TiVo & Netflix...a new partnership

Netflix just announce a partnership with TiVo.
TiVo users will be able to watch Netflix movies from their TiVo boxes. No extra charges are included, just the charges that NetFlix users already pay.
Their partnership had first established in 2004, but now subscribers who own the TiVo Series3, HD, or HD XL will be able to stream over 12,000 movies and TV shows through Netflix's online streaming service.

To get the service started, TiVo users must visit the Netflix website and select their favorite movies and TV shows to be shown on their instant queues. Once you have visited the website and the movies or TV shows have been selected, TiVo users will be able to select the instant queues from their couch!

This is awesome. I don't have TiVo, but I know people who do and they love it! This partnership will definitely complement each other. TiVo users will now have the option of watching over 12,000 movies and TV shows of new releases and classics, without leaving the comfort of their home.
But for those of you that don't know what TiVo is check out their virtual tour on their website!
Click here to watch it!
The video may be a little cheesy, but it does it's job. :)

And the Apple vs. PC battle continues...

Apple continues to develop new ads that sum up PC problems. The newest one to the group "Bake Sale" shows PC having a Bake Sale to raise funds for their "problems," as Apple has so longingly discussed in their ads.
Always clever, Apple seems to outshine PC each time.
Now it seems PC has developed a campaigned that allows people to upload their own messages. Microsoft wants to show that throughout this whole mess, people still use Microsoft and are PC users and I think this campaign will allow Microsoft regain some of their dignity. People appear to be responding and it's about time. For so long, Apple just bashed PC/Microsoft, and they said nothing. Things are definitely getting interested?
I'm sure Apple will think of more clever ways to shun Microsoft.
But, I love how Microsoft does not involve nor mention Apple in their ads, even though Apple does so.

The battle continues, even though it seems Apple is the only one fighting....

DIGITAL GET DOWN!

While doing the podcast project this semester, we were asked to either podcast about a PR/ social media concept or interview an expert about social media. Our group decided to podcast about a social media concept that really interested us during one of our class' lectures. Our concept includes: Digital Footprints.

Here's a brief description about our podcast:

10 sec: Melanie introduces show, concept and participants.
15 sec: Melanie talks about digital footprints: what they are, what they do and who they effect.
2 min: Denise is introduced and talks about googling her name and what information she discovered about her digital footprint.
3 min: Denise talks about how her digital footprint could potentially affect her (positively or negatively) 3:45 min: Denise reveals her outlook on the future of podcasting.
4:20 min: Mandi is introduced and talks about her digital footprint within Facebook.
5:25 min: Mandi reveals how she uses Facebook as a social networking tool.
5:45 min: Melanie begins to conclude what effect digital footprints have on us and how they affect us daily.

So feel free to listen and enjoy!

Apple Strikes BACK!

Apple always delivered awesome commercial advertisements that made PC look stupid. Their ads were always funny, appealing, and delivered the message they intended to share with the audience, while keeping it simple, cute, and fun.
Microsoft didn't do anything for a while. It was not until long ago that they spoke back and launched some new commercials that had everyone talking. The "buzzing" was not a good thing. Many didn't understand the commercials. It was not until the current ads "I'm A PC" were released that good reviews were reported. Microsoft had people talking with no response from Apple.
I must say so myself, I wanted to see what Apple would do. It was definitely worth the wait. Just recently I was able to see Apple's latest commercial, "Bean Counter" and it's as fun as they have always been. They've managed to capture Microsoft's current situation. I wonder what Microsoft will do now??? No matter what Microsoft does, Apple always seems to have the upper hand. I just hope that Microsoft doesn't launch another Shoe Circus Ad.
Here's the "Bean Counter" Ad from Apple, Check out the Apple website for more of their fun commercials.

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Blog Action Day 2008

So I first found out about today's cause through my Social Media class professor. I knew that today was an important day to take action and that blogging is a great way of doing it. Today is a perfect example of the concept of Power of 1%. Each person just contributing content to this special cause to demonstrate how important poverty is and that something must be done to change it.
I'm not going to say that I'm truly well-informed about the issue of poverty, other than the obvious that it exists, so I decided to research on it. I started off by going to the Blog Action Day official website and was immediately impacted by their mission statement. It says so much in just a few words.

