Random Thoughts: (Video, in this case) Nokia Re-draws the Map

Ah Wieden + Kennedy, do you ever stop producing cool spots? Check out the new Nokia ad, highlighting the oh-so un-tech, old school method of drawing maps. Drawing is what we did before Wii, kids. (Reading via RSS? Check out the video on the Travel 2.0 blog.)

Word of the Week - Cuil

Pronounced "cool", Cuil is a new search engine built by Anna Patterson, a search engine wiz who used to work at Google. While there was a lot of hype and excitement about the launch of the site, those seeking an alternative search engine might have to temper their enthusiasm a bit.

While there are some interesting new features in Cuil, it has had a tremendously difficult time in maintaining relevancy and the meaningfulness of search results (no TravelOregon.com for an "Oregon" search for example!). Moreover, following the wake of their PR push last week, their servers have been overwhelmed and users have experienced significant downtime. As our friend Paul Wille notes in his blog, Cuil has four notable features:

1. Relevancy Approach- Unlike depending on the quantity and quality of links, it "drills down" into the pages they link to and analyze the content for relevancy

2. “Article”-based search results - Rather than the usual list of text-only links, photos and paragraph snippets of content are returned as part of the search results (Similar to Ask.com)
   

3. Dynamic Faceted Searching - Faceted searching is the concept of narrowing search results based on multiple “facets” or aspects of your search results; for example when you search for "Oregon", you can narrow your results based on categories such as "regions of Oregon", "real estate" etc. etc.
   

4. Privacy - Cuil promises not to store search history of search engines
   

Read the full review on Cuil

Take Control of Your Website

There are many reasons why corporate and artist sites should not carry advertising. But the most obvious one is that outside ads change the conversation. In one of the few places that a marketer can completely control their message; they're sharing the stage with outsiders who have a different agenda. >>Full Story

Thoughts// This interesting experiment (or cruel prank depending on your point of view) reported in the Silicon Alley Insider, is a prime example of why you shouldn't allow outside Google text ads within your site. For a period of time this week, Columbia Records website ran a targeted prank ad featured above that read: "Major Labels are Obsolete...RIP or learn and thrive". The ad was delivered to more than 6,000 site visitors and generated a click rate of 0.6% (4 clicks). Small impact but nevertheless an important lesson to all of us on the dangers of contextual advertising and networks!

~ Happy Friday! (PS: I am still wondering how we have so many Michigan folks here!)