I want to talk about marketing production quality and how Miss Dewey lacks it. If you haven’t seen this site yet, it’s basically a search engine with a saucy librarian standing there being snarky and clever on occasion. If you don’t get around to typing in a search she’ll try to get your attention.
Quite annoying, really.
Does this novelty attract anyone? Sure. For the first visit. Do people come back again and again? No effing way.
Why not?
Humor works sparingly
Humor, as a marketing tool, gets old very quickly. Some people can execute humor extremely well. They end up making Miller Lite Commercials. But, do you see the same funny commercial more than once or twice during a football game? No way. The humor wears off and people become annoyed. Think of the Superbowl Commercials that get reused dozens of times for weeks after the game. You start to hate them pretty quickly.
The same goes for Dewey. She’ll grab a lot of quick attention but there’s no reason for me to go back and hear the same five witticisms on loop.
Quality over novelty
Here’s a fun bonus: turn up your volume when she begins talking and listen closely. You can hear the producers in the background (‘and… action’). They even talk to her (‘show me some more pouty… aw…’). How many people ignored that? That seems like a big oversight on someone’s part. I’d be embarrassed to put something like that on the web.
And that’s saying a lot given last my previous production!
Sure, the site probably didn’t take much time to make. Unfortunately, it shows. I think this is a pretty simplistic attempt at something ‘viral’ and so far it’s worked. But who did this, and why would they?
How to improve
Raise your hand if you enjoy Clippy.
Anyone with marketing sense would realize this is a terrible idea. First, where’s the value-added? It’s a talking search box on loop. Personally, I’d make her a lot more inappropriate. Suddenly an annoying gimmick becomes entertainment. That’s better execution. Godaddy used it and it seemed to work for them.
EVB messed up
This surprises me: after some quick research the company behind this site is EVB. They’ve made some great stuff and were even honored at SXSW for their work. EVB claims to “deliver entertaining and engaging content that connects with consumers” but I don’t see it in this site. I see an attempt to deliver something more personal (someone talking to me) and dynamic (my input or lack thereof initiates action from her).
But, overall, it’s lame. Daniel, if you’re listening, provide some insight, please?
I felt the pimp hand rising. That site is horribly annoying.
Until you type in ‘nude’ ;-)
I hate so terribly web sites that try to talk to me. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been idly browsing and then had the shit scared out of me when some idiotic marketer comes on to sell me something.
Btw, I notice in your recent 9rules posting that you enjoy stuffonmycat.com… I’m sure that you’ve heard about Caturday before – right? I’ve got an archive page up that you may enjoy at “http://phantomdata.ath.cx:8082/caturday.php”. Enjoy lots of cats!
Yeah, I guess this turns out to be a Microsoft (Live Search) push. Like I said, the virility certainly worked, right?
Caturday.. that’s awesome. Thanks, Jordan!
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It doesn’t cache the flash either (at least for me it doesn’t) which is BRUTAL.
Yeah, for a company that specializes in flash sites it seems pretty bloated. Maybe that’s the Microsoft aspect. ;-)
I am not sure why Microsoft is trying to play catch up in the search game with shit like this. Their forte has always been building software people need. Why didn’t they skip the search and start developing an online office suite 5 years ago?
Hah no kidding. They’ve always been in the catch-up business though. Then again, office and search are separate, they could’ve done both, right? ;)
I find you a bit harsh on Ms Dewey. Although I tend to agree with you about the long term value of such a site, it seems quite clear to me that its goal is to “hit the web” on a very short-term basis, nothing more.
Besides, Ms Dewey has a great asset imho: Ms Dewey ! I mean that credits should definitly be given to the actress. She’s pretty without being the hottest item on the web, but much more than that, she’s an excellent actress.
In a word, kudos to the flesh and bones Ms Dewey, at the very least !
Ed
PS: did you notice new content’s constantly being added to the flash animation ?
I agree, the actress (Janina Gavankar) is pretty good but the idea behind it is not. Who wants short term results? Seems wasteful.
MISSDEWEY.COM has a malicious undertone.
Why?
Because immediately that you connect to MISSDEWEY on port 80, she downloads an applet that reconnects to port 1935. The site then immediately attempts to establish a TCP connection to a random port on your computer–while MSSDEWEY is entertaining you. In the meantime, asynchronous to any search argument you enter, she connects to you for an unknown purpose.
