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May 31, 2006
Paulson Gets the Buzz, Iraq Gets the Attention
Newly nominated Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson captures the lion's share of personality buzz in the blogosphere today, burstiest person and all, and a single blog post and its follow-on comment capture fairly well the yes-no feelings about the appointment.
The real focus: Iraq and the War
But talk all you want about the state of the economy, what bloggers are really discussing today is Iraq, from various angles and platforms. So much so that more than 25% of today's most-cited news stories deal, in some form or another, with the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the war on terror. Among them, are news of more bombings in Iraq (No. 2), new investigations of alleged killings of Iraqi citizens by U.S. Marines (No. 4), including the critical fallout (No. 5), the ongoing news coverage (No. 29), and military followup (No. 36). That's in addition to ongoing casualty reports (No. 37), renewed problems in Afghanistan (No. 34) and even more dire predictions from some observers (No. 38) about what's ahead for Iraq. Dare anyone say, "Hope you had a happy Memorial Day?"
Curious (and bad?) discoveries
The link for Al Gore's documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth" ranked higher today (No. 12) than Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code," (No. 13)...and perhapswarnings about itchier poison ivy in this global-warming world may have something to do with it? And if you ever wanted to know what the 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time are/were, PC World has done it for you.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:08 PM | Permalink
May 30, 2006
2.0 Evolutions: Press Releases and the Web
Blogs have changed the way news is written and delivered, and the evidence is clear among today's blog discoveries. First, today's No. 29 top blog post comes from PR expert Todd Defren in San Francisco, who debuts the "Social Media Press Release," which is more than a written release sent out over news wires. In the emerging PR world, he says, press releases will contain tons of info: the news and headlines, RSS feeds, MP3 files for podcasts, video links, embedded graphics and photos, tags and other syndicated feeds, and contact information that includes name, email, Skye and phone numbers, instant message IDs, blogs and relevant blog posts. Blogger Neville hobson endorses the format...but asks the big question: Is the media ready for it?
Kevin Dugan joins the discussion, noting that Defren is likely to get praise and criticism.
Who owns 2.0?
Another curious discussion takes places today about the term "Web 2.0," often used to describe the evolution of the Internet from its rudimentary early stages into, well, whatever it's becoming. The folks at O'Reilly/CMP claim they own it, a claim that draws plenty of comments. Does it need a name at all, asks Ben Ramsey? Discuss.
New news anchors
Now that the three traditional news networks have firmed up their plans for evening new anchors, who's getting the buzz? Time will tell in the long run, but in the hypothetical short run, it's all about Katie:
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 09:46 AM | Permalink
May 26, 2006
Thank You, Television Neighbor
Just found this among today's most-cited BlogPulse links (No. 6), and it brought back wonderful memories of one of my most favorite people - the late Fred Rogers, of PBS' "Mr. Rogers Neighborhood." In my previous career as a newspaper reporter, I interviewed Fred Rogers at a spina bifida convention and he was one of the most sincere human beings I've ever met. So if you have time, check out this YouTube video of his 1969 testimony before Congress, asking for increased funding for public television. Thanks, Fred. The world could use more guys like you today.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:12 PM | Permalink
"Yay Taylor" Is Just one of Today's Blogosphere Surprises
Sometimes, you just gotta love technology. Like today, when BlogPulse's list of the most-discussed personalities in the blogosphere includes the name of "Yay Taylor," who isn't a person at all but rather a very common utterance among bloggers who typed a congratulatory "Yay, Taylor!" (or "yay! Taylor won...") on their blogs after singer Taylor Hicks (today's most-blogged personality) was crowned winner of "American Idol" Wednesday night. Yay, Taylor, indeed.
Hangin' with Harry
Harry Potter fans are in attendance today as well, as actress Helen McCrory appears as the day's burstiest person now that she's being replaced in the Potter movies (because of pregnancy) by Helena Bonham Carter. Carter will now play the role of Bellatrix Lestrange in the upcoming "Order of the Phoenix" flick. Teen frenzy ensues.
