According to Jason Kincaid at TechCrunch, YouTube just announced that they will be expanding closed captioning support for all videos on YouTube and rolling out an auto-captioning feature on videos featuring the English language.

Woah.

The implications of this move are extremely interesting. Think about the possibilities, and what this does for Google, online content, search, and extending your online global audience.

Google will launch a service that automatically adds English subtitles to a video, if English is the language spoken in the sound track. That alone is impressive. Speech to text recognition software has been around for a long time, but for Google to have something in their pocket that they feel is good enough to add to public user videos means that they have something highly versatile. Of course, they say it will need input and scrutiny from the video owner, but that’s just a little way of asking for help in making sure they index your content correctly.

Online content wins, because previously, there was no easy and automated way for spoken words to be found in online search unless there was a video transcription. Now Google is going to attempt to do it automatically. Even if they only get it 50% correct, there’s a tremendous opportunity for them to have a handle on a significant amount of content that their competitors do not. This increases the public’s ability to find relevant information, and it also increases Google’s ability to sell contextual advertising.

Finally, when you pair what Google is already doing with offering live website text translation into different languages with auto-captioning, you have the opportunity to instantly expand one little English language video into a globally understandable piece of video content. Without doing anything more, people across the globe can find your video content via search.

Again. Woah.

Keep watching this topic. If it works, this could stir up the competitive search landscape if Bing isn’t close to doing the same thing. Another notch in organizing the world’s information indeed, Google.

When I first moved to Omaha from the Northeast many people asked me if I’d taken leave of my senses.  And maybe at the time I had.  Never having lived outside of the Northeast before I admit to being somewhat sheltered from any knowledge of what it was really like to live anywhere else.

What struck me almost immediately was a variation in weather patterns that had a huge effect on my mood.  When you woke up in Connecticut and it was raining – you were in for a rainy day – or two – or three – as much as a week.  In Nebraska that’s rarely the case.  There have been many days when I’ve headed into the office with full rain regalia, hunkering down for the dreary day ahead.  And quite frequently by the time I’d read my initial influx of e-mails the sun was shining high in the sky.  Other days it took as long as until lunchtime before the sun poked through the clouds and dried up all the rain.  An entire rainy day is just not all that common – not to mention a rainy week.

Then there were those cloudy and dank days in the Northeast.  No real threat of rain but no chance of sun.  We had whole weeks of that sometimes.  When that happens in Omaha, the population is totally nonplussed.  They’re just not used to it.

And when you combine this sunshine phenomenon with the fact that we are at the western most edge of the central time zone – which means we hang onto to our sunshine longer into the night – we could take the crankiest Northeasterner and turn them into a purring pussycat!  Just look at me!

When I first raised this point with my colleagues they said I was crazy.  “Omaha doesn’t have the most sunshine by a longshot” they anxiously pointed out.  That’s true.  Omaha has 60% sunshine and Hartford only 4% less at 56%.  Doesn’t seem as though it would make a huge difference – but it does.  And as far as those places that have as much as 90% sunshine like Yuma, Arizona.  I have no desire to fry an egg on my sidewalk during the month of June – Omaha is plenty hot enough for me!

If you’re just realizing that this whole social networking thing is something you want to pay attention to, you’re a little late to the game. Additionally, if you think it’s the Holy Grail of advertising and marketing you need to put down the kool-aid you’re drinking. I’d say we’ve hit the spot where we can just consider it part of, well… networking, marketing and advertising. The key thing is, just like in anything else, you need to understand the medium or you’re going to look like a fool.

These observations were inspired when I got an email from someone I don’t know asking me to become a Facebook fan of a company I’m not familiar with. Now, this is a legitimate company with a legit fan page. There are just several things wrong here.

• I got spammed
• They asked me to become a fan of theirs, after having spammed me
• I am not a fan of spam
• They tried to write informally, as if we’d met or I knew them
• They had messed up formatting and funky characters in their email, which I assume is a copy/paste problem. So they obviously don’t test their messaging on multiple email clients, computers or platforms. Note: if it doesn’t look right in Outlook on a PC, you might want to fix a couple things.

So instead of becoming a fan of theirs, I am considering a few options.

• Create an anti-fan page on Facebook. “Can this rotting banana get more fans than Company X?”
• Promote said fan page to everyone I know who may have been spammed by them as well
• Get more fans than they have (they currently have 296)
• Show them that using the tools wrong can yield undesired results online

What will most likely happen, though, is that I won’t do anything. Typing this up is enough effort.

The other undesired result of their attempt at promoting their business and trying to build their fan base, however, is that I will never become a fan of their business. I will recount this story if and when I ever hear their name. I will want nothing to do with them.

