Microsoft has launched “decision†engine Bing (currently in beta) as an agreeable new choice for Web searchers. Claiming Bing was designed to help people find the right information that can help them in making decisions, Microsoft passed over the term “search engine†for “decision engine.” With an index of five million pages (Google reports indexing over eight billion) and seemingly relevant results, searchers have given this much anticipated update to Microsoft LIVE Search a warm reception.
Continue reading “Microsoft’s new “decision” engine”
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Social media is the new customer service
Social media is transforming the way brands think about customer service. Prior to social media, the risk of providing poor customer service was minor. One customer complaint would have been heard by few others. Today, every single service incident has the potential to become a public relations debacle. Every customer now has a megaphone to express disdain.
There are multiple incidents that illustrate how important social media has become to keeping customers happy: The Comcast technician asleep on a couch YouTube video, and the JetBlue public relations nightmare after planes were stuck on the tarmac for hours, to name just a couple. Brands have taken notice and are beginning to be more proactive in the social media and customer service arena. Continue reading “Social media is the new customer service”
IPG unveils digital ad network
Mediabrands (parent company to the Lab) unveiled its latest project, Cadreon: a new, proprietary digital ad network. While Cadreon aims to capture a greater share of client business, the new network will also enable purchasing of advertising across platfroms–from video to digital out of home, to social networks.
At the Lab, this has us jumping up and down for joy. Because while online display advertising is an important part of the equation, tapping into the larger ecosystem–social, mobile, DOOH–remains a challenge for agencies and brands alike.
New era of digital publishing
The personal digital publishing revolution has been happening for awhile. But a few announcements today make it clear that the wheels of progress are turning faster than ever before. And, that we’re getting closer to the plug-and-play-don’t-make-me-think-open-standards era.
First, at Google’s developer conference, the search and Web giant presented its “intentions” with HTML 5. Continue reading “New era of digital publishing”
Consumers want more for their cars
The collision between the economy and car companies has caused one unpleasant pile up. Indicators for consumption and growth are not very pretty. It is important to note that despite some of the macro gloom, there are still signs of a growing future.
According to a report prepared by ABI, OEM’s continue to plan for future iterations and advancements for telematics services. Global penetration rates in new cars will reach 12% in 2010 and 43% by 2014. “With GM’s OnStar and Ford’s SYNC to be joined by telematics solutions from Toyota and Chrysler launching later this year, the US remains the most competitive market,” says ABI Research practice director Dominique Bonte. As scale and affordability push prices down and as technology adoption rates by consumers continue to grow, their inclination for in-car solutions will grow. Features similar to GM’s “OnStar” which offer safety and security assets along with diagnostics continue to show strength. Increasingly however consumers want the technology envelope in the car to open up. Continue reading “Consumers want more for their cars”
OpenTable – business model to go?
Online restaurant reservation site OpenTable went public today. And at the prices it is trading at, it’s a startling sign of hope in the down economy (TechCrunch reported it surging to $30 a share as of 11am PST).
As the San Jose Mercury news reports, OpenTable and SolarWinds‘ debuts on Wall Street marks the end of a “15 month drought” for Silicon Valley start up companies. Venture capitalists are celebrating, and it’s a triumph no doubt for OpenTable they weathered the first dot-com bubble and now appear to be doing quite well in this recession. However, what is interesting about OpenTable is the way they are making their dough, so to speak. Continue reading “OpenTable – business model to go?”
Horton hears a Hulu
Last week the NY times reported on the insanely divergent number of Hulu users reported by Nielsen and comScore, both reputable measurement firms. Nielsen reported 8.9 million visitors to Hulu in March while comScore counted 42 million. Nielsen also shows Hulu losing audience in April while still managing to add video views, also known as streams.
So who is really watching Hulu? And why isn’t Hulu countering with its own measurement numbers; assuming they manage their servers, couldn’t they tell the world who is hitting those streams? Continue reading “Horton hears a Hulu”
Standards Stand-off Over Online Ads
Earlier this year, MSNBC .com President Charles Tillinghast said that while high end video, custom brand units, and low end contextually targeted text links maintained steady sales volume, the trouble was in the middle of the market: Traditional display ads. These original online ad units were standardized by the IAB and helped drive the explosive growth of the online ad industry. Tillinghast says the proliferation of ad networks has created over supply of inventory and commoditized publisher’s display ads. To counter this, he said MSNBC.com would create additional nonstandard ads with more sophisticated interactivity and targeting that would not be made available to ad networks. To that end, the Online Publishers Association has announced a month later standards for new, large ad formats that have started to appear on member sites. Saul Hansell of The New York Times conveniently summed this up: “When the going gets tough, the ads get bigger.†Continue reading “Standards Stand-off Over Online Ads”
Mobile Evolution: “Robocop-esqueâ€
This Wednesday, I’ll be speaking on a panel at ThinkLA. I’ll be presenting a few short slides on the evolution of mobile specific to the mobile web and applications. Though the panel should be interesting, the evolution of mobile is a much broader topic – one that’s inspired delving into mobile’s future relating to user input and output.
Ok, that last bit sounded boring. Here’s a video of the sixth sense concept from MIT, which presents some of these concepts in a much more interesting manner. The system MIT designed uses a projector to deliver information, and a camera to input controls. This could be the future evolution of mobile input and output – from keypads and screens to projectors and cameras. Continue reading “Mobile Evolution: “Robocop-esque—
Apple Shakes Up Third Parties
Apple is shaking things up with developers. The issue most concerning for marketers is the damage Apple’s new policy may present for third party libraries, especially the one used in AdMob enabled apps.
At the root of the issue is a new application review policy Apple just implemented: All applications need to be compatible with their 3.0 beta firmware, rumored to be released in June. For many apps, this is all and good – the 3.0 firmware was designed to support the apps developed for the current system. However, there are a few exceptions. Continue reading “Apple Shakes Up Third Parties”
