Digg is an excellent website that holds a wealth of information, stories, practice tips, hard to find tutorials and in general, you name it, you’ll probably find it on Digg. For the casual users, there are a ton of categories to choose from and the content on Digg is virtually real-time. For specialized users like website owners and bloggers, Dig has the potential of becoming your new best friend. When stories are submitted to Digg and if they make the front page, it can cause what’s known as the “Digg Effect”. This is when a massive influx of traffic is sent from Digg to your website or blog. Digg can transform an unknown website or blog into a well-established heavily trafficked web location. Carve out your niche marketing efforts and join Digg to expand your market reach.

Digg Is An Information & Gathering Place

• Digg is a user-friendly and user-driven website.
• All the content that’s found on Digg is submitted by Digg users
• Digg users moderated the content that is posted on Digg.
• Because Dig is a community website, it relies on its members to send submission. Many of those submissions are in the form of short articles that are centered around a specific subject. Once a Digg member submits their content, other Digg users read that submitted content.  If the information is interesting and worthy, members will, Digg the stories and content they like the most.  If a submission or story receives enough Diggs, it’s promoted to the front page of Digg where millions of Digg visitors will see it.
• The key to getting Digged, is to have interesting, informative and relevant content.

How To Submit Content To Dig:

1. Register with Digg – it’s free and fast.
2. Start Digging yourself to get a feel for what it’s like to review other people’s content.

Tip: To start Digging, click on your profile link and scroll to check out submitted content. You can also go to the general Digg index and use the Digg search box. The search box appears at the top of every page for ease in searching. There are also advance searches available too. Make sure to use good key search words to target the most specific related topic your interested in.

How To Find Stories & Content For Digg:

1. Find information you want to share with the Digg community.
2.  Navigate to the Submit A Story URL and follow the process.

Tip: If you want your content to be “Dugg” by others then make sure to write an attention grabbing title and informational description. This will encourage community members to click through.

How To Use Bookmarklets:

Another way to add content to Digg is to use a Bookmarklet.

Tip: Drag one of the Bookmarklet links to your browser toolbar. This is a handy way to add content to Digg while browsing the internet. The Bookmarklets work with both Firefox and Explorer.

Digg Is Popular – Check Out These Statistics:

We checked the Digg statistics at the time of this post and found:

The data for the United States showed estimates of:

• 3.5 million unique visitors for the country.
• 11 million unique visitors worldwide.
• 98 million page views in the country.
• 190 million page views worldwide.
• 25 million total visits recorded in the country.
• 45 million worldwide.

Digg is not gender specific and both male and females were found to be taking advantage of Digging:

• 68% were recorded as male
• 325 were found to be females

The educational background of the average Digg user was reported to be:

• 42% had some college level education
• 34% had a bachelor degree
• 9% had less than a high school diploma
• 8% had a graduate degree
• 7% had less than a high school diploma

The age of members showed to be an estimated:

• 31% were between the ages of 25-34
• 30% were 35-44 years old
• 45-54 year olds made up 16%
• 11% wer 18-24 year olds
• The senior generation of 55-64 year olds came in at 6%
• 2% accounted for 65 year old and over
• 5% of users were between the ages of 0-17

General data for the household income of Digg users were shown to be:

• 30% at $25,000-$49,000
• 23% at $50,000-$74 999
• 20% were between $75,000-$99,999
• 15% made $0-$24,999
• 7% were $100,000-149,999
• 4% earned 150,000 or more.

These impressive statistics show just how powerful Digg can be to reaching a specific target market. It’s easy to see why so many individuals, businesses and hobbyist have added Digg to their social media network. By joining an online community as large as this one, it’s easy to see the marketing benefits. Whether you’re sharing content to raise awareness of a product line or just want to introduce thoughtful ideas, Digg can unlock an incredible audience and another way for you to reach a mass market.

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Writing ad copy can be easy if you use the right tools of the trade. Here are a few quick tips on how you can strive to write better copy that sells a product and produces results for your client.

