Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Google Display Ads in Your Pocket
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?
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
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
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?
May 20, 2008
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
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
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
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.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Thanks emarketing class students!
Feel free to keep in touch and let me know if you have questions. Also, please feel free to click on the ads on this blog...remember, I'm a poor PhD student ;-) .
Best regards,
Kevin
www.kevintrainor.com (feel free to link back to this site to help my ranking there too!) ;-)
kevin.trainor.googlepages.com/home