offline

It’s either a brilliant publicity stunt or one of the gutsiest t-shirt sellers on the Web really lost his nerve. The proprietor (undertaker?) of TshirtHell.com is closing up shop because he’s tired of dealing with hate mail. As a Web writer whose been on the receiving end of more than a few nasty comments, I can say, if you give in to hate mail the terrorists win. Regardless, “Sunshine Megatron” is just tired of it all.

The State of Integration session at Search Engine Strategies Chicago promised to be an interesting one. Speakers included executives from iProspect, Resolution Media, Constant Contact, and TMP Directional Marketing. Coverage of SES Chicago continues at Murdok Videos.  Keep an eye on Murdok for more notes and videos from the event this week.

When the realities of business and art crash into each other, it’s usually art that suffers. Bulls and China shops come to mind, as does the MPAA and the Internet. The Motion Picture Association of America’s latest pile of previously beautiful bits: Fanedit.org.

I was out of the country when Heelys hit the scene, so learning about them later, as a novelty shoe line that reminded me of the KangaRoos I wore when I was five, was more of a mental pop culture note than a personal world-changing one. Had I been ten when they became popular, they likely would have shared Reebok Pump status in my personal must-have shoe history. Then again, I also hadn't noticed the rise of Uggs and Crocs, either; the thigh-high black boots traversing Japan's rail system I found a dozen levels more interesting, but for entirely separate reasons.

The Internet plays an increasingly essential role in retail for brick and mortar retailers, even for purchases made in-store according to a new survey from Nielsen Online.People who had recently made consumer electronics purchases in a brick and mortar store, 80 percent bought from a store whose Web site they visited first. In addition 53 percent purchased from a retailer on whose Web site they had spent the most time.

In the days of dialup, accessing the Internet was a nuisance.  Now, not so much.  Still, users of Gmail and Google Calendar should be pleased to hear that the programs may support offline use in about six weeks' time.

Online travel companies say that potential travelers looking to book a cruise are more comfortable talking to human sales people than just purchasing costly trips on the Internet.

Online punsters are slacking – Am I really the first to offer the gratuitous transmogrification to "e-venge" or "Revenge 2.0?" A company that appears to offline since news broke, offered revenge packages to online customers seeking to ruin their opponents.