Archive for May, 2008

3 posts = 77 unique hits.

Nate
May 31 |17:36

My buddy Ben Beck who helps run teleTagg and a couple other marketing outlets with me at Projective Marketing, did something yesterday that worked surprisingly well. It was a somewhat unintentional traffic driver of sorts. He was Reading at Gigaom.com about the new Google Earth application that will most likely be replacing Google maps in the near future. So, he posted a comment about it saying that he was using the Google Maps feature for the digital signage network at teleTagg and he placed the URL in the comment itself.

He posted to three different blog entries on the subject with very similar content. The result: 77 unique hits from Gigaom alone yesterday. Yes, unsustainable, but quite interesting for the amount of web traffic coming to Gigaom. It’s interesting to see the spike in traffic to teleTagg. It just goes way up. Most of the hits were from Gigaom. Not too exciting, but something worth posting. Thanks Gigaom.

 

What’s in a Keyword? Everything.

Nate
May 30 |20:55

Do you remember the old rhetoric, “what’s in a name?….Everything!” A truism like that will not fade. It’s the same with today, except with keywords. When it comes to searching, it’s all about the keywords, honey. There ain’t nothing more important than relevant, keyword-rich, content, that webcrawlers and people both enjoy.

So, figure out what people are searching for in Google Trends or something similar. Or, go to Google Adwords and search for keywords there and find what type are being searched and who is searching for them. Once obtained, this information can be very valuable to any individual wishing to make a presence on the internets.

Now, let’s talk about these “key phrases.” You may say the exact precise key phrase or keyword over and over again in your blog entries, but so what. If you simply repeat the same phrase over and over, human beings aren’t going to want to read you. Worst yet, if you’re utilizing and placing keywords without putting in relevant hyperlinks (and, I mean relevant hyperlinks), then your keyword placement was in vain. So, in your attempts to increase page rank, make sure you’re sticking to the basics of optimization.

The Future of Keywords.

Who knows what will be in store for the future of the keyword. I think we are hitting an age when advertising and communication will all be done via a wireless connection on mobile PDAs. This is just a personal opinion. I predict that keywords via SMS will have just as much sway as standard keywords. Google Mobile is a great example of this. I love it. It’s such a great resource. Yes, short code keywords will continue to be a great resource but also a great cost for consumers.

We are, sadly enough, a society of piecemeal eaters when it comes to information. This is why companies such as Twitter have made such an immediate impact on the economy. Keywords are like political soundbites. They sound cool, but are they more than just fluff? I submit no. Because in the world of the keyword, people are all about short, sweet, and to the point. Even if the Google search bar were an inch longer, I still don’t think I’d fill it up with text. Keywords, and key phrases are so important. Let’s not forget. Happy Keyword placement everyone!

P.S. Can you tell how much keyword hyperlinking I tried to place in this post?

 

Taxi Digital Signage.

Nate
May 29 |16:42

When it comes to riding in taxi cabs, I’m a foreigner. I think I did it once when a friend of mine was desperate to go to the mall with his girlfriend. As for me, I’d rather walk. I guess that just shows my frugality (or cheapness, whichever you prefer). Taxis, however, are a very highly utilized form of transportation, especially for the more affluent. Take the following statistics for instance:

  • New York City has 240 million high income passengers per year.
  • Those passengers gross over $1.8 billion (with a “B”) annually.

That’s a whole lot of clams! Now, let’s think for a moment about the possibilities for taxi advertising. We see ads on the top of taxis. But what about advertisements for the paying customer inside? This is where taxi digital signage will be so effective. Think for a minute of a small LCD placed strategically behind the headrest of the front seat of the taxi. Let’s hook that puppy up to an internet powered digital signage network. Now we’ve got something powerful.

Here’s the best part. These high profile execs riding in the cabs will also be able to mooch free wireless from the aircard powering the signage. The internet in this case is also supported by advertising. Boyah!

Taxi GPS
Wireless GPS devices also offer the cab drivers navigation and real-time traffic reports. Can you think of the benefits here? Of course, as the cost of gas continues to increase, this feature alone can save the cabbies boatloads over the annual aggregate. A Taxi GPS system also offers the taxi company tracking and time management tools for both drivers and vehicles.

