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Oct31
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Google is working on plans to take on Facebook's advances in social networking by opening up its own lesser-known service, Orkut, to work with third-party applications in an effort to surpass its rival. Apparently, the project is codenamed "Maka-Maka" and the long-term goal is to go further than Facebook in opening up its social networking platform to the rest of the Internet. Facebook took social networking into new territory in May by opening up its platform to outside software developers, with News Corporation's MySpace to follow suit this month. Industry experts have said: "The real killer app for Google is not to turn Orkut into a Facebook clone. It is to turn every Google app into a social application without you even noticing you've joined yet another social network." Meaning, even more money for the 800 pound gorilla!  .
It's very simple... Let me explain!
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Oct31
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I often wonder why so many advertisers continue to talk to their prospective audiences as if they are all idiots... Today's news that LG Electronics is launching a campaign positioning its major appliances as a step up in design and technology...
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Oct30
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Everyone is jumping up and down about how great Hulu is (am I the only one who thinks that is a really stupid name?) Yeah, it comes with all the geeky stuff YouTube has... embed.. share... etc. And you can...
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There is no question that being the CEO of a large organization in America is a guaranteed road to fabulous wealth... Even if you screw up big time. Today's news that Stan O'Neal, CEO of Merrill Lynch (I used to...
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Oct29
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You have to love the genuine stupidity of the "Main Stream Media" here in the USA. In a piece in today's New York Times... Yes... The New York Times... About the Web 2.0 Summit scmooze that took place in San...
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Although a great admirer of Al Gore , and knowing that he gave up the Presidency he had rightfully won, rather than put the country through the anguish of what was happening in the recount debacle of the 2000 election,...
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You heard it here first... According to Maxim magazine in its latest issue when it revealed its annual list of the world's unsexiest women, "Sex and the City" TV star Sara Jessica Parker is "the least sexy woman in a group of very...
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Oct28
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Over one million Facebook users have made a mockery of American politics. On October 16, television comedian, fake newsman Stephen Colbert launched a less-than-serious bid for the US presidency, and within hours, a social networking-crazed high schooler tossed up a...
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Did you ever wonder what it costs us... The taxpayers... Every time President Bush takes a trip? These will also include his fundraising tours on behalf of Republican politicos. Check out the graphic below and then try and figure what...
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Oct26
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So old Tony is set to clear $10 million before he even puts pen to paper after a leading publisher agreed a deal to release his political memoirs. The ex-prime minister is estimated to earn about $10 million as an advance...
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Just how bad most customer service is in this country was demonstrated with this recent story about how hours after Matt and Danelle Azola returned from their honeymoon this week, they had to evacuate their home in Ramona, Calif, just ahead...
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There was an interesting story in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about the ever-escalating pressure on girls to live up to various brand-named fashion ideals. But now, according to the story, it's worse than ever. Not only do many little girls and...
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Oct25
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Here's some disturbing news... Nearly one-quarter of US adults—and 31% of singles—think the Internet could serve as a replacement for a significant other, according to the Zogby International and 463 Communications' "Internet Attitudes" poll. Men and women were equally likely...
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I'm not surprised by the announcement that Maria Shriver will not resume her TV news career after her stint as California's First Lady. The reason: the media carnival that kicked off following the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Shriver told...
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Is it any wonder that most people think phone and cable companies are just a bunch of thieving scumbags? News this week that Verizon Wireless agreed to pay $1 million to settle an investigation by New York State Attorney General Andrew...
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Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster believes Apple is taking $18 per month for each iPhone subscriber under its deal with AT&T. Apple has confirmed it reached a revenue deal with AT&T, but never revealed what it is. Munster -- who once...
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Oct24
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Having been fortunate enough, when I was very young, to have heard live at the Covent Garden Opera House, the most wonderfully sublime voice in the entire world, I was intrigued to hear that Greece is attempting to bring the...
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Oct23
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It seems to me that Wall Street and all the clowns that make outrageous amounts of money there, really don't have a clue about what's going on. Today, Amazon posted a huge increase in quarterly earnings, but because the operating...
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Loyal readers of AdHurl will be intrigued to know that I recently did a podcast with Robert Rosenthal, founder of a really great agency in Boston with the interesting moniker... "Mothers of Invention." Robert has a blog with another great name...
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Oct22
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It would seem that trashing the Fourth Amendment can be very profitable for one company... And yes, it is probably America's most hated company... Comcast, which is among the nation's largest telecommunication companies, and certainly the one that gets more...
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The private security business has made Blackwater USA virtually a household name, and being tough is part of the game. Not just for its rifle-carrying contractors but also for its corporate logo. But now Blackwater has a new, less threatening logo. The...
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Oct21
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First, the New England Patriots used surveillance equipment to spy on the New York Jets. Now they've used a Massachusetts state court to spy on up to 13,000 people who use StubHub.com. After repeated pleas from the American football franchise...
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Oct20
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If you drive a Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, or anything else that costs several hundred thousand dollars, you might be interested in the ultimate car wash. It can cost up to $8,000 and take a couple of weeks to complete. But...
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News out of the UK that USB Flash drives will soon appear in record stores in a bid by major music labels to build up sales of physical media in the post-CD era. Universal told The Times this week that...
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Oct19
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So, lots of angry Comcast customers are venting on sites like ComcastMustDie and other avenues available for them to broadcast their frustrations in the hope that yet another giant cable company will listen... OK guys... Listen up... They won't listen....
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Even though anyone who knows me well, knows I am ready as the next guy to indulge in the odd beverage or three, I'm not sure the new campaign for Partida Tequila is such a good idea. Part of the...
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Apparently British intelligence can't meet its hiring needs in the usual ways, so the spymasters are thinking outside the box when it comes to new ways to reach "an Internet-savvy generation of graduate groups." The Government Communications Headquarters, charged with...
