CNET News.com: "Forget Google. The Internet's real killer app has always been the strange little amateur videos, like the Star Wars Kid or the Numa Numa Dance, that find explosive popularity almost overnight.
A new company launching Monday in Los Angeles, co-founded by Freenet peer-to-peer developer Ian Clarke, aims to give the producers of those videos a way to make money from them at last.
Dubbed Revver, the company has set up a Web site that starts out as a kind of Flickr for videos, allowing anybody to post their videos online, and letting viewers organize them by adding their own descriptive keyword 'tags.' But Revver adds a new touch, inserting code into the video itself that adds a small advertisement every time it is viewed, even if the video is downloaded and distributed from another site. "
Monday, October 31, 2005
Google Weighs on Madison Avenue
WSJ.com : "It's the big question on Madison Avenue: Is Google a friend or foe?
Ad companies are increasingly jittery about signs that Google is contemplating expanding its online ad-placement business into traditional media. Such a move could threaten Madison Avenue's increasingly important media-buying operations. Media buyers help marketers figure out where to place their ads by analyzing the effectiveness of potential advertising venues -- anything from a TV program to a Web log to a cellphone screen -- and then negotiating terms for the ad's appearance.
Once an industry backwater reserved for wonks, media-buying has become more glamorous -- and crucial for clients. Worried about the effectiveness of traditional TV ads, advertisers are putting more emphasis on new marketing methods including the Internet and mobile devices. Media buyers serve as a guide to this tangled landscape. In recent years, ad companies have poured increasing resources into their media-buying units in an attempt to attract clients."
Ad companies are increasingly jittery about signs that Google is contemplating expanding its online ad-placement business into traditional media. Such a move could threaten Madison Avenue's increasingly important media-buying operations. Media buyers help marketers figure out where to place their ads by analyzing the effectiveness of potential advertising venues -- anything from a TV program to a Web log to a cellphone screen -- and then negotiating terms for the ad's appearance.
Once an industry backwater reserved for wonks, media-buying has become more glamorous -- and crucial for clients. Worried about the effectiveness of traditional TV ads, advertisers are putting more emphasis on new marketing methods including the Internet and mobile devices. Media buyers serve as a guide to this tangled landscape. In recent years, ad companies have poured increasing resources into their media-buying units in an attempt to attract clients."
Friday, October 28, 2005
Friendster turns up multimedia features
CNET News.com: "Friendster is adding video and photo-sharing features to its social networking service, highlighting the move toward adding more multimedia capabilities to such services.
Friendster's new capabilities, available now, come through a distribution partnership with Grouper Networks, a start-up that specializes in technology for sharing photos and home videos over the Web. After downloading Grouper's free file-sharing software, Friendster members can invite people to view an unlimited number of photos and videos as well as stream music.
Because Grouper uses peer-to-peer technology, users don't need to upload files to share them, a Friendster representative said. Instead, media files are stored locally on members' PCs, where others can access them. Users can notify friends of new photos and videos by e-mail and instant messaging, the companies said. "
Friendster's new capabilities, available now, come through a distribution partnership with Grouper Networks, a start-up that specializes in technology for sharing photos and home videos over the Web. After downloading Grouper's free file-sharing software, Friendster members can invite people to view an unlimited number of photos and videos as well as stream music.
Because Grouper uses peer-to-peer technology, users don't need to upload files to share them, a Friendster representative said. Instead, media files are stored locally on members' PCs, where others can access them. Users can notify friends of new photos and videos by e-mail and instant messaging, the companies said. "
New technology hinders communication
Web User News: "Nearly a third of people say their relationships have suffered because their use of digital technology means they 'talk less'.
And 90 per cent of people surveyed say they feel that email, text messages and instant messaging has made communication with friends and family less personal.
According to the study by PlusNet, email has become the most popular method of communication with friends and family, with 81 per cent of respondents using it. However, 41 per cent of people said they would prefer to receive a phone call. "
And 90 per cent of people surveyed say they feel that email, text messages and instant messaging has made communication with friends and family less personal.
According to the study by PlusNet, email has become the most popular method of communication with friends and family, with 81 per cent of respondents using it. However, 41 per cent of people said they would prefer to receive a phone call. "
Key Website Research Highlights Gender Bias
Univ. of Glamorgan: "A first-of-its-kind study conducted by experts at the University of Glamorgan has proved that men and women really are poles apart when it comes to what catches their eye on the internet.
The piece of research, into what aesthetically appeals to males and females when surfing the web, has found that websites which might appeal greatly to one sex are a total no-no with the other.
With the internet doubling its size every two to three months, it is now more important than ever for websites to catch the eye of their target market.
Gloria Moss, Research fellow at the University of Glamorgan Business School teamed up with statistician Rod Gunn and Krzysztof Kubacki to conduct the research to discover if businesses and organisations are making the most of their web presence to help them reach their particular target audiences.
'We started off by looking at the personal websites created by 60 university students, 30 male and 30 female, to discover whether there were any major design differences. We looked at factors such as language, visuals, and navigation - the differences were immediately apparent,' explained Gloria Moss. 'We compared the sites on 23 factors and differences emerged on just over half of these. This is a massive number'.
Where visuals are concerned, males favour the use of straight lines (as opposed to rounded forms), few colours in the typeface and background, and formal typography. As for language, they favour the use of formal or expert language with few abbreviations and are more likely to promote themselves and their abilities heavily.
A selection of the University websites was then shown to a group of individuals of both sexes who had to rate their appeal on a scale. In almost every case women preferred those sites designed by women and men showed a preference fo"
The piece of research, into what aesthetically appeals to males and females when surfing the web, has found that websites which might appeal greatly to one sex are a total no-no with the other.
With the internet doubling its size every two to three months, it is now more important than ever for websites to catch the eye of their target market.
Gloria Moss, Research fellow at the University of Glamorgan Business School teamed up with statistician Rod Gunn and Krzysztof Kubacki to conduct the research to discover if businesses and organisations are making the most of their web presence to help them reach their particular target audiences.
'We started off by looking at the personal websites created by 60 university students, 30 male and 30 female, to discover whether there were any major design differences. We looked at factors such as language, visuals, and navigation - the differences were immediately apparent,' explained Gloria Moss. 'We compared the sites on 23 factors and differences emerged on just over half of these. This is a massive number'.
Where visuals are concerned, males favour the use of straight lines (as opposed to rounded forms), few colours in the typeface and background, and formal typography. As for language, they favour the use of formal or expert language with few abbreviations and are more likely to promote themselves and their abilities heavily.
A selection of the University websites was then shown to a group of individuals of both sexes who had to rate their appeal on a scale. In almost every case women preferred those sites designed by women and men showed a preference fo"
Attack of the Blogs
Forbes.com : Web logs are the prized platform of an online lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel and invective. Their potent allies in this pursuit include Google and Yahoo.
Gregory Halpern knows how to hype. Shares of his publicly held company, Circle Group Holdings, quadrupled in price early last year amid reports that its new fat substitute, Z-Trim, was being tested by Nestlé. As the stock spurted from $2 to $8.50, Halpern's 35% stake in the company he founded rose to $90 million. He put out 56 press releases last year.
Then the bloggers attacked. A supposed crusading journalist launched an online campaign long on invective and wobbly on facts, posting articles on his Web log (blog) calling Halpern "deceitful,""unethical,""incredibly stupid" and "a pathological liar" who had misled investors. The author claimed to be Nick Tracy, a London writer who started his one-man "watchdog" Web site, our-street.com, to expose corporate fraud.He put out press releases saying he had filed complaints against Circle with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Gregory Halpern knows how to hype. Shares of his publicly held company, Circle Group Holdings, quadrupled in price early last year amid reports that its new fat substitute, Z-Trim, was being tested by Nestlé. As the stock spurted from $2 to $8.50, Halpern's 35% stake in the company he founded rose to $90 million. He put out 56 press releases last year.
