Google Introduces Google Instant

By Abby Draper

Through all of this week, Google has been modifying their logo in anticipation of a press conference said to announce something new in search technology. On Tuesday, the Google logo was spelled out with balls that turned into a game as you rolled your mouse over the letters. This morning, “Google” appeared grey until text was entered and it changed to its usual bright colors.

At 12:30 EST, we watched online as Google introduced “Google Instant.” Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, began the conference by discussing some of the new features of Google Search in 2010 including: Google Caffeine, Real-Time Search, timeline views, spell corrections, enhancements to its Q&A, stars in search, and the redesign of Google itself, by playing the commercial they launched during the Superbowl.

Mayer went on to explain that while these changes have made Google search much more productive, the current search time is still too long. According to Google, it takes a user nine seconds to enter a query, 800 ms for networking time, 300 ms for serving results, 15 seconds to select a search result, and most people take extra time to think. With these stats, Mayer introduced “A Fundamental Shift to Search – Google Instant.”

Google Instant, which will roll out slowly through the day, allows you to see search results as you type.

“Google Instant delivers results instantly in a way that has never been done before," said Jonathan Effrat, Google product manager, in a video about Google Instant. "Now, results appear automatically as you type, with no need to hit enter or click the search button. as soon as you see what need predicted in gray text, you can stop typing, and just look down to find your results waiting...see results instantly lets you refine your search as you type — looking for a bird? A map? A recipe? You'll know instantly if you're on the right track to finding what you want."

Mayer was joined on stage by Johanna Wright, Director of Product Management, and Othar Hansson, Senior Staff Software Engineer who took us all through several examples of how Google Instant works, proving its incredible speed and ability to predict what you’re searching for.

While Google has had a few issues in the recent past with other efforts like Google Buzz, it seems as though Google Instant has launched without a hitch. We will find out for sure today!

Abby Draper is the Manager of Social Media. Contact her at abby@maroonpr.com

Social Media Mistake by Washington Post Columnist

By Stefen Lovelace

It’s a new age for journalism. Every reporter has a Twitter handle and news is distributed to readers instantly. Journalists try to beat the competition on the Internet, Twitter and Facebook rather than in the next day’s newspaper.

This new age comes with a price though. Anything you put out there – whether it be a bylined story, or just a simple tweet – will be read as fact. With so much news, readers have a hard time filtering what’s true and what’s not.

Which brings us to Washington Post columnist Mike Wise. The longtime respected columnist made one of the bigger blunders of his career on Monday.

Wise tweeted that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would be suspended for five games. Roethlisberger currently is suspended for six, but many have speculated that suspension may get reduced. The quarterback is a lightning rod for controversy right now, and diehard football fans are following any and every news item that comes out about him.

The tweet about Roethlisberger by Wise was a lie. He tweeted three times afterwards saying he had sources to back up his claim. All of this was made-up, or “a test” as Wise put it, to show how quick news and false news can spread throughout the internet.

It was a terrible mistake by Wise. I understand what he was trying to prove, but his approach was unthinkable. All a journalist has is his or her word and making up news is a cardinal sin in the journalism profession.

A journalist’s reputation “is on the line with every tweet, for better or worse,” [Columbia University Digital Media Professor Sree] Sreenivasan said. “People have a reasonable expectation that it’s accurate or the best of what you know at the moment.”

Wise was suspended for a month from The Post for his mistake. I think that’s about right, especially considering The Post is one of the most credible and well-respected newspapers in the country. Since social media is still so new, and there’s no real precedent for what to do in this situation, there was clear disagreement as to whether Wise’s punishment was just.

Yet within The Post, there was disagreement about whether the punishment fit the crime. Andrew Alexander, the paper’s ombudsman, wrote on his blog that Mr. Wise was “lucky he wasn’t fired.” Howard Kurtz, the paper’s media writer, wrote in a message on Twitter that the suspension “seems overly harsh to me.”

Twitter is a great resource for journalists and wonderful for spreading news. But this incident once again shows the importance of using caution and thinking before putting something up in the social media universe for the world to see.

Stefen Lovelace is an Associate Account Executive. Contact him at stefen@maroonpr.com.

Philadelphia Bloggers Facing Tax

By Mitchell Schmale

The City of Brotherly Love has been in the headlines recently for not showing a lot of love to bloggers located in Philadelphia.

The uproar began when Philadelphia’s city revenue officials sent letters to local residents who had reported income with the IRS, but had not paid for a business privilege license in the city. The license fee of $50 per year or $300 for a lifetime, with additional taxes on profits, allows business owners to operate a business in the city. The list of local residents included bloggers in the city who made income from their blogs (no matter how small) by charging for content, ads, etc.

