Facebook Aims to Extend Its Reach Across the Web
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Facebook, the Internet’s largest social network, wants to let you take your friends with you as you travel the Web. But having been burned by privacy concerns in the last year, it plans to keep close tabs on those outings.
Facebook Connect, as the company’s new feature is called, allows its members to log onto other Web sites using their Facebook identification and see their friends’ activities on those sites. Like Beacon, the controversial advertising program that Facebook introduced and then withdrew last year after it raised a hullabaloo over privacy, Connect also gives members the opportunity to broadcast their actions on those sites to their friends on Facebook.
In the next few weeks, a number of prominent Web sites will weave this service into their pages, including those of the Discovery Channel and The San Francisco Chronicle, the social news site Digg, the genealogy network Geni and the online video hub Hulu.
Facebook Connect is representative of some surprising new thinking in Silicon Valley. Instead of trying to hoard information about their users, the Internet giants have all announced plans to share at least some of that data so people do not have to enter the same identifying information again and again on different sites.
Supporters of this idea say such programs will help with the emergence of a new “social Web,” because chatter among friends will infiltrate even sites that have been entirely unsociable thus far.
For example, a person might alert his Facebook friends to the fact that he is watching a video on CBS.com and invite them to join him there to watch together and discuss the video as it plays.
“Everyone is looking for ways to make their Web sites more social,” said Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer. “They can build their own social capabilities, but what will be more useful for them is building on top of a social system that people are already wedded to.”
MySpace, Yahoo and Google have all announced similar programs this year, using common standards that will allow other Web sites to reduce the work needed to embrace each identity system. Facebook, which is using its own data-sharing technology, is slightly ahead of its rivals.
Facebook, with 120 million members worldwide, has also been under extra pressure to get its revenue to match its media hype and membership growth. Responding to reports that Facebook was looking for more capital after raising $235 million last year, Ms. Sandberg said she would not rule that out. “There is a lot of interest in investing in us and we are always open to the right financing at the right price,” she said.
The most immediate challenge confronting Facebook is to create an enduring stream of advertising revenue.
A survey last week from the research firm IDC suggested that social networks were a miserable place for advertisers: just 57 percent of all users of social networks clicked on an ad in the last year, and only 11 percent of those clicks led to a purchase, IDC said. And it turns out that marketers are not so interested in advertising on pages filled with personal trivia and relationship updates.
This is where Facebook Connect could help. No money changes hands between Facebook and the sites using Connect, and executives are wary of discussing how it could bring in revenue. But there are some obvious possibilities.
Facebook has detailed information about its users: their real identities, what they like and dislike and whom they associate with. With a member’s permission, it could use that data to help other Web sites deliver more personalized ads. Similarly, those sites could tell Facebook what its users are doing elsewhere, helping to make its own ads more targeted.
“It’s becoming very clear that advertisers don’t know how to advertise on Facebook,” said Charlene Li, an independent consultant and social media analyst. “But if you take a group of Facebook friends and put them on a travel site where they are spending more time and generating more ad dollars in a focused area like travel, that is an opportunity ripe for getting revenues back and sharing it.”
Facebook executives argue that Connect will naturally increase traffic on the site and increase ad revenue as a result.
That reluctance is partly born of experience. Last year, Facebook was lambasted for its Beacon advertising program, which some thought failed to properly warn users that their actions on other sites were being shared on Facebook. Some users’ purchases on e-commerce sites, for example, were broadcast to their friends, in some cases spoiling gift plans.
As a result, Facebook executives have been exceedingly circumspect with Connect, introducing it slowly and pitching it as a privacy tool. They argue that it allows users to set their privacy settings once on Facebook and then apply them on other sites.
Facebook has also taken other precautions. According to staff members at the political advocacy group MoveOn.org, which led the charge against Beacon, Facebook executives gave them an early briefing this summer about Connect.
For now, Facebook is also carefully authorizing each partner in the Connect program and reviewing how it will use data on Facebook members and discuss the feature publicly. It plans to allow Web sites to register themselves for Connect, without having to seek approval, in the next few weeks.
When asked about the potential promises and pitfalls of Connect, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, said: “We want to make the experience as lightweight and easy to use as possible. But we also have to make sure that people understand what’s going on and have control over it.”
Executives at the social network MySpace, which has similar goals, are more outspoken in discussing their identification system.
“There are so many important issues to get right,” said Jason Oberfest, a vice president at MySpace. “Consumers need to understand where their data is going and how it’s being used.”
“Then, if we can get the privacy issues right, if it’s totally clear to the user what is happening, there is potential for advertising,” Mr. Oberfest added. “But certainly not without a lot of testing and consideration.”
Monday, December 1, 2008
Marketers Push for Mobile Tuesday as the New Black Friday
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Black friday and Cyber Monday have become retail mainstays, but Mobile Tuesday?
Recent economic woes have eliminated many marketers' ability to invest in emerging media. Still, aggressive mobile-marketing firms and major retailers are introducing programs meant to entice wary consumers this holiday season. One such program is the attempt to create yet another shopping holiday, Mobile Tuesday.
Mobigosee, a mobile-marketing firm, is moving forward with the launch of Mobile Tuesday on Dec. 2, despite the loss of major marketing partners whose budgets have been decimated by the recession. The concept was born out of research showing that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is a slow shopping day, as are many Tuesdays throughout the year, said Tanya Penman, founder-CEO of Mobigosee. Armed with that knowledge, the firm aims to encourage shopping with a mobile circular of sorts every Tuesday. An advertising campaign, including radio and outdoor media, will support the launch in 10 cities, in addition to an online presence.
Plans for Mobile Tuesday were well under way earlier this fall, with a major car company, as well as several well-known luxury brands and retailers signed on, Ms. Penman said. But those companies began pulling the plug on the program in September, putting off plans until next year.
Now Ms. Penman is attempting to launch Mobile Tuesday with just three marketers onboard: McDonald's, Finish Line and RedTag. The company is hoping to attract additional retailers with couponing strategies, in which Mobigosee is paid only when the mobile coupons are redeemed.
"Mobile is the natural next generation of shopping," Ms. Penman said. "We thought about waiting until next year, but ... our belief is there's a demand." She cited the rollout of mobile devices such as Apple's iPhone 3G, BlackBerry's Bold and HTC's G1, as well as consumers' desire for coupons and deals this holiday season.
So far, 18,000 people have signed up for Mobile Tuesday updates, most through sites that leak Black Friday deals. Ms. Penman said the goal had been 5,000.
With plenty of numbers to support the argument for mobile marketing—there are 259 million wireless lines in the U.S., 69% of which are used for at least one data service, according to Nielsen Mobile—several major retailers also embarking on their own mobile campaigns.
Retailers including Gap and Sears are promoting mobile programs, believing they're an important tactic to reach harried and increasingly tech-savvy consumers during the holidays.
Gap created a free iPhone application that allows consumers to put together an outfit and then generate a gift list of the items. "With our target audience being that 25- to 35-year-old, we wanted to engage our customer where they're playing and really be where they are," said Ivy Ross, exec VP-Gap marketing.
JCPenney is using a WAP site to promote popular gifts and will be sending text-message alerts about sales. And Sears is pushing into the space with its first WAP site, sears2go.com. The site launched in November as a way to appeal to busy shoppers. Kmart, which is also owned by Sears Holdings, is a sponsor of the VH1 WAP site for the top 40 music videos of 2008.
"Even though you might not have the marketing spend that you'd like, you have to be sure you're approaching things from a multichannel perspective," said Tom Aiello, divisional VP-public relations at Sears Holdings. "We felt it was important to have a presence there so we could really engage consumers and get them used to engaging Sears and Kmart through those different channels."
Now isin't there a wow factor to all this...
You could read the article at http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=132861
Recent economic woes have eliminated many marketers' ability to invest in emerging media. Still, aggressive mobile-marketing firms and major retailers are introducing programs meant to entice wary consumers this holiday season. One such program is the attempt to create yet another shopping holiday, Mobile Tuesday.
