Matt Silverman

Why do you deliver at 11pm Pinkberry? Why?

The chocolate is super sweet, almost too much so.  I would not recommend larger than the small size.  Mochi goes very well with the chocolate too.

I have to admit, I am a little disheartened.  I was convinced that building a large Twitter following would at least give a great platform for promoting things.  I was always curious about numbers though.  If I posted a link, what % of my followers would actually click it?

http://twitpic.com/jlu6g – 62 views as of writing.  While I have a paltry 135 Followers, it seems that roughly 46% of them clicked on the link I posted.  Keep in mind, this view count is based off of pageviews to that page, so if one person viewed it multiple times it would count towards the same total.  So let’s make a more conservative estimate of 35% of my followers actually clicked the link.  Not too bad.

I still had envy for someone like Ashton Kutcher though.  Well, maybe not.  But I did have a little intrigue about his almost 4,000,000 followers on Twitter.

When he posts a link, if using my conservative estimate of 35% conversion ratio in clicks, that would mean he would get a whopping 1,400,000 clicks on every link he tweets.  Then again, 35% is a rather generous conversion ratio, what with all the spam accounts and all.  So let’s be VERY conservative.  10% conversion ratio.  Surely, at least 10% of the people “following” Ashton Kutcher are at least visiting the links he posts.  10% conversion ratio would be roughly 400,000 clicks.  That is still spectacular.  He is a marketing machine, right?  If only there was some way to actually see how many clicks his links get.

Oh, yeah, bit.ly.  That’s right, they offer pretty neat stats on every link shortened by them.  So I decided to look at some recent @aplusk data.

I made a typo right?  I wish I had.  It turns out that the links Ashton tweeted averaged 7,500 clicks per link.  This amounts to a shocking 0.19% percent conversion ratio.

The lesson?  Quality over quantity when it comes to a Twitter following.  If only .19% Ashton’s followers are clicking his links, at BEST 0.4% of his followers actually even read a word he says.

With a fresh Ubuntu install, I realized that to play any video file including saved DVDs, .WMV, .AVI, DIVX, etc.,  it is necessary to get what is called a “restricted” extras pack for Ubuntu.  My understanding is that this does not come with it by default, because they want to keep Ubuntu completely legitimate in terms of licensing, etc.

Download the Ubuntu Restricted Extras Pack by clicking here.

After installing this, everything magically worked!

For more details visit the Ubuntu page on RestrictedFormats.

Some very exciting developments in the iPhone apps world this week.  Check out these 3 must-have apps:

1.  DropBox

Create an account at GetDropBox.com, then effortlessly sync files between your home computer, work computer, and your iPhone.  You can even take pictures/videos from your iPhone and upload them directly to your computer. Cost: FREE.  This absolutely kills the $4.99 Air Sharing app’s revenue model.

Amazingly seamless syncing of files between your computer and iPhone.

2.  RedLaser

RedLaser uses the camera of your iPhone as a barcode scanner.  Scan anything from books, to candy and it will instantly search for the product on Amazon and Google.  Great for price matching when buying electronics.  Cost: $1.99.

Hold over any barcode (RedLaser)

Runs search on Amazon and Google for the product.

3.  ZipCar

Much anticipated ZipCar app is finally out.  Find a nearby car using the built in GPS function, reserve it via the iPhone interface.  Once you initially unlock the car with your KeyCard, you can then unlock/lock/honk the horn from your iPhone.  Really impressive stuff, and will definitely up my Zipcar usage.  Cost: FREE (Zipcar membership required)

Locates Zipcar locations near you.

You can unlock, lock, and even honk the horn using your iPhone.

One of my favorite features on Ooma is the ability to receive voicemail via e-mail.  Not only does Ooma alert you via e-mail when you have a new voicemail, but it has the option to e-mail the voicemail message itself as an MP3.  I did end up upgrading to Ooma Premier service, and it looks like the “attach file” feature is only available in Premier.  Even so, when you first get the Ooma, you should try this feature out during your free Premier trial period.

To enable this feature, go to your Preferences > Voicemail, and see the Voicemail Notifications area:

After saving your changes, all of your voicemails from now on will be e-mailed to you.  If you elect to receive e-mails on your phone, it makes it amazingly easy to check your voicemail when away from your Ooma hub.

On the iPhone, simply click the e-mail attachment, and it will open up the voicemail file in the iPhone quicktime player:

Could not be easier!