A piece of their minds
Offering opinions freely in the blogosphere is CNN's Lou Dobbs, whose editorial about working folks is today's fourth most-cited news story (and causes LiveJournaler punkiejeannien to have a Stephen Stills flashback). Internet inventor Timothy Berners-Lee, speaking at an Ediburgh conference on the Weblogging Ecosystem (where key member sof the BlogPulse team are organizers/presenters), also speaks up to warn against a "dark Web" of tiered access. Discuss.
Happy Memorial Day!
BlogPulse will continue to spit out data over the holiday weekend, and the Newswire blog will return next Tuesday. In the meantime, enjoy the holiday and whatever it brings...
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:23 AM | Permalink
May 25, 2006
Fame: Fleeting, Fanned or Fan-Driven?
Two names rise to the top of the blogosphere for what will either be long-lasting fandom or the kind of short-lived publicity that no one wants.
First is last night's "American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks, who zoomed into the No. 3 spot among most-discussed personalities today. I didn't watch and frankly don't care, but millions of fans obviously did and do. Like others before him, he'll no doubt become a household name.
Speaking of making names...
Also making a name - albeit not the best impression - is book agent Barbara Bauer, who launched a counter offensive when she was named to a list of the nation's top 20 worst book agents . She veritably assured that the negative designation, despite her efforts to squelch it, would live even longer in the annals of blogosphere archives, thanks to repetitive keywords like those embedded in Soi Dog's blog.
How 'bout that World Cup?
If you're not sure soccer is a worldwide phenomenon, think again. This BlogPulse trend graph tracks building "buzz" about the 2006 World Cup soccer championships which begin next month in Germany.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:19 PM | Permalink
May 24, 2006
Listen to Your Shoes, and Watch the Internet Tonight
Mark Twain said death and taxes were two of life's certainties, but so too, apparently is the march of technology, whether we want it to or not. Hence, today's No. 1-2 most-used phrases in blog discussions bring home the point: Google's AdWords program is now incorporating video, and the blogger at European Underachiever Tails has a demo and some questions about the program's impact. Will people click on more ads...or click away more?
When behemoths marry
The other venture of note is iPod and Nike teaming up for the high-tech equivalent of musical shoes that keep track of your workout. Apple's Web site, with complete details as always, is today's No. 4 most-cited link, and Nike's web-site video is No. 7. Not surpsiringly, the resulting discussion is already heavily international in tone. And in a weird position of juxtaposition is today's no. 9 most-cited link from iDont...a campaign to un-do the herd mentality around iPod and its products. Good luck with that.
A BlogPulse trend graph tracks blog "buzz" about the lone iPod against all other MP3 references....
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:21 AM | Permalink
May 23, 2006
Consternation and Cultural Dust-Ups
There's consternation in the blogosophere today, with everyone wondering what those two Saudi guys were doing getting on a high school bus in Florida (the subject of today's No. 2 top blog post) and WiredNews printing documents it's not supposed to about NSA wiretaps (subject of today's most-cited link). Both items, of course, get at the question of how prepared the U.S. for what some are convinced could be the next terrorist attack...and others are conviced is another reason for government intrusion into private lives.
Privacy, indeed
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Jim Nicholson, is today's third burstiest person for the simple fact that one of his employees took home some files with personally identifiable information on millionos of U.s. military vets...and the file was stolen from his house by burglars. "Thanks for serving" in this instance just seems pretty hollow.
Read it here
Speaking of Saudi Arabia, a Washington Post piece about Saudi textbooks whose religiously intolerant tone has supposedly been softened, is the subject of today's most-shared news story. Says Restless Mania in a sort of understated way, "we need some new friends."
