tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4872397281435352072024-02-19T14:28:50.203-05:00Interactive Internet MarketingBlog on Internet Marketing and other random thoughts suitable for public consumption.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-67604237664761921712010-08-31T10:16:00.011-05:002010-08-31T17:24:51.311-05:00Social Network 'Assimilation'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4DQMP61w3yUJakDyURHLyAQjkWPbcZb7sVxzD93B2wIqX6Rx_KqkjEtwXnmjW-ae7W8DHJk-vZO_L92DmbRqtfT15xfIuj-4Xe37sRRq7kyJDXw1X6jmNPTR9U7833Lf7QzZ7hlihXPN/s1600/borg.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 191px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO4DQMP61w3yUJakDyURHLyAQjkWPbcZb7sVxzD93B2wIqX6Rx_KqkjEtwXnmjW-ae7W8DHJk-vZO_L92DmbRqtfT15xfIuj-4Xe37sRRq7kyJDXw1X6jmNPTR9U7833Lf7QzZ7hlihXPN/s200/borg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511667632979257618" border="0" /></a><br />Star Trek fans are familiar with the infamous Borg psuedo-race of cybernetic organisms. They operate solely toward the fulfilling of one purpose: to "add the biological and technological distinctiveness of other species to their own" in pursuit of perfection<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>. This is achieved through forced assimilation<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>, a process which transforms individuals and technology into Borg, enhancing, and simultaneously controlling, individuals by implanting or appending synthetic components.<br /><br />It seems like social networks are quickly becoming 'borg like' as hives of existence and assimilating unsuspecting humans away from the real world and into the virtual realm. If it hasn't happened to you already, "you will be assimilated."<br /><br />I was at a dinner party with a group of friends and while I was having a pleasant conversation with one of the guests, I couldn't help but notice how his full attention turned to his smartphone mid-conversation. Instead of actually enjoying the dinner party, it appeared that it was more important to update his Facebook page to inform his "friends" how much he was enjoying the dinner party.<br /><br />It seems that the splintering of the web by the many mobile devices that are connected to the internet has facilitated this migration to virtual fulfillment. What will be the impact on our society where individuals live through their social network at the expense of their 'real' network? Many of us have hundreds of friends on Facebook, in real life, we don't have nearly that many 'friends.'<br /><br />Clearly for advertisers, this is a tremendous opportunity. Not only can we associate a brand with an image, we can find out by social network user profiles and postings who associates themselves with that image. The main disconnect is the advertisement or social network presence is often promoting something in the 'real world.' As we have seen sometimes there is a significant disconnect between the social network world and the 'real' world.<br /><br />One example, is when individuals paint a false picture of their real existence within the social network. I've seen social network walls and postings that would suggest an individual is an expert in a particular past time but in reality they are novices. The social network misinformation, in this scenario, could be misleading to advertisers.<br /><br />Either way, it is clear that the social network is growing into a collective of information that is impossible to ignore from an advertising perspective. As the Borg would say, "Resistance is Futile."Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-45281720455752730242010-01-25T12:52:00.005-05:002010-01-25T16:03:45.234-05:002009 Review & 2010 Outlook<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSLH_uetf_90TJzx-e9bZeWF2krsubOJLat4zP2Map8m6uQp4NHCn4Y8p0flHyuggA6C-7OFk4DjNXRp_y6ByO1AGFSVOewyDEkqNZp3eDP1Uy12a-mL8Z0mkbDGbzVBYjVzF3tnV-hBH/s1600-h/New-Years-star.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSLH_uetf_90TJzx-e9bZeWF2krsubOJLat4zP2Map8m6uQp4NHCn4Y8p0flHyuggA6C-7OFk4DjNXRp_y6ByO1AGFSVOewyDEkqNZp3eDP1Uy12a-mL8Z0mkbDGbzVBYjVzF3tnV-hBH/s200/New-Years-star.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430786059227756098" border="0" /></a><br />As 2010 gains momentum, it important to look back and see where we have been before we know where we are going. There are many "New Year's predictions" articles in the blogoshere, but there are not that many that look back at the previous years predictions to check for accuracy. Let's take a look a my 2009 predictions to see if I am deserving of a Christal Ball award for clairvoyance.<br /><br />2009 Prediction Reality Check<br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">PREDICTION</span> - Yahoo! will Fade Away, <span style="font-weight: bold;">REALITY</span> - Yahoo! is still here<br />With a new CEO at the helm, Yahoo! has made some very significant changes in 2009. The biggest of which is deciding to outsource their search engine to Microsoft. Whether this will help usher in a new era for Yahoo! is unknown, but for now Yahoo! appears to have stabilized under its new leadership.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">PREDICTION</span> - Online Video will Monetize and Standardize, <span style="font-weight: bold;">REALITY</span> - Monetize (No) Standardize (Yes)<br />The IAB published an update to their <a href="http://www.iab.net/media/file/dig_vid_imp_meas_guidelines_final.pdf">Digital Video Ad Measurement Guidelines</a> in December of 2009. Monetization of Online Video is still elusive. However, the usage has been continually growing. According to the latest report issued by <a href="http://nielsen.com/">Nielsen Online</a>, 137.4 million Americans watched Web<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span>video in December, a healthy increase of 10.3 percent versus the same month in 2008. Those viewers streamed over 10.7 billion videos during the month, representing an increase of 11.8 percent versus the same time period a year earlier.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">PREDICTION</span> - Government will Embrace Technology, <span style="font-weight: bold;">REALITY</span> - Happening!<br />As I continually receive email updates from the Obama Administration, it is clear that government is changing. Barack Obama initiated his first Tweet on January 13, 2010. However, these changes are taking a longer time to make their way to other government offices such as the US Postal Service.<br /><br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">PREDICTION</span> - Touch Screen Trend will Phase Out Again, <span style="font-weight: bold;">REALITY</span> - Not Yet!<br />Just last week Apple announced it will be coming out with the infamous "T" word: A Tablet PC. There have been many Tablet PC's that have crashed and burned, we will see if Apple can pull it off. However, the e-Book Reader market is flourishing and appears to be the perfect application for the Touch-Screen form factor. Of course, every week more and more iPhone knock-offs are hitting the market. I am a hardcore Blackberry user and when I finally lost my patience with my wireless provider, T-Mobile, I decided to try the touch screen Blackberry Storm2. My trial did not even last 1 month and am thrilled to have a mobile device with a keyboard!<br /><br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">PREDICTION</span> - BtoC E-Commerce will Flourish, <span style="font-weight: bold;">REALITY</span> - It's happening!<br />Discounts spurred an 11 percent jump in online sales on Black Friday and a 10 percent gain on Thanksgiving, according to research firm c<a href="http://comscore.com/">omScore</a>.<br /><br />6. <span style="font-weight: bold;">PREDICTION</span> - Social Networking Ad Revenue will be Flat, <span style="font-weight: bold;">REALITY</span> - Very little growth in 2009.<br />Initially, there were predictions that social networking ad revenue would decrease in 2009. However, the research firms reversed their prediction toward to end of the year suggesting that there would be there would be an increase of 4% (<a href="http://www.clickz.com/3635971">clickz</a>).<br /><br />Three out of 5 is not bad! Now, let's look at predictions for 2010.<br />1. <span style="font-style: italic;">PREDICTION</span> - Facebook will go public<br />Facebook appears to have reached somewhat of a plateau. They are starting to make much needed profit with advertising and investors must be ready to reap the fruits of their labor. I expect an IPO in 2010.