Wondering why Microsoft would purchase Yahoo? It isn’t for the technology. I’m sure Microsoft considers their superior. It’s simply for the volume of users.

Even though Google has a significant lead over any other search company, Yahoo is always mentioned second. Microsoft is barely mentioned at all. Steve Ballmer wants this to be a two-man (uh-um, company) race. Volume gets Microsoft there. Now, every article written that talks about Google, whether it’s their commanding lead, their technology, their ad network, will also mention Microsoft. That’s an amazing amount of free branding.

Beyond that, Microsoft must have a huge volume of people using its search engine in order to build an online ad business that can compete. Will purchasing Yahoo narrow the gap with Google? In the short run, no. But in the long run, the increased brand recognition will draw many more users to Microsoft and possibly change the dynamics of the playing field. Show me more »

It’s always good to have a watch dog around to assure public information on the Web is accurate, and multiple points of view are addressed. If you don’t personally know the resource producing the information, you can’t be sure whether or not to trust it. I use Wikipedia among many other wiki sites and I’m never sure who has had a hand in editing the information or if the point of view is from someone who has something to gain.

WikiScanner was designed to resolve this problem. The site can’t tell you exactly who has made edits, but through IP address tracking it can identify if edits came from a specific company and what the edit was — like deleting information that is damaging to that company.

It’s often better to request changes to pages rather than edit them yourself (which seems to make you look guilty).

Here’s the complete article in the The New York Times.
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There has been substantial controversy over Facebook’s Beacon, a service that publishes user purchases or service sign ups outside of the Facebook site (on third-party websites). Privacy groups are up in arms. And press and bloggers seem to be pushing Facebook to pull the service.

Beacon’s implementation could be better. Instead of requiring users opt-out of their information being used, it should require they opt-in. That way if you aren’t paying much attention, you won’t accidentally allow your identity to be used in an ad when you didn’t want to. But other than that, the service is brilliant.

We can put our heads in the sand or we can face it — this is the future. Consumers are much more interested in another consumers opinion than a company’s marketers’. If Facebook doesn’t do this someone else will. It’s an obvious evolution of social networking and marketing. And there’s more to come.

The key, of course, to any use of another person’s name/photo/identity/ideas/online behaviors, whether in Beacon or behavioral targeting is getting permission first. As long as those that choose to can opt-out, say no, and maintain absolute privacy, the service is a value add for those who opt in.

I would have to guess that most of the controversy is coming from people over the age of 35. We are used to our personal information remaining ours where no one has any access to it at all (unless we offer it up). But all of that is changing. A good bit of what we do online is tracked. That’s the new reality.

So you can no longer be passive about how your information is used. You need to manage the cookies on your desktop. You need to always look for opt-in or opt-out requests. You need to read privacy statements on websites! Make sure you know what companies are doing with your data.

But most importantly, think about how what you do adds to the collective knowledge and behaviors online. I constantly send my friends emails on products or services that I love. Why not allow advertisers show that I’m an advocate?

But marketers beware, if you post a user in an add and they later determine they don’t like the product or service, they will certainly find a way to make sure that all of their Facebook friends know about it. Show me more »

If you don’t have a mobile strategy it’s time to get one. Verizon finally opened their eyes to the future and agreed to open up their network. That means any CDMA cell phones (the technical standard Verizon uses) will work, and any application can be uploaded to the phones.

With Sprint and others joining the Google Android (open cell phone software platform) community, and pressure coming with the new spectrum auction from the FCC (where open platform/network is required), cellular carriers need to think differently. Their proprietary world is going to come crashing down. AT&T (Cingular) is still the major hold out, but that will change when Android ships next spring.

So make sure your 2008 budget includes plans for applets, advertising, and communications activities over the mobile medium. You don’t want to miss out on the extraordinary marketing opportunities that will become available.

More on the Verizon announcement here. Show me more »

Google is doing for the cellphone what IBM (inadvertently) did for the PC. By opening up the software platform to anyone, there will be thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of developers creating applications. Cellphones will become significantly cheaper. Cellphone service will become significantly cheaper (maybe free if Google gets its way). And we can finally move cellphones into the digital age.

Read more here. Watch this closely and plan it into your 2008 budgets. Mobile is the future of marketing! Show me more »

If Tmobile, Verizon, and AT&T have it their way, we will likely never see the power and functionality in mobile phones that marketers are clamoring for. Mobile phones are the computer (credit card and of course phone) of the future. They can — and will — do it all. However, possibly not in the U.S.

Google’s attempt to change the rules will enable cellphones that work across cellular carriers — meaning the phone offers the value add, and the service is more of a commodity. Cellphones will come with (or make available) hundreds of applications and opt-in services. Consumers will be able to sign up with any company at any time to receive announcements, coupons, information, or other goodies.

