Although the car will initially be pushed in markets where new cars are an untouchable luxury, it’s being predicted that the U.S. will see it sometime in the not-so-distant future, as well. Unfortunately, making the car so affordable will not be easy, and will require the auto maker to leave out features which have long come standard in most other markets, such as automatic transmissions, locks, and windows, as well as various airbags and safety upgrades.

Nissan spokespeople say they hope to have six different models available by 2014 which will be cheaper than any new car on the market other than a few specialty cars out of China and India. As of right now, Nissan’s least expensive car is still priced around $8,000, which makes the new Datsun quite a jump.

The company does acknowledge that the move won’t be an easy one, considering the old Datsun was known for both economy and comfort; the new models simply can’t have both. But the transition into these “emerging markets” could boost Nissan’s profile as they prove themselves to be leaders in one of the fastest-growing category.

This is basically the only hard physical evidence we have on the new iPad to be released on Wednesday. That does not seem to be stopping the rumor-mill, though. Bloggers, fans, and skeptics everywhere are eating up the hype:

After all, that is 4,403 more spam messages than you’d like to have.

But if you deal in numbers and stats, that projected extra 50 or so represents a leveling out, or potentially a decline in the number of spam messages sent. Wired, after talking with Google and Jupiter Research, suggests that could mean spammers are getting discouraged.

Spam fighters take a lot of the credit, as do law enforcement in many countries, but I think also as people get savvier to spam, the less effective it is at drawing customers.

But if Gmail would like drop that number (or increase it by fewer), they might come up with a way to notice that all my messages are in English, and if the filter can’t differentiate between Roman letter-based languages, then at least, with all the sophistication they say they have, maybe they could find a way to block messages in Russian, Greek, or Chinese.

Much appreciated. 

Arranged by Parys Communications, one of 3’s PR agencies, the meeting was an informal get-together to exchange some views and hear 3’s thoughts about their plans for 2008.

I have a connection with 3 as I’m one of the group of bloggers and journalists who are trying out 3’s new Skypephone. The phone’s on free loan for three months courtesy of 3. I’ve already written a bit about the Skypephone and I may well write more in future.

So, to the meeting.

An immersion into a disruptive company’s business thinking, is how I might summarize it. We heard thinking and received detailed information on the types of handsets 3 might be offering during 2008 plus a glimpse into 3’s roadmap ahead.

Adam Davis, 3’s Head of Marketing and Product Management, is a man whom every gadget geek would envy as he pulled from his case prototype phone after phone from Nokia and Sony Ericsson that may end up in 3’s handset lineup.

Much of the talk was about the Skypephone and 3’s plans for it next year.

It’s quite apparent that 3 want this phone to be a big market success. Indeed, they said the greatest attention will be given to improving aspects of the Skypephone such as a better camera, HSDPA connectivity and maybe the ability to make and receive SkypeOut and SkyepeIn calls respectively.

The latter is extremely interesting. I wonder what we’ll see there. If you can make and receive low-cost calls via Skype to and from normal phone numbers, where’s any incentive to use the Skypephone to make regular calls via 3’s cellular network?

While we were talking about the Skypephone, I took the opportunity (somewhat cheekily, I admit) to go on a bit about the very poor coverage of 3’s 3G network where I live, which is the place where I most use the Skypephone.

Not sure what will come from that although Carl Taylor, Director of Network and Application Technologies for 3’s X-Series phones, did ask me questions. Maybe a new cell mast for 3 in my neighbourhood is in the offing

Reality, though: the success or otherwise of the Skypephone will rest to a great extent on a user’s ability to just use it. If you can’t get a 3G signal most of the time – my experience, and you need 3G for Skype to log in and synchronize – this phone will not succeed.

Ken Young, a journalist and one of the bloggers who was there and who writes The UK Mobile Report, has an excellent commentary on the meeting, recounting and describing just about every aspect of it, and in some detail.

My overall focus was a bit different to Ken’s and the other bloggers, all of whom are immersed in mobile technology and the telecoms industry.

I was mostly thinking about the meeting, the people involved and what it might mean to 3 from a public relations point of view.

