Archive for the ‘Google’ Category
Thursday, March 22nd, 2012
 Findings from the second Adobe Digital Index report suggest that marketers are undervaluing social media impact by nearly 100 percent and need to re-evaluate their attribution methods.
The study evaluated how marketers measure the impact of website traffic from major social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Blogger, YouTube and Yelp. Adobe analyzed more than 1.7 billion visits to more than 225 U.S. companies’ websites in the retail, travel and media industries, concluding that marketers significantly underestimate the value of social traffic.
“As an industry, digital marketers have been quick to add social media to the marketing mix, but have perhaps not considered new and better ways to measure this complex channel,” Aseem Chandra
Key Report Findings
- The use of last-click attribution, the most common attribution model used by marketers, may cause marketers to undervalue social media’s website impact by up to 94 percent
- First-click attribution models more accurately capture the benefits of social media in engaging customers earlier in the buying process
- Significant differences in the results of first-click vs. last-click attribution data for various social media sites may cause marketers to change how they allocate the budgets across social and other digital channels
Why First-Click Attribution is Better for Social
Last-click attribution assumes that the marketing channel most responsible for a consumer’s behavior is the channel the consumer last touched before a visit or purchase.
First-click places responsibility on the channel the consumer first touched. Social media creates an environment in which brands can build awareness and engage with prospective and existing customers early in the purchase process.
By ignoring the value of these earlier interactions, last-click attribution gives disproportionate credit to the marketing channels customers use late in the purchase process, potentially undervaluing the role of other channels in building awareness, engagement, and ongoing relationships between customers and brands. In contrast, first-click attribution gives social media more credit for these earlier interactions.
The difference between last-click and first-click is significant and has the potential to change the way companies allocate social media budgets.
Aseem Chandra, vice president, product and industry marketing, Digital Marketing Business, Adobe, said, “As an industry, digital marketers have been quick to add social media to the marketing mix, but have perhaps not considered new and better ways to measure this complex channel. This study shows that marketers tend to default to traditional direct measurement models. Better measurement of social marketing will lead to better ROI.”
Full details of the Adobe Digital Index report on social media are available for download here or at CMO.com.
Tags: Adobe Digital Marketing Index, attribution, Blogger, facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tubmbr, twitter, Yelp, YouTube
Posted in Analytics, Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media, Twitter | Comments Off
Thursday, March 15th, 2012
Is the instant gratification of getting a Google answer making us prefer life in the fast lane for everything?
One thing is certain: if a web page is slow, users disappear fast.
Even top sites like Google and Amazon lose Web users if their response is less than a second slower than normal. Shoppers will desert a Web page that takes more than 4 seconds to load. Mobile users will wait a tad longer – 10 seconds – before giving up.
The folks over at OnlineGraduatePrograms.com created this infographic on “Instant America.”
Tags: Amazon, Google, Google generation, instant America, mobile, OnlineGraduatePrograms, slow Web speeds
Posted in Google, infographic, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
 What is your day on the Internet like? For 172 million people, it includes a visit to Facebook. Another 40 million folks go to Twitter, while 22 million show up over at LinkedIn.
Here’s an infographic from MBAonline.com showing a typical day on the Internet:
Created by: MBA Online
Tags: A day in the Internet, facebook, Google, LinkedIn, MBAonline.com, Netflix, twitter
Posted in Facebook, Google, infographic, LinkedIn, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
A new study by social marketing company Zuberance has revealed three surprising findings about Brand Advocates- influential consumers who frequently recommend brands and products without pay or incentives.
The Zuberance study found that:
1. Brand Advocates are even more active recommenders than previous studies have suggested. On average, Brand Advocates recommend nine brands, products, and services per year. The study also revealed that 32% of Brand Advocates recommend 10 or more brands, products, and services. On average, Brand Advocates make 26 recommendations per year. Eighteen percent of Brand Advocates recommend about once a week and 12% recommend several times per week.
2. Brand Advocates have larger social networks than earlier estimated. On average, Brand Advocates have between 200 and 450 people in their social networks. And online Brand Advocates – consumers who recommend their favorite brands and products using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, plus shopping and review sites like Amazon.com, TripAdvisor, and Yelp – have between 300 to 600 contacts in their social networks. This indicates that Brand Advocates’ ability to reach friends and peers with recommendations is much larger than earlier thought.
3. Brand Advocates recommend both consumer and business products. Many people mistakenly believe that Brand Advocates’ recommendations are limited to consumer products like iPhones, energy drinks, and restaurants. In fact, the majority of Brand Advocates (67%) recommend both business and consumer products and services. This finding supports the view that advocacy is a powerful weapon for both B2C and B2B marketers.
“Power Advocates”
A new study by social marketing company Zuberance has revealed three surprising findings about Brand Advocates- influential consumers who frequently recommend brands and products without pay or incentives.
The Zuberance study found that:
1. Brand Advocates are even more active recommenders than previous studies have suggested.
On average, Brand Advocates recommend nine brands, products, and services per year. The study also revealed that 32% of Brand Advocates recommend 10 or more brands, products, and services. On average, Brand Advocates make 26 recommendations per year. Eighteen percent of Brand Advocates recommend about once a week and 12% recommend several times per week.
2. Brand Advocates have larger social networks than earlier estimated.
On average, Brand Advocates have between 200 and 450 people in their social networks. And online Brand Advocates – consumers who recommend their favorite brands and products using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, plus shopping and review sites like Amazon.com, TripAdvisor, and Yelp – have between 300 to 600 contacts in their social networks. This indicates that Brand Advocates’ ability to reach friends and peers with recommendations is much larger than earlier thought.
3. Brand Advocates recommend both consumer and business products.
Many people mistakenly believe that Brand Advocates’ recommendations are limited to consumer products like iPhones, energy drinks, and restaurants. In fact, the majority of Brand Advocates (67%) recommend both business and consumer products and services. This finding supports the view that advocacy is a powerful weapon for both B2C and B2B marketers.
“Power Advocates”
The Zuberance study also has suggested that there is a segment of Brand Advocates who are extremely active and have very large social networks. These “Power Advocates,” which comprise about 15% of Brand Advocates:
- Recommend dozens of brands, products, and services
- Recommend several times each week
- Have more than 500 people in their social networks
The Zuberance study also has suggested that there is a segment of Brand Advocates who are extremely active and have very large social networks. These “Power Advocates,” which comprise about 15% of Brand Advocates:
- Recommend dozens of brands, products, and services
- Recommend several times each week
- Have more than 500 people in their social networks
Tags: active recommenders, Amazon, brand advocates, facebook, LinkedIn, social networks, Trip Advisor, twitter, Yelp, Zuberance
Posted in Amazon, Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, LinkedIn, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
 Advanced findings from the BrandFinance Global 500, due to be launched on 19th March, show that Apple has leapfroggedGoogle to be named the world’s most valuable brand.
The Californian tech giant enjoys the highest ever valuation by Brand Finance plc (US $70.6 billion) almost one third greater than its closest rival Google (currently valued at US$47.5 billion).
Apple rose a staggering seven places from eighth in the 2011 table after a year which has seen the Californian tech giant assert its position as the preeminent consumer tech brand with the launch of the iPad 2, iPhone 4s, Mountain Lion operating system and the eagerly anticipated launch of the iPad3.
The announcement comes as Apple announces its 25th billion mobile download dwarfing its competitors in this evolving market.
Commenting on this year’s report from the Brand Finance New York office, David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance Inc, said “The meteoric rise we have witnessed over the last 12 months is nothing short of staggering. Apple is the classic American corporation that was once the alternative quirky brand for designers and creatives. Now their products are accepted by major corporations and are used by the mainstream corporate industry.
