blending the mix

My Sony laptop is on the verge of packing in, after years and years of (ab)use it is at death’s door.

The CD drive does not allow me to burn back-up discs anymore and it is pot luck as to whether or not it will work from one day to the next.

So, I am offering a unique opportunity to sponsor ME.

Apple, Microsoft, Dell, or indeed any company willing to provide me with a half-decent laptop will have their name mentioned as part of my email signature.

In ALL communications in which I participate and which requires me to use the laptop (pretty much all the time!), I will apply the following signature text for a full 12 months (and I WILL provide weekly evidence of this):

Paul Fabretti

Director

Written on an Apple Macbook Pro by Company X.

Or

"Written using the latest Dell Precision M90"

or whatever suits the company providing it! You get the picture!

I may even think about something that sounds good too!

I am a minimum 3-times a day, 3-blog blogger with a (growing) average 800 unique visitors per month (ok, not a lot but growing all the time!). I am an active member of linked-in, openbc, ecademy as well as the pinkomarketing wiki and google group.

I am also an eBay (UK) Gold Power seller. A link to the company providing my laptop will also be included in ALL my eBay auctions.

Some will no doubt snigger at the visitor numbers (and advertisers may balk at the numbers!) but I am an extremely active member of the communities in which I mix, and present you with an opportunity to touch business professionals deeper than any banner ad would.

If this is of interest to you and you would be able to provide me with a laptop, I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Tags: ebay, Dell, Apple, Macbook Pro, laptop, pinko marketing

Havign posted recently about the possiblity of there being a long tail of traditional media, I see in Media Post that for those “left behind” by the ever-increasing pace with which web 2.0 develops, clever integration of new and old media may be the answer to steadily bring people up to speed rather than just one or the other.
As Ann Handley quite rightly says in a comment on my other post “many traditional industries, the idea of a *web* site is about as 2.0 as it gets”, so it is the challenge to find ways of bringing these mediums together that will bring people up to speed.
What is interesting about the Mediapost article though is that its analysis is not rocket science. The “traditional generation” get their core news from their newspapers and television, but:

“a TV viewer who watches a news report of a tornado will visit a Web site to see video footage of tornadoes when the TV broadcast referenced the Web site”.

If then, as this quote suggests, gathering news is often now a 2-phase action (with TV and Print being the first point of contact), then there is a massive opportunity for the traditional broadcaster to integrate old and new media with no fear of alientation or cannibalisation.
Rather than fear losing ground to modern media, traditional media should act as the vehicle to drive viewers online by promising enticing content, offering additional information and exclusive online content which will consolidate that channel’s or paper’s reputation as a quality source of news.

In this case, both media work in harmony, presenting (if nothing else), the opportunity for advertisers to tie-in both media as a 2-phase campaign.

Something to think about…

Technorati Tags: web 2.0, Mediapost, media

The BBC reports that OFCOM, the official telecommunications watcdog in the UK, is seeking a review and possible amendment to the regulations regarding the banning of the iPod gadget iTrips that can transmit the iPod content using FM radio signals.

The device was banned in the UK because it is argued that it is possible to interfere with commercial broadcasts already on that bandwidth.

The biggest dilemma seems to be how best to manage the acceptance given that the device is available all over the internet and there is a booming black market anyway.

If there is a change in the rules and we CAN use the iPod and iTrip in unison, we are facing some interesting times!

I think this opens up some exciting opportunities to create consumer-generated content radio stations as personal as the people put them out.
Live events like MESH 2006 could have instant MESH 2006 Radio, broadcasting (from the iPod) keynote speaches or event announcements. The Blogging 101 session from Tris Hussey could have been broadcast to all those who couldn’t make the seminar or someone may have missed Tara Hunt’s Keynote on Pinko Marketing, played again at 2100H on Radio MESH 2006 - all from an iPod!

On a more local level, parties and corporate events can be broadcast to friends or colleagues, either downloadable off company intranets or broadcast over “iPod FM”.

Each of these events could be sponsored with audio ads…the possibilities are endless.

Advertisers - are you keen to get into schools? Give a kid an iPod with some cool audio content on it to be broadcast at break time and lunchtime!
Does anyone remember Hi-de-Hi and its wonderful events broadcaster Ruth Maddocks? It’s here and it’s in the hands of Ofcom - advertisers, be ready!

Technorati Tags: iPod, iTrip, MESH 2006, Tris Hussey

Make sure you read THIS from Brand Republic about how internet advertising spend increased 73% to £1.1bn!

Don’t think you need to understand the technology? Think again.

Print spend is down, radio is down…and that’s not because there is a general shift in advertiser’s preferences - it is because people are not reading and listening as much - and spending more time online.

New Media Age reports that Virgin Radio is in active talks with advertisers about placing video advertising content on the podcasts of its most popular shows.Previously, the podcasting might that was the Ricky Gervais show from The Guardian had interspersed audio ads throughout the show, which is great as the ads are able to reach EVERYONE downloading the mp3 format.

However, whilst using the most popular shows to encourage downloads of the video format, there must surely be some concern about the penetration that this will bring. Here is why I think that this may be a flash int he pan:

1. People are scared to show their iPod in public (remember the signature earphones being a mugger’s dream?). How can we expect them to watch a video too - with a MUCH MORE desirable gadget?
2. Habitually, people carry their iPods in their pockets.

3. Music iPods came first, Music came second, Podcasts came third. The iPod created the wave, the content rode it. In this instance, the weave created by the take-up of video iPod is not great enough for the content to ride. i.e. chicken and egg!

4. Critical Mass - save for all those early adopters and gadget freaks, there will soon come a point when everyone who wants an iPod or music player will have one. Budgets, credit card debt and simple satisfaction with their current player will simply restrict video iPod to a specific group of people whose tastes vary sufficiently as to make a global audience minute.
That said, maybe there is a niche market - but does this niche have global-enough interestes to appeal to Virgin’s core offer? I hope so, because they must be applauded for pushing new technology and offering advertisers another route
to market