Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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• U.S. Mint Runs Out of Smallest American Eagle Gold Coin; Is There a Shortage of Physical Gold? Coordinated Smackdown by Naked Shorts?
• Germany Private Sector Output Declines First Time Since November; Eurozone Activity Declines 19th Time in 20 Months
• Wine Country Conference "Opening Remarks" Video Posted
• Political Prediction: Merkel Loses Chancellorship in September as Support for AfD Soars

U.S. Mint Runs Out of Smallest American Eagle Gold Coin; Is There a Shortage of Physical Gold? Coordinated Smackdown by Naked Shorts? Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:21 PM PDT Demand for gold coins has surged following the record price plunge in gold last week. Demand is so high that the U.S. Mint Runs Out of Smallest American Eagle Gold Coin. The U.S. Mint ran out its smallest American Eagle gold coin after demand surged following the biggest drop in futures prices in 33 years. Sales of the coins weighing a 10th of an ounce were suspended after demand more than doubled in 2013 from a year earlier, the Mint said today in a statement. Total sales of American Eagles in April have almost tripled from a month earlier, according to Mint data on the website. On April 15, gold futures in New York plunged 9.3 percent, the most since 1980. Retail sales and jewelry demand soared in India, the world's top buyer, and China, the second-biggest. Coin sales also surged in Australia. The Mint also sells 22-karat American Eagle coins of 1 ounce, half an ounce and a quarter of an ounce. The U.S. Mint suspended sales of silver coins in January for more than a week because of lack of inventory. Sales of the coins jumped to a record that month. Bullish or Bearish? It's possible to make a bullish or bearish argument out of this shortage. The bullish argument is simple: demand is strong. The bearish argument is small investors are a contrarian indicator just as they were with silver in January. I am not taking a short-term stance one way or another, so don't ask. I do like my chances longer-term as I explained at the Wine Country Conference. See Mike "Mish" Shedlock: A Brief Lesson in History. Shortage of Physical Gold? Some writers have spun this story into the message there is a shortage of physical gold. No there isn't. There is a temporary shortage of certain coins, no more no less. Divergence Between Physical Gold and Paper Gold? Other writers have noticed the price premium on small denomination coins and concluded there is some sort of "divergence between physical gold and paper gold". Once again, that's nonsense. Premiums on small denomination coins is not the same a general premium on physical gold itself. How do I know? Easy: If I went to buy or sell at GoldMoney (and GoldMoney only deals in physical metals with allocated, audited storage), I would pay the same small markup as before, based on the current futures price. Here is another way to tell. Go buy or sell a one ounce bar and see how much it costs or how much you can get. Here's a hint: your selling price will not fetch $1900 as it once did, nor would it cost you over $1900 to buy. Smackdown by Naked Shorts? Many claim blatant manipulation by naked shorts. Mercy! Under this theory, shorts piled on to the tune of 163,000 gold futures. Really? Keith Weiner tackles that theory for the Acting Man Blog in The Last Contango. Here is the pertinent chart. Weiner asks "If someone had sold 163,000 futures to cause the price to drop, then wouldn't the open interest [in futures] have risen? If Santa went down chimneys, wouldn't there be soot on his red and white uniform?" The answer to both questions is of course "yes". Instead, the chart shows a 16,000 open interest drop in gold futures and a 12,000 drop in silver futures. Ignore the Hype in Both Directions Bulls blame every drop on manipulation and frequently tout preposterous price targets. Bears cite jewelry demand and other nonsense as if it's important (and it isn't). It is best to ignore the hype and silliness on both sides. Fundamentally, what has changed? I suggest nothing. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Germany Private Sector Output Declines First Time Since November; Eurozone Activity Declines 19th Time in 20 Months Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:18 PM PDT As expected in this corner, the Markit Flash Germany PMI® shows German private sector output declines for first time since November 2012. Key Points: Flash Germany Composite Output Index(1) at 48.8 (50.6 in March), 6-month low. Flash Germany Services Activity Index(2) at 49.2 (50.9 in March), 6-month low. Flash Germany Manufacturing PMI(3) at 47.9 (49.0 in March), 4-month low. Flash Germany Manufacturing Output Index(4) at 47.9 (50.0 in March), 4-month low. PMI vs. GDP Lower levels of private sector business activity reflected a decrease in new order volumes for the second successive month during April. The overall pace of contraction was the steepest since October 2012, largely driven by a marked decrease in new work received by service providers. Manufacturing new orders dropped at the fastest pace so far this year but, in contrast to the service sector, the rate of new business decline remained slower than on average in 2012. In the manufacturing sector, new export orders declined at the most marked pace so far in 2013, but the rate of contraction was slightly slower than seen for overall new work. April data suggested a general lack of pressure on operating capacity in the German private sector, as backlogs of work decreased for the twenty-second month running. The current period of declining work-in-hand but not yet completed) is the longest since this series began over 10 years ago. Eurozone Activity Declines 19th Time in 20 Months The Markit Flash Eurozone PMI® shows Eurozone suffers ongoing downturn in April. Key Points: Flash Eurozone PMI Composite Output Index at 46.5 (46.5 in March). Flash Eurozone Services PMI Activity Index at 46.6 (46.4 in March). Two-month high. Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI at 46.5 (46.8 in March). Four-month low. Flash Eurozone Manufacturing PMI Output Index at 46.3 (46.7 in March). Four-month low. GDP vs. PMI Summary: The Markit Eurozone PMI® Composite Output Index was unchanged on March's reading of 46.5 in April, according to the flash estimate. The sub-50 reading indicated a drop in activity for the nineteenth time in the past 20 months, the exception being a marginal increase in January 2012. Activity fell sharply again in both manufacturing and services. While the former saw the steepest rate of decline for four months, the latter saw the downturn ease slightly compared with March. New business fell for the twenty-first successive month, with the rate of deterioration accelerating for the third month in a row to signal the steepest decline since December. Marked falls were seen in both manufacturing and services. The ongoing deterioration in the order book pipeline prompted firms to cut payroll numbers for the sixteenth month running. The rate of job losses accelerated slightly on March, reflecting stronger rates of job shedding in both manufacturing and services. Wishin' and Hopin' Those wishing and hoping that Germany was going to remain divergent from the rest of the eurozone can now safely toss that notion on the scrapheap of foolish ideas. As I have been saying, at some point Germany will start a steep acceleration of the overall eurozone recession. That time may be at hand now. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Wine Country Conference "Opening Remarks" Video Posted Posted: 23 Apr 2013 07:21 PM PDT My opening remarks for the Wine Country Conference are available at Wine Country Conference Speaker Presentations. Unlike the speaker presentations, my opening speech is a short 7 minutes or so. We are making a couple of video presentations available each week for three weeks. John Hussman's presentation "An Unstable Equilibrium" was posted last week. My presentation "A Brief Lesson in History" is also available. Speaker presentation material, Yahoo! Finance media interviews, and associated articles on Advisor Perspectives are now available online at Wine Country Conference Speaker Slides. If you enjoy the videos and slides please consider making a Donation to the Les Turner ALS Foundation. Specify "Mish Campaign" on the donation to earmark funds for research. All told, we raised nearly $500,000 for ALS research, subject to final audit. $100,000 of that came from a very generous matching donation from the Hussman Foundation. Thanks again for a successful 2013 WCC and we look forward to many more! The 2014 conference will raise money for autism research and programs. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Political Prediction: Merkel Loses Chancellorship in September as Support for AfD Soars Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:18 AM PDT Now that we have an Understanding of German Political Parties let's consider some scenarios from reader Bernd who lives in Germany about how the election on September 22 plays out. In past elections, as many as 40% of the eligible population did not vote. This brings a very large pool of voters that may turn out for the anti-Euro AfD party. Bernd comments "All indications show that AfD has a huge potential to convert nonvoters to voters. If election turnout is high, seats in Parliament may look drastically different than today." For the past two weeks I have been watching the iPhone app Wahl-O-Meter and AfD has risen from 5% of the vote to 6.6% now. Not only has AfD been rising, but today is the first day I have seen AfD above Die Linke. In the same timeframe, support for FDP has been sinking. FDP is right on the bubble, polling 5% down from 5.4% or so. It takes 5% of the vote to stay in parliament. This is significant because FDP currently has the third largest representation in parliament and is the junior partner in Merkel's existing CDU/CSU/FDP coalition. The very real danger to Merkel is FDP goes to zero percent representation. In theory CDU, CSU, and SPD could easily form a coalition that totals over 50% of parliament. However, the SPD political party leadership has ruled out a coalition government that includes Merkel as chancellor. AfD Support Rises to 19% in Handelsblatt Online Poll Via Google translate, please note 19 percent would vote for the anti-euro party. The new anti-euro party alternative for Germany (AFD) has a good chance to collect in autumn in the Bundestag. The result of a representative survey of online market research company market research on behalf of Handelsblatt Online. 19.2 percent of the 1,003 respondents affirmed therefore the question of whether they would give the party their vote in the general election (24.9 percent of men and 14.8 percent of women). 54.6 percent of respondents (56.7 percent of men, 53 percent of women) would not choose the AFD on the other hand, 26 percent of respondents stated that they have not made a choice decision (18.4 percent of men, 32.2 percent of women). Their greatest potential voters, the party in the 46 - to 65-year-olds: 23.1 percent of this age group, the AFD would give their vote (in the 31 - to 45-year-olds: 19.3 percent among 18 - to 30 - year: 14.2 percent). Online polls are notoriously inaccurate, so the key takeaway is continually rising interest. A few weeks ago many news agencies were stating AfD would not reach the five percent threshold. Bernd and I think 12% or more is easily achievable. With that backdrop out of the way, let's take a look at reader Bernd's speculative estimates for the September election. Bernd's Speculative Estimates CDU/CSU: 36% SPD: 23% Grünen: 13% AfD: 12% Die Linke: 06%       FDP: 04% Piraten: 03% Others: 03% Should that scenario or any close approximation play out, it will be quite difficult for Merkel to stay in power. A "natural coalition" between CDU/CSU and AfD could in theory work, and it might not take 50% of the popular vote to form such a coalition on account of the parties losing representation. Yet, even in such scenario, the price to pay for CDU/CSU would likely be Merkel's chancellorship. Bernd outlines four possibilities Four Possibilities SPD, CDU, CSU form a coalition in which Merkel steps aside or is forced out. SPD forms a coalition with half term Merkel (CDU) and half term Steinbrück (SPD) as chancellor. The politics splinters as happened in Italy with unknown effects for the coming government. CDU/CSU and AfD form a coalition under a new and unknown chancellor. Together they reform EU politics. Bernd states option four would be ideal but right now such a possibility is wishful thinking as opposed to a strong likelihood. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

