Written on October 20, 2009 by admin
Filed Under: book, marketing, seo
Posted by great scott!
We don’t talk about email marketing on the blog much, but any of you working in the internet marketing space (and that’s likely all of you) probably know that it’s still one of the most effective marketing channels out there.
Written on September 24, 2009 by admin
Filed Under: Advertising, book, marketing
Microsoft is building a social media monitoring tool called Looking Glass.
Now, at this point, you’re probably thinking that I’m panicking. After all, isn’t that what my own company, Trackur, does? Aren’t I scared stiff that Microsoft will hurt my business?
Nope. In fact, when I spoke to Microsoft executives in 2008, I asked them why they didn’t already have a tool like this? If I can build Trackur, shame on Microsoft for not having its own offering.
Am I insane? Possibly, but for different reasons. Let’s explore this announcement.
The idea is to connect social-media-monitoring tools to the rest of a marketer’s organization — customer databases, work orders, customer-service centers and sales data. Looking Glass will pull in a variety of feeds from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr and work with third-party data sources as well (the folks behind it have already talked to some firms such as Meteor Solutions and Telligent). All of the data collected will connect into Microsoft’s enterprise platforms, such as Outlook and Sharepoint.
If you read the entire Ad Age article, it becomes clear that Looking Glass will be tightly integrated with other Microsoft products–a feature that will delight some and completely repel others. In addition, there’s no news on how much Microsoft will charge for Looking Glass–will it be free or come with a hefty licensing fee.
Either way, I’m actually excited that Microsoft is getting into this space. They have many more dollars to throw into advertising and awareness campaigns. Let them spend the millions of dollars that are needed to convince businesses they need to monitor the web. Not all of those potential customers will feel comfortable with Microsoft, its platform, or its pricing, and so they’ll likely compare Trackur as an alternative. What is it they say about a rising tide? 
In fact, Visible Technologies has more to lose than Trackur–Microsoft currently pays them a hefty fee to use their social media measuring technology. I suspect, we’ll see that relationship come to an end at some point.
OK, but Andy. What if Microsoft offers Looking Glass for free?
So what? When Google rolled out Google Analytics for free, many suspected it would be the death knell for other analytics firms that charge for their product. There are 1.8 billion reasons why those fears didn’t materialize.
Personally, I expect Microsoft’s entry to the space to be a wake up call for its mid-size competitors. Do they build a competing social media measurement product or acquire existing technology? If it’s the latter, they know where to find me! 
(via)
See the rest here:
Yipee! Microsoft Enters the Social Media Monitoring Space
Written on September 24, 2009 by admin
Filed Under: book, marketing, seo
Social media has become the newest and possibly best way to expose just how stupid people can be. Last week we talked about the rocket scientist burglar who left Facebook’s equivalent of breadcrumbs to his front door. Hey, he is 19 years old and probably not the sharpest knife in the drawer anyway so maybe it’s not that unusual (actually it is but for this post we’ll say it). Well, let’s jump to the other end of the spectrum and find out just how stupid aspiring doctors can be when it comes to social media.
Yup, that’s right, doctors. Those people who need to go to school forever so they can carry huge loans into the workplace and then hopefully help us regular human beings stay healthy. According to an article by the BBC there appears social media shows no discrimination when it comes to exposing stupidity
Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association found examples of web gossip by trainee doctors sharing private patient stories and details.
Over half of 78 US medical schools studied had reported cases of students posting unprofessional content online.
One in 10 of these contained frank violations of patient confidentiality.
Most were blogs, including one on Facebook, containing enough clinical detail that patients could potentially be identified.
OK, so no one is perfect. I get that. Shouldn’t someone who is deemed “smart” enough to become a doctor at least use a little common sense when it comes to social media? This is more evidence, unfortunately, of just how disconnected from reality some Millenials appear to be (yes I am making an assumption that most aspiring doctors will fall into this group).
The overriding point of this is the need for boundaries when it comes to social media. While most would say that social media should be wide open all the time I say you are completely wrong. Imagine if human beings in general were allowed to be “wide open all the time” meaning what if there were no laws or boundaries for society in general. What would you have? I’ll let you take that one but anarchy is a likely result.
