Look at these happy college graduates. Don't you want to be like them?

They did not don headlines of “Dewey Defeats Truman” or “Titanic Sinks,” instead they had more innocent headlines like, “Senior Pranks Have a History All Their Own.”

I had found a stack of old high school newspapers. Dripping with the writing of new journalists and the enthusiasm of 17 and 18 year olds, they were a treat to read five years later.

Even more of a treat was my senior column. Each senior on the newspaper staff got to pen a single column to bestow upon the students of Saline High School the wisdom and brilliance they had absorbed over the past four years. Mine was more of an emotional inventory. I compared the emotions of graduating, to children playing with Stretch Armstrong; pulling at each of his arms like separate emotions were pulling on me during graduation time.

Eh, not a bad analogy, but I have always felt like I wasted an opportunity with that piece. I could have provided valuable life lessons, or at least valuable high school lessons.

So four years later I have set out to do just that. Only instead of high school, I will focus on college and some of the tips and tricks to make “the best four years of your life” truly the best.

1. It will not be the best four years of your life
Well that cliché lasted long. In all seriousness, I hope that when I’m 90 years old and looking back on my life, somewhere in there I had four consecutive years better than college. Don’t get me wrong, they are a good four years, and it can be as fun or as dull as you’d like, but I hope that you’ll have a better four in your life.

If being so drunk that you black out and forget your entire evening, trumps the first four years of your marriage or first born child; well, then you have a rather unfulfilling life ahead of you.

2. Get involved
I cannot stress enough how important it is to get involved with something. A group, club, even a fraternity. Those interactions are where you’ll make your lifelong friends. No one meets their future wife or husband at a bar at one in the morning after God-knows-how-many drinks.

When I first arrived on campus I was very interested in politics. So I went to the first College Republicans meeting of the year. I knew no one there, I went in, sat down, and listened. In retrospect it was rather abnormal for me to go out on a limb like that. During the meeting, an announcement was made for a new conservative newspaper that one of the members was starting up.

Again, going against my personal grain, I signed up. I went to the first few meetings, became layout editor, and the rest is history. Literally it is history, the newspaper folded after two years. However, the friends spawned from that group are not. I met my girlfriend of two and a half years in that group and my roommate of two years. Branching out and getting involved is where you meet your lifelong buddies.

3. Some classes really are “blow off” classes
College is an interesting place. There are people who have no idea what they are going to do in life, and there are people who know exactly what they want to do. I was the latter. I knew I wanted to do radio or some form of media. That eventually evolved into digital media and social media, but I was always confident what I wanted to do with my life.

If you are like me, I recommend ignoring some of the required courses the university will shove down your throat. Sure, Biological Anthropology might be interesting, but if you have already decided to stay away from science, why bother paying attention?

I will admit, there is a satisfaction when four pointing a class you could not care less about, but truth be told, if you know what you want, focus on it. I knew I wanted to be involved in media, so instead of stressing and working hard at required courses that did not interest me, I spent my free time producing media, volunteering at the radio station, and calling play-by-play for basketball games.

However, if you have no idea what you want in life, pay attention in those courses. So long as you have not ruled out the broad subject matter, listen and engage, you might find a gem that will be your calling.

4. Engage
Sitting in a classroom and taking notes is not learning. Memorizing information and spitting it out on an exam, is not learning. Unfortunately, in many ways this is the sad state of our “higher education.” In my four years I’ve come across plenty of professors that are more concerned about their research than educating the people paying for their research.

The fact is, some professors are just as lazy and disengaged as you are. The best professors I’ve had cared about the subject matter and cared that we learned it. Two of my most memorable professors were in my freshman year. One taught a lecture on Biological Anthropology. It was a required course; he knew most people would not be interested. But his magic was he made us interested. Instead of standing at the front of the room and lecturing, he would take the first ten minutes of each class and walk around with a microphone and ask students about their weekend or about the course material.

It was a fantastic way to take a 200 person lecture, and make it feel small. Furthermore, it broke that “fourth wall” between the professor and the students. All too often professors teach like theater actors putting on a show and reading from a hazily memorized script. Instead this professor was human with us, and in turn we were more attentive and interested in the subject.

My second favorite professor taught a small writing class my freshman year. He never lectured, instead he listened. That was his magic. He would throw out a topic and listen to us talk to one another. He would prod, poke, and play devil’s advocate, but mostly he would listen and make sure the conversation stayed on course. This led to fantastic discussions which resulted in even better papers from the students.

In short, the best professors you’ll have will be ones that listen to you instead of themselves. You might be comfortable only taking notes in a 300 person lecture, but don’t expect it to pay dividends when it comes to actually learning something.

5. Your professor does not speak the word of God
In some respects, professors live in a bubble. They are surrounded by incredibly smart academics studying and teaching very specific topics, and sometimes it is hard to see the forest through the trees.

When everyone around you believes something, it is human nature to assume that the majority feel that way. When you are surrounded by incredibly bright people and they all say the same thing, it is human nature to assume it is true.

Oftentimes it is not.

I spent my four years as a minority on campus; I was a conservative. Even more frightening for the academic crowd, I was an educated conservative. The horror!