Learn your client’s business

By learning about your client’s business and how they operate, you will be able to get a handle on who is buying their product. Ad copy for a restaurant will be much different than ad copy for an accounting firm. Do your research first, and then approach your client with a few questions to learn more:

• Ask questions about what other types of businesses are related to their work or product.
• Find out who their target market is and the median age, gender and other basic demographics about their customers. What you choose to write for 25 year olds will be much different than what you would write for a consumer that is 45+.
• Examine previous advertising copy that your client has had success with and ask to be shown what ad copy has failed to provide sell-through of product. Examine both then improve on the successful ad copy and apply those improvements to your ad copy.

Observe how your client has positioned their business in the marketplace

Once you can figure out the personality of your client’s business it will become easier to develop an ad campaign that works to fit their current profile. How a company wants to brand themselves and the products they sell is key to how they present themselves in words. You can work closely with company executives to learn about their wants and desires. Some businesses want to sell their product with ad copy that doesn’t match their company’s public profile. This can lead a company to a failed ad campaign.

• Question how your client wants to be seen by the public.
• Ask about the type of reputation they want to achieve.
• Find out how their competitors are viewed, expand on the competitions weak points to make your client stronger in the marketplace.

Adhere to your clients desires

As a copywriter you might not have enough time to learn about how every business operates.  It is up to you as a professional in the field to learn enough about each of your individual clients needs and how it pertains to the specific work you do for them. By listening to your client’s needs, learning what their desires are and working towards a common goal, you can look forward to creating successful ad copy that benefits the business you are working for.

• Working off ideas that you might think are inventive or ideal, may not benefit your client’s long term goals.
• As a copywriter it’s important to remember that most businesses work on a plan over the course of months or years. Your goal is to become a building block.
• Taking one step at a time is one of the most beneficial ways to incorporate your creativity and genius into  your client’s goals.

Working as a copywriter may seem like a no-brainer job for most. But for those who do the work, it’s an intense job that requires thought, sensitivity and a professional ethic that goes beyond your own thoughts of greatness. The best copywriters are the ones that match their style, their work and their creativity to their client. Once someone is able to generate good copy that matches their client’s goals and needs, that writer can count on being called back again and again as a team member that is known for their beneficial contributions.

In the ever changing world of advertising, copywriters can easily become an invaluable piece of a company’s  marketing plan. Match your skills to your client’s needs. Once you do this, you will be able to count on a long and productive relationship with your clients for years to come!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

There are lots of ways that the top designers and firms work to meet their clients goals and being successful in the world of design means having a handle on how to create original ideas. Most designers would agree that it’s the execution of a great idea that makes it a success.

The Hartford Business Review recently published an article on their website by Warren Berger entitled Four Phases of Design Thinking . Warren Berger is the author of GLIMMER: How design can transform, business, your life, and maybe even the world (Penguin Press). He edits the online magazine GlimmerSite.com too. His article was so informative, we thought it was well worth our time to review how designers work to create successful innovative ideas.

Throughout the world of design, there are some shared behaviors that top designers follow in order to achieve significant breakthroughs. Second nature habits that were found to be common among expert designers and to their ability to transform an original idea into a successful innovation included; asking questions, caring, connecting and committing. If you’re a designer you will recognize these shared behaviors and if you’re looking for design work to be done, these are the steps that a top notch designer will most likely follow.

Designers Ask LOTS Of Questions

• Seasoned designers ask lots of questions.
• They work to raise questions in order to begin their design project.
• Designers strive to challenge the current reality or assumption in an industry.
• The creative mind works to learn the mainstream obvious and then figures out a way twist or morph it into an original idea that will turn into a successful innovative idea.
• A creative individual will often ask basic “why” questions that might seem naive and sometimes puts people on the defense.

When a designer asks why, they are really encouraging people to step back and reconsider old problems or practices that might be out of date. This gives the designer the ability to re-frame and steer thinking in a new direction. By striving to stretch the question of why to all facets of a project, they are able to rethink the basic fundamentals of a business. In the current economy and ever so volatile marketplace, this breeds innovation that gives birth to success.

A Great Designer Cares

• Designers do their best work by stepping out of the corporate bubble.
• They immerse themselves in the lives of their target market or audience.
• By observing and paying close attention to the customer they are trying to reach, they are able to dig out the consumer’s deep unspoken needs.
• Designers work hard to be present in people’s lives.

