What serves millions of impressions per month on the web and has legions of fans that hang on every single update? A major blog? A social network? Your favorite forum?

Wrong! The correct answer is you. Yes, that’s right – you are a digital media property that creates content, serves impressions and generates leads every day. In fact, many of you have a bigger following than loads of large websites. So why are websites the only media properties that make money from being popular?

Shortbord lets you measure your value through your RIDE score, and then pick your favorite logos to be displayed every time you post on your favorite websites. A picture is worth a thousand words, but doesn’t get in the way of the conversation.  Shortbord enables you to earn value for your web activity without ever spamming your friends and losing their trust as well as your credibility. Even better – it’s fun to pick sponsors and check out your friends’ deals.

I know what you’re probably thinking: if I want to make money from my content, I’ll just start a blog and sell ads on it. But does that help you make money where you’re most active and popular – on the social web? Not really. People are most popular in places where everyone gets together – Facebook, Twitter, etc. – so it makes sense that a service is popping up to monetize your social real estate. Sign up for the Beta and get paid to surf!  Oh, and you can also implement your blog so that your friends can get paid to leave comments – hook it up!

we're wicked smat

Thanks for all the great feedback over the past two months – we’ve met a lot of smart people and spent a lot of time developing the Shortbord platform since the MIT Startup Showcase in December.  As many of you know, we’re opening up the Beta on March 1 – the same day we’re presenting as a side dish at WebInno http://www.webinnovatorsgroup.com/.

If you’re planning to attend WebInno, please swing by our demo and introduce yourself to the Shortbord team.  If you’re already registered with Shortbord, stay tuned for Beta sign-up emails.  And if you can’t wait until March 1 to sign up, feel free to give us your email address at www.shortbord.com – we will be in touch.

Until that time comes… keep your ear to the grindstone.

Shortbord extends our heartfelt thanks to the committee that selected us to present at the MIT Start-up Showcase on December 3.  It was a great honor, and we had a blast speaking with so many smart grad students, industry execs, and venture capitalists.  The feedback we received was terrific, and we’re glad that so many talented and experienced people believe that we are on to something big.

An even bigger honor than being selected from a pool of several hundred applicants to present at the Showcase was receiving enough votes from the crowd to be 1 of 3 companies selected to “pitch” the entire MIT VC conference yesterday.  We were given the chance to explain the business rationale behind Shortbord to an audience of investors and technologists – an intimidating forum for our first public appearance! » Continue reading “MIT Startup Showcase”

Whether you loved him, hated him or were completely indifferent, there is no denying that Ted Kennedy left an indelible impression on the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the United States of America at large.

As a prominent figure in both the Senate and the Democratic party, Ted was a man that fought for the little people who have no voice.  He rallied against the haves and provided for the have-nots in a manner that defied his lot in life. He was passionate, stubborn and effective.

The race to find his replacement is underway and campaigning has entered the digital age. Based on the success stories of  Howard Dean and President Obama, strategists now realize that social media is the most effective way to build an online community of grass-roots supporters.  These sites give voters a place to hang out and be visible amongst one another – to feel like they are a part of something bigger than themselves.  It is campaigning 101 in the digital age to stay connected with voters through Facebook and Twitter.

But what else are savvy strategists doing to gain an advantage over the other candidates, who are all utilizing Facebook and Twitter in the exact same way?  And what does having a presence on Facebook and Twitter really gain a candidate, when the people that “fan” them are clearly already in their camp?  How does it help win the crucial undecided vote? » Continue reading “Campaign Fever Pitch”

Everyone knows what the oldest profession in the world is (ahem.. this is awkward). The question is, how did people know where to find it, what to do, how much to pay, etc? The answer is word-of-mouth advertising.

A quick look at the evolution of marketing shows that advertising has always been dependant on the technological advances that propel how people communicate and spread information. As “media” time evolved – from face-to-face conversations, to newspapers, magazines, radio and then to television – advertisers transitioned from direct dialogue with consumers to finding the content that target consumers would be interacting with and then plastering it with eye-catching ads. » Continue reading “The Madison Avenue Hangover: Goodbye Broadcast”

It’s an easy question to answer, but you have to know who your audience is.

1. Are you a celebrity on the web? If so, then you are a Surfer. This means you use Facebook or Twitter, publish blogs, comment on websites and friends’ photos, write on their walls, email, chat, post status updates, etc… You do a lot of different things on a lot of different websites, but everywhere you go on the web, its always you. You literally surf across web applications, cultivating massive followings of friends, family, coworkers and acquaintences (all of whom must think you’re pretty cool, or else why would they follow you?). Hundreds of companies want to pay you to promote their brands to your legions of fans. You already spend hundreds of hours each year using your favorite websites, isn’t it time you started getting paid for it? » Continue reading “Mr. Hand Asks “What is Shortbord?””

Blogs have to start somewhere, right? Welcome to Shortbord’s blog, the place to read about the method behind the start-up madness.  The belly of the beast.  The inner sanctum. The engine that powers the

You get the point. We’ll be keeping this site fresh and talking about all-things digital advertising. As always, please feel free to contact us or leave comments with any of your thoughts, questions or observations. We’re busy, but not too busy for you.