Then the bloggers attacked. A supposed crusading journalist launched an online campaign long on invective and wobbly on facts, posting articles on his Web log (blog) calling Halpern "deceitful,""unethical,""incredibly stupid" and "a pathological liar" who had misled investors. The author claimed to be Nick Tracy, a London writer who started his one-man "watchdog" Web site, our-street.com, to expose corporate fraud.He put out press releases saying he had filed complaints against Circle with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
LAMP Technologies
Backoffice Accounting Services : LAMP Technologies provides backoffice accounting services for the alternative investments industry and in particular for fund-of-funds (FOF), and managed futures including commodity trading advisors (CTA) and commodity pool operators (CPO). LAMP provides backoffice software and backoffice outsourcing services such as fund accounting, fund of funds administration, investment partnership accounting and partnership allocation.
Thursday, October 27, 2005
All your base are belong to Google
CNET News.com: "All your base are belong to Google"
hmm... I find this amusing for several reasons...
this being one.
hmm... I find this amusing for several reasons...
this being one.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
'Women are wimps' outburst costs advertising chief his job
American Marketing Association News: "AS the creative head of the world's biggest advertising group, Neil French can usually be relied on to come up with a catchy slogan.
But yesterday, with his career as worldwide creative director of the advertising agency WPP abruptly terminated, it seemed clear that 'women are crap'' was not one of his most successful.
Mr French, a leading figure in British advertising's golden age in the 1970s, provoked a fierce row over workplace sexism after delivering a diatribe against women colleagues at a conference in Toronto.
According to the city's Globe & Mail newspaper, when asked to explain the dearth of women in advertising, the cigar-chomping Mr French said: 'Women don't make it to the top because they don't deserve to. They're crap.''
He added that women inevitably 'wimp out and go suckle something''. During the discussion, Mr French, 61, had a waitress wearing a French maid's uniform serve him drinks. His comments provoked several people to walk out and one of his senior female colleagues later to write an angry rejoinder on the internet that was sent around the advertising world.
Nancy Vonk, co-chief creative officer at WPP's Ogilvy agency in Toronto, said she was 'still partially paralysed'' by his remarks, which were made two weeks ago. "
- I think the old bastard should have been fired.. his time is over.. Women make great advertising executives, my boss is one. she has made me better at my craft and she kicks ass!
But yesterday, with his career as worldwide creative director of the advertising agency WPP abruptly terminated, it seemed clear that 'women are crap'' was not one of his most successful.
Mr French, a leading figure in British advertising's golden age in the 1970s, provoked a fierce row over workplace sexism after delivering a diatribe against women colleagues at a conference in Toronto.
According to the city's Globe & Mail newspaper, when asked to explain the dearth of women in advertising, the cigar-chomping Mr French said: 'Women don't make it to the top because they don't deserve to. They're crap.''
He added that women inevitably 'wimp out and go suckle something''. During the discussion, Mr French, 61, had a waitress wearing a French maid's uniform serve him drinks. His comments provoked several people to walk out and one of his senior female colleagues later to write an angry rejoinder on the internet that was sent around the advertising world.
Nancy Vonk, co-chief creative officer at WPP's Ogilvy agency in Toronto, said she was 'still partially paralysed'' by his remarks, which were made two weeks ago. "
- I think the old bastard should have been fired.. his time is over.. Women make great advertising executives, my boss is one. she has made me better at my craft and she kicks ass!
November spamalanche bears down on PC users
USATODAY.com: "Consumers should gird for a big wave of unwanted commercial e-mail in the weeks leading to Thanksgiving, when the amount of spam could double as marketers try to reach holiday shoppers, Internet security experts say.
Contributing to the spamalanche: More viruses are spread via popular - and vulnerable - instant-messaging services to infect PCs and turn them into spam-spewing machines. Spammers are sending more e-mail in shorter bursts to overwhelm spam defenses. And blogs have become a fertile ground for spammers to create 'splogs,' fake blogs with ads."
Contributing to the spamalanche: More viruses are spread via popular - and vulnerable - instant-messaging services to infect PCs and turn them into spam-spewing machines. Spammers are sending more e-mail in shorter bursts to overwhelm spam defenses. And blogs have become a fertile ground for spammers to create 'splogs,' fake blogs with ads."
Google Tests its eBay Killer?
eWeek: "Search giant Google, Inc. tipped its hand this week to Google Base, it's much-rumored auction service that many people believe is meant to compete against auction sites like eBay or CraigsList.
Screen shots of 'Google Base,' available on several different Web logs, explain that the service-to-be is a database consisting of 'your content' that's free to contribute.
Items in the database include a party invite or a 'listing of your used car for sale.' There is also a tie-in mentioned to Google's comparison shopping site Froogle, and Google Local, the combination Google mapping and localized search results.
Google said, in a prepared statement, that what the blogs alluded to is an 'early-stage test of a product that enables content owners to easily send their content to Google.'
A Google spokeswoman also confirmed the accuracy of the screen shots, but wouldn't comment further. "
Screen shots of 'Google Base,' available on several different Web logs, explain that the service-to-be is a database consisting of 'your content' that's free to contribute.
Items in the database include a party invite or a 'listing of your used car for sale.' There is also a tie-in mentioned to Google's comparison shopping site Froogle, and Google Local, the combination Google mapping and localized search results.
Google said, in a prepared statement, that what the blogs alluded to is an 'early-stage test of a product that enables content owners to easily send their content to Google.'
A Google spokeswoman also confirmed the accuracy of the screen shots, but wouldn't comment further. "
Nothing but the online truth--or else
CNET News.com: "If you think that a little white lie, or a big fat lie, won't get you in trouble on the Internet, please think again.
For example, a federal judge in Los Angeles has just barred the allegedly deceptive advertisements of a Web operation that asserted that membership in MP3DownloadCity.com would allow users of peer-to-peer file-sharing programs to transfer copyright materials without running afoul of the law.
On top of that, the Federal Trade Commission plans to permanently ban these assertions about membership in MP3DownLoadCity.com, seek monetary compensation for consumers, and provide notification to consumers who signed up for membership that use of these file-sharing programs may subject them to civil or criminal liability. "
For example, a federal judge in Los Angeles has just barred the allegedly deceptive advertisements of a Web operation that asserted that membership in MP3DownloadCity.com would allow users of peer-to-peer file-sharing programs to transfer copyright materials without running afoul of the law.
On top of that, the Federal Trade Commission plans to permanently ban these assertions about membership in MP3DownLoadCity.com, seek monetary compensation for consumers, and provide notification to consumers who signed up for membership that use of these file-sharing programs may subject them to civil or criminal liability. "
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Writers Side With Google in Scrap
Wired News: "Google's plan to scan library book collections and make them searchable may be drawing ire from publishers and authors' advocates, but some obscure and first-time writers are lining up on the search engine's side of the dispute -- arguing that the benefits of inclusion in the online database outweigh the drawbacks.
'A cover does sell a book to a certain extent, but once you're intrigued by a cover you want to dig deeper,' said Meghann Marco, whose first book, Field Guide to the Apocalypse, was published in May."