Mobigosee, a mobile-marketing firm, is moving forward with the launch of Mobile Tuesday on Dec. 2, despite the loss of major marketing partners whose budgets have been decimated by the recession. The concept was born out of research showing that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is a slow shopping day, as are many Tuesdays throughout the year, said Tanya Penman, founder-CEO of Mobigosee. Armed with that knowledge, the firm aims to encourage shopping with a mobile circular of sorts every Tuesday. An advertising campaign, including radio and outdoor media, will support the launch in 10 cities, in addition to an online presence.
Plans for Mobile Tuesday were well under way earlier this fall, with a major car company, as well as several well-known luxury brands and retailers signed on, Ms. Penman said. But those companies began pulling the plug on the program in September, putting off plans until next year.
Now Ms. Penman is attempting to launch Mobile Tuesday with just three marketers onboard: McDonald's, Finish Line and RedTag. The company is hoping to attract additional retailers with couponing strategies, in which Mobigosee is paid only when the mobile coupons are redeemed.
"Mobile is the natural next generation of shopping," Ms. Penman said. "We thought about waiting until next year, but ... our belief is there's a demand." She cited the rollout of mobile devices such as Apple's iPhone 3G, BlackBerry's Bold and HTC's G1, as well as consumers' desire for coupons and deals this holiday season.
So far, 18,000 people have signed up for Mobile Tuesday updates, most through sites that leak Black Friday deals. Ms. Penman said the goal had been 5,000.
With plenty of numbers to support the argument for mobile marketing—there are 259 million wireless lines in the U.S., 69% of which are used for at least one data service, according to Nielsen Mobile—several major retailers also embarking on their own mobile campaigns.
Retailers including Gap and Sears are promoting mobile programs, believing they're an important tactic to reach harried and increasingly tech-savvy consumers during the holidays.
Gap created a free iPhone application that allows consumers to put together an outfit and then generate a gift list of the items. "With our target audience being that 25- to 35-year-old, we wanted to engage our customer where they're playing and really be where they are," said Ivy Ross, exec VP-Gap marketing.
JCPenney is using a WAP site to promote popular gifts and will be sending text-message alerts about sales. And Sears is pushing into the space with its first WAP site, sears2go.com. The site launched in November as a way to appeal to busy shoppers. Kmart, which is also owned by Sears Holdings, is a sponsor of the VH1 WAP site for the top 40 music videos of 2008.
"Even though you might not have the marketing spend that you'd like, you have to be sure you're approaching things from a multichannel perspective," said Tom Aiello, divisional VP-public relations at Sears Holdings. "We felt it was important to have a presence there so we could really engage consumers and get them used to engaging Sears and Kmart through those different channels."
Now isin't there a wow factor to all this...
You could read the article at http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=132861
Monday, November 17, 2008
Google Uses Searches to Track Flu’s Spread
SAN FRANCISCO — There is a new common symptom of the flu, in addition to the usual aches, coughs, fevers and sore throats. Turns out a lot of ailing Americans enter phrases like “flu symptoms” into Google and other search engines before they call their doctors.
That simple act, multiplied across millions of keyboards in homes around the country, has given rise to a new early warning system for fast-spreading flu outbreaks, called Google Flu Trends.
Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company’s philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In early February, for example, the C.D.C. reported that the flu cases had recently spiked in the mid-Atlantic states. But Google says its search data show a spike in queries about flu symptoms two weeks before that report was released. Its new service at google.org/flutrends analyzes those searches as they come in, creating graphs and maps of the country that, ideally, will show where the flu is spreading.
The C.D.C. reports are slower because they rely on data collected and compiled from thousands of health care providers, labs and other sources. Some public health experts say the Google data could help accelerate the response of doctors, hospitals and public health officials to a nasty flu season, reducing the spread of the disease and, potentially, saving lives.
“The earlier the warning, the earlier prevention and control measures can be put in place, and this could prevent cases of influenza,” said Dr. Lyn Finelli, lead for surveillance at the influenza division of the C.D.C. From 5 to 20 percent of the nation’s population contracts the flu each year, she said, leading to roughly 36,000 deaths on average.
The service covers only the United States, but Google is hoping to eventually use the same technique to help track influenza and other diseases worldwide.
“From a technological perspective, it is the beginning,” said Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive.
The premise behind Google Flu Trends — what appears to be a fruitful marriage of mob behavior and medicine — has been validated by an unrelated study indicating that the data collected by Yahoo, Google’s main rival in Internet search, can also help with early detection of the flu.
“In theory, we could use this stream of information to learn about other disease trends as well,” said Dr. Philip M. Polgreen, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa and an author of the study based on Yahoo’s data.
Still, some public health officials note that many health departments already use other approaches, like gathering data from visits to emergency rooms, to keeping daily tabs on disease trends in their communities.
“We don’t have any evidence that this is more timely than our emergency room data,” said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, assistant commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City.
If Google provided health officials with details of the system’s workings so that it could be validated scientifically, the data could serve as an additional, free way to detect influenza, said Dr. Mostashari, who is also chairman of the International Society for Disease Surveillance.
A paper on the methodology of Google Flu Trends is expected to be published in the journal Nature.
Researchers have long said that the material published on the Web amounts to a form of “collective intelligence” that can be used to spot trends and make predictions.
But the data collected by search engines is particularly powerful, because the keywords and phrases that people type into them represent their most immediate intentions. People may search for “Kauai hotel” when they are planning a vacation and for “foreclosure” when they have trouble with their mortgage. Those queries express the world’s collective desires and needs, its wants and likes.
Internal research at Yahoo suggests that increases in searches for certain terms can help forecast what technology products will be hits, for instance. Yahoo has begun using search traffic to help it decide what material to feature on its site.
Two years ago, Google began opening its search data trove through Google Trends, a tool that allows anyone to track the relative popularity of search terms. Google also offers more sophisticated search traffic tools that marketers can use to fine-tune ad campaigns. And internally, the company has tested the use of search data to reach conclusions about economic, marketing and entertainment trends.
“Most forecasting is basically trend extrapolation,” said Hal Varian, Google’s chief economist. “This works remarkably well, but tends to miss turning points, times when the data changes direction. Our hope is that Google data might help with this problem.”
Prabhakar Raghavan, who is in charge of Yahoo Labs and the company’s search strategy, also said search data could be valuable for forecasters and scientists, but privacy concerns had generally stopped it from sharing it with outside academics.
Google Flu Trends avoids privacy pitfalls by relying only on aggregated data that cannot be traced to individual searchers. To develop the service, Google’s engineers devised a basket of keywords and phrases related to the flu, including thermometer, flu symptoms, muscle aches, chest congestion and many others.
Google then dug into its database, extracted five years of data on those queries and mapped it onto the C.D.C.’s reports of influenzalike illness. Google found a strong correlation between its data and the reports from the agency, which advised it on the development of the new service.
“We know it matches very, very well in the way flu developed in the last year,” said Dr. Larry Brilliant, executive director of Google.org. Dr. Finelli of the C.D.C. and Dr. Brilliant both cautioned that the data needed to be monitored to ensure that the correlation with flu activity remained valid.
Google also says it believes the tool may help people take precautions if a disease is in their area.
Others have tried to use information collected from Internet users for public health purposes. A Web site called whoissick.org, for instance, invites people to report what ails them and superimposes the results on a map. But the site has received relatively little traffic.
HealthMap, a project affiliated with the Children’s Hospital Boston, scours the Web for articles, blog posts and newsletters to create a map that tracks emerging infectious diseases around the world. It is backed by Google.org, which counts the detection and prevention of diseases as one of its main philanthropic objectives.
But Google Flu Trends appears to be the first public project that uses the powerful database of a search engine to track a disease.
“This seems like a really clever way of using data that is created unintentionally by the users of Google to see patterns in the world that would otherwise be invisible,” said Thomas W. Malone, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. “I think we are just scratching the surface of what’s possible with collective intelligence.”