“Companies like Apple are built on strong Intellectual Property and are the engine for growth in a new era. Apple is a great example of how IP can be used to leverage high profits. As Apple continues to develop it seems set to dominate the technology industry in 2012 and beyond.”
The Brand Finance Global 500 Top Five Most Valuable Technology Brands
Rank Rank Brand Value
2012 2011 Brand Country (USD) Brand Rating
1 4 Apple United States $70.6 billion AAA+
2 1 Google United States $47.5 billion AAA+
3 2 Microsoft United States $45.8 billion AAA+
4 3 IBM United States $39.1 billion AA+
5 5 Amazon United States $26.7 billion AA+
Tags: Amazon, Apple Inc., Brand Finance Global 500, Google, IBM, Microsoft, world's most valuable brand
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft | Comments Off
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
 Intel, Apple, and Cisco, provide the best product and relationship experience in the tech industry, according to a new research report published by Temkin Group, Tech Vendors: Benchmarking Product and Relationship Satisfaction of IT Clients, rates the experiences delivered by 60 large technology providers.
The research, which is based on a survey of 800 IT professionals from companies with at least $500 million in annual sales, examines how large enterprises rate IT vendors’ products and relationships.
Looking across the two key areas, products and relationships, Intel, Apple, and Cisco earned the highest average ratings. While the average rating across all 60 tech vendors was 50%, eight vendors fell below 40%: Compuware, Wipro, Capgemini, Tata Consulting Services, Unisys, Novell, Qualcomm, and SunGard.
“The research uncovered a wide range of experience delivered by tech vendors when it comes to both products and relationships,” states Bruce Temkin, author of the report and Managing Partner of Temkin Group.
To evaluate the relationship experience provided by tech vendors, Temkin Group asked IT professionals to rate the companies in four areas: cost of ownership, innovation, account team support, and technical support.
 The vendors with the highest relationship ratings are Intel, Apple, Cisco, Google, Microsoft servers, and IBM IT services. The tech vendors that received the lowest relationship ratings are Compuware, Wipro, and Unisys.
To evaluate the product experience provided by tech vendors, Temkin Group asked IT professionals to rate the companies in four areas: ease of use, features, flexibility, and quality.
The vendors with the highest product ratings are Intel, Apple, Cisco, Microsoft business applications, Microsoft desktop software, Microsoft servers, Google, Oracle database software, Oracle business applications, and VMWare.
The tech vendors that received the lowest product ratings are Compuware, Capgemini, and Wipro.
Highlights from the eight evaluation criteria:
 Cost of ownership: Two tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher - Google and Intel.- Innovation: 16 tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher, while four were above 70% - Apple, Intel, Cisco, andGoogle.
- Account team support: Seven tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher, led by Apple, Intel, and Cisco.
- Technical support: Nine tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher and only Intel is above 70%.
- Product ease-of-use: 13 tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher and two are above 70% - Intel and Apple.
- Product features: 17 tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher and two are above 70% - Cisco and Intel.
- Product flexibility: 12 tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher and only Intel is above 70%.
- Product quality: 17 tech vendors received ratings of 60% or higher and four are above 70% - Intel, Apple, Cisco, andAdobe.
This report can be accessed from the Temkin Group website at http://www.temkingroup.com or from the blog, Customer Experience Matters, at http://experiencematters.wordpress.com.
Tags: Adobe, Apple, Capgemini, Cisco, Compuware, Google, Intel, Novell, Qualcomm, SunGard, Tata Consulting Services, Tech Vendors: Benchmarking Product and Relationship Satisfaction of IT Clients, Temkin Group, Unisys, Wipro
Posted in Apple, Cisco, Google, Internet/New Media, IT, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
 By Joe Procopio
Last night at dinner, Windsor Circle’s Matt Williamson was a busy man. In between bites and drinks, he filled pages in a notebook with research on a number of investors who introduced themselves after his pitch. The beautiful thing was there was a veritable cornucopia of information to be had among the six of us at dinner, and by the time it was over, he was armed.
Williamson says, “It’s been an incredible experience being in such a tight concentration of venture capitalists. The overwhelming response is that we’re a compelling story for such a short amount of time that Windsor Circle has been around. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how helpful the VCs are.”
He said a lot more than that, but I blacked out. It was late.
He’s not alone. Several startups are making that upward swing from the pitches into meetings, and if yesterday was an explosion of activity, then this morning and afternoon should be buzzing with follow up.
Not Just Digital
PodPonics is an Atlanta based high tech agriculture startup, converting shipping containers into high tech controlled growing environments producing fresher, urban, weather-safe produce — in other words better and faster with incredible yield. These containers can be stacked 10 high to produce 150x yield per acre.
That’s a game changer.
CEO Matt Liotta will present this afternoon. But they’ve been networking and meeting people in preparation. They say it’s a good setup, allowing mass concentration of conversation is short periods of time and they’ve been able to generate interest before they even take the stage.
Not Just Deals
It isn’t just the dealmaking though. This year, I’ve met more entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs who are here just to get the lay of the land and figure out how to take the next steps with their idea or fledgling company.
The panels have also been refreshingly honest. The first sentence I heard in the Venture Capital Outlook session was that “the wheels fell off on August 15th.” Having been out in the field raising money at that point, I absolutely agree with that. It’s like the mirage vanished.
Overall, there seems to be a lot of activity in the $1 billion plus range, and a lot in the under $100 million range, with a big black hole in the sweet spot. This is troubling for those early-stage graduates, but with such an emphasis on customers and revenue over the last four years, it’s certainly not a shocker.
Crowd-funding
There is a lot of visceral reaction to crowd-funding, and you’re going to see a lot more in this space in the near future, and it will probably be volatile and filled with argument.
It’s tricky, to say the least. There was a lot of talk about how it can and should be done, not only from a legal perspective but also making sure that you can get follow on money and that there are no surprises going into your next round.
However it can’t be ignored. Kickstarter, though not technically crowd-funding but more beta-product pre-purchase (or free T-shirt), has done three $1 million plus deals already this year.
So while Groupon, Facebook, and Zynga dominate the exit talk, crowd funding made up a large portion of the entry talk.
Undercover Angel
But it wasn’t the only talk. Angels are making more noise these days, and a common theme, the lack of organization in the Angel community that makes it hard to get started, is still an issue, even post AngelList. One of the questions was “where do I find Angels” and the first answer was “LinkedIn.”
Coincidentally, TechCrunch did a post last night on AngelList potentially creating a common pitch-deck template. And while I don’t agree that that’s the right next step, it should be about more robust ways to build relationships between the entrepreneurs and the angels, it’s at least a step.
Tags: angel investors, AngelList, Atlanta, crowd funding, facebook, Google, Kickstarter, LinkedIn, Matt Liotta, PodPonics, SEVC, Southeast Venture Conference, TechCrunch, Tysons Corner, VA, venture funding, Winsor Circle, Zynga
Posted in Columns, Events, Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, IT, LinkedIn, Money, Viewpoint | Comments Off
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
 Google scores highest among college students looking for an apartment as students continue to turn away from traditional advertising – such as ads in campus newspapers – and instead go online to shop for a new place to live, according to a nationwide survey of more than 500 college students.
The survey provides hints to marketers trying to reach the college student audience for any reason and also shows how much digital media is beginning to dominate their lives.
The survey was conducted by Catalyst, an Austin-based marketing firm that specializes in the student housing industry, and asked students about their use of digital/social media and the types of marketing tactics that typically impact their housing decisions.
