tweeters to share what they are watching in-flight on the company’s entertainment system, and share pictures of “geek moments” in air.

While few details about the Promoted Tweets platform are available, Virgin is setting a tone for how the service should be used. High-quality, low-spam interactions specific to how users use an individual brand and engaging with customers individually will generate the kind of respect in online communities that people expect from friends, and now, through Twitter, brands as well.

Learn more about the Virgin/Twitter partnership at Mashable, or an overview of promoted tweets by Alan Parker.

Originally posted at Speaking Of Social Media.

A showdown in mobile ads is brewing.

At this morning’s iPhone 4.0 developer preview, Apple announced their new mobile ad platform, iAd. Since buying Quattro Wireless earlier this year, a mobile advertising product was expected from Apple. The features of this platform include HTML5 rendering, closer OS integration, and the ability to keep the ads in-application on mobile phones, rather than being sent to a web browser when the ad is clicked.

Some of the early ads demoed onstage were for Nike and Toy Story 3, and integrated interactive features like in-ad games. Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, said “We have figured out how to do interactive and video content without ever taking you out of the app.” Apple says the iAd will be able to take advantage of hardware features like geolocation and accelerometers. This may herald the start of mass adoption for hyperlocal advertising. Apple hopes to entice developers with 60% of the advertising revenue.

On the other side of the silicon valley, Google is watching closely. Their own bid to buy mobile advertising company AdMob has been challenged by the FTC, as anticompetitive, and a decision is expected later this week. Google already offers advertising through AdMob, and localized ads through their AdWords program, which extends to webpages, television, radio, and mobile.

Google’s strategy is broad in including all wireless carriers and building on the strength of their own Android mobile operating system, other mobile products, and cross-platform integration through AdWords. Apple’s strategy depends upon the continual success of their iPhone, iPad, and iPod products, and enticing developers to participate by sharing revenue.

We’ll be watching this issue at Speaking of Social Media. To learn more about iAds, see this article from techradar.com, and to learn the latest about the Google/AdMob deal, check out this article from TechCrunch.

Originally posted at Speaking of Social Media.

For several years, I was working as a sole proprietor doing IT for several businesses in the LA area. The clients ranged in industries and size, from 5-person offices in PR to 500-person offices in entertainment. I wanted to share some of the lessons I learned from managing that enterprise. Although I no longer do IT consulting full-time, it got me through college and paid my living expenses for several years. It was an incredible experience.

If you are interested in going it alone, I have some basic advice that applies no matter your industry.

1. Billing
Getting paid for your work is probably the most important thing you’ll need to manage as a sole proprietor. I billed on the 15th and the last day of the month, with terms of 15 days from invoice to payment.

I used a program to track hours and automate invoices for Mac called Billings. I liked it, but the new thing is to use a web-based service that accepts web payments, like Intuit’s. While your clients aren’t likely to pay online (and you should probably discourage it to mitigate fees), the option is helpful and online tracking means automated alerts when the bill is not yet paid.

Delays in being paid means you’re getting less money (money not in your bank earns you no interest), while the client gains interest from not paying you. You have expenses and bills. While I never did this myself, I highly recommend charging a penalty on your invoices for past-due payments. This should at least equal the interest rate of your bank.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to charge what you’re worth. Cut-rate prices signal prospective clients that the quality of your work may be substandard. Negotiate. It’s tricky at first, but if you set a lower limit and start above that, you should be able to get what you’re looking for.

2. Pay the man
While we’re on the subject, keep amazing records of your expenses and consult an accountant or knowledgeable person about what you’ll be able to write off and pay from a dedicated bank account. This will keep your records much cleaner.

On the flip side, taxes will be your biggest headache. Set aside 15% of your income and pay quarterly. It’s a huge hit to your income, but you should be getting a substantial portion back at the end of the year, provided you are good about receipts and write-offs. If you can’t afford the 15%, you should think about raising your rates.

3. Network
This hardly needs to be said. Network in every way imaginable. Attend conferences, connect with old co-workers, and get involved in your industry. Having an online portfolio and recommendations on LinkedIn will go a long way in establishing your credibility. You’ll learn more and find new ways to improve your business.

Keep a spreadsheet of freelancers that can help you out and your experiences with them. Give jobs to friends. They’ll pay you back someday with their own reciprocal connections.

Talk to EVERYONE about what you do. I got jobs from roommates, old colleagues, professors, and people I met in bars.

