tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233806422024-02-06T18:42:18.278-08:00Media MonopolyThe one who controls the most communication wins!David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-57242528791770238842014-03-25T23:26:00.001-07:002014-03-25T23:27:29.724-07:00Facebooks Oculus - Social Interface of the Future<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Facebook closed on a $2 billion acquisition of virtual reality interface controller <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+OculusRiftOfficial/posts">Oculus</a>. The company has mastered the creation of goggles that provide a dual-screen, full-eye exposure interface display that immerses you into a digital first person environment. That's a mouthful to appreciate and in my impression, it was a mouthful to keep down as I nearly got sick in using them myself. The visual response controls are very good; perhaps too good.<br />
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Recently I tried Oculus at the local Dave & Busters and played an offroad'n driving experience. It was a pretty realistic game and visual experience. I nearly got sick using them which was probably more due to the offroad'n style game that moved me display in unexpect ways that left me twirled. So perhaps that game wasn't my cup of tea, but the idea is clear, as your head physically moves in orientation, the stereoscopic goggles adjust your visual perspective to provide a first-person 3D virtual reality that is quite a uniquely real experience.<br />
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What will Facebook do with such a device. Unfortunately very little. They are <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/03/25/microsoft-should-have-acquired-oculus-rift-not-facebook/">buying cool talent</a>, not the gaming hardware. If these VR interfaces did reach the masses, we could see several uses like a <a href="http://secondlife.com/">SecondLife</a> in a real-time VR experience with your social network. However if Google Glass is any comparison though, users will be slow to adjust. People just don't expect a computer screen to constantly be in front of their eyes. It's just a bit too immersive and I doubt that anyone could wear them for much longer than 5 minutes at a time without being disorientated and needing several minutes to compensate (almost like decompression after scuba diving!).<br />
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The user interface of the future isn't here yet; but when it comes, I honestly think Microsoft is well positioned with Kinect which comes loaded with the ability to detect a persons gestures from across the living room to control a television... now there you've got it. Unfortunately any even if Microsoft has a leg up, they will fail to take it to the next level and it will be another 10 years until someone else does it.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-78012801002753429692009-10-25T13:45:00.000-07:002009-10-26T07:26:46.810-07:00Website Publishers Not Responsible for Unlawful AdvertisersFor the past years, online advertising products have been used by somewhat questionable businesses. Like many local businesses, adult related services such as female companions and tobacco shops have taken advantage of the internet to gain new customers, but ad network giants Google, Yahoo and MSN have blocked some types of ads in discretion of their general user audience as well as legal compliance. The <a href="http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=16866">Google Adwords policy</a> in the US was recently changed to no longer accept ads related to adult, tobacco and alcohol. While Adwords may be off limits, LocalSplash continues to support these types of businesses to leverage Google Maps and allow internet users to find <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Female+Escorts,+Los+Angeles+CA&hl=en&ei=c7nkSrn-LKPGugPejJTbCQ&sll=34.051146,-118.247329&sspn=0.006295,0.008017&ie=UTF8&view=map&cid=1689314577162717381&hq=Female+Escorts,+Los+Angeles+CA&hnear=&ll=34.075928,-118.390625&spn=0.007634,0.013078&t=h&z=17&iwloc=A">female escorts services</a> for example.<br /><br />It has been questioned if ad agencies and web publishers have a legal responsibility to ensure that their advertisers are legitimate and acting within the law. Online classified website Craigslist was accused by a sheriff in Chicago to be soliciting prostitution by allowing for females to post ads for sexual services on their network. The judge ruling in the matter dismissed the case and states in his <a href="http://blog.craigslist.org/dart.dismissed.pdf">20 page legal discourse</a> that:<br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Intermediaries are not culpable for 'aiding and abetting' their customers who misuse their services to commit unlawful acts.</blockquote>This is a <span style="font-weight: bold;">major win</span> for online ad publishers. It establishes precedence that web publishers aren't liable for potential wrongdoings of their clients products or services.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It's not surprising</span>, Newspapers, after all, have always retained a degree of isolation. It would seem bizarre to hold the LA Times responsible for an advertisement of an illegal product or service. Can you imagine blaming the newspaper when a private party advertises and sell stolen goods, or an unlicensed practitioner performing their services, or for that matter any false advertisement? Unless the publishing company is somehow further involved in selling or delivering the service, or <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-google-trademarks23-2009sep23,0,5714471.story">violates a trademark</a>, the act of displaying the ad does not make them responsible for potential illegal activity that subsequently occurs. The same rationale should be applied to the online world.<br /><br />Related to this legal precedence is the 1st Amendment, freedom of speech, which allows most publications to state or show any content they desire. Publishers generally apply editorial policies that are in line with what their audience find acceptable. At my company, <a href="http://www.relevantads.com/">RelevantAds</a>, we take significant efforts to ensure the validity and accuracy of the businesses we advertise for; but it would be nearly impossible for us to perform diligence on our clients are ensure that they are procuring products or services in a legal manner.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-6137606119504444512009-09-18T08:43:00.000-07:002009-09-18T09:11:46.020-07:00Newspapers and Magazines are Assimilated by Google FastFlipGoogleLabs introduces a novel way to preview many periodicals at once.<br /><br /><center><br /><a href="http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/"><img src="http://images.esold.com/Monopoly/Fast-Flip-Assimilates-Newspapers.png" alt="Fast Flip Periodicals and Newspapers" /><br /><br /><br /><i>Google Fast Flip</i></a><br /></center><br /><br />Google Fast Flip rapidly crawls and updates articles from major print magazines and news publishers. The display is rendered through Googles servers as still graphic which allows nearly any safe browsing with nearly all browsers including <i>mobile devices</i>.<br /><br /><h2>Loosing The User</h2><br />The article is linked to the source website of the publisher, however most users will likely stay on the Google image view.<br /><br />This is perhaps a double edge sword for print publishers. On the one hand, news publishers may experience some new sources of traffic from Google users that would not otherwise found the article. However, the fact that users can stay within the Google image view of the article means <b>less eyeballs on newspaper and magazine ads</b>.