So why *did* Google buy a TV slot?

Two days later and people are still wondering why exactly Google chose to advertise on television for the first time during the SuperBowl. But while the commercial probably won’t have introduced Google to anyone for the first time, there are still some valid reasons to have made the move:

It got people talking. Most of the media coverage has not been about the content of Google’s ad, but merely about the fact that it placed an advert. Whether that coverage was worth the money is questionable, but for a firm with Google’s approach to marketing, one Super Bowl slot may be the most efficient commercial when it comes to coverage vs expenditure.

It made the point. With so many people watching, Super Bowl commercials have become as much about showing off the creativity of advertising departments as they are about getting a message across. Amid this barrage of attention-grabbing mini-sagas, Google’s ad simply explained what the search engine does and showed how well it works. That’s entirely appropriate given that an understated, simplistic but highly effective performance is the very basis of Google’s brand image.

It might have annoyed Microsoft. This is a point made by Derek Thompson of The Atlantic, who notes that the Google slot will have cost an estimated $3 million, compared with the $100 million spent marketing Bing. While it may be a short-lived effect, Google is the search engine getting all the attention right now.

Appeal to advertisers. Crazy as it may be for Geeks Are Sexy regulars to try to imagine, some businesses still view online advertising with suspicion, seeing it as something of a niche market. No matter how big Google already is, a Super Bowl slot reminds people that it’s a major mainstream player.

Brand reinforcement. Many commercials serve simply to remind people who the market leader is rather than inform them about the company’s products. After all, there can’t be a person in America who’s never heard of McDonalds, yet the firm still runs commercials, not all of which relate to specific new products or deals.

All that said, it’s still possible to play Monday morning quarterback (OK, Tuesday morning…) For all the benefits I’ve noted, there’s a very strong argument that the slot would have been better spent advertising either Android phones in general or the Nexus One in particular. With sales averaging an estimated 20,000 a week, the tactic of keeping both marketing and sales of the Nexus One online only looks to have failed. While an internet-only strategy may have been worth experimenting with, it would also have been interesting to see how much difference would have been made by explaining what a “Google phone” is (and why people need one) to the biggest audience in US television history.


Verizon Wireless blocking is un4chanate for board users

Controversial message board site 4chan claims it has been blocked by Verizon Wireless. It’s the second time it has made such a claim against a major internet provider, following on from similar accusations against AT&T last summer.

If you’ve never come across 4chan, it’s technically a collection of image-sharing boards, though one such board (known as “/b/”) has played host to a variety of notorious online pranks including the following:

  • Declaring an international Porn Day and attempting to overwhelm YouTube with uploads of adult material quicker than the site could filter them out.
  • Rigging TIME’s online poll for man of the year to not only get 4chan founder Christopher ‘moot’ Poole to number one, but fixing the top 22 vote getters so that the first letter of each spelt out “marblecake also the game”, which refers to the IRC channel used to organize protests against Scientology and the philosophically questionable challenge by which anyone thinking of “the game” is judged to have lost said game.
  • Being either the original source or the popularizing force behind both the LOLcats and Rick-rolling memes.
  • Being the site where a man claiming to have been the person responsible for hacking into Sarah Palin’s e-mail account shared his tactics.

The site has posted a message this morning on its status blog saying ” Over the past 72 hours, we’ve been receiving reports from Verizon Wireless customers having difficulty accessing the image boards. After investigating, we found that Verizon is dropping traffic to/from boards.4chan.org, only on port 80 (HTTP). No other subdomain/IP/port is affected, which leads us to believe this block is intentional.” It’s since updated to say “After an hour and a half on the phone, we’ve received confirmation from Verizon’s Network Repair Bureau (NRB) that we are “explicitly blocked.”

Verizon has yet to comment publicly on the issue itself but says it has received a large number of complaints from customers about the blocking.

Last July AT&T blocked the site briefly, with the apparent explanation being that it was being used for attempts to disrupt traffic to other sites. 4chan users began discussing possible online action against AT&T but access was restored before this was carried out.

As with the AT&T case, it’s the reasoning behind Verizon’s actions which will be most significant. If there are valid technical reasons, most people will support the move as long as the situation is resolved quickly. If, however, the blocking is because of content reasons, the issue of net neutrality as a legal principle will again come up.

The Geek Guide to Valentine’s Day Gifts 2010

Love is in the air! Or at least, hearts and flowers and overpriced candy and marketing that plays on your feelings of romantic obligation. But whether you think Valentine’s Day is a good idea or not, if you have a significant other you’re probably celebrating anyway. So if that significant other happens to be a geek (particularly a female geek who might find roses terribly uncreative), we’re here to help out with some last minute gift ideas. Check out our guide from last year for more!

Speck Case
It’s not what you look like, it’s what’s on the inside that counts – but even if your laptop is rocking some awesome innards, it doesn’t hurt to give it a little style. I have a Speck shell on my MacBook Pro, and it’s not only pretty, but it’s super durable. They’re running a special for Valentine’s Day – 25% off everything red, pink, and purple. And though they’re best known for their shells for Apple products, they have them available for PC laptops and a number of other gadgets as well, including Blackberries.