Taxi signage may not be a new concept, but it can be implemented easily and effectively as a way for taxi, digital signage, and advertising companies to increase their revenues. You can advertise on such a network, or establish your own.

 

Die Twitter, DIE!!

Nate
May 28 |15:51

I just read a super duper interesting article on All Things SEM. It talked about the viral, yet non-sustaining nature Twitter has created. Among the reasons for Twitter’s eventual demise are the following

  1. Twits are not valuable (after writing that sentence, I laughed…so true! The less Twits the better). The argument is that posts to Twitter, although entertaining, do not offer anything of value for the consumer reading them.
  2. Twits are transient. Emails give you a solid way to keep and communicate. Blogs allow you to come and go as you please and to get information by searching in a search engine. Twits on the other hand are too short for anything relevant and can be easily bumped and therefore unseen by other readers because of the next batch of Twits posted.
  3. 140 characters isn’t enough to say anything relevant anyway. When you have to send 20 SMS text messages to get your point across, it ain’t worth it!
  4. It’s a waste of time. You can find yourself going through ridiculous amounts of Twits and not realizing you wasted over two hours. The sad thing is that during that time you were reading, but nothing of consequence was in anything you read.
  5. Too many people. It’s impossible to keep up with everyone on there once the numbers get large enough. The argument is that, once the crowd talking gets large enough, you’ll only really pay attention to those you associated with previous to Twitter anyway. Too many people in a conversation will make you disinterested.
  6. You’ve a higher chance of being ignored when you post a response on Twitter than you do on a blog. This may be partly due to the aforementioned reasons. Whatever the reason, one way conversations simply about what you’re doing gets old.

Now, I can see from Marios’ point of view why these things may be true. I want to address a couple of them though and talk about how I think Twitter is beneficial. First, it’s viral and addictive. He gives the reason that it’s a waste of time. Well, so is television and 99% of what’s online. It doesn’t mean companies have not found a way to monetize those digital media mediums. I know plenty of people who waste hours a day on Facebook and yet Facebook is still worth billions according to investors. So, if “time wasting” on the consumers’ side means “lack of value” on the business side, we’re all in big trouble.

Second, too many people on there may be an issue, but it’s great for Twitter. Google released an article sometime ago where they talked about traffic being power. The more eyes you have looking at your wares, the greater chance you have for conversion and revenue.

Finally, just think for a second about viral, waste of time activities where money is being made. I wrote an article a while back about Twitter’s advertising testing. If they find a way to get people connected virally and use that virality to serve up some ads in the process, then it’s genius! Who knows, maybe Marios is right and maybe the model is not sustainable. Only time will tell if the Twits will last.

 

Windows Mobile.

Nate
May 27 |16:31

In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king. Well, apparently in the land of mobile, Microsoft is touting 50% growth of their new Mobile OS.

Although in the face of stiff competitors like Apple’s iPhone, Symbian, and Research in Motion, Microsoft is not only hopeful, but they seem super confident.

“Fifty percent growth is the minimum,” said Eddie Wu, Microsoft’s managing director for embedded devices in Asia, in an interview with Reuters.

Wu’s remarks are consistent with previous Microsoft statements about the state of its Windows Mobile business. The company in its most recent quarterly report said that Windows Mobile sales are growing as a result of “increased market demand for phone-enabled devices and Windows Embedded operating systems.”

Wu told Reuters that Microsoft expects to sell 20 million Windows Mobile licenses in its current fiscal year, which ends in June. It sold 11 million units in the previous fiscal year.

Perhaps one of the reasons Microsoft is touting so much is because of their already available integration with online media formats via Internet Explorer Mobile. Adobe programs such as Flash Lite will be supported partially due to the lack of sparks over Silverlight. Microsoft is also rolling out their copy of Flash, Silverlight, in mobile format. Silverlight is expected to be available on mobile devices by the fourth quarter of this year.

Microsoft also touts a new zoom feature which will make mobile web navigation much easier.