GenY is Turning Online for Their TV
posted by Laurenc on May 14th, 2009New research from Parks Associates found that many Gen Y TV viewers are ready for a change when it comes to their television-watching experience. According to a recent report, over one-fourth of users ages 18-24 are interested in having more social media features integrated into their TV. This data should come as good news to companies like Verizon and Yahoo!, both of whom have been pushing their new social networking widgets. But it also has broader implications that go beyond kids just wanting Facebook on their TV. The study found that there’s a desire to use social networking as a platform to actually enhance the TV-watching experience through interactive chats with other viewers and to have the ability to recommend shows to friends.
The report, Social Media & User-Generated Content, found that the most desired social experience those in this age group were interested in was multiplayer games. Although you might not think of gaming as “social media,” it does fit the criteria – creating profiles (avatars), adding friends (online gaming buddies), and chatting during gameplay make gaming a very social activity. Recently, news about an upcoming service called OnLive was announced and this would fit right into this trend. OnLive aims to stream high-end video games to any PC, Mac, or TV with a broadband connection. Based on the Park Associates data, that service has a lot of potential to become a hit among this young demographic… assuming it actually works.
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The Social Media Shift
posted by Laurenc on April 28th, 2009Internet Marketing News: The Social Media Shift
Netpop Research, a full service internet research firm, has produced a new report on the growth of social media, titled “Media Shifts to Social,” which found that the percent of time people spend communicating online has increased 18% since 2006, while time spent on entertainment has declined 29%. So, what does this mean? It means that online entertainment has been shifting from large media consumption (i.e. Television) to small, powerful social media contributors such as blogs micro-blogs, social media, video and photo sharing.
The report expounds, “stated simply, 7 million people in the U.S. are contributing content online through six or more activities (uploading photos, publishing blogs, posting ratings/reviews, etc.). These heavies are also connecting with 248 people in a typical week, on average.” So 7 million people, each reaching 248 people per week??? You do the math!
- Social networking has grown 93% since 2006
- 105 million Americans contribute to social media
- 7 million Americans are “heavy” social media contributors (6+ activities) who connect with 248 people on a ‘one to many’ basis in a typical week
- 54% of micro-bloggers post or “tweet” daily
- 72% of micro-bloggers under age 18 post or “tweet” daily
What does this mean for marketers? Well as social media continues to increase in influence with consumers, marketers have to be increasingly aware of the conversations revolving around their company, brands and products/services, and in order to drive growth, companies must engage consumers on a one-to-one level, focusing on starting conversations and providing value to users online.
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XMarks the Spot: Bookmark-Powered Web Discovery
posted by Jeanannv on April 22nd, 2009Recently, I noticed that I was seeing little blue squares with “i”s in them all over my search pages and in my browser bar. I had no idea what it was, nor what I had done to cause it to happen. Note: that happens frequently…as I tend to try new FireFox gadgets all of the time in my quest for the most efficient social media marketing tactics. Anyway, when I stopped to explore the little blue guy, I discovered it was a FireFox plugin called XMarks.
You likely know it better as Foxmarks, the web based bookmarking system that FireFox has had in place for a long time. But with this latest upgrade, they have catapulted XMarks into social search, something that Google has yet to truly effectively do. Let me tell you how it works…
Once you have installed the Xmarks Plugin in your FireFox browser, simply go to a search engine (I tried it on Live, Google and Yahoo, worked on all three) and enter a search term. When you see this icon, click on the blue box. A pop up will appear with information about that link, how many times it has been bookmarked, topics or tags used, and an option to get more site info. If you click on the get more info button…
You will be directed to a page that has the site title and summary and bookmark information.
If the user clicks the “more’ link, they are able to edit the title and the site description, as well as report any off topic or spammy, abusive use.
Below, there is a listing of similar sites, as well as a tab for site reviews. The reviews can also be edited by others.
