Author: JD Rucker

Microsoft had a good thing going. They created a pair of videos aimed at diffusing some of the hate towards their Internet Explorer browser by trolling the trolls. They attacked the cliches used against them such “IE is only good for downloading other browsers” by making fun of the haters. In essence, they turned the hate around by acknowledging that they are the butt of many jokes. They de-clawed their detractors and gave ammunition to those who are tired of hearing the geek elite make fun of them for using the grandfather of modern browsers. The latest ad is a step in the wrong direction. They attempt,…

Censorship is arguably the most irreversible path a publication can travel. We are a semi-forgiving society that understands journalists will get the story wrong from time to time. We know that there are ethical boundaries that must occasionally be crossed. We are forgiving when a publication gets too controversial or stands behind the side of an argument with which we do not agree. When censorship enters the equation, a publication loses everything important to it. Credibility is gone. Unbiased reporting can no longer be expected. Every opinion and fact posted will be seen through the eyes…

In an environment with a billion users, millions of business pages, and just about every company in every industry trying to play along, it’s hard to post content to Facebook as a local business that can truly resonate within the venue. Local businesses have it harder than most as their goal should be to stay local but the attitude is one that demands mass acceptance. How can a business be relevant on Facebook within their local demographic when they are fighting for a fraction of attention in a world that is loaded with noise? There are advertising techniques and promotional tools that can help,…

Never has a internet company had so much information about its users. Facebook knows your friends. They know where you go in real life and online. They know who you hang out with, who you talk to, what interests you, and they have a database of pictures of you that the FBI would die to get a hold of (and probably have already). Companies are built around the data that Facebook shares about you, but that is changing. Facebook is building a moat around their data and only lowering the drawbridge to those who are not a threat and who contribute to the “Facebook cause” by giving back some love through sharing….

The cold war between Facebook and Twitter continued Thursday and nobody was really surprised by it. Vine, the new video app by Twitter that allows looping 6-second videos to be recorded and posted to the microblogging site, launched with the ability for users to find their Facebook friends that were also using the app. That ability lasted a few hours on Thursday before Facebook shut down API access. “It’s basically an annoyance, a hindrance on an easy way to connect with all your existing friends using the service,” wrote Mike Isaac. “It would have been a good way to jump into a new product, rather…

Put your tin foil hats on. It’s conspiracy theory time. Since 2010, Google has been tracking and releasing their bi-yearly Transparency Report. In it, they give details about the number of requests various governments make to the search giant for personal information. On the surface, this seems to be an excellent way for Google to maintain their position as a company that is fighting for the privacy of its users by informing them and giving them awareness that they should join the fight to keep the internet, our activities, and the data that we put online as private as possible. What if (stay with…

The French were not able to maintain their 75% tax on the super rich, so now they’re aiming for the super, super, super rich by going after companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Their latest scheme: an Internet tax that will affect those collecting personal data from French citizens. This concept emerged late last week in a report commissioned by President François Hollande that details the unfair ways that large American internet-based companies are able to circumvent the French tax system and still remain relevant to its citizens. According to the report, personal data is the “raw…

If there’s one word I hate using in marketing, it’s “engagement”. The term has been so overused and abused since the rise of social media that its meaning has become distorted. It’s defined in different ways and means different things to different people. Thankfully, the moves by search giants like Google and Bing as well as social giants like Facebook and Twitter have brought in at least a little uniformity to we should look for when trying to harness engagement. First and foremost, websites today must be engaging. That’s not to say that they have to be interactive; heavy websites that make people…

Facebook purists will pan this post. They will say that the best way to post to Facebook is to post whatever you’re doing or thinking right now, that “planning” posts is not only insincere but that it undermines the point of Facebook altogether. Their points are valid and noted. Now, let’s talk about reality. Busy people who have their own social media and potentially the social media profiles of sites and companies with which they work need tools. It’s true that the best way to post to Facebook is through the native interfaces – Facebook.com itself and their mobile app. However, there are drawbacks….

Iron Man 3 opens the 2013 summer blockbuster season on May 3rd. This season (as with a few in the past decade) appears to be loaded with geek-favoring titles that should keep the trend of Hollywood success going strong this summer, but one does not have to wait four months to get their geeky fix in at the cinema. Here are 12 movies due out over the next few months to keep us occupied until summer.   Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters January 25 Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton play the grown up variations of the child heroes. They got their taste of witch blood early. Now they’ve taken their skills to a…