The New York Times Online goes “all in” effective Tuesday Midnight

Posted on September 17, 2007 by JoeDuck

The New York Times has come to understood that traffic, and therefore increased ad revenues, is a better way to go than paid content and tomorrow they’ll not only stop charging for subscriptions, they are going to put archives online without any paywall.

This is a win win for everybody. NYT has some of the best coverage in the world and it’s going to be easier and cheaper to get at that content soon. That’ll bring millions more to the site, so NYT will also win big in this deal. Their quality content will drive millions of new visitors and tens of millions of new pageviews to the site monthly and increase their advertising revenue by (I’m guessing wildly here) approximately $600,000 per month (this is based on 40,000,000 new page views and the $15 CPM I think NYT can easily command from their huge stable of old and new advertisers) .

People have such a funny, contradictory, and largely misunderstood relationship to advertising. Like it or not, advertising in various forms drives not only much of the content we work with online, view on TV, hear on radio, and read in print. I’d argue that print is the least distorted by the relationship of the media to advertising though I’m not sure why that is. Online varies quite a bit from sites with very pristine content and no ads to those who monetize content with very relevant ads to “made for adsense” sites where the only reason for existence is PPC monetization. TV is probably the most distorted by advertising. Not so much because advertisers can dictate content, but because unprofitable networks or shows will fail, so the evolution of news has been to celebrity gossip and superficial garbage rather than the more important stuff that does not attract our prurient superficial primate interest in sex, drugs, rock and roll, and Britney Spears.

Battelle will be back at Mash!?

Posted on September 16, 2007 by JoeDuck

John Battelle‘s already giving up on Mash and I think that’s too bad. He’ll be back because I think it’ll catch on… unless Yahoo fails to evangelize properly. Umm – wait a minute. Yahoo ! Evangelize!!!!!

Here’s the comment I could not post over at Searchblog because I gave up on the 4th time with the captcha. Searchblog is still a good resource though I think it suffered greatly when John went off to build the Federated Media Empire. Today’s challenge posting was a perfect example of why I’m getting tired of putting in my “valuable” comments at A list websites only to be treated poorly by tech problems, short replies, or no feedback.

Social media / social centric blogging will soon trump the current elitism that is damaging blogging and that’s a good thing. I’m finding the best stuff is coming from peole who are not read enough. That can be fixed though Google’s ranking system is getting in the way of that for sure – but this is for another post.

—— To John at SearchBlog —-

Wow John, I think you’ve given up too soon. Yes it’s too much like Myspace but there are some great features that bring Yahoo’s strength to bear in social networking. Blog and picture integration are good features but the threaded conversations *across different profiles* is a feature I’ve not seen before – it’s a very good way to get people talking, like MyBlogLog does.

For example I’ve given up on SearchMob and even commenting here because as much as I appreciate your wisdom on things this is very one-sided. I give my .02 in thoughtful comments and get back…very little, because most A list folks are far too busy building empires to actively engage with the rifraff bloggers out there. That’s OK, but’s regular blogs don’t reflect the web in all its powerful 2.0 social glory. The holy grail for blog/social media is where we get away from the “A list” and towards socializing that is spawned from the belly of the internet beast itself – ie where socializing springs from natural relationships of people and sites. Facebook and now Mash are facilitating that change, and it’s a great one.

Yahoo Mash is cool

Posted on September 16, 2007 by JoeDuck

I’m enjoying Yahoo Mash so far. email me if you need an invitation as it is still in beta: jhunkins@gmail.com

Here are some observations for what they are worth:

* Lots of search and SEO folks in the beta so far. This will probably make early feedback very different,and a lot more sophisticated than what it would be with a normal online sample.

* Business features lacking. I agree with others who are noting this is a bit “too much” like MySpace which is inferior to Facebook and LinkedIn. You can do a hybrid of all these here, so bring in more biz networking features ASAP and it’ll get early adopters and influencers on board fast.

* More blog integration /mybloglog stuff would be nice. I’d like to use Mash as a way for people to talk about blog posts at my blog and others. I can’t get the RSS feed to work in my Mash profile so far ( joeduck.wordpress.com/atom/ )

Mash has a GREAT idea with the comments crossing across all profiles and the convo feature which allows people to carry on a conversation across their profiles. I think this is a really neat breakthrough in interactivity though I’m still processing this feature, which I have not seen elsewhere.

Yahoo’s MyBlogLog, combined with Mash, could actually be the killer application (though I assume MySpace and Facebook would soon copy it but that’s fine) . For most onliners like me there is a huge problem with the amount of time spent navigating and participating in social networking plus blogging, not to mention “real” work on websites and such. Needed badly are ways to seamlessly travel online, carrying your profile and important ID elements, blog posts, and more around with you. IMHO MyBlogLog has come the closest to this holy grail so far because it allows people to do their own thing AND interact with others who are doing their own thing.

Yahoo gets this in a big way which is why they bought MBL and have created certain features in Mash. Good going so far Yahoo!

Disclaimer: I’m a Yahoo stockholder, so I’m rootin’ for them but remain pretty darn objective otherwise.

