content

Can "Freemium" Work? Babbel and WSJ Say No and One of Them Is Wrong

Chris Dannen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:22:57 -0500

Babbel and The Wall Street Journal both turned away from the Freemium model this week. The outcome will be drastically different for each.

Babbel, a language-learning site, came out of beta today with a surprise: It will be charge between $6.65 and $11.95 per month for access, according to TechCrunch. "Freemium doesn't work for us," the startup's director told TC.

AP Tightens Grip on Internet News With App-Making App

Kit Eaton — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:29:34 -0500

The Associated Press has just rolled out a service to make it simpler for news publishing companies to make apps for practically every smartphone out here. And guess what? In typical "we own the news" AP style, the finished apps can grab feeds from the AP.

What Will Google's Newspaper Crusade Mean for Readers?

Chris Dannen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:54:31 -0500

It's nice that CEO Eric Schmidt feels Google has a "moral responsibility" to help reinvent the newspaper industry. But how?

Marvel Comics, Now on the iPhone, Would Be Even Better on the iTablet

Kit Eaton — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:41:57 -0400

Comixology's iPhone app just got an exciting boost: 71 titles from Marvel. Reading comics on such a small screen is okay, but it sure would be nicer if they were on a bigger screen. Enter iTablet. Is this their future?

Research is the 'first step' in SEO

Anthony Lea — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:43:08 -0400

Conducting thorough research is the first important step in an
effective search engine optimisation (SEO) campaign, it has been
claimed.

The SEOMoz blog advised firms to begin with generic
research because it is possible, particularly for smaller sites, that
they will not be able to compete for "high-level, hyper-competitive
keywords".

Despite this, it said firms might still be able to appear in a Wikipedia entry, blog or review on the subject.

Keyword tools are 'like free market research'

Anthony Lea — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:57:30 -0400

Companies looking to improve their marketing strategies on the
internet should take care when selecting which keywords to optimise
their website for.

According to search engine optimisation (SEO) firm Hobo, offline firms "spend millions" on doing market research.

It noted that they are willing to invest large sums to "understand market demand and market opportunities".

Firms
based on the internet can achieve this using some of the free keyword
tools and paid keyword research services available online.

Google and Twitter deal 'could affect SEO'

Anthony Lea — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:25:59 -0400

Search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies could be impacted if a
deal between Google and Twitter goes ahead, it has been suggested.

According to a Wall Street Journal blog, the firms are contemplating creating a feed to show posts from the social network.

Chris
Thomas, an SEO expert, said the deal would alter the way organisations
approach SEO because the search engine would have access to huge number
of new pages, reports Smart Company.

Growing firms 'are overlooking SEO'

Anthony Lea — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:07:19 -0400

The top 100 fastest growing start-up organisations are neglecting
their search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies, it has been claimed.

According to a study by business publication BRW, only 42 per
cent of these firms include a targeted SEO structure on their websites.

Nearly all of the firms were found to use an online portal, but
most did not utilise effective SEO strategies to reach potential
customers searching the web.

PPC ads 'need good landing pages'

Anthony Lea — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:47:37 -0400

Online marketers looking to improve their digital advertising
strategies should ensure that they have high quality landing pages for
their pay-per-click (PPC) advertisements.

This is the opinion
of Graham Charlton, who said on the Econsultancy blog that consumers
searching online will often do so with the intention of purchasing
goods.

He explained that conversion rates could be made higher if firms take the time to set up effective landing pages.

Can the iPhone Help Save Magazines?

Chris Dannen — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:48:11 -0400

With bargain-basement subscription prices and free Web articles, magazines have spent the last decade acting like startups who care for nothing but eyes. But unlike Twitter, publishing companies need revenue--and not just from ads. Fortunately for them, the iPhone might become the next conduit for profit, thanks to a little-utilized feature in iPhone OS 3.0: subscription pricing.

Online ad spend 'will grow naturally'

Anthony Lea — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:59:48 -0400

An expert has asserted that the online ad spend is likely to
continue to grow in proportion to the amount of time consumers spend on
the internet.

Simon Mansell, managing director of TBG, said this media channel is usually used for direct response.

He
said this has not generally diminished during a recession because firms
still need to bring in customers during this difficult period.

Consequently,
the expert asserted that online advertising is likely to hold-up better
than traditional channels such as television.

