SEO: Five More Easy Pieces
By Brandon Leibowitz
Capitalizing different letters in keywords brings up different results in search engines. Search engines are case-sensitive so it is important how you use capitalization. The problem with listing every variation of a word results in the search engines thinking that you are spam and deleting your URL. This gets worse with singular and plural words.
Part 1 of this two-part series discusses on-site search engine optimization; this section focuses more on the off-site search engine optimization and how to get exposure that is SEO-friendly.
The following details explain how to get visitors to your site and convert them to sales. The following five rules also outline how to submit your Web site to the search engines and directories, how to use Google's PageRank, and how to use keyword spelling to your advantage.
1. Search Engine Submission
The best way to achieve high search engine rankings for new Web sites may not be what you expect. You should not submit your site directly to the search engines, as this process can take weeks or even months to get your site listed. Instead, you need to get listed on top ranking pages that are relevant to your Web sites' content. These high ranking pages are often optimized on a weekly or even daily basis. Every time the site is indexed, your link will appear and the search engines will automatically list your site in its index. It is as simple as that to get listed on top search engines in only a few days.
To do this, we need to search for Web sites that that are indexed by search engines and get them to link to us. This can be difficult to do -- unless you give the site some incentive to do so. The incentive you need to give them is to write some sort of article that is relevant to your line of business. At the bottom of the article you include your Web page URL (uniform resource locator) to get picked up by the search engines. You submit the article to popular article directories on the Web and you will be indexed by the search engines in a matter of days rather than months.
Here's a list of the most popular article directories you can submit your Web site to:
Go Articles
Ezine Articles
ArticleCity
Free Content
Amazines
Article Dashboard
Article Directory
Submit Your Article
MagPortal
Isnare
ACS Publications
Article Hangout
WebArticles
ArticleCube
Articles 4 Content
Article-Buzz
Free Articles Zone
New Articles Online
Article To Go
ArticleWorld
Impact Articles
Article Alley
DirectoryGold
Salon
ContentArticles
Software Marketing Resource Marketing Article Directory
Niche-Article-Directory
Jogena's
ACC News Directory Article Directory
Article Niche Directory
SuperPublisher
Web Host Industry Review
Article Marketer
Article Emporium
IdeaMarketers
Internet Home Business Articles
Site Reference
The other option is to perform a search of the most generic term that is related to your business. Click through these Web sites looking at the page ranks. Contact the Web site and by sending them an e-mail asking them to link to your site and in return for you linking back to their Web site. Always contact sites that are relevant to your line of work and always offer them something their visitors can benefit from once they add your link.
You can purchase a link in top PageRank sites through link builders. A few of the good Web sites that can do this for you are TextBrokers, Text Link Ads and LinkAdage.
Remember that you only need to purchase a link for one month, since it will take less than one month to get you indexed by the major search engines. Continuing to pay for the link after a month is a waste of your money. Basically, you are paying a one-time fee to instantly get indexed in the major search engines.
2. Off-Page Optimization
This is just as important, if not more important than on page optimization. To do this, we need to study the linking strategies of the top 10 Web sites for your keyword. We want to copy their model, but do things slightly better to achieve the top rankings. First, open up a spreadsheet in Excel and list the following columns: linking Web site, anchor text, PageRank, link popularity page title and number of outbound links. Then we search your keyword on Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and fill in the information for the top 10 Web sites.
To discover the linking Web sites, go to Google and type in the Web sites URL "link:www.thewebsite.com." Then count the number of sites that are listed to get the link popularity.
Anchor text is whatever follows the .com or .org of a Web site URL.
PageRank is the rank Google gives to Web sites. Download the tool here.
Page title is the title of the page that appears on the top left of the screen. If the title does not contain the keywords, then the site is not well optimized and easy to surpass in rankings.
Number of outbound links is the number of links located on the Web page linking to the site you're checking.
Once all this information has been collected, you can see what needs to be done to your site to beat the top ranking sites.
3. Search Engines and Capitalization
Capitalizing different letters in keywords brings up different results in search engines. Search engines are case-sensitive, so it is important how you use capitalization. Listing every variation of a word results in the search engines thinking that you are spam and deleting your URL. This gets worse with singular and plural words.
The solution is to stick with lowercase listings rather than trying different variations. Most people search in all lowercase, and this has the most relevant listings. Not using every other variation means you lose out on about 18 percent of traffic. This is not worth the risk of being banned from the search engines.
Lowercase searching has dominated all the search engines ranging from 85 percent to 90 percent of the total terms used. Now most search engines are not case sensitive anymore.
4. Search Engine Spamming
Spamming does not take well with current search engines, as they have discovered ways to fight keyword stuffing and other search engine tricks. Search engines can detect your spam and will act accordingly by penalizing or banning you from their listings.
Search engine spamming is attempting to achieve top ranks for extremely popular keywords. You can attempt to fight that battle against other sites, but you ought to be ready to fight a long and hard battle defending your ranking. All that wasted effort can be better spent for finding other ways for Internet marketing.
There is no need for search engine spamming if your Web site has been optimized correctly using the above methods. The risks are not worth the temporary rewards. Search engine spam should be considered the same as e-mail spam. Nobody likes or wants spam. We want spammers removed from the Internet, so why would customers want to work with you, a spammer?
5. Professional SEOs
Hiring a professional search engine optimizer is a great idea if your business relies on Internet sales. Search engine optimization is something that is time consuming and requires lots of research.
Most businesses do not have time to optimize their Web sites. They have better things to take care of, like making sure their products are selling and keeping good customer relations. Companies like SEO Optimizers, SEOPerformance and Apex Reach make sure everything is in line at your site and fix any problems that may be holding you back from reaching the top ranks. If you really want to be at the top of any searches you need professionals to come in and help solve the problem.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Forgotten Fundamentals of SEO - Writing One Page Per Keyword
By Brandon Cornett Brandon Cornett is an Austin, Texas SEO consultant specializing in real estate search engine optimization. Brandon has pioneered a new program to make virtual SEO training available to anyone in the United States. Would you like to get more traffic from your business website? It's a rhetorical question, of course, because we all want more traffic for our websites. It's the first step to Internet marketing success.
In this article, I'll show you an easy way to increase your website's traffic levels (and overall success) through a systematic and proven technique. And you probably already guessed the technique based on the title of this article. Essentially, you are going to write one page of quality web content for each of your key phrases.
When combined with other aspects of search engine optimization, this will greatly improve your online visibility and traffic levels. Of course, the first step is creating a list of key phrases. So let's talk about that first.
We all know that people search for things online by typing certain words and phrases into their favorite search engine, such as Google or Yahoo. So in order to help these Internet searchers find your business website, you must integrate the right kinds of phrases throughout your website. This process begins with a thorough round of key phrase research.
Step 1 - Choose a Keyword Research Tool
There are several keyword research tools available online. WordTracker and Keyword Discovery are two of the most popular. Both of these tools charge for their service, but WordTracker does offer a free version of their tool. If your website is limited in scope (for example, if your business serves a particular niche in a particular town), then you can probably get by using the free version of WordTracker.
If you want your website to come up in search engines for relevant phrases that people are actually searching day in and day out, then you must -- you must -- spend some time building a list of key phrases. By key phrases, I mean phrases your target audience would enter into a search engine when researching products or services like yours.
There are a variety of keyword research tools online. Two of the most popular tools can be found at WordTracker.com and KeywordDiscovery.com. If your website is limited in scope (for example, if your business serves a particular niche in a particular town), then you can probably get by using the free version of WordTracker.
Step 2 - Create a Spreadsheet With Key Phrases
Once you have access to a keyword / key phrase research tool, your next step is to set up an Excel spreadsheet or a Word document for your list of phrases. For starters, you only need two columns in your spreadsheet -- "phrase" and "count." Later on you can add columns for other purposes, such as keeping track of web pages you've written, your search ranking for each phrase, etc. But for now, you only need the two columns mentioned above, "phrase" and "count."
The phrase column is self-explanatory. This is where you list the phrases that relate to your business, the kinds of products or services you offer, etc. You will find these phrases by starting with a basic phrase and entering it into a keyword research tool, like the ones mentioned above. The tool would then generate a list of related phrases, along with the number of times people search them each day. This data goes into your "count" column.
Step 3 - Build Content Around Your Phrases
Think of your key phrase list as a blueprint for website growth. After all, the best way to grow your website is by building content around the phrases and topics your ideal audience is researching online!
And now that you have your blueprint in hand, all that's left to do is build content around it, specifically by creating one page of quality content for each unique phrase on the list.
When working with client websites, this is usually the first step in my process. I consider it "low-hanging fruit" because it's one of the easiest yet most reliable ways to climb the search engines.
It might seem overwhelming to create that much web content, but you don't have to do it all at once. Start with ten pages of content to support your top ten phrases. You can include variations of the same phrase on any given page, so that will help you make this task more manageable.
For motivation, you simply have to refer back to the truth of search engine visibility we discussed earlier. Your website cannot begin to appear in search engine results for certain phrases until you have those phrases on your website. That is what you're doing here -- creating the content needed for search engine success. Only instead of having one page focusing on dozens of topics (which is confusing to people and search engines alike), you are going to create one page per topic / phrase.
Helpful hint: If you're not much of a writer, you can outsource the writing projects using a website like Elance.com. I use freelancers through this website about once a month.
Regardless of who writes your web content, make sure it's the kind of content your audience would find helpful. Then go back through it to ensure you have your key phrase spread naturally throughout the page.
That's really all there is to it. It's not complicated, but it does require time and effort. And that's exactly why so many website owners neglect this process. It can be hard work. But who ever said online marketing was easy?
In this article, I'll show you an easy way to increase your website's traffic levels (and overall success) through a systematic and proven technique. And you probably already guessed the technique based on the title of this article. Essentially, you are going to write one page of quality web content for each of your key phrases.
When combined with other aspects of search engine optimization, this will greatly improve your online visibility and traffic levels. Of course, the first step is creating a list of key phrases. So let's talk about that first.
We all know that people search for things online by typing certain words and phrases into their favorite search engine, such as Google or Yahoo. So in order to help these Internet searchers find your business website, you must integrate the right kinds of phrases throughout your website. This process begins with a thorough round of key phrase research.
Step 1 - Choose a Keyword Research Tool
There are several keyword research tools available online. WordTracker and Keyword Discovery are two of the most popular. Both of these tools charge for their service, but WordTracker does offer a free version of their tool. If your website is limited in scope (for example, if your business serves a particular niche in a particular town), then you can probably get by using the free version of WordTracker.
If you want your website to come up in search engines for relevant phrases that people are actually searching day in and day out, then you must -- you must -- spend some time building a list of key phrases. By key phrases, I mean phrases your target audience would enter into a search engine when researching products or services like yours.
There are a variety of keyword research tools online. Two of the most popular tools can be found at WordTracker.com and KeywordDiscovery.com. If your website is limited in scope (for example, if your business serves a particular niche in a particular town), then you can probably get by using the free version of WordTracker.
Step 2 - Create a Spreadsheet With Key Phrases
Once you have access to a keyword / key phrase research tool, your next step is to set up an Excel spreadsheet or a Word document for your list of phrases. For starters, you only need two columns in your spreadsheet -- "phrase" and "count." Later on you can add columns for other purposes, such as keeping track of web pages you've written, your search ranking for each phrase, etc. But for now, you only need the two columns mentioned above, "phrase" and "count."
The phrase column is self-explanatory. This is where you list the phrases that relate to your business, the kinds of products or services you offer, etc. You will find these phrases by starting with a basic phrase and entering it into a keyword research tool, like the ones mentioned above. The tool would then generate a list of related phrases, along with the number of times people search them each day. This data goes into your "count" column.
Step 3 - Build Content Around Your Phrases
Think of your key phrase list as a blueprint for website growth. After all, the best way to grow your website is by building content around the phrases and topics your ideal audience is researching online!
And now that you have your blueprint in hand, all that's left to do is build content around it, specifically by creating one page of quality content for each unique phrase on the list.
When working with client websites, this is usually the first step in my process. I consider it "low-hanging fruit" because it's one of the easiest yet most reliable ways to climb the search engines.
It might seem overwhelming to create that much web content, but you don't have to do it all at once. Start with ten pages of content to support your top ten phrases. You can include variations of the same phrase on any given page, so that will help you make this task more manageable.
For motivation, you simply have to refer back to the truth of search engine visibility we discussed earlier. Your website cannot begin to appear in search engine results for certain phrases until you have those phrases on your website. That is what you're doing here -- creating the content needed for search engine success. Only instead of having one page focusing on dozens of topics (which is confusing to people and search engines alike), you are going to create one page per topic / phrase.
Helpful hint: If you're not much of a writer, you can outsource the writing projects using a website like Elance.com. I use freelancers through this website about once a month.
Regardless of who writes your web content, make sure it's the kind of content your audience would find helpful. Then go back through it to ensure you have your key phrase spread naturally throughout the page.
That's really all there is to it. It's not complicated, but it does require time and effort. And that's exactly why so many website owners neglect this process. It can be hard work. But who ever said online marketing was easy?
Monday, February 25, 2008
Online ad revenue over $21B in 2007
Online advertising revenues exceeded $21 billion for the first time in 2007, although preliminary data compiled by an industry trade group also suggest growth is slowing.The Interactive Advertising Bureau said its estimates show ad revenues grew 25% last year from nearly $17 billion in 2006. In dollar amounts, the estimated gain was $4.2 billion — less than the 35% and $4.3 billion growth seen in 2006 over 2005.
Analysts have said the growth rate was bound to slow as the Internet commands a larger share of the advertising pie, taking dollars away from traditional media like newspapers. By most accounts, the Internet still represents less than 10% of all U.S. ad spending, meaning there's room for a lot more growth, even at a slower rate.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which conducts a quarterly survey for the advertising trade group using data from the 15 largest online ad sellers, said fourth-quarter revenues totaled about $5.9 billion, topping the previous record of $5.2 billion in the third quarter.
David Silverman of PricewaterhouseCoopers said the latest record numbers demonstrate that interactive media continue to be important to consumers and marketers.
