Gridskipper, sponsored blog dedicated to travel
MediaDailyNews 01-31-05: "The Gawker Media Empire launches two new blogs today--Gridskipper, dedicated to travel, and Lifehacker, which will examine software downloads and time-saving Web sites. Both blogs already have corporate marketers on board: Sony Electronics will sponsor Lifehacker, while Cheaptickets will likely sponsor Gridskipper...
Gridskipper proclaims itself "the decadent travel guide," and describes its mission as: "Scouring the world for discount flights, chic hotels--and pretty people." Andrew Krucoff, a former guest writer on Gawker and Fleshbot, will edit the site, which will focus on urban travel.
While it's still rare for large companies to advertise on blogs, Sony and Cheaptickets are not alone. To date, marketers such as Audi, Nike, GE, AT&T, Disney, Viacom, and Hewlett Packard also have advertised on blogs."
Web Analytics - the future
iMediaConnection: More 2005 Predictions
"In the red-hot area of search,
we should see a continued investment, but with more focus on organic search performance. With the PPC bid rates on the rise, the concerns over click fraud emerging, and the undiscovered green fields of PPC marketing becoming rarer, organizations will turn their focus to the essential areas of earning a successful ranking on the first page of their key search engines. This combined with their paid search efforts will become part of their integrated search strategy."
"Web analytics are poised to be a breakout category in 2005 for many converging reasons. The first of which, at a macro level is online marketing spend, which drives the demand for analytics downstream. With the IAB issuing a common set of measurement standards, large agencies and brands will become more comfortable investing a greater share of their wallets into online. Many big organizations are really starting to internalize the direct and indirect influence that their Web channels are having on their businesses and brands, and that even a two to three percent budget investment will drive a huge economy for Web-related services. Since measurement and tangible ROI analysis is one of the main attractions for CMOs to move to online, analytics are poised to be discussed at every twist and turn, and the industry could see the largest growth as a result."
"More and more marketing professionals now understand the fact that they are empowered like never before to test -- fail, test -- succeed, test -- succeed wildly, all while not really risking the business or the marketing budget as they test. It's very addictive and very viral."
"Finally, we are seeing the Web analytics role becoming more essential and better networked. Discussion groups exist, rumblings of trade associations are out there, and this new role (as a serious business contributor) will become a competitive position within organizations.
Anyone who invests in this skill-set is making a very wise investment in their own marketability as a marketer. It's the best time in history to be a marketer. We are redefining every aspect of marketing strategy, direct marketing campaigns, branding, advertising, with the fundamental shifts of putting the customer in control, and mass marketing losing its respect. Add the fact that it is all easily testable -- and inarguably measurable -- to the fact that it provides proof positive to the contribution that marketing is making within a greater organization, and it's easy to see why Web analytics is a hot, growing category, and a wise place to spend more and more time in 2005.
Tomorrow: We dig a little deeper into two things: first, branding and Web analytics; second, what role Web analytics will play (or fail to play) with regard to integrated marketing?"
New Communications Forum
New Communications Forum 2005: Blog University
"If you are considering starting a corporate blog, want to learn how to maximize your current blog, or more about wikis, RSS newsfeeds, podcasts and more, you should attend the New Communications Forum. "
NevOn
Reviews the conference: "the talk was about communication. PR talk, marketing talk, employee communication talk, investor relations talk, building communities. Talking about building sustainable relationships with the diverse range of people an organization must communicate with, and how the new tools like blogs, wikis and RSS are the enabling foundations for those relationships."
Make Money off Your Blog
washingtonpost.com
Micro Persuasion
Steve Rubel comments & links to other blogs
NewsGator Online
NewsGator Online RSS organiser
Amazon To Blend Streetscapes With Local Search Listings
MediaDailyNews 01-28-05
"Amazon.com Thursday announced the introduction of a local search service that displays quaint stills of the store next door. The online retail giant, boasting 20 million shop-front photos in 10 major U.S. cities, is billing the new service as a boon to local businesses as well as would-be patrons"
Wikis Pose a Threat to Costly Media Directories
Micro Persuasion: Wikis Pose a Threat to Costly Media Directories
"Media directories are a costly, yet necessary purchase for PR professionals" ...online "databases have evolved nicely over the years - from dead-tree books to CDs to robust online tools - they risk becoming extinct unless they evolve fast into wikis (definition)..."
PR Opinions
PR Opinions
"Some thoughts and opinions on the Public Relations profession and industry. Hosted by Tom Murphy"
Links to PR blogs
RSS Rapidly Becoming the Next Standard in Commercial Web-Publishing and Online Information Distribution
PRWEB
"January 24, 2005 -- RSS is rapidly becoming the next standard in commercial web-publishing and online information distribution.Just as email and blogging filtered from academia to information technology to commerce, RSS is gaining momentum as the primary online channel for proprietary corporate communications and outbound marketing, advertising and sales. "
iMediaConnection: Would You Buy a Car from this Blogger?
iMediaConnection: Would You Buy a Car from this Blogger?
