Mitch Arnowitz: News Archives

October 24, 2006

Michael Fox + stem cell

This isn't exactly business related but have you seen the Michael Fox series of political ads supporting stem cell research? The talk on these ads certainly seems to be having an impact on the conversation.

One of the first people I knew that pushed for stem cell research was Allen Goldberg, on behalf of his son Henry.

Like I said, not to business related but completly interesting all the same.

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December 01, 2005

Still Grateful

Trend Junkie sums up the Grateful Dead downloading situation with this post. Good news though for music fans as the Dead backtracks on download ban.

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November 14, 2005

Peter Drucker 1909-2005

Tom Peters profiles Peter Drucker

(from mediabistro)

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November 07, 2005

links for 2005-11-04

links for 2005-11-04-2005

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September 07, 2005

Help for Katrina Survivors: craigslist

More helpful pointers: craigslist | Katrina 2005

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September 02, 2005

KatrinaBlog Relief Weekend

The Truth Laid Bear (TTLB) has set-up the Katrina Blog Relief ~~Day~~ Weekend (September 1 - Monday, September 5). You can find a list of participating charities here.

Go here to see Instapundit's Katrina roundup page.

Go here to donate to the American Red Cross.

The numbers so far:

$ 306,885 in contributions so far...
1,386 blogs participating...
149 charities recommended...

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August 30, 2005

Katrina: Disaster Releif Orgs. that need your help!

Disaster Assistance in the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

Many WNG Members have asked us how to help with Hurricane Katrina disaster assistance. In response, we have taken the initiative to provide a list of pertinent relief organizations.

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July 11, 2005

On Capitol Hill, the Inboxes Are Overflowing

Many legislators try to discourage mass mailings by regularly altering the e-mail templates that they keep on their official Web sites. But the e-mail generators manage to stay a step ahead of them. The companies that route e-mails to Congress constantly monitor bounced-back messages as a way to locate the switcheroos and then quickly change their own procedures to ensure that the e-mails find their mark.

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July 08, 2005

Flickr coverage of London blasts

This comes directly from DC metroblogging:

There's now a Flickr Group for the Attacks on London. The pictures appear to mostly be of news coverage, but some in there are of the running crowds.

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June 23, 2005

Andrew Sherman starts his own business

The Washington Post writes (free reg. req'd) about Washington, DC Attn. Andrew Sherman who, after years of helping other entrepreneurs be successful has started his own LLC.

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June 18, 2005

Welcome to the LA Times Wikitorial Page

Welcome to the Los Angeles Times Wikitorial Page (Public Beta) (from slashdot)

This is an experiment in using wiki, a relatively new form of Internet interactivity, to bring readers into the process of forming and expressing editorial opinions. "Public Beta" is just a euphemism for: "We're just trying this out. Please forgive any problems and give us suggestions for improvement."

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June 06, 2005

Internet Marketing Pioneer Corey Rudl Dies in Car Crash

Dr. Ralph Wilson and many others comment and point to articles about the death of Corey Rudl. The first time I visited Corey's website, I remember thinking that 'long copy sells'. At the time, Corey and a few other Internet marketing pioneers were really defining how to sell online.

More: Corey Rudl Dies in Car Crash June 2, 2005

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May 18, 2005

Remembering TV's Riddler

Frank Gorshin wasn't always crazy about the Riddler's tights. But he didn't begrudge what the Riddler's renown did for his career.

Remembering TV's Riddler - Yahoo! News.

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March 29, 2005

A man called Jeff

UPDATES (via Dan Gillmor)

This is the story that keeps on giving. This time, Jeff Gannon's at the National Press Club discussing blogging and journalism!

The National Press Club Welcomes ... Jeff Gannon?

UPDATES: Jay Rosen (Pressthink) has a great piece on the Jeff Gannon affair:

In the Press Room of the White House that is Post Press

Before the certification of "Jeff Gannon" as a White House reporter there was the Bush Administration's de-certification move against the Washington press. These two things are deeply related.
=============
Have you been following the Gannon/Guckert story? John Aravosis has it all and then some here. I wonder what appeal this story has beyond the beltway...