What is Blog Action Day?

Today thousands of bloggers will unite to discuss a single issue - poverty. We aim to raise awareness, initiate action and to shake the web!

It simply amazing just what my blog, as well as thousands, maybe even million of bloggers can do with our computer. Poverty, the topic of this year is important and deserves to get the proper attention it deserves. Although I am one that does not experience it as much as others do in other parts of the nation and world, I know that something must be done to cease it. So I joined the cause and decided to blog on such an important day. Together we can do something about poverty.
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When I began doing my research, I found some shocking facts like:

About 25,000 people die every day of hunger or hunger-related causes, according to the United Nations. This is one person every three and a half seconds.

It is children who die most often.

-The Cycle of Poverty-
There is plenty of food in the world for everyone. The problem is that hungry people are trapped in severe poverty. They lack the money to buy enough food to nourish themselves. Being constantly malnourished, they become weaker and often sick. This makes them increasingly less able to work, which then makes them even poorer and hungrier.

Then I began researching information about our city of Austin and found some interesting information.

Approximately 200,000, or 20%, of Travis County residents are classified as "working poor" by the Texas Department of Human Services.

The annual income needed for a Travis County family of four without employee sponsored health insurance to "afford" to live in the Austin area is $53,080. That's 257% above the Federal poverty level.

Austin continues to have the highest cost of living in the state of Texas, exceeding housing costs in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth.


Today is the day to get informed. Today is the day to take action.
So TAKE ACTION!!! DO YOUR PART! Let's do something to change our community.
Together it can happen.

Oh how times have changed...

Times have certainly changed. Things have become increasingly easier and affordable for us with the creation have the internet. We have access to things all over the world and can do so much more. As I sat in the library doing my midterm review, I realized that technology, mostly the computer, run our daily lives.
It's incredibly exciting to know that everyone has the power to start a change with just a click of a button. Such things like blogs, podcasts, wikis, and social bookmarks, have made things easier for us to communicate one's own thoughts, ideas, and even complaints on situations or products/services. Who knows what things will be like in a few years, or when our generations begins having kids! It makes it wonders, how much more advanced can things get?

Axe "Chocolate Man"

I was watching TV and noticed that the Axe "Chocolate Man" commercial is on constantly. The product being advertised, AXE Dark Temptation, "One quick spray of AXE Dark Temptation and women around you will not be able to resist you."
I never thought about it, but when I did, I realized how confused I am by the commercial. Are men going to smell like chocolate? And if so, what type of scent is that?
I know I'm not the target audience (obviously it's being targeted to a male audience), but if this scent is supposed to attract me, and other women, shouldn't I like this commercial or at least understand it? The message that AXE normally gave was that using their products would give off a sexy, attractive scent that women would adore, therefore, men would love to use it! When I would smell the other AXE products, they weren't bad at all.
Now, it just seems rather disgusting to see a chocolate-related scent being used to advertise this product. When I think chocolate I think about something great to eat, not something I want to smell. Chocolate is something boys should give to girls, not smell like. So what is Axe exactly trying to do???
I realized I should try to think outside the box and try to think like the target audience, but it's really hard to imagine walking by a guy who smells like chocolate.

You are what you google

It had been a while since we were first asked to Google our names and observe the results that were found. I remember sitting in class and typing in my name into Google. I saw my results and found an 18 year with my same name. I didn't think much of it. In fact, I just laughed about it and forgot. Weeks went by before I thought about it again.
However, after today's lecture in class, that changed. Our professor starting explaining that many employers look at personal accounts when hiring new employees. I'm not saying I have misleading information on my personal accounts, but this young lady, who has my same name could perhaps be mistaken for me.
I run the risk of being confused for someone else. Someone else who is completely different. Perhaps I jumping to conclusions. The only thing that distinguishes us from each other is our age, (at least from just looking at the page) employers could easily overlook something like that. Not to mention this young lady is the #1 result. She appears before I do. CRAZY!
So Myspacers, Facebookers, Flicksters, BEWARE! You never know who's watching. Future employers may have already gazed at your account.
So as our guest lecturer, Camella Manges, Director of E-Marketing at St. Edward's University said in class, "Don't have anything that you would not be comfortable having your mother see about you on your page. Be wise about what's on the internet about you."