<br /><br />While this labs incarnation is in its infancy, I wouldn't be surprised to find fast flip a mainstream portal on desktops and mobile devices alike.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-62286062391082797882008-10-22T06:23:00.000-07:002008-10-22T02:49:11.381-07:00Google Adwords Lets More Ads Display - No More Minimum Bids<h2>Adwords does away with minimum bids.<br /></h2> In a run for more revenue Google does away with minimum bid levels. Advertisers previously had to bid a minimum amount per-click in order to even show up in search results. The minimum bid system did well in letting advertisers know the market going rate for advertising leads in their industry; however a major drawback was that it prevented advertisers from taking<br />advantage of smaller opportunities, such as a local campaign.<br /><br /> Minimum bid levels are driven by aggregate keyword auction, but when that auction takes places in a specific region, the competition can be very different. A minimum bid meant that the cost would be artificially increased to the average market values.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Keyword Expansion</span><br />Our <a href="http://relevantads.com/results/search-stats.aspx">local search marketing</a> strategy has always included a broad expansion of keyword terms and permutations, sometimes taking advantage of up to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">2,000 keywords</span> per ad-group. This new change means that ads which were deemed below the minimum threshold will now surface. Our long-tail, expansive keyword work is now paying off by potentially providing more leads at the same or lower costs… incidentally it is also paying Google.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Economic Timing</span><br /> It is perhaps more than a coincidence that the timing of this comes at a time when the economy and future earning revenues may be compromised. The elimination of minimum bid will more than likely bring in additional revenue.<br /><br />Google KB – <a href="http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=100348">what happened to minimum bids</a><br />Google KB – <a href="http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=100350">what does the removal of inactive for search mean</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">User Outlook</span><br /> One user benefit to minimum bids was to prevent spam-like ads from showing. We may see resurgence in <a href="http://searchengineland.com/search-arbitrage-web-blight-or-brilliant-marketing-strategy-10768.php">arbitrage</a> as advertisers take advantage of the bake sale on long-tail keywords.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-77430533038457897172008-08-10T17:37:00.000-07:002008-08-11T16:12:51.554-07:00Domain Name Length of Top 500 Websites<h2>Is there an optimal domain name length?</h2>The most popular websites have one thing in common; they're short! In <a href="http://www.alexa.com/site/sales"> analyzing the top sites identified by Alexa</a>, we see that the average domain length is 6 characters.<br /><div style="border-top: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 4px 0pt 14px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0% 0%; overflow: auto; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; height: 200px; width: 284px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr class="header"><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>Rank</td><td>Web Site</td><td>Length</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>1</td><td>yahoo.com</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>2</td><td>google.com</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>3</td><td>youtube.com</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>4</td><td>live.com</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>5</td><td>msn.com</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>6</td><td>myspace.com</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>7</td><td>wikipedia.org</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>8</td><td>facebook.com</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>9</td><td>blogger.com</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;"><br /></td><td>10</td><td>yahoo.co.jp</td><td>5</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><img src="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Top-Websites-Domain-Name-Length.png" /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Chart 1.</span><br />The surge of 6 characters names isn't coincidental; "Google" alone accounts for 46 of these with country specified sites such as google.fr, google.com.mx and of course google.com. My associate, <a href="http://relevantads.com/OurTeam.aspx#mrosenthal">Mike Rosenthal</a>, is quick to point out that the most important website is in fact a misspelling of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Googol">Googol</a>. Subtracting the internet giant from this analysis, we still find that 6 is the most common length.<br /><img src="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Top-Websites-Domain-Name-Length-No-Google.png" /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Chart 2.<br /></span> Here is a breakdown showing the percentage of sites that are less than or equal to the domain length.<br /><img src="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Percentage-Top-Websites-Domain-Name-Length-No-Google.png" /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Chart 3.</span><br /><br /> This shows that 90% of the top internet sites are under 10 characters in length. However the majority of domains are at least <a href="http://www.yafla.com/dennisforbes/Interesting-Facts-About-Domain-Names/Interesting-Facts-About-Domain-Names.html">11 characters</a> in length according to Dennis Forbes finding. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /> <h2>PageRank Benefits Shorter Domain Names</h2></span> Some search engine experts have long suspected that search algorithms may bias ranking of websites based upon the domain name length. While this study isn't looking at the full landscape of domain name, we can see the trend among the top 500. So is a small domain name have some algorithmic benefit in Page Rank? Or is magic number? It reasons that the smaller domains are typically older and more well established; factors that would contribute positively towards PageRank.<br /><img src="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Top-Websites-Domain-Name-Length-PageRank.png" /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Chart 4.<br /></span> According to this chart, the shorter domains tend to have Summary of interesting points about the top 500 websites-<br /><ul><li>Average Length: 6</li><li>Average PageRank: PR=6.5</li><li>Count of ".com"'s: 300</li><li>Number of domains that contain a dash: 12 with an average PR=5.6<br /></li></ul>Notes:<br /> Maximum domain name length: 63 characters, plus 4 for ".ext" (previous limit<br />was 26).<br /> Average domain name length of all domains registered: 11<br /> Average PageRank (presumed) of all domains registered: 1 <b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:navy;" ><br /><br />David Rodecker</span></b> <span style=";font-family:Arial;color:navy;" >Founder &<br /> CTO, </span><a href="http://relevantads.com/" title="http://relevantads.com/"><span style="font-family:Arial;">RelevantAds</span></a> <b><i><span style="">“getting local<br /> business online"</span></i></b>David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-1931490730636826942008-03-14T20:23:00.000-07:002008-03-14T20:30:16.856-07:00Metrics in Online Marketing<p>I presented this to <span style="font-size:130%;">CSULB Business School</span> : <span style="font-size:130%;">Marketing 437</span> this past Wednesday.<br />The first portion of the presentation covers basic elements to online metrics, test and evaluation.