Posts Tagged ‘Google’
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
 With almost $200 billion in combined 2011 revenues, Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon are well positioned to take the lead in mobile payments landscape.
However, the top mobile payments spot is still up for grabs, as consumers trust PayPal, Visa, and their own banks for making financial transactions compared to mobile networks, social media, and online retailers.
“Companies will need to understand how their brand resonates with consumers in the three key areas of trust, innovation and privacy. Brands must partner with companies to achieve complementary strengths and widespread adoption in mobile payments.”
The report reveals the shift in consumer mobile behaviors over the past two years and spotlights emerging market opportunities for mobile wallets.
Mobile purchases skyrocketed
In 2011, consumers’ mobile purchases of physical goods skyrocketed to 41% from 14% in 2009, while those of ringtones, which once dominated the market, decreased significantly. This shift from “nice to have” to “needs” indicates how consumers are beginning to find more value in purchasing via mobile devices.
Using its TIP (Trust-Innovation-Privacy) Model, Javelin scored brand effects of social media, mobile networks, and financial institutions (FIs) on trust, innovation, and privacy.
While PayPal came closest to reaching “Gold Zone”, the high trust-high innovation-high privacy position, no brand placed in the coveted spot.
However, despite overall low scores in all three categories, FIs scored extremely well among their own customers, receiving the highest rankings for trust in security, protecting private information, and even innovation. Facebook and Sprint were the least trusted brands for financial transacting.
“Although consumers rate Apple as the greatest innovator, no brand will reach the Gold Zone without the right alliance,” said Mary Monahan, executive vice president and research director, Mobile at Javelin. “Companies will need to understand how their brand resonates with consumers in the three key areas of trust, innovation and privacy. Brands must partner with companies to achieve complementary strengths and widespread adoption in mobile payments.”
“Don’t count out banks, which are well respected in their geographic markets,” said Jim Van Dyke, president, Javelin. “Our data shows that banks’ own consumers ranked them higher on trust and privacy than payment providers, mobile network carriers, other banks, and the Gang of Four. FIs are viable partners for these mobile payment vendors.”
Javelin’s Gang of Four (and Possibly Five) Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon – and PayPal report analyzes consumer perceptions of mobile payments players of trust, innovation, and privacy and recommends strategies for social media and mobile companies and FIs to succeed in the mobile purchasing market. The report is based on survey data collected online from more than 5,800 consumers.
Selected Key Report Findings
- Mobile technology usage is on the rise, paving the way for increased mobile purchasing. By 2016, 72% of adults will use smartphones, while 40% of mobile phone owners will use tablets.
- Consumers’ mobile purchases of physical goods skyrocketed to 41% from 14% in 2009, while purchasing of ringtones significantly decreased.
- Consumers with primary banking relationships at FIs gave their own banks the highest trust and privacy scores over Visa, which received top scores among all consumers.
For additional details or to purchase Javelin’s report, click here Gang of Four (and Possibly Five) Apple Google Facebook Amazon – and PayPal: Positioning for Payments in the New Mobile-Social Technology Era
Tags: Amazon, Apple, facebook, FLs, Google, Javelin Strategy & Research, Jim Van Dyke, mobile payments, PayPal
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Internet/New Media, IT, Mobile, Money, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | 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
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
Monday, February 27th, 2012
 By Allan Maurer
Entrepreneurs keep coming up with new technologies, new web sites, new ideas, but what they really should be thinking about is evolving some new business models, says Eric Bleeker, Motley Fool tech analyst who oversees the site’s editorial team.
Bleeker joins tech luminaries such as Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph, OpenTable founder Chuck Templeton, National Venture Capital Association president Mark Heesen, National Seed and Venture Funds CEO Jim Jaffe, and NEA general partner Harry Weller, among many others participating in the Southeast Venture Conference in Tysons Corner, VA Wednesday and Thursday.
Right now, Bleeker says, “So many platforms are coming out that are dependent upon advertising. Yeah, they can get users, but what sort of platform lets you extract revenue from them?”
Zynga piggybacks on Facebook and other ironies
It’s ironic, he says, that game company Zynga can piggyback on a platform like Facebooks and monetize it at twice the rate Facebook does itself.
