Friday, June 6, 2008

Flickr and The Video Launch

Christi Jalovec
Internet Marketing
Extra Credit

Flickr and The Video Launch

“Flickr and The Video Launch” is an article that discusses the use of technology to conveniently upload pictured on users personal computers. In the years past, people used to disposable cameras to print personal pictures to place in photo albums. Today, there is a large variety of digital cameras, PDA’s, and cell phones where people can upload pictures onto their personal computers and the Internet. With the widespread popularity of online photo galleries, Facebook/ Myspace, and web pages, the variety in the use of pictures has expanded.

Yahoo has hosted Flickr since 2005. Yahoo decided to shut down “Yahoo Pictures” and replace it with the use of the newly improved Flickr. Yahoo’s Pro members will have access to larger picture uploads. Free members will be able to use Flickr but will have less perks from the system. This may distract free users fro the system since they may feel they cannot upload the same sized pictures as the Pro members.

Flickr has been compared to Google’s YouTube, but with YouTube’s success it is questionable if Flickr will be able to catch up to its infinite number of views and popularity. It hopes to attract new users with features such as being capable to hold pictures and video in the same place. This way users will have less complicated time in uploading their pictures and/or videos.

The article was good at explaining how Yahoo wants to attract new users to Flickr but it could have explained how to use the service. Yahoo would be able to attract more users if the users had more knowledge about how to use Flickr. People who use YouTube may not be as willing to convert to Flickr since they are so familiar with YouTube, even though Flickr has the option of keeping their pictures and videos in the same place.

Below is the link to the article.
http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/flickr-and-the-video-launch/#more-41

Final paper- Unable to post on Vista

Link to website with final paper.

http://rpkernan.googlepages.com/home

Comcast testing Internet traffic management system in Virginia

Bonus Blog

Check out my blog for the article..
http://blogmarketingdugan.blogspot.com/

E-marketing class Beware the Viral Movie Campaign

John Doyle
Bonus Blog


Before I go into the article let me establish what viral marketing is. Viral Marketing is a promotion that, either by design or accident, catches on with internet users or is passed from one to the other, multiplying the effectiveness of the original distribution. This article is about how viral marketing can potentially ruin a movie before the release of it. The author discusses her obsession with wanting to see the Iron Man movie, and how she saw every advertisement/ trailer made for the movie. She becomes infatuated with the movie trailer and tells everyone she runs into about where they get annoyed with her. She couldn’t stop watching and looking that she began to wonder if she will get burned out before the movie appeared in theatres. The movie used some cross branding to exploit the new hit movie. Using Lg mobil and the Audi car company which I believe are found in the film. I believe Viral marketing eventually can become exhausting by the extra information, and she said to use a tip from the maxim magazine which is to “hold a little back.” Being that I’m not big into going to the movie theatre I didn’t realize till now that there have been viral campaigns that I couldn’t stand. For some movies they tend to over do it. Please write back to give me your experience with viral marketing!!!

the original article http://www.blogger.com/www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24415381/wid/11915829/

Internet Failure hits 2 continents. Extra Credit!

Ashley Giannini
January 31, 2008

In class a couple weeks ago we spoke about the under the sea cable that was damaged. This cause many businesses to be at a standstill and left many people to cope without the internet. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain Pakistan and India, are all experiencing problems. There is not a full understanding of what happened to the undersea cables but it is though to be from a boat anchor. Some countries have backup satellites in case of something like this happening but the backup is not up to date so it is leaving many people frustrated with how slow it is. The failure of the cable is a major ordeal because it is the communiation line between Europe and the Middle East.

The head of an Egyptian Internet service provider called the situation a "wake-up call" for the region, which he said is too dependent on underground lines and does not have a strong enough back-up system. This allows much room for improvement and maybe is a good thing becuase it gets people to realize something needs to be done about this problem. With technology, no one should depend on only one source for the internet. As we all know, when you need the internet or technology the most is when it will fail and you must be prepared for a backup. The article stated from when the time this incident happened, it may take up to a couple weeks to fix. That is no good for business who rely on the internet as their income. Imagine not getting paid for 2 weeks. Some businesses will be effected more than others, but for the ones going paycheck to paycheck will be getting a rude awakening, and may even go under.

Along with the internet being disrupted, the article stated there problems with TV and phone lines as well. In this day in age, our community without phone, TV, or internet is a nightmare. Coping with that would be hard, but not long ago this was how life was. It makes people realize how good they have it living in this time era, and just how much innovation there has been in technology recently!

e-marketingclass: Botnet attacks military systems

Angela Palagyi
Kent State University
Bonus Paper
June 6, 2008

"Security researchers have discovered a complex spamming scheme that hijacks PCs in order to attempt to send junk mail via university and military systems.”
To read more about this topic please visit my website at: http://a.d.palagyi.googlepages.com/botnetattacksmilitarysystems

Thursday, June 5, 2008

e-marketingclass: Extra Credit

To check out my article click this link:

http://sbrooks4.googlepages.com

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Extra Credit by Eric Ardo

Here is a little interesting new application being introduced by Slingpage. Follow this link to find out more http://eardo17.googlepages.com/home

Heres the link to the article
http://www.internetnews.com/software/article.php/3750241/Wanna+Sling+Me+That+Web+Page.htm

Metered Internet Usage

In class we talked about different ways to resolve the bandwidth issues that are starting to surface with the current Internet infrastructure. We came up with several candidate solutions that included technical, political and market-driven components. Among the least popular, from a consumer's perspective anyway, was the notion of metering Internet access. Many believed consumers wouldn't go for this but, what if they/we don't have a choice? Time Warner Cable is testing metered access in Texas. Some speculate that this is the beginning of a trend while others argue that consumers will seek out alternative options. Either way, the infrastructure needs to be updated and someone has to pay...will it be you?

Monday, June 2, 2008

“European Sports Fans More Receptive to Online Ads”

Casey Thomas
Internet Marketing
Extra Credit
June 6, 2008

“European Sports Fans More Receptive to Online Ads”

According to the European Interactive Advertising Association, online advertising has quickly become the most popular way to reach European sports fans. They reported over 35 percent of Europeans use the internet for sports related content on a regular basis. Users of these sports sites spend on average 13 hours a week browsing the sites.

A report titled, “Sport and the Shift to Interactive Media” implies that sports users are a “particularly engaged and receptive audience for online advertisers.” The report also states that 57 percent of sports site users thought online advertising helps to enhance the brand’s image. 53 percent of these users also found web advertising to be “informative.” Sports fans also found the ads to be more creative than regular users did. Alison Fennah, executive director of the European Interactive Advertising Association, says that this shows how appreciative sport site users are of online advertising and how much more receptive they are than regular users.

This could mean big things for summer sporting events like the Beijing Olympics and the European Soccer Championship. Advertising on sports fan sites this summer could pay out big, especially when advertising the brand names that will likely be sponsoring these events.

Video was also a major component in online advertising because 40 percent of sport site users watched television or video clips online, which was more than regular internet users. They also found that sports enthusiast were, “twice as likely to watch video on their mobile phones or visit websites while on the go.”

I think this could have a large impact on the sports and sporting goods industry. While European Soccer and events like the Olympics are generally more popular in Europe, I believe the United States could learn from this study and should have one of their own. The popular sports in the States have an audience that spans more than one sport. Baseball fans in one city or state are likely fans of the same city or states football and basketball team. I think this is a great advantage and something online marketers should look into and definitely tap into in the future.

Two recent articles covering e-marketingclass topics

Two recent articles, Time Warner Cable to offer web to TV link and Ad network strives to make coupons more meaningful, both provide proof of the continuing evolution of the Internet landscape. Coupons, which have been a mainstay in the promotional toolbox of many marketers, have not made it to the mainstream of Internet marketing practices. Given the ability of Ad Networks to match content or behaviorally-targeted ads with appropriate customers, coupons are making a push to be viewed as valuable tools for e-marketers.