Lots of companies can say they care about their customer’s needs. Focus groups and questionnaires don’t really scratch the surface as to what makes an individual choose to buy a product. In order to reach a consumer on an emotional level, you have to empathize with them. This is the leverage that a good designer brings to the creative table. They strive to learn how their customers feel, how they think and how they live. By doing so, a seasoned designer learns what pushes a person to buy a product, join a marketing campaign, or become a faithful follower and consumer.

Designers Are Able To Connect

• A designer works to synthesize ideas.
• The creative thought process can take existing elements or ideas and combine them together in new ways.

Hiring a designer doesn’t always mean that a business will be forced into a new set of marketing materials or professional identity. It’s the job of a designer to also consider their clients current business elements and think laterally. Sometimes new ideas are not born fresh or invented from scratch. New ideas can be found by searching for new ways to combine current or older ideas. Designers do this by connecting them in a new way. They generate a new idea that is often comprised of scattered or mismatched ideas that didn’t seem to go together. This can be a shortcut to innovation. By combining previous ideas, this can help a business retain their original identity and brand, and simply strive for a new look, new message or re-tool their branded look to be more attractive to the public.

Designers Achieve Success Through Commitment

Designers are able to commit early to an idea.

They take original ideas and move them beyond imagination by giving them Form.

This Form makes an idea Real.

Designers are comfortable with putting an idea out into the marketplace when it’s young and imperfect.

A designer knows how to accept short-term failure.

Creative professionals have the ability to “fail forward”.

Some of the greatest designers have gone back to the design board more than once to tweak an idea into success. With their focus on commitment, the creative mind is often very comfortable with risk, more so than the average person is. They know that small failures are useful tools that provide a process for learning what needs fixing. In times of fast dynamic change, many companies need a confident designer on their team that can operate in a “test and learn” environment. In this type of work situation a designer will be required to create multiple or rapid prototypes. In design, the name of the game is often—Change it—Revise it — Until it STICKS!

Businesses and designers can look forward to forging a profitable partnership when they work towards a common goal. One way to do that is for the designer to explain what they will be doing, how they work their process and why they follow certain steps to achieve success. Through the use of an open line of communication, businesses can learn how to apply their designers behavioral habits to their own creative process. Being able to generate innovative and fresh ideas that  are attractive to consumers can push a business from hum-drum to sensational and victorious!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Many businesses, organizations and independents can use social media network sites to benefit their marketing efforts. By following a few simple steps, you can create a mix of social media skills that will increase your chances of success too! The rules of social media networking on sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and others are easy to set up, maintain and profit from. Once you have created your business profile or personal/fan page remember to follow these basic guidelines to attract friends and become a social media success!

One key factor that will make any social media marketing effort successful revolves around a business listening to their target audience or customers. Making a person-to-person contact is one of the most important aspects of how to engage an audience. While most of us work hard at finding our connections online in a virtual world, its equally important that after those contacts are solidified, that we harness the power of how to; listen effectively, speak with passion, energize others, offer support when it’s needed and embrace as much as possible through simple acts of common courteous personal interaction.

How can all of the above promote a media campaign on a social network a positive way?  It’s easy when you break it down. Here are a few simple steps that you can take to build a better social media strategy so that it bears all the fruits of success you hope for.

Listen:

Listening is a major milestone that most businesses have forgotten or forget to do. By listening to your target audience or customers you can; gather data about customer needs, improve product development ahead of production schedules and make customers feel like they have a stock in a company that cares about what they’re saying. By the simple act of listening businesses can  build a loyal following for their personal brand.

Speak:

By offering good solid advice, being helpful when needed and keeping in touch with whether or not customers are happy with a product, you’re grooming your business for its next year’s future success. Let the people in your company that are the most passionate about transforming your image to be in front of your social media marketing campaign. Those individuals will be able to speak effectively and clearly about company goals and help current and future customers learn what your business is about. This builds professional trust that “speaks” volumes about where your company is in the line-up when stacked against the competition.

Energize:

Having your most energetic and passionate professionals leading the pack on your social media sites, brings your business one step closer to closing in on your competitors. Passionate employees talk up a company better than any print, web, or snail mail campaign can ever do. Let those that love their job, work it for the betterment of the rest in the crew. They are ones that will offer the most personal touch to your speaking efforts.