You could read the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html?_r=2&ref=health&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
or
for more on Google Flu trends please visit http://www.google.org/flutrends
That simple act, multiplied across millions of keyboards in homes around the country, has given rise to a new early warning system for fast-spreading flu outbreaks, called Google Flu Trends.
Tests of the new Web tool from Google.org, the company’s philanthropic unit, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In early February, for example, the C.D.C. reported that the flu cases had recently spiked in the mid-Atlantic states. But Google says its search data show a spike in queries about flu symptoms two weeks before that report was released. Its new service at google.org/flutrends analyzes those searches as they come in, creating graphs and maps of the country that, ideally, will show where the flu is spreading.
The C.D.C. reports are slower because they rely on data collected and compiled from thousands of health care providers, labs and other sources. Some public health experts say the Google data could help accelerate the response of doctors, hospitals and public health officials to a nasty flu season, reducing the spread of the disease and, potentially, saving lives.
“The earlier the warning, the earlier prevention and control measures can be put in place, and this could prevent cases of influenza,” said Dr. Lyn Finelli, lead for surveillance at the influenza division of the C.D.C. From 5 to 20 percent of the nation’s population contracts the flu each year, she said, leading to roughly 36,000 deaths on average.
The service covers only the United States, but Google is hoping to eventually use the same technique to help track influenza and other diseases worldwide.
“From a technological perspective, it is the beginning,” said Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive.
The premise behind Google Flu Trends — what appears to be a fruitful marriage of mob behavior and medicine — has been validated by an unrelated study indicating that the data collected by Yahoo, Google’s main rival in Internet search, can also help with early detection of the flu.
“In theory, we could use this stream of information to learn about other disease trends as well,” said Dr. Philip M. Polgreen, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa and an author of the study based on Yahoo’s data.
Still, some public health officials note that many health departments already use other approaches, like gathering data from visits to emergency rooms, to keeping daily tabs on disease trends in their communities.
“We don’t have any evidence that this is more timely than our emergency room data,” said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, assistant commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City.
If Google provided health officials with details of the system’s workings so that it could be validated scientifically, the data could serve as an additional, free way to detect influenza, said Dr. Mostashari, who is also chairman of the International Society for Disease Surveillance.
A paper on the methodology of Google Flu Trends is expected to be published in the journal Nature.
Researchers have long said that the material published on the Web amounts to a form of “collective intelligence” that can be used to spot trends and make predictions.
But the data collected by search engines is particularly powerful, because the keywords and phrases that people type into them represent their most immediate intentions. People may search for “Kauai hotel” when they are planning a vacation and for “foreclosure” when they have trouble with their mortgage. Those queries express the world’s collective desires and needs, its wants and likes.
Internal research at Yahoo suggests that increases in searches for certain terms can help forecast what technology products will be hits, for instance. Yahoo has begun using search traffic to help it decide what material to feature on its site.
Two years ago, Google began opening its search data trove through Google Trends, a tool that allows anyone to track the relative popularity of search terms. Google also offers more sophisticated search traffic tools that marketers can use to fine-tune ad campaigns. And internally, the company has tested the use of search data to reach conclusions about economic, marketing and entertainment trends.
“Most forecasting is basically trend extrapolation,” said Hal Varian, Google’s chief economist. “This works remarkably well, but tends to miss turning points, times when the data changes direction. Our hope is that Google data might help with this problem.”
Prabhakar Raghavan, who is in charge of Yahoo Labs and the company’s search strategy, also said search data could be valuable for forecasters and scientists, but privacy concerns had generally stopped it from sharing it with outside academics.
Google Flu Trends avoids privacy pitfalls by relying only on aggregated data that cannot be traced to individual searchers. To develop the service, Google’s engineers devised a basket of keywords and phrases related to the flu, including thermometer, flu symptoms, muscle aches, chest congestion and many others.
Google then dug into its database, extracted five years of data on those queries and mapped it onto the C.D.C.’s reports of influenzalike illness. Google found a strong correlation between its data and the reports from the agency, which advised it on the development of the new service.
“We know it matches very, very well in the way flu developed in the last year,” said Dr. Larry Brilliant, executive director of Google.org. Dr. Finelli of the C.D.C. and Dr. Brilliant both cautioned that the data needed to be monitored to ensure that the correlation with flu activity remained valid.
Google also says it believes the tool may help people take precautions if a disease is in their area.
Others have tried to use information collected from Internet users for public health purposes. A Web site called whoissick.org, for instance, invites people to report what ails them and superimposes the results on a map. But the site has received relatively little traffic.
HealthMap, a project affiliated with the Children’s Hospital Boston, scours the Web for articles, blog posts and newsletters to create a map that tracks emerging infectious diseases around the world. It is backed by Google.org, which counts the detection and prevention of diseases as one of its main philanthropic objectives.
But Google Flu Trends appears to be the first public project that uses the powerful database of a search engine to track a disease.
“This seems like a really clever way of using data that is created unintentionally by the users of Google to see patterns in the world that would otherwise be invisible,” said Thomas W. Malone, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at M.I.T. “I think we are just scratching the surface of what’s possible with collective intelligence.”
You could read the article at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/technology/internet/12flu.html?_r=2&ref=health&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
or
for more on Google Flu trends please visit http://www.google.org/flutrends
Google's PageRank Is Best Way to Rate Online Influence
BusinessWeek recently created a bit of a stir from bloggers such as Ogilvy's John Bell when it reported that Google had created a method for ranking the influence of social networkers. But it might be moot, because bloggers are more influential.
Blog readership has quietly grown 300% in four years. Further, blogs strongly influence purchasing decisions, according to a new Jupiter Research/BuzzLogic study. Once again, trust comes into view. Frequent blog readers trust blogs for product advice more than they trust social networks.
Influence in the blogging community is built link by link. That's why Technorati's link-authority algorithm, for a time, was the de facto way to measure bloggers. Over time, however, the environment changed. The media started to blog, and bloggers started attracting links from an array of sources, including Twitter and even static corporate sites. Enter Google.
Google assigns every page and site in its index a PageRank between one and 10. According to Google, "Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results."
Let's argue that Google is the gateway to all online content people want to find. To me, then, as a site builds its PageRank, it also grows its ability to influence people just when they're searching for products and services. Many bloggers -- with their linking ethos -- have attracted high PageRanks and thus have been assigned influence ratings by Google. It's a big reason why they remain more influential than social networks.
Although it's not perfect, there are three reasons why Google PageRank rules: It's something you have to earn over time, it measures your ability to shape opinions on the world's largest digital stage and it takes the entire online ecosystem into account. Many bloggers monitor their Google PageRanks; the Ad Age Power 150 and Healthcare 100 lists allow you to sort bloggers this way. (You can see the PageRank for any site or page using the advanced features of the Google Toolbar.)
So until someone shows me a better system, PageRank is the ultimate way to measure online influence.
You could read the article at http://adage.com/article?article_id=132554
Blog readership has quietly grown 300% in four years. Further, blogs strongly influence purchasing decisions, according to a new Jupiter Research/BuzzLogic study. Once again, trust comes into view. Frequent blog readers trust blogs for product advice more than they trust social networks.
Influence in the blogging community is built link by link. That's why Technorati's link-authority algorithm, for a time, was the de facto way to measure bloggers. Over time, however, the environment changed. The media started to blog, and bloggers started attracting links from an array of sources, including Twitter and even static corporate sites. Enter Google.
Google assigns every page and site in its index a PageRank between one and 10. According to Google, "Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results."
Let's argue that Google is the gateway to all online content people want to find. To me, then, as a site builds its PageRank, it also grows its ability to influence people just when they're searching for products and services. Many bloggers -- with their linking ethos -- have attracted high PageRanks and thus have been assigned influence ratings by Google. It's a big reason why they remain more influential than social networks.
