Since Tim posted his thoughts on Heroes Friday, I thought I’d talk about one of my favorite shows today.

When is 4 less than 3? When it comes to American Idol judges.

I love American Idol and have watched religiously since the very first episode of the first season, but the switch to four full-time judges has me confused. Lately there have been recurring problems with the show running too long and the show’s attempts to address this (e.g., having two judges comment on half the contestants while the other two comment on the other half) aren’t working.

It’s nothing against the newbie. Kara DioGuardi has more industry credibility that Paula Abdul. After all, Kara has written many hit songs and knows enough about the technical side of the industry to provide good advice for the contestants. Paula is, well, Paula, which means she can be entertaining but doesn’t necessarily offer the most constructive criticism. She oftentimes dances around the negative by mentioning the positive or by pointing out negatives in a vague way. (more…)

I’m going to go off the interactive marketing topic today and talk about something a little different.

I’m a fan of the Heroes TV show but it’s not like that’s been an easy thing to be lately. Heroes has some serious problems with the way the show is trending. Instead of a consistent string of good shows, episodes alternate from being really dry to watch to being really good and reminding me why I liked the show in the first place.

This lurching back and forth is going to lead to the show’s ultimate failure. It’s sad but true. The show’s original group of writers got what made Heroes work. Unfortunately, the writing team changed and the new team doesn’t quite get it. Thanks to this new crop of writers presently working on the show, Heroes has lost its way and looks like it’s headed for an unhappy end.

As a long-time fan, I don’t want to see this happen. So if you are listening out there, Heroes writers, here are some suggestions from a frustrated member of your fan base: (more…)

Small businesses can face a daunting task when it comes to securing their networks. There seems to be (and are) new viral threats every week, threats that can make a small business with a tight budget fearful of the costly damage an attack can cause to its network. The challenge for small businesses is to find a security solution that will protect their business investment but will not place a serious dent in their bottom line.

Luckily, there are inexpensive security options available for a small business to take advantage of that can help keep their networks secure and their peace of mind intact.

Network Security
The first step a small business needs to take is to make sure all the computers in its network have been properly updated. They need to have the latest antivirus updates as well as any other updates from their operating system vendor. It’s important to keep your network current with any Microsoft or Mac updates. (more…)

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) any day now is expected to adopt revised guidelines on endorsements and testimonials. What this means to the world of interactive marketing is that companies and bloggers alike can be held liable if a blogger to whom a brand has supplied free samples of its product in the hopes of receiving some online buzz makes any false statements about this product. The bottom line is that both sides will pay the price for word-of-mouth efforts that do not follow the tenets of truth in advertising.

The practice of brands recruiting bloggers to talk about their products is something I’ve talked about before. I went over some steps brands need to take maintain their credibility when engaging in this practice. These new guidelines add an entirely new wrinkle. Rather than risking the potential of damaged credibility from a pay-per-blog arrangement, brands now have to worry about actual legal responsibility for what their blogger mouthpieces say.

While some are viewing this change as being too stringent and potentially negatively impacting the development of social media marketing, there is actually a large upside to the new regulations that might lead to some bloggers earning more credibility than they ever had before. (more…)

KFC recently announced a marketing campaign that is both unique and helpful. The Colonel’s corporation plans to offer to fill potholes in several cities as a means to promote its “fresh” brand marketing. Each filled pothole will be topped off with the words “Re-freshed by KFC” in street chalk that will then wash off on the next rainy day.

Personally, I wish more brands would follow KFC’s example and help out the community.

Particularly, my community. (more…)