Archive for the ‘IT’ Category
Wednesday, May 9th, 2012
 What people want most from their smartphones, tablets, home theater and home appliances is simplicity and they’re not getting it, according to the new Ketchum Digital Living Index, conducted by global communications firmKetchum. The study showed that 76% of consumers said they are not very satisfied with technology’s ability to make their life simpler.
Responses from 6,000 consumers in six countries revealed more prefer technology to be easy to use (54%) and simplify their life (46%) than entertain them (35%) or signal who they are to the world (11%).
Use less “jargon monoxide”
“The most surprising finding in the study is the overwhelming desire for simplification. It seems counter-intuitive when technology is always about being bigger or better or faster, but the data show that what people really want is to understand how all of these devices can get them to their desired experience easily,” said Esty Pujadas, partner and director of Ketchum’s Global Technology Practice.
“Manufacturers need to use less so-called jargon monoxide and communicate more about the human experience, not just about the object.”
This is particularly true considering that the sheer volume and pace at which new technologies are brought to market can make it hard for people to keep up. Pujadas said, “With more than 20,000 new items launched at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show, for example, it would take someone 55 years to try out one new product each day.”
Cultural DNA Shapes Experience
When asked to rate their overall feelings about personal technology, people were overwhelmingly positive, although the “likes” outweigh the “loves.” Passion varies widely by country – the percentage of Chinese who love smartphones (44%) is nearly double those in France (24%).
“The most striking finding to me as an anthropologist was that culture really matters. I didn’t expect that, because the dominant narrative is that technology sells itself. But the data shows this just isn’t true,” said cultural anthropologist Emma Gilding, who collaborated with Ketchum on the study design and data interpretation.
“The intersection between what people find appealing and the values of their experiences with technology differ profoundly by country and by cultural DNA.”
“For example, in China, managing relationships and health skew high for technology use. For the French, managing human relationships was less important than the intentional creation of experiences, such as entertaining friends. Americans scored higher than average on using technology to signal who they are, which is a way of attracting people with similar values in order to build their ‘tribe,’” explained Gilding.
Four Types of Digital Living Natives
The Index reveals that there are four kinds of Digital Living natives:
- The largest group are the Enthusiasts (37% of the study’s global population), who are passionate about technology and willing to sacrifice simplification for empowerment.
- The next largest are Infomaniacs (25%), who value getting information and discovering new experiences even more than relating better to other people.
- Pragmatists (22%) are less likely to love technology, but value it as very helpful in relating better to others, getting things done, and managing health and wellness.
- Disconnects (16%) are noticeably unemotional about technology; they place a high value on simplification instead of empowerment or enrichment.
“This way of categorizing users reinforces the importance of the human experience,” noted Pujadas. “Rather than look at age or gender or what features they use, this enables companies to make powerful emotional connections by speaking to the experience each type of user wants from the product.”
The Ketchum Digital Living Index offers many practical takeaways for public relations and marketing communications. For example, communicators can integrate their product into technology stories in countries that score high for people seeking health and wellness information, or make Infomaniacs heroes to their tribes by letting them release information ahead of others.
Visit www.digitallivingpr.com for additional study information and materials.
Tags: digital devices, Emma Gilding, Esty Pujadas, jargon monoxide, Ketchum Digital Living Index, tech life/culture, types of Digital Living natives
Posted in Business advice, Digital Devices, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 8th, 2012
 Most technology executives aren’t yet allowing employees to access the company network using their personal smartphones and other technology tools, a concept known as “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD), a new Robert Half Technology survey shows.
Only one-third (33 percent) of chief information officers (CIOs) interviewed said employees can access their companies’ corporate networks using their personal smartphones, tablets, computers or other devices.
The national survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. The survey is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CIOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 100 or more employees.
CIOs were asked, “Do you allow employees access to your corporate networks via personal laptops, smartphones or tablets?“ Their responses:
| Yes………………………….… |
33% |
| No………………………………. |
67% |
|
100% |
The tide may turn
Among the CIOs whose firms do allow workers to access the company network using their own equipment, 66 percent said their firms offer limited technical support to these individuals, and 28 percent offer full support. Six percent offer no support.
“Companies are balancing the desire to provide flexibility to employees with potential security risks, as well as logistical issues such as providing support for non-standard devices,” said John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology.
Reed noted that although most CIOs surveyed don’t currently allow employees to use their personal devices to access company networks, the tide may soon turn, particularly with the rise in telecommuting and remote work arrangements.
“Professionals increasingly want to stay connected while using their device of choice for both work and personal communication,” he said. “Companies recognize this and are actively looking for secure solutions.”
Tags: BYOD, personal devices at work, Robert Half Technology, survey
Posted in Digital Devices, Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Monday, May 7th, 2012
 Back in 1999, I first went online via an already outdated 486 PC. How long have you been using the Internet?
I finally got serious about the Internet around 1998 and started my first online writing job with a company called dbusiness.com (later localbusiness.com), which was an early daily news site funded by major news organizations. It died in the wake of dot.com crash in 2001.
I started work on a 486 IBM computer with a 2-gig hard drive and less RAM than it takes to run most programs now. It would probably meltdown if I tried to get on the Internet with it today.
I’ve since worked for two award-winning tech-oriented Internet sites and acted as Web editor for a state chamber of commerce. And here’s what I notice most: the Internet has grown increasingly democratic. Things that used to be relatively hard are easy enough for almost anyone to do now, from blogging to sharing.
The internet itself has changed radically in the last decade. For many of us it is our office, an entertainment center, the way we send and receive most mail, and where we bank, shop, and read the newspaper.
The folks over at Onlineuniversity.net created this infographic to take a look at Yesterday’s Internet vs. today’s.
What do you think? — Allan Maurer
Tags: dbusiness.com, infographic, Localbusiness.com, tech life/culture, yesterday's Internet vs. Today's
Posted in infographic, Internet/New Media, IT, Microsoft, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | Comments Off
Monday, May 7th, 2012
Do you use your mobile phone to seek real-time information such as looking up sports scores, seeking traffic or transit info, or coordinate meetings?
More and more, cell phones, smart phones and other mobile devices are coming out of pockets and purses to find real-time information or help solve a problem, resolve and argument, or decide where to have lunch.