<br />The second half focuses shows a value for search results by position and provides a means to calculate organic search result value.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Key points</span>:<br /></p> <ul><li>Online advertising should be measured, tracked and tested to achieve measured results,</li><li>Traditional search engine marketing charges CPC, gives the marketer the <i>feeling of CPA</i>, but actually charges CPI (inclusion) over time,</li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Organic placement value</span> can be estimated given the CPC rates.</li></ul><br /><br /><iframe src='http://docs.google.com/EmbedSlideshow?docid=ddqcfmcr_69gjf678gw' frameborder='0' width='410' height='342'></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Conclusion:</span><br />Measuring changes in a websites performance is fundamental to success. Changes in organic placement ranking is a new marketing methodology that can deliver substantial, and measurable value.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-50582943476955530252008-02-27T00:17:00.000-08:002009-10-17T07:15:29.178-07:00AOL/Time Warner Takes Over Unclaimed DomainsCable broadband users are saying goodbye to "Page cannot be found" and hello to ads. AOL's subsidiary ISP, Road Runner Time Warner has <del>taken all the unused names on the internet</del> <span style="font-style: italic;color:blue;" >captured all the non-claimed domains on the internet</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.esold.com/blog/DNS-landing-page.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://images.esold.com/blog/DNS-landing-page.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>Normally when a users enters an invalid domain name they will receive a 4o4 page not found error, however by applying a method called wildcard DNS, users will instead be shown a <a href="http://ww23.rr.com/index.php?origURL=relevant%20ads">landing page</a> containing mostly ads.<br /><br />Yahoo is powering the sponsored listings and the advertising arrangement should provide sizable revenue for the Time Warners ISP. Yahoo has several similar arrangements with domain aggregators which similarly allow advertising on unused domain URLs; this deal will considerably extend Yahoo's much needed advertising reach in the U.S.<br /><br />You <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/09/16/all_your_web_typos/">may remember</a> that VeriSign did this in 2003, redirecting all bad .com and .net URLs. A move which affected nearly every internet user and enraged many online communities eventually pushing VeriSign to reverse the change. Since then the user acceptance of advertising-only websites has grown. Time Warner might skirt criticism because of its smaller footprint and cautious implementation. A key difference is that Time Warner allows a simple, non-intrusive way to opt-out of the wildcard DNS.<br /><br />Although some <a href="http://rgov.org/road-runners-dns-wildcard">customers are offended</a>; it can be expected that other ISPs will eventually follow suit in the pursuit of top-end revenue. From my vantage point, this reinforces the value of the search engine, a place where the <a href="http://relevantads.com/results/search-stats.aspx">majority of users already start their daily internet</a> routine.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><b><span style=";font-family:Arial;color:navy;" >David Rodecker</span></b> is the </span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:navy;" >President of <a href="http://relevantads.com/" title="http://relevantads.com/">RelevantAds</a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">, a search engine optimization company that delivers highly targeted search result placements and provides specific solutions in getting <a href="http://relevantads.com/">local businesses online.</a></span>David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-1878925538107319192007-12-05T18:07:00.000-08:002007-12-05T19:22:33.393-08:00Newspapers online growth stifledThe newspapers industries growth into online ad sales has slowed according to the Newsosaur. The results found that newspapers trailed are growing 20% slower than other online media companies.<br /><br />While growth of 21% vs. an industry average of 26% isn't shabby; considering their long head-start and position; its a crying shame. This is 1) a demonstration that the newspapers are failing to deliver for advertisers and 2) an indication that the fragmentation in online sales companies is being successful in chipping away customers.<br /><br />Problems for the Newspapers include:<br /><ul><li> Ability to perform on online product that makes sense for multiple price points</li><li> Salesmanship to demonstrate accurately quote customers</li><li> Reliance on top categories (real-estate, auto and jobs); the real-estate market slow down combined with the fragmentation in online destinations for cars and careers)</li><li> Inability to produce a viable product for 2nd and 3rd tier categories, such as plumbers and dentists.</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Missing Real Online Product</span>!<br />The newspapers haven't been able to crack an online product that truly works for their local advertisers. It's ironic that the local newspaper can handle an international company such as Toyota versus the local <a href="http://www.abtutoring.com/">tutor in Orange County</a>.<br /><br />Therein lies the opportunity that many SEM and SEO companies have fulfilled. I am President of RelevantAds, which specializes in bringing <a href="http://relevantads.com/">local businesses online</a>. We see first hand that the advertising dollars shifting away from print companies.<br /><br />Local companies generally invest in just <span style="font-weight: bold;">one advertising medium</span>; however when going online they want to be found whenever relevant. The package must be simple; place my business any time there is a potential customer; and that is just what local search lets you do. A newspapers website doesn't have nearly the reach capable to deliver anything of value here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Further Problems</span><br />Online ad sales is also a natural outcome given the fact <a href="http://media-monopoly.blogspot.com/2007/09/google-maps-vs-yellow-pages-users-are.html">distribution is also shrinking</a>. Many reports indicate that traditional <a href="http://media-monopoly.blogspot.com/2007/09/local-search-kills-online-yellow-pages.html">print media is shrinking</a> in readship. The onslaught of <a href="http://www.google.com/reader/shared/09013581056279196867">blog feeds</a> and <a href="http://digg.com/tech_news/The_Wall_Street_Journal_gets_cozy_with_Digg?t=11055760#c11055760">Digg</a> largely replacing the way that people read news. Altogether, the Newspapers have a daunting prospectus; local businesses need to shop for advertising elsewhere.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-80578952497276525812007-11-17T09:50:00.000-08:002007-11-17T10:57:33.532-08:00Facebook beats out MyspaceNovember 15th may be D-Day for mySpace. The <a href="http://media-monopoly.blogspot.com/2007/10/facebook-revolution.html">social uprising of Facebook</a> has pushed it up to the most popular site social network on the net according to Alexa.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://image.esold.com/blog/mySpace-Facebook-Alexa-overtake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://image.esold.com/blog/mySpace-Facebook-Alexa-overtake.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Perhaps this progression is obvious considering that Facebook essentially gets all the mySpace users as they mature, graduate high-school and college. So in time, Facebook will win.