Will It Blend? iPod...

So you've finally got the latest iPod and want to get rid of your old one. What do you do? Well, just see if it blends!

Out with the old and in with the new. Yeah, now that's definitely one smokin' iPod. Don't breathe this!



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Widgetbox - A Directory of Web Widgets...

If you're like most bloggers, you're constantly on the lookout for things that can enhance and improve your blog in one way or another. Some deal with the visual and aesthetic aspects of your blog, some are entertainment-based, and some are purely functional. Either way, they're all enhancements.

And this is where widgets come in. A widget is basically a mini-application you can put in your blog that can quickly and easily provide your readers with your page information, extra functionality and even a bit of fun and games.

Enter, Widgetbox. Widgetbox is basically a directory and syndication platform for widgets that can be used on blogs and other web pages. The Widgetbox widgets work with TypePad, WordPress, Blogger and MySpace (and some others) and require no plug-ins. In addition, they're all free to use.

As for widgets in general, some allow people to bookmark your blog via the various bookmarking services on the web, some display photos on your blog, and some let people play games right on your blog or web page.

So far, Widgetbox has eight different categories of widgets: Bligets (your blog as a widget), Blogosphere, Communication, Fun & Games, Interests, Information, Media and Money Makers. I haven't gotten through all the categories yet, but I like what I see so far. It looks like Widgetbox should certainly have a good future.

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 - Where's My Speed Key?

Hey, where's my Speed Key? I wanna go more than 180 miles per hour, dang it!

Here's the most recent look at the astounding Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the world's most expensive street-legal production car. The cost? Try 1.2 million big ones. Yep, that's million...as in 6 zeros...as in the cardinal number equal to 10⁶, plus 200,000!

Holy positive integers, Batman!

In addition to being the world's most expensive production car, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 also boasts the world's fastest acceleration time. This mad puppy can rocket itself (and you) from 0 to 60 in just 2.5 seconds, which barely even gives you enough time to poop your pants! Not that you'd want to, of course - but with acceleration like that, some folks may actually need to! :P

And thanks to the Bugatti Veyron's 1,001 horsepower 8 liter W16 engine (which is basically two V8 engines fused together), its 4 turbochargers and 10 radiators, this little snack cake also glazes the competition with the top speed of any production car in the world. How fast, you ask? How about 253 scrumptiously delicious miles per hour.

Holy MoonPies, Batman!

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HBT Quote of the Week...

HBT Quote of the Week:

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food."

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

AGLOCO Development Team - Week 3

In continuation of my weekly AGLOCO Development Team series, here's a look at some more special AGLOCO Team Members who've been working very hard to make sure AGLOCO is a success.

Thanks AGLOCO Team...

In alphabetical order by first name, I'd like to give a great big thanks to the following AGLOCO Development Team Members...

Moshe Pinto - Moshe is AGLOCO's resident attorney. Moshe negotiates and executes contracts. Prior to joining Stanford's Graduate School of Business, he worked as a corporate attorney and political strategist in both Israel and the United States.

Nick Punt - Nick advises AGLOCO on its technological and community development. Prior to attending Stanford's Graduate School of Business he worked as a video game designer and product manager of an online community.

Ray Everett-Church - Ray was the world's very first corporate Chief Privacy Officer. He also pioneered the field of corporate privacy professionals. As an attorney and technology expert he is responsible for ensuring the security and privacy of AGLOCO's Member information, as well as providing guidance on privacy and anti-spam issues. You can read more about Ray Everett-Church and his accomplishments in this AGLOCO post.

Sam Flax - Sam is AGLOCO's Chief Architect for the design of the AGLOCO economic network. With Sam's 20 years of experience in the United Stated and his 30 years of experience in Russia, he gives AGLOCO a unique perspective on managing and implementing the AGLOCO database.

Thanks again. Keep up the great work!

RegisterFly - Failure To Communicate...

As I mentioned in my previous post, ICANN officially axed RegisterFly's Registration Accreditation Agreement (RAA). Yeah, so now it's "officially" official...RegisterFly sucks! Of course, I think we knew that. Anyway, here's a video I found that pretty much sums up the whole unfortunate debacle...

ICANN Axes RegisterFly...

If you've got any domain names or web hosting accounts with RegisterFly then I sincerely wish you the best of luck in getting them switched over to a respectable ICANN-accredited domain name registrar as soon as possible.

On March 16, 2007 ICANN issued a formal notice of termination to RegisterFly, thus, exacting the strongest measure the ICANN organization can take. And like Uncle Buck circumcising a gnat, ICANN took the axe to RegisterFly...