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Damn Cool Pics

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• Forgotten Actors from the Past
• Pablo Escobar's Abandoned Safari Park
• Angry Geese
• 10 Reasons Why You'll be Buried Alive [Infographic]

Forgotten Actors from the Past Posted: 23 Apr 2013 12:42 PM PDT Actors and actresses who never managed to become real stars. Bradley Pierce (Jumanji) 1995 Alisan Porter (Curly Sue) 1991 Amber Scott (Hook) 1991 Amy O'Neill (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) 1989 Ariana Richards (Jurrasic Park) 1993 Barret Oliver (The Neverending Story) 1984 Brian Bonsall (Blank Check) 1994 Carrie Henn (Aliens) 1986 Danny Cooksey (Terminator 2) 1991 Edward Furlong (Terminator 2) 1991

Pablo Escobar's Abandoned Safari Park Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:07 AM PDT Hacienda Nápoles was previously owned by the 1980′s most prominent cocaine supplier Pablo Escobar. Looks like these guys liked to have a jolly old time.

Angry Geese Posted: 23 Apr 2013 11:00 AM PDT Don't mess with nesting Canada geese.

10 Reasons Why You'll be Buried Alive [Infographic] Posted: 23 Apr 2013 10:07 AM PDT Producing more trash than any other country in the world, America throws away more than 500 billion pounds of trash per year, with each person throwing a stunning 4.4 pounds of trash away per day. Did you know that 1 plastic bottle takes 700 years to begin composting? Read on to discover more shocking facts in the "10 Reasons Why You'll be Buried Alive" infographic from KirbyBuilt. Click on Image to Enlarge. Via kirbybuilt

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Transmedia Storytelling: Building Worlds For and With Fans

