Craigslist has claimed to employ U.S. lawyers to manually siphon advertisements that promote illegal services. Executives believe this is far more effective than automated surveillance, and even think that overly aggressive content management can enter the domain of censorship. I think that websites, especially classified, have a certain level of responsibility for the content displayed on their website. Surely, Craigslist is doing what they can to ensure the safety of their customers. But it’s a little harder to believe their effort when the issue at hand is a dependable revenue stream and a new market develops which could obliterate their existence with superior technology. They have also done little to upgrade the site for an improved user experience. It still maintains the sophomorific text lines and layout. These developments could signal the end of Craigslist, or just a slow fade into the oblivion.

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1.  Apple Relaunches A Campaign For Internet Television

This week, Apple launched a lower price point for its internet television console that starts at $99. The upgraded service will allow streaming of content rented through iTunes and Netflix.  Amazon, the online retail superstore, also offered a similar package, except certain television shows are priced at 99¢.  What does this all mean for advertisers?  On the surface, the market for internet television is still in development.  Networks do not want to undercut their relationships with cable service providers. Some networks also carry film studios and worry about a conflict of interest.  Actualized profits from online advertising for programming are also nebulous.  Therefore, many major networks, while open to the development of  internet television, do not want to bite a hand that feeds them. Tune in.

2.  Samsung Steps In With The Galaxy Tablet

Samsung releases the Galaxy Tab yesterday to a crowd of reporters in Seoul.  The Galaxy Tab aims to enter the tablet market with visions of not only competing with the iPad, but also to recoup lost market share in the smartphone industry.  Currently, the electronics giant is in dialogue to sell the device through its stable of mobile carriers, debuting in Italy next month before heading stateside.  Android 2.2 will be the software platform, making it a boon for Droid consumers and small businesses that utilize Google Applications.  Like the internet television market, mobile advertising continues to shape itself amidst the issues over net neutrality.  Pay per click advertisers will have a new audience to demonstrate innovate Flash campaigns with the Tab, and a camera is featured on both sides of the device.  According to the newsbrief, the device needs a proprietary device to connect with a PC.  If a customer is already synched with Google Applications, this will hardly pose a problem.  At a cheaper price point, the Tab could develop a respectable base. Tablets keep coming.

3.  The Next Oxford Dictionary Could Be Published For Online. Only.

This report from Mashable about the publication of Oxford’s next dictionary volumes is hardly surprising, with the nascent rise of mobile devices.  The venerable British publisher will not develop the volumes for another decade, which should then have a clearer marketplace for mobile devices in which advertisers have price points for platforms. It is also too simple to lament the passing of a household staple in a tangible form, where the obtuse linguistics of certain literature clarify themselves with a leaden turn of slight pages.  I feel that developing products for a new demographic to appreciate is the proper method in this case. Mobile applications are a starting point, strengthened with a push towards millennials in segmented strategies to demonstrate the value of a dictionary when understanding human language.  Oxford is moving forward with the era, and I commend their vision.

4.  AOL Renews Search Partnership With Google

The digital industry felt that Microsoft would be a strong bidder for AOL, especially after cementing their partnership with Yahoo last week.  Officials from the firm, however, felt that AOL’s shaky stock price was a deterrent and passed on a bid.  AOL and Google aim to revitalize the internet service provider’s price quote with expansion of mobile search capability and video streaming through the YouTube portal.  AOL traditionally has been a solid source of pay-per-click advertising and conversions due to its inception as a dial-up business, where subscribers needed to go through ads to experience video or Flash interaction. It’s a steady deal for Google, and a vital shot for AOL.

5.  Japanese Billboards See You First

NEC, based in Tokyo, is using cellphone technology to sense the viewership at electronic displays.  I noticed a recent electronic billboard on Wall Street, but it’s unclear whether this technology was installed for that particular screen.  According to this press release, the images collected will be used for marketing strategies and not stored into a permanent database.  I hardly believe this, for the simple reason that no regulatory board exists to monitor those actions.  Therefore, if they are able to use the images for future campaigns, it would behoove them to use these collections for trend reports and other analysis.  Not unlike geolocation, privacy issues will surface on a major level.  QR codes are also another link to visual advertising, used to promote exclusive savings and content. The codes are gaining traction in the West, and getting bigger in Japan.  Hmmm..