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March 20, 2005

Yahoo! actually does acquire Flickr

I think I speak for everyone when I ask: How much did you guys get??? :P

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March 16, 2005

Creative Commons Is Rewriting Rules of Copyright

Link: Creative Commons Is Rewriting Rules of Copyright (free reg req'd)

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- When Chuck D and the Fine Arts Militia released their latest single, "No Meaning No," several months ago, they didn't try to stop people from circulating free copies on the Internet. They encouraged it.

The result has been the creation of a flood of derivative work ranging from classical twists on the hip-hop piece to video interpretations of the song. The musicians reveled in the instant fan base. They were so pleased that they recently decided to publish their next entire album, due later this spring, the same way, becoming the first major artists to do so.

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March 11, 2005

When will Microsoft finally start "getting collaboration?"

A great perspective on the Groove Networks aquisition by Microsoft comes from leading community builder Nancy White:

Microsoft buys Groove... do you think they will get colaboration now?

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March 10, 2005

Technology Columnist Shannon Henry Leaving The Washington Post

Say It Ain't So... Shannon Henry leaves the Post tech scene... Goodbye (saw it on Potomac Tech Wire)

For those of us fortunate to have lived before and after the bubble, Shannon Henry was an anchor in the storm. We followed the newsmakers and trends through her weekly column. We'll miss you (and your ink) Shannon. Good luck on the newest book!

Wonder if Shannon will start a blog like Cindy Webb did?

I'll be watching to see if and how this new future takes hold, but I won't be writing about it in these pages. After seven years, this is my last Download column. I'll be working on my second book and be mom to a young child. I will still write occasionally for The Washington Post. You can continue to read about the local tech scene by following the work of my colleague Ellen McCarthy. What I'll miss most is the day-to-day interaction with readers. I've enjoyed a great conversation with all of you about Washington's high-tech culture, and I thank you enormously for being part of it.

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February 26, 2005

ChoicePoint, Database Firms Under Fire

UPDATES: Dan Gilmor points to David Lazarus's well written piece on ChoicePoint; Shifting sands in data leak.
=============
In a couple of days, we'll head back to Maryland to find out if I received a letter from ChoicePoint as part of the 4,500 Marylanders affected by the latest identity theft scandal.

Cindy Webb has a good column on the legislative end of this scandal and what it all means.

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February 25, 2005

Downloaded and Ready to Rock

Downloaded and Ready to Rock
iPod Nights Turn Amateurs Into Digital DJs at D.C. Club (free reg req'd)

The iPod Jukebox night, held at Cafe Saint-Ex every second Wednesday of the month, attracts mostly white-collar types in their twenties and thirties who heard about it from a friend of a friend, or read about it in a link to a blog.

It's perhaps the most public manifestation of how the iPod -- with 8.2 million units sold in 2004, more than 5 million during the holiday season alone -- has gone mainstream, spawning an entire iPod culture that goes far beyond wearing those distinctive white earphones.

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February 24, 2005

Disclosure statements are a good thing

With all the talk of transparency and conflicts of interest, Dave Weinberger's disclosure statement leaves little to the imagination. When is the last time that you saw a real disclosure statement on a company website?

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February 18, 2005

Frank is dead

~~UPDATES~~ Good things happen to good people: UPDATES to this earlier story:

Frank the tumour is dead

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February 12, 2005

It Came from the Blogosphere

Old news now that Eason Jordon is out at CNN and the bloggers has something to do with it. LGF points to a nice roundup of Eston websites/blogs by Rony Abovitz.

More: Instapundit

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February 09, 2005

Examining the D.C. Examiner's Web Strategy

Those in the Washington, DC area have a new newspaper. The Examiner just began publishing.

Examining the D.C. Examiner's Web Strategy

So, what about its Web strategy? After all, media companies that don't integrate the print product with a cross-platform strategy are doomed to failure. Well, at this point, I'd say that the Examiner has a much better idea as to what it wants to do in print than it does online.

