A little example of viral video from my client Heineken - check it out!
Heineken Draught Keg URL: http://heinekendraughtkeg.com/embed/?justwatch=true
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
"Bloggers are Monkeys"... Linkbait?
An interesting ad campaign for a Brazilian newspaper has hatched a Catch-22 discussion. It seems the newspaper humorously referenced bloggers as a pack of chimps cutting and pasting random text on the internet, then directing readers to its new, presumably more reputable site. The firestorm of pissed off bloggers linking to the site has generated another, very interesting question...
The ad in question - Bloggers are Monkeys...
Was it deliberate linkbait? That is - were the ad people smart enough to GOAD the blogosphere into giving the ad that much more impact? Knowing people, I doubt it... but it's a very interesting thought...
The ad in question - Bloggers are Monkeys...
Was it deliberate linkbait? That is - were the ad people smart enough to GOAD the blogosphere into giving the ad that much more impact? Knowing people, I doubt it... but it's a very interesting thought...
Monday, February 26, 2007
Panama's off to a strong start
ComScore Networks has released results of a study tracking the success of Yahoo!'s new search advertising system Project Panama.
Since making its debut on Feb. 5th, Panama is being credited with an uptick in Yahoo's clickthrough rates for sponsored search ads.
ComScore's study affirmed that fact by tracking the online behavior of 1 million internet users and determining that with the rollout of Panama, the new ranking model was responsible for a 5 percent increase in clickthroughs for the week ending Feb. 11, and a 9 percent increase for the week ending Feb. 18.
"ComScore data show that the recent introduction of Yahoo's new search marketing ranking model is already having a positive impact on the clickthrough rates for Yahoo's search advertising," said James Lamberti, comScore senior vice president of media and search solutions.
According to comScore, Panama has also created a shift in the composition of total click volume from algorithmic to sponsored.
eMarketer predicts falling growth in online ad spending
According to new eMarketer estimates, online ad spending in the United States will rise by 19 percent in 2007, significantly less than the 30 percent increases the last three years.
eMarketer further projects annual growth falling to 13 percent by the end of 2011. Growth estimates are based on three premises, according to eMarketer senior analyst David Hallerman:
- Even if the economy slows down, continued growth in the online audience and the need for advertising to follow that audience will drive an ongoing shift away from other media, most notably newspapers and radio.
- The opportunities for better targeting and more accurate tracking offered by online advertising relative to other media makes spending on the internet even more appealing in a soft economy.
- As online video advertising becomes more widely used, large brand marketers who have up to now only dipped their toes online will devote increasingly greater budget shares to the internet.
CBS moves into the neighborhood
CBS is moving into the Second Life neighborhood as a new partnership was announced today with The Electric Sheep Company.
CBS is hoping to connect with its audience and advertisers in the new interactive platform. CEO of The Electric Sheep Company Sibley Verbeck cited virtual worlds as a prime opportunity to build communities and create new advertising opportunities.
"Virtual worlds are the first successful incarnation of interactive television. They provide a 3-D, immersive environment in which fans can meet each other, interact with characters or cast members, and generate their own content. This partnership will allow us to explore new potential for CBS' content, and that of all our current and future customers, in the virtual space," said Verbeck.
CBS and The Electric Sheep company have raised 7 million dollars in funding together in their first round of fundraising for future projects. Exact specifications of the features planned for CBS' virtual world have yet to be disclosed.
AdSense formally takes on video advertising
Google has formalized its video AdSense program. Video ads now appear inside Google ad boxes on sites that are relevant to the content of the videos, and ads run during or after the content. Google shares the ad revenue with both the video provider and the site showing the video.
Google has already struck video content deals with Conde Nast, MTV and The Wall Street Journal.
See it in action below!
Google has already struck video content deals with Conde Nast, MTV and The Wall Street Journal.
See it in action below!
A Wikipedia Search Engine ?
"Search is a fundamental part of the infrastructure of the Internet and therefore human society as a whole," he added. "The main idea will be to change the competitive landscape of search and encourage global innovation."