Philadelphia bloggers were outraged by the attempt to collect taxes and claimed that the fee, as well as additional taxes on their limited earnings, would infringe on their capability to run their small blogs. Many bloggers claim that their use of the Internet is a free speech issue and that the earnings on their blogs is often not enough to buy a couple of cheese steak subs. In fact, one Philadelphia blogger claimed he had made only $11 on his blog in a year.

City officials, however, have made it clear that the tax only affects bloggers charging for a service or advertising and not blogs that are strictly a hobby or personal that share content and opinions for free. City officials also contend that the privilege fee is in place for businesses of all sizes and industries, not just bloggers.

The debate will continue on whether Philadelphia tax officials are being too aggressive in pursuing tax dollars from all possible sources, or if their efforts are hindering free speech and the ability of local residents to blog and share their opinions on the Internet.

In the meantime, city officials in Philadelphia are looking at the issue more closely for bloggers in proposing legislation that would keep the fee for the business license, but would limit when the additional taxes on profits kicks in. Until then, the war of words will rage on in the Philadelphia’s blogosphere while the bloggers keep blogging and the tax officials keep collecting.

Mitchell Schmale is the Vice President of Business for Maroon PR. Contact him at mitchell@maroonpr.com.

Bon Appetit Baltimore

By Tim Richardson

Food brings people together. Whether it’s a first date, a special occasion or just catching up with friends, going out to dinner is always a popular idea.

Baltimore and roughly a dozen other cities around the country capitalize on that notion as twice a year (winter and summer) they offer a weeklong celebration of cuisine called “Restaurant Week.” During this time in Baltimore, more than 100 restaurants throughout the city offer customers the opportunity to enjoy a three-course dinner (not including alcohol) from special prix-fixed menus for a reduced set rate. Some restaurants also offer a lunch menu.

Baltimore’s summer edition of Restaurant Week took place August 13-22 and featured a set price of $35.10 for dinner. The primary objective of the promotion is to entice diners who have been watching their budgets to venture out to a local restaurant for an enjoyable gourmet meal at an affordable price…and it usually occurs in a restaurant that they have not visited previously.

But from a marketing standpoint, it’s also a great vehicle for restaurateurs to promote their restaurants to the community in an effort to attract new business. People are more selective these days on how they spend their discretionary income. So competing against dining at a local restaurant are activities such as taking in a play, going to a concert, or attending a sporting event. That said, showcasing the area’s restaurants and helping diners discover new establishments not only highlights the many offerings available in Baltimore, but it brings an economic surge to the area. By offering a diverse selection at an affordable price, restaurants can sell around 1,000 Restaurant Week menus during the promotion. In an economy where people have elected to eat at home more instead of dine out, that traffic and revenue are clearly significant to the restaurant industry. Some restaurants have even chosen to extend their Restaurant Week specials, varying in length by the restaurant.

Restaurant Week is also a resourceful PR initiative for Visit Baltimore and the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore in how they market the city. Visit Baltimore is the official sales and marketing organization for Baltimore, while the Downtown Partnership is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to make downtown Baltimore a great place for businesses, employees, residents and visitors. During Baltimore’s Restaurant Week this summer, over 4,200 people “liked” the promotion on Facebook and it was “re-tweeted” by more than 200 users on Twitter. Stories also appeared in the mainstream media on TV and in print/online outlets about the restaurants featured in Restaurant Week, the popularity of the promotion, etc.

And word is spreading to other cities about Baltimore’s Restaurant Week. According to an article in the August 3 issue of The Baltimore Sun, the culinary offerings of the city were a main topic when Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake spoke earlier this summer at a meeting in Oklahoma City. The Mayor was addressing the U.S. Conference of Mayors about what will be taking place when the group visits Baltimore next summer, and a number of the questions from her fellow city leaders concerned the food in Baltimore.

I’m a fan of Restaurant Week. My wife and I participate in both of the seasons in which it takes place and enjoy the opportunity to try new places that peak our interest from the list of participating restaurants. In fact, one of the restaurants we visited last summer is now the place where we dine throughout the year to celebrate all of our special occasions. That would not be the case if my wife had not said, “I’ve always wanted to try that place…let’s check it out during Restaurant Week.”

So the concept of a special, low-cost menu that allows people the opportunity to enjoy a night out while also generating interest about the city’s local restaurants and boosting the economy seems like a pretty good deal for everyone.

Tim Richardson is the Executive Vice President of Maroon PR. Contact him at tim@maroonpr.com.

