Dr. Augustine Fou's Online Scrapbook

Thursday, October 23, 2008

YouTube Insight, How to Optimize and Enhance Your Online Videos Using Analytics

Source:http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheInternetMarketingDriver/~3/429071461/youtube-insight-how-to-optimize-and.html

YouTube Insight, Optimizing Your Video Clips Using Analytics

Today I get to write about two of my favorite things, Web Analytics and Online Video. Lucky me! Given that YouTube just surpassed Yahoo as the #2 search engine, I think it's safe to say that many of you probably visit YouTube regularly to watch videos online. In addition, I know some of you are taking the next step and producing your own videos to share with the world. That covers watching, producing, and sharing, but there's another concept I wanted to introduce today, and that'soptimization. Did you know that YouTube gives you access to a video analytics package free of charge, right in your YouTube account? It's called YouTube Insight and it gives you the ability to constantly glean insights from your video clips and viewers. Video producers that use Insight already know its power, but I still think many people don't know what to do with it, or more importantly, how to optimize their videos using the data provided by Insight. If you've read my blog before, then you know how I feel about the importance of web analytics. Well, this is simply an extension of web analytics, but specifically for your own YouTube video clips. Let's dig in.

What is YouTube Insight?
YouTube Insight is a video analytics tool that provides you with valuable information about your video clips (and your viewers). Insight gives you several reports, including views, popularity, discovery (how people find your videos), and a new piece of functionality called hotspots. Insight Hotspots enable you see which parts of your video are hot (higher engagement) and which parts are cold (less int! erest an d engagement). I will explain more about hotspots below.

read on at Glenn Gabe's The Internet Marketing Driver blog ...

Bill Gates Creates Mysterious Company, Everyone Looks Around Nervously [Bill Returns]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/428951643/bill-gates-creates-mysterious-company-everyone-looks-around-nervously

World, get ready because Bill Gates is returning. His new company is called bgC3. Bill Gates Concept 3? Bill Gates Cartman 3? Big Goose Charbroiled 3? Bad Gastrointestinal Catastrophe 3? We have no idea. The truth is that very little is known about it, except its trademark categories, and the fact that they have a web site showing a very pretty logo.

Bill Gates' new venture has a federal trademark as a think-tank, covering:

• Scientific and technological services.
• Industrial analysis and research.
• Design and development of computer hardware and software.

The company is not being created in his garage, though: He has opened a small office near his home, apparently full of high tech toys including a Microsoft Surface used as a guest book. [TechFlash via Read Write Web via Valleywag]

MacBook Nano or iPhone Slate Caught Online, Says NYT [Rumor]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/429065704/macbook-nano-or-iphone-slate-caught-online-says-nyt

John Markoff at the New York Times has updated his article on a potential Apple netbook—following Steve Jobs' comments—with an interesting piece of news that reminds me of the first days of the JesusPhone, when an unidentified Apple device was detected for the first time in the traffic logs of some web sites. Markoff even provides vague specifics about this potential MacBook nano/MacBook touch/iPhone slate which was spotted in the logs of an unnamed "search engine company":

UPDATED: That would seem to confirm findings that a search engine company shared with me on condition that I not reveal its name: The company spotted Web visits from an unannounced Apple product with a display somewhere between an iPhone and a MacBook. Is it the iPhone 3.0 or the NetMac 1.0?

Like with the original iPhone—which was spotted online in web traffic blogs—I won't be surprised if this was real. Other Apple computers were detected online first as well, although some of them—like multiprocessor Macs running SETI or other distributed computing tasks—were never released. Unlike Markoff, however, I believe that Steve was completely honest when he said "we don't know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk", arguing that the company mission was to give more at the same price points, not less features for less money.

So out of pure instinct, I think we can rule out a MacBook nano netbook. Instead, if this is indeed a new unannounced Apple product, here in Gizmodo we are thinking about an iPhone HD with an updated 800 x 480 pixel display, probably coming in 2009. That resolution is something between the iPhone's 480 x 320 pixels and MacBook's 1280 x 800 p! ixels, w hich is completely reasonable: Other phones—like the HTC Touch HD—already have these ultra-sharp screens.

In addition to that, as Jobs pointed out in their financial conference call yesterday, they already have a strong entry in the small computing market with the iPhone. It is only logical for Apple—and probably less risky and cheaper—to keep the progress of the iPhone, upgrading the screen for one with a higher dot per inch count in the next model (but of course, I will always keep dreaming about the MacBook touch). [NYT]

Update: Some people argue that it may be a hackintoshed netbook, a computer running a modified version of Mac OS X. This may be the case, but I'm sure the "unnamed search company"—which won't say the name of the Apple device—has plenty of hackintosh netbooks in their logs. On top of that, all hackintosh computers identify themselves as a Mac Pro, independently of their hardware.

