Internet is good!
April 1, 2009
Till two weeks back I’ve been arguing with myself about internet. A part of me felt, internet is awesome & other part felt, it is so intrusive & messed up my real life. I spend more than half of my day on internet. Become more responsive to emails or tweets than anything else. Newspapers sounds like a concept of 60’s and have more online friends than I have in real life. That’s my typical relationship with internet. My girl friends hates it, coz I am still browsing internet while talking to her. It’s so bad that iPhone or internet on my mobile will break the relationship. That sucks, but that’s reality 
This Spring-Break I had to visit a my friends in Cleveland, Ohio. To most of my friends, it was a unusual Spring-Break destination. To me it was fun to be with my old friends! But this lasted only till I reached there. I realized that my friends had moved in to a new apartment has no access to internet and it was a place where ATT had very poor reception. So, to my surprise… I was disconnected to most of the world – couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I had no choice, but to read newspaper – watch boring television (I did not have the leisure to select the show I wanted to watch, at my convenience – as we can do it internet). I was again reading all the newspapers lying in front of me. Days suddenly became longer & started to realize how peaceful my mind has become without the information overload I was pushing into my brain. It was great talking to my friends and their families, suddenly felt I was enjoying this back in time. It was awesome! being disconnected to internet filled my heart with joy and felt rejuvenated to some extent. It is this spring break I realized, life is beautiful – in real world too!
But, don’t get me wrong. I love internet and have understood the role it plays in my life. During the break, more than the internet… I missed being disconnected to awesome amount of information and new things I was learning. It is this internet that helps me learn about things that I would have never been exposed to. Following are 25 reasons why I still love internet
1. Quick & easy saves me time to process information
2. Postal service is way too slow for today, hence email works!
3. Twitter or live feed is even better.
4. To talk is boring, interacting is so much fun
5. Encyclopedia will be too heavy for me to carry around wit me, I am happy to have Google / Wikipedia … and innumerable other resources
6. In the business of marketing communications, focus group is a very important tool to generate insights – to me internet opens the door for 24hour long continuous focus group
7. Just a “hey, what’s up?” on a friend’s profile is good enough to be in touch
8. No one can beat the on-line discounts & promotions
9. Twitter brings me closer to so many wonderful people & information to empower my knowledge! I love Twitter, you should give it a try.
10. I can see & talk to my parents & loved ones through internet, anytime and how much ever I want to. By the way, at no extra cost!
11. Internet entertains me through on-line TV shows, movies, songs, social networking & almost real-time news
12. I am not a writer nor a journalist. Internet makes me want to express, hence this blog. Still not a writer, but at least a blogger
13. Internet is eco-friendly & so am I.
14. Internet has opened this wonderful digital world for me to explore, get inspired and enhance my point of view.
15. Internet gives me spreadability.
16. I have the power to make change, in quick & easy manner. (only thing is I have to be relevant and do it in a awesome manner that makes it contagious for people to talk about).
17. Internet was instrumental in making Barack Obama what he is today.
18. Thanks to internet I am still talking to most of my friends from my high school.
19. Internet has changed the world of advertising & brand management, now brands want to come closer to consumers! [probably this will be my next post ]
20. Wonderful internet has also been a huge job generator. I am happy to see millions of people making money only through internet.
21. This should have been the first point, but doesn’t matter… internet has erased boundaries. You have one real world divided into maximum pieces possible. And you have digital world, wherein people with similar interests are out to help & share knowledge with each other.
22. Thanks again to internet, it has given rise to social media to a extent that it now has the power to make social change!
23. I keep coming back to advertising & marketing… I am sorry, but I love it! internet has made communicating with consumers so much fun! All those digital billboards, user-generated contents, interactive & engaging ads, digital platforms like Nike+ it has become so much fun! Sincerely feel, internet has spiced up the advertising!
24. Makes me feel like god, am connected to each and everything happening around the world, gives me opportunity to participate in anything and everything I choose to participate in, opened up a world with limitless opportunities.