Wales, Wikipedia co-founder, announced from Chennai, India " his vision for the search engine that would follow the principles of online collaboration made popular by Wikipedia: the search algorithms will be published; it will be open to the online community for testing; the search engine itself will be open to all for scrutiny. "
The Wiki search engine will be up and running by the end of the year.
Posted in the Hindu times just 12 hours ago.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/26/stories/2007022604071300.htm
Wales, Wikipedia co-founder, announced from Chennai, India " his vision for the search engine that would follow the principles of online collaboration made popular by Wikipedia: the search algorithms will be published; it will be open to the online community for testing; the search engine itself will be open to all for scrutiny. "
The Wiki search engine will be up and running by the end of the year.
Posted in the Hindu times just 12 hours ago.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/26/stories/2007022604071300.htm
The Real Revolution: The Web 2.0 hype or Proprietary content ?
"As an academic researcher, I am continually impressed by the excellent online databases that are (according to the email marketing, sometimes highly accurate) available for $2,995.00. C’mon guys. I’m a scholar. And what happened to “openness” and “community”?"
writes Professor Thomas W. Hazlett.
In is Financial Times article "The global village and the madness of e-crowds"below, he warns us of the overhype of web 2.0, user generated content and open source is crowding out part of the real story.
Just like with wireless tech. "While 2.5bn people were subscribing to mobile networks, the tech spotlight was on … WiFi. While a handy way to make a DSL connection cordless, the disruptive technology claims were wrong. Not many folks dropping their mobile subscription to talk from their “hotspot.”"
The real revolution is in Proprietary Content."Proprietary content is growing like a Paris Hilton video gone viral, with firms like Gartner, Forrester, Yankee Group, IDC and McKinsey & Co. charging fat fees for specialised content of keen interest to deep-pocket customers(...)Yes, the dramatic lowering of distribution costs allows information to travel on a budget. That is an oomph for markets, and perhaps a double-oomph for democracy.
It is a good reminder to look a the whole picture and not to get carried away by the "e-crowd hype" that could blind us to other important opportunities.
The point is not that “closed” beats “open,” but that capitalism accommodates both. Rules need not be changed to embrace the revolution. Markets thrust revolutions upon us, boldly and magnificently, far more often than we care to remember."
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ee544356-b522-11db-a5a5-0000779e2340.html
writes Professor Thomas W. Hazlett.
In is Financial Times article "The global village and the madness of e-crowds"below, he warns us of the overhype of web 2.0, user generated content and open source is crowding out part of the real story.
Just like with wireless tech. "While 2.5bn people were subscribing to mobile networks, the tech spotlight was on … WiFi. While a handy way to make a DSL connection cordless, the disruptive technology claims were wrong. Not many folks dropping their mobile subscription to talk from their “hotspot.”"
The real revolution is in Proprietary Content."Proprietary content is growing like a Paris Hilton video gone viral, with firms like Gartner, Forrester, Yankee Group, IDC and McKinsey & Co. charging fat fees for specialised content of keen interest to deep-pocket customers(...)Yes, the dramatic lowering of distribution costs allows information to travel on a budget. That is an oomph for markets, and perhaps a double-oomph for democracy.
It is a good reminder to look a the whole picture and not to get carried away by the "e-crowd hype" that could blind us to other important opportunities.
The point is not that “closed” beats “open,” but that capitalism accommodates both. Rules need not be changed to embrace the revolution. Markets thrust revolutions upon us, boldly and magnificently, far more often than we care to remember."
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ee544356-b522-11db-a5a5-0000779e2340.html
China's & online piracy
China's piracy: not just cheap goods; movies, publishing and software too...
In the article below "Chinese Government promises to help fight online piracy" the author claims that "Piracy rate of software in China reached 86 percent last year and resulted in more than three billion dollars in losses by 2005"
http://www.webtvwire.com/chinese-government-promises-to-help-fight-online-piracy/
Can this realistically be done and do they have an interest in stopping it?
Probably not until they have their own software companies losing big dollars to piracy.
