You notice it when you're reading email, but not so much writing it. Most email clients show just the first 50-75 characters of a message in the inbox view. Write your first line to that limit, and you'll likely get noticed. It s a tip offered up by web PR consultant Steve Rubel, who notes that an ebook author reached through his own crowded inbox and managed to get a click-through with a first line that grabbed him. Rubel dubs it tweetifying of your email s lead sentence, but it s actually about half a 140-character tweet. The idea is the same though let the character limit guide you to a punchier first impression. Read on

Brads reaction: Good idea

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has released preliminary results to an upcoming survey in which marketers were asked about their mobile marketing budgets for the remainder of 2010 through 2011. The results thus far indicate budgets for mobile marketing spend is set to rise 124% from 2010 to 2011, putting the total allocation to the mobile channel at roughly 4% of overall marketing budgets. Mobile as a marketing channel is up by the greatest single percentage, with events and trade shows the only other channel that s projected to see growth in budget totals, surprisingly enough. Read on

Brads reaction: Mobile is on the move....again?

UK digital champion Martha Lane Fox has announced plans to get everybody of working age in Britain online by the end of the current Parliament. Read on

Johns reaction: Nice idea but finding the cash to support the aims of Network Nation would be a challenge.

Google is preparing another attempt to crack the social networking world owned by Facebook, and to a lesser extent, Twitter. Why is Google traveling down this path once again? Aren't the failures of Dodgeball, Orkut, Jaiku, Buzz, Wave, etc. enough for Google to realize that it just doesn't understand social networking? Maybe, but Google can't afford to watch the web become social without it. Read on

Brads reaction: Some fantastic insights into Social behaviour.

Today, Amazon released its highly anticipated Kindle e-book reader software for Android devices, which gives Google s smartphone and MID operating system immediate legitimacy as an e-Reading platform. But how well does the software stack up to the iPhone/iPad version? Surprisingly, quite well. Read on

Johns reaction: Let the e-Reader Content Wars Begin

If your brand or website are engaged in social media you re most likely already tracking what people are saying about you on the web. The tools listed below can be used for a variety of things, like tracking mentions of your social self. Or, to see who is talking about you or your brand on twitter. I tested each one of these, and they all give different results. I would suggest that you do the same to see which tool suits your needs. Read on

Johns reaction: Tools listed to see who is talking about you or your brand

Last week we were duly shocked by the discovery that the government is looking into a proposal to make ISPs retain a log of every website you ever visit. Now it's coming out that they may want ISPs to link that information to other personal data like your passport number. Read on

Johns reaction: This is the same government that goes ape when Google monitors your web activities or facebook does not protect your privacy.

Mark Zuckerberg said earlier this month that the company wasn't building a rumored web-based e-mail client. He said he favored products around short-form communications. Statistics on teenage social networking use may be a good reason why. The company s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said that based on the latest figures, teenagers are using e-mail less and less and that e-mail may even be on its way out. Read on

Brads reaction: Not sure if email on its way out but it certainly needs to transform.

t's the most wonderful time of the year time to look back at the oddest, creepiest, quirkiest and downright freakiest ads that we covered on AdFreak this year. We've selected 30 spots from all over the world that truly left us with that not-peaceful, uneasy feeling. The majority are PSAs their freaky means apparently justified by humanitarian ends. The list is also heavy on the U.K., another reminder that we can always count on the English (and the Welsh) for a solid dose of depravity. So, here's to the freakiest of 2009, and more of the same in 2010. Read on

Johns reaction: Some interesting ads here, if not a bit freeeeeeky

Liveblog: 9:38 am: San Francisco's Moscone Center this morning is as packed as I've ever seen it. The attendee line for Apple CEO Steve Jobs's keynote address began forming early this morning, and by the time I arrived at 8 am, it was already stretching from Moscone well toward the Fifth and Mission garage. No surprise. I'm told this is one of the biggest WWDCs ever, an event that sold out in record time. Read on

Brads reaction: As expected Apple released the new iPhone. Not much else though. Would hve been nice to see some other hardware updates and the rumoured MobileMe for free. Looks like the new phone will address fundamental issues of sound quality and reception with dual microphones and the antenna now forming part of the casing, the upgrade of wifi to /n will also make it a lot more useful. Available in OZ in July.