"ICANN today issued a formal notice of termination of RegisterFly.com's Registration Accreditation Agreement (RAA).

ICANN has issued a letter to RegisterFly [PDF, 902K] indicating that it will cease operating as an ICANN-Accredited Registrar on March 31, 2007. Under the terms of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA), ICANN must provide 15 days written notice to RegisterFly of its intention to terminate.

Effective immediately ICANN has terminated RegisterFly's right to use the ICANN Accredited Registrar logo on its website."


To date, ICANN has received countless customer complaints about RegisterFly. Allegations of fraud date all the way back to 2005, and even include reports that RegisterFly suspended customer accounts and domain names in retaliation against customers who complained of overcharging. In addition, ICANN has accused RegisterFly of inappropriately altering customers' WHOIS data.

How could things look any worse for RegisterFly? Well, just toss in some very dirty laundry about stolen company funds being used for escort services, liposuction and a Miami penthouse and you've got a complete recipe for disaster. These such issues were recently made public in the RegisterFly ownership lawsuit between the Registerfly owners (and ex-boyfriends) John Naruszewicz and Kevin Medina.

Uncle Buck Says: I like to carry it; you never know when you're going to need it. A situation may come up - say for example, someone has been drinking, and about to drive a loved one home, then I'd like to know I have it. Not to kill, no. Just to maim. Take a little off the shoulder. Swish! The elbow. Slash! Shave a little meat off the old kneecap. Fowap! Ooooo! You got both kneecaps? I like to keep mine razor sharp. Sharp enough you can shave with it. Why I've been known to circumcise a gnat. You're not a gnat are you Bug?

Will It Blend? Glow Sticks...

Need a 12-hour lantern? In this neat, little video you'll see a dozen glow sticks dropped into a blender. Will they blend? Well, that is the question!



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Unicellular Prokaryotic Microorganisms...Attack!

Well, I must say that I'm happy to be back among the living! I haven't posted here in a few days due to an apparent case of food poisoning. Yep, it seems that some sort of bacteria had viciously decided to declare a most unjust and nasty, little war upon my digestive system late Thursday evening.

Unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms...attack!!!

It wasn't a pretty sight. But after deploying a massive defense strategy against the microscopic punks, I was able to return to normal by Saturday. Of course, I didn't really feel like blogging, so I just answered comments and emails and relaxed, making my way through the entire 7th season of Seinfeld.

No soup for you! Come back, one year!

So anyway, that's that. Just glad to be back to normal. If there is such a thing. And for those who know me personally, you know there isn't! :P

Latest AGLOCO Viewbar Update...

One of the common questions these days is, "When can I download the AGLOCO Viewbar?" Well, here's an update regarding the AGLOCO Viewbar's much-anticipated release...

According to the AGLOCO engineers, the Viewbar is currently scheduled for release anywhere between April 2nd and April 16th, which is only between 12 and 26 days away!

I'll of course keep you updated here by the minute as things progress. And Brian Greenwald will make sure that the entire AGLOCO Member base remains fully updated via the Official AGLOCO blog. In other words, he'll keep you posted with the freshest of the fresh!

AGLOCO Development Team - Week 2

In continuation of my weekly AGLOCO Development Team series, here's a look at some more special AGLOCO Team Members who have been working extra hard to ensure that AGLOCO is a success.

Thanks AGLOCO Team...

In alphabetical order by first name, I'd like to give a great, big thanks to the following AGLOCO Development Team Members...

Cannon Bonar - Cannon is AGLOCO's ambassador within the teen community. He's currently a student at Central Middle School and will represent AGLOCO's important teenage Member base.

Dan Jorgensen - Dan is AGLOCO's Member recruiting coordinator. Prior to helping AGLOCO create its network, Dan worked in sports marketing and online advertising.

Javier Alvira - Javier is AGLOCO's in-house blog expert. Javier is a native of Spain and worked as an engineer in telecommunications in Europe before joining Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Jim Jorgensen - Jim is the founder of AllAdvantage and Discovery Zone. His experience of paying out over $100 million to members in 1999 and pioneering the “returning value to Internet users” concept, has definitely been an invaluable source of guidance to the members of the AGLOCO's Development Team.

Thanks again to the AGLOCO Team. Keep on rockin'!

The Power Of Viral Videos - Part 2

A study released by the Online Publishers Association concluded that watching video content online has become quite routine for people. And with video sharing websites like YouTube, MetaCafe and Revver, to name a few, there's no doubt about that.