Similarly, the New York Times recently ran a piece on data mining that another news site picked up, put a more salacious headline on, and “Gets 50 times the pageviews,” says Bleeker.
The online music service Pandora, “is used on mobile 70 percent of the time, but only gets one percent of its revenue from mobile.” So new business models are necessary.
Bleeker believes quality journalism can still do well – pointing to “The Economist,” which is still managing to grow its subscriber base (and advertises widely online). Many local news venues may get squeezed out of the revenue streams if they don’t find new ways to make money, though, he suspects.
If it can’t command a premium, bye, bye
“If in the end, your product can’t command a premium, I’m sorry, but you’re going under.”
Quite a few companies are bridging that gap – along with many not doing it so well, he says. Companies with what appear to be successful models?
LinkedIn, he says has found a route: “Advertising is now a much smaller piece of their revenue than packaging business data,” he says.
OpenTable is another great example of an online firm that’s working, he suggests.
One problem he sees with many startups in the digital space – including mobile and hyper local, is that if they are ad dependent, the only exit solution they may have is to be acquired by the large tech firms sitting on billions in cash: Microsoft, Google, and Apple.
Apple, in fact, sits right at the top of the heap. “Apple is the big dog with the most money, but they don’t buy much,” Bleeker says. “They buy some intellectual property, but it’s not in their culture to bolt stuff on.”
That presents a difficulty if “The dominant player isn’t willing to buy.”
Apple, though, could be boxing itself in a bit with its emphasis on great design, the chunk of fees it takes for apps sold in its store, and its past DNA unless it finds ways to keep its customers. “They’re thinking about ways to lock folks in,” says Bleeker.
On the other hand, some estimates say that up to a mind-blowing third of global IT spending could be for computers (including tablets and Macs) in three years,” Bleeker says.
Sectors where Bleeker sees relatively unsung innovation is in networking and security, particularly from smaller firms. Catch what he has to say at SEVC later this week.
Tags: Apple Inc., Chuck Templeton, digital business models, Eric Bleeker, facebook, Google, Harry Weller, Jim Jaffe, Marc Randolph, Microsoft, NASVF, NEA, Netflix, Open Table, SEVC, Southeast Venture Conference, The Motley Fool, Zynga
Posted in Apple, Internet/New Media, LinkedIn, Marketing, Potomac, social media, Virginia, Washington, DC, Zynga | 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
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
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Amazon.com is planning a video subscription service to compete with Netflix, according to Reuters.
The news service reports that Amazon Inc. is about to disclose a web video deal with Viacom Inc. that is one of the final steps in its move to compete with the Netflix streaming video service.
Viacom owns TV shows and movies from MTV, Nickelodeon and Parmount Studios.
Amazon has already inked deals for its Prime Instant Video service with CEBS, Time Warner, News Corp.’s Fox, Sony, Coimcast’s NBC Universal and Walt Disney.
We purchased Amazon’s $79 Prime service after our Kindle Fire free trial ran out. We’ve found the free video offerings thin and the $1.99 an episode pricing for TV shows a bit much. We can rent a DVD with 2-4 shows for that or less at the local Blockbuster across the street. The Prime books you can borrow free are similarly very limited. The free tw0-day shipping is nice, don’t know if it’s worth $79 a year.
Still, Amazon is hot to create a separate stand alone video service available to non-Prime members.
Amazon says the number of videos bought or rented from Amazon Instant Video downloads doubled in the 4th quarter of 2011.
Lots of firms are vying for your video streaming dollars. Others getting into the lucrative video streaming market include Verizon, which has formed a joint venture with Coinstar Inc.s Redbox kiosk rental service to offer streaming and DVD rentals by year’s end.
Google Inc. also has plans for a video streaming service.
–Allan Maurer
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Prime, Coinstar, Google, Kindle Fire, Netflix, Redbox, streaming video, Verizon
Posted in Amazon, Google, Internet/New Media, video | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
 Last month saw malware attacks targeting a wide range of potential victims, including gamers looking for a Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 game crack, small business owners concerned about the reputation of their business, and government organizations receiving spoofed messages from the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).
“Anyone who goes on the internet is a potential target for cybercriminals looking to infect systems and scam users,” said Chris Boyd, senior threat researcher at GFI Software.