Mass Produced Carbon Fiber Cars Down the Road [Automobiles]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/429274741/mass-produced-carbon-fiber-cars-down-the-road

Japanese textile maker Toray Industries is on the road to mass producing carbon fiber cars, bringing us ever closer to the day when the lightweight automobiles are on the market for more than just really rich racing enthusiasts. The company said it's developed a new carbon fiber processing method that molds auto platforms in 10 minutes. That's two and a half hours shorter than what current methods allow.

Toray's carbon fiber produces a platform that's 50 percent lighter than steel but 1.5 times safer in a collision, and the shorter molding process will allow it to make enough parts for roughly 30,000 vehicles a year. Though the ten minutes is still longer than the five or six needed for regular sheet metal and carbon fiber is still ten times more expensive to buy, Toray says the new method will cut manufacturing costs drastically.

So when can you look forward to buying a carbon fiber car that doesn't cost as much as your house? About four to five years, the company estimated. Well, I guess that gives you some time to save up. [Japan Today]

Confirmed: Apple Can Enable Dual GPU and On-the-Fly Switching in MacBook Pro [MacBook Pro]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/429101259/confirmed-apple-can-enable-dual-gpu-and-on+the+fly-switching-in-macbook-pro

Nvidia dropped by today to demo some of the awesome things that the GeForce 9400M in the new MacBooks can do that Intel's integrated graphics just can't touch, and to discuss a few technical points. Besides confirming that you'll see it in other notebooks soon, they definitively answered some lingering questions about the chip's capabilities: It can support up to 8GB of RAM. It can do on-the-fly GPU switching. And it can work together with the MacBook Pro's discrete 9600M GT. But it doesn't do any of those things. Yet.

Since the hardware is capable of all of these things, it means that they can all be enabled by a software/firmware/driver update. Whether or not that happens is entirely up to Apple. While you can argue that Hybrid SLI—using both GPUs at once—has a limited, balls-to-the-wall utility, being able to switch between the integrated 9400M and discrete 9600M GT on the fly without logging out would obviously be enormously easier than the current setup, and allow for some more creative automatic energy preferences—discrete when plugged in, integrated on battery. Hell, you can do it in Windows on some machines.

But since it's Apple it's also entirely possible we'll never see any of this to come to pass—GPU-accelerated video decoding has totally been possible with the 8600M GT in the previous-gen MacBook Pros, and well, you know where that stands. [Apple & Nvidia Coverage@Giz]

Pithy quotes

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/417536544/pithy-quotes.html

From an interview I just did with Hugh at gapingvoid

Everyone isn't going to be a leader. But everyone isn't going to be successful, either.

Success is now the domain of people who lead. That doesn't mean they're in charge, it doesn't mean they are the CEO, it merely means that for a group, even a small group, they show the way, they spread ideas, they make change. Those people are the only successful people we've got.

Signaling strategies

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/typepad/sethsmainblog/~3/428454337/signaling-strat.html

It's impossible to see everyone. You can't handle the input of what every consumer is buying or thinking or looking at. So, we resort to signaling strategies.

A few celebrities wearing Uggs in the middle of the summer sends a signal to fashion wannabees everywhere: these are hot. It doesn't matter too much if they actually are hot, all that matters (to these wannabees and the retailers that serve them) is that in the past, when beautiful people in Santa Monica did something, it was an effective signal to the market.

There are all sorts of signaling strategies consumers look for. Political endorsements, end cap displays at stores, large scale ad campaigns, The New York Times bestseller list--each is seen as a bellwether for what our friends and those we admire are about to do.

Marketers may be selfish, but we're not stupid. Once a signaling strategy is seen to be effective, we seek to game it. 25 years ago, driving cross country to go to my first day of work at Spinnaker Software (I was the 30th employee) I drove through Chicago. And I passed a Spinnaker billboard. Wow! This company was going somewhere if they had billboards all over the country. When I got to work in Boston two days later, I discovered that this was the one and only billboard they had in the country, strategically erected on the road to the big CES trade show. They were signaling the buyers of the big stores.

Various bestseller lists, because of their unwillingness to be transparent, is easily and often gamed by publishers and musicians and websites that focus their efforts on the sort of places that report to the list.