25. The best thing about internet, it is so interconnected with the real life that most of the things you do affects your real life.
I have now learned to balance my real life with the digital… it took me a trip to friends house & be disconnected to internet compeletely. I am glad I realized this. I hope you too realize this in some way appropriate to you.
To life! (online & offline both)
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Brands will fail in Social Media, until…
February 23, 2009
the brand manager…
1. thinks before entering the social media wagon: For god’s sake, don’t enter the social media wagon because everyone is on social media. Social media demands huge investment of resources, it’s not only about creating a platform & connecting with consumers. A thorough social media strategy that adds value to the existing brand behavior has to be crafted. Content is an integral part of your social media success, if it’s not relevant or lacks creative brilliance it will not work.
2. stops viewing social media as just another marketing tool: Social media is a lifestyle. Consider a marketing tool & your brand is due for a toss! Social media is a platform for interaction & collaboration. It is not meant to generate sales, but to develop communities, create content & developing relationships.
3. have some patience: Think long-term when you think about social media. Building a relationship is never a quick and easy solution. A brand should resist the ‘one-night stand approach’ with the consumers, look forward to building a valuable & long-lasting relationship. To build a community or get people actively involved takes time. Don’t see social media as a advertising campaign, it’s a long term approach.
4. have a dedicated staff responsible for social media: Where does social media fit in? Web Development, Content Generation, PR, Marketing, Communications? Unless you are sure & have a clearly defined objectives & role for your employee responsible to handle social media, you will fail. There should be a dedicated team that is held accountable for delivering results as per the the brand’s social media strategy.
5. starts listening to consumers: Consumers are the biggest source of information. You stop interacting with them & you are gone is 60 secs (not literally). But, listening to consumers becomes all the more important in times like this…because a dissatisfied consumer can make or break brand’s image. Social media is very instrumental in making the brand behavior absolutely transparent. Hence a 24X7 vigil on consumers is the key to survival.
Inspite of doing everything properly, a brand can still fail in social media…
because usage and interaction in social media is totally dependent on the user. Unlike advertising, social media is a pull medium. Social Media Metric are also very new & still to prove their reliability. Also the criteria for measurement is also very different. Advertising is measured in terms of page views, while social media is measured in terms of interactions, i.e. no. of friends, no. of comments, quality of content, etc. Interpreting these measures & analyzing effectives is difficult at this point of time.
… atleast we can avoid some blunders.
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Social Media Overload?
January 20, 2009
eMarketer: Top 10 Predictions for 2009
January 12, 2009
The firm recently identified (via Marketing Charts) the following key trends for 2009:
1. The Internet is a Buyers’ Market: Marketers will continue to stretch their budgets by making use of cost-efficient online ad placements. Lower prices for most display ads and less competition for many search keywords will make online a buyers’ market.
2. Search Marketing Remains Recession-Resistant: While search marketing is not recession-proof, it is recession-resistant, with estimated spending growth in 2009 at 14.9%, to $12.3 billion. While search advertising will grow less in 2009 than in any previous year, its inherent strength means greater spending gains than for any other major form of advertising, whether online or traditional media.
(view chart of U.S. search advertising spending, 2007-2013)
3. Video Ad Spending Will Run Counter to Economic Trends: Growth will run counter to overall economic developments, rising by 45% in 2009 to reach $850 million.
(view chart of U.S. online video advertising spending, 2007-2013)
4. Social Network Shakeout: With U.S. ad revenue growth slowing, smaller and niche social networks will have a tough time gaining traction and several may close down or be acquired by larger players. Marketers that have built standalone social networks tied to their brands will either shutter them or migrate them to existing social network platforms where they can reach a broader audience.
5. New Revenue Streams for Social Networks: E-commerce will be a growing revenue stream for social network sites. Expect both MySpace and Facebook to enhance their self-serve advertising systems to allow consumers and businesses to buy and sell real-world goods and services.
