Replace iTunes 10′s gray color-scheme

In iTunes 10, the icons in the sidebar have gone from colorful to drab light-gray; to some eyes, that change makes the icons harder to distinguish. If you’re one of them, you might be interested in a tip from an anonymous Mac OS X Hints reader that implements an alternative color scheme:

If you are struggling with the new low-contrast icons in iTunes 10, here is a hint to change their appearance. After quitting iTunes, open Terminal and enter:

defaults write com.apple.iTunes high-contrast-mode-enable -bool TRUE

When you restart iTunes, you’ll have a high-contrast sidebar and list pane. To undo it, repeat the command but change the TRUE to FALSE.

By “high-contrast,” this tipster means, “stark black and white.” Many users who have tried this tip say they like the results less than the new all-gray and so undo it. It doesn’t look great in the new default Album List view (View -> As Album List or Option-Command-4); it looks better (relatively speaking) in plain List View (View -> As List or Option-Command-3). [read]

5 signs your social media guru is a quack

We all know that you call an incompetent medical professional a “quack.” This epithet derives, according to Wikipedia, from the word “quacksalver,” which itself comes from a Dutch word, kwakzalver, meaning “boaster who applies salve.” In the medieval markets, the sellers of patent medicines would shout, or “quack,” to get attention for their wares.

The same kind of phenomenon has developed with the rise of the social media field. As opportunities for communications practitioners to “quack” their salves have dwindled in other, more traditional markets like advertising, public relations, or marketing collateral materials, a coterie of counselors and consultants with reasonable skills in these areas have found it necessary to reinvent themselves to respond to the demand from clients for these new communications skill sets. [read]

Understanding How and Why Facebook Users Interact with Brands

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

While much of finding what works for your business on social media sites is a process of trial and error, recent stats from e-mail marketing firm ExactTarget (which recently acquired social CRM platform CoTweet) shed some light on how the Facebook population uses the site, and specifically, how it interacts with brands.

First, the good news: Based on its study of 1,500 Facebook users, ExactTarget concluded that 38% of online U.S. consumers “Like” (formerly “Fan”) a brand on the social networking site. And the average fan Likes nine different brands, giving you plenty of opportunity to find your way into potential customers’ news feeds.

The news that presents a challenge to businesses looking to benefit from Facebook, however, is that just because someone has Liked you doesn’t mean they’re ready to see your promotional messages. Citing an earlier study, ExactTarget reports that 70% of consumers don’t think becoming a fan equates to opting in to marketing. [read]

Power Is an Addictive Drug

Nick Binkley, a guitar-playing, song-writing (he has produced several music CDs) graduate in political science from Colorado College, with a master’s degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, made a career in finance when he figured out he could not support himself doing music fulltime. Binkley joined Security Pacific Bank in California as an assistant vice president in 1977 and rose through the ranks, moving to the bank holding company’s financial services systems division in 1983 and eventually becoming vice chairman of Security Pacific Corporation responsible for all the nonbanking subsidiaries, which included venture capital and personal finance (e.g., personal lines of credit). When Bank of America purchased Security Pacific in the early 1990s, Binkley became vice chairman and a member of Bank of America’s board of directors with an extensive portfolio of businesses within the bank. [read]

Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don’t – AMAZON

Rehearsing is for cowards

Jackson Browne gave us that advice. He would rather have you explore.

Exploring helps you figure out what you can do the next time you present or perform or interact. Rehearsing, on the hand, means figuring out exactly what you’re going to do so you can protect against the downside, the unpredictable and the embarrassing.

I’m not dismissing study, learning, experimenting or getting great at what you do. In fact, I’m arguing in favor of this sort of hard work. No, I’m talking about the repetition of doing it before you do it, again and again. Just drilling it in so you can regurgitate later. Better, I think,as they say, “…let’s do it live.”

A well-rehearsed performance will go without a hitch. An explorer seeks the hitches, because hitches are the fissures and chasms that help us leap forward.

Source: Seth Godin

Pledge of Allegiance – Timeline

I thought this was interesting, seeing how the Pledge of Allegiance has changed over time.

1892
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
1892 to 1923
“I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
1923 to 1924
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and to the republic for which it stands: one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
1924 to 1954
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”
1954 to Present
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

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Top 10 Twitter Tips for Bands, By Bands

Listen up, bands: Twitter is more than just a place to wax poetic from the tour bus and gripe about broken guitar strings (and/or dreams) — it can also help you promote your music and connect with your fans.

While you don’t have to go all Kanye with your Twitter stream, hooking up to the micro-blogging site can add a whole new dimension to your act.

We talked to a ton of bands — from up-and-comers like The Limousines, to indie darlings like The Thermals, to established artists like Pete Yorn and Ben Folds — about how they use Twitter, and compiled the following list of tips and tricks. [read]

Looxcie: Bluetooth Headset Camcorder is TiVo for Life

Ever see something you wish you had on film? Say, a miraculous home-run in the ninth, or your baby’s first steps? A new wearable camcorder called Looxcie (look-see) aims to capture all these shooting-star moments.

Looxcie ($199) is a Bluetooth headset that features video recording–but no record button. Rather, the device is designed to constantly capture video, which can either be viewed live on one’s smartphone, or saved to memory if a YouTube-worthy event occurs. Like any Bluetooth headset, Looxcie fits snugly around one’s ear (it’s a bit heavy), and can make and receive calls. But since the device is constantly on and recording to a temporary storage buffer, one must only hit the “Instant Clip” button, and the last 30-seconds of footage is automatically saved to your Android, and soon BlackBerry and iPhone. What you see is what you record.

“How can I capture things and be fully present in the moment?” says Bob Kron, Looxcie’s VP of marketing. “Everybody gets the splash, but nobody gets the whale–you’re always just a little bit too late. With Looxcie, you capture the moment as it happens.” [read]

Only 13% of Adults Pay for Apps

Apple is selling some 17 million apps per day, and they may begin to outsell music downloads by the end of this year. Android too is catching up to iTunes’ 250,000 apps, boasting about 70,000, and BlackBerry isn’t far behind. The app market is huge, right?

Not according to a new study by Nielsen and the Pew Research Center. Only around 35% of adult cell phone owners have apps on their phone (including preloaded apps), and only 24% actually use them. Although apps have generated huge profits for developers, they still rank very low on cell phone users’ mobile activities. Texting and taking pictures are now common among adults–more than 70% use these features–but downloading apps still has a long way to go: Just 29% of adult cell-phone owners have downloaded apps, a percentage lower than recording video and playing music. [read]

Home Depot vs. JetBlue: Who engages better on Facebook?

Learning to engage consumers on Facebook involves a study in online behavior with a steep learning curve. The potential for pitfalls are prevalent, so many businesses simply choose to dictate content and not directly engage consumers at all. Others, however, are engaging their consumers personally — some with success, though others are struggling. The key is to understand online consumer behavior and form your strategies accordingly.

With that in mind, below are threads of two brands’ consumer interactions on Facebook: one that got it right (Home Depot) and one that still has a way to go (JetBlue). These conversations demonstrate what works and what doesn’t, and serve as strong examples for how you can fashion your Facebook interactions based on online behavior. [read]