Of course, it’s unlikely that anyone will be executed as a result of the Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Contest, but Google and Specialized (a bicycle company that is also behind the challenge) are trying to emphasize some environmental issues.

Google.org’s Dan Riecher lists a whole host of ways in which the company is doing its part, writing, “We opt for locally-grown food whenever possible in all of our cafes.  We’ve covered our roofs with solar panels.  We offer a rebate on our employees’ fuel-efficient car purchases.  When it comes to getting people to the office, we offer round-trip shuttle service to our Bay Area Googlers, as well as incentives for creative commuting, from walking to biking and even to kayaking . . .”

Google and Specialized (along with Goodby Silverstein & Partners) want your help, however, and death threats aside, they’re being rather generous about it.  “[S]how us with a YouTube video how you harness pedal power in innovative ways,” writes Riecher.  “In January, you could win $5,000 in cash and Specialized Globe bikes to keep up your commitment.”

Be careful about visiting the official Innovate or Die site, though – clicks on any of the tabs within it are, at least on my computer, causing Firefox to crash.

Here are 10 sure signs the news release is alive and kicking ass.

1) Berkshire Hathaway Acquired BusinessWire: Warren Buffet buys what he believes in. How else do you explain the nearly six-figure price for one share of his company’s stock?

2) PR Newswire Acquires US Newswire: Not to be outdone, the Coke to BusinessWire’s Pepsi snaps up US Newswire (reg. req.).

3) Vocus Purchases PR Web: It’s getting interesting as a news tracking service snaps up a news distribution service in an already small market (reg. req.).

4) PR Web’s Free Lunch Ends: Vocus promptly pulled the plug on PR Web’s free news release distribution. It won’t stop bad content from being distributed (just scan the last 24 hours of any newswire service), but it should help by creating a barrier to entry.

5) Vocus Gets Social with BusinessWire: A strategic alliance to create an Enhanced Online Newswire sounds good, but what does that mean exactly in the fast-changing, highly-networked world of social media?

6) Billboard and Vocus introduce SEO news release service: Vocus is clearly working to differentiate itself with some specialized offerings. Does a targeted service mean better information for the media? Fingers crossed, but tapping the Billboard brand was a smart start.

The well-heeled Vocus is spending like a drunk sailor right now, fueling the above strategic moves and incessant, but surprisingly sophisticated, direct marketing campaigns.

7) News Release Goes Direct to Consumers: While the media are the primary audience for most news releases, there are times when they can be used for other audiences (reg. req.). I’ll also remind everyone that there are alternatives to the news release format.

News Release 2.0: Who do we have to thank for turning the news release into The Six Million Dollar Format? Two words-Todd Defren.

Seriously, while we bitch and moan about the news release (myself included), Defren’s been making things happen. Still not convinced the social media news release works? Talk to Nellie Lide.

9) Join the Social Media Club: Expanding on Defren’s efforts, this Google Group with a purpose is establishing standards for a document in dire need of a makeover. This quote from Edelman’s Phil Gomes tells me they’re taking a pragmatic approach:

“Make no mistake…The news release is most certainly not dead. The problem is that the news release ceased to be about news and the press release ceased to be about press. If bad writing persists, shoehorning (the news release) into a Web 2.0 format will be kind of like putting racing stripes on a pig.”

If you’re interested in getting involved, sign up here.

10) More Than 100 Years Young: It’s safe to say that with 100 years experience under its belt, the news release has staying power. Yeah, I’m not sure if this is good or bad news either. But I needed one more item.
UPDATE: As Constantin comments, no one’s sure when the news release was born. In fact, it’s probably even older as the practice of public relations certainly is older. More here.

Vive le News Release!

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Strategic Public Relations blog. Kevin is Director of Marketing Communications for FRCH Design Worldwide.

Visit Kevin’s blog: Strategic Public Relations.

The site crawls hand-curated general web resources on Ben Franklin and much more.

Steve Rubel is a PR strategist with nearly 16 years of public relations, marketing, journalism and communications experience. He currently serves as a Senior Vice President with Edelman, the largest independent global PR firm.

He authors the Micro Persuasion weblog, which tracks how blogs and participatory journalism are changing the public relations practice.

After you start up XTRA Google, just key in your search term and then press the button for the type of search you wish to perform. A normal web search button is near the search box. But, there are two rows of buttons below that for initiating most of Google’s specialized searches, plus some searches that are pre-built for certain file types like MP3s and Clips.

Moving the mouse over each of the buttons will display what type of search it will perform.

Search types include:

Images, Groups, News, Froogle, Local, Answers, Maps, Directory, Government, Scholar, Weather, MP3, Clips, Video, Movies, Catalogs, Print, Quotes, Windows, Apple, Linux, BSD.

Mark Fleming is the founder of a new blog called Google Tutor & Advisor. Google Tutor & Advisor offers in-depth Tips, Techniques and Advice for Google Users.

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It first examines the number to see if it might have a special meaning. If its size and format match certain types of meaningful numbers like parcel tracking numbers or vehicle IDs, for example, it will search for information about the particular item it represents.

For example, searching for a number like 1Z9999W99999999999 will cause Google to put a one-box information display at the top of your search results page that says” Track UPS package 1ZV723R33710000780″ linked to the UPS tracking page.

The specialized numbers that Google will do this with are:

UPS tracking numbers
example search: “1Z9999W99999999999″

FedEx tracking numbers
example search: “999999999999″

Vehicle ID (VIN) numbers
example search: “AAAAA999A9AA99999″

UPC codes
example search: “073333531084″

Telephone area codes
example search: “650″

Telephone number reverse directory
example search: “650-555-1212″
(More on the topic of Google Phonebook in our article, Google, the Fastest Phonebook on the Web)

Patent numbers
example search: “patent 5123123″
(Must put the word “patent” before your patent number.)

FAA airplane registration numbers
example search: “n199ua”

FCC equipment IDs
example search: “fcc B4Z-34009-PIR”
(Must put the word “fcc” before the equipment ID.)

Mark Fleming is the founder of a new blog called Google Tutor & Advisor. Google Tutor & Advisor offers in-depth Tips, Techniques and Advice for Google Users.

Visit Google Tutor & Advisor …

TMG’s Internet marketing solutions are catered to private practice organizations such as law firms, expert witnesses and process servers.

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