<br /><br />Although mySpace had already declared victory in the social network space over Facebook (<a href="http://mashable.com/2007/07/11/myspace-versus-facebook/">Pete Cashmere reported on Mashable</a>); it has became obvious that their growth rate would push them over the top.<br /><br /><h2>Google vs. Microsoft</h2>mySpace and Facebook are the states at battling it out here, but the cold war is between search giants Google and Microsoft since they supply hundreds of millions of dollars to mySpace and Facebook respectively. Microsoft has obtain a substantial advertising distribution in Facebook, desperately needed in order for the software company to sustain its mark online. However <a href="http://media-monopoly.blogspot.com/2007/11/opensocial-end-of-new-social-networks.html">Google has responded by taking countermeasures</a> which will stifle the growth of new social destinations and thereby prevent Microsoft from gaining more traction.<br /><br /><h2>Can Facebook Gain Even Higher Ground?</h2>Facebooks CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has suggested that his site could <a href="http://media-monopoly.blogspot.com/2007/10/facebook-revolution.html">take over Google</a> in terms of popularity, however that is merely a dream since the majority of users use the internet for information retrieval (search). So Facebooks, market growth will now come more from increasing page views versus new registrations.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-50070035247656808622007-11-03T09:52:00.000-07:002007-11-15T05:29:56.798-08:00OpenSocial - the end of new social networks?<span style="font-weight: bold;">The End of New Social Networks</span><br />Social websites are still popping up and gaining traction. Their continual rise and expansion has created a land-grab game between the major online property holders including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft and several 2nd tier organizations .<br /><br />Google has already heavily invested in social clubs including <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.siliconbeat.com%2Fentries%2F2006%2F08%2F07%2Fnews_corp_scores_900m_from_google_a_coup.html&ei=Yq8sR_HUEomIpwT_79iRBQ&usg=AFQjCNHIKCNGLpAK6mNREAOx5l5-6wxqgw&sig2=7ZQOymWWS0ezmcS5e9QWdA">MySpace for $900MM</a>, <a href="http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/google_youtube.html">YouTube for $1.65B</a> among others. Their only intent is to simply lock in the advertising distribution on these sites.<br /><br />While Google has established online dominance, Microsoft has got a big leg in by picking up Facebook (<a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/25/business/face.php">$240MM investment and advertising deal</a>). While these sites are fighting it out, will there ever be an end to the next best social network taking gaining equity to the tune of millions of dollars? It's as if new ocean front property was developed in front your existing million dollar estates.<br /><br /><img src="http://images.esold.com/blog/myspace-facebook-alexa.jpg" /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OpenSocial: What Is It?</span><br />In response, Google launched <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/">OpenSocial</a>, a product standard that allows <a href="http://subscribedlinks.blogspot.com/2007/11/opensocial-has-two-uses.html">web programmers</a> to incorporate 3rd party information tools and share their own content. Website owners will embrace the technology since it allows them to expand to the oer 250MM users in the OpenSocial network.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OpenSocial Reinforces Googles Market Dominance</span><br />On the surface OpenSocial is seen merely a response to the <a href="http://media-monopoly.blogspot.com/2007/10/facebook-revolution.html">Facebook API</a>. However the larger implication of OpenSocial is that is minimizes the possibility that a new or upcoming website could overtake a larger property in the OpenSocial network. The OpenSocial network partners will fortify their relative positions rather than be concerned about being displaced by competition.<br /><br />This is good news for Google since they already has a monopoly of the advertising on the <a href="http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/partners.html">OpenSocial parter websites</a>, so they've locked in revenue stability and allowed them to be less concerned about the "next best thing".<br /><br />Of course the jury is not out yet as the OpenSocial standard has yet to take root and Facebook could be a hold out for adopting it. Nevertheless, with big names like MySpace, LinkedIn, Ning and others, the writing is on the wall.<br /><br />Don't expect to see many more social networks popping up to a $10B valuation. Even if a new niche is found, it will likely be assimilated into the OpenSocial fabric and merely be embedded feature into myLinkedSpaceBook profile.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-43204760582936593922007-10-22T09:05:00.001-07:002008-11-12T21:52:17.892-08:00Operating System Under the Hood - Windows Automotive<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsautomotive/default.mspx"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpe5gZY4HsNTscga4JzyvBV2S_Z4-pvILu-pkt6ERKQiCF7q4vpbuU02vfvEpaQRdshKTDSIMhbfJ07fTeUum2vwkiZAdW1LaDKWyBgljoZdT_-M-3l8bgy_binZT5NGdoG63NCA/s320/windows_automotive.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124221492130373058" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://image.esold.com/image.esold.com/blog/windows_automotive.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://image.esold.com/image.esold.com/blog/windows_automotive.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />"<span style="font-style: italic;">Where do you want to go today?</span>" could again be Microsoft trademark. The software giant has deployed its mobile operating system to the car dashboard. Named <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windowsautomotive/default.mspx">Windows Automotive</a>, the key benefits include:<br /><ul><li>Entertainment system control</li><li>Mobile Phone integration</li><li>Digital music player</li><li>Voice activated commands</li><li>Wireless integration with iPod </li><li>Address book, contact information</li></ul><br />It's essentially a modified version of their PocketPC, Microsofts cell phone OS; a combination of Windows Media Player and Outlook. Its about time Microsoft makes some headway in getting passed the desktop.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Big Partners</span><br />Expect to see the Windows Automotive OS in Ford, Lincoln and Mercury which will have the OS pre-installed; however several other manufacturers are allowing the vehicle upgrade including: Acura, BMW, Daimler-Chrysler, Fiat, Subaru, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Volvo.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Where's Google?</span><br />It has been rumored that Google will release a mobile operating system. While the search giant doesn't specialize in OS software, they are interested in seeing their solutions, such as Mapping and collaboration freely used. Noticeably missing from the integration with Ford is mapping technology. While Microsoft is charging the automobile manufacturers and ultimately consumers for the software, Google would be likely give away their version by subsidizing it with mapped advertising.<br /><br />Would you like the car with 6 or 8 cylinder; leather or cloth interior... and finally: Microsoft or Google dashboard?David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-37453126031926594592007-10-11T22:11:00.000-07:002007-11-03T10:59:05.910-07:00The Facebook Revolution<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">What is Facebook?