There is no doubt that XMarks gives social search a run for the money, though they prefer to say they are “bookmark -powered web discovery”. And in terms of democratizing search content, at first glance, this seems like a great option. But as I explored the features a bit, the wiki-like ability to change site titles and descriptions, even change reviews, threw me for a loop. It seems like the potential for abuse is fairly high. I would love to use these features, as I often do quite a bit of web research, but if the system is junked up with a bunch of spammy stuff, it will quickly fall off my radar.
Will FireFox and XMarks be successful in their Social Bookmarking wiki adventures? We will have to stay tuned to find out.
CNN Redefines News with iReport
posted by Jeanannv on April 16th, 2009CNN has its traditional news site, but it also has an entirely user-generated news site called iReport. And though the concept of social news isn’t new, the fact that a major network is embracing it to this degree most certainly is. CNN introduces their site in this way:
iReport.com is a user-generated site. That means the stories submitted by users are not edited, fact-checked or 
screened before they post. Only the stories marked “On CNN” have been vetted by CNN for use in CNN’s global news coverage.
Lots of people argue about what constitutes news. But, really, it’s just something that happens someplace to someone. Whether that something is newsworthy mostly depends on who it affects — and who’s making the decision. On iReport.com, that is you! So we’ve built this site and equipped it with some nifty tools for posting, discovering and talking about what you think makes the cut.
Wow, is that really true? Is news just something that happens someplace to someone? I mean, when I take my dog to the park for a walk and he almost gets attacked by another dog, is that news?
All of this highlights the ongoing struggle between traditional news and social media news. The culture of one is very dissimilar to the other. But does that necessarily mean we throw out the old and embrace the new? I am all for the democratization of information sharing, but I don’t want everything that is published being presented as fact on a news site.
Clearly, CNN vettes the stories it airs before doing so, but the fact that they have given “news” such a broad definition worries me somewhat. What is to prevent the “news” from becoming one giant advertisement? Ironic to hear from a marketing consultant, but I want some news sources to be unbiased (to the degree that is possible).
I do think it is a good idea to have social news sites…democratizing the sharing of information keeps our media and government more honest. But, it can’t be our only source of news. We need a new wave of journalists who understand how social media works and can use it as a feed for information and inspiration, but ultimately, not the final facts for the story.
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Twitter Viruses: Mikeyy and StalkDaily.com
posted by Jeanannv on April 13th, 2009Internet Marketing News: It is sort of surprising that it has taken 3 years for viruses to start showing up in the Twitterverse. Over Easter weekend, two related strains were wreaking havoc with Twitter user accounts. The StalkDaily.com and Mikeyy viruses post updates to infected accounts and have been known to lock some users out of 
their accounts.
ReadWriteWeb reported (on April 11 and 12) about both outbreaks.
Just hours after Twitter began removing the first cross-site scripting vulnerability that hit its site this weekend, a new modified strain has been found…
Both the Mikeyy and StalkDaily.com viruses were created by Mikeyy Mooney, the 17 year old owner of stalkdaily.com. On Saturday, he claimed responsibility for the viruses. According to Breaking News, “The first worm emerged on Saturday when Twitter profiles began posting messages which encouraged people to visit StalkDaily.com. The owner of the website, Mikeyy Mooney, told BNO News that he was responsible.”
“I am aware of the attack and yes I am behind this attack,” he said. Mooney said he created the worm to “give the developers an insight on the problem and while doing so, promoting myself or my website.”
F-Secure reports that Twitter users who click through infected links, visit infected profiles or even visit the StalkDaily.com site are likely to become infected with the virus. They suggest not clicking on links to sites, not viewing profiles, as well as disabling javascript. Which essentially means, don’t use Twitter. I don’t know if I would suggest that amount of caution, but I would certainly suggest caution.
If your account has been infected, don’t panic. It is easy to remove, and in the whole world of viruses, fairly harmless. According to Twitter and Mooney, the worm doesn’t steal passwords or access other private profile information. If you have been infected, Breaking News suggests following these steps to remove the little buggers:
If you are infected, there is no cause for concern. Simply follow the 5 steps below to remove the worm from your account:
- Go to www.twitter.com.
