ItsNiceThat.com. Updated several times a day with some stunning photos / art pieces - each with a short blurb about it. Here are a couple of my favorites:
The Trouble with PerezHilton.com As a Business (Perhaps Blogs For that Matter)
Want celebrity gossip? The online destination of choice is PerezHilton.com - which, according to Perez, boasts larger readership than People Magazine (the perennial #1 print magazine). That success has turned Perez into a star - he has his own MTV and VH1 shows, is seen in celebrity magazines galore and he's fetching sponsorship deals both personally on on his website.
So you would think that PerezHilton.com would be growing because of all of this. Wrong. Pageviews, uniques and visits are relatively flat (perhaps even down).
Why? Simply put:because blogging doesn't scale.
As Perez Hilton becomes more of a star, his focus clearly has shifted. There are fewer daily blog posts and, more importantly, fewer 'meaningful' blog posts (there is now lots of content about Perez himself). There is only so much time in the day and only so much juicy gossip.
Meanwhile, there are ways to solve this. Blogs like TechCrunch, Valleywag and others are hiring full staffs and publishing content more regularly. In fact, PerezHilton.com is quickly taking a backseat to TMZ - which is using its growing staff to out-pace Perez on all fronts.
Gawker is another great example. Sites like DeadSpin.com have strong traffic in their verticals, but they too become flat over time. Growth then comes from the larger network and increase authorship. Kotaku.com, for instance, is surging and Valleywag.com is growing nicely behind it's increased authorship.
PerezHilton.com:
The GawkerNetwork:
Top Sites Reach Reach% gizmodo.com 8,705,071 28.8% lifehacker.com 5,701,369 18.8% kotaku.com 4,498,218 14.9% gawker.com 3,247,225 10.7% fleshbot.com 2,137,780 7.1% consumerist.com 1,966,213 6.5% jalopnik.com 1,758,997 5.8% defamer.com 1,721,438 5.7% valleywag.com 1,304,718 4.3% jezebel.com 1,297,423 4.3% deadspin.com 1,231,847 4.1% io9.com 1,154,466 3.8% wonkette.com 961,723 3.2% gridskipper.com 471,975 1.6% idolator.com 319,265 1.1% gawkershop.com 9,543 < 0.1% gizmodo.net 8,145 < 0.1%
Currently My Favorite Widget...
Ironic Twist(er) in HD-DVD's Death?
While I hinted at it before, HD-DVD officially died this week.
The most interesting, ironic and overlooked aspect of HD's collapse had less to do with the format and more to do with the final published title:
Twister hit theaters in 1996 and was the first movie ever released on DVD. It also is currently slated to be the final title released on HD DVD (May 3rd)... a sure-to-be Trivial Pursuit question.
Also ironic: Twister will be released on both HD-DVD and Blu Ray!
I love Amazon's New Logo
I just noticed this tonight - Amazon has unveiled a new logo. When you hover over the Amazon Logo on all pages other than Amazon.com, a light frame is added and the word "homepage" appears alongside their famous smile.
I love it. Logos exist in consistent locations on a webpage (the top left corner). Adding a visual element from basic interactions - like a mouse hover - is engaging.
iTunes Podcasts Center - 10 Things That Must be Fixed
I love podcasts (they get me through the day). But, I really hate iTunes Podcasts center.
As iTunes continues to improve, their Podcasts section still seems to be on its first generation. And based on passing conversations with friends at Apple, I am not sure that anyone is actually dedicated to the product (from the consumer side, that certainly makes sense). Here are 10 things that must be fixed.
1. The Release Date Sort Doesn't Work
This kills me because not only is it amazingly simple to fix, its critical to the podcast experience.
The "Release Date" column doesn't sort properly - making it impossible to visually determine which podcasts are newly updated (an important feature for regularly updated podcasts or large libraries).
Nine others...
2. Overuse of Pointless Icons (see exclamation point and information icons above) 3. Search for Podcasts, Get Commingled Search Results 4. Needs a Visual Overhaul 5. iPod Integration Outside of Playlists 6. Separation of Video & Audio Podcasts 7. Directory of Top Podcasts Beyond #100 (iTunes is about the tail after all) 8. Chronicling of "Today's Top Podcasts" Beyond... Today! 9. Ability to Rate & Retrieve Ratings of Podcast "Episodes" 10. Finding Experience for Most Downloaded Episodes / Podcasts of Last 7 / 30 / 365 Days
Is Mahalo's Growth Coming From Video Games?