I once got a client from standing in an elevator with an armful of old computer points and saying “Can you believe I’m going to fix this?” A gentleman in the elevator looks and says “If you can fix that, I might need you.” Keep your elevator pitch in your back pocket. Be able to say in 15 words or less what it is you do. Internalize your values and mission about how you work. Mine was “I am passionate about making technology work for small businesses.”

4. Feedback
You aren’t perfect. Your work isn’t flawless. That’s not an issue. If you are willing to accept criticism, it will reflect well on you and your work ethic. Go above and beyond in circumstances where it’s required and make your clients a priority. Communicate as best you can about potential pitfalls and this will also give you a chance to demonstrate your intimate knowledge with your industry.

5. Make mistakes
I’ve made more than I can count, and I lost business. But I also learned from these experiences and you must keep the mindset that the payment lost is actually paid to you in knowledge. You won’t make the same mistakes again or in the same way.

6. Always have new business
You may have plenty of clients or more work than you can handle. That doesn’t mean it’s time to stop looking for new clients. Be prepared to grow your business along with the work you do. Keep a calendar of follow-ups to keep in touch with those that you’ve done business with before and remember that you could lose your bread-and-butter client any day. Don’t be unprepared to lose a client, you must always have another one on the burner.

6. Enjoy
You’re a sole proprietor. Enjoy the freedom! You set the schedule, you create the priorities. Spend some of that time doing what you want to do. Life is too short not to attend your kids’ soccer game or miss the chance to reconnect with old friends. There’ll always be work, but there won’t always be the opportunities you now have the freedom to enjoy.

Now, a rising challenger from an unlikely source: The old guard, Microsoft. It’s been awhile since I’ve been impressed with something MS has done, but their new sneak look at “Courier” has me very excited. A cross between an ebook reader, digital collaborator, and handheld netbook, this is definitely a shift in the way we’ve been experiencing eBooks. By incorporating features that interact with a “journal” GUI and web-connection, Microsoft has created a product that has real potential to actually do things, rather than the frivolity that the iPad brings to mind.

At this point, Google’s Chrome OS has the challenge of bringing a new paradigm to handheld computing. While I love Android, and I’ve long thought that Chrome has the possibility to make individual devices irrelevant (your user experience is the same no matter what device you are on), Microsoft’s vision for the future has changed my mind. By making this new generation of technology in handheld devices, Microsoft has tapped into the personalization of device that appeals to so many. Even the concepts they use, such as “Journal” is geared towards making an emotional and personal connection with a device.

If Courier can pull off what it does in the demo videos with the same ease and grace, I will be in line for one. The race for innovation and inspired thinking in the eBook space is on, and in my opinion, while Apple has a product, Microsoft has inspiration.

Read more about the new device and see videos of it in action at Engadget.

Youtube recently announced automatic captions for YouTube videos. While the technology is imperfect, the system will analyze videos and make best guesses about the script. This is beneficial to Google of course, in analyzing the videos to deliver better ads, and eventually, translate videos into a multitude of languages. The core benefit to me is as a hard-of-hearing person.

This is definitely a step in the right direction, and personally, I think it’s long overdue.

While there are regulations in place to ensure equal access to television and like media, regulating such a thing on the internet cannot, and indeed, should not be done. It’s encouraging to see the de-facto standard distributer of video content on the web take this issue seriously and use the advances in technology to improve everyone’s lives, even in areas of lesser importance to a larger audience.

This is one of the many reasons I am a supporter of Google as a company and a brand. There’s still further steps to take, but I am very happy today to see this announcement. Making captioning easier for publishers and accessible to those that need it is an entire ecosystem of solutions for these kinds of problems. I hope Google and other companies continue to develop technology that pushes the limits of what can be done to ensure access for everyone to online channels of communication.

Check out the video from the California School For The Deaf, Fremont (where many people I know and family members have attended)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXZdhMyPHsQ

For those of you who haven’t heard of TED conferences, it’s a series of talks, no longer than 18 minutes from people who are passionate or inspired about their ideas. Although sometimes, I don’t have a particular interest in the topic, the people are interesting and have things to say that may help you look at your own problems in a new way. TED’s tagline is “Ideas Worth Spreading”, and I think the idea of this conference is worth spreading to you.

Take a look at this quick TED talk to get an idea of what kind of things go on, and go ahead, subscribe on iTunes or visit the TED website to learn more!