Fifty-three percent of students surveyed ranked Google/internet searches as most important in helping them find a place to live. Friends’ recommendations and those from parents followed at 37 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
They identified Facebook, ads in the student newspaper, student activities sponsored by apartment communities and online ads/promotions as least important in helping them find an apartment.
Google ranked most important
The survey also found that 98 percent of college students use Google Search to find information online, and 71 percent of the students ranked Google as the most important website/application they use. Google was followed in order of importance by university websites and Facebook. The students said they rarely turned to Twitter or Google+, which is still relatively new. In fact, the majority of students surveyed said they never use Twitter.
When looking for an apartment, few students use apartment-specific websites, such as apartments.com or apartmentguide.com. The survey showed they prefer to simply use Internet search engines to find information about apartment communities.
As expected, they also placed greater importance on digital marketing methods that leveraged the social media posts/messages of friends and peers, as well as email messages.
Students increasingly savvy
“What we’re seeing is that college students are becoming increasingly savvy in how they filter digital media marketing messages,” Catalyst CEO John Kerrigan said.
“They are using search engines, Facebook pages and comments from friends to do their homework in their search for apartments. At the same time, we are seeing a steep drop-off in the impact of traditional advertising in print publications, such as campus newspapers, on searches for student housing.”
The survey’s findings mirror those seen in college student focus groups Catalyst conducted in the fall. The firm periodically conducts focus groups and surveys of students to identify the most effective ways of marketing student housing properties to them.
This latest survey shows that digital media is becoming increasingly prevalent among college students as a resource when making rental housing decisions.
Other highlights from the survey include:
- Almost half (47 percent) of students surveyed spend four to seven hours online every day
- The majority of students have some type of smartphone with 42 percent saying they have an iPhone and 30 percent saying they have an Android
- 61 percent of students say they will watch a video that is on a website they are visiting
- 78 percent of students surveyed said they would use Facebook to learn more about an apartment community
- Email (68 percent) and texting (49 percent) were ranked as their most important methods of electronic communication
Tags: apartment hunting, Catalyst, college student use of digital media, college websites, facebook, Google, twitter
Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, Marketing, smartphones, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
 Small businesses continue to gravitate to digital/online media, particularly to self-serve advertising and promotional tools, including video, social media and search engine marketing (SEM). Analysts say SMBs are “On the verge of a revolution in marketing platforms,” particularly around digital.
So says the Local Commerce Monitor, BIA/Kelsey‘s 15-year tracking study of SMB advertising spending, media usage, Web presence and sales channels. SMBs surveyed in LCM Wave 15 reported they plan to allocate 26 percent of their budgets to digital/online media over the next 12 months.
“SMBs continue to get more focused and precise about how they use and analyze their advertising and marketing budgets,” said Steve Marshall, director of research, BIA/Kelsey.
“We continue to see a powerful pattern in usage of digital/online media according to the age of the business. Younger businesses spend much more of their ad budgets on digital/online media than their older counterparts that spend more on traditional media.”
According to LCM Wave 15, nearly half of respondents (49 percent) reported they purchase online advertising (including SEM products) themselves, directly from a website, either with or without live operator assistance. More than half (52 percent) of LCM respondents reported they use social media to promote their businesses, and 22 percent said they plan to have a video on YouTube in the next 12 months.
“The LCM data show SMBs love the easy-to-use tools, like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and self-serve advertising,” said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media, BIA/Kelsey. “Our analysis is that we are on the verge of a real revolution in marketing platforms that serve SMBs, in particular around digital presence.”
Tags: BIA/Kelsey, facebook, revolution in marketing, SMB ad budgets going digital, twitter, YouTube
Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Twitter | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012
 Apple iPad3s Freelancer.com, the world’s largest outsourcing marketplace, has disclosed its findings on the fastest growing online jobs with the release of the Freelancer Fast 50 for 2011, together with the company’s predictions for 2012.
“We are uniquely positioned to comment on jobs conducted online, with over 3.2 million users and 1.5 million jobs posted on Freelancer.com to date,” said CEO Matt Barrie.
The Freelancer.com Fast 50 charts the top 50 rising job categories in the online labor market quarter by quarter. The 2011 Freelancer Fast 50 is the amalgamation of those results for the year.
“Each year we examine hundreds of thousands of jobs posted on Freelancer.com. This year our team of data analysts uncovered insights, backed by empirical evidence, regarding trends that are frequently commented on by the press. The techniques we use enable us to gauge community and developer interest more accurately than the traditional methods,” Barrie concluded.
TOP TRENDS OF THE FREELANCER FAST 50 FOR 2011
- 2011 saw the rise of a new generation of Web 2.0 entrepreneur
- Google decimates poor quality content, and copywriting industry
- Smartphones: It’s all about when Android will beat the iPhone ecosystem..
- Tremendous growth in iPad jobs; BlackBerry Playbook stillborn.
- Microsoft is a dead duck
View the full Freelancer.com Fast 50 2011
About the Freelancer Fast 50
This data was extracted from the skills specified in 783,373 jobs posted on Freelancer.com in 2010 and 2011. The Freelancer.com Freelancer Fast 50 is the leading gauge of online hiring trends. The Fast 50 is calculated by looking at the fastest rising and falling job sectors on Freelancer.com where job volumes exceed 1,000.
Tags: BlackBErry PlayBook, Freelancer.com online jobs report, Google, Microsoft, Web entrepreneurs
Posted in entrepreneurship, Google, Microsoft, Studies, surveys, reports, TechJobs | Comments Off
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
Professional networking site LinkedIn is raking in money at a faster rate than Google, Facebook or Apple Inc.
Since going public, the company has posted a 105 percent year-over-year growth. The numbers crunchers over at Statista created this infographic to show LinkedIn’s growth:
Tags: Apple, facebook, Google, LinkedIn, revenue growth, Statista
Posted in Apple, Facebook, Google, infographic, Internet/New Media, Money, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
Apple and other high growth companies share five key behaviors. Every day millions of Americans arrive at work filled with low-level dread and resignation. Since the recession hit (or perhaps before), they’ve been overloaded, overstressed, and overwhelmed.
The typical workday is a marathon of rushing from one task after another, with few breaks between these bursts of effort, and even fewer words of thanks from equally frantic managers and coworkers.
By the time they drag themselves to the finish line at 5:00 (or 6 or 7 or even later), they’re completely drained and wondering how they’ll ever do it all again tomorrow.
Yes, says Mohan Nair, too many employees these days are running on empty—and no matter how great their work ethic or their fear of unemployment, at some point the pace becomes unsustainable.
The problem is not that employees don’t want to work hard,” says Nair, author ofStrategic Business Transformation: The 7 Deadly Sins to Overcome (Wiley, 2011, ISBN: 978-0-470-63222-2, $49.95).
“It’s that they have nothing to believe in. When people are motivated by a cause, they’ll work without stopping and without loss of energy. Their dedication to the cause will fuel them. The problem is too many companies aren’t animated by a cause at all—and their employees just live for the end of the day and for Friday.”
You might call Nair a “cause evangelist.” He is a fervent believer in the power of, well, believing in something. He insists that if your company isn’t giving employees a cause—if the organization exists solely to create revenue, in other words—they won’t be partners. They’ll be foot soldiers. And when you fail to meet your employees’ needs, they’ll fail to meet you.
Giving employees a “power source”—which Nair defines as servant leadership, cause-focused strategies, and authenticity—is a crucial part of the message laid out inStrategic Business Transformation.
That cause, which bears little resemblance to the corporate-speak mumbo-jumbo in the typical mission statement, should spark enthusiasm in consumers and dedication in employees. It should be an inspiring ideology that is intrinsically linked to the company’s value proposition and competency.
Think Apple. Think Disney. Think Google.