'A cover does sell a book to a certain extent, but once you're intrigued by a cover you want to dig deeper,' said Meghann Marco, whose first book, Field Guide to the Apocalypse, was published in May."
Governor Announces New Open Source Technology Initiative by Oregon Universities and Google
Governor Governor of Oregon Website: "Governor Ted Kulongoski today announced the contribution of $350,000 by search technology leader Google Inc. to a joint open source technology initiative of Oregon State University and Portland State University. With the grant, the universities will collaborate to encourage open source software and hardware development, develop academic curricula and provide computing infrastructure to open source projects worldwide. The universities will also help provide a bridge between Oregon�s universities and Oregon�s growing open technology industry.
�Oregon is home to many of the leading companies, institutions and executives driving the global market for open source software and hardware,� Governor Ted Kulongoski said. �Google�s support will strengthen the leadership role of our universities in fostering the next generation of open source technologies, projects and experts in Oregon and enhance our aggressive efforts to bring jobs and investment to Oregon�s burgeoning open technology cluster.�
Google�s contribution demonstrates its continued commitment to advancing open source software development. This summer, Google funded a $2 million �Summer of Code� program, which gave grants of $4,500 to more than 400 students performing work on open source projects, including several hosted by the Oregon State University Open Source Lab (OSUOSL)."
�Oregon is home to many of the leading companies, institutions and executives driving the global market for open source software and hardware,� Governor Ted Kulongoski said. �Google�s support will strengthen the leadership role of our universities in fostering the next generation of open source technologies, projects and experts in Oregon and enhance our aggressive efforts to bring jobs and investment to Oregon�s burgeoning open technology cluster.�
Google�s contribution demonstrates its continued commitment to advancing open source software development. This summer, Google funded a $2 million �Summer of Code� program, which gave grants of $4,500 to more than 400 students performing work on open source projects, including several hosted by the Oregon State University Open Source Lab (OSUOSL)."
Monday, October 24, 2005
Real money in a virtual world
CNET News.com
An average day in suburbia? Not quite. This is a day inside "Second Life," a virtual world created by San Francisco-based game developer Linden Lab.
Welcome to the virtual economy, where currencies such as the Linden dollar trade against the U.S. dollar, companies like Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE) create markets for everything from magic shields to potions, and entrepreneurs sell notary services and the latest fashions. One of the most popular games, "World of Warcraft," reached 1 million North American players in August, three months ahead of its first anniversary. The games are particularly hot in America and Asia. After "World of Warcraft" was released in China last June, 1.5 million paying customers signed up in a month.
Such ventures--known as massively multiplayer online role-playing games--have spawned economies that would rival those of a small country but fly largely under the radar of economists, government statisticians and people beyond the 12- to 35-year-old demographic. However, these economies are becoming increasingly important, says Wharton legal studies professor Dan Hunter, adding that they could redefine the concept of work, help test economic theories and contribute to the gross domestic product in the United States. "Increasingly, these virtual economies are leading to real money trades," notes Hunter, one of a handful of academics closely following this trend.
An average day in suburbia? Not quite. This is a day inside "Second Life," a virtual world created by San Francisco-based game developer Linden Lab.
Welcome to the virtual economy, where currencies such as the Linden dollar trade against the U.S. dollar, companies like Internet Gaming Entertainment (IGE) create markets for everything from magic shields to potions, and entrepreneurs sell notary services and the latest fashions. One of the most popular games, "World of Warcraft," reached 1 million North American players in August, three months ahead of its first anniversary. The games are particularly hot in America and Asia. After "World of Warcraft" was released in China last June, 1.5 million paying customers signed up in a month.
Such ventures--known as massively multiplayer online role-playing games--have spawned economies that would rival those of a small country but fly largely under the radar of economists, government statisticians and people beyond the 12- to 35-year-old demographic. However, these economies are becoming increasingly important, says Wharton legal studies professor Dan Hunter, adding that they could redefine the concept of work, help test economic theories and contribute to the gross domestic product in the United States. "Increasingly, these virtual economies are leading to real money trades," notes Hunter, one of a handful of academics closely following this trend.
Companies urged to switch PCs off
CNET News.com: "Companies should encourage employees to switch off PCs at night or continue wasting money and energy, according to research by Fujitsu Siemens.
In a report released on Monday, the PC maker claimed that about 217 million (123 million pounds) is wasted every year in the U.K. alone powering PCs that could have been shut down or left in hibernation mode. The report also pointed out the environmental impact of all the wasted energy.
Fujitsu Siemens surveyed 1,000 employees and found that some 370 never turned off their computers before leaving the office for the day.
'U.K. businesses need to consider both the financial and environmental implications of leaving a computer running and make turning off their PCs each night a policy,' said Garry Owen, head of product marketing at Fujitsu Siemens Computers, who added that simply putting a computer into standby means it still is consuming power.
Fujitsu Siemens released its report to coincide with the start on Monday of Energy Saving Week, a nationwide initiative aimed at raising the awareness of the damaging effects of climate change and ways to prevent it."
In a report released on Monday, the PC maker claimed that about 217 million (123 million pounds) is wasted every year in the U.K. alone powering PCs that could have been shut down or left in hibernation mode. The report also pointed out the environmental impact of all the wasted energy.
Fujitsu Siemens surveyed 1,000 employees and found that some 370 never turned off their computers before leaving the office for the day.
'U.K. businesses need to consider both the financial and environmental implications of leaving a computer running and make turning off their PCs each night a policy,' said Garry Owen, head of product marketing at Fujitsu Siemens Computers, who added that simply putting a computer into standby means it still is consuming power.
Fujitsu Siemens released its report to coincide with the start on Monday of Energy Saving Week, a nationwide initiative aimed at raising the awareness of the damaging effects of climate change and ways to prevent it."
Tech vs. Mother Nature
CNET News.com: "As parts of the southeastern United States prepare for yet another hurricane, maintaining electrical power remains a top priority for every communications service provider.
While many things went wrong during the aftermath and relief effort of Hurricane Katrina, the technical issue that sticks out the most is the failing of the local communications network, a failure which hamstrung rescuers. The storm knocked out 3 million telephone lines, 1,000 cellular sites and 38 emergency-call centers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
So what was the weak link in the chain that caused the supposedly 99.999-percent-reliable telephone network to go down, local television stations throughout the area to go off the air, and cable operators to suspend service? The answer is simple: Flood waters poured into facilities, knocking out commercial electrical power sources as well as back-up generators and batteries."
They should have used disaster satellite communications from CapRock Satellite Communications. Oops.. forgot... they did.
While many things went wrong during the aftermath and relief effort of Hurricane Katrina, the technical issue that sticks out the most is the failing of the local communications network, a failure which hamstrung rescuers. The storm knocked out 3 million telephone lines, 1,000 cellular sites and 38 emergency-call centers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, according to the Federal Communications Commission.
So what was the weak link in the chain that caused the supposedly 99.999-percent-reliable telephone network to go down, local television stations throughout the area to go off the air, and cable operators to suspend service? The answer is simple: Flood waters poured into facilities, knocking out commercial electrical power sources as well as back-up generators and batteries."
They should have used disaster satellite communications from CapRock Satellite Communications. Oops.. forgot... they did.
Search Finds a Nerve to Rub Raw
Search Finds a Nerve to Rub Raw: "Updated: When is too much information way, way, way too much? When it's creepy.
Internet search technology may be getting too smart for its own good, says Michelle Weil, co-author of the book 'TechnoStress.'
Bleeding-edge search products no longer have to be told what to do. There's a growing number like Watson 2.0, from Chicago, Ill.-based Intellext, which, on their own, selects keywords from a computer file you are working on.