“Malware writers and phishers do not discriminate. They purposefully cast a wide net when picking their methods of attack in order to reach as many targets as possible. Whether you are a young gamer, a successful business owner or a government employee, you need to be wary when clicking on links that appear to pertain to your interests, especially when asked to submit personal information online.”
Gamers targeted
In addition to malware writers installing rootkits on the systems of gamers who were looking for a pirated release of Pro Evolution Soccer 2012, developed by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., scammers also latched onto the buzz surrounding the upcoming fourth installment of the Halo video game series, developed by 343 Industries, by offering bogus beta invites in return for filling out surveys and recommending links on Facebook and Google+.
These attacks leverage the popularity of these titles among the gaming community and are meant to take advantage of the mistakes some users might make when acting out of excitement about a favorite game franchise.
January also brought phishing emails posing as notices from the Better Business Bureau, claiming that a customer had filed a complaint against the recipient.
The messages contained links to malware created using the Blackhole exploit kit. Government body US-CERT served as another disguise for cybercriminals attempting to bait unwitting victims into opening a file that contained a variant of the Zeus/Zbot Trojan.
Meanwhile, Tumblr users were baited with “free Southwest Airlines tickets” in exchange for taking surveys and submitting personal information by a phony “Tumblr Staff Blog.”
Malware writers and internet scammers also sought to attack a wider cross-section of the population when opportunities presented themselves to creatively piggyback on hot news topics and highly trafficked websites.
This past month, the shutdown of popular file hosting website Megaupload led to a domain typo scam targeting both the regular users of the website as well as visitors who were interested in seeing the FBI notice posted on the site. Once the victims reached the misspelled URL, they were redirected to various sites promising fake prizes and asking for personal information.
“While cybercriminals may not be picky about their choice of victims, their choice of tactics is anything but haphazard,” continued Boyd. “Cybercrime campaigns are designed to cripple systems and steal personal information, but first they have to reach the victim. Once they know the profile of the group they want to attack, they will do anything they can to increase their chances of success and fool users into playing along.”
Top 10 Threat Detections for January
GFI’s top 10 threat detection list is compiled from collected scan data of tens of thousands of GFI VIPRE Antivirus customers who are part of GFI’s ThreatNet automated threat tracking system. ThreatNet statistics revealed that Trojans continue to be the most pervasive threat, taking half of the top spots for January.
| Detection |
|
Type |
|
Percent |
| Trojan.Win32.Generic |
|
Trojan |
|
35.1 |
| Yontoo (v) |
|
Adware |
|
2.23 |
| FraudTool.Win32.FakeRean |
|
Rogue Security Program |
|
1.62 |
| INF.Autorun (v) |
|
Trojan |
|
1.28 |
| Trojan.Win32.FakeAV.mqa (v) |
|
Trojan |
|
1.21 |
| Trojan.Win32.Ramnit.c (v) |
|
Trojan |
|
0.94 |
| Exploit.PDF-JS.Gen (v) |
|
Exploit |
|
0.86 |
| GameVance (fs) |
|
Adware |
|
0.82 |
| Pinball Corporation. (v) |
|
Adware |
|
0.79 |
| Trojan.Win32.Jpgiframe (v) |
|
Trojan |
|
0.77 |
Tags: 343 industries, facebook, free Southwest airline tickets, GFI, Google, Halo, Konami Digital entertainment, Megaupload, top ten january cyber threats, Tumblr, Tumblr Staff blog
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Security, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Monday, February 6th, 2012
 Online privacy is often more of a concern to Internet users than Internet services seem to realize. Facebook has banged up against that fact trying to make sharing a default setting, and Google stirred up blogger buzz when it announced its new policy of sharing information among its services, last week.
Frugal Dad created this infographic to look at the privacy issues the Internet community is dealing with and offer users some sound advice on how to manage their cyberspace privacy:
Tags: digital privacy, facebook, Google, online security, privacy issues
Posted in Facebook, Google, infographic, Internet/New Media, Security | Comments Off
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012
 The tech and Internet communities have mounted a campaign to prevent passage of the SOPA bill. On Wed., Jan. 18th the Internet stood up against two censorship bills pending in Congress. In the largest social declaration in history, millions of people and tens of thousands of websites boycotted or blacked out as a demonstration of U.S. gov’t sanctioned censorship. Today, both SOPA and PIPA are tabled.