Although it's not perfect, there are three reasons why Google PageRank rules: It's something you have to earn over time, it measures your ability to shape opinions on the world's largest digital stage and it takes the entire online ecosystem into account. Many bloggers monitor their Google PageRanks; the Ad Age Power 150 and Healthcare 100 lists allow you to sort bloggers this way. (You can see the PageRank for any site or page using the advanced features of the Google Toolbar.)
So until someone shows me a better system, PageRank is the ultimate way to measure online influence.
You could read the article at http://adage.com/article?article_id=132554
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Microsoft Enlists Public to Create Latest Ads
For all those who love UGC (user generated content) there is good news for you and your friends...Microsoft is introducing another star as part of its new consumer ad campaign: you.
Microsoft: I'm a PC
In its newest iteration, Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' campaign has gone user-generated.
Microsoft's "I'm a PC" campaign -- part of Crispin Porter & Bogusky's $300 million marketing ploy to help the computer maker regain some positive buzz lost to competitor Apple -- has launched yet another iteration, this time, going user-generated.
Keeping it real
The latest spots are a compendium of consumer-generated content based on "I'm a PC," which began airing last month. The new ads, which began running yesterday, string together what Microsoft calls "real PC users" from around the world who uploaded a video to Windows.com. Additional spots will be created using user-generated content from the site, Microsoft said, meaning that anyone who visits Windows.com and uploads a video has the chance to star in a future ad.
Submitting a video entails recording five seconds of footage using a webcam; simply state "I'm a PC," followed by something (non-obscene, naturally) you love to do. Individuals are then asked to choose a PC name, which will be displayed with the video.
Imaginations run wild
The end result features folks making mundane, sarcastic or downright bizarre pronouncements, from "I'm a PC and I like the slimming effect of a purple striped shirt" to "I'm a PC and by that I don't mean politically correct."
One spot groups together a number of user-created videos themed around food: "I'm a PC and I cook dinner every night" and "I'm a PC and I eat pancakes."
According to a Microsoft spokeswoman, in the first few weeks following the launch of "I'm a PC," more than 17,000 photos and videos were uploaded by consumers hoping to become part of the campaign, and "I'm a PC" videos have been viewed on the site almost 1.5 million times.
Microsoft hasn't set a timeline for creating and airing the next round of user-generated ads but said it is "fully committed to putting more on the air." Additionally, some user videos will be shown on digital billboards in New York's Times Square.
So are the people uploading pictures and videos actually real PC users, or are they merely looking for 15 seconds of fame? For its part, Microsoft doesn't really care.
Mac users welcome
In the frequently asked questions section of the site, it says: "I have a Mac, can I participate?" Microsoft's answer: "Of course you can. A Mac can be a PC too, most notably when it runs Windows Vista."
That's a friendlier stance than Apple took in one of the latest ads last week in its long-running and popular "Mac vs. PC" campaign. In a spot dubbed "Bean Counter," again featuring Justin Long as Mac and John Hodgman as PC, Apple snubs Microsoft's new ad campaign -- criticizing the company for investing more money on ads instead of fixing glitches in its Vista operating systems.
Incidentally, according to Visible Measures, which aggregates data on online viral videos, the first seven days of the new Apple ads notched 70% of the reach the PC ads snared in their first seven days. But Apple had double the number of unique placements -- sites that posted the video -- than Microsoft had, perhaps indicating Apple ads have more viral potential.
[credit : http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=132094]
Microsoft: I'm a PC
In its newest iteration, Microsoft's 'I'm a PC' campaign has gone user-generated.
Microsoft's "I'm a PC" campaign -- part of Crispin Porter & Bogusky's $300 million marketing ploy to help the computer maker regain some positive buzz lost to competitor Apple -- has launched yet another iteration, this time, going user-generated.
Keeping it real
The latest spots are a compendium of consumer-generated content based on "I'm a PC," which began airing last month. The new ads, which began running yesterday, string together what Microsoft calls "real PC users" from around the world who uploaded a video to Windows.com. Additional spots will be created using user-generated content from the site, Microsoft said, meaning that anyone who visits Windows.com and uploads a video has the chance to star in a future ad.
Submitting a video entails recording five seconds of footage using a webcam; simply state "I'm a PC," followed by something (non-obscene, naturally) you love to do. Individuals are then asked to choose a PC name, which will be displayed with the video.
Imaginations run wild
The end result features folks making mundane, sarcastic or downright bizarre pronouncements, from "I'm a PC and I like the slimming effect of a purple striped shirt" to "I'm a PC and by that I don't mean politically correct."
One spot groups together a number of user-created videos themed around food: "I'm a PC and I cook dinner every night" and "I'm a PC and I eat pancakes."
According to a Microsoft spokeswoman, in the first few weeks following the launch of "I'm a PC," more than 17,000 photos and videos were uploaded by consumers hoping to become part of the campaign, and "I'm a PC" videos have been viewed on the site almost 1.5 million times.
Microsoft hasn't set a timeline for creating and airing the next round of user-generated ads but said it is "fully committed to putting more on the air." Additionally, some user videos will be shown on digital billboards in New York's Times Square.
So are the people uploading pictures and videos actually real PC users, or are they merely looking for 15 seconds of fame? For its part, Microsoft doesn't really care.
Mac users welcome
In the frequently asked questions section of the site, it says: "I have a Mac, can I participate?" Microsoft's answer: "Of course you can. A Mac can be a PC too, most notably when it runs Windows Vista."
That's a friendlier stance than Apple took in one of the latest ads last week in its long-running and popular "Mac vs. PC" campaign. In a spot dubbed "Bean Counter," again featuring Justin Long as Mac and John Hodgman as PC, Apple snubs Microsoft's new ad campaign -- criticizing the company for investing more money on ads instead of fixing glitches in its Vista operating systems.
Incidentally, according to Visible Measures, which aggregates data on online viral videos, the first seven days of the new Apple ads notched 70% of the reach the PC ads snared in their first seven days. But Apple had double the number of unique placements -- sites that posted the video -- than Microsoft had, perhaps indicating Apple ads have more viral potential.
[credit : http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=132094]
Social Networkers Don't Mind Ads - Razorfish Report
Good news for Social Networking sites....
Advertising is not a turnoff to people who love social media Web sites. In fact, many MySpace and Facebook users said ads on their favorite social sites have prompted them to buy something, according to a new report from Razorfish.
In its survey-based publication named "FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report," the digital marketing agency says 76 percent of the 1,006 people surveyed said they didn't mind seeing ads when they logged-in to Facebook, MySpace or the other social media sites they frequent. Razorfish also found that 40 percent of the respondents said they made purchases due to seeing those ads.
However, while consumers see a place for advertising on social networks, advertisers should think beyond traditional approaches, said Garrick Schmit, group vice president of experience planning at Razorfish. He said successful ad campaigns can come in the form of fan pages, games, widgets, videos and other "social experiences. "These experiences, or types of content, are what engage users today and will increasingly become the vehicle to acquire them," said Schmit.
Razorfish describes the survey respondents as "connected consumers." It defines them as people with broadband access who spent at least $200 online in the past year, used a community site such as MySpace and consumed or made some type of digital media including videos and music.
"Connected consumers have enthusiastically embraced social media (both technologies and networking sites), are actively building and refining their own trusted personal networks and are rapidly embracing new communication offerings like Twitter," says the report. It notes that these users are "challenging" publishers, advertisers and marketers to give them services they find useful even though those offerings "have no immediate monetization models."
The report suggests that smart marketers and publishers will figure out how to "merge tactics" so that the wall between content and ads is increasingly dissolved. "Content, in our view, will become advertising," the agency believes.
However, the report admits this evolution will not necessarily be easy. In fact, it says online advertisers and publishers are venturing into "uncharted territory," and need to take a scientific approach that will require new tools and services. Razorfish warns that "today's widget might become tomorrow's TV set" making it a challenge to understand and manage users' connections "with almost no explicit controls."