I came across plenty of professors that tried to teach their opinions as if they were verified and peer edited facts. And when they did, I called them out on it. But it does not have to be about politics and it does not have to be that vocal.

Professors are human, they will make mistakes, and sometimes they will either accidentally or purposefully try to teach you something that does not quite pass the sniff test. If you notice this, say something. Again, engagement is the best way to learn, and fact checking your professors is oftentimes the best form of engagement.

6. Do not let alcohol define your experience
Part of the allure of going to college is the independence you receive. And part of the independence is the ability to drink, smoke, or ingest basically anything you want. Many college bound kids abuse this independence in their first two years. Most realize there’s more to this whole college experience than drinking, and they begin to implement my seventh piece of advice. However, the dumb ones continue all four years.

I was talking to a friend from work about our upcoming payday and she mentioned that she had to pick up her check in person. “Why,” I asked. After all there’s this great little invention known as direct deposit. “Because if I get it direct deposited I’ll spend all my money at the bar this weekend,” she responded.

I was shocked. She literally got a physical check so she could wait until Monday to cash it, otherwise it’d be wasted on overpriced alcoholic concoctions over the weekend. There is so much more to life than a sticky and dirty bar. I’ll let you have the first two years to figure that out. But if by your senior year you are still spending the majority of your weekends waiting in line to pay a $10 cover charge to get into a dimly lit groping machine, you are probably a lost cause.

7. Do what you love and do lots of it
No, this section does not pertain to sex with someone you love, read that again, it says do “what you love” not who you love. That’s an entirely different topic, one which I will not breach in this column.

At one point during my college life, I was juggling six jobs at once. Yeah, six. Granted not all of them were 15 or even 10 hours a week, but I legally had six different employers. On top of that I had a full time class schedule and, ya know, a life.

During a recent job interview I was asked how I managed to handle so much during my college career. My answer was twofold. One, I found the best way to stay on task was to have so much to do, you have no other choice. If I mismanaged even one hour of my time, I could seriously get behind. And two, everything I did I loved doing.

I was lucky enough to find jobs that fit into my major and my interests. I wasn’t washing dishes at a dorm cafeteria, I was designing websites, working on social media, and prepping to call play-by-play for basketball games. I sought out jobs that I would want to work at and that would further my education. There’s no reason you can’t do the same.

If you need a college job, check with your school first. See if there are any paid internships or people on campus hiring. If you are attending a big school I guarantee there are opportunities in the field you are interested in. Procrastination sets in when you dread doing work. However, you can avoid the nagging urge to shirk responsibilities by surrounding yourself with work and tasks that you enjoy. Life is too short, and your college career is too short, to waste time on stuff you are not passionate about.

8. Be passionate about something
It is hard to surround yourself with tasks you are passionate about if you have no passion. College is an opportunity to find that passion. Whether it be animals, helping inner city children, or curling (yes the Olympic sport) I’m sure you can find other likeminded passionate people on campus to interact with.

And I know it is a cliché but, find your passion and make it a career. If you really love animals, why be a financial planner? College is your opportunity to do what you love. It is also an opportunity to explore and find what you love. You have a 22-year window to be a one dimensional passionless human, find your passion in college and ride it for the rest of your life.

9. Savor it
I only graduated from college a week ago, but my biggest regret so far was that I moved too fast. I can honestly say college was the quickest four years of my life. It was like the sole traffic light in a small country town, blink and it is gone. For all the pain, stress, and headaches you will endure, you will also experience joy, happiness, and amazing people. There’s no need to rush through that.

Walk slowly. Eat slowly. Enjoy slowly. Do not rush to get to class, leave five minutes early and enjoy the walk. Don’t waste a beautiful Saturday evening at the bar, go find a lake and stare at it. College is the last four years of your life that are bound to education. The last four years subsidized by your parents. The last four years that you can skip class and enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. Don’t forget to savor that.

As I was flipping through the senior edition of my high school newspaper I came across the back page. This page was dedicated to the seniors on the staff. We picked quotes that meant something, inside jokes that we adored, and advice that we had for others.

My advice was, “get off your lazy butt and do something. High school is fun when you sit back and watch, but it is exhilarating when you are the one being watched.”

I still believe that, although I’ll replace “high school” with “life.” Your entire life is too short to just sit back and watch. Just like college or high school, life is more fulfilling, gratifying, and exhilarating if you are the one other people are watching.

Geesh, calm down Apple fan boys, take a deep breath.

The people behind Open Signal Maps released a fancy interactive graph that shows just how many different devices downloaded their app. It has a total sample size of 681,900 downloads, across six months. All told they found 3,997 different Android models downloaded their app.

Problem number one, this is NOT a scientific study. It was not a random sample, it was a convenience sample (i.e. only people who downloaded a specific app were counted), so this does not represent a scientific conclusion as to the fragmentation of Android.

Secondly, duh.

I don’t think anyone denies that Android is fragmented, at least they shouldn’t deny it, they should wear it as a badge of honor. Somewhere alone the line, fragmentation got a bad connotation. All it really means is there are several small parts of the community. In other words, there is a lot of variation. Ah ha! Use the word variation and all of a sudden it doesn’t sound so negative. Better yet, use the word choice.