The IAB said final data and breakdowns by ad types would be available in May. Typically, the most lucrative are keyword ads such as those displayed alongside search results at Google Inc. and other search engines.
Analysts have said the growth rate was bound to slow as the Internet commands a larger share of the advertising pie, taking dollars away from traditional media like newspapers. By most accounts, the Internet still represents less than 10% of all U.S. ad spending, meaning there's room for a lot more growth, even at a slower rate.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which conducts a quarterly survey for the advertising trade group using data from the 15 largest online ad sellers, said fourth-quarter revenues totaled about $5.9 billion, topping the previous record of $5.2 billion in the third quarter.
David Silverman of PricewaterhouseCoopers said the latest record numbers demonstrate that interactive media continue to be important to consumers and marketers.
The IAB said final data and breakdowns by ad types would be available in May. Typically, the most lucrative are keyword ads such as those displayed alongside search results at Google Inc. and other search engines.
Quick SEO Tips for Online Writers
by Masimba Biriwasha
Search engine optimization: It's all in the content The rapidly changing online environment is putting new challenges on writers of online content, with writers expected to pay attention to strategies of marketing and to increasing online visibility with keywords for purposes of search engine optimization (SEO).
For online writers and publishers, SEO is increasingly becoming a key priority to enhance Web site rankings. SEO refers to techniques used to improve a Web page's results in a search. To be successful online, publishers need to be able to position themselves in a way that delivers what users are looking for at the click of a button. Research shows that nearly 91 percent of all Internet users resort to a search engine to find information, making it an imperative to position your copy in a manner that helps users to easily find you. Used properly, keywords are a simple tool that can help to attract targeted online users to a Web site.
If you want to succeed as a writer online, it is necessary to keep up with the SEO buzz and establish ways to incorporate the strategies into your writing.
As more and more Web sites are launched, competition for visibility gets ever-more intense. Publishers are constantly looking for ways to ensure that they get traffic to their Web sites by incorporating keywords that enhance their Web sites visibility in a search.
Search engines play a key role in increasing the impact of publishers' Web sites because they index Web sites according to keyword specifications that are used by online content searchers.
For users, the use of keywords simplifies the search process, and that's why it's important for writers to tap into that habit by broadcasting keywords throughout your Web site copy.
First things first: The basic rules of writing stick, so what you write still has to be interesting, true to the topic, grammatically correct, well presented and useful to potential readers.
The writer still has to work on their content. SEO is not like a magic bullet that will raise the profile of your content if you don't do your writing properly.
Instead, SEO is an additional tool that, if used properly, can increase the visibility of content online, and thus drive online users to a specific Web site that contains the content.
The trick lies in identifying keywords that are relevant to the subject matter of the content and making them prominent throughout the article.
A keyword simply refers to a word used as a reference point for finding other words or information. Such words may be used by viewers searching for information and help search engines to index the Web site that contains your content.
Keywords must appear early in your copy so that they draw attention to themselves without appearing to be forced.
In other words, keywords have to be creatively integrated into the structure and meaning of your copy. They must have a special character and idiosyncrasy that enhance the overall quality of the content.
SEO can be thought of as a way of branding your content, dressing it with specially chosen words so that it pops up at the top of search engines and attracts users to visit the Web site.
In marketing terminology, branding refers to nuanced ways to present a product or service in a way that makes it unique in the marketplace. In similar fashion, the use of keywords takes identifying the core message within the copy, and branding it appropriately so that online users and search engines can easily it. It enhances the positioning of copy in the wide world of the web.
In no way does SEO take away the hard work that a writer must put into making the article relevant and properly written.
The fact of the matter is that, while content is the real equity of the online environment, in order to gain visibility, it must have merit. Grammatical integrity and clarity must be a key consideration in your writing.
Branding poorly written copy will not do either the writer or publisher any good as it may actually serve to drive away traffic. The key is to ensure that content is so good that potential visitors build an emotional attachment to the specific Web site that they will come back to it while side-stepping search engines.
Used appropriately, key can certainly boost SEO and, in the process, help to attract Web site visitors.
While it's usually the Web site publisher's responsibility to identify keywords, the writer has to insure that the design and structure of how the keywords are incorporate makes the content unique and valuable.
In many ways, the use of SEO is as good an art as the process of writing itself.
According to Jill Whalen in an article titled "The Art of SEO: "The most important aspect to being a good SEO is creativity. You shouldn't worry too much about the specifics of putting keyword phrases here and there, and again over there."
It is important to use keywords in moderation; otherwise, the meaning of the copy becomes diluted, killing the communication process.
Keywords must be sprinkled throughout your copy in strategic places that serve to make the content interesting and readable without giving a single hint to users. Your content must remain in touch with your potential readership.
Search engine optimization: It's all in the content The rapidly changing online environment is putting new challenges on writers of online content, with writers expected to pay attention to strategies of marketing and to increasing online visibility with keywords for purposes of search engine optimization (SEO).
For online writers and publishers, SEO is increasingly becoming a key priority to enhance Web site rankings. SEO refers to techniques used to improve a Web page's results in a search. To be successful online, publishers need to be able to position themselves in a way that delivers what users are looking for at the click of a button. Research shows that nearly 91 percent of all Internet users resort to a search engine to find information, making it an imperative to position your copy in a manner that helps users to easily find you. Used properly, keywords are a simple tool that can help to attract targeted online users to a Web site.
If you want to succeed as a writer online, it is necessary to keep up with the SEO buzz and establish ways to incorporate the strategies into your writing.
As more and more Web sites are launched, competition for visibility gets ever-more intense. Publishers are constantly looking for ways to ensure that they get traffic to their Web sites by incorporating keywords that enhance their Web sites visibility in a search.
Search engines play a key role in increasing the impact of publishers' Web sites because they index Web sites according to keyword specifications that are used by online content searchers.
For users, the use of keywords simplifies the search process, and that's why it's important for writers to tap into that habit by broadcasting keywords throughout your Web site copy.
First things first: The basic rules of writing stick, so what you write still has to be interesting, true to the topic, grammatically correct, well presented and useful to potential readers.
The writer still has to work on their content. SEO is not like a magic bullet that will raise the profile of your content if you don't do your writing properly.
Instead, SEO is an additional tool that, if used properly, can increase the visibility of content online, and thus drive online users to a specific Web site that contains the content.
The trick lies in identifying keywords that are relevant to the subject matter of the content and making them prominent throughout the article.
A keyword simply refers to a word used as a reference point for finding other words or information. Such words may be used by viewers searching for information and help search engines to index the Web site that contains your content.
Keywords must appear early in your copy so that they draw attention to themselves without appearing to be forced.
In other words, keywords have to be creatively integrated into the structure and meaning of your copy. They must have a special character and idiosyncrasy that enhance the overall quality of the content.
SEO can be thought of as a way of branding your content, dressing it with specially chosen words so that it pops up at the top of search engines and attracts users to visit the Web site.
In marketing terminology, branding refers to nuanced ways to present a product or service in a way that makes it unique in the marketplace. In similar fashion, the use of keywords takes identifying the core message within the copy, and branding it appropriately so that online users and search engines can easily it. It enhances the positioning of copy in the wide world of the web.
In no way does SEO take away the hard work that a writer must put into making the article relevant and properly written.
The fact of the matter is that, while content is the real equity of the online environment, in order to gain visibility, it must have merit. Grammatical integrity and clarity must be a key consideration in your writing.
Branding poorly written copy will not do either the writer or publisher any good as it may actually serve to drive away traffic. The key is to ensure that content is so good that potential visitors build an emotional attachment to the specific Web site that they will come back to it while side-stepping search engines.
Used appropriately, key can certainly boost SEO and, in the process, help to attract Web site visitors.
While it's usually the Web site publisher's responsibility to identify keywords, the writer has to insure that the design and structure of how the keywords are incorporate makes the content unique and valuable.
In many ways, the use of SEO is as good an art as the process of writing itself.
According to Jill Whalen in an article titled "The Art of SEO: "The most important aspect to being a good SEO is creativity. You shouldn't worry too much about the specifics of putting keyword phrases here and there, and again over there."
It is important to use keywords in moderation; otherwise, the meaning of the copy becomes diluted, killing the communication process.
Keywords must be sprinkled throughout your copy in strategic places that serve to make the content interesting and readable without giving a single hint to users. Your content must remain in touch with your potential readership.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Google lunar challenge gets under way
By Stefanie Olsen Google and the X Prize Foundation kick off their Google Lunar X Prize, announcing the first 10 registered competitors.A privately funded race to land a rover on the moon could cost each team well more than the $20 million grand prize they're vying for, but all of the contestants view Google's Lunar X Prize as a new engine for business in space.
On Thursday, the X Prize Foundation announced the first 10 teams entered in the Google Lunar X Prize. Unveiled in September 2007, the Google Lunar X Prize requires contestants to land a privately funded robotic spacecraft on the moon, explore the terrain for at least 500 meters, and transmit results of the trip back to Earth. The grand prize is $20 million, with a second prize of $5 million and bonuses of $5 million.
While several teams had already thrown their hats in the ring, the 10 official registrants talked here Thursday at Google headquarters about their plans. Team Astrobotics, for example, said it plans to launch its mission as early as 2009. The teams were joined in a ceremony by X Prize President Peter Diamandis and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
"The idea of seeing these rovers on the moon and returning after 40 years...faster than the national programs, it's really exciting," Brin said to a small crowd of teams and press. "We love entrepreneurship here--it's worked well for us. So we're looking forward to the launches in the coming years."
Brin said during the event that when he, Diamandis, and friend Elon Musk (a supporter of the Lunar X Prize and founder of Space X) conceived of the contest, they thought the task of landing a rover back on the moon 40 years after NASA's last mission would cost in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. Diamandis also added that, historically, prize-based competitions typically cost the entrants two to four times the purse money.
Similar to Burt Rutan, who won the Ansari X Prize four years ago and who has gone on to develop suborbital space company Scaled Composites, aspirants in the Google Lunar X Prize hope to make money by developing renewable transport systems for the moon or aiding robotic missions in space.
Red Whittaker, robotics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, winner of last year's DARPA Urban Challenge, and leader of Team Astrobotics, said that his plan is to provide transportation with his system, but also to boost the field of robotics. "The moon offers robots a tenfold advantage (over the Earth)," he said, referring to the low atmosphere and low light that is inhospitable to humans. The moon "doesn't have to keep (robots) breathing or bring them home."
Whittaker's team has built a solar-powered lunar craft and robotic system (which he compared to a saucer and a teacup, respectively) that, once on the lunar surface, will pop out of the lander and explore the moon for the required 500 meters and then some. All of the computing power, cameras, and communications systems are in the 3-foot-wide robot, he said.
He plans to launch the craft in late 2009 on the 40th anniversary of human arrival on the moon. He said he will aim it for the Apollo 11 site and then trundle on to other areas astronauts have visited before. Whittaker added that his team has already successfully demonstrated the exploration; but in the next year, they will perfect the system for a flight.
"This is just like the Grand or Urban Challenge (robotic car race); if you don't get everything right, then you don't get anything right," Whittaker said.
For example, when the robot breaks away from the landing vehicle, it can encounter problems and get hooked to the craft, he said. He compared the intricacy to the Grand Challenge in 2005, when his robotic car had the lead in the race but it slowed down because its fuel line got bent.
Whittaker said that to support his project and help reach out to aspiring engineers, his team will help put together a summer camp associated with the contest.
Team Micro-Space is a Colorado team led by Richard Speck, who also competed in the Ansari X Prize, a suborbital flight contest, and the Northrop Grumman Lunar Challenge, a competition to fly a lunar craft but from Earth. He said his company specializes in building low-mass space systems, so he plans to race an ultralight manned vehicle at one-tenth the cost of what NASA might spend on the feat.
Speck said that within four to six years, he hopes to provide the transportation for sensor and analytics companies to get to the moon and Mars. Yet, he said: "The hard part is the business plan to provide sustained economical activity."
Odyssey Moon, the first team to register for the prize, is based on Britain's Isle of Man and has a multinational team. Odyssey Moon's team leader, Robert Richards, said that attempting the prize may cost a multiple of the $20 million prize, but he said the "benefits outweigh the costs by opening up business opportunities." Extra: Fish launched into space "We are funding a responsible mission of returning to the moon that will bring the cost down by an order of magnitude. It's all about leveraging governments and working in partnerships with government," said Richards.
To be sure, the winning team stands to make some money from government, too. Steve Kohler, the president of Space Florida, also announced at the event that it would add $2 million to the $20 million grand prize for the team that launches its vehicle from Florida.
Diamandis said that his group has received 516 requests to register for the contest from more than 60 countries, including Kazakhstan. The 10 teams announced Thursday went through the registration process, filed a technical plan with the X Prize, and paid a $10,000 entrant fee. In contrast to the Ansari X Prize in 2004, the X Prize had only two contestants after six months. "We're way ahead of the power curve; we expect to see tremendous diversity," Diamandis said.
Diamandis said that the goal of the X Prize is to help fuel investigation of the moon's natural resources. "We look at space where there are vast resources--metals and materials and energy--because we can't sustain the level of growth we have today on Earth with the resources we have today," he said. One of the proposals of the X Prize Foundation, for example, is to mine the moon's surface for silicon to build a large solar-powered satellite that would send enough energy to Earth to power a city.
Harold Rosen, leader of the X Prize team called the Southern California Selene Group, called that a preposterous idea during the event. "I can think of 100,000 ways of getting energy on earth better than that."
On Thursday, the X Prize Foundation announced the first 10 teams entered in the Google Lunar X Prize. Unveiled in September 2007, the Google Lunar X Prize requires contestants to land a privately funded robotic spacecraft on the moon, explore the terrain for at least 500 meters, and transmit results of the trip back to Earth. The grand prize is $20 million, with a second prize of $5 million and bonuses of $5 million.
While several teams had already thrown their hats in the ring, the 10 official registrants talked here Thursday at Google headquarters about their plans. Team Astrobotics, for example, said it plans to launch its mission as early as 2009. The teams were joined in a ceremony by X Prize President Peter Diamandis and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
"The idea of seeing these rovers on the moon and returning after 40 years...faster than the national programs, it's really exciting," Brin said to a small crowd of teams and press. "We love entrepreneurship here--it's worked well for us. So we're looking forward to the launches in the coming years."
