22 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue

Just thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and promote an Infographic.

check out the Copyblogger post, http://www.copyblogger.com/create-content-ideas/ for more tips.

Don’t Be a Wall Flower in Your Marketing

Marketing is like attending a party. All the other attendees at the party are your potential customers. If all you do is decorate the wall, you are limiting that potential customer base to just the handful of people in your immediate vicinity.

Until you start mingling and working the room, you aren’t going to broaden your reach. But there’s more to it than just walking the room. If all you do is walk around looking at the floor, no one is going to notice you or converse with you.

It’s the same for your business. Just being there; having a website, having a profile on social media sites; isn’t going to help you grow your business. You need to make it easy for your customers to converse with you and you need to respond back. Start the dialogue and keep it going.

The same as at a party, once you’ve started that dialogue, a person is going to stick around you if you show interest in them and not just focus the conversation on you.

The same goes for your website and your social media discussions. Don’t make it all about you and what you have to offer.

Talk to your customers to find out what is important to them; develop the relationship and the rapport – the trust. Then you can mention how your product or service can help meet their needs and goals.

And if you help your clients and make their life easier, they are going to want to help you by continuing the relationship with repeat business and referrals.

You’re going to have more fun at the party if you put yourself out there and ask people what’s important to them rather than tell them what’s important to you.

Tips on Marketing on Twitter and Facebook

Writing for Facebook and Twitter isn't that different from other web writing. It's likened to micro blogging.

Writing a tweet is similar to writing a good headline - action words, leave out the articles (a, an, the) and start with the specific key words.

LinkedIn is more B2B, where as Facebook is more B2C when it comes to companies using it.

Using Facebook and Twitter for marketing always has to be for the customer, not the company. The customer is always listening to WiiFM (what's in it for me?).

So, tweets and wall posts always have to provide a benefit for the customer or provide for their needs not be marketing the latest product or service for the company.

You can get away with that occasionally provided there's lots of other stuff for the customer.

If you're not already on Twitter, I'd suggest signing up and searching for "social media" for people to follow and learn from them. Follow me on Twitter @jason_clements

Copyblogger (http://www.copyblogger.com/) is a good place to learn about writing titles and blog posts.

Have any other tips on writing for Twitter and Facebook?

7 LinkedIn Profile Tips and Tricks

The profile you present on social media sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is your personal brand and needs to be managed effectively.

Here are some tips to ensure you're presenting your best self online

1. Headline: Don't just put your job title. Target this to your benefit statement or 30-second commercial
2. Profile Photo: Don't leave as default. Use a professional head shot of yourself.
3. Websites: Use "Other" to create your own label with keywords for your site(s)
4. Public Profile URL: Edit to create a URL with your name
5. Add Skills, Certifications, Publications: Include keywords
6. Education: If your diploma/degree was a long time ago you can omit grad year by selecting " - " for years.
7. Groups: Join a few of the larger groups to quickly expand your network.

Bonus Tip: If you're doing a number of edits to your profile, turn off your activity broadcasts under Settings until your last edit.

These tips are specific to LinkedIn, but are also relevant for other social media profiles. Consistency is also good with profile photos and descriptions.

How To Help Your Clients and Make More Sales Through Proper Web Writing

People don't read every word online like they do in print.

For the most part when you go to a website you have a particular task in mind and even specific words you're thinking about.

When you land on that page you are going to scan the page looking for some indication that that specific page is going to help you complete your task.

In the 8 seconds most people spend on a page, if they don't see the words that are in their head, they are going to hit the back button.

So, you need to think like your readers. 

• What words are important to your readers? 
• You need to make sure those words are on your web pages in easy to spot locations.

Jakob Nielsen has done eye tracking analysis to determine where the key locations are to catch your readers attention.

Basically it shows an F-pattern where readers look at headings and scan down the left side of the main body of text.

So, this is how your copy needs to look.

And it needs to be loaded with keywords in the headings and subheadings and at the start of paragraphs and bullet lists.

Good content doesn't need to be read. 

Tips to Help Your Readers Scan Your Pages OR 
How To Make More Sales and Get More Leads

• Relevant heading - put key terms at the top of the page, in headings
• Brief content summary or introduction
  - Use terms that your readers are familiar with and that they would use and think of, so when they’re scanning for a topic, they will see the words they’re looking for
• Focused subheadings
• Bundles of content and bulleted lists
• Reorder by importance -  keywords first in titles, subheads, bullet points
• Integrated and logical hyperlinks
• Hyperlinks stand out and distract the reader, taking them away from your page
• Put related links at the bottom of the document to move reader forward; call to action
• Don’t use underlining for headings or emphasis – underlining is reserved for hyperlinks

Learn more about the Jakob Nielsen's F-pattern: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

What are you "working forward to?"

I drove by a car dealership today and noticed a really nice red corvette sitting in the lot. I've never driven or ridden in a corvette, but have always thought of a corvette as my dream car. I turned to my wife and said I should go take one for a test drive.

She didn't think that would be a good idea as then I would want to buy one (sooner than later).

In a bit of a tongue tied moment I said taking one for a test drive would be incentive as something "to work forward to." I had meant to say something to look forward to, but my mind mashed that together with something to work toward.

I thought that was a great new saying and had visions of trademarking it and writing a book and starting a whole motivational series; however, a quick google search showed I'm only one of over 200,000 people to come up with this saying.

Originality aside, it is still a great thing to think about. What are you working forward to?

It is so easy to get into a routine of getting up each morning, going to work and putting in your day, coming home, having supper, watching TV, going to bed, getting up in the morning, going to work...

If you don't know what you're working forward to, how are you going to move forward? You could wake up one morning and find your life has passed you by. Einstein said, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Everyone has dreams and looks forward to travelling; owning a corvette (insert your dream car); spending time with your family; ...

So often we have an attitude of entitlement and "look forward" to everything being handed to us when we retire, but what action are you taking to make that happen, to get ahead in life?

What are you working forward to? Think about this so when you wake up tomorrow morning you can start working toward achieving that.

Me, I'm working forward to having the time and money to travel, to buy that red corvette (sooner than later), to provide for my family... I would like to have the financial resources to allow me to go to Japan or some other disaster relief location.

Feel free to comment and share what you are working forward to.