Tactical Corset
Here’s quite the gift for a geek girl, particularly one of the cosplay variety. This company just opened in December, and their mission is to take one of the most sophisticated garments every devised and make it… well, tactical. These corsets meet military specifications, and have quick-release buckles and modular accessory pouches. So whether you need survival gear, ammo, or whips and handcuffs, you won’t need a purse to carry it in. Oh, and there are versions for men, too.

Cthulhu in Love Perfume
Last year one of my suggestions was a scent locket from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab with one of their unique scents, some of which are based on Lovecraft mythology. Well just in time for Valentine’s Day they’ve created a special scent sold through ThinkGeek – Cthulhu in Love, the scent that The Great One uses to attract lovers. Like most of the scents at BPAL it’s probably like nothing you’ve ever smelled, in this case, “an amorphous mix of oppressive, piceous ritual incense, macerated kelp, sea salt, sticky dark ocean plants, and . . . mixed chocolates.” Of course, if Cthulhu isn’t the right match, you can peruse the hundreds on BPAL, including the Neil Gaiman collection, where proceeds benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Vase Confetti Kit
For those of you who do want to go the traditional flower route, here’s a way from ThinkGeek to give some science with your roses! You add this stuff to the water in a vase; it’s actually a water-hungry polymer that absorbs more than 100 times its mass in water, turning it into a cool collection of tiny gel balls. It’s pretty and it’ll keep your flowers alive longer.

Plushy Robot
Because, let’s face it, this is way cooler than a teddy bear. Plus they’re hand-sewn, adorable, and guaranteed to make you smile.

Digital Money Jar
Not only does this count as a pink gadget, but it’s practical, too. If you want to be really romantic, slap a label on it that says “second honeymoon fund” and watch the pennies turn to dollars as you empty out your pockets. Also, take note that for some reason, you can get one of these for $14.95 but two for $10. Math fail = sale win!

His and Her Wii Remotes
These haven’t actually been released yet, but pre-orders ship on Valentine’s Day. These new Wii remotes come with MotionPlus and in pink and blue, which means that while you’re playing Wii tennis together you can keep track of whose racket is whose.

Pacman Rings
Etsy is a great place to look for unique, crafty gifts, particularly of the geeky variety. These made-to-order rings are a bit pricey, but definitely a conversation starter. The crafter suggests that giving the rings one at a time could be fun, ending with the Pacman to top it off.

Take Me Home Pendant
Another find from Etsy, for the World of Warcraft player in your life. A small version of a hearthstone to hang on a necklace, it’s subtle, and it has a nice thought behind it: you can always find your way home.

DiY Horde Earrings
For the horde! And for that WoW girl. And from the crafty (or thrifty) gift giver. Here’s some step-by-step instructions on how to make your own horde earrings.

A very happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!

We Love xkcd

You  may remember the Discovery Channel’s very popular jingle I Love the World. Randall Munroe of xkcd was inspired and did his own version featuring memes from his webcomic. Then Elaine Doyle and Olga Nunes produced a video that recreates xkcd’s comic using the original tune, featuring a cast of prominent and not-so-prominent bloggers.

Neil Gaiman, Wil Wheaton, Cory Doctorow, Lawrence Lessig, Bruce Schneier, Jason Kottke, Google Zurich, Hank Green, MC Frontalot, Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden, Mr. Toast, Miss Cellania, Team Genius, Phil Plait, Allan Amato, Maddy Gaiman, Charissa Gilreath, Belinda Casas, Chuck Martinez, Jeremy James, Joanna Gaunder, Lee Israel & Octavio Coleman Esq. of The Jejune Institute

Yours Truly and daughters sang the first Boomdeyada. You’ll find a complete listing of who’s who line by line at Olga’s site.

“Parisian Love”: Possible Google Superbowl Ad?

Even though Google’s true business as always been about advertising, the company mostly stayed away from the biggest ad medium of them all, television. However, it seems that the search giant will be airing an ad during the biggest TV event of the season: Superbowl XLIV Yesterday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt posted a short message on Twitter:

Can’t wait to watch the Superbowl tomorrow. Be sure to watch the ads in the 3rd quarter (someone said “Hell has indeed frozen over.”)

A lot of people are speculating about which ad the company will be using for their spot, but the rumors seem to be pointing toward this very cute clip: Parisian Love.

[Image source: Flickr (CC)]

Neil Gaiman Penned Doctor Who Episode Coming in 2011

Neil GaimanThere has been a rumor for some time that Neil Gaiman would be writing an episode of Doctor Who (now under the helm of Steven Moffat), but when his name didn’t appear in the list of 2010 writers, many thought it wasn’t to be. However, while accepting an award for his Batman comic at SFX Awards 2010, Gaiman confirmed that he has indeed written an episode but that it won’t be airing until 2011 due to budgetary issues. In other words, maybe there’s going to be a big-budget episode? Awesome.

Considering that Moffat has written some of the creepiest episodes of Doctor Who to date (the weeping angels of “Blink” come to mind, as do the gas masks of “The Empty Child”), combining him with Gaiman might well be the holy grail of scifi horror. Fourteen months seems like an awfully long time…

[Via Bleeding Cool]

[Image Source: .guilty (CC)]