According to MarketingExperiments.Com (MEC), "Viral marketing is now one of the most powerful ways to market online. This is what the Internet was designed for, multimedia as mainstream. This has come about primarily because of the adoption of broadband."

But the question still remains: Can you as a marketer really capitalize from it? You bet. Take Blaupunkt, for example. Their little viral video for the Blaupunkt Bremen MP74 is still paying off big time. And it'll continue to pay off so long as the video remains online somewhere...anywhere. Which of course, it will.

The fact is, viral videos can definitely drive a rather significant amount of "targeted" traffic to your blog or website. For example, MEC conducted a 60-day experiment back in November with just one question in mind: Can viral video clips drive targeted traffic to your website? Well, let's see...

The medium: Online video
The goal: Drive traffic and acquire newsletter subscribers

60-Day Totals

Video views - 324,190
Click-throughs - 4,162
Click-through ratio - 1.28%
Conversion to subscribers - 1.49%
Brand new subscribers - 4,800+

So in this case, even though the video clips had no promotional messages or sales content whatsoever, 1.49% of the viewers actually became newsletter subscribers.

Overall Results...

In just 60 days the videos were viewed more than 324,000 times, and they gained more than 4,800 brand new newsletter subscribers - all at no cost to them. As you can see, viral videos are definitely kickin' it.

St. Paddy's Day Wishes From David Hasselhoff...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Now go have a tall, cold one.
You're probably gonna need it!

Speed Painting With Ketchup And French Fries...

What do you do if you've got some french fries and ketchup packets lying around the house? Well, just take a look. In this fast-food masterpiece you'll see ketchup used as paint and french fries used as paint brushes. Pretty cool.

AGLOCO Development Team - Week 1

With all things we as humans do, and as busy as we are, I think it's vitally important to take the time to appreciate things - to stop and smell the roses, as they say. And I think it's equally important to show others how much we appreciate them and the wonderful things they do.

So as a new theme to this blog I'll be posting a "thank you" each week to four AGLOCO Development Team members. The fact is, so many people around the world appreciate all the hard work and dedication they're constantly putting into AGLOCO. And now it's time we show it! So, without further ado...

Thanks AGLOCO Team!

Starting in alphabetical order by first name, here are some wonderful AGLOCO folks who really deserve some thanks and a friendly pat on the back...

Akshay Mavani - Akshay coordinates strategy and represents AGLOCO's Indian Members. He brings experience as an electronic engineer, and worked in sales and strategy in China and Hong Kong before attending Stanford's Graduate School of Business.

Allison Cui - Allison is AGLOCO's China specialist and represents the Chinese Members. She worked as a software engineer in Shanghai, China before attending the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Anne Sophie Mayos - Anne Sophie gracefully handles the AGLOCO website. Her sense of style makes sure that it's always up to date. Originally from Paris, she designed media information sites for millions of online users at France's leading television channel.

Brian Greenwald - Brian works in business development at AGLOCO. Brian is a scientist by education, and has worked in marketing and development for several biotech companies before attending Stanford's Graduate School of Business. Brian also takes the time to post to the AGLOCO Company Blog in order to keep all the AGLOCO members up to date.

Way to go AGLOCO Team Members! Keep up the great work!

I'm Sorry Mr. President - Can I Take A Message?

LOL. Perhaps the president should just focus on being the Egghead, the Commander and the Decider. Koo-Koo-Ka-Choo!

The Power of Viral Videos - Part 1

These days, viral videos are watched online by millions upon millions of people. And while many of the videos are created and uploaded just for fun, some are created by companies as part of their marketing efforts in order to sell products and services. And the results can truly be awesome.

For example, take the video below by Blaupunkt, the German electronics company. It was originally a commercial titled "The advantage in your car" and was broadcast on MTV all over Europe during June and July of last year. Yet, once the video hit the web, it took off like viral wildfire, amassing over 300,000 views on YouTube alone. Not bad for a 14-second spot, eh?

The video's main characters are Bunny and Benny...and the Blaupunkt Bremen MP74. And once you watch it you'll no doubt understand why it's become so explosively viral. It's clever, it's entertaining, and it's short. And from a marketing and advertising point of view, it's insanely effective.

Blaupunkt - Starring Bunny and Benny

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HTML Color Schemes At The Click Of A Button...

Here's an easy way to create matching HTML color schemes for your blog or website - all at the click of a button. It's called Color Schemer Online (version 2.0) and it's a free online version of the Color Schemer products.

The Color Schemer Online tool comes in very handy if you're not familiar with hexadecimal color values. It's great for picking colors and even for matching palettes.