The mobile device user’s ability to access data immediately through apps and web browsers and through contact with their social networks is creating a new culture of real-time information seekers and problem solvers, says a new survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
The project has documentedsome of the ways that people perform just-in-time services with their cell phones.
Some 70% of all cell phone owners and 86% of smartphone owners have used their phones in the previous 30 days to perform at least one of the following activities:
- Coordinate a meeting or get-together — 41% of cell phone owners have done this in the past 30 days.
- Solve an unexpected problem that they or someone else had encountered — 35% have used their phones to do this in the past 30 days.
- Decide whether to visit a business, such as a restaurant — 30% have used their phone to do this in the past 30 days.
- Find information to help settle an argument they were having — 27% haveused their phone to get information for that reason in the past 30 days.
- Look up a score of a sporting event — 23% have used their phone to do that in the past 30 days.
- Get up-to-the-minute traffic or public transit information to find the fastest way to get somewhere — 20% have used their phone to get that kind of information in the past 30 days.
- Get help in an emergency situation — 19% have used their phone to do that in the past 30 days.
Overall, these “just-in-time” cell users—defined as anyone who has done one or more of the above activities using their phone in the preceding 30 days—amount to 62% of the entire adult population.
Tags: mobile device use, Pew Internet in American Life Project, real-time information seeking, tech culture
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Monday, May 7th, 2012
 Trojans set a new record as the method cybercriminals preferred in the first quarter of 2012, and “ransomware” increased due the new “Police virus,” according to -PandaLabs, Panda Security‘s anti-malware laboratory.
The company’s quarterly report analyzing malware events says Trojans set a new record as the preferred category of cybercriminals for carrying out information theft, representing 80 percent of all new malware.
In 2011, Trojans ‘only’ accounted for 73 percent of all malware; worms took second place, comprising 9.30 percent of samples; followed by viruses at 6.43 percent.
In 2012, worms and viruses swapped positions from the 2011 Annual Report, where viruses stood at 14.25 percent and worms at 8 percent of all circulating malware. The report says the massive worm epidemics of the past have been replaced by silent Trojan attacks.
To see a graph of new malware distribution in Q1 2012, please visit: http://press.pandasecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/NEW-MALWARE.jpg.
There was a marked increase in ‘ransomware’ attacks over the past quarter due in large part to the so-called ‘Police Virus.’ The virus displays messages with logos of international law enforcement agencies to trick users into believing that their computers have been locked by the police for visiting inappropriate websites or making illegal downloads.
To unlock it, users have to pay a fine, usually in the range of one hundred euros, dollars or British pounds (depending on the target of the attack). These messages are coming from the Trojans themselves. To view a screenshot of this ‘Police Malware,’ please visit: http://press.pandasecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/POLICE.jpg.
The report also covers the latest attacks on Android cell phones, distribution of malware via Facebook, the Megaupload case, cyber-war and the latest activities of the Anonymous and LulzSec hacktivist groups.
The average number of infected PCs across the globe stands at 35.51 percent, down more than three percentage points compared to 2011, according to Panda Security’s Collective Intelligence data. China has the most infected computers – more than half (54.25 percent) carry malware.
Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs, states, “Although it’s still early in the year, so far what we have seen in 2012 is a continuation of past trends. Cyber-criminals are still trying to steal users’ information and money by any means possible.”
Tags: China, cybercrime, Panda Security, Police virus, Q1 2012 malware report, trojans, worms
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Security, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Monday, May 7th, 2012
 Strong growth in high-tech sector hiring and increasing competition between firms for talent created new tech-oriented submarkets around the U.S. and Canada in the first quarter of 2012, according toJones Lang LaSalle’s High Tech Industry Report.
“Despite high-tech’s relatively small footprint in office markets, accounting for just 8.5 percent of all jobs using office space, it has had a tremendous impact on the absorption of office space in the top five tech-oriented markets.
Additionally, the sector’s recent employment growth — roughly three times the overall U.S. employment rate – has begun to affect a growing number of other markets around the U.S. and Canada,” said Colin Yasukochi, Northwest Director of Research, Jones Lang LaSalle.
Top five markets see rent growth
Jones Lang LaSalle estimates that high tech accounts for nearly one-third of recent office market absorption nationwide.
The top five markets of Boston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Silicon Valley recorded annual rent growth across key tech-oriented submarkets between 16.8 and 57.9 percent in the first quarter.
“We’re now seeing strong evidence of the ‘high-tech effect’ spreading out beyond the five major markets as companies in the technology sector both expand their business models and engage in a vigorous battle to land new pools of talent.
This quest for more human capital is increasingly pushing firms to look outside traditional tech cities to set up new operations,” Yasukochi said.
The submarkets that saw positive annual rent growth in the period included Vancouver’s Yaletown submarket; Boulder, Colorado; downtown Pittsburgh; Washington, D.C.’s East End; and the West Loop submarket of Houston, Texas.
High-tech demand for office space, which has led to rent recovery in many markets adversely affected by the financial downturn, is now spurring speculative construction activity in the office sector for the first time in more than five years.
“In markets like San Francisco, where high-tech demand is intense and tenants have been snapping up creatively configured office environments, there are very few large blocks of space available to accommodate additional growth.
With rents rising, we are now at the point where new construction — for those with access to capital to build – is now coming to the drawing board,” Yasukochi said.
Recently, a New York-based developer announced plans to build a spec office tower in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, the first such development in the city since 2006.
Tags: Boulder, CO, DC's East End, high-tech effect, Houston, Jones Lang LaSalle, New York, office space, Pittsburgh, rent growth, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, TX, West Loop
Posted in Economy/Jobs, IT, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture, Tech Space | Comments Off
Friday, May 4th, 2012
By Allan Maurer
 Catherine Cook At the beginning of 2010, less than 2 percent of social discovery site Quepasa Corp. and myYearbook’s traffic came from mobile sources. “Now it’s more than 60 percent of our traffic,” says Catherine Cook, vice president of brand strategy for company, which is rebranding as MeetMe in July.
The company’s product feed is location based – it shows you where other people near you are – actually works better on mobile. “We’re turning into a mobile company,” Cook says.
Cook, 22, co-founded myYearbook, with her brother Dave in 2005, while they were still in high school. She recently was graduated from Georgetown University in 2011, but didn’t face the problem many grads do – landing a job.