Android has many choices.

Essentially the same statement, just sounds much nicer.

To me, this study proves that as a user of Android, I have hundreds of hardware options. Big screen, small screen, a screen somewhere in the middle. Low-end, high-end. Good camera, not so great camera. And on, and on, and on. What’s wrong with that?

Open Signal Maps, and many others in the tech press, have attempted to make this about developers. Having so much hardware variation is a headache for developers. I’m not a developer, so I can’t speak specifically to that, however I will say I’ve never once had a problem with an app being incompatible with any device I’ve owned. Even my tablet will run apps designed for the phone without the nasty scaling that the iPad does by default. Essentially it’s just responsive design, the graphical elements extend across the entire screen, much like a website’s banner does on various screen sizes.

Which is actually a fair comparison. There are thousands of screen sizes available for consumers to choose from, and yet web developers have adapted and create websites that scale to the screen. Don’t app developers do the same?

The hard truth is that the hardware isn’t created for the developer, it’s created for the consumer. The consumer wants choices? The consumer gets choices. The app developers do not run the ecosystem, they develop for it. If fragmentation is such an issue, stop developing for Android, and miss out on 51% of mobile users. Your call.

Android is open for a reason, it provides choice to consumers. That encompasses everything from being able to change the default web browser (a luxury iOS users do not have) to selecting exactly the type of hardware you want. Since when was choice bad? I see Android “fragmentation” as a positive to the platform, not a negative.

–jb

And I was kind of right.

The beginning of the show was slow, and I wasn’t impressed with anyone’s first performance. They all seem subdued and lacking emotion and passion. But that quickly changed. Joshua gave another amazing performance during his final song, as did Phillip. Truly two memorable performance, and they were the antithesis of each other. One was incredibly passionate and spiritual, the other was very intimate and pure. Lost in the middle of those two performances was a quiet week for presumed front runner Jessica Sanchez. Not sure what happened to her this week.

Here are the rankings, I have a quick blurb about each contestants performance, at the bottom of the post, I’ll have my prediction for the finale, and the winner.

1. Joshua Ledet – Rising
No doubt Joshua solidified his top spot. Not every performance was great, but his final one made up for them all.

Judge’s Song: I’d Rather Be Blind – Etta James
I did not totally connect to this first song. It felt like manufactured passion. Maybe that’s because he did not select the song, but he didn’t give everything like he normally does. Of course it was sung well, but that fiery passion that just oozes out of him during performances was not present. It is okay to leave that backstage sometimes, but this song warranted that type of oozing emotion, and it never came.

Own Choice: Imagine – John Lennon
At first I was skeptical of this song choice. Imagine? Really? John Lennon? Joshua? It seemed oddly out of place. But what the song did was allowed him to hold back. Like I said above, that over-the-top passion and emotion is sometimes better left backstage, and this was one of those times. He created a more intimate feeling, that still conveyed and communicated emotion, without the growling, convulsing, and looks of constipation.

Jimmy’s Pick: No More Drama – Mary J. Belige
Absolutely brilliant song choice from Jimmy “Sponsored by Beats Audio” Iovine. This song is the kind of music he will create as a contemporary performer. I have to admit, his slight hoping on stage was a bit distracting at first, it was like a person testing the “wine trick” on their memory foam mattress, but once the jacket came off, it was over. Absolutely incredibe ending, like nothing I’ve seen on that show. I’m pretty sure a paralyzed woman began walking in the audience, he brought the church to that sound stage. Just line that one up with the other “best in Idol history” performances from Joshua.

2. Phillip Phillips – Rising
Phillip is the real deal. He is without question the most focused among this group of three. He knows exactly what he wants to sing, he knows the feeling, the vibe, and the experience he needs to create. He has truly mastered the equation for a Phillip Phillips song, and he delivers every time.

Judge’s Song: Begging – Madcon
The test, according to Steven Tyler, was to see if he could follow the melody. Well, he succeeded. It was a perfect song for him, and he sung it with his typical southern grit and growling voice. My only criticism is he might need to practice some restraint. Even with a song like this. Take it back one or two notches and it feels more natural and at ease. If he uses too much spice it feels forceful and fake.

Own Choice: Disease – Matchbox 20
Now we’re getting closer. This was a more restrained, laid back song, which was welcomed. It had a haunting vibe, and it was typical Phillip. He really does have that equation down. I will agree with the judges, it was not a “wow performance.” But to be honest, no one had a wow performance this round, so it didn’t hurt him. It was a cruise control performance, so he stayed in his box and zone and did not stray, I would have liked him to take a little more of a risk with this one. Still, very good.

Jimmy’s Pick: We’ve Got Tonight – Bob Seger
Not much I can say about this. Great song choice by Jimmy, it’s like he does this for a living. It forced him to sing with a pure, simple, and intimate voice. It was a rare Phillip performance, but an outstanding one. It was not over-the-top or upbeat, but it forced me to use an adjective that I would never use with Phillip’s style; beautiful. Simplicity is sometimes the spice of life.

