Starbucks Closings on Google Maps

Normally, I wouldn't necessarily care if Starbucks closes stores -there are SO many of them! But it's one of the places that I can find soy free food to eat, and unfortunately by looking at this Google Maps mashup of the Starbucks closures, I can tell that the one next to my office is going to close. :-(

Google Maps Now with Walking Directions

Finally! You can get walking directions in Google Maps. Here's an example of Google walking directions - notice that in a car I could go that way because of the one way street.

My new favorite blog: Neuromarketing

I only had to scan the first article to know it was love at first site. The science and psychology behind marketing has always fascinated me. Take a look.

Amazing Savant Had Photographic Memory

This is absolutely amazing. Photographic memory and amazing artistic ability.

Great Tampon Commercial

Random, I know, but it made me laugh:

Xylitol Poisonous to Dogs

I'm about to become a dog owner, so I'm learning about things poisonous to dogs. I can't help but wonder why we ingest something that can kill a dog, but anyway...

Here's the email that I received from one of my mother's friends:

WARNING!
To all dog owners pass this on to everyone you can.

Last Friday evening, I arrived home from work, fed Chloe, our 24# Dachshund,
just as I normally do. Ten minutes later I walked into the den just in time
to see her head inside the pocket of Katie's friend's purse. She had a
guilty look on her face so I looked closer and saw a small package of
sugar-free gum. It contained xylitol. I remembered that I had recently read
that sugar-free gum can be deadly for dogs so I jumped on line and looked to
see if xylitol was the ingredient. I found the first website below and it
was the one. Next, I called our vet. She said to bring her in immediately.

Unfortunately, it was still rush hour and it took me almost 1/2 hour to get
there. Meanwhile, since this was her first case, our vet found another
website to figure out the treatment. She took Chloe and said they would
induce her to vomit, give her a charcoal drink to absorb the toxin (even
though they don't think it works) then they would start an iv with dextrose.
The xylitol causes dogs to secrete insulin so their blood sugar drops very quickly.

The second thing that happens is liver failure. If that happens,even with aggressive treatment, it can be difficult to save them. She told us she would call us.

Almost two hours later, the vet called and said that contents of her stomach
contained 2-3 gum wrappers and that her blood sugar had dropped from 90 to
59 in 30 minutes. She wanted us to take Chloe to another hospital that has a
critical care unit operating around the clock. We picked her up and took her
there. They had us call the ASPCA poison control for a case number and for a
donation, their doctors would direct Chloe's doctor on treatment. They would
continue the iv, monitor her blood every other hour and then in 2 days test
her liver function. She ended up with a central line in her jugular vein
since the one in her leg collapsed, just as our regular vet had feared.

Chloe spent almost the entire weekend in the critical care hospital. After
her blood sugar was stabilized, she came home yesterday. They ran all the
tests again before they released her and so far, no sign of liver damage.
Had I not seen her head in the purse, she probably would have died and we
wouldn't even had known why.

Three vets told me this weekend, that they were amazed that I even knew
about it since they are first learning about it too. Please tell
everyone you know about xylitol and dogs. It may save another life.

Sewage Treatment Plan to be Name for Bush

This is why I would enjoy living in San Fran. The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco want to rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant the George W. Bush Sewage Plant come January, when the next president is sworn in. The full article is here: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/24/9861/

Disturbing Findings from Keyword Research

SO I'm conducting keyword research for a client that is focused on bringing attention to warrantless spying via the Patriot act, and I discover the following:

Keyword Phrase	Searches in the Last 100 Days	Predicted Searches in the next 24 hours
spying in the bathroom	43	62
spying on girl	35	50
spying on girls	742	1,070
spying on girls in the shower	11	15
spying on hot sister	135	194
spying on my mom in the shower	13	18
spying on naked women	12	17
spying on sister changing	319	460
spying on sister naked	11	15

Ah. insight into a boy's mind.....

5th Element Personalized Video Ad Coming to a Billboard near you

Another example of science fiction meets fact. An Israeli company has developed a billboard equipped with a camera that can recognize the age and gender of the person standing in front of it and then deliver a custom message based on the person. The full article is here.

Creepy. I can just envision a future billboard saying, "Katherine, how long is it since you've cut your hair? The Hair Cuttery around the corner has special this month."

Crazy Rasberry Ants - They're Like Tiny Aliens Taking over Texas

These little suckers are as big as fleas, like electrical equipment for some reason (and because of that have destroyed computers and smoke detectors, etc). They are resistant to over the counter pesticide AND use their dead comrads to travel over pesticides by stacking up their bodies like a bridge.

Rumor has it that they came over on a cargo ship in 2002, and they eat fire ants, but I think their behavior is WAY too intelligent for just a lowly ant...and why are they attacking our electrical equipment?

Do You Know the Difference Between McCain and Bush?