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:16 AM | Permalink
May 22, 2006
Of Mayors and Movie Stars
It took the weekend election of incumbent New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (today's burstiest blog personality) and the opening of "The Da Vinci Code" movie (today's sixth most-blogged phrase) to push President George Bush into fourth place today among the blogosphere's most blogged-about people. "Da Vinci" star Tom Hanks and author Dan Brown share the No. 1-3 spots with staying-power Harry Potter. And what do fans think of the movie? "Better than I thought it would be" (but not as good as "Over the Hedge"), writes a LiveJournaler, while an M&M blogger liked the movie better than Hanks' mullet.
Buzz about the movie continued to build over the weekend to nearly 1.3% of all blog buzz, and is only now beginnng to drop off.
Visual blogging
How popular is a 24-hour Apple Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City? Popular enough that its grand opening this weekend, captured on the Apple web site, makes up today's eighth most-cited link with timed video of the loooooooong line. Really? A Louvre in Manhattan? Another time-lapsed video of late in the blogosphere is this animated map of FedEx planes arriving in Memphis in anticipation of a storm. (Click the "play" arrow; glad I wasn't a package in one of those).
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:13 PM | Permalink
May 19, 2006
"Da Vinci Code" Buzz...A Mix of Anticipation, Lukewarm Reviews
The film version of “The Da Vinci Code,” based on author Dan Brown’s best-selling novel, is creating an impressive level of online “buzz” among bloggers in anticipation of its release today.
“The Da Vinci Code” has enjoyed a six-fold increase in blog citations in the last three weeks, fueled by calls for boycotts by religious officials concerned about the film’s core message, fan anticipation for the Ron Howard production, and recent lukewarm reviews emanating from the Cannes Film Festival and movie critics.
Beginning in early April, in fact, “The Da Vinci Code” shared about equal amounts of online buzz with the Catholic Church, or about .12% of all blog discussions, according to BlogPulse.com, a search engine and analysis portal that tracks issues, themes, trends and news from an index of 28 million blogs. By today, nearly .6% of all blog posts mention “The Da Vinci Code.”
Buzz began to build in early April when the Vatican and other Christian organizations protested the movie’s central, fictional premise: that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and produced an heir whose identity has been protected for generations by a secret religious society. The controversial nature of the film has been discussed by bloggers in the U.S., Canada, China, India, Italy, France, Germany and other countries.
Since the movie’s debut this week at the Cannes Film Festival, blog buzz for “Da Vinci Code” also has been influenced by early negative or so-so reviews of the film, including feedback from Truth Dig (“most critics hate it”), the China Herald and the film review site Rotten Tomatoes, which describes it as “stagnant”’ and “more like a walk through a museum than a thriller.”
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:05 AM | Permalink
May 18, 2006
What's Old is New, What's New is Old, and Pregnancy is Forever?
The time-space contiuum is all over the place in the blogosphere today, with a new interface for the photo-sharing site Flickr capturing attention as today's top blog post, followed by Google's latest new tool, Google Notebook (No.8). What's old, at least to some hard-core conservative bloggers, is President George Bush's "same old, same old" message on immigration reform.
Nine Months...Ad Nauseum (and no pun intended)
But what's risen to the top of today's most-trafficked news stories, amidst tales of NSA spying and Mexican fences, is a Washington Post piece "Forever Pregnant," on a new initiative to encourage women to be always at the ready to be pregnantly healthy. The Suburban Guerilla describes it as the "Department of Pre-Pregnancy," while Pacific Views can't help but notice that the health of potential fathers isn't even whispered. No need to ask for discussion: it already exists.
More New Stuff
Also popping today: the trailer for Oliver Stone's pending "World Trade Center" movie (No. 9 top link), announcement of free Skype phone calls (No. 6) and attacks on Al Gore before he's even taken his global warming message all that far.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:48 PM | Permalink
May 16, 2006
Getting at the Issue of Blog Authority
Here at the iSyndicate Conference in New York, one of the issues raised in opening-day sessions revolved around the issue of bloggers: who are they, how can blog readers figure out who's who, and how can advertisers figure out where to put their ad dollars in the blogosphere?
