Splogs Decreasing Signal to Noise Ratio

/

One of the things we do when checking out a potential client is plug their brands into Technorati, IceRocket, Feedster and a couple other blog search engines to get an informal gauge on how folks are reacting to the product/client/category. A good number of these searches are valuable in terms of getting unfiltered opinions. But an overwhelming majority are links to splogs and auto-reposted material on valueless blogs. If we don't find a way to self-monitor, it won't be long before splogs make the signal to noise ratio unacceptable and folks abandon blog search engines. A democratic approach to what gets listed in a search database would help.

Reflections On One's Own Ads

/

Byron Udell at Accuquote saw Burst's recent release about the attention-getting abilities of Internet ads and wonders aloud about life insurance ads. In the interest of full disclosure, Byron's company is a client of Underscore's. His post raises a few interesting questions, though. Is there really a stigma against "recycling" creative? I've been saying for years that it doesn't leverage the medium to its fullest potential when an agency puts shovelware TV ads online. Has the shovelware stigma moved beyond the trade and does it now exist in the mind of customers? Are brands mentally penalized if they use the same online and offline creative? Do people expect something different online?

The other big question I see emerging from this: What elements of online ads lead people to believe that what they're seeing is "cutting edge?" Is it cutting edge ad concepts? Or just the flashiness of a rich media ad.

Byron is wondering how questions raised by the Burst study apply to his own business, and he'd like some feedback about category ads you've seen.

Some Comedy May Be Older Than We Think

/

This morning in my truck on the way to work, I heard Redd Foxx tell a great joke on XM Comedy. Let's put it this way, the version of the joke that I heard involved OJ Simpson, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, and the punchline "Is that you, OJ?" Foxx's version involved LBJ, which means this joke didn't originate during the Reagan administration, but dates back to before I was born.