Ultimate Guide to Facebook And Netiquette and tips for Twitter

Here's 2 great articles I came across today that I wanted to pass on:

The Ultimate Guide to Facebook (from Gizmodo)

So I’ve set up my Twitter account: now what? Netiquette and tips for Twitter

I've already set up Twitter Feed, so (cross my fingers) you may have actually ended up here from my auto tweet.

A note on Facebook, privacy, the article is really long, but I really encourage you to take a look at your privacy settings. And the ability to set up groups for your friends so, for instance, your grandma doesn't see this weekends party photos, is a really good idea.

(Though when I tried to go into my privacy settings it hung and the page wouldn't load. I guess loading the 1300 page privacy policy was hanging things up.)

Marketing Tactic / Scam Warning

I was watching a marketing webinar the other day and it brought to mind thoughts of a shady/slimey salesman.

The idea is to register a domain name that starts with com.  Something like com-customersurvey.us. Then you can have a subdirectory like walmart or microsoft or whatever.  You would then end up with addresses like walmart.com-customersurvey.us and microsoft.com-customersurvey.us

On the webinar it even said to avoid registering something with  .com domain extension because people may notice it. And to register long, even nonsense domains, like com-11–survey11.us, to distance the com at the front from the end domain extension.

So, this whole marketing strategy is designed to trick people into thinking they're on Microsoft's or Walmart's website to gain their confidence so you can get them to fill out a survey of buy a product thinking it's from or endorsed by a reputable company.

In today's world of social media and online conversations and openness is this not bound to backfire? If/when people realised you tricked them I'm sure they would want a refund.

Not to mention the chances of this getting in the wrong hands and someone sending you an email saying your bank account may have been hacked and ask you to log into something like yourbank.com-fraudalert.us

The guy on the webinar even said to quickly register com- domains because he didn't know how long they would allow them to be registered.

Now what does everyone think of this?

If you aren't using QR Codes yet, why not?

Your magazine ad or billboard relies on your customers to take note of your phone number, email address, website or other action you want them to take and then the customer has to actually take action by phoning, emailing or visiting your website.

With a QR code in your ad they just grab their smartphone and scan the QR code and your contact information or calendar event is automaticallly added to their phone. Or they could be redirected to your website or product page.

Get a QR Code That You Can Change
Most QR code generators that you find online are one time things. You create it, you print it and your customers take the same action every time.

You can get more bang from your marketing if you subscribe to something like QR Jumps or ScanLife. These sites provide stats on the use of your QR codes and also allow you to change the action.

QRJumps is free, ScanLife is free for individual use, but there's a cost for commercial use.

The benefit of being able to change the action is that you can promote whatever contest or promotion you have on at any given time.

What is a QR code?
If you don't know what a QR code is, chances are you've likely seen them in magazines and maybe even on billboards.

QR stands for quick read and is a two dimensional image similar to a bar code and has information encoded into it.

There are various apps that can be downloaded to your smartphone to read QR codes. ScanLife has their own app available for all smartphones.

Mortgage Rules Miss the Mark by a Mile

The new mortgage rules are meant to reduce Canadian household debt*, but I think there are lots of other things that Flaherty could do that would actually be helpful in achieving this.

Mortgages changes effective March 18

• Shorten maximum amortization period to 30 years from 35 years
  
• Lower the maximum amount homeowners can borrow against the value of their homes t0 85% from 90%
  
• Withdraw insurance on home-equity lines of credit (effective April 18)

In many cases the purchase of a home could be the largest financial transaction a person makes in their lifetime. Although I believe that owning your own home shouldn't be considered an investment, there are financial benefits to building equity in a home.

Benefits to Equity in Your Home
The equity can be used to refinance and pay off credit cards and other debt that carries a much larger interest rate. That equity can also be used to provide capital for investing, such as purchasing investment properties,  or starting a business.

These new mortgage changes, in addition to last year's changes, make it even harder for people to buy a home. With the deadline looking for these changes it could actually encourage some people to recklessly rush into buying a home before the March deadline; perhaps a home that they can't afford or that isn't suited to their family and lifestyle.

Yellow Signs on Every Corner
I think there are many other things that the Canadian government should be focusing on. There has been changes to credit card regulations, but the glaring problem that isn't addressed is those yellow signs that are becoming like Tim Hortons or Starbucks with one on every corner. I'm talking about the payday loan stores.

Most people are living pay cheque to pay cheque. If an unforeseen event occurs requiring them to get an advance on their pay, these loan stores can (legally) charge up to 60% interest!

How is someone already living pay cheque to pay cheque going to survive on 60% less pay? They will be forced to go back to the loan centre before their next pay and it will start a vicious downward-spiraling cycle that they will never get out of.

What is the government doing to address this?

*Household debt was at 148 percent of disposable income in the third quarter last year according to Statistics Canada data.

The Superbowl for Hollywood

The Oscars are Sunday night and everyone is trying to take advantage of the captive audience at this live event.

"Marketers are paying $1.75 million for each 30-second slot on ABC's Sunday night telecast."

With big names like Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber and Cindy Crawford, marketers are betting on the audience using Twitter, Facebook and other social media to get even more bang for their commercial dollars.

Procter & Gamble has already seen it's Facebook membership increase 25% since announcing Jennifer Lopez as the star of an Oscar spot.

And Best Buy actually made the Superbowl connection with an online vote to pick an alternate ending to it's Justin Bieber Super Bowl ad. The new ending will air Sunday night during the Oscars.

And I'm sure many of these big-name commercials will end up on YouTube very soon after if they aren't there already for more exposure and sharing.

How a Topic Trends on Twitter

Interesting article linked from this Gizmodo post.

I'll admit that the format it was posted in is not very readable and the whole academic aspect of it turned me off. So, I didn't read the whole article, but the Gizmodo post is a good enough synopsis to explain it.

Basically if a tweet originated from a news agency then it is more likely to be picked up and retweeted. Also the resonance the topic has with people helps.

The report also reaffirms how fleeting it can all be and that even though something is picked up and retweeted a lot it isn't going to stick around for long.

I'm sure the six degrees of separation is fairly evident on Twitter so it wouldn't take long for something to make the rounds.

Lose the Hero Shot

This is a great article by Gerry McGovern explaining how you will gain more trust and your visitors will put more faith in your website and your content if you remove any hero shots of smiling people.