It’s this cause—this ideology—that powers strategic business transformation. And because our world is changing so rapidly, businesses have to transform themselves over and over again in order to keep up or lead markets.
“It used to be that markets reformed every several years with new ideas on what customers are interested in,” notes Nair.
“But now markets and customers are transforming because they encounter more unknown unknowns, those changes that they never anticipated and started to notice only after they happened. Companies that want to survive and grow must find the insight to know what their customers value and are willing to pay for continuously.
“Winning companies transform themselves in order to transform the customers they serve,” he adds. “They don’t manipulate markets nor do they just add another feature or capability to their arsenal. In fact, they don’t think of their capabilities as arsenals because they don’t see battles; they see opportunities to transform, not destroy.”
If you’re ready to transform into an innovative, cause-driven, employee-and-customer-inspiring organization, Nair says there are seven sins waiting to trip you up.
See: The Seven sins of business transformation.
Tags: Best Practices, Mohan Nair, Stategic Business Transformation
Posted in Apple, Best Practices, Business advice, Google, Viewpoint | Comments Off
Monday, February 20th, 2012
 In the wake of a Stanford University researcher’s study that found Google has been violating people’s online privacy choices, Consumer Watchdog said today the Internet giant was lying to users and called for the Federal Trade Commission to act. iPhone and iPad users were targeted.
“Google has clearly engaged in ‘unfair and deceptive’ practices,” said John M. Simpson, Consumer Watchdog’s Privacy Project director. “They have been lying about how people can protect their privacy in their instructions about how to opt out of receiving targeted advertising.”
Read Consumer Watchdog’s letter to the FTC here: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/ltrleibowitz021712.pdf
A study made public today by Jonathan Mayer of Stanford University’s Security Lab, and the Center for Internet and Society, found that Google has been circumventing a privacy setting in Apple’s Safari web browser. Like most web browsers, Safari provides the option not to receive third-party “cookies.” Cookies are small bits of code placed on the browser and can be used by ad networks to track you as you surf the web. Blocking third-party cookies is supposed to prevent such tracking.
Safari is the primary browser on the iPhone and iPad.
The Stanford study found that three other companies – Vibrant Media Inc., WPP PLC’s Media Innovation Group LLC and Gannett Co.’s PointRoll Inc. — were also circumventing the Safari privacy setting.
Read the Stanford study here:
http://webpolicy.org/2012/02/17/safari-trackers/
Read the Wall Street Journal article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052970204880404577225380456599176-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwNjExNDYyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email#articleTabs%3Darticle
In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Consumer Watchdog’s Simpson wrote:
“The Stanford study found that Google’s DoubleClick ad network was sending out software invisible to the user that circumvented the Safari setting and allowed a tracking cookie to be set. The study results were first reported in the Wall Street Journal.
 “Safari users with the browser set to block third-party cookies, thought they were not being tracked. Nonetheless, because of an element invisible to the user, but designed to mimic a form, DoubleClick was able to set tracking cookies in an obvious violation of the set preference.”
“Making Google’s actions even more outrageous is false advice it gave to Safari users in describing how to permanently opt out of receiving Google’s targeted advertising.”
Google has developed a so-called browser “plugin” for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome that makes the opt-out persistent. Google has not developed a plugin for Safari. The false advice Google gave Safari users follows:
“While we don’t yet have a Safari version of the Google advertising cookie opt-out plugin, Safari is set by default to block all third-party cookies. If you have not changed those settings, this option effectively accomplishes the same thing as setting the opt-out cookie.”
Google then explained how to verify the setting. View a screenshot of the Advertising Cookie Opt-out Plugin advice page taken on February 14 here: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/screen_shot_2012-02-14_at_5.04.05_pm.png
“But the advice was false. Google was lying,” wrote Simpson. “It was in fact circumventing the privacy choice and setting DoubleClick tracking cookies.”
Google’s behavior unfair and deceptive?
Clearly Google knows that it was in the wrong, Consumer Watchdog said.
After the company was confronted about the Stanfordresearch, it changed its advice page, removing the specific references to Safari. View a screenshot of the sanitized Advertising Cookie Opt-out Plugin advice page taken on Feb. 15 here: http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/screen_shot_2012-02-15_at_4.42.49_pm.png
Consumer Watchdog’s letter concluded:
“Google’s behavior is clearly “unfair and deceptive,” but more than that, it violates the ‘Buzz’ Consent Decree, which you reached with Google after it violated users’ privacy when it launched the Buzz social network. Section I begins: ‘It is ordered that respondent, in or affecting commerce, shall not misrepresent in any manner, expressly or by implication: (A) the extent to which respondent maintains and protects the privacy and confidentiality of any covered information, including, but not limited to, misrepresentations related to: 1. The purposes for which it collects and uses covered information, and (2) the extent to which consumers may exercise control over collection, use, or disclosure of covered information.’
“Google falsely told Safari users that they could control the collection of data by ensuring that third-party cookies were blocked, when in fact Google was circumventing the preference and setting tracking cookies.
“The Stanford research identified three other companies – Vibrant Media Inc., WPP PLC’s Media Innovation Group LLC and Gannett Co.’s PointRoll Inc. – that were circumventing Safari privacy preferences. They should be closely investigated as well. However, given Google’s dominance of online and mobile advertising and the fact that the company’s actions flagrantly violate its consent agreement with the Commission, I call on you to focus immediate attention on the Internet giant.”
Tags: Consumer Watchdog letter, FTC, Google violates privacy, iPad, iPhone, John M. Simpson, Jonathan Mayer, Safari, smartphone privacy, Stanford University Security Lab, unfair and deceptive practices, Wall Street Journal
Posted in Google, Internet/New Media, Legal, Security, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Monday, February 20th, 2012
 Tax sites rapidly grew in January as millions of Americans looked to begin preparing to file, according to comScore, the digital measurement firm. Many Americans also booked travel to escape the winter doldrums, while others resolved to begin the new year by researching new careers and education programs.
“In January, the average U.S. Internet user spent a record 36 hours online, reflecting the growing importance of digital media to Americans’ daily lives,” said Jeff Hackett, executive vice president of comScore.
“Among the biggest category gainers in this heavy month of Internet usage were Travel and Career sites, which posted double-digit gains, and of course Tax sites as the non-procrastinators among us decided to get an early jump on getting their refunds.”
Winter Blues Melt at Travel Sites
Several Travel subcategories were among the top-gainers in January, including Transaction sites which grew 28 percent to 3.7 million visitors. TravelPN.com led the category with 798,000 visitors (up 11 percent), followed by Viator.com with 642,000 (up 9 percent), WWTE.com with 442,000 (up 86 percent) and OneTime.com with 278,000 (up 48 percent).
Car Rental sites jumped 22 percent to 6.2 million visitors during the month, led by Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company with 3.2 million visitors (up 14 percent). Avis Budget Group ranked second with nearly 2 million visitors (up 19 percent), followed by Hertz with 1.3 million (up 21 percent), CarRentals.com with 793,000 (up 30 percent) and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. with 790,000 (up 27 percent).
A trip wouldn’t be complete without lodging, so it is not a surprise that Hotels/Resorts also ranked among the fastest-growing Travel sites. The category attracted 33.2 million visitors in January, representing an 18-percent increase.
Marriott secured the #1 position in the category with 5.1 million visitors (up 30 percent), followed by Disney Parks & Travel with 4.8 million (up 36 percent), Hilton Hotels with 4.6 million (up 25 percent) and Expedia Hotels with 3.3 million.
