November 8th, 2008 / No Comments » / by oddbits
Today I was visiting a website, Diversity Inc. with the intention of writing it up as a cool website of the day. Instead, it is an example of the annoyance of the week: websites that hide basic content behind very annoying pop-ups. It is understandable that a site would want people to register and participate in their community, however confronting new visitors with a huge pop-up saying “Want to avoid pop-ups?” is not likely to win over any potential members. Website developers might want to think about following the model of some newspapers, which serve an invitation to register after someone has clicked on a certain amount of articles, (usually three to five). I find pop-ups annoying in general and the new crop which are able to get around Firefox’s filters are really bad.
Take a look at the screen shot below of the site I was checking out tonight. I left after realizing that the pop-up could not be cleared without registering. Worse, the pop-up “followed me” around the screen making it impossible to read anything.
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Posted in: Oddities
Tags: Advertising, content, DiversityInc., Internet, Pop-up, popup, web
November 7th, 2008 / No Comments » / by oddbits
Usually one hears about companies offering a product for free during a beta phase and then making it a for-fee product. In an unusual move, SportSims.net today announced that Franchise Football Simulation, formally $9.95 per month, is now free.
Franchise Football Simulation is an online football fantasy game that simulates every facet of a professional football franchise. The game takes about ten minutes to play –making it convenient for break time- and has features including; game plans, trades between team owners, and a live, online draft. According to SportsSims the game utilizes a precise simulation engine and statistical model which USA Today has used for predicting the Super Bowl for twenty years.
David Holt, Vice President of Development at SportSims said, “Here we are in 2008, and my biggest dream has been realized: that football fans around the world can play in organized leagues using their coaching and managerial savvy and lead their team to victory… for free!”
I don’t get the appeal of fantasy football personally, but companies offering popular products for free is always worth a mention.
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Posted in: News
Tags: Fantasy Football, Football, Free, online, Sports, SportsSims
November 7th, 2008 / 1 Comment » / by oddbits
This week, Army Veteran, Michael Aiesi, launched Armed Forces Community, a social network for the troops and their families. The site is free and allows users to create profiles, showcase ribbons and badges, post videos, create blogs and participate in forum discussions. Users can also search for others based on service background and zip code. The only draw back is that the site is not linked with iLink and therefore may not be accessible to some military personnel depending on where they are deployed.
iLink is not a social network. It is a sophisticated social network analytics technology from SRI International that has been integrated into online communities used by the military. On its website iLink writes about the military’s decision to bring social networking in-house:
It was only a year ago that the military shut down access to several social networking web sites, including MySpace and YouTube, to users of the military networks. However, that shutdown was not so much a criticism of the social networking technology itself - only the public nature of those “civilian” networks. Concerned that users would share secure information like schedules or locations (for example: “Hi Mom! We’re sailing into Dubai tomorrow!”), the military opted for a “better safe than sorry” policy. They also cited bandwidth concerns - sharing videos and photos can use a lot of bandwidth and not all areas of the world have much to spare.
According to the iLink website,
iLink is being used in the military communities to help recognize “who knows what” within a community, connect members to each other, and point members to valuable content, discussions, and others who share their same interests. Those connections between members and resources are made with iLink’s machine-based learning to model the users and the content in order to facilitate the information sharing.
The military is using iLink with at least three social networks. The first one links the troops with each other and their families. The last two are targeted toward specific audiences within the military.
Army FRG (Family Readiness Group) connects Army families to the troops and also connects military personnel to each other. The site has friendly social network features such as YouTube-style video email and discussion forums. Membership to this forum is strictly limited to Army personnel and their families. Members will be verified during the sign-up process. Information is available in the FAQ.
The following forums are closed to anyone not meeting the member requirements (specific ranks within the military) so the descriptions are direct copies from the front page, which is visible.
Platoon Leader - PL connects leaders in the experience to leaders with the experience, and enables future platoon leaders to prepare to lead more effectively. By joining PL, you are choosing to participate in a voluntary community of professionals who love leading Soldiers and who are committed to building and leading combat-effective platoons!
Company Command - CC is company commanders. We are a grass-roots, voluntary forum that is by and for the profession with a specific, laser-beam focus on company-level command. By joining, you are gaining access to an amazing community of professionals who love Soldiers and are committed to building combat-ready teams.
These sites focus on the Army. If you know of sites for other branches of the armed forces, please list them here. Helzerman’s Odd Bits is always happy to give a shout out to any sites supporting the troops so if you know of a site hosted by any branch and would like to have it featured in a separate post, send details in an email to editor@helzerman.com.
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Posted in: News
Tags: Army, Military, social network, Troops
November 5th, 2008 / No Comments » / by oddbits
In an announcement this morning Yahoo! stated that Google has terminated the advertising agreement that it announced with Yahoo! earlier this year. The agreement had been in danger ever since the Justice Department threatened to block it.
From the Yahoo! announcement:
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today announced that Google has terminated the advertising services agreement the companies announced in June. Yahoo! continues to believe in the benefits of the agreement and is disappointed that Google has elected to withdraw from the agreement rather than defend it in court. Google notified Yahoo! of its refusal to move forward with implementation of the agreement following indication from the Department of Justice that it would seek to block it, despite Yahoo!’s proposed revisions to address the DOJ’s concerns.
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Posted in: News
Tags: Advertising, DOJ, Google, Legal, Marketing, Search
November 2nd, 2008 / No Comments » / by Carlos Cisneros
Are you trying to conceive or expecting a baby in the next few months? Perhaps you’ve been a mom for years already. Have you been awaiting a social networking site full of moms? Well, the wait is finally over.
BMums.com is a social networking site for women trying to conceive, pregnant and women who already are moms.
Started by Sinead Hoben, the mission of Bmums.com is “to share the trials and tribulations of motherhood… the sleepless nights, the things your kids say, the things you’ve learnt, the things you want to learn… and make lots of new friends along the way!” Many moms-to-be become part of the network since it provides a place where women who have already experienced pregnancy can offer sound advice and tips on raising their new born child. Bmums also offers a forum where you can post your experiences as a pregnant mother or any questions you might have for the more experienced moms. At a glance, some of the topics range from contraceptive pills, temper tantrums during pregnancy, to sex after pregnancy. Judging by member enthusiasm, its unique concept, and active membership; Bmums.com has strong potential.
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Posted in: News, Social Networks
Tags: bmums, moms, pregnancy, social network
Webs Annoyance of the Week - Pop-ups Demanding Visitors Register