Also avoid large buttons that look like banners or else fall prey to banner poisoning.

Your copy competes with the large images
Lots of times you see a large image across the top of the webpage and this just causes more work for your customers having to scroll down each time they visit a page to get at the actual content.

So, lose the hero shot and you have an effective and meaningful website that helps your clients get answers and take action.

Contact me for a comprehensive review of your website that includes Information Architecture, Online Content, Website Navigation, and Usability.

Fear of Commitment

It's a common theme in movies today. The hero or heroine has gone through life single and enjoying many short-term relationships. Then along comes "the one" and the person does everything they can to sabotage the relationship.

It usually falls to the best friend in the movie to point out the good points of the new love interest and help the hero/heroine see that this person is the one.

Businesses can be like the hero only going half way or doing something to sabotage the relationship with their customers, like starting a blog but turning off comments. The blog then becomes like every other newspaper or TV ad with the message pushed to an audience and no way to get feedback.

Social media specialists need to be like the best friend to the businesses that we work with. We need to talk up the benefits of social media and the benefits of the two-way communication with customers.

Social media is great, it's like running a focus group where you're getting feedback from your entire customer base not just some small (hopefully) representative sample base. Like when GAP put out a new logo. They listened to their customers and quickly scrapped the new logo when customer feedback was negative toward it.

Too often companies are stuck in the traditional, familiar mind-set when it comes to marketing and dictate to the customer what the business thinks the customer needs.

Like any relationship, there needs to be a two-way communication with your customers and social media can help facilitate this.

What do you think? What are some benefits that we can highlight to companies to show them the benefits of social media and the two-way communication?

Social Media Needs to be a Part of Your Communication Strategy

"Social media is part of our communications strategy so, ... we didn't have a big powwow about it saying, 'oh, we need to get out the message via social media'. It is already assumed that is one of the channels we want to use," says WestJet emerging media advisor Greg Hounslow.

This quote totally sums it up.

Marketing special report: Social media by Mary Kirby is a great article discussing how airlines are using Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to get their messages out.

"Social media isn't the way of the future - it's now," says Jessica Green of Greenwin property management.

Mobile phones (and even cars now) give your customers easy access to social media and the online discussions are immediate.

You don't have time to debate about a response, so a social media policy needs to be in place and the people monitoring them need to have the authority to respond immediately.

Why do companies prevent staff from being effective!?!

I could go on and on about the benefits of letting employees have access to the Internet and social media, but this is a really good post and the commenters also have some great feedback.

So rather than me ranting and raving, just check out this post by LaDonna Coy.

Life Events

There are few events in life that can really affect you.

There's the good: new job, marriage, birth of a child.

And then there's the bad: loss of job, divorce, death of a loved one.

It's easy to prepare for the expected events such as marriage or birth of a child, but often times the unexpected, bad events can really throw you for a loop.

I've learned that having an open relationship and communication along with financial planning can help you get through those unexpected events. (I would think thought that having an open relationship and communication could actually prevent one of those tragedies.)

7 social media lessons from Nestle's Facebook missteps

Just wanted to share this post from Ragan.com's top 5 stories on social media.

In this case study Nestle doesn't get that they no longer own or control their brand.
Your brand now is the top 10 results in Google when your customer searches your company name or your product name.

The issue and online conversation was around Nestle using palm oil in its products and palm oil being linked to environmental harm. Nestle's response was to tell people not to post their logos.

One commenter sums it up: "It’s not OK for people to use altered versions of your logos but it’s OK for you to alter the face of Indonesian rainforests? Wow!"

In the post, Ragan.com provides 7 really good lessons that any professional communicator needs to know and ensure their executives or clients know.

To sum them up:

• You need to listen and understand both the issue and the tools before jumping in.
• It's a conversation and sharing of ideas with your clients, it's not one-way (push) like traditional advertising.
• You need to give up control of the message and take the good with the bad. You're not going to please everyone and there will be bad feedback.
• It will require time commitment and dedicated resources (people) to follow, listen and participate in the conversations.

By the Numbers: Internet 2010

Here's a great article with some stats on Internet use and growth in 2010.

Notably, here are some social media stats.

Twitter doubled the number of accounts and Facebook grew by almost a third.

(Although as a side note, I noticed my nephew adding Facebook accounts with reckless abandon on the weekend just so he could create more towns for some game! That's just wrong. He also pumped up the number of email users by creating random Hotmail accounts for the Facebook accounts.)

Social media

• 152 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse).
• 25 billion – Number of sent tweets on Twitter in 2010
• 100 million – New accounts added on Twitter in 2010
• 175 million – People on Twitter as of September 2010
• 7.7 million – People following @ladygaga (Lady Gaga, Twitter’s most followed user).
• 600 million – People on Facebook at the end of 2010.
• 250 million – New people on Facebook in 2010.
• 30 billion – Pieces of content (links, notes, photos, etc.) shared on Facebook per month.
• 70% – Share of Facebook’s user base located outside the United States.
• 20 million – The number of Facebook apps installed each day.

Always Learn and Share

I'm sharing a post from copyblogger about the new age of teaching.

He has some good points when it comes to online marketing. You can't always be shilling your wares online. People will be quick to "unfriend" you if that's all your messages are.

"Your authority and credibility no longer depend on credentials — it depends on mastering skills by practicing them in the real world. You must be sensitive to what your prospective students want to learn, instead of forcing them to learn whatever you decide to teach them. And there’s no such thing as tenure. You stay relevant and useful or you lose all your students."
Specifically Josh Kaufman is talking about his online teaching business, but the same goes for your clients. You need to know what they're interested in and provide solutions that meet their needs and desires, not push your latest product or service.

You always need to be sharing something new that people want to learn or that will benefit them. Then, as I'm doing with the copyblogger post, your followers will share and spread your message.

Immortality through our online connections

I started this blog a few years ago with the greatest of intentions to write every day, but as my archive of posts shows I haven't been successful at that.

My blog title, "ego scriptor proinde ego sum," along the lines of I think therefore I am, means "I write therefore I am". In a way social media and all the self-published content is a way for everyone to achieve a bit of immortality.

Today this really hit home for me. A coworker has been battling cancer for the past year. To keep everyone up to date and I'm sure as a way to help her, she started a blog to keep track of her journey. (Thankfully she's just received the official diagnosis that her cancer is in remission.)