Brin said during the event that when he, Diamandis, and friend Elon Musk (a supporter of the Lunar X Prize and founder of Space X) conceived of the contest, they thought the task of landing a rover back on the moon 40 years after NASA's last mission would cost in the tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. Diamandis also added that, historically, prize-based competitions typically cost the entrants two to four times the purse money.
Similar to Burt Rutan, who won the Ansari X Prize four years ago and who has gone on to develop suborbital space company Scaled Composites, aspirants in the Google Lunar X Prize hope to make money by developing renewable transport systems for the moon or aiding robotic missions in space.
Red Whittaker, robotics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, winner of last year's DARPA Urban Challenge, and leader of Team Astrobotics, said that his plan is to provide transportation with his system, but also to boost the field of robotics. "The moon offers robots a tenfold advantage (over the Earth)," he said, referring to the low atmosphere and low light that is inhospitable to humans. The moon "doesn't have to keep (robots) breathing or bring them home."
Whittaker's team has built a solar-powered lunar craft and robotic system (which he compared to a saucer and a teacup, respectively) that, once on the lunar surface, will pop out of the lander and explore the moon for the required 500 meters and then some. All of the computing power, cameras, and communications systems are in the 3-foot-wide robot, he said.
He plans to launch the craft in late 2009 on the 40th anniversary of human arrival on the moon. He said he will aim it for the Apollo 11 site and then trundle on to other areas astronauts have visited before. Whittaker added that his team has already successfully demonstrated the exploration; but in the next year, they will perfect the system for a flight.
"This is just like the Grand or Urban Challenge (robotic car race); if you don't get everything right, then you don't get anything right," Whittaker said.
For example, when the robot breaks away from the landing vehicle, it can encounter problems and get hooked to the craft, he said. He compared the intricacy to the Grand Challenge in 2005, when his robotic car had the lead in the race but it slowed down because its fuel line got bent.
Whittaker said that to support his project and help reach out to aspiring engineers, his team will help put together a summer camp associated with the contest.
Team Micro-Space is a Colorado team led by Richard Speck, who also competed in the Ansari X Prize, a suborbital flight contest, and the Northrop Grumman Lunar Challenge, a competition to fly a lunar craft but from Earth. He said his company specializes in building low-mass space systems, so he plans to race an ultralight manned vehicle at one-tenth the cost of what NASA might spend on the feat.
Speck said that within four to six years, he hopes to provide the transportation for sensor and analytics companies to get to the moon and Mars. Yet, he said: "The hard part is the business plan to provide sustained economical activity."
Odyssey Moon, the first team to register for the prize, is based on Britain's Isle of Man and has a multinational team. Odyssey Moon's team leader, Robert Richards, said that attempting the prize may cost a multiple of the $20 million prize, but he said the "benefits outweigh the costs by opening up business opportunities." Extra: Fish launched into space "We are funding a responsible mission of returning to the moon that will bring the cost down by an order of magnitude. It's all about leveraging governments and working in partnerships with government," said Richards.
To be sure, the winning team stands to make some money from government, too. Steve Kohler, the president of Space Florida, also announced at the event that it would add $2 million to the $20 million grand prize for the team that launches its vehicle from Florida.
Diamandis said that his group has received 516 requests to register for the contest from more than 60 countries, including Kazakhstan. The 10 teams announced Thursday went through the registration process, filed a technical plan with the X Prize, and paid a $10,000 entrant fee. In contrast to the Ansari X Prize in 2004, the X Prize had only two contestants after six months. "We're way ahead of the power curve; we expect to see tremendous diversity," Diamandis said.
Diamandis said that the goal of the X Prize is to help fuel investigation of the moon's natural resources. "We look at space where there are vast resources--metals and materials and energy--because we can't sustain the level of growth we have today on Earth with the resources we have today," he said. One of the proposals of the X Prize Foundation, for example, is to mine the moon's surface for silicon to build a large solar-powered satellite that would send enough energy to Earth to power a city.
Harold Rosen, leader of the X Prize team called the Southern California Selene Group, called that a preposterous idea during the event. "I can think of 100,000 ways of getting energy on earth better than that."
Friday, February 22, 2008
Microsoft prepares workers for Yahoo takeover
A Microsoft executive on Friday sent workers an upbeat email outlining a vision of how the software giant expects to take over Yahoo and merge the companies' cultures and resources.
Yahoo spurned Microsoft's 44.6-billion-dollar bid for the veteran Internet firm on February 11. Microsoft is reportedly planning a hostile takeover bid if Yahoo's board of directors doesn't change its mind.
In a message to employees, Microsoft platform and services division president Kevin Johnson shared "a perspective of the process going forward."
"We look forward to a constructive dialogue with Yahoo's board, management, shareholders, and employees on the value of this combination and its strategic and financial merits," Johnson wrote.
"Once Yahoo and Microsoft agree on a transaction, we can begin the integration planning process in parallel with the regulatory review."
If Yahoo capitulates, the transaction would likely close in the second half of this year, according to Johnson.
Microsoft said it plans to keep Yahoo in Silicon Valley and hold onto engineering and business talent at the company.
Yahoo spurned Microsoft's 44.6-billion-dollar bid for the veteran Internet firm on February 11. Microsoft is reportedly planning a hostile takeover bid if Yahoo's board of directors doesn't change its mind.
In a message to employees, Microsoft platform and services division president Kevin Johnson shared "a perspective of the process going forward."
"We look forward to a constructive dialogue with Yahoo's board, management, shareholders, and employees on the value of this combination and its strategic and financial merits," Johnson wrote.
"Once Yahoo and Microsoft agree on a transaction, we can begin the integration planning process in parallel with the regulatory review."
If Yahoo capitulates, the transaction would likely close in the second half of this year, according to Johnson.
Microsoft said it plans to keep Yahoo in Silicon Valley and hold onto engineering and business talent at the company.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
8 Product Trends for 2008
Buying & Shopping
Trend #1: Green = Green$
Without a doubt, the most widespread and influential of all product trends in 2008 is the influence of green or eco-friendly products.
Green products are an influence in every product industry today.
By 2010, sales of natural/organic products are expected to reach 100 billion dollars annually. A 50 billion dollar increase from today’s sales.
No matter if you want to “go green” with your eBay business or not you NEED to have at least some versions of eco-friendly products in your product line.
More and more, buyers these days are becoming “situationally” green. Meaning they don’t necessarily buy all organic or eco-friendly products, but they WILL buy eco-friendly products in the areas that are important to them.
A buyer might not eat organic food but he may be interested in energy consumption issues and therefore buy energy saving products.
That’s why for every product you carry – you MUST look into whether or not there is a green or eco-friendly version.
Let’s look at a few examples of product categories that now feature eco-friendly or green products:
• Furniture• Pet supplies and accessories• Solar power systems and products for home• Footwear made from sustainable materials such as soy-dyed jute to water-based glues and dyes.
The range of eco-friendly or green products that are now available in the marketplace is huge.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:46 PST 14 of 91 Trend #2: Oh Baby!
The market for baby products has grown to a 3.5 billion dollar market in the US alone and it shows no signs of slowing down. And today there are more opportunities than ever to sell in this niche.
But this year’s baby products market is very different than the products of the past.
Because baby is “livin’ large!”
Older and more affluent parents are driving the greatest growth in the baby products niche.
PARTICULARLY in the demand for luxury baby durables and convenience items designed to save time.
Technology is also impacting the products that parents buy. Technology enhanced products have impacted every sub-niche category I have listed below.
Eco-friendly products are also a huge trending influence in the baby products people buy.
Additionally, unique, custom, one-of-a-kind baby products are in-demand as people strive more and more to surround baby with something that is unique and NOT mainstream.
Below are some of the key sub-niches that are seeing tremendous growth:
1. Baby mobility—car seats, strollers, systems, baby carriers2. Baby’s room furniture—cribs, bassinets, dressers, changing tables, rockers and gliders3. Daytime care—gyms, play mats, play centers, swings, bouncers, exersaucers4. Wellness, babycare and safety—diaper disposal systems, baby bathtubs, gates, monitors, potties, health and safety equipment
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:48 PST 15 of 91 Trend #3: Buying Time: Time is the New Gold
70 percent of US consumers 16 years and older say they don’t have enough time to do all the things they need to do.
Half of US consumers now say that a lack of time is a bigger problem in their lives than a lack of money.
Selling products that save time, make product use more efficient and allow people to automate tasks, speed up tasks or multi-task are increasingly in demand.
Here are some product categories that you might consider:
- Home Appliances: Multi-tasking may be an overused buzzword, but there’s a new breed of home appliances that perform multiple tasks for you at one time! (Much better than you doing multiple tasks at once yourself.)
And these are fast rising in popularity!
How about a counter-top appliance that makes your coffee, cooks your eggs and toasts your toast?
Your buyers can now be well fed and get to the office on time!
- Home organization: It’s estimated that we spend at least 30 minutes each day looking for things we can’t find in our homes, at the office, in the car.
(I would say that for most people, it actually clocks in at more than 30 minutes!)
Because of this, organizational products for the home, office and garage are selling in astronomical numbers!
-Games: Even game manufacturers for kids have gotten into the business of selling time.
Hasbro, the maker of the world’s most popular game, Monopoly has introduced Express Games to rave reviews. Express games are new versions of classic games designed to "speed up" play.
This is just the beginning of what’s to come. Busy parents and busy kids want to spend time together. But they don’t always have a 2 hour block to sit down and play a board game.
(By the way, a resurgence in the popularity of board games is also a growing trend.)
Look for more manufacturers to start producing 20-30 minute games.
Keep your eye out for new the new time-saving, multi-tasking products. And when you sell these products, emphasize to your customers the primary thing they will receive as a benefit.
More time!
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:50 PST 16 of 91 Trend #4: How Do I?
Just when you thought you had selected the right products for your customers comes a new and exciting trend.
“How Do I” Content is what today’s buyers want.
- Use It- Put it Together- Make the Most of My Purchase
Not only do your buyers want to make their purchase they also want the added value of a report, video, audio or diagram that shows them how to use the product, how to put it together, how to maximize their investment and make the most of their purchase.
While this might seem like extra work, the opportunities this provides for eBay sellers are tremendous!
You can create your own special report, audio, video etc. giving your customers the “How Do I” content that they crave.
These can either be sold as stand alone products or offered as a bonus with the product.
Here’s why –
People don’t have the time these days to sit down and figure out how to use things.
If they buy are bread machine, they want to be up and running with a loaf of bread baking in the kitchen in the hour.
They want a book of recipes tailored specifically for that bread machine. They want tips from Grandma on how she made the moistest, chewiest, bread with her secret ingredient!
They want help using and excelling with their new product.
And while some manufacturers HAVE started including “How Do I” content with their products, creating your own report, audio or video is a great way to give YOUR products a USP (Unique Selling Position) and set yourself apart from the competition.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:52 PST 17 of 91 Trend #5: The Robot Did It!
Technology is changing the face of the product landscape and one sub-niche of the technology sector is products outfitted with robotics.
But we’re not talking sci-fi, pie in the sky robotics here. These are current products that consumers can buy right now in 2008 and are CLAMORING for!
Here’s just a small sampling of how robotics and products have merged:
-Robotic vacuum cleaners (such as the Roomba)-Robotic gutter cleaners-Robotic pets (for adults and kids)-Robotic toys-Robotic miniature cars
In fact some of the hottest selling products this past holiday season, such as Pleo, the $350 baby robotic dinosaur were part of this hot robotics product trend.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:53 PST 18 of 91 Trend #6: Unplug!
For every trend, there is a counter trend. And this rush of high-tech infusion into our lives has driven people to have a strong desire to balance their high-tech lives with some low-tech downtime.
The desire to do handcrafts such as knitting, sewing, crocheting and needlepoint is (still) on the rise.
We’ve seen this trend over the past few years - Crafts category has been one of the top selling categories. And it just continues to grow.
As with every trend there are many off-shoots of sub-niches and micro-niches.
- Decoupage- Metal art- Mixed media crafts
These are all examples of new sub-niches in the craft industry that are gaining in popularity.
And don’t forget Blended Trends – a combination of two or more trends that roll up into one in-demand product!
How about selling a decoupage kit along with a “10 Beautiful Designs to Decoupage Your Coffee Table” tip sheet that meets the needs of the “How Do I?” trend.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:55 PST 19 of 91 Trend #7: Local Origin
A new trend has been quietly brewing across the country.In a retail world that until now has been ruled by mass production and big box stores etc. a growing number of consumers are seeking out the locally made products.
Locally can mean: made in their town, city, state, country, and region.
This trend is driven by several key factors including:
- A desire to reduce the carbon footprint of a product that is greatly expanded when products are imported.
- A move away from mass replication products and towards unique and alternative offerings.
And while this does not mean an end to a demand for mass-produced imported goods, it does mean that people are looking for an alternative.
Entrepreneurs who pay attention to this trend now have the potential to carve out a niche early – while the rest of the retail world catches up.
What products are manufactured and distributed in your city, town and state that might have an appeal to a larger market?
A local company in my hometown of Seattle makes swimsuits right here in Seattle and was featured in the 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Their products are now in demand worldwide.
As an online retail entrepreneur, one of your greatest, most unique sources of products can be local manufacturers.
And with the rise of Local Origin your opportunity to sell a unique, in-demand product online has never been better.
Sometimes your best product sourcing ideas are right in your own backyard!
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 07:00 PST 20 of 91 Trend #8: Trust
Trust is not a product trend you say. Or, is it?
In the world of online retail trust drives sales.
As an online seller you operate in a trustworthy manner but it’s of EQUAL importance to SELL your trust with each and every contact you make with your customer.
Whether this is through an auction listing description or a post-sale email, it is up to you to sell your trustworthiness to your customer as an “add on” to every item you sell.
Consider these statistics that were compiled by a recent UK Customer Trust Survey.
If a company earns consumer trust, 42 per cent will buy more products and over half (54 per cent) will recommend the product to others.
