Brian Banmiller's blog

While most criminals have gone cyber; some are still taking their cues from the days of gunshots and disguises.

On Monday eight masked robbers broke through a security fence at Brussels international airport and stole $50 million in diamonds from a plane. The FBI says they used fake police cars and wore uniform style clothing. It says the whole thing took under three minutes and was executed with military precision. It also says this is a dying business.

These days our financial institutions have bullet proof glass and cash boxes rigged with paint or glue. So to get around the added security measures criminals have turned to cyber space. Now they hack into systems, steal passwords and skim money from ATM’s. And the reward is far greater.  read more »

These days most people spend their time online; but that doesn’t mean television and radio are being tuned out.

Gian Fulgoni is the executive chairman of comScore; a company that measures and analyzes the digital world to keep marketers on top of the trends. And right now the trend is online.

“The technology is moving at such a rapid clip it’s accelerating and it’s causing just basic dislocations in the way that consumers behave and the way that they buy and how they receive information.”

But this isn’t bad news for other media outlets. During the summer Olympics comScore measured how many devices people were using to consume Olympic content; and if using one negatively impacted another. ComScore found that wasn’t the case.  read more »

Retirement means giving up your job perks; unless your job is running the Catholic Church.

In just a few days the papal office will be vacated and the process to select a new pope will begin. But what does this mean for the man who on March 1st will become the first pope to resign in 600 years?

For example even after presidents leave the oval office they continue to be addressed as president. But for the pope the power stays with the church. Once Pope Benedict resigns his title is up for debate but experts say he will more than likely be addressed as bishop.  read more »

The battle of the burger joint has gone viral.

On Monday Burger King’s official twitter account was hacked into and changed to look like McDonald’s. The hackers changed the king’s profile image to a photo of the golden arches. They also changed the description of the account to claim Burger King “just got sold to McDonald’s because the whopper flopped." But the fun didn’t end there.

The people responsible for the hack also sent out a number of vulgar tweets before the head honchos at Burger King could freeze the account. And through it all McDonald’s claimed its innocence. Shortly after the incident McDonald’s tweeted that it empathizes with Burger King and that it had nothing to do with the hacking.  read more »

Online shopping just got a little more social.

Earlier this week American Express announced a deal that would allow its members to make purchases on Twitter. All customers have to do is tweet the hashtag that corresponds to the product they’re interested in. American Express will respond with a tweet asking you to confirm; and when you do the product is shipped. However this doesn’t mean that anything you find online is up for grabs.

The products you can choose from come off a list released by American Express. Right now available products include the Amazon Kindle Fire and Xbox 360. Marketing experts say by connecting social media and shopping, customers are promoting brands at the same time they’re buying them.  read more »

Fast food menus are designed to entice you; but one word could end up turning your stomach.

The word “fresh” used to conjure up images of good for you ingredients but thanks to quick and easy restaurants “fresh” means anything but. According to a Yahoo News blog when people see the word fresh on a menu they think it means unprocessed or healthy; a perception that restaurants are using to their advantage.  read more »

Your online activity is being closely monitored; and for some companies your key strokes are paying off.

Gian Fulgoni is the Executive Chairman of comScore. A company that measures what you do in the digital world. That information is then given to marketing and media clients to help them best reach you, a technology Fulgoni says is growing exponentially.

“Ten years ago it certainly was in its infancy and it’s just amazing how fast it’s grown both in terms of ecommerce for example or online advertising the numbers are really pretty staggering.”

Fulgoni says both online advertising and shopping are growing at a rate of 15% a year. And to keep up companies are following consumers into the digital world.  read more »

If Valentine’s Day left you a little lonely; then turn to your favorite handheld device.

There are two new apps on the market designed to make your search for love a little easier. Released in just the past few months both apps rely on Facebook for their matchmaking capabilities.

The first one; Tinder pulls photos from its member’s Facebook profiles. Anyone looking for a date can then flip through the photos of people nearby to see if anyone sparks their interest. If there’s a mutual attraction the app connects them for a conversation. If not, their feelings remain anonymous protecting user from potential heartbreak.  read more »

People in Germany are diving into dumpsters; and they’re on the hunt for all things edible.

Every night people fire up their flashlights and scour dumpsters behind restaurants and stores looking for food. But it’s not poverty fueling their hunger its anger over the amount of food wasted every year.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture organization 1/3 of all food produced worldwide is thrown away; an annual loss of one trillion dollars. So to fight back a group of German teenagers have started an online program called “Foodsharing.”  read more »

Libraries are looking for more readers and they’re getting creative.

One library in Scotland recently celebrated “love your library day.” And in addition to the books, reading and games there was pole dancing. To drum up interest the library hired a local pole dancing instructor to come teach a free class. And officials say it was a hit with a full class that included a police officer and a few men.

They say the pole dancing was a fun and interesting way to bring more people in, try out all the services and ultimately borrow more books. And this isn’t the first time higher ups have turned to the pole for a little more business.  read more »