<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Facebook is a social network that allows college students to share information about themselves such as contact info, photos, events and other social media. In order to immerse into the experience, users need to connect and verify their friends, acquaintances and schools.<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /><!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Attaining the 25+ Age Demographic<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While the company strives to grow both internationally and in the 25+ age group, the site is a school-centric social network.<span style=""> </span>School graduates are seemingly left out of the mix having to create their own alma-mater groups and regional.<span style=""> </span>The only users that it will largely have over 25 are those which have aged with the service.<span style=""> </span>To escape that limitation, the site is allowing </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><br /><b style="">Revolution Starts with Third Party Integrations<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Recently Facebook has implemented programming tools allowing software developers to extend Facebook with new functionality and content sharing.<span style=""> </span>Application integrations also allow partners to monetize, for example through ad-displays.<span style=""> </span>User opt-in for the 3<sup>rd</sup> party application and then the tool displays on their personal profile page.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p><b style="">New Business Models<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other, mostly smaller social networks are getting involved by integration with Facebook.<span style=""> </span>The opportunity to gain viral attention through a Facebook integration is seen as a shortcut to growth so any My-New-Social-Website.com can integrate their functionality with Facebook.<span style=""> </span>Companies like <a href="http://mashable.com/2007/06/26/facebook-frenzy/">Slide are specializing and acquiring</a> applications that specifically leverage Facebook users.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>Major social sites, like LinkedIn or MySpace are apprehensive to open their doors to the Facebook integrations as it could compromise their authority as a destination.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="">Big Sites with Big Sights<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks founder and CEO has his sites on dominating in the <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style=""> </span>In <a href="http://developers.facebook.com/videos.php">his address</a>, Zuckerberg suggests that they can overtake Google in terms of popularity.<span style=""> </span>While the services are not related to those of the search giant, the comparison rings well with potential investors.<br /><br />Facebook is where people: talk, share, entertain, and spend a lot of time browsing... there we hopefully be able to derive endless applications to thrive on that.<span style=""> </span><br /><br />Google is where users to go to find what they need; however the search giant is not known as being very responsive to the development community. <span style=""> </span>It is rumored that Google is seeking to attain a level of <a href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/21/google-to-out-open-facebook-on-november-5/">100% programmability</a>; allowing anyone, users, developers, business development companies, to fulfill all their online desires.<span style=""> </span>This Worldly intent, if successful, would not replace Facebook, but it would certainly put them in their place.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-66016927381090966942007-09-28T21:54:00.000-07:002007-09-29T01:33:49.881-07:00Local search kills online yellow pagesThe online yellow pages sites: SuperPages, YellowPages, and CitySearch depend on user reach for their livelihood. In contract to social engines like Yelp which strive for page views; yellow page business advertisers expect high degree of reach, meaning exposure to a wide audience.<br /><br /> The problem is that the daily reach of internet yellow page sites has been consistently decreasing for over the past year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Slow Death</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Alexa-Google-Internet-Yellow-Pages.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Alexa-Google-Internet-Yellow-Pages.png" alt="Google Kills Yellow Pages" border="0" /></a><br /> As I found before, the term <a href="http://media-monopoly.blogspot.com/2007/09/google-maps-vs-yellow-pages-users-are.html">yellow pages is dying</a> in terms of consumer awareness. As well, the actual traffic to the internet yellow page sites is suffering. The writing was on the wall when Google Local first was launch, but the downward took effect when Google Local Ads were made available - allowing our company to place over 1,200 local business listings nearly overnight. The death nail was delivered with the inclusion of local business information in Google search results. Since Google introduced these features, a progressive downward slope has continued. It seems that as users have found the local business information in their search engine, the have weaned off of the traditional yellow page sites. Considering that over 81% of users start their internet experience at the search engine, I would expect to see the IYPs this pattern to continue.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Am I Stuck?</span><br /> If you are a yellow pages advertiser, consider this like you would a stock ticker. There will not be a rebound or a valuable acquisition, so take a deep breath, get out of those contracts and get out while you can! If they try to hold your feet to the fire on a contract, I would be quick to point out that their product has lost over 50% of its reach in one year; perhaps you should even get a refund.<br /><br /> While there are multiple outlets for online advertising, search is the most effective and delivers the highest return on investment. The sooner you focus on Google, the better - having a long-standing history is beneficial for getting a <a href="http://relevantads.com/results/search-trifecta.aspx">tri-fecta</a>, placed with higher ranking in Google Maps, Web results as well as Sponsored Placement.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">About the Author</span><br />David Rodecker is President of <a href="http://relevantads.com/">RelevantAds</a>, a service that gets <a href="http://relevantads.com/relevantyellow.aspx">local businesses online</a> through local search. RelevantAds provides highly targeted search placement and advertising packages for small to medium size businesses and franchises across the United States.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-69353657986939635122007-09-25T22:25:00.000-07:002007-09-29T01:36:13.712-07:00Google Maps vs. Yellow pages, users have decidedThe writing has been on the wall for years, Yellow pages is loosing place in the market. There have been surveys, speculations and studies, but here is a clear indication that users are taking notice.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Yellow Pages Loosing Brand Identification</span><br /> If you haven't used it already, Google Trends is a nifty tool to view and compare the historical popularity of search terms. Here is a comparison of <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Google Maps (blue)</span>, <span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Yellow pages (orange) </span>and <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">SuperPages (red)</span>:<br /><br /><img src="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Yellow-Page-Google-Trends.png" alt="Yellow Pages Google Trends" /><br /> Keep in mind that Google Maps was rebranded in April 2006 (from Google Local) and users shouldn't really need to search for the term anyway since it is already linked in the local results as well as above the Google search box.