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Transmedia Storytelling: Building Worlds For and With Fans Posted: 22 Apr 2013 07:13 PM PDT Posted by gfiorelli1 John loves Batman. He's collected comics since he was nine years old, is proud of owning the first edition of Gotham by Gaslight, and still remembers the afternoons spent watching the TV series with Adam West at home when he was a kid. Obviously, he has seen all the movies. The Dark Knight was a masterpiece; the I believe in Harvey Dent web campaign and the Joker counter site were pure genius, as were all the other sites created for that movie. The passion John has for Batman is such that he could not resist, and ended up buying some action figures, Batman Arkham City, and the Batman Lego video games, too. But John is especially proud of the two short stories he wrote and published in Fan Fiction. Seriously, John loves the universe of the Batman stories. This universe is the consequence of the most complex and exciting expression of our culture nowadays: Transmedia Storytelling. What is it Transmedia Storytelling? Henry Jenkins presented the idea of Transmedia Storytelling for the first time in 2003 in the MIT Technology Review magazine. The idea can be defined as a story that unfolds across multiple media outlets and platforms, and in which a portion of the end users take an active role in the process of expansion. Transmedia Storytelling tends to be mistaken for Cross Media, which can be defined as one story - rather than different ones pertaining to the same narrative universe - narrated through different media channels. Although, nowadays the two terms are used almost as if they were synonyms.  In the same semantic galaxy, we can find concepts like: Multiple platforms (or multi-device) Intertextual commodity Transmedial narrative Transmedial worlds The characteristics of Transmedia Storytelling Spreadability vs. drillability Spreadability refers to the expansion of a narrative through viral practices in social networks and the Web. Drillability is the task of penetration into the audience the producer develops to find the core of the fan base of his work; those ones who will disseminate and expand the transmedia productions. Continuity vs. multiplicity Transmedia worlds must have a continuity across the different languages and platforms that are used. For example, we expect Indiana Jones to behave in the same way as in a movie as in a video game. This continuity is complemented by multiplicity, which is the creation of seemingly incoherent narrative experiences related to the original narrative world. The Gotham by Gaslight comic cited before is a good example of multiplicity. Immersion vs. extractability Transmedia stories almost always offer to their consumer the opportunity to immerse themselves in their worlds (an example are the games inspired by a series or film or novel). On the other hand, the gadgets allow us to extract elements of the story and bring them to our everyday life. A special type of extractability is the reverse product-placement (for instance, the Duff beer of The Simpsons). World building As any other form of storytelling, Transmedia Storytelling presents a narrative world, which requires the suspension of disbelief by the user. This suspension is more effective the more detailed the narrative world is. Details like Sherlock Holmes playing a Stradivarius or snorting a line of cocaine are those giving verisimilitude to the narrative world. Inception, somehow, described well how the Transmedia professionals see themselves as World Building Architects. Seriality Transmedia storytelling is dispersive, and by its nature tends to be serial. The seriality is not linear, but becomes an hypertextual network. Subjectivity In Transmedia, the presence of multiple subjectivities is common. Therefore, Transmedia tends to enhance the polyphony caused by the large number of characters and stories. A classic example was Lost. Performance The actions of the consumers are essential as the fans are evangelists. Some of them - like our John - give the next step and become prosumers (producer + consumer), and do not hesitate in creating new texts and add them to further expand the boundaries of the original narrative world. Just think what would be Star Trek without the Trekkers. Transmedia, which was at first a pop culture new form of storytelling spontaneously originated in the entertainment industry, is now spread and common in fields like journalisms and, for some years now. It's a form of branding. This sophisticated form of marketing, which we'll call "Inbound Square," has a rather complex creation process, such that I decided to present it in a more "digestible" Slideshare. Transmedia Storytelling from Gianluca Fiorelli The Transmedia prototype: Star Wars The Transmedia expansion of Star Wars began immediately after its premiere on May 25, 1977. In July of the same year, Marvel published the first Star Wars comic, and even though the first six numbers reflected what was seen in the movies,  new situations started being presented from the seventh number onwards. In 1978, the first novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye - a spin-off based on an early version of the script - was published. But it wasn't until 1987, with the commercialization of the  Star Wars roleplaying game, that George Lucas created what is known as the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It covers about 4,000 thousand years of history of that "galaxy far far away" and is not public (the Encyclopedia section of the official Star Wars site is not the same). From that moment, the flood of products began: video games (from X-Wing to the Old Republic MMORPG), the Director's Cut of the first trilogy, the new trilogy, cartoons series, new comics, new novels, and even radio versions. Star Wars is also paradigmatic of the relationship between the producer (George Lucas) and the fans, who (from one side) have taken possession of the Star Wars universe from the beginning, while (from the other side) George Lucas tried for a long time to keep under strict control the expansion of the universe of the Star Wars narrative with actions such as The Official Star Wars Fan Film Awards (here you can see some of those fans creations).  It is humanly impossible to monitor and classify all the variants that fans have created within the narrative universe of Star Wars, such as the stories published on Fanfiction.com, sites like Death Star PR, Twitter bots like Yoda, photos using the action figures, and all kinds of videos published on YouTube. The fans have created content ranging from the staid tribute to parody itself, like this hilarious Lego video based on the Eddie Izzard gag of the Death Star canteen: Transmedia Storytelling gives gigantic opportunities, which is why it can help explain the acquisition of Lucas Films by Disney and that J.J. Abrams, creator of now classic Transmedia example as Lost and Fringe (and director of the revamped Star Trek movies series) was chosen as the director of the next trilogy. Transmedia and Hollywood The relationship between the producer and the fans is critical to the success of any Transmedia Storytelling strategy, and Hollywood has understood its implications the best so far. A good, recent example is The Hunger Games movie trilogy.  