There are three reasons you need to care about the increasing amount of effort spent gaming the signals:
1. As a consumer, don't be fooled. The more important a signal is, the more likely it is that marketers are gaming it.
2. As a signaler, be careful. As you sell out and permit yourself to be gamed, you make it more and more likely that consumers won't be influenced by you.
3. As a marketer, beware. The effort you expend gaming one signal or another is almost never worth the distortion that gaming produces. Instead of spending your time delighting authentic voices, you're corrupting a signal. Which means that you end up being really good at signal corrupting but not so good at winning in your market. For every Uggs, there are 100 companies that spent too much money and time influencing a few, only to discover the market didn't care.

Print2pdf Adds Advanced PDF Conversion to Windows [Featured Windows Download]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/427570027/print2pdf-adds-advanced-pdf-conversion-to-windows

Windows only: Free PDF conversion tool Print2PDF isn't as click-and-go friendly as a tool like doPDF, but it does offer a serious amount of control over the looks, permissions, and security of your PDFs. Like other PDF apps, Print2PDF installs itself as a printer, but after you hit "Print," you can add watermarks, passwords, change the read/edit/print permissions, add attachments and auto-email, manually change the compression levels, and do much more. Print2PDF also integrates itself directly into Microsoft Word, Excelt, and Internet Explorer, and supports encryption for sensitive documents. It's probably more than the average home user needs, but office workers may find its options seriously handy. Print2PDF is a free download for Windows systems only.

Print2PDF [602 Software via The Download Blog]

iBlacklist Filters Callers on iPhones [Featured IPhone Application]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/428940188/iblacklist-filters-callers-on-iphones

Jailbroken iPhones only: Brazilian developers Daniel Antonio and Alexandre Kremer have a nifty application for the iPhone, iBlacklist, which allows you to send particular callers directly to voicemail. And by "particular callers," I mean "your ex." Also: collection agencies, micromanager bosses, your mother who just doesn't approve. You get the picture. At only $12, it's a lot cheaper than an hour with a shrink to maintain your sanity. Other features include the ability to filter out SMS notfications from certain number, and even set up scheduled times when calls won't be let through (particularly useful for keeping your weekends boss-free). But what about those of us who don't have an iPhone?

Simply change the name of a contact to "Do not answer." Do not, repeat, do not include the name of the contact. Because then you might hem and haw, maybe even feel a bit guilty when you hit "ignore" and send them to voicemail. The goal is for an automatic response. Call comes in; "Do not answer" appears as the caller ID; press ignore. No muss, no fuss, and it works on any cellphone. Everyone has someone they'd rather not talk to right now, or possibly ever. How do you keep them from getting all up in your phone's business? Let us know in the comments.

In the meantime, iBlacklist is available for $12 ~~in the iTunes App Store~~ on jailbroken iPhones only via Cydia. If you haven't jailbroken your iPhone, yet here's how (Mac, Windows).

iBlacklist [iblacklist.com.br]

Tiny Watcher Detects System Changes, Rolls Back If Necessary [Featured Windows Download]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/428952437/tiny-watcher-detects-system-changes-rolls-back-if-necessary

Windows only: Free application Tiny Watcher monitors your system for changes to your registry, drivers, and first-time programs and provides you with options to undo any unwanted changes. The application's site judiciously provides a list of pros and cons that are spot on. Pros: It's lightweight and only runs when you need it, it detects most important changes that can happen on your system, and it's configurable. Cons: It's not a real-time monitor, so you'll only be alerted of changes after the fact, and it doesn't automatically clean up messes for you—you still have to identify and tell it what you want to reverse. Tiny Watcher is freeware, Windows only. If you want a touch more protection when you're trying out new software, check out how to safely install software in a virtual layer with previously mentioned apps like Altiris SVS or Sandboxie.

Tiny Watcher [Donation Coders via FreewareGenius]

Convert PDFs to Word Online with Three Clicks [PDF]

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/429014940/convert-pdfs-to-word-online-with-three-clicks

Stuck with a PDF file and no application that will let you edit it? PDF UNdo Online is easy, free, works on any computer and there's no registration required. Click to browse your computer for an Adobe PDF document, click to convert it into a Microsoft Word document, then click to download the converted file. Now you can edit it to your heart's content in any application that supports Word documents. A perfect complement for PDF Online, which can convert your edited file right back to PDF. Thanks, PauletteDandoo!