6. E-Commerce Sales Growth From Existing Online Buyers: Online retail sales (excluding travel) will grow by only 4% in 2009 – the first full year to feel the impact of the economic crisis. Over the long term, online sales growth has been on a downward slope as the number of online buyers approaches saturation.
7. Seismic Shift in TV Ad Sales: U.S. TV ad spending will decline 4.2% to $66.9 billion in 2009. This precipitous drop in spending reflects not only expectations of a continued poor economy but a seismic shift in the way television advertising is bought and sold, eMarketer said.
8. More Newspaper Companies to Tank: Newspaper advertising will decline in 2009 more than any other medium. Industry-wide cutbacks will continue, and there will be some consolidation, while firms will be forced to undertake drastic measures to stay afloat.
9. User-Generated Content Aggregation: With so much user-generated media populating the web and mobile channels, content aggregation will become more important than ever. In 2009, expect to see the emergence of real-time aggregation tools that combine algorithmic approaches with human input. These aggregation tools will develop from the ground up, much like the content itself.
10. Multicultural Marketing Will Gain Intensity Online: Although white Americans make up about 70% of the U.S. internet population, more and more African Americans and Hispanics are going online through their PCs and mobile phones. Marketers will follow with language- and culture-specific messages.
The Secrets of Marketing in Web 2.0 world
December 29, 2008
This video talks about recovering from negative review
Online holiday spending not a total disaster!
December 26, 2008
The latest online retail spending report released Tuesday by ComScore shows that consumers last weekend spent almost double what they spent on the corresponding weekend before Christmas last year. U.S. consumers online spent $677 million last weekend, December 20 and 21, compared to $341 million the weekend before Christmas in 2007, which was December 22 and 23.
ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said, the statistics suggest “that many consumers opted for the cozier confines of online shopping rather than having to brave the severe cold and snowstorms affecting much of the northern half of the country”
This report suggests that even though we are in midst of recession, online holiday sales aren’t a total disaster. As compared to last year (from November 1 to December 21), U.S. online spending (in same timeframe this year) totals $24.71 billion i.e. down by 1%.
This christmas even E-Commerce figures goes red…
November 26, 2008
Consumer web spending dropped 4% so far in November versus the same period last year — the first time e-commerce figures have shown a year-to-year drop. Consumers spent an estimated $8.19 billion online over the first 23 days of the month, compared to $8.51 billion a year ago.
Weekly online holiday retail sales in millions ($)
‘Cyber Monday’: With love from online retailers
Online retailers are planning a promotional blitz to recoup some lost sales on the so-called “Cyber Monday,” the Monday after Thanksgiving, when consumers return to work, boot up their computers, and presumably start to think of all the shopping they have to get done.
In a holiday survey conducted this fall by Shopzilla, 83.7% of retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, up from 72.2% last year. The most popular tactics? Specific deals (38.8%), e-mail campaigns (32.7%) and one-day sales (24.5%). Additionally, almost a quarter of retailers are offering free shipping.
Consumers Speaks…. on cnn.com [results of CNN's quick vote as of 5.13pm (EST) 11/27/2008]
A new study by Rubicon Consulting states that word of mouth and online reviews are the most influential factors in consumer purchasing decisions. According to the study, the Internet is also an important medium of providing customer support. Following are few other survey findings in the periphery of consumer’s use and perceptions of different websites:
- The Web is the #2 resource for customer support information, after user manuals. It ranks ahead of calling the manufacturer or asking a dealer.
- Website categories that get the most daily usage are search, social communities like MySpace and Facebook, general news websites like CNN.com and NYTimes.com, and online banking.
- The websites that Americans value most are (in order), Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Wikipedia, and Facebook.
- Although Yahoo’s financial challenges have generated a lot of press attention, it continues to have a very large and loyal following.
- Facebook appears to be ahead of MySpace in terms of number of users in the US, and perceived value of the site.
- Despite extensive publicity, the community sites SecondLife and Twitter reach only a few percent of US Internet users.
- Democrats are more active online than Republicans. Democrats are more likely to participate in online communities, and say they are more heavily influenced in their voting decisions by information they find online.