Also, as discussed in class, the "battle of the living room" rages on. Time Warner Cable is proposing a new offering that enables customers to create a hub that connects their household to the Internet. TWC is hoping to leverage this hub to deliver more services to customers, including more video on demand to complete with companies such as Netflix.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Paid Links – Oops!

Topic Paper: Paid Links – Oops!
Article: http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/paid-links-oops/

Recently Google was updating its search to engine to punish those who pay for placement of a link. Google created an update that if you were suspected of paying for placement then your ratings would take a dive. Many well known and major websites have scene a serious drop in their PR ratings. The Washington Post and Forbes fell at least two PR ratings. This might not seem like a serious drop but this does affect where they are placed in organic rankings.

For more, Click Here: http://gregory.otter.googlepages.com/home

E-marketingclass Ranking vs. Sales

I created my own page from pages.google.com and linked my article (http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/03/13/the-battle-between-search-engine-optimization-and-conversion-who-wins/) up to that. If you go to the left side of my page under the "Extra Info" section and click May 29 Topic #2 you will see my article and response.

My page is : http://anne.zakelj.googlepages.com

Baidu vs. Google

The Link below attaches Christi Jalovec's article summary "Baidu vs. Google"
http://cjalovec.googlepages.com/home

Using podcasts to market a product

http://ezinearticles.com/?Using-Podcasts-for-Marketing-Buzz&id=253992

The Ipod by Apple was launched in 2004 and has since sold over 40 million units. With this large market, this lets companies use podcasts to market their products. Video podcats allow people to watch broadcasts over their Ipods. Podcasts can be about anything. They can range from entertainment, such as comedy, music videos, and short films. They can also cover news, current events, and give how-to tutorials. Podcasts are good for niche marketing. People who view podcasts do so because they are interested in that particular content. This gives an opportunity for marketers advertise specifically to these consumers. A popular way marketers are advertising to consumers via podcasts are actually sponsoring a podcast. They will sponsor podcasts that are related to what they are selling. This works out for the company because they are able to maintain the site for the person making the podcasts and getting to run a commercial for free at the beginning of the podcast. Another popular way to market using podcast is by having somebody endorse a podcast. Have somebody who is well respected in a particular niche market to host the broadcast and have them include the product in the podcast. They can also be used as PR to help build brand reputation and equity by building relationships with the community, or to make consumers aware of a particular PR event that is currently happening.

I think podcasts are a great idea for targeting niche markets. The first reason being is that podcast are inexpensive and virtually free to create. Anybody with a camera and a microphone can record a podcast. Another reason podcasts are good for niche markeing is that they are getting the right people to see their advertisement. The people who download and watch these podcasts are viewing them because they have a particular interest in the content of the podcast. If a company is able to sponsor a podcast, they will hold awareness in the consumers mind when it comes time to make a particular purchase. For example, in a DIY podcast on how to install a wood floor is sponsored by Home Depot. When the consumer decides they want to install their wood floor, Home Depot will come to mind when they are thinking of purchasing their supplies. It is a cheap way to develop a strong brand recall with a niche market.. Over 40 million people have Ipods and the number continues to grow. I believe that given some more time podcasts have the potential to make a strong impact in marketing as more people start downloading podcasts.

Blogs, Blogs, They're Good for Your.....Health?

Joseph Moran
Internet Marketing (e-marketingclass)
Kevin Trainor
May 28th, 2008

The blogosphere, a term referring to all the different blogs on the internet collectively, has been in an explosive state of growth since its emergence in the early 1990’s. According to Technorati.com’s “The State of the Blogosphere”, there are about 120,000 new blogs created every day (about 1.4 per second) and about 1.5 million new postings daily (about 17 posts per second). It’s not just Americans either; in terms of posts by language, Japanese is the world leader. Technorati.com has been tracking blogs and their postings since 2003, and is the self professed world’s leading blog search company. The article I chose to review poses an explanation of this multicultural phenomenon.

This month, Scientific American posted an article by Jessica Wapner on its site titled, “Blogging—It’s Good for You”. The article explores the idea of blogging as a form of self-medication. Communicating one’s emotional state and experiences has been an integral part of the human condition. Historically, writing has been a catharsis for people of all walks of life all over the world. In addition to improved stress coping skills, writing about personal experiences, thoughts and feelings has been linked to positive physiological changes, including; improved memory and sleep, boosted immune cell activity, faster recovery from surgery and more.

Scientists, hoping to understand the neurological causes of these changes, are turning to bloggers to help gain insight into the brain structures that are involved in these changes. One researcher, Alice Flaherty, believes that blogging about stressful situations results in a placebo effect on the individual; a placebo of satisfaction from “sharing” the experience with others. She further postulates that blogging may result in the release of dopamine within the brain, a chemical that is fundamental to positive affect in individuals. The dopamine theory works in explaining the behavior of compulsive bloggers, as they may have become addicted to the release of the dopamine. Although functional magnetic resonance imaging has been able to determine the different areas of the brain that are activated before, during and after writing, neurological theories underlying the changes are still purely speculative.

What isn’t speculative at this point is that more and more people are contributing to the blogosphere. One segment of the population, those diagnosed with serious medical conditions, like cancer, is finding the blogosphere especially comforting. Patients are able to find and share with other individuals who are going through similar tribulations. Some hospitals are even beginning to implement the practice of blogging into their treatment plans. The article sites a report that offers support of this course of action. In the February issue of the Oncologist, a group of researchers reflect on the markedly better feelings, both physical and mental, of cancer patients that participated in expressive writing before treatment, compared to those who did not participate in the exercise.

For marketers, the information contained in the article is important for a number of reasons. By visiting blogs, they can learn more about consumer behaviors, thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes, interests, etc. Blogs can lead to the identification and classification of the behaviors of consumers. By accessing a consumer’s blog, they can gain a better perspective of the customer. They might even receive vital information about the reasoning behind some of their behaviors, information that could make a company millions. A simple action that can be taken by marketers is to contact bloggers to post advertising on their blogs, particularly if they are heavily trafficked.

For consumers, the information in the article isn’t all that important unless you have a blogging addiction, a passion for neurobiological theory or have never experienced blogging before. However, I should reiterate that consumers with life changing diagnosis can find a great deal of solace from the many others seeking the same thing. Other consumers may find and identify with an individual whom they enjoy reading the opinion of or arguing with.

As it relates to this class, blogging has been a staple of the course since the first day. Though we are not writing to get anything off our chests; I am sure that more than a few people have experienced some level of positive affect following the posting of each article. Blogging is nothing but a high tech version of the journals many of us kept as children. One main difference is that now your journal is public. Personally, I believe that blogs are both a blessing and a curse. It is remarkable for those who are looking for support and community, but terrible for those wishing to further an atmosphere of hate or intolerance. Overall, this article was a very interesting post. Though it was less pertinent than my previous post, I feel this one is much more intriguing. I never really considered the health benefits related to venting my opinion or reading another’s online.

The article can be found by clicking the following link:
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-healthy-type

The sources I used for this article can be found by clicking the hyperlinks in the text or below:
http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000493.html
http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/vol13/issue2/#REFLECTIONS
http://www.sciam.com/
http://technorati.com/

This paper is also posted on another blog, which can be found by clicking below:
http://www.northeastohiorambling.blogspot.com/

Craiglist counter-sues eBay!

Ken Stahl
May 29, 2008

Craigslist counter-sues eBay!
By Laurie J. Flynn
Published: May 14, 2008

Article Summary

Craigslist, the online classified ad company, has filed a countersuit against its minority owner, eBay, accusing it of unfair competition, false advertising, trademark infringement and diluting the value of the Craigslist trademark.

