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/