MySpace…WTF?

How many of you MySpace account holders have seen something similar to the image below? It happens about 1/2 the time I login to their dreadful service. A screen pops up only for a few seconds that would appear to be a spot for a huge, obtrusive, obnoxious flash add. There’s a link on the top and bottom of that area that says “Skip this advertisement” but apparently News Corp’s MySpace is so intuitive, it already knows you’re planning on clicking it so it skips the add…wait for it…automatically! Now how’s that for high tech?

If I was the guy paying for that spot I’d have a conniption fit, and if Rupert Murdoch was dead, he’d be rolling over in his grave.

You’re better off advertising at Young Go Getter. Seriously.

Mark Cuban on Dancing with the Stars. Really?

Mark Cuban

Jimmy Kimmel ran through the list of this coming season’s Dancing with the Stars contestants moments ago. A couple names in he mentioned Mark Cuban, and I thought he and the rest of the names were part of a mock joke list. But nobody laughed.

And so it seems it’s true. Mark Cuban is a contestant on the show. I’m kind of speechless. Mainly because he and I have much in common: We both have brown hair. Just about the same skin tone. Both businessmen. His lunch bills equate to what I make each year. But most importantly, I can guarantee you, neither of us can dance worth *#@!.

Why is this billionaire business geek throwing on his stilettos? Not a clue. He sure as hell doesn’t need the promotion. But hey, if it helps him up his star ranking as high as somebody like Ian Ziering (90210), more power to him.

Pathetic Update:

Found this really short clip of Cuban dancing. Dance white boy, dance!

Douche Bag — Our first official WordPress plugin


Most people are nice in person. For some reason, when they have a monitor hiding their face, a few of them act like douchebags. We love the community here and are glad that we don’t have any of these DBs. But when you go popular on certain social bookmarking sites, they seem to arise.

So we created a tool just for those rare instances. It’s a simple and straight forward plugin for WordPress, called Douche Bag.

Entreprenews of the Week

American Gladiators is Back!
This had to get top of the list. AG is coming back! Hell yeah!

Sneak Peek: Magento Demo Store Homepage
Magento, the most promising looking e-commerce platform, is set to roll out within the next 5 days. Here’s the first sneak peek of the homepage, and I’m now more giddier than a 12 year old and his first copy of Maxim.

What’s Your Archetype?
If you run a community (blog or forum), this is an interesting look at the different archetypes you can expect and hope for within your community.

[daily dose of imagery]
I think we already proclaimed our love for this site way back when, but it’s worth another plug. Toronto should throw out all their cheesy marketing and just make a book out of these photos. Absolutely, inspirationally stunning.

MoanMyIP.com
If there’s a more embarrassing way to find your IP address in the office while speakers are cranked aloud, I’d love to hear about it.

Which Ads Don’t Get Skipped?
BusinessWeek put together a list and slideshow of some of the spots that are said to be the least skipped on Tivo. Go Bowflex, go!

Better ways of working — Part OnePart TwoPart Three
Gareth at Brand New took some of the highlights from a recent presentation he made at VCU Adcenter. It’s a fantastic branding series broken up over three posts.

The New Disruptors - Inkless printing
A video tour of Zink’s office, creators of a new inkless printing technology. Printing pictures directly from your digital camera and cellphones, is not too far down the road.

How to Get 6,312 Subscribers to Your Business Blog in One Day
Step 1) Pray a little. Step 2) Suck less.

18 Tips for Killer Presentations
Simple, straight-forward tips to help you feel less like an ass in front of that bright projection light.

Anatomy of a Successful Viral Video


So there was a video post (Trust Me Im A Professional) that hit the front page of Digg.com today, where in a video supposedly shot in 1994 a motivation speaker talks a woman into doing a trust fall where she smacks her head on the floor. The controversy comes from the intro clip to the video that shows what is supposedly the same man, selling his motivation material today, 13 years later…

So how can this guy who knocked a woman out on stage still be a motivational speaker?

He isn’t. It is called a viral video. Made specifically to fool you into talking about it.

Notice that there is an eerie resemblance between the girl who smacks her head in 1994 and a girl in his current promo video…

Juxtaviews returns the love, and features some of your faces

They had asked us several months back to play the role of an interviewee, we accepted, and completely forgot about it. Kevin approached me again, and we finally made it happen.

He sent over a list of great questions, I replied with my usual lengthy responses, and even recorded an audio version for all the lazy folk. (Click the mp3 if you want to listen, not the player, or else I sound a bit like Hulk).

Kevin and Juxtaviews have one of the nicest formats for interviews and go all out in presentation. I think it looks awesome, and I was honoured to be interviewed. As we’ve said before, we love thier site.

Alright, enough ass kissin’. Check it out, share your comments, and take a look at some of our submitted YGG logos that made the interview. We’d still love to have a ton more featured here, so print out your little YGG sign, snap a pic, and send it in.

