TechAddress

Plan Ahead with About Airport Parking (The Startup Review)

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:31:55 +0000

If you’re a blogger, you’re probably aware that FeedBurner recently began migrating customers to Google’s infrastructure, and in turn rolling out AdSense for RSS to certain publishers (Allen Stern had a good summary of the changes earlier this week). While initially I was optimistic when I heard Google’s plan back in May, calling it “huge news for content publishers,” today brings an alarming sign of the current state of the contextual advertising product.

In the post we published earlier today, “18 Smaller Olympic Countries to Root For,” the ad accompanying the story in Google Reader was the following:

What we have here is another example of a contextual advertising misfire – Google sees a lot of words about sports and automatically determines that an ad about fitness might be a good fit. But rather than fire up a PG ad for GNC or Gold’s Gym, we get the very PG-13 ad for a gay fitness site that has absolutely no place in the feed of any professional news organization.

Now don’t get me wrong – I’d have the same reaction if the ad was of a scantly clad female as well. It’s simply inappropriate given the nature of our business, and while I realize we can have this ad removed from our rotation (we can use AdSense’s site filtering features), the policy of shoot first and fix later doesn’t do much for readers that have already formed a negative brand perception based on this type of advertising showing up with our feed.

To its credit, AdSense does offer a new “Ad Review Center” that can give the publisher full control over reviewing all ads before they show up – but again, the default is “Run ads immediately,” meaning unless you disable the setting right away, you’re leaving yourself open to inappropriate ads. There has to be a better in between – manual review by us of every ad is infeasible and will hurt our earnings, but at the same time, “run ads immediately” creates situations like the one above when there is no flag for this type of content.

Meanwhile, Yahoo and Google are taking a similar approach directly with consumers in separate announcements issued this week concerning targeted advertising - you can now opt-out of it on both company’s websites, but you’re opted-in by default. This is more understandable – asking each Internet user to opt-in to advertising before showing ads is unrealistic. Similarly, when Facebook serves those obnoxious “26 and Still Single?” ads, they have every right to do so, because if I hate them that much, I can just stop using the service.

While in those cases, it might be infeasible to have Yahoo, Google, Facebook ask permission before serving targeted ads on their own respective websites and third-party ad networks, when you are dealing with publishers, their brand, and ultimately their business, a bit more discretion should be shown in determining what type of ads are displayed. Believe it or not, we actually care.

Source:Mashable!

Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series at Mashable - The Startup Review, Sponsored by Sun Microsystems Startup Essentials. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

STARTUP DETAILS:

Company Name: About Airport Parking

20 word description: AboutAirportParking.com helps you find the best place to park at the airport with prices, maps, user reviews and more.

CEO’s Pitch: With air travel an expensive hassle these days, AboutAirportParking.com simplifies the question of where to park your car. AboutAirportParking.com lists over 400 parking lots, covering every major airport in the United States. We provide detailed information on each lot, including prices, available services and user reviews all neatly organized with maps and tips to help you find the best lot for you. In select markets you can also make a reservation to guarantee a spot and lock in online discounts.

Mashable’s Take: There are a lot of Web-based services out there that are taking on the offline parking industry in an effort to make it easier to find parking spots, especially for travelers. The fact remains that it’s a difficult industry to fully break into, given its offline presence and technological obstacles for making it a viable Web-based tool. But today we have another team that’s dedicated itself to bringing the parking industry into a useful online search tool.

About Airport Parking is a site that was borne of an idea some time ago, and is finally manifesting itself fully online. With search capabilities for parking around the world, About Airport Parking has a global reach on a very niche market. But in concentrating on the airport parking market, About Airport Parking has been able to do a few things that move it further ahead than some of the other parking search sites we’ve seen, like online reservations for parking handled directly on About Airport Parking’s site.

This particular niche in the parking industry is more likely than an independent parking lot owner in a downtown area to support things like online reservations, and as airport parking is something that can easily be planned for ahead of time, About Airport Parking doesn’t have to be as reliant on mobile or in-car navigation integration. This also means that the self-service market isn’t a likely consideration for About Airport Parking.

As this site continues to develop its feature set and automated features, I’d be interested in seeing how it could fit in with other travel services. Sites like SideStep have already integrated parking information, or personal assistant and recommendation services, as these too are beginning to move into the airport-specific travel industry.

TripSay Launches Publicly with Improved Search and Interactivity

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 18:57:01 +0000

Source:Mashable!

You know an online video has gone viral when your mom is asking if you’ve seen it. And that’s exactly what happened to me this morning as the first thing my mom says to me is “Have you seen the Paris Hilton campaign video responding John McCain?”

Remarkably though, my answer was “no.” The video went live on Funny or Die just last night, but has already been viewed more than 3 million times, making it the 6th most popular video of all-time on Will Ferrell’s much-hyped (and heavily funded) video startup.

At this rate, Paris could challenge the video that first put the site on the map – The Landlord, which has been viewed more than 58 million times since being uploaded more than a year ago.