Re how to "capitalize on the blogosphere’s greatest value -- their influence. Blogs are very different animals than mainstream sites"
Virtual Tours Two Million Virtual Tourists A Day
Center for Media Research - Daily Brief
"A new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that 45% of online American adults have taken advantage of virtual tours of another location online"
The Young and The Connected: connection stats and usage
emarketer.com: "A new survey by Bolt, a youth-oriented online content site, finds that 70% of 15 to 22 year-old Internet users accessed the Internet with a broadband connection during the fourth quarter of 2004, an 11% increase from Q3 2004. "
Fast Forward: Want Truth in Advertising? Try a Blog
FORTUNE
David Kirkpatrick writes about Hayden, "the legendary advertising figure behind Apple's famous “1984” ad, introducing the Macintosh" who now oversees IBM's ad account at Ogilvy & Mather and what Hayden has "to say on the subject of blogs and truth in advertising."
Kirkpatrick sets out some of Hayden's "insights into how blogs are changing the relationship between consumers, corporations and advertisers"
• Blogs can serve as a trusted source
• They can provide companies with reliable feedback
• They provide an outlet for happy and unhappy customers
• They can serve as a reality check
• They can help companies reach an influential audience
Kirkpatrick ends by asking "Has your company’s CEO blogged, or spoken to a blog, yet? Maybe it's about time."
Advertisers are embracing video, will Yahoo? -
CBS.MarketWatch.com
Net Sense: Bambi Francisco asks " Will 2005 be the year that advertisers embrace broadband video content? It's a question to ask as we'll begin to hear the leading media companies announce their fourth-quarter results and their strategies and outlook for this year."
Based on US stats "the most recent numbers show that 81 percent of those who access the Web from work are on broadband while 54 percent of people at home are on broadband, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. At MarketWatch, we've stepped up the amount of broadband content because there is an audience (albeit not a booming one), and advertisers are taking note"
"Advertisers are now paying about $20 to $30 a CPM for a 15-second spot that pre-rolls a broadband video, he said. One reason advertisers are warming up to Web broadband content is because they can interact with consumers."
Based on the Pew Internet Research Report Francisco reckons that: "The next-generation of consumers will have their 15 minutes of fame with their own reality TV show.
If that's the case,
Yahoo has all the makings to build upon its media kingdom of text-based content on the Web by using its audience to create the TV reality-styled Internet programming starring its own users, and advertisers to fund it. "
EBay to Increase Fees, Angering Sellers
EBay to Increase Fees, Angering Sellers: "Some small business owners who reach most of their customers via eBay Inc. expressed anger Thursday at the online auction giant's plan to boost the monthly fee it charges sellers by 60 percent. Its shares lost nearly 4 percent...
The changes, combined with eBay's dominance in the auction and online payment sectors, prompted some members to ask whether the government or a fair-business consortium should regulate fee structures so small-scale entrepreneurs don't get gouged."
Web Design for All the Senses
Digital Web Magazine
Some very interesting ideas, I especially like his points about introducing "tactile interaction into my overall Web experience " smell of seaweed, sound of waves...
"Sit back from your monitor a little bit. Stop clicking. Look around. What in your environment, while you are interacting with your computer, is designed to stimulate your sense of touch? I’m guessing that very few of us have anything like that available. Yet, if available, every single time I gently rubbed a piece of trademark Burberry or branded cashmere, the company or product that introduced that tactile interaction into my overall Web experience would benefit from it. I might be on the CNN site being bombarded by expensive ads from big companies, but I’ll be gently rubbing that little piece of fabric and warmly appreciating the company that was thoughtful enough to put it there, rather than the advertisers.
It is just basic experience design—think beyond the specific media and create a better overall experience."
His favourite example is
MICHELANGELO.COM "Michelangelo.COM is a web design and production studio specializing in innovative design, interactive content, commerce & identification" and their work...
E-Mail Etiquette in Business Makes a Difference
E-Commerce News: Viewpoint
"E-Mail Etiquette in Business Makes a Difference" one for additional points for training manual...