The company merged with the Quepasa Corporation in Nov. 2011. Catherine is responsible for creating some of the most important applications on myYearbook and has been instrumental in driving the site’s growth by conceiving of the next popular features. Stories about Cook have appeared in CNBC, MTV, ABC News, Fox News, CosmoGIRL, BusinessWeek, the San Francisco Chronicle, and CBS.
Participating in two Digital Summit panels
She is one of dozens of Internet gurus, digital marketing mavens and thought-leaders participating in the upcoming Digital Summit in Atlanta May 9-10. She’ll participate on two panels, one on designing for multiple platforms and one on entrepreneurship.
We asked Cook for three tips on designing for mobile platforms.
First, she suggests, “Figure out which platforms you want to be on in the beginning. The more work you do in the beginning, the easier it will be to migrate to different platforms without completely rebuilding the app. Make it versatile and similar across the platforms.
Second, Make as simple as possible for the user. “Use the same type of interface as other popular apps. Make navigation easy on a small screen. It has to be less complicated and more intuitive. Narrow the focus to the features you need. Which do you really need? It can be a problem if you have a clunky app that’s hard to use.”
Third, “Try to figure out if there is something new you can introduce that you couldn’t do on the web.” She suggests doing the same thing when going to a larger screen such as the iPad’s. “You don’t want to have to completely rebuild the app, but at the same time, take advantage of everything a platform has to offer.”
Monetizing mobile apps still problematic
Cook says monetization of mobile apps via ads can be a problem. “The mobile ad market just is not there yet,” she notes. “You have to think more creatively about how to make money. The way most apps are doing it is via in-app purchasing. We’ve had some success there. Anyone on myYearbook with an iTunes profile is two taps away from buying as opposed to the web, where you have to fill out a form and provide credit card information.”
It’s not quite so easy on Android mobile devices she says. “Plenty of people with an Android phone never buy an app. My boyfriend has had one more than a year and never bought an app.”
She readily admits the mobile app landscape has heated up. One of the firm’s hardest business decisions early-on was to figure out its exact strategy after launching in 2005. At the time, Facebook was still only used on college campuses and there were a lot of people on MySpace. “We decided to narrow our focus and move into a new category. There weren’t a lot of meet-new-people networks then.”
Now, she says, “There is a new app coming out weekly in the same space, so there is a ton of competition, all trying to crack the same nut, how to engineer serendipity.”
Tags: Atlanta, Catherine Cook, Digital Summit, MeetMe, myYearbook, Quepasa, tips on building mobile apps
Posted in Digital Devices, Events, Facebook, Internet/New Media, IT, smartphones, Tech life/Culture | 1 Comment »
Friday, May 4th, 2012
 Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents to Bit9′s 2012 Cyber Security study expect cyber attackers to target their organization within the next six months. The majority also think it will be mostly up to their own company to implement and carry out effective security measures.
Some of other numerous findings include:
- Only 26% felt their current cyber security is highly effective for protecting laptop and desktop computers, versus a high of 40% for Infrastructure servers
- Malware is the greatest worry (64%); Spear phishing came in second followed by drive-by downloads/malicious web sites
- Most (61%) believe that the most significant type of threat to their organization is Anonymous/hacktivists, followed sequentially by Cybercriminals, Nation States, Disgruntled employees, and lastly, Corporate Competitors
- Nearly one out of five (18%) said that the security industry–through better technology–will have the biggest impact on improving cyber security
One controversial topic proved to be how much information should be reported when a cyber attack occurs.
While almost all (94%) professionals stated that breaches should be reported, only 29% were willing to report how breaches occur.
For more details regarding Bit9’s 2012 Cyber Security Survey and findings, visit: http://www.bit9.com/cyber-security-research-2012.
Tags: Anonymous, Bit9 2012 Cyber Security Study, cybercriminals, hacktivists, malicious web sites, malware, spear phishing
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Security | Comments Off
Friday, May 4th, 2012
 In today’s data-driven world, companies strive to use all the information available to them to make the right decisions in improving sales, productivity, and efficiency—but new independent research challenges whether this is true in the creation and management of digital experiences, such as a company’s web sites and mobile applications.
Extractable, a leading digital design agency, commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a study on how companies across America use data to build better web experiences for their customers. The study, Data-Driven Design, looked at how companies use data, what tools they use, what hurdles they face, and what outcomes they are seeing for their websites and digital experiences.
The data-driven design process combines many quantitative and qualitative data inputs to understand users’ online behavior and hence craft more effective web and digital experiences. The study showed that 60% of firms surveyed had seen improvements in their website due to use of data. And, if the company also reported they had a repeatable design process the numbers reporting improvement grew to 71%.
Despite validating that firms using data-driven design had better website outcomes the study reported that only half (52%) of companies used a repeatable design process and that 57% used multiple data sources in their design process.
Other key findings from the study include:
- Companies don’t know how or can’t apply the right tools and processes to optimize their sites. Only 28% of companies are happy with the tools and techniques they use to measure their websites today. As high as 52% believe there are other tools that could provide them with better insight.
- Many firms are measuring the wrong kinds of data. Sites are often measured on metrics that don’t show business value. For example, 46% of respondents indicated they used “time on site” as a key measure. This doesn’t always indicate a positive experience—it could also mean that users are lost trying to navigate the site.
- Some key data is being ignored. 37% report ignoring data that is uncovered and 34% that they gather data but do not use it. Sometimes this seems to be a factor of the ‘Highest Paid Person’s Opinion’ overriding the insights drawn from key data.
“Extractable has long been an advocate of using a data-driven design approach to create richer digital experiences for both businesses and website users,” said Simon Mathews, Chief Strategy Officer at Extractable.
“We commissioned this study to understand how companies across America were using data in their design process. The results are fascinating, both validating that using data to drive design improves a website’s experience for its users, but also uncovering that so many firms are missing out on opportunities by measuring the wrong data or not using the data they have.”
For an infographic on the data driven design study see: Data and Insight from Data Driven Design
Tags: digital design, Extractable, Forrester, key data, measuring website business value, optimization tools, processes
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Friday, May 4th, 2012
 Virtual work is becoming the norm for white collar employees globally and most do so without training. According to a study conducted by RW3, an intercultural communication training organization, 87% of white collar employees of multinational companies conduct at least part of their work virtually.
The study went on to find that while the vast majority of these employees encountered challenges in virtual work, only 16% had any training to prepare them.
