the Web Chef's e-Bytes

@theWebChef Twitter followers continues growth

I came across a Twitter tool called Implu that creates an embeddable graphical representation of your history on Twitter over time. Implu states that I created @thewebchef account on 2008-07-16 at 08:40:48.

Mobile Marketing Magazine - Feb 2010

I came across the February issue of an online magazine from the UK called Mobile Marketing Magazine that could be shared by embedding into this blog.  I thought the technology was an interesting way to further optimize the sharing of digital assets like this magazine.

2019 Technology Trends - Mobile Content, Platform/OS Wars

I've been enjoying seeing all of the postings and articles on Trends for 2010. As such, I've been posting a series on Twitter @thewebchef.

Internet Statistics

BBC reports on a Pew Internet study finding that 63% of Americans now have broadband, an increase of 15% since last year.  There were also a reported 17% of Americans who wanted broadband Internet access, but could not get it in their home location.  This lack of access is something that hopefully will be in part addressed by the stimulus funds working their way through the economy. 

Even in the current recessionary environment more and more people are investing in upgrading their connectivity.  In fact CNN reported from the same study that "more than twice as many people said they had cut back or canceled cell phones or TV rather than Internet service - 22 percents versus 9 percent.

Recipe Management - Online or Offline? Print or Software?

As the Web Chef and a food afficionado, I'm always interested to read about where consumers are finding food tips and recipes and how they are using online and offline tools to manage, organize and share their recipes.  I've been a devotee of Epicurious.com for a number of years, but also enjoy the pleasure of clipping and trying recipes from the Food section of local and national papers. 

Lifehacker had an interesting poll and review of the benefits of using online recipe management vs. traditional offline print.  Of the 1580 votes, Lifehacker found that 36% of respondents weren't ready to move away from their print-based note cards, binders or notebooks.  They continued to like these "old fashioned" ways as part of their cooking process. 

My partner and I are part of this group.  Even though we designed our kitchen during our remodelling and expansion project to include a Cat5 Internet connection and a pull out shelf  for a laptop, we've found that the "traditional" mode still works best.  (Besides that the shelf is now full of our overflow of Penzey's Herbs and Spices) We use a set of binders where we can take recipes from print sources (taped to a three hole drilled sheet), from friends, from online sources (printed out) and combine them into a binder indexed by major ingredient. 

Lifehacker blogger Jason Fitzpatrick reviewed the online tools including the top four were rank ordered by survey respondents with these results - Other (18%), Evernote (17%), Other (18%), SousChef (14%), AllRecipes (9%) and Big Oven (5%).  

So what other tools are out there? 

I was curious so I did a search and came up with quite a few including 23 indexed and referenced in DMOZ..org and a few others that are either software or web-based:

• Food (online community and recipe storage)
• LivingCookbook (software for Windows)
• MacGourmet (software for the Mac)
• MasterCook (software)
• MyRecipeCircle (online community)
• OpenEats (online community)
• Recipezaar (online recipes)
• TasteBook(create your own cookbook)

You can also find a ranking and review of ten tools at TopTenReviews, where BigOvens ranked #1, followed by Living CookBook and MasterCook Deluxe. 

Photograph of soup is from stock.xchng.

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. 

Follow me on Twitter

Looking for quick links and insights on the latest in e-marketing?  You can also follow me on Twitter in addition to at this blog.  I'm tweeting as the Web Chef and you can follow me here. 

Paul Gibler

SNS Usage Growing

IDC reports that consumers are increasingly using social networking sites or SNS as a means of communication and keeping in touch according to a recent report in CRM Magazine "Marketers Pounce on Social Networking, but Users Shy Away".  According to their research, 54% of online Americans reportedly have used a SNS.  While usage rates are increasing, the effectiveness of advertising efforts on SNS continues to be problematic for advertisers seeking direct response from consumers according to the report.  The research found that ads on social networking sites had significantly lower click through rates than other online ad placements.  This hasn't stopped advertisers from going after consumers on these networks with advertising on SNS estimates for 2008 at $1.4 billion according to eMarketer.  While this is a decline from original estimates of $1.6 billion, it still represents a nice increase over 2007's $920 million.

While there are a number of segmented specialized SNS sites (over 350 ranging from book lovers to lawyers to moms according to a Mashable compilation of SNS sites in late 2007), some research is showing that the network effect of the larger sites like MySpace and Facebook is leading consumers to consolidate their activities in these larger and more popular platforms. 

Bluenity Air Traveler Social Networking Sites (SNS)

The Wall Street Journal had a blurb announcing that Air France/KLM had launched a new social networking site (SNS) for air travelers called Bluenity.  Reflecting the multi-lingual nature of the organization and the markets served, the site will be available in 3 languages - French, Dutch and English. 

According to Patrick Roux, Senior VP Marketing at Air France KLM "From 7 November onwards, travellers and especially the 75 million customers who choose our two airlines every year, will be able, by using Bluenity, to meet before, during and after their flight"

It is an interesting example of a corporate-sponsored SNS, but faces existing competition in sites like Trip Advisor and expanded community activities at booking powerhouses Expedia and Orbitz.  I also found it interesting that they didn't incorporate the other airlines in the Skyteam Alliance into this marketing initiative.

So where do you go for travel reviews and information?

New Article in Wisconsin Technology Network - Conferences are brought to life with social computing tools

I've written another article for the Buzz Networks column that is published by Wisconsin Technology Network. The new article "Conferences are brought to life with social computing tools" describes the ways that web 2.0 tools can be incorporated into your meeting strategies to engage and connect with attendees.

Paul J Gibler