- Young people (age 22 and under) account for about half of all the content and comments posted online.
Learnings from the survey:
- Its important to go beyond website. include Search marketing, Social Media in your marketing budget
- Work towards developing an efficient online customer service platform.
- Do not downplay the importance of online communities
- Increase your focus to those few to write about your brand & build content for you. Connect with them, nurture these online communities. Because these online communities connect to most other internet users who get influenced by the reviews they read on internet.
@ anishvshah
OBAMA 2.0: Barack Obama flourishing on new media
October 15, 2008
Barack Obama's online campaign for 2008 presidential elections
Be it your Inbox or LinkedIn, Be it Twitter or now iPhone. Barack Obama is everywhere. One thing clearly established in Barack Obama’s campaign is his interest in using new media tools to reach an audience. Through this post I will give a detailed account of online tools used by Obama, or Obama supporters.
Obama’ 08 Online model
Obama' 08 online model
Campaign website:
Barack Obama’s website is immensely integrated with social media. If you want to know anything about him, website is the place you go to. The site is integrated with a blog that updates his events, speeches and appearances. His website encourages visitors to create be a volunteer, support Obama campaign to ‘knock more doors’, plan & attend events, find supporters, network with your friends, write a blog & even be a part of Obama’ 08 fund raiser team. Obama campaign use the website to sell ‘Obama merchandise‘ too.
I loved ‘BarackTV’ an integral part of the website that brings visitors close to Barack as a person. Visitors get to meet Michelle Obama & Joe Biden, it also includes channels like advertisements, issues, Barack’s speeches. you got to see it to believe it! There are highly identifiable badges, buttons and links to popular social media sites such as social networking site Facebook, photo sharing site Flickr and No1 video site Youtube.
My personal favorite – My.BO, an acronym for My. Barack Obama. My.BO has become an online community with over million members! This community has taken Brand Obama to the virtual World of ‘Second Life’ this is exciting. really exciting!
web analytics
Google has a applied for a patent on technology for ranking the most influential people on social networking sites like MySpace & Facebook. This takes into account number of people you know, your friends of friends, frequency of interaction, number of referral,how strongly they value your opinion, and the list goes on & on.
To Summarize the technology:
More connected & active you are – more influential you become – more influential you become – more attractive you become to the advertisers
“Google search displays Web pages with the highest influence—it makes complete sense for them to extend this to online communities and people,” says Jeremiah Owyang, an analyst at Forrester Research (FORR).
This technology sounds interesting, but I don’t think this is great enough! It is again a step towards exploiting consumer data for revenue generation & online domination. I as a marketer would absolutely adore this information because it will help me connect my brand message with relevant audience. But, as a common consumer I feel cheated… It’s like, I upload videos, photos, and other content every week, creating mountains of inventory that the sites can sell to advertisers—and the sites don’t have to pay a dime for any of it. it’s my profile, my content, my friends, my life & a marketer is making money out of it! not done right?
Traackr a start-up company from Boston acknowledges the the plight & has come up with a revolutionary concept that gives the generators of all this user-generated content a way to monitor how influential, and therefore how valuable, their content is becoming—and, someday, to make some money on it.
“We think there’s a market for influence, but it has not emerged yet because there is no currency for it; no one knows what it’s worth,” explains Traackr’s co-founder, Pierre-Loïc Assayag. “If you happen to be one of the power users on YouTube and Google is making tons of money on you through contextual advertising, or if you’re a book reviewer on Amazon and your review inspires 10,000 people to buy a particular book, you should be getting a cut. At Traackr, we are going to tell you that you are worth x amount compared to other users—and you can use that as a negotiating angle.”
This Boston-based company scans Web pages and aggregates data about how people interact with each other online. For instance, Traackr generates statistics about how many comments their YouTube videos generate, their number of social network connections and the number of views pictures on sites like Flickr receive. The data is then normalized and assigned a value relative to other Traackr users.
How do I start Guide?