- Log in to the infected account.
- Go to “Settings” in the menu.
- Under “Name”, remove the text in the field (which has been edited by the worm).
- Remove the text under “More info URL”, which has also been edited by the worm.
And that should do it…it will take a bit of time for Twitter to get this all sorted out. I suspect by the end of the week, we will be clicking on links with abandon.
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Tweetdeck: It’s Not Just for Twitter Anymore
posted by Jeanannv on April 10th, 2009TweetDeck recently released a new version that takes this already useful tool from good to great. In addition to resolving memory-sapping issues, it now integrates Facebook updates, as well as several other features. Here’s the low down on my favorite Twitter, err, Facebook, client.
Changes to TweetDeck include:
- Resolution of the memory-grubbing issue: For reasons that remain unclear to people like me (who
couldn’t build an application if our lives were threatened), if TweetDeck was left on for any length of time it would sap a computers memory. I have seen mine draw 450,000K +…which would mean I would have to close and start the program intermittently throughout the day. Apparently, I can now leave it on for days on end with no ill effects. I have noticed that the group and search categories seem to dump most of their contents upon closing…which may be how this is being resolved. - Previews of TwitPics and Short URLs: Users can now see the original version of the shortened url by clicking on it once. A dialog box will appear with the web address. If you would like to preview the TwitPic that has just been posted, just click once on the link and a preview will be generated. The short url preview function is turned off by default, so be sure to enable that in Settings if you want to give it a try.
- Facebook Integration: Users can now choose to update Twitter, Facebook or both by checking boxes located in the upper right hand corner of the screen. You can add a collumn to the mix that will show all of your friends’ status updates. Users can also find friends who are online and engage them in a real time chat within TweetDeck.
- 12 Seconds Video: You can now record videos with the help of 12 Seconds Video within TweetDeck and post those videos to Twitter or Facebook.
- Automatic Inclusion of Hashtags: This is a real time saver…as anyone who has participated in a hashtag topical conversation will know. Now, you have the option to automatically have the designator added to your tweet.
TweetDeck has made a few other changes, but these are the biggies. And really, by adding Facebook, they are distinguishing themselves from all of the other Twitter applications. This type of cross platform relationship with a heavy hitter like Facebook can only bring a big win, particularly with Facebook’s new real time update design.
Twitter and Google: The Saga Continues
posted by Jeanannv on April 6th, 2009Internet Marketing News: Techcrunch published shocking news on Thursday, announcing that Google was “in talks” with Twitter about the possibility of a buy out. The news spread like wildfire and Twitter was a-blaze with commentary, confusion and cacophony. Techcrunch purported to have verified the talks via two sources within Google.
In a series of follow up posts, Techcrunch reported that Google is interested in buying Twitter, but that Twitter CEO Evan Williams is not convinced. Williams follows up with a response that, in essence, proclaims “…Twitter engages in discussions with other companies regularly and on a variety of subjects“. Not exactly inspiring us to believe they aren’t thinking of selling.
Techcruch quotes three internal sources at the ever-growing “Google-opoly” that say they are interested in Twitter as a a real time search engine. Right now, Google bots must index each tweet, a time consuming and expensive task. And, because the tweets must be indexed to be searched, the information is often outdated by the time it is available to consumers…defeating the whole purpose of a platform like Twitter. If Google owned Twitter, they would have access to search those conversations in real time, making the information more timely and ultimately less expensive to acquire. Users of Twitter are already using Twitter Search to find this information for themselves.
In a rebuttal post, Kara Swisher at All Things Digital reports that there are no talks of Google purchasing Twitter. The two companies have discussed (are discussing?) partnering on a real time search engine, but that is the extent of the “talks”. Swisher uses Biz Stone’s (co-founder of Twitter) appearance on the Colbert Report as supporting proof, adding that he stated they want Twitter to be a “strong, profitable, independent company.”