Recounting the day in blackouts and tweets, Frugaldad’s new graphic, “The Day the Internet Stood Still” explains how this protest, the largest in history, signals social media as more than a forum to discuss Bieber’s new tattoo—it’s the last best place to mobilize media users.
Source: frugaldad.com
For their part, sites like Wikipedia and Tumblr enabled emails and calls by blacking out content pages and replacing them with links to contact representatives. No day in Congressional history saw such an onslaught of contact.
Wikipedia’s black banners were viewed 160 million times. Their protest brought three times more curious visitors than normal. With over 3 million emails sent on Wednesday alone, Congressional rep. contact links were down due to traffic. And with over 400,000 phone calls to Congress, each representative received an average of 919 calls.
If passed, SOPA and PIPA would place full copyright burden on websites. This means major content hosts–sites like Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter–could face infringement charges and government shut down. Internet users owe the unpopularity and tabling of these censorship bills to the very social media platforms they endanger.
Tags: 2011, craigslist, ebay, Google, Internet censorship, Internet piracy, Jan. 18, PIPA, SOPA, Twitter response to SOPA, U.S. Congress, Wikipedia
Posted in Government/Defense, infographic, Internet/New Media, Legal | Comments Off
Thursday, January 19th, 2012
 Search and social marketing agency, Greenlight says it expects search giant Google to overtake Yahoo and become king of display advertising by the end of the year.
Greenlight also predicts 2012 will be will be the year of social link building and that social media sites will take on a multi-faceted identity.
These alongside others from Yahoo, Google and Microsoft, are some of the firm’s predictions in the latest quarterly edition of Greenlight’s monthly magazine which accompanies the firm’s independent research.
Paid Search – Google will overtake Yahoo to become king of display
2011 was a busy year for the Search Industry with Google acquiring Invite Media and Teracent. In early December, Google officially launched its DoubleClick Search V3 platform – DS3 – a bid management programme which combines Yahoo and MSN into an AdWords type interface.
Google is making significant investment in the DoubleClick platform, specifically DoubleClick for Advertisers (DFA) and the Exchange. So will online advertisers really need to invest elsewhere when Google is pretty much geared up to be the one-stop-shop?”
“Google’s noteworthy acquisitions and investments in 2011 combined with the mighty AdWords suggest that by the end of 2012, not only will 90 per cent of advertisers’ Search budgets be in AdWords, but also that this trend is set for display,” saysHannah Kimuyu, Paid Media Director, Greenlight.
2012 – The year of Social Link building
Adam Bunn, SEO Director at Greenlight, says the confluence of user signals influencing search engines’ perception of brand strength, and everyone being on the “social media helps us build links” bandwagon, will make 2012 The Year of Social Link Building.
What users search for can tell search engines about the strength of a brand, because the strength of the brand directly influences those searches. As such, Bunn argues that now, social media is the best means of influencing brand perception online.
At the same time, more and more marketers are cottoning on to the fact that social media can dramatically catalyse search engine optimisation (SEO) campaigns, by increasing the speed of accrual and the volume of natural links pointing to a site.
“It is time to stop thinking of SEO as a bubble, time SEO becomes more than SEO, more than just links,” says Bunn. “It is SEO=Digital PR. SEO=your brand. This year, marketers who think like that when planning their campaigns will win, and those who do not, will be ‘also-rans.’”
2012 – The year social media starts taking on a multi-faceted identity
According to Anna O’Brien, Social Media Director, Greenlight, social media as it currently stands does not support myriad different relationships and personalities we have.
While sites like Reddit and 4chan appeal to the user who wishes to share information, cloaked in anonymity, Facebook provides a mass audience live feed. However, while these sites thrive, they live at opposite ends of the spectrum and both only currently provide a single use view.
“Somehow these mainstream sites will evolve to allow you to become more multi-faceted. This is more than Google circles or Facebook friend groups. Those cater to organisation of content rather than the accurate portrayal of multi-dimensional identities.”
