I interviewed Jeff Jarvis for my Podcast last night about a range of subjects including the need for media to always be in a state of reinvention (it will go up in a couple of weeks.) Jeff’s Blog BuzzMachine is one of the top 100 Blogs in a world of 55 Million.

Jeff is well known for his comments about Dell’s service and he mentioned that if you put the word “sucks” in a Blog headline you will receive increased traffic. This is my test. I’ll report in a few days.

I need to send someone a very special gift. I just remembeed that last January I wrote about eCreamery - a DIY ice cream company. The perfect e-gift for this ice creamoholic, and maybe you!

I am going to keep this one very neat.

Adliterate, a very smart UK based advertising website, simply has wonderful images supporting its very smart take on the wonderful world of advertising. Check them out. My current favorite image is the town of Dull (scroll down a bit) that supports a smart take on the idea of “low interest category.”

And speaking of smart, how about this one on the penetration of DVRs in the UK. This clearly portends for the USA as well.

I am going to start a new thought & handoff stream. The PEW Internet & American Life Project is the first of my “must read” website finds. The mission of the PEW / Internet as listed on the site is:

“The Pew Internet & American Life Project produces reports that explore the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through collection of data and analysis of real-world developments as they affect the virtual world.”

I have been particularly interested in a few recent reports (you can see these and more in the Report section):

- Bloggers

- Online banking

- Finding Answers Online in Sickness and in Health

- Americans and their cell phones

Another informative section is Trends. You can dazzle your geeky friends (or clients) with this stuff.

Here is copy from an email from a “fan” of my Podcasts. I love her rant passion and accept the criticism. But, am I really this over the top?

“I’ve been listening to your podcasts, some are great but some are too focused on YOU and what YOU do and what YOU like, and how great YOU are and everything that your company does. I’ve just finished listening the podcast from 8/21: about anything new and honestly….would you mind stopping with this self praise and self centered approach to podcasting? Yes this is YOUR podcast and yes I don’t have to listen to it but I do want to appreciate the interviews and insight that you bring to us without listening how great you and everything you do is. That one almost made me turn you off. Podcasts are used to promote companies and what someone has to say but at least pretend a bit to make it about the user and about what’s important for those who might do business with you not YOURSELF. So you’re great, so what, isn’t that what every agency out there claims?

They claim it to the point of nausea and nobody cares so I’m surprised you would so heavily advertise yourself and so bluntly use those you interview for your own gain as if you’re doing them a huge favor to giving them a plug, without them you wouldn’t have a podcast. I have been listening to you for a while now, have all of your podcasts and to tell you the truth I would hesitate to do business with you because of fear that all you care about is you and your profit not to help me and my company if I was a customer. Your podcasts should educate marketers and advertising world that it is not all about US and all about what we want and what we think is important but what the audience wants and what they think matters.

Anyways, I am putting you on probation , if I hear couple more podcasts where you pretty much just brag about yourself and call yourself genius while asking your audience to give you material and ideas to actually do your job well I’m going to delete all of the podcasts and not listen to you. It’s honestly boring. Someone once said: NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU, they care about themselves (referring to the audience) and that is true. I don’t care how great you are or how great your company is, you should entice me with knowledge and inspire me to work with you or hire you not make me listen to bs that doesn’t matter. I don’t want to waste my time lstening to someone stroking their ego for 10+ minutes of MY TIME.

Hope you think about this and take it as honest constructive criticism”

Consider myself probated!