Be Supportive:

In regards to offering support to your customers, online social media sites are a great way to answer questions about products, address complaints, and give advice on product use and compatibility with other products. Businesses can rely on their social media sites to update their audience and followers on new product developments, recalls and other important customer service announcements. By being a supportive company that shows that you care about your customer base, you are making connections that withstand the test of time. Being supportive builds the longevity of your business.

Embrace Everything:

Most of us are fearful of what it means when someone says that you should embrace something. We think to the docile acceptance of a situation that we cannot fix or change. Quite the opposite is true when you learn what embracement means. The dictionary describes embracement as a hug, to accept willingly and to include. By taking this term literally, a business can look forward to embracing everything through a virtual hug, by being open to the opinions of others. They can willingly accept that some folks might be complimentary or critical and handle each situation with professional grace. By including their customers and target audience as followers of their company on a social media site, businesses reap the rewards of their customers feeling like they are part of your business. Their loyalty for your company will blossom into a lasting relationship.

Branding your company online in the social media world is not an easy task to accomplish. You need hard working positive individuals that your company can count on. Your time and efforts in planning a targeted strategy begins in the boardroom, but is tested on the World Wide Web where everyone can see the failings of a poorly thought out plan. Take your time, think about your company mission’s statement, revise it if it’s outdated. Then take flight and you too can navigate your social media marketing campaign to benefit your business!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Enjoy the value of Facebook and build your business by creating a Facebook business page. By having a Facebook business page you can increase your online presence and gain even more exposure by; including  your Facebook page link in your email signature, posting your link on your business website and adding it to your print and advertising materials. Facebook can be an excellent and valuable business tool if used properly. Check out the research and stats below to find out just how powerful Facebook is in the world of social media networks.

Recent studies performed by Edison Research showed:

• 48% of Americans, over the age of 12, had a profile page set up on a social network site.
• 30% of those same individuals logged on to their social network page multiple times each day.

The statistics from  Facebook are astounding:

• There are more than 400 million active users.
• The average user has an estimated 130 friends.
• People are found to be spending over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

Use Facebook to Build Your Business

In order to use Facebook so it benefits your business you can incorporate these ideas:

• Choose a keyword name that will improve your search engine ranking. Try matching your Facebook name to your business name so folks can find you online in cyberspace and on Facebook under the same name.

• Work on creating a comment posting schedule that fits into your work schedule. Posting  on a regular basis can help others get to know you and your business. It will also increase your chances of gaining followers.

• Ask you Facebook friends to interact with others on your page. You can do this by posing questions to spark conversation. The idea is to create a conversation that encourages multiple replies.

• If friends post on your page, respond to their comments as often as possible. This will let them know your available.

• Text is great for getting things started, but make a concentrated effort to share photos and videos so your Facebook business page is interesting and stimulating.

The Importance of Maintaining a Business Website & Blog

Once your business is set up on Facebook with a custom page, turn your efforts to expanding your online presence with a solid foundation like a website and blog. Many businesses wonder why they should spend the time in creating a business blog when a Facebook business page appears to be more interactive. The answer is that you don’t own your Facebook page. You are using Facebook as a place to simply interact and connect with others. They key to using Facebook is to make it beneficial to building your business and that is done by driving your Facebook friends to your own website and or blog.

Think of your website as a central hub for your business and your blog as your social outreach for your marketing and public relations. Since you own your website and your blog, it’s yours. You have complete control of the changes, the longevity and the future of your site and blog. On Facebook, you don’t own your page and any content created on your Facebook page could disappear if Facebook vanished.

Be in Control of Your Destiny

Choose to be self-reliant and maximize the time you invest on your social network pages by creating a strong central business homepage, website and up-to-date well- managed blog. Brand your business by creating an internet storefront. Your store can be filled with creative content that describes your business mission, goals , products and services. At the end of the day, your cyber shop will also be in place for as long you own your business!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

SEO, otherwise known as Search Engine Optimization, refers to the steps followed to optimize a website. Websites  are optimized by changing or improving parts of their internal or external features, like improving website copy text, keyword tags(internal) or web hosting controls(external). SEO also works to improve site design and content that will increase traffic. The ideal traffic that the optimization targets is search engine traffic.

There are individual consultants, small businesses and large firms that specialize in SEO. Some Search Engine Optimization specialists are focused in one specific area and others are broad and generalized. Because optimizing a website requires attention to a variety of unique elements, some specific and others general, many SEO professionals describe their work as being in the open field of website optimization.