Technical marvels, no doubt. But Weil and other mental health experts believe modern-day search products are going to deeply affect people suffering from technology-induced stress. "
Internet search technology may be getting too smart for its own good, says Michelle Weil, co-author of the book 'TechnoStress.'
Bleeding-edge search products no longer have to be told what to do. There's a growing number like Watson 2.0, from Chicago, Ill.-based Intellext, which, on their own, selects keywords from a computer file you are working on.
Technical marvels, no doubt. But Weil and other mental health experts believe modern-day search products are going to deeply affect people suffering from technology-induced stress. "
No Longer Safe for Work: Blogs
Wired News: "Robert Mason (not his real name) would love to spend a few minutes during lunch catching up on blog posts from around the web, but his company doesn't allow it. The financial institution where Mason works as a vice president has security filters set up to block access to -- among other things -- any website that contains the phrase 'blog' in the URL.
What's more, says Mason, such practices are becoming prevalent in corporate America, particularly in financial services. Mason sits on a roundtable privacy group of 20 of the country's largest banks. 'My best understanding is that my company's anti-blog stance is the industry norm,' he says."
What's more, says Mason, such practices are becoming prevalent in corporate America, particularly in financial services. Mason sits on a roundtable privacy group of 20 of the country's largest banks. 'My best understanding is that my company's anti-blog stance is the industry norm,' he says."
So who should you call a journalist?
CNET News.com: "A renewed effort in the U.S. Congress to create a federal shield law for news organizations is raising a sticky question: Who is a journalist?
A generation ago, the answer usually was clear. Not anymore. Online scribes and video publishers are experimenting with novel forms of journalism, and even the most stodgy news organizations are embracing blogs.
That leaves politicians--hardly the most clued in about all things tech--in something of a quandary. They're being lobbied by professional news organizations and the American Bar Association to approve some kind of journalist's shield law while being urged by prosecutors to leave out bloggers. "
A generation ago, the answer usually was clear. Not anymore. Online scribes and video publishers are experimenting with novel forms of journalism, and even the most stodgy news organizations are embracing blogs.
That leaves politicians--hardly the most clued in about all things tech--in something of a quandary. They're being lobbied by professional news organizations and the American Bar Association to approve some kind of journalist's shield law while being urged by prosecutors to leave out bloggers. "
Friday, October 21, 2005
Stocks struggle after Google's strong earnings -
MSNBC.com: "NEW YORK - Stocks were struggling Friday, trading mixed as strong quarterly earnings at Google Inc. helped cushion the market�s disappointment over Caterpillar Inc.�s full-year forecast.
Falling oil prices also gave the market a boost following Thursday�s sell-off, triggered by renewed concerns about economic growth and inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 133 points, while other major indexes lost more than 1 percent."
Falling oil prices also gave the market a boost following Thursday�s sell-off, triggered by renewed concerns about economic growth and inflation. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 133 points, while other major indexes lost more than 1 percent."
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Further obstacles to Google's library plans
Guardian Unlimited : "Google today faced a new legal challenge to its plans to digitise library books, as major publishers sought to block it from scanning copyrighted works.
Five publishing houses - McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education and Penguin Group (USA), Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons - filed a suit in New York yesterday, claiming that Google's plans would infringe their copyrights.
'If Google can make ... copies, then anyone can,' Patricia Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, told Reuters. 'Anybody could go into a library and start making digital copies of anything.'"
Five publishing houses - McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education and Penguin Group (USA), Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons - filed a suit in New York yesterday, claiming that Google's plans would infringe their copyrights.
'If Google can make ... copies, then anyone can,' Patricia Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, told Reuters. 'Anybody could go into a library and start making digital copies of anything.'"
Rollyo: Roll Your Own Search Engine
Rollyo: "Rollyo is the fast, easy way to create personal search engines using only the sources you trust.
Are you tired of wading though thousands of irrelevant search results to get to the information you want? Ever wish you could narrow your search to sites you already know and trust? With Rollyo, you can easily create your own custom search engines, and explore and save those created by others. "
Are you tired of wading though thousands of irrelevant search results to get to the information you want? Ever wish you could narrow your search to sites you already know and trust? With Rollyo, you can easily create your own custom search engines, and explore and save those created by others. "
Monday, October 17, 2005
Open source: Big and getting bigger
News.blog | CNET News.com: "If you're knee-deep in an IT infrastructure project, the following will come as no surprise: Open source is popular and it's gaining ground.
'It's simply growing up the stack,' Mark Driver, an analyst with Gartner, said on Monday. Driver, speaking at Gartner's annual Symposium/ITExpo conference here, said one reason for the building popularity of open source is the growing adoption of open source code by proprietary, closed-source software makers like IBM and Sun.
'The brutal reality is that more and more software from (proprietary vendors) will have open source in it,' he said.
A growing number of software makers see open source support as a key part of their competitive strategies, Driver said. 'Why do you think that IBM likes Linux? Do you think they looked at Linux three or four years ago and said this is superior to AIX, an operating system they spent billions to develop? I think not. They like it because it is bad for Windows and Solaris.'"
'It's simply growing up the stack,' Mark Driver, an analyst with Gartner, said on Monday. Driver, speaking at Gartner's annual Symposium/ITExpo conference here, said one reason for the building popularity of open source is the growing adoption of open source code by proprietary, closed-source software makers like IBM and Sun.
'The brutal reality is that more and more software from (proprietary vendors) will have open source in it,' he said.
A growing number of software makers see open source support as a key part of their competitive strategies, Driver said. 'Why do you think that IBM likes Linux? Do you think they looked at Linux three or four years ago and said this is superior to AIX, an operating system they spent billions to develop? I think not. They like it because it is bad for Windows and Solaris.'"
Bloggers unite for aggregation site
CNET News.com: "A group of bloggers including mainstream journalists from outlets such as CNBC, The Nation and The New York Times are banding together to strike a blow at established media and pick up some ad dollars in the process.
Operating initially as Pajamas Media--a play on criticism that bloggers are 'just a bunch of guys in their pajamas'--the site will offer original content and links to affiliate sites written by more than 70 bloggers, as well as basic news feeds from sources like The Associated Press, said novelist and screenwriter Roger L. Simon, one of the founders.
Contributors include: CNBC's Larry Kudlow; U.S. News & World Report senior writer Michael Barone; Nation columnist David Corn; Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com fame; New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor John Podhoretz; Adam Bellow, Random House editor and son of Nobel Prize-winner Saul Bellow; Clifford D. May, ex-New York Times editor and current president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies think tank; Jane Hall, panelist of Fox News Watch, and co-founder Charles Johnson, author of the Little Green Footballs blog.
Though the roster, with well-known conservatives such as Reynolds and right-wing outlet Fox News, may at first glance seem weighted toward the conservative side, Simon insisted it would encompass viewpoints from across the political spectrum. "
Operating initially as Pajamas Media--a play on criticism that bloggers are 'just a bunch of guys in their pajamas'--the site will offer original content and links to affiliate sites written by more than 70 bloggers, as well as basic news feeds from sources like The Associated Press, said novelist and screenwriter Roger L. Simon, one of the founders.
Contributors include: CNBC's Larry Kudlow; U.S. News & World Report senior writer Michael Barone; Nation columnist David Corn; Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com fame; New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor John Podhoretz; Adam Bellow, Random House editor and son of Nobel Prize-winner Saul Bellow; Clifford D. May, ex-New York Times editor and current president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies think tank; Jane Hall, panelist of Fox News Watch, and co-founder Charles Johnson, author of the Little Green Footballs blog.