It is critical for organizations and professions to be defining exactly what is and is not acceptable as it relates to social media. While there is likely to be a degree of ‘figuring this out as it goes’ it is incumbent upon any responsible group to at least put in a social media policy framework. In Britain, at least, it appears as if the medical profession has not stepped up to the plate yet.
A spokesman for the British Medical Association said: “Patient confidentiality is paramount and medical students and doctors obviously need to be very careful about any information they post online.”
The UK’s regulator of doctors, the General Medical Council, does not have guidance that covers medics’ blogging.
But a spokeswoman advised doctors: “You must make sure that your conduct at all times justifies your patients’ trust in you and the public’s trust in the profession.”
While this shows recognition of the need this is not even close to having a policy in place and rings very hollow. Does your organization have any policies in place as it relates to social media? Are you aware of any social media policies for professions in general? If so please share them with us because it looks like there is a real need for some simple common sense in the application of social media beyond just telling people what you are up to.
See the original post:
Aspiring Doctors May Have Knowledge but Aren’t Always Smart
Written on September 16, 2009 by admin
Remember back, years ago, when we had something to report about Facebook almost every day? I guess they’ve moved along the hype cycle now, so tit’s only natural that we see fewer stories about them—but every once in a while, two in a day can’t hurt. Especially not when Facebook’s out there launching something like Facebook Prototypes.
Product Designer Lee Byron says on the Facebook blog:
Facebook Prototypes let us share the experimentation going on inside the walls of Facebook with the rest of the world. You'll be able to test any of the products and features we launch as Facebook Prototypes and then provide feedback directly to those of us who built them. To access Prototypes, visit the Application Directory and filter by “Prototypes.” From there, you can activate or download any of the Prototypes listed.
Byron notes that these prototypes are “unfinished versions of products we’re testing that may have some kinks to work out.” Additionally, successful prototypes may eventually be added to Facebook as full-fledged features.
Let’s see. A place where users can test new, experimental features and enhancements which might not be totally ready for primetime. That doesn’t sound familiar at all. (*cough*Google Labs*cough*)
Seriously, though, whether or not Facebook is a copycat, this is pretty cool. Some of the first prototypes include a desktop notifier/status client (for Mac), a filter to sort your news feed by most recent comments, a search for photos by people tagged in them, and additions to event emails to let you add the event to Google Calendar, Outlook and other calendars.
At present, it appears that only Facebook programmers will be creating prototypes. I understand the reasoning there, but it’d be cool to see this opened up to Facebook developers, too (with a reasonable app testing/vetting process before adding to Prototypes).
What do you think? Will you be adding any new prototypes—or what features would you want from a prototype? Would you like to see Prototypes open to developers, and if so, how would you recommend that working?
View original here:
Facebook Launches Lab-like Prototypes
Written on June 18, 2009 by admin
Filed Under: Advertising, marketing
Google is often a victim of its own success. While there is little cause to go out and throw a pity party for them, it is an interesting study to see what a Google does to manage the pains that come with getting so big so fast. The Wall Street Journal examines the continued problem of Google bleeding top talent as employees leave for start-ups, often taking with them the innovation that Google needs to expand beyond its King of Search status. It’s a good problem to have considering the times but one that is getting real attention from the C-level folks in the company (in between trips to Washington, DC, of course).
The gist of the problem is
The Mountain View, Calif., company famously lets its engineers spend one day a week on projects that aren’t part of their jobs. But Google has lacked a formal process for senior executives to review those efforts, and some ideas have languished. Others have slipped away when employees left the company.
“We were concerned that some of the biggest ideas were getting squashed,” said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt in an interview.
While many might start to wonder if innovative thinking is slowing down at Google that’s not the case. It’s the process that handles this innovation that has suffered under the weight of going from a freewheeling, cool start-up itself to the 20,000 employee corporate behemoth it is now. There is a price to being the most recognized brand in the world after all.
So what is happening to slow this talent drain down?
Google has recently started internal “innovation reviews,” formal meetings where executives present product ideas bubbling up through their divisions to Mr. Schmidt, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and other top executives.
The meetings are designed to “force management to focus” on promising ideas at an early stage, Mr. Schmidt said.