If a company loses the trust, three out of four (76 per cent) say they will simply stop buying from them. Women in particular believe trust is an essential quality in the companies they buy from (56 per cent of females cite this as important versus 47 per cent of men).
Still think trust isn’t a consumer trend?
Make yourself trustworthy by telling the customer everything they need to know about you, your business, your service, your products, your shipping and your guarantees.
Don’t assume they know.
Don’t make them work for it.
Lay it all out for them in plain English. YOU know that you are trustworthy, but your buyers don’t – unless you tell them.
Free Money
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Coin Collecting News
Trend #1: Green = Green$
Without a doubt, the most widespread and influential of all product trends in 2008 is the influence of green or eco-friendly products.
Green products are an influence in every product industry today.
By 2010, sales of natural/organic products are expected to reach 100 billion dollars annually. A 50 billion dollar increase from today’s sales.
No matter if you want to “go green” with your eBay business or not you NEED to have at least some versions of eco-friendly products in your product line.
More and more, buyers these days are becoming “situationally” green. Meaning they don’t necessarily buy all organic or eco-friendly products, but they WILL buy eco-friendly products in the areas that are important to them.
A buyer might not eat organic food but he may be interested in energy consumption issues and therefore buy energy saving products.
That’s why for every product you carry – you MUST look into whether or not there is a green or eco-friendly version.
Let’s look at a few examples of product categories that now feature eco-friendly or green products:
• Furniture• Pet supplies and accessories• Solar power systems and products for home• Footwear made from sustainable materials such as soy-dyed jute to water-based glues and dyes.
The range of eco-friendly or green products that are now available in the marketplace is huge.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:46 PST 14 of 91 Trend #2: Oh Baby!
The market for baby products has grown to a 3.5 billion dollar market in the US alone and it shows no signs of slowing down. And today there are more opportunities than ever to sell in this niche.
But this year’s baby products market is very different than the products of the past.
Because baby is “livin’ large!”
Older and more affluent parents are driving the greatest growth in the baby products niche.
PARTICULARLY in the demand for luxury baby durables and convenience items designed to save time.
Technology is also impacting the products that parents buy. Technology enhanced products have impacted every sub-niche category I have listed below.
Eco-friendly products are also a huge trending influence in the baby products people buy.
Additionally, unique, custom, one-of-a-kind baby products are in-demand as people strive more and more to surround baby with something that is unique and NOT mainstream.
Below are some of the key sub-niches that are seeing tremendous growth:
1. Baby mobility—car seats, strollers, systems, baby carriers2. Baby’s room furniture—cribs, bassinets, dressers, changing tables, rockers and gliders3. Daytime care—gyms, play mats, play centers, swings, bouncers, exersaucers4. Wellness, babycare and safety—diaper disposal systems, baby bathtubs, gates, monitors, potties, health and safety equipment
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:48 PST 15 of 91 Trend #3: Buying Time: Time is the New Gold
70 percent of US consumers 16 years and older say they don’t have enough time to do all the things they need to do.
Half of US consumers now say that a lack of time is a bigger problem in their lives than a lack of money.
Selling products that save time, make product use more efficient and allow people to automate tasks, speed up tasks or multi-task are increasingly in demand.
Here are some product categories that you might consider:
- Home Appliances: Multi-tasking may be an overused buzzword, but there’s a new breed of home appliances that perform multiple tasks for you at one time! (Much better than you doing multiple tasks at once yourself.)
And these are fast rising in popularity!
How about a counter-top appliance that makes your coffee, cooks your eggs and toasts your toast?
Your buyers can now be well fed and get to the office on time!
- Home organization: It’s estimated that we spend at least 30 minutes each day looking for things we can’t find in our homes, at the office, in the car.
(I would say that for most people, it actually clocks in at more than 30 minutes!)
Because of this, organizational products for the home, office and garage are selling in astronomical numbers!
-Games: Even game manufacturers for kids have gotten into the business of selling time.
Hasbro, the maker of the world’s most popular game, Monopoly has introduced Express Games to rave reviews. Express games are new versions of classic games designed to "speed up" play.
This is just the beginning of what’s to come. Busy parents and busy kids want to spend time together. But they don’t always have a 2 hour block to sit down and play a board game.
(By the way, a resurgence in the popularity of board games is also a growing trend.)
Look for more manufacturers to start producing 20-30 minute games.
Keep your eye out for new the new time-saving, multi-tasking products. And when you sell these products, emphasize to your customers the primary thing they will receive as a benefit.
More time!
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:50 PST 16 of 91 Trend #4: How Do I?
Just when you thought you had selected the right products for your customers comes a new and exciting trend.
“How Do I” Content is what today’s buyers want.
- Use It- Put it Together- Make the Most of My Purchase
Not only do your buyers want to make their purchase they also want the added value of a report, video, audio or diagram that shows them how to use the product, how to put it together, how to maximize their investment and make the most of their purchase.
While this might seem like extra work, the opportunities this provides for eBay sellers are tremendous!
You can create your own special report, audio, video etc. giving your customers the “How Do I” content that they crave.
These can either be sold as stand alone products or offered as a bonus with the product.
Here’s why –
People don’t have the time these days to sit down and figure out how to use things.
If they buy are bread machine, they want to be up and running with a loaf of bread baking in the kitchen in the hour.
They want a book of recipes tailored specifically for that bread machine. They want tips from Grandma on how she made the moistest, chewiest, bread with her secret ingredient!
They want help using and excelling with their new product.
And while some manufacturers HAVE started including “How Do I” content with their products, creating your own report, audio or video is a great way to give YOUR products a USP (Unique Selling Position) and set yourself apart from the competition.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:52 PST 17 of 91 Trend #5: The Robot Did It!
Technology is changing the face of the product landscape and one sub-niche of the technology sector is products outfitted with robotics.
But we’re not talking sci-fi, pie in the sky robotics here. These are current products that consumers can buy right now in 2008 and are CLAMORING for!
Here’s just a small sampling of how robotics and products have merged:
-Robotic vacuum cleaners (such as the Roomba)-Robotic gutter cleaners-Robotic pets (for adults and kids)-Robotic toys-Robotic miniature cars
In fact some of the hottest selling products this past holiday season, such as Pleo, the $350 baby robotic dinosaur were part of this hot robotics product trend.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:53 PST 18 of 91 Trend #6: Unplug!
For every trend, there is a counter trend. And this rush of high-tech infusion into our lives has driven people to have a strong desire to balance their high-tech lives with some low-tech downtime.
The desire to do handcrafts such as knitting, sewing, crocheting and needlepoint is (still) on the rise.
We’ve seen this trend over the past few years - Crafts category has been one of the top selling categories. And it just continues to grow.
As with every trend there are many off-shoots of sub-niches and micro-niches.
- Decoupage- Metal art- Mixed media crafts
These are all examples of new sub-niches in the craft industry that are gaining in popularity.
And don’t forget Blended Trends – a combination of two or more trends that roll up into one in-demand product!
How about selling a decoupage kit along with a “10 Beautiful Designs to Decoupage Your Coffee Table” tip sheet that meets the needs of the “How Do I?” trend.
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 06:55 PST 19 of 91 Trend #7: Local Origin
A new trend has been quietly brewing across the country.In a retail world that until now has been ruled by mass production and big box stores etc. a growing number of consumers are seeking out the locally made products.
Locally can mean: made in their town, city, state, country, and region.
This trend is driven by several key factors including:
- A desire to reduce the carbon footprint of a product that is greatly expanded when products are imported.
- A move away from mass replication products and towards unique and alternative offerings.
And while this does not mean an end to a demand for mass-produced imported goods, it does mean that people are looking for an alternative.
Entrepreneurs who pay attention to this trend now have the potential to carve out a niche early – while the rest of the retail world catches up.
What products are manufactured and distributed in your city, town and state that might have an appeal to a larger market?
A local company in my hometown of Seattle makes swimsuits right here in Seattle and was featured in the 2007 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Their products are now in demand worldwide.
As an online retail entrepreneur, one of your greatest, most unique sources of products can be local manufacturers.
And with the rise of Local Origin your opportunity to sell a unique, in-demand product online has never been better.
Sometimes your best product sourcing ideas are right in your own backyard!
whatdoisell (5 ) View Listings Report Jan-15-08 07:00 PST 20 of 91 Trend #8: Trust
Trust is not a product trend you say. Or, is it?
In the world of online retail trust drives sales.
As an online seller you operate in a trustworthy manner but it’s of EQUAL importance to SELL your trust with each and every contact you make with your customer.
Whether this is through an auction listing description or a post-sale email, it is up to you to sell your trustworthiness to your customer as an “add on” to every item you sell.
Consider these statistics that were compiled by a recent UK Customer Trust Survey.
If a company earns consumer trust, 42 per cent will buy more products and over half (54 per cent) will recommend the product to others.
If a company loses the trust, three out of four (76 per cent) say they will simply stop buying from them. Women in particular believe trust is an essential quality in the companies they buy from (56 per cent of females cite this as important versus 47 per cent of men).
Still think trust isn’t a consumer trend?
Make yourself trustworthy by telling the customer everything they need to know about you, your business, your service, your products, your shipping and your guarantees.
Don’t assume they know.
Don’t make them work for it.
Lay it all out for them in plain English. YOU know that you are trustworthy, but your buyers don’t – unless you tell them.
Free Money
eNumis.Net
Search Shop
Exonumia
Shop & Find
Auto Parts
Free Music
Tatterednthorn
Tanks
Free Software
Houses
Web Sites
Investments
Credit Repair
Christian
Unclaimed Money
Government Grants
Best Buy
Wealth Secrets
Coin Specials
Shop Sales
Cars
Coin Deals
Home Deals
Debt Cures
Coin Deals
Autos
Home Values
All Coins
Home School
Identity Theft
Numismatics
Search
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Coin Collecting News
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Microfiber fabric makes its own electricity?
Buying & Shopping
By Julie Steenhuysen
U.S. scientists have developed a microfiber fabric that generates its own electricity, making enough current to recharge a cell phone or ensure that a small MP3 music player never runs out of power.
If made into a shirt, the fabric could harness power from its wearer simply walking around or even from a slight breeze, they reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.
"The fiber-based nanogenerator would be a simple and economical way to harvest energy from the physical movement," Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, who led the study, said in a statement.
The nanogenerator takes advantage of the semiconductive properties of zinc oxide nanowires -- tiny wires 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair -- embedded into the fabric. The wires are formed into pairs of microscopic brush-like structures, shaped like a baby-bottle brush.
One of the fibers in each pair is coated with gold and serves as an electrode. As the bristles brush together through a person's body movement, the wires convert the mechanical motion into electricity.
"When a nanowire bends it has an electric effect," Wang said in a telephone interview. "What the fabric does is it translates the mechanical movement of your body into electricity."
His team made the nanogenerator by first coating fibers with a polymer, and then a layer of zinc oxide. They dunked this into a warm bath of reactive solution for 12 hours. This encouraged the wires to multiply, coating the fibers.
"They automatically grow on the surface of the fiber," Wang said. "In principal, you could use any fiber that is conductive."
They added another layer of polymer to prevent the zinc oxide from being scrubbed off. And they added an ultra-thin layer of gold to some fibers, which works as a conductor.
To ensure all that friction was not just generating static electricity, the researchers conducted several tests. The fibers produced current only when both the gold and the zinc oxide bristles brushed together.
So far, Wang said the researchers had demonstrated the principle and developed a small prototype.
"Our estimates show we can have up to 80 milliwatts per square meter of this fabric. This is enough to power a little iPod or charge a cell phone battery," he said.
"What we've done is demonstrate the principle and the fundamental mechanism."
Wang said the material could be used by hikers and soldiers in the field and also to power tiny sensors used in biomedicine or environmental monitoring.
One major hurdle remains: zinc oxide degrades when wet. Wang's team is working on a process that would coat the fibers to protect the fabric in the laundry.
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By Julie Steenhuysen
U.S. scientists have developed a microfiber fabric that generates its own electricity, making enough current to recharge a cell phone or ensure that a small MP3 music player never runs out of power.
If made into a shirt, the fabric could harness power from its wearer simply walking around or even from a slight breeze, they reported Wednesday in the journal Nature.
"The fiber-based nanogenerator would be a simple and economical way to harvest energy from the physical movement," Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology, who led the study, said in a statement.
The nanogenerator takes advantage of the semiconductive properties of zinc oxide nanowires -- tiny wires 1,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair -- embedded into the fabric. The wires are formed into pairs of microscopic brush-like structures, shaped like a baby-bottle brush.
One of the fibers in each pair is coated with gold and serves as an electrode. As the bristles brush together through a person's body movement, the wires convert the mechanical motion into electricity.
"When a nanowire bends it has an electric effect," Wang said in a telephone interview. "What the fabric does is it translates the mechanical movement of your body into electricity."
His team made the nanogenerator by first coating fibers with a polymer, and then a layer of zinc oxide. They dunked this into a warm bath of reactive solution for 12 hours. This encouraged the wires to multiply, coating the fibers.
"They automatically grow on the surface of the fiber," Wang said. "In principal, you could use any fiber that is conductive."
They added another layer of polymer to prevent the zinc oxide from being scrubbed off. And they added an ultra-thin layer of gold to some fibers, which works as a conductor.
To ensure all that friction was not just generating static electricity, the researchers conducted several tests. The fibers produced current only when both the gold and the zinc oxide bristles brushed together.
So far, Wang said the researchers had demonstrated the principle and developed a small prototype.
"Our estimates show we can have up to 80 milliwatts per square meter of this fabric. This is enough to power a little iPod or charge a cell phone battery," he said.
"What we've done is demonstrate the principle and the fundamental mechanism."
Wang said the material could be used by hikers and soldiers in the field and also to power tiny sensors used in biomedicine or environmental monitoring.
One major hurdle remains: zinc oxide degrades when wet. Wang's team is working on a process that would coat the fibers to protect the fabric in the laundry.
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Yahoo acquires video service for $160M
Yahoo acquires video service for $160M
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Buying & Shopping
Undeterred by the threat of hostile takeover, slumping Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc. completed an acquisition of its own Tuesday by buying online video service Maven Networks Inc. for $160 million. The deal marks Yahoo's latest attempt to expand its online advertising network and snap out of a two-year financial funk that has culminated in unsolicited takeover offer from Microsoft Corp.
