9 posts and columns on interaction

Don't Rain on Microsoft's Ad Parade (Except It's Raining in Seattle, Natch!)

in News on March 30, 2011 at 1:10 pm PT

BoomTown scrambled the All Things Digital jet (aka, United Airlines, Seat 7A) late last night to get up to Microsoft’s big event for its online advertising clients today. Called “Imagine 2011: Marketing Leadership Summit” and held at its Redmond, Wa. HQ, the two-day event is designed to wow peeps by trotting out a spate of strategery concepts those who buy advertising on Microsoft’s various digital offerings from its Bing search service to MSN to Xbox to Windows Phone 7.

A New Social Network Where Inquiring Minds Run Wild

in The Digital Solution on January 18, 2011 at 3:38 pm PT

Katie takes a look at Quora, a question-and-answer site that encourages thoughtful—even long-winded—discussions.

Turning a Tablet Into a Board Game

in The Digital Solution on January 4, 2011 at 4:04 pm PT

In the new Digital Solution column, Katie tests a game that successfully marries digital and analog games by using the first physical device to digitally interact with the Apple iPad.

With Goopon Stealing the Spotlight, Tippr Says Don't Forget About No. 3 (Or Its Patents)

in Commerce on December 2, 2010 at 7:00 am PT

Tippr CEO Martin Tobias hopes that between Google’s potential big-ticket purchase of Groupon and Amazon’s rumored investment in LivingSocial, consolidation in the group-buying space will accelerate as others scramble for a partner.

Zynga Chooses Facebook, Yet Again, for Exclusive Launch of Next Game: CityVille

in Social on November 17, 2010 at 6:00 pm PT

Zynga may make “social games,” but they do not foster much in the way of complex or rewarding social interaction. The company is trying to change that, and today is announcing its next game, CityVille, which it calls its most social to date. CityVille (of course) is a cutesy simulation game in which users work to turn a small town into a big city.

BoomTown Checks In at the Online-Only Seattle Post-Intelligencer

in News on August 9, 2010 at 11:05 am PT

A little more than a week ago, while I was in the Pacific Northwest, I decided to pay a visit on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Or, as its brand is known now: seattlepi.com. That would be the pixel-only version of the newspaper that was founded in 1863 as that city’s first, publishing a print version until March of 2009. It was then that the presses stopped and the computing began at the unit, owned by Hearst Corp. Click in to see how it’s going so far.

Yahoo Is Teed Up to Buy a Sports Site–BoomTown Is Betting on Citizen Sports for the Score!

in News on March 15, 2010 at 3:48 pm PT

According to numerous sources inside and outside the company, Yahoo is poised to slam dunk–I apologize, but sports puns are so easy–an acquisition of an online sports site this week. And, predicted several of those sources, it is likely to be San Francisco-based Citizen Sports, a maker of popular apps and games that allow fans to interact on the Apple iPhone and Facebook.

Actual News on Earnings Call: Yahoo Disables Annoying "Hover" Tool on Homepage, Restructures International Ops

in News on January 26, 2010 at 3:18 pm PT

News was actually committed during Yahoo’s fourth-quarter earnings conference call today when CEO Carol Bartz noted that the company would disable its irksome “hover interaction” on the homepage and that the Internet giant has restructured its international business. Yahoo reported results earlier today that slightly exceeded expectations in the fourth quarter, but it was no blowout.

How Many Emails Did You Send Yesterday?

in News on October 13, 2009 at 2:17 pm PT

A Journal article yesterday on the end of email’s reign has generated more than 170 comments from readers agreeing and disagreeing with its points. The argument of the article was that, while email is still growing, new forms of messaging and interaction are changing how we communicate.