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February 07, 2005

What happened to Go Daddy's second Super Bowl ad spot? - Hot Points

Steve Rubel in quick on the draw when he points to Scobel who points to Bob Parsons, CEO of registrar Go Daddy. Parsons, in his blog, explains what happened to Go Daddy's second Super Bowl ad spot. Seems that Fox pulled the ad but, you can see it here.

The comments here are interesting. For example:

Well, you're definitely getting a ton of media coverage and increased awareness of GoDaddy (I just searched google news - tons of recent hits). It was effective at getting attention, but I'm starting to wonder if many people will remember what GoDaddy.com does.

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February 01, 2005

Cynthia L. Webb: AT&T's New Dial Tone

Cindy Webb's first, post Post column is online-- check it out! Today's column has everything you want to know about the ATT deal. How different Cindy's written life must be outside of the newspaper publishing world. Her blog now reads:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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January 25, 2005

Report: Surfers Can't Differentiate Search Results from Sponsored Ads

This comes from Potomac Tech Wire. Is this a surprising report? That surfers can't tell the difference (on a search engine) between search results and ads?

==============
Jan 25 Report: Surfers Can't Differentiate Search Results from Sponsored Ads

Washington, DC -- Only 18% of adult U.S. Internet users can tell the
difference between actual search results and paid ads on search
engines,
according to a survey conducted by the DC-based Pew Internet and
American Life Project. Such paid, or "sponsored," search results, which
appear on Google, Yahoo, MSN and other engines, are typically placed
above or to the right of actual results, often in a different-colored
box.
Forty-five percent of those surveyed said they would stop using search
engines if they thought they weren't being clear about offering some
results for pay. Overall, the survey found that 38 million Americans
use a
search engine each day, more than half of the U.S. Internet population.
The average user spends a total of 43 minutes a month conducting some
34 searches.

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January 23, 2005

Net mourns death of Johnny Carson

Net mourns death of Johnny Carson

The Internet on Sunday mourned the death of Johnny Carson, the legendary late-night TV host for nearly 30 years.

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January 19, 2005

"the year in which we witnessed the beginning of a tipping point in advertising."

Yahoo Profit Rises Dramatically (free sub. req'ed)

Yahoo Inc. yesterday reported hefty gains in revenue and profit for the fourth quarter and all of 2004, a period that Terry S. Semel, the company's chief executive, referred to as "the year in which we witnessed the beginning of a tipping point in advertising."

The surge in Yahoo profit, officials said, was largely attributable to dramatic increases in ad dollars spent by businesses selling products and promoting their images on the Internet, a sign of the increasingly mainstream nature of Internet advertising, both in the United States and abroad.

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January 05, 2005

More transparency

The Education Dept. paid commentator Wiliams $241,000 to promote the administration's No Child Left Behind law. Only problem is that he didn't tell viewers or anyone else that he was on the payroll.

Media distributor severs ties with commentator

WASHINGTON — Armstrong Williams, who was paid by the Education Department to promote President Bush's education policies, says the public outcry and his firing by the company that syndicated his newspaper column are "the price you pay" for a mistake.

updates: Jay Rosen, of Pressthink, weighs in on the Ketchum/Williams affair:

Bloggers Are Missing in Action as Ketchum Tests the Conscience of PR

"Maybe this is the way things are done all the time in PR today. It's one of the most plausible explanations we have for the Ketchum contract, the apparent fraudulence of which is roughly parallel to the memos in the Dan Rather case."

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January 02, 2005

Tsunami update from Chennai, India

The following was recently posted to the AdMarketing list.