Yahoo's board rejected the bid Monday, prompting Microsoft to raise the possibility of taking its offer — originally valued at $44.6 billion or $31 per share — directly to shareholders.
Sunnyvale-based Yahoo thinks it's worth more, an opinion echoed by its second largest shareholder in a letter released Tuesday.
"We think (Microsoft) will have to enhance its offer if it wants to complete a deal," wrote Bill Miller, a respected fund manager for Legg Mason Inc., which owns more than 80 million Yahoo shares.
Like many other industry analysts, Miller predicted Yahoo ultimately will end up in Microsoft's clutches.
"We think it will be hard for (Yahoo) to come up with alternatives that deliver more value than (Microsoft) will ultimately be willing to pay," he wrote.
Miller also wrote that he has already met with Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, and spoken to Jerry Yang, Yahoo's CEO and co-founder, to share his views.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft so far has indicated it's not budging from its original offer, calling the proposal "full and fair." Analysts believe the tense mating dance will last at least a few more weeks.
In the meantime, Yahoo continues to work on a long-promised turnaround.
The talks to buy Cambridge, Mass.-based Maven began before Microsoft announced its bid Feb. 1, said Tim Cadogan, Yahoo's senior vice president of marketing products.
Maven helps television and movie studios find Web sites to show their videos and manage the accompanying advertisements. The 6-year-old startup works with a wide range of media outlets, including CBS Sports, Gannett Co., News Corp., Hearst Corp. and Sony Pictures.
Online video advertising is steadily climbing as more people watch news and entertainment online. The amount spent on Internet video ads annually is expected to triple during the next three years to $4.3 billion in 2001, estimated research firm eMarketer Inc.
"We think video is going to become the third leg of the advertising stool," said Cadogan. Ads tied to search requests is currently the Internet's biggest moneymaker, followed by so-called display ads featuring photos, illustrations and other images.
As in search, Yahoo Inc. is trying to catch up to rival Google Inc. in Internet video.
As of December, Yahoo held a 3.4 percent share of the U.S. online video market, lagging far behind Google, whose ownership of industry leader YouTube.com gave it nearly one-third of the market, according to comScore Inc.
Yahoo plans to retain Maven's roughly 70 employees even as it completes plans to lay off 1,000 workers in other divisions as part of a plan announced two days before Microsoft's bid.
Employees affected by the job cuts reportedly began receiving layoff notices Tuesday. Yahoo spokeswoman Diana Wong declined to comment.
Based on a previous mid-February timeline established by management, Yahoo is expected to release additional details about the layoffs late this week or early next week.
Yahoo shares fell less than 1 percent to $29.05 Tuesday afternoon while Microsoft shares rose less than 1 percent to $28.34.
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By MICHAEL LIEDTKE
Buying & Shopping
Undeterred by the threat of hostile takeover, slumping Internet pioneer Yahoo Inc. completed an acquisition of its own Tuesday by buying online video service Maven Networks Inc. for $160 million. The deal marks Yahoo's latest attempt to expand its online advertising network and snap out of a two-year financial funk that has culminated in unsolicited takeover offer from Microsoft Corp.
Yahoo's board rejected the bid Monday, prompting Microsoft to raise the possibility of taking its offer — originally valued at $44.6 billion or $31 per share — directly to shareholders.
Sunnyvale-based Yahoo thinks it's worth more, an opinion echoed by its second largest shareholder in a letter released Tuesday.
"We think (Microsoft) will have to enhance its offer if it wants to complete a deal," wrote Bill Miller, a respected fund manager for Legg Mason Inc., which owns more than 80 million Yahoo shares.
Like many other industry analysts, Miller predicted Yahoo ultimately will end up in Microsoft's clutches.
"We think it will be hard for (Yahoo) to come up with alternatives that deliver more value than (Microsoft) will ultimately be willing to pay," he wrote.
Miller also wrote that he has already met with Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, and spoken to Jerry Yang, Yahoo's CEO and co-founder, to share his views.
Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft so far has indicated it's not budging from its original offer, calling the proposal "full and fair." Analysts believe the tense mating dance will last at least a few more weeks.
In the meantime, Yahoo continues to work on a long-promised turnaround.
The talks to buy Cambridge, Mass.-based Maven began before Microsoft announced its bid Feb. 1, said Tim Cadogan, Yahoo's senior vice president of marketing products.
Maven helps television and movie studios find Web sites to show their videos and manage the accompanying advertisements. The 6-year-old startup works with a wide range of media outlets, including CBS Sports, Gannett Co., News Corp., Hearst Corp. and Sony Pictures.
Online video advertising is steadily climbing as more people watch news and entertainment online. The amount spent on Internet video ads annually is expected to triple during the next three years to $4.3 billion in 2001, estimated research firm eMarketer Inc.
"We think video is going to become the third leg of the advertising stool," said Cadogan. Ads tied to search requests is currently the Internet's biggest moneymaker, followed by so-called display ads featuring photos, illustrations and other images.
As in search, Yahoo Inc. is trying to catch up to rival Google Inc. in Internet video.
As of December, Yahoo held a 3.4 percent share of the U.S. online video market, lagging far behind Google, whose ownership of industry leader YouTube.com gave it nearly one-third of the market, according to comScore Inc.
Yahoo plans to retain Maven's roughly 70 employees even as it completes plans to lay off 1,000 workers in other divisions as part of a plan announced two days before Microsoft's bid.
Employees affected by the job cuts reportedly began receiving layoff notices Tuesday. Yahoo spokeswoman Diana Wong declined to comment.
Based on a previous mid-February timeline established by management, Yahoo is expected to release additional details about the layoffs late this week or early next week.
Yahoo shares fell less than 1 percent to $29.05 Tuesday afternoon while Microsoft shares rose less than 1 percent to $28.34.
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Sunday, February 10, 2008
This time, Microsoft may meet its match in Google
By Jim Puzzanghera and Jessica Guynn
Buying & Shopping
The firm is back to its aggressive ways in its Yahoo bid. But the real fight is with Google, and it's the underdog.
Bill Gates worried that something like Google would come along before it even existed.
In 1995, the Microsoft leader recognized how a powerful Internet player could topple his company from the high-tech pyramid and launched an attack on all potential threats. Netscape, Sun Microsystems and other competitors paid the price. So did Microsoft. Its tactics triggered a landmark antitrust case that handcuffed the software giant for a decade, hampering its ability to respond when the real Web boogeyman appeared: Google Inc.
But today the shackles are off. Largely unconstrained by the antitrust problems that have dogged it since the late 1990s, Microsoft is the aggressor again.
Its surprise $44.6-billion offer for Yahoo Inc. capped off a year in which Microsoft proved that it was serious about the Internet and willing to throw around its cash hoard.
Yahoo's board of directors has decided to reject the offer, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday. The person, who is close to Yahoo management, said the company planned to tell Microsoft in a letter Monday that the deal undervalues the Internet company and fails to offset its risk if regulators were to overturn the merger.
Although Yahoo doesn't want to sell to Microsoft, it has few alternatives. Many analysts expect Microsoft to sweeten its offer, and Yahoo to accept it.
If it wins Yahoo, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant will have pulled off by far the largest acquisition in its 33-year history to try to keep Google from getting further ahead.
"Microsoft tends to be a reactive company," said Mark Anderson, an entrepreneur and author of an industry newsletter that counts Gates and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer among its subscribers. "They also tend to always be focused on their competition, even down to the individuals that run divisions on both sides."
Google is lobbying against a potential Yahoo deal, saying Microsoft can't be trusted. Microsoft counters that it isn't the dominant player in Web advertising as it is in operating systems and office productivity software.
Pulling for former foe
Fearful of the new giant on the block, some of Microsoft's old enemies are rooting for it.
For years, Chris Tolles had a front-row seat to the brutal side of the so-called Beast from Redmond. The software developer worked at companies that went head-to-head with Microsoft, including Sun and Netscape.
But now he's running Topix, a Silicon Valley company that offers local news and other information online. Google launched a competing product last week.
"Creating a valid competitor for Google would be very helpful to the industry," Tolles said. "That's the irritating part: I'm rooting for Microsoft."
Microsoft, which declined to comment, doesn't enjoy the underdog role.
After its previous attempts to acquire Yahoo or strike a partnership were rebuffed, Microsoft made an unsolicited bid for the company Jan. 31 and announced it the next day. The half-cash, half-stock bid valued the struggling Internet company at $31 a share -- 62% more than its stock's closing price Jan. 31. But with the slump in Microsoft's share price since then, the offer's value has declined to $29.08 a share. Investors expect Microsoft to offer more.
"We keep at things," Ballmer told employees when the bid was announced. "We don't start and stop."
It's been a long, eventful struggle since Microsoft began its online push.
In a lengthy memo sent to Microsoft executives May 26, 1995, Gates warned that the young World Wide Web could spawn a competitor to threaten the software giant's computing dominance. He assigned the Internet "the highest level of importance."
"The Internet is a tidal wave. It changes the rules," he wrote. "It is an incredible opportunity as well as [an] incredible challenge."
On Dec. 7 of that year, he unveiled a new Internet strategy. Among several initiatives, Gates announced that the company would give away Internet Explorer with its Windows software, a direct attack on Netscape's pioneering Web browser. Gates then noted that it was Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The most intelligent comment after Japan's attacks, he said, was made by a Japanese admiral who said he feared his side had awakened a sleeping giant.
The message was unmistakable: Microsoft no longer was slumbering.
The aggressive and ultimately successful strategy to crush Netscape and other Internet rivals brought major legal troubles. The Justice Department, several states and the European Union filed antitrust claims, contending that Microsoft abused its operating system dominance. Competitors such as Sun also sued.
The court cases forced Microsoft to bank huge amounts of cash for settlements. Microsoft began resolving those cases in 2002 and has spent about $6 billion in cash and consumer software vouchers to end the litigation.
Tangled on Web
Through it all, the company's Web initiatives struggled. Despite hundreds of millions of Web users, its online business has lost about $2 billion since 2003, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft.
"Microsoft has yet to show much aptitude for management of online stuff," said Timothy Bresnahan, chairman of Stanford University's economics department and a former antitrust official. "All of that effort alienating everyone that works with them to win the browser war . . . and what do they do with the browser? Zip."
Meanwhile, Google's profit has skyrocketed thanks to its Web search advertising business. Google conducted 56.3% of all U.S. search queries in December, compared with 17.7% for Yahoo and 13.8% for Microsoft, according to research company Nielsen Online.
Google also is encroaching on Microsoft's turf, offering free word processing, spreadsheet and other office programs over the Web.
Microsoft has taken the rivalry personally. In 2004, Mark Lucovsky, a senior engineer at Microsoft, told Ballmer he was joining Google. Ballmer threw a chair and began spewing expletives, according to court documents in a lawsuit Microsoft filed over another employee who left for Google.
"I'm going to . . . bury that guy. I have done it before, and I will do it again," Lucovsky recalled Ballmer saying about Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who had been an executive at Microsoft rivals Sun Microsystems and Novell Inc. "I'm going to . . . kill Google."
Ballmer later said the description was exaggerated. The suit was settled in 2005.
But in Silicon Valley the reported exchange came to symbolize Microsoft's growing frustration. As the company began to settle its antitrust lawsuits, it started using its saved money to buy its way back into contention on the Web.
Fighting with cash
Microsoft has done 89 sizable acquisitions since 1994, but most have been for less than $1 billion. It preferred to buy small companies and use their technology to grow instead of bigger companies with large market shares or high sales.
That changed after Google outgunned Microsoft for online ad firm DoubleClick Inc. in April with a $3.1-billion offer.
"That injected a sense of urgency," said Scott Kessler, an equity analyst for Standard & Poor's.
A month later, Microsoft made its largest purchase to that point, buying online ad firm AQuantive Inc. for $6 billion. It was a bid no other company could match, Kessler said.
In October, Microsoft outmaneuvered Google for a small piece of the booming social networking company Facebook Inc., paying $240 million for a 1.6% stake. Microsoft reveled in the victory, announcing the deal while Google was holding its annual analyst meeting.
Because Microsoft is playing catch-up in online advertising, regulators have given it more leeway to make big Web acquisitions. Google's deal with DoubleClick was closely reviewed by U.S. regulators before they approved in December (the European Commission is still considering the deal). Though twice the size, Microsoft's AQuantive deal sailed through.
Google is preparing to argue in Washington that regulators should consider Microsoft's prior offenses if Yahoo agrees to a deal.
"We are dealing with a unique competitor here," said a person familiar with Google's thinking. "Nobody else has the operating system monopoly. Nobody else has the browser monopoly. Nobody else has been found by the regulators and the courts to have abused those monopolies."
But times have changed, said Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. Google's dominance in online advertising might help Microsoft executives if they have to defend the Yahoo deal to antitrust regulators.
"They get to make all the arguments that have been made against them for so long," he said.
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Buying & Shopping
The firm is back to its aggressive ways in its Yahoo bid. But the real fight is with Google, and it's the underdog.
Bill Gates worried that something like Google would come along before it even existed.
In 1995, the Microsoft leader recognized how a powerful Internet player could topple his company from the high-tech pyramid and launched an attack on all potential threats. Netscape, Sun Microsystems and other competitors paid the price. So did Microsoft. Its tactics triggered a landmark antitrust case that handcuffed the software giant for a decade, hampering its ability to respond when the real Web boogeyman appeared: Google Inc.
But today the shackles are off. Largely unconstrained by the antitrust problems that have dogged it since the late 1990s, Microsoft is the aggressor again.
Its surprise $44.6-billion offer for Yahoo Inc. capped off a year in which Microsoft proved that it was serious about the Internet and willing to throw around its cash hoard.
Yahoo's board of directors has decided to reject the offer, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday. The person, who is close to Yahoo management, said the company planned to tell Microsoft in a letter Monday that the deal undervalues the Internet company and fails to offset its risk if regulators were to overturn the merger.
Although Yahoo doesn't want to sell to Microsoft, it has few alternatives. Many analysts expect Microsoft to sweeten its offer, and Yahoo to accept it.