<br />2. <span style="font-style: italic;">PREDICTION</span> - Apps Marketing Standardization<br />Apps for mobile devices and social networking have not formally been able to stand of their own as fare as a marketing medium is concerned. However, their usage is exponentially increasing. I expect applications to have some form of standardization in 2010.<br />3. <span style="font-style: italic;">PREDICTION</span> - Microsoft will "Fling" Bing<br />Is there anyone actually using this search engine??? I didn't think so!! Seriously, the actual data suggests that Bing is capturing 10% of searches in the US. The question I have is this, is that any better than MSN before Bing? Actually, it is less! According to <a href="http://blog.compete.com/2008/02/08/search-market-share-january-yahoo-microsoft-google-ask-aol-msn-live/">Compete</a> MSN had 25% of US searches in 2007.<br /><br />Happy New Year!!!Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-20597956541982462912009-11-02T16:33:00.004-05:002009-11-02T17:09:37.014-05:00Web Curators<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruo5A6bNfY5kMimOKMqGVFZrYddAZn630a4FqBH2uLuuI_qHbGgedt-WVwfppeuZ6RNeZojXNpZl4G9_0rXm85kdaSVKwEi2OBhi6DvjWfhLsfVYYEbBh942Y_4W-9onPs4ne7cXzyhOX/s1600-h/IMG00104-20091019-1236.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruo5A6bNfY5kMimOKMqGVFZrYddAZn630a4FqBH2uLuuI_qHbGgedt-WVwfppeuZ6RNeZojXNpZl4G9_0rXm85kdaSVKwEi2OBhi6DvjWfhLsfVYYEbBh942Y_4W-9onPs4ne7cXzyhOX/s200/IMG00104-20091019-1236.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399624719850334802" border="0" /></a><br />On October 19th, I attended a Baruch College's Lunch and Learn. The speaker was none other than Craig Newmark, founder of <a href="http://www.craigslist.org/">Craigslist</a>. He has some very interesting perspectives about social media and is very passionate about "governance" as it relates to society and the internet.<br /><br />One of the topics of his talk that I found most interesting is the subject of information "curators." This term appears to be the latest buzz word that mass media content developers use to describe their role in the webosphere. Analogous to an art museum curator whose job is to manage or oversee the collection of works owned or on exhibit. A web "curator" decides what is worthy of publishing to the masses, whether it is news, music, videos or any information. Traditionally, information curators are the news media, music labels, movie studios, etc. Now in a web 2.0/3.0 world we witnessing a dramatic shift where the roll of the curator is becoming obsolete. As more and more user generated content and eyeballs coexist on the web it will become more difficult for a news editor or music producer to act as gatekeepers of data. Therefore it is critical to embrace this change rather than resist. It seems music labels are record labels are slowly adapting to this trend. The big challenge is with news organizations. Whether it is newspapers, magazines or television, how do you justify your roll as a gatekeeper news if your audience often has better access to news information?Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-63800099693593372902009-08-31T19:18:00.006-05:002009-08-31T21:15:09.184-05:00Gambling or Google Adsense?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8NOWbOZ1zBBpHsc5_3LMLc66RXj3kjTj1hgYNZZ27ovNYaJTD9qZ1ZGKhHJentyYZSLjyovXsvVXEEp7R0JKsYOH__E5YTlszvD4hMqbIkcaBC52IlzUDthGXtajKwk_q0LKbgVcmOd2/s1600-h/acemouse.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376316558681310066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8NOWbOZ1zBBpHsc5_3LMLc66RXj3kjTj1hgYNZZ27ovNYaJTD9qZ1ZGKhHJentyYZSLjyovXsvVXEEp7R0JKsYOH__E5YTlszvD4hMqbIkcaBC52IlzUDthGXtajKwk_q0LKbgVcmOd2/s200/acemouse.jpg" /></a><br /><div>Now that Google is a decade old, employs over 20,000 people worldwide, has a market capitalization of nearly $150 billion (USD), earns over $20 billion (USD) in annual revenue and produced at least three billionaires, we finally have a clear definition of what google is. Michael Arrington of TechCrunch <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/31/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-interview-his-thoughts-on-search-books-news-mobile-competition-and-more/">interviewed</a> Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, and asked the simple question, What is Google? His reply was:</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><em><span style="color:#666666;">"I think of Google as a set of overlapping things. It’s a consumer platform, consumer phenomenon of which search is its fundamental activity, but there are many other things you can do than search…I think of Google as an advertising company who services the broader advertising industry in the ways that you know. And the first and the second are inter-related. The third is I think of us as a network of partners and infrastructure. I don’t know how many billions of dollars we hand to everybody. But by the time you look at the publishers, the use of AdSense and so forth, it’s literally billions of dollars going through Google and to other people which we hope fund additional software, additional web applications, additional content and so forth and we care a lot about that."</span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="color:#666666;"></span></em></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">It is always food for thought when large corporations conveniently define themselves so generally that it leaves the door open for endless expansion (ie. Xerox- The Document Company). However, the statement referencing the billions of dollars that Google "hands to everybody" trough the AdSense program caught my attention. The percentage share of advertising revenue that Google AdSense publishers get from Google is always subject to open debate and speculation, as Google has never officially announced or revealed the revenue share it gives out and distributes to websites’ partners and publishers. In 2005, the New York Times estimated that the magic figure was around 79%. That means for every dollar that google makes in advertising dollars, 79 cents is paid to AdSense publishers and partners.</span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>While it is nothing short of genius for Google strategist to create such a clever revenue stream it is eerily reminiscent of the casino business model. An average payout ratio for a casino is at least 95% (20% greater than the AdSense payout), which begs the question, is it better to gamble or subscribe to AdSense?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The answer to this question has probably been published in a doctoral dissertation. However, there is one mantra that absolutely applies to both the casino model and the AdSense model, "The house always wins."</div>Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-49139775400579336402009-07-07T11:34:00.006-05:002009-07-07T15:50:51.970-05:00June 2009: The Month Twitter Found a Niche<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVezpO94zAQmEaRYlvJ4NjBwOgDgNZyASbFI_Bq8cstzSWrllfg0MGCcdyCiwjfXzcheLf2lNCJfVsK9Wl_RNHcRXyaSZ9U5dy_royyoFu3vKwQCWrOXNfwlzTWdZFjglLRy_DXxSyYmAW/s1600-h/michael_jackson_king_of_pop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVezpO94zAQmEaRYlvJ4NjBwOgDgNZyASbFI_Bq8cstzSWrllfg0MGCcdyCiwjfXzcheLf2lNCJfVsK9Wl_RNHcRXyaSZ9U5dy_royyoFu3vKwQCWrOXNfwlzTWdZFjglLRy_DXxSyYmAW/s200/michael_jackson_king_of_pop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355821877800369170" border="0" /></a><br />What do Michael Jackson and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have in common? They both had a major role in the global news media taking note of Twitter last month. In the months leading up to June, Twitter had grown from 1.7 million unique visitors in May 2008 to over 19.7 million in May 2009. Then on June 15, 2009, the Iranian authorities blocked reports from international correspondents who were reporting about the ensuing protests against the contested Presidential election. Once the conventional reporters were silenced the news media turned to Iranian citizen journalists who used Twitter and other social networking media to <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLqHHnZr7s84e17Gpp9Z-dcR-CGgIlm7NhtnpfzkO1ONLECY-uvEeFNyL1KRJ4qCJP_ufRRmcTJPIJhG-k8JRr9PujFTGqzTp3Pr1ItiKA7F5kjfYrt-Vk5my1C2eEZxDRecOKxXnLpb0/s1600-h/Iran.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 112px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFLqHHnZr7s84e17Gpp9Z-dcR-CGgIlm7NhtnpfzkO1ONLECY-uvEeFNyL1KRJ4qCJP_ufRRmcTJPIJhG-k8JRr9PujFTGqzTp3Pr1ItiKA7F5kjfYrt-Vk5my1C2eEZxDRecOKxXnLpb0/s200/Iran.