Just got this off Moveon.org's list, it's totally fun to play, and I did very badly (but I wasn't planning on voting Republican so I think it's OK). Send it to as many Republicans as you know.




http://Bush-McCainChallenge.com/?rc=challenge-friends&r_id=

Wearable Computers Get Much Needed Infrastructure

Many of you know that I'm a wearable computer geek, and one of the findings from my graduate thesis was that wearable computers will not be adopted by consumers until there is ubiquitous wireless internet. Well folks, that might be just around the corner. An article in the Washington Post Express mentions that Sprint Nextel Corp has successfully garnered the funding to build a Wimax network that will provide free wireless access regardless of the hardware you have in your hand. If you're device is wireless enabled, you'll be able to pick up a signal.

If you combine this with Google's announcement of it's integration of Google Street view and it's maps that means that in the not-so-distant future the following scenario is possible:

[scene]
A man on travel in San Diego, CA walks down the street with sunglasses on, and from his perspective, he's seeing images of the buildings that he's walking past streetview in route to the new restaurant that his friend recommended (directions provided by Google). He stops when the photo displayed by his glasses matches the building in front of him, and his handheld vibrates displaying a coupon for 10% off his meal.
[end scene]

It was a scenario that my focus group dreamed up and GPS based mobile advertising is a reality, you can get microoptical video sunglasses to go with your iPhone, and once Wimaz is rolled out, we'll be able to experience what seemed like science fiction only 5 years ago.

Google Directions now includes Street View

I'm so excited that they've integrated the two! Now when you're in a new city, you can "see" what the intersections look like. Now once this is integrated into GPS I will be truly happy.

A type of Dancing You've Never Seen Before

Here's a video of a dancer that I met at Pop!Tech who needs crutches to walk and has developed a really cool inspirational dance form.

Church of Scientology Creates a YouTube Channel

As many of you know, I'm morbidly fascinated with the dangerous cult called The Church of Scientology. It was created by a science fiction writer who is quoted as saying "I think I'll create a church, there's a lot of money in that", and they believe that they need paramilitary training to defend the earth from aliens. They also have killed many of their own church members who have tried to leave the cult. There's a great article from an ex-Scientologist on Orato.

It's COMPLETELY a cult, not a religion, and frankly I think folks should work harder to dismantle the cult just like they are doing with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. For more fascinating reads about truth of the cult of Scientology, you should read Operation Clambake.

Anywho, I find it fascinating that the Church has set up a YouTube Channel youtube.com/ChurchofScientology - I'm not going to link to it directly, because I don't want to be associated. Check it out though - they've dismantled all of the community sharing features and commenting. I had no idea that you could do that. Because you know that I headed over there to leave a negative comment, and alas- no dice. They are using YouTube to push their message, and to squelch any dissent. Just like they do in the courts as well.

Did you know that the cult of scientology has murdered, but has not been charged with murder for any of their former members who have died? They have an amazing amount of $ (collected from their members) to pay for legal teams...

Google now provides public transit info

Not for the DC metro area, but I suppose we have Wmata for that. However, when I'm traveling and want to take public transit, the new Google Transit tool that is integrated into Google maps is really helpful.

Why I like Search Marketing

I just had a eureka moment about why I like search marketing. I was reading an article from last year's Marketing Pilgrim's scholarship contest.

Part of the post talked about how search engines are all about people and how they are trying to create search results for what people are looking for in order of preference.

It stands to reason, then, that someone who is an expert in how people think and what motivates them would be an ideal choice for creating a campaign to build search engine ranking.

Considering I focused on social psychology and how people become persuaded during my undergrad, and a tri-focus on marketing,technology and business for my graduate work, OF course I would be drawn to search marketing!

In order to develop online partnerships and link building relationships for instance, you need to investigate that site/person's personality and motivation, and that's the part of the equation where I get to use my social psychology background.

I had to share because it was such an eye opening moment for me.

Searching for "Suicide" Turns up "how to" advice

This was so awful that I wanted to share. I'm sure it's because the suicide help line type sites aren't optimized for search engines...

PARIS (AFP) — People searching the Internet for information about suicide methods are more likely to find sites encouraging suicide than those offering help or support, according to a study released Friday.

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Oxford and Manchester found that nearly half of websites showing up in queries of the four top search engines gave "how to" advice on taking one's own life.

Only 13 percent, by contrast, focused on suicide prevention or offered support, while another 12 percent actively discouraged suicide. More of the story here.

New Job, New focus

I wanted everyone to know that I have a new job. :-) I'm the Online Campaign Director at OMP Direct in DC. I'll be working with political and advocacy groups on their online campaign strategies. It's a perfect fit for my passion and my background.

My Father's Golden Raven Storytelling Circle Schedule

You can see who is schedule to appear this summer.