Career-Minded Americans Research Options Online
As the new year began, Americans turned their focus to career services and education. Traffic to Job Search sites grew 27 percent in January to 24.2 million visitors. Indeed.com Job Search ranked as the category leader with 13.7 million visitors (up 33 percent), followed by CareerBuilder.com Job Search with 9.8 million (up 27 percent), Monster.com Job Search with 5 million (up 28 percent) and SimplyHired.com with 3.5 million (up 42 percent).
Training and Education sites also gained traction, with a sizeable increase of 23 percent to 14.7 million visitors. LiveCareer.com topped the list with 1.2 million visitors (up 58 percent), followed by AesopOnline.com with 940,000 (up 44 percent), FastWeb.com with 736,000 (up 30 percent) and Learn4Good.com with 599,000.
Tax Sites Spike as Season Begins
Visitation to Tax sites swelled in January as millions decided to get a jump on filing and hopefully getting a refund check from Uncle Sam. More than 30.7 million Americans visited a Tax site in January, up 359 percent to rank as the fastest growing category.
Top 50 Properties
Google Sites ranked as the #1 property in January with 187.4 million visitors, followed by Microsoft Sites with 179.2 million and Yahoo! Sites with 177.2 million. LinkedIn.com jumped 8 positions to rank #29 with 36.8 million visitors, while Everyday Health, which helped many fulfill their New Year’s resolutions to be healthier, leapt 10 positions to #38.
Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
Google Ad Network led the January Ad Focus ranking with a reach of 92.9 percent of Americans online, followed by AOL Advertising (85 percent), Yahoo! Network Plus (84.8 percent), ShareThis (82.4 percent) and AT&T AdWorks (82.3 percent).
Table 1
| comScore Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors* (U.S.)January 2012 vs. December 2011
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
| |
Total Unique Visitors (000) |
| Dec-11 |
Jan-12 |
% Change |
Rank by
Unique
Visitors |
| Total Internet : Total Audience |
220,439 |
220,154 |
0 |
N/A |
| IRS.GOV |
5,044 |
16,259 |
222 |
107 |
| ED.GOV |
5,201 |
9,160 |
76 |
185 |
| Pinterest.com |
7,516 |
11,716 |
56 |
148 |
| Travelocity |
4,869 |
6,957 |
43 |
241 |
| Kayak.com Network |
5,851 |
8,087 |
38 |
210 |
| ChaCha.com |
9,151 |
12,279 |
34 |
138 |
| Orbitz Worldwide |
8,965 |
11,868 |
32 |
141 |
| Info.com |
5,883 |
7,740 |
32 |
219 |
| Dominion Enterprises |
9,622 |
12,650 |
31 |
131 |
| Indeed |
12,928 |
16,985 |
31 |
103 |
*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in January 2012. Excludes entities whose growth was primarily due to tagging through unified digital audience measurement.
Table 2
| comScore Top 10 Gaining Site Categories by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (U.S.)January 2012 vs. December 2011
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
| |
Total Unique Visitors (000) |
| Dec-11 |
Jan-12 |
% Change |
| Total Internet : Total Audience |
220,439 |
220,154 |
0 |
| Business/Finance – Taxes |
6,685 |
30,715 |
359 |
| Retail – Computer Software |
41,616 |
54,081 |
30 |
| Travel – Transactions |
2,913 |
3,730 |
28 |
| Career Services & Development – Job Search |
19,098 |
24,209 |
27 |
| Career Services & Development – Training and Education |
11,979 |
14,679 |
23 |
| Travel – Car Rental |
5,079 |
6,197 |
22 |
| Travel – Hotels/Resorts |
28,035 |
33,213 |
18 |
| Career Services & Development – Career Resources |
46,145 |
54,398 |
18 |
| Entertainment – News |
100,121 |
116,229 |
16 |
| Travel – Ground/Cruise |
12,164 |
14,097 |
16 |
Table 3
| comScore Top 50 Properties (U.S.)January 2012
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
| Rank |
Property |
Unique
Visitors(000) |
|
Rank |
Property |
Unique
Visitors(000) |
| |
Total Internet : Total Audience |
220,154 |
|
|
|
|
| 1 |
Google Sites |
187,368 |
|
26 |
Twitter.com |
38,410 |
| 2 |
Microsoft Sites |
179,220 |
|
27 |
ESPN |
38,296 |
| 3 |
Yahoo! Sites |
177,249 |
|
28 |
Technorati Media |
38,227 |
| 4 |
Facebook.com |
163,505 |
|
29 |
LinkedIn.com |
36,848 |
| 5 |
Amazon Sites |
109,997 |
|
30 |
NetShelter Technology Media |
34,954 |
| 6 |
AOL, Inc. |
107,085 |
|
31 |
Tribune Interactive |
34,517 |
| 7 |
Ask Network |
93,954 |
|
32 |
AT&T Interactive Network |
33,780 |
| 8 |
Glam Media |
90,895 |
|
33 |
Disney Online |
32,708 |
| 9 |
Wikimedia Foundation Sites |
88,527 |
|
34 |
iVillage.com: The Womens Network |
31,942 |
| 10 |
Turner Digital |
84,041 |
|
35 |
Alloy Digital Network |
30,782 |
| 11 |
CBS Interactive |
81,631 |
|
36 |
Yelp.com |
30,668 |
| 12 |
Apple Inc. |
81,536 |
|
37 |
Fox News Digital Network |
30,283 |
| 13 |
New York Times Digital |
80,161 |
|
38 |
Everyday Health |
30,208 |
| 14 |
Viacom Digital |
76,254 |
|
39 |
Netflix.com |
29,777 |
| 15 |
eBay |
71,554 |
|
40 |
Superpages.com Network |
28,971 |
| 16 |
Federated Media Publishing |
70,260 |
|
41 |
Break Media |
28,252 |
| 17 |
Demand Media |
61,344 |
|
42 |
The Washington Post Company |
27,602 |
| 18 |
VEVO |
59,000 |
|
43 |
Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. |
27,580 |
| 19 |
Weather Channel, The |
58,643 |
|
44 |
Verizon Communications Corporation |
26,763 |
| 20 |
craigslist, inc. |
53,431 |
|
45 |
NBC Universal |
26,546 |
| 21 |
Comcast Corporation |
52,890 |
|
46 |
Target Corporation |
26,142 |
| 22 |
Gannett Sites |
46,620 |
|
47 |
Cox Enterprises Inc. |
25,529 |
| 23 |
Answers.com Sites |
44,377 |
|
48 |
Discovery Digital Media Sites |
25,265 |
| 24 |
Wal-Mart |
41,462 |
|
49 |
Internet Brands, Inc. |
25,263 |
| 25 |
Adobe Sites |
41,451 |
|
50 |
Myspace |
25,124 |
Table 4
| comScore Ad Focus Ranking (U.S.)January 2011
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
| Rank |
Property |
Unique
Visitors (000) |
% Reach |
|
Rank |
Property |
Unique
Visitors (000) |
% Reach |
| |
Total Internet : Total Audience |
220,154 |
100.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 |
Google Ad Network** |
204,468 |
92.9 |
|
26 |
CPX Interactive** |
124,089 |
56.4 |
| 2 |
AOL Advertising** |
187,109 |
85.0 |
|
27 |
Adconion Media Group** |
120,144 |
54.6 |
| 3 |
Yahoo! Network Plus** |
186,587 |
84.8 |
|
28 |
Undertone** |
118,198 |
53.7 |
| 4 |
ShareThis |
181,372 |
82.4 |
|
29 |
Traffic Marketplace** |
116,903 |
53.1 |
| 5 |
AT&T AdWorks** |
181,247 |
82.3 |
|
30 |
AOL, Inc. |
107,085 |
48.6 |
| 6 |
Google |
179,685 |
81.6 |
|
31 |
Meebo |
98,130 |
44.6 |
| 7 |
Yahoo! Sites |
177,249 |
80.5 |
|
32 |
Technorati Media** |
97,287 |
44.2 |
| 8 |
ValueClick Networks** |
176,229 |
80.0 |
|
33 |
Bing |
95,661 |
43.5 |
| 9 |
24/7 Real Media Global Web Alliance** |
176,227 |
80.0 |
|
34 |
Smowtion Ad Network** |
95,226 |
43.3 |
| 10 |
Microsoft Media Network US** |
174,276 |
79.2 |
|
35 |
Ask Network |
93,954 |
42.7 |
| 11 |
Tribal Fusion** |
170,715 |
77.5 |
|
36 |
Glam Media |
90,895 |
41.3 |
| 12 |
Facebook.com |
163,505 |
74.3 |
|
37 |