The countersuit exposes how the tension between the companies has been growing since shortly after eBay's 2004 purchase of a 28.4 percent interest in Craigslist.

In its suit, Craigslist asks the court to restore eBay's holdings to Craigslist.

The company has also accused eBay of "business interference, false advertising, phishing attacks, free-riding" and other misdeeds.

Craigslist said that while the two companies agreed that eBay's interest in Craigslist would not preclude them from competing, eBay misused its minority ownership of Craigslist to access to company information and then use it to compete unfairly.

Craigslist contends that eBay used its shareholder status to plant on Craigslist's board the company officials who had responsibility for a competing site, Kijiji.com.

Craigslist added, "Under the guise of shareholder requests for information, eBay has hounded Craigslist with improper demands for confidential Craigslist information, which could be used for anticompetitive purposes."

Craigslist also accused eBay of diluting the value of the Craigslist trademark by diverting customers looking for Craigslist to the Kijiji site.

Craigslist's suit says that eBay placed misleading advertising on Google.com intended to direct users to Kijiji. Inside eBay, the suit contends, Kijiji is known as the "Craigslist killer."

On several occasions, Meg Whitman, eBay's former chief executive and a member of the board, expressed an interest in acquiring the remainder of Craigslist, the suit contended. The suit also says that after buying a Dutch classified ad site for $290 million, an eBay official asked Craigslist executives, "What do you think we would pay for the largest classified ad site in the United States?"

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/14/technology/ebay.php

____________________________________________________________________

Brief Overview

In this article, to follow up with my the prior case “Ebay slaps a lawsuit on Craigslist”, it looks as if Craigslist has fair reason to counter-sue. The main point that Craigslist is driving home is that “eBay misused its minority ownership of Craigslist to access to company information and then use it to compete unfairly”. It goes on to say that eBay soley bought the shares of Craigslist so that they could actually bring board members of Kijiji.com into Craiglist to demand confidential information, and use it for “anticompetitive purposes”.

Relevance

This article describes two companies that are both located online. Neither company has a retail outlet or a local market location, but only a facility where the corporate employees work, like every company does. Also like any company, they do have shareholders that would like to keep the company in its best interest, financially speaking. However, in the case of eBay and Craigslist, eBay has attained shares of Craigslist, whom suspect if eBay has done so with questionable objectives. Craigslist feels that eBay is seeking a power portal, a way to control the company form within, and bring them down as a competitor. These are two power companies of the United States. EBay are markers for sellers, as well as Craigslist. The public does utilize both of these avenues for marketing their own products in services for profitability. Just what we need, is for them to go to war.

Behavioral Advertising

During class, we discussed a term called Behavior Advertising. Behavior advertising can be defined as advertising through anonymous data, based on their recent behavior on the web. Jennifer Slegg explores this new advertising tactic and the potentail positives and negatives of this approach. Visit both websites below to read more.......

http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=3605361

http://kdresser7.googlepages.com

e-marketing class: Click Fraud Not Top PPC Concern

John Doyle
May 28th, 2008

Since the beginning of web publishers there have been sites with advertisements. These sites contain clickable advertisements in exchange for a charge per click. Each time a person believed to be an actual customer clicks on an advertisement, the advertiser pays the advertising network. The advertising network then in turn pays the publisher a part of the earnings. Because of this type of system of payment there is click fraud..............

The rest of the article found at www.geocities.com/jmd4532/clickfraud.html

The original article can be found at www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/511/Click-Fraud-Not-Top-PPC-Concern/

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Intel and Mobile Possibilities (e-marketingclass)

Intel is a company that prides itself on the innovation and speed of its processors.  It has changed the way the PC is thought of and now it is changing the way mobile devices are thought of.  Read and see how Intel is adapting to the mobile world.  

e-marketingclass: Microsoft Offers Rebates to Shoppers Using Its Search

Angela Palagyi
May 28,2008

Below is a link to my blog about how Microsoft and its new Live Search cashback program are allowing consumers to recieve cashback for purchases they make online

http://a.d.palagyi.googlepages.com/home

To read the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/technology/22soft.html?_r=1&scp=19&sq=pay+per+click&st=nyt&oref=slogin

Topic paper 2 for e-marketingclass

Online Ads to go Hi-def

Follow the link below to read topic paper 2 (for e-marketing class) about the emergence of hi-def online advertising powered by Adobe Flash Player 9.

http://bair1397.googlepages.com/e-marketingclasspage

Original Article published 28 April 2008 on www.clickz.com.
http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3629293

Nathan Bair

Business Software and Customer Relationship Management Systems - Why Your Business Needs Them

Joe Trbovich

As we discussed in class customer relationship management is becoming essential for companies to stay on top of their competition. CRM programs enable businesses to access and manage customer information. Whether information is being shared amongst a large group, such as in a call center or simply in a small business, it has to be accurate and reliable. In order to retain customers, their information needs to be recorded securely and correctly. This customer data will be used down the road to generate revenue.

CRM systems can significantly reduce wasted time and increase sales. Sending emails to clients, entering vital information, and other crucial steps are automated with popular CRM applications to reduce wasted time of manually performing these tasks. This enables employees to spend more time creating new business.

With tools in CRM applications, your company can effectively improve Workflow by targeting prospects for new business and retaining existing customers for repeat business. This is a crucial tool to reduce wasted time and eliminate bothering the wrong customers. CRM applications will provide you with ways to communicate to customers such as email marketing campaigns. Your CRM will make it easier to target the right customers with detailed email. Newsletters via the internet can also be an effective way to reach your potential customers.
The answer to the problems associated with the expanding global workforce is through Web Collaboration technologies. This means operating a successful CRM and Business Software system for your company.

By implementing the right CRM strategy for your company you will be able to work smarter, more effeciently, and more effectively.





Link to Article:
http://customer-relationship-mgt.bestmanagementarticles.com/Article.aspx?id=15582

Inside MySpace's War on Marketing Abuse

For anyone that has a MySpace account you know the annoyance that is spam. Many will log into thier account to find they have inadverently been sending out advertising messages to all of their friends. It has been an ongoing battle with......

http://cthomas871.googlepages.com/e-marketingclass

Are Google Ads Being Clicked Less?

Jags Bains
Are Google Ads Being Clicked Less?
The big question that Google has had to face is if they are on the verge of a major downfall. Google stock has dropped to an all time low with a report from comScore, a research firm, linking it to the decrease in advertisement clicks from last year to this year..,.

http://jabains.googlepages.com/home

http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/are-google-ads-being-clicked-less/

RSS feed serendipity

Link to The Article:

http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/web/2008/052608web2.html

Link to my blog:

http://blogmarketingdugan.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

International Customs Invasion

Ashley Gaffey
May 27, 2008

Airlines are now more invasive when searching private belongings in customs. Despite the fact that many passengers have reduced or eliminated certain items from their travel needs the airline industry is now becoming even more judgmental as to what can cause reasons for a search, specifically the search of laptops. Most passengers consider Transportation Security Agency (customs) to be overzealous in searching, but nothing is quite as extreme as International customs. Many critics are questioning whether the law that provides for their extreme searches to be out-of-bounds. Further, what is the criteria for these searches. The rules allow for Customs and Boarder Control almost every right to search with no reasoning and it is blanketed by the possibility that anyone can be a suspect. Though, many passengers question if it is a violation of our civil rights. The most cynical aspect is that the government suggests that we (as passengers) have no right to know what the rules for searches are. Critics of this tactic suggest that there is no value to the Freedom of Information Act if it can only be used against and not for us. The most inferior aspect is that federal courts agree that “reasonable suspicion is not needed for customs.”
Recently a man, who was traveling in the California area, had is laptop seized and customs found child pornography, and he is now being charged for that crime. And he questions the legality of the invasive way it was found. The article states that the justification in “fishing” though laptops is so anything goes. The main reasons laptops are under such stiff searches is because of the easy possibility that it can be the gateway to international terrorism. The only positive aspect to these searches is that they are only for international traveling. As long as a passenger is staying within the US borders he/she is protected against this form of searching.
The searching of laptops goes even further that customs can look at any file or copy data. Often the laptops are taken away and the owner is left to wonder if anything may have been installed/uninstalled. The only advice customs gives is to not leave as much personal information on your laptop. Many of the owners are left inconvenienced and feel invaded.