If it wins Yahoo, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant will have pulled off by far the largest acquisition in its 33-year history to try to keep Google from getting further ahead.
"Microsoft tends to be a reactive company," said Mark Anderson, an entrepreneur and author of an industry newsletter that counts Gates and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer among its subscribers. "They also tend to always be focused on their competition, even down to the individuals that run divisions on both sides."
Google is lobbying against a potential Yahoo deal, saying Microsoft can't be trusted. Microsoft counters that it isn't the dominant player in Web advertising as it is in operating systems and office productivity software.
Pulling for former foe
Fearful of the new giant on the block, some of Microsoft's old enemies are rooting for it.
For years, Chris Tolles had a front-row seat to the brutal side of the so-called Beast from Redmond. The software developer worked at companies that went head-to-head with Microsoft, including Sun and Netscape.
But now he's running Topix, a Silicon Valley company that offers local news and other information online. Google launched a competing product last week.
"Creating a valid competitor for Google would be very helpful to the industry," Tolles said. "That's the irritating part: I'm rooting for Microsoft."
Microsoft, which declined to comment, doesn't enjoy the underdog role.
After its previous attempts to acquire Yahoo or strike a partnership were rebuffed, Microsoft made an unsolicited bid for the company Jan. 31 and announced it the next day. The half-cash, half-stock bid valued the struggling Internet company at $31 a share -- 62% more than its stock's closing price Jan. 31. But with the slump in Microsoft's share price since then, the offer's value has declined to $29.08 a share. Investors expect Microsoft to offer more.
"We keep at things," Ballmer told employees when the bid was announced. "We don't start and stop."
It's been a long, eventful struggle since Microsoft began its online push.
In a lengthy memo sent to Microsoft executives May 26, 1995, Gates warned that the young World Wide Web could spawn a competitor to threaten the software giant's computing dominance. He assigned the Internet "the highest level of importance."
"The Internet is a tidal wave. It changes the rules," he wrote. "It is an incredible opportunity as well as [an] incredible challenge."
On Dec. 7 of that year, he unveiled a new Internet strategy. Among several initiatives, Gates announced that the company would give away Internet Explorer with its Windows software, a direct attack on Netscape's pioneering Web browser. Gates then noted that it was Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The most intelligent comment after Japan's attacks, he said, was made by a Japanese admiral who said he feared his side had awakened a sleeping giant.
The message was unmistakable: Microsoft no longer was slumbering.
The aggressive and ultimately successful strategy to crush Netscape and other Internet rivals brought major legal troubles. The Justice Department, several states and the European Union filed antitrust claims, contending that Microsoft abused its operating system dominance. Competitors such as Sun also sued.
The court cases forced Microsoft to bank huge amounts of cash for settlements. Microsoft began resolving those cases in 2002 and has spent about $6 billion in cash and consumer software vouchers to end the litigation.
Tangled on Web
Through it all, the company's Web initiatives struggled. Despite hundreds of millions of Web users, its online business has lost about $2 billion since 2003, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at research firm Directions on Microsoft.
"Microsoft has yet to show much aptitude for management of online stuff," said Timothy Bresnahan, chairman of Stanford University's economics department and a former antitrust official. "All of that effort alienating everyone that works with them to win the browser war . . . and what do they do with the browser? Zip."
Meanwhile, Google's profit has skyrocketed thanks to its Web search advertising business. Google conducted 56.3% of all U.S. search queries in December, compared with 17.7% for Yahoo and 13.8% for Microsoft, according to research company Nielsen Online.
Google also is encroaching on Microsoft's turf, offering free word processing, spreadsheet and other office programs over the Web.
Microsoft has taken the rivalry personally. In 2004, Mark Lucovsky, a senior engineer at Microsoft, told Ballmer he was joining Google. Ballmer threw a chair and began spewing expletives, according to court documents in a lawsuit Microsoft filed over another employee who left for Google.
"I'm going to . . . bury that guy. I have done it before, and I will do it again," Lucovsky recalled Ballmer saying about Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who had been an executive at Microsoft rivals Sun Microsystems and Novell Inc. "I'm going to . . . kill Google."
Ballmer later said the description was exaggerated. The suit was settled in 2005.
But in Silicon Valley the reported exchange came to symbolize Microsoft's growing frustration. As the company began to settle its antitrust lawsuits, it started using its saved money to buy its way back into contention on the Web.
Fighting with cash
Microsoft has done 89 sizable acquisitions since 1994, but most have been for less than $1 billion. It preferred to buy small companies and use their technology to grow instead of bigger companies with large market shares or high sales.
That changed after Google outgunned Microsoft for online ad firm DoubleClick Inc. in April with a $3.1-billion offer.
"That injected a sense of urgency," said Scott Kessler, an equity analyst for Standard & Poor's.
A month later, Microsoft made its largest purchase to that point, buying online ad firm AQuantive Inc. for $6 billion. It was a bid no other company could match, Kessler said.
In October, Microsoft outmaneuvered Google for a small piece of the booming social networking company Facebook Inc., paying $240 million for a 1.6% stake. Microsoft reveled in the victory, announcing the deal while Google was holding its annual analyst meeting.
Because Microsoft is playing catch-up in online advertising, regulators have given it more leeway to make big Web acquisitions. Google's deal with DoubleClick was closely reviewed by U.S. regulators before they approved in December (the European Commission is still considering the deal). Though twice the size, Microsoft's AQuantive deal sailed through.
Google is preparing to argue in Washington that regulators should consider Microsoft's prior offenses if Yahoo agrees to a deal.
"We are dealing with a unique competitor here," said a person familiar with Google's thinking. "Nobody else has the operating system monopoly. Nobody else has the browser monopoly. Nobody else has been found by the regulators and the courts to have abused those monopolies."
But times have changed, said Eric Goldman, director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. Google's dominance in online advertising might help Microsoft executives if they have to defend the Yahoo deal to antitrust regulators.
"They get to make all the arguments that have been made against them for so long," he said.
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Friday, February 8, 2008
Front-running and domain-tasting
Buying & Shopping
Posted by Michael Bloch
Have you ever searched for a good domain name, found one available, gone to register it a few minutes later only to discover it’s just been registered? This may have been a case of front-running; a practice that’s been in the spotlight lately due to accusations against a high profile registrar.
Finding unregistered good domain names is pretty difficult these days - you can spend many hours doing so and you’ll likely burn through dozens of possibilities at the very least, particularly names that are comprised of generic words.
What is front-running?
If you’ve ever found a great domain name and then within minutes it’s not available, this may have been a case of front-running; the practice whereby a registrar registers a potential domain immediately after a search is performed. This prevents the person from registering it elsewhere and can result in the domain registration price charge being higher.
The practice of front-running has come to the fore in recent days. According to this CNet report:
“Network Solutions holds the domain for up to four days, during which time a customer can register it only from Network Solutions and after which it again becomes generally available if unregistered”
Network Solutions says it’s a practice to *prevent* front-running. Read their spin on it in the CNET post and you be the judge. I’ve read elsewhere that by registering and then dropping the names after 4 days, the deletion process will announce these names to domainers and domain tasters (see below) anyway.
So, is this fighting fire with fire perhaps.. or not? Hmm. I haven’t had a front-running incident happen to me in the last couple of years when registering domains elsewhere.
Domain tasting
This 4 day lockdown period by Network Solutions is just under the “Create Grace Period,” implemented by ICANN for global registries. The CGP is a five-day period in which a registrar may delete a newly registered domain and get a refund of the registry fee. This means that this pre-emptive registration practice doesn’t cost Network Solutions a dime.
Some shady registrar/domainers have abused this feature - it’s called “domain tasting”. During the CGP period, domain-tasters tests viability of generating revenue from ads placed on the domain’s web site. If it doesn’t create any cash, they simply dump it and get a refund; which usually involves a registrar who knows what’s going on. While Network Solutions don’t attempt to monetize with PPC ads, the domain can’t be registered elsewhere.
If what Network Solutions says is true and they are doing A Good Thing, I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if they had competitive pricing, but they still charge $34.99 for 1 year’s registration for a .com name. You can register a name through other quality companies for under $9.50 - I grabbed a couple yesterday at this price.
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Posted by Michael Bloch
Have you ever searched for a good domain name, found one available, gone to register it a few minutes later only to discover it’s just been registered? This may have been a case of front-running; a practice that’s been in the spotlight lately due to accusations against a high profile registrar.
Finding unregistered good domain names is pretty difficult these days - you can spend many hours doing so and you’ll likely burn through dozens of possibilities at the very least, particularly names that are comprised of generic words.
What is front-running?
If you’ve ever found a great domain name and then within minutes it’s not available, this may have been a case of front-running; the practice whereby a registrar registers a potential domain immediately after a search is performed. This prevents the person from registering it elsewhere and can result in the domain registration price charge being higher.
The practice of front-running has come to the fore in recent days. According to this CNet report:
“Network Solutions holds the domain for up to four days, during which time a customer can register it only from Network Solutions and after which it again becomes generally available if unregistered”
Network Solutions says it’s a practice to *prevent* front-running. Read their spin on it in the CNET post and you be the judge. I’ve read elsewhere that by registering and then dropping the names after 4 days, the deletion process will announce these names to domainers and domain tasters (see below) anyway.
So, is this fighting fire with fire perhaps.. or not? Hmm. I haven’t had a front-running incident happen to me in the last couple of years when registering domains elsewhere.
Domain tasting
This 4 day lockdown period by Network Solutions is just under the “Create Grace Period,” implemented by ICANN for global registries. The CGP is a five-day period in which a registrar may delete a newly registered domain and get a refund of the registry fee. This means that this pre-emptive registration practice doesn’t cost Network Solutions a dime.
Some shady registrar/domainers have abused this feature - it’s called “domain tasting”. During the CGP period, domain-tasters tests viability of generating revenue from ads placed on the domain’s web site. If it doesn’t create any cash, they simply dump it and get a refund; which usually involves a registrar who knows what’s going on. While Network Solutions don’t attempt to monetize with PPC ads, the domain can’t be registered elsewhere.
If what Network Solutions says is true and they are doing A Good Thing, I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if they had competitive pricing, but they still charge $34.99 for 1 year’s registration for a .com name. You can register a name through other quality companies for under $9.50 - I grabbed a couple yesterday at this price.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Google troubled by Microsoft move
Buying & Shopping
Microsoft is keen to better compete with GoogleGoogle has said it finds Microsoft's $44.6bn (£22.65bn) bid to buy rival Yahoo "troubling" and wants regulators to scrutinise the proposed deal.
In a blog, Google said the tie-up could unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email and instant messaging services.
It said Microsoft had previously sought "to establish proprietary monopolies".
Microsoft made an unsolicited offer for Yahoo on Friday, and Yahoo has said it is considering the proposal.
Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions
David Drummond, chief legal officer Google
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, told analysts at a briefing on Monday the proposed takeover would create a "strong number two competitor".
He argued that competition would get fiercer, particularly in the market for online advertising.
"Google's clearly got a dominant position. They've got about 75% of paid search worldwide," Mr Ballmer said.
'Underlying principles'
But that view is not held by the top executives at Google.
"Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions," said David Drummond, Google's senior vice president for corporate development and chief legal officer.
"This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the internet: openness and innovation," he said in a company blog.
This is clearly Google's opening move in a complex game of chess that will encompass ordinary users, politicians, regulators and businessmen
Darren Waters, technology editor, BBC News website.
Read Darren's thoughts in full
Search faces huge shake-up
Mr Drummond suggested Microsoft may attempt to exert an "inappropriate... influence" over the internet.
"While the internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies - and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets," he said.
In 2004 the European Commission fined Microsoft 497m euros for abusing its market dominance, a ruling the US company finally lost on appeal in September last year.
The Commission has since launched two new competition inquiries against Microsoft.
Members of the US Congress Judiciary Committee will scrutinise the bid on 8 February.
Borrowing to buy
Despite Microsoft's deep pockets, the software giant has revealed it may have to go into debt for the first time to finance its $44.6bn combined cash and share offer for Yahoo.
"If you look at the cash component, that's going to be over $20bn in cash," said Microsoft's chief finance officer, Chris Liddell.
"We could fund most of that through our cash holdings, but it's likely we're actually going to borrow for the first time."
Microsoft's proposed bid, unveiled in a letter to Yahoo's board on Friday, is 62% above Yahoo's closing share price on Thursday.
Rebuff?
Reports said Yahoo would consider an alliance with Google as one way to fend off Microsoft's bid.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt called his counterpart at Yahoo, Jerry Yang, to offer his company's help in any efforts to rebuff Microsoft.
Time Warner, News Corporation, AT&T and Comcast are some of the firms that are often named prospective suitors for Yahoo.
But, according to the New York Times, none of these companies have begun work on any rival bids.
Microsoft shares began Monday's trading session up slightly. At 1510 GMT it was up 8 cents at $30.53.
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Microsoft is keen to better compete with GoogleGoogle has said it finds Microsoft's $44.6bn (£22.65bn) bid to buy rival Yahoo "troubling" and wants regulators to scrutinise the proposed deal.
In a blog, Google said the tie-up could unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors' email and instant messaging services.
It said Microsoft had previously sought "to establish proprietary monopolies".
Microsoft made an unsolicited offer for Yahoo on Friday, and Yahoo has said it is considering the proposal.
Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions
David Drummond, chief legal officer Google
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, told analysts at a briefing on Monday the proposed takeover would create a "strong number two competitor".
He argued that competition would get fiercer, particularly in the market for online advertising.
"Google's clearly got a dominant position. They've got about 75% of paid search worldwide," Mr Ballmer said.
'Underlying principles'
But that view is not held by the top executives at Google.
"Microsoft's hostile bid for Yahoo raises troubling questions," said David Drummond, Google's senior vice president for corporate development and chief legal officer.
"This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the internet: openness and innovation," he said in a company blog.
This is clearly Google's opening move in a complex game of chess that will encompass ordinary users, politicians, regulators and businessmen
Darren Waters, technology editor, BBC News website.
Read Darren's thoughts in full
Search faces huge shake-up
Mr Drummond suggested Microsoft may attempt to exert an "inappropriate... influence" over the internet.