3. Jessica Sanchez – Falling
Phillip and Joshua both had “wow” performances this week. In other words, they each gave a performance that had me captivated and surprised. Unfortunately, Jessica fell flat this week. Her vocals were good, but overall she slipped. I thought she’d be a shoe-in for the finale, now I’m not so sure.

Judge’s Song: My All – Mariah Carey
We all thought Jessica was a mature singer, but tonight we saw the difference between a veteran and an up-and-comer. This song was difficult to sing, and it showed. In many parts she was out of her range, but it wasn’t too high, it was too low. The entire song felt one step ahead of her. While singing, it felt like she was more focused on keeping up with the music, than singing the lyrics and creating a feeling. To make matters worse, she tried to do too much. There was too much vibrato, to the point where it was distracting from the performance. She fell into the trap, this song needed to be pure, simple, and intimate, and she tried to go over-the-top.

Own Choice: I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing – Aerosmith
Very bold choice, considering, ya know, Steven Tyler is sitting right there. This song has such an iconic style and vocal that it is tough to make your own. It wasn’t bad, but it did not blow me away. At this point, all of the performances should be blowing the audience away. After the performance, I was perplexed by the song choice. This is the only song of the night she has control over, there’s no reason to pick a song that far out of your wheelhouse. Stay safe in the broad sense, but take risks within the song. No need to take risks with song choice at this stage.

Jimmy’s Pick: I’ll be There – Jackson Five
I kind of feel bad for her with this song, because Jimmy picked stellar songs for Phillip and Joshua, and there’s not much she could have done with this one. This performance was like a sugar cookie, it was good, but you never bite into a sugar cookie and think it is the most amazing pastry you’ve ever eaten. Just doesn’t happen. Good performance, good vocal, but it was cruise control. It really did nothing for me.

Round One Winner: Phillip
Round Two Winner: Joshua
Round Three Winner: Joshua

Who is in the Finale: I know last week I said Jessica and Joshua would be the final two. Uh, can I change my mind? Well tough, because I am. Jessica was not in a position to coast into the finale, and that’s what she attempted to do. There were no moments in any of her performances, they were good but just good, not great. She maybe could have sneaked in if either Joshua or Phillip stumbled, but they were both above average tonight. Jessica was just average.

Who is Winning it All: Okay, you ready for this? I’m going to get a little crazy here. I figure I have nothing to lose; no reputation, this isn’t a binding pick, I might as well shock the world. I think Phillip is going to take the Idol crown. I’m not sure why, but I get this feeling that little ole’ Phillip from Georgia has a strong following. Both him and Joshua are great in their own right, but Phillip has that creativity and originality that many fans adore. I think he surprises everyone with a victory.

Who do you think is going to win American Idol? Vote in this week’s poll!

–jb

That is a big deal, the company spent $10 million on Facebook ads alone. They made it clear they were not pulling their presence on the social media site, so they will still maintain a Facebook page for all of their brands, but the news of lost ad revenue could not have come at a worse time for Facebook.

But is it really a big deal? The tech press is framing this story as if this strategic move by GM will somehow hurt Facebook. Sure, they’re out $10 million, but their ad revenue for the first quarter of this year was $872 million, General Motor’s annual Facebook ad spending was 1% of Facebook’s Q1 revenue. Let’s pretend Facebook makes the same amount in all four quarters on ads, which means they’ll bring in $3.4 billion in ad revenue for the year. GM accounted for .2% of that.

So in terms of hard numbers, this is meaningless for Facebook’s bottom line. But what does this mean overall, if big brands start pulling out of Facebook’s ad business, that could spell disaster for Zuckerberg and company.

Ars Technica has a quote from Daniel Knapp, an analyst at IHS Screen Digest, who says, “Advertising on Facebook has long been funded by marketing budgets reserved for trying new things. But as online advertising investments in general are surging and starting to cannibalize spend on legacy media, advertisers are rightfully asking whether the money spent is justified because it has reached significant sums now.”

That’s a valid point. Facebook was an experiment for many brands, but now that it is an established communication platform that clearly isn’t going to die in the near future (see MySpace) it is becoming a legitimate communication and advertising tool for many, which also means it receives the same scrutiny as other advertising platforms.

So when GM looks at the numbers and sees more success in television or another platform, why not spend that $10 million on a more effective advertising campaign?

However, we also have to keep context in mind here. General Motors is trying to sell cars, that’s not easy. Cars are expensive, people think long and hard before buying a car, and they do plenty of research. An ad on Facebook does not sway opinion. No one sees the Chevy Cruse ad on Facebook and says, “Ah, the Chevy Cruse, yeah I think I’ll go buy one of those today.” There is no such thing as a casual car purchase. GM can communicate far more information in a 30-second TV spot about a car, than a 160 word Facebook ad.

But what about concerts? Those are heavily localized, and Facebook can be an incredible tool for advertising a concert. You can literally target the ad to people who have admitted they only like a certain type of music, and that live in a certain geographic area.

What about food? Take-out food is one of the most popular impulse buys. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a Taco Bell commercial around 5:30pm and immediately gotten into my car. Or seen a Tim Horton’s ad and gone to get an Iced Capp (well, to be honest, I need no push from an ad to go to Tim Horton’s).

