Google is at it again…Total World Domination.  The Walmart of the Internet has created Google 411. A fast, easy and FREE directory assistance service.  From any phone, dial 1-800-Goog-411 and simply answer the questions:

1. What city and state?

2. What business name or category?

You are then given a few choices to go with….all voice activated.

Google uses the information provided by Google Maps to list your business so make sure your phone number is correct on your Google Maps / Google Local listing.

A few of the FAQs have some hidden information about what you are giving Google. 

For example:

How can I limit the information Google collects when I call Goog-411?

Google says:

There are a couple of ways you can control the way we collect and store information from your calls.

First, to delete any information we’ve associated with your phone number in the past, press the star (*) key at the beginning of your next call to GOOG-411 and follow the steps from there. Your phone number and all information associated with it will be deleted from the GOOG-411 system. We still keep anonymous information about all calls, but this information won’t be stored with your phone number.

Second, to avoid having any information associated with your phone number in the future, just block your caller ID before you call. With many phone services, you can do this by dialing *67 before the phone number. In most cases, you can also block your number through the menus on your mobile phone. For specific details on how to block your caller ID, contact your service provider.

Can I advertise on this service?

Google says:

At this point, we do not have advertising opportunities for this service.

Does anyone believe that won’t change in the future?

Looking for Dallas Office Space? Visit DFW Office.

http://blogs.ign.com/jmbinfo/2008/03/10/83415/

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Smoking is an addiction that stops many people in their tracks.  It is very difficult to stop once you start.  The best method to stop is never start.  However, for many that is no longer an option.  The Cigarrest method could help you stop smoking.  Cigarrest is designed to help stop the cravings that are associated with nicotine. 

Good design is good design.  When good design mixes with functionality it’s great design.  A trip through today’s department stores and you will notice the world of design introduced into more and more household products.  Sleak, shiny, and colorful appliances are now the rage.  Kitchens have appliances that look like something from The Jetson’s.  Fridges that tell you when to order more food.  Water Filters that tell you when its time to replace them.  And vacuum cleaners that look almost too nice to use. 

Take for example this little beauty.  Yeah, it’s a vacuum cleaner.  Are you kidding me?  Looks very different than that old bulky 80’s-ish style.  It’s a Dyson.  Dyson’s have pretty much become the front runner when it comes to design, functionality and reliability.  Even their website takes design very seriously. 

From the showroom to the Dyson parts area of the website, you can tell the site was really well thought out. 

1. Easy to navigate. 

2. Simple to locate products or parts. 

3. Nice to look at. 

Great job Dyson!

Motor Home Specialist

Dallas Web Design Map

Water filters improve the quality of water for residential use. You can purchase replacement water filters or refrigerator water filters. 

The evolution of the Internet has pretty much always had parts of it that were annoying or ‘A Hassle’.  This site will hassle you all you want…but in a good way…I guess.  I’ve been Stumbling like a crazy person for the last two days.  New toy I guess, but it really is a great way to find a ton of information on the web.  The latest fine was HassleMe.co.uk.  Its great.  You tell them to hassle you every X amount of days, about X topic and they will. 

Some of the Popular Hassles are:

1. Go to the gym every 4 days.
2. Call your mother every 7 days.
3. Practice the Piano every 3 days.

Its great, you just put in your email and you will get “semi-regular” emails reminding you of the the things you need to be doing.  Freakin’ Cool Man!

Water filters for homeowners prove better tasting water.

I have recently become an avid Stumbler on Stumble Upon.  I’ve “had it” for a while but just started using it.  Maybe I’m the last person to find this site ( or saw it back in the day and just now watched it ) but this is a cool site: http://www.eightprinciples.com/ .  I like how the flash is done.  Simple and minimal with a nice use of color and typography.  I think you will enjoy!

Image from www.myflashresource.com

http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,2000562391b,00.htm

Spend anytime on the Internet and you have to quickly stay on top of acronym after acronym.  SEO, SEM, PPC, LOL, SMM, Y2K, TTL, OMG….and now, Meme.  What the heck?  That is what my kid calls my wife’s mom ( his Granny ).  Well, that aint the kind of Meme I’m talking about. 