Facebook’s Latest ... Innovation?

By Pete Deluca

Last night, in front of a packed crowd at Facebook Headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., the popular social networking site revealed their latest innovation – “Places.”

The goal, as President and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, is to take the virtual relationships created through Facebook and bring them into the physical world. The application will allow Facebook users to "check in" to various locations to show their online friends where they are in real time.

For example, when you visit a Dunkin Donuts, you could "check in" using an iPhone, which will in return post a message on your friends’ news feeds telling them where you're stopping to get your morning cup of coffee. Another feature of the application lets you see other Facebook users that are currently at that Dunkin Donuts, and which of your friends were there in the past.

If the service sounds familiar it is because the concept is eerily similar to Foursquare – the location-based application that attracted over a million users since March of 2009. But Foursquare, unlike “Places,” allows visitors to earn virtual badges and titles for frequenting an establishment – a feature that Foursquare believes distinguishes the two products enough and still gives them a competitive advantage.

The news of Facebook’s latest “innovation” received criticism as another blatant rip off by the company. To some, “Places” is seen as Facebook’s latest bullet on a long list of “copy-cat” features taken from other websites; wall messages (MySpace), photo albums (Flickr), video uploads (YouTube), status updates (Twitter).

As of this morning criticisms of “Places” is limited to personal blogs – which is a good sign for Zuckerberg, whose lack of business ethics have long been rumored. He is currently being sued by New York web designer and former employer Paul Ceglia for allegedly stealing his social network concept and a movie about the birth of Facebook is due out this fall with the tag line “You Don’t Make 500 Million Friends Without Making a Few Enemies.”

The saying is that “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.” But I cannot imagine how I would feel if my idea was tweaked and distributed to 500 million people as a company’s new “innovation.”

I am sure that Foursquare creator Dennis Crowley doesn’t feel very flattered.

Pete Deluca is an Associate Account Executive. Contact him at pete@maroonpr.com.

The Importance of Giving Back

By Carolyn Maroon

It’s that time of year again; “Back to School” and I can’t help but think of the classic and very true statement “Children are our Future.” If the children fail, than we as a society fail. There are many problems in our communities but we can all help. The question we should be asking ourselves is, “What can be done today to demonstrate our faith, our hope, and our commitment for a better future?” We can all make a difference by donating our time, resources, and of course… our money.

There are so many worthwhile organizations in place that are making positive changes in children’s lives and we can all take part in their successes. All we have to do is choose one and get involved. Together we can make a better tomorrow starting with the children.

There are great sites out there that can point you in the right direction. Children’s Charities of America has plenty of organizations dedicated to helping children and can give you an idea of where to start. At Maroon PR, we also have plenty of nonprofit clients which focus on children. There are so many great people out there that are dedicated and proud to have the opportunity to help these organizations succeed in reaching their goals. We’re extremely grateful that we can help as well.

During these challenging times, we can all lend a hand and give children in distress hope for their future.

Carolyn Maroon is Maroon PR's Office Manager. Contact her at carolyn@maroonpr.com.

Showalter Making Baseball in Baltimore Relevant Again

By Stefen Lovelace

No one could have predicted that a simple managerial change could have this effect.

Since taking over the Orioles two weeks ago, Buck Showalter has led the Orioles to an 8-1 record in his first nine games. The Orioles – who were just 32-73 before Showalter’s arrival – are the hottest team in baseball right now, and it’s clear that Showalter was the right fit in making the Orioles relevant again.

Showalter is a baseball lifer, having played the game as a young man and becoming a manager right after. He’s left every team in better shape than when he got there and it appears he’s doing the same with the Orioles. The players have responded, and the unthinkable has happened… right now teams don’t want to face the O’s.

What’s even more important than the wins and losses though is the effect this turnaround has had on fans and Baltimore residents. There’s a sudden excitement that just wasn’t there before. Obviously the Orioles aren’t making the playoffs, but Showalter has helped make a city care about a team that’s more than 30 games out of first place in the AL East.

Baltimore used to be a major baseball city. But the Orioles haven’t fielded a playoff team since 1997, causing most fans to fall out of love with a team they once filled ballparks for. This little resurgence, even if it is brief, might be the start to getting those fans to come back.

It’s impossible to predict whether we’ll look back at this start under Showalter as just random, fluky, good luck that couldn’t be sustained, or truly the beginning of when the Orioles became a great baseball franchise again. Next season will start to answer that question.

But for now, I’m just happy to be living in a city that cares about baseball again.

Stefen Lovelace is an Associate Account Executive. Contact him at stefen@maroonpr.com.