How Much Is 1 Trillion. A LOT

According to Google's reporting, in their index, there are over 1 trillion URL's with unique content on the Internet right now. Are you kidding me? A Trillion?

I don't think that most of us can comprehend 1 trillion. That is such an enormous number I think some quick facts are in order for you to understand the scope.

• The USA has not existed for one trillion seconds yet
• One trillion looks like this - 1,000,000,000,000
• Western civilization has not been around for 1 trillion seconds yet
• 1 Trillion seconds ago Neanderthals walked the Earth
• If you had a trillion dollars and you spent 1 dollar a second, it would take you 31,600 years to spend it all.

Got your head around it yet?

According to the gurus over at the big G, "Google downloads the web continuously, collecting updated page information and re-processing the entire web-link graph several times per day." Yes you read it right, GOOGLE DOWNLOADS THE WEB. Over one trillion URLs worth of downloading.

Let me ask this. If everyday Google maps out the internet, how many petabytes or exabytes (both bigger than a terabyte) of data does that download represent? What about the future? Since the Internet is growing by billions of pages per day, can one company be big enough to handle it all? Do we want one company to handle it all?

But more importantly, what happens when Skynet takes over after becoming self aware and the machines start to round us all up?

 

"What I Found In My Email" Mondays. Vol.2 - Issue 22

I really don't know what to say.

This one was called "tanktop." Look close.



Now I ask you... Who sits and looks at a pair of men's briefs and says hmmmm...I can make a nice summer top from these!! On the other hand...$6 for a three pack is a good price!!

With that I wish you a happy Monday

 

Spam Will Eventually Kill Ya.

From the Net - Eddie Davidson was convicted as a spammer. He was caught sending out spam promoting certain penny stocks as a good investment. Because of his involvement in the operation, Davidson was sentence to 21 months in a federal prison.

After serving only 2 months of his 21 month sentence, he escaped. Just 4 days after he escaped from the federal minimum security prison he was found dead from a self inflicted gun shot wound.

Davidson had been cooperating with the FBI and acting as a consultant prior to his escape.

Karma?

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XII

Can I get a round of applause for Friday. The most anticipated and appreciated day of the week. Well, that's what I'm told anyway. And since it's Friday, it's time for another "old ad" from my collection of 1960's magazines that someone keeps dropping off. Whoever you are, thanks for the magazines, it is much appreciated but my office is starting to fill up.

This ad comes from the October 1965 issue of Outdoor Life.



Do you see what that says under the picture? "Guaranteed to go through ice, mud, and snow...or we pay the tow." Wow, that's a bold statement. They even guarantee it in writing.

Where I live, when the snow falls, I have been stuck with my 4 wheel drive vehicle. What makes this ad even more spectacular, most of the cars in the 60's were "one wheel wonders." Very few had a posi rear end. This makes me wonder many times the Firestone company had to honor this guarantee. It's definitely an incentive to buy the tires. I would be real surprised if a tire company would toss out something like that today.

2 tires for $25. In addition to the great price, they sweeten the pot by throwing in a ice scraper, all you have to do is ask.

Have an awesome weekend everyone. Don't get stuck.

 

What I Like

I have been writing almost every day for well over a year now. I usually read quite few blogs every day either by way of my feed reader or by actually going to the site. Most of the sites I read, I read because of the content and how it is written. It has to keep my interest for me to keep coming back. The Sitehoppin blog kept my interest in a different manner. I just wanted to see what Max was going to do next in his crazy videos. However he pretty much dissappeared. Must be focusing on his other interests.

Anyway, I realized that, for the most part, I know very little about the authors of the blogs I read. I supposed that some keep it that way on purpose. So in the interest of sharing, I will do MY part. Here is my top 10 list of things that people probably don't know about me.

1. I used to skateboard in the 80's. Not just piddle around, I used to do it a lot. I even have my old pads and last board.
   