That’s good news for Funny or Die, which has failed to gain serious traction since its initial spike from The Landlord. Compete shows the site attracting 550,000 viewers in the US last month – down 34% from last year. Of course, many of the millions of views the Paris video is receiving won’t help the traffic numbers since they’ll be from embeds elsewhere, but it’s a huge opportunity for the site to regain some momentum, and that would be hot (I couldn’t resist).

Oh, and if you’re not quite sure what exactly Paris is responding to, the video actually is a parody of a commercial released by the McCain campaign that has been causing quite a stir on the cable news networks and talk radio over the past week. The video has since been pulled from YouTube (and a few other video sharing sites I tried), but if you have a working link to it add it in the comments so we can embed.

Source:Mashable!

Travel search site TripSay officially launches its public beta today, allowing anybody to register for an account and try out its service. As I mentioned in our previous coverage of TripSay’s private beta, the site’s distinction as a search and recommendation engine is important. While the previous private beta release included a handful of new social features, today’s public beta launch highlights a number of upgrades as well.

Most of the upgrades revolve around search filters and easy interactivity with TripSay’s service, including a World Builder that makes it easier for users to add places, rate locations and add their own tips. The new group filter allows you to sift through search results based on the number of people you’ll be traveling with, and a group message board makes for easier communication amongst users that will be traveling together.

Other features are more focused on the user experience and the creation of a customizable recommendation tool, with a new option for collecting your favorite tips in a private group, and the ability to edit existing tips and places you’ve already created on the site. If you had the opportunity to check out TripSay’s private beta, you’ll recognize the importance of many of these features in terms of its group capabilities, as group functionality within TripSay is central to the activity and recommendation options on the site.

As TripSay is one travel search and recommendation that is beginning to straddle the fence in terms of other sites that are distinctly created for professional or user-generated recommendations, I’ll be interested in seeing whatever developments come about as a result of the public beta launch and its included new features. TripSay could become one of the services that approaches a unique middle ground within the online travel search and recommendation industry.

TripSay company profile provided by TradeVibes

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

25+ Tools for a Road Trip 2.0

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:54:49 +0000

Source:Mashable!

Mobile TV just doesn’t seem to die. For years now, I’ve heard from countless companies that they’re going to provide the “real” Mobile TV experience that will totally change the way we enjoy television. All the while, I’ve laughed to myself wondering if these companies will ever realize that time has already passed them by.

To prove my point, yet another Mobile TV solution has died. According to published reports in Germany, an effort by Mobile 3.0 to offer Mobile TV services was pushed aside due to its desire to support paid TV and work over DVB-H.

Didn’t Mobile 3.0 get the memo? Mobile TV is dead in the water.

Let’s figure out why it’s dead, shall we?

First off, the Slingbox has made it abundantly clear to all of us that Mobile TV doesn’t really make much sense. If I can watch all of my home programming no matter where I am, for free, with the help of an Internet connection and laptop, which is almost always with me, why would I pay for, or even use, a Mobile TV solution?

Oh, and what about Hulu and the rest of these video services that allow me to watch practically any show I want? Sure, it may not be the same feeling, considering I’m streaming or buying the show after it has already aired, and it requires that same broadband connection, but who cares? At least I’m getting something out of it from a reputable source instead of paying more for something I barely want to watch.

And perhaps that’s where the biggest issue comes along for Mobile TV: no one wants to pay. More often than not, Mobile TV services will say that you’ll need to pay to use it. Why would I want to do that? You mean to tell me that in order to watch your crappy programming, I’ll need to pay a set fee for use of the service, on top of the fee I pay to have Internet access? Sorry, but that doesn’t seem quite right to me.

I should also point out that most of these Mobile TV services seem to forget that battery concerns are real, user interfaces really do matter, and more often than not, we don’t really want to watch TV on a junky little cell phone screen.

More companies will undoubtedly crop up and claim to have the solution to making more people use Mobile TV, but none will work.

We don’t want Mobile TV because it doesn’t make any sense. And because it doesn’t make any sense, it’s failing – miserably.

[Image credit: Wowbagger (attribution)]

Source:Mashable!

Ten, five, even two years ago, documenting a road trip meant disposable cameras, a fold-out map, postage stamps and planning ahead. Now a road trip means streaming video, GPS, email, and Hotels.com.

Even if you’re not rocking an iPhone or BlackBerry, I know from personal experience (like last month, before I had an iPhone) that you can still have a digital adventure with something as simple as the Sony Ericsson w580i. In fact, if I’d had an iPhone then, I wouldn’t have been able to take all of the embarrassing footage I ended up with after 62 hours in the car.

Plan your trip with TripIt.

What makes TripIt a good planning tool for a roadtrip is that it has a mobile counterpart. So whether you start at home or start on the road, you’ll have access to your itinerary from anywhere. Book your hotels on Hotels.com and you have yourself a digital agenda.

Blog your whole story with Utterz.

There are, again, dozens of blogging apps for the iPhone. But not everybody has, or wants, an iPhone (keep stickin’ it to the man guys!) and there have been blogging apps for the mobile phone since the dawn of social media. An especially great mobile blogging platform is Utterz. Utterz is fantastic because it works with all of the popular blogging platforms including Blogger, Wordpress, Flickr, Typepad, Drupal, and others. You could also use MoBlog to start a whole new mobile blog, but I’m not sure what the value is in creating yet another blog unless it’s your primary site.