Though the roster, with well-known conservatives such as Reynolds and right-wing outlet Fox News, may at first glance seem weighted toward the conservative side, Simon insisted it would encompass viewpoints from across the political spectrum. "
Friday, October 14, 2005
RSA to test new Web authentication service
CNET News.com: "Looking for a way to get its security gadgets into the hands of average consumers, RSA Security plans to test a new Web authentication service.
The security company's new RSA Authentication Service is designed to let consumers securely access multiple Web sites using a single RSA security credential, such as the company's password-generating hardware tokens. RSA plans to test the service starting next month with four financial services companies, company executives said.
For example, a customer of both the eTrade brokerage and a Wells Fargo bank could use a single device to authenticate their identity on the companies' sites, RSA Chief Executive Officer Art Coviello said in a meeting with reporters Wednesday in San Francisco. eTrade and Wells Fargo are RSA customers, but RSA would not say whether they are part of the trial. "
The security company's new RSA Authentication Service is designed to let consumers securely access multiple Web sites using a single RSA security credential, such as the company's password-generating hardware tokens. RSA plans to test the service starting next month with four financial services companies, company executives said.
For example, a customer of both the eTrade brokerage and a Wells Fargo bank could use a single device to authenticate their identity on the companies' sites, RSA Chief Executive Officer Art Coviello said in a meeting with reporters Wednesday in San Francisco. eTrade and Wells Fargo are RSA customers, but RSA would not say whether they are part of the trial. "
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Parsons denies Google-AOL tie-up
BBC News: "Time Warner's chief executive has denied reports that it may be about to sell a stake in its America Online (AOL) unit to Google and Comcast.
Richard Parsons also said there were no plans for a tie-up with Microsoft's search-engine technology.
News agency and newspaper reports said Google had been ready to share AOL with Time Warner and US cable firm Comcast.
Such a deal would have put Google's search tools with Time Warner's TV and film content in a portal.
Any such move would also have addressed criticism from investors of Time Warner's strategy. "
Richard Parsons also said there were no plans for a tie-up with Microsoft's search-engine technology.
News agency and newspaper reports said Google had been ready to share AOL with Time Warner and US cable firm Comcast.
Such a deal would have put Google's search tools with Time Warner's TV and film content in a portal.
Any such move would also have addressed criticism from investors of Time Warner's strategy. "
Google allies with Sun to offer challenge to Microsoft Office
American Marketing Association News: "Google Inc., the world's most-used Internet search engine, and Sun Microsystems are joining forces to offer online word processing and spreadsheet functions in a direct challenge to Microsoft Corp.'s dominance.
Google will distribute Sun's free OpenOffice.org software for personal computers, the companies said Tuesday at a press conference in Google's home town of Mountain View, Calif. Some downloaded Sun programs also will include Google's toolbar.
The alliance may present one of the strongest competitors to Microsoft's Office word processing and spreadsheet products, which generated $11 billion in sales last fiscal year. Google is using Sun to accelerate its battle with Microsoft, adding a missing piece to its growing list of features that includes the Google toolbar, e- mail and desktop search. "
Google will distribute Sun's free OpenOffice.org software for personal computers, the companies said Tuesday at a press conference in Google's home town of Mountain View, Calif. Some downloaded Sun programs also will include Google's toolbar.
The alliance may present one of the strongest competitors to Microsoft's Office word processing and spreadsheet products, which generated $11 billion in sales last fiscal year. Google is using Sun to accelerate its battle with Microsoft, adding a missing piece to its growing list of features that includes the Google toolbar, e- mail and desktop search. "
The next big thing.
American Marketing Association News: "THE 32,000 residents of Keller, Tex., a Dallas suburb, last month became the guinea pigs for a new kind of television service. It's not broadcast TV, not cable TV, not satellite TV. It's 'FiOS TV,' high-quality digital television delivered by fiber optic service lines owned by a telephone company.
FiOS TV is the latest front in the ongoing telecom war, now in its 10th year, pitting the 'Baby Bells' -- the spawn of the 1984 break-up of AT&T -- against all comers. At first the battles were over residential and long-distance service. Then the war moved to broadband Internet service. Now the battle comes to your living room, with the Bells going after the cable companies' bread and butter.
Three of the Bells -- SBC, Verizon and Bell South -- are spending billions of dollars laying fiber optic cables that will carry television pictures to computers or to TV sets equipped with computer boxes. They're also planning to spend tens of millions of dollars lobbying state legislatures and Congress to allow them to avoid lengthy permit processes.
Earlier this year, Texas became the first state to approve a statewide franchise agreement for FiOS TV. That means the Bells can avoid having to make franchise agreements with individual communities before laying their fiber optic cables. Conventional cable TV companies have to get franchise agreements, and in return, pay a franchise tax to local governments. In Texas, the Bells will be able to avoid the lengthy town-by-town permitting process. "
FiOS TV is the latest front in the ongoing telecom war, now in its 10th year, pitting the 'Baby Bells' -- the spawn of the 1984 break-up of AT&T -- against all comers. At first the battles were over residential and long-distance service. Then the war moved to broadband Internet service. Now the battle comes to your living room, with the Bells going after the cable companies' bread and butter.
Three of the Bells -- SBC, Verizon and Bell South -- are spending billions of dollars laying fiber optic cables that will carry television pictures to computers or to TV sets equipped with computer boxes. They're also planning to spend tens of millions of dollars lobbying state legislatures and Congress to allow them to avoid lengthy permit processes.
Earlier this year, Texas became the first state to approve a statewide franchise agreement for FiOS TV. That means the Bells can avoid having to make franchise agreements with individual communities before laying their fiber optic cables. Conventional cable TV companies have to get franchise agreements, and in return, pay a franchise tax to local governments. In Texas, the Bells will be able to avoid the lengthy town-by-town permitting process. "
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Fear this. Now buy something.
Technique 2005 : :
"It was one of those awkward career moments - the creative, 25-year-old copywriter going to lunch with his very conservative, 45-year-old supervisor. Despite having worked there for months, I had not spoken with my boss about anything but work. He was a nice guy, just very unlike me. Anyways, the food was good, but the conversation was starved for any common interest to discuss. Eventually we settled on work matters when he shared with me what he believed was the secret to all good advertising."
"It was one of those awkward career moments - the creative, 25-year-old copywriter going to lunch with his very conservative, 45-year-old supervisor. Despite having worked there for months, I had not spoken with my boss about anything but work. He was a nice guy, just very unlike me. Anyways, the food was good, but the conversation was starved for any common interest to discuss. Eventually we settled on work matters when he shared with me what he believed was the secret to all good advertising."
Selling Songs for a Song
MSNBC.com: "Oct. 17, 2005 issue - The music industry is filled with creative types, and many seem to be wearing suits these days. Consider the latest idea from the business suite at Warner Music Group, which is rummaging like the rest of the industry for new sources of revenue: when search engines like Google formally launch their new video-search sites, Warner Music wants a cut of the cash the sites would reap from selling ads next to search results. So if you type in 'Madonna''�a Warner act�at the Google Video site (now in its test phase), and the results are accompanied by ads, Warner wants a share of those ad dollars as well as payment for any Madonna videos that are streamed or sold, according to a senior Warner insider who wasn't authorized to speak on the record, adding that the label has approached Google about the idea. Warner Music declined official comment. A Google spokesman wouldn't comment on any talks with record labels, but did say the company believes music companies should profit from their content. Generally, 'that's what we are working on,'' the spokesman said. 'We are in the early stages now.'"