Erika Brown On Venture Capital
Forbes.com
"Bold Prediction
Three bubbles: Micro bubbles--a result of the influx of capital into venture funds, which will spur VCs into competing for deals. This, in turn, will boost valuations and encourage dozens of me-too startups. Internet two bubbles--as in the '90s, Application Services Provider returns as On Demand Software, and successful IPOs from Salesforce, Motive and RightNow will cause a slew of entrepreneurs to follow suit. And, finally, a Nano bubble--firms that don't even do micro-technology are calling themselves nano-something or other. But be forewarned, it's just another buzzword to lure excitable investors. "
Acronyms associated with the Internet and networked communications
Predictions Database
Definitions for some early acronyms associated with the Internet and networked communications
Pew report on the future of the Internet
CBS Marketwatch
Pew Internet & American Life Project asked almost 1,200 technology specialists, scholars, and industry leaders for their opinions about the future of the Internet.
Future of the Internet - Pew Internet & American Life Project
Main predictions include:
Experts are both in awe and in frustration about the state of the internet. They celebrate search technology, peer-to-peer networks, and blogs; they bemoan institutions that have been slow to change.
Increase in civic involvement because people can easily use the Net to participate in discussions and join organizations
The rise of the blog will bring radical change to the news and publishing industry
File swapping and music-file sharing over anonymous, free, peer-to-peer networks will still be easy to perform a decade from now
59% of these experts agreed with a prediction that more government and business surveillance will occur as computing devices proliferate and become embedded in appliances, cars, phones, and even clothes.
57% of them agreed that virtual classes will become more widespread in formal education and that students might at least occasionally be grouped with others who share their interests and skills, rather than by age
56% agreed that as telecommuting and home-schooling expand, the boundary between work and leisure will diminish and family dynamics will change because of that.
Some 66% agreed that at least one devastating attack will occur in the next 10 years on the networked information infrastructure or the country’s power grid
By 2014, all media, including audio, video, print, and voice, will stream in and out of the home or office via the internet. Computers that coordinate and control video games, audio, and video will become the centerpiece of the living room and will link to networked devices around the household, replacing the television's central place in the
Specific quotes of interest:
“Anything that has involved an intermediary will be changed. New kinds of intermediaries will emerge, but the old ones – especially in businesses that have created high margins by being in the middle of transactions – will find their very existences at risk.” – Dan Gillmor, longtime technology journalist
James Brancheau, a vice president at GartnerG2 who analyzes the media industry, wrote, “Connections across media, entertainment, advertising, and commerce will become stronger with future margins going to a new breed of ‘digital media titans.’ These companies may not come from the traditional value chain, they will be far more aggressive than existing players. The incumbents are not moving fast enough.
Well-branded innovators such as Google and Starbucks have a chance to build all-new new distribution models tied to ad revenue and retail sales.”
Peter M. Shane, professor of law at Ohio State University and the editor of Democracy Online, wrote, “The most radical changes will likely involve the workplace, because of the economic incentives involved, and processes of artistic creation, because the internet is such a fabulous new medium of creation and distribution. I hope for real, but more modest gains in the contribution of the internet to our democratic life.”
“Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy. The Net will wear away institutions that have forgotten how to sound human and how to engage in conversation.” – David Weinberger, a fellow at Harvard's Berkman Institute for Internet & Society and blogger extraordinaire
Some experts focused on the commercial aspects of the prediction. Bob Metcalfe, inventor of ethernet and founder of 3Com, wrote, “We must and therefore will fix this problem. Private property is too valuable an economic tool.” Another expert agreed, but rather more bitterly wrote, “We're headed towards digital prohibition. The bastards are going to win.”
The survey ends with the most forward-looking question: “What are you anxious to see happen? What is your dream application, or where would you hope to see the most path-breaking developments in the next decade?” A fuller rundown of written responses can be found at: http://www.elon.edu/predictions/q24.aspx.
Lois Ambash, president of Metaforix.com, wrote, “My dream application is a fail-safe, user- controlled, user-friendly privacy screen that would allow people to reap all the benefits of cyberspace with none of the personal risks. What I am most anxious to see is genuine conversation between geeks and newbies. Many people who could reap great benefits from the internet are hampered by the jargon barrier (and other language barriers, such as reading level and lack of facility in English)... My dream situation – as opposed to application – will occur when beta testing routinely requires that any intelligent adult be able to use the product or application competently without a geek in the family or a lengthy interaction with tech support.”
The report ends with a quote from one of the experts..."“I never would have expected that such a high percentage of people would be utterly dependent upon the internet for such a large proportion of their daily communication activities. If you took it away, we would be shell-shocked. But ten years ago, we didn't even have it!”"
Grounded blogger campaigns for bloggers rights
Internet Daily
Frank Barnako, CBS.MarketWatch.com reports that the grounded flight attendent AKA the "Queen of Sky, "Ellen Simonetti threatens 'blogophobic' companies with being blacklisted by Webloggers if they don't warm up to the online diarists."
The Bloggers' Rights Blog "is an internet bill to force companies to evaluate their policies and think before they make stupid decisions! If they choose not to abide by the bill, then they risk being blacklisted by bloggers everywhere!"