2. I bought a 1980 Toyota Tercel for $90 from a guy that was running from the law. I Sold it 13 years later for $400
3. I have logged a LOT of miles on motorcycles
4. I used to have the best mullet you have ever seen. I will have to find my college ID and scan it in. IT was the best. Ever. I think I even "permed" the back from time to time
5. I am running for a political office this November (I will do a shameless self promotion post sometime in the future)
   
6. I won a contest for building a bridge out of toothpics when I was in high school
7. I had over 20 "foster" siblings growing up
8. I used a belt sander on my heel tonight
9. I am scared to death of heights
10. Pizza is my weakness. It's my Kryptonite. I get weak in the knees and uncontrollable jaw movement commences. I can sniff a pepperoni pie out from over 600 yards. 10 years ago I awoke in the gutter with only my boxers on not knowing where I was. The only thing recognizable was the Old Chicago Pizza box under my right shoulder. At that point I realized what happened. A pizza bender. I've had only one since then thanks to the counselors at PBIP
    

There it is. Nothing too incriminating (other than the mullet). I am saving the good stuff for my concept for an upcoming contest. Now, here's the other part, I want to know about the readers of The Big Bald Blog. So here's your chance. Give me your top 10 things that you think people don't know about you. And yes Jason, the list can even be funny, in fact I would be disappointed if it weren't.

There you have it. A "get to know you" post in which you can bear your soul. Just keep it clean folks. That includes you Brenda, Krissi, and Easy E.

 

The Top 10 Ad Icons Of The Last 100 Years

Here is Advertising Age's list of the Top 10 ad icons of the 20th century. These recognizable images have been crowned the most powerful in the marketplace. The criteria with which these were chosen include effectiveness, longevity, recognizability and cultural impact.

1. The Marlboro Man - Marlboro cigarettes
2. Ronald McDonald - McDonald's restaurants
3. The Green Giant - Green Giant vegetables
4. Betty Crocker - Betty Crocker food products
5. The Energizer Bunny - Eveready Energizer batteries
6. The Pillsbury Doughboy - Assorted Pillsbury foods
7. Aunt Jemima - Aunt Jemima pancake mixes and syrup
8. The Michelin Man - Michelin tires
9. Tony the Tiger - Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes
10. Elsie - Borden dairy products - List via AdAge.com
    

It's ironic, the number one icon is the one that has had the most controversy. The 2 prominent actors depicted as the 60's and 70's Marlboro man both died of lung cancer.

Elsie was way before my time and there are a couple that I think have been omitted. What about Smokey the Bear? Sure it wasn't for a consumer product but he was definitely an icon that was, and still is used in advertising. Heck, he's been patrolling the woods since 1944. And what about the Keebler Elves or Mr Peanut? I am sure you can come up with many more. What do you think??

 

NY Comcast To Block Child Pornography

New York ISP, Comcast, is planning to sign an agreement stating that they will block access to all newsgroups and websites that have been found to distribute child pornography. The agreement was drafted by NY Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo and has been signed by all the big ISP's in the NY area. Comcast was one of the last ones to come on board. According to Mike Sachoff at WPN "...internet service providers including Verizon, Sprint, AOL, AT&T and Time Warner Cable, all signed an agreement to block access to Web sites that distribute child porn."

This is a significant step forward in policing our Internet and keeping it safe. However, the problem that I have with all this is that it's a misguided effort and isn't eliminating the source of the problem. All the sicko criminals have to do is put up a new site and it's business as usual. Evidently the Cuomo camp has done an extensive, undercover, investigation and identified numerous sites and newsgroups. Though these are identified now, this doesn't identify and block the new sites that will crop up. I appreciate all the hard work that everyone went through but it really seems ineffective to me. Again this is not cutting the snakes head off, just a small portion of it's tail.

Here's another thing that I didn't necessarily agree with. Cuomo apparently sent a letter to Comcast saying that they would take legal action if they didn't sign the agreement within 5 days. OK, here's where I have a problem. Comcast is NOT the one distributing the porn yet they were going to seek legal action against them. I DO agree with the blockade but holding an ISP accountable for what is on the Internet is absolutely asinine. It's like holing the Diamond Match Company liable for forest fires or gun manufacturers liable for gun crime (the anti-gun crowd actually tried this).