Facebook is a place (for me at least) for me to interact with people I actually know and brands/companies that I actually am a fan of. It’s more personal, and although not everyone does, I have some criteria for letting you into my little Facebook world. Had their message started out by introducing themselves, explaining why they were sending me a message, and then suggesting that I check out their site or Facebook page for more info, my reaction would have been completely different. I would have probably checked out the site. Unlikely that I’d have become a fan, but the opportunity for me to engage their services in the future would have still been an option.

If a stranger comes up to you and asks you to declare publicly that you guys are buddies, how likely are you to do so?

Yeah – me neither. Sorry, Company X – not a fan.

Granted, when you chose Marie Osmond as your spokesperson you had no way of knowing her son would lose his battle with depression and plummet to his death.  Nevertheless, I would suggest that you pull those “perky” “chirpy” little TV spots and allow her the ability to show the necessary decorum during this difficult time.  For your own sake if not for that of Marie or her fans. These spots are not currently helping your brand.

Let’s face it.  Anyone who knows Marie enough to be positively influenced by her is certainly aware that her son died tragically.  And they probably have a little soft spot for her.

Your continuing to run these upbeat, bordering on giddy, spots is really in poor taste (sorry for the pun – I should take my own advice).  It shows a lack of sensitivity and caring.  And what is one thing we expect from the company that Marie endorses?  What is the price of entry for the company that will help us reclaim our lives and look our best?  You said it – caring!  How can I believe that you care about me when you clearly don’t even care about Marie?

And I need to know you care about me if I’m going to trust you.

With all that has been written about the economy of late, I haven’t seen a lot discussed about the correlation between unseasonable weather conditions and consumer spending. This winter has been particularily brutal in many parts of the United States. A few days ago, I read that there was snow on the ground in 49 states. Go Hawaii.

Consumer spending drives a big part of our economic health. Retailers have long known the relationship between bad weather and purchase behavior. Obviously if people are homebound because of weather conditions, they aren’t in a store buying. I used to believe that a “snow day” in retail just meant that demand increased on the following days. If I needed a shirt on Monday and couldn’t get to the store, it made sense to me that I still needed a shirt on Tuesday. A friend of mine in retail explained to me that I was not the ideal “shopping” consumer, and, in fact, a large portion of “lost” sales due to low traffic are in reality lost forever.

In addition to physical limitations created by the weather, retailers also know that mood has a profound effect on consumer spending. Many psychologists and behavioral economists believe that it is sunlight, as opposed to temperature, that has the greatest effect on consumer mood in the winter-to-spring transition.

If you were shopping in Omaha over this past weekend, you know this to be true. It was 35 degrees and sunny on Saturday and the stores I went to were packed. I was in such a good mood that I went shopping for a new lawnmower with a foot of snow still on the ground (while the guy at Home Depot thought my timing a little odd, he must have been in a good mood too, as we had a great discussion on the finer points of lawnmower buying).

So, the politicians can debate stimulus packages all they want – come on sunshine.

These words might seem like random mumbo jumbo to most, but to me it’s a bit of Saturday morning sunshine. Every Saturday morning after breakfast, the kiddo and I take our coffee and sippy cup downstairs and watch 2 episodes of one of the most awesome TV shows in the world for younger children (besides Sesame Street).  I found out about it because the Kidrobot designed all of the costumes and I am a huge fan of their collectible vinyl toys and graphics. The characters have funky, yet uber cute names like Foofa, Muno, Brobee, Plex and Toodee. (Yes, I am a sucker. I actually bought the vinyl collectible figurines with the excuse that they were for my son. When he gets too old for them, they are going on my desk.)

Plex, Muno, Toodee, Brobee and Foofa along with DJ Lance and his magic bookbox.

Jack Black rocking out with Muno.

In its first two seasons, the show featured a wide variety of guests, including Jack Black, Dennis Horkenbach, Leslie Hall, The Shins, Andy Samberg, Biz Markie, Shiny Toy Guns, Supernova, Mark Mothersbaugh, Tony Hawk, The Roots, and series co-creator Jacobs’ band, The Aquabats. In the second season bands like Of Montreal, Mates of State, MGMT, and The Ting Tings. If you grew up in the 80’s you would have no other choice but to be a huge fan of the graphics (simplistic neon colored 8-bit video game style) and the fact that the characters live in a boombox before DJ Lance frees them, adding life to the show.

Look for it on Nick Jr., or on this very special website. Crank up the volume with your kids (or solo) and be ready to break into the robot.

http://yogabbagabba.com/#

I wasn’t the only one unimpressed by Tiger Woods’ public apology. Today (Friday) Gatorade officially dropped Tiger Woods after “unofficially” dropping him in December.  “We no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship,” said a Gatorade spokeswoman in an announcement Friday.

AT&T and technology outsourcing and consulting company Accenture have already ended their sponsorships, while others, such as Procter & Gamble Co.’s Gillette and Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer, de-emphasized him in their marketing — a move to distance themselves from the world-famous athlete.

