A little over an hour ago, Matt Cutts posted on his blog that Google has officially announced the soon-to-be released “Google Chrome” … an Open Source Browser.  I read one of Matt’s comments (”… I can’t wait to talk more about Google Chrome”), and I actually felt the upcoming buzz about this one.

If you’re thinking this might just be another browser (same ol’, same ol’), consider the perspective Google gives us about the product on their official blog;

… We search, chat, email and collaborate in a browser. And in our spare time, we shop, bank, read news and keep in touch with friends — all using a browser. Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there….

Exciting stuff! Browsers do indeed touch our online lives in soooo many ways. Look for a change with this new open source app tomorrow.

I know I’ll be getting the beta just to take it for a test drive.  If I find myself with wind screaming through my hair out on the Information Superhighway, I’ll be sure to pull over once to blog about it.

[UPDATE] Right after posting this, I read Robert Scoble’s most recent post on the same subject.  He poses an important question … “What will happen to Mozilla Firefox?”  John Lilly, CEO of Mozilla, says the company isn’t worried.  Hmmmm.

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Remember just two posts ago I mentioned the imminent demise of several industries? … one such industry seeing dramatic changes on a daily basis is centralized news reporting by large media organizations.

WHAT IF the news could be pushed out through distributed systems instead of centralized ones? What if these new-fangled applications were web-based and open source so they were free and readily available to the masses? What if some of the biggest players in the online news and social bookmarking scene were making moves in this direction (e.g. Digg, Mag.nolia and Reddit)? What if you could build a customized, branded, slick social news service for your own domain?
Well, “what if” no more kids. Your dreams have come true! Here’s a post from Adam Ostrow that covers some of the details to look out for in the upcoming months.

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A friend of mine is, let’s say, challenged when it comes to anything computer or Internet related. If I throw any terms at her like wiki, podcast, RSS feed or social bookmarking, she looks at me like I have two heads. Now, thanks to Commoncraft.com there’s help for anyone struggling to understand these concepts.

Commoncraft.com produces short videos that can be found on YouTube. They take complex concepts and break them down into simple explanations. This husband and wife production company develops clever videos that creatively explain a robust subject in plain terms so the average person can easily understand. 

I recently found one of their videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o when doing research on Twitter. Each of their productions is fun with graphics that include a whiteboard and paper cutouts. The first one I saw made me laugh out loud it was so different and interesting the way it was put together. And, the best thing about it was that I really understood what I hadn’t been able to before. 

Besides Internet concepts, they also cover other topics like: New Light Bulbs, California School Finance and the H&R Block Tango. They even have some in languages other than English. 

So the next time my friend is befuddled with something computer related, I’m sending her to the URL for a Common Craft video. That is, once I explain to her what a URL is. Hmm… is there a Common Craft video for that?

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The Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, reports they’ll be forced to sell unless 200 non-union employees accept a buyout.  Publisher George E. Arwady described the paper as being “on life support.”

NJ.com stated in their report of the announcement;

The offer comes at a time when the newspaper industry is reeling from plunging advertising revenues linked to a troubled economy and the growth of online media.

Other troubled businesses and industries you’ll want to keep an eye on (and the New Media forces causing their woes).

• Newspapers
  Blogs, Forums, Communities, Niche Portals
• Travel Agents
  Online travel sites like Travelocity.com
• Yellow Pages
  Google.com / Online Search
• Map Makers
  MapQuest.com, Maps.Google.com
• Encyclopedias
  Wikipedia.com
• Music/CD Stores
  MP3s and online stores like iTunes.com
• Libraries
  The Internet at large
• Movie Theaters
  NetFlix.com
• The Recording Industry
  MP3s and File Sharing
• Broadcast Video Channels MTV / VH1
  YouTube.com
• Photo Film Development
  Digital cameras / flickr.com
• Aerial Photography
  Satellites and Earth.Google.com
• Radio Stations (as we currently know them)
  iPods/Zunes and iTunes.com
• Small generic book stores (boutique/niche shops have a chance)
  Amazon.com, Borders.com, BN.com

Maybe it’s time to short some stocks.

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This has nothing to do with brand or marketing or social media … but it’s kinda fun, so I couldn’t resist.

The time stamp for this post is 08:08.08, 08/08/08. Today, I hope your luck number is “8″!

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Think back. Waayyyyyyyy back. There may have been a time when, as a child, you had a security blanket. Call it your bunckie, your bubby, your woobie, Rex … whatever it was, you likely gave it a special name and it gave you an ever so wonderful feeling in return. It was warm and fuzzy (especially right after it got out of the dryer). You always felt safe and secure when it was with you, which was almost always. The bond you had made you feel as if something bad would certainly happen if you didn’t have it close at hand. Your woobie never passed judgement, never let you down and required very little compared to what you got back. This was a magical connection for sure.

Question; How do YOU become a security blanket?