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As Ace Guru Yogi Berra once said... "It's deja vu all over again!" So, with today's news that on the 20th anniversary of Oct 19, 1987 - the day the stock market suffered the biggest single-day crash in history -...
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Oct18
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You have to feel sorry for multi-millionaire Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer when he told an audience at the Web 2.0 summit today that it would eventually compete head-on with Google in Web search. But for now, Ballmer said, the software...
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Funny to read today that Hewlett-Packard has maintained its lead over Dell as the world's largest PC supplier in the third quarter of 2007, extending a slim margin it established last year, according to market researcher IDC. Why do I think...
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With oil futures closing at a few cents below $90 a barrel today, there's no question we'll hit $100 a barrel before the year is out. Factor in a lunatic strike at Iran, more than possible if the "chickenhawks" get...
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Oct17
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Interesting to read in today's New York Times the piece on the 50th anniversary of the launch of the Edsel. In a few hundred words, it gives all the reasons why the car was a flop. Everything form it's looks...
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Oct16
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In case you didn't get it, these are some of the most popular words in any Google search. And yes, Sex is by far the most popular, but interestingly, Pizza is more popular than Britney Spears. Go figure. Anyway, you...
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Am I the only one who thinks it's somewhat strange that as the price of oil approaches $90 a barrel, no one seems to be freaking out? It was only a few months ago people were getting more than a...
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Because I worked on the Qwest account for a number of years, I've been following the news that three telecommunications companies have declined to tell Congress whether they gave U.S. intelligence agencies access to Americans' phone and computer records without...
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Oct13
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With all the rumors about a possible "GooglePhone" poised to hit the market in the near future, word on the street is that it won't be an actual appliance like Apple's iPhone, but more of a software solution. Pointing to...
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Oct12
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If you were ever looking for conclusive proof that the world is going to hell in a handbasket... How about this... Apparently it is now the Africans’ turn to head the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Naturally, they turn to a...
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Oct11
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With the rise and general ubiquity of digital music and it's availability through downloads on all kinds of appliances, sales of CD's are collapsing, forcing all the industry players to review their business models and negotiate wide-ranging contracts with artists to boost sales and profit margins....
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It would seem that the release date of singing slag, Britney Spears' forthcoming album has been moved forward two weeks after some of the tracks found their way into cyberspace. Her label Jive Records confirmed today that the album, Blackout...
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Oct10
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As a follow on to my piece earlier today about the news that Miller and Coors are forming a joint venture to take on Anheuser-Busch's dominance of the US beer market, it was interesting to come across some current industry...
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News today that shooting will begin in 2008 on Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, which promises to "reinvent the cyborg saga with a storyline to be told over a three-pic span". Film company Halcyon points out that the movie will be...
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You have to laugh at the news that Miller and Coors are forming a joint venture to take on Anheuser-Busch's dominance of the US beer market. I mean these are the people that make the second and third worst beer in...
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Oct 9
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So the big news today is that Fred Thompson will take part in his first debate. Even though he's been questioned recently about his seeming lack of both knowledge and interest about what is taking place in the world around...
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Oct 8
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Here's the really scary news of the day... Our Beloved Government has been dipping its toes into the blogosphere. As part of its effort to blog them over here so we don't have to blog them over there, comes Dipnote, a...
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Why is it that the right-wing media idiots, such as Fox News and the semi-illiterate conservative radio loud mouths, are jumping all over Barack Obama because he says it isn't necessary to wear a flag pin to demonstrate your patriotism....
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Oct 6
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As a follow up to my earlier post, yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reports on a fascinating lawsuit. Ticketmaster has filed a claim against RMG Technologies, a small firm in Pittsburgh that makes software to help scalpers snap up huge...
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With the news that ticket scalpers are asking, and getting up to $1,000 a ticket for the Miley Cyrus "Hannah Montana" tour, I have to as ask why. I know, that just goes to rove how old and dumb I am....
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Oct 5
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I've never understood why companies pay millions to have their name on Athletic stadiums. Today's news that New Jersey's Continental Airlines Arena will soon be renamed the Izod Center as the state's Sports and Exposition Authority today awarded a $1.4...
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The iconic image of Che Guevara, eyes framed by heavy brows, a single-starred beret pulled over his unruly hair and the intense stare, has to be one of the most familiar images in the world. It's now 40 years since the...
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Oct 4
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Just 'cos you can't get enough of me... I have a piece in today's BrandWeek about my interview with "Missy" the head honcho at "SuicideGirls" during the PSFK Conference in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago. Very erudite. Lots...
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Oct 3
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Following Houston's decision to ban Alicia Silverstone's sexy pro-vegetarianism PSA, one PETA “Lettuce Lady” took it upon herself to make a personal plea to Texas Governor Rick Perry to encourage Texans to go vegetarian. When the top "fattest cities" in...
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Oct 2
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If like me, you've seen every James Bond movie ever made, you'll be saddened by yesterday's news that Lois Maxwell, the Canadian born actress who was to many fans the definitive Miss Moneypenny in James Bond films, has died in...
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Why am I not surprised to read that a new consumer study finds that the most popular forms of Internet advertising score at the bottom when it comes to consumer trust. Nielsen, the parent company of Adweek, BrandWeek and Media, surveyed...
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Oct 1
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It would seem that Britney Spears' continuing downward spiral took a devastating turn Monday when she was ordered to relinquish custody of her children by a judge who had cited her drug-and-alcohol-fueled lifestyle. Superior Court Judge Scott M. Gordon ruled...
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From the moment eBay announced its purchase of Skype two years ago skepticism ran high over the price, $2.6 billion, plus performance payouts that could add $1.7 billion more with all the talk of synergy. As is usual in all...
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