Analysis:

While this process is invasive and a bit tedious it’s a double edged sword. If we allow easy customs and less rigid rules we (United States) may be putting ourselves on a pedestal to be attacked again. If customs discloses the reasoning for random searches those who want to cause harm through terrorism have a hand up because they know the warning signals. Though, if we allow laws without justification we are losing our civil liberties. If a personal laptop can no longer be personal and hold personal information, as well, if software/hardware are removed/added without our knowledge when customs takes it, our civil liberties are even more in jeopardy.

Kids' Net Access

Heres the the link to my page with a summary of the article discussing monitoring children's Internet access
http://eardo17.googlepages.com/home

Here is the link to the article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20080523/tc_pcworld/146223;_ylt=A0WTcWCz2TZI0vMAzxL6VbIF

E-marketing class FYI

This is not for the e-marketing class topic paper but i found it during my searching and thought that it was interesting.

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

e-marketingclass: MySpace and the Marketing Abuse

Here is the link to my Topic paper:

http://sbrooks4.googlepages.com

This is the link to my article:

http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=3629638

This is the link the video:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=32045785

What is Web 2.0 (and how it relates to our e-marketingclass)

It's likely that you've heard the term "Web 2.0" used in many different ways and in different contexts. While we can't seem to agree on its definition, nearly everyone recognizes that the current version of the Web is more interactive, engaging and participatory than earlier form. These characteristics make the Internet an important platform for marketers who are seeking to build and maintain strong linkages with their customers.

Tim O'Reilly (http://radar.oreilly.com/) summarizes Web 2.0 as:
Web 2.0 is a set of economic, social, and technology trends that collectively
form the basis for the next generation of the Internet—a more mature,
distinctive medium characterized by user participation, openness, and
network effects.
See an excerpt of his report here.

The Internet, along with other information and communication technologies available to organizations today, enable firms to develop important "customer linking" capabilities. Such capabilities have been shown to lead to better customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention.

How does the Internet provide companies with customer-linking opportunities today? In the future?

Friday, May 23, 2008

Click Fraud Rate: e-marketingclass

Ashley Giannini

As we learned in class, click fraud is an advertiser's nightmare. Click fraud is an ongoing delema for advertisors and internet marketers. To learn more about click fraud view..

http://agiannin.googlepages.com/e-marketingclass

For the full article on click fraud..

http://www.bizreport.com/2008/04/click_fraud_rate_up_year_on_year.html

A Few Good Links

Here's a few (random) links that you might find useful for our e-marketing class:
  • Internet World Stats: Internet usage data for 233 countries and regions, consolidated from various periodic surveys.
  • ClickZ Web site: Tools and resources for Interactive Marketers. This may be a good resource for your next topic paper.
  • Internet Archive : Wayback Machine: Browse through 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.
  • WebHosting.Info: Provides statistics and research data about the Web services industry. Tracks over 35,000 Web hosting companies worldwide
  • Top Global 500 Sites (Alexa): Alexa computes traffic rankings by analyzing the Web usage of millions of Alexa Toolbar users and data obtained from other, diverse traffic data sources
  • Google Technology: A very detailed explanation of how Google does what they do
  • The Living Internet: a free, in-depth reference about the Internet, written from 1996 through 1999, posted on the Web on January 7, 2000, and last updated February 2, 2008.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Will search for cash

Microsoft recently announced a "cashback" program to entice online shoppers to use their search engine. Running a distant third in the Search world, Microsoft doesn't disclose whether this is a long-term strategy or a short-term promotion.

Another move highlighted in their announcement is a shift towards a "cost-per-acquisition model of payment", meaning that advertisers only pay for ads that lead to purchases. I think this is an inevitable model and their cashback program may be the missing link that closes the loop between a users search and a purchase.

The full article can be found here.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Makana Solutions Doubles Website Traffic and Leads while Measuring Internet Marketing Effectiveness with HubSpot Closed Loop Marketing

Article Link: http://www.hubspot.com/customer-case-studies/bid/4118/Makana-Solutions-Doubles-Website-Traffic-and-Leads-while-Measuring-Internet-Marketing-Effectiveness-with-HubSpot-Closed-Loop-Marketing

Topic Paper: Makana Solutions Doubles Website Traffic and Leads while Measuring Internet Marketing Effectiveness with HubSpot Closed Loop Marketing

HubSpot is an integrated internet marketing service allowing its users to track website traffic, leads, and sales. Those are the basics of the services it also allows companies using the service the ability to fine tune web pages and gather information on the best keywords, meta-tags, content, and website titles. This article spoke of Makana Solutions a business who sells sales compensation services to small and medium sized businesses via the internet.

Makana Solutions faced the problem of not getting enough exposure to continue to make there business grow. Makana Solutions’ goal was to generate more traffic, leads, and sign visitors up for free trial programs. Makana’s marketing director Art Gehring decided to re-evaluate the way they made their efforts to market to the consumer’s of their product. The product Makana offers is a self-service online sales compensation software. This software streamlines processes involved in compensating employees for commissions they would make during sales periods.
Art Gehring decided rather quickly the marketing department was operating inefficiently due to the multiple tools they were trying to use to track traffic, leads, and sales from the website. This made Art check around for software which would cause his team to spend less time analyzing data and gathering the relevant information about those who were visiting the site. Art eventually found HubSpot who provides a wide array of services packed into one software pack. This software pack Art found had the ability to track traffic, leads, and sales. These pieces of information allowed art to find out specifics on his customers and people browsing the site.

Makana Solutions was able to track customers and leads with much ease allowing them to edit the content, meta-tags, and keywords to attract more attention to Makana Solutions when someone is using a search engine. This integrated internet marketing software allows the focus to turn from strictly spending time analyzing data to taking the analysis and putting it to work for you. This has lead to growth and efficiency in Makana’s marketing efforts.

Makana Solutions has been able to grow by efficiently operating in the marketing department. This has been done by tracking where the web traffic is coming from, creating meta-tags and keywords that cause them to pop-up as an organic search result rather than a sponsored ad you must pay for. HubSpot created an easy way for Makana Solutions to track customers, leads, and sales as well as identifying strong meta-tags and keywords. The result of Art’s Decision to implement a new system has caused web traffic to double, tripling target leads, and an increase in Makana’s presence in organic searches.

Website link

Shaun's website link:

http://sbrooks4.googlepages.com/


eBay vs. Craiglist

Ebay Slaps Lawsuit On Craigslist!

Article Summary

On April 22, 2008, a lawsuit was filed by eBay against Craigslist, with the Delaware Court of Chancery, in the State of Delaware, which is a forum that resolves disputes between companies registered in Delaware. EBay had acquired 28.4% interest in Craigslist in 2004, making it a minority shareholder in Craigslist.

According to eBay, the reason behind them filing the lawsuit is that two directors of Craigslist, Craig Newmark and their chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, have unfairly entered into transactions that have diluted eBay’s economic interest in the company by more than 10 percent. EBay alleged that both the directors have breached their fiduciary duties.