The point is, as Facebook grows and becomes more mainstream for advertisers (i.e. it emerges from the “experimental phase”) it will undoubtedly shed certain types of companies. Certain avenues of communication are better than others for certain organizations, that is a simple truth of advertising and marketing. TV has its advantages, so do magazine advertisements. Companies that advertise in magazines do not necessarily buy ad time on TV. Facebook will be no different.

So can we all stop freaking out now?

–jb

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. REUTERS/Sebastien Nogier

What!? A mobile problem? How could that be, they have plenty of mobile users, all of my friends use Facebook’s mobile app.

Uh yeah, that’s the problem.

Americans now consume 411 minutes of Facebook per month on their mobile device, compared with 391 minutes for the standard web interface, that’s amongst Americans that use both platforms, according to comScore.

That is fantastic news if Facebook were a paid service, but it’s not, they make money from ads. And the sad truth for Facebook, heading into an IPO soon, is that they make very little money from mobile ads. And by very little I mean very little. In fact, until March of this year, they made zero dollars on their mobile interface.

Furthermore, Facebook says about 12% of their users are only active on the mobile app and website. With a limited advertising model in effect, the last place Facebook wants people to flock to are their mobile interfaces.

Facebook does have some idea of how they are going to monetize mobile, it is much like Twitter has decided to monetize; promoted content. Facebook plans on showing “sponsored” stories in the newsfeed. It is a natural and less invasive way to show advertisements. However, it is not a particularly huge money maker, and if “sponsored stories” are constantly appearing in a user’s newsfeed, they might get turned off to the service all together. Furthermore, there’s a spacing issue. A smaller screen means less content is viewable at any given time, which means “sponsored stories” would have to be spaced accordingly.

Funny how there are so many problems caused by growing popularity.

However, this is not just a problem for Facebook. This is a problem for everyone. Other social networks have been wrapping their brains around advertising on mobile. Just look at Instagram (before the Facebook acquisition), they had millions of users and no advertising scheme in place. Path, another mobile only platform, has no plans to monetize. This is not because they don’t want to make money; it is because they don’t want to interrupt their user’s experience.

And this problem extends to advertisers too. Many large companies are grappling with how to advertise on a platform that consumes content on small screens and banner ads are toxic.

Monetizing websites? That was easy, slap some banner ads on there. Monetizing videos? That was easy, slap a pre-roll on there. Monetizing mobile? Uh, not so easy.

Mobile seems to be the last bastion of hope for consumers, a quiet serene place where visual interrupting ads are scarce and the air smells of fresh cotton candy. Seriously though, how many of you are willing to pay up to $3 to buy an app that does not have ads. Personally, if there is a choice between a 99 cent app with no ads and a free app with ads, I will happily pay the 99 cents. If for no other reason than 75% of battery usage among free apps is from the ad services ingrained in them. On mobile, banner ads are toxic. They are not only distracting and battery hogs, but on a compact screen, they are pronounced for their stealing of valuable screen real estate.

This is the mobile problem. Now that we’ve identified it, how do we solve it?

It is all about being natural. Advertising that does not look like advertising, no banner ads, no pre-rolls, no waiting a few seconds before the app launches so you can see our sponsor’s pretty logo. None of that.

Facebook is on the right track, they just need to kick it up a notch. I think “sponsored stories” is one of just several strategies they can use to bring in mobile ad money. But I think they need to start listening, engaging, and working with some of their bigger brands.

There was a story last week about several ad agencies that were willing to spend millions of dollars on Facebook advertising, but no one at Facebook was there to answer the phone. Facebook has built an advertising model based around automation and quantity, which is to say anyone has access to their advertising platform and they would like millions of people to sign-up, instead of a small number spending millions.

Meanwhile Twitter did the opposite. They slowly rolled out their advertising platform working exclusively with big brands first, and slowly opening the platform up to small businesses. It worked for them, and it could work for Facebook.

Late this week it was revealed that Facebook was running a trial on a “highlight” service. Similar to what Tumblr began a few months ago, users could pay one or two bucks, and Facebook would make sure all of their friends would see their post. Turns out that only about 15% of your friends see anything you post on Facebook. This is a combination of your friends having, ya know, a real life, and Facebook’s newsfeed algorithm.

But Facebook has control of the algorithm; they can alter it to make sure all of your friends see a post, assuming they login to Facebook.

To be honest, this has limited effect and limited power for the average user, but for brands or people with thousands of subscribers, this is an incredibly powerful tool.

Advertisers love reach, furthermore they love metrics that show them exactly how many people viewed their message. Facebook could easily contact some big name brand pages, and ask if they’d be willing to pay a certain amount of money if Facebook guaranteed every fan, who signed in to Facebook, saw any and all content they posted. It would not be an annoyance to users because they have already liked the page, therefore they want the content. And brands already assume 100% of their fans will see 100% of their posts when determining how often to post.

Only people who have liked the page, and thus essentially signed up for the content, will receive the content, so it would be a natural integration into the platform. Brands would love it because it would guarantee wide reach for their content that was previously seen by only a fraction of their total Facebook fan base. And Facebook could easily scale it to all of their platforms and make a bundle.