Better still, from a blogger relations point of view.

Since I first got to know a bit about 3 and its PR approach from being present at the press launch of the Skypephone at the end of October, two words have stuck in my mind when I think about 3:

1. Nimble
2. Disruptive

(I was going to add a few more words – poor 3G network – but that wouldn’t really be fair.)

The way in which the press event was organized, and the way in which invited bloggers like me were treated, was impressive. Professionally organized and run. I even managed to interview John Penberthy-Smith, 3’s Marketing Director, for an FIR podcast.

It is a pleasure to be involved with smart communicators in such a setting, which then sets a good framework for relationship development.

And so it also was with last week’s meeting with 3.

I gather such outreach to bloggers is a bit of a new thing for 3. It’s actually new to a lot of organizations. There’s no manual or handbook yet on how to do it. And it’s quite disruptive.

I’m doing it, too, working with one of my own clients where part of my work is doing that, ie, identifying and reaching out to influencers in the social media space.

As one being reached out to, I’m observing what 3 and their PR agencies are doing which, frankly, is good learning for me as well.

Guy Middleton, 3’s Head of Corporate Communications, and our meeting host, deserves full credit for enabling this outreach. I don’t know whose idea it was – an initiative within 3 or suggested by Parys Communications – but I think 3 will gain measurable benefit in the long term for connecting with individuals who have some influence in their own niche areas.

If this is complementary outreach to traditional outreach including media relations, which I suspect is the case, then 3 are making a good start in gaining ground in a big area of attention – ground where I don’t see much, if any, action from competitors like Vodafone or T-Mobile.

Disruptive is good.

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Imagine this scenario. A Facebook member, you buy a nice pair of leather gloves from Overstock.com for your boyfriend for Hanukkah. A while later, **poof**, your choice is sent out in your news feed–a feed that broadcasts to all your friends, including er, um, that boyfriend. Dang!

That’s exactly what happened to Matthew Helfgott’s girlfriend, he says. Another couple had their choice of movie broadcast on their feed because they bought the tickets at Fandango. This was ok, they said, because they were seeing “No Country for Old Men.” But here’s the best line of the article:

“What if I was seeing ‘Fred Claus‘? That would have been much more embarrassing. At least this was a prestigious movie.”

While his reaction is funny, people are starting to see why Facebook’s new advertising platform is named “Beacon” (see definition of beacon if you don’t get that).  Many bloggers are unhappy about it. Link 1. Link 2. Link 3.  And it can send news about things you do away from Facebook to your Facebook friends.

“Add 3 lines of code and reach millions of users,” Facebook says.

As someone who runs a social media agency, I love this idea.  What an opportunity to market on a social media platform.  What a great way to let the confidence of a friend influence buying decisions.  This should be powerful stuff.

But as someone who believes that social media marketing is more than being about a new place to run ads, I think this solution was a little too easy for Facebook.  I believe they rushed it out to capitalize on their otherwise great momentum and to prove to people that they could monetize their success.

What this backlash may be showing, however, is just how hard it will be for Facebook to ever monetize their success to the point that they can justify their current valuation.  They may yet figure it out, as they’ve done a lot right.  But if the Beacon backlash continues, it could be seriously brand damaging for Facebook.  I think this is the first of many mainstream articles about unintended consequences.

Here’s a prediction: A boss somewhere is going to notice on a news feed some purchases by his co-worker that align with times he was supposed to be working.  Watch for that article.  Just like that intern who got Facebook-busted for the Halloween party, and he didn’t have a Beacon shouting about it…

What do you think? Is Beacon the opening that social media agencies and social media marketers have been looking for? Or is a fairly significant mistake by Facebook that needs to be tweaked?

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I remember thinking, when I first started using Skype back in 2004, that here’s a small, nimble company that will drive a massive wedge into traditional telephone service business models.

From a user perspective, the model is dead simple and highly compelling – free phone calls via your computer to other users of the service, and very low cost calls via your computer to ‘normal’ telephone numbers, literally anywhere on the planet.

