Hello.

Does the discovery problem of app stores, search and everywhere else only affect those who don't or can't market?

I've run hackathons and learned they're not for winning customers. They're not about startups or brand awareness. They're about learning and improving your product. Treat them like beta tests where developers help find bugs and make your platform better. Focus on making your platform valuable and easy to integrate with. Reward developers for providing feedback, not just cool demos.

Apple has a clever naming strategy with "The New iPad." Customers naturally ask for the "new" version of products, avoiding confusion and instantly clarifying which model they want. This approach bypasses complex product names and generations. I predict Apple will continue this with other products like the iPhone, simplifying their branding and customer experience.

I'm experimenting with AdWords to drive traffic to both this site and Topicala.com. So far, I'm getting about 60 extra visitors per day to each site. I've tweaked my campaigns, disabling ads in Google's search results due to high costs. While I achieved a high volume of ad impressions (600,000) for kinlan.co.uk recently, the click-through rate remains low, and I need better insight into keyword performance and ad placement. I'd love to hear any marketing suggestions. If you arrived here through an AdSense ad, please share your feedback and the referring website. I'm considering using ads to promote specific blog posts for increased visibility.

Robert Scoble's new book on business blogging emphasizes building meaningful customer relationships through online dialogue. It argues that blogs humanize corporate communication, leading to improved brand image and profitability. The book includes case studies and interviews with business leaders like Mark Cuban, Bob Lutz, and Jonathan Schwartz, demonstrating blogging's impact on communication and competition. It also provides tools and strategies for businesses to effectively connect with customers by leveraging blogs' rapid information dissemination and encouraging active reader participation.

I noticed the Yellow Pages cover uses different font sizes, similar to a tag cloud, and it made me wonder if a tag cloud for business listings would be useful. It also made me notice that "Bouncy Castles" was one of the biggest entries!

In part 8 of "Failures of my First AJAX Application," I discuss the lack of traffic generated by the application. Initially, I hoped for ad revenue, but I've realized that user engagement is more important. My focus now is on improving the application and planning a marketing campaign to highlight its benefits.