What is MISSDEWEY doing? Why does MISSDEWEY need to reconnect to you, without your knowing about it? I suspect MiSSDEWEY is entertaining you while she is collecting information (or possibly planting spyware)
Here is a log of MISSDEWEY’s doings (in the log, the blocked incoming connections are from MISSDEWEY:
Local computer is xx.xxx.xxx.71
MISSDEWEY is 209.8.48.169
2006/11/07 8:33:39 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2455, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:33:40 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2456, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:33:40 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2457, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:33:40 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:33:40 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2460, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:33:40 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2461, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:33:40 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:33:43 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2460, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:33:43 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:33:43 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
2006/11/07 8:33:43 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
2006/11/07 8:33:44 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
2006/11/07 8:33:45 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:33:49 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2460, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:33:49 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:33:49 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:33:51 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:34:01 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.48.169, sport=2460, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:34:01 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:34:02 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:34:03 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:34:25 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:34:27 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:11 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=206.188.30.110, sport=2463, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:35:13 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2456.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:14 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2468, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:35:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.48.169, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2460.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2469, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:35:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2472, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:35:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2474, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:35:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:16 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:16 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:18 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2474, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:35:18 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:19 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:19 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:20 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:20 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:24 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2474, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:35:24 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
2006/11/07 8:35:24 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
2006/11/07 8:35:25 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
2006/11/07 8:35:25 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:26 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:36 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2474, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:35:37 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:35:37 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:38 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:38 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
2006/11/07 8:35:38 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:02 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:02 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:12 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=206.188.30.110, sport=2476, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:36:14 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2477, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:36:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2480, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:36:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2482, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:36:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2477.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2482.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:15 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2483, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:36:17 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2482, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:36:18 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2483, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:36:18 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2482.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:19 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2477.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:23 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2482, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:36:24 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2482.
Last message repeated 5 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:25 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2477.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:36 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2482, dport=1935.
2006/11/07 8:36:36 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2482.
Last message repeated 5 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:37 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2477.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:50 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2469.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:36:50 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2474.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:37:00 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 15] Connection Attempt: src=xx.xxx.xxx.71, dst=209.8.49.168, sport=2485, dport=80.
2006/11/07 8:37:00 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2482.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:37:01 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2477.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:37:48 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2482.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
2006/11/07 8:37:49 PM GMT -0500: El90x1[Ref# 1212] Blocking incoming TCP: src=209.8.49.168, dst=xx.xxx.xxx.71, sport=1935, dport=2477.
Last message repeated 2 more times.
I could be wrong, but it seems to me MISSDEWEY is crooked.
Easy there cowboys and cowgirls, Miss Dewey is fine. The interface is really neat, plus she’s yummy….in a way.
Neat? Sure. Useful? Hardly. That’s my point. It’s a gimmick and offers us nothing. You can find yummy women elsewhere, you don’t need it coupled with a search engine, do you?
Okay, Port 1935 has been assigned by IANA to Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX. Nonetheless, Ms Dewey fires up and begins to perform even without a successful connection to 1935. So, what is the need for the Flash Communication Server. I would prefer that the owners of the site post information about the use of flash before I lower my shields.
Bo.
She is soooo cute… TRY THE SAME SEARCH 5 or 10 times…. for example …..SEX, DILDO, ASS or even better ashole…. she’s going crazy and she become very VULGAR……
Bo, you’re new to Flash aren’t you? idiot.
Dear Narg,
No, I’m not a newbie in any sense. I just don’t usually look at the mechanics of protocols unless I need to (to protect my computer). I am however, very new to this site and will not post any further comments to draw the derision of such superior persons as yourself.
I don’t think personal attacks are necessary. Seems like Bo was being a bit investigative and I admit I learned something here today. :-)
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Wow, a lot of Dewey-haters out there.
I for one am pretty impressed with this site, although I have to admit it is my 1st visit, and I didn’t have the volume up high enough to hear the crew directions in the background…
Flawed execution aside, I was blown away by the idea behind it – true, there’s a limit to how many skits you can launch with, but I feel that the ‘stickiness’ for a site like this stems from the entertainment factor, as well as a search engine that increases with personal relevance over time. If the site learns personal preferences, and can begin serving increasingly relevant search results (and possibly even video clips, like a personal greeting), characters like Ms. Dewey could be garnering more of my, ahem, attention