In the report the agency explains it was surprised to find 91 percent of respondents use Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and Ask.com as their Internet homepages. Over 60 percent of these people have customized their homepages with content feeds and widgets. The report notes 55 percent said they use widgets with some frequency and 62 percent use them on sites such as Facebook and iGoogle.
The researchers found that, while those who view online videos don't mind the presence of advertising, they prefer banners and "newer, emerging forms of video" ads including tickers and interstitials to pre-roll video ads.
While video ads might not be as powerful as their makers might have us believe, Razorfish says retail loyalty programs -- such as Amazon's Prime and Best Buy's Reward Zone -- have a big impact on purchasing decisions.
"Clearly consumers are receptive to advertising with online videos, but the preference for companion banners speaks to the notion of choice," said Schmit. "People will always choose to click or view advertising that interests them instead of waiting for a pre-roll that may not align with their interests." Given the fact that most online videos are short, Schmit said "there's no joy" in watching a pre-roll that can be half as long as the clip itself.
The widespread use of widgets suggests people are comfortable "with the concept of distributed experiences" bolstering Razorfish's suggestion that content and services distribution is becoming more important than Web destinations. This is a big challenge for publishers, especially those focused on media and entertainment because they "currently have no clear path towards monetizing content distribution across the Web," says Razorfish.
"I definitely think there’s a place for a widget advertising network," said Schmit" He said photo-sharing sites Slide and RockYou do this well, and he noted widgets "get really interesting" when advertisers make content or services that are consumed and interacted with through widgets.
While Web destinations may no longer dominate, the report also notes that targeted, personalized recommendations offered by some sites can have an impact. Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said they made repeat purchases from a Web site that sent them a recommendation based on their purchase history.
You could read the original story at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3631324
Advertising is not a turnoff to people who love social media Web sites. In fact, many MySpace and Facebook users said ads on their favorite social sites have prompted them to buy something, according to a new report from Razorfish.
In its survey-based publication named "FEED: The Razorfish Consumer Experience Report," the digital marketing agency says 76 percent of the 1,006 people surveyed said they didn't mind seeing ads when they logged-in to Facebook, MySpace or the other social media sites they frequent. Razorfish also found that 40 percent of the respondents said they made purchases due to seeing those ads.
However, while consumers see a place for advertising on social networks, advertisers should think beyond traditional approaches, said Garrick Schmit, group vice president of experience planning at Razorfish. He said successful ad campaigns can come in the form of fan pages, games, widgets, videos and other "social experiences. "These experiences, or types of content, are what engage users today and will increasingly become the vehicle to acquire them," said Schmit.
Razorfish describes the survey respondents as "connected consumers." It defines them as people with broadband access who spent at least $200 online in the past year, used a community site such as MySpace and consumed or made some type of digital media including videos and music.
"Connected consumers have enthusiastically embraced social media (both technologies and networking sites), are actively building and refining their own trusted personal networks and are rapidly embracing new communication offerings like Twitter," says the report. It notes that these users are "challenging" publishers, advertisers and marketers to give them services they find useful even though those offerings "have no immediate monetization models."
The report suggests that smart marketers and publishers will figure out how to "merge tactics" so that the wall between content and ads is increasingly dissolved. "Content, in our view, will become advertising," the agency believes.
However, the report admits this evolution will not necessarily be easy. In fact, it says online advertisers and publishers are venturing into "uncharted territory," and need to take a scientific approach that will require new tools and services. Razorfish warns that "today's widget might become tomorrow's TV set" making it a challenge to understand and manage users' connections "with almost no explicit controls."
In the report the agency explains it was surprised to find 91 percent of respondents use Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and Ask.com as their Internet homepages. Over 60 percent of these people have customized their homepages with content feeds and widgets. The report notes 55 percent said they use widgets with some frequency and 62 percent use them on sites such as Facebook and iGoogle.
The researchers found that, while those who view online videos don't mind the presence of advertising, they prefer banners and "newer, emerging forms of video" ads including tickers and interstitials to pre-roll video ads.
While video ads might not be as powerful as their makers might have us believe, Razorfish says retail loyalty programs -- such as Amazon's Prime and Best Buy's Reward Zone -- have a big impact on purchasing decisions.
"Clearly consumers are receptive to advertising with online videos, but the preference for companion banners speaks to the notion of choice," said Schmit. "People will always choose to click or view advertising that interests them instead of waiting for a pre-roll that may not align with their interests." Given the fact that most online videos are short, Schmit said "there's no joy" in watching a pre-roll that can be half as long as the clip itself.
The widespread use of widgets suggests people are comfortable "with the concept of distributed experiences" bolstering Razorfish's suggestion that content and services distribution is becoming more important than Web destinations. This is a big challenge for publishers, especially those focused on media and entertainment because they "currently have no clear path towards monetizing content distribution across the Web," says Razorfish.
"I definitely think there’s a place for a widget advertising network," said Schmit" He said photo-sharing sites Slide and RockYou do this well, and he noted widgets "get really interesting" when advertisers make content or services that are consumed and interacted with through widgets.
While Web destinations may no longer dominate, the report also notes that targeted, personalized recommendations offered by some sites can have an impact. Sixty-five percent of survey respondents said they made repeat purchases from a Web site that sent them a recommendation based on their purchase history.
You could read the original story at http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3631324
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Preventing Friday's mail screw up's - Googles New Feature
For those who have been following this space... I know i have disappeared for a while, thats just because there was too little time at hand :( [after you read this post, do not conclude that I've been partying :)]
Google comes with new features all the time and ofcourse, for a common cause. The latest feature is something we all have been thru (At least those of us who are party animals) and ofcourse tend to check mail [and reply] when we get back home [or wherever you call home :)] and when sanity returns, and expression says "WTF... did I do that"!!!!
So here it is Prevent sending mails you regret later... and your wondering what is this doing on "The Advertising blog" ??
Well, well if it wasn't Google's product feature [since they believe in clean & non-cluttered advertising), it was an amazing space for branding, especially for the likes of Chaser and so many others who have a party pill.
If there were cookies being set, each time you encountered the math in "Mail Googles", you'd probably be in Google's list of "drinking and mailing" and they'll identify you each time you log on & ofcourse, especially on Friday nights :)
You can read more at Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret
Cheeeerrrsss Googles
Google comes with new features all the time and ofcourse, for a common cause. The latest feature is something we all have been thru (At least those of us who are party animals) and ofcourse tend to check mail [and reply] when we get back home [or wherever you call home :)] and when sanity returns, and expression says "WTF... did I do that"!!!!
So here it is Prevent sending mails you regret later... and your wondering what is this doing on "The Advertising blog" ??
Well, well if it wasn't Google's product feature [since they believe in clean & non-cluttered advertising), it was an amazing space for branding, especially for the likes of Chaser and so many others who have a party pill.
If there were cookies being set, each time you encountered the math in "Mail Googles", you'd probably be in Google's list of "drinking and mailing" and they'll identify you each time you log on & ofcourse, especially on Friday nights :)
You can read more at Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Stop sending mail you later regret
Cheeeerrrsss Googles
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Adplacement on YouTube - Videos growing in popularity
YouTube has begun offering advertisers the ability to pair their in-video ads with videos the site believes are on their way to becoming viral hits.
The YouTube product team has created an algorithm, which it says can identify videos that are increasting in terms of views. It makes that determination by looking at factors such as the early acceleration of views on a given clip, along with the number of times it is "favorited" (added to favourites) and the number of ratings it receives. The Google owned platform hopes the feature will appeal to entertainment marketers and to those pushing products with broad appeal.
"We believe buzz targeting is a strong marketing opportunity for any advertiser that wants to offer compelling content alongside the most popular videos taking off on the site," the spokesperson said. "It's an opportunity for them to wrap themselves in the experience that is YouTube itself."
However, the targeting option is available only on clips created by members of YouTube's ad partner program. Among those partners are content majors like Universal Music Group, NBA, and CBS & amateur creators such as Brookers and Daxflame & artists like Ashley Tisdale.