U.S. Copyright Office
U.S. Copyright Office : "Copyright Law of the United States of America
and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code"
and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code"
Ad Shift from Newspapers to Internet Slower Than Some Think
Media Buyer Planner
A new report from Banc of America Securities says that the shift of dollars from traditional media to the Internet is happening slower than previously suggested, Editor & Publisher reports.
The research firm looked at 100 leading national advertisers that spent over $1 billion with newspapers. Indeed, more than one-third of ad dollars flowing out of newspapers are moving to the Internet. The advertisers studied spent roughly the same in 2004 as in 2003 on newspaper advertising; however, they upped their Internet spend by 29 percent.
Yet, the shift is happening sporadically. Of the eight categories examined - automotive, retail, telecom/Internet, financial services, general services, entertainment, travel, and media - the Internet gained share in only three of them. Telecom advertisers shifted the largest share from newspapers to the Internet. Retail came in second and general services came in third. Entertainment was the only category where newspapers gained over the Internet.
Banc of America is quick to point out that while Internet growth is advancing, the base is low. Internet advertising only accounts for 5.3 percent of total U.S. measured advertising revenues, newspapers for 21 percent.
A new report from Banc of America Securities says that the shift of dollars from traditional media to the Internet is happening slower than previously suggested, Editor & Publisher reports.
The research firm looked at 100 leading national advertisers that spent over $1 billion with newspapers. Indeed, more than one-third of ad dollars flowing out of newspapers are moving to the Internet. The advertisers studied spent roughly the same in 2004 as in 2003 on newspaper advertising; however, they upped their Internet spend by 29 percent.
Yet, the shift is happening sporadically. Of the eight categories examined - automotive, retail, telecom/Internet, financial services, general services, entertainment, travel, and media - the Internet gained share in only three of them. Telecom advertisers shifted the largest share from newspapers to the Internet. Retail came in second and general services came in third. Entertainment was the only category where newspapers gained over the Internet.
Banc of America is quick to point out that while Internet growth is advancing, the base is low. Internet advertising only accounts for 5.3 percent of total U.S. measured advertising revenues, newspapers for 21 percent.
Yahoo, Microsoft link IM services
CNET News.com: "Yahoo and Microsoft announced plans Wednesday to make their instant messaging services interoperable.
Consumers using the Yahoo Messenger or MSN Messenger programs will be able to exchange instant messages, see the presence of their contacts, share emoticons and add friends from either service, the companies said. Interoperability is expected to kick in during the second quarter of 2006."
Consumers using the Yahoo Messenger or MSN Messenger programs will be able to exchange instant messages, see the presence of their contacts, share emoticons and add friends from either service, the companies said. Interoperability is expected to kick in during the second quarter of 2006."
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
CapRock Communications Expands Into Mexico; New Regional Operations Center Extends Satellite Provider's Global Infrastructure
Yahoo! Finance: "CapRock Communications announced today that it has extended its reach and customer support capability in Mexico, with the opening of a new operations center in Ciudad Del Carmen. The move comes as part of a continuing global expansion effort for the satellite communications leader, who provides advanced remote communications services to the energy, maritime, construction and mining industries, as well as government clients."
Monday, October 10, 2005
Get ready for 'Son of Can Spam'
CNET News.com: "Nearly two years ago, the U.S. Congress approved the first federal law regulating unsolicited junk e-mail, marking a historic date that finally freed our inboxes from the scourge of a punishing flow of spam. "
Finding the location, identity, or affiliation of email senders
kuro5hin.org: "Thanks to wireless networks, internet cafes, and web mail, it is now common to send email from just about anywhere. So, where was that friend, coworker, or stalker when she sent that message last night, and what else can we learn about her? Using simple techniques and a few well known, but often-overlooked email headers and internet tools, it's often easy to find out.
Likewise, the email you send may also include your location and school or employer, even if sent from a personal account. Do you or should you care? "
Likewise, the email you send may also include your location and school or employer, even if sent from a personal account. Do you or should you care? "
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Hotel Chain Asks Katrina Evacuees to Leave
Yahoo! News: "Hilton Hotels, the parent company of Hampton Inn and other brands, is trying to find other rooms for the evacuees but said they were warned when they checked in that their stays would be limited by room availability, said Hilton spokeswoman Kathy Shepard.
'We're doing our very best to accommodate these people,' she said.
It's an uncomfortable situation for the hotel industry: risk bad publicity for kicking out hurricane evacuees, or anger big-spending repeat customers who travel for business."
'We're doing our very best to accommodate these people,' she said.
It's an uncomfortable situation for the hotel industry: risk bad publicity for kicking out hurricane evacuees, or anger big-spending repeat customers who travel for business."
Weak initial demand for Rokr, says analyst, other Motorola products remain strong.
RCRNews.com: "Initial shipments of Motorola Inc.'s long-anticipated iTunes-capable phone appear somewhat sluggish, according to a recent analyst report from Piper Jaffray. The firm said its recent store checks show that some locations are recording strong sales of the device, but the majority see only weak demand for the Rokr.
'Our checks indicated mixed to negative reviews of the much-anticipated Rokr phone, with some stores indicating strong early sales, but more indicating disappointment in the product,' wrote Piper Jaffray analyst T. Michael Walkley in a note to investors. The firm makes a market in Motorola securities."
'Our checks indicated mixed to negative reviews of the much-anticipated Rokr phone, with some stores indicating strong early sales, but more indicating disappointment in the product,' wrote Piper Jaffray analyst T. Michael Walkley in a note to investors. The firm makes a market in Motorola securities."
Andreessen adds some Ning to the Web
CNET News.com: "Ning, a new Web site from Netscape founder Marc Andreessen's latest company, has piqued the curiosity of Web developers and bloggers checking out the online social-networking service.
Andreessen's Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up 24 Hour Laundry, which has about 14 employees, earlier this week launched Ning, describing it a free online service for building 'social applications.'
Company executives refer to Ning as a 'playground' for creating content, such as photos and reviews, and sharing that information to connect with other people. The Ning site hosts these 'social applications' and gives Web developers tools to build programs, either from scratch or by cloning existing services. "
Andreessen's Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up 24 Hour Laundry, which has about 14 employees, earlier this week launched Ning, describing it a free online service for building 'social applications.'
Company executives refer to Ning as a 'playground' for creating content, such as photos and reviews, and sharing that information to connect with other people. The Ning site hosts these 'social applications' and gives Web developers tools to build programs, either from scratch or by cloning existing services. "
Dropped at last ... those notorious FCUK slogans that enraged Britain
American Marketing Association News: "FRENCH Connection is to abandon its notorious FCUK slogan after a dramatic slump in sales.
The High Street fashion chain will ditch the smutty logo, which is splashed across clothes and other products, when it launches next year's spring and summer collection.
The decision was widely welcomed last night. Tory MP Ann Widdecombe said: 'It's about time too.
It has simply coarsened sensibilities and was always unnecessary.' John Beyer, director of Mediawatch, said: 'We had people call us after their children had seen it and asked what it meant. It's high time the firm did this and we welcome their decision.' Catholic author Dwight Longenecker added: 'This was always such an adolescent joke. I always thought they should have been able to come up with something better.' Although company founder Stephen Marks has always defended the logo as simply being the initials for French Connection UK, industry experts say it has lost its appeal and become unfashionable.
Those views were reflected in the company's latest sales figures, which were down nine per cent over the summer, while half-year profits collapsed by 68 per cent, from Pounds 16.2million to Pounds 5.1million.