The study had a stunning response rate: 3,300 business people from 103 countries. “It is clear that the survey struck a nerve,” says Charlene Solomon, president of RW3. “In fact, the huge response itself is one of the key findings. There is a pent-up demand for expressing the difficulty of working virtually across time zones, languages and cultures.”
The 2012 Virtual Teams Survey Report – Challenges of Working in Virtual Teams found that: In the virtual workplace decisions take longer and are harder to make; That the absence of visual cues makes it more difficult to collaborate, and that building team trust is more difficult.
The survey also found that working across time zones rivaled communication and other culturally based challenges for being the biggest hurdle facing corporate workers.
“It appears that while nearly everyone in today’s workplace recognizes the need—and appreciates the value—of virtual work, it is not easy, especially when cultural differences, time zone challenges, accents and communication styles enter the equation,” says Solomon.
The survey unearthed some surprises. 41% of virtual team members never met their colleagues in a face-to-face setting.
Other key findings:
- 87% of respondents indicated at least 25% of their productivity depended upon working virtually.
- 33% said at least half of their virtual teams were outside the home country.
- Respondents reported virtual teams were most different from face-to-face teams in managing conflict (70%), expressing opinions (55%), and making decisions (55%).
- The top five challenges during team meetings were: insufficient time to build relationships (79%), speed of decision making (73%), lack of participation (71%), different leadership styles (69%), and the method of decision making (55%).
“The rapid pace of globalization and the growing number of collaborative software solutions have enabled virtual work, and the demand for skills from around the world have made it a necessity, but virtual team work is not intuitive,” says Michael Schell, RW3′s CEO. ”It’s about time we recognize the human side of the equation.”
Tags: cultural differences, global white collar employees, RW3, tech life/culture, virtual teams
Posted in Best Practices, Internet/New Media, IT, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | Comments Off
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
Social media using teenagers love video more than others and girls are using video chat more than boys. Those are two findings from the latest Pew Internet report on Teens & Online Video.
In a survey of 799 teens conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in 2011, the teens were asked about a number of online behaviors.
The results for video-oriented activities are reported here. Among the findings:
- 37% of internet users ages 12-17 participate in video chats with others using applications such as Skype, Googletalk or iChat.
- Girls are more likely than boys to have such chats.
- 27% of internet-using teens 12-17 record and upload video to the internet. One major difference between now and 2006 is that online girls are just as likely these days to upload video as online boys.
- 13% of internet-using teens stream video live to the internet for other people to watch.
- Social media users are much more likely than those who do not use social media to engage in all three video behaviors studied.
Tags: demographics, Pew Internet & American Life Project, social media, Teens & Online Video report
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Studies, surveys, reports, video | Comments Off
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
By Allan Maurer
 Warren Raisch Mobile presents challenges to marketers partly because mobile phones “Are a different device than we’ve ever had before,” says Warren Raisch, executive vice president of Digitaria. “It on 24/7 and people are using it different ways than they do desktops. It’s fundamentally different in form factor and in use.”
Raisch is a strategic digital industry leader and a McGraw-Hill published author in the digital marketing industry.
Raisch manages Digitaria’s largest corporate client relationships including leading companies such as Intel Corporation, DreamWorks, Cisco, Comcast, MTV Networks and others.
He has two decades of leadership experience in Silicon Valley building global brands across over 190 countries for industry leaders in the high tech & digital agency industries. His 25 years of leadership experience includes being a senior executive at some of the most successful global companies such as Apple Computer, Gateway, 3Com, Autonomy|Interwoven, Adobe|Omniture as well as leading digital agencies Digitas/Publicis, MarchFIRST and Digitaria|JWT.
Raisch is among the dozens of digital marketing, analytics, design and social media thought-leaders participating in the upcoming Digital Summit in Atlanta May 9-10. He’ll discuss mobile analytics, what’s measurable and how to optimize campaigns.
Difference in the way we use mobile
He pointed out to us some of the differences between mobile users vs. those using desktops or laptops.
“They’re more tactical,” Raisch says. “They’re looking for directions or a coupon. User engagement is different from what we’re traditionally used to. In the past, the device someone was on was something you didn’t have to grapple with.”
To market to a mobile user, “You have to think about the device form factor, the time of day, and where a user is physically standing.”
The most personal device you have
The phone is “The most personal device you have,” he says. “It knows your schedule, your habits. It’s the closest to one-on-one marketing we’ve ever been. Privacy issues are a behind the scenes factor, although the younger generation is less worried about that. They download like crazy.”
Creating the best experience requires using metrics, he adds.
But before you measure you need to think of a number of factors. “What do you want them to do with your content?” Raisch asks. “Are you trying to sell products? That requires a different lens than just browsing content.”
Everyone, he notes, “Has conversions of some form or fashion and you set the lens to focus on what matters to you.”
At Digitaria, he says, “We look at campaigns across mobile and traditional channels. Compare and contrast mobile and web analytics so you can see what mobile brings to the table.”
Tablets have higher conversion rate
You’re likely to see a different conversion rate for mobile, he says. One surprise – conversion rates on tablets are significantly higher than on mobile phones at about 2.3 percent. “That’s not quite as high as on a PC, but it’s three times higher than smartphones.”
The average order size is higher as well. The average web order for a retailer is about $99 to $102. The average tablet purchase is $123.
Some of the questions mobile forces you ask are whether you build a separate mobile app for your site or seamlessly embed templates on your site. “A majority of people prefer it embedded in the website so it recognizes your device and serves up the proper format.”
In the mobile arena, pushing something to customers is becoming mainstream – a coupon to someone standing in front of a Starbucks, for instance. “That’s the hottest thing right now,” he says.
QR codes – the bar codes a phone can read if the user downloads a QR reader – are becoming popular, “Although only a small percentage of people are using them.” They transcend channels, he notes. “You can put them on the web, print, a billboard where you take a photo of the QR code to get an offer.”
Down the road a bit further, he expects to see mobile wallets and any number of other advances coming. “Things are moving super fast,” he says.
Tags: Allan Maurer, Atlanta, conversion rates, Digital Summit, Digitaria, metrics, mobile marketing, QR codes, tablets, Warren Raisch
Posted in Analytics, Best Practices, Business advice, Events, Georgia, Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
 Was your website negatively or positively affected by the latest Google Webspam update?