And one of the features that audience members want already exists, to some extent, in BlogPulse's Conversation Tracker...a way to determine who started a conversation, who chimed in and when, and whose influence or ideas turned a single blog post into a wave, or a phenomenon, or a network.
For example, the several-weeks-old transcript of comedian Stephen Colbert's address at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, available at Daily Kos, is still one of the most popular blog posts this week. (No. 33). And here's a thread that shows the conversation that has emanated from that single post. If you want to know how conversations start...and where they end up...and who joins in...give Conversation Tracker a try.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:04 AM | Permalink
May 15, 2006
What Doesn't Scare You Should Make You Laugh
If Reader's Digest is right and laughter is the best medicine, at least some of today's most popular blog discoveries are taking time to poke fun at some pretty scary news.
The scariest seems to be the ongoing brou-ha-ha over the National Security Agency (NSA) domestic wiretapping program, the subject of at least six of today's top 10 blog posts and six of today's 10 most-cited news stories. Security expert and blogger Bruce Schneier manages to coax phone-company jokes out of his fellow bloggers to add some lightness to the conversation about the legality of the government asking phone companies for records of all phone logs. Such as..."I got a call from the NSA yesterday just to let me know that I could save money by switching to Sprint for long distance..." Pa-dum-pum.
Funny guy Al?
And look who's back in the spotlight? Former Vice President Al Gore's appearance on Saturday Night Live pushed him to No. 4 among most-blogged personalities, and a video of his opening speech (delivered as if he'd been elected in 2000) is captured in today's top phrase and fifth-most-cited link. Reviews range from "I heart Al Gore" to to "too scary."
Blogging vs. MSM
Blogger and entrepreneur Mark Cuban gets some discussion going about the different between mainstream media and blogging.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:06 PM | Permalink
May 12, 2006
A Day for Amazing Things
Talk about seismic shifts? A few seem to be taking place today in the blogosphere. To wit:
PowerLiners' advice for Bush
Blogger John Hinderaker of the right-leaning PowerLine blog has strong (free) words for President George Bush about immigration, today's No. 5 most-cited blog post. Which suggest that the president's low poll numbers aren't because of bipartisan frustration with his performance but that some Republicans think he isn't acting Republican enough. There's a difference. Gateway Pundit is just one of many who picks up the free advice theme, and Mahablog offers some different insights about what's happening to the red-state frame of mind. "My jaw will drop if this comes true," the assessment of Hinderaker's advice from Scylla & Charybdis, is echoed by Michelle Malkin's "when pigs fly" metaphor. Which might apply to this news, too.
Congressional minimum wage?
Another item that's catching traction in the blogosphere (but fairly absent from mainstream media sources) is Sen. Hillary Clinton's recently introduced bill that would tie the nation's minimum wage to Congressional pay raises. Did Hillary just do something awesome? asks Daily Kos in today's No. 8 most-cited blog post. It's a short bill, and reaction so far ranges from "brilliant" to "jujitsu."
Cultural notoriety
Today's list of most-blogged personalities contains a strange combination...burstiest of which is USA Today reporter Leslie Cauley, whose Thursday article about the NSA's huge database of personal/business phone calls is causing consternation on Capitol Hill (and today's No. 35 most-cited news story). Then there's Chris Daughtry, whose boot off of "American Idol" this week ranks him second in blog buzz only to President Bush.
Have a laugh on Mother's Day
This YouTube video (one of today's most-cited links) provides a hilarious behind-the-scenes look at snapping the perfect photo for Mom on Mother's Day. A BlogPulse trend graph agrees.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:20 PM | Permalink
May 11, 2006
Something About Flattery....
Here at BlogPulse, we can' t help but notice that today's most-cited link discusses the still-in-testing Google Trends feature that was announced yesterday by Google. Of course BlogPulse Trend Graphs have been available for quite some time now....and you can build your own any time you want.