When the results were unveiled last month, Mark Charnock, of banking group Investec, said: 'I think the FCUK brand is going south. There was a bubble on the back of smutty, mis-spelt expletives. That bubble has gone and there is nothing to bring back customers into the shops.' A senior source at French Connection's PR agency Brunswick, who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Mail on Sunday: 'T-shirts or other garments in the new spring/ summer collection will not have the FCUK logo on the front it may appear on labels but it will be subtle and limited"
The High Street fashion chain will ditch the smutty logo, which is splashed across clothes and other products, when it launches next year's spring and summer collection.
The decision was widely welcomed last night. Tory MP Ann Widdecombe said: 'It's about time too.
It has simply coarsened sensibilities and was always unnecessary.' John Beyer, director of Mediawatch, said: 'We had people call us after their children had seen it and asked what it meant. It's high time the firm did this and we welcome their decision.' Catholic author Dwight Longenecker added: 'This was always such an adolescent joke. I always thought they should have been able to come up with something better.' Although company founder Stephen Marks has always defended the logo as simply being the initials for French Connection UK, industry experts say it has lost its appeal and become unfashionable.
Those views were reflected in the company's latest sales figures, which were down nine per cent over the summer, while half-year profits collapsed by 68 per cent, from Pounds 16.2million to Pounds 5.1million.
When the results were unveiled last month, Mark Charnock, of banking group Investec, said: 'I think the FCUK brand is going south. There was a bubble on the back of smutty, mis-spelt expletives. That bubble has gone and there is nothing to bring back customers into the shops.' A senior source at French Connection's PR agency Brunswick, who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Mail on Sunday: 'T-shirts or other garments in the new spring/ summer collection will not have the FCUK logo on the front it may appear on labels but it will be subtle and limited"
Bootie Beer - America's Entertainment Beer
Bootie Beer : "This is the place to find out all about Bootie Beer and get great Bootie 24/7. Enter the site to find out where to buy Bootie Beer, how to redeem Bootie Miles and register for Bootie Beer updates and cool stuff. There's even a Bootie Quiz that measures how much bootie is on your mind and an opportunity to be featured on the next Bootie Beer radio spot."
Adrants
Adrants : "Adrants provides marketing and advertising news and opinion with a continually updated website and daily email newsletter. Written by former industry practitioners, it provides insightful, informed, experiential, no holds barred commentary on the state of the advertising and media industries. Editorial covers emerging marketing and advertising trends, cultural and demographic shifts affecting advertising strategies, new campaign launches, viral and buzz marketing, useful industry research and the examination of the industry's shift from old paradigms to new."
Location, Location, Location on the Internet - by Steve Plunkett
In real estate, many factors contribute to having a good, great or horrible location.
These factors include traffic count: cars or pedestrians, visibility, proximity to competition, population density, terms and rental rates and transportation accessibility. These same factors apply to any website and every Internet marketing campaign. Internet marketing involves more than just building a website. It requires a little bit of promotion on your part to get people to that website.
Traffic Count: Cars or Pedestrians
In your brick and mortar location, do you get a lot of drive-by traffic or foot traffic? If you want foot traffic you pick a location in a retail center or a mall where you have lots of people. If you are a business that has businesses as customers, then foot traffic is not as important. Think of cars as B2B, (business to business), and pedestrians as B2C, (business to consumer). Your type of business does affect your location and how you define your Internet marketing strategy. B2C requires as much traffic as possible, whereas, B2B requires as much qualified traffic as possible.
If you sell a firewall that can be used by everybody on any type of computer connected to the Internet, you want to target foot traffic for anyone who has a computer connected to the Internet. If you sell a security platform that protects networks by sitting in front of the router to block malicious and unknown attacks, then your audience is a bit more specific, and the mall (i.e. general search terms) may not be the best location for your business. More specific search terms should be researched, and your “leasing cost” may be higher either way, depending on the “keyword” used and the location of the keyword purchased.
Visibility
Are you found on the front page of search results when people search for your company name? Location, location, location. In real estate, it’s everything. On search engine results, it’s required. Research has shown that roughly 80 percent of Internet users do not go past the first three pages of search engine results and just below 20 percent do not go past the first page.
Proximity to Competition
It’s also important to understand how competitive your business channel is. Are you one of only 13 vendors that supply a really neat device, or are there 1,500 suppliers that could be viewed as competition by a potential customer that has not yet learned the difference?
Are you found where your competitors are found? If their location is the first page of the search results and your location is nowhere near them, (say, in the third or fourth page neighborhood), how can customers find you?
Population Density
A search for “Dallas” in Google will return more than 45 million results and in Yahoo! it will return more than a million. A highly populated area on the search results means increased competition, and it’s going to be harder to get your website seen. Pay-Per-Click advertising, listing your website in a search engine’s paid results area, costs more for “rent” in populated areas and more attractive areas. To “lease” the top Pay-Per-Click spot for the word “Dallas,” you will pay $0.92 cents every time someone clicks on your link. The current pricing on the top spot for “Dallas Real Estate” would cost $4.05.
So different locations have different pricing.
Terms and Rental Rates
Negotiating a good lease is great for your business. So is submitting to free search indexes and directories. A search index is like the white pages, everyone is listed by name, not by category. A search directory is like the larger segmented telephone book that usually has yellow colored pages inside it, separated by category. Google is a free search index and has a free directory via DMOZ.org. In commercial real estate, free rent is a great thing but usually lasts only for a limited time.
Yahoo! is a paid search directory with a yearly fee to be listed. Many people have differing opinions on whether or not this is a good idea, but Yahoo! isn’t likely to disappear within the next year. The top three most visited websites are Yahoo!, MSN and Google, in that order, so paying to be listed on Yahoo! is definitely a good idea. As with any location, the better the location, the higher the rent, and there are methods of paying more for better placement or a “better location.”
Transportation Accessibility
If you build it, they will come, does not apply to a website. Until you do something to promote your website, it is a “snowflake in a snowstorm.” Unless your company name is put in front of people, most people will not know you have a website or web address.
You must list your website much like you would list an available residential property for sale or lease with a professional realtor. Print it on your business card, your stationary and possibly even the sign in front of your business. This is like a “for sale by owner” sign in your yard - until someone drives by, they don’t know you have a website.
You also may decide to enlist the duties of a search engine marketing professional to list your website. Like realtors who know how the real estate market works, they deal with the ever changing landscape of search engines on a daily basis and know the ropes of what the search engines like and do not like in order to assist you to the top of the search engines, the most profitable location.
These factors include traffic count: cars or pedestrians, visibility, proximity to competition, population density, terms and rental rates and transportation accessibility. These same factors apply to any website and every Internet marketing campaign. Internet marketing involves more than just building a website. It requires a little bit of promotion on your part to get people to that website.
Traffic Count: Cars or Pedestrians
In your brick and mortar location, do you get a lot of drive-by traffic or foot traffic? If you want foot traffic you pick a location in a retail center or a mall where you have lots of people. If you are a business that has businesses as customers, then foot traffic is not as important. Think of cars as B2B, (business to business), and pedestrians as B2C, (business to consumer). Your type of business does affect your location and how you define your Internet marketing strategy. B2C requires as much traffic as possible, whereas, B2B requires as much qualified traffic as possible.
If you sell a firewall that can be used by everybody on any type of computer connected to the Internet, you want to target foot traffic for anyone who has a computer connected to the Internet. If you sell a security platform that protects networks by sitting in front of the router to block malicious and unknown attacks, then your audience is a bit more specific, and the mall (i.e. general search terms) may not be the best location for your business. More specific search terms should be researched, and your “leasing cost” may be higher either way, depending on the “keyword” used and the location of the keyword purchased.
