Internet Explorer 8 was officially released officially in late March. For web developers and administrators, I suppose this release is a big deal, as the trends from the web analytics statistics I am frequently exposed to indicate that the majority of ‘normal’ web users will upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft Internet Explorer reasonably quickly.

However, in the opinion of many savvy web users, IE8 is a ‘catch up’ version.

The “new” features are new for IE, but Chrome and Firefox have had these features for some time (and for that matter, these browsers also offer a lot more features that IE is yet to acknowledge). So if your main browser is currently Google Chrome or Firefox (or even the Safari 4 beta version), I can guarantee that the “new” features in IE8 will not be sufficient reason for you to make the switch back to IE.

However, if you are an avid Microsoft fan, and your current browser is Internet Explorer version 7, then you are certainly in for a treat. In comparison to IE7, IE8 is faster, offers a load of smarter features, is more compliant, offers developer tools, and offers a tasty feature known as caret browsing. Not to mention a whole bunch of other fantastic new features (that let’s face it, have been ‘inspired’ by previous versions of Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari – well done Microsoft, for letting others conduct your user testing!).

Needless to say, historical evidence indicates that IE8 will penetrate the market very quickly.

As previously mentioned, whether you are a website developer, owner, tester, administrator, or analyst, IE8 is a browser which will shortly become your most significant internet browser to date. Prepare yourself for it.

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Those who are familiar with the MTV show Pimp My Ride will understand the reasoning behind the title (Pimp My Ride is a television show based on the ‘surprise-someone-who-is-low-on-cash-by-restoring-their-prized-possession’ premise).

It’s quite an addictive formula, as we all like seeing someone less fortunate than us (as sad as it might sound)….but, to save our humility, we also like seeing people’s lives being changed for the better. It’s human nature.

Pimp this bum takes advantage of this concept, and uses online media as it communications method…. it’s highly viral, and highly adaptable if you are in the services or retail industry. For example – if you are a web design agency – why not trying Pimping a dodgy website for free, and creating a case study out of the project and the positive results each month. Or perhaps you’re in outdoor marketing, and you Pimp a local retailer by giving them free billboard space on an unused billboard for a week or two.  

The results are guaranteed to be succesful (because it’s free marketing for your lucky recipient), it will create a positive brand image for both the pimper and the pimpee, and everyone will be a winner in the long run.

So get pimpin!

Pimp This Bum.

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In an earlier post, I revealed the Websnapr WordPress plugin . This plugin creates thumbnails that only appear onscreen when the user ‘hovers’ over a hyperlink.  It is a great plugin, but because the thumbnails are ‘hidden’ from the user, this plugin doesn’t add much to the visual user experience.

Why?

In simple terms, people love pictures.  Furthermore, when pictures (or as they’re often referred to on the web – ‘images’), are placed tactfully within text, they assist in breaking up text into bite-sized chunks.  This means that the end-user will be more likely to enjoy reading the text on your website or blog rather than baulking a the site of a text-heavy page with no visual appeal and running away in the opposite direction.

So with this knowledge in the back of my mind,  I was still seeking a plugin that would efficiently enable me to break up text using website thumbnail screenshots generated on the fly.

And here it is, a brand new shiny plugin for WordPress called Homepage Thumbnails with PicDonkey.  The results speak for themselves – just see the image below which literally took only 2 seconds to embed into this post.

Not bad hey! You’ll see this plug-in being utilized frequently in future posts on Bread Milk Digital. If you own a blog of your own and care even the slightly bit about your blog’s user experience, I would recommend getting your hands on this plugin. It will save you hours while providing your readers with the visual stimuli they crave to remain engaged with the article.

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If you are partial to belting out a few tunes with your mates, accompanied with a microphone in hand and the song words bouncing across the screen, you will fall in love with this innovative website.

Online Karaoke will have you Dancing on the Ceiling

Currently the Lucky Voice library has over 6,300 tunes in it, enough to keep you going well into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Registration will get you access to 1,000 tunes for free, with access the remainder of the tracks incurring a small subscription fee.

I can see this idea being applied to viral campaigning quite easily.  If your company has purchased rights to a particularly catchy tune or jingle, why not create a downloadable ‘karaoke’ version for your target audience to download and sing along to at home?

Better yet, you could create an entire karaoke album distributed via email and downloadable online or streamed straight off the web . You can even take advantage of the ‘music video clip’ media style to promote your brand without looking too tacky, by placing your logo in the top right corner of the screen, just like the MTV branding consumers are already used to.

A night’s worth of fun for home-stricken punters looking for a cheap and fun Friday night. And a light-hearted and potentially extremely viral way of getting your brand right into the lounge rooms across the world!

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