The first advertiser to use the program was Lionsgate Films - "The Forbidden Kingdom." For roughly the past month, the distributor has advertised the Jackie Chan/Jet Li martial arts vehicle on approximately 500 of YouTube's most popular music and entertainment videos, YouTube said. Buzz targeting joins other YouTube ad targeting factors such as geography, time of day & profile targeting (only gender and age). The feature is available now to advertisers in the United States only.
YouTube and other Google sites hosted more than 4.3 billion video views in March, accounting for 38 percent of all U.S. video traffic. During that month, U.S. Internet users increased their video intake by 13 percent gain compared with the previous month, and by 64 percent compared with March 2007.
YouTube has regularly introduced new ad-related features in recent months. Six weeks ago it debuted an analytics product designed to generate a wide range of data about who viewed their videos, where they viewed them, and when. Some real good information that can be applied in planning future video programs.
The YouTube product team has created an algorithm, which it says can identify videos that are increasting in terms of views. It makes that determination by looking at factors such as the early acceleration of views on a given clip, along with the number of times it is "favorited" (added to favourites) and the number of ratings it receives. The Google owned platform hopes the feature will appeal to entertainment marketers and to those pushing products with broad appeal.
"We believe buzz targeting is a strong marketing opportunity for any advertiser that wants to offer compelling content alongside the most popular videos taking off on the site," the spokesperson said. "It's an opportunity for them to wrap themselves in the experience that is YouTube itself."
However, the targeting option is available only on clips created by members of YouTube's ad partner program. Among those partners are content majors like Universal Music Group, NBA, and CBS & amateur creators such as Brookers and Daxflame & artists like Ashley Tisdale.
The first advertiser to use the program was Lionsgate Films - "The Forbidden Kingdom." For roughly the past month, the distributor has advertised the Jackie Chan/Jet Li martial arts vehicle on approximately 500 of YouTube's most popular music and entertainment videos, YouTube said. Buzz targeting joins other YouTube ad targeting factors such as geography, time of day & profile targeting (only gender and age). The feature is available now to advertisers in the United States only.
YouTube and other Google sites hosted more than 4.3 billion video views in March, accounting for 38 percent of all U.S. video traffic. During that month, U.S. Internet users increased their video intake by 13 percent gain compared with the previous month, and by 64 percent compared with March 2007.
YouTube has regularly introduced new ad-related features in recent months. Six weeks ago it debuted an analytics product designed to generate a wide range of data about who viewed their videos, where they viewed them, and when. Some real good information that can be applied in planning future video programs.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Yahoo Google search advertising deal
This, i guess was always in the offing. Just read an article in NYtimes.com on a proposed Google Yahoo deal for search advertising. It may be a way to fend of Microsoft bids for Yahoo, but it sure does raise many questions pertaining to Anti Trust issues and also an apprehension over the Yahoo - Live.com search sponsored results ie. yahoo's ads on Live.com.
Google Inc.'s top executives expressed hope Thursday that the Internet search leader will be able to form a potentially lucrative advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc.
"We have been talking to Yahoo and we are very excited to be working with them," said Google co-founder, Sergey Brin. ''We share a lot of values with them.''
Neither Brin nor Google Chairman Eric Schmidt mentioned how far along the two sides are in their negotiations after a two-week test which was completed last month. During the trial run, Google supplied a small portion of the text-based ads that appeared alongside the search results on Yahoo's Web site.
Because Google's technology proved it, the alliance could help Yahoo snap out of a prolonged slump that made it vulnerable to Microsoft's buyout bid. Microsoft also cited Yahoo's willingness to subordinate its own ad system to Google's as a reason for dropping its bid.
"We really believe in companies having choices about their destinies," Brin said. "It's not about scuttling (the deal). They were under a hostile attack and we wanted to make sure they had as many options as possible."
Schmidt left little doubt that Google was pleased to ruin the deal. However, he said he wanted to keep Yahoo out of Microsoft's hands largely because he was concerned the world's largest software maker would abuse the added power.
Schmidt described Google's current relationship with Yahoo as "very, very friendly."
If Yahoo were to sign a long-term ad deal with Google, some analysts believe that would repel Microsoft for good. Although Microsoft executives have publicly indicated they are looking for other ways to bolster the software maker's unprofitable Internet operations.
This partnership almost certainly would face intense antitrust scrutiny as the two companies together control more than 80 % of the U.S. market for online search advertising.
"If there were a deal (with Yahoo), we would anticipate structuring the deal to address the antitrust concerns that have been widely discussed," Schmidt said.
Although Schmidt wouldn't specify how Google will address the antitrust issues, analysts speculate, that it could be done by running the partnership as an auction-style system that would allow other rivals, to show ads on Yahoo.
Google shareholders attending Thursday's meeting didn't seem to care about the implications of a potential Yahoo partnership.
Now i wonder what is brewing in the the Silicon valley.
Google Inc.'s top executives expressed hope Thursday that the Internet search leader will be able to form a potentially lucrative advertising partnership with Yahoo Inc.
"We have been talking to Yahoo and we are very excited to be working with them," said Google co-founder, Sergey Brin. ''We share a lot of values with them.''
Neither Brin nor Google Chairman Eric Schmidt mentioned how far along the two sides are in their negotiations after a two-week test which was completed last month. During the trial run, Google supplied a small portion of the text-based ads that appeared alongside the search results on Yahoo's Web site.
Because Google's technology proved it, the alliance could help Yahoo snap out of a prolonged slump that made it vulnerable to Microsoft's buyout bid. Microsoft also cited Yahoo's willingness to subordinate its own ad system to Google's as a reason for dropping its bid.
"We really believe in companies having choices about their destinies," Brin said. "It's not about scuttling (the deal). They were under a hostile attack and we wanted to make sure they had as many options as possible."
Schmidt left little doubt that Google was pleased to ruin the deal. However, he said he wanted to keep Yahoo out of Microsoft's hands largely because he was concerned the world's largest software maker would abuse the added power.
Schmidt described Google's current relationship with Yahoo as "very, very friendly."
If Yahoo were to sign a long-term ad deal with Google, some analysts believe that would repel Microsoft for good. Although Microsoft executives have publicly indicated they are looking for other ways to bolster the software maker's unprofitable Internet operations.
This partnership almost certainly would face intense antitrust scrutiny as the two companies together control more than 80 % of the U.S. market for online search advertising.
"If there were a deal (with Yahoo), we would anticipate structuring the deal to address the antitrust concerns that have been widely discussed," Schmidt said.
Although Schmidt wouldn't specify how Google will address the antitrust issues, analysts speculate, that it could be done by running the partnership as an auction-style system that would allow other rivals, to show ads on Yahoo.
Google shareholders attending Thursday's meeting didn't seem to care about the implications of a potential Yahoo partnership.
Now i wonder what is brewing in the the Silicon valley.
"Plan C" - Microsofts New Strategy
I wonder how many of us remember the Eskimo ad on TV, where they travel all the way to reach a small town in India... I think it was brilliant and yes without batting an eyelid, I can recall it was for Live.com search on Hutch.
How many of us actually use Live.com for search or know that it belongs to Microsoft... Does anyone say " Yahoo it or Live (live.com) it and the first link is my website" but yes you find people saying "Google it". Infact, I remember a Pontiac TVC (in the US) which spoke about the Pontiac G6 and ended with a line "Don't take our word for it, Google 'Pontiac' to find out!”. This ad not only resulted in a high number of searches for Pontiac but also, kind of closed the loop between offline and online advertising. The reason I say this, is cos, increasingly the laptop is becoming a part of the couch, in different parts of the world. Not to forget the ad did become a case study too.
Coming back to the topic, what is it, that’s different with Google and Live.com (Microsoft search)...
Besides, the obvious volumes, it’s the way the product has been positioned and advertised. Did you know, Live search has a lot of different features e.g. its image search results keep growing as users scroll, thus you don't need to click to see the next page. Its Video search thumbnails start playing when the user does a mouse over them. Microsoft has also launched specialized searches for health and medical information and added some fun features like for those who are celebrity-obsessed.
