Disqus - Latest Comments for Brandon Mendelson

Re: What’s Happening With The Superman Sequel?

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 00:19:14 -0000

Thank you for calling it like it is with Millar. I'm getting sick of the fanboy love for what usually amounts to terrible stories from him.

That said, I disagree about Warner not needing Superman. Superman, like the other movies you mentioned, can be exploited on so many marketing and media levels that another film, if successful, can't hurt their bottom line. If the trend of people going to the movies in tough economic times holds (as it almost always does), it wouldn't hurt to have another good film ready.

Personally, Warner Brothers should have just went with Grant Morrison and based the film off of All Star Superman. But, what do I know, its not like that book is a best selling, award winning book, right?

Re: Yes, Twitter is a source of journalism

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:23:31 -0000

Hi Matthew,

This was a thoughtful and intelligent roundup concerning the use of Twitter among the journalist set, which includes myself. Many in the profession are still struggling to pickup Twitter, but it is only a matter of time before they master the service and others duplicate.

Re: The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Student Arrested for Quad Break-In

Brandon Mendelson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:03:32 -0000

I like the professor's response. Very funny in light of this mess.

Re: The Butterfly Effect and social media

Brandon Mendelson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:22:17 -0000

For Twitter, I would absolutely agree with you. I'm not yet sold on the long term viability of Friendfeed when Facebook can do virtually the same thing. Not to mention, Friendfeed hits that critical mass of "too much information". But who knows? I'm excited to see what dethrones Twitter.

Re: Twitter-based ad networks: a different perspective

Brandon Mendelson — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:23:47 -0000

Hi Eric,

As promised ...

1) I think, purely from an advertising and marketing perspective, that online media was able to supplant print media because of declining readership from the papers. Advertisers, the spine of the old media, decided to invest their money elsewhere.

I'm convinced if this did not happen, much (but not all) online media outlets would struggle for relevancy among mainstream Americans.

That said, I follow the shift workers and not the digerati, so I know I am in the minority on this one.

2) I always thought blogs were designed with the intention of being monetized. The second (the royal) we figured out we could publish and design, we searched for ways to cash in. Just think about banner advertising in its heyday, those things were everywhere, even on the smallest sites and blogs. The flexibility of the design lent blogs to be monetized as fast as they were created.

3) There is a contradiction in my argument. Essentially, Twitter (as far as the designers were concerned) was not designed to do anything beyond answering the question of "What are you doing?" I could be way off on this, but that's my impression.

The usage of Twitter in replacing blogs, I think, is limited to headlines and pithy comments. You're right in that it is open, but much of the innovation on Twitter has been user generated. Look at services like Mr. Tweet, Twitpics, Tweetlater, and Magpie. Twitter itself (as far as I know) does not participate in the creation of those services, so that lends me to think the service was simply designed for one thing, and we are grafting parts on to it. There's nothing wrong with that ... except for advertising ... and that's for now.

One thing I didn't touch on: When you follow a brand, and the brand converses back with you, that can be effective as a method of advertising through Twitter. In that case, people are choosing to follow the brand, whereas with Magpie the advertisement is thrust upon you.

Re: 5 ballsy social media predictions for 2009

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:20:25 -0000

Love the predictions, but I think Facebook will likely by Twitter and integrate it into the status notifications. If you look at the mini-feed they have already started to make a fun at Friendfeed, so it would make sense .

Re: Memo to online companies: Please Stop Georedirecting

Brandon Mendelson — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:21:34 -0000

I couldn't agree more.

The problem is: Advertisers buy American websites, not Australian. So the tech companies, which are essentially advertising firms, need different sources of income. That's why Australians get a different web experience then Americans (as an example.)

It's dumb, but that's the logic they use. Having attempted to purchase advertising on a mass scale via Google and others. I can vouch for this.

Re: Twitterer of the Year: You!

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:17:31 -0000

If there was something on the line here, like cash for Scoble linking to the winner's website, I would be fully agree with your point here.

But as far as I can tell, and as someone who responded to Mr. Scoble's query, it was all in good fun.

Look at site's like Mashable, it's just the same group of egotistical sycophants commenting in a loud echo chamber. Now that is something to dislike. This? Not sure sure.

Re: Twitterer of the Year: You!

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 22:18:33 -0000

Wow. If I knew how to spell:

*If there was something on the line here, like cash or Scoble linking to the winner's website, I would fully agree with your point here.

But as far as I can tell, and as someone who responded to Mr. Scoble's query, it was all in good fun.

Re: FriendFeed Drinks Twitter’s MilkShake in RealTime

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:54:35 -0000

I agree with @Geek Mommy, it certainly is a neat feature FF is adding, but you get overwhelmed with content on there. I don't think it is a viable Twitter replacement or competitor.

Re: 101 Business Twitter Ideas, Tactics, and Strategies

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:16:19 -0000

Good stuff, but no Twitter Novel?

Re: If I Started A Company Today

Brandon Mendelson — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:37:39 -0000

Build cash. Build cash. Build cash.

Too many people jump into business without the funds to support it.

Re: In-tweet Ads: The downfall of Twitter? | Goaliegirl.com

Brandon Mendelson — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:32:27 -0000

I tried Magpie, and I found it to be a major annoyance, so I totally agree with you there.

But Twitter has replaced blogging, in many ways, so don't be too quick to throw them under the bus.

