Patricio Robles

Twitter has a really bad weekend

Twitter, the wildly-popular microblogging service that's the topic du jour amongst digital marketers these days, had a really bad weekend.

First, on Friday it came to light that a Twitter-oriented advertising network called Magpie was being used by affiliates to promote spammy affiliate links on Twitter. The affiliate links were presented as 'testimonial' tweets and the users who sent them did not directly disclose that their tweets were paid.

by Patricio Robles 14 April 2009 08:30am 9 comments

Twitter Partners looks like a fail whale of an agency

In this age of specialization, it's no surprise that we've seen specialization on the agency side.

And that means it's no surprise that somebody has decided to start an agency for the hottest social media service on the internet right now: Twitter.

by Patricio Robles 09 April 2009 17:10pm 25 comments

Will Ford's gutsy social media campaign work?

Ford Motor Company was founded almost 106 years ago and it's been through its fair share of ups and downs over the years. But like other auto manufacturers, it's currently in a battle to survive one of the toughest economic environments ever seen.

So it's doing what other great companies have done throughout the years when faced with a great challenge: it's taking a risk. In this case, it's turning to social media.

by Patricio Robles 09 April 2009 16:45pm 7 comments

Is it time to wave the white flag in the war on spam?

Spam. It's the scourge of the internet yet we just can't seem to get rid of it. The more sophisticated our defenses get, the more sophisticated the spammers become. The war on spam is the quintessential cat and mouse game.

And right now, it looks like the mouse is staying one step ahead of the cat.

by Patricio Robles 09 April 2009 12:08pm 3 comments

If you're still using the old Google Analytics code, you're not alone

In late 2007, Google upgraded the tracking code script for Analytics. The new script, ga.js, offered a number of significant improvements over the old script, urchin.js. If that didn't convince you, it also offered some assurance: Google would be maintaining ga.js going forward but urchin.js support would end at some point within 12-18 months.

Given how important web analytics are to online publishers, one might have expected websites to switch over to the new code pronto, especially major websites.

by Patricio Robles 09 April 2009 12:00pm 3 comments

Unemployed? Learn to Flex your skills on Adobe's dime

If you're an unemployed developer looking to build up your skill set while you sit on the sidelines, Adobe has a deal for you.

If you can vouch for your unemployment, it's offering up a $699 software application absolutely free.

by Patricio Robles 09 April 2009 11:15am 0 comments

Video games change television consumption habits: Nielsen

What do people do when times are tough? History suggests they look for escapes. Some go to the movies, some eat candy and some indulge in sin. And some play video games.

The healthy growth in the video game market has not been dented by the recession according to Nielsen's newly-released 'State of the Video Gamer' report, which looked at console and PC video game usage in the United States for Q4 2008.

by Patricio Robles 08 April 2009 13:00pm 0 comments

Yahoo prepares to apply the social glue to its network

Yahoo has a lot of work to do as it looks to rebuild under new CEO Carol Bartz. Bartz has assets to work with, namely Yahoo's diverse portfolio of highly-trafficked properties.

One of the biggest challenges: figuring out a way to pull them all together, both from an operational standpoint and a functional standpoint.

by Patricio Robles 08 April 2009 11:30am 1 comment

Consumers heart online coupons

With all of the talk about social media and Marketing 2.0, it's easy to overlook less exciting marketing tools. Like coupons.

But make no mistake about it: coupons are in vogue as consumers look for every opportunity to save money. That means business is good for players in the online coupon industry.

by Patricio Robles 08 April 2009 10:05am 2 comments

EU wants cookie approval

What if you had to receive consent to place a cookie on a user's computer? As an online publisher or digital marketer, you might find it very difficult to operate.