Recently, The Geek Media was speaking to a small “dot com” company on the verge of their big launch. Some coverage on the launch was worked out and, some definite hype was generated about this company. However, on launch day everyone was in for a huge surprise. This company had nothing like anyone expected. It left us and, the people looking forward to this launch sorely disappointed. Because of that, we give you 5 very basic fundamentals when launching a new web based business.

I’m sure many of you are thinking “people know this already”. Actually, you would be surprised how many companies I have worked with that do not. Many people launching their sites are new to the business world or, new to the “dot com world”. These are simple mistakes a lot of first-timers make.

#1. Don’t confuse people: Stick to the nature of your business: The specific company we were talking about is a perfect example. The beginning of their hype was an attempted viral marketing campaign geared towards sending a “message” to Twitter. This lead many people to think this company had something to do with social networking. Their main focus was on the message being sent to Twitter and, not on the company itself. When the company launched, they turned out to be a company offering simple applications for Windows. Wait…what?

#2. Research what you are offering: Many companies upon launch offering a wide variety of products and services to their public. However, some companies don’t think this through. Research the products you are offering. If you are improving on an existing product or service, make sure that yours has a unique spin on the existing. Make sure no one else is doing it. Be certain what you have can somehow improve on the competition. Put as much time into research as you need to and, don’t be afraid to change things around either.

#3. Make sure what you are offering is something people need or want: Let’s take for example a company who is offering a Windows application that is a password generator. It’s a free download that anyone can use. Well, that would be a great idea except for the fact we can find hundreds of those online requiring no download. After you do your research on your product or service be certain this is not something that is widely available. Do people really want this? Would you want this? Would you use it everyday? Don’t be afraid to ask friends, family and business contacts their opinions.

#4. Be available: This is a large mistake for small companies on launch. I have seen quite a few companies launch their site and business then, not be available for questions from the public and the media. Be certain that you or someone designated is available to speak to the public about their questions and concerns and, speak to the media. A press release and some basic marketing using social networks and social media will also help.

#5. Make sure your site is “good to go”: Sites are going to be buggy. Especially new sites. However, some basic testing with members of the team will help your site run smoothly when it launches. Get the live site up and, let people go at it. Have people look over for spelling mistakes, grammar issues, bugs, broken links, pages not working…the whole nine yards. Stress testing your server is also a very good idea.

An interesting article over on TorrentFreak.com about how the MPAA, according to themselves (the MPAA), do not require evidence to convict movie pirates.

Quote from the article…

“MPAA Quote : It is often very difficult, and in some cases, impossible, to provide such direct proof when confronting modern forms of copyright infringement, whether over P2P networks or otherwise; understandably, copyright infringers typically do not keep records of infringement.

TorrentFreak Article: So, the MPAA is basically saying that is is too hard to come up with solid evidence, and because of this, they should not have to proove anything. Makes perfect sense doesn’t it? The MPAA wrote the brief in response to a request from a federal Judge last month, who called for a briefing on the claim that having files stored in “shared folders” infringes copyright.”

[ Continue Reading At TorrentFreak.com ]

Just got informed of this by TGM fan Khaled…

[Source: NewTeeVee.com]

Video-sharing startup Veoh has blocked visitors from all but 33 countries from accessing its site, a spokesperson confirmed to NewTeeVee today.

Veoh’s Gaude Paez told NewTeeVee, “The markets we are exiting collectively represent less than 10 percent of our viewer base.” She maintained that the decision was “not about saving resources but rather re-focusing those resources.” Paez was not able to immediately provide the list of countries where Veoh is still available.

[...]

Users flooded the Veoh forums with complaints over the weekend, saying they felt discriminated against for being from certain countries: “I’m from Dominican Republic, and when I saw that message I really wanted to cry… I still want to,” wrote one user, and “this is very unfair not even an email alert i just couldn’t enter, its sucks!!!” said another.