SEO Inc., a San Diego SEO company with over 14 years of history, has some insight on the Google Penguin update, otherwise known as the Webspam Update or Over-Optimization Penalty.
The Google Webspam Update or Penguin update went live on Tuesday, April 24. According to Google, it is an update intended to decrease rankings for sites that they believe are “violating their existing quality guidelines.”
Google has stated that it only affects 3.1% of queries in English. However, many industry speculators believe it could have an impact on as much of 5% of websites.
“We are happy with the concept of the Penguin update. But it is still too early to fully endorse it without more data on the winners and losers.
“That being said, according to Google the algorithm can now catch web spam that was previously slipping through the cracks and we of course strongly agree that quality sites should have better rankings,” said John Lincoln, director of SEO Consulting & Social at SEO Inc.
This is an important update for search engine optimization companies.
Google recently released a vague blog on this topic. In the post they mentioned the following items.
- Earlier in the year there was a reduction in rankings for sites that don’t make much content available above the fold.
- Sites that stuff content with keywords will be negatively affected by this change.
- Sites that add text links in irrelevant content will be negatively affected by this change.
- Sites that spin content will be negatively affected by this change.
“These practices have always been black hat, which is why SEO Inc. does not engage in them. The only real change is that Google is now taking a more aggressive approach to penalizing these ‘over-optimized’ websites,” commented Lincoln.
Some big gains, big losses
There have already been some big gains and massive losses in this algorithm change. Some sites have seen traffic increases up to 30% while others have lost over 70% of their traffic.
We saw some traffic losses at the TechJournal, although we don’t practice any of the Black Hat SEO techniques. We strongly suspect this latest update may have been overly aggressive and we’ll be hearing some howls from adversely affected legitimate sites.
We do often comment on the stories we post, which might conceivably be considered “spinning,” although it isn’t done for SEO purposes.
Since we curate content from news wires and other sources widely used, it could be a result of some content duplicating that of other sites. But we’re sure we haven’t heard the last of this.
The problem with algorithms is that past a certain point, they are not as effective as one might like in making certain judgments. We hear from readers that they like what we do here, but readers are not making these decisions, Google’s algorithm is.
“The spammy websites are getting hit very hard at this point. If they were keyword stuffing or spinning content, they really had it coming anyway. With them out of the picture this makes room for the quality sites higher in the search results. These sites should see great traffic increases. Sites hurt by the update will need to make significant changes to get back that traffic,” said Lincoln.
Some critics believe Google is really making these changes to kill SEO and drive everyone to PPC and Google and strategically increase the company’s income. Others say it is affecting ffar more than only 3 percent of websites.
Learn more about the Google Over-Optimization Penalty (Penguin Update) to find out if your website is at risk.
Tags: article spin, Google Penquin update, irrelevant links, Keyword stuffing, over-optimization, reduction in rankings, SEO firms, traffic
Posted in Google, Internet/New Media, IT | 1 Comment »
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
 All those high profile security breaches that cost a number of companies both serious financial losses and damaged reputations had one good effect.
Information security executives are shifting from a technology focus to strategic business leaderships roles in which they help companies see security as a business imperative, according to a new survey by IBM.
In IBM’s first study of senior security executives, its Center for Applied Insights interviewed more than 130 security leaders globally and discovered three types of leaders based on breach preparedness and overall security maturity.
Representing about a quarter of those interviewed, the “Influencer” senior security executives typically influenced business strategies of their firms and were more confident and prepared than their peers—the “Protectors” and “Responders.”
Under intense pressure
Overall, all security leaders today are under intense pressure, charged with protecting some of their firm’s most valuable assets – money, customer data, intellectual property and brand.
Almost two-thirds of the chief information security officers (CISOS) interviewed said they are paying more attention to security now than they were two years ago.
A series of high-profile hacking and data breaches convinced them of the key role that security has to play in the modern enterprise.
 IBM STRATEGIC VOICE Source: Data from the IBM Center for Applied Insights study, "Finding a strategic voice: Insights from the 2012 IBM Chief Information Security Officer Assessment." (PRNewsFoto/IBM) ARMONK, NY UNITED STATES More than half of respondents cited mobile security as a primary technology concern over the next two years. Nearly two-thirds of respondents expect information security spend to increase over the next two years and of those, 87 percent expect double-digit increases.
Rather than just reactively responding to security incidents, the CISO’s role is shifting more towards intelligent and holistic risk management– from fire-fighting to anticipating and mitigating fires before they start.
Several characteristics emerged as notable features among the mature security practices of “Influencers” in a variety of organizations:
Security seen as a business (versus technology) imperative: One of the chief attributes of a leading organization is having the attention of business leaders and their boards. Security is not an ad hoc topic, but rather a regular part of business discussions and, increasingly, the culture. In fact, 60 percent of the advanced organizations named security as a regular boardroom topic, compared to only 22 percent of the least advanced organizations. These leaders understand the need for more pervasive risk awareness – and are far more focused on enterprise-wide education, collaboration and communications. Forward-thinking security organizations are more likely to establish a security steering committee to encourage systemic approaches to security issues that span legal, business operations, finance, and human resources. Sixty-eight percent of advanced organizations had a risk committee, versus only 26 percent in the least advanced group.- Use of data-driven decision making and measurement: Leading organizations are twice as likely to use metrics to monitor progress, the assessment showed (59 percent v. 26 percent). Tracking user awareness, employee education, the ability to deal with future threats, and the integration of new technologies can help create a risk-aware culture. And automated monitoring of standardized metrics allows CISOs to dedicate more time to focusing on broader, more systemic risks.
- Shared budgetary responsibility with the C-suite: The assessment showed that within most organizations, CIOs typically have control over the information security budget. However, among highly ranked organizations, investment authority lies with business leaders more often. In the most advanced organizations, CEOs were just as likely as CIOs to be steering information security budgets.
- Lower ranking organizations often lacked a dedicated budget line item altogether, indicating a more tactical, fragmented approach to security. Seventy-one percent of advanced organizations had a dedicated security budget line item compared to 27 percent of the least mature group.
“This data painted a profile of a new class of CISO leaders who are developing a strategic voice, and paving the way to a more proactive and integrated stance on information security,” said David Jarvis, author of the report and senior consultant at the IBM Center for Applied Insights.