Amazon.com* |
90,774 |
41.2 |
| 13 |
Casale Media – MediaNet** |
162,269 |
73.7 |
|
38 |
Rocket Fuel** |
89,373 |
40.6 |
| 14 |
AdBrite** |
162,088 |
73.6 |
|
39 |
Wikipedia.org |
88,224 |
40.1 |
| 15 |
PulsePoint** |
154,100 |
70.0 |
|
40 |
Kontera** |
86,005 |
39.1 |
| 16 |
Specific Media** |
153,336 |
69.6 |
|
41 |
Monster Career Ad Network (CAN)** |
78,243 |
35.5 |
| 17 |
Collective Display** |
151,427 |
68.8 |
|
42 |
Windows Live |
74,579 |
33.9 |
| 18 |
AudienceScience** |
149,336 |
67.8 |
|
43 |
Federated Media Publishing |
70,260 |
31.9 |
| 19 |
Cox Digital Solutions – Network** |
146,632 |
66.6 |
|
44 |
Dedicated Media** |
67,243 |
30.5 |
| 20 |
Vibrant Media** |
143,793 |
65.3 |
|
45 |
About |
62,480 |
28.4 |
| 21 |
interclick** |
139,508 |
63.4 |
|
46 |
Demand Media |
61,344 |
27.9 |
| 22 |
Burst Media** |
133,900 |
60.8 |
|
47 |
Weather Channel, The |
58,643 |
26.6 |
| 23 |
YouTube.com* |
126,279 |
57.4 |
|
48 |
MTV Networks Music |
53,932 |
24.5 |
| 24 |
MSN |
125,561 |
57.0 |
|
49 |
Redux Media Network** |
52,684 |
23.9 |
| 25 |
AdBlade Network** |
125,421 |
57.0 |
|
50 |
Apple.com |
49,689 |
22.6 |
Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that viewed a particular entity at least once in January. For instance, Yahoo! Sites was seen by 80.1 percent of the 220 million Internet users in January.
* Entity has assigned some portion of traffic to other syndicated entities.
** Denotes an advertising network.
Tags: Amazon, AOL, AOL advertising, Apple, AT&T adWorks, comScore, Demand Media, Disney Online, ESPN, Everyday Health, facebook, Fox News Digital Network, Google ad Network, LinkedIn, Microsoft sites, NetShelter Technology Media, New Times Digital, online advertising, ShareThis, Technorati Media, top 50 web sites, Tribune Interactive, Turner Digital, twitter, Viacom Digitalk, Village.com, Yahoo! Network Plus, Yahooo, Yelp
Posted in Amazon, Analytics, Apple, Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Friday, February 17th, 2012
 Google+ fans (number of people in circles) of the world’s top 100 brands saw big growth in the last month from 222K to 3.1M—a 1,400% increase, according to a SocialShare analysis by - BrightEdge.
However, rapid growth among top 100 brands is largely being driven by ten brands that have established a powerful presence on the platform.
These top ten brands, the G+ Ten, account for more than 3 million of the 3.1 million followers (nearly 100%) and bring more than ten times as many followers as brands in the rest of the top 100.
Clothing giant H&M now holds the number one slot with 462K followers, while Coca-Cola notably leaped from 1,800 to 336K, a 187x increase.
Their direct competitor Pepsi, however, is narrowly ahead with 350K followers. Other notable top 100 brands that round out the G+ Ten include Samsung (372k), Starbucks (335k), Sony (258k), Intel (258k), eBay (253), Google (193K) and Amazon (184K).
The explosion of followers has also led to a Google first—the search giant and parent of Google+ has had the largest fan contingent among the top 100 brands since the social networking site’s debut, yet in the last month they have been surpassed by eight other brands and knocked down to number 9 among the G+ Ten.
“While the growth of the G+ Ten is impressive, in contrast we have noticed many companies seem to be taking a slower, wait-and-see stance to the search giant’s social offering,” said BrightEdge CEO Jim Yu.
Among the top 100 brands on the sidelines were major retailers, travel sites, and automotive brands, and notables such as Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Life, and Apple.
There is tremendous interest among large enterprise players in how Google+ will evolve. Although the data shows that brands are embracing the social networking site, the success of the G+ Ten contrasts with lower activity among G+ Laggards (brands 11-100 on the list).
With search driving continued visibility of Google+, we expect to see continued consumer adoption of Google+, but broader brand adoption is still a challenge and increasing attention will be paid to the end-user engagement model. How Google expands from its G+ 10 core partners and spreads more broadly across brands will be closely followed by the industry, and how the engagement model involves end-users may impact the rate Google adds followers. Google+ still has less than 1/100th the number of total consumers interacting with the top 100 brands that Facebook has achieved.
To learn more about the Google+ analysis, please visit BrightEdge SocialShare to view and download the full report here:http://www.brightedge.com/social-share-February-2012-GooglePlus
Tags: BrightEdge, Google+ top brands, Jim Yu, SocialShare analysis
Posted in Amazon, Google, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Friday, February 17th, 2012
 Twitter is teaming with American Express to launch its new automated system for advertisers – freeing them from the need to deal with Twitter sales reps. Initally, the system will be open only to businesses who accept or use American Express cards.
Amercian Express says it will buy $100 in Twitter ads for the first 10,000 qualified U.S. small businesses that sign up.
Later this year, Twitter will open up the system to other businesses and marketers.
The micro-blogging service, which has 100 million users, made approximately $140 million last year, according to eMarketer. It probably needs to do better than that before launching an anticipated initial public offering of stock. Emarketer predicts it will make about $250 million selling ads this year.
By comparison, Facebook made $3.2 bllion and Google $36.5 billion last year.
Yelp prices IPO stock at $12 to $14 a share
In an amended SEC filing, Yelp, which publishes recommendations and reviews of restaurants, shopping and entertainment and services, says the starting price range on its upcoming initial public offering of stock will be $12 to $14. Yelp filed for the IPO in November.
The company, which disclosed $58.4 million in revenue for the first three quarters of 2011, the bulk of it from advertising.
Rocky Agrawal recently editorialized in VentureBeat that Yelp advertising rips off small businesses by charging 1,000 times more than the industry standard and the ads are poorly targeted.
Flickr co-founder launches another startup
 Caterina Fake Caterina Fake co-founded photo sharing site Flickr with Stewart Butterfield in 2004. Flickr was purchased by Yahoo in 2005. Fake also co-founded Hunch, in 2009. Caterina Fake, co-founder of Flickr, has launched a new startup called Pinwheel, currently in private beta.
Pinwheel lets users create notes and pin them to locations. Users can follow others – much like Pinterest. It will make money from sponsored notes.
San Francisco-based Pinwheel is backed by Redpoint Ventures, True Ventures, BEtaworks, Founder Collective, SV Angel, Obvious Corp, and angel investors. It is currently hiring iOS developers.
