Neomeme

The Next Big Thing is most likely already here. It’s just waiting for someone to come along and execute on it. By the Next Big Thing, I mean the next paradigm-shifting Web application, the digital revolution of evolution, the “2.0″, the next killer app for the Web. You know what I’m talking about- Web 2.0 is built upon such explosive applications. Social networking, Peer to Peer, participatory communities like Wikipedia, online video, all of these are Big Things. But they are not at all new. And the Next Big Thing that is undoubtedly right around the corner won’t be either. Read more »

I just came across the brilliant fake trailer for Minesweeper: The Movie from CollegeHumor:

It’s only a small example of the wonderful storylines that lie dormant within our video games. Or, failing that, proof that a move trailer in that generic format (all movie trailers look fairly identical) can make anything look cool.

In-jokes in the trailer:

• Beginner and Expert are difficulty levels in Minesweeper.
• Minesweeper involves planting red flags on potential mine locations- so everyone is carrying red flags.
• The sweepers are playing Hearts, another game bundled with Windows
• An 8 represents mines all around the square
• The yellow guy represents the smiley face on top of the Minesweeper window, which changes when the game ends- hence he says “Game Over”
• As the screen goes black at the end of the trailer there is a sound of a mine exploding- he guessed wrong.

Introduction

Yahoo Publisher Network , Yahoo’s answer to AdSense, only pays for US clicks and impressions. Furthermore, they are banning publishers whose sites get too much international traffic. Therefore, if you are using YPN ads, it is absolutely critical that you target them so they display only to US visitors. Banner advertising programs often only pay well for US impresions, and show default or public
service ads for international visitors, so it is always a good idea to target your ads. Other geotargeting solutions include complicated
steps that involve installing an IP database, but there is a much simpler way to target your advertisements. I have written a PHP script that checks the visitor’s language, and serves ads accordingly. It is not 100% accurate, but it is easy to install, and, unlike an IP database, does not put a heavy load on your server. Read more »