After, Microsoft withdrew its bid of $47.5 billion for Yahoo, its been working on something called "Plan C" which according to many is nothing but re-building and re-positioning itself or as Bill Gates mentioned (In Japan, last Wednesday) in a statement "at this point Microsoft is focused on its independent strategy."
For those who came in late, "Plan A" was about going solo, which was beaten even after a lot of effort and advertising on billboards and ads in magazines. Also, not to forget it acquiring an online advertising company "aQuantive" for $6 billion.
"Plan B" was a desperate effort to acquire a chunk in the search pie, by bidding for Yahoo, which sadly fell through.
Just two days before Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer walked away from the Yahoo bid; he outlined to employees a four-part plan to "build the most interesting position in the world in online advertising, media, and the kind of social connected search and media experiences that go along with that."
First, Microsoft must do the basics - a huge search index, lots of storage in the cloud for users, very well.
It must innovate in "quick waves" that force Google to play catch-up.
It must "change the basic experiences" of communication and search.
And it must gain scale.
"We have a strategy and we have ideas in each one of those categories," Ballmer told the employees. The promise fell flat with analysts who had heard it so recently before.
I really wonder and I’m just too curious to see the bigger picture of what "Plan C" is all about. In one of the interesting articles I read, Charlene Li, an analyst at Forrester Research, also believes Microsoft should look beyond search and perhaps push ahead with plans to deploy software over the Internet and to get marketers to use a Microsoft platform for mobile and display advertising.
"The problem with a definition of success (is that) when this whole acquisition thing began, it was beating Google, and I think that's the wrong battle to fight," Li said. "I'd rather see them hit Google where it's weak."
I personally think, that it all comes down to the way a company positions its product and the way it markets it. Google, on the other hand seems to "just grow" and for those who remember seeing the Google Epic (a few years back) would recall and recognize its developments over these years.
How many of us actually use Live.com for search or know that it belongs to Microsoft... Does anyone say " Yahoo it or Live (live.com) it and the first link is my website" but yes you find people saying "Google it". Infact, I remember a Pontiac TVC (in the US) which spoke about the Pontiac G6 and ended with a line "Don't take our word for it, Google 'Pontiac' to find out!”. This ad not only resulted in a high number of searches for Pontiac but also, kind of closed the loop between offline and online advertising. The reason I say this, is cos, increasingly the laptop is becoming a part of the couch, in different parts of the world. Not to forget the ad did become a case study too.
Coming back to the topic, what is it, that’s different with Google and Live.com (Microsoft search)...
Besides, the obvious volumes, it’s the way the product has been positioned and advertised. Did you know, Live search has a lot of different features e.g. its image search results keep growing as users scroll, thus you don't need to click to see the next page. Its Video search thumbnails start playing when the user does a mouse over them. Microsoft has also launched specialized searches for health and medical information and added some fun features like for those who are celebrity-obsessed.
After, Microsoft withdrew its bid of $47.5 billion for Yahoo, its been working on something called "Plan C" which according to many is nothing but re-building and re-positioning itself or as Bill Gates mentioned (In Japan, last Wednesday) in a statement "at this point Microsoft is focused on its independent strategy."
For those who came in late, "Plan A" was about going solo, which was beaten even after a lot of effort and advertising on billboards and ads in magazines. Also, not to forget it acquiring an online advertising company "aQuantive" for $6 billion.
"Plan B" was a desperate effort to acquire a chunk in the search pie, by bidding for Yahoo, which sadly fell through.
Just two days before Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer walked away from the Yahoo bid; he outlined to employees a four-part plan to "build the most interesting position in the world in online advertising, media, and the kind of social connected search and media experiences that go along with that."
First, Microsoft must do the basics - a huge search index, lots of storage in the cloud for users, very well.
It must innovate in "quick waves" that force Google to play catch-up.
It must "change the basic experiences" of communication and search.
And it must gain scale.
"We have a strategy and we have ideas in each one of those categories," Ballmer told the employees. The promise fell flat with analysts who had heard it so recently before.
I really wonder and I’m just too curious to see the bigger picture of what "Plan C" is all about. In one of the interesting articles I read, Charlene Li, an analyst at Forrester Research, also believes Microsoft should look beyond search and perhaps push ahead with plans to deploy software over the Internet and to get marketers to use a Microsoft platform for mobile and display advertising.
"The problem with a definition of success (is that) when this whole acquisition thing began, it was beating Google, and I think that's the wrong battle to fight," Li said. "I'd rather see them hit Google where it's weak."
I personally think, that it all comes down to the way a company positions its product and the way it markets it. Google, on the other hand seems to "just grow" and for those who remember seeing the Google Epic (a few years back) would recall and recognize its developments over these years.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Facebook - New target for Microsoft
After talks with Yahoo failed, the news is that Microsoft Corp. informally approached social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. to gauge its interest in selling itself to Microsoft.
Microsoft's investment bankers recently contacted Facebook as it looked likely the Redmond, Wash., software company might back away from buying Yahoo. Though there is no active discussions between the two, it is unclear if closely held Facebook would consider selling. The approach was previously reported on the AllThingsD.com Web site, owned by News Corp.'s Dow Jones unit, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Yahoo however continues to face challenges of its own. It is said tha Google Inc. executives are now thinking whether to pursue a search-advertising deal with Yahoo.
Separate discussions between Yahoo and Time Warner Inc. also continue. However, they say there is less urgency to reach a deal now that Microsoft has exited the stage. The two sides are discussing combining AOL and Yahoo.
In a letter to Microsoft employees (after failed talks), Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the company would explore acquisitions and increased investment in its own online services.
Facebook is a fast growing Web service that has become a hub for all kind of consumers. Last year, Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in the portal, valued at $240 million. It then valued Facebook at $15 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive, has resisted the idea of selling his whole company. He recently made several high-level hires like Chamath Palihapitiya: VP-marketing & operation, Gideon Yu - CFO etc. that suggest he intends the company to remain independent. Facebook would still faces possible fallout from the weak broader economy, which could pressure online ad based ventures.
Facebook's main attraction for Microsoft is its rapid growth and popularity. In March 08, Facebook had 109.2 million visitors which is a 240% increase from March 2007, according to comScore Inc and expects revenue of $300 million to $350 million this calendar year (which is approx $150 million last year). By comparison, Microsoft's Web sites attracted 563.2 million visitors world-wide in March which is just a 7% increase from the year ago.
The big question for Microsoft is whether Facebook can become a major source of online advertising. Facebook has tried to expand online advertising, but half of its revenue last year came from a partnership with Microsoft. After its investment last year and a deal struck in 2006, Microsoft has an exclusive arrangement to sell display ads on Facebook through 2011. Acquiring Facebook might not significantly add to Microsoft's inventory of space in which to show ads across the Web.
Microsoft's investment bankers recently contacted Facebook as it looked likely the Redmond, Wash., software company might back away from buying Yahoo. Though there is no active discussions between the two, it is unclear if closely held Facebook would consider selling. The approach was previously reported on the AllThingsD.com Web site, owned by News Corp.'s Dow Jones unit, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Yahoo however continues to face challenges of its own. It is said tha Google Inc. executives are now thinking whether to pursue a search-advertising deal with Yahoo.
Separate discussions between Yahoo and Time Warner Inc. also continue. However, they say there is less urgency to reach a deal now that Microsoft has exited the stage. The two sides are discussing combining AOL and Yahoo.
In a letter to Microsoft employees (after failed talks), Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said the company would explore acquisitions and increased investment in its own online services.
Facebook is a fast growing Web service that has become a hub for all kind of consumers. Last year, Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in the portal, valued at $240 million. It then valued Facebook at $15 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive, has resisted the idea of selling his whole company. He recently made several high-level hires like Chamath Palihapitiya: VP-marketing & operation, Gideon Yu - CFO etc. that suggest he intends the company to remain independent. Facebook would still faces possible fallout from the weak broader economy, which could pressure online ad based ventures.