Tags: Betaworks, Caterina Fake, Flickr, Founder Collective, Hunch, Obvious Corp, Pinwheel, Redpoint Ventures, Rocky Agrawal, SV Angel, True Ventures, Twitter ads, Yelp IPO
Posted in entrepreneurship, Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, IT, TechJobs, Twitter | Comments Off
Thursday, February 16th, 2012
Apple and other high growth companies share five key behaviors. A survey of 500 C-suite executives worldwide conducted by global brand consultancy Wolff Olins has revealed that, although companies recognize the important factors required to generate long-term growth, many are not investing resources and energy into them.
“Traditional ways of doing business are not generating growth and global economies are suffering without it,” said Karl Heiselman, CEO of Wolff Olins.
“We believe there are very clearly identifiable actions or behaviors associated with high-growth companies such as Amazon, Google, Nike and PayPal that other businesses can use to thrive. Change is daunting, but the opportunities for businesses that adopt these new ways of doing business are enormous.”
Wolff Olins identified five key behaviors associated with high-growth companies, which the consultancy calls “Game Changers,” who are successfully responding to rapid changes in consumer demand and technology-driven services.
The survey was designed to determine whether other leading organizations recognize the importance of these characteristics and if and how they are adopting similar behaviors within their own companies.
These behaviors include:
- Purposeful: having a clear purpose that is shared with customers
- Useful: enabling customers to do things better
- Experimental: constantly innovating and being comfortable living in perpetual beta
- Boundary-less: fostering collaboration internally and externally
- Value-creative: adds value by creating new business models and businesses
The survey results showed:
- On average, 42% of respondents said that each Game Changer behavior would deliver significant growth (of 11% or more). Twenty-two percent thought they would deliver growth of more than 20%.
- Useful (enabling customers to do things better) was rated by respondents as potentially making the biggest contribution to growth. Forty percent believed this activity would contribute more than 20% growth. Twenty-four percent said that it would contribute to growth between 11-20%.
- Companies that are Experimental (constantly innovating) were seen as having the next most significant contribution to growth. Nineteen percent said it would deliver growth of more than 20%.
- The perceived value of behaving like a Game Changer varies greatly across sectors. Banking, energy, FMCG and hospitality sectors are the most enthusiastic. Professional services, non-profit and property companies are least likely to associate Game Changer behavior with growth. Others are divided. Tech and telecoms see growth in creating new value and experimenting but less in being Purposeful or breaking down boundaries.
There is a gap between what people believe is important and what they are actually doing. This is shown in several ways. Across all behaviors most likely to be associated with growth, the top three were all in the category of being Useful to customers:
- ‘Enable customers to create personalized versions of your product’ was the behavior/action most associated with growth, yet only 22% said their business was doing this
- ‘Enable your customers to use your product in flexible and adaptable ways’ came in second, with only 32% stating their business was doing this
- ‘Involve your customers in your product development process’ was the third behavior/action most associated with growth, yet just 31% thought their business was doing this
Most respondents did think, however, that their companies were acting in a socially responsible way, although they are not connecting it to strategic growth. For example, ‘Consider transparency to be part of your business’ was perceived to be the least valuable to growth, but 47% stated their companies did this anyway, followed by ‘Participate in social good’, which 46% said their business did.
Global uncertainty having short-term affect
In follow-up qualitative interviews with respondents, Wolff Olins found that the global economic uncertainty is affecting growth projections for companies in the short-term, with the majority only willing to project single-figure growth this year. As one respondent commented, “There is no such thing as a company being too big to fail.”
There was also significant emphasis placed on the importance of building a meaningful relationship with the customer: “If you become a more valuable business to your customers, you become a more valuable business generally.”
Innovation was recognized alongside customer-focus to be a key driver of growth. Having the right people in place to drive innovation was identified as critical: “You can have the best people and even if the market is heading the wrong way, you’ll be growing.” It also presents a challenge: “You can’t force people to be innovative. You have to allow them to take risks and fail. When things are going down, people just want to protect their jobs. Ask them to take risks and they won’t.”
Heiselman adds, “Game Changers emerged from our desire to understand the new generation of companies enjoying phenomenal success. If these companies and organizations act differently, what is it that they do and are they signs of a healthier future for other companies who want to copy their success but aren’t necessarily in a position to replicate their business? By identifying the activities in which high-growth organizations invest, we can help businesses embrace totally new ways of thinking and doing business so that they not only survive these challenging times but find growth.”
Game changing companies named
 The following companies are recognized by Wolff Olins in the Game Changers report as exemplars of the five behaviors of high growth companies who are successfully responding to rapid changes in consumer demand and technology-driven services:
- (RED), charitable giving pioneer
- Amazon, multinational online retailer
- Apple, multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics
- Facebook, social network and website
- Google, multinational internet search engine
- Grameen Bank, pioneer of microfinance in Bangladesh
- Intuit, US-based accounting software company
- Lego, construction toys
- M-Pesa, a branchless banking service available in Kenya, Afghanistan and Tanzania
- Nike, sportswear and equipment retailer based in the USA
- PayPal, online transaction service
- Tata Docomo, cellular service provider
- Tesco, global grocery and general merchandise retailer
- Zipcar, vehicle sharing company
- Zopa, UK-based company providing an online money exchange service
Tags: Apple, Best Practices, facebook, Google, Grameen Bank, Intuit, Karl Heiselman, key behaviors of high growth companies, Lego, M-Pesa, Nike, PapPal, RED, Tata Docuom, Tesco, Wolff Oliins, Zipcar, Zopa
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Best Practices, Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Thursday, February 16th, 2012
So, just what do social media managers do? Socialcast answers that burning question with this infographic:
Tags: brand ambassadors, day in the life of a social media manager, qualities of social media managers, Skype, social media salaries, Socialcast
Posted in Facebook, Google, infographic, Internet/New Media, LinkedIn, Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, TechJobs, Twitter | Comments Off
Monday, February 13th, 2012
It’s a complicated world for corporate America as consumer perceptions grow increasingly negative. With the erosion of trust in corporate leadership, consumers have higher expectations and are demanding more information and transparency from companies with which they plan to spend their hard-earned dollars.
Through its 13 years, the Harris Poll Reputation Quotient (RQ) study has shown that the reputations of traditional manufacturers have fared well, though their overall visibility as an industry has declined; it also has indicated a rising affinity for technology companies.
Customer inclination towards strong leadership and technological innovation may be the catalyst, and it is within this environment that Apple reigns supreme.
This year regional brick-and-mortar retailers are more prominent, and many once-leading American companies are noticeably absent from the 2012 Harris Poll RQ study, which asks the general public to measure the reputations of the 60 most visible companies in the country.
Apple displaces Google
This year’s most reputable brand, Apple, benefits greatly from its hybrid status as a technology/consumer product/retail company, and earns the highest RQ score to secure the top spot in the ranking. We wonder if Apple will retain this exalted position following revelations that the labor conditions in China where it makes its iPad and other devices are abysmal.
 It displaces Google — last year’s most reputable corporation, which now ranks second with an excellent score of 82.82. The Coca-Cola Company, ranked 15th in 2011, has surged into third place, despite any meaningful change in its reputation rating.
Amazon.com moves up from eighth to fourth place and perennial reputation elite, Kraft Foods, ranked fifth. We think Amazon, with its exemplary customer service and innovative approach to selling via its own devices, such as the Kindle and Kindle Fire, could do even better if it would forego such alienating moves as offering people money to check out products in a retail store but buy them on Amazon.
