the Web Chef's e-Bytes

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.

Slides on Conference Engagement Using Web 2.0 Tools

Earlier this week I was one of the keynote presenters at the 2nd annual National Conference on University and College Conference Centers. The topic of my talk was what Fortune magazine is calling Conference 2.0. For these Conference Centers being able to add value to their University clients as well as for outside users of their centers is something that is being sought. The use of web 2.0 tools like social network groups on LinkedIn, Photo Sharing on Flickr, Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts etc. are all part of creating engagement among conference attendess and making meeting planners happy.  As Seth Godin says, you don't want your attendees to say "I flew all the way here for this".

The slides that I used at the presentation were posted on SlideShare and are available here for your reference.

Buzz Networks:conference engagement with social computing tools

View SlideShare presentation (tags: social computing conference tools)

On the Radio - On the Air with In Business 1.24.08

I'm being interviewed about the latest trends and developments in e-business and marketing by Joan Gillman and Jody Glynn Patrick, hosts of the popular nightly radio show "On the Air with In Business Magazine" on Madison, Wisconsin-based WTDY 1670 AM, the pulse.  The show will air on January 24, 2008 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm and can be heard live on the radio or online and will be available as a podcast following the broadcast.

Interestingly, one of my prior interviews is the most downloaded podcast of this ongoing show.

Give me a call (608) 255 4092 or e-mail me if you'd like me to speak to your group.

Paul J Gibler
the Web Chef
ConnectingDots

Web Tidbits - Keys to Success Online, Etsy, Jellyfish

Business Week has put together an online exclusive called "The Keys to Online Success".   The series of articles includes everything from case studies on small business use of Web 2.0 tools to coverage of Podcasting to an online video on best practices for online businesses.

Catching up on my reading, I found an article in Business Week reviewing Etsy, an online marketplace for arts and crafts.  According to the article, the site doesn't use an auction model, but collects a .20 listing fee and 3.5% commission.

Madison-based Jellyfish, a comparison shopping site with a twist has been acquired by Microsoft according to the Capital Times.  The deal was apparently worth $50 million and for those of us that live in and love Madison, Microsoft will reportedly keep the company in town.  ZDNet's blogger Mary Jo Foley on Microsoft reports that it fits nicely with their focus on shopping results.

Web Tidbits - Web 2.0 Miscellaneous

Strategy & Business has a new article "Web 2.0 Profiting from the Threat" that makes some interesting points.  In the article they reference recent Booz Allen & Hamilton research that found 50% of internet users visit a social media site.  They had 3 summary suggestions for businesses to keep in mind as their strategies evolve:

1. Businesses are no longer in charge of their message
2. Marketing channels are fragmenting
3. Web 2.0 is magnifying customer complaints

For each of these items case studies are supplied.

For more Web 2.0 coverage, you might want to take a look at the series of articles I've written for Wisconsin Technology Network under the Buzz Networks column with a series of 13 articles on a wide range of Web 2.0 topics - podcasts, social networks, RSS feeds, wikis, blogs, etc.

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I offer presentations and consulting services on Web 2.0 techniques.  I'd be happy to speak to your group and/or talk to you about your organization's needs for enhancing your web strategies.  Give me a call at 608 255 4092 or e-mail me for more information.

Paul Gibler
the Web Chef

On the Radio - On the Air with In Business 8.15.05

I've been asked to return for an interview on the popular radio show "On the Air with In Business" on Madison's WTDY 1670.  Jody Glynn Patrick, the publisher of In Business Magazine and Joan Gillman from Executive Education at UW Madison keep the show hopping with a lively interview technique.  I was on the show last October with an interview that is proving to be their most popular podcast as measured by downloads among the over 200 shows they've recorded for this popular daily business show. 

UPDATE
The show will be broadcast tomorrow, August 15,2005.  Once it is available as a podcast, I'll provide a link to the podcast.

UPDATE 2
The podcast of the show is now available for downloading by visiting the WTDY 1670 AM site.

Paul Gibler
the Web Chef

Web Tidbits - Wikis, Web 2.0

ReadWrite Web has a great posting called the World of Wikis.  The article explains the history of wikis, offers suggestions on what they can be used for and provides links to wiki creation tools.  For another resource on wikis see my recent article in Wisconsin Technology Network "Joining the wiki waki world".

In other recent news McKinsey research released on March 22nd "How Businesses are Using Web 2.0" and reported by Business Week finds that large corporations are wary to invest in web 2.0 technologies.  The research found that of common web 2.0 technologies that well under 50% planned to invest in them.  Among the findings of those using or planning to use specific tools were the following:

• Social Networking - 37%
• RSS - 35%
• Podcasts - 35%
• Wikis - 33%
• Blogs - 32%
• Mashups - 21%

The disheartening results were attribued to fear and lack of familiarity with the technologies.  Not to surprisingly smaller more entrepreneurial companies were found to be more conversant and willing to adopt these new technologies.

Online Newspaper Readership Continues to Rise

Newspaper publishers must be sighing with relief if not jumping with joy, as they continue to see increasing online readership of the news according to data compiled from the Newspaper Association of America's Newspaper Audience Database (NAdbase).  Nielsen/Net Ratings research shows that year over year there was a 15% increase in unique visitors to newspaper sites.  Even better news for the industry is Scarborough research data showing that there was an increase in key demographic segments favored by some advertisers with the 25 - 34 year old segment increasing 13.7% and the 18 - 24 year old segment seeing an increase of 9.2%.   The research also found that combined between these two segments 65.8% read a newspaper during the week.

What the report doesn't address is the growing trend of online newspapers to use Web 2.0 tools to enhance their products.  Leading papers are utilizing RSS, including video and audio podcasts, photo sharing, blogs, improved word of mouth marketing features and enhanced reader comment sections.

UPDATE
Proving that a web 2.0 community centric strategy works, Media Post reports that Nielsen Net Ratings research shows that USAToday.com has seen a 380% increase in visitor registrations and a 21% increase in unique visitors since their site re-design launch in February.

e-Marketing Nibblets - At Home and At Work e-Stats

Business Week has compiled a nice visual representation with data from Forrester and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth that showcases some of the trends in at home and at work usage of the Internet.  At home data (from Forrester) includes 2005 and 2006 statistics on the number of people buying and downloading music files - 9.4 million (2006), those using social networking sites - 7.9 million (2006), those watching online video - 15.5 million (2006), receiving photos via e-mail - 48.7 million (2006) and using e-mail - 75.5 million (2006).  At Work data (from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) includes some similar data looking at the social networking tools that companies are using online video - 24%, social networking sites - 27%, and adds in message/bulletin boards - 33% and 3 Web 2.0 techniques - blogging - 19%, wikis - 17% and podcasting - 11%.

In the same synopsis of data they reference LinkedIn and IBM, with the IBM data stating that 20,000 IBM employees use wikis and 2500 publish internal blogs.

New Column in Wisconsin Technology Network - Podcasts - time, place and player shifted media

I've written a new article for Wisconsin Technology Network - "Podcasts - time, place and player shifted media".  The article is one in a series of columns called Buzz Networks that I've written on some of the latest trends in e-business and marketing.

If you're enjoying this blog and the articles that I write, give me a call or drop me a line to discuss what I can do for your organization as a consultant or speaker.

Addendum:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had an article on Podcasting on January 12th, that you might also find interesting.