Facebook's main attraction for Microsoft is its rapid growth and popularity. In March 08, Facebook had 109.2 million visitors which is a 240% increase from March 2007, according to comScore Inc and expects revenue of $300 million to $350 million this calendar year (which is approx $150 million last year). By comparison, Microsoft's Web sites attracted 563.2 million visitors world-wide in March which is just a 7% increase from the year ago.
The big question for Microsoft is whether Facebook can become a major source of online advertising. Facebook has tried to expand online advertising, but half of its revenue last year came from a partnership with Microsoft. After its investment last year and a deal struck in 2006, Microsoft has an exclusive arrangement to sell display ads on Facebook through 2011. Acquiring Facebook might not significantly add to Microsoft's inventory of space in which to show ads across the Web.
Printerstitial - The print cousin of Interstitial
So most of those who know about online advertising have at some point of time encountered an Interstital, which is nothing but a page that loads before an expected page. This page is often used by publishers to promote an advertisment etc. From my experience, i've seen very good CTR's on Interstital ads (right upto 14%). But now there is a cousin of Interstital, the "Printerstitial".
Enter the "PrinterStitial." A Denver based startup, Format Dynamics, has invented a whole new ad category by developing a service that inserts "Ads" into printouts of Web pages, combining the "advantages of online ads with the power of traditional print ads." They've used 18 months of actual "PrinterStitial" results from early publisher adopters, combined with data from market researcher MetaFacts, Format Dynamics estimates that U.S. consumers print approx. 61 billion Web pages annually...creating what the company's CEO Ethan Holien calls a previously "untapped market opportunity, with scale and legs".
72 newspapers of the MediaNews Group, including The Denver Post, as well as Rand McNally, The Houston Chronicle, CNET, Career Builder, and the Orange County Register are currently using Printerstitials.
When consumers take printouts of Web pages enabled with Format Dynamics' "CleanPrint," the technology dynamically reformats the page(s) to be more appealing to the user , while completely eliminating such Web-centric features as navigation bars etc. The PrinterStitials can either be print-friendly versions of ads or completely separate "print ads".
Depending on the online publisher, P'stitials are either sold by the sites themselves or by Format Dynamics, Holien said. The company is talking to vertical ad networks, as well as "advertisers and agencies when appropriate." Travel Ad Network is already on board. Ad revenues are shared between Format Dynamics and publishers.
In their media kit, the Orange County Register and ocregister.com stress how engaged users are with pages they print out. "When users print online content, it's because they intend to read again, hold onto or pass along the information on the page," the kit advises. "Now your ad can appear on those hard copies, giving you the opportunity to create a lasting brand association and an incentive to win their business." The paper's stated ad rate for PrinterStitials is $1,300 monthly.
While PrinterStitial sales are targeted towards the digital buying community, Holien noted that publishers already "versed with print," can sell existing print advertisers. The pitch - "This is print advertising, but you can target it three ways (behaviorally, contextually, geographical). You don't have to buy just a circulation number."
The company has developed a companion analytical tool, PrintTracker, which measures all printing of PrinterStitial ads directly from browsers, providing publishers and advertisers with relevant data and metrics. Previous printing data only measured the minority of pages printed from "printer-friendly" buttons, Holien said. "Most publishers right now don't understand how much printing is occurring," he added.
"It's new inventory that publishers can monetize, and an opportunity for advertisers to plug in ads, We know in general that people do online research and buy in local stores, and a majority of purchases have an online component," he said. Now, FormatDyamics' technology combines that empirical information "with the anecdotal info that people show up in stores with pages in hand." said analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.
Interestingly, Format Dynamics, has raised $4.4 million in first-round venture capital and in its demos states that both CleanPrint and Click4Print provide the opportunity for "truly integrated online/offline advertising."
I can forsee the loop between online and offline advertising closing very soon :).
(those who want to read the complete article can log on to Mediapost)
Enter the "PrinterStitial." A Denver based startup, Format Dynamics, has invented a whole new ad category by developing a service that inserts "Ads" into printouts of Web pages, combining the "advantages of online ads with the power of traditional print ads." They've used 18 months of actual "PrinterStitial" results from early publisher adopters, combined with data from market researcher MetaFacts, Format Dynamics estimates that U.S. consumers print approx. 61 billion Web pages annually...creating what the company's CEO Ethan Holien calls a previously "untapped market opportunity, with scale and legs".
72 newspapers of the MediaNews Group, including The Denver Post, as well as Rand McNally, The Houston Chronicle, CNET, Career Builder, and the Orange County Register are currently using Printerstitials.
When consumers take printouts of Web pages enabled with Format Dynamics' "CleanPrint," the technology dynamically reformats the page(s) to be more appealing to the user , while completely eliminating such Web-centric features as navigation bars etc. The PrinterStitials can either be print-friendly versions of ads or completely separate "print ads".
Depending on the online publisher, P'stitials are either sold by the sites themselves or by Format Dynamics, Holien said. The company is talking to vertical ad networks, as well as "advertisers and agencies when appropriate." Travel Ad Network is already on board. Ad revenues are shared between Format Dynamics and publishers.
In their media kit, the Orange County Register and ocregister.com stress how engaged users are with pages they print out. "When users print online content, it's because they intend to read again, hold onto or pass along the information on the page," the kit advises. "Now your ad can appear on those hard copies, giving you the opportunity to create a lasting brand association and an incentive to win their business." The paper's stated ad rate for PrinterStitials is $1,300 monthly.
While PrinterStitial sales are targeted towards the digital buying community, Holien noted that publishers already "versed with print," can sell existing print advertisers. The pitch - "This is print advertising, but you can target it three ways (behaviorally, contextually, geographical). You don't have to buy just a circulation number."
The company has developed a companion analytical tool, PrintTracker, which measures all printing of PrinterStitial ads directly from browsers, providing publishers and advertisers with relevant data and metrics. Previous printing data only measured the minority of pages printed from "printer-friendly" buttons, Holien said. "Most publishers right now don't understand how much printing is occurring," he added.
"It's new inventory that publishers can monetize, and an opportunity for advertisers to plug in ads, We know in general that people do online research and buy in local stores, and a majority of purchases have an online component," he said. Now, FormatDyamics' technology combines that empirical information "with the anecdotal info that people show up in stores with pages in hand." said analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence.
Interestingly, Format Dynamics, has raised $4.4 million in first-round venture capital and in its demos states that both CleanPrint and Click4Print provide the opportunity for "truly integrated online/offline advertising."
I can forsee the loop between online and offline advertising closing very soon :).
(those who want to read the complete article can log on to Mediapost)
Monday, May 5, 2008
My First Blog
Well, my friends have been after me for a long long time to start of a blog on Advertising where they could know, all that i learn't in my field of work, rather its a way for them to gauge the depth of how hard i work :)
I'm not that much of a blogger but yeah i can "just about express myself in words". So, here it goes... My first post.
Your probably thinking what you would find here!! Actually, it would be regular stuff of whats happening around the world in the online advertising space and at times even the offline advertising world. You would probably would even chance upon some tips n tricks and dope on online advertising.
I cannot guarantee daily posts, but buddy i would surely try and be regular. So long then...
P.S : For those who find this blog, either surfing or in an organic listing, i could just say, "stay tuned, your lucky :D"
I'm not that much of a blogger but yeah i can "just about express myself in words". So, here it goes... My first post.
Your probably thinking what you would find here!! Actually, it would be regular stuff of whats happening around the world in the online advertising space and at times even the offline advertising world. You would probably would even chance upon some tips n tricks and dope on online advertising.
I cannot guarantee daily posts, but buddy i would surely try and be regular. So long then...
P.S : For those who find this blog, either surfing or in an organic listing, i could just say, "stay tuned, your lucky :D"
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