Netbooks
Microsoft Executive: Netbooks Risk Cannibalizing Windows – netbooks are considered to be part of a wider consumer trend on downshifting technology. Consequently netbooks affects a business that relies on the consumer believing that continual innovation is a good thing. ASUS’ iconic eeePC netbooks even ran a Linux desktop application. Netbooks were a realisation that a lot of people use the web to check their email and create basic content. I don’t think that Google’s thin client Chromebooks are the antidote to netbooks either due to patchy networks.
Business
Understanding Google’s Strategy– nice piece of analysis
Consumer behaviour
End of The Pepsi Generation – Now you must earn youth trust
trendwatching.com’s December 2008 Trend Briefing, covering half a dozen consumer trends for 2009 – loving these ideas from the peeps at trendwatching
Gadget
How to
Social Media Monitoring and Analysis with SM2 from Techrigy – recommended by the guys at e-Consultancy for me to have a look at
stock.xchng – the leading free stock photography site
Legal
Groklaw – Apple Tells Court It Believes Someone Is Behind Psystar – something worth keeping an eye on. This could blow up as big and as dirty as the SCO case if Apple is correct
Marketing
ElfYourself by OfficeMax – Powered by JibJab – viral from OfficeMax for Xmas 2008. Interesting the way they went with the same concept. This isn’t as sophisticated (from a technical perspective) as their previous viral
New York Times Finds Success with Facebook Campaign – ClickZ – reading this is a bit meta: media company which makes its money by advertising, uses Facebook advertising to successfully market itself (presumably offsetting the amount it spent in acquiring traffic by advertising on Facebook with selling advertising on its own site)
The downturn’s new rules for marketers – The McKinsey Quarterly (registration required) – interesting article by McKinsey. I like the concept of micro markets
Calm Christmas – nice advent calendar
Media
UK media set for thousands more job cuts-analysts By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) – British media companies could cut tens of thousands more jobs in the coming years as the economic downturn hits an industry already ravaged by the Internet revolution. British newspaper groups and broadcasters have…
The Independent launches readers’ blogs – a bit behind the Telegraph on this
Google Turns To Hard Alcohol, Will Relax Ad Rules In January | paidContent:UK – Google becoming more evil to ensure continued revenue growth in the UK.
Online
Video: Good Ideas in 2009 in Social Media | PSFK – Trends, Ideas & Inspiration
#hashtags.org – making sense of the #events on Twitter
storytlr | your life online – really nice way of doing ‘digital storytelling’ for next-to-no money
Shopping
ENDLESS MUSIC – MUSIC, TV & FILM MEMORABILIA
Diggers Guide Update! – Manchester and North West. Some of these places were new to me
Technology
TG Daily – Windows market share drops to 15-year low