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355821883719825154" border="0" /></a>give real time accounts of the rioting, protests and violence. The opposition party candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi had accumulated over 100,000 supporters on Facebook. During the protest activities tweets were posted at rates as high as 221,000/hour. YouTube saw 3,000 Iranian videos uploaded and 2.2 million blog entries were posted.<br /><br />Just 10 days (June 25, 2009) after the Twitter spike in Iran, Michael Jackson died. As the unexpected news shot across the globe several major websites crashed under the weight of the web traffic. Michael Jackson "tweets" were almost 30% of all "tweets" in the hours after the news was first reported. Messages were posted at a rate of 5,000/minute at its peak. News media outlets again turned to Twitter for immediate reactions from celebrities and citizen journalists. The true impact of Michael Jackson's death on Twitter is still unfolding as the world watches the coverage of the Michael Jackson Memorial.<br /><br />It is unclear what the financial impact these events will have on Twitter but what is clear is that the news media is dramatically being impacted by Twitter. Traditionally, if a big news story breaks, the public would turn on their television. Now, they are just as likely to turn to Twitter or other social networking media first.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-85699502179347875492009-06-24T11:34:00.004-05:002009-06-24T13:09:58.530-05:00R.I.P. Web 2.0<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvfWRmGU2CWXAZrZh1nR1WSVrwi2rKGqwzzPqsWsGdIqCHs8JOX4VBmpSQO4jHNvCZqPL0SX4LZyvmgOEPtOt7JrcbxjOeLZXg876Tb8SooGufsg6bFEiovKnzrrHSUsOAofzfwFtcX3y/s1600-h/web3.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvfWRmGU2CWXAZrZh1nR1WSVrwi2rKGqwzzPqsWsGdIqCHs8JOX4VBmpSQO4jHNvCZqPL0SX4LZyvmgOEPtOt7JrcbxjOeLZXg876Tb8SooGufsg6bFEiovKnzrrHSUsOAofzfwFtcX3y/s320/web3.0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350934005691001298" border="0" /></a><br />Just when you thought you understood Web 2.0 enough to impress friends and associates at social events, Web 2.0 becomes more passe than Doc Marten shoes. Yes, it is true that the most well known internet buzz word is losing its relevance but the good news is Web 3.0 has arrived! Now we have a new buzz word to spend the next few years defining. <br /><br />The interesting thing about these milestones is they appear to be only identifiable after they have arrived. It is almost like predicting a storm. We can see the clouds on the horizon but we don't know how destructive they will be until after it has passed. Similarly with the web we can see the implications of newer web innovations but it is difficult to predict whether they will create discontinuity in the marketplace until after they have arrived and been fully adopted.<br /><br />What exactly is Web 3.0? It appears that the foundations of Web 3.0 are cloud-based data and services. With 23.8% of the worlds population online and 429 million broadband subscribers, applications are beginning to move into the internet cloud and away from individual devices. This is allowing media clients to become "thinner" as long as they can access the web. With the introduction of 'net books' and increased penetration of 'smartphones' the decade old vision of the network appliance is now a reality. Today Web 3.0 is the complete integration of computing into every part of our lives in a way that is seamless, ubiquitous and ideally, dead simple.<br /><br />Where will Web 3.0 lead us? The answer isn't clear. If we take a closer look at how the web has evolved we can still see that data travels in one direction at a single point in time. For example, the ultimate Web 1.0 example is the flat webpage that acts as a brochure. With Web 1.0, the user enters the website and the website appears. There is an action and a reaction. Today, Twitter operates the same way. A member of twitter will post information and that information is read by all of the respective subscribers. Ultimately, the web is moving toward a model where data travels multi-directional at a single point in time. An example would be when all data that is relavant to a user is automatically accessible to individuals.<br /><br />Imagine the scenario, your boss wants you to go to Houston for a meeting. The moment you accept a meeting request in your inbox all of your travel, hotel, ground transportation, etc. is instantly and automatically arranged at the times that are optimal for your needs. All you have to do is pack. We are not there yet but who knows, perhaps we will get there before Web 5.0.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-58274088405889858142009-03-06T16:19:00.004-05:002009-03-07T00:53:30.548-05:00Business Model Please!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fcZNGWwe9OGrGqC3g0CFJd4bEuFqLwyMdwvlBTpbHXKPkzw4zaFuSyvfWMbNbEEFeKXJimHeKgNvWHV5cRmGP7a64rBcfqoos1NyPQQpEGkRgG92TkfIkBMsQjFhUUQZOKgMW-yCgshz/s1600-h/Cartoon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fcZNGWwe9OGrGqC3g0CFJd4bEuFqLwyMdwvlBTpbHXKPkzw4zaFuSyvfWMbNbEEFeKXJimHeKgNvWHV5cRmGP7a64rBcfqoos1NyPQQpEGkRgG92TkfIkBMsQjFhUUQZOKgMW-yCgshz/s320/Cartoon.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310319889917552738" border="0" /></a><br />These days predicting a downward business trend is about as clairvoyant as predicting that the North Pole will be cold! However, there is one trend that appears to surfacing that will likely have an significant impact on the Webosphere. The firms that provide the lifeblood for many web 2.0 companies are beginning to succumb to the pressures of a weak economy. The financial vehicles such as IPO's and Mergers & Acquisitions often used to "prop up" social networking companies that typically have no business models, have been significantly hampered by the declining equity markets. Two companies that come to mind are Facebook and Twitter. Both of these companies are immensely popular and growing exponentially but are lacking one thing; a business model. This fact was very well verbalized by the co-founder and CEO of Twitter, Evan Williams, during his interview with Charlie Rose last week. Below is a clip of the interview:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/G8wlxjCu5gE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/G8wlxjCu5gE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />In 2007, Microsoft invested $240 million into Facebook which at the time was estimated by Microsoft to be a 1.6% stake. This valuation infamously placed Facebook worth $15 billion. In July 2008, Facebook valued itself at $3.75 billion. That means that Microsoft's $240 million investment is worth less than $60 million today. Twitter was valued at $250 million in January 2009. It was also reported that Facebook wanted to acquire Twitter in November 2008, for $500 million. Fortunately, for Evan Williams, he was able to profit before the meltdown by creating the blog application that this blog belongs to, blogger.com.<br /><br />Despite advertising revenues that Facebook introduced in 2007, it was leaked on the Internet that Facebook had 2007 revenues of $150 million and was $150 million cash flow negative. Twitter on the other hand has absolutely no revenue model. At some point, investors are going to push for a return on their investment which will pressure both companies to move toward an acquisition. With social networking ad revenues expecting to decline in 2009, the prospects do not look good for ad revenues to be the salvation for these companies. The other obvious possibility is to charge a fee for membership. It is unclear what effect a fee would have on the number of users. The outraged over the Facebook policy-change blunder proved that Facebook members can be very fickle.<br /><br />Both Facebook and Twitter could have been acquired for tons of money before the economy tanked, but if they are unable to create sustainable business models, they might be wishing they had agreed to be acquired when the bidding was high.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-34914324884368816012009-01-15T15:22:00.005-05:002009-01-16T14:18:05.831-05:002009 Outlook<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglur55M_makPIE6ydXkQ7H2TMOZfTigKSQdlsS87f6J-NyGN8XjhPo8b47JTXPEYa9vqQNl8g5r1z5bW1iuGMfPa2z5hOJ4tjPbiJTKrGrVF8h58MJLHVlFuwO-uZ5RYDKVCtm4IH_tlw6/s1600-h/New-Years-star.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglur55M_makPIE6ydXkQ7H2TMOZfTigKSQdlsS87f6J-NyGN8XjhPo8b47JTXPEYa9vqQNl8g5r1z5bW1iuGMfPa2z5hOJ4tjPbiJTKrGrVF8h58MJLHVlFuwO-uZ5RYDKVCtm4IH_tlw6/s320/New-Years-star.