Truthfully, I think it is the direction Facebook is headed; it just takes time to get there.

At the end of the day, any mobile advertising has to be natural to the interface, it cannot be an interruption. In many ways brands are already advertising on mobile by having a social media presence. Their updates, tweets, and posts are all viewed on mobile devices, and those are all part of the marketing mix.

But mobile is a large and powerful platform, marketers want more presence than just social media on your handheld devices. But it is a tough line to walk, it cannot be annoying, it has to be natural.

Look no further than social gaming. About a third of all mobile subscribers play games on their phones. If brands can do product placements in movies and TV shows, why not in games?

Earlier this year, EA announced a contract with several advertising partners to include brand name products in “The Sims.” Now you can shower in a special Dove shower or buy a Toyota Prius. But there’s no reason you can’t eat Kellogg’s Special K cereal to help your Sims lose weight, or Mini-Wheats to help him study for an exam. Opportunities for product placement in a reality simulator game like “The Sims” are endless. Furthermore, it adds to the realistic nature of the game.

The latest implementation of product placement comes from Zynga and their recently acquired “Draw Something” game. The game might be losing users, but it is still a platform that draws, no pun intended, 10 million active participants a month. Zynga is working with brands to add their products to their database of words for people to draw. So now a user might be asked to draw Doritos or KFC.

Both of these examples of product placement are tightly integrated into the game play, so for users they do not feel like ads. That is vitally important with the mobile market.

The mobile space is only getting larger, and in many ways it is the future of social media and advertising. As smart phone usage goes up, so will marketer’s interest in the platform. Furthermore, social platforms need to make money, and if their users are on mobile, so should their ads. But it is a tough nut to crack, the majority still has no clue how to monetize or properly reach their audience on mobile.

Until that time it will continue to be everyone’s mobile problem.

I’ll start by saying, I was not surprised that Skyler got kicked off last week. Her performances were not nearly as polished and powerful as the others, and it was her time to go. It was a tough call, because that was one of the closest top fives I’ve seen, but it made sense for her to go home. It was either her or Hollie, and I guess she drew the short straw.

But I will say, it made for one helluva week. Tonight’s show came down to one factor; who brought it 100% on both performances. Everyone tonight had at least one knock out performance, but only two people brought it on both, and those two people sit atop the rankings this week.

1. Joshua Ledet – Rising
Song: You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban, Mans World – James Brown
His first song choice was terrible. I’m sorry, but “You Raise Me Up” is never a good song to sing, EVER. Lyrically it is incredibly sappy and boring. The only person that sang it well and will ever sing it well, is Josh Groban. The entire performance felt like he was desperately trying to make the song work, but the song was just fighting back too hard. It was like swimming against the current. Not even the gaggle of choir singers could save what was honestly a mediocre performance. However, I will say his duet with Phillip made up for the horrendous attempt last week. His second performance was one of the best in the show’s history. And I’ve said that before about him, which means he’s a really special singer. He picked a perfect song; it was soulful and it had meaning and heart that he could really sink his teeth into, and he delivered. He sang the snot out of that song and delivered a truly mesmerizing performance. It’s hard to beat what he did in the second song tonight.

2. Jessica Sanchez – Rising
Song: Steal Away – Etta James, And I’m Telling You – Jennifer Holliday
Yes, Jessica is still technically “rising” even though she is still in the second spot. I say that because she delivered two great performances this week, which is more than Joshua can say. However, neither of them were the best in Idol history. I like that she mixed it up with the first song, it was a bit more bluesy and soulful, certainly going against the grain of the ballads she usually sings. Last week she disappointed, so she had to knock it out of the park, and she did. The duet was bizarre and all over the place. Not sure what was going on with the cloth swings, it was kind of a mess. The second song? That second song was curb stomped to death, in a good way. Seriously, she punched that song in the face, over, and over, and over again. She opened the flood gates when she stepped on the stage and let it all out. That was vitally important, especially after Joshua’s incredible performance. And honestly, in a lot of ways, I think it was better than Joshua’s performance.

3. Phillip Phillips – Rising
Song: Have You Ever Seen the Rain – CCR, Volcano – Damien Rice
First song was a good song choice in theory, not great in practice. It had that gritty oldies feel that suits him well, but he made it a little too light and fluffy for me. Maybe he was uncomfortable without his guitar, but the whole performance and feel of the song did not sit well. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible, but it was the kind of track that eight times out of ten I’d skip on his CD. His second song was the true knock out performance. It was haunting, dark, and intimate, it had Phillip Phillips written all over it. And because I had never heard the song before, it made me feel like it was an original.

