Comments please

This is not really a serious post with respect to the content of media use, but not all things on this blog have to be serious. So, I have been blogging for a few weeks now and I must say: I really like it. Although, it takes a lot of work: searching for information, trying to write something sensible, making the post fun to read, working on your blog layout and so on. But well, no one said it was going to be easy. Despite all this work, I like blogging. I have always liked writing, though I am not really a diary kind a person. I like writing for other people to read it, not only for myself. This actually brings me to the point of this post: I like writing for other people. I like writing for you, the reader, whoever you are. But the hard thing about writing for you is that I can’t read your thoughts about what you think (it would be a bit scary if I could). I can track visitors, email subscriptions and my followers, but I can’t track your thoughts. The only way for me to know what you think is by you leaving a comment. I really like to know what you think about my blog topics, about my blogs in general or whatever you have on your mind. Just leave a comment.

You know last night I saw this movie called Julie & Julia with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. It is about Julie Powell (Amy Adams), who starts a blog about her challenge to cook 536 recipes from Julia Child's book “The mastering of French cooking” in 365 days. Her blog becomes immensely popular and Julie Powell is writer nowadays. I think that is pretty cool: You start a blog and it turns out to be hit on the internet. You get between 50 and 600 comments on your blog and hundreds of readers, followers and email subscriptions. I know that in the current blog environment with millions of bloggers it would take quite some luck to become that popular. I am not saying that I want to become such a big blogger hit, I am already a happy with a few comments once in awhile.

New blog layout

As you can see I changed my blog layout! The other blog style was a little bit boring, so I made a whole new layout. Hopefully you like it, because this is what my blog will look like for the next few weeks. It took me a whole evening to do this, but I think it was worth it. Thanks to Crazykira-resources and above-and-beyond for their brushes (both can be found on deviantart.com). Stay tuned for my new blog! Till then you could read the old ones again;)

The hype around the Zeeman boxers

Have you seen the big Zeeman underwear billboards? Well, I have. After all, it is almost impossible to miss them. These new Zeeman boxers are a hype. So Björn Borg and Calvin Klein: move over! Zeeman boxers are the bomb! They are hot. They are sexy. If you don’t have one, you don’t count anymore. Wanna be cool? Buy a Zeeman boxer and wear it with pride. Or at least, that’s what is being said nowadays.

So what is so freaking hot about this Zeeman boxer? Because, let’s be honest: they are not really pretty (or maybe I have no fashion feeling whatsoever). I mean: They are YELLOW. Actually, this boxer is just wrong. But that’s the thing: it is totally wrong and that makes it cool. Still following me? The Zeeman boxer is an anti-fashion statement. It says something like: I don’t need an expensive Björn Borg to be cool, because my Zeeman boxer is way cooler and more importantly, much cheaper. And that people, is what we call hot.

The hype around the Zeeman boxer is so big that the company sold 8000 boxers within 4 days. In total, there are already about 40.000 boxers sold. They even had to stop the selling of the underpants for a while, because Zeeman couldn’t handle the demand for it (it is open again since a few days, so hurry to get one!). Talk about how a little marketing can help you to become a cool brand.

Zeeman’s marketing manager Jacques van der Bom probably got a salary increase, since he is the man who came up with this strong campaign. It is a wink to big companies who sell underwear for a high price. With the campaign for the Zeeman boxer, he wanted to show that good underwear doesn’t have to be expensive. The words for free always help. Try it: just say for free and people are listening. However there’s a snag to it: you have to pay €3,90 to deliver the boxer to your home. But still, we call it “for free”, because that just sounds way nicer. Besides that, you create a little buzz on Twitter and Hyves (Uber-cool Zeemanboxers hyve). Also a good trick of the campaign is that you can only buy the boxers online. In this way you are triggered to the renewed site of Zeeman where you can see all their products. And there you have it: the success story of Zeeman. What a boxer can do.

Google is watching you

You want to know who invented Valentine’s Day? Just Google it! You wanna see the new video clip of John Mayer? Go to YouTube! How do I get from Amsterdam to Utrecht? Google Maps is there for you! Curious what the Grand Canyon looks like? Thank God, we have Google Earth. Help, I can’t find that really important document on my computer! I have good news for you: Google Desktop will find it. Sending postcards takes way too long, don’t you think? Use Google Mail (Gmail) and messages will arrive within a second. Isn’t this all just great? Google has a solution for everything. And it is all for free! You think it’s for free? Think again.

