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New Beta AdWords Interface

January 29th, 2009

Clint Danks from ThinkSEM found something pretty slick. Turns out one of his Google AdWords clients has the new interface option that Google first mentioned a couple months ago. Some initial thoughts:

They sure make it easy to view.

Updated AdWords Interface

Updated AdWords Interface

When looking at the dashboard, both Clint and I said something like “it looks a lot like the Google Analytics dashboard”.

Looks Like GA?

Looks Like GA?

The top tab looks similar to the old tabs, just designed a bit differently with a “billings” tab added.

Updated Tabs

Updated Tabs

One interesting thing we noticed was that Clint has many clients in his AdWords account and only one of them has the option to view the new interface. On the new interface, everything else still seems to run the same.

Looks like Google has some new info on all of this as well.

Have any of you seen this, and if so do you have anything to ad?
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Thousands of Twitterers Respond to a Small Earthquake Before the Media

January 8th, 2009

The power of Twitter and social media. Luckily, it sounds like a minor earthquake.

I just received a Tweet from a new connect @hannah_grenade regarding a small earthquake in So Cal. Only a few minutes later, over 2800 and growing Twitter users have sent out a Tweet about it.

San Bernardino Earthquake

CNN is fast, although here is their current headline:

CNN

Talk about fast. It’s 10:22 (8:22 PST) and CNN has now mentioned it. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen connections from Twitter come out with news before the mainstream media.

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Herbert Bros a "Doritos Crash the Super Bowl" Finalist Again

January 5th, 2009
Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" Contest

Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl" Contest

For those into social media, this is a fantastic example of what a group of siblings in Batesville, Indiana are doing.

Quick history, they were also finalists for the 2007 Super Bowl Doritos commercial. They didn’t win but did have their commercial shown in other national spots. I was then lucky enough to interview Joe Herbert for a Search Engine Guide piece.

Two years later, not only did they become a finalist, but they have put in place a great social media campaign!

Vote for "Free Doritos"

Vote for "Free Doritos"

Here ’tis:

It’s their Free Doritos contest site for the Herbert Brothers.

I think it’s brilliant! They show their public Facebook page (I became a fan), MySpace and YouTube profiles, plus their video, bios, cast & crew and easy links to the official Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest.

Free Doritos

Free Doritos

You can vote up to once daily at the official site. I love the commercial and really hope they win. They’re from a little town in Indiana called Batesville, and are up against four finalists all from either NY or LA.

Show your support for the small town heroes. :)

More on the Herbert Brothers at their site.

Update, Feb 1:

Congrats Joe and the Herbert brothers! The Super Bowl is on and their winning “free Doritos” commercial just aired!!

Another Update:

The Super Bowl just ran a quick blurb congratulating Joe Herbert by both name and voice. Seriously, congrats Joe and all who helped you!

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Favorite Posts of the Week – All Social Media, All Minnesota

January 3rd, 2009

It’s been awhile for a favorites post, and this time it’s all social media, and all Minnesota.

Glenn Seaberg from Spyder Trap Online Marketing writes an article about R.F. Moeller Jewelers leaving their KSTP radio advertisements for online viral marketing. Bad for the ecomony, good for social media?

Ed Kohler from Technology Evangelist points out what I would consider blatent Twitter spam from twply.com and offers a DIY option to receive Twitter replies through your RSS feed. It’s a pretty slick alternative for those who wan to receive Twitter replies via email.

Lastly, On December 29 Tom Pick from the WebMarketingCentral Blog points out how different two campaigns can be when the only difference is public sector audience vs. private sector audiences. The fun part is the delivery. He wrote it out in a seductive way that looks like it’s straight from a romance novel. Check it out!

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Facebook is So Last Tuesday. I Twitter Now.

January 2nd, 2009

It’s seems strange, but there is a mentality now where people (and marketers) are abandoning Facebook (and Flickr, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.) to use Twitter instead.

So, to start a 2009 goal/resolution I finally wrote a new Search Engine Guide post yesterday showing how important it is for businesses to use all social media including Blogs, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and others.

The example I used is in the article, but it explains how (as a consumer) I purchased a Kodak digital camera because of Kodak’s great use of many forms of social media. I really like Twitter, but if they were to concentrate their social efforts flooding me with Twitter updates only, I wouldn’t have given them any consideration.

I asked this in the SEG post too, but as consumers, have you made specific purchases due to positive experiences you’ve had in social media? If so, feel free to share!

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Happy New Years! Resolutions or Goals for 2009?

January 1st, 2009

First, it’s now 2009 and Happy New Years to all! I hope your New Years parties and activities were fun and safe!

It’s now time for new resolutions. Definitely share yours as I’d love to see them. Here are some I hope to accomplish, both professionally and personally:

1) Write more Search Engine Guide posts. I don’t write enough for them and it’s an opportunity that’s not taken for granted.

2) New site redesign. It’s overdue and localmn.com needs to be streamlined and more integrated with social media. Plans have already been made. I’m excited!

3) Finish an inline skate marathon in under two hours. In the last 2-1/2 years, I’ve completed nine of these. Some have been local (St. Paul, Duluth) and some I’ve traveled to (Chicago, Houston). Finishing times have consistently ranged from 2h-12m to 2h-21m. Time to step it up.

4) Become a better public speaker. It’s not my forte and will probably be thrown to the lions from the bro-sis project. (more to come soon on that)

5) Get in better physical shape. See #3.

6) Travel for pleasure to somewhere other than Washington State. I always seem to go there. Any suggestions?

These are a few goals on this end for 2009. How about yours? I’d love to hear them, and once again, Happy New Year!

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