“We see the path of the CISO is now maturing in a similar pattern to the CFO from the 1970s, the CIO from the 1980s – from a technical one to a strategic business enabler. This demonstrates how integral IT security has become to organizations.”
Tags: business imperative vs. technology imperative, C-suite, chief security officers, CISOs, IBM, influencer, protector, responder, survey
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Thursday, May 3rd, 2012
 Are you a problem solving executive who knows how to motivate employees and can act with speed, agility and creativity in a changing market? If so, corporate America is looking for you, according to a survey from CareerBuilder and HeadHunter.com.
Information technology, sales, and marketing execs are tops on the want list.
The hiring landscape for executives is improving along with the rest of the labor market, according to the survey.
Thirty-one percent of employers expect to hire for executive-level positions over the next six months, up from 23 percent in October’s forecast.
The study also looks at the number of Millennials* who are in executive positions today and explores the deficits in diverse workers and women in executive roles
. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive© from February 9 to March 2, 2012, among more than 2,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals.
Executive Hiring Outlook
Employers are recruiting senior leadership for a range of business functions, but certain areas will see the most focus. Of employers hiring executives, nearly a quarter (24 percent) will hire in business development, followed by information technology (23 percent), sales (22 percent), marketing (19 percent) and accounting/finance (19 percent).
“Hiring trends for executive-level management mirror what we’re seeing in the labor market for all workers,” said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America.
“As companies look to expand their sales force, develop new products and improve their tech infrastructure, the need for diverse, experienced leadership grows along with these initiatives.”
Demographic Profile of Executive-level Employees
When asked about the demographic makeup of their executive employees, many hiring managers revealed that they are still lacking diverse leadership at their organizations.
More than one-in-five (22 percent) companies still do not have female executives, and two-in-five companies (41 percent) do not have executive-level employees in any of the following demographics: African American, Hispanic, Asian, LGBT, Disabled, etc.
However, with the emergence of digital, mobile and IT as high-growth sectors, more Millennials are climbing their way to the top. Twenty percent of employers say they have executives under the age of 30.
Qualities Employers are Looking for in Executive Candidates
Prior experience in the industry is a crucial requisite for landing a top job, according to most hiring managers, but 35 percent say they’ll consider candidates who don’t have background in the industry.
Often times, prior accomplishments and leadership ability trumps industry expertise.
The following are qualities employers look for most in executive level candidates:
- Proven ability in addressing problems with effective solutions (62 percent)
- Adept at motivating others (54 percent)
- Can act with speed and agility in a changing market (47 percent)
- Is creative (43 percent)
- Has emotional intelligence (38 percent)
- Experience in different areas (37 percent)
Only one-in-five (20 percent) look for an MBA, comparable, or higher-level degree, when evaluating executive candidates.
*Millennial Generation – born 1980 to 1999
Tags: 2012, accounting/finance, CareerBuilder, HeadHunter, hiring market for executives, IT, Marketing, Millennials, sales, survey
Posted in Economy/Jobs, IT, Marketing, Studies, surveys, reports | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
 Getting a handle on marketing analytics, online reputation and website performance can be more than a handful for small businesses. In addition to the learning curve – what should you pay attention to – it’s downright time consuming.
Today, Yahoo! Small Business has launched a new free tool, Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard, that may help you manage it all in one spot. It’s part of Yahoo’s move toward providing business services and data.
We’re going to give it a look and will report back to you on what we think.
Here’s what Yahoo has to say about it:
The dashboard helps entrepreneurs discover new marketing opportunities to grow their businesses, while getting a clear picture of their marketing results, online reputations, and website performance, all in one place.
“This dashboard will give small businesses a clear understanding of the effectiveness of their online marketing campaigns, especially those created in partnership with Constant Contact.”
Designed specifically with the small business owner in mind, the Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard provides a clear, consolidated picture of a business’s marketing results and reputation, making it easier to discover new insights and develop new ideas for growth.
The tool also enables small businesses to easily analyze website metrics and maintain accurate and comprehensive business listings across the Web.
With all these key business metrics accessible in one location, small business owners with limited resources can spend more time focusing on their core businesses and less time buried in multiple interfaces and spreadsheets.
Some of the key features included in the free Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard include:
- Search engine and directory listings: Enables monitoring and provides recommendations on new listing opportunities, covering over 100 sites (including Yelp, Yahoo! Local, and more)
- Online reputation management: Pulls information from up to 8,000 sources (including Facebook and Twitter)
- Site traffic analysis: Enables users to understand key website performance metrics (including Google Analytics)
- Small business-focused news and advice: Provided from Yahoo! Small Business Advisor
- Campaign tracking: Provides email marketing, SEO, and SEM campaign tracking (must subscribe to these services)
- Support: 24/7 in-house free customer support
Additionally, business owners can opt for paid premium services within the Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard that enable them to enhance their marketing and analysis. For example:
- Local Visibility Pro: Small businesses can increase their online visibility by submitting their business information to over 100 search engines and directories
- Reputation Management Pro: Users get more comprehensive data, plus the ability to track their competitors, receive email alerts, and share positive customer comments via social channels or email
- Integrated campaign tracking: Small businesses can also attract new customers by taking advantage of marketing services from featured, best-in-class third party marketing vendors, including Constant Contact and OrangeSoda, and display and monitor results from campaigns with those vendors from within the Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard
“We created the Yahoo! Marketing Dashboard to help small business owners who feel overwhelmed by online marketing options and monitoring a wide range of sites and so cial networks to keep up with customer feedback,” said Shannon Parker Hane, director of product marketing, Yahoo! Small Business.
“Now, within a single tool customers can conveniently evaluate their marketing options, campaign results and online reputation without having to search across the Web for information.”
Tags: Yahoo Marketing Dashboard
Posted in Analytics, entrepreneurship, Internet/New Media, IT, Marketing | Comments Off
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
 Samsung was the top mobile phone handset maker in the three month period ending in March. Google’s Android operating system continued to grow it’s U.S. share of the mobile market, claiming 51 percent to Apple’s 30 percent. So says comScore’s MobiLens service.
During the period, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices.
Smartphone Platform Market Share
More than 106 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in March, up 9 percent versus December. RIM still held onto 3rd place in operating systems with 12.3 percent. Microsoft has yet to gain really significant market share and languishes at 3.9 percent, although we found its mobile operation system as good or better than the others we tried.