Companies associated with multiple industries emerging
“We are seeing the emergence of a group of companies that garner reputation equity by being positively associated with multiple industries,” said Robert Fronk, executive vice president and Global Corporate Reputation Practice Lead for Harris Interactive.
“Companies like Apple, Google, and Amazon.com combine innovation and leadership across multiple business areas, giving them true competitive advantage.”
In terms of year-over-year change, only Toyota, General Motors, BP, and Apple enjoy significant improvement in their RQ scores while one quarter of companies saw drastic declines. Among those with the most significant declines, five were financial institutions, including the 2010 top scorer, Berkshire Hathaway.
 RQ measures six dimensions that comprise reputation and influence consumer behavior. Apple has the greatest score overall. In fact, despite today’s challenging environment, Apple records the highest score in the RQ’s history, and is top-ranked in four of the six key dimensions of reputation:
- Social Responsibility – Whole Foods
- Emotional Appeal – Amazon.com
- Financial Performance – Apple
- Products & Services – Apple
- Vision & Leadership – Apple
- Workplace Environment – Apple
Interestingly, Amazon.com, which has no storefront and very limited human interaction, scores highest in the Emotional Appeal dimension – this is the core strength of its reputation. In terms of supportive behavior, customers report considerable confidence in Amazon.com and several other companies:
- In the future, Americans would “definitely” purchase products & services from Amazon.com (71%), Kraft Foods (70%), and the Coca-Cola Company (64%).
- Americans would “definitely” recommend to others products & services from Amazon.com (64%) and Kraft Foods (57%).
- In the future Americans would “definitely” invest in stock from Amazon.com (34%), Microsoft (23%), and the Coca-Cola Company (23%).
- Americans would “definitely” recommend to others to invest in stock from Amazon.com (46%), the Coca-Cola Company (25%), and Microsoft (24%)
Scores of 80 and Higher are Rare This Year
An RQ score of 80 or above signifies a company with an “excellent reputation.” Since first measured in 2000, Apple has shown steady improvement, earning an elite score of 85.62 this year, the highest RQ score ever achieved by any company in the 13 years of the RQ study.
Reflecting the negative mood of consumers, this year only eight companies earn such scores. This is a 50% decrease from 2011, when 16 companies earned this privileged status.
“It’s quite striking to see such a drop in the number of companies scoring 80 or above,” said Fronk. “Corporations are facing significant headwinds as they try to win and preserve consumer trust.”
Reputation Rehabilitation Happens
 Two automotive companies, each managing through unique reputation rehabilitation processes for different reasons, saw the greatest increases in their RQ scores this year.
General Motors’ reputation has been steadily moving upward for four consecutive years. Over the course of that time, the RQ study has seen its reputation rise 13 points and its ranking move up 14 places. This year General Motors improves in all six RQ dimensions, and advances in the rankings due to dramatically higher perceptions in the Emotional Appeal and Vision & Leadership dimensions.
After a series of quality and safety issues resulted in a ten-point drop last year, Toyota rebounds five points, driven by gains in Product & Service, Vision & Leadership, and Emotional Appeal dimensions.
In the pharmaceutical space, Johnson & Johnson, plagued by recall and quality issues, manages to maintain a score over 80, though it fell from second highest ranked company in 2011 to seventh in 2012. For the first time in RQ history, Johnson & Johnson did not rank in first or second place.
Reputation Retrospective – Retail and Manufacturing Swap Places
 Meanwhile, the sudden appearance of brick-and mortar retailers like Best Buy, Costco, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Walgreens, and Macy’s on the most visible companies roster contrasts sharply with the absence of iconic U.S.-based manufacturers, like IBM and Intel Corporation.
A look back at the RQ most visible list from ten years ago also shows the dramatic change in the American corporate landscape. At that time, nine industrial manufacturers (excluding automotive) and six retailers made the list. This year’s list contains two companies in the industrial manufacturing space and is dominated by 14 retail brands, nearly one-quarter of the total list.
In charting the ten-year trajectory of individual companies, Apple and Hewlett Packard emerge as starkly different examples of how reputation management and behavior can impact perception.
Apple’s current dominance is built on strong investments in its brand, predominantly through its products and services. This one-dimensional approach to building reputation has ultimately yielded high associations with all six reputational dimensions and ranks it first in Financial Performance, Products & Services, Vision & Leadership, and Workplace Environment.
Conversely, Hewlett Packard, which once out-ranked Apple, has headed in the reverse direction. Hewlett Packard’s slowly eroding reputation has been injured by negative perceptions on Ethics and Vision & Leadership dimensions, and its brand is beginning to feel the damage.
Moreover, a dozen companies visible in 2011 did not appear this year at all, including 3M, Intel Corporation, SC Johnson, Unilever, Facebook, Pfizer, State Farm Insurance, The Allstate Corporation, Shell, Monsato, American Airlines, and Delta Airlines.
At Risk Companies Skew to the Financial Industry
 Over the lifespan of the RQ study, twelve companies have received scores below 50, and the vast majority of these, like Enron, MCI (formerly WorldCom), Adelphia, and Global Crossing, are now defunct. The 2012 RQ survey shows the reputations of Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and AIG in an equally challenging place.
The general public believes that Bank of America has been more concerned with operational and financial recovery than with customers and rates the bank low in levels of trust, ethics, and customer service. In order to rebuild their reputation, Bank of America will need to engage beyond this functional rebound.
Editorial “we” comments by Allan Maurer, TechJournal Editor. Allan at TechJournalsouth dot com.
Tags: Adelphia, AIG, Amazon, Apple tops Harris reputation poll, Bank of America, Bet Buy, Coke, Costco, Global Crossing, Goldman Sachs, Google drops to 2nd on Harris poll, Harris Poll RQ, Harris reputation poll, Hewlett Packard, JCPenny, Johnson & Johnson, Kohl's Walgreens, Kraft Foods, Macy's, MCI
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
 Mark Zuckerberg is going to be extremely rich after a Facebook IPO (not that he isn't now!) Initial public offerings of stock by innovative social Internet firms are making a major impact on the markets, these days.
Below is round-up of CEOs who have all watched their companies grow from small start-ups to publicly traded juggernauts. Each CEO is ranked based on their PeekScore, or digital footprint, from around the Web.
PeekScore is a rank from 1 to 10, assigned to every person. The higher someone’s score, the “more important” they are on the web. In calculating your PeekScore and updating it often, PeekYou takes into account your known presence and activity on the Internet, including but not limited to; your blogging, participation in social networks, the number of your friends, followers, or readers, the amount of web content you create, and your prominence in the news
1 Mark Zuckerberg Facebook / 2012 10.00 / 10.00
2 Larry Page Google / 2004 9.50 / 10.00
3 Andrew Mason Groupon / 2011 8.25 / 10.00
4 Mark Pincus Zynga / 2011 8.19 / 10.00
5 Tim Westergren Pandora / 2011 7.96 / 10.00
6 Jeff Clarke Orbitz / 2007 7.85 / 10.00
7 Arkady Volozh Yandex / 2011 7.09 / 10.00
8 Chen Tianqiao Shanda Games/ 2009 7.03 / 10.00
9 Shi Yuzhu Giant Interactive / 2007 7.03 / 10
10 Jeff Weiner LinkedIn / 2011 7.02 / 10
Tags: Andrew Mason, Arkady Volozh, Chen Tianquiao, facebook, Giant Interactive, Google, Groupon, Jeff Clarke, Jeff Weiner, Larry Page, LinkedIn, Mark Pincus, Mark Zuckerberg, Orbitz, Pandora, Shanda Games, Shi Yuzhu, Tim Westergren, Yandex, Zynga
Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, IPOs, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, TechLife | Comments Off
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