Social Media University, Global (SMUG)
Suus Non Ut Difficile • Home of the SMUGgles
Jeremiah Owyang, a social media/web strategist from the Bay Area, attended the Ragan Strategic PR conference in Chicago where I presented in September, and blogged about the conference here. His site looks to be a good resource for learning about social media, and his is one of the feeds I’ll be reading.
Technorati: Ragan, PR, Social Media
An oxymoron like congressional ethics, pretty ugly, criminal justice, only choice, original copy or jumbo shrimp?
No, I discovered it when I was reading Janet Johnson’s article on “type-ins.” I clicked through to the CNNMoney article she referenced, and up came the story, complete with one of the Apple computer personification ads with the sound turned off. It gives the opportunity to click to hear the sound, but otherwise it’s just another graphic on the page.
I’ve seen reports that video advertising is going to be big, but I didn’t know how it could work and not do more damage than good. Rule #1 is not to annoy your potential customers. I’ve seen some sites where the video launches automatically, and it can be jarring and annoying when the car dealer’s commercial comes blaring through.
If the ads are visually distinctive as this one is, I can see this might be a way to have a successful and non-annoying web video advertising campaign that isn’t purely viral.
Technorati: Video, Advertising, Apple, Web
The New York Times reports this morning that wireless carrier T-Mobile has launched a trial in Seattle of phones that use both cellular and wireless internet connections, which could improve reception in areas of weak cellular signals while enabling users to stretch their cellular minutes.
The first phones, which are available to consumers in Seattle on a trial basis, link to T-Mobile’s cellular network outdoors and to Wi-Fi routers at homes, in offices and in other locations like airports and hotels. This lets customers avoid using some of their cellular minutes and increases coverage in places where signals are typically weak, like basements and rooms without windows.
To gain access to the service, called T-Mobile HotSpot @Home, customers must buy a phone that works on both networks. T-Mobile is selling a choice of two handsets that cost $49.99 for customers who sign up for a two-year rate plan for at least $39.99 a month. Subscribers are charged $19.99 a month in addition to their regular cellular plan fees.
The dual-use phone service may appeal most to younger consumers who do not have a traditional phone line and rely solely on cellular phones and broadband lines.
“For the below-30 age segment, it’s a no-brainer,” said Roger Entner, a wireless industry analyst at Ovum, a consulting firm. “This is also a threat for other wireless carriers because it fixes the problem of poor coverage inside homes.”
When my two oldest children went away to college last year, cell phone reception in their dorm rooms was spotty, to put it charitably. Even though we had free in-network mobile-to-mobile minutes, we found ourselves needing to call their land line to get a clear connection.
Vonage’s advertising has been creative and memorable, particularly spot in which the circling dorsal fins near the beach lead the young lady to exclaim: “The dolphins! Let’s go play with the dolphins!” It’s also led to some creative spoofs:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2B4jjt6Tvk]
A phone that uses wi-fi wherever you find it (not just at home) and can use cellular signals when necessary looks even more like “a smart decision in a sea of stupid ones.” I can’t imagine how this trial won’t be popular and successful, particularly since it may reduce T-Mobile’s need to invest in more cellular towers.
Mobile VoIP is one more reason to get rid of the land line, as our family did last year. Some people will opt for DSL, while others will use cable. In the not-too-distant future, there will be no need for anyone to have both.
And with some communities going to city-wide Wi-Fi, it all comes down to lots more competition for the telcos. The Times says Sprint is working to develop a similar service. If this experiment works in Seattle, imagine how well it will go over in a Wi-Fi city like Philly.
Technorati: T-Mobile, Wi-Fi, Wireless, Vonage, Cell Phone, VoIP, DSL, Sprint
The Post has another article about click fraud and how some internet advertisers are attempting to band together to fight back:
In the past year, industry analysts say, new forms of click fraud have emerged from the shadows of masked operations into plain view on the Internet. Dozens of Web sites offer to pay people to sit and click on ads, or to type certain words into search engines for hours at a time. Some sites have forums where people swap click-fraud tips.
Advertisers, who often pay for online ads only when someone clicks on them, have been crying foul and complaining to federal regulators. They’ve also sued the Internet’s largest ad networks, Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., which earlier this year settled class-action lawsuits by advertisers.
A new lawsuit was filed last month in Pennsylvania seeking class-action status against Google. The FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating click fraud.
On-line advertising is gaining phenomenally because the results supposedly have been better than those for the 30-second spot. I wonder how the problem of click fraud compares with the problem of people skipping the commercials when they use TiVo or another DVR.
It’s a different kind of issue, but the same effect: paying for an audience that isn’t seeing the ad. Click fraud is malevolent and deceptive, more like a RICO activity. TiVoing is just an individual’s decision to fast-forward through the commercial.
With click fraud, the advertisers lose because they may be paying a dime for each click (although the price varies depending on the demand for the search term). The person doing the clicking loses too, because at half a penny a click, if they can click on 10 ads a minute (waiting for the sites to refresh so they can click again), that’s a nickel a minute or $3 an hour. Google and Yahoo (and the web sites that receive the fraudulent traffic, and whose owners must be behind the click-fraud rings) are the winners.
Still, I wonder which is the bigger economic problem for advertisers: skipping broadcast ads or fake clicks on web ads?
Technorati: TiVo, Click Fraud, Google, Yahoo, On-Line Advertising
Earlier today I saw an article called “A Messy Age for Music” about digital music on the Washington Post site. It was part of a package the Post put together on the iPod’s 5th birthday.
I thought the article was pretty informative, but just took issue with a quote that essentially equated the iPod with Betamax or 8-Track tapes. Maybe it’s just that we’re an eight-iPod family that makes it personal for me, but I just believe that with this week’s announcement that Apple sold 8.73 million iPods in the last quarter, and bringing the cumulative total to more than 67.6 million, it’s pretty unlikely that Apple’s AAC format is going to become obsolete and unplayable.
I searched the web to find how many total 8-track units had been sold, and couldn’t find a figure. Anybody have a number on that? I’m betting it was significantly less than 67 million, and that the critical mass for the iPod format will keep it from becoming obsolete.
So I blogged about it, and linked back to not only that article, but all of the articles in the series.
Then, as I was reviewing traffic to my blog tonight, I realized something interesting: several readers had gotten to my post through the Washington Post site. When I clicked back I discovered this:
Since this is powered by Technorati, I assume it’s important that you “ping” Techhnorati in order to be included in the listings. I have used the free service pingoat to ping Technorati and several other blog engines.
I had seen and heard some articles about how the Post “gets” the conversation of the blogosphere. It was neat to experience it first-hand, and to write a letter to the editor that was essentially published instantly.
Technorati: Technorati, Washington Post, iPod, Blogging, Pingoat, Betamax, 8-Track