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291620083073000194" border="0" /></a>2008 is finally over! Time for new ideas, hopes and beginnings. I don't think there has been such a potentially pivotal time period on this planet since World War 2! So many things are happening at one time that reading the news is a dizzying experience daily. Where do we start? First there is Obama, then the global capitalistic meltdown, potential collapse of OPEC, more conflict and tension in the Middle East and the almost weekly reports of wealthy individuals who decide that suicide is better than being broke! What does all of this mean for Internet Marketing in 2009? I'm not clairvoyant but here is my take on what to expect in the coming months:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yahoo! will Fade Away</span> - The stage is already being set for Microsoft to finally take over Yahoo! However, the economy is so bad that it may not be economical for Microsoft to make such a sizable investment unless Yahoo! becomes a total "fire sale." If Microsoft does not purchase Yahoo! it does not appear that it can survive the fight against Google. It isn't clear is if a Yahoo! acquisition by Microsoft is enough to eat away significant market share from Google. The outlook for both companies is not positive. Additionally, the landscape of search is changing so quickly that Yahoo!'s fate might already be sealed. At the present time more searches are conducted on YouTube than Yahoo! I'm certain that Facebook searches are rapidly approaching search engine levels.</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Online Video will Monetize</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">and Standardize</span> - Over 80% of internet users are viewing video's online. Online video as an advertising medium is significantly more effective than other forms of interactive media. The CTR for online video can be as hight is 35%. History has proven that where there are masses of people then dollars will follow. Emarketer is forecasting that online video ad spending will increase to <span id="lblBody" class="grey_text2">$4.6 billion in 2013, up from $587 million in 2008. In order for that to happen Online Video must standardize its advertising formats. At the present time, no two online video promotions are alike. In the past 2 years there have been a lot of video syndication companies appearing on the web which have helped to standardize the promotional format. I expect this trend to continue this year.</span></li><li><span id="lblBody" class="grey_text2"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Government will Embrace Technology</span> -For the first time in US history we have a President who is addicted to his Blackberry. Another first is witnessing Internet Marketing propel an individual into the White House. If anyone still questions the power of the Internet as a promotional medium then I have a bridge to sell them. I expect the Obama administration to continue to embrace the Internet as they settle into leading the free world. For the first time the US executive branch will have a Chief Technology Officer. There will be both positive and negative implications for having a tech savyy government. The positive: The internet will continue to stay "free." Additionally, barriers will be lowered for conducting business on the internet. The Obama team has already announced that they will inject billions of US dollars into communications related technology. The negative: State governments and Federal governments will likely work more closely together and the "big brother" phenomenon will slowly become more of a reality.<br /></span></li><li><span id="lblBody" class="grey_text2"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Touch Screen Trend will Phase Out Again</span> - We can thank Apple introducing the iPhone and the iPod Touch for creating this Touch Screen craze. We've been down this road before with the Z80 Computer (1984) with its flat keyboard; the Palm Pilot (1997) with is touch screen UI; the Tablet PC (2001). When will people learn that a touch screen is a poor substitute for a keyboard that exists in 3 dimensions. I will admit that there are some applications where a touch screen is perfectly acceptable, but not where significant typing is required.</span></li><li><span id="lblBody" class="grey_text2"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BtoC E-Commerce will Flourish </span>- Everyday it is becoming increasingly clear for retail establishments that unless they add signicant value to the products and services they sell, it is very difficult to turn a profit with a bricks and mortar storfront. At the present time e-commerce is only 3.4% of total commerce but this number has more than doubled in the last 5 years. Since information is readily available on the web, all products have become essentially commodities. The only reason to go to a "store" are: 1. If you have an immediate need for a product (ie. grocery store, drug store). 2. To obtain a physical social experience (ie. movie theater, restaurant, coffee shop). 3. To save money (ie. walmart). Otherwise, it usually make sense to purchase online.</span></li><li><span id="lblBody" class="grey_text2"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Social Networking Ad Revenue will be Flat</span> - It is really facinating to me that the most popular forms of media seem to consistantly have relatively low advertising revenue. This is certainly true for Mobile Phones with over 2 billion users worldwide and only $2.7 billion (USD) in ad revenue. Facebook alone has over 150 million members but social network advertising was $1.2 billion (USD) in 2008. When you compare that to Television which has ad revenues on the order of $45 billion (USD) it is clear that the newer forms of media a miniscule in comparison. The big question is why. It is my opinion the passive nature of TV contributes to its effectiveness as an advertising medium. Interactivity doesn't always translate to effective advertising unless the product itself can become the promotion.</span></li></ul>Regardless of what actually happens, 2009 will most certainly not be overlooked by history. Lets make it a great year!!Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-72954880562215269402008-11-19T11:18:00.003-05:002008-11-19T12:34:50.038-05:00Internet Marketing in Hard Economic Times<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTCcvma7lSnibadbivMs686ywZ7Oa3LhGBwcQqLz7j8md4lcw0MpRPYWqxgXSrzp8HdBhbDGW27hHEplf7w0j-PpuU7sNY3rU2E8d8SzhGIIguFCfRRBB3DfGndpoMRRDCQrmT4eKFdsz/s1600-h/EmptyPocket.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTCcvma7lSnibadbivMs686ywZ7Oa3LhGBwcQqLz7j8md4lcw0MpRPYWqxgXSrzp8HdBhbDGW27hHEplf7w0j-PpuU7sNY3rU2E8d8SzhGIIguFCfRRBB3DfGndpoMRRDCQrmT4eKFdsz/s320/EmptyPocket.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270423413257729538" border="0" /></a><br />As the news of global meltdowns, bankruptcies, foreclosures, layoffs and bailouts continues to mount, it is increasingly clear that we must tweak our promotional strategies to adjust for the harsh realities of the economic times. Whether we are in B-to-B or B-to-C, all of our customers are likely to spend less and our advertising budgets are likely to be trimmed accordingly.<br /><br />That is why it appears to me that there is no better time to invest more in interactive internet promotional activities. Here is why:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Measurability</span> - Internet advertising is more measurable than other forms of media. Don't believe me? Try to measure conversion rate for a billboard ad on a random street corner.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scalability</span> - With "guaranteed" banner ads which on only displayed when a relevant user is visiting the sight, the user gets a significantly more targeted form of media. "Guaranteed" banners are more expensive than "non-guaranteed" banners but the absolute cost is cheaper than non-internet forms of display ads.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Audience</span> - The internet audience continues to grow. With over 300 million broadband subscribers globally it is very likely that your target market can be reached via internet marketing. If we compare this with the estimated 1.4 billion televisions on our planet we can get a perspective on the upside potential.<br /><br />The key is to examine your customers buying cycle and determine where internet advertising can be most effective. If pre-sales and where that opportunity exists than attempt to educate you customer through your advertising to hopefully drive sales.