<br />Yellow pages could as well be entered into the URL, but we know that 41% of internet users typing in a query to locate a website, rather than entering that name into the address bar (from DoubleClick/Harris Interactive).<br />Nevertheless, the trend is clear users Google Maps is taken over in brand penetration over Yellow pages. The yellow page brands such as Yellow book and Superpages aren't even close and moving in the same downward direction as the general term "yellow pages".<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Search is Key Distribution</span><br /><img src="http://image.esold.com/monopoly/Google-Property-Popularity.jpg" alt="Google Property Popularity" /><br /> Yellow page companies are not receiving enough user visible for their product make the jump online, however they still have a chance to deliver a viable product to their customers. How? Distribution through search engines. Google Maps is the largest growing section within the Google properties, growing over 20% in the last month according to Hitwise internet traffic sampling. Rather than spiting the competition, they will have to embrace, partner, and resell sponsored coverage in order to get results.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Advertising End Game</span><br /> If only it as simple as writing a check to Google. Equally impressive as the Google Search algorithm is the AdWords marketplace. There are many dimensions in tailoring campaigns, monitoring and managing them to deliver effectively. Individual businesses either hire an online advertising specialist or spend hours managing it themselves; it takes uber technology powerhouse to properly manage 1000's of search marketing campaigns in scale.<br /><a href="http://alacarte.lexisnexis.com/partners/int/google/landingpage.asp?id=21879552&mtid=1&ws=9j0hDk1UboE=&ws_pub=AFX.COM&ws_date=September%207,%202006&ws_len=130&ws_lni=4KV6-V1M0-TWKJ-V1S6-00000-00&ws_lastupdate=20060907&ws_title=R.H.%20Donnelley%20buys%20LocalLaunch%21&ws_refer=http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=rh+donnelley+local+launch&sourceid=navclient-ff&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS177US225&um=1&tab=wn"><br /> RHDonneley has already acquired</a> a search optimization/marketing firm specializing in local listing and I'd expect to see others taking similar courses of action. Print media companies are concerned that buy working closely with Google that they will be ultimately marginalized by the advertising giant. Ultimately, though, they provide something that Google doesn't: reach. While Google is the brand name of users, advertisers are much more aware and trusting of their local newspaper, Chamber of Commerce, network or organization. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Packaging, selling and delivering a simplified online advertising service to offline companies is the land grab opportunity</span> at stake.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-74949070456128117562007-06-09T07:25:00.000-07:002007-06-10T03:24:46.369-07:00Local Business is Different EverywhereLocal businesses have to do a lot to be found online. Users have many options: SuperPages, Yahoo, Google, MSN, Local.com and dozens of IYPs that make up the majority of local search. Businesses are lucky to be accurately found, and even then they're not likely to have their preferred information presented. The problem and is real.<br /><br />In order to get the most exposure to online consumers, businesses need to be well published on as many channels as possible. Unfortunately there is not silver bullet, meaning, you can't rely on any single destination or data provider alone. Even if your business record is verified and enhanced with InfoUSA, that information won't make it everywhere. It is up to the the business owner to provide information to every local business website out there.<br /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>If business owners publish information to destination on their own, the process is seemingly similar. Each requires a business name, phone number, category, description, hours of operation, etc. Now just repeat the process dozens of times to each valuable destination and local directory. At the very least it's time consuming, furthermore, if its not completed right or to the right sites, your might not get any response.</o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p>The chaos has prompted some to called for the standardization of local search information. A standard way to input and output business data. In it's ultimate incarnation, a standard might allow a local business to promote their deals to the whole internet from one place. Unfortunately it's not likely to happen any time soon, if ever.</o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Why? None of the heavyweight information providers will get behind it. Destinations such as Yahoo, Google, SuperPages, which have a large, growing databases of business content are not interested in bulk re-publishing. The destinations are very interested in user submitted information, but bulk publishing leaves the door open for spam. Unless there is substantial lead generation or other financial benefit, we won't find support from the search giants.</p><p class="MsoNormal">This leave the data conglomerates: InfoUSA, Acxiom, and Amacai. <span style=""> </span>Supporting a standard would only be done if their clients asked for it. <span style=""> </span>This might ultimately minimize their differentiation of data.<span style=""> Their customers are more interested in the mass amount and quality of data, not unification of data fields</span>.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Besides lack of corporate support, there are technical issues <a href="http://subscribedlinks.blogspot.com/2007/06/why-local-search-cant-be-standardized.html">why local search can't be standardized</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal">We have seen the <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/11/search-engines-united.html">search gorillas unite</a> on some causes like sitemaps and anti-spam. While it's reasonable for a local business owner to supply their own data, they already did when purchasing their domain. A deeper look or revamp of the whois system should perhaps be considered. Given that whois information is already used in search, it is reasonable to expect that the basic local business information already exists there.</p><p class="MsoNormal">We will sooner see information alliances in other internet content services such as video… it's hard to see YouTube, Joost and the myriad of online video service supporting an open import/export of their content; don’t expect the same from the IYP’s.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p>Disclaimer:<br /></o:p></p><p style="font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">The good news is that a few agencies focus on data syndication rather than privatizing your information. <o:p>I am behind <a href="http://relevantads.com/">RelevantAds</a>, which provides a service that provides rich information to a number of local search destinations and social networks. A key difference with the RelevantYellow versus other services is the inclusion of social networks such as Yelp, CraigsList and InsiderPages. </o:p> In short, it ensures that <a href="http://relevantads.com/relevantyellow.aspx">local businesses get online</a>.</p>David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-21200413518857236132007-05-22T22:41:00.000-07:002007-05-23T03:33:52.279-07:00Classifications of commercial websites<u>Web 1.0:</u><br /> Sites = News/Articles/Entertainment<br /> Advertising = Banners.