A Meme ( sound it out like Mem e ) has a couple of boring and confusing definitions:

1. An idea that can replicate and evolve.
2. A unit of cultural information that is a basic idea posted by one person that can then be transferred from one person to another and then subjected to mutation, crossover and adaptation.
3. The cultural counterpart of genes - a value or pattern of behavior that is passed from one generation to another.

 Huh?

An Internet meme is any kind of viral information ( such as a funny video or blog post ) that prompt inspiration from other bloggers.  Meme’s can be questions like: “What is your favorite Movie?” or “Tuna fish. Water or oil? What do you add to make yours?”  They are quick inserts that prompt people to react and expand on the submissions and thoughts of others.

If you are looking for a collection of meme’s to get you going, check out The Daily Meme.

I guess the next obvious “big, hip thang” will be the Papa.

Cigarrest explains the dangers of smoking cigarettes.

There in the dentist waiting room sat Entrepreneur Magazine. I had forgotten about that magazine and flipped to a page where the subscription card would most likely be. ( yeah, last minute Christmas gift to myself … I let that magazine lapse about 2 years ago ).  And there it is: “The Truth About Truemors - An interview with Guy Kawasaki.”  Guy and I go way back…..ok, he doesn’t even know that I am alive but I’ve been a big fan of his.  Anyway, the piece is a nice read.  It is a glimpse into the mind of Guy Kawasaki and his new venture, Truemors.  The site www.truemors.com let’s ‘citizen journalists’ express themselves and “tell the world something without having to run a website or a blog.” 

Truemors is another one of those “Social Communities” where the content is created solely by the site’s visitors.  The community fuels the site, its path, and even its online personality.  The online masses can choose to embrace or bash a site within a very short amount of time. 

“The blogosphere is full of angry nay-sayers who are good at tearing things down but not at innovating. They should move out of their mothers’ houses and start dating.” - Guy Kawasaki

Truemors makes money with Advertising and Sponsorship - a common method for funding such communities.  So, does this mean that companies are spending ad dollars with Social Media websites?  Do they even know the difference?  The opportunites to market a company online is quickly moving beyond just PPC and SEM/SEO ( Search Engine Marketing/Search Engine Optimization ). 

Take for example www.fthebigthree.com.  The site was created to illustrate the opportunities available to find products and services through communities rather than search engines.  For example, if you respect my opinion then maybe you will check out Truemors.com.  If you don’t….well, I guess you won’t.  But, a search engine doesn’t give you that same two-way, push/pull feel.  It pretty much just does the pushing - hoping to serve up the best match to your keyword search. 

A buzz can run through a community very quickly ( positively or negatively ) leading to the success or failure of a campaign ( even if their wasn’t a campaign to start with )…..

OK, I’m getting off track here…

Guy was asked: “What advice would you share with other entrepreneurs about this startup exercise?” 

Guy Kawasaki: The most important lessons are: Do things quick, dirty and fast; don’t wait for the perfect time/market/product; ignore the naysayers–odds are they are right, but you’ll never know unless you try; and keep things cheap so you can make a lot of mistakes.

Wow, how the Internet makes starting a business a much different process than just a few years ago.  Where is the planning and planning and the endless business plan wrapped around 100 pages of double-speak? 

Well, I have to admit that when I first started seeing “Firefox” listed in my website logs that I put it in the same category as Netscape and a host of others that have tried to garner market share from Microsoft.  As the percentage of my site visitors with Firefox continued to increase each month ( now 30% ) I had to take notice.  Developers don’t like “new” ways introduced to the viewing and interacting process.  It creates doubt that the outcome will look like it was originally planned out to be.  The graph below shows thecounter.com’s December 2007 breakdown.  I like to use thecounter.com’s stats because it’s a pretty good breakdown of the “real” Internet world stats from a collection of diverse industries and targets.

OK, so back to the original reason for the post…

I was on ComputerWorld yesterday and noticed a pretty nice article that showcases of the the tweaks for Firefox.  Check it out.