Mobile Content Usage
Text-messaging continues to be the most used function of mobile phones. In March, 74.3 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device.
App downloads are increasing, although not at the blistering pace following the holidays when many people unwrapped new digital devices and downloaded record numbers of apps such as the Angry Birds game.
Downloaded applications were used by 50 percent of subscribers (up 2.4 percentage points), while browsers were used by 49.3 percent (up 1.8 percentage points).
Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.8 percentage points to 36.1 percent of mobile subscribers.
Game-playing was done by 32.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 1.2 percentage points), while 25.3 percent listened to music on their phones (up 1.5 percentage points). –Allan Maurer
Tags: comScore MobiLens service, mobile handset market share, mobile use, Q1 2012, smartphones
Posted in Analytics, Angry Birds, Apple, Digital Devices, Google, Internet/New Media, IT, Microsoft, Mobile, mobile games, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | Comments Off
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
 A cell phone tower That cell phone in your pocket is good for the economy. The wireless industry is creating millions of new jobs, added close to $200 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2011 and is a catalyst for U.S. economic growth says a new report.
The study released by Recon Analytics, authored on behalf of CTIA, quantifies the wireless broadband industry’s impact on the U.S. economy.
According to the report, the wireless industry added $195.5 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011, and could lead to nearly $1.5 trillion in productivity gains over the next ten years.
Today, the wireless industry contributes more to America’s economic growth than the auto, agriculture, hotel or motion picture industries, according to study author and Recon Analytics founder Roger Entner.
Four million U.S. jobs created
The report cites the nearly four million U.S. jobs that are directly or indirectly created by wireless technology, and the approximately $90 billion of government revenue generated by U.S. wireless use.
“Any way you measure – by value, jobs, or productivity – wireless is an American growth leader fueled by investment and innovation,” said Entner. “What we have is a perfect storm of breakthrough devices and accelerating investment by network providers as they compete to develop and deploy new generations of wireless infrastructure.”
Entner says the growth surge reflects a powerful combination of innovation by wireless carriers to bring 4G mobile broadband service to consumers, along with device makers and mobile apps developers who are also introducing new technologies to the market.
The report describes a relationship between economic growth and the availability of spectrum. Its analysis of historical data shows that every 10MHz of additional licensed spectrum boosts GDP by more than $1.7 billion and adds 7,000 jobs.
According to Entner, achieving the FCC’s National Broadband Plan’s goal of unleashing an additional 500 MHz over ten years would multiply those benefits 50-fold – totaling $86.5 billion in additional GDP and 350,000 more U.S. jobs.
Among the report’s core findings, in 2011:
- The U.S. wireless industry is responsible for 3.8 million jobs, directly or indirectly, a gain of approximately 200,000 jobs in the past six years despite a major global recession.
- The industry added $195.5 billion to the U.S. GDP between July 2010 and June 2011. If that amount were equivalent to a nation’s GDP, it would be the 46th ranked economy in the world.
- In 2011, wireless services produced $33 billion in productivity improvements for U.S. businesses in nine categories.
- Over the next decade, productivity gains attributable to wireless are expected to total more than $1.4 trillion.
- Industry tax, fee, and surcharge payments contributed $88.6 billion to local, state and federal governments in 2011.
“To put this into context, the total wireless industry tax bill was more than the $78.9 billion put aside for the entire Department of Education; more than double the $43.1 billion for the Department of Energy; and almost equivalent to the $89.6 billion allocated to the Department of Transportation,” said Entner.
The report also says that the wireless sector’s value chain continues to spread to new sectors. Most prominently America’s mobile apps industry has benefitted greatly from the economic influences in the wireless sector, growing from virtually nothing, to a $10 billion giant in fewer than five years.
Consumers, too, are reaping benefits – not just in higher quality of service, but in increased consumption and a drop in unit prices for wireless phone calls. American consumers paid less than a nickel per minute ($0.049) of use last year, one of the lowest rates in the world, down from more than 19 cents in 2000.
By comparison, consumers in Europe paid, on average, nearly 17 cents (0.1670) per minute, more than three times the U.S. price. The costs of wireless data fell by half between 2010 and 2011 alone, from about eight cents a megabyte to four cents a megabyte.
Text messaging costs also are down on a per message basis as unlimited texting plans have boosted message volume by enabling consumers to text at will.
Entner warns that the potential growth could be shut off by spectrum shortages: “For now, new technologies such as 4G LTE, as well as investment in new towers and other infrastructure are squeezing more capacity from each MHz, but as a matter of physics, existing spectrum can expand only so far.
To keep the growth going, the wireless industry not only needs additional spectrum, but also policies that won’t get in the way of critical network investment.”
The full study can be viewed here.
Tags: FCC National Broadband Plan, GDP, innovation, jobs, productivity, spectrum availability, wireless industry economic impact
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Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
 As businesses reinstate some of the employee perks lost during the recession, one doesn’t appear to have made a comeback: paying for continuing education.
This could be particularly important to tech workers, who have to keep skills up-to-date. Technology changes rapidly and the IT worker who doesn’t change with it is likely to find continued employment iffy.
The same is true for fields such as accounting.
Twenty-six percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed for a Robert Half Finance & Accounting survey said their companies offer staff full or partial reimbursement for the education units required to maintain professional certifications.
This is down significantly from six years ago when nearly half (46 percent) of executives said they cover these costs.
The survey conducted by an independent research firm and is based on interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees.
CFOs were asked, “Does your company reimburse employees for the continuing education units needed to maintain their professional designations, such as the certified public accountant (CPA) or certified management accountant (CMA)?” Their responses:
|
2012 |
2006 |
| Yes, full reimbursement |
5% |
29% |
| Yes, partial reimbursement |
21% |
17% |
| No reimbursement provided |
73% |
50% |
| Don’t know |
0% |
4% |
|
99%* |
100% |
|
|
|
| *Responses do not total 100 percent due to rounding. |
“As the job market strengthens, it becomes more important for companies to offer benefits that help employees advance their careers,” said Max Mesmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of Human Resources Kit For Dummies®, 2nd edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.).
“A robust professional development program is an attractive incentive for talent recruitment and retention.”
Beyond retention and recruiting, Mesmer noted that supporting ongoing learning can help businesses develop a more skilled workforce.