Tags: 4chan, AdWords, Doubleclick, Google, Greenlight, MSN, online display advertising, Reddit, social link building, social media, Yahoo
Posted in Google, Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
 Mitt Romney Social media strategies used in Republican presidential candidate campaigns can be applied by small businesses to enhance their digital marketing efforts, according to a recent study by leading social media and email marketingcompany, iContact.
The study revealed Republican primary candidates rely heavily on social media to get their messages across, empower voters and raise money.
Newt Gingrich has mastered Twitter, Ron Paul reigns on YouTube and Mitt Romney has a holistically integrated social campaign.
Small businesses can successfully utilize social media in a manner similar to political candidates to engage followers, promote their brand and increase sales.
Small business can benefit
“This survey provides insight into how the Republican candidates are using social media to their advantage, with different strategies, perspectives and investments across channels. While it’s never a one-size-fits-all approach, as we see here, the common takeaway remains that social media presence can lead to increased engagement and a return on investment,” saidJeff Revoy, chief product and marketing officer at iContact.
“By applying the many lessons learned and creative successes from these candidates, small businesses too can enjoy the many benefits of social media marketing.”
iContact’s study provides a detailed view into each candidate’s overall social media presence, following, engagement levels*and digital properties across major social networks – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+.
Social media correlations and takeaways gleaned from the campaigns:
- Facebook flexes its muscles: The world’s most popular social networking site dominated all platforms across Republican candidates with the largest volume of followers and engagement levels. Facebook’s strength across social platforms should be no surprise to small businesses as a recent iContact customer survey revealed that 76 percent favor Facebook. With more than 800 million users, Facebook has announced several upcoming changes aimed at maintaining its dominance in 2012.
Small Business Takeaway: Facebook serves as the most favored platform for small businesses to reach customers and prospects in new and powerful ways. Small businesses not using it are potentially missing valuable customer interactions and engagement.
 Focus on quality, not just quantity: While Mitt Romney had the highest number of Facebook fans; he experienced the lowest percentage of Facebook fan engagement at 8.97. In contrast, Rick Santorum had one of the lowest numbers of Facebook followers across all candidates but had the highest engagement level at 50.42 percent.- Small Business Takeaway: If social media follower numbers are high but engagement is low, it’s time to reevaluate content and platform to ensure your brand and messages resonate with your audiences. Switch up message content or try a different social media network that might be better suited for particular content. For example, use Facebook if a message will become too diluted when edited down to fit within Twitter’s 140-character limit.
- Social media and email create a powerful combination: The candidates have all incorporated email into their marketing strategies to achieve the combined punch it provides when used in conjunction with social media. They have made it very easy and seamless to subscribe to email and social media updates from their campaigns.
Small Business Takeaway: With the buzz surrounding social media, it’s important to not forget about a tried and true marketing vehicle: email. Don’t miss out on the huge opportunity that email marketing delivers. Social media is great for sharing content and engaging customers in interactive discussions, while email can help convert the results of those initial engagements and conversations into targeted campaigns and long-term customers.
- A picture is worth a thousand words: This saying is often true for both photos and videos. Romney uses photos and videos to create content for his social properties, utilizing multimedia or a link where fans can take action in almost every single Facebook post. His campaign posts photos and videos from events, speeches, and commercials to help convey Romney’s message to voters in a unique way and has branched out into emerging platforms such as Flickr and Tout. Similarly, Ron Paul has utilized his campaign’s YouTube channel to amass more than 7 million clicks.
Small Business Takeaway: Small businesses should look to harness the power of photos and videos within social media campaigns. They can tell the story of a brand and culture quickly, intimately and efficiently to potential advocates accustomed to text-only noise on social networks. Sharing photos and videos with customers and advocates can only help a brand’s presence in the social world. If the content is compelling, these groups will share it with their friends, giving a small business increased visibility among advocates and driving brand engagement.
 Content is king: While all candidates are utilizing Twitter, Gingrich carries the highest number of engagers across the network with 1.38 million followers – more than five times the number of the campaign with the second largest Twitter community. He tweets often, but more importantly, Gingrich seems to provide content his community wants.
Small Business Takeaway: Even with the plethora of social media vehicles available at marketers’ fingertips, it’s important to realize that it’s less about the channel and more about the content. Relevant and engaging content is still the most important thing for followers.