In the article below "Chinese Government promises to help fight online piracy" the author claims that "Piracy rate of software in China reached 86 percent last year and resulted in more than three billion dollars in losses by 2005"
http://www.webtvwire.com/chinese-government-promises-to-help-fight-online-piracy/
Can this realistically be done and do they have an interest in stopping it?
Probably not until they have their own software companies losing big dollars to piracy.
Next Generation Search : guided navigation & audio/video search
Interesting new ideas in search :
A "Social Radio" , "Phonetic Audio Tag" search and more...
"A Look at the Next Generation of Search?" below suggests two main directions in the future of serach: guided navigation an video/audio search.
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3624837
A "Social Radio" , "Phonetic Audio Tag" search and more...
"A Look at the Next Generation of Search?" below suggests two main directions in the future of serach: guided navigation an video/audio search.
http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3624837
"The Long Tail of Bud"
"The Long Tail of Bud" article below illustrates how big corp are trying to tap the long tail effect; here with Bud's example, going from 26 to 80 brands - with new microbrews, only in Texas beers and beers for Women.
The interesting question is whether the concept extends to the physical world with limited shelf space or is a web based phenomenon only ?
In the long term will it help solidify the grip of big co or will it really open the doors for small businesses?
http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2007/02/the_long_tail_o_2.php
The interesting question is whether the concept extends to the physical world with limited shelf space or is a web based phenomenon only ?
In the long term will it help solidify the grip of big co or will it really open the doors for small businesses?
http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2007/02/the_long_tail_o_2.php
Sunday, February 25, 2007
A History Department Bans Citing Wikipedia as a Research Source
Not so quick to rebuff the door to door salesman. Wikipiedia is not yet Encylopedia Brittanica.
From the New York Times
When half a dozen students in Neil Waters’s Japanese history class at Middlebury College asserted on exams that the Jesuits supported the Shimabara Rebellion in 17th-century Japan, he knew something was wrong. The Jesuits were in “no position to aid a revolution,” he said; the few of them in Japan were in hiding.
He figured out the problem soon enough. The obscure, though incorrect, information was from Wikipedia, the collaborative online encyclopedia, and the students had picked it up cramming for his exam.
Dr. Waters and other professors in the history department had begun noticing about a year ago that students were citing Wikipedia as a source in their papers. When confronted, many would say that their high school teachers had allowed the practice.
But the errors on the Japanese history test last semester were the last straw. At Dr. Waters’s urging, the Middlebury history department notified its students this month that Wikipedia could not be cited in papers or exams, and that students could not “point to Wikipedia or any similar source that may appear in the future to escape the consequences of errors.”
The article continues at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/education/21wikipedia.html?em&ex=1172552400&en=b403726dbe838b6a&ei=5087%0A
From the New York Times
When half a dozen students in Neil Waters’s Japanese history class at Middlebury College asserted on exams that the Jesuits supported the Shimabara Rebellion in 17th-century Japan, he knew something was wrong. The Jesuits were in “no position to aid a revolution,” he said; the few of them in Japan were in hiding.
He figured out the problem soon enough. The obscure, though incorrect, information was from Wikipedia, the collaborative online encyclopedia, and the students had picked it up cramming for his exam.
Dr. Waters and other professors in the history department had begun noticing about a year ago that students were citing Wikipedia as a source in their papers. When confronted, many would say that their high school teachers had allowed the practice.
But the errors on the Japanese history test last semester were the last straw. At Dr. Waters’s urging, the Middlebury history department notified its students this month that Wikipedia could not be cited in papers or exams, and that students could not “point to Wikipedia or any similar source that may appear in the future to escape the consequences of errors.”
The article continues at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/education/21wikipedia.html?em&ex=1172552400&en=b403726dbe838b6a&ei=5087%0A
Amazon invest in Shelfari
Amazon has invested $1 m in Shelfari, a website where users input all of the books they own, and have an online visual representation of their library to share with others. Users can share their library through the Shelfari website or via a widget, and make money by linking to the books for sale at Amazon. It's a new idea of user generated content.
Let's see how it evolves.