Free Online PDF to Word Conversions [pdfundo.net]

New in Labs: Canned Responses

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/428074966/new-in-labs-canned-responses.html

Posted by Chad Parry, Gmail engineer Hello, you've reached Chad's mailbox. Thanks for your email about the latest Labs feature: Canned Responses, or email for the truly lazy. I'm on paternity leave so I won't be able to respond personally. Instead, I hope you'll enjoy this automated message. If you're sick of typing out the same reply every time someone emails you with a common question, now you can compose your reply once and save the message text with the "Canned responses" button. Later, you can open that same message and send it again and again.

It couldn't get any easier unless Gmail automatically pushed the Send button. If you're lazy enough to think that would be a good idea, then read on, friend. Gmail already lets you create filters based on a combination of keywords, sender, recipients, and more in your incoming messages. Turn on Canned Responses in Labs, and you can set a filter to grab one of your saved responses, create an automated reply, and hit the Send button for you.

You can set up different automated messages for different keywords, jus! t like < href="http://groups.google.com/group/gmail-labs-suggest-a-labs-feature/browse_thread/thread/e57beaec76ba0bbe/63e33b1937ed6b4f?lnk=gst&q&pli=1">you said you wanted. (We're friends, so I trust you to use this power responsibly.)

Original Post: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/new-in-labs-canned-responses.html

This iPod is Full of Air

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/427358993/

It really is! Hear me out. The iBangle is Gopinath Prasana’s vision of a future iPod where the devices have become darn close to becoming jewelry. If you factor in inflation and the cost of Apple products today - might as well call it jewelry because it’ll cost as much. I digress, the iBangle is a thin piece of aluminum (of course) with a multi-touch track pad. To achieve the perfect fit, a cushion inside the ring inflates to keep itself taught against your wrist. Unisex? Maybe.

Designer: Gopinath Prasana

Gopinath Prasana

Whatâs Black and White and Read All Over?

Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/yankodesign/~3/427387299/

The obvious answer is concept cell phones with E ink displays. Despite their lamentable lack of color range, E ink mobiles are just all the rage these days. This concept from Anthony Reed stays a bit more inside the box with simplistic grid styling that keeps everything well within the gray scale range of the display. When all you have to work with is black and white, maybe its best to embrace it fully instead of covering it up in flashy case graphics.

Designer: Anthony Reed

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Samsung Drops GPS, Slider Symbian Smartphones

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5066286/samsung-drops-gps-slider-symbian-smartphones

Samsung is still supporting another, non-Google open operating system for mobiles, showing off a couple of Symbian-based smartphones at a recent event in London. The Samsung I7110 doubles as a phone and a navigation device, while the Samsung L870 is being marketed as a fashion slider.

The I7110 comes with a GPS navigation program with geo-tagging, pedestrian and driving navigators. It also packs a 5MP camera, multiple codec support, 50MB of internal memory (expandable up to 16GB with a microSD slot), and an FM transmitter to push music and driving instructions through an in car radio.

Meanwhile, the L870 comes with a 2.4-inch QVGA display, a 3MP camera, FM radio, a music player, Bluetooth, and 100MB of internal memory (expandable up to 4GB). Instead of navigation programs, the slider has a more traditional set of smartphone software—push email, document viewers and the like. Prices weren't available yet for either phone.

With Extensive Product Portfolio

Samsung offers a variety of Symbian smartphones at the Smartphone Show 2008

The Smartphone Show, London, UK, October 21 2008 - Samsung Electronics, a leading provider of mobile phones and telecom systems, showcases an extensive portfolio of Symbian smartphones at this year's Smartphone Show (Oct. 21~22) in London, United Kingdom.

Samsung sees a great growth potential in the open Operating System based smartphone market, and has invested a lot of R&D and marketing resources in this market for past several years. Consequently, Samsung plans to offer a wider range of open OS mobiles this year, demonstrating significant progres! s in ope n OS and smartphone technology. Your browser may not support display of this image., the ultimate mobile entertainer with an 8-megapixel camera and Symbian OS, was recently launched and extremely well received by users and industry professionals all around the world.

Geesung Choi, President of Samsung's Telecommunications Business, said: "I'm sure that we will see more and more demand for smartphones with open Operating Systems thanks to the increasing need for flexibility and customization on mobiles, and the introduction of various mobile applications. Samsung's new Symbian OS-based smartphones such as Your browser may not support display of this image. shows our strategic focus on the open OS phone market."

"We will reinforce our open OS and smartphone leadership not only by providing more products, but also by opening our new developers collaboration program 'Samsung Mobile Innovator'." He concluded.