I strongly suggest you to recover the post that Bryden McGrath wrote for Portent: 44 Ways 'The Hunger Games' Social Media Campaign Increased the Movie's Odds of Success. What Bryden defines as a "social media campaign" really is the "spreadability" social side of the transmedia campaign that Ignition created for Lions Gate, the film's producer: The Hunger Games Case Study from Ignition on Vimeo. This campaign has just been relaunched last week, with the presentation of the first trailer of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. This time, a new site was created in partnership with Microsoft Internet Explorer, The Hunger Games Explorer, which works as a hub for all the sites and social media profiles used in this transmedia experience (check the Capitol.pn official site..., or its Google+ page). Another great - and maybe more complete - example of Transmedia Storytelling is that Ridley Scott and (again) Ignition created for Prometheus last year. This video below explains (better than I can) why it was created, how it was structured, what channels were used, and the results it obtained: Prometheus Transmedia Campaign from Ignition on Vimeo. I'm sure that many of you remember having seen some of the things Campfire created for the transmedia campaign preview of the first season of Games of Thrones on HBO. Game of Thrones Case Study from Campfire on Vimeo. Here's the big question: can only big major movies or tv series do transmedia? Absolutely not. An example is the Veronica Mars Movie Project, which two weeks ago closed its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, all based on fans and social media, after managing to accumulate $5,702,153. Transmedia journalism Journalism - real journalism - is storytelling. There is no discussion about that, as it was well explained in Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writer’s Guide published by the Nieman Foundation. Transmedia storytelling is the next logical step that journalism has already done (not always perfectly). Remember that: In transmedia, a story is narrated among different media channels and platforms. Prosumers actively participate in the construction of the narrative world. Here's a more recent example about a world event that shook many people in many countries. Do you remember how the world discovered that Osama Bin Laden was dead? Here's how it went down: "Helicopter hovering above Abbottabad at 1AM (is a rare event)." — Sohaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual) 01 maggio 2011 Not long after, when the entire Internet was discussing the news, Keith Urbhan launched this tweet: "So I'm told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn." — Keith Urbahn (@keithurbahn) 02 maggio 2011 Check out the post Gilad Lotan wrote on Social Flow to understand the social earthquake that tweet caused. President Obama announced the news of the Osama Bin Laden death an hour later, and after his announcement, it became known that many people in many countries already knew through social media. From that moment, the journalistic storytelling (as well as continuing in social networks) expanded in the news portals, televisions, radios, and, of course, the printed paper. This event relied on transmedia, was "organic," and was unplanned (obviously), but nontheless, it was transmedia. Transmedia journalism, which is well explained by Kevin Moloney in is thesis Porting Transmedia Storytelling to Journalism (2011), substantially means that the news must generate a space, which allows the active participation of the readers/viewers. It is not surprising, nowadays, seeing how much this interaction between the journalists and the readers is central in the news industry. Transmedia journalism can take many different forms, but all must see the reader - meant as a free citizen - as a contributor in the creation and storytelling of news: Great examples of Transmedia journalism can be find in sites like 18 day in Egypt or Storify.  Transmedia branding Do you remember the concept of Liquid Content promoted by Coca Cola? Well, that is nothing but the Coca Cola definition of Transmedia Storytelling. Brands have found a naturally ally for their marketing efforts in transmedia (and crossmedia) for years. Think to the Art of Heist ARG created for the launch of Audi 3 in the USA, to the first Old Spice campaign or, more recently, to the Daybreak transmedia campaign created for AT&T, which shows five online movies, two websites (you can discover the second almost in the footer of the fist), and an app. Another example is Dove's extremely recent Real Beauty Sketches campaign created by Ogilvy Brasil, which cannot be defined really as transmedia, but that showcases the transmedia spirit: narrating a story, which represents the brand's world ("Real Beauty") to its fans (women just as they are) by using channels likes online video, a microsite, and social networks (Facebook, especially). The purpose was to create a public, yet intimate dialogue with the fans, and the campaign surely obtained that objective. It did so well that it already has originated a parody: You can read here more about the story behind the Dove's campaign.  I can imagine the doubts you may have in your mind: a narrative world is easier when you have a movie, a series, a book, or news, but what about my website? What about my bolts and rolled aluminum factory? I understand your hesitations, but the answer is that you are probably searching in the wrong place. All brands have a story, and the basis of their stories are in their mission pages, that you usually forget exists. Let's take two example: REI and our own SEOmoz. REI has created all its business, and marketing, around few very clear values: (Image taken from How to Build SEO into Content Strategy, by Jonathon Colman) Those values, the REI's "Why," define the narrative world of REI, which is shared by more than five million members of the Company (REI is a cooperative).  We have a narrative world through of outdoor adventure, environmentalism, and stewardship, along with a gigantic base of brand evangelists who not only share what REI does (and sells), but create their own narratives inside the REI's world. That is the base from where Transmedia Storytelling can be built, and REI seems to be moving towards it with ideas like the REI 1440 Project, the REI Members Stories YouTube videos. They also have a presence in Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and all their IRL events (i.e.: Learn at REI and Travel with REI).  What about SEOmoz? Moz could do transmedia, and actually (without maybe knowing it) it does it, because - as I told before - transmedia is the "Inbound Square." Moz has built its story around the 6 TAGFEE Tenets; has built a community of entusiastic people (yes, you!) around its tools and Internet marketing philosophy; and a narrative world, which evolves thanks to the fans, both internally (YouMoz, QA) and externally (check the Mozscape API's Gallery).  The world of fans that SEOmoz nurtures with gamification (one of the experience principle of transmedia) and live events like MozCon, meet-ups, and MozCation is the most transmedia campaign SEOmoz has created so far. And, finally and importantly, Moz has Roger. Conclusion People have always needed stories to communicate and feel connected, and good stories always become part of our history and our culture. The most recognized brands have one thing in common: they all tell a story. But something is changing. Never before have people had so many devices and screens from which to follow a story, and now the consumers seek new experiences and a deeper engagement. The stories are formed and followed differently than before. In order to be relevant for a hyper-connected generation and be present in its life, we need: Liquid and customizable content to distribute by any means available. Different levels of depth in the story made ​​for different levels of depth of user involvement. A consistent message, where each piece feeds the story and the conversation with the audience continuously. What we need is Transmedia Storytelling, a process where the elements of a story are dispensed each other through multiple distribution channels with the purpose of creating a unified entertainment experience, where each medium really makes its own contribution to the development of the story. Transmedia Storytelling is a very powerful and immersive persuasion tool, a fans-generating machine, because it creates a strong emotional connection with the audience. It is profitable because it redefines and increases ROI, increases impact over media, and can cause exceptional sources of income. Transmedia Storytelling, finally, is the best and most effective way to connect (especially) with the new generations of consumers and build a sustainable audience around a brand, as Red Bull demonstrated. So... are you ready to tell your story? Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