My Space is starting to block third party widgets
I read this article about MySpace blocking Imeem, some popular widget that you can use. This is the just the last of a series of blocked widgests: Vidilife, Stickam and Revver. It seems that MySpace don't want anyone to make money from their huge base of users.
How will this movement affect our last speaker?
Saturday, February 24, 2007
What Americans are doing on the Internet.
Curious about Internet usage statistics? Check out www.hitwise.com. They have some really interesting and well presented industry data. It will be helpful for anyone looking for a little insight to online marketing.
For example, check out the top visited web sites
Rank Website Market Share
1. www.myspace.com 5.38%
2. www.google.com 4.34%
3. mail.yahoo.com 4.17%
4. www.yahoo.com 4.14%
5. mail.myspace.com 3.49%
6. www.hotmail.com 2.02%
7. www.msn.com 1.8%
8. www.ebay.com 1.62%
9. search.yahoo.com 1.4%
10. search.msn.com 0.74%
11. www.facebook.com 0.69%
12. images.google.com 0.5%
13. www.youtube.com 0.44%
14. blog.myspace.com 0.42%
15. www.wikipedia.org 0.36%
16. my.yahoo.com 0.36%
17. address.yahoo.com 0.32%
18. www.aol.com 0.31%
19. music.myspace.com 0.31%
20. www.amazon.com 0.3%
Source - Hitwise - January, 2007 - based on market share of visits.
http://www.hitwise.com/datacenter/rankings.php
I thought it would be interesting to compare with Alexa.com statistics. Alexa.com has a little different ranking for the most popular web sites:
1. Yahoo!
2. Google
3. MySpace
4. MSN
5. EBay
6. YouTube
7. FaceBook
8. Wikipedia
9. Craigslist
10. Amazon
Hitwise has some other interesting data reports, like the top 4 fastest moving sites
Or you can search specific industries for most popular search terms.
The terms listed below are ranked by volume of searches that successfully drove traffic to websites in the Hitwise Music category for the 4 weeks ending January 27, 2007, based on US Internet usage.
Rank Search Term Volume
1. lyrics 2.22%
2. song lyrics 0.76%
3. guitar tabs 0.64%
4. free music downloads 0.36%
5. music 0.35%
6. britney spears 0.23%
7. myspace 0.23%
8. lyrics.com 0.22%
9. mtv 0.21%
10. american idol 0.21%
Could it be? Britney is ranked above MySpace?
For example, check out the top visited web sites
Rank Website Market Share
1. www.myspace.com 5.38%
2. www.google.com 4.34%
3. mail.yahoo.com 4.17%
4. www.yahoo.com 4.14%
5. mail.myspace.com 3.49%
6. www.hotmail.com 2.02%
7. www.msn.com 1.8%
8. www.ebay.com 1.62%
9. search.yahoo.com 1.4%
10. search.msn.com 0.74%
11. www.facebook.com 0.69%
12. images.google.com 0.5%
13. www.youtube.com 0.44%
14. blog.myspace.com 0.42%
15. www.wikipedia.org 0.36%
16. my.yahoo.com 0.36%
17. address.yahoo.com 0.32%
18. www.aol.com 0.31%
19. music.myspace.com 0.31%
20. www.amazon.com 0.3%
Source - Hitwise - January, 2007 - based on market share of visits.
http://www.hitwise.com/datacenter/rankings.php
I thought it would be interesting to compare with Alexa.com statistics. Alexa.com has a little different ranking for the most popular web sites:
1. Yahoo!
2. Google
3. MySpace
4. MSN
5. EBay
6. YouTube
7. FaceBook
8. Wikipedia
9. Craigslist
10. Amazon
Hitwise has some other interesting data reports, like the top 4 fastest moving sites
Or you can search specific industries for most popular search terms.
The terms listed below are ranked by volume of searches that successfully drove traffic to websites in the Hitwise Music category for the 4 weeks ending January 27, 2007, based on US Internet usage.