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-2072602693703955202008-11-05T15:37:00.005-05:002008-11-19T12:37:11.063-05:00What an Obama Victory Says about Mobile Marketing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh26yc-w8DiZ_Zu0QJE6SOIYSCmw-6BC8jpAO2Dy-Co49jlggqJG9XHz1OtL7LJvGkCSxxPXvbB2K3svvioZljLETfjdfZUav59LgOIwzFEXsplPl17FmCy8NbaeoELnOb8ANpgrRxvteE6/s1600-h/obama_shep_print_final2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh26yc-w8DiZ_Zu0QJE6SOIYSCmw-6BC8jpAO2Dy-Co49jlggqJG9XHz1OtL7LJvGkCSxxPXvbB2K3svvioZljLETfjdfZUav59LgOIwzFEXsplPl17FmCy8NbaeoELnOb8ANpgrRxvteE6/s320/obama_shep_print_final2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270424049755336354" border="0" /></a><br />Early this morning, I received the following SMS:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">We just made history. All of this happened because you gave your time, talent and passion to this campaign. All of this happened because of you. Thanks, Barack<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span>Never before have we seen a presidential campaign that has completely embraced Mobile Marketing as the one for Barack Obama. Whether it made the difference in him winning the Presidency is debatable. However, it is clear that from this moment forward all future presidential campaigns will have to utilize "new media" to reach specific demographic audiences.<br /><br />The Obama campaign used SMS from the beginning of the campaign. However, there were two activities that were especially successful in engaging individuals to accept the medium from the campaign:<br /><br />1. During the Super Bowl in February, 2008 the campaign ran and ad that asked its supporters to send "hope" to 62262 or O B A M A to "opt-in" to SMS communications.<br /><br />2. August, 2008 the announcement of Obama's Vice Presidential running mate was made exclusively via SMS.<br /><br />The lessons learned here is the power of cross media plays when it comes to Mobile Marketing. SMS marketing, combined with Web or even TV advertising can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the medium.<br /><br />Now, it will be interesting to see if Obama continues to utilize SMS once he moves into the White House. I will be eager to receive a text message stating: <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />The financial crisis has been solved! Thanks, Barack</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-77737067232449735542008-09-24T12:08:00.007-05:002008-09-25T21:53:10.394-05:00Android vs. iPhone, Wrong Battle for Google<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITZIjqwx7h3YyFx4Il0mWC5L2F4C_OjvcfRlYt2nXFM3iNlPVxbcIJxnaq8W-pAiiG0doa8rV08YrRgkcI2LMq1bnOVsEDelHAamfIXN4vHjzqLLZ-cKgG1lklroBlW7Nf7jFke4SNKL3/s1600-h/google_phone_1_403374b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhITZIjqwx7h3YyFx4Il0mWC5L2F4C_OjvcfRlYt2nXFM3iNlPVxbcIJxnaq8W-pAiiG0doa8rV08YrRgkcI2LMq1bnOVsEDelHAamfIXN4vHjzqLLZ-cKgG1lklroBlW7Nf7jFke4SNKL3/s320/google_phone_1_403374b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249637232126158642" border="0" /></a><br /><span xmlns=""><p>Yesterday, Google announced the long awaited G1 Android phone. In theory, the G1 should be tremendously successful for Google to leverage its advertising machine to take hold of local search and change the mobile advertising footprint. However, it appears that Google prefers to position the G1 directly against Apple's iPhone. In my view, the G1 does not measure up to the iPhone and will lose that battle.<br /></p><p>After many iterations of Smartphones over the past few years, the killer application continues to be voice. Apple apparently has leveraged the popularity of the iPod to enter the Smartphone business. As a result, it is debatable whether Apple has changed the "killer app" paradigm with iTunes. If you believe that iTunes is critical to the success of the iPhone then it is impossible for G1 to directly compete since it doesn't even include a standard headphone jack.<br /></p><p>Today, I attended an iBreakfast about Android vs. iPhone from an advertising perspective. The panelist included:<br /></p><p>David Berkowitz, 360i.com<br />Jon Lumerman, EarthQuake Media<br />Noah Elkin, Steak Digital<br /></p><p>At this session I found it interesting that most of the discussion revolved around the "cool" applications that were demonstrated at the G1 announcement press meeting. However, there was limited talk around Google's core advertising competency. In order to make a dent in iPhone sales, the G1 has to achieve considerable sales. The iPhone has sold approximately 2,626,183 units in a year. If we compare those numbers to other mobile devices, we see that the hype around the iPhone is greater than the actual results.<br /></p><p>Hype vs. Hard Unit Sales Numbers<br /></p><p>Motorola RAZR V3 Series - 27,690,028<br />Motorola MotoKRZR - 5,306,736<br />LGVX8300 - 4,688,511<br />Nokia 6101 - 3,500,265<br />Motorola V325 - 2,927,648<br />Nokia 6010 - 2,711,021<br />LG VX9900 - 2,700,530<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Apple iPhone - 2,626,183</span><br /></p><p>Time will tell how the G1 phone will be received by consumers. It has had a rocky start with the developer community who felt somewhat abandoned when Google decided to release its latest software developer kit to finalist only in the Android Developer Challenge. This decision motivated many developers to move to competing platforms.<br /></p><p>Here is a side by side comparison.<br /></p></span><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlakNaz126s1jxQiQCLcCsOHLHtQJO3yf80fFgOwt6p3XxCTvnaMwlIoZ2ruymeJPD-9DOrwKjxtd8OXjjqiV45Jl-Z9xStDYxGx02Sefqa_mvIPf5WqtX1quyspLzZZDhyphenhyphenPhug9wBNNwL/s1600-h/Android+Comparison.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlakNaz126s1jxQiQCLcCsOHLHtQJO3yf80fFgOwt6p3XxCTvnaMwlIoZ2ruymeJPD-9DOrwKjxtd8OXjjqiV45Jl-Z9xStDYxGx02Sefqa_mvIPf5WqtX1quyspLzZZDhyphenhyphenPhug9wBNNwL/s320/Android+Comparison.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249641113838466098" border="0" /></a></div><span xmlns=""><p><br />G1Price - $179 USD vs. iPhone - $199 USD<br /></p></span>Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-30440603208365625312008-08-13T21:23:00.002-05:002008-08-13T21:31:18.566-05:00eMarketer Lowers 2008 Online Ad Spending Forecast<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgh8Yuo4GxClKIqQpOs_yMFda8S3Y1L4yJXKuI3WOP7DYzQhOj6MnQZNFEvPNCVk8-fu_hORqtIqHWh8vfHdjQhE-xBbmCqSazAPVwEU_QkV9_nLApqxa9GU3BwI52UhHFBDc5Wt0VcPp/s1600-h/eMarketer.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilgh8Yuo4GxClKIqQpOs_yMFda8S3Y1L4yJXKuI3WOP7DYzQhOj6MnQZNFEvPNCVk8-fu_hORqtIqHWh8vfHdjQhE-xBbmCqSazAPVwEU_QkV9_nLApqxa9GU3BwI52UhHFBDc5Wt0VcPp/s320/eMarketer.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234195248964659826" border="0" /></a><br />Today, <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?id=1006477&src=article1_newsltr">eMarketer</a> lowered its forecast for 2008 Online Ad Spending from $25.9 (USD) to $24.9 (USD). They attribute the lowered estimates to the economy and changing Ad Spending habits. It is noted that the lowered estimates still represent an increase of 17.4% increase over 2007.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-83034330640814744492008-05-27T09:15:00.006-05:002008-05-27T11:39:25.408-05:00Viacom Wants to Litigate not InnovateAs you have probably heard, Viacom is suing Google for $1 Billion (USD). They are claiming that YouTube contains over 150,000 copyrighted video clips that are not authorized for posting. When will media conglomerates learn that it is time to innovate instead of litigate. In the Information Age, information is not sacred. All of the worlds knowledge is just a click away. This includes music and videos. The media establishment has lost this same battle before with music sharing with the likes of Napster. What was the result of all the lawsuits and complaining? Today, music sharing still exists both legitimately and illegitimately. The most legitimate outlet being Apple's iTunes application which is poised to be the number one distributor of music in the United States (both offline and online). As a result, the profit margin for music and video's has eroded significantly and profit for MP3 players has been preserved.<br /><br />Instead of fighting the inevitable sea of change, media companies such as viacom should be innovative with their intellectual property to preserve profitability in the age of information. Just as Apple has been able to create a product (iPod) that complements todays utility of the world wide web, media conglomerates should use their vast resources to develop similar types of products and services.<br /><br />Disney appears to have been very proactive with this effort by making television shows on ABC available on its website after their broadcast of television. Perhaps there could be "behind-the-scenes" footage that would only be available on a pay-per-view website. I guarantee there would be customers for such a website in todays celeb gossip hungry society. In the age of information customers demand and will pay for access to information if it is perceived as valuable to a particular target market.