Companies and individuals need Search Engine Optimization because web traffic is controlled and “driven” by the top commercial search engines, AskJeeves, Yahoo!, Google and MSN (AOL pulls about 10% of searches and is powered by Google results). Web users who are looking for content, services, products or information are generally using a key method of web navigation—search engines. If a website can’t be found by these major search engines or the content of a website can’t be put into their databases, then those sites lose out on valuable traffic.

To simplify, the words we use when we type letters into the search box are valuable. These searches are called search queries and usually contain a phrase that is then best matched to a specific website. Many people agree that their experience has proven that search engine traffic can have a tremendous impact on a website’s success. Since targeted visitors can offer publicity, revenue and exposure, Search Engine Optimization offers a substantial rate of return on investment.

Search engines like Yahoo!, AskJeeves, Google and MSN need SEO help because they are limited in how they operate. Search Engine Optimization helps to make content available to the search engines and can also boost search engine ranking. With content that is easily found, sites are placed where web users can see it – page one of a search, instead of page 32. Organizations, businesses and individuals can pick up visitors, attention and lift a website to gain more visibility by performing Search Engine Optimization.

As you begin on your journey into the wide world of Search Engine Optimization here are a few quick tips on how to make website text search-friendly!

Search engines cannot index certain text styles and as a result, many sites struggle with making their text search-friendly. Search engines cannot read, index or pull the following text styles:

• Text embedded in a Java Application or Macromedia Flash file
• Text in an image file – jpg, gif, png or other image.
• Text accessible only through a form or other on-page action

Search-friendly text can be described as text that the search engines can spider and index. When creating text in HTML it’s critical to website rank and getting indexed properly to make your website text search-friendly. Search engines measure the phrases and terms in text copy and pull information about that page based on their findings. Finding the right balance of how to create content that is reader friendly and “search-friendly” could be considered both an art and a science. The following rules apply when working to optimize on-page text for search rankings:

Create and make the primary phrase/term stand out.

Keyword density is now considered useless. General frequency is what helps ranking.

Create web content that is high quality and on-topic.

Search engines are sophisticated and analyze content to find quality pages. They also have teams of researchers that work to find quality writing.

Structure your text/document.

A journalistic format is common and preferred. The copy starts with a description and then moves from broad to narrow in subject and content.

Cozy content works so keep website text together.

When creating a document or on-page content, it’s important to avoid breaking text through coding. One way to do this is by using tables that have text sections like content, ads and navigation that flows.  Too many “nested” tables can create broken sentences and paragraphs that are not search-friendly.

Layout and keyword usage has little value.

Website layout and keyword usage used to be considered important in search engine ranking. That’s no longer the case. Structure and keywords offer a slight boost in ranking, but the overall benefit is low.

By following these basic search friendly rules when creating your online copy content, you will enjoy higher search engine rankings, increased traffic and possible income potential and growth. The World Wide Web is forever evolving and keeping up with the newest and most up to date information is crucial to successful website design and development. Search Engine Optimization is for people, businesses and organizations that want to grow their online presence through the use of technical, creative and structured content.

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

Color speaks volumes when you are trying to attract an audience, friends or work on your social network marketing campaign. Refer to the characteristics of color when creating business graphics, website designs, blog layouts and social media pages. It’s been reported that color can evoke an emotional response within 90 seconds of viewing.

Color can motivate, persuade, impress, influence and encourage. It can change behavior, bring to mind emotions and can impact a physical response.

Color is also cultural and specific to regions and is also age related. Your location and target audience should always be considered when choosing the right colors for communication. Make an impact and send a subliminal message to your audience by knowing the secret language of color.

Blue

Blue is a popular color for business. It suggests financial responsibility, security, trust, reliability and dignity. Dark “corporate” blue is important and confident. In general blue is calming and a natural universal color associated with the blue sky above all of us. In culture it symbolizes religious beliefs, is thought to bring peace, and keep evil spirits away.

Brown

Brown speaks of kindness, cooperation, efficiency and wealth. It has been associated with stimulating appetite and is found in living and non-living materials. Universally it is associated with being wholesome and earthy. It is a dependable color.

Black

Black is bold, powerful and elegant. It is authoritative, seductive and sophisticated. It is a classic color and is also associated with evil. In nature, black is thought to be the absence of color. In western countries, black symbolizes mourning. For young people it is rebellious.