In a powerfully short read, Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles outline how to create “Raving Fans” out of your customers. One of their core ideas is that it’s not OK to settle for “good” customer service. To create raving fans, you must go way beyond the extra mile. You have to give your customers specific reasons to pass along your praises by word of mouth - to become evangelists.

Here’s my tip. Read the book but instead of seeing this as an exercise of creating great customer service, define the task at hand as becoming the security blanket. Foster that warm and fuzzy feeling. Make it so your clients can’t live without you. Do that, then you’ve succeeded. As a bonus, there’s a wonderful prize at the end of this journey. If you succeed at becoming the security blanket, you’ll find you feel the same about the client. You’ll be willing to do more for them. The delivery of service will seem less like a chore. The work you do for them will seem to go faster and you’ll have a deeper sense of fulfillment and appreciation.

Good luck with this process! However, watch out for those fabric softener sheets! They’ll stick to you as you climb out of the dryer.

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Often, in conversation with new clients who have not yet made any moves away from traditional media toward new media, I get the comment, “…that stuff really doesn’t apply to [me, my business, my product, my service, my industry].”

Let’s take an extreme example to show the correct way of thinking.  What if you were running an extremely low-tech company — hand carved wooden signs?  AND, you were located in an extremely rural area of an extremely rural state (NH)? AND, what if many/most of your clients were not tech savvy.  Am I missing anything? Can you think of a more extreme example of someone who could claim that new media and Internet technologies “aren’t right for me”?

You already know where this is going, right?!  Here’s the story …

J.D. Iles at the Lincoln Sign Company in Lincoln, NH indeed “gets it.”  He has dramatically shifted his marketing to new media strategies and is intent on becoming the household name, globally, for his industry.  To get a little viral lift going, he’s running a contest on his site right now where you could win one of his beautiful hand-carved wooden signs, simply by commenting on his blog!  Check it out here.

This is really a shining example; Traditional product, traditional industry, new media marketing plan, new media marketing tactic (blogging), viral campaign (buddy commenting - BTW, a new one on me), a freebie give away … this is fabulous stuff J.D.!!!   By emulating J.D., I hope all business owners can see that the only obstacle to improving their marketing is the limitation in their own way of thinking.

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It’s critical that you understand the dynamics of “The Long Tail” as introduced to us by Chris Anderson. Seth points out if you have a choice between making a hit (a point in the head of the curve) or an alternate choice well out on the long tail, go for the hit. BUT, he also points out the reality that you usually don’t have a choice. Extreme competition up in the head is indeed harsh.

What to do? Although the competition in the head makes it very difficult to ever have a “hit” … or, more specifically, to plan a hit … the competition down in the long tail is quite light. I may not be able to get a top 10 ranking for the phrase “buy life insurance” (using Seth’s example), but it should be pretty easy to get a decent rank on the long tail phrase “Bolivian Sushi“.

Sooooo, here’s the question; “Which is better? A million visits coming from a single “hit” phrase in the head? … OR, a million visits coming from 950,000 less popular phrases out along the long tail?” I think the obvious answer is, “they’re both the same.” Although the former requires a lot of fortuitousness, the latter requires a lot of content, planning and time commitment.

Bottom line; Tapping into the long tail can be hard work, but you get to control your own destiny. Crossing your fingers and hoping for a hit is much more risky.

Anyone up for sushi tonight?

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This past week, Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, stated that the cable goliath Comcast had essentially violated the agency’s principles on open access to the Internet.

What does this mean for you?  The topic is called “Net Neutrality” and these landmark cases, going on right now, will determine the future of how the Internet works for you (and your kids).  The question is simply whether a service provider has the right to impose restrictions (equipment, filtering of content, use of applications, etc.) on a network in any way.  Imagine if one network creates a really cool new gizmo or application.  Should another network service be allowed to block its use or charge extra for it simply because it sees it as competitive?  The obvious answer is no.

Before the flame wars start here, however, let me state that this is nothing short of complex.  Both sides of the argument have valid points and the resolution of this topic will not be an easy one.  The direction these cases take us will forever impact all of our lives.  Important:  Take note of this topic, if you haven’t already, and voice your opinion.

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I procrastinated — ACK!. Although I started the planning almost a year ago, I didn’t put the date of PodCamp Boston 3 on my calendar. Realizing that it was coming up soon, this afternoon my business partner Richard and my lead developer Howard and I looked it up and found out that tomorrow/today (Wednesday, July 16th) is the last day to register and the event is this coming weekend. The thing is that I’m committed to several other personal obligations and although I tried (really tried) to justify getting out of most of them, I couldn’t. I - AM - BUMMIN’!

OK, so what does this say about the event?! It’s going to be a DOOZIE! If you have the opportunity to sign up and you’re available to hang out in Cambridge, MA with some of the world’s leading social media gurus, do it now!

If you make it there, tell Richard and Howard to take lots of notes … I’ll read them later through my tear stained eyes. WAH!

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