Rank Search Term Volume
1. lyrics 2.22%
2. song lyrics 0.76%
3. guitar tabs 0.64%
4. free music downloads 0.36%
5. music 0.35%
6. britney spears 0.23%
7. myspace 0.23%
8. lyrics.com 0.22%
9. mtv 0.21%
10. american idol 0.21%
Could it be? Britney is ranked above MySpace?
Friday, February 23, 2007
Google takes on Microsoft Office
Google today announced the launch of a new bundle of services targeted at corporations which include web based word processing and spreadsheet applications. Still in beta, the applications are being tested at several blue-chip corporations including General Electric.
The new package is said to priced at $50 per user, per year and includes significantly more email storage and technical support. Google has hinted that a blogging tool will be added to the budle next year.
Google has always denied that it has any interest in going head-tohead with Microsoft in the corporate software department, yet they announced the launch of the Premier Edition just as Microsoft announced the launch of Office 2007.
The Google Apps offering is what is known in technology circles as "hosted" software or "software as a service." Instead of running software on their own computers, companies rely on tech providers such as Google to run the software. Users then access the applications over the Internet through their Web browsers. Companies are spared most of the headaches of installing and managing software themselves and generally pay based on just how many employees use the product.
Trade-offs with such services can include less-sophisticated functions, issues with the security of data stored outside a corporation, and the inability to easily work on documents when there is no Internet connection, such as on a plane.
Revised version of a Wall Street Journal article (Kevin DeLaney, Feb 22 2007)Google and Yahoo Join Ranks of Top 30 Media Companies in the world
Time Warner tops this years list. The top 30 companies collectively generated $215 billion in media revenues. The rankings are based on revenues from activities that support advertising. The revenues are from 2005, or the nearest equivalent for companies whose financial years are different from calendar years.
In all, 16 of the top 30 media owners are from the U.S. The other countries with media owners in the top 30 are Japan, France, the U.K., Germany, Italy and Mexico. Non-American companies on the top 30 list include Axel Springer, Bertelsmann, BSkyB, ITV plc., Fuji TV and Televisa.
Two new-media companies are in the top 30: Google, at 13th, and Yahoo!, at 15th.
The ranking forms part of a new report from ZenithOptimedia called the Top Thirty Global Media Owners.
http://www.zenithoptimedia.com/gff/index.cfm?id=73&nid=73&action=add
In all, 16 of the top 30 media owners are from the U.S. The other countries with media owners in the top 30 are Japan, France, the U.K., Germany, Italy and Mexico. Non-American companies on the top 30 list include Axel Springer, Bertelsmann, BSkyB, ITV plc., Fuji TV and Televisa.
Two new-media companies are in the top 30: Google, at 13th, and Yahoo!, at 15th.
The ranking forms part of a new report from ZenithOptimedia called the Top Thirty Global Media Owners.
http://www.zenithoptimedia.com/gff/index.cfm?id=73&nid=73&action=add
IPTV and Web 2.0 Getting Together
Verizon Offers Revver UGC Content to Pay-TV, Broadband Consumers
NEW YORK, February 22: Customers of Verizon’s FiOS TV pay-TV service, as well as its broadband customers, will soon have free access to content from the viral videos marketplace Revver.com.
Verizon will deliver selected Revver videos and other Internet video content to the TV sets of FiOS TV customers as part of its next-generation FiOS TV service later this year. Revver content will also launch on Verizon's Surround broadband entertainment portal by the end of the first quarter. Verizon customers will now be able to stream premium Revver videos on their TV sets and PCs. Through a separate agreement, Verizon Wireless already makes Revver videos available to Verizon Wireless customers with V CAST-enabled handsets.
Revver is the first online video service to compensate users for sharing content online, with a 50/50 revenue split. It says it does not accept copyright-infringing content.
"We're joining with Revver to bring the user-generated video phenomenon to the TV set," said Marilyn O'Connell, Verizon’s senior VP of video solutions. "Backed by Verizon's technology, we'll make it easy for our FiOS TV and broadband customers to enjoy the best of the cutting-edge videos that Revver is known for. This is just another way that FiOS continues to distinguish itself from old-fashioned TV."