"While the internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies - and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets," he said.
In 2004 the European Commission fined Microsoft 497m euros for abusing its market dominance, a ruling the US company finally lost on appeal in September last year.
The Commission has since launched two new competition inquiries against Microsoft.
Members of the US Congress Judiciary Committee will scrutinise the bid on 8 February.
Borrowing to buy
Despite Microsoft's deep pockets, the software giant has revealed it may have to go into debt for the first time to finance its $44.6bn combined cash and share offer for Yahoo.
"If you look at the cash component, that's going to be over $20bn in cash," said Microsoft's chief finance officer, Chris Liddell.
"We could fund most of that through our cash holdings, but it's likely we're actually going to borrow for the first time."
Microsoft's proposed bid, unveiled in a letter to Yahoo's board on Friday, is 62% above Yahoo's closing share price on Thursday.
Rebuff?
Reports said Yahoo would consider an alliance with Google as one way to fend off Microsoft's bid.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt called his counterpart at Yahoo, Jerry Yang, to offer his company's help in any efforts to rebuff Microsoft.
Time Warner, News Corporation, AT&T and Comcast are some of the firms that are often named prospective suitors for Yahoo.
But, according to the New York Times, none of these companies have begun work on any rival bids.
Microsoft shares began Monday's trading session up slightly. At 1510 GMT it was up 8 cents at $30.53.
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Monday, February 4, 2008
Intel Integrates Wireless Support On A Single Chip
Buying & Shopping
By Antone Gonsalves Intel has designed a chip that can receive and transmit WiMax and multiple Wi-Fi signals.
Intel (NSDQ: INTC) on Monday said it has designed a chip that can receive and transmit WiMax and multiple Wi-Fi signals and has developed other on-die technology to lower power consumption and reduce the size of the processor. Intel researchers outlined the achievements in four research papers presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. The papers reflect some of the technology that may one day find its way in Intel chips for use in future mobile Internet devices.
What Intel says it has accomplished is the building of a die that supports WiMax and Wi-Fi a/g/n. In integrating a transceiver capable of handling multiple frequencies on a single chip, Intel has eliminated the use of a "front-end module," technology that performs the same function today on a separate die, Hossein Alavi, director of communications circuits at Intel labs, told InformationWeek. Eliminating the separate module would ultimately enable the building of a smaller processor with lower power consumption, two important attributes for portable Internet devices.
In addition, Intel researchers have integrated a power amplifier that's almost entirely digital for improving the quality and strength of the signal transmitted and received. A digital amplifier can scale with the processor, so as the latter becomes more powerful, so can the amplifier.
Today's chips use analog amplifiers, which are far more limited in their ability to scale. "Taking advantage of Moore's Law in processors is not possible, if we have anything in analog, and the power amplifier is one of the most difficult [to convert]," Alavi said.
Other achievements described in the papers include a "smart receiver" for Wi-Fi and WiMax signals that can adjust power consumption to the properties of the signal, Alavi said. A strong signal, for example, can be processed using less power than a weak signal.
Intel plans to submit a total of 14 research papers to the ISSCC. One paper will deal with the building of on-chip memory that's denser than the SRAM Intel uses today. Intel researchers have decreased the number of transistors for each bit of storage from six to two. That means the chipmaker can double the amount of storage in the same amount of space on a chip, said Randy Mooney, Intel fellow and director of input/output research.
Increasing the amount of data that can move to a chip leads to a higher performing chip, Mooney said. However, the memory being tested in Intel labs is about half as fast as SRAM used today.
The above technologies are in the prototype stage at best, and there is no timetable for when they could appear in products.
Intel also released at ISSCC some technical details on Silverthorne, code name for the 45-nanometer processor that will power Intel's first-generation low-power platform for mobile devices, code-named Menlow. The platform is scheduled to ship in the first half of the year.
Silverthorne's thermal design power will be from 0.6 of a watt to 2 watts. TDP represents the maximum amount of power necessary for cooling. In addition, the chip can achieve a 2-GHz core frequency at 1 volt, and will support such features as Intel's virtualization technology and hyperthreading.
By Antone Gonsalves Intel has designed a chip that can receive and transmit WiMax and multiple Wi-Fi signals.
Intel (NSDQ: INTC) on Monday said it has designed a chip that can receive and transmit WiMax and multiple Wi-Fi signals and has developed other on-die technology to lower power consumption and reduce the size of the processor. Intel researchers outlined the achievements in four research papers presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. The papers reflect some of the technology that may one day find its way in Intel chips for use in future mobile Internet devices.
What Intel says it has accomplished is the building of a die that supports WiMax and Wi-Fi a/g/n. In integrating a transceiver capable of handling multiple frequencies on a single chip, Intel has eliminated the use of a "front-end module," technology that performs the same function today on a separate die, Hossein Alavi, director of communications circuits at Intel labs, told InformationWeek. Eliminating the separate module would ultimately enable the building of a smaller processor with lower power consumption, two important attributes for portable Internet devices.
In addition, Intel researchers have integrated a power amplifier that's almost entirely digital for improving the quality and strength of the signal transmitted and received. A digital amplifier can scale with the processor, so as the latter becomes more powerful, so can the amplifier.
Today's chips use analog amplifiers, which are far more limited in their ability to scale. "Taking advantage of Moore's Law in processors is not possible, if we have anything in analog, and the power amplifier is one of the most difficult [to convert]," Alavi said.
Other achievements described in the papers include a "smart receiver" for Wi-Fi and WiMax signals that can adjust power consumption to the properties of the signal, Alavi said. A strong signal, for example, can be processed using less power than a weak signal.
Intel plans to submit a total of 14 research papers to the ISSCC. One paper will deal with the building of on-chip memory that's denser than the SRAM Intel uses today. Intel researchers have decreased the number of transistors for each bit of storage from six to two. That means the chipmaker can double the amount of storage in the same amount of space on a chip, said Randy Mooney, Intel fellow and director of input/output research.
Increasing the amount of data that can move to a chip leads to a higher performing chip, Mooney said. However, the memory being tested in Intel labs is about half as fast as SRAM used today.
The above technologies are in the prototype stage at best, and there is no timetable for when they could appear in products.
Intel also released at ISSCC some technical details on Silverthorne, code name for the 45-nanometer processor that will power Intel's first-generation low-power platform for mobile devices, code-named Menlow. The platform is scheduled to ship in the first half of the year.
Silverthorne's thermal design power will be from 0.6 of a watt to 2 watts. TDP represents the maximum amount of power necessary for cooling. In addition, the chip can achieve a 2-GHz core frequency at 1 volt, and will support such features as Intel's virtualization technology and hyperthreading.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Optimizing the Planet: SEO on a Global Scale
By William Flaiz
Buying & Shopping
As part of a SEO (define) team responsible for providing global services, I've helped meet the unique needs of clients in our Frankfurt, London, and Hong Kong offices.
We've had to recruit skilled, multilingual SEO experts -- no easy task. Global solutions require the right investment in infrastructure, but the benefits are reaped across both the domestic and international playing fields.
The fundamental gain is perspective. When looking beyond the U.S. Web, certain principles remain constant to search. Certain tactics are dependent on the engine, but some things never change. The landscape and players may be foreign, but traditional SEO translates well to the international scene.
Meeting the Locals
Let's face it. America is Google-centric, and with the search giant's 58 percent market share here, there's ample reason for that. Google greatly influences how and why we optimize, often setting the tone for the other search engines.
But what if Google isn't on top? Each region has its own dominant player, which means we must know the intricacies myriad foreign engines
For example, Baidu has a 60 percent market share in China, followed by Google and Yahoo at 26 percent and 9 percent respectively. This changes some of our optimization strategies for our Hong Kong clients. What works in Google doesn't necessarily work in Baidu, and the rankings reflect that.
We need to understand what's important to Baidu outside the usual suspects of on-page content, titles, and meta tags. What's true for Baidu is true for all search marketing: know thine engine.
Speaking the Language
How do you optimize when you don't know the search language? As with learning a foreign tongue, there are some subtleties in technique for which there's simply no translation. This territory is where multilingual SEOs earn their keep.
Despite the communication nuances, there are still several guiding principles that hold true across engines and on foreign soil.
First and foremost, content is still king. If the site has plenty of unique, crawlable content, it is in good shape for SEO. The techniques for ensuring a Web site may be indexed carry over almost exactly across the regions in which we've worked. Code tends to be code no matter the language, and Flash and AJAX are not friendly to search engines of any region.
Ensuring content is chock full of appropriate keywords is another piece that remains relevant regardless of location. While "tennis shoe" may be the top American search term, "sneakers" could easily be a more suitable term in Germany for the same product. Doing market appropriate keyword research is vital to targeting the correct terms for each country.
Clients must also host their sites in the country of the top level domain, develop back links from properties within said domain, and use social media sites popular in their region. Remember: links speak the language, even if you don't.
Developing Diplomatic Relations
As a global agency, we're in a unique position. We have offices located within the regions of our worldwide clients and can tap into these resources when needed.
Most often we use our global contacts for keyword research and translation, in order to make certain we capture the nuances of dialect and remain in line with the overall client campaign. Having global partners not only breaks down language barriers, but also give us an edge on the ground. It's a real asset having someone a client can meet with face-to-face to review deliverables and help answer questions on short notice.
Avoiding International Incidents
As with any marketing discipline, advertising agencies need to be cognizant of language and culture when working outside of the U.S. We've all seen advertising campaigns where the message is lost in direct translation, and it's easy for a few misspoken words to result in confusion and anger.
With SEO, understanding the language is even more important, as the user interacts with the brand via keywords in a search engine. Having regional contacts and a deep understanding of both local engines and culture will help you avoid social pitfalls.
Although the U.S. still leads in overall Internet usage, other countries, most notably China, are catching up quickly. As we expand further into international markets, SEO will require the same level of commitment abroad as it does at home. Regardless of its regional differences, search marketing is on a clear path of convergence.
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Buying & Shopping
As part of a SEO (define) team responsible for providing global services, I've helped meet the unique needs of clients in our Frankfurt, London, and Hong Kong offices.
We've had to recruit skilled, multilingual SEO experts -- no easy task. Global solutions require the right investment in infrastructure, but the benefits are reaped across both the domestic and international playing fields.
The fundamental gain is perspective. When looking beyond the U.S. Web, certain principles remain constant to search. Certain tactics are dependent on the engine, but some things never change. The landscape and players may be foreign, but traditional SEO translates well to the international scene.
Meeting the Locals
Let's face it. America is Google-centric, and with the search giant's 58 percent market share here, there's ample reason for that. Google greatly influences how and why we optimize, often setting the tone for the other search engines.
But what if Google isn't on top? Each region has its own dominant player, which means we must know the intricacies myriad foreign engines
For example, Baidu has a 60 percent market share in China, followed by Google and Yahoo at 26 percent and 9 percent respectively. This changes some of our optimization strategies for our Hong Kong clients. What works in Google doesn't necessarily work in Baidu, and the rankings reflect that.
We need to understand what's important to Baidu outside the usual suspects of on-page content, titles, and meta tags. What's true for Baidu is true for all search marketing: know thine engine.
Speaking the Language
How do you optimize when you don't know the search language? As with learning a foreign tongue, there are some subtleties in technique for which there's simply no translation. This territory is where multilingual SEOs earn their keep.
Despite the communication nuances, there are still several guiding principles that hold true across engines and on foreign soil.
First and foremost, content is still king. If the site has plenty of unique, crawlable content, it is in good shape for SEO. The techniques for ensuring a Web site may be indexed carry over almost exactly across the regions in which we've worked. Code tends to be code no matter the language, and Flash and AJAX are not friendly to search engines of any region.
Ensuring content is chock full of appropriate keywords is another piece that remains relevant regardless of location. While "tennis shoe" may be the top American search term, "sneakers" could easily be a more suitable term in Germany for the same product. Doing market appropriate keyword research is vital to targeting the correct terms for each country.
Clients must also host their sites in the country of the top level domain, develop back links from properties within said domain, and use social media sites popular in their region. Remember: links speak the language, even if you don't.
Developing Diplomatic Relations
As a global agency, we're in a unique position. We have offices located within the regions of our worldwide clients and can tap into these resources when needed.
Most often we use our global contacts for keyword research and translation, in order to make certain we capture the nuances of dialect and remain in line with the overall client campaign. Having global partners not only breaks down language barriers, but also give us an edge on the ground. It's a real asset having someone a client can meet with face-to-face to review deliverables and help answer questions on short notice.
Avoiding International Incidents
As with any marketing discipline, advertising agencies need to be cognizant of language and culture when working outside of the U.S. We've all seen advertising campaigns where the message is lost in direct translation, and it's easy for a few misspoken words to result in confusion and anger.
With SEO, understanding the language is even more important, as the user interacts with the brand via keywords in a search engine. Having regional contacts and a deep understanding of both local engines and culture will help you avoid social pitfalls.
Although the U.S. still leads in overall Internet usage, other countries, most notably China, are catching up quickly. As we expand further into international markets, SEO will require the same level of commitment abroad as it does at home. Regardless of its regional differences, search marketing is on a clear path of convergence.
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Friday, February 1, 2008
Would a Microsoft-Yahoo deal out Google Google?
Buying & Shopping
Bid is riddled with pitfalls and benefits, analysts say
By Todd R. Weiss and Linda Rosencrance
Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for $44.6B Microsoft-Yahoo deal will pass antitrust muster, say analysts On-again, off-again Microsoft-Yahoo deal: Off again? Microsoft-Yahoo deal: Not if but when, analysts say
February 1, 2008 (Computerworld) As Microsoft Corp. tries to take on search company Google Inc. for more advertising revenue by offering to acquire Yahoo Inc., a big question remains: Can Microsoft and Yahoo together best Google?
"That's the key question," said Allan Krans, an analyst at Technology Business Research Inc. in Hampton, N.H. "I think it puts them in a better position to gain ground on Google, but I think it's far from any guaranteed results."
Microsoft today announced an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock offer to buy Yahoo to create an alternative to the Google juggernaut. Yahoo said it's reviewing the offer and will respond later.