4. Hollie Cavanagh – Even
Song: Faithfully – Journey, I Can’t Make You Love Me – Bonnie Raitt
Hollie’s knock out performance was easily the first song. Faithfully by Journey is a great song, one of my favorites. She connected with the song and gave a flawless vocal. It was the performance she needed to give. Unfortunately the second performance did not carry over that connection and emotion. “I Can’t Make You Love” is a gut wrenching song. It has deep, meaningful lyrics. And when sung from a shallow heart and mouth, it falls flat. It seems Hollie didn’t have a reason to sing that song. When the video clips of Joshua roll before his performance, he always has a connection to the song, a reason for selecting it. Hollie seems to select music not on emotion or feeling, but simply what sounds good, or should, in theory, be emotional. It’s a shallow selection process that has plagued her from day one. She can sing her face off, but without that emotional connection or meaning to the words, she fails to captivate the audience. And juxtaposed to Jessica, Phillip, and Joshua that captivate everyone, she’s clearly the black sheep.

Who Should Go Home: Hollie should pack her bags. Again, this is a tight competition, but this week a line was drawn in the sand. Joshua and Jessica are clearly the best two in this race. They have the best vocal talent, and the best performing abilities. Hollie, while a great singer, does not captivate and put the audience in a trance. She has flirted with elimination before, and now she should be gone for good.

Who Is Going Home: Hollie. I think her number has been called and her time is up. Again, she is a great vocal talent, but she needs to dig a little deeper in her soul if she wants to really make moments and tell stories. Honestly, I’m surprised how far she has gone, she should have gone home weeks ago. But for a moment there, namely last week, I thought she was going to ride that upswing to the finale. She just got outperformed this week, as simple as that.

Who is Going to Be in the Finale: Joshua and Jessica. No question. The two best voices, the two best talents. I’m still not convinced either one of them could sell millions of records, but there’s no doubt in my mind that both of them can sing their faces off.

Who is Going to Win it All: Joshua. From the beginning I said Jessica, or at least I thought Jessica. Hence why I ranked her number one nearly the entire time. But Joshua has made more moments and has put more heart and soul into this competition than I’ve seen in many years. If he gives even 10% more in the finale than he gave tonight, he’s going to blow the roof off the Nokia Theater. Although I will say, this show is always a surprise, and maybe this year is no different. But honestly, if Jessica won, I don’t think I’d consider that a surprise.

–jb

Meanwhile the front runner to be kicked off this week finally showed some passion and performance ability, making my prediction for who is gone tomorrow that much more difficult. Yeah, crazy week on Idol. With that said, here are the rankings…

1. Joshua Ledett – Rising
Songs: Ain’t Too Proud to Beg – The Temptations, To Love Somebody – Bee Gees
He has become the most consistent performer in the competition. He has such a powerful voice with such presence, while also being distinctive and original. Every song he belts out becomes his own and is sung with such passion. Even his first song, which is not necessarily a deeply passionate song, he sung with conviction. His second song was probably the best performance of the night, if not the season. It built up perfectly to his incredibly powerful final third of the song. His gift is not just his voice, but his ability to know when to keep it calm and intimate, and when to turn it on and go full blast. He has been in cruise control since the top 13, and for that he steals the top spot from Jessica.

2. Jessica Sanchez – Falling
Song: Proud Mary – Tina Turner, You are So Beautiful – Joel Cocker
I never thought I’d put “falling” next to Jessica’s name. I said early on that her youth might catch-up to her, and I’m afraid that might be happening. Her first song was good for this point in the competition because it leaves a good, fun impression. It had the upbeat, hair down qualities she needed to show off, while also having range and ability to have a big voice. But I also understand what Randy is saying with it not totally sitting right. Whoever designed the sets tonight must have been on some knarly 60′s type drugs, because the one for her second song was just weird. The candles and the half laying down on her side, it was like a weird live action shrine to Jessica Sanchez. As for the song, it was sung well, because she sings everything well, it was just slow and poorly paced and ultimately I was kind of bored. I think Jimmy was right when he said it could be “loungey,” I felt like it was closing time at the local piano bar. She is starting to slip, and she need to really knock it out next week to hold on.

3. Hollie Cavanagh – Rising
Song: River Deep Mountain High – Tina Turner, Bleeding Love – Liona Lewis
This is how good Hollie did tonight; I was briefly considering putting her in the second spot. Yeah, that good. Her first song, was much more relaxed than we’ve seen in the past, not completely there – but much better, and she sung it very well. It was loose, relaxed, and fun. But it also managed to be in control and sung very well. Lots of power fists going on in the second song, like she was squeezing a stress ball. I was worried about the song because she’s not that great at pulling the audience in and singing intimately, but she finally pulled it off, and it was a great vocal. She has always had the voice, she just needed to fill in the blanks, and that is beginning to happen at the right time.

4. Skylar Laine – Even
Song: Fortunate Song – CCR, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me – Dusty Springfield
She did not blow me away tonight, but she did not disappoint either. I got what I expected. The problem? I want to get the unexpected. Not sure I totally agree with the first song choice, but she can find energy in anything, its kind of incredible. I like her with a little more rock infused in the country, but she certainly made CCR more country and twangy. She made it her own, so that’s a plus, just felt like it was a bit under the energy level that suits her. Second song? Well for starters the weird couple on the bench was just too bizarre, again with the drug induced set design. She needed to turn the second song into a country ballad to fit into her wheelhouse, she tried, but I think it could have been better. No doubt, she sung it very well, just not as country-twangy as she usually does.