Mike Jacobson, eBay’s senior vice president and general counsel, revealed through a written statement that, “The recent actions by the Craigslist directors have disadvantaged eBay and its investment in Craigslist.” He said, “Since negotiating our investment with Craigslist’s board in 2004, we have acted openly and in good faith as a minority shareholder, so we were surprised by these recent unilateral actions. We are asking the Delaware court to rescind these recent actions in order to protect eBay’s stockholders and preserve our investment.”

Craigslist responded to this lawsuit fiercely in a blog by saying that the eBay lawsuit is “unethical and unfounded.” “We are surprised and disappointed by eBay’s unfounded allegations, which came to us out of the blue, without any attempt to engage in a dialogue with us,” the blog post said. “Coming from a shareholder that views Craigslist as a prime competitor, filing suit without so much as mentioning these assertions beforehand seems unethical, and hints at ulterior motives.”

The blog post goes on to say that Craigslist has always meted out a fair treatment to eBay, the minority shareholder, and will continue to do so in the future as well. They also said, “EBay has absolutely no reason to feel threatened here — unless, of course, they’re contemplating a hostile takeover of Craigslist, or the sale of eBay’s stake in Craigslist to an unfriendly party.”

With both, eBay and Craigslist flinging accusations at each other, only time will tell who is at the receiving end, whether it is eBay that has been given a raw deal or if it is Craigslist that is being taken for a ride by a minority shareholder.

http://www.dirjournal.com/articles/ebay-slaps-lawsuit-on-craigslist/#more-42


Brief Overview

The article does not adequately define the precise reason why eBay is filing a lawsuit against Craigslist, but it does say that Craigslist “unfairly entered into transactions that have diluted eBay’s economic interest in the company by more than 10 percent”. It is a vague reason, but obviously Craigslist has made some decisions to shift that shareholders best interest. Craigslist disputes back by saying that eBay had never even mentioned any kind of complaint or “without any attempt to engage in a dialogue with us … which hints at ulterior motives”.


Class Relevance

Ebay and Craigslist are full of both marketers and consumers. These are both online companys that do one thing, bring seller and buyer together. Ebay offers their services at a global market, while Craigslist offers local deals and services. In addition, Craiglist offers listings for job postings, advertisements, and personals, free of charge (which may explain its generic appearance). People with an online business who want to market their products and/or businesses to consumers may choose to route either website to keep their costs low. Marketers could have the ambition to market their products globally through eBay, or locally through Craiglist. A Craigslist consumer will have a decision to pick up a bed or car locally, or an eBayer who wants a rare book or album that can easily be shipped cross-country or overseas. In addition to eBay and Craigslist, Yahoo! also have posting of auctions and jobs. These are a few companies that are utilized fully by the public, both marketers and consumers.

Internet Marketing

Christi Jalovec
May 21st, 2008

Internet Marketing: How to Market Your Webpage

This article, written by David Malan, describes how to easily market a website on the Internet. The author lists 5 different “pre-school” steps to follow if the user is new at Internet marketing and is on a smaller budget.

The first step the author lists is site optimization. This includes the user making their site manageable for viewers to navigate. He states that this is the most important aspect since everything after will branch off of this idea. The user will need to title their page and match it to the URL so viewers can find the webpage easily and it will be what they were looking for.
The second step is linking and indexing. This step is used so that search engines will view the users site. The author also emphasizes how not to use forums to direct viewers to the users site since it will destroy the users business rather then help it.

The third step is implement online marketing partnerships with high-profile online businesses. This step is pretty self-explanatory. It explains how to be directed from larger companies sites through banners. This is credible since these “high-profile” sites are recommended and are listed on familiar search engines like Google.

The fourth step is dabbling in paid keyword advertising. This is used when the company feels they have completed the previous steps and are ready to put money into their webpage. The author suggests Google since they are the most popular compared to some other search engines.
The fifth and final step is to involve and Internet marketing specialist. The author explains that after using steps 1-4 that the users webpage should be getting feedback and results. Now the company can hire a specialist to upkeep the users webpage. The specialist will also provide detailed reports showing how much more effective they are marketing the page.

I feel that these steps would be useful to a newer company that would like to know how to more effectively marketing their webpages. These steps looked helpful in explaining how to accomplish this. There are most likely some more detailed articles discussing more techniques to use and more specific directions but it is a nice summary. The link to this article is listed below.http://www.aj2000.com/articles/marketing-business-on-internet.htm

Virtual Value Chain

Kelly Dresser
Internet Marketing
May 21, 2008
Virtual Value Chain

The article that I chose is titled Exploiting the Virtual Value Chain and is written by Jefferey Rayport, John J. Sviokla and Hendrik Bruinette. The article discusses how all business today have two worlds in which they compete in, the physical world and the virtual world. The physical world being described as a tangible world where managers can see, touch and physically locate information and documents. A virtual world pertains to all the information and resources on the Internet or web that cannot be physically handled. Now that businesses compete in two totally different worlds, two value chains need to be considered. It is necessary to have two different value chains and to distinguish these two worlds because the processes for creating values in them are not the same at all. Fed ex recently created a virtual value chain by allowing customers to find and track packages on their website. FedEx offers this service for free but it has created value for the customer, and in turn has increased customer loyalty, which is essential in such a competitive market as FedEx is involved. Rayport JF explains that a sequence of five activities is required to create value within a virtual value chain: Gathering information, Organising the information, Selecting the information, Synthesising the information, and Distributing the information. Through these steps it is important that each step adds to the total value created and does not destroy the value created by other activities.

Rayport goes on to explain that the three stages that companies can make use of the value created by information are; visiblity, mirroring capabilites and new customer relationships. The first stage, visiblity, allows companies to "see" physical operations through information, coordinate activities, and lay the foundation for a virtual value chain. In the second stage, mirroring capability, companies substitute virtual activities for physical activites and begin to create a parallel value chain in the marketspace. Lastly in the third stage, new customer relationships, businesses use information to establish new customer relationships. Allowing for managers to draw on the flow of information in their virtual value chain to deliver value to customers.

The article also discusses the value matrix and how each stage in the value chain allows for many new extracts from the stream of information and how each could constitiute a new product or service. Rayport also refers to this as the matrix of value opportuintites. This article discusses different aspects of the value chain and what it can do for a company. In class, we discussed very similar aspects of the value chain such as how it is a customer centric, how it provides increased customer value and how it improves the business processes. Today thousands of companies immplement value chains by having established sites on the World Wide Web to advertise products, to obtain comments from customers and to automate the interface with the customer, through electronic mail and electronic commerce. All of these components are important to the customer because they feel as if they have the control, they have a say, their wants/needs are important to the company and are met. In turn, this value chain is important to the company because it portrays customers comments, concerns, want/needs, and by being able to meet this criteria they are awarded customer loalty and increased profit for their company. For more in-depth detail see link below for a copy of the article. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5377/is_200103/ai_n21469268

New Internet Platform Being Developed

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3689881.ece

This article discusses the new internet platform being developed, commonly referred to as Internet2. This new internet will allow data to be transferred about 10,000 times faster than a typical broadband connection. The new internet, referred to as “the grid” in this article will be capable to transmit holographic images , allow users to make high definition video telephone calls, and also allow hundreds of thousands of gamers to play online games at the same time. The grid is said to completely change the face of the internet allowing users to communicate in ways never before thought possible. The current internet uses cables and routing equipment made for telephone calls which isn’t sufficient enough for high speed data transmission. The grid will use fiber optic cables and new routing technology. The amount of servers for this internet are said to increase from 55,000 to 200,000 in the next two years. The grid network is currently built and there are 11 centres around the world including the United States, Canada, and Europe. This will also change the way that people store information. Instead of saving data to personal computers, data will be able to be stored online and can be accessed anywhere. Although it may not be available directly to consumers, there are companies currently using the technology. One of the projects being developed is a network allowing groups of internet users who download large volumes of data that would normally take hours, to take a few minutes. This technology is thought to revolutionize society.

