Mircea Baldean

This is so true! I’ve been on both sides and I must say, I did enjoy changing hats! I first embraced web design. But soon I realized a static product wouldn’t get you too far. You can spend as much time as you want designing the user interface, but what’s the point if the site doesn’t do anything for the user? So that’s how I started to dig into code and server side programming. JavaScript was already there. Snippets were very useful. Then Flash came in. Version 1 and 2 were again static. J Oh, they added ActionScript?! Nice! You can submit a Flash form and save the info into a database? Whoa, there’s some real progress we’re talking about. The site is ready. Version 7. But nobody knows about it! Oh, e-marketing? Search engine indexing and optimization, email newsletters, links, links, links, the RSS buzz, blogging, AdWords, AdSense, content, content, content. What’s next? The technology is there, the network is there, people are there, oh no, they are living a second life now. Really, what’s next? Mr. Marketer, what do you want to sell me today?!

You may want to secure more than one domain name when registering yours. Having a local domain name (e.g.: .ca, .co.uk) is important, but there are more things you should keep in mind. If I remember correctly, InterNIC used to charge about US$ 100 back in ’97 for just one domain name! Hundred bucks will buy you today pretty much all seven deadly name variations described by Bill Sweetman. Go for it!

Today I lent my ear buds to Mitch Joel’s podcast – Six Pixels of Separation. While I salute his initiative - he seems to be one of the first Canadian marketers to approach podcasting – for some reason, I did not dig the audio download as much as the blog. And I’ve asked myself why?

No, it’s not enough to plug in your Logitech headset/mic combo and record on CastBlaster – which is a great tool by the way. I can tell Mitch is an enthusiast, ready to try out new things, but what about my “user listening experience”? The empty space echo and poor voice recording just doesn’t work for me. Not on a premium product like the iPod. And I would expect a certain dynamic from a marketing podcast, I just couldn’t find this vibe in the show. I was almost visualizing somebody making a great presentation, but the PowerPoint slides were missing.

A nicely designed web site will catch your eye right away. Same rule applies for a book, CD or DVD cover on the shelf. Taking the time to produce a quality podcast (into/outro/sound-bed) is just as important. IMHO.

Minutes later after my blog post, I got this cool email from Mitch. I have a feeling this is only the beginning of our conversation and I really appreciate it. I’ll definitely stay subscribed.

——Original Message——

From: Mitch Joel
To: Mircea Baldean
Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006, 8:27 PM
Subject: What’s up?

Contact request from Mitch Joel:

Hi, I saw your Blog posting. I appreciate your feedback. I don’t disagree with anything you’re saying. Right now, I am in “try it” mode. As I get this groove back on (from my college radio days), I will make the investment in better equipment, etc… Right not, this is all about starting a new conversation and “walking the talk.” It’s hard to sell clients on social media, web 2.0, Podcasting, etc… unless you do it. I hope you’ll bear with me. Thanks for the honesty. It is refreshing.

Best regards,
Mitch Joel

According to Seth Godin, here are couple of things you should do if you want to improve traffic on you blog.

This video is soo cool! See how different Apple thinks and why their products always stand out from the crowd. After all, which company would cease production of their most popular product - the mini iPod - to make space for a new one - the nano?

In other news Mr. Bill Gates announced he’ll be going part time at Microsoft by 2008 and dedicate to his resources to charity. This is really nice of him and there are still so many things he could change, other then operating systems. :)

Just wanted to tell you about a great feature documentary I saw. It’s called “An Inconvenient Truth” and is a must see for anyone! It is filmed in the form of a presentation by Al Gore who presents really important information in a passionate and engaging way. I think this movie really shows the danger of looking at global warming as a political issue, which is unfortunately the case today. The scientific evidence is there and it’s scary.

You have the power to make a difference. Small changes to your daily routine can add up to big changes in helping to stop global warming. Download these 10 SIMPLE TIPS to take with you!

“By far the most terrifying film you will ever see”

Buying tickets for U2’s 2005 Verigo tour was definitely an interesting online experience. I’m sharing it inspired by Godin’s Fifteen minutes post.

Ticketmaster.ca originally listed two dates for U2’s Toronto performance: September 12 and 14. Online sales were to open on a Saturday, sometime in March 2005, at 10 AM sharp. 10 minutes before, I was there all jazzed up, refreshing the Tickemaster page every 30 seconds, ready to order. By 10.02 I got the outrageous message:

Your wait time is approximately 38 minutes or more

How’s that for a web purchase?? After fifteen minutes, I opened a different browser window, Firefox this time, to prevent cookie sharing and had a big surprise - a third show was added for Toronto, even though it wasn’t initially advertised! Right on! Switched back to Internet Explorer to check the count down, guess what – it timed out! Yes, I lost my place in the queue! Luckily, my Firefox was still doing its job, still in the queue. Fired-up Internet Explorer again, logged into Ticketmaster.ca, searched for U2 in Toronto, and there you go - around 10.40 AM a fourth show was added! Placed another order, just in case.

And if you’re wondering - around 11.10 AM, I was able to select my two tickets for the third show. Needless to say, I really enjoyed their performance in September! Way to go, U2! Nice move from two to four shows at Air Canada Centre!

Blogging and podcasting are certainly the next big things and marketing. Everything is changing as we speak. Or read, or listen… Instead of introduction, I hope you had a chance to read this brilliant ebook by Seth Godin.

As everybody else, I’m interested to know what this growth will lead to and how to utilize it better. This Google Trends search shows you a comparison between the two terms by search volume and news references. They go hand in hand, especially in the last year. Here are some thoughts:

I can write a post and publish it on my blog from virtually anywhere. All I need is to fire up an email from my BlackBerry. Whenever inspiration hits me, I could produce the content and make it available to you, the reader. On the other side, you need to be hooked up to the net, fire up your RSS agregator or browser and download my feed or web page. Not so much mobility. Plus, you’re already busy, ’cause you need to go through your inbox and catch up on emails as well :)

Podcasting works the other way around: once you’ve subscribed to a feed, the show gets downloaded in the background and you can take it on your iPod to the gym, subway or car. It fills up an empty space and you could utilize your time much better. The podcast producer is tight to the studio this time, recording and putting the show together. Uploading it requires a decent broadband connection as well.

It will take some time until the AppleBerry becomes a reality and the mobile broadband infrastucture becomes available and affordable to ship some MP3 content over.

Blogginng and podcasting are complementing each other for now, I can definitely see the latter one breaking new grounds, reaching bigger audicences, with the help of a good indexing and tagging service. I’m not going to listen to CNN breaking news on my iPod - I already got a text message on my mobile, but I will enjoy a constant quality podcast anytime.

In the mean time, enjoy both of them! Stay subscribed. :)