Track your progress with Brightkite.

The benefit to Brightkite is that it has a more tightly knit social network than other mobile posting sites. Besides that, it will cross-post your check-ins and pictures to Twitter. Brightkite is simple in that you can just text or email them your location, and voila, you’ve checked in.

You can also post pictures and notes from anywhere you’re checked in and send a “hello” to anyone in the vicinity. This was pretty hip and original before the iPhone 3G came out and released a lifetime supply of GPS-enabled social networks like Loopt, and Whrrl. Dodgeball is a more bare-bones version of Brightkite but if you don’t want or need to post photos, it could work

Upload your cellphone pictures with Shozu.

Shozu is a great picture service because it connects with popular photo-sharing sites like Flickr, Picasa, Blogger, Facebook and others. It’s also a great service because it lets you post videos as well, thus eliminating the need for a separate service. Brightkite is again popular for this purpose, as is the comparable Twitxr service since they both cross-post to Twitter. All you need is to attach a picture to a text message and hit send.

Stream video from the road with Qik.

Qik is arguably the best mobile streaming service, the only problem is that it’s limited. In other words, if you don’t own one of the 40 phones they offer the service with, you’re out of luck. If you are lucky enough to use Qik, you’ll find it’s easy to stream live and chat with your viewers at the same time. People watching your stream might get some buffering, but unlike some sites, will be able to pick up where it left off instead of skipping a chunk of your video.

A more primal service like UPhoneBlog makes mobile video blogging easy for regular phones. It’s also possibly the most obnoxious site on this side of Google, with its iPhone and Wii talking ads. However, they do give you a video player that you can place on your blog. Every time you email a video from your phone, it gets put as the first video in that player, so anyone who’s watching can follow all of your new videos.

Services like JuiceCaster, Treemo, and Shozu are also popular vlogging portals.

Find your way with TomTom.

I like TomTom because it’s easy to hack and create your own voices for, plus they offer MapShare and TomTom buddies which was social media before social media was GPS enabled. Equip your car with a TomTom, Garmin, Navigon, or even the Internet-connected Dash (if you’re feeling extra-geeky). As a personal note, I wouldn’t trust Google Maps on any phone to get me to my next-door neighbors house, so be smart about it.

Track your MPGs with MileMarker.

Available on any mobile phone, MileMarker is better than any of the iPhone or other mobile apps I’ve seen and it can be accessed via your Web browser. You put in the amount of miles you’ve driven, how much you paid for gas, and it will tell you how much you’re spending, how many MPGs your getting, and what your gas spending future looks like. With gas in mind, you should also check out the Cheap Gas mobile app by Mobio, which tells you where the cheapest gas stations are in your vicinity. If you have an iPhone, you probably already know the many gas applications available, so I won’t waste the space here.

Connect with friends via Twinkle.

If you have the time, make sure to stop and smell the social media. While you’re out traveling the countryside, don’t forget that your Twitter, Plurk, and Pownce friends are probably somewhere along the route. Suggest a Tweetup via Twinkle or one of the many Twitter apps available if that doesn’t sound too dirty to you.

Find places to eat with Yelp.

Point your cell phone browser to mobile.yelp.com for quick access to great eats nearby. Urban Spoon has an amusing iPhone app that you have to shake in order to find dinner. It works like a slot machine and it’s fun to watch, but it only gives you relevant results in certain metro areas.

Other things to consider:

Wireless card: If you want to be connected 24-7, you might want to buy a wireless card for your laptop through your mobile provider. These cards are usually around $100.00 and have a subscription fee of around $60 a month with a 2-year contract. With that said, unless you plan on using that baby all year round, it might not be all that important.

A/C adapter for your laptop: If you plan on watching movies, editing pictures, or playing solitaire on this trip, you’ll need a backup battery or an adapter for your car. You can find them for around $30 and they’re worth the investment.

Mp3 player: Stock your Mp3 player as full as you can. Don’t only load it with music; make sure to add podcasts, audiobooks and comedy tracks to the playlist. Trust me, music will get old after 12 hours and you’re going to need some dialog to ease your brain.

Sure, you could take a road trip to rid yourself of technology for a few days or weeks, but what is good is doing something if you don’t have anything to remember it by? So remember, take lots of pictures and videos, and don’t forget to review everything on Yelp.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

30+ Tools For Finding Cheap Travel Accommodations

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:32:14 +0000

Source:Mashable!
With gas prices and airfare on the rise, you probably want to save money on every aspect of your trip. Cheap hotels are one idea, but vacation rentals, furnished apartments and even youth hostels can be lower cost alternatives.
Browse this list, do your research, and see what sort of deals you can find to […]

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.

SoCruise Connects the Cruise Community Online

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:48:46 +0000

Source:Mashable!
Web 2.0 has been advancing the way we connect with our friends and family, but it has also introduced all kinds of communities to the Internet that may not have otherwise existed. SoCruise is one of them.
SoCruise is a social networking site focused on uniting the cruise community online. Cruises are a popular choice for […]

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.