April Mozscape Index Is Live Posted: 22 Apr 2013 06:40 AM PDT Posted by bradfriedman Hello Mozzers, and happy Monday! My name is Brad Friedman, Technical Lead for Mozscape, and I'm happy to announce that we've released a brand new Mozscape index for April. You can find fresh, new data across all of our apps. Check out Open Site Explorer, the Mozbar, your PRO campaigns, and the Mozscape API. We've reduced our index crawl time to just eleven days for this release! Thanks to our Big Data wizards on the processing team, Douglas Vojir and Martin York, for improving the freshness of our metrics! You can read more details on our technical improvements in this post from February. We started processing this index on Wednesday, April 10, so the metrics will reflect crawl data from the end of March and the first week of April. Here are the numbers for this latest index: 88,973,525,592 (88 billion) URLs 9,077,621,093 (9.1 billion) Subdomains 161,124,038 (161 million) Root Domains 887,067,310,285 (887 billion) Links Followed vs. Nofollowed 2.15% of all links found were nofollowed 56.0% of nofollowed links are internal 44.0% are external Rel Canonical - 15.08% of all pages use a rel=canonical tag The average page has 76 links on it 65.05 internal links 11.02 external links And these are the correlations with Google's US search results: Page Authority - 0.36 Domain Authority - 0.19 MozRank - 0.24 Linking Root Domains - 0.30 Total Links - 0.25 External Links - 0.29 All this delicious data! What a great way to start off the week, huh? Follow our planned update schedule on our Mozscape calendar, and you can check out the metrics on our previous releases here. We're happy to answer your questions or read your feedback! Feel free to leave your comments here on this thread, or you can reach me on Twitter (@brad_friedman). Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

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