Re: 2008/09/19/top-wordpress-themes/

Brandon Mendelson — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:01:40 -0000

The themes look beautiful, but I just can't imagine them being used successfully as it makes content harder to find and the sites harder to navigate.

Re: 2008/12/03/lindsay-lohan-robert-scoble/

Brandon Mendelson — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:58:49 -0000

I've found the people at Facebook to be pretty reasonable after speaking with them, so this doesn't seem like a big issue as it can be readily fixed.

Re: 2008/12/11/blogger-export/

Brandon Mendelson — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:08:51 -0000

All I have to say is: About. Damn. Time.

Re: 2008/12/14/baby-twitter/

Brandon Mendelson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:22:48 -0000

I showed my wife this post. Her response: "I wouldn't wear that!"

Re: 2008/12/14/brands-do-twitter/

Brandon Mendelson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:07:42 -0000

I think the real issue comes down to this: Many Twitter users like using the services because it is a conversation between two people. So when a brand enters that conversation, even if it is in a helpful capacity (@JetBlue) or an informative capacity (@Marvel), it still constitutes advertising at a basic level.

This "ruins" the conversation because many online are constantly running from advertising and will run elsewhere.

So the question of whether or not a brand belongs on Twitter is not so much about Twitter acting like a phone book but because Twitter acts like a dialogue that is now being disrupted.

Re: 2008/12/14/brands-do-twitter/

Brandon Mendelson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 21:25:35 -0000

@Ryan

Some people have a problem with advertising; No matter what forms, no matter how useful.

The allure to any new online frontier is the lack of advertising. There may be a correlation (and causation) to show that an increase in the amount of advertisements leads to a decrease in membership or desire to utilize a service.

That would be a great guest post for Mashable ...

Re: 2008/12/14/brands-do-twitter/

Brandon Mendelson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:58:47 -0000

@Ryan

That was an excellent point.

Re: How to Store Sperm in 4 Steps - Just in Case

Brandon Mendelson — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 05:25:25 -0000

I kept thinking, "Man, is this going to show up in the new edition of the 4 Hour Work Week? Forget sex with the wife, be more efficient with your time and tell her to use the frozen stuff!"

But, no pitch on that front and for that I am thankful. Tim, this was useful and hilarious. Thank you.

Re: Pre-Tour Footage: Getting Supplies At Wal-Mart

Brandon Mendelson — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 12:08:07 -0000

I as well. I as well.

It's our job to keep things light;-)

Re: When Not to Sell Me Something

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 16:24:03 -0000

Gross, the analogy, but good point.

Re: If I Started Today

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 02:14:45 -0000

I don't think I can stress the importance of using your name, if you're building a personal brand, when commenting on blogs or using social media services.

Using your name builds trust. If your (future) audience doesn't trust you, you're waiting your time.

Re: Why I love the US auto industry

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:57:40 -0000

I really like point #4. Willie Nelson is another good example (if you're willing to include his bus.)

The problem is, and I'm saying this as a trained organizational consultant, that the method of analysis often used to make decisions is poor. I don't think it is a question of a desire to change, but when you get skewed or inaccurate information, you don't see things as they are.

Ok. Maybe that's too optimistic.

Re: The 10 Remaining Must See Movies of 2008

Brandon Mendelson — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:48:07 -0000

I'm afraid you're going to be spot on with The Spirit. It looks as good as "Disaster Movie". The Wrestler should have topped the list though, as good as Craig is as Bond, it's still another Bond movie.

Re: A New Watchmen Poster For You to Fall For

Brandon Mendelson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:09:09 -0000

My God, this movie better be fantastic or I swear you'll see a fan boy meltdown like the world has never witnessed before.

Excellent poster though.

Re: Vivendi CEO: No Decision Yet On Whether To Sell Stake In NBCU; GE's Immelt: 'Would Buy In Heartbeat'

Brandon Mendelson — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:39:22 -0000

I really want to know how many more mega media mergers are going to occur after this. They have such horrible track records.

Re: Tipjoy Raises $1 Million First Round For Blog Tips, Micropayments

Brandon Mendelson — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 02:55:07 -0000

You know, I have not heard of TipJoy before the post here, so I've decided to give it a try. I think its great they received the funding. If its simple and cuts out the hassle of putting cash in a blogger's pocket, why not fund it?

Re: Lauren Rich Fine: Newspapers Should Come To Terms With Lower Margins -- Then Go Private

Brandon Mendelson — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 23:14:13 -0000

Thank you. I've been harping on this for weeks, but why are all the so-called marketing experts on the web silent? In all honesty, maybe we're looking in the wrong direction about how to fix the paper. I agree private control is great, but why are we silent about the lack of marketing for newspapers?

Re: Yahoo CEO Search: Some Possible Names: Miller, Chernin, Freston, Rosensweig and Others

Brandon Mendelson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:56:44 -0000

@Yahoofan,

I agree. I was surprised he wasn't on the list.

Re: Local TV Stations Are Facing Severe Cost Pressures -- Here's How They Should Cut

Brandon Mendelson — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:49 -0000

I have to disagree, I think the more media the more voices that will be represented. Of course, that doesn't mean this is how it works in reality, but look back at the health of the media industry before deregulation.

Having the stations work together and pull resources may limit the oppertunity for some people to be represented, or for marketers looking to break in through the corporate noise.

That said, who is to say the ad dollars going online won't come back? How long until people realize Craigslist is a poor alternative to verified classifieds?