Now, if a hosting company is knowingly hosting a child porn site, then that is a different story and they SHOULD be held accountable. Granted we do a lot already to police the internet and try and protect our children, but what good did this last bit really do? Yeah, it blocked the other sickos from accessing the porn and potentially re-distributing it but were the dollars spent on the undercover investigation really effective? Did they really accomplish something significant here?

What say you?

 

Tis The Season...

Our friends over at JibJab have done it again. Here's the new OBama and McCain animated short from JibJab.

Welcome to the week.

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XI

I have always thought that people driving pickups as their primary vehicle was a relatively new concept. Pickups are getting nicer and definitely more comfortable. I saw this December 1965 ad and started thinking back to when I was a child. I don't remember anyone that I knew or my family knew that drove a pickup. We all had station wagons from what I can recall. Most people even pulled their campers with cars.

I asked around the office and most people didn't remember pickups as a child either. Then I asked someone who grew up in a small "farm" town. She said that's all they drove. Everyone had a pickup. Then it all made sense, station wagons for town folk and pickups for the rural lot. I wonder though, when did the pickup made the mainstream transition. Was it with the extended cab? Even up until the early 90's, pickups weren't that nice were they? Feel free to chime in here.

Thanks again for stopping by the Big Bald Blog. Have a great weekend!

 

The New Can-Am Spyder

I decided to take a break for a little bit and wandered over to a client's motorcycle shop. They just happen to be a Can-Am dealer AND they just happened to have the new Spyder by Can-Am in.



Oh yes cowboys and cowgirls, it is one primo ride. 2 wheels in the front and one fatty in the back, the Spyder is all business. It has so much power that you can effortlessly roll that rear tire over in gears 1 through 3.

It's almost like a snowmobile/sports car. You sit on it like a snowmobile but it has all the handling of a fast and low performance machine. Anti-lock brakes, stability control, traction control and more acceleration than you can handle all add up to one impressive package. And did I mention that it had all kinds of power?

There are some things that take some getting used to. Since I have been riding motorcycles for years, I quickly had to learn that you don't have to put your feed down when you stop. I was instructed that there are no hand brakes, yet I still found myself reaching for the brakes with my fingers when it came time to stop. All the braking is done but ONE foot lever. And let me tell you, the brakes are unbelievably good.

I was concerned about the cornering too. Having spent some time on ATV "3 wheelers" as a young chap, I knew how tippy a 3 wheeler could be. Not the Spyder. The only reason you need to lean into the corner is so you don't fall off the other side. This thing corners! AND it sticks to the road.



The version I rode was the automatic version. There's no clutch and the "flappy paddle" shifter on the left grip works great. You can open the throttle up and run through the gears without having to let off. Oh, and if you do that, you will be going 100 before you can say, "holy crap this thing is..."

If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend you test drive one of these 3 wheeled roadsters. It was well worth it. Who knows, you may even put a deposit down on one.

 

I Forgot To Mention That I Twitter

I have never mentioned it before but if you would like, you can follow me on Twitter. I don't have anything profound or important to say. It's just fun I guess. It's kind of like having a mini blog.

Anyway, here's the address. Big Pops on Twitter.

 

The Top 10 Jingles Of The Century

You know them, you love them, and most of you can sing the words to them. They are advertising jingles. A short tune with lyrics that contribute to a brand's awareness and below are the top ten jingles from the last 100 years.

1. You deserve a break today (McDonalds)
2. Be all that you can be (U.S. Army)
3. Pepsi Cola Hits the Spot (Pepsi Cola)
4. M'm, M'm good (Campbell's)
5. See the USA in your Chevrolet (GM)
6. I wish I was an Oscar Meyer Wiener (Oscar Meyer)
7. Double your pleasure, double your fun (Wrigley's Doublemint Gum)
8. Winston tastes good like a cigarette should (Winston)
9. It's the Real Thing (Coca Cola)
10. A little dab'll do ya (Brylcreem)
Courtesy of AdAge.com

I remember 7 out of the 10. I am very surprised that the McDonalds Big Mac jingle didn't make it on the list. You know the one; "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun."

