Archive for May, 2007
May 18, 2007 at 9:52 am · Filed under Advertising, Online Marketing
Well, if you didn’t catch the news yet today, in a 6 billion dollar deal, Microsoft purchased aQuantive, best known as the parent company of Avenue A/Razorfish (which accounts for two-thirds of aQuantive’s revenue).
Here’s a quote from the AdWeek article:
The transaction, which must clear regulatory approval, will wed Microsoft’s technology firepower with aQuantive’s ad serving and network businesses. It also means Microsoft will own the largest interactive ad agency in the U.S., Avenue A/Razorfish, putting it in the position of both buying and selling online ads.
This seems like an odd marriage; Microsoft realizes, and addressed that, in the AdWeek writeup:
“We definitely recognize there will be a perception of a conflict,” said Joe Doran, general manager of Microsoft’s digital advertising solutions unit, in an interview with Adweek.com. “We want to make sure we draw that distinction for the rest of the ad community. We will be operating Avenue A/Razorfish as a stand-alone business as much as possible.”
You have to admit, Microsoft is putting their money where their mouth is. It will be interesting to see how this one moves forward.
Tags: Advertising, Microsoft, Online Marketing, SearchShare This
May 16, 2007 at 9:55 am · Filed under Beta
Google announced the beginning of a move toward ‘Universal Search’ today in a press release. Directly from the press release:
Google’s vision for universal search is to ultimately search across all its content sources, compare and rank all the information in real time, and deliver a single, integrated set of search results that offers users precisely what they are looking for. Beginning today, the company will incorporate information from a variety of previously separate sources – including videos, images, news, maps, books, and websites – into a single set of results. At first, universal search results may be subtle. Over time users will recognize additional types of content integrated into their search results as the company advances toward delivering a truly comprehensive search experience.
Of interest elsewhere in the press release is information about a version of Google’s search on Google’s Experimental Lab that provides the option of a timeline or map views of results. Here’s a few samples:Here’s a view of ‘gas prices’ shown on the timeline view:Google Experimental Labs Search: Gas Prices - Timeline ViewHere’s a view of ‘Starbucks’ shown on the timeline view:Google Experimental Labs Search: Starbucks - Timeline ViewHere’s a view of ‘Nato’ on the map view:Google Experimental Labs Search: Nato - Map ViewHere’s a view of ‘Katrina’ on the map view:Google Experimental Labs Search: Katrina - Map View
Tags: Beta, Data Visualization, Google, SearchShare This
May 13, 2007 at 9:58 am · Filed under Analytics, Privacy
There is a GREAT audio interview of Avinash Kaushik posted up on Eight Black. Avinash Kaushik is a Google Analytics Evangelist. The interviewer, Simon Chen, asks Avinash several times if Google intermingles the data it collects from various sources. Avinash answers “no” each time, which makes each subsequent query even funnier. Seriously though, it’s definitely worth a listen if you’re remotely interested in search, Google or analytics.
Tags: Analytics, Google, Privacy, SearchShare This
May 6, 2007 at 10:00 am · Filed under Web 2.0, Branding, Visual Design
Remember back in the 90’s, when the name of an Internet-based company needed to either (a) mean nothing or (b) weld two actual words together (or a word and a fragment of a word) which might (but not necessarily) ultimately hint at what the company is or does? Here’s a few to refresh your memory:
Meaning Nothing at All:
Kozmo.com - note to self, rent E-Dreams
Flooz.com
Boo.com
Product of Word Welding:
govWorks - note to self, rent Startup.com
WebVan
DigiScents (yes, that one was the one based on delivering scent over the Internet)
Great stuff! And great memories. Some of these methods are still in use today—hell, I work at a company named Terralever, and Boo.com is back from the dead as a completely different company in the “Web 2.0″ world (it was hip apparel prior to the bubble bursting, now its a user generated travel information site).
So, here we are in the middle of Web 2.0. What kinds of trends are we seeing? Let’s take a look at some Web 2.0 company names:
YouTube
MySpace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Script.aculo.us
Flickr
Meebo
JumpCut
Alright. So what do we have here? I see some of the old tricks, but we have some new ones also. Including:
Hip Illiteracy
Misspelling is IN. Make no mistake about it, dropping a vowel, or acting like your keyboard double-struck a letter when you thought of your name is a good thing. Some of the most successful Web 2.0 plays leverage this trend.
Can’t get the Domain—Get there by Sub-Domain
We were all taught during the first wave that one thing that had to happen to be a successful online venture was the domain had to be available. Period. Well, since the 90’s we’ve lost a lot of potential domain names. Anything remotely making sense is owned by someone that thought they’d cash in for millions. How can you get around that? Find a top-level domain that can be the end of the word, get a domain that fills in a few more letters, and add a sub-domain to finish it off. Del.icio.us and Script.aculou.us anyone?
Stlll Thinking “How can I get my Web 2.0 company name?”
It’s easy! Even naming and branding is free with the power of Web 2.0. If you’re looking to create your own Web 2.0 company, and are at a loss of creativity, do try the Web 2.0 Company Name generator. When you’re done, get your logo created correctly in Web 2.0 style at the Web 2.0 Logo Creatr (brilliant naming by the way!).
I gave it a shot, here’s three names I came up with:
Voonoodle
BabbleZ
Flipshare
Voonoodle—a bit long for Web 2.0, but it just might work. So what would Voonoodle’s logo look like? Let’s take a look at what the Logo Creatr came up with for me:
Very nice! I went with the Beta option (VERY 2.0). Now I just need to figure out what Voonoodle is/does and I’ll be on my way!
Tags: Branding, Internet Bubble, Visual Design, Web 2.0Share This
May 2, 2007 at 10:03 am · Filed under Web Applications, User Experience
In April Google added a “My Maps” feature to its online map offering. It allows anyone with a Google account to create their own maps with push pins and annotation which can be published publicly or kept private, but still shared. I thought I’d put My Maps to a quick task and see how well it did in comparison to Microsoft’s Virtual Earth which also has similar functionality.
As expected, it was incredibly simple to use. Using My Maps was completely intuitive, and within 5 minutes or so I had a map that we could provide to those visiting our offices which is far better than what Google naturally maps (for some odd reason, Google Maps incorrectly maps our location by one block).
What I Created in Google Maps with My Maps
I also tried Microsoft’s Virtual Earth for comparison. I thought it might have the better end-product as Virtual Earth’s 3d maps look great. Unfortunately, after spending the time to make the map and save the collection, when I tested it, it doesn’t retain the map view that I selected when creating the map. So, instead of getting exactly what I created, users viewing the map get Virtual Earth’s default ‘top-down, roads only’ view which wasn’t what I’d want them to see-I wanted that great 3d view! Additionally, it lacked the ability to create different types of push pins for the map (which I thought was great on Google’s My Maps). Finally, the link Virtual Earth provided for sharing my map does not work at all in Safari on the Macintosh (the link redirects the browser to intl.local.live.com).
What I Created in Virtual Earth
A 3d Map with Push Pins - NICE!
What Users who Click on my Shared Link See
Not so Nice
Virtual Earth was reasonably easy to use, and the 3d view is great. I felt that the 3d map view provided better context to someone visiting our location. However, there were too many negatives with the Live mapping overall. Google’s My Maps (more information and help) is incredibly easy to use, and it does what it does well. Google takes this one.
Tags: Google, Microsoft, My Maps, User Experience, Virtual Earth, Web ApplicationsShare This
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