Mahalo has grown very nicely over last two quarters and, according to Quantcast, now reach over 800,000 uniques monthly. While my searching behavior still starts at Google and goes to Wikipedia for informational needs - I find myself using Mahalo for topics that are either: 1) very current (Google still struggles breaking news within results sets - see American Idol finalists) 2) wide but shallow (lots of content but no definitive / authoritative leader)
Apparently users agree that for Mahalo works for video games searches (which work for both of the above bullets). Below are the top 20 Mahalo pages - 13 of which are gaming related. And if you look at Quantcast's related websites, there is a theme of gaming (see below).
Mahalo has a video games hub, but it might make sense to create / pursue a deeper video game portal or network (Wikia is experimenting there).
Gaming Information Affinity mycheats.com 14.2x teamxbox.com 12.2x gametrailers.com 10.7x joystiq.com 10.0x
Top 20 Mahalo Pages
- Lost Odyssey Walkthrough
- Devil May Cry 4 Walkthrough
- Pavlik Taylor Live Coverage
- Debbie Clemens Photos
- Guitar Hero 3 Wii Cheats
- Guitar Hero III Cheats
- How to Play Guitar for Newbies
- 2008 Grammy Performances
- Net Gun
- Turok Xbox 360 Walkthrough
- Penumbra Black Plague Walkthrough
- Bush Tax Rebate 2008
- Guitar Hero 3 Song List
- Halo 3 Armor
- Guitar Hero 3 Xbox 360 Cheats
- 2 Girls, 1 Cup
- The Simpsons Game Walkthrough
- Halo 3 Skulls
- Pokemon Crater
- David Tarloff
Do I now have Verizon-Envy? Verizon Unveils Unlimited Voice Plan for $99
I never thought I would say this... but I officially have Verizon envy.
Don't get me wrong - I love my Blackberry Curve, AT&T has great customer service and, in the bay area, the service is consistently good....
BUT - AT&T is ridiculously expensive. Compare the voice, data and sms packages to T-Mobile and other carriers and it's rather sickening. And while T-Mobile has great prices, their service in the bay area is spotty to say the least... leaving me with AT&T for the last four years. But now Verizon has unveiled an unlimited voice plan for $99 / month and that makes me start to wonder what it would take to move my business over.
My three biggest priorities in choosing a carrier: 1) reliability of service 2) cost 3) flexibility (I despise two-year contracts and would pay a premium for freedom)
I'll wait to see if AT&T gets competitive... but have already started thinking about what a switch would entail.
Comparing TeleNav GPS and Google Maps Mobile - Why I'm Canceling My TeleNav Account
I have been a TeleNav subscriber for close to a year now and have turned many friends on the service. I also have had Google Maps Mobile installed on my Blackberry since it launched. I find myself using them at different points and for different needs - and while I prefer TeleNav, I am actually canceling my subscription to the service... here's is a breakdown of the services and why:
- Google Maps is free; TeleNav is $9.99 / month
- Google Maps gives you directions from the inputted location; TeleNav gives complete directions based on your movements. Directions come with street view maps, are spoken clearly by the application and adjust based on traffic / routing
- Google Maps is a smaller application and consequently runs faster; TeleNav often requires system restarts and can take a while to load
- I have never had a problem with Google Maps GPS; Telenav's GPS seems to require a system restart 25% of the time (which kills the instant gratification of these features)
- While TeleNav routing is far superior, Google Maps' business search is much more effective
- Neither mapping system provides a GPS system for walking or biking - which kills me. They route for vehicles
At the end of the day, I prefer TeleNav's routing system enough that it warrants $9.99 / month... assuming you use it enough. While vacationing, I use TeleNav with regularity; but since moving to San Francisco, I've found myself walking and biking daily (while not using my car on a weekly basis)... as such, Google Maps is sufficient.
Perhaps TeleNav should release a lite version or a pay per usage. I would even reconsider if they offered non-vehicular routing and solved the "weak GPS" errors that occur more-and-more often.