 Google+ remains a guessing game: The verdict is still out on Google+, with only Gingrich and Romney integrating the new service into their social media strategies. iContact’s customer survey revealed a similar sentiment across small businesses with 48 percent loving Google+ while 52 percent were not convinced.
Small Business Takeaway: Google+ may still be in its infancy, but don’t overlook it when evaluating social media strategies. As Google+ looks to add more functionality for businesses there will likely be a mad dash to the unconquered social territory with Google providing rapid content availability for consumers in order to aggressively compete with Facebook. Small businesses should not be afraid to get in as early adopters of Google+ to test the waters and see if it’s a social media channel that fits their needs.
- ROI for every budget: No matter the size of the campaign budget, all candidates realize that social media is a key investment and have incorporated it into their marketing strategies. Even candidates with lower campaign funding have seen high engagement numbers across their followers, signaling that messages are resonating with their communities.
Small Business Takeaway: There is a social media strategy to fit every budget and generate a positive return on investment (ROI). Outlining social media ROI using a goal-based approach is a great start for small businesses. An iContact customer survey revealed that top three social media goals for small businesses are strengthening brand, generating sales and acquiring contacts.
- There are several types of metrics to consider when measuring progress against these goals and adjusting marketing to drive better results. For example, if your goal is to strengthen your brand, you can dive into how your social media content engages your audience by looking at “retweets” or “likes.” More information and tips on calculating social media ROI are available in “Calculating Your Social Media Marketing Return on Investment.”
With the 2012 Republican National Convention just eight months away candidates will continue to battle it out for their party’s nomination utilizing social media as an important medium to attract support and build momentum.
Political campaigns and small businesses might first appear to be vastly different entities that should take completely different approaches to marketing. However, it’s clear from the survey that there are valuable social media insights and takeaways from political campaigns that small businesses should look to integrate into their marketing efforts.
The iContact social media audit does not reflect the political views or opinions of the company.
For more information on the social media audit and to view an infographic highlighting the survey results, please visit http://www.icontact.com/social-media-and-political-campaigns.
Tags: facebook, Google, GOP candidate use of social media, icontact, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, small business takeaways, YouTube
Posted in Facebook, infographic, Internet/New Media, LinkedIn, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech Culture, Twitter | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
 Major Internet service providers (ISPs), home networking equipment manufacturers, and web companies around the world are coming together to permanently enable IPv6 for their products and services by 6 June 2012.
“IPv6 deployment is a key priority for Comcast in 2012, and we’re excited to participate in this Internet Society event that will help catalyze action around the world on this important transition.”
Organized by the Internet Society, and building on the successful one-day World IPv6 Day event held on 8 June 2011, World IPv6 Launch represents a major milestone in the global deployment of IPv6. As the successor to the current Internet Protocol, IPv4, IPv6 is critical to the Internet’s continued growth as a platform for innovation and economic development.
“The fact that leading companies across several industries are making significant commitments to participate in World IPv6 Launch is yet another indication that IPv6 is no longer a lab experiment; it’s here and is an important next step in the Internet’s evolution,” commented Leslie Daigle, the Internet Society’s Chief Internet Technology Officer. “And, as there are more IPv6 services, it becomes increasingly important for companies to accelerate their own deployment plans.”
ISPs participating in World IPv6 Launch will enable IPv6 for enough users so that at least 1% of their wireline residential subscribers who visit participating websites will do so using IPv6 by 6 June 2012. These ISPs have committed that IPv6 will be available automatically as the normal course of business for a significant portion of their subscribers. Committed ISPs are:
- AT&T
- Comcast
- Free Telecom
- Internode
- KDDI
- Time Warner Cable
- XS4ALL
Participating home networking equipment manufacturers will enable IPv6 by default through the range of their home router products by 6 June 2012. Committed equipment manufacturers are:
Web companies participating in World IPv6 Launch will enable IPv6 on their main websites permanently beginning 6 June 2012. Inaugural participants are:
Content delivery network providers Akamai and Limelight will be enabling their customers to join this list of participating websites by enabling IPv6 throughout their infrastructure.
As IPv4 addresses become increasingly scarce, every segment of the industry must act quickly to accelerate full IPv6 adoption or risk increased costs and limited functionality online for Internet users everywhere. World IPv6 Launch participants are leading the way in this effort.
