the Web Chef's e-Bytes

New IB Madison Voices Blog Posting - Trends in Internet Use

Interested in finding out more about trends on the Internet? 

Check out my new blog posting "It's the norm, not just for porn" at IBMadison.com.  The posting tracks some of the latest research results on trends and directions in the use of the Internet.  Included are reports showing that 48% of Americans use the Internet at least one hour a day, 82% increase in Social Networking utilizing and 339% increase in video utilization since 2002. 

Free e-Marketing Resources

Are you looking for tips, techniques, guides, case studies and e-marketing statistics? 

If so you might find the following 3 resources of use.

eMarketer co-founder and CEO Geoffrey Ramsey has compiled a 41 page whitepaper "Digital Marketing Now: Seven Strategies for Surviving the Downturn" that you might find useful.  The strategies reviewed are:

1. Become Accountable
2. Search Engine Marketing
3. Don't Ignore the Power of Branding Online
4. Stay Close to Consumers
5. Engender Trust
6. Engage Prospects and Customers Via Video
7. Test, Test, Test

There are specific examples and case studies given for each of the strategies.  The whitepaper can be downloaded after a simple registration process here.

Advertising Age has released their "Search Marketing Fact Pack". You can peruse the pages of the print document online or order your copy directly from them.

Compliments of IDG, BtoB Magazine is making their "2008 Interactive Marketing Guide" available for download as a PDF here.

Web Tidbits - Web 2.0, Photo Sharing

I've been remiss in posting to this blog. 

Here are a couple of links to articles and resources that I thing you'll find interesting.

State of the Blogosphere - Technorati, Day 1 of their 5 part series on the status of blogs.  Today's report covers "Who are the Bloggers?", with the next 4 days expanding on the topic.  Among the findings are that North American bloggers are 57% male, 59% above 38 years old and 74% college graduates (yeah!  I fit in).

Beyond Blogs - Business Week writers and bloggers Heather Green and Stephen Baker refresh their popular 2005 cover story "Blogs Will Change Your Business" with "Beyond Blogs", a refreshing look at some of the many tools of social computing that are having an impact within the enterprise and among consumers.

Photo Sharing Sites - Looking for photo sharing sites beyond Flickr?  Check out this listing and evaluation on Photography Bay of 45 sites.

New Column in Wisconsin Technology Network - Widgets

I've written a new column in the monthly series of articles, Buzz Networks, recently published in Wisconsin Technology Network.  The article "Widgets - web components for plug, play and pay" reviews the evolving and expanding world of widgets or gadgets and the benefits they can provide companies looking to connect and distribute their messages widely. 

With Facebook, Microsoft and the major blog platforms endorsing these portable applications, they will only be growing in the future.

If you'd like me to come and speak to your group on the latest developments in e-marketing, I'd be happy to discuss your budget, needs and schedule.  Please contact me in the United States at 608 255 4092 or via e-mail.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Paul J Gibler

Web Tidbits - Social Networks, Wikis

One year old Citizendium is hunting for a piece of the content pie seeking to be a reliable alternative to Wikipedia through the use of expert contributors.  According to the Financial Times they still have a ways to go given that the site only has 3,300 articles (compared to Wikipedias 2 million in English alone) and is growing at 14 new ones a day.  With the viral and network effects of the Internet the projections for the site are positive according to the founder Larry Sanger.

In the social networking space, Google announced the launch of OpenSocial, a consortium described by the Financial Times as "The technology that Google unveiled will let developers spread applications across any of the social networks that adopt it, removing the need to rewrite them for each one".  CNet is reporting that there are 26 companies that have joined the consortium including Google's Orkut (popular in Latin America), Hi5, LinkedIn, Friendster, Plaxo, Ning, Beebo, Oracle, Salesforce.com, etc.

For more on social networks see my article "The expanding world of social networks" on Wisconsin Technology Network.

WVMC joins WOMMA and other web associations

I came across a new association that I hadn't heard of that might be of interest to readers.  The Web Video Marketing Council (WVMC) joins other web related groups like the following general and specialized e-marketing related groups that you might want to explore:

• EMA - e-Marketing Association
• EIAA - European Interactive Advertising Association
• IAB - Interactive Advertising Bureau
• IMRO - Interactive Marketing Research Organization
• IIMA - International Internet Marketing Association
• MMA - Mobile Marketing Association
• OPA - Online Publishers Association
• Podcast Guild
• SEMPO - Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization
• VBMA - Viral and Buzz Marketing Association
• Web Marketing Association
• WOMMA - Word of Mouth Marketing Association

The WVMC has a white paper available for download "Web Video Marketing: The Birth of a New Direct Marketing Medium" (PDF) that was published in July.

I'm sure that I've missed a few.  If you'd like to add to the list be sure to provide your addition in the comments section.

Paul Gibler

New Column in Wisconsin Technology Network - 583 reasons to wonder is e-mail dead or alive?

I've written a new article for Wisconsin Technology Network "583 reasons to wonder is e-mail dead or alive?" that discusses where e-mail is at as a communications and marketing medium. 

The article is one in an ongoing series that I've written called Buzz Networks on some of the latest trends effecting e-business and marketing.

Paul Gibler
the Web Chef

Web Tidbits - Wikipedia Alternative and Digital Media Report

AdFreak announced that Citizendium, the citizen's compendium and a new competitor to Wikipedia has launched.  According to AdFreak the service will be different then Wikipedia in that "articles will be signed and experts identified".

MIT Advertising Lab reports that Avenue A/Razorfish has released its 2007 Digital Media Report.  You can register to download the 150 page free report on their website.

New Article in Corporate Report Wisconsion

Corporate Report Wisconsin (CRW) has published a new article that I wrote for their March issue titled "Social media on Web ready to make, shake or break your business".  The article provides insights on the impact of Web 2.0 on business today. 

Unfortunately CRW doesn't offer all of their articles online, so I can't provide a link to it for your review.  You'll find similar but expanded insights, perspectives and links to examples in the ten columns I've written in a series called Buzz Networks for Wisconsin Technology Network. 

Global Tastes - India Leads the Way

comScore World Metrix reports on the growth of global Internet usage.  Their research indicates that 747 million people 15+ years were now using the Internet.  Leading the pack in the % increase since their last report in May 2006, was India with a 33% increase to 21.1 million people, followed by the Russian Federation, growing at 21% to 12.7 million people and China at 20% to 87.7 million.  The United States grew at 2% to 153.4 million. 

In other research results they reported that Canada was number 1 in "Online Engagement" as measured by number of hours spent online/month, followed by Israel and South Korea.  The research found that Canadians spent 39.6 hours online/month, Israelis 37.4 and Koreans 34 hours online/month.  In the United States this number was reported to be 31.6 hours/month with an increase to 37.2 hours/month among broadband users.