Whenever you see the word ‘force’ used to describe a technique it looks like some of the fun may be leaving Google along with its talent. Once again, is this kind of thing avoidable when a company becomes the size, scope and influence of Google? Few have enough experience to even know this especially in a company that has gone from 0 to world leader in such a short amount of time.
Recent new product introductions like Wave and the ability to integrate Google platforms with Outlook (which is another story in itself considering the finger pointing from Microsoft around initial troubles with the offering) have gone through a new process to help the innovative products / features actually see the light of day.
Here’s where it is actually tough to be Google as well. We have often noted how disappointed people can get with double-digit growth numbers that Google has turned out. The Journal’s article does it again
Google needs new products to jumpstart its growth. While it remains a juggernaut with one-third of all U.S. advertising dollars spent online, its year-over-year revenue growth has slowed from 56% in 2007 to 31% in 2008 and was just 6% in the first quarter of this year.
In a day and age company performance is flat year over year most are thrilled, Google gets bit because it isn’t doing what it did several years ago in a ‘healthy’ economy and a rapidly expanding new industry. This kind of unreasonable scrutiny may be influencing how Google handles their internal innovation process. Pressure, whether it is valid or not, can make people do silly things.
Google is trying to make sure this exodus is at least slowed.
Google has taken cracks in the past at the retention problem. In March, it repriced millions of employee stock options whose value had been wiped out as Google’s share price has fallen over the past two years. The company has also begun testing a mathematical formula to try to predict which employees are most likely to leave, based on factors like employee reviews.
What Google experiences, however, is still very different than most of the rest of the world. Just one look into the thought process of a former employee will tell the story
Sean Knapp, a former Google engineer, left the company in 2007 and started Ooyala Inc., a start-up that distributes and manages advertising around online video.
Mr. Knapp said Google managers offered him the chance to start the project within the company, but he declined. He worried he wouldn’t feel the same pressure to succeed. “If you’re really aggressive, you want that sink or swim environment,” he said.
Most companies have to figure out how to motivate employees just to do the jobs their job description outlines. Having a company full of alpha dog, intellectual talent can present unique situations. Google CEO Eric Schmidt wants to foster that young company feel as the company tries to make it possible to be “part of a start-up within Google.”
Good luck. Here’s to innovation!
Original post:
Google Tries to Patch Its Talent Leak
Written on May 20, 2009 by admin
Posted by Danny Dover I can always pick out a fool when I hear someone claim they fully get the internet, whether it be a social media snake-oil salesman or a Twitter user with too many followers. The fact of the matter is that while it’s possible (and exciting) to understand one sub-sphere of the internet, there are simply too many spheres for one person to really understand all of them
Go here to read the rest:
Ten Resources That Changed How I View the Internet
Tags: book ,challenges ,information ,leaders ,outlook ,paris-hilton ,personal ,post ,speech ,style ,twitter ,video
Written on May 19, 2009 by admin
Filed Under: seo
Posted by jennita URL rewrites and 301 redirects… you talk about them, you recommend them, but do you truly understand how they work? Sure, you know that rewriting a URL means that the URL displayed in the browser changes to be more SEO (and user) friendly.
Here is the original:
URL Rewrites and 301 Redirects - How Does It All Work?
Written on May 17, 2009 by admin
Filed Under: seo
Posted by randfish A very simple return to the headsmacking series this week (as it’s late here in London and I’ve been up my usual 40+ hours traveling). We’ve been noticing that a number of websites seeking to block bot access to pages on their domain have been employing robots.txt to do so. While this is certainly a fine practice, the questions we’ve been getting show that there are a few misunderstandings about what blocking Google/Yahoo!/MSN/other search bots with robots.txt does
Read the rest here:
Headsmacking Tip #13: Don’t Accidentally Block Link Juice with Robots.txt
Tags: away-or-prevent ,from-the-search ,msn ,outlook ,post ,seo ,style
Advertising article book business data facebook general google google-adwords google: maps & local google: mobile information internet keywords marketing media microsoft microsoft: bing mobile most news Object online online marketing people post research search search-engine searchengineguide seo service site small-business social social media spzmu street the-search time top news twitter video words yahoo