They promised, “Groceries and more, delivered straight to your door!” A few online grocery operations seem content on making a go of it.  GroceryWorks.com was created for shoppers who want to order groceries online for convenient home delivery. Status: Out of Business. 

What a great concept.  While pretending to work I can order my groceries and have them delivered.  Maybe it was just ahead of its time.  The site was clunky and slow and seemed very difficult to navigate.  Now, I must admit that when GroceryWorks.com went “away” I didn’t switch over to any of the others to give it a try…but maybe that time is here again?

A quick look at Netgrocer.com finds the “clunk” has not dimenished.  Where is the F.A.Q. so I know how much this convenience is going to cost me?  Is there a shipping charge?…oh wait, I found it buried in some help pages.  How do I find out the shipping charges? “Click on the “Shipping Info” Link on the bottom of every page to see our latest rates, estimated delivery schedule, and special restrictions for APO/FPO and Alaska or Hawaii orders.”

Another online grocer, Peapod, looks like they have drastically cut their delivery area: Chicago, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ( South East Only )…you are in luck.

So, I am reserved to the fact that I am going to have to go OFFLINE to get my groceries.  I really should make the most of coupons so I can offset the inconvenience with some money saving.  But, again…who has time to dig through the Sunday paper for coupons.  I don’t.  So, I found this site called MySavings.com. Here you can get Grocery Coupons that you just print and take up to the store.  What a great idea.  They do the searching for you and find all the deals. 

MySavings.com was developed to bring brand name coupons to interested consumers in a free and organized manner. By compiling an extensive online directory of free grocery coupons, online coupon codes and free product samples, consumers have a complete and easy portal to find grocery coupons and samples for virtually any type of product they are interested in trying.

Now, although I gotta make the trip OFFLINE in an ONLINE world…at least I’ll save some OFFLINE money.

Research from credit card company Mastercard indicates more customers than ever are embracing online shopping this holiday season.  Consumers are spending more time and money than ever before online and now the popular items are expanding beyond electronics to speciality products.

MasterCard’s Online Shopping report shows that 1/3 plan to do their shopping online.  Clothing and accessories, food and liquor, and toys, games and sporting goods top the list of planned in-store purchases while books, CDs and DVDs have emerged top on the list of online spending. 

Of those who shopped last year on the Internet, 1/4 are looking to spend more online this holiday season.  The survey found most shoppers plan to have their gift-buying complete by mid December. 

Personalized Gifts and Home Decor Retailer, VisionBedding.com, offers unique gifts that are often difficult to locate online.  This new specialized market helps bridge the gap between gifts typically only found through custom, localized, brick and mortar storefronts.  VisionBedding, offers such items as photographic girls bedding, Sports Bedding, photographic blankets, and even photographic dog beds.  It’s truely a customized yet localized experience. “All our girl bedding products are top quality and made one at a time here in the USA.” notes the website.  “Each individual item can be personalized or customized by YOU! We use new technology that allows us to specially dye any photo, image, or design into all our bedding products.”

Cheezy Radio Announcer Guy: “How would you like to feel younger, more vibrant, full of energy?  Do more with your time.  Spend more time with your family.  Just go to WWW DOT……” <insert screeching tire sound here>

OMG!  PLEASE STOP SAYING “WWW DOT”.  We get it!  We now understand that ( in most cases ) the “www.” before the domain name is no longer needed.  It is redundant, difficult to say, sounds ridiculous and is a waste of time. 

The main point of this post is ask - no plead - with whatever Union controls radio and television announcers… dump the “www dot” from your liners.  If we try the domain by itself and it doesn’t work we all promise to try it again with “www dot” in front.  It’s such a beat-down to have each commercial end the same way: “….or check us out online at w…….w…….w……dot……blah blah blah”.  DIE!

Which reminds me of another thing….when will we all know ( or browsers know ) that spaces should automatically be removed instead of changed to ‘%20′?  I know I know… this is to fix sloppy code or links to files with spaces in them.  But, this would make long URLs in print so much easier to read.  We could change “dontknowhowtoblog.com” to “Dont know how to blog.com” if we were confident that people, by now, would know to remove the spaces when they typed it in the browser.

Oh well.  Welcome to 1998.