Like my mom always says: nothing is for free. Well, moms can be right sometimes, not always, but sometimes. Indeed, nothing is for free. Google wants something back. What? Information. About you. The search terms you type into Google are saved for the next few years, combined with the unique IP-number of your computer. Just think for a minute about what you type into Google. I will wait…

Done yet? Let’s go over it then. So, you probably typed in your own name into Google (Don’t claim you didn’t. Everyone does that, it’s not a crime.) When using Google Maps, you typed in your address. After all, you are leaving from your own home right? Or how about the company you work for or your study? Hobbies, travels, you name it. We Google it and they know, because you told them. Well, at least our Gmail is private. Yeah, I don’t think so. Google scans it.

Why does Google do this, you might think. According to them, Google wants to personalize information. In a few years Google hopes to make it possible to ask the search engine questions like: “What shall I do tomorrow?” or “What job should I take?”.

Don’t get me wrong: I love Google. In fact, it’s my favorite site and I use it for all kinds of things. But these are the stories going around about this company (if you’re interested, you can find them on (where else?!) Google). The question is: do you think this is all true? Or is this just exaggerated gossiping? That’s up to you.

PS. Don’t let this blog scare you to sign up for email updates for my blog. Remember, not everything is what seems and the same holds for these kinds of stories. See you with my next blog!

The touch screen virus

You have probably all heard about the introduction of Apple’s newest gadget: the iPad. If not (under what rock have you been living?), I will catch you up. The iPad is a kind of tablet PC, which has a multiple touch screen. You can page through websites, watch movies, write an email or run whatever application with just a click of your finger. No mouse or pencil needed. Just your hands. The magic of the touch.

Touch screens are “hot and happening”. Everywhere you look are touch screens: mobile phones, computers, the ticket machine at the railway station and the list goes on and on. Why do touch screens suddenly spread like a virus? Well, the big popularity started with the introduction of Apple’s iPhone. It used a multiple touch screen (which just means that you can use multiple fingers for a variety of touches and gestures on the screen) and that made people run to the stores. We could now touch a screen with multiple fingers! Run and tell that! Okay, all kidding aside, because this actually was a major revolution in the development of the touch screens. Just think of the fastness and how direct touch screens are. Besides, you don’t need a keyboard or a mouse anymore, so it saves quite some desk space.

Microsoft Surface goes even further: it designed a computer tucked inside a table, with off course: a touch screen. It does not only recognize finger touches, but also objects like your phone or your credit card. Just pay via your screen. But we have big, bigger, biggest. That’s what Jeff Han must have thought. A table was apparently not big enough for him, because he even invented a multi-touch wall. I repeat: A WALL!

Keyboards are so 2009. Touch screens are the future. All I still need is 100,000 dollar to buy me a multi-touch wall. Anyone who wants to contribute?

Blogging my way into the world

“It is obligatory to join Twitter and to start a blog”. These were the words my teacher used in the first class of ‘Media Use in Organisations’. Okay, she is kidding right, I mean I don’t HAVE to, right… right? It turned out that she was completely serious. I have to join Twitter and start a blog. Me, a person with no Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogger, LiveJournal, Twitter or whatsoever, has to join two of these communities! I guess I can say it’s kind of revolution. Or at least for me it is. The reason was simple: “You are studying digital media and social media are a part of that”. Well, there she had a point.

“Off course, I don’t have to blog about my life, hobbies or my pet (which I don’t have, but that aside). My teacher would probably not be really interested in that kinda stuff. No, the blog has to be about the use of information and communication technology. I can hear what you’re thinking: information and communication technology, excuse me, what?! So, here is a mini lecture to explain. Information technology: well, I am using it right now! Word, for example. Or how about Excel, PowerPoint or sales- and risk analyses that companies use. Communication technology: I am using that too at the moment, namely my blog. But also twitter, videoconferencing or email. In the next few blogs I will be talking about these kinds of things and how organisations use them.

For so far this introduction. As you can see, my social media revolution starts today. I will be finding my way in the digital world. Hopefully, you will find it with me and follow my blog (please stay around for at least two minutes, so that I can reach my goal) and not to forget: my Twitter. See you around!