Basically, all you do is click on the color you'd like to use (or enter an RGB or HEX value) and it automatically generates a set of matching colors and their codes. You can even lighten or darken your entire color scheme automatically, or pick colors from a Web Safe Color palette.

Lightening or darkening your entire color scheme is a snap - done with just the click of a button. All you have to do is click "Lighten Scheme" or "Darken Scheme" and an entire set of matching colors and their codes will be generated automatically. Bottom line, I really like this tool.


Related Blog Posts

• The RGB Color Calculator - HTML Color Code Generator

AGLOCO Viewbar Release Update...

Brian Greenwald of the AGLOCO Development Team just put up another good post on the AGLOCO Company Blog (I managed to squeeze in the first comment) regarding the importance of every AGLOCO member being able to benefit from what AGLOCO has to offer. And I think that's extremely important.

AGLOCO Viewbar Update

He also gave a more precise idea of when the AGLOCO Viewbar would be ready. Currently, the release date looks to be anywhere between 18 and 39 days away, which puts it between March 26th and April 16th. Keep in mind this is still an estimate. As you know, unexpected things can (and sometimes do) crop up in business.

Like they commonly said on Seinfeld, "Barring any unforeseen circumstances..." :P

Personally, I'm quite pleased with the time frame. And now that people will have a better idea of when it's due to be released, I'll bet we're gonna see many AGLOCO members really kicking their recruiting efforts into overdrive. I know I'm gonna.

AGLOCO Simplified...

• Surf the web just like you always have.
• Companies pay AGLOCO for advertising.
• AGLOCO pays YOU for surfing.
• Earn money for those you refer - down to 5 levels.

Or...

WordPress 2.1.1 Dangerous - Upgrade Now!

WordPress 2.1.1 Download Is Dangerous!

I just got this from the WordPress blog and I strongly suggest you read it if you've downloaded WordPress 2.1.1 within the last 3-4 days or so.

WordPress 2.1.1 Dangerous, Upgrade

"Long story short: If you downloaded WordPress 2.1.1 within the past 3-4 days, your files may include a security exploit that was added by a cracker, and you should upgrade all of your files to 2.1.2 immediately.

Longer explanation: This morning we received a note to our security mailing address about unusual and highly exploitable code in WordPress. The issue was investigated, and it appeared that the 2.1.1 download had been modified from its original code. We took the website down immediately to investigate what happened.

It was determined that a cracker had gained user-level access to one of the servers that powers wordpress.org, and had used that access to modify the download file. We have locked down that server for further forensics, but at this time it appears that the 2.1.1 download was the only thing touched by the attack. They modified two files in WP to include code that would allow for remote PHP execution."

Secure Your WordPress Blog

WordPress also states, "If your blog is running 2.1.1, please upgrade immediately and do a full overwrite of your old files, especially those in wp-includes. Check out your friends blogs and if any of them are running 2.1.1 drop them a note and, if you can, pitch in and help them with the upgrade."

The latest WordPress download is here: New version 2.1.2

AGLOCO Early March Update...

Here are a few updates from the AGLOCO company blog, courtesy of Brian Greenwald of the AGLOCO Development Team:

Website Changes: As some of you have noted, the AGLOCO website has made a few changes this week based on Member suggestions.

For instance, on each Member’s referral signup page, the “Blogs Around the World” have been eliminated to reduce the possibility that a referral might be lost to an external site. Clicking on each language in “Blogs Around the World” now brings you to the relevant section of the Member blog page, instead of to a single pre-determined blog in that language.

Additional changes are being considered as well, and I will keep you posted on those changes as they occur.

Communication: One recurring request is ‘better network communication between Members’. I have commented more than once that AGLOCO will add many forms of communication between Members (including an opt-in approach for Members to reach people in their referral networks that they may not know). This website feature will not be worked on until after the Viewbar software release.

Viewbar release: A few weeks ago, I said on this blog, “The Viewbar is currently slated for a March release”, and March 1st is now upon us (a couple of you were optimistic and hoped for a release on the first of the month). I know that the Viewbar will not be released in the first half of March. Our tech lead flew to Shanghai this morning to work directly with our six engineers there. I’ll give you more of an update when I hear back from him.

Thanks Brian. Keep up the great work!

AGLOCO Simplified...

• Get the Viewbar™ (slated for March release).
• Surf the web just like you always have.
• Companies pay AGLOCO for advertising.
• AGLOCO pays YOU for surfing.
• Earn money for those you refer - down to 5 levels.

Or...