Skype (and its later competitors) has changed the way millions of people around the world communicate where prohibitive costs of using a phone service are no longer a huge barrier – a barrier erected by the big telecommunications operators.

Arguably, Skype has played a not insignificant role in the changes we’ve seen in the past few years in many countries, notably in Europe and North America, with those very same telecommunications companies, what they offer, and how they price it.

Parallel to all this are continuing advances in technology, especially the rapid growth in broadband internet penetration in many countries and changes in people’s behaviors in terms of what they want, how they want it and when they want it.

This is especially the case with the so-called digital natives, the younger generation who dictate change through their own insistent and influential behaviours.

There’s no better way at the moment to drive this point home about changing behaviours (and expectations) than The Rise of the Mobile Super User, a thought-provoking 49-page white paper written by Will Harris and available on free download from Edelman.

These reflections were going through my mind yesterday during the press launch of the Skypephone (pictured above), a joint offering from Skype and UK mobile operator 3, which I attended.

It says to me – this changes everything.

We’re moving up a big notch, from broadband tied to computers and so the geographical restrictions on the things you can do (like make and receive free phone calls), to broadband untied, on mobile devices.

Some would argue that this isn’t new – you can get net access on mobile phones already, and have been able to for some years; and, depending on the device, install and use Skype.

True, but not like this.

Not an offering from a mobile operator – one of the perceived ‘bad guys,’ if you can take that expression in positive context – that gives you a device that’s centred around Skype which simply lets you connect with people in whatever way you choose: free via Skype, as well as with any other mobile phone on a cellular network.

No, what 3 and Skype are doing with the Skypephone is driving another wedge firmly into the next generation of communication – mobile.

I can’t think of anything that would have prevented any other mobile operator – Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange… take your pick – from doing something like this other than maintaining the high pricing status quo.

Skype would be willing – in the briefing, Skype acting CEO Michael van Swaaij quipped that Vodafone can call him any time for talks.

But who in their right business mind would offer a handset and associated services that includes making and receiving calls for free via their network? A crazy notion, isn’t it?

Well, if it’s crazy, then welcome to the asylum!

It gets better when you think of business use of a product like the Skypephone.

One of the questions I asked Kevin Russell, 3’s CEO, in yesterday’s press briefing was how he saw business opportunities for the Skypephone, given that it’s being positioned right now as a consumer product.

His said if (I’d day more likely ‘when’) 3 were to target businesses, it would be the small- to medium-size business sector (which is a classic Skype business target).

But he mentioned anecdotally that his first sale of a Skypephone was to the CEO of a large company who wants to communicate with his 10,000 employees.

That’s the thin edge of a very wide wedge.

I was also interested to hear Kevin say that experiential marketing and word of mouth will play significant roles in 3’s marketing and communication of the Skypephone and engagement with users and influencers.

So don’t expect any 30-second TV spots. Instead, look for blogosphere and related online commentary.

Following the press briefing, I spoke with John Penberthy-Smith, 3’s marketing director. Our conversation included this topic.

That interview will be posted soon as an FIR Interview podcast (and I’ll add a link in this post when it is).

The Skypephone goes on sale in the UK on November 2 for £49.99 (talk about affordable) on pay-as-you-go, and free if you take out a contract.

It will roll out elsewhere in Europe and Australia in the coming weeks. There are no current plans to offer the phone in the USA.

I have not one but two Skypephones to play with for the next three months, courtesy of 3. Review to come (taster: this is one very cool gadget!).

Meanwhile, you can follow what other Skypephone players are doing with their phones at 3mobilebuzz.

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Focus – I think one of the most important choices a blogger makes when they start their blog is what their focus is. Think about a first time visitor getting dropped on your blog from a search engine or stumbleupon, are they going to understand in 2 seconds exactly what your blog is about? If the answer is yes you will have a much better chance of building a readership quickly and you will have a successful blog. If not, you may well build a successful blog but it will take years as opposed to months.