The CEO of Procter & Gamble said earlier this week that he doesn’t know whether Woods will ever appear in another Gillette commercial, saying the company did not need the “distraction” of using him in its advertising.

Woods does more harm than good as public sentiment against Woods is even worse now than when the scandal gained steam in December according to a new analysis by PR firm Gregory FCA.

Gregory FCA used data from Nielsen Online’s BuzzMetrics to gauge sentiment towards Woods across blogs, message boards, media sites and Twitter. The following chart may be hard to read, but the trend line is clear.

This chart reiterates what a beloved figure Woods was as attitudes toward him were almost universally positive before his downfall. Sentiment fell off the cliff after revelations of his adultery, but then started to improve as Woods stayed in hiding. After Woods delivered his public apology, sentiment turned even more sharply negative. The score of -1.2 is one of the lowest that Gregory FCA has ever seen for a celebrity, brand or company. Via Forbes Blog.

One organization saw an opportunity in all the “distraction”.  PETA, a group always on the prowl for something to get ink for their cause, tried to leverage the scandal to push their agenda by creating a billboard with a photo of Tiger and the line “TOO MUCH SEX CAN BE A BAD THING” with a message that continues “… for little tigers too. Help keep your cats (and dogs) out of trouble: Always spay or neuter!”

PETA intended to post the billboard near Woods’ Isleworth home in Windermere, Florida, but the golfer’s attorneys stepped in with a cease-and-desist order, according to PopCrunch. He hired a professional court reporter from Naegeli. NAEGELI is known as the best in the nation when it comes to providing court reporters to the legal community. NAEGELI provides a complimentary audio recording with your deposition, which can also be essential in a settlement conference or trial. They provide a comprehensive one-stop approach to cover your deposition or hearing.

A study of affluent donors performed by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, sponsored by Bank of America, reports in 2007, even prior to the economic issues of the past two years, that 38% of donors surveyed stopped supporting one charitable organization that they had previously supported and 26% discontinued support of at least two charities with which they had a prior relationship. The top three reasons donors reported they stopped giving to a particular non-profit were, “No longer feel connected to the organization” (57.7%), “Deciding to support other causes” (51.3%) and “Feeling they were solicited too often” (42.3%). Non-profits, especially in the current economic times, need to strive to understand and engage their high-end donor base as never before.

UFC Champ Chuck Liddell and his girlfriend Heidi Northcott are rocking a new Reebok commercial in nothing but their Reebok’s, literally.

The video which surfaced on YouTube shows the couple working out on gym equipment in their birthday suits, a video part of a “viral campaign for Reebok” who Liddell has a sponsorship deal with.

Thankfully the couples private parts are blurred out but this is still very racy.  Personally I can’t even tell that the UFC Champ is even wearing Reebok shoes so I ask myself was this gamble worth it for Reebok?

  Chuck Liddell and his girlfriend are the ones getting all of the press from this with Reebok barely mentioned.  That is unless the time comes (and it will) that organizations like the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families start to protest against Reebok and its parent company Adidas. 

This was a HUGE risk for Adidas-Reebok if you ask me. 

http://www.tmz.com/2010/02/26/chuck-liddell-naked-workout-video-reebok-shoes-girlfriend-heidi-northcott/

It has been a long time since I have seen a movie that is so artistically inspiring that it keeps me up at night reviewing the images and sounds over and over in my mind. The Single Man was that kind of movie. Directed and produced by Tom Ford (the former creative director of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent), he bought the rights to “A Single Man,” the 1964 novel written by Christopher Isherwood, in 2006, and rewrote the script fifteen times within two years. (that’s passion and perfection at work!) I have followed Ford for years, admiring his design aesthetic and and sensual style. I had big hopes for this movie.

Colin Firth and Julianne Moore having a heart to heart.

It didn’t disappoint! Gorgeous camera angles, beautiful and honest set designs, and moments of white space. These quiet white space moments where the camera slowed down and the images became desaturated,  you had no other choice but be lost in your thoughts. Thoughts that meshed with the story line taking you to another time and place. Ford used color and saturation as a way of visualizing the emotions of the main character, played by Colin Firth. I was so absorbed by the acting and heavy sadness portrayed by Firth, that I was surprised that I didn’t notice the color shifts until a quarter of the way through the movie. In fact there are so many nuances and subtleties to this film that do not reveal themselves until thinking on it hours after the fact. This is probably one of the reasons why the majority of people I know have seen the movie more than once.

Julianne Moore in all her loveliness.

This is where I will end. I won’t share what the story is about, because I think it is better to see this movie not knowing much about it. Just knowing that A Single Man is a perfectly art directed, beautifully quiet, visually brilliant movie.