<br /><br />There is plenty of room for innovation especially in today's environment, if Viacom would prefer to litigate then it is likely that other businesses will innovate in their place.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-30182893608000779112008-04-30T12:45:00.002-05:002008-04-30T13:00:13.432-05:00Limbo’s Mobile Advertising Report, First Quarter 2008<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://mmaglobal.com/Limbo_Mobile_Advertising_Report_Q1_2008.pdf"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Zyi0-SexA2nYJdHNcZaukr_FqgQrj0NeQUF8-eIgKYDg3uA5bxmEXVEpfvzGvNxW9LD2aJlsNdiyDdx9KfZFb5niQUJRGIvhgTpgpQR3mjdxK9wTQbTGJcCaDm3O6QJpi58pkgtZt8YW/s320/LimboMobileAdvertisingReport1Q08.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195096569214879762" border="0" /></a>Limbo has just released their quarterly mobile advertising report. The report covers the U.S. Market only but reveals some interesting trends with respect to mobile usage. It appears that over 50% of SMS users and mobile web surfers (WAP) are over 35 years old. This represents a complete reversal of previous data trends which indicated that the youth market dominated these forms of mobile media. <br /><br />To see the detailed report click on the image.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-73458730902930772502008-04-26T09:45:00.003-05:002008-04-26T09:56:26.066-05:00Top 10 Converting Retail Sites (March 2008)This is a list of the websites who have had the highest conversion rates for the month of March.<br /><br />1. Office Depot - 20.9% (<a href="http://www.officedepot.com">www.officedepot.com</a>)<br />2. QVC - 19.0% (<a href="http://www.qvc.com">www.qvc.com</a>)<br />3. VistaPrint - 18.3% (<a href="http://www.vistaprint.com">www.vistaprint.com</a>)<br />4. Roamans - 18.1% (<a href="http://www.roamans.com">www.roamans.com</a>)<br />5. Lands End - 16.2% (<a href="http://www.landsend.com">www.landsend.com</a>)<br />6. eBay - 15.7% (<a href="http://www.ebay.com">www.ebay.com</a>)<br />7. 1800flowers.com - 15.5% (<a href="http://www.1800flowers.com">www.1800flowers.com</a>)<br />8. Ebags.com - 15.3% (<a href="http://www.ebags.com">www.ebags.com</a>)<br />9. L.L. Bean - 14.6% (<a href="http://www.llbean.com">www.llbean.com</a>)<br />10. Pottery Barn Kids - 14.2% (<a href="http://www.potterybarnkids.com">www.potterybarnkids.com</a>)Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-21691306898777503752008-04-23T18:15:00.002-05:002008-04-23T18:22:45.762-05:00Japan Setting the Blogging StandardThere are more blog posts in Japanese than any other language, according to Technorati Inc., which tacks over 113 million blogs globally. Last year, Technorati found 37% of all postings were in Japanese - about 1.5 million per day. Postings in English - from Americans, Britons, Austrailians and people in many other countries accounted for 36% of the total.<br /><br />Japanese tend to view blogs more as exchanges with friends and a personal outlet than as news sources as Americans do, for discussing politics, technology and other issues. Content in Japan tends to be more personal as opposed to media centric.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-60711608083410897532008-02-26T11:23:00.003-05:002009-11-02T16:31:04.691-05:0010 Keys to Successful Email CampaignsIn todays Internet Marketing world where your email customer database can shrink as quickly as it can grow, marketers require methods to improve their email marketing efforts. <a href="http://www.prospectdb.com">ProspectDB</a> an email marketing company has the following 10 recommendations for successful email campaigns.<br /><br /><br /><b>1)</b> Be CAN-SPAM Compliant: Don't be deceptive with the subject line, include a full signature line with address and phone number, include opt-out instructions, etc. For more details on CAN-SPAM compliance, go to: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.htm<br /><p><b>2)</b> Make the Email Content as Personal as Possible: The more the email looks like one that the recipient would receive from a co-worker, colleague, or fellow professional/executive, the more likely they are to open it. Open with the persons name, end with a signature line, have the email actually come from a person instead of a generic email, etc.<br /></p><p><b>3)</b> Use a Dedicated Domain: If your company's main website is www.abc.com, don't use that domain for your marketing campaigns, use a dedicated domain just for your marketing campaigns, such as www.abc-email.com. This prevents your primary domain and company website from ever being effected by complaints.<br /></p><p><b>4)</b> Response Options: Give the recipient of the email the option to reply to the email they have received, go to a website, or pick up the phone and call you. More options for response = more response.</p><p><b>5)</b> Tracking Tradeoffs: realize that the more you do to track thing like open rates, click through rates, etc., the more likely your email is to be seen as unsolicited and the less likely it is to reach it's intended recipient.<br /></p><p><b>6)</b> Check your Email's Spam Score: Here is one service that I recommend: http://www.thecassiopeia.com/Portal/SpamTest.html there are many more out there, and using as many as possible is advised.</p><p><b>7)</b> Avoid Spam Catches: There are a million of these that you can unknowing included in you email content, but the general rule of thumb is: don't sound like a cheese commercial and you are less likely to be perceived as one. More specific examples include: Don't put lots of text in ALL CAPS, don't use words like "free" and "discount" frequently (and never in the subject line), don't use the words "remove", or "unsubscribe" in your unsubscribe instructions. If you are clever you can incorporate your unsubscribe instructions into a confidentiality agreement at the bottom of your email.</p><p><b>8)</b> Follow up Immediately: follow up with results from your email campaign immediately, not a few days later, or a week later. A real person would follow up with a response that they received from an email that they sent out almost immediately, you should be set up to do the same.<br /></p><p><b>9)</b> Diversify and Customize: Use a variety of email content and subject lines when possible. This will make your emails look less like spam as they hit corporate servers and you will avoid the "all eggs in one basket" scenario. By diversifying you can also target the message more specifically to particular industries, title types, geographies, etc. A more specifically targeted email with customized content for a specific sub-group make a message even more relevant to the recipient and will yield better results.</p><p><b>10)</b> Delivery Timing: Be conscientious of the times, dates, days of the weeks, and frequency with which the emails are delivered. There are a large number of theories regarding the best email delivery times, but in general you can be sure that Tuesday through Thursday is your best delivery window for B2B emails and in general you want to get the emails into the recipients' inbox during their working hours. Emails sent in the middle of the night are more likely to be spam and more likely to be viewed as such. If you can tweak your delivery settings to allow for a slight delay between each email, that has also been shown to improve results. Also, if you send out 1,000 emails a day spread out over 10 days, you will generally get better results than 10,00 emails all sent in one day. </p><p> </p><p> </p>Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-72645708253180395462008-02-14T17:23:00.002-05:002008-02-14T17:29:47.257-05:00Preventing Click FraudThere are several ways to reduce your risk of click fraud and keep conversion quality rates high. The following best practices and recommendations from ClickForensics can partially be helped with the use of web analytics software but may require extensive time. An expert third-party firm with the tools and analysis may be required to cost effectively reduce or eliminate click fraud.<br /><br />1. Prevent low quality sites from displaying your ads. Some ad providers allow for exclusion lists you can populate with low performing sites.<br /><br />2. Monitor who is clicking on your ads and the quality of conversion against your daily spend. Some ad providers allow for an IP exclusion list.<br /><br />3. Only display your ads to the geo-location you are targeting.<br /><br />4. Monitor the time of day you are receiving poor quality traffic. Use ad scheduling to improve conversions and reduce fraud.