However, through her blog she came into contact with someone else fighting cancer and who is also blogging about her life and battle with the disease.

Today, my coworker's post was that this person who had touched her life, and yet had never met, passed away this weekend.

Until today I had never heard of Daria Maluta, and yet through these online connections I was made aware of her life and how she touched other's lives. A note of caution, when I followed the link I was left with a lump in my throat after reading the last few posts of her life.

Getting started in social media

To follow up to my commitment to social media and writing in this blog, I plan on working my way through these four stages.

Four stages to marketing and promotion.

1. Sign up, observe, and educate yourself (sometimes called lurking). Many people stay at this stage for a long time, simply soaking up good information.

2. Participate. Start to make yourself known. This could be as simple as making status updates, posting photos or sample writing, or creating a profile.

3. Share something and grow relationships. Focus on what you give people or what you can share that's of value. As you participate and share with others in the community, and do things for each other, relationships grow and develop.

4. Ask for help. This is when you might actually put your connections to work as a means of soft or hard marketing. Maybe you want to tell people to pre-order your book on Amazon on a specific day. Or you're hoping that your network will spread the word about an upcoming event you're hosting. So you ask.

People who know you and trust you will be more likely to help you. That's why it's important to establish relationships far before you market and promote a product/service. The relationships have to be meaningful before they have value in a marketing/promotion effort.

Note: The above is from my own notes from a workshop or seminar but unfortunately I didn't note the source when I wrote the notes. So, I don't profess to the above being entirely my own thoughts. It's probably came from Groundswell.

A New Year, A New Commitment

We're already half way into January of 2011. My last post was early January 2010! :(

I've signed up for two social media courses through Algonquin Colleges distance education and renewing my commitment to take on this social media storm front on.

I'm on Twitter (@jason_clements and @moviesinlondon) and I'm on Facebook and LinkedIn but I've never fully committed to any of these and have never regularly logged in or posted to any of them.

So, there you go, I'm putting myself out there and the social media courses will be my inspiration and will make me accountable to post here regularly and hopefully dive into the other sites.

Cruisin' through new year's eve

Saw the new year in on a Carnival cruise last week.

Food was good, weather was good, but there was still a bit to be desired.

I guess the Carnival Inspiration is one of the smaller ocean going cruise ships. It was bigger than the Cristal that we sailed in last year in the Greek isles, but it was no less rocky.

The rocking ship and the hard bed made for not much sleeping.

The food however was the pièce de résistance, especially the warm chocolate melting cake. It was a favorite selection for dessert by all at our table.

Entree selections were delectable as well.

One evening the dinner menu included lobster tail and prime rib. Thinking we were limited to one selection each, I ordered the prime rib and EM ordered the lobster tail. A few of the more experienced cruisers at out table ordered two lobster tails each or surf 'n turf (lobster tail AND prime rib).

Our stop overs included Grand Cayman and Cozumel, both big tourist shopping areas.

Went for a swim with the dolphins in Cozumel. That was amazing. It's hard to believe all the amazing things they can do, and all from hand signals.

Not sure I'll go cruisin' again for awhile, but I think we'll try for a really big one next time. They say you don't feel the ocean on the really big ones.

Avatar 3-D - Awesome Movie

Rivals all the epics. Cameron didn't disappoint and lives up to his reputation after Titanic.

3-D takes a bit of getting used to, but the 30 minutes of previews (some of them in 3-D) helped to get used to them before the movie started.

Awesome effects and CGI. Love the six-legged animals. An extra set of arms would definitely come in handy.

I think the uplink to nature should have been in their tail though, not their pony tails. The hair is braided, so how does that uplink look if the hair wasn't braided.

Bumblebee vacationing in Mexico

Unlimited websites hosted for under $10!

Can't believe this, but Hosting Gator will host unlimited websites for under $10 per month! That's total, not each!

And if you upgrade to an extra $5 a month you get a toll free number too!

The Green Lantern

Check out the trailer for this cool new movie.



Nathan Fillion of Firefly and Serenity fame and more recently the new TV show Castle takes the title role.

It definitely looks like it's more for the fanboy than a mainstream audience.

I'm all a twitter

You can follow me @moviesinlondon for movie and entertainment info, including latest movies and box office rankings.

And follow me @jason_clements for tweets on technology, social media and whatever else gets my goat.

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

GI Joe trailer from France (French subtitles) shows lots of Iron Man-esque armour, called Acceleration Suits.

Can't wait!

Opens August 7.

Find a Presentation on Any Topic

This is a cool presentation sharing website and potentially a valuable source of information.

Kind of like YouTube, this shares presentation slides.

You can type in keywords for just about any topic you can think of and it will return a list of presentations on that topic.

Find presentations on anything from Writing for the Web to Twitter and Facebook to Corvettes.

You only get the presentation with the guest access, but if you sign up for a free account you can download the actual file, which could include speaker's notes as well if they were uploaded with it.

Of course the usual disclaimer for all web content is that any information has to be taken with a grain of salt and should be validated. Also, attribution should be given if any information or images are taken.

Crap In; Crap Out

Again Gerry McGovern points out that content management should be about professionally managing web content, not about the content management software:
What do you get when you personalize crap content? Personalized
crap content. What do you get when you distribute publishing
rights to people who can't write, don't care about what they
write, think metadata is a country bordering Outer Mongolia, and
will never, ever review or remove what they publish? You get the
website you deserve.
"I don't want to waste 30 minutes observing someone," Gerry quotes one engineer who participated in a workshop explaining the essential need to understand your customers by observing their behavior.

If this engineer were to waste 30 minutes observing his audience he would save 10 to 100 times that by not having to go back and fix what he should have done the first time.

Snakes on a Plane

For real this time.

Four baby pythons escaped from a container aboard a passenger plane in Australia. And when the snakes, which can grow to one metre long, weren't found the plane was fumigated and went right on flying the friendly skys - with passengers.

Have you seen the movie? Who knows how long it would take for those four snakes to multiply and overrun the plane.

You could end up like this guy.

Gives me the willys.

WILB Makes Me More Productive

WILB (or workplace Internet leisure browsing, for those acronym adverse) allows your mind to rest and makes you a more productive employee. Browsing in moderation, of course.

This is the finding from a study in Australia. Good news, eh?

"Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity. That's not always the case."

More Than Meets The Eye

Here's an advance intro to the Autobots and Decepticons to appear in the upcoming Transformers movie: Revenge of The Fallen.

A couple of the bad guys...

"The spy"



"The Doc"


Check out the story to read more about some of the new 'bots.

World's Most Beautiful Cars

The Jaguar E-Type is always a winner in my books.



A few other beauties

• McLaren F1 - If only I could afford it!
• 1938 Talbot-Lago T150 CSS Tear Drop Figoni et Falaschi - A mouthful of a name, but a great looking classic.
  
• Porsche 911 - Always has been and still is a really nice car.

The 1957 Ferrari 250 Testarossa Pontoon Fender looks remarkably like the Speed Racer, just not as pointy.



Check out all 12 as judged by a panel of experts for Forbes.com.

Iron Man in a karate fight with Bruce Lee

Who would you bet on?

OK, this is pretty weird.

It may be old, but I just came across it and thought I'd share.



They've got this pretty down. They must have been working on this and practicing for years.

I guess with all the doom and gloom in the news everyday they have to do something to keep it light on the job.

Summer Blockbusters are on their way

I can't wait until May!

May 1
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

May 8
Star Trek

May 15
Angels and Demons

May 22
Terminator Salvation

May 29
Up

And they just keep coming...

June 26
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

July 17
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Terminator Salvation new trailer

Freakin-fantastic.

How's that working for you? Kids and smoking

Can you believe it?

Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada doesn't think making it illegal for kids to smoke is a good idea just because the tobacco companies think it is a good idea.

"Cynthia Callard, executive director of the anti-smoking advocacy group Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, says the very fact that the [The Canadian Convenience Stores Association] CCSA [and tobacco companies] supports such a ban is evidence that it won’t work. "

(Doesn't that remind of you someone? Hmm, let's see Jack Layton didn't support the budget just because the Conservatives created it.)

The article mentions a Statistics Canada survey that shows the percentage of youth aged 15 to 19 who smoke has leveled off at 15 per cent in recent years, after declining from 28 per cent in 1999.

"Callard says that there are limited resources available to keep kids from smoking, and those funds would be better spent on education, rather than trying to police the more than 150,000 underage smokers in Canada."

Sure, there has been a slight decline from education, but it's leveled off, so maybe it's time to consider something else.

It may cost money to enforce, but it will bring in revenue as well from the fines.

And if kids aren't smoking out in the open and they can't smoke in doors for obvious reasons from it's illegal to people won't let them to it's hard to hide the smell and the smoke, where are they going to smoke?

That's got to reduce the peer pressure factor if the kids that don't currently smoke aren't subjected to it everyday.

Playing the Role of a Real Opposition Leader

Bravo to Michael Ignatieff.

He doesn't fully endorse the new budget, but he is putting the interests of Canadians ahead of his party and quests for power.

Canadians need another election "like a hole in the head." (His words; not mine.)

And as a true opposition leader he is making sure the ruling party keeps its promises by requesting the Conservatives provide three progress reports throughout the year to ensure the budget is on track.

Unlike some opposition leaders who will remain nameless.

"Today, we learn that we can't place our trust in Mr. Ignatieff in terms of defeating Mr. Harper," Layton said.

Again, he isn't concerned with what's in the best interest of Canadians. He's only thinking about himself and his own fruitless quest for power.

Viral Video Chart

This is a good site if you want to see what popular videos are circulating around online.

A few that have been at the top this week are really good:

1. Oren Lavie - Her Morning Elegance
2. Cadbury Eyebrows
3. The T-Mobile Dance

As the name suggests, it's where you can find the marketing videos that are going around, such as the Cadbury and T-Mobile ones.

You can also find some of the top music videos and Barack Obama has been featured on it a lot lately, including his inaugural address.

What Happened to Democracy?

Before the budget was even released yesterday Jack Layton was giving his seal of rejection to it.

"NDP Leader Jack Layton, also a Toronto MP, has said his party will oppose the budget no matter what. Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe has said his party will also oppose the budget." (Source)

I like the comment on yesterday's FM96 morning show that the Conservatives should copy the NDPs budget proposal and put it forth as their own. Layton would then be rejecting his own budget.

And we would be well served by a coalition government that includes these guys?

Let's hope that Ignatieff at least judges the budget fairly and makes the best decision for Canadians, not his party or his own power-hungry ego.

There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.

This is an ad running on buses in London, England, and may appear on buses in Canada.

I'm kind of leery of the "probably," that doesn't instill much confidence. I'd rather choose the side that makes a difference in the end.

And I think the majority of people who believe in God or a higher power would say that their belief doesn't preclude them from enjoying their life.

Also, if you believe that there is a reward waiting for you in heaven, then I think that would help relieve any worries.

I would think that those who don't believe are the ones that would be worrying.

Even if you believe that God doesn't exist, you can't deny that the Earth and the universe have been around for millions of years. So, in the grand scheme of things your life is pretty small and insignificant.

If it were me that would be something to worry about.

I'm more inclined to believe that God does exist and enjoy my life worry-free knowing that when all's said and done I can keep enjoying life even after I leave this world.

Star Wars: the abridged version (from someone who's never seen it)

It's hard to believe that there are people out there who have never seen Star Wars.

But it's become such a big part of pop culture, that even those that haven't seen it know enough to retell the story (sort of).

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Feeling Down? Want Some Inspirational Words?

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

What do you think of Rogers email?

Totally not impressed with all the ads that take up the screen now in Rogers webmail.

And when you send in feedback to them they say it's just like gmail and msn. They miss the point that gmail and msn don't charge for their email.

and to add salt to the wound...

I have the below as my settings and yet Rogers in their infinite wisdom has decided to over rule this setting to take me to the home tab and get a chance to show me even more unwanted ads.

When I first visit Mail:

Show me the Home tab Show me my Inbox

Top 10 reasons that a coalition would be bad for Canada

1. A coalition government between the NDP and Liberals, supported by the Bloc Quebecois would undermine democracy because Jack Layton, Gilles Duceppe and Michael Ignatieff would govern without the consent of the Canadian voter.
   
   
2. Michael Ignatieff has walked into the leadership of the Liberal party without one vote from the Liberal grassroots. The coalition government would be led by Ignatieff as Prime Minister without earning one vote from Canadians.
   
