Thanks to Kevin Macguire's Innovation Diaries for a wonderful post about how to understand the motivations of Twitter junkies in terms of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I recently posted a joke chart about this--ridiculing the "I'm going to the rest room" crowd--but this is a great piece in terms of understanding what is often perceived as the arrogance of the digirati, the culture of online and where Twitter seems to be on the adoption curve.

 I am especially fond of the "non-user berating" that is funny because it is so true. As opposed to Facebook, Twitter has 7 million monthly visits" and no business model. This doesn't mean I am against Twitter--I think it's a siren for things to come--but it is bigger than life for current users. Even the founder of Twitter, Evan Williams, seems to need some safety reassurance based on this tweet: “couple near me at whole foods are discussing Twitter. she thinks it’s boring. bitch.” (@ev)"

Thanks to active Twitterpaters @johnbattelle and @thepartycow, you can read about some new options Google is testing at "Google Blogoscoped". The post includes screenshots, and a link to this YouTube video of the options in action.

Here's a summary:

What happens is that on the search results, say for the query comic books, a link in the top blue bar will read “Show options...”. Click it, and a side bar full of options expands to the left. The options include some known experiments, plus things I didn’t see so far. There are restriction options to show only recent results, only videos, only forum entries, or only reviews. You can sort by relevance, or by date, and you can only show results from time ranges like the past 24 hours or the past week. You can opt to receive longer snippet text, and images. There’s also a timeline feature and search suggestions.

Basically, you can limit your results to things like videos, forum posts, etc. But for all the time Google spends on indexing and cross-referencing text, I wonder if they are coming up with a plan to address the "semantic web". Text is a container for meaning, and there are many people working on this conflict, which would obviate some of Google's technology. If you'd like to learn more, here's a primer on the semantic web.

This has been a rich couple of days for a few ideas surrounding the state of digital marketing strategies and execution--and how they are viewed by the rest of the world. First, there's this .pdf hot off the presses from the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA): "Understanding the Economics of Digital Compared to Traditional Advertising and Media Services." It's really required reading, but I will echo the sentiments of others who say that it isn't perfect but it's a start. The good news is that it VALUES digital marketing strategy and the time it takes to do digital right. If you think your digital agency is "expensive," which we hear all the time, this report does a fabulous job of telling you why it feels that way--it takes a lot of effort. The bad news was from an Internet Oldtimer Foundation member: "The credits and thanks starting on page 42 are hugely impressive. In my 21 years in the digital space, I wish I’d met one of them."

The second idea for this discussion has to do with two AdWEEK articles.  The first, "Are Banner Ads Poised for a Creative Comeback?" accurately praises the thinking and execution of a VISA campaign by nearby agency, AKQA.  The work is filled with mashups, geolocation ideas, and temporal cues.  It's REAL TIME, in all meanings of these words and phrases.  This article links to another, "Ready, Set, 'Go' For VISA."  This details the consumer insight process and brand advertising push from industry powerhouse TBWA.  What strikes me about these articles is that they highlight the conclusions of the AAAA's paper: Digital is different and requires lots of expertise.  But, taken together, these articles prove that branding experts are equally experts and valuable.  When each finds good partners, the work really extends to the great benefit of the client.

Just for fun, and thanks to Nat Polish, here is a follow-up to the Snuggie post I made the other day. Hope this one brightens a storm-swept US!

I'm being quite useful.  This thing is a Thneed.
A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need!
It's a shirt.  It's a sock.  It's a glove.  It's a hat.
But it has OTHER uses.  Yes, far beyond that.
You can use it for carpets.  For pillows!  For sheets!
Or curtains!  Or covers for bicycle seats!"

-Words and illustration from The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.