Passion – This is the only possible way that you will be able to sustain regular posting of a high enough quality over the course of years. If you don’t have the passion your blog will become a ghost town very quickly. People talk about the passion in the writing, and how important it is for readers, but IMHO the passion is all about the ability to sustain you through the emotional roller coaster ride of writing a blog. Sure your passion will come through in your writing, but it is your passion that will keep you plugging away when no one is coming back, no one is commenting, and no one is linking to you. Passion may not be the only thing that will drag you along, but it is the most enjoyable so unless you are a masochist you better love what your talking about.

Originality – In branding terms, what differentiates you from the crowded playing field of blogs all talking about the same thing. They don’t call the blogosphere an echo chamber for nothing, because most of the time everyone is reflecting and amplifying what else is happening around the blogosphere. Original content and original ideas in the blogosphere stand out like beacons in the night, and not to labor the metaphor but they also attract other bloggers like moths to a flame

Beyond blogging I actually think these are often the ingredients for great brands as well, which begs the question is good blogging good branding?

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Three More

These sites are all attractive and ready for you to check them out.

1. Quechup – You can search for people, start your own blog, submit videos of interest, chat, play games and more. I couldn’t determine the target user for it, but the first Ad Sense ad in the que cracked me up. “Find Adult Here. Visit our Adult Guide.” So there you go.

2. Gather is a robust online watering hole that invites in-depth conversation you can sink your teeth into. Gather isn’t messing around. The site has attracted over $20M in corporate investors such as former Lotus Chairman Jim Manzi, Pittsburgh Pirates’ CEO Kevin McClatchy, Allen & Company, The American Public Media Group, Hearst, The McGraw-Hill Companies, and Southern California Public Radio. They claim to attract over one million”highly educated, highly informed” adults each month. I was sold the instant I saw “Read thought provoking articles” on the homepage. That’s a value proposition aimed towards me!

3. TierraNatal targets a niche with style. Launched by my good friends at Digital Telepathy, this social site is “a unique Hispanic social network grown to provide a connection between Mexicans living in the US with their hometowns (tierra natal) in Mexico. There are over 300,000 towns listed with a beautiful UI to display the towns and states their in.” Techcrunch ran a good review, giving it a positive heads up.

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Sony Busted Editing Halo 3 Wikipedia Entry

Halo 3 might be the most anticipated shooter for Microsoft’s gaming console ever since the original Halo helped gamers everywhere rationalize purchasing the first Xbox. In the competitive world of video games, not everyone shares that enthusiasm.

Not everyone tries to tweak Wikipedia to downplay a rival’s game title, though. Sony has been caught doing just that, according to Ars Technica:

The contributor claims that Halo 3′s graphics won’t look much better than Halo 2, citing a Time story from March. Page 52, if you’d like to look it up.

For some crazy reason MaxConsole ran the IP itself and isolated the IP range to a particular place: SCEE’s Liverpool offices. Someone at Sony isn’t too happy with the state of Halo 3′s graphics, and they want to talk about it.

MaxConsole said, “Sony added “Halo 3 won’t look any better than Halo 2″ to the entry, although the page has been corrected and locked from further alterations.”

Though Ars Technica writer Ben Kuchera said the minor edit does have a credible source, “If I were working for any of the big three (console makers) I’d be telling my employees to stay away from Wikipedia. It just doesn’t look good when stuff like this comes out.”

 There were several announcements by search engines this week and I think one that was particularly interesting was Yahoo’s updates to Site Explorer with “Dynamic URL rewriting” and also the new Executive Editor assignment over at Search Engine Watch.

Here are the posts from the TopRank Blogging team on day three of SES San Jose:

• Search Bash 2007
• Yahoo Book Party – Mona Elesseily
• Search Engine QA On Links
• The SEO Reputation Problem
• In House Big SEO
• Link Baiting – Viral Search Marketing
• SEO QA on Links
• SES Video: Steven Marder Eurekster Swicki
• Mobile Search Optimization
• So You Want To Be A Search Marketer?
• SES Keynote: Marissa Mayer of Google

Be sure to watch the TopRank YouTube channel for new videos (not all are posted on the blog) as well as the steady stream of new SES San Jose photos on the TopRank Flickr site.

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