<br /><br />5. Find the keywords that are attracting the fraud or low quality traffic to your site. Some of the highest cost keywords generate the highest levels of click fraud because they make the most money for fraudsters.<br /><br />6. Identify competitors and block domains and IP addresses and establish special landing pages.<br /><br />7. Engage with an independent click auditing expert. They have the tools, experience and time to rapidly analyze your search program and will provide data and actionable solutions to address immediately with the search providers.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-38894179195381343082008-01-12T00:40:00.000-05:002008-01-12T01:07:54.337-05:0016 Rules of Social Media Optimization (SMO)I have compiled this list from 5 different social media marketing blogs:<br /><br /><em>Rules 1-5 (<a href="http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2006/08/5_rules_of_soci.html">Rohit Bhargava</a>)</em><br /><em></em><br /><br /><strong>1. Increase your linkability</strong> - This is the first and most important priority for websites. Many sites are "static" - meaning they are rarely updated and used simply for a storefront. To optimize a site for social media, we need to increase the linkability of the content. Adding a blog is a great step, however there are many other ways such as creating white papers and thought pieces, or even simply aggregating content that exists elsewhere into a useful format.<br /><br /><strong>2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy</strong> - Adding content features like quick buttons to "add to del.icio.us" are one way to make the process of tagging pages easier, but we go beyond this, making sure pages include a list of relevant tags, suggested notes for a link (which come up automatically when you go to tag a site), and making sure to tag our pages first on popular social bookmarking sites (including more than just the homepage).<br /><br /><strong>3. Reward inbound links</strong> - Often used as a barometer for success of a blog (as well as a website), inbound links are paramount to rising in search results and overall rankings. To encourage more of them, we need to make it easy and provide clear rewards. From using Permalinks to recreating Similarly, listing recent linking blogs on your site provides the reward of visibility for those who link to you.<br /><br /><strong>4. Help your content travel</strong> - Unlike much of SEO, SMO is not just about making changes to a site. When you have content that can be portable (such as PDFs, video files and audio files), submitting them to relevant sites will help your content travel further, and ultimately drive links back to your site. <br /><br /><strong>5. Encourage the mashup</strong> - In a world of co-creation, it pays to be more open about letting others use your content (within reason). YouTube's idea of providing code to cut and paste so you can imbed videos from their site has fueled their growth. Syndicating your content through RSS also makes it easy for others to create mashups that can drive traffic or augment your content.<br /><br /><em>Rules 6-7 (</em><a href="http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2006/08/13/rules-of-social-media-optimization/"><em>Jeremiah Owyang</em></a><em>)</em><br /><br /><strong>6. Be a User Resource </strong>- even if it doesn’t help youAdd value to users, including outbound links to areas that could help them with their goals and purposes. Deployed corrected, even if you link to competitiors you stand to gain as the communities first source of information finding. How will this help SMO? Folks will link to your social site and tag is as helpful or the ‘ultimate’ guide in that space. As this adds up, it will become more and more relevent in search engine results.<br /><br /><strong>7. Reward helpful and valuable users</strong> - Often helpful or popular users will be influencers and champions within your social site, devise ways to elevate them buy promoting their works on the homepage, or develope a rating system. Sometimes a quick email or note in private telling them you appreciate them can go a long way. Some folks have done that to me, and for communities I run, I do that as well. Only do if sincere. Perhaps this is not truly SMO, but it will help to keep the most valuable members of a community closer to your site.<br /><br /><em>Rules 8 - 11 (</em><a href="http://www.pronetadvertising.com/articles/introduction-to-social-media-optimization.html"><em>Cameron Olthius</em></a><em>)</em><br /><br /><strong>8. Participate</strong> - Join the conversation. Social Media is a two way street, lets not forget that. By conversing with the community you are creating awareness and prolonging your buzz. You are keeping it going and this often results in a snowball effect. Participating helps your message spread further and faster.<br /><br /><strong>9. Know how to target your audience</strong> - If you don't even know your target audience you are in trouble. I would love to have everyone using my product too, but you need to be realistic. There is always going to be a certain audience you can appeal to and others that you can't. So know your appeal and who it is appealing to.<br /><br /><strong>10. Create content</strong> - There are certain kinds of content that just naturally spread socially. It does not matter what industry you are in and what boring products you sell, there is always some kind of content that can be created that will work. Whether it is creating widgets, making people laugh, or writing a whitepaper, it can be done. Know what type of content can work for you and create it.<br /><br /><strong>11. Be real</strong> - The community does not reward fakers.<br /><br /><em>Rules 12 - 13 (</em><a href="http://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-optimization-13-rules-of-smo/3734/"><em>Loren Baker</em></a><em>)</em><br /><br /><strong>12. Don’t forget your roots, be humble</strong> - Sometimes it can be easy to get carried away being a BlogStar or industry talking head. Remember those who helped you along the way, and that respect will help all involved.<br /><br /><strong>13. Don’t be afraid to try new things, stay fresh</strong> - Social Media is changing and morphing by the minute, keep up on new tools, products and challenges in your social sphere.<br /><br /><em>Rules 14-16 (</em><a href="http://www.toprankblog.com/2006/08/new-rules-for-social-media-optimization/"><em>Lee Odden</em></a><em>)</em><br /><br /><strong>14. Develop a SMO strategy</strong> - define your objectives and set goals. Be fully aware of what your desired outcome is as a result of performing these tactics. Reputation, sales, influence, credibility, charity, traffic/page views, etc.<br /><br /><strong>15. Choose your SMO tactics wisely </strong>- Be cognizant of what actions will influence the desired outcome with the most impact. According to Hans Peter Brondmo of Plum during the SES San Jose session "Marketing with Social Media", 1% of those involved with social media are creating content, 10% will enrich that content and 90% will consume it. That’s a lot of influence wielded by content creators and those that reblog and mashup. Think about what you can do to enable content creation as well as the repurposing of that content for what might possibly be the most productive outcome.<br /><br /><strong>16. Make SMO part of your process and best practices</strong> - As with good SEO, SMO tactics should become part of your organization’s best practices. Find ways to incorporate SMO tactics at the “template” level of document creation and as part of information distribution. Minor things like encouraging social bookmarks and rewarding incoming links as a standard practice across the organization can go a long way.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-80666519980201233282008-01-09T16:38:00.000-05:002008-01-09T17:05:07.877-05:006 Most Important Steps for your Marketing PlanI participated in a Webinar today given by Marketing Experiements (<a href="http://www.marketingexperiments.com/">www.marketingexperiments.com</a>). The topic of the webinar was 2008 Internet Marketing Strategy: Are You Prepared? They had some interesting recommendations for Marketers to implement in their 2008 marketing plans:<br /><br />1. Implement truly reliable metrics<br />Ask yourself<br /><ul><li>Can you track all of the right information, at the right levels?</li><li>Can you perform timely and valid optimization tests?