Hitting the Twitter Following Wall Sucks!

Social Media

This evening I followed my 4001 person on Twitter while at the same time having 3623 followers. I had 4–5 more follow notices come in later in the evening and when I tried to follow them back I was denied.

I have been told in the Twitter stream that I have to have 4000 followers before I will be allowed to follow any more people. This sucks in a big way because I follow a large number of the podcasters on Blubrry and some of the listeners of my podcast and readers of this site.

I guess there is nothing I can do but sit back and wait but it’s not cool to not be able to follow anymore people and I would hate to remove people that are not following. Yes I can follow that many people through a variety of techniques including Yahoo Pipe Queries and Google Reader.

If you follow me @geeknews be advised I may not be able to follow back for a bit till I hit that 4k threshold. More on the podcast tomorrow night for sure

Todd..

Is P2P the new music marketing arm?

Music

When U2’s new album was “accidentally” released on an Australian website of Universal music a week before its official release I had some immediate suspicions. This is not the first time a U2 album has hit the download sites before its official release. In fact the previous album, ‘How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” got out early after Bono played his stereo too loud and a passing fan recorded a few tracks.

The outcome of the previous incident was U2 getting the biggest first week sales they ever had with 840,000 copies sold in the US alone and triple platinum within a month, a feat their previous album had taken over a year to do. One thing that had been clear to a lot of people that paid attention to what was really happening, was that for a some types of music, P2P really helps sales.

In the case of U2, the press that accompanied the leaking of the 4 tracks helped to create a buzz that definitely contributed to some booming sales. I would not have been surprised to learn that the pre-releasing of the new album was part of a marketing campaign by Universal. Then my suspicions really got aroused when Sony decided to get in on this trick with iTunes Norway posting a Kelly Clarkson album a couple of weeks before release. This puts it on the verge of moving from a co-incidence to a trend.

I expect to see more of this. It may become the modern equivalent of when bands used to slot a new song into their live set to excite the fans, or the bootleg albums that used to make the rounds. While the press these issues engender will fade as it becomes more common, this tactic will go right to the fan base and rev them up for a great opening for a new release.

Defender – CES 2009

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DefenderThere is nothing like a security camera mounted by a entrance to a home or business. Camera systems for home security have gotten much better and the systems we looked at from Defender were no different.

defender systemsBut what surprised me was there innovation award for a couple of their product lines. Having a security system is one thing but complementing that with a multi-camera system is really the way to go.

The price point is a pretty good considering what you get.

NYRIUS – CES 2009

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NYRIUSIf you travel to foreign countries a lot then you know the challenges of speaking a foreign language. Most of us buy a phrase book so that we can learn some of the very basic terms.

NYRIUS PhraseThe folks from NYRIUS have come out with a electronic phrase book that only cost $30.00 and has a large number of languages. I was quite shocked to find out that they had Japanese phrases as well.

The price point is great and it definitely beats having one of those paperback phrase books. A headset jack allows you to practice hearing the words with annoying people around you. A great way to brush up when on the plane heading for your destination.

Cables to Go – CES 2009

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Ces-2009-cables-to-goSometimes consumers can be confused on what cable to buy when they are buying a HD TV for the first time. We also know that Big Box stores have a tendency to up-sell cables that are not needed.

Case in point recently a salesman tried to up-sell me a single cable that cost $99.00 but when I refused and picked up the same type cable at separate vendor for $9.99 the decision I made was a good one. But thousands of people are getting suckered in to buy these expensive cables.

The folks at Cables to Go have come out with a cool product that is available at Sears, which is an entire kit of cables for $99.99 that includes instruction in an all to familiar box watch the video for more info.

D-Box – CES 2009

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Ces-2009-d-boxThe folks at D-Box in my opinion bring gaming to life. There D-Box Motion Code system makes you feel like you are really inside the game.

D-Box ChairIf you have been to any major amusement park you have set in those seats that rock you and bump you around. Well the folks at D-Box have taken that concept and incorporated it into seats that has the action happening on the screen synched up with what you are doing in the game.

Pretty remarkable technology for the hard-core gamer. Not all games are supported so check with D-Box on exactly what games they support.

3M Pico Projectors – CES 2009

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3MPico Projectors are quite the rage in the moment and the folks at 3M have a great device that you can fit in your pocket, and while a lot of companies have come out with these devices. What intrigued me with this one was the wide feature set.

The 3M Micro Professional Projector MPro110 is battery operated has a computer and video input that can projects images on a 50 inch screen. You can connect it to any cell phones that have a Video output and standard RCA connection.

The unit retails for $359. You can log on to for more product info.