I think that this technology will make a huge impact in regards to marketing. Companies will be able to communicate with consumers in a completely different way. New forms of advertising will be created using this new technology. One example from the article is having holographic images being transferred online. This will completely change the way marketers advertise online, unlike anything that has been done before. As we have discussed in class, the internet has drastically changed from the early 1990’s to the technology we currently have available with the internet. Companies have been able to create a more interactive experience by using the current technologies such as flash to allow consumers to be involved in a company’s website, rather than just reading data from a webpage. This will take it to a whole new level. Support from a company website will go from online assistance being available by online chat to having a holographic image video conference giving you step by step instructions. This will also allow companies to develop better social utilities allowing consumers of their product to interact with one another better than the technologies available today. Since this technology hasn’t been seen by the general public yet it is difficult to speculate every use of this technology, but it will indeed make a big impact in online marketing.

E-marketingclass Direct Marketing

I created my own page from pages.google.com and linked my article (www.digitaloutput.net/content/contentCT.asp?P=279) up to that. If you go to the bottom of my page and click May 21 Topic #1 you will see my article and response.

My page is : http://anne.zakelj.googlepages.com

The Impact of Online Reviews

Joseph Moran
Internet Marketing
Kevin Trainor
May 20, 2008

If you type “Los Angeles chiropractor” into the search field on the Google home page, you will be presented with almost 1.5 million results. In addition, Google Maps will display a map with ten local businesses, their locations, contact and review information matching your search. The goal of a business is to be in the number one spot. By leveraging new age word-of-mouth advertising, Dr. Michael Dorausch, a Los Angeles chiropractor, has succeeded in reaching this goal. The article I researched, “Online reviews can help grow a business” by Jefferson Graham of US Today, told Dr. Dorausch’s story.

Local listing sites with online reviews have become a popular destination for both individuals who are considering a product or service and those who want to share their experience with that product or service. An increasing number of consumers are turning to business listing sites including; Citysearch, Google, Yelp, Yahoo!local, MerchantCircle, etc. These sites provide location information and a forum for consumers to gather information about a company or product before they buy. Listing his company has dramatically increased business according to Dr. Dorausch, who reports that 80% of his new clients were referred from sites like those mentioned above. He posts signs in his office asking clients to share their experience, and occasionally solicits them to post reviews through personalized e-mailings.

The feedback and directions that potential clients receive is not the only benefit to businesses. Dr. Dorausch’s business is listed on a variety of popular local listing sites, increasing his exposure to the local community. Theses listings are then linked back to his site, which increase his site’s relevance to certain keywords. This has helped him to attain the coveted number one search result for “Los Angeles chiropractor”. It would seem that there is an immense opportunity for companies to increase their client base by utilizing the various local listing sites with review functionalities.

This topic is highly relevant to both marketers and consumers. Traffic on local listing sites have increased dramatically in the past few years, Google Maps grows 25% per year and Yelp is up 129% this year. This data screams to marketers, “LIST YOUR BUSINESS!” It is especially important for small, local businesses because of the low cost involved. Some sites charge to list, but it can be quickly earned back through the increase in business. The reviewing feature of these sites can be a double edged sword for marketers; some consumers will ignore overly flattering reviews, and then there is always the chance of getting a scathing review.

For consumers, you are given an opportunity to read up on the landscape of business offerings. You can determine if a product or service offered by a company is worth your hard earned cash. On the other hand, consumers must be careful of some reviews as the content is not always guaranteed to be the truth. Consumers also receive the benefit of getting a large listing of the businesses that offer what they are looking for in the local area, some of which they may not have initially considered. These functions allow consumers to compare businesses offering similar products/services and to offer insight into their experience with companies.

You can access the article I reviewed by clicking the following link: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2008-05-20-online-reviews_N.htm

This post is also listed at:
http://northeastohiorambling.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

HeyButler.com Search Engine Revolution

To: Kevin Trainor
From: Nathan Bair
Re: Topic Paper 1
Date: 20 May 2008

There is a new search engine on the block and it is specific to north east Ohio. It is called HeyButler.com. It is one of the first regionaly exclusive search engines.

HeyButler.com launched 01 January 2008 since then it has had over 5 million hits and its membership numbers are closing in on 120,000. It is locally owned and operated and it has already created quite a buzz that has attracted over 500 local business. The rates for this ad space is very cheap by search engine standards and gives a web presence to companies that do not otherwise have the capability to do so.

The reason that this is so important is because if a person were to search Google for something they would have to sort though all of the sponsored links for all over the world just to find a local company. HeyButler.com eliminates all of that. The search criteria only allow for companies to list that are physically located between Columbus and Cleveland. They also take an interesting look at getting consumers to come back on a regular basis. They have installed games that a site member can play that could allow them to win prizes, however they can only try their luck 5 times a day then they have to wait until tomorrow. This gives a person a reason to come back and view the site again even if they are not looking for anything specifically.

The other new idea that is featured on this site is the concept of “specialized butlers.” This is an engine within the site that compiles all of the like companies that all service a similar need; i.e. the wedding butler, the anniversary butler, the homecoming butler, the holiday gift butler, etc. There are well over 50 different butlers that cater to any specific need.

This is a revolutionary type of search engine. HeyButler.com will soon have many imitators but they will go down as the innovator of these concepts.


http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080128/FREE/916703362

Microsoft Demos Zune Advertising Service (e-marketingclass)

Paper 1 on Microsoft and Advertising


Article

The first link is to my summary and analysis on Microsoft's decision to expand its advertising efforts to various new forms of media. The second link displays the actual article that I used for discussion.

Stephen Caution

Game consoles contain environmental hazards, says Greenpeace

Ashley Gaffey 05/20/2008

Greenpeace, an environmental group, researched the toxins contained in many video-game consoles and many popular brands were found to contain hazardous toxins. Not one brand was particularly less toxic than the others. X-box, Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii were all carriers of many toxic chemicals. These toxins, especially Phthalate, can have life alerting effects on developing children. Surprisingly, Europe recently mandated all gaming consoles manufacturers to eliminate certain toxins. Though, it was discovered that those laboratory testers may have missed a few toxic chemicals and the manufacturers were cleared. Phthalate is a toxin which affects the sexual development of males. This specific toxin was removed from all toys, though, a game console is not considered a toy, therefor, not subject to a mandate. There are gamers who are young children though, and this toxin is more than a threat to their development. The X-box is the only console to contain Phthalate though, and is prohibited from children's toys. Another toxin, beryllium, is hazardous if it is chewed on, for example, an infant or toddler chewing on the console. If that is not enough, if the console is buried in a landfill it can release toxic beryllium into the water and if the console (like many plastics) is incinerated it can release toxic chemicals into the air. Nintendo Wii, one of the most popular games, was found to contain high levels Bromine, also a very hazardous toxin.

This article is relevant to consumers because video-gaming is very popular and the main users of these games are children. Almost every child has played at least one video game, therefor, subject to these toxic chemicals. As well, many infants have probably chewed on a console after “big brother” left it on the floor once he was done playing. Since the scare of Lead in the many popular toys, such as Mattel Barbie, consumers have been weary of buying toys. Consumers want to be informed as to how the products are manufactured and what these products contain. This is another great example of an everyday products capability to contain hazardous elements. These manufacturers are aware of what elements comprise the final product and are not doing anything proactive to reconcile until they are caught. Comparable to many other gaming systems, Wii, contained the highest levels of Bromine compared to the others, and with its increasing popularity something must be done to ensure the toxins are squashed now. Furthermore, parents must be more aware of what infants place in their mouth, as it seems, most anything other than a pacifier could cause life-altering side effects.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/052008-game-consoles-contain-environmental-hazards.html?page=1

Google Display Ads in Your Pocket

Joe Trbovich

It appears before long we will be viewing advertisements on web pages viewed from our mobile phones. Google plans to join Yahoo, AOL, MSN, and other major players to reach the next frontier in online advertising. More subscribers are switching to smart phones and flat-rate data plans. This will enable typical computer functions to become ordinary on the cell phone, including Google ads. New research suggests that mobile browser deployment will grow dramatically over the next five years, even if consumer usage of the new capabilities remains uncertain. Google will offer advertisers four ad sizes from which to choose, none with a file size larger than 3 kilobytes. Google is trying to keep file sizes small, so that the ads do not slow the load times of mobile Web pages. Google has said it will only show one display ad per page.

