Want to Change the World? Well, Maybe you Can!

Google is celebrating its 10th anniversary by sponsoring a contest, but not just any old contest. Dubbed “10th to the 100th,” Google will fund big ideas that will either help lots of people or change the world.

Change the World with Google

I have to say — I LOVE THIS IDEA on several, different levels. From a marketing perspective? It sends a message that says “Google is the good guy.” And I believe them. Google. The anti-corporation corporation.

Deadline for submissions is October 20th, 2008. If you don’t have an idea right away, don’t worry! Google has a list of questions and criteria to help get your creativity (and your ingenuity) going.

Submit Your Idea to Change the World to Google

Then, after you think up how you can help do something wonderful for the world — how about going out of your way to do something nice for an acquaintance or a total stranger? Per Google’s reasoning behind the project, “In other words, helping helps everybody, helper and helped alike.”

Have a fantastic day!

September 25, 2008
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How the Publishing Industry is Evolving

This article entitled “Have We Reached the End of Book Publishing? spells out what I’ve suspected for so long and heard from some of my fellow writers — that the very nature of the way major publishers do business does not bode well for aspiring writers. Large, million-dollar advances taken on new authors spell doom for literary writers, who find their advances shrink every time a publisher makes a “new” discovery. The argument of whether or not e-book readers will kill book sales continues to resurface, and the very nature of how corporations function take their toll on editors’ morale.

The book business as we know it will not be living happily ever after. With sales stagnating, CEO heads rolling, big-name authors playing musical chairs, and Amazon looming as the new boogeyman, publishing might have to look for its future outside the corporate world.

There is no doubt in my mind that the publishing industry is fractured. Read More…

September 19, 2008
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Update on Network Neutrality – ISPs Rolling Out Caps for Internet Usage

One of the issues that I’ve been following fairly closely, is the concept of network neutrality. What is it? Wikipedia defines it as:

Network neutrality (equivalently net neutrality, Internet neutrality or simply NN) is a principle that is applied to residential broadband networks, and potentially to all networks. A neutral broadband network is one that is free of restrictions on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, on the modes of communication allowed, which does not restrict content, sites or platforms, and where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams. –SOURCE: Wikipedia entry for Network Neutrality

While there have been laws introduced to make network neutrality “official,” to date it’s just been a business concept. Highly contested, many big-names have come out in favor of net neutrality including Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft. Recently, though, many telecom companies are testing the waters a little more fervently these days by putting caps on downloads. For example, Comcast will Cap Data Transfers at 250 GB October 1st and, as this YouTube! vlogger reported: TimeWarner is Experimenting with Capping Internet Usage in Texas. (About 2 minutes in.) Here’s a link to an article about Time Warner metering internet usage in Texas. Additionally, small ISP provider Frontier is toying with a 5 GB download cap.

What does this mean? It means that the concept of network neutrality is alive and well not only in Congress, but in our everyday lives affecting how we access the internet for email, gaming, blogging, banking, etc.

I hope that you will take time to read up on both sides of the issue, and whether you’re for or against it — realize that network neutrality is a topic that isn’t going away any time soon.

Save the Internet – a website that is for legalizing Network Neutrality

Hands Off the Internet – a website that is against legalizing Network Neutrality

September 17, 2008
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How CNN made me Laugh with Bad Headline Placement

Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or Independent, I had a little chuckle at this headline placement on CNN.com. Sure, CNN.com probably didn’t “plan” to have the headlines show up in that particular order, but it just goes to show you why bland, keyword-rich headlines are not only better for SEO — they’re better for readability and can prevent some interesting headline combinations. This CNET article entitled, “Newspapers search for Web headline magic” is a great one, and goes on to say that keyword-rich headlines make it easier for other writers to find the articles already written, to avoid duplicate efforts.

Of course, I’m sure CNN.com didn’t mean to put “Palin Comes out Throwing Punches” “Just Say it, Please” “Go Ahead and Puke” together, but it made me laugh anyway.

CNN Headlines | Funny Headline Placement

September 6, 2008
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Stephenie Meyer’s Internet Leak — Why Cancel the Book?

I first heard about young adult author Stephenie Meyer in Barnes and Noble; admittedly the classy photographed covers drew my attention. Then I noticed the gold seal, describing the upcoming movie “Twilight.” Admittedly, I don’t typically like a lot of romance with my vampires or overinflated female stereotypes but, as a fan of Angel and Buffy: the Vampire Slayer, I can understand the appeal and its nice to see another female author enjoying success.

With a little bit of internet research, I watched as this Mormon-turned-paranormal romance author embraced her online fans, asking them to squelch spoilers before they start. Then read about how sections of the new book, Midnight Sun, were leaked on the internet before the book was published. How did I find out about this? Twitter. Someone had posted a link to Stephenie Meyer’s letter and their fan response.
Read More…

September 5, 2008
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