Categories
10 Things Internet shopping

Amazon.com has the Best Customer Service. (Zappos ranks high, too)

Amazon.com Gift Card
Amazon.com Gift Card

When it comes to Customer Service, what retail companies come to mind?

We’ve heard countless stories about companies like Costco taking back anything that they sell, no matter how long ago you purchased it… but while Costco is an awesome place to shop, the long lines and lack of salespeople on the shopping floor can turn some potential shoppers off, as getting out of there with a purchase can be a bit more difficult than it needs to be.

Web Watch enjoys the staff at the local Home Depot and Lowe’s, but there are times when both stores struggle to answer our seemingly simple questions.

We do’t ask for much – we just want each shopping experience to be superior to the last outing.

Categories
Internet

How much money do porn sites make?

The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google
The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google

In 2006, the US adult industry made over $13 billion in revenue.

In revenue, porn brings in more money than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple, Netflix, and Earthlink combined.

Let’s say that last word again:  combined.

Yes, online (and elsewhere) we can safely say, “porn is king”.  Just like the porn industry is credited with the rise of VHS over Beta, the porn industry is also credited with pushing the technology envelope and make today’s Internet what it has become.

Categories
How To Internet Video

Is that YouTube video legal? Check out the YouTube Copyright School to learn more

Harry Potter and the Order of the Court: The J.K. Rowling Copyright Case and the Question of Fair Use
Harry Potter and the Order of the Court:
The J.K. Rowling Copyright Case and the Question of Fair Use

Copyright is an important aspect of online life today, and not very many people understand it.

“The Internet is FREE”, they claim.  “Everything on the Internet is free for the taking!”

No, not so much.  Rule number one of Internet legalities:  Just because someone posted it on the Internet doesn’t mean that there is no copyright or that the material is free to be shared/taken. 

Fact is, the very act of writing something yourself gives you an automatic copyright to that material that YOU created.  Let’s emphasize that YOU created portion again.  It has to be original work from YOU for you to claim the copyright – and even then, you can only claim the copyright on the portion that YOU edited.

Even large mass-edited projects like Wikipedia have a copyright… but Wikipedia explicitly says that the individual Wikipedia editors can’t claim copyright on the text that is contributed directly to Wikipedia articles — just adding the text to Wikipedia grants Wikipedia a licence to make that text available for public use.  (Content that is already copyrighted outside of Wikipedia and still contributed by the original author falls under a different set of copyright guidelines — be sure to read that WP article for all the copyright details that may pertain to you.)

Categories
Gadgets Internet Websites

How much bandwidth does your cell service provider give you?

Will Work for Bandwidth
Will Work for Bandwidth

Do you know how much bandwidth your cell phone provider gives you on your mobile phone contract?

We know – why does it matter how much our providers charge us for bandwidth?  The Internet is free, right?

Yeah… not so much.

Categories
10 Things How To Internet Music Websites

Year in Review: 2011’s most popular Web Watch articles and searches

2011: Living in the Future
2011: Living in the Future

Thanks to everyone who took the time to visit Web Watch in 2011. For those of you who haven’t been able to visit every day, let’s take a look at what you did come and see while you were here:

The top ten most viewed Web Watch articles for 2011 were:

Categories
Gambling Internet

An open letter to MGM, Caesars, Sands, and other casino companies regarding social media

Fountains of Bellagio
Fountains of Bellagio

This is an open letter to the marketing staff at MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Sands, and other casino corporations.  And if you’re part of the marketing staff at a different type of company, you may want to pay attention to this as well – since the core takeaway here applies to you as well.

Categories
10 Things Internet

Top 10 Reasons You Are No Longer a Facebook Friend

HATE / LIKE Facebook Icons
HATE / LIKE Facebook Icons

How many Facebook friends do you have?

No, really — how many of the people you have “friended” on Facebook are really, honestly your friends?  People that you know IRL (that’s “In Real Life” for those of you who don’t know), that you would talk to anyway over the matter of course?

Yeah, we thought so.  You really only know about what – 130 people, tops?  So whatcha doing with that Facebook friend list that’s hovering around the 462 person mark?

Categories
10 Things Gadgets Internet Movies TV Video Games

What PS3, Xbox360, and Wii owners really do with their systems

Xbox 360 with Kinect
Xbox 360 with Kinect

So Web Watch is in the process of packing up some of our video game systems and putting them away.  The PS2 and Xbox Classic are no longer needed, and don’t even get us started on the TurboGrafx or Sega Genesis that were also taking up precious shelf space.

We’ll leave the Wii and PS3 where they are as we still use those regularly, as we anxiously await the long-rumored Xbox 720 to come out to replace the Xbox 360.

So what does all this mean?  We’re not the only ones with older gaming systems still hanging around and being used.

But what are they being used for?  It’s not always what you think.