Orient Lodge

The EntreCard Twitter Fiasco

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 12:38

Yesterday, EntreCard announced a widget that would display tweets that anyone posted about them. The blog post, included an update:

Just a quick note that Entrecarders are expected to be on their best behavior. Any intentional use of profanity or harassment directed at other Entrecarders or Entrecard Staff using Twitter will result in immediate account deletion. We have a zero tolerance policy for harassment at Entrecard.

It is not clear if this update was put up before or after Turnip of Power tweeted Is that asshat from Entrecard still wearing his asshat?.

As a result, Turnip of Power has been banned from EntreCard. One person asked, “Can I still speak poorly of Entrecard’s users on my blog? How about in my living room?”

It appears as if Entrecard is making the classic mistake of inexperienced startups online. The danger of online social marketing is that you can’t control what people will say about you. An even greater danger is what happens when you attempt to do so.

It isn’t a new lesson. Last November, conservatives used the #dontgo to try and get their message out on twitter and beyond. The problem is that liberals hopped in and used that to promote their own message. The website that was set up to monitor #dontgo messages was quickly modified to filter out message that the conservatives felt were inappropriate.

It is even more problematic when people running one website place conditions on what people can say about the site on other websites. A response on the Entrecard blog is entitled ‘Embracing negative publicity’. It sounds like the classic mistake done in damage control. Instead of admitting an error and trying to address the problem, it is a defensive, “I meant to do that” response.

Meanwhile, more people, including top droppers have been leaving EntreCard. The discussion on Twitter is predominantly critical. It is too bad. EntreCard is a great idea, run horribly. It is surprising that a viable competitor to EntreCard hasn’t sprung up yet.

It will be interesting to see what happens next.

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Testing Mippin and Admob - Mippin feed validation KEY=31d15c7e

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 12/05/2008 - 20:12

This is my first test of Mippen. Mippen is a site that takes an RSS feed and coverts it to a mobile site.

The mobile site for Orient Lodge is currently http://mippin.com/ahynes1.

To validate the feed, I am adding this string:

Mippin feed validation KEY=31d15c7e

In addition, Mippen works with AdMob. Admob places ads on mobile sites. I figure I should test this at the same time. They are asking for some install code, which it seems like should be handled by Mippen. We'll see.

Have any of you used Mippin or Admob? Have you checked my site out on your cellphone?

Any feedback is appreciated.

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Live Blogging the SEEC hearing on the Citizen’s Election Program

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Fri, 12/05/2008 - 10:28

Today, the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC), is holding hearings about the Citizen’s election program, what worked, what didn’t and what can be done to improve the program. The hearing started with comments about the dust settling and a chance to look back at a very successful first run of the program.

The first person to testify was Speaker-Elect Chris Donovan. He spoke about how well the program worked and his appreciation that the program brought campaigning back to the fun days that reminded him of his first campaign, with much greater emphasis on going around talking with voters.

Speaker-Elect Donovan was followed by State Representative Andrew Fleischmann. Rep Fleischmann made similar comments about how well the program has worked. He also spoke about how good it was to be able to talk with voters, and tell potential donors that he only needed $5 dollars, because he had already raised enough money, and just needed more supporters. He did suggest that candidates should be allowed to continue fundraising, after they raised their requirements and received their grants, with money going to the help fund the Citizen’s Election Program.

Updates are below the fold

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Monkey’s New Home

Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 12/04/2008 - 17:20

Yesterday, I wrote about two adorable pit bull mixes that desperately needed a new home. Other bloggers picked up the story, NytroGirl and FeeFiFo both put up wonderful posts, and people have been asking me what happened.

Today, I learned that both of the dogs were adopted and I called up Sherry, the person listed on the email I had received, and whose number I posted on my blog post. Sherry is an animal control officer for the city of Hartford, CT. Every day they pick up stray animals, sometimes as many as ten in a single day. It costs the city of Hartford $18 per day for each dog they have at their shelter and so animals not adopted in the time required by law are killed.

Since July, the pound has been the temporary home for around 280 dogs ranging from chihuahuas to pit bulls. Some types of dogs get adopted more quickly than others, and unfortunately, pit bulls, which often have a wonderful temperament get passed over because of stories about pit bulls that had been trained to be fighters.

When a dog is approaching their last days at the shelter, Sherry reaches out to anyone who will help spread the word. Scott Haney of WFSB, Channel 3 highlights the dogs during the morning news weather report. Sherry also reaches out to rescue groups and websites like Help Save One and Flora’s Pet Project. This email got forwarded around until it ended up in my lap.

In the case of these two dogs, the female was adopted by a family that had adopted another dog from the same pound eight months ago, and were looking for a playmate for their dog. The male was adopted by a family from eastern Connecticut who has named him Monkey and given him a great new home.

When I asked Sherry about how we can better deal with the problems of abandoned animals, her first comment was to make sure that your pets are spayed or neutered. Beyond that, if you, or anyone you know, is considering getting a pet, check with the rescue societies and local pounds. Especially check with the pounds of the nearest largest cities, since animals there may be the most at risk. Sherry has a website about the pound listing pets for adoption.

She also a website, Hartford Dog Pound with lots of valuable information, links and success stories. Hopefully, we’ll hear more about the two dogs that were just adopted on that website soon enough.

So, while the two dogs that caught everyone’s attention yesterday are now safe, abandoned animals continues to be a problem and pounds around the country are looking for good homes to some lovely animals. So, if you are looking to get a pet, or know someone who is, make sure they check the pounds and the local rescue societies. Then, when they get a pet, make sure the pet is spayed or neutered. I’m glad that Monkey and his friend have new homes, and I hope some of their old friends from the pound find new homes soon to.

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