   
3. Mandates are earned not taken. Canadians ought to express their will through the ballot box, not have it tossed aside through backroom deals.
   
   
4. The Bloc Quebecois should never dictate the terms of our government. Theirs is a party founded on the principle of ripping up Canada and now they want a hand in influencing its governance?
   
   
5. 74% of Canadians voted against a Liberal government. Now, that's a majority!
   
   
6. In a time of economic crisis, we don't need a political crisis. In the UK, PM Gord Brown and opposition leader David Cameron have put aside petty partisanship to make government work. Why did Bob Rae say he'll vote to defeat this government even without looking at its budget?
   
   
7. Coalition talk is decreasing international confidence in our political and economic stability. On the first day of trading after the coalition plan was unveiled, the Toronto Stock Exchange plunged 864.41 points (9.3%). This is the biggest drop since Black Monday in 1987.
   
   
8. We just had an election! Just a few weeks ago!! The Canadian people gave this current government a mandate. Now let them govern.
   
   
9. The economy is the number one priority of Canadians. Most Canadians don't care about the usual day-to-day bickering in Ottawa. Canadians care about their families and their jobs. Political brinksmanship reflects how out-of-touch Ignatieff, Layton and Duceppe really are with real Canadians.
   
   
10. Why would the Liberals team up with the NDP anyway? The Liberals themselves have called the NDP "economy damaging". We have an economist as Prime Minister. When you have a toothache you go to the dentist. When your car breaks down you go to a mechanic. Who better than an economist to deal with the economy?

There are many more reasons why the NDP-Liberal coalition would be harmful to our country. Please email this to your network. If you want to stay in the loop on latest developments, sign up:

http://www.rallyforcanada.ca/nocoalition.php

USS Enterprise vs. Imperial Star Destroyer

This would be a movie to see.

The End Begins

LA in 2009

Now jump forward to 2018 and see what LA looks like in the future.

Want a Free USB Drive?

No strings attached.

Free stuff with company logos on them for advertising purposes:

• USB memory
• Stress ball
• Beer mug (beer not included. Too bad.)

How cool is that?

Wicked Obstacle Course for Car (complete with drifting and 360s)

This is wicked. I gotta try this.

I think the guy on the SegWay must have a lot of faith in the skills of Ken Block, the driver.

Definition of Gymkhana - "An automotive sport... where drivers skillfully manoeuvre their cars around... obstacles using extreme acceleration, braking and drifting."

John Williams is a talented musician. So is this guy.

John Williams was the composer for the Star Wars music, Indiana Jones, Superman and Close Encounters, to name a few.

This guy's taken a few of his compositions and produced them a capella style. Pretty neat.

What is the largest room in the world?

The largest room in the world is the room for improvement.

I read this line in a weekly newsletter from User Interface Engineering, Failure Is Not an Option -- It's a Requirement.

Their articles are usually specific to usability testing, but this one has a broad message that's good for any organization and even for anyone personally.

It says that a company that embraces mistakes or failure is in the best position to learn and grow from them.

The article also has a list of common mistakes and provides you a chance to learn from others mistakes (novel concept).

A couple other good quotes:

"Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgments."

"Experience is the name everyone gives their mistakes."

Highlights of Greece and Turkey

Here's a highlight video of our photos.



Update: This video was created with Microsoft Photo Story. It's really easy to use.

SegWays Are So Easy Even a Chimp Could Ride One

This is so funny, but you almost feel sorry for the little guy. He was getting the hang of it near the end though.

Digital TV Conversion Explained

If you're like most, the upcoming switch from analog to digital TV may have you wondering how it will affect you and what you need to do.

This helpful PSA explains it in easy language that even your 90-year old grandma can understand.



OK, even simpler language, basically unless you're still living in the 70s and have rabbit ears on your TV or an antenna on your roof, you should be good to go.

I'm back

It's been awhile since my last post, not that I publish that frequently anyway. However...

Just got back from a trip of a lifetime tour of Greece.

Usability Studies help Cars as well as Websites

Whether the steering wheel is on the right or the left, there are still some common elements to all cars that allow anyone that knows how to drive to jump in anything from a Chevy to a Lamborghini and take off.

(Though it may take a minute to figure out how to turn on the windshield wipers. The good thing is you only need to know that when it's raining.)

OObject has an online collection of 17 classic car user interfaces aka dashboards.

To check out more dashboards of classic cars, check out the book, Dashboards, by David Holland.

The Clone Wars

What can I say...

Anakin's new Padawan learner is an annoying know-it-all with an attitude.

Even though all the characters look like the actor who portrayed them in the first three episodes, the producers didn't get all the same actors to do the voices, so there's a bit of a disjoint there.

Also, Jabba the Hutt's uncle looks like a girl.

Other than that it was a good movie advancing the whole Star Wars story.

En gard and may the force be with you

Gizmodo ran a Photoshop contest asking for Ways to Ruin the Olympics Using Technology.

This was the cool, second place winner submitted by Jim Festante.

Space Shuttle Launch Video from Air Canada Plane

Superman: Birthright

Another take on the Superman story, Superman: Birthright includes some aspects from Lois and Clark and from Smallville.

One difference is that rather than the "S" insignia representing the house of El, it represents Krypton as a whole being the flag of Krypton.

This change delves into our own (Earth's) tribal differences (Navajo, Scottish kilts, etc.) and rather than Superman wearing the S to represent his family he is using it to represent an entire people and really portrays him as "The Last Son of Krypton."

Superman: Birthright, originally a twelve-issue, limited-series comic book published by DC Comics in 2003 and 2004, was written by Mark Waid and drawn by Leinil Francis Yu. (Source: Wikipedia.)

However, I think that this is best experienced in the collected version in hardcover or softcover.

Like a DVD set, a collected set in a graphic novel usually includes extras, such as author or artist commentary and extra concept art.

And this doesn't disappoint with a collection of all the cover art as well as the original plot outlines by Mark Waid that discuss his thoughts on the Superman mythology in all its various forms as well as his take as represented in Birthright.

If you're a Superman fan, this is a great book to add to your collection.

Countdown to Heroes Season 3: Villains

Telemegaphone Dale

This begs the question, if you call a mountain top and and no one is around to hear it, did you really make a sound?