The number of innovative services available on the cellphone will explode. Credit card or debit functionality, bar code reader (for more product information), video on demand, are just a few ideas that have been floating around.

Advertisers will be able to advertise seamlessly (they have to jump through hoops on fire at this point in time), offer free services, or valuable information.

Although it’s a lot more fun to root for the little guy, in this case, I’d really like to see Google win.

The cellular carriers will loose their iron-fisted control over the marketplace. And that will be oh so very good for all of us. Free markets, more innovation. Show me more »

Of all the change Web 2.0 has created, the biggest impact to business has been the open developer model. Apple just announced it will release a software developer kit (SDK) in a few months for the iPhone (WSJ article), a famously closed platform. And MySpace just announced (Reuter article) it will broaden its third party software model to include an SDK anyone can use (not just a select few key developers chosen by MySpace management).

Facebook has proven the market wants open platforms. Its growth from 28M visitors in May when it first offered its developer kit to 47M today — just 5 months later is astounding. Over 6000 applications have been developed for the Facebook platform in that short time.

The model for third-party developed applications has been around for a long, long time. What makes it so powerful now? Wikis, social sites, blogs, and podcasts have made for a Web where anyone can share their ideas and work or collaborate with like minded people anywhere in the world. It fosters an environment of creativity around products and platforms people like.

Where 10 years ago a company might spend 5 years or more building up a developer base of just 1000-2000 applications, today triple the number of apps can be developed in just 5 months. If you don’t play in the open arena, you’re going to get left behind.

For a deeper look at building an open model into your company read Henry Chesbrough’s Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape. Show me more »

First it was our family photos (flickr), videos we made for entertainment (YouTube), and email (Yahoo! mail). Then we moved our important files, back up data, and anything we wanted to put in a personal profile onto the Web. Now it’s our very personal medical information. It won’t be long before every bit of business and personal data is out there, somewhere.

Microsoft’s launch of HealthVault, a website designed to centralize all of your medical data and give caregivers and insurance companies access, signals the breadth and depth of what search companies are really after. The more information on the net, the more there is to search — and even more opportunities to display ads.

So why would the health care industry leave it up to Microsoft and other digerati to create the platform for their industry?

It seems to me that in most industries there are 3-4 leaders that could work together to create an open platform for all to access rather than leave it up to the search giants. The information gleaned from how people access the site, what they search, click on, etc. is powerful marketing data. Why let Microsoft and Google own it?

HealthVault (or another site like it) has the possibility of changing the dynamics of the health care industry. It could help medical and pharma companies identify trends quickly and jump on them. It could become a marketplace for ideas and innovation where consumers share in the development and outcomes.

Even if you aren’t thinking about how you can use data to change your industry, you should be thinking about how you can make your data work for you? How do you post it, link it, profile it, share it? How do you make it more search friendly? How do you make it come alive (through audio, images, and video)?

We can be passive and see what Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft do with the world’s data. Or we can be more innovative about creating platforms to make our own data more usable. Show me more »

Apparently Americans are addicted to their Internet, cellphone, and TV — in that order. According to a survey by advertising agency JWT, 55% of Americans can’t go more than a few days without access to the Internet.

Honestly, among the folks I hang around that’s more like 80% can’t make it one day without connecting.

That’s of course good news for Internet marketing, and mobile marketing. Email, WebTV, social networking, and searching are all opportunities to attract the hearts and minds of your target audience. The question isn’t so much where to gain access anymore, but how. How do we get the right message, to the right person, at the right time?

Much more complicated, indeed.

You have to know more about your audience. You need them to opt-in to programs and agree to provide you data. The program can be:

1. Free materials, reports, gifts
2. Downloads (mini apps, widgets)
3. Contest
4. Sneak previews, early access
5. Point system (loyalty program)
6. Priority membership

You also need to assure people (repeatedly) that they can trust you with their data and their clickstream. Don’t abuse the privilege (by over communicating, selling the info., sharing the info, or losing the info.). Show me more »

Rumor has it Microsoft is negotiating a deal to invest in Facebook. Smart move for Microsoft. Not so sure why that would be interesting to Facebook — other than the infusion of cash. And where is Google? Orkut isn’t exactly burning the roof off. It’s had little to no impact in the U.S. Plus, Facebook isn’t a content owner (which Google is trying to stay away from becoming).

Google and Facebook (at least from the outside) look like a great fit. Facebook may be getting too expensive to purchase — even for Google. (The Wall Street Journal estimates the Microsoft deal could increase Facebook’s value to $10 Billion.) But Google may want to ensure Facebook doesn’t get gobbled up by some other company, and an investment gives them the opportunity to buy first. Show me more »