Very interesting article on Technorati which poses the question “Is internet dependence helping us evolve or devolve?”

The article talks about how reliant we’ve all become on Google when we don’t know something and the part cellphones and laptops have had to play in the demise of our short to medium term memories.

I conducted a bit of a straw poll round the office (I say a bit, as there was only 4 involved in the survey) and nobody could remember the mobile phone numbers of their significant others.  The general consensus is that there is no need to remember any telephone number as your phone does it for you.

Now, if only I could remember where I put my Nintendo DS?  Time to get another session in with Dr Kawashima

Technology…dontcha just love it?

Stumbled across this latest user interface that’s been developed by Oblong Industries.  I guess one of the reasons it looks so cool and similar to the sort of gesture computer technology that was used in Minority Report is because the developer, John Underkoffler, actually got nabbed by the film’s producers to advise on the technology during filming.

Oblong reckon we’ll all be using computers like this within five years time.  Not sure where I’ll be able to fit it into my office though…

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

I didn’t stay up for the Superbowl final last night (the Saints beat the Colts 31-17) so I missed the highpoint of the US advertising industry’s year.  The half-time adverts…

It’s a biggie in the states, with TNS Media Intelligence estimating that in the past 20 years Super Bowl ad revenue has translated into $1.84 billion of network sales, from over 200 different advertisers.  Now that’s a whole lot of wonga.

With that kind of spend and there being such a heavy focus on this primetime slot, it’s no wonder some of the biggest companies in the world want a piece of the action.  Step forward Google.

A while back, I highlighted Google’s recent engagement with traditional forms of advertising and their latest incursion – an advert during the Superbowl – is a further sign that traditional forms of advertising are not dead.

Here’s the advert. Get the hankies oot.

Jeff Jarvis, author of What Would Google Do? and all-round Google sycophant/visionary (depending on your point of view) sat in on a pretty amazing Q&A session with some top Google execs at Davos a couple of days ago and has published the exchanges in full on his excellent Buzzmachine blog.

Here’s a summary of what I think are the six most salient points:

1. There will be more transparency with Adsense.
   Google is willing to  “consider” disclosing the revenue split numbers behind the AdSense program.
   This has been a contentious area for ages as nobody quite knows how profitable this element is for Google.
2. Not that hot and bothered over the Ipad’s arrival.
   “You might want to tell me what the difference is between a large phone and a tablet,” Schmidt said.
   Ooh. Schmidt the bitch!
3. The importance of applications.
   “The phone is defined by the apps.”
   Do you reckon they’ll get to work on the Google Toilet now then?
4. The economy is improving.
   “The recession is very much behind us.”
   So speaks one of the largest, most visible (and profitable) companies in the world.  As a company that specialises in speeding up during the slowdown, this will be an interesting period to see just how far of the competition Google can stay.
5. Increased focus on display ads.
   “Display (ads) is likely to be our next really big business globally.”
   So, the initial Chrome billboard advertising wasn’t a one-off.  This is a pretty big statement when you think about it.  Google, an online company, is going back to print to maximise it’s advertising revenue.  Watch this (billboard) space.
6. Better partnerships with printed media.
   Marissa Mayer promises better ads and support for pay systems.
   This has been a bit of an Achilles heal for Google in 2009.  It’s not a case of the newspaper industry needing Google more than Google need them or vice versa..they need each other….I still believe there will be a major battle soon involving Newscorp, Google and Microsoft but a general improvement in relationships with the printed media will stop Newscorp amassing too many troops in the early stages.  And remember – anyone can annoy Rupert Murdoch.

We’re currently working on a couple of projects at the moment with previous clients Contently Managed, the latest of which is a WordPress blog customisation for Whyte and Mackay’s ethical vodka brand, Snow Leopard Vodka.

Contently Managed work with a number of beverage companies helping them make the most out of the marketing opportunities that social media provides and expect to see more fully customised, beautiful booze blogs soon….