-----Original Message-----
From: Prashant P Kothari [mailto:ppkothari@stringinfo.com]
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2004 1:20 AM
To: mitch@tuvel.com
Cc: ppkothari@stringinfo.com
Subject: Tsunami update from Chennai, India

Hi Mitch Pls forward this to Ad-Marketers and any other list you deem appropriate

Tsunami update:

I'm in Chennai currently. I went to school and college in this city, normally a peaceful, placid place. This disaster is unparalleled in Chennai's history -

The quake per se had minimal effect, at least in Chennai. Not too sure about other places - I hear that the entire island of Sumatra has been displaced by 100 feet! That should tell you how powerful the earthquake was

The tsunamis were the real killers in South India, Sri Lanka and the islands of the Indian Ocean (Andaman, Nicobar, Thailand, Maldives). Tsunamis don't really gain height until they're very close to the shore. And given their tremendous speeds, (up to 500 miles per hour), the danger was evident too late if you were unlucky enough to be on the water or near the shore.

Fishermen and their families..

Tourists and early morning strollers..

Children playing cricket on the beaches.

All gone.

And the death toll continues to mount.

A plea to all: even $10 can make a difference.

Some relief agencies that my staff and I have donated to

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
http://www.oxfam.org/eng/
http://www.redcross.org/index.html
http://www.savethechildren.org

There's information about other agencies and all other aspects of this disaster on Tsunami Help Blog at http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com.

A somber ending to 2004.

Peace to all and best wishes for 2005

Regards
Prashant

*********************************************************************
Prashant P Kothari
String Information Services:
Business Process Outsourcing Services from India
http://www.stringinfo.com
v: 1-888-3-String (1-888-378-7464) X 702
f: 202-478-0779
e: ppkothari@stringinfo.com
***************************************************************

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January 01, 2005

Arafat, wealthy investor: bar mitzvahs and kosher catering

The American Thinker had an interesting piece on Yasser Arafat's various holding companies and investments. This originally comes from LGF.

Bloomberg News did the in-depth piece on Arafat's 799M (that's Million $) in investments. For Washingtonians-- be on the lookout for locally names (tech) companies here.

UPDATE: So, did they know or not?

Co. lauded for returning Palestinian money

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Tsunami Devastation

From Simon Phipps's WebMink:

Using the images from DigitalGlobe, I've built an animation that shows the shocking, apocalyptic effect of the tsunami on Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra. Click here for a larger, slower version (1.4Mb).

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December 30, 2004

Tsunami relief efforts

Scoble points to Apple as an example of good corporate citizenship. Other highly trafficed websites are turning homepages over to Tsunami relief efforts.

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December 28, 2004

Craigslist Costs Newspapers Millions In Classified Ads Revenue

Do we need more proof that craigslist and ebay spell trouble for traditional media properties?

Craigslist Costs Newspapers Millions In Classified Ads Revenue

Getting ready for a client meeting, I spent some time today on freecycle's website and read this article where the craigslist model was also mentioned: USA Today: Freecycling to the rescue.

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The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami.

Like many others, I am passing this link along...

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December 27, 2004

Marketing's Flip Side: The 'Determined Detractor'

The buzz surrounding influencers isn't new but it seems that everyone from companies to political campaigns is trying to build a better mousetrap that can find and leverage the opinion leaders amongst us.

The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > Advertising: Marketing's Flip Side: The 'Determined Detractor'. (from Marketing~~Wonk~~Vox)

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December 26, 2004

Charity That Defies Economics

In line with the holiday season, Steven Pearlstein of the The Washington Post, details company gift giving and charity programs: Charity That Defies Economics (free registraton required or use www.bugmenot.com

This has been a tough week for Fannie Mae. But whatever you want to say about the company, its foundation has consistently been on the front lines of corporate giving in Washington. This was a record year for Fannie's Help the Homeless Program that enlisted more than 110,000 people for various walkathons and raised $6.5 million for local programs. And Fannie employees rallied around the Hope for Henry Foundation, created by employee Laurie Strongin in memory of her 7-year-old son, who died two years ago from a rare genetic illness. This month, the Henry Foundation provided computers, Gameboys, portable CD players and the like to kids undergoing cancer treatment at Georgetown University Medical Center.