<br /><br /><u>Web 2.0</u><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BUSINESS</span><br />Sites which advertisers like because they have a perceived or actual value.<br /> Search Engine, Internet yellow page site, Directory, Lead gen-site, Classifieds<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CONSUMER</span><br />I've created a site which people like to use:<br /> Email, Social Network, Online Game<br /><br />Note that there is <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">not</span> a 3rd option: <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">Mixed</span>.<br />Only the top, well executed sites can pull off being both a consumer and business oriented site (ala Google, Craigslist). You cannot be "a social site that combines users and advertisers in a unique way..." as so many business plans these days content.<br /><br />Sites which try to be Business and Consumer oriented generally fail at doing either effectively. History has shown, if you can build the users, advertising revenue will come. Pick your audience, love them and stick with them. Once you turn around and start pushing your users off to other sites (via ad feeds and sponsored links), it will lessen your value to users. Afterall, if the purpose of your consumer site to keep users satisfied on your site? If a sponsored ad is more engaging than your content, you've got a loosing strategy long-term.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-49736313663969198722007-05-04T08:48:00.000-07:002007-05-04T09:45:39.677-07:00Self Generated Content Threatens Traditional Media<p>Those familiar with internet publishing are well aware of the power of user generated content. Media and entertainment executives are now recognizing that the ability and eagerness of proprietors and individual users to create their own content as one of the biggest threats to their business. According to a new survey by Accenture, 57% of the respondents identified the rapid growth of user-generated content as one of the top three challenges they face today. And, 70% of respondents said they believe that social media, one of the largest segments of user-generated content, will continue to grow. The content comes from custom web sites, wikis, social-media blogs<span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span>amateur digital videos, podcasts, mobile phone photography and wikis.<br /><br /><em><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:78%;color:red;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:7;color:red;" ><a title="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B562:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" href="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B562:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" target="_blank"><span title="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B562:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" style="text-decoration: none;"><img id="_x0000_i1026" title="Media Content Growth Study" src="http://image.esold.com/Monopoly/media_content_growth_study.jpg" border="0" height="148" width="348" /></span></a></span></span></i></em><o:p></o:p></p> <p><em><b><i><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:12;" >According to the study:</span></span></i></b></em><br /></p><ul><li>68% of the respondents said they believe that within three years their businesses will be making money on user-generated content</li><li>62% said they believe their companies will make money through advertising and sponsorships of social media</li><li>21% anticipate improved profits from subscriptions</li><li>18% expect profits from pay-per-play offerings</li><li>24% of respondents said they do not yet know how their businesses will profit from user-generated content. </li></ul><br /><p><em><i><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;color:red;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;color:red;" ><a title="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B562:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" href="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B562:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" target="_blank"><span title="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B562:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" style="text-decoration: none;"><img title="Video Content Adult Study" src="http://image.esold.com/Monopoly/video_content_adult_study.jpg" border="0" height="113" width="365" /></span></a></span></span></i></em><br /><br />End-users prefer to consume content that is organically originated from other users. Economic usage patterns show a purchase preference for this information as opposed to the traditional media.<br /></p><p>Why is this happening:</p><p>Internet destinations are rapidly expanding and this includes custom websites, social networks and <a href="http://profiles.relevantyellow.com/">directories</a>. Search engines, such as Google and Yahoo do a fantastic job of identifying the pertinent information. just about anyone with a valuable and distinctive message can have their content found online.<br /></p><h2>Getting Business Owners Online:</h2>This study is further evidence that proprietors and individuals need to take control of their public marketing. Businesses can take that information directly to consumers, bypassing the media giants completely. Businesses are recommended to utilizing a variety of websites such as Yahoo Local, Craigslist, SuperPages, Google, Yelp, business directories and a <a href="http://relevantads.com/relevantyellow.aspx">business profile page</a> to regularly publish information such as to company information, current events and special offers and promote coupons.<br /><p>(source: <span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:85%;"><a title="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B561:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" href="http://whatcounts.com/t?r=5&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;c=929469&l=26942&ctl=174B561:FA0C7DD9ADB2C04A065A04C766C41E6DF84C555F45D8AEFC" target="_blank">IQ Reports</a></span></span></span>)</p>David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-46519268367391661912007-02-16T02:55:00.000-08:002010-01-12T09:14:12.735-08:00Top 10 Problems with Donald Trumps Wealth ExpoI'm up late product developing, TV's on in the background. IT was 30 minutes of banter and fake testimonials, here is one snip from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ZxwCV0ZX0">DT himself</a>. Being too lazy to flip the channel, after hearing for about 20 minutes people saying how easy it is to become a millionaire and that they are now living care free and working less, I decided to rant...<br /><br />While the concept of a learning to make money expo is great, these guys are trying to make it out like they have the secret formula that can easily be learned. Sorry, people, but all of these guys who built wealth did it with unique creativity, luck, skill and yes, knowledge. Here is my beef with the deceptive Wealth Expo marketing:<br /><br /><ol><li>Truth. Are these actors for real, "ANYONE" can do this? Even if that were true, the implication would then be that tens-of-thousands who attend would then be in competition with Trump, et al., afterall, they all just shelled out $100 to follow after him.<br /></li><li>Catch. True, knowledge based trade secrets are never given away. Indeed, the presenters do get paid well I'm sure, but the amount is still minor as compared to their wealth. No, they're not going to give away a coveted secret to repeatable income. The fact is, they're selling you well established, old knowledge.