For more information about World IPv6 Launch, products and services covered, as well as links to useful information for users and information about how other companies may participate, visit:
http://www.worldipv6launch.org
Tags: AT&T, Comecast, facebook, Free Telecom, Google, Intermode, IPv6 launch day, June 6 2012, KDDI, Microsoft Bing, Time Warne Cable, World IPv6 Day, XS4ALL, Yahoo
Posted in Facebook, Google, Internet/New Media, IT, Microsoft, Tech Culture | Comments Off
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
 The social media landscape is affecting us all and McCann Truth Central has collected what is calls “12 Truths About Social in 2012,” which it disclosed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Culled from a series of research studies conducted across 19 countries, 30+ focus groups, and 12,000+ online studies, these ‘truths,’ it says, illuminate the impact of the social media landscape on consumers and brands.
Truth #1: The Nature of What’s Private and Public Has Changed
The monumental rise of social networking has caused a huge shift in the nature of what people believe is private. 75% globally agree, “People share far too much information online these days.” (Personally, we suspect trying to regain privacy now is a lost cause for many of us).
Truth #2: There’s no Shame in Being a ‘Stalker’
With the advent of social media outlets, peoples’ walls have come down in the context of personal information. 1 in 3 people have Googled people they hardly know, and 1 in 4 have read a partner or friend’s text messages. (Personally, we would question calling this “stalking,” – TechJournal editor).
Truth #3: Consumers are Spending More Time Monitoring Their ‘Personal Brand’
Consumers around the world admitted to multiple online personalities. In emerging markets like India, 35% of people say that they monitor their online brand by Googling themselves more than once a month. (Once a month? Is that all? – TJ Editor)
Truth #4: Consumers Have a Growing and Complex Ecosystem of Friends
‘Connecting’ to a broader network of friends has replaced the singular need to ‘belong’ to a tight-knit group of friends. 47% of youth globally want to be remembered for the quality and quantity of their connections. (Quantity can sometimes get in the way of finding quality on social networks, we find – TJ editor).
Truth #5: Even within the Complex Online World of Friendships, Consumers Still Know What Makes a Real Friend
In these new, online spaces for people to be social, a lot of fake friends have cropped up. Yet data indicates the values that make a real friend are quite clear. Asked which values they seek in a best friend, young people globally opted for ‘truthful’, chosen by 42%. (We suspect those young people are in for some rude awakenings).
Truth #6: The Need to Broadcast Oneself Is Constant
Southern countries are embracing new technology and are much more keen to share about their lives. 80% of Chileans and 77% of Indians agree that they like sharing thoughts and opinions with friends online, versus only 46% in the UK and 31% inJapan.
Truth #7: Everyone Now Has Some Type of Audience
Truth #8: Everyone will become More Focused on Their Own Online Story
With the introduction of Facebook Timeline people will become even more focused on their own story. (Actually, we know our story, we go to Facebook & Twitter & Google+ to tap into the stories of our friends – TJS editor).
Truth #9: Brands Should become part of Their Consumer’s Personal Stories
As brands offer more events and experiences to consumers, recognize that there is a lifecycle within the consumer timeline – each stage will be reflected through social media.
Truth #10: Social Proof is a Powerful Force in Marketing
Globally, over 90% of 16-30 year olds agree with the statement “if a company or brand impresses me in some way, I will make a point of telling my friends about it.”
Truth #11: If Brands Seeks Advocacy, Make it Worthwhile to The Consumer
37% of the global population known as ‘Savvy Shoppers’ are willing to engage with and socialize with brands and businesses, but want to receive something tangible in return.
Truth #12: When it comes to socializing with brands, customers want value
Globally, 86% of consumers understand that there are major benefits associated with sharing data with businesses online.
TJ Editor Allan Maurer – Allan at TechJournalSouth dot com.
Tags: CES, Google, Las Vegas, McCann Truth Central, personal brand, public vs. private, truths about social media
Posted in Events, Google, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
Friday, January 13th, 2012
Brands are continuing to invest in Facebook advertising and focusing on fan acquisition. Spend in social media advertising is now additive to existing budgets rather than subtracting from other digital media channels, demonstrating the growing investment in the medium.
