Sucks that Google’s getting rid of Google Reader, but it’s new Think Insights, sort of Amex OPEN Forum on megasteroids, is getting some good buzz. Here’s one article from Social Media Today and here’s another from Search Engine Watch.

So you don’t look like a complete and total amateur schmuck by sending out the pretty appalling email that was forwarded to me today (thanks, Ann), a portion of which you can see in the screen shot above. Yes, that’s an actual email — a press release, to be precise — and if you were to see the top paragraph you’d learn that it’s sent by “Avalanche Creative Services, Inc. a leader in direct response television advertising” touting their selection for the Top 100 Diversity Owned Business Award. It’s a good thing they’re not selling themselves as a leader in online direct response advertising. Sheesh.

Takeaway for marketers: Think, test, and test again before you hit that send button. C’mon, people — this is email 101.

Lots of interesting articles crossing my feed readers. Not much time to post. So here’s a five-pack of links to five-packs of tips:

5 Easy Tips for Improving Your Blog and Website Traffic

5 Insanely Simple Ways You Can Get Started in Mobile Marketing Today

5 Unexpected Keyword Research Sources

5 Ways Social Media Can Promote Your Offline Event

5 ways to NOT bore your audience

It seems that United wasn’t exactly satisfied with United Breaks Guitars being a textbook case of how not to deal with customers and how to make a testy situation as bad as possible. Now there’s this issue of having kicked a prominent travel blogger off a plane for taking the photo you see here that’s being spread all over the interwebs. The comments section of the travel blogger’s post is gold, Jerry, gold.

Last week, The Dish published this item about the Harlem Shake … and while the Best Of video was interesting enough, I was fascinated by this tidbit:

Past viral hits on YouTube have generated big paydays for content owners. “Gangnam Style,” the viral sensation of 2012, earned Korean pop star Psy and his handlers a reported $870,000 from YouTube ad revenue alone.

That number — $870,000 — is astonishing to me … mainly because I don’t  know of anyone — anyone! — who has ever clicked on a YouTube ad. The percentage of people who do is probably in the same approaching-zero realm as people who click on ads in games they’ve downloaded to their cell phones.

I would love to see some analysis someday that demonstrates what sort of ROI that $870,000 generated. I mean, are billboard-style impressions really all that valuable? Sure, lots of ads are being delivered, but are any of them actually registering or being clicked on?

Sheesh.