This form of online advertising is unique and creative. It will undoubtedly help bring in revenue to companies. But, at the same time this will be clogging up display screens and slowing download speeds at some rate. This will also undoubtedly bother some consumers.
http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3742851/Google+Display+Ads+in+Your+Pocket.htm

Where's the Money in User-Generated Content?

Clinton Dugan
May, 20th 2008


In the world today, virtually everyone has access to the internet. Merchants and retailers are taking this access to the head and generating new ides. The internet is big business but its even bigger business when it comes to User-Generated Content or UGC. In the article, Where's the Money in User-Generated Content it, it describes how companies like Facebook, Myspace and YouTube are generating ad sales and had great success. Ad sales on USG’s aren’t the ones that appear on TV or radio. They often appeal to what users of the websites have on a personal page.
The users personal pages often contain keywords that spark ads, thus generating the ads on some of your pages today. For example, if you have running as an interest, an ad for Nike could appear. This is important to many advertisement companies, however, they aren’t interested on what your page looks like. The article states that “its not the content of the site, it’s the millions of viewers and users that we care about.”
“MySpace, YouTube and others may have huge audiences, but to some, they are still just vehicles for self-expression, a modern take on writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper.”
There is still some skeptics, however, the future is still looking promising for investors and new UGC websites. I think this is important because of how UGC’s are becoming more and more popular. Most internet users use one of the top three UGC’s websites (Facebook, YouTube, Myspace). This is important to making money for companies, but in most cases its finding more and more users. Theses are the users that generate more revenue and usages of these sites. UGC’s are relevant in ways that they will be around as long as the internet still exist. Sure, we might see the downfall of the websites, but there will always be new ones up and coming.
The internet is a powerful tool with a lot of money still to be made, and I have a feeling marketers are still stressing this fact.

This article can be found at: http://www.internetnews.com/webcontent/article.php/12221_3744306_2

The Business Reasons for Strong Search Engine Rankings

Ranking on the internet is one of a company’s best ways to increase revenue. If your company is ranked in one of the top 10 spots, you are more likely to get potential customer to buy merchandise, and advertisers to want to pay money to buy available space on your company website. Companies can make sure they have a top ranking by choosing good keywords to be searched by, therefore generating more traffic and moving there search engine ranking up. This allows the company to then be on the first page of results and hopefully be above the fold so that your company’s website is visible when the results come back. Company’s websites that don't have good keywords tend to be less frequently visited, which means they are missing out on sales because of there poor ranking. With a strong ranking it's possible to receive hundreds of thousands of visitors each month, but if you're website is not visible in the top 10 sites, or on the first couple pages, what chance will you have of obtaining new visitors that had not heard of your company or the products you offer?
You can think of it this way, for example search engines are available 24/7 and never stop marketing for your company. This is because your website will appear any time of the day or night under your chosen keywords and your website will do your marketing and sales for you if constructed properly.
For some companies that have yet to take that first step in creating there own website, creating a website with a good search engine might sound like an intimidating process. If you are devoted to taking the time to learn basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) principles, or by having someone on your staff that could be a SEO professional, your business could benefit greatly from this return on investment through the major search engines. This will create long-term positive impact on the success of your website and ultimately your business.
Having a constant marketer on the internet is going to allow potential companies to market their business in ways that billboards, newspapers, flyers, etc. could never do. This will let customers see if you have the product or service they need and then with no trouble either buy your product or service over the internet or allow them to go into your store knowing you have what they are looking for.

This article may be found at:
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977341975

Evolution of Internet Banking: e-marketingclass

Since 2004, there has been a rapid growth in consumer internet users, and business internet users. We learned communication and information are the primary reasons why consumers use the internet. Because of these two reasons, and many others, banking has took a turn to the "internet bandwagon". For years, security has been the major issue of online banking; but recently in technology advancements, even small banks can rest easy.

For many banks, as stated in the article, as online banking rises, corresponding to it is the increasing fees to pay their outsourcers. Another downfall banks believed to be true in the past was the problem of no customer service. Customer service gains revolving customers, therefore they were scared of putting their bank at risk. "Better, faster, cheaper"; what every bank wants to achieve. Although the article focuses on many drawbacks of internet banking, the slogan defines what online banking is. Cost, control, flexibility, security, and performance are key components to many bank business models, therefor moving their plan to internet related selling must still include these components.

On a personal note, I use internet banking weekly, and I am not handy with technology. Within 3 clicks I have my account balance, and my transactions. I check my bank information online tripple the times I actually drive to the bank, waste gas, and stand in line for a transaction. I would not choose a bank that presently didn't have online banking. I would consider them to be out of date, and not providing me with customer service by not knowing what I want. Online banking is now a commonplace, and provides banking in the liesure of ones home. Convenience is such a key as to why banks decided online banking would in fact rise their revenue, and help their customers. Instead of banks being open on so called business hours, they are now open 24/7; this is huge in terms of customer service. Banks also include help buttons, and phone numbers to call to extend their service online. The revolution of internet banking has skyrocketed recently, and done wonders for banks and their customers
Ashley Giannini
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3947/is_200112/ai_n9473568 _

Privacy Issues on the Net

The creation of the Internet has opened up the possibility for all types of strangers to look up people’s personal information at anytime they wish to. The article under review focuses on how more and more companies are using the Internet as well as the social networking website Facebook to find out more about prospective employees. The article questions whether this is an invasion of privacy, does it violate the right to privacy, and if so are there applicable laws stated in the Constitution to protect citizens against this type of invasion of privacy. According to a recent survey by Ponemon Institute, a corporation that researches issues dealing with privacy, 35 percent of hiring managers use Google to do background checks on job candidates. The survey also revealed that about one-third of those web searches lead to the rejection of candidates. Facebook has become more accessible over the past several years, making it easier for managers to see things such as pictures and information about candidates. A once private and limited social network intended for only college students, has now been made possible for anyone with an e-mail address and a name to log on to Facebook. According to a study by Adecco, a work force consulting firm, 66 percent of people in their late teens and early twenties were not aware that the information they put online can contribute to whether or not they get hired by a company. Although the word “privacy” does not appear anywhere in the Constitution, most people assume that privacy is a right given to all citizens. There is no actual legislation against using the Internet to make a decision whether or not to hire or pass on a job applicant. There are several ways that a person can protect himself or herself to ensure certain information that may damage their reputation will not be referenced by potential employers. The easiest thing people can do is to Google themselves and see what data is associated with their name. Another way is for people to be careful of what they actually post on the Internet, and to remember that information can be viewed by anyone at anytime. Everything on the Internet is becoming increasingly visible, including the once private Facebook. One can only attempt to protect her or him self from the world of technology or make a more concerted effort to use its power.