“Employees aren’t the only beneficiaries of continuing education,” he said. “Companies benefit from developing a workforce that is equipped to meet evolving business needs.”
Tags: continuing education reimbursement declines, professional certifications, Robert Half survey
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Monday, April 30th, 2012
 Freelancer.com, an outsourcing and crowdsourcing marketplace, today announced its 50 fastest growing online job categories for the first quarter of 2012 with the release of the Freelancer Fast 50.
CEO Matt Barrie, said the Freelancer.com Fast 50 pulls data from over 3.3 million users and 1.5 million projects creating the most comprehensive insight into online job trends.
“We have seen a huge increase in outsourcing on the whole, with businesses rethinking their strategies moving into the New Year,” Barrie said.
Over 170,000 jobs were posted in the first quarter of 2012, up from 130,000 in the previous quarter. “Projects are up over 30% compared to the previous quarter. The huge growth in outsourcing is made up of a wide range of different types of projects being completed in countries all across the globe,” Barrie said.
“In a difficult global economic climate, businesses are looking to optimize their cost base and are therefore looking to online freelancers as a profit driver. This has seen significant job growth on the Freelancer.com marketplace despite challenging broader economic conditions,” Barrie said.
TOP TRENDS FOR Q1 2012:
● Outsourcing surges with a rise in business process outsourcing: Outsourcing of backoffice and non-core functionality has seen a dramatic rise in the last quarter with Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO) showing the highest growth of any job category in Q1 of 2012.
BPO (up by 303% to 5,150 jobs) performed the strongest, with Data Processing (up 187% to 18,349 jobs) and Data Entry (up 111% to 30,837 jobs) also very strong performers for the quarter.
SMEs are also turning to online freelancers as a cost-effective means of providing around-theclock customer support. This is underlined by strong growth in Customer Support jobs (up by 89% to 1,173 jobs).
Huge increase in VA jobs as businesses focus on core activities: Virtual Assistant jobs (up by 144% to 3205 jobs) have seen a surge in this quarter. SMEs, who traditionally do office administration in-house, are outsourcing these tasks as a result of the comparatively low cost of off-shore labour. This allows them to focus on core business activities and remain competitive, which is critical for survival in a challenging economic climate.
● Mobile app development grows as smart phones show no sign of slowing: Android (up by 26% to 2,863 jobs), iPhone (up by 27% to 4,318 jobs) and iPad (up by 19% to 1,828 jobs), with “post-PC device” sales outstripping that of personal computers and a slew of new models hitting the market, the number of jobs in these areas has seen a steady increase. The demand for mobile developers has been insatiable and will continue to grow as more businesses seek to offer their products and services on these platforms.
● Open Standards will own the Web: HTML5 (up 48% to 2,160 jobs) continues its ascent as the de-facto Web 2.0 standard. The continued growth of “post-PC” devices and their support of next generation open web standards such as HTML5 has seen many businesses invest in Web 2.0 technologies such as jQuery (up 39% to 2,324 jobs). This has been to the detriment of older and proprietary technologies such as Flash (down 1% to 2,697 jobs). The continued high growth of post-PC devices, and iOS’s lack of support for Flash, has forced many companies to switch to supported open standards.
● Losers: SEO (up by 8% to 10,152 jobs) has remained comparatively stagnant. Despite a stronger recovery for SEO in late 2011, Google’s constant fight against low quality link building has had a major impact on the SEO industry – causing significant pain recently for ecommerce and blog sites by delisting major link networks.
Google’s latest revision of its Panda algorithm punishes “over optimized” sites and articles but even seems to hurt some totally legitimate sites. We noticed it here at the TechJournal and we use only straight-forward SEO practices.
FREELANCER FAST 50 (FASTEST MOVERS)
Rank Category Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Growth
1 BPO 5,150 1,278 303%
2 PDF 1,386 424 227%
3 Excel 20,303 6,761 200%
4 Data Processing 18,351 6,386 187%
5 Copy Typing 2,711 1,076 152%
6 Web Search 4,811 1,963 145%
7 Virtual Assistant 3,205 1,313 144%
8 Data Entry 30,837 14,595 111%
9 Article Submission 2,793 1,462 91%
10 Customer Support 1,173 619 89%
11 Web Scraping 2,027 1,190 70%
12 .NET 4,750 3,118 52%
13 HTML5 2,160 1,462 48%
14 Copywriting 8,030 5,682 41%
15 3D Rendering 1,263 902 40%
16 jQuery / Prototype 2,324 1,668 39%
17 Twitter 2,215 1,599 39%
18 Research 2,108 1,603 32%
19 Mobile Phone 4,608 3,514 31%
20 YouTube 1,248 954 31%
21 Visual Basic 1,345 1,039 29%
22 User Interface / IA 1,237 958 29%
23 Android 2,863 2,234 28%
24 CSS 5,579 4,389 27%
25 iPhone 4,318 3,407 27%
26 Proofreading 1,448 1,143 27%
27 eBay 1,289 1,020 26%
28 Script Install 1,608 1,289 25%
29 Ghostwriting 4,073 3,267 25%
30 Academic Writing 4,220 3,408 24%
31 3D Modelling 1,186 962 23%
32 WordPress 6,366 5,233 22%
33 Editing 1,012 838 21%
34 PSD to HTML 1,524 1,274 20%
35 iPad 1,828 1,538 19%36 Facebook 1,675 1,535 9%
37 Video Services 7,542 6,914 9%
38 Bulk Marketing 1,382 1,271 9%
39 SEO 2,335 2,158 8%
40 Website Design 10,152 9,389 8%
41 Link Building 22,962 21,370 7%
42 Java 7,138 6,696 7%
43 Magento 2,406 2,261 6%
44 C++ Programming 1,724 1,624 6%
45 Social Networking 2,078 1,973 5%
46 Translation 5,252 4,989 5%
47 Shopping Carts 1,691 1,649 3%
48 Leads 2,373 2,322 2%
49 Flash 2,697 2,733 -1%
50 Telemarketing 999 1,068 -6%
This data was extracted from 172,936 jobs posted on Freelancer.com in Q1 2012. The
Freelancer.com Freelancer Fast 50 is the leading gauge of online hiring trends.
Tags: freelance.com, hot job categories, HTML 5, Mobile app development, open standards, SEO, twitter, virtual assistants
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