What else is missing?

 

Beat Down by Google

I think I was slapped by Google. I have read about it, I have been warned and I have seen it happen to others. I figured I'm not out there creating any waves so they will be nice to me unless I had a big traffic site. Well it turns out I did. I was getting a ton of traffic on a little site that I threw together some time ago and I didn't even know it.

You see, I have a simple fan site for an under-publicized, under-rated and under-appreciated ESPN sport reporter named Colleen Dominguez. As it turned out, when I set up the site, there wasn't anything about her on the internet. I didn't put a whole lot of time into it and frankly I forgot about it. Several months later I was getting some serious traffic and even Colleen popped in to check it out. A few people have even sent pictures that can only be found on my site like the one below. I even had a discussion board that was getting a ton of traffic until the spammers killed it. Well, I killed it... but they started it. Stupid spammers.



Anyway, I used to rank #1 in Google for the search terms "Colleen Dominguez" and "Colleen Dominguez Pictures." I still am #1 in Yahoo and MSN and rank respectably with Ask. Not the case with the big G. The images are still showing up in Google image search the normal search listings waved bye bye.

I realized that I had NOT put "no follow" attribute on the links. In my haste of quickly slapping together a links page with links going to sports related websites, I neglected to specify the "no follow." That is the only thing that I can think of that caused me to fall off the charts. I think I went about 20 pages deep and didn't see the site.

The moral of the story boys and girls is: Play nice with Google and follow their rules or get kicked out of their club.

For you experts out there, what is a guy to do now? I can go in and fix the links but is there a way that I can get reinstated into the G club? This could be a fun experiment. Let me know.

 

"What I Found In My Email" Mondays. Vol.2 - Issue 21

So you think you're an equipment operator. I beg to differ. This guy has one up on most heavy equipment operators that I know.















Even though I'm sure there is an OSHA violation in there somewhere, you have to admit it is pretty impressive.

Happy Monday

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part X

Before Columbine and Virginia Tech there was a time when someone thought a gun was a great "Gift Idea." This ad comes from the December 1967 issue of Outdoor Life.

1967 was a simpler time indeed. This was the time before background checks and 3 day waiting periods. As I looked at this ad, I realized something. The item in the ad hasn't changed in over 40 years. It's still a piece of machined steel that fires a projectile. A tool if you will, that requires someone to operate it. Not that different from, let's say, a hammer. What HAS changed is society. This very same item today is looked at in a different light. Some have even demonized it's very existence and seek to ban it's presence altogether. Instead of putting so much misguided energy into the item itself, shouldn't we be focusing on the real problem?

But then again I could be way off. Have a great weekend everyone.

 

Gas Mileage - I Knew We Had The Technology

How does 235 miles per gallon sound? Impossible you say? Think again.

According to Wired.com, VW's new "One Liter" car is bringing new meaning to the term fuel efficiency. The new concept car's body is made entirely of carbon fiber which allows for a total vehicle weight of only 660 pounds.

Originally scheduled to launch in 2012, VW has decided ready the vehicle for market 2 years ahead of schedule. "They'll probably be built in the company's prototype shop, which has the capacity to build as many as 1,000 per year. That's not a lot, but it's enough to help VW get a lot of attention while showing how much light weight and an efficient engine can achieve."

As fuel prices continue to soar this type of vehicle is a welcome addition to the road. The original concept car has a 1 cylinder, 8.5 horsepower engine but VW will probably add another cylinder to the production model which will surely cut fuel economy.