At this year's Smartphone Show, Mr.Ho-Soo Lee, Executive Vice President of Mobile Solution Centre, Telecommunication Business of Samsung Electronics, will deliver the keynote speech, 'Eight Reasons to Innov8,' on Tuesday, October 21.

Samsung's newly announced Symbian smartphones at the Smartphone Show include:

Samsung I7110

As a mobile navigator, the I7110 boasts advanced GPS navigation with geo-tagging, pedestrian navigation and driving navigation. The I7110's AMOLED LCD screen provides sharp and vivid image even in daylight for perfect pedestrian navigation in the palm of your hand. Through its FM transmitter, the I7110 enables its users to receive the voice guides on the move by transmitting to an in car radio.

With Samsung I7110, users will be able to enjoy a 5 Megapixel camera with Auto focus and LED flash. It also comes with the latest digital camera features including smile shot and blink shot functions. The I7110 also provides advanced video recording and play features, supporting multi-codec files to enable its users to! easily transfer without the hassle of converting files. It features 50MB of internal memory with micro SD slot, allowing users to store and enjoy various contents on the device up to 16GB.

To offer seamless connectivity, the I7110 comes with HSDPA connectivity and Wi-Fi connectivity. For easier web browsing, the phone also provides an 8-way optical mouse. The I7110 supports a 1200mAh battery that delivers 11 hours of talk time, meaning this slim and stylish smartphone offers long lasting multimedia experience.

Samsung L870

Like a fine tailored suit, the L870 is encased in a magnificent stainless steel body softly brushed with an elegant hairline pattern, and a 13.5mm slim and sleek outline, which can perfectly complement every outfit and style.

Leveraging the capabilities of S60 platform, L870 brings full connectivity that surpasses expectations for a handset device. The applications and features of S60 software are not only easy to learn and use, but also enable maximum productivity. A high speed internet browser provides access to more than 6,000 open applications which are compatible with L870 so users can customize the device for their individual needs.

L870 features many useful Samsung pre-installed applications such as an advanced task manager Checkit, PIMs (Personal information manager) homescreen, Team manager and business card recognition function. With these applications, users will experience a better time and life managing experience than ever.

L870 boasts many other latest applications and interfaces. A creative user interface (UI) features three different themes, and a 2.4-inch QVGA TFT display, a 3-megapixel camera, FM radio with RDS, music player and Bluetooth v.2.0 supports are all embedded within L870 for satisfying visual and audio entertainment needs.

Samsung I7110 Specifications:

Network HSDPA 3.6 Mbps (900/2100), EDGE / GPRS (850/900/1800/1900)
OS Symbian OS V9.3, S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 2
Display 2.6" 262K QVGA AMOLED Camera 5 Megapixel CMOS with AF and LED Flash, Smile Shot, Blink Shot
Video Video Player (DivX / H.263 / H.264 / WMV / MP4, RV)
VGA 30 fps / QVGA 120fps Video recording
H.263+AMR NB
Audio FM Radio with RDS DNSe 2.0
Music Player (MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / eAAC+ / WMA / RealAudio)
Value-added Features GPS Navigation: Pedestrian & Driving, Geo-tagging
Optical Mouse, Accelerometer, FM Transmitter
Embedded 3D Games : FIFA 2008, Asphalt
Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA)
Connectivity Bluetooth v2.0 / USB v2.0 / Wi-Fi
Memory 50MB User Memory + External Memory slot (up to 16GB)
Size 118 x 52 x 12.9 mm
Battery 1200 mAh
Talk time: up to 11 hrs/ 6 hrs (EDGE/WCDMA)
Stand-by time: up to 427 / 451 hrs (EDGE/WCDMA )

* Notice: Pedestrian map is available currently in only 10 cities in
Western Europe.

(Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Helsinki, London, Madrid, Milan,
Munich, Paris, Rome)

Samsung L870 Specifications:

Standard HSDPA (2100MHz) 3.6Mbps + EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900
Display 2.4" QVGA 16M Color TFT
Camera 3-Megapixel Camera
OS Symbian 9.3 S60 3.2
Features New Thematic UI, Quick Office document viewer
Push Email (Visto, Seven, Intellysync, Good)
Advanced PIM Applications
Music Player (MP3, AAC, AAC+, RA, AMR, WMA)
Video Player (H.263 + AMR, MPEG4, Real One, WMV)
FM Radio (RDS) Bluetooth v.2.0 EDR USB 2.0 (Full Speed)
Memory 100MB internal memory + Micro SD up to 4GB
Size 103.5 x 50.5 x 13.5mm

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