Gray

Gray is a serious color that quietly suggests authority and practicality. It is honest, traditional and conservative. In our culture, dark gray is used for mourning and light gray for celebrations. Overall it is a formal color.

Green

Green has been reported to be the easiest color on the eye. It  symbolizes wealth, status, freedom and growth. It is often associated with health, fertility and nature. It’s naturally a restful color and calming. In cultures it symbolizes the environment and the Spring season.

Orange

Orange is a vibrant playful color that suggests pleasure and cheer. In nature it’s associated with warmth and stimulates the senses. Cultures recognize it as a color that represents the changing of the seasons, the sun and good health.

Pink

Pink is feminine and nurturing. It is associated with being sweet and innocent. It suggests well-being. In nature pink is seen as soft and culturally pink is delicate.

 Purple

Purple is an upscale color, artistic, spiritual and dignified. It is luxurious, wealthy, authoritative and sophisticated. In nature purple is thought to be sacred and precious. Different cultures think of this color in a variety of ways, some use this color for mourning, royalty or authority.

Red

Red is aggressive, strong and dangerous. It is associated with sex, passion, excitement and speed. Red has been reported to stimulate a faster heartbeat and increase breathing. It is naturally a hot color. In culture it is powerful. Some countries think of this color as pure and joyful and use it for celebrations or to attract good luck.

White

White is pure, clean and honest. It is contemporary, loyal and affectionate. In nature white is brilliant. Some cultures think of white as innocent or for royalty, others use it for mourning.

Enjoy creating your own special message about your business, goals and products by engaging your audience through the use of color. Color speaks to us in a non-verbal communication that is strong and emotional. Use color to your best advantage by being sensitive to how color can impact your print materials, online presence and social media networks. Be creative and color your business to success!

We welcome new ideas and you might inspire us for our next blog post! Share your thoughts and tips by posting comments for us. Thanks for reading!

By Sara Hassler

At the beginning of a new year, it seems like everyone puts out a list of “best ofs” for the previous year, and 2010 is no exception. No need to sift through every single one, though: Oozil has compiled the best lists for you, so you can skip from “Best 2009 Exhibits of Byzantine Mosaics” and “Best Sound Effects Editing in Romantic Comedies” to get straight to the good stuff.

Time’s 50 Best Websites of 2009

This website roundup gets extra kudos for variety: Time has included nifty choices for cooking, crafting, silly video-watching, and time-watching in addition to top choices for networking, news, research and trend-spotting. You’ll find a few here you never heard of (California Coastline? Visuwords?), so be prepared to spend some time cruising the links.

Time’s 25 Best Blogs of 2009

Things get a tad more serious with Time’s blogroll, with news sites Talking Point Memo and Huffington Post topping the chart, but there are some fun gems to glean as well, like Said the Gramaphone and BoingBoing. Don’t miss Time’s picks for “Most Overrated Blogs of 2009.”

Roger Ebert’s Best Films of 2009

Every list of film bests inspired argument and controversy. Ebert nips some of it in the bud by separating picks for mainstream movies and independent films. See if you agree with his choices, and get ready to rent some of his under-the-radar choices.

Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2009

The book industry magazine has come up with a refreshing book list, choosing titles believed to be the actual best rather than merely the biggest-selling. You won’t find Twilight, but you will find plenty to convince you that good literature isn’t dying.

Gizmodo’s Best Gadgets

The smart folks behind Gizmodo know their gadgets better than anyone in the biz, and this list proves it, covering everything from phones, computers, audio and video, to more-overlooked items like vacuum cleaners and chairs.

Project Censored’s Top Censored News Stories of 2009

You already know what the biggest news headlines were –they were everywhere. But what about the stories you never got to read? Project Censored fills you in on the stories your paper wasn’t allowed to run.

Videogum’s Best Viral Videos of 2009

It’s getting harder and harder to know how we got through the stress of everyday life before YouTube. Videogum has compiled the best viral videos of the year into one, with handy links to the full versions of the ones you missed. Expect plenty of cats, lip-syncing babies and moronic newscasters. (As is typical of viral videos, there is some language.)

Oozil wishes you the very best of 2010.

By Elizabeth Kelly