Mediterranean and Asian Recipes

Posted on September 15, 2007 by JoeDuck

I just found this *great* website devoted to the type of diets that are now considered best for optimal health. Like most of my fellow Americans I’m a high fat lovin’ meat and potatoes, burger and fries and please pass the extra large coca cola kind of guy. But that better change since I really don’t want to have a heart attack until *after* the singularity when Ray Kurzweil assures me I’ll be good to go on without a heart.

So, check out this great recipe site, cook up some garlic coated mushrooms and join me in a red wine toast to better living and eating: Mediterrasian.com

Dr. Weil on Eating Well. The Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load

Posted on September 15, 2007 by JoeDuck

Dr Weil is on PBS talking about food. I’m pseudo-live blogging the talk in a haphazard sort of way. Andrew Weil is a leading proponent of combining “mainstream” science with natural foods and lifestyle changes to improve health and well-being.

He’s explaining why a puffy rice cake will raise your blood sugar *much faster* than table sugar, and noting that eating “high glycemic load” carbs like rice cakes regularly can lead to obesity and other health challenges like high blood pressure.

Generally, he says we should be looking to eat low glycemic loads stuff like beans, winter squashes, sweet potatoes.

Cooking oil? Like Kurzweil, Weil recommends “extra virgin Olive Oil” and says to stay away from my personal favorite, sesame oil among others.

Eat: Oily fish to get Omega 3 Fatty Acides. Also in walnuts, hemp!! seeds, flax seeds, sea vegetables.

Fat: Avoid it even though the ‘mouth feel’ is pleasureable. Nuts, avocadoes, olive oil are OK fats – these are monosaturated. Optimal levels of fat are far below the current average consumption of fat.

Protein: The need for this is exaggerated in our culture where protein deficiency is almost non-existent. Animal proteins are not as good due to density, saturated fats, and toxins.

Try to get your proteins from plant produce

Main source of vitamins? Fruits and vegetables! Eat a great variety. Eat fresh. Lots of fiber. Eat a LOT more fiber than you have been!

Phytonutrients are good!

Green Tea, White Tea, Dark Chocolate, Red Wine have health benefits.

Beware food marketing that encourages eating the nutrient rather than the vegetable that has the nutrient. e.g. broccoli and tomatoes.

Talent Oregon Real Estate

Posted on September 15, 2007 by JoeDuck

Wow, Talent is for sale these days as hundreds of houses go onto the market at prices that appear to be coming down, down and I predict down more now that the winter doldrums are approaching. Under normal real estate circumstances people would be pulling houses off the market now, but the sub prime mortgage fiascos have put a lot of folks in the terrible position of “having” to sell their house or lose it. I’m not clear when we’ll hit the bottom but I think this winter will be a great time to buy and a bad one to sell.

I’ve got two friends now working the Talent Oregon Real Estate market. Dave doesn’t have a site up yet but Jack’s Talent Oregon Real Estate website is a good resource for some local information and houses. Jack also covers Ashland Oregon, Jacksonville Oregon, and Medford Oregon Real Estate. However best to email or call him directly for the latest information since the market is changing rapidly around here.

Hotel Booking Tip – day and date matter!

Posted on September 14, 2007 by JoeDuck

Today’s travel tip is about booking hotel rooms, especially in big cities, especially Las Vegas Nevada. DAY and DATE MATTERS! The chart below is for rooms at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino. This moderately priced, off the Las Vegas strip Hotel gained notoriety today as the location of O.J. Simpson’s armed nabbery of some OJ Memoribilia getting sold by some guy at a room at the Palace Station.

But the key travel point is that if you have *any* flexibility in your travel plans you can save a bundle on the *very same* hotel room. In this example staying weekends at the Palace Station can cost you two or ever *three times* as much as staying mid-week at the very modest $39. New Year’s Eve in the same room is going to run you $189! I stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton two years ago at about $55 per night but then moved to a Fremont Street place for my final night, saving over $100 dollars over the Hilton’s weekend rate and getting to see the nittier and grittier side of Downtown Las Vegas.

Differences like this are greater in Las Vegas than in most places, but the midweek and flexibility rules often apply even in rural America. How to make sure you get the best rate? There’s no golden rule, but generally the best approach is to surf early and surf often and ask a lot of questions of the property itself. In the case of places like the Palace Station this could save you hundreds of dollars.

1 $99
2 $69	3 $69	4 $69	5 $69	6 $69	7 $99	8 $99
9 $49	10 $49	11 $49	12 $49	13 $49	14 $69	15 $69
16 $39	17 $39	18 $39	19 $39	20 $39	21 $69	22 $69
23 $69	24 $69	25 $69	26 $69	27 $69	28 $99	29 $149
30 $169	31 $189

Hawaii Superferry

Posted on September 13, 2007 by JoeDuck

Wow, the Hawaii Superferry is quite an amazing ship. It’s a massive catamaran style vessel that will Ferry people, cars, and trucks between the Islands of Oahu, Maui, and Kauai (I think that’s the initial route though there are some big environmental protests going on and court actions. Service is partially suspended pending environmental review).

National Geographic has a special about the building and testing of the ship, which attains a top speed of over 40 nautical miles per hour for the four hour trip from Hawaii to (Maui?).

Superferry Website for more information

Superferry at Wikipedia