UPDATES: after reading "Dear Henry, Letters To My Son" recent entries, I'm off to watch Mary Poppins with the family...

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December 10, 2004

The Washington Post had an

The Washington Post had an interesting column by writer Leslie Walker on 'citizen journalism'. You can read more about the article here. The article mentions the advertising opportunity for local, grassroots supported websites. For me, much of this article sounded like earlier days of online community building. Someones gotta crack the local ad model, why shouldn't it be homegrown news sites?

Leslie also mentions the old Sidewalk business model. Consumer generated news and newspapers feel more genuine than Sidewalk did. Instead of trying to market a brand, there's actually some value being delivered! I think a forerunner of the local community was the Blacksburg Electronic Village -- the community network for Blacksburg, Virginia.

BTW, The Media Center’s Andrew Nachison and Dale Peskin are up for an award for The Fast 50 (Fast Company magazine's search for "ordinary people doing extraordinary things"). The nomination: We Erased the Lines Separating Media and Society.

The Media Center has been involved in participatory journalism for some time through vehicles like the 'We Media' project, CYBERJOURNALIST.NET, and the MediaMorphosis conference.

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August 13, 2004

eBay Acquires Minority Interest in craigslist

More proof that doing good things is good business.

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July 08, 2004

Is that for me?

This comes from POTOMAC TECH WIRE
_______
o Survey: DC Cell Users Still Learning Etiquette

Washington, DC -- While the vast majority of wireless users in the DC area consider themselves polite when using their cell phones, they also say that other cell users have become more rude. According to a new survey by Sprint focused on wireless use and abuse in the DC area, 98% of respondents said that they are very or somewhat courteous when using wireless phones, while 81% said that people in general are less courteous today than they were five years ago.

Nationally, 62% percent of those surveyed said that they have felt uncomfortable overhearing wireless conversations in public, but only 40% admit they do this themselves "Wireless technology is booming so quickly and wireless phones have become so popular, the rules on wireless etiquette are still evolving," said Jacqueline Whitmore, the founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach. The survey was conducted to coincide with National Cellphone Courtesy Month.
_______
Afer you read the survey, take the eit-quiz. I failed.

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July 06, 2004

Behind the deal: How Advertising.com lured AOL bid

Behind the deal: How Advertising.com lured AOL bid - 2004-07-05 - Baltimore Business Journal

More on the AOL/Advertising.com deal... (hat tip: MarketingVOX)

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July 04, 2004

'Nerd Values' Help Propel Tiny Craigslist Into Classifieds Threat

OJR article: 'Nerd Values' Help Propel Tiny Craigslist Into Classifieds Threat

Over the weekend, I finally read this piece on Craigslist that recently appeared in the Annenberg School for Communication's Online Journalism Review. In addition to Craig Newmark, several other good people are highlighted here. Among them are Howard Rheingold, Peter Krasilovsky, and Liddy Manson.

I got to know Craig when he participated in an AdMarketing discussion and shared community experiences from a somewhat personal perspective.

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July 03, 2004

Ready for Takeoff (washingtonpost.com)

Speaking about customer evangelists, Southwest Airlines is often mentioned as the 'fun airline'. We'll see what happens as more low cost airlines enter the market and the big guys reinvent themselves.

From the article: "As we looked into it, all of this was really pointing to the fact that this was an intelligent risk to take and exciting opportunity to put our brand out there where we might not normally be," Rutherford says.

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June 29, 2004

Older Airlines Embrace New Sales Tactics

Older Airlines Embrace New Sales Tactics (washingtonpost.com)

Like everyone else, I spend a fair amount of time chatting about 'integrated' marketing programs or those that include traditional and interactive tactics. Here's an article that talks about street tactics used by low cost airlines entering the Washington, DC market. Now, if the low cost guys would add viral marketing to the mix- then we'd have some excitement!

Interesting quote: "The low-fare carriers are forcing this change," said B. Ben Baldanza, US Airways' senior vice president of marketing and planning. "We need to not only tell people what we're doing but remind them that we're not the same company we were."

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