Search Blogs List
Search Visibility Report: "Blog Directory"
Niklas Zennstrom : A maverick voice on the line
Telegraph
Niklas Zennstrom of Kaazaa infamy is now promoting a "free phone calls service, Skype, (which) is terrifying traditional phone companies by offering anybody with a decent computer and a broadband connection the chance to make free calls via the internet to other users of the service.
Zennstrom "insists that by building a huge user base, Skype can make profits, even with tiny bills per customer, because it has no network costs and all its marketing is done by word of mouth. For his next trick he's planning a service that works over mobiles. "
A role model for his " iconoclastic behaviour (which) sounds rather fun" The interviewer asks if "his main motivation to make the life of corporate giants a misery? "No,'' insists Zennstrom . "I don't care about other people's businesses. But it's fun to make an impact and drive the change process – and it's very good for evolution."
Wikipedia | Why encyclopaedic row speaks volumes about the old guard
The Observer | Business
John Naughton: "By all laws of reference-work publishing, Wikipedia ought to be a disaster. Yet it is exactly the opposite - an exceedingly useful online reference work often consulted by this columnist and countless others."
Critics of Wikipedia and the public creation of knowledge take the stance derived from "the conventional wisdom of managerial capitalism that we think the only way to do things is via hierarchical, top-down, tightly controlled organisations'.
In defense of Wiki against establishment behemoths Naughton suggests that you "Try looking up tsunami in the online edition of Britannica (www.britannica.com) and then in Wikipedia. While you're at it, note the extensive entry the latter has for the recent disaster and compare it with the video provided by Britannica of the tsunami that devastated Hawaii - in 1946."
He finds most "interesting is the social process that underpins the project."
He quotes Clay Shirky "'Wikipedia is an experiment in social openness, and it will stand or fall with the ability to manage that experiment ... Wikipedia makes no claim to expertise or authority other than use-value, and if you want to vote against it, don't use it. Everyone else will make the same choice for themselves, and the aggregate decisions of the population will determine the outcome of the project. And five years from now, when the Wikipedia is essential infrastructure, we'll hardly remember what the fuss was about.'
The Zen of Jeff Bezos
Wired 13.01
Identifies the key to Amazon's early success as due to: "early word of mouth came from people looking for more obscure volumes. These days, the site sells more than 20 million products, including all 29 colors of the KitchenAid 5-quart mixer. And it's a $6 billion business, thanks to its focus on niche markets and customer service."
Bezos tested TV advertising and concludes that instead of trad ads Amazon" put all that money into lower product prices and free shipping. That has significantly accelerated the growth of our business.
Is this a trend?
Yes, more and more money will go into making a great customer experience, and less will go into shouting about the service. Word of mouth is becoming more powerful. If you offer a great service, people find out.
In the magazine world, we rely on ads. Should we be terrified?
I'm not saying that advertising is going away. But the balance is shifting. If today the successful recipe is to put 70 percent of your energy into shouting about your service and 30 percent into making it great, over the next 20 years I think that's going to invert."
Internet and E-Business Trends in 2004
eMarketer
"According to eMarketer's CEO Geoff Ramsey, "The Internet is back!" But this time, it's got a solid foundation. Ramsey explains, "Companies are making money online. Advertisers are investing in online advertising — which is now the fastest growing ad medium in the US. Businesses large and small, around the world, are adopting e-business technologies in virtually every facet of their operations.
1) Paid Search Advertising
2) Cross-Channel Shopping
3)Blogs and Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
4) Strong Broadband Adoption
5) Mobile service
6) IT Overseas Outsourcing
7) Health Care and IT
8)VoIP: Service Offerings
9) Linux
10) China: Major IT Consumer "
Tech IPOs 'rise from the ashes'
CNET News.com
"Start-ups that survived the bursting of the Internet bubble are finally finding their pot of gold. "
Phishing and identity theft scams increase
DMNews.com
"AOL tracked a sharp rise in phishing and identity theft scams in 2004. "
The state of blogging report
CNET News.com
Reports that "The number of blogs and the use of blog readers rose rapidly last year--but a majority of Americans still do not know what a blog is. "
The
Pew Internet research results show that "8 million American adults say they have created blogs; blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users; 5% of internet users say they use RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online; and 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs. Still, 62% of internet users do not know what a blog is. "
:: Travel Weekly - Awards Winners::
:: Travel Weekly ::
"2004 Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards Winners"
Blogs for business?
Electronic Business
Blogs "have a remarkable ability to aid communication in business, whether within internal workgroups or among external chains of suppliers and partners".
Suggestions include blogging product launches and beta testing.
For example,
Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz and other Sun employees blog as a form of external communications.