Samsung Ditches Middleman, Brings Blockbuster, Amazon Content to TVs

Kit Eaton — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:09:13 -0400

Web-streaming TV is a tech on the upswing, and old hands like Netflix and Blockbuster are grabbing on quick. Now Samsung's joining in too, cutting out the set-top box middleman and bringing streaming content directly to your TV.

News Manipulator Rupert Murdoch Gripes About Google's News Manipulation

Kit Eaton — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:51:10 -0400

Rupert Murdoch is so concerned about the future of traditional (i.e. his) news publishing at the hands of Google, he's launched paid Web newspapers via an online club. But if Google's so evil, why doesn't he block its Webcrawlers?

Murdoch's Argument:

Rankings 'vary among internet users'

Anthony Lea — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:41:42 -0400

Companies have been urged not to focus all of their attentions on rankings when considering search engine optimisation (SEO).

According
to Practical Ecommerce's Jill Kocher, many firms consider this the most
important aspect of SEO and judge their success according to their
position.

However, she warned that rankings often vary according to the internet user.

Social media 'might be good for targeting mothers'

Anthony Lea — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:03:34 -0400

Ecommerce firms looking to target women and specifically mothers
through online advertising might wish to consider upping their social
media campaigns, recent research has indicated.

According to
the RAMA Research study All About Moms, mothers are using these
channels more and more to look for deals and coupons online.

The report revealed that blogs, Twitter, Facebook and other similar sites are increasingly popular with this demographic.

Comcast Denies Reports It's Buying NBC-Universal

Chris Dannen — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:51:20 -0400

Will the cast of 30 Rock soon be making fun of a new corporate overlord? M&A bankers for General Electric may have reached a deal Tuesday to sell NBC-Universal to Comcast, reports TheWrap. Both companies have denied any deal.

Report: How Twitter Buzz Is Built

Chris Dannen — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:28:27 -0400

It's not how you think. A Boston research group called the Web Ecology Project has analyzed 12 of the service's most popular users over the course of a 10-day period, in order to understand how influence works on Twitter. The result of the 18-page report (PDF)? It doesn't matter how often you tweet.

What's Next for Mobile Content Adaptation?

Lydia Howard — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:14:34 -0400

Video is responsible for the recent explosion in broadband Internet traffic. Whether it is an online news report, sports highlights, last night’s TV episodes, user-generated content or simply posting from friends and families, video has become the dominant content format in online media. Moreover, the expanding footprint and usage of 3G mobile technology has accelerated the growth of video content and is rapidly changing the mobile content landscape. Mobile content is migrating from traditional text and graphic-based views to include dynamic video content for viewing, sharing and comments.

Why is Amazon Selling Pay-per-View Blogs for the Kindle?

Kit Eaton — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:41:20 -0400

Amazon has announced that bloggers of all stripes will be able to publish their feeds in Kindle-friendly format, and then sell that content to users via Amazon. Wait...what?

HP Launches Gabble, a YouTube Competitor

Chris Dannen — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:30:33 -0400

It's called Gabble, and it's a free host for all your personal videos. Sound familiar? That's the same concept that made YouTube a massive success--and plenty of other companies have tried to compete in the space. The advantage of Gabble, according to the site's backer HP, is that it keeps your videos private.

How Social Web Can Save YouTube

Chris Dannen — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:42:41 -0400

Google is set to lose $470 million on YouTube in 2009, according to estimates by Credit Suisse. Even for Google, whose market cap hovers around $115 billion at its current share price, that's a hell of a write-off for one product.

Some pundits have predicted the dissolution of the video site--something would be anathema to the Web 2.0 mantra: get users now, make money later. How can Google justify keeping YouTube around? How can it take a property that loses half a billion dollars a year and make it sustainable?

The Big, Stupid Problem with a Kindle that Talks

Chris Dannen — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:13:46 -0500

As we reported yesterday, the new Amazon [AMZN] Kindle can read to you. Apparently, this is a problem.

Netflix, the Cable Killer?

Chris Dannen — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:07:37 -0500

Netflix [NFLX] is considering a feature that would stream cable TV to its users. Wait a minute: wasn't Hulu supposed to be the Web's cable-killer?

Keep Clients From Leaving in a Dire Economy

Kare Anderson — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 19:47:23 -0500

Your customers are tempted to include your business in their cost-cutting efforts. Act now to offer extra value, adopting a method that won’t cost you more. In fact, it often reduces overhead. Two rival businesses are using it.

Writing Content In A Web 2.0 World

DJ Francis — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 07:01:28 -0400

I released a free white paper today which answers the following questions: