Benjamin D. Levy - My Blog

WATCH OUT NABAZTAG, HERE COMES CHUMBY !!!

2006-08-28T14:50:00.000+02:00

To compete with the famous Wi-Fi rabbit (www.nabaztag.com), here comes Chumby (www.chumby.com).
Chumby is a Wi-Fi home appliance with a touch-sensitive LCD screen on which you can install many widgets (Digg RSS, Google calendar, Google news, any RSS or XML feed, or even MP3 or DivX players...)
But here comes the fun part: experienced users can hack into Chumby both on hardware and software to create new widgets thanks to the tools made available on the Chumby website.
After trying to check out the site today, it seems to be down due to hit overload...

Web 2.0: The 24 Minute Documentary

2006-08-08T16:21:00.004+02:00

A couple of weeks ago Michael Arrington got together with a number of startup CEOs and executives to video a discussion about Web 2.0. Participating in the discussion were Aaron Cohen (Bolt), Scott Milener and Steven Lurie (Browster), Keith Teare (edgeio), Steven Marder (Eurekster), Joe Kraus (JotSpot), Jeremy Verbaa (Piczo), Auren Hoffman (Rapleaf), Chris Alden (Rojo), Gautam Godhwani (Simply Hired), Jonathan Abrams (Socializr), David Sifry (Technorati), Matt Sanchez (Video Egg) and Michael Tanne (Wink).

The topics discussed included:

1. What is Web 2.0?
2. Are we in a bubble?
3. What are the business models that will work on the web today?
4. What is the role of publishers in a user generated world?
5. How important and how big is the early adopter crowd?

You can click here to watch the video

Source: Techcrunch » Blog Archive » Web 2.0: The 24 Minute Documentary

technorati tags:Web2.0, Bolt, Browster, edgeio, Eurekster, JotSpot, Piczo, Rapleaf, Rojo, Simply_Hired, Socializr, Technorati, Video_Egg, Wink

ONLINE PRESENTATIONS

2006-08-04T11:20:00.000+02:00

For all of those of you who spend hours on PowerPoint (such as myself), you should try Zohoshow.
This amazing tool allows you to create, edit and store presentations online.
You can also invite participants by e-mail and launch remote presentations!

You can give it a try by signing up here.

technorati tags:Zoho, PowerPoint, AJAX, Online, Presentation, Beta, Remote, Web2.0, Technorati

REALNETWORKS TO DELIVER FIREFOX

2006-08-03T12:52:00.000+02:00

For the next two years a partnership between RealNetworks and Mozilla will mean that users downloading RealPlayer, Rhapsody and other Real software will also receive the Firefox browser. The announcement late last night said that a partnership to distribute the Google Toolbar has also been formalized.

Source: Techcrunch » Blog Archive » RealNetworks to deliver Firefox

technorati tags:Web2.0, Firefox, Real, Goolge, Techcrunch, Mozilla, Usability, W3C, XHTML, CSS, Browser

SEO-LINKS FIREFOX EXTENSION

2006-08-02T20:18:00.000+02:00

SEO-Links Firefox extension provides link counts and rankings for the anchor text by simply hovering your cursor over a link.It's great for evaluating how successful a text link advertiser is.
Watch out, this extension is not supported by Flock.
To download this extension, you can click here

technorati tags:SEO, Firefox, Advertising, Links, Adwords, Banners, Paid, Search, AJAX, Extension, Google, Yahoo, MSN, Stats, Analytics

APPLE'S MIGHTY MOUSE GOES WIRELESS

2006-08-01T11:37:00.000+02:00

For once, let's have a look at some hardware!
As a devoted Mac user, I always wished for an Apple-design mouse that would offer all of the usual mouse features: right-click and scroll button.
When Apple released the Mighty Mouse, I figured my prayers had been answered! At least almost: the mouse was USB-driven.
After a long wait, Apple finally releases the wireless version of the Mighty Mouse, you can check out this awesome gear here: http://www.apple.com/mightymouse/

WHEN RIA MEETS E-COMMERCE

2006-08-01T11:01:00.000+02:00

Adobe released recently Flex 2, you can test a demo version of an e-commerce interface made with FlexStore here
As far e-commerce goes, many believe Flash remains a 'goody feature'. Which is justified by the simple fact that Flash does not comply to any SEO concepts, especially in terms of Organic Search.
Perhaps someday, Flash content will be Google-friendly. In the meantime, we can continue to gasp on AJAX-based RIA's...

MY FAVORITE WEBSITE DESIGNS

2006-07-30T14:55:00.000+02:00

Every now and then I will post about the sites that I dig the most (instead of simply sharing my del.icio.us).
Perhaps one of my all-time favorites (even the older version was incredible): www.fullsail.com
Full sail is a school of Film, Art, Design, Music & Media Production based in Florida.
As I understand, Full Sail students and alumni create and operate the website, which shows the quality and creativity of the program and its participants.
This site offers outstanding Flash, 3D and video productions all wrapped in top-level design and usability features. Simply put: Flawless!

ADIDAS RETIRES ZIDANE WITH BUZZ-MARKETING HONORS

2006-07-30T14:34:00.000+02:00

Football fans can post written and video messages to say farewell to the great Zinedine Zidane on the latest Adidas marketing campaign, simply named 'Merci Zidane'.
There are already thousands of written messages and hundreds of video posts for which visitors can vote and win Adidas prizes on www.mercizidane.fr
Since the end of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, it is the first site I have visited that doesn't mention the infamous head-butt...
With this move, Adidas strikes once again as the most active Football brand on the Internet. The question remains: when will an Adidas e-commerce site open? Is it even planned? My assumption is that brand distributors and retailing networks are still very powerful (especially in Europe), so the brand is not quite ready to 'short-circuit' its retailers by selling direct to the consumers. Indeed, one can only imagine the open war declaration this would mean on the market. Still, if you asked me, I would recommend Adidas to go for it, because true market power lies in the brand!

MY JOB

2006-07-29T22:26:00.000+02:00

Just to give a sneak peak at what I do for a living:
I am currently in charge of the Marketing department of the e/merchant offer of the Fotovista Group (a company of DSG International - LSE: DSG.L).
e/merchant allows brands and retailers across Europe to have successful e-commerce activity thanks to a business process outsourcing offer that integrates all the key components of e-commerce: Core Technology, Marketing & Merchandising, Logistics, Customer Care, Financial services (to learn more about this unique activity in Europe: www.e-merchant.com).
FYI, Fotovista is the company that founded and operates the European e-commerce leader in high-tech products: www.pixmania.com (among other sites)
As for my everyday job, you can check back later for a short description!

BROTHERS IN ARMS

2006-07-29T21:26:00.000+02:00

As one of the leading e-commerce experts in Europe, Michael S. Levy shares his thoughts and other Web 2.0 news on his blog: www.michaelslevy.com
Feel free to visit and leave comments !
PS: As you must have guessed, Michael is my brother ;)