News for Newark
And just because folks around the country are paying attention, the troubled city of Newark NJ has a new mayor, today's 3rd-burstiest person, Ivy-Leaguer Cory Booker. What's amazing is not so much the news of Booker's election, but the numbers of comments from bloggers on posts that announce his win, such as those at Oliver Willis' Like Kryptonite to Stupidblog or the Huffington Post or Sepia Mutiny. Could a BlogPulse Trend Graph have predicted it?.....
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:49 PM | Permalink
May 10, 2006
Today, It's All About Gadgets, New and Old
Gadgets, they're everywhere...beeping, ringing, buzzing, vibrating, working behind the scenes in computers and cell phones and handheld everythings. And as today's No. 5 top blog post from Fosfor Gadgets points out, lots of them used to be a lot BIGGER than they are now. "Makes you feel like you're living the future already to compare them," says the Age of Aquariums LiveJournaler, to which I can only respond (having lived through all of them!), you're right. It IS the future. Appreciate it now, because it used to be a lot heavier AND slower. And baking a potato in the pre-microwave-everywhere 1970s used to take an hour. Honest.
E3 Gadgets
Gadgets are also generating buzz at the E3 show, as evidenced by today's key phrases, which include references to the new Sony PlayStation 3controller, new video games being introduced. The E3 event also has its share of live bloggers, including minute-by-minute updates from Engadget and Joystiq. Gamespot has more info about the PS3 and Microsoft has more info about XBox 360. Which of the three leading game platforms - Nintendo, Microsoft Xbox or Sony PlayStation - leads in buzz?
Miscellany
Meanwhile, today's top links and blog posts feature news from Appleinsider of possible delays for new Macbook notebooks, sneak peaks of Windows live (it's in beta), and TechCrunch news of AOL's AIM Pages, billed as the MySpace.com competitor.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 01:16 PM | Permalink
May 09, 2006
Does a Lawsuit Breed...Popularity?
When a New York ad agency sued a lone Maine blogger last week, everyone said it was a bad idea because it just gave the lone Maine blogger free PR. Which it did.
Apparently, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church didn't read BlogPulse, because continued threats to sue or boycott Dan Brown, author of the "The Da Vinci Code" novel, seem to be giving the upcoming flick (you guessed it) free PR. As if a movie based on a best-selling novel and starring Tom Hanks needed free PR. The lawlsuit/boycott talk is captured in today's No. 9 most-cited news story, with bloggers describing it as the "free speech" smackdown and the "Jesus copyright" issue. Andrew Sullivan notes that the movie is already selling out in some countries...in advance of its May 19 release.
Buzz is buildling
And what does a BlogPulse trend graph show when plotting the author of fiction against the Catholic Church....hmmmm:
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:39 AM | Permalink
May 08, 2006
Chronologically Speaking, Are We Going Backward...or Forward?
It's hard to tell we are today in the time-warp continuum, with today's No. 31 most-cited news story a tale of the Russians warning of a new Cold War (which is regressive, is it not?) while President George Bush is fast-forwarding us to WWIII already (today's most-cited news story). A LiveJournaler hearkens to the words of Marshal McLuhan as part of a big-picture assessment, while tmesis blogger falls back on the "it just got worse" reaction.
Please pay attention
So while the blogosphere takes an international view of the state of international affairs, let's turn to the Scotsman.com, which provides fodder for today's most-cited blog post: a pronouncement by the Vatican's official astronomer that the theory of creationism has pagan roots and is another good reason why science and religion don't always mesh well in popular culture. "I can't believe I just read this," writes one fairly astounded blogger. The Flypaper Theory blogger's equally floored.
