SMARTER STRATEGIES

Five Smarter Technology Slaps and Claps

Joe Maglitta | Date: 11-30-09 | Comments

Some technologies and practices make the world a better place. Some don�t.

- CLAP!
  Google Video and partners for automatic closed-captioning of YouTube videos. It's now possible to automatically generate on-screen captions for YouTube videos, making them more accessible by deaf, hearing impaired, non-English speakers, Web searchers and video posters. The beta program uses "listens" to each soundtrack, then uses Google Voice automatic speech recognition to translate in English and 50 other languages. Details here.
- SLAP!
  Twitter Squatters, their victims, and Twitter. "Surprisingly few" of 100 top advertisers own Twitter handles for their companies or brands, reports Advertising Age. Like their domain-squatting cousins, parasitic online impersonators have registered companies, brands and trademarks before the real owners do. According to the trade pub, Wal-Mart, General Motors, General Electric, Coty, Comcast, Eli Lilly, Kellogg Co., MasterCard, Nestle, and Walt Disney were among the Tweet-squatted. A Twitter spokesperson notes lamely: "Our terms of service doesn't allow name-squatting or impersonation." The company is really busy, he explains, but promises continued work on the problem. "We're very disappointed that Twitter has shown no interest in protecting brand names," complained a VP at Hyundai Motor America. (It's 2009; you didn't think of this? Really? Same question, Twitter�)
- SLAP!
  Celebrity Look-a-Like Sperm. If you've got your heart set on offspring who look like Ben Affleck, Jackie Chan, Cal Ripken Jr., Tiger Woods, John Gosselin or Viggo Mortensen, your options have been limited. Now, with just the click of your mouse, CCB Donor Look-a-Likes� from California Cryobank lets spunky shoppers choose daddy donors based on their resemblance to dozens of "actors, athletes, musicians or anyone else famous enough to be found on the Web." What's scarier: Tabloid-driven genetic engineering, or a lookalike list that includes Bill Gates, Brad Garrett and Steve O of Jackass?
- CLAP!
  Virgin America's at-seat ordering. Even if the purple mood lights and chill vibe worthy of a flying W Hotel isn't your idea of "Coolest living room in the sky," you gotta admit: It's awesome to order snacks and movies and other neat junk right from your own personal in-flight entertainment system. Just swipe your credit card and in a jiffy an attendant shows up with your goodies. No more fumbling for change or long cart lines clogging bathroom aisles. Competing carriers, take note.
- SLAP!
  BlueHippo for Sitting on Financially Strapped PC users. Getting PCs into the hands of low-income and other disadvantaged users is an important, noble goal. So it's doubly scummy when "bridging the digital divide" is used to scam the struggling. The Federal Trade Commission charged that Blue Hippo, a Baltimore-based financing company, deceived thousands of financially strapped consumers with phony promises to help them purchase a computer -- even if they have credit problems. The FTC says the company pocketed more than $15 million from consumers last year, but almost none received a computer. Consumers were charged $2,000 for outdated computers available at discount stores for less than $400, the FTC said. Between April and December of 2008, more than 35,000 people contracted for BlueHippo's financing deal, the FTC continued, but at most only one of 2,477 qualifying customers received a computer. Check here for an excellent investigative expose series on BlueHippo.