Monthly Archives: September 2008

Slice, dice, repackage and resell

Posted on September 11, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

The newspaper business has missed out on a lot of opportunities over the years. Here’s one they shouldn’t miss: repackaging content for niches. Most major markets have an industry specialization or two. In Detroit it’s the auto industry. Minneapolis has … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, journalism, media, newspapers | Comments Off on Slice, dice, repackage and resell

Tellme where you want to go today

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve written a few times about Dash Express, the next-generation navigation device from Dash Navigation. It’s the world’s first two-way connected navigation system. That connectivity allows for some amazing features. We launched one of those today at Tellme. Dash users … Continue reading →

Posted in dash, gps, launchpad, satellite navigation, search | 1 Comment

You too can be Rand McNally

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

How long does it take to get from Pike Place Market to Mount Rainier National Park? According to Google Maps, it’s a 5 minute walk; less than 1/3 of a mile. Pretty easy, huh? In reality it’s a 2 1/2 … Continue reading →

Posted in city guides, flickr, geotagging, google, gps, iphone, lbs, local search, maps, satellite navigation | 6 Comments

I am here, where is everyone else?

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Since the iPhone app store came online, I’ve been playing with a number of mobile social networks. There’s no shortage of them: Limbo, Loopt, Where and Whrrl are all attempting to play in the space. The central idea of mobile … Continue reading →

Posted in apple, facebook, flickr, gps, im, instant messaging, iphone, lbs, mobile, social networking, twitter, where, yelp | 9 Comments

Old gnews is bad gnews for United Airlines

Posted on September 9, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

An amusing story today about a cascade of errors. Amusing, that is, if you weren’t a United Airlines shareholder. United’s stock plummeted more than 75% in Monday’s trading after an erroneous report on the company’s bankruptcy. The report came from … Continue reading →

Posted in google, journalism, media, newspapers | Comments Off on Old gnews is bad gnews for United Airlines

Bad UX at Sea-Tac airport

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

See those black spots toward the top of the picture, about 30 feet above the ground? Those are flight arrival and departure displays. Really. It’s not just the height that’s a problem; the displays face a large glass wall. When … Continue reading →

Posted in rocky's travel, travel, ui | Comments Off on Bad UX at Sea-Tac airport

Sea-Tac arming grungy terrorists

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Seen post security at Sea-Tac. Someone call the TSA and have their metal knives confiscated!

Posted in random, travel | Comments Off on Sea-Tac arming grungy terrorists

Your customers are Twits

Posted on September 1, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Last year, I blogged about how local businesses could use Twitter to reach their customers. In that hypothetical example, a street vendor would let regulars know whether he was working or not. A number of large companies, including Zappos, Comcast … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, customer service, lbs, local search, marketing, social networking, twitter | 4 Comments

Why don’t local businesses use the Internet?

Posted on September 1, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Back in the mid 90s, I frequented The Weinery, a total dive of a hot dog place in the Cedar/Riverside area of Minneapolis. Jerry, the then owner, collected email addresses and would occasionally send out specials. Say the password when … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, lbs, local search, marketing, newspapers, yellow pages | 9 Comments

Taking the “dead” out of the dead tree media

Posted on September 1, 2008 by Rakesh Agrawal

Last week we saw that Steve Jobs died. The week before, we learned that Barack Obama chose Chet Edwards to be his running mate. Both were the results of slips by news organizations. Bloomberg prematurely put Jobs’ obituary across the … Continue reading →

Posted in journalism, media, newspapers, wikipedia | 2 Comments