Interesting how we still use icons on our computers for items that we no long use in real-life.

There's some big user experience lessons to be learned from this article. Occupants of a English-speaking, western culture expect certain things in certain places. We expect to find the copyright and publishing data inside front pages of our books. We expect to find the knife and fork on different sides of the plate. And fifteen or so years into this interwebz thing, we expect certain icons to be, well, iconic.

I've said it before and I'll say it agian: Social media is a conversation. I can be a tremendously boring conversationalist at times (do NOT get me started on McClellan's campaign in western Virginia or whether Han shot or not (he did)), but I also think I'm a decent, if not good, listener. And social media is all about listening and knowing when to speak about the things that interest you and your business. And just as there are good (and bad) conversationalists, there is good (and bad) social media.

Ah, you say, but what's the point of social media? Why do I want my company to talk to people on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Whatever?

Imagine if every time you handed out a business card, you knew what actions that person took after they read your card. That's what a good social media campaign can do. And like all online marketing, the success is in the details.

Social media is simply a conversation with a purpose, and any conversation that consists of nothing but "Hey, I need some money from you" or "Wow, I think this thing I did is REALLY cool!" is a conversation I soon lose interest in.

And so will your customers.

A random observation on a Monday morning: Starting off a Facebook entry with "LIKE this post if..." is the social media equivalent of "Click HERE!"

I've said it before and I'll say it again. On the Internet, the deer now have guns. And when the deer have guns, you get into the ammunition business.

Amazon is looking to add some new shows to its streaming video library -- specifically, yours.
The online e-commerce giant with the burgeoning Instant Video site has announced a major initiative from its Amazon Studios wing: Starting now, Amazon is accepting ideas for TV shows from anybody who has a pilot script, an idea for five or six episodes, and an Internet connection. Amazon says that it will be selecting one idea per month to put into development. If it passes muster and Amazon decides to produce a full slate of shows, the creator will be given $55,000, up to five percent on sales of licensed merchandise, and "other royalties and bonuses". 

Remind me again. Why should you pay for cable?