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Source:Mashable!

Outside.in has just granted public access to StoryMaps, their GeoToolkit embeddable maps which let bloggers promote their local content in a visual format. The thing that makes StoryMaps so appealing is the fact that it’s so easy to use. Even the least technically savvy blogger will be able to connect their blog’s RSS feeds to their StoryMap which can be embedded on their site. Here’s the simple interface where you can customize the map and it then generates the embed code for you.

Paradigm Shift for Blogging Timelines?

StoryMaps strives to change the way people read blogs. The traditional method is simply a top to bottom format with the latest and newest posts appearing on top with each new item pushing the existing piece down a notch and so on. Outside.in’s theory is that it isn’t wise to keep burying your own posts with each new one. They believe that displaying your posts in a non-linear timeline as presented in StoryMaps would be the ultimate way to do this.

For example, if you’ve blogged about certain restaurants or other places in your neck of the woods then it would be lost somewhere in your blog and hard to find. However, if you used a StoryMap of your neighborhood then every post you’ve written about places in that neighborhood will appear as clickable links on the map.

Readers can also easily adjust how far back in time to view posts about that area on your StoryMap. Thus, from the same map and webpage readers can access posts from many different time periods.

Summation

For certain types of blogs, StoryMaps make a lot of sense. If you blog about places and events then this tool will be very valuable for creating a visual navigational system for your stories. Some of the other options available from Outside.in add value to StoryMaps. For example, their new Radar feature allows you to find stories in and around your area. Another useful feature is the integration with Yahoo’s Fire Eagle service that pinpoints your location on a map. All together Outside.in provides a decent selection of Geographic tools.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:Outside.in Gets $1.5 MillionLefora Offers Premium Domain Mapping Exclusively to Mashable ReadersFixMyMovie Relaunches, Autopost to YouTubeJalbum’s Photo Album Site Now has Free HostingFT.com Frees Up ContentSpinVox Enables Voice-To-Text for LiveJournalRedBubble to Launch Global Artist Marketplace

Source:Mashable!

I can’t say that I’m particularly surprised that the Microsoft ad campaign featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates has been cancelled; the media outcry against it was just too great.  Similarly, I can’t say I’m surprised that the bulk of the tech blogger set (and the ensuing piggy-backed mainstream media coverage) didn’t get it since the majority of the blogosphere are Apple fanboys. 

It hasn’t been cool to like Microsoft in a long time, though, so the level of distaste for the ads would have made you think that Bill and Jerry came out as supporters of Governor Palin, the way they were so universally panned.

Rather than push forward and enjoy the fact that literally everyone in the world is talking about their ad campaign, Microsoft has decided to raise the white flag and pull the campaign. I first caught the news over at Valleywag a couple of hours ago:

In a phone call, Waggener Edstrom flack Frank Shaw confirms that Microsoft is not going on with Seinfeld, and echoes his underlings’ spin that the move was planned. There is the “potential to do other things” with Seinfeld, which Shaw says is still “possible.” He adds: “People would have been happier if everyone loved the ads, but this was not unexpected.”

There were a few people in the A-List that enjoyed the ads, myself included. Most bloggers admitted they just didn’t get it which, as Steven said, is a sign that the ads hit their mark - they were meant to make Bill Gates and by proxy Microsoft seem more human, likable and intriguing to the general public, not the tech elite.

Now we’re all stuck with the Mojave experiment ads.  I hope you’re happy, blogosphere. Instead of an ad that skirts the boundaries of marketing and creative content, we’ve got this now.

—Related Articles at Mashable | All That’s New on the Web:There’s Something In All That NothingSeinfeld Comes to Grouper: Bad TimingI Don’t Care What You Say, I Love the Microsoft AdsRumor: Microsoft Wants To Buy Ustream.TVMicrosoft Loses Court Appeal. Must Pay $690M for Market Dominance.Steve Ballmer Attacks Google’s Gmail AdsMicrosoft and Digg Sign Ad Deal, Acquisition Mentioned

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 at 11:46 pm and is filed under News, microsoft, Bill Gates, Celebrities, Opinion, jerry seinfeld, ad campaign, mojoave. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.