According to Wikipedia, users report being blocked from Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Indonesia, Chile, Argentina, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guatemala, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Guam, Jamaica, Barbados, El Salvador, Hungary, Malta, Macedonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Colombia, Cyprus, Romania, the Cayman Islands, Guadeloupe, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Panama, Czech Republic, Turkey, Croatia, Lithuania, Jordan, Egypt, Bulgaria, Serbia, Iceland, Bermuda, Thailand, Brunei, Honduras, the Bahamas, Nicaragua, Anguilla and Guyana.

Rob’s Opinion: Last time I checked, THIS IS THE INTERNET!  You make a site or service on the internet to get viewed all over the world.  Not only is this doing a disservice to those people that wish to view the content on Veoh’s website, this also has the potential to prevent those same people from viewing the free content that Veoh’s user-base produces. Also, since they are cutting off 85% of the countries in the world from accessing the Veoh service, that seems far more than the described “some international access”.

Recently, we wrote a quick article on YoBird and, their plan to gain as much hype as possible by using social media outlets. In specific we were focusing on their use of Twitter and the massive number of people they were following. Over the past week we have been speaking with Yobird and, conducting an e-mail based interview.

If you look at the site, you will see a countdown to their launch day. Originally, TGM was going to do an article on the company itself and, what they are about. However, things changed when YoBird posted information about their Twitter account being banned. This was when our curiosity was piqued even more. Our questions began to be a little more direct, curious as to whether Yobird was an actual company or, possibly a Twitter competitor. Or, was this a marketing experiment for another company.

Read More

I’m sick of this topic already… and I haven’t even talked about it. There’s been an awful lot of noise on the subject because of the MGS4 review embargoes story by Stephen Totilo. On one hand, I can’t complain about the fresh discussion regarding review integrity this has sparked; on the other, the signal-to-noise ratio about the MGS4 embargo as it relates to EGM’s most recent issue is distressingly low. Our MGS4 review goes up tomorrow, and I would rather any discussion of the review to focus on the merits of the game or on the article rather than being drowned out by babble about the circumstances surrounding its print companion. Thus, we nip that babble in the bud today.

[ Read The Full Story From Jeremy's 1UP Blog ]

Today on Twitter, I noticed a new follower. I also noticed this same person/people/company had followed some other TGM people. When I went to check, I noticed it was someone who is following over 63,000 people on Twitter. My first thought was how silly that is. Then, I noticed they had a statement on Twitter explaining why. ” Ok, some of you might be wondering why Yobird is following soo many people. Well it’s just an experiment to see how much it will take to…” “…make the Twitter people think about limiting the Followers and Following. Setting a limit would make the system more stable and faster.” At first, I agreed until I noticed this specific person was actually a company that has yet to launch.

“That is one of the best ideas I’ve seen in a long time!” I thought to myself, “These guys are pulling people in left and right, making them think they are trying to make a statement about the recent issues with Twitter but, they are actually generating some serious hype for themselves.” Fabulous idea!

Now, I’m stuck in the hype myself. Is this Yobird a real company? Is this an experiment by someone on viral marketing or social networking for marketing? Is this actually a new company that will “deliver top quality web services and Windows software.” (This according to their Twitter page. I think I am going to find out. As it stands right now TGM is either buying into some hype for a new company and, doing exactly what they want with word of mouth. Or, we’re participating in a giant experiment. We’ll see.

Rumors of Verizon Wireless buying Alltel have been flying for some time. As of June 4th, the rumors are put to rest. Verizon announced they had reached an agreement with Alltel to purchase the 5th largest wireless carrier in the US for $28.1 billion. Verizon’s purchase of Alltel will make Verizon Wireless the carrier with the largest amount of subscribers in the Nation. AT&T Wireless will be the second largest carrier.

Read the full story at Network World and BBC News

Candace’s opinion on this: I’ve been a very happy Verizon customer for four years now. Though I do understand the business move Verizon has made with this purchase, I’m more looking to see how this will benefit the subscribers of both Verizon and Alltel. Will I be able to add Alltel customers to my list of “in” calling? Will I be able to have all the features I’m offered with fellow Verizon customers as well as Alltel subscribers? I’ll be keeping an eye on this to see what develops.