5. Phillip Phillips – Even
Song: The Letter – The Box Tops, Time of the Season – The Zombies
It is tough for me to put Phillip this low, because he didn’t perform poorly, it is just that everyone else was amazing. I am slightly worried that every song he sings sounds basically the same. There is something to be said about being individual and unique, but that uniqueness fades if every song is the same – even if that sound is original. He is still an incredible singer and performer. Unfortunately, his duet with Joshua was really awful, seriously one of the worst and most awkward duets in the history of Idol. He did well tonight, but just well, not great. And again, like Skylar, I expected what he did tonight, I could predict it. Give me something new that I haven’t seen before.

This was really a hard list to compile, because now that Elise is gone, everyone really is on the same footing. I have no qualms with this top five, I really believe these are the five best. But I also believe that they are all pretty even. Maybe Joshua and Jessica are tied for first and the other three are tied for second, but it is incredibly close. I really think at this point it’s going just be one by one eliminations until the final two of Jessica and Joshua. But of course that assumes that Jessica stops slipping.

Who Should Go Home: Should go home? I’d have to say Skylar. She just didn’t blow me away tonight. Hollie did what she needed to do, and Jessica is good enough to keep going despite a not-so-perfect week. But Skylar need to really bring it each and every time on stage. And for me, she didn’t even have one amazing performance tonight. Both were just okay. For that, I think she needs to go.

Who Will Go Home: Hollie. Again, she did everything she could tonight, and she did a great job. But I’m going with the singer who has been in the bottom three the most, and that’s Hollie.

Oh, you’re not. You’ve already switched to an Android or iPhone. Or if you really went rogue, a Windows Phone.

Well, either way, Research in Motion wants your business back, so this week they took the cover off of the software that is apparently going to bring them back to mobile dominance…or something like that.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but unfortunately every bit of news surrounding the crumbling Canadian cell phone maker has been less than ideal lately. And while BlackBerry 10 is getting press, that press seems somewhat skeptical that this software is going to be able to hold the weight of a company holding on for dear life.

If you are unfamiliar with this launch take a look at the promo-video below.

That is really the only glimpse of BlackBerry 10 we have, and from what I can tell it looks like an interesting marriage of Windows Phone and Android Ice Cream Sandwich. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, after all I consider both of those platforms to be beautiful and intuitive in their own right, but sometimes when you mash two beautiful things together, you get an ugly offspring.

I do not think BB 10 is ugly or cumbersome, I have no way of making that call until I get my hands on it, I’m just skeptical that this is going to save the company. RIM and BlackBerry were successful not because they had great software, but because they made great hardware, specifically keyboards. Business users loved the devices because they were rugged and practical. It was easy to fire off a quick email and check important information. The devices also appealed to the young crowd because they made them feel important and business-like.

I’ve never played with a BlackBerry device and thought, “gee, this software is so easy and pleasant to use.” Software absolutely needed to be addressed, but if BlackBerry is going to make a comeback, it needs to be on the back of incredible hardware. For me, the perfect recipe for RIM is; hardware first, software second. I think consumers are willing to sacrifice less-than-perfect software for a device that is functional, feels solid, and won’t break in a stiff wind.

However, software is important, but they need to stand out. The video above shows a BB 10 that, while good looking, blends in seamlessly with other software already on the market. I watched that video and immediately thought of Windows Phone and ICS, RIM should make me think their new software is unique and bold – unlike anything I can currently buy.

And it also has to be cohesive across all devices. In other words, I should be able to pick up an entry level BlackBerry and the software should respond like my top-of-the-line BlackBerry or the Playbook. Unfortunately, according to The Verge, that seems unlikely…

The company seems to see BlackBerry 7 as the OS for its entry-level devices, while BlackBerry 10 will occupy the higher end of the company’s range.

No! Just no! Give your lowend users some love, that’s how you keep them around and turn them into high-end users in the future. Hardware should change with purchasing levels, but software should remain consistent.

The final piece of the puzzle for a RIM resurgence is enterprise. I don’t know it for a fact, but I get the impression that a certain segment of the enterprise industry is still craving a good business device. The iPhone is trying to be all encompassing, but it still seems too “consumer” for business users. Maybe I’m crazy, but that’s the vibe I get. On the Android side, there’s very little as well. Motorola has attempted to penetrate the enterprise market with the Droid Pro (which was essentially a BlackBerry) and the Droid series of keyboard phones, but they have never caught on.

RIM was the enterprise leader, and is in position to regain that title. RIM’s CEO has said enterprise is where BlackBerrys “really flourish” so he’s committed to focusing on that market, while also making sure the needs of the consumer market are met.

That’s a tall order. But it should not be incredibly difficult. There are still a number of enterprise users out there who are attached at the hip to their BlackBerrys, and getting someone to change a consumer electronic is not easy. If BlackBerry can make enterprise seamless with BB 10 and get back to focusing on great hardware that is practical for the business user, they have a real opening and opportunity in the enterprise market. That might be their best bet for a comeback.

I’d like some thoughts from BlackBerry users on BB 10, are you excited about it, has it changed your mind about potentially switching your mobile experience. Or is it just another “too little, too late” attempt by RIM?

–jb

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