Touted as a telephonic art installation this megaphone will be installed on a hilltop in Dale, Norway. Anyone can use the loudspeakers by dialing a special phone number.

I hope for the sake of the residents of Dale that they can't hear it because I don't think they'll have the ability to hang up when a telemarketer calls during dinner time. (I'm sure they will be pretty quick to add the number to every do not call list in the world.)

Mamma Mia

Mama mia, mama mia, mama mia let me go-
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me-

Oh sorry, wrong song.

Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My my, just how much I've missed you

First, I just want to say that Pierce Brosnan singing is just wrong on so many levels. I will admit he got a little better, but his first song was just really wrong.

I don't know who thought he would be good in a musical. I think they were just trying to find some middle aged guy who would appeal to the middle aged women who are the biggest demographic for this.

Yes, I will admit I did go see it in the theatre. But I want to quickly add that it was with my wife. I have to give in every once in awhile in hopes that she'll see the more action-packed movies with me. (Doesn't work too often, but I can keep hoping.)

As chick flicks go it did have some pretty funny moments. And I must say that Merryl Streep looks pretty good at 59. (Amanda Seyfried isn't half bad either :)

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight definitely lives up to the hype. I won't write too much about it because I don't want to give too much away if you're one of the few who still haven't seen it.

I think all the talk of it being too violent for kids is a bit overrated, but then again I don't have kids, so what do I know. I did however see this with a friend and his nine-year-old who seemed to fair pretty well through it.

It continues to break records reaching for and possibly surpassing the infamous $600M mark held by Titanic.

Though a really great movie, most of the hype and record-breaking is being attributed to Heath Ledgers' passing, so whether all this attention can sustain a future movie is up in the air.

It's pretty certain that the Joker won't appear in any movies for a very long time as Heath Ledger's portrayal and subsequent demise pretty much ruin the chances of any other actor successfully pulling it off.

Batman Beats the Bad Guys and Beats the Records

Though not sure the record-breaking weekend can all be attributed to Batman; I think he had some unlikely help from his arch-nemesis, The Joker, or rather the late Heath Ledger.

With an opening weekend bringing in $155.3M, Batman definitely tore up Spider-man 3's web, and predictions are that the numbers aren't going to slow anytime soon.

The Fairy tale that is Hellboy 2

I haven't seen Pan's Labyrinth, but from the previews for it I immediately recognized Guillermo Del Toro's work in Hellboy 2.

Very much a fairy tale story with fantastical creatures, good fighting evil, and even a bit of beauty and the beast thrown in.

Of course there is still the usual big guns, fist fights and witty comments that are Hellboy.

And not to ruin the ending, but of course good triumphs over evil and they all (or most) go off in to the sunset to live happily-ever-after (so you're lead to believe).

Terminator Salvation trailer

Another fantastic movie for next year. Don't think Arnie will be back for this one though.

Watchemen trailer

Holy freakin-fantastic.

The movie is an adaptation of the graphic novel. "Set in 1985, in an alternative history United States where costumed adventurers are real and the country is edging closer to a nuclear war with the Soviet Union." (Source: Wikipedia.)

The movie will be out next year. Check out the official site for more info.

Can't wait to go see The Dark Knight and now can't wait even more to see this trailer up on the big screen.

Antartcitc Ice Shelf Melting on a Hot Summer's Day

The Wilkins Ice Shelf in the Antarctic is hanging by a thread. First predictions were that it only had 30 years left, but now researcher David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) says, "it is going more quickly than we had guessed."

Not sure, but can't we just hook up a big snow making machine and refreeze the cracks???

Dramatic Shots of Wildfires in Southern California

This is a pretty dramatic shot with the smoke and fire retardant mingling in the sky.

It's hard to imagine that this is a result of such devastation.

The Dark Knight trailer

Here's an exclusive, extended trailer from Dominos Pizza.

Quantum of Solace Trailer

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Sure we no longer have to fill our brains with a dearth of useful trivia, but when has a mind full of useless facts helped anyone other than on Jeopardy.

We now have Sudoku to keep our minds active now that encyclopedias aren't around for us read and memorize cover to cover.

So, no, I don't believe as Carr and others would have us believe that those who acquire search engine skills will cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful.

Is Google Making Us Stupid? found in The Atlantic, written by Nicholas Carr

Firefox 3 available Tuesday, June 17

The official date has been announced.

Next Tuesday Firefox is launching version 3 and hoping to break a world record with the most downloads in a day.

So, mark your calendars and download Firefox 3 on Tuesday.

Takes a licking and keeps on ticking

Bulova Watches may want to adopt this saying for their watches after one was found in Gibraltar Harbor.

Teddy Beacon lost it in the Harbor in 1941 while serving on the HMS Repulse.

It was found recently when the Harbor was dredged and returned to him... and it's still ticking after being wet for all those years.

We are the aliens

There was a post on Gizmodo.com yesterday about a press conference today that will show supposed video evidence of an extraterrestrial.

However, a story on CBC.ca today talks about 'uncontacted' tribes in the Amazon.

It's hard to believe that there are still isolated people in this world who still hunt and live off the land for their entire existence.

They depend entirely on the few people in their tribe for survival and their entire world is no bigger than a few miles circumference around their village.

Their existence is threatened by illegal logging. To them, we are the extraterrestrials. Could you imagine a logging bulldozer plowing through the trees into their village.

A construction worker in hard hat and sunglasses would appear to them as an alien with big head and saucer eyes would to us.

Firefox 3: On your mark... get set... wait for it...

Much anticipated and going for a world record download day, "with more than 14,000 improvements, Firefox 3 is faster, safer and smarter than before."

Though the date has not been set yet it will be sometime next month, so watch for it and get set to go.

Not yet using Firefox, download version 2 now and upgrade to 3 on download day.

Is Shia LaBeouf the next Indy?

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull is a good popcorn flick, but as Indy movies go I was expecting more.

There were a lot of "old man" cliches in reference to Indy and now that the secrets out that his real name is Henry Jones, Jr., there's no stopping the mentions of it.

In the past movies no one knew his real name was "Junior" and now everyone refers to him as Henry Jones, Jr.

Not to reveal anything, but the whole losing his hat and finding it again hasn't grown old. In the final scene the hat blows around and lands at Mutt's (Shia LaBeouf's) feet and he picks it up. He decides to try it on and at the last moment Indy (aka Henry Jones, Jr.) grabs it.