This is according to Efficient Frontier, a leading performance marketing company managing more than $1.5 billion in marketing spend annually on behalf of advertisers worldwide, and its subsidiary Context Optional, one of the leading providers of social marketing management for global brands and agencies.
Brands grabbing Facebook fans
Brands continued to acquire Facebook fans at 9% per month. Facebook spend share reached 2.7% of biddable online advertising spend in Q4 2011 and is expected to increase fan base by 2x by the end of 2012.
Search spend increased significantly in Q4 of 2011, bolstered by aggressive spending by retailers. Overall, search spend grew 14% Year over Year (YoY) in the United States, while retail specifically grew by 18% YoY and 40% Quarter over Quarter (QoQ), indicating that search is still the primary driver of digital marketing spend.
Mobile clicks less expensive
While Q4 search spend increased significantly, Cost Per Clicks (CPCs) decreased 5% due to a rise in mobile advertising, where clicks are less expensive. Meanwhile, improvements in more efficient ad delivery by search engines resulted in higher click-through rates, and mobile spend became 7-8% of search spend compared to 2% a year ago.
Systems Incorporated announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Efficient Frontier, in a transaction expected to close in the first quarter of Adobe’s 2012 fiscal year.
“Facebook continues to be where marketers are placing new bets by adding advertising spend with a focus on fan acquisition,” said David Karnstedt, President and CEO, Efficient Frontier.
“Mobile search advertising is also an area of significant investment, growing to 7-8% from 2% a year ago. We should expect both channels to grow significantly in 2012.”
Additional Report Highlights
GOOGLE MAINTAINS 80% SPEND SHARE in Q4. Yahoo/Bing clicks yielded 14% more revenue per click (RPC) than Google while also having 9% more Return on Investment (ROI) than Google. Yet Google increased click share by 2.5% YoY indicating the necessity for volume and reach from advertisers, primarily retailers, in Q4.
MOBILE SPEND specifically tablets, is becoming increasingly important for marketers as tablets account for 50% of mobile search spend and 50% of click share.
DISPLAY SPEND remains flat QoQ. However, Google’s Doubleclick increases exchange display market share by 19% YoY. Due to both inventory constraints and shifting strategies by Yahoo for their Right Media Exchange, Google extended significant share gains in biddable display.
EUROPEAN MARKETS showed strong growth in search spend YoY. France increased search spend 70% YoY and Germany 47% YoY indicating heavier investments into online advertising in 2011. The UK has been leading the online marketing industry in Europe and continues to increase search spend 19% YoY.
Outlook for Q1 2012
FACEBOOK SPEND will reach 5% of all online advertising spend by the end of 2012. As marketers improve their ability to acquire and engage Facebook fans, brands will continue to pump incremental spend into Facebook.
MOBILE SEARCH SPEND will make up 16-22% of all paid clicks by the end of 2012. As more mobile devices with full Internet browsing capabilities enter the market, mobile experiences become more robust. This is driving a shift of consumer usage from desktops to mobile devices, ultimately causing mobile advertising to become a key focus for marketers in 2012.
SEARCH SPEND will increase 15-20% in 2012 in the United States. Similar growth is expected internationally, however, the macro economic conditions in Europe may significantly affect this growth.
SEARCH CPCS will further decrease by 4%. The increase of mobile advertising and mobile search spend will contribute to this reduction. Search engine innovations by Google to provide more effective ad delivery will also continue to decrease CPCs.
YAHOO/BING will continue to pursue more ad inventory. Although Yahoo/Bing clicks continue to have better RPC (Return-Per-Click) and ROI, the search engine still needs to increase reach to improve market share. Advertisers are eager to take full advantage of the higher performance Yahoo/Bing provides, but are still looking to do so at scale.
DEVELOPMENTS IN OTHER SOCIAL PLATFORMS such as Google+ and LinkedIn will have a positive impact on social spend and the growth of this competitive space. However, Facebook will still remain the dominant social network and social publishers for advertisers in 2012.
Tags: Bing, brand advertising online, display spend, Efficient Frontier, Facebook advertising, Google, mobile search spend, online ad budgets, Yahoo
Posted in Facebook, infographic, Internet/New Media, Marketing, social media, Studies, surveys, reports | Comments Off
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