(Thanks to Kevin for creating the base of that trippy image above)

Britney Spears’ New Product Stealing from mondonation and Charities

mondonation ripped off by Britney Spears

var digg_url = “http://digg.com/celebrity/Britney_Spears_New_Product_Stealing_from_mondonation_and_Charities”;

Britney Spears’s new fragrance, Britney Spears Believe will be out on counters in October, but is available for Pre-order online. The brand for this new fragrance is a complete rip of mondonation‘s brand…

Somewhere there is a design team who should be fired.

Britney Spears’ New Perfume

Last year I stumbled across a very interesting company coming out of Vancouver, Canada. mondonation had a simple, clever and meaningful idea that allowed people to customize a personal mantra onto a t-shirt. A statement of something they believed in… Some were heartfelt messages “I believe everyday people can make a difference every day” and some that are just fun or silly “I believe the hokey pokey is what it’s all about.”

The kicker about mondonation is that it was set-up to support lots of international charities, by donating part of the profits from each shirt sale. I had a chance to speak to Ward Bingham the founder of the company last year about what they were doing and how my disaster relief agency, www.HODR.org could find support from what he was doing. We since have joined up as a partner charity and I’ve been a huge fan and supporter of the project ever since.

mondonation has reached thousands of people with their “I believe�? t-shirts. All you have to do is watch some of the YouTube videos to get an idea of how many people they’ve reached. This one video has been viewed almost 700,000 times.

Creating an iPhone version of your blog

So the iPhone hype has died down a bit. The early adopters got their hands on the first version, while the rest of the world somehow managed to continue with their lives. :) But why not cater to those few that may actually wait a minute and a half for your website to load on their iPhone?

Well, you can speed up that loading with an iPhone theme for your blog. Make that an iWPhone Plugin and Theme. ContentRobot has created such a package that automatically detects if a reader is using Safari on an iPhone, then serves up a custom theme formatted to replicate an iPhone application (clean and minimalistic).

All you have to do is activate the plugin and you’re done. It will automatically serve up the iPhone theme to iPhoners.

You can customize the theme like you would any other for WordPress. Add in your little logo to the header, remove post details, or whatever you wish. But the default installation shouldn’t take any more than a minute or two.

This is a handy plugin/theme combo, that the two or three people who have an iPhone and know you exist, will love. You can download it here.

Entreprenews of the Week

The Art of Guest Blogging: Should You Pay Guest Bloggers to Blog?
There comes a time when you can’t handle blogging by yourself anymore. So you start the hunt for guest bloggers. The question(s) is, should pay them, and should they expect to be paid?

Sleevage
Ashley from Bannerblog recently launched this site, and has been working on it with EMI for quite some time. Sleevage is a great source of inspiration for any creative or musicphile.

Magazine Creators Not Familiar With Internet
OMFG, this is why some businesses should consult young go getters.

Flip your thoughts: The key habit for weight loss, frugality, happiness, success
An unconventional guide to helping you develop habits in getting your ass in shape and bettering your life all-around.

Stunning toaster from the German Manufactum
The scariest toaster, ever.

The Madness Begins with a 300-Page AT&T Bill for iPhone
I see your 20 page cable bill, and raise with a 300 page phone bill, and a case of uber-hotness. (makes phone shape with hand) Call me.

Hairy Soap - A Look at Old Spice Body Wash
Matt shares one of the latest ads from Old Spice. I think their rebranding effort has been a success in stepping away from the BOLD and AGGRESSIVE styling. See for yourself in this ad and their new packaging.

Staying Motivated
It’s hard enough to get the ball rolling. But it’s even harder to keep it rolling. A List Apart tries to help you out in that department with this article.

Dry Erase Paint
Now, this is a good idea. Have an idea? Scribble it on the cupboards. Have a word or two for your spouse? Share your emotions on the living room wall.

The Beauty of Letterpress (video)
This is such an incredible craft that can be traced to the origin of almost every medium. If you have the opportunity at some point in your life, take a letterpress class. You won’t regret it.

The Starbuckian Handbook
Sally shares an essential list of standards for anyone living the Starbucks lifestyle. If you’re a n00b to the way of the Buck de Star, this’ll help you blend in with the in-crowd. (I’m so damn Punny)

113 Must Read Blogging Tips
Part of an ongoing series at ProBlogger, this list should reveal an insightful tip or two to help you better your blog.

Coca-Cola Happiness Factory
This is the second spot in this animated series (they seem to take a year to make). If you’re not already addicted to the unhealthy liquid blend of caffeine, sugar, and the other ingredients not recommended to be part of your daily diet, this commercial may just make you take the leap.

Have a link or article you think should make the Entreprenews? Send it to us before Saturday each week, and if we think our readers will like it, we’ll include it and give you due credit. hello (at) younggogetter (dot) com.

What if you spoke like you commented?

You’d look like this. Hilarious.

First!