In a recent New York Times article about new social networking site ParentsConnect, started by Nickelodeon, the site was surprisingly not compared to MySpace. It seems like every new social networking site (apparently the newest Internet buzzword. Remember community, portals, content, etc.?) is compared to the giant. Nor was it compared to its more obvious rivals, iVillage (a Catalyst client) or BabyCenter. Full Article »

I hope I’m not literally the last one to notice this…although I’m clearly not the first. Apparently, Volvo has updated their logo, as of about a year ago, to a new design meant to represent, according to a Volvo communications specialist, “strength.” Hmmm, maybe so.

To me, this new logo more clearly represents “dude.”

While I have definitely had my complaints with Fresh Direct’s level of service (as have many others), I have always respected the obvious care and attention that they have paid to the design and usability of their website. In fact, I often cite Fresh Direct as an example of a very usable and innovative design. Unfortunately, the “real-world” aspects of their service — i.e. the quality of their products, delivery and customer service — have been so uneven, and occasionally horrid, that I have stopped ordering from them almost completely. That may be about to change. Full Article »

Eons.com, the recently launched community site for baby boomers, has been called the MySpace.com for the 50 plus crowd. But what makes MySpace, well, your space is the customization elements and the attitude. Eons.com, while still an interesting site, reminds me more of my old employer iVillage.com. But while iVillage is a site with content, message boards and tools aimed at women, Eons.com offers all that stuff for boomers (in larger sized fonts if desired). Full Article »

Here’s a suggestion for your next book group: an email mystery called “Daughters of Freya.”? What’s an email mystery you ask? It’s a story told through a series of emails from different characters sent to your inbox, “as if the characters copied you on the emails they are sending each other.”? You receive a four to five a day over a three week period, leaving you unable to skip ahead to find out what happens. There are also links to newspaper and magazine articles, detective reports, photographs and other items that contain clues to the mystery. Intrigued? Not yet? The story synopsis might reel you in. Full Article »