Is this foreshadowing things to come? George Lucas has stated that he's not actively searching for a new artifact to be the object of Indy's next adventure. With Harrison Ford getting up there in years perhaps Shia will be Indy, Jr. when the next artifact is found to be the basis of a new adventure.

As an aside, and a bit of a history lesson, there is such a thing as crystal skulls. There are 12 known to be in existence - one in each of Paris and London museums, one at the Smithsonian, and nine others in private hands.

Cold Fusion a Reality!?!

If you've watched The Saint with Val Kilmer you'll be familiar with cold fusion and it's role in thwarting the Russian Mafia boss, Ivan Tretiak, and his plans to profit from an oil crisis.

Thought to be like the plague, the study of cold fusion has been relegated to the closet in main scientific channels; however, it has recently been taken out of the closet to air out recently with perhaps promising results.

If this isn't a hoax, this discovery of cold fusion could revolutionize the world's energy production; it's the holy grail of energy production as said by Gizmodo in their post.

Prince Caspian: Chronicles of Narnia

If you like swords, and magic and the like this is a great movie.

The fight between Peter and King Miraz is great with lots of cool moves.

Though it seems a bit fantastical at times it does have a classic story line to follow keeping in line with the original chronicles.

The end seems a bit sad, but provides a bit of foreshadowing of what to expect in the next chapter, so to say.

On My Way for $25!!

I just received an e-mail from Air Canada promoting their new On My Way service. They're calling it "The new name for peace of mind."

This service offers, for a fee, stuff like:

• Access to specialized agents who are available around the clock to address your needs
• Priority rebooking on the first flight out (with Air Canada or another airline)
• The option of a complimentary rental car, train ticket or bus ticket
• Food vouchers and a hotel room if needed

This is all stuff that I would expect for free and in fact was actually free at one time. And now they're marketing it as something special that distinguishes them from everyone else... IF you pay them an extra $25.

Sure I realize that air lines are getting hit pretty hard by the high cost of gas, but I think they could be a bit more open in their marketing.

Do they really think we're that stupid that we can't see through this?!?

Nine Inch Nails free advance release

Free Music!

You can download Nine Inch Nails latest album, The Slip, for free. They're releasing it free online now in advance of the release of the CD and vinyl in July.

The Dark Knight - new trailer

Not to leave out the other big comic producer, DC comics is also hoping for a summer blockbuster with Batman: The Dark Knight.

If not for a memorial, Heath Ledger definitely could be up for an award as one of the greatest villains as The Joker.

Although he hasn't made an appearance in the trailers yet, it appears that Two Face (aka Harvey Dent) will also be appearing this summer.

Neither villains to be confused with Jack Nicholson's rendition as The Joker or Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face in previous Batman movies.

Iron Man's blockbuster performance brings on announcement of more to come

Iron Man's opening weekend grossed over $100 million prompting Marvel to announce that Iron Man 2 will be out in April 30, 2010 along with more Marvel heroes, including:

• Thor on June 4, 2010;
• Captain America the following year, May 6, 2011; and
  
• The Avengers on July 2011.

New Trailer for The Incredible Hulk

Iron Man is here in all his metal, gadget glory...

and the big green, raging monster is soon to join him.

Check out the new trailer.

Iron Man is finally hear

Gizmodo has lots of shiny new videos.

And check out the insider interview on Tribute.ca.

Behind the scenes of Iron Man

A recent article in USA Today includes some behind-the-scene shots on the set of Iron Man.


Apparently Jeff Bridges is quite the creative guy and doesn't leave home without his Widelux panoramic camera documenting his life and his work, including photos from the set of his most recent role as Obadiah Stane in Iron Man.

Fetch boy, Fetch

So much for getting exercise if you have a dog. This is a riot though.



The dogs going to have a heart attack.
It seems to have endless energy like the Energizer Bunny.

The Evolution of TV

Star Wars Clone Wars - Coming Soon

Way Cool.

Leaked Clone Wars Trailer is the New Force Hotness

The Grid: The Future is Here

• 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection
• Capable of downloading entire feature films in seconds
• Able to transmit holographic images
• Allow instant online games with hundreds of thousands of players
• High-definition video telephony for the price of a local call

CERN, the particle physics center based in Geneva that created the web, has built The Grid, capable of the above and probably more.

Though it will be awhile (possibly a long while) before you would ever see this in your home, just imagine the possibilities.

"It has already been used to help design new drugs against malaria by analyzing 140m compounds, an undertaking that would have taken 420 years on a standard internet-linked PC."

Cool stuff.

How observant are you?

Take the test.

Here, hear (?) to watching your spelling

Well said.

How cool are these? I want one

... or two or all of them. If they were bigger they would make great garden ornaments.

This is Gyro (19 inches tall).
When Gyro properly understands his assignment he is a wide-eyed and indefatigable worker. One time, though, Gyro wasn't listening closely enough and the next thing you know every lug nut from every vehicle in the Yankee Stadium parking lot had been removed and melted down.

Check them all out at Guy Robot.

10,000 B.C.

Great movie as far as special effects, but I think the story tries too much.

Rather than trying to portray itself as a movie of human history I think it should have picked a title such as "Spear tooth" or something else relevant to the movie.

I'm not sure where in Africa De'lays Rastafarian tribe would have actually lived.

I think the suspension of disbelief is easily achieved for most of the story; you can even stretch the imagination to think that ya maybe woolly mammoths did help to build the pyramids, but I think the final scene went too far.

Not to give away the ending, but throughout the story the most mystical it got was prophecy, but to then have the magic of old mother go across the mountains, through the rainforest and across the desert is a bit much.

Check out where and when this movie is playing in London at Entertainment London.

Traffic shockwaves are cause of traffic jams

I'm sure everyone has experienced this:

You're travelling along at a nice pace on the highway when all of the sudden everything grinds to a halt. You get a couple miles down the road and everything is moving again, but there was no apparent cause of the slow down; no accident; no busy on/off ramp; no construction; nothing that would have caused it.

The theory of "traffic shockwaves" has actually been demonstrated on a test track in Japan.



And it's all attributed to human error. As one researcher comments: "If they had set up an experiment with robots driving in a perfect circle, flow breakdown would not have occurred."