</li><li>RISK. Unless Trump cosigns your loan, there is a risk in getting into real estate. Real Estate investors that were around 30 years ago are not doing the same things now as they did then. Trump has changed his investment portfolio significantly over the years and continues to. Is he able to teach you how to constantly adjust your investment portfolio.<br /></li><li>Help Needed. "I now have 2 or 3 investment properties and making a passive income", was a quick testimonial from a prior attendee. Do you really believe Trump is buying "a" condo these days or even 2 or 3? No, he's building and maybe managing them! And guess what, you're buying them! It sustains an artificial demand where there wasn't before and raises the price. We are still in a real estate bubble, they are of course interested in seeing new recruits to keep it going.</li><li>Expensive Movie. Cost is shown $499 then reduced to $99 "if you act quickly". Who are they kidding? Only nationwide conference charge that level of pricing. These are metro conferences for 10,000's persons should cost a fraction of that... clearly the profit margin is huge.</li><li>Lazy Americans. One of the presenters said: "I don't work anymore and I can tell you how to do the same thing..." If that we're even theoretically true; wouldn't that mean that all of America would become a lazy bunch of people, with nobody actually doing the work.<br /></li><li>Hire Immigrants. (With all the lazy Americans, we might need to). If these real estate professional think that can easily teach their methods, why wouldn't they reduce the ticket price and hire the best attendees!</li><li>Apprentice. Trump hangs out for 60 minutes afterward. It would be really cool if he visited the exhibition hall, talking to the emerging companies; in fact I would have my company be a sponsor! In reality, he patronizes the audience for an hour (remember they shelled $100 for a ticket) and probably half the questions are "How do I get on The Apprentice"... Here's a hint; if you're at this conference, your probably not his ideal candidate!</li><li>Scale. Are we going to see tens-of-thousands of new people in Real Estate every year these guys come to town... opps, I forgot, we already do! But probably a fraction of the new agents, loan officers, etc. got their credential after attending this.</li><li>Learn Real Estate and Ebay. Wow; quite the diversity in wealth formulas. I didn't hear about it in the 30 minute TV ad, but the <a href="http://www.learningannex.com/laexpo">Wealth Expo website</a> said "<span style="font-style: italic;">Become an eBay entrepreneur</span>"</li></ol><br />Anyway all that being said, I'd like to jump in and speak at the event. I have a great product for stay-at-homers to sell! Coincidentally, we're waiting to hear back from LearningAnnex if there are any sponsorship opportunities available.David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-1141433825168813462006-03-03T15:48:00.000-08:002006-11-07T16:48:52.339-08:00MEDIA EXECS REJECT THE REBUNDLING SERVICESA half-dozen top media agency executives put the ongoing debate of a creative-media agency rebundling in no uncertain terms: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"no way"</span>.<br /><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">“The conversation about rebundling doesn’t make much sense to me,” said Mr. Klues, whose group includes Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia. “You’re not going to see us become the media department of a full-service agency.”</ul><br />Publishing and media companies don't want to advertising to become a commodity; big surprise.<br /><br />Fragmentation of publishing outlets is what empowers agencies to be the hub of ad provisioning. Connecting the dots between an advertiser and many publishers would eliminate the agencies job as a middle-man.<br /><br />Although the report doesn't call out who is uniting media, the culprits are clear: Google, Yahoo, MSN, and perhaps eBay.<br /><br />Google; the online search engine is certainly poised to be the network which unifies the media world. Google has made <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20060228/tc_usatoday/googleeyesnewadvenuesoldmedia">acquisitions and buyouts in traditional advertising</a> media: TV, Radio, Magazine, and Newspaper. Google's intentions are clear: offer businesses advertising real estate in any publishing outlet.<br /><br />eBay is also a formidable contender with its <a href="http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&s=38985&amp;Nid=17969&p=198625">proposed eBiz Media Auction Service</a>. In contrast to Google monopolistic tactic of buying out and reselling ad space, eBay would likely offer a more transparent marketplace where publishers would list specific ad units they're willing to auction. Publishers would feel more comfortable knowing that they are still in control of the price and sale, however it would still be brokered through eBay.<br /><br />(portions taken from AdAge: AAR47E)David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23380642.post-1141428660495126032006-03-03T14:55:00.000-08:002006-11-07T16:48:52.285-08:00MEDIA MOGULS SPEAK THEIR ACQUISITION FANTASIES OUT LOUD<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Excerpts taken from AdAge (AAR47F )</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Comcast, Hearst, AOL, ABC, and Google execs recently made acquisition wishes:</span><br /><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-style: italic;">Comcast COO Stephen Burke wants more content, and specifically called out Disney as a desired target.</span></ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Yawn... </span><br /><br /><ul style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Hearst Magazines president Cathleen Black wants to own <u>all</u> of ESPN, instead of their lousy position of just 20%.</ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Okay, so you really don't have any idea where else to grow.</span><br /><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">Michael Kelly, president of AOL Media Networks, says AOL is expected to sell pieces of their business, not buy more.</ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Good thinking after the whole Time Warner debacle. If AOL even suggested a large acquisition, their stock would probably tumble.<br /><br /></span><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">Mike Shaw, ABC Television, admits they need a search engine strategy and regrets the fold of Go.com.</ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Me too, me too! Can I get an operating system to go with that?</span><br /><br /><ul style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-style: italic;">Google's own VP-Advertising Sales Tim Armstrong wants to buy either a grocery store or a car dealership: “Just to see how they work.”</span></ul><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Sounds ridiculous, but what do you expect from the Sales VP regarding M&A? Even if Armstrong had a good M&amp;A thought; I'm sure he withheld it after Google CFO Reyes made a <a href="http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:GOOG&Feed=OBR&amp;Date=20060228&ID=5542705">comment</a> which sparked a 13% gap down in Googles stock price.<br />On the otherhand, I'm sure we'll be seeing "Ads served by Google" in grocery store aisles, digital displays, the back of cashier receipts, and in the dashboards of our navigation systems... so perhaps Armstrong is poised to close the loop by actually owning these ad distribution outlets.<br /></span><br /><!-- Site Meter --><br /><a href="http://s23.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=s23mediamonopoly" target="_top"><br /><img src="http://s23.sitemeter.com/meter.asp?site=s23mediamonopoly" alt="Site Meter" border="0"/></a><br /><!-- Copyright (c)2006 Site Meter -->David Rodeckerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05723327160781202681noreply@blogger.com0