And news from Down Under
Australian news doesn't hit the mainstream much, which is why the blogosphere's impact is so interesting sometimes. To wit: today's Nos. 1-2 burstiest people are both Australians the rest of the world probably never would have heard about without blogger reminders and memorials. Grant McLennan, co-leader of a band called the Go-Betweens (today's No. 25 top link), died over the weekend and is being memorialized by Aussies who loved him and his music. At No. 2 among bursty people is Australian journalist Richard Carleton, who died while covering the rescue of two miners trapped underground since April 25. Even viewers who weren't particularly endeared to his personality are mourning the loss.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 03:19 PM | Permalink
May 05, 2006
Are Powers-That-Be (Whoever They Be) Trying to Kill the Internet?
If you pay attention, you get the idea that powerful forces out there are trying to undermine the Internet as most everyone who knows and loves it has come to, well, know and love it.
Among today's evidence:
• Content control? The No. 29 top link from BoingBoing is a piece about a United Nations movement to undo content-sharing by extending copyright protections to the Web. The blogger at Generalized Nonsense sums up many bloggers'/Internet user's feelings: any attempt to regulate Internet content "will harm innovation and free speech on the Internet." It's an issue generating international concern as well, because such a move would affect everything from podcasting to YouTube to Google images and videos. And it might mean that watching my all-time favorite Sesame Street bit (the Martians!) wouldn't be possible over the Internet. (For whatever reason, it's today's 36th most-cited link).
• Net Neutrality And at Nos. 26 and 27 among today's most-cited news stories comes word that Democrat Ed Markey of Massachusetts has introduced the Network Neutrality Act, a bill intended to protect the Internet's open nature and prevent large communications companies from creating a two-tier Internet system - higher-priced broadband width for those who pay and less-functional access for everyone else. Tim Wu's analysis at Slate intones "the future of the Internet depends on it!" A BlogPulse search for the keywords "net neutrality" produces 4,100 results, meaning someone's paying attention. The issue has also produced a Save the Internet movement. Even Tim Berners Lee, one of the inventors of the Internet, is chiming in in support of Net Neutrality. And a BlogPulse trend graph shows interest on the rise:
Passings...or the power of one-liners?
"Luuuu-cy....you've got some 'splainin' to do!" Why does the late Desi Arnaz show up at No. 25 among today's burstiest people when he died in 1986? Here's why...a testament to the Internet power of one-liners. During Stephen Colbert's highly-blogged speech at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner last Saturday, he made a one-line reference to former Ambassador Joseph Wilson as the most famous U.S. husband since Desi Arnaz (context: Wilson is married to outed CIA operative Valerie Plame; Arnaz was the hubby of comedienne Lucille Ball).
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 12:26 PM | Permalink
May 04, 2006
How to Duke it Out in the Blogosphere..and How NOT To
Two issues today provide great examples of how to duke it out in the blogosphere...and how to avoid the kind of duking that has the potential to backfire.
First is today's most-cited blog post from Juan Cole at Informed Comment, one of the blogosphere's most popular blogs (ranked No. 54 among BlogPulse profiles). The University of Michigan history professor consistently provides reasoned, contextual commentary on politics, current events, foreign policy and other issues. and yes, he's liberal. But he has a beef, because information that he posted in a private email discussion group has been made public by a conservative critic of his, so he does what people who have beefs with blog behavior do: he writes about it, exposes the critic, gives his side of the story and lets the readers decide. Rather eloquently, in fact.
Winds of Change calls the exchange "mouth-frothingly good." The blogger at Pacific Views takes a longer view the kind of slams that take place in the blogosphere, and does does Crooks and Liars. The result: open discussion on all sides of the issue.
Then there's this tactic...
The opposite side of the coin is provided by today's 16th-most-cited URL from Advertising Age magazine, the story of a New York ad agency that's suing a Maine blogger over his opinions, with which the agency doesn't agree. The agency is a contractor for Maine's tourism office; the blogger thinks the taxpayer money paid to the agency was ill-spent and he said so.
The blogger in question, Lance Dutson of the MaineWebReport, is already blogging about the various media outlets that have mentioned the big fish vs. little fish lawsuit.