This is such an important issue because it is something that can affect many people in negative ways, without most people even realizing it. It affects college graduates more significantly because they are the types of Internet users who tend to use social networking websites more than others do. For instance, a recent college graduate who has just graduated with a degree in Marketing may be out looking for a good entry-level job. They may seem to believe that they have the perfect job lined up, having gone through a few grueling interviews. No matter how well they interview and how good their grades are, the potential employer is going to want to do a significant amount of background research on the candidate. If the employer finds some negative information about this person on the Internet then their view of the candidate may become tarnished, and instead choose someone with a clean history. While many people would view this as an invasion of privacy, there are no laws against it. It is not illegal to put racy photos, or writings on the Internet, so therefore it is not illegal for others to view that information. There may be no way to completely diffuse an invasion of privacy, but the best way to make sure not to be harmed by material viewable by others is to not put anything self-discriminating against yourself up to begin with.

http://media.www.bryantarchway.com/media/storage/paper1215/news/2008/02/08/Business/Privacy.Issues.With.The.Internet-3195411.shtml

Will Video Cripple Internet?

Jags Bains
May 20, 2008


Will Videos Cripple Internet?
Videos clips, movies, games, and social networks are becoming a problem for the existence of the internet. These fun features of the internet are doing as much harm as they are good. Of course they provide entertainment but at the same time are causing much of internet bandwidth problems that are happening. Videos and movies can use various amounts of bandwidth depending on the length of the video and the resolution it is in. A one minute video clip with medium resolution can use up to 2MB. If the same video is in another format, it could consume as much as 20MB. If there is a twenty minute long video, it could consume as much as 400MB. Analysts also believe that a single video-sharing site used as much bandwidth as the whole rest of the internet.
The problem lies where the users of the internet think that there is unlimited space when that isn’t the case. Research gathered last year states that by 2011, internet use will far exceed the network capacity. That raises the question of whether or not that will be the end of the internet. Internet researchers believe that the internet will still exist but will be slower and less enjoyable for users. It will also decrease the activities that could be done on the internet like the viewing of movies. Professor Andrew M Odlyzko of the University of Minnesota says that the traffic on the web is increasing by 50% per year. With that being said, the belief is that with the way technology is increasing today, the internet will survive the bandwidth problem. Another resolution to the situation is the metering of bandwidth space similar to that of electricity or water. That would just mean more money to spend on the use of what we thought was unlimited virtual space.

Analysis
It is inevitable that people will continue to use the internet regardless of the bandwidth problems they may encounter. Part of the problem is that users of the internet do not realize that there are issues with the bandwidth that they are using. A possible solution would be to educate internet users of the excessive use of virtual space. If the internet users become aware of these issues, it could cause them to think twice before downloading movies or anything that uses excessive amounts of megabytes. In regards to the metering of bandwidth, I do not think it will ever occur. Technology is always making progress and will not allow for the decline of internet usage. Overall, I think we need to be more conscious of how we use the internet and what we download.

Savvy Online Marketers using Skins to break through Banner Blindness

Casey Thomas
Internet Marketing
May 21, 2008


It has long been popular for advertisers to place advertisements on websites that get frequent hits. It has been an effective way to make people pay attention to what a company is selling. This also helps to generate revenue as people may click on the ad and end up making a purchase. More recently however, there has been a new trend in online advertising that takes this to the next level.
Popular websites like PerezHilton.com and MySpace have been using advertising “skins.” These skins essentially take up the entire page of a website, but act as a background image. This has been gaining popularity among networks and movie studios that want to advertise new television shows or movies to an enormous population. MySpace gets 15 million logins per day and has over 75 million users worldwide. PerezHilton.com receives anywhere between 2 million to 7 million hits a day. With that many “eyeballs” looking at these two websites alone, the benefits that companies could receive from advertising on them is enormous. Skins give a new element to advertising however because users are forced to look at the picture because it is the entire background as opposed to just a small banner ad or ad on the side of a webpage. MySpace began using movies like The Simpsons and The Golden Compass as skins. The stunning graphics when you opened the webpage, not only created buzz, but made you interested in what the movie had to offer. PerezHilton.com frequently gets paid for advertisements for new shows such as Lipstick Jungle (http://www.bannerblindness.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/sp32-20080207-124547.jpg), Step It Up and Dance and other up and coming television shows.

I think this emerging trend of advertising will be a creative and different approach to attracting viewers to new television shows or to go see that movie. PerezHilton.com is especially influential in his taste of music, television and fashion and I think that will have a positive impact for advertisers on his site. MySpace is the biggest social networking site and has some serious influence over its users. Many times MySpace also offers contests to go along with the movie or television show being advertised. I think more websites, most that pertain to social networking and blogging will pick up on this innovative way to advertise and begin to follow suit. I think it’s a great way for not only these sites to make money, but it gives firms the opportunity to generate revenue from a demographic that can be difficult to target to.


Article link: http://www.bannerblindness.com/savy-online-marketers-using-skins-to-break-through-banner-blindness

Grocery Stores Using RFID

We spoke briefly about RFID (radio frequency identification) tags and how precise they are

with keeping track of products. Well grocery stores are taking it a new level by installing the

RFID tag into DVDs that can be rented and returned to self-serve kiosks. This provides the

grocery store with a huge advantage in increasing its DVD rentals. These kiosks can be placed in

the store or at remote locations like Laundromats, gas stations, etc.

The tags are monitored by the stores in charge of them through the internet. Tracking the

DVD rentals through the tags and the internet gives the store a more accurate count of how

many movies are in the machine and most importantly when a movie is rented and returned.

The tags are more accurate than a barcode, which you find most often, they don’t wear down

and fade.

This technology gives the consumer more locations to conveniently rent and return DVDs.

This makes the customer happier and will cause them to be repeat renters. This will make the

grocery owning the machine to more profitable and placing more of these kiosks at more remote

locations.

Marketers can now market these machines with, RFID technology; to make more stores

and possibly entrepreneurs to purchase and place more of these machines at different locations

to the make it accessible to the public. They can place a survey on the screen about the service

that the machines offer and can improve it if need be. Consumers using the machines can

market this as well by word of mouth. This will in turn benefit grocery stores to purchase more

of these.

This is the link to the article:

http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/3256/1/1/

Monday, May 19, 2008

What Recession? Online Giants rake in ad bucks

John Doyle
Internet Marketing
Kevin Trainor
5/20/08

There is a huge recession going on in this country today. The recession has affected many big businesses and how they market to the public. The question remains however, how is this affecting marketing on the internet? In the article the author states that “the internet is generally less expensive, more targeted, and easier to track than most traditional media and at a time when marketers are pinching pennies.” One source the author uses in explaining her case is from Marketing Sherpa. Marketing Sherpa is a blog website. On this website they conducted a survey that showed that “thirty-eight percent of marketers expect to increase their online ad spending during the economic downturn, a number only slightly higher than the thirty-six percent who expect to decrease their traditional media outlay.” The author goes on to explain that even though online marketers may seem better off during this time of recession, this may not be true overall. Online marketers may not be completely or equally insulated compared to their non-internet marketing counterparts.
Search engines like Google believe using their targeted direct response nature is the key to surviving the recession. Google’s senior VP of global business development realizes the slowdowns in the U.S. economy, but Google’s search business will continue to flourish internationally.
Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen from Yahoo said, “Our diverse base of advertisers and industries has produced good overall growth and helps to offset cyclical weakness in different sectors.” He added “that even when advertisers’ budgets fall, the impact on the internet ad industry will be blunted because of its superior targeting and accountability.”
While the U.S. economy tries to emerge from recession, marketers are seeking all angles to cut back from wasted advertising dollars and in turn reach in-market consumers. This is keeping them from advertising elsewhere and forcing advertisements to a more direct target.
I saw a direct parallel between this article I just summarized and some of the things we talked about in class. In class today we discussed that one of the primary reasons for using the internet is the use of search engines. We also discussed how internet marketing is increasing because it is directly targeting users. In this article they also discussed two of the biggest internet search engines, Google and Yahoo, as well as how they are now targeting the users more with advertisements that track the user’s searches through cookies. I gained insight into how internet marketers are coping with the increasing recession and understand why companies are taking a more targeted direct approach.