Steven Starr, the founder and CEO of Revver, added: "Revver prides itself on attracting the very best digital video creators who are producing entertainment for the Internet today. This initiative will help us further support our creators by bringing their content to a whole new TV audience. It's a fantastic opportunity for our company and the growing Revver community."
NEW YORK, February 22: Customers of Verizon’s FiOS TV pay-TV service, as well as its broadband customers, will soon have free access to content from the viral videos marketplace Revver.com.
Verizon will deliver selected Revver videos and other Internet video content to the TV sets of FiOS TV customers as part of its next-generation FiOS TV service later this year. Revver content will also launch on Verizon's Surround broadband entertainment portal by the end of the first quarter. Verizon customers will now be able to stream premium Revver videos on their TV sets and PCs. Through a separate agreement, Verizon Wireless already makes Revver videos available to Verizon Wireless customers with V CAST-enabled handsets.
Revver is the first online video service to compensate users for sharing content online, with a 50/50 revenue split. It says it does not accept copyright-infringing content.
"We're joining with Revver to bring the user-generated video phenomenon to the TV set," said Marilyn O'Connell, Verizon’s senior VP of video solutions. "Backed by Verizon's technology, we'll make it easy for our FiOS TV and broadband customers to enjoy the best of the cutting-edge videos that Revver is known for. This is just another way that FiOS continues to distinguish itself from old-fashioned TV."
Steven Starr, the founder and CEO of Revver, added: "Revver prides itself on attracting the very best digital video creators who are producing entertainment for the Internet today. This initiative will help us further support our creators by bringing their content to a whole new TV audience. It's a fantastic opportunity for our company and the growing Revver community."
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A video is worth a million words - Travel, College Tours etc.
Last week we talked about the travel industry and the Internet. Here's an interesting website:I believe this is a brilliant site that encapsulates all that web 2.0 has to offer: Online videos, LongTail advertising etc. I don't want to give away too much. Please do visit this site.
-------------------
College Video Tours
Yes, the world is getting divided into niches and there is more demand for videos on every category that can be imagined. Check out www.theu.com
This site is all about producing and aggregating video contents from students of colleges about their campus tours. Now, who wants to start one for the business schools? :-)
If you have an idea, play with it at www.NewIdeaPedia.com
Second Life Job Fairs
TMP Worldwide is hosting job fairs and conducting interviews in the Second Life Universe. Companies can target the digital savvy 24-44 year audience for employment. This is not a job for Second Life avatars; the actual users can get employment in their "first" life. Employees beware: recruiters will search out your real stats based on real-life resumes, names, and email addresses.When I searched Second Life for Job Fairs, the first thing that came up was an ad for Male and Female strippers at The Virgin Club. If this is appealing to you, here’s the link to apply: http://secondlife.com/events/event.php?id=449989&date=1171299600
While the Virgin Club is a Second Life place, real companies are considering adding a virtual HR department to their online versions.
If you want to get a career IN Second-life. Here are a list of Second Life Avatar careers that are creating $ for their users.
http://secondlife.com/whatis/businesses.php
party and wedding planner
pet manufacturer
casino operator
tattooist
nightclub owner
automotive manufacturer
fashion designer
aerospace engineer
custom avatar designer
jewelry maker
architect
XML coder
freelance scripter
game developer
fine artist
machinima set designer
tour guide
dancer
musician
custom animation creator
lottery operator
theme park developer
real estate speculator
vacation resort owner
advertiser
bodyguard
magazine
publisher
private detective
writer
gamer
landscaper
publicist
special effects designer
gunsmith
hug maker
What is a hug maker?
party and wedding planner
pet manufacturer
casino operator
tattooist
nightclub owner
automotive manufacturer
fashion designer
aerospace engineer
custom avatar designer
jewelry maker
architect
XML coder
freelance scripter
game developer
fine artist
machinima set designer
tour guide
dancer
musician
custom animation creator
lottery operator
theme park developer
real estate speculator
vacation resort owner
advertiser
bodyguard
magazine
publisher
private detective
writer
gamer
landscaper
publicist
special effects designer
gunsmith
hug maker
What is a hug maker?
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