Which is exactly why NOT to sue bloggers, points out Randy Charles Morin....because every Internet search for the New York ad agency for the coming months will turn up hits (already there) on the poor guy in Maine who got sued by the big overbearing Madison Avenue agency. Adds blogger KDPaine: "By suing the blogger, the New York ad agency guaranteed that the war would escalate out of the blogosphere and into the MSM (mainstream media)." And it has. Can anyone say, we could have told you so?
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:06 AM | Permalink
May Celebrations Offer Insight
The nation's embroiled in a discussion about immigration policy and the growing Latino/Hispanic influence on the U.S.
A simple BlogPulse trend chart takes a look at blog "buzz" about two May-day celebrations: Mexico-inspired Cinco De Mayo and this Saturday's tradition-bound 132nd running of the Kentucky Derby.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 10:23 AM | Permalink
May 02, 2006
Neil Young Goes Directly to Market Online with "Living With War"
Most music fans were surprised enough when they heard that rocker Neil Young had followed his 2005 "Prairie Wind" album just seven months later with an anti-war album titled "Living with War."
Never one to categorize himself as conventional, Young also has managed to launch a fairly active online campaign to spread the Young love and the anti-war fervor that envelopes the album, which was produced and recorded garage-band style in an unusually short three-week span.
Over the weekend, a Living with War blog featured on the album's web site ranked No. 12 among the day's most-cited blogs. And one of the top posts included a link to an affiliate Web site where users can link to the entire album and play it free on their Web sites. The blog also includes a link to Neil's MySpace site, his official Web site and plenty of other resources (concert schedules, tickets, interviews, media mentions, a Showbiz Tonight video on YouTube, etc.)
Easy...and free
It's obvious someone in the Young camp "gets it" when it comes to promoting music in the new-media economy. No longer content to wait for music companies to handle promotions, the artists are taking a hunk of the responsibility themselves and making it available in multiple formats...on disc, online, and in multi-media commentarys.
The payoff: favorable reviews from listeners. Says one blogger about the ability to listen to the album for free online: "Cool." The blogger at MachineGunKeyboard is equally impressed with the free availiability of the music. Another seems somewhat shocked that Young has a blog. Even young music lovers are paying attention to the old rocker's music and message. Adds the Buttermilk and Molasses blogger: "It rocks. It really does."
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 11:04 AM | Permalink
May 01, 2006
Attack of the Comedians and Hackers
It's not often that someone nudges into the No. 1-2 spots of the most-blogged-about personalities...spots usually reserved for President George Bush and the fictitious teenthrob Harry Potter. But comedian Steven Colbert has done it in a big way today, capturing No. 2 spot among BlogPulse's key people list for his "truthiness-inspired" speech at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night.
In fact, 18 of today's top 40 most-cited URLs/links embedded in blog entries refer directly to either footage of his roasting peformance or transcripts and news coverage of his biting commentary in front of the big whigs he lampoons nightly on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report." Including the Prez himself, who apparently was not amused. Some of the one-liners from Colbert's talk make up four of the top five most-used phrases by bloggers.
When hackers attack
Elsewhere, some of the nation's right-leaning bloggers are recovering from a weekend denial-of-service attack that they claim was launched from computers somewhere in Saudi Arabia. The blogger at Urban Grounds has some pithy commentary on what's being called Internet Jihad.
Really?
Other curious discoveries in the blogosphere today...Daily Kos is hinting at a lobbyist-inspired sex ring in D.C.? MSNBC has some emerging scuttlebutt on the same issue. The Boston Globe's piece about hundreds of law that President Bush has tried to ignore/skirt is among the day's most-shared links, and Rush Limbaugh's guilty plea in a drug possession case in order to avoid prison is among today's top news stories.
Passings
Economics John Kenneth Galbraith, who died over the weekend at age 97, is today's burstiest person and is being remembered worldwide for his contributions to the study and knowledge of economics.
Posted by Sue MacDonald at 09:28 AM | Permalink
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