2005 August 22

There's a Streets and Trips 2006 Construction Update that's been released… which is really weird, because there isn't even a Streets and Trips 2006 on the market!!! I flew to the Streets and Trips page, and found that 2005 is still being listed. Here I was, all excited for a new release, only to be disappointed. Well, you gotta hand it to Microsoft: they're being proactive in issuing updates before they actually release the program. ;)

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Alex Williams just sent me this note: “You know, there has been a lot of confusion about the Podcast Hotel… We changed the dates. And now, people are asking what is happening. Is the event on or off? It is mostly definitely on. We've finally found a way to hold the event in a way that's true to the original spirit and vision of the idea; a celebration of the indie music world and podcasting as one of the most powerful do-it-yourself movements anyone has seen in the last 100 years.Podcast Hotel Presents Podcast Jams, is a celebration of Portland, Oregon's rich indie music scene. Portland is one of the leading lights of the indie music world. Our goal is to support a thriving center of indie music with an unconference that gives musicians the tools to make their own podcasts that they can then send to the world. Following the workshops, we will do a podcast jam session. Open to all musicians, we'll record live performances and broadcast them as podcasts to people all over the world.” This event is no longer associated with Corante, FWIW.

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For every legitimate Internet marketing whiz out there, there seem to be a hundred phonies ready to take your money and run. One of the best places to find consistently outstanding marketing information is the collective of experts at ClickZ. These are people who work in the trenches in advertising, search marketing, customer relationship management, email marketing and research to improve the bottom line for some of the most successful companies in the world. The weekly articles published at ClickZ represent some of the most valuable marketing information found anywhere online. Coordinating these Expert advisors and lending her own brand of genius to the conversation is Rebecca Lieb, Executive Editor at ClickZ. During the course of SES San Jose, Chris talked with Rebecca about the recent sale of ClickZ and Search Engine Strategies to Incisive Media, the role of ClickZ in online marketing, the launch of the new ClickZ blog and how to get spicy Thai food.

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They're testing mComic now, making sure it works on all Series 60 Devices, including: Nokia N91 & N90, Levorno P930, Nokia 6681 & 6682, Panasonic X700, Nokia 36xx, Sendo X & X2, and the Siemens SX1. There's currently a memory problem with the nGage series, but all the other devices have been tested and recommended. If you have one of these devices, consider downloading and testing mComic. They'll let you select a free comics binder to try, too! Email testing@fulltiltmobile.com and ask for a free code.

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The other day, I received this email from a seemingly random Hotmail user:

Chris,
The Virtual Earth team has a new website for info on VE. Could you blog about it to get some more exposure for it?
http://www.virtualearthinfo.com/
Thanks,
ZG

I'm protecting his real name for a reason. My first thought was: “Why do these PR flacks even bother?” I immediately shot an email off to my MSN contacts, asking about this person. They searched the company directory and came up with no results. The name was passed around and, ultimately, it belonged to a stepson of a Virtual Earth team member! It wasn't marketing spam after all – merely an innocent request by a kid who is very proud of his father's work.
You took me by surprise, ZG. I'm not mad at your actions, and I hope you weren't admonished for sending that note to me. It was a very endearing effort, and any parent should be proud to have you in their family.

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