Here's the thing that always annoys me. Fuel economy is going to cost you. The One Liter is going to cost anywhere from $31,750 to $47,622. We need to make fuel efficient vehicles accessible to the masses if we are ever going to wean ourselves off of foreign oil. If only the upper-middle class to upper class can afford the vehicles, that is a small percentage of the cars on the road. But what about the new Smart car you say? Base models start out at about 12 grand. Yeah Ok, I'll give you that. But, you have to wait 9 months to get them. AND they aren't getting that great of gas mileage. 42mpg for the US models? The same cars are getting 70 mpg in Europe.



RJ Adams over at SparrowChat asks, "...why do foreign cars sold in America always produce poorer gas mileage figures than their European or Asian counterparts? The US Smart manages a figure over a third less, from the same 999cc turbo-charged engine?"

Very good question. I did some digging and it's true. Apples to apples Euro cars DO get better mileage. Is this due to the "imperial gallon" or are the cars in the US de-tuned in some way? Is it a conspiracy with the government and big oil? Adams says, "It makes no sense, unless one becomes incredibly cynical and dares to suggest a political element limiting the scope of non-American motor manufacturers?"

What about the EV1 from GM. That was a pretty big controversy. Some even called it a conspiracy. What about the VW 1.8 liter TDI? A car that was getting 50 mpg but they had to take it off the market a year ago to "re-engineer" it to conform to emission standards. No matter how you look at it. We DO have the technology to produce vehicles that get GREAT fuel mileage. Are we choosing NOT to make them? What are your thoughts?

 

Back From Vacation

I got back in town and I am finally getting back at it. Of course, when I got back to the office, Qwest was having issues and for the last 2 days so my Internet at the office has been on the blink. It never ceases to amaze me how crippling it is when you loose something like the Internet.

Anyway we had a great time in the woods of Northern Wisconsin. Around the area are miles and miles of trails for both snowmobiles and ATV. We spent an entire day 4 wheelin'. That my friends, is a blast.





The trails were pretty dusty since it had not rained in while up there. Check out my buddy's face. We were pretty grimy when we were done. I'd still do it all again.


We took some friends with us and I think a good time was had by all.


All in all, it's nice to unplug and unwind from time to time. Some people like the tropics, some like to travel abroad. For me, my place is a cabin on a lake in the Northern woods. It's good for the soul.


We now resume our regularly scheduled blogging.

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part IX

In March of 1965 there was a campaign that ran before the "I'd walk a mile for a Camel" campaign and it was called "Camel Time."



Here is one such ad. I think this guy is having his Camel Time in a ski lodge. It looks like he is holding a ski pole. In light of the Iowa ban on smoking that went into effect July 1st, it makes you think how times have changed. Doctors used to smoke in exam rooms and hospitals. Offices across the country allowed smoking at your desk. It's interesting how some things fall out of favor. In 1965 you could pick up a gun at any hardware or department store. Now guns are the root of all evil and the killers of children. Smoking has found it's way to America's black list and gays can now marry. I wonder what the next 50 years will bring. Maybe we will find out how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie brand lolly pop.

And I'm outta here. I'll be back on Tuesday. I am off to the North woods for a little vacation. Have a great 4th everyone!

 

Market Your Website

If you don't think that your business needs a website or if you think that Internet marketing of your site isn't necessary, you are missing the boat.

Even today, in this world of technology on demand, I have talked with several business owners that don't think they need a website. They typically say, "I have all the business I want." Believe it or not there are even multi-million dollar corporations that still refuse to take their business to the web. I even know of a company that, by my estimation, continues to spend $300,000 a year in the printed yellow pages. Yeah, you know who you are.

The bottom line is that any company - ANY COMPANY- can benefit from a professionally constructed and properly written site. BUT, you need to dedicate the time and resources to maximize the ROI and make your website work for you.

Remember, having a website for the sake of having a website isn't enough. You need to demand results from your online presence.

Do people want to come back to your site? Do you have a function that will allow visitors to "sign up" for something? Do you have properly formatted landing pages for your banner advertising? Are you using your website to track the effectiveness of a direct mail campaign? If you can not answer yes to all of these questions, I may know of someone that can help. Drop me a line.