Several analysts interviewed today said the deal has more than its share of benefits and pitfalls for both companies. If Microsoft succeeds in acquiring Yahoo, then the two companies' next step should be to "lay out a strategy to drive search," Krans said. "The ultimate goal is to drive online advertising revenue, but to get there you have to have tools and the platform. But then what advertisers really want to see is people clicking on your site."
Herein lies the problem for both Microsoft and Yahoo: More Internet users go to Google for their online searches than either Microsoft's or Yahoo's Web sites. "They haven't been successful at capturing more of that online traffic. They're going to have to turn that around. They're also going to have to attract more advertisers," Krans said.
A benefit of such a deal, however, is that instead of continuing to compete with each other while attempting to catch up with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo could combine their best features and try to gain ground on Google as one, Krans said. "Microsoft is trying to drive the popularity of its Windows and Office tools through their online offerings, while Yahoo has popular e-mail services and strength in its [online user] groups. Once people sign up and participate in those groups, it tends to be a very sticky thing. People don't jump around."
Could such an acquisition help Microsoft catch Google?
Search Market Share Searches (000) Share of Searches Google 4,062,536 56% Yahoo 1,273,688 18% MSN/Windows Live 995,899 14%
Source: Nielsen Online, December 2007 report"I think it's going to take a long time," Krans said. "At this point, both companies would like to stop the erosion of their market shares and retain their bases because it just keeps flowing over to Google. Either way, it's going to be a long-term strategy. Google has over a 60% share of search in the United States. It will take a while to change that."
Even if it acquires Yahoo, Microsoft has no way of knowing if it can get users to leave Google and do their searches with Microsoft-Yahoo, he said.
"How do you change what millions of consumers do in terms of their search?" he asked. "It's a very difficult proposition to change those user preferences. It's a difficult question to answer, but they're going to have to figure it out if they're going to challenge Google."
Ironically for Microsoft, the situation is similar to the one faced by a multitude of competitors that have tried over the years to take on Microsoft's Office productivity suite in the marketplace, Krans said. Microsoft Office is firmly entrenched and is used by millions, and competitors have yet to make a significant dent in its market position.
"How do you offer an alternative to Microsoft Office?" Krans asked. "They're facing the same type of challenge in facing off with Google. The tables are turned in that respect."
In a telephone conference call with financial analysts this morning, Microsoft said it wants to give users choice and stop Google from unfairly dominating the search marketplace.
Krans found that an interesting argument coming from Microsoft, since others have accused it of dominating operating systems and other software markets for some time. "Once the shoe's on the other foot, it's a different story," he said.
Rob Enderle, an analyst at San Jose-based Enderle Group, said the deal could change the stakes in the online search marketplace. "Microsoft's MSN property and Yahoo's online property together have enough power to provide a nice hedge against where Google is going," Enderle said.
But Google is likely to try to block the deal, first on antitrust grounds much like Microsoft moved against Google against DoubleClick Inc., Enderle said.
"And Google will try to outbid Microsoft," he predicted, "because neither one of these guys wants the other to get this property and so this is likely to be hard fought."
Google spokesman Matt Furman said his company would have no statement about the Microsoft offer. "It would be premature for us to comment at this time," he said.
Apple and oranges
Dana Gardner, an analyst at Interarbor Solutions LLC of Gilford, N.H., said the potential acquisition is a "risky bet" for Microsoft because the two companies have fundamentally different technological heritages. Microsoft is based on its Windows infrastructure, while Yahoo is built on open-source software and open standards and has even led the way in open-source circles on a variety of projects.
"Fundamentally, we've got apples and oranges for their infrastructures and their philosophies for how to approach software," Gardner said. In addition, Microsoft is fueled by revenue from software licensing while Yahoo revenues almost entirely come from advertising sales, while both companies have very different internal cultures, he said. "These are things that are going to take time" to resolve, he said. "Anytime a merger of this size, $45 billion, comes up, it's not good. Sometimes size is too much to overcome."
Another potential problem, he said, is that many corporate IT managers may worry about such an acquisition because it takes Microsoft's focus farther away from its longtime central role of providing needed software to corporations and consumers.
With this offer, "Microsoft is betting itself on search," Gardner said. "And if you're betting the company outside your normal area, then as a CEO [who relies on your software], that would leave me concerned."
The offer made today "does sort of smack of desperation," Gardner said. "It would have made more sense a few years ago to have done a merger with Yahoo, but this is an unsolicited bid. It really seems Microsoft waited for Yahoo to be on one knee [financially] in what needs to be a friendly acquisition" for it to succeed swiftly. "That's why I think its risky."
Where would the deal leave Microsoft?
"It's like a multiheaded dragon," Gardner said. "You don't really know what it is. As an IT buyer and user, you might not know what to expect from them in the future. Users want companies that are there for them. I think it's going to help IBM. I think it's going to help Apple. It helps muddy the waters in a way that Microsoft competitors can take advantage of."
Guy Creese, an analyst at Midvale, Utah-based Burton Group, said the offer comes from Microsoft as a response to a changing search marketplace. "It's not a knee-jerk reaction to it, but they are saying 'OK, how do we win?'"
One area to watch in the potential acquisition is what will happen if the two companies put their data centers together, Creese said.
"They both are building these big, whopping data centers," Creese said. Yahoo's is for user services such as e-mail and chat, and Microsoft is building data centers to support its Office Live capabilities. "If brought together, Microsoft would bulk up to probably twice the number of data centers" that it has today, putting it in a much more powerful position.
Another piece of the unfolding scenario to watch, Creese said, is how Microsoft would approach one of Yahoo's recent acquisitions -- the open-source Zimbra collaboration suite. "It's a nice [software-as-a-service] and software-based suite with a calendar and other parts. ... It would be very interesting if it would be added to the Microsoft portfolio. ... I think this is a jewel that Yahoo has that would be a very nice extra-credit sort of thing."
David Ferris, president of San Francisco-based Ferris Research, said the deal makes sense for Microsoft because Yahoo "has a certain strength in responsiveness to consumer needs that Microsoft has not had. And that I think would be one of the major synergies."
"I think that Google, to my mind, has not demonstrated the same level of user-friendliness and understanding as Yahoo," Ferris said.
While Microsoft prides itself on technological excellence, Yahoo prides itself on being an organization with a goal of bending technology to enhance the lives of consumers, Ferris said. "The combination of those two -- bringing Yahoo's skills and positioning brings significance to Microsoft in its attempts to provide consumer services," he said.
Ferris said Microsoft's offer is reasonable but as a shareholder he wouldn't immediately jump at it. However, he said the deal offers many benefits to Yahoo. "This can help Yahoo with deeper pockets, it can help with all sorts of technology partnerships and it can revitalize Yahoo."
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Bid is riddled with pitfalls and benefits, analysts say
By Todd R. Weiss and Linda Rosencrance
Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for $44.6B Microsoft-Yahoo deal will pass antitrust muster, say analysts On-again, off-again Microsoft-Yahoo deal: Off again? Microsoft-Yahoo deal: Not if but when, analysts say
February 1, 2008 (Computerworld) As Microsoft Corp. tries to take on search company Google Inc. for more advertising revenue by offering to acquire Yahoo Inc., a big question remains: Can Microsoft and Yahoo together best Google?
"That's the key question," said Allan Krans, an analyst at Technology Business Research Inc. in Hampton, N.H. "I think it puts them in a better position to gain ground on Google, but I think it's far from any guaranteed results."
Microsoft today announced an unsolicited $44.6 billion cash and stock offer to buy Yahoo to create an alternative to the Google juggernaut. Yahoo said it's reviewing the offer and will respond later.
Several analysts interviewed today said the deal has more than its share of benefits and pitfalls for both companies. If Microsoft succeeds in acquiring Yahoo, then the two companies' next step should be to "lay out a strategy to drive search," Krans said. "The ultimate goal is to drive online advertising revenue, but to get there you have to have tools and the platform. But then what advertisers really want to see is people clicking on your site."
Herein lies the problem for both Microsoft and Yahoo: More Internet users go to Google for their online searches than either Microsoft's or Yahoo's Web sites. "They haven't been successful at capturing more of that online traffic. They're going to have to turn that around. They're also going to have to attract more advertisers," Krans said.
A benefit of such a deal, however, is that instead of continuing to compete with each other while attempting to catch up with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo could combine their best features and try to gain ground on Google as one, Krans said. "Microsoft is trying to drive the popularity of its Windows and Office tools through their online offerings, while Yahoo has popular e-mail services and strength in its [online user] groups. Once people sign up and participate in those groups, it tends to be a very sticky thing. People don't jump around."
Could such an acquisition help Microsoft catch Google?
Search Market Share Searches (000) Share of Searches Google 4,062,536 56% Yahoo 1,273,688 18% MSN/Windows Live 995,899 14%
Source: Nielsen Online, December 2007 report"I think it's going to take a long time," Krans said. "At this point, both companies would like to stop the erosion of their market shares and retain their bases because it just keeps flowing over to Google. Either way, it's going to be a long-term strategy. Google has over a 60% share of search in the United States. It will take a while to change that."
Even if it acquires Yahoo, Microsoft has no way of knowing if it can get users to leave Google and do their searches with Microsoft-Yahoo, he said.
"How do you change what millions of consumers do in terms of their search?" he asked. "It's a very difficult proposition to change those user preferences. It's a difficult question to answer, but they're going to have to figure it out if they're going to challenge Google."
Ironically for Microsoft, the situation is similar to the one faced by a multitude of competitors that have tried over the years to take on Microsoft's Office productivity suite in the marketplace, Krans said. Microsoft Office is firmly entrenched and is used by millions, and competitors have yet to make a significant dent in its market position.
"How do you offer an alternative to Microsoft Office?" Krans asked. "They're facing the same type of challenge in facing off with Google. The tables are turned in that respect."
In a telephone conference call with financial analysts this morning, Microsoft said it wants to give users choice and stop Google from unfairly dominating the search marketplace.
Krans found that an interesting argument coming from Microsoft, since others have accused it of dominating operating systems and other software markets for some time. "Once the shoe's on the other foot, it's a different story," he said.
Rob Enderle, an analyst at San Jose-based Enderle Group, said the deal could change the stakes in the online search marketplace. "Microsoft's MSN property and Yahoo's online property together have enough power to provide a nice hedge against where Google is going," Enderle said.
But Google is likely to try to block the deal, first on antitrust grounds much like Microsoft moved against Google against DoubleClick Inc., Enderle said.
"And Google will try to outbid Microsoft," he predicted, "because neither one of these guys wants the other to get this property and so this is likely to be hard fought."
Google spokesman Matt Furman said his company would have no statement about the Microsoft offer. "It would be premature for us to comment at this time," he said.
Apple and oranges
Dana Gardner, an analyst at Interarbor Solutions LLC of Gilford, N.H., said the potential acquisition is a "risky bet" for Microsoft because the two companies have fundamentally different technological heritages. Microsoft is based on its Windows infrastructure, while Yahoo is built on open-source software and open standards and has even led the way in open-source circles on a variety of projects.
"Fundamentally, we've got apples and oranges for their infrastructures and their philosophies for how to approach software," Gardner said. In addition, Microsoft is fueled by revenue from software licensing while Yahoo revenues almost entirely come from advertising sales, while both companies have very different internal cultures, he said. "These are things that are going to take time" to resolve, he said. "Anytime a merger of this size, $45 billion, comes up, it's not good. Sometimes size is too much to overcome."
Another potential problem, he said, is that many corporate IT managers may worry about such an acquisition because it takes Microsoft's focus farther away from its longtime central role of providing needed software to corporations and consumers.
With this offer, "Microsoft is betting itself on search," Gardner said. "And if you're betting the company outside your normal area, then as a CEO [who relies on your software], that would leave me concerned."
The offer made today "does sort of smack of desperation," Gardner said. "It would have made more sense a few years ago to have done a merger with Yahoo, but this is an unsolicited bid. It really seems Microsoft waited for Yahoo to be on one knee [financially] in what needs to be a friendly acquisition" for it to succeed swiftly. "That's why I think its risky."
Where would the deal leave Microsoft?
"It's like a multiheaded dragon," Gardner said. "You don't really know what it is. As an IT buyer and user, you might not know what to expect from them in the future. Users want companies that are there for them. I think it's going to help IBM. I think it's going to help Apple. It helps muddy the waters in a way that Microsoft competitors can take advantage of."
Guy Creese, an analyst at Midvale, Utah-based Burton Group, said the offer comes from Microsoft as a response to a changing search marketplace. "It's not a knee-jerk reaction to it, but they are saying 'OK, how do we win?'"
One area to watch in the potential acquisition is what will happen if the two companies put their data centers together, Creese said.
"They both are building these big, whopping data centers," Creese said. Yahoo's is for user services such as e-mail and chat, and Microsoft is building data centers to support its Office Live capabilities. "If brought together, Microsoft would bulk up to probably twice the number of data centers" that it has today, putting it in a much more powerful position.
Another piece of the unfolding scenario to watch, Creese said, is how Microsoft would approach one of Yahoo's recent acquisitions -- the open-source Zimbra collaboration suite. "It's a nice [software-as-a-service] and software-based suite with a calendar and other parts. ... It would be very interesting if it would be added to the Microsoft portfolio. ... I think this is a jewel that Yahoo has that would be a very nice extra-credit sort of thing."
David Ferris, president of San Francisco-based Ferris Research, said the deal makes sense for Microsoft because Yahoo "has a certain strength in responsiveness to consumer needs that Microsoft has not had. And that I think would be one of the major synergies."
"I think that Google, to my mind, has not demonstrated the same level of user-friendliness and understanding as Yahoo," Ferris said.
While Microsoft prides itself on technological excellence, Yahoo prides itself on being an organization with a goal of bending technology to enhance the lives of consumers, Ferris said. "The combination of those two -- bringing Yahoo's skills and positioning brings significance to Microsoft in its attempts to provide consumer services," he said.
Ferris said Microsoft's offer is reasonable but as a shareholder he wouldn't immediately jump at it. However, he said the deal offers many benefits to Yahoo. "This can help Yahoo with deeper pockets, it can help with all sorts of technology partnerships and it can revitalize Yahoo."
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