Visibility
Are you found on the front page of search results when people search for your company name? Location, location, location. In real estate, it’s everything. On search engine results, it’s required. Research has shown that roughly 80 percent of Internet users do not go past the first three pages of search engine results and just below 20 percent do not go past the first page.
Proximity to Competition
It’s also important to understand how competitive your business channel is. Are you one of only 13 vendors that supply a really neat device, or are there 1,500 suppliers that could be viewed as competition by a potential customer that has not yet learned the difference?
Are you found where your competitors are found? If their location is the first page of the search results and your location is nowhere near them, (say, in the third or fourth page neighborhood), how can customers find you?
Population Density
A search for “Dallas” in Google will return more than 45 million results and in Yahoo! it will return more than a million. A highly populated area on the search results means increased competition, and it’s going to be harder to get your website seen. Pay-Per-Click advertising, listing your website in a search engine’s paid results area, costs more for “rent” in populated areas and more attractive areas. To “lease” the top Pay-Per-Click spot for the word “Dallas,” you will pay $0.92 cents every time someone clicks on your link. The current pricing on the top spot for “Dallas Real Estate” would cost $4.05.
So different locations have different pricing.
Terms and Rental Rates
Negotiating a good lease is great for your business. So is submitting to free search indexes and directories. A search index is like the white pages, everyone is listed by name, not by category. A search directory is like the larger segmented telephone book that usually has yellow colored pages inside it, separated by category. Google is a free search index and has a free directory via DMOZ.org. In commercial real estate, free rent is a great thing but usually lasts only for a limited time.
Yahoo! is a paid search directory with a yearly fee to be listed. Many people have differing opinions on whether or not this is a good idea, but Yahoo! isn’t likely to disappear within the next year. The top three most visited websites are Yahoo!, MSN and Google, in that order, so paying to be listed on Yahoo! is definitely a good idea. As with any location, the better the location, the higher the rent, and there are methods of paying more for better placement or a “better location.”
Transportation Accessibility
If you build it, they will come, does not apply to a website. Until you do something to promote your website, it is a “snowflake in a snowstorm.” Unless your company name is put in front of people, most people will not know you have a website or web address.
You must list your website much like you would list an available residential property for sale or lease with a professional realtor. Print it on your business card, your stationary and possibly even the sign in front of your business. This is like a “for sale by owner” sign in your yard - until someone drives by, they don’t know you have a website.
You also may decide to enlist the duties of a search engine marketing professional to list your website. Like realtors who know how the real estate market works, they deal with the ever changing landscape of search engines on a daily basis and know the ropes of what the search engines like and do not like in order to assist you to the top of the search engines, the most profitable location.
del.icio.us
del.icio.us: "� del.icio.us is a social bookmarks manager. It allows you to easily add sites you like to your personal collection of links, to categorize those sites with keywords, and to share your collection not only between your own browsers and machines, but also with others.
� Once you've registered for the service, you add a simple bookmarklet to your browser (see below). When you find a web page you'd like to add to your list, you simply select the del.icio.us bookmarklet, and you'll be prompted for a information about the page. You can add descriptive terms to group similar links together, modify the title of the page, and add extended notes for yourself or for others.
� You can access your list of links from any web browser. By default, your links are shown to you in reverse chronological order, with those you've added most recently at the top. In addition to viewing by date, you can also view all links in a specific category (you define your own categories as you add the links), or search your links for keywords.
� What makes del.icio.us a social system is its ability to let you see the links that others have collected, as well as showing you who else has bookmarked a specific site. You can also view the links collected by others, and subscribe to the links of people whose lists you find interesting. "
� Once you've registered for the service, you add a simple bookmarklet to your browser (see below). When you find a web page you'd like to add to your list, you simply select the del.icio.us bookmarklet, and you'll be prompted for a information about the page. You can add descriptive terms to group similar links together, modify the title of the page, and add extended notes for yourself or for others.
� You can access your list of links from any web browser. By default, your links are shown to you in reverse chronological order, with those you've added most recently at the top. In addition to viewing by date, you can also view all links in a specific category (you define your own categories as you add the links), or search your links for keywords.
� What makes del.icio.us a social system is its ability to let you see the links that others have collected, as well as showing you who else has bookmarked a specific site. You can also view the links collected by others, and subscribe to the links of people whose lists you find interesting. "
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
AOL notches up barrier against phishers
CNET News.com: "America Online is strengthening its shields against phishing attacks for its 20 million Internet service subscribers.
The Web giant announced Wednesday that it has expanded its agreement with antiphishing specialist Cyota and signed new partnerships with security technology companies MarkMonitor and Cyveillance.
The deals provide its customers with 'multiple layers of invisible protection against phishing attacks,' the Dulles, Va.-based Internet service provider said in a statement.
The protection measures aim to prevent AOL members from falling for phishing scams by blocking access. AOL and its partners will scan the Web for fraudulent sites, analyze suspicious URLs, check new domain registrations and attempt to remove phishing sites from the Web, the company said. "
The Web giant announced Wednesday that it has expanded its agreement with antiphishing specialist Cyota and signed new partnerships with security technology companies MarkMonitor and Cyveillance.
The deals provide its customers with 'multiple layers of invisible protection against phishing attacks,' the Dulles, Va.-based Internet service provider said in a statement.
The protection measures aim to prevent AOL members from falling for phishing scams by blocking access. AOL and its partners will scan the Web for fraudulent sites, analyze suspicious URLs, check new domain registrations and attempt to remove phishing sites from the Web, the company said. "
Google adds Princeton president to its board
CNET News.com: "Google has elected Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman to its board of directors, building on its efforts in science, the company announced Wednesday.
Tilghman, who is also a molecular biology professor at the university, participated in the cloning of the first mammalian gene as part of her postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health.
Her appointment to the board may aid Google's work in tackling scientific problems. In 2002, the company tested a toolbar that acted like a supercomputer in an effort to figure out how genetic information is converted into proteins. "
Tilghman, who is also a molecular biology professor at the university, participated in the cloning of the first mammalian gene as part of her postdoctoral studies at the National Institutes of Health.
Her appointment to the board may aid Google's work in tackling scientific problems. In 2002, the company tested a toolbar that acted like a supercomputer in an effort to figure out how genetic information is converted into proteins. "
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Hacking: Art or Science?
Whitedust: "The Definition Of A Hacker
The term "hacking" in a computer science context was first coined in the 1960's ; and its continuing extended usage widely attributed to localised Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) slang at the time, where in the very beginning the term "hack" was synonymous with the word "prank". An early indication of the darker side of future hacking perhaps but never the less in reference to this origin "hacking" could basically and simply be defined as;
"Making a system, program or piece of hardware do something that it was not designed to do."
Perhaps a good term to some up the meaning of "hacking" is "tinkering". Under this broad definition it'd be quite possible to "hack" the toaster into cooking hotter than it was designed to do, or anything else as mundane; the description of the hardware modification involved would fall well within the constraints of the term : a good hack. With the exception of the rather circumstantial, not to mention retrospectively amusing "seed" in the "prank" origin of the term; hacking previous to perhaps the early to mid 1980's had no real demonised undertones, no media generated air of menace - all of which such additions and confusions of the definition have emerged as commerce and relatively un tech savvy and uneducated parties have had by nature of the changes in day to day life become more involved with areas of computer science and information technology in general, areas which at the origin of the term hacking were quite alien to the man on the street."
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