</li></ul><p>2. Improve your capacity to test<br />Ensure you have</p><ul><li>Necessary tools</li><li>Talent</li><li>Resources</li></ul><p>3. Reorder your marketing priorities</p><ul><li>FIRST, Focus on optimizing your Product</li><li>THEN, Optimize the communication of your value proposition</li><li>FINALLY, Drive as much profitable traffic as possible to your optimized site</li></ul><p>4. Conduct a thorough competitive analysis</p><ul><li>Assess your current competitive situation</li><li>Use this information to critically evaluate your value proposition</li></ul><p>5. Explore and test new media</p><ul><li>Blogs</li><li>Mobile marketing</li><li>Social media</li></ul><p>6. Revolutionize the way you communicate</p><p> </p>Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-80351515886512732032007-06-25T13:09:00.000-05:002007-06-25T13:34:54.531-05:00Why the iPhone will not Change the WorldThere has been so much buzz about the release of the iPhone on June 29th, that it is sure to be an instant success. However, I think it will be a let down for customers who are looking for a device that will enhance their mobile web surfing experience. The phone looks slick and of course the built in iPod is always a winner.<br /><br />The televisions commercials look great! The web pages look just like web pages on my PC, as opposed to a "mobile" formatted page. Unfortunately, the problem will be the wireless network. I recently purchase AT&T/Cingular's 3G wireless card for my notebook. Certainly at time the connection speed was very fast. However, most of the time I received zero connection speed. It was so terrible that I returned the card after one week of usage. <br /><br />AT&T/Cingular is the exclusive service provider for the iPhone. As you are aware the iPhone utilizes the EDGE networks which is orders of magnitude slower that 3G's 2.4 Mbps. I can only imagine what it will be like to surf the web let alone download large itunes files over this wireless network. Steve Job's , Apple's CEO would probably respond to this potential bottleneck by stating that the device also has WiFi functionality. The problem with WiFi is it isn't everywhere. At least it isn't everywhere in the US. My prediction is the most reliable way to download songs on the iPhone will be the same way it is down on the iPod, through your PC.<br /><br />I hope I'm wrong, but those of us who are eager for a mobile internet device that will provide an experience similar to a PC will have to wait a little while longer.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-8330695062812942542007-04-23T18:57:00.000-05:002007-04-23T20:28:35.052-05:00Clever Search Engine Optimization<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQW8sWwTKy0oUVN8IRvvx9Kv_upjbjqFw97E-PW33nlRed4ObihRjNO0hvTxPwfTrp2EKEDfk2Z5NkyVKMdP9k1ZYAMs60RCiZRPSyUNN6iWgPXdJMBBg9SCqQJueuNiu-__P2VNokdAed/s1600-h/Misca.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056799715118321634" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQW8sWwTKy0oUVN8IRvvx9Kv_upjbjqFw97E-PW33nlRed4ObihRjNO0hvTxPwfTrp2EKEDfk2Z5NkyVKMdP9k1ZYAMs60RCiZRPSyUNN6iWgPXdJMBBg9SCqQJueuNiu-__P2VNokdAed/s320/Misca.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Last week I participated in a conference call hosted by <a href="http://www.marketingsherpa.com/">MarketingSherpa.com</a>. The purpose of the call was to review the findings of the 2007 <a href="http://www.sherpastore.com/e-commerce-benchmark.html">Ecommerce Benchmark Guide 2007</a>. The topic of the complexities with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) was discussed and I was extremely impressed with a technique that was utilized by a Jewelry Blog website. Often we optimize search based on the product, such as Manufacturer, Category, Type, Model, etc., but the Jewelry blog site utilizes what I call "clever association." Since celebrities wear jewelry and famous celebrities have high search volume why not leverage celebrity fame to sell products on your site. This blogger/ecommerce site was very successful with this technique. They took a picture of Misca Barton wearing an outfit that would look good with a necklace from their website. The site was optimized for Misca Barton and sales went from relatively zero to $50,000 during the Christmas Shopping season.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The moral of the story is to think "beyond the product" when optimizing your website for search. It is easy to get pushed passed the first results page if you optimize only for standard product parameters. Think about who or what can you leverage to bring traffic to your site. Of course be mindful of copyright laws. Do not create a site that implies that a celebrity endorses your product. Make sure that you have permission to use a particular image and use wording that does not imply that your have paid the celebrity to use your product. </div><div> </div><div>Lastly, do not not ignore the standard search optimization association. "Clever association" should be used in addition to standard associations.</div><div> </div>Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-86643752486364165572007-03-29T16:26:00.000-05:002007-03-29T16:31:42.877-05:00Improve Online Ad Conversion by 127%Marketing Experiments has posted a very interesting study about Ads that "Stand Out" from a website versus those that "Blend In" and found that Ads that "Blend In" perform significantly better.<br /><br />Here is the link: <a href="http://www.marketingexperiments.com/improving-website-conversion/online-ads.html">Improve Ad Conversion</a>Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-69665329525223218872007-03-26T16:30:00.000-05:002007-03-26T17:04:42.843-05:00Privacy Policy TipsIn October 2003, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) served pet supply retailer <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">PetCo</span> a "Civil Investigative Demand" seeking information and documents on how the company protects customer information on the <a href="http://www.petco.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">PetCo</span>.com</a> e-commerce website. The FTC request was a follow-up to an e-commerce security breach that left as many as 500,000 credit card numbers accessible from the web.<br /><br />A <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">web site's</span> privacy policy is the document which informs visitors how sensitive information will be protected by the owner of the website. Following a few simple steps when creating a privacy policy can help prevent the situation that was experienced by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">PetCo</span>.<br /><br /><strong>STEP 1</strong><br />Ensure all stakeholders help draft and periodically update the policy. <br /><br />This includes Middle Management, Marketing, Legal and most importantly IT. Often a business will outsource portions of the development. The IT department will be the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">liaison</span> between your organization and the third party organization and can help insure that your privacy requirements are meet by third party vendors.<br /><br /><strong>STEP 2</strong><br />Understand that each word and phrase is legally significant.<br /><br />The privacy policy watchdogs communicate in legal terms and will be vigilant about false claims made by your privacy policy. Make sure that the policy does not make legal promises that can't be kept.<br /><br /><strong>STEP 3</strong><br />Support the privacy policy with company wide procedures and training.<br /><br />Take a close look at the departments that "use" the customer sensitive information and make sure that individuals in those departments are trained to follow proper procedures when handling the sensitive data. This will help reduce the potential for employees to create the "hole" that could place your company at risk.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-487239728143535207.post-61680088597050742282007-03-25T23:38:00.000-05:002007-03-25T23:43:19.515-05:00Web 2.0 Best Practices - IBMIBM's Tactics<br /><br />- Lotus Connections: IBM offers software to its corporate customers that transforms internal and external communications into a social computing format. IBM has used social networking technologies internally since 2003.<br /><br />- Podcasts: During its first six months of podcasting there were 72,000 downloads.<br /><br />- Wikis and Blogs: More than 20,000 IBM employees currently use wikis. 2,500 IBM employees publish internal blogs.<br /><br />- InnovationJam: In 2006 more than 150,000 members of the IBM family participated in an online brainstorming event. Over the course of the two 72-hour sessions, 46,000 ideas were posted online. IBM will invest $100 million in the 10 best ideas.Johnny Parhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12721755881034277861noreply@blogger.com0