Who knows what is truly happening behind closed doors? Twitter just received $250 million in funding from investors, so it seems like an odd time to be looking to sell. And, with news of Google’s pending layoffs and cutbacks, acquiring a non-revenue generating company for $750 million+ seems like a bad idea.
Google may, at some point, acquire Twitter, but it doesn’t seem that threat is imminent. I for one, am glad. The Google-ification of all things social media creates a monopoly that will stifle innovation and create a dominant system. Google has dominated and regulated search for a long time…and we have been held captive by their mysterious algorhythms for too long. I prefer to have Twitter just the way it is…no Google necessary.
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Finally… Digg Releases New Toolbar
posted by Laurenc on April 3rd, 2009Internet Marketing News: Finally… Digg Releases New Toolbar
I have excitng news! Digg, the popular social news site, just launched its long awaited DiggBar, a new toolbar that will appear on any page Digg links to. The DiggBar enables you to Digg, read comments, find related content, and share stuff from any page on the Web. And it’s presented in a short URL format, making it easy to share in emails, on Twitter, and via other services. In addition to finding it on all outbound links from Digg, you can generate the DiggBar using any of the following solutions.
From within the toolbar, users can digg stories and share them with their friends on Twitter and Facebook. Digg will now also feature shortened URLs, and, maybe even more interestingly, Digg now also displays how many times a story has been clicked through from Digg. This new bookmarklet has some great features, allowing users to shorten Digg links and add a DiggBar on any page on the web using this handy bookmarklet.
If you want to see the DiggBar in action, all you have to do is enter “digg.com/” in front of any URL, and the toolbar will automatically appear at the top of the page.
This new toolbar also features a prominent ‘Random’ button, that takes you to a random page with a similar story that was popular on Digg in the last few days. Although this will make Digg and even stickeir site, MG Siegler points out on VentureBeat, that this new technology also shifts Digg’s focus away from its own site, and turns Digg into a service.
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Is Email Dead?
posted by Laurenc on April 2nd, 2009Internet Marketing News: Is Email Dead?
It’s official! Email is no longer the most popular online communication method. According to Nielsen Online, more people in the US and other leading digital countries worldwide are using social networks and blogs to communicate with each other than e-mail.
While search and destination sites remain the most popular online activities, social network and blog use exceeded the use of e-mail, increasing their reach by 5.4 percentage points. Time spent on social networks and blogging sites is growing at over three times the rate of overall Internet growth as well.
Now this doesn’t mean that marketers need to abandon use of all email communcations, but they do need to be more considerate as to how ther communicate with their customers online. Email is not dead yet, but it is on it’s last leg…The memories are fond ones, but it is time to move on.
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Internet Advertising Revenues Hit an All Time High
posted by Jeanannv on March 31st, 2009Advertising on the internet reached an all time high, according to a press release issued yesterday by the Internet Advertising Beaureau (IAB). The release is based on a 2008 year end report generated by PriceWaterhouse and IAB. Results showed that more than 23 billion dollars were spent on internet advertising, an increase of 2.6% over 2007 and the 5th year in a row of consecutive increases.
“We are seeing an ongoing secular shift from traditional to online media as marketers recognize that ad dollars invested in interactive media are effective at influencing consumers and delivering measurable results,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB. “In this uncertain economy, where marketers know they need to do more with less, interactive advertising provides the tools for them to build deep, engaging relationships with consumers—the experience marketers gain from this will deliver dividends especially after the economy turns around.”
Search advertising showed and increase of nearly 20%, followed by digital video which nearly doubled in sales. Some categories stayed the same or decreased slightly: classified ads, display ads and email all flat lined or decreased.
In a March 30th post on TechCrunch, Eric Schonfeld highlighted the report’s findings regarding overall ad media revenues. Internet ranked third, following newspapers and television. However, the overall increase of advertising dollars in internet advertising outpaced both news and tv for the first time.
This report reflects a shift in consumer spending from in store purchases to online shopping. As the economy drives more stores to close their physical space and shoppers to search harder for savings, we can expect online advertising revenue to continue to increase and traditional advertising to decrease.