That’s the Blue News this Friday.  For those observing Labor Day this weekend, safe times and travels.

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The advancement of smartphone technology will only intensify the sharing of personal information across hardware and channels, so diligence need apply.  We are already seeing this with the development of geolocation, a practice where one can update their point on Earth in real time.  Security concerns have been shared on this space and the cyberworld, so delving in farther is unnecessary.

Despite all of this emerging concern with the increase of channel platforms to transfer data between your laptop, mobile phone, video game console, and the like, the public remains concerned about traditional cybercrimes such as identity theft.  Banks remain the least trusted business, according to recent survey done by Kindsight.  I have heard stories about security fraud in the past and present, as banks would infiltrate their customers with phishing messages while touting the finest security emblems on their webpage.  Credit histories are at stake when e-commerce transactions go haywire. When it comes to banking, however, many people have lifestyles today that do not permit the time to wait in a teller line for routine transactions. Larger firms, in light of the financial settlement passed by Congress, have taken steps to mitigate this personal service by assessing fees.  It will affect several demographics, namely senior citizens who are not technologically efficient.  This situation deserves monitoring by all, as the restrictive legal elements have yet to make a measurable impact.

Millennial who are savvy with their hardware and software easily make the adjustments necessary to protect their personal identity online.  Others struggle with the societal shift to online distribution of personal data, and whether they become successful remains to be seen.

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There are a range of essential factors that influence the look and feel of e-commerce websites. The top features include quick & easy navigation, product related simple design for increased visibility of product, effective branding, specific product images, displaying related or recommended products, listing popular products, offers & discounts, simple checkout process, and complete website search option.  

The navigation of product pages should be carefully designed with more options for the users to locate the product easily.  This feature of the site requires thorough user experience testing to ensure all navigational issues are addressed properly. With the help of some simple design approaches, the site will give better visibility to the product, as selling is the key point of any e-commerce website. For better performance of the website, the design should be related to the style of products available and thus making a direct connection with the brand.

Your firm should include product specific photos, especially in different angles.  This will help the user get a feel of the product and to make an easy purchasing decision. They should also make use of the homepage and help the users to find something really interesting by adding offers, popular products, new arrivals and other discounts. Displaying a list of related products on the product details page to the user may result in increased sales of those products as well and serves as a promotional tool for similar products. Users may find it difficult to land with the particular product of their interest even with good navigation, so in order to avoid this and help them gain easy access to the product, it is advised to include search box with range of options.

In total, e-commerce websites with all the above good features provides advantages for small and medium businesses in developing countries reducing operational costs and increasing efficiency.

The major factors that affect the use of mobile advertising include device, interface, purpose, media, content, message and the audience. Acceptance of mobile as an advertising medium among consumers is influenced by a wide range of factors that include purpose, personalization, control, privacy, protection, usage, specificity, psychological barriers and other regulations. When these factors that influence the consumer acceptance are analyzed properly, it will provide valuable insights about the role of mobile marketing and advertising in the near future. Quite a few non consumer centric variables exist, like advertising content and technology, when manipulated accordingly will create a positive response among the target audience.

So it is important for one to understand the consumers’ attitude towards mobile advertising and various factors influencing it, based on that a unique model can be defined and executed. One of the key elements for the success of a mobile advertising campaign is to understand both the user expectations as well as the differences in available mobile devices and keeping the users engaged in communication. A good number of businesses are now experiencing success using mobile advertising and marketing as a tool, because of less competition as of now when compared to internet marketing. Overall, mobile marketing is a great tool for lead generation and to build relationships with consumers if the so called factors that influence consumer acceptance are addressed properly.

Neither company is capable of catching Google alone, but as mentioned, offer unique abilities that can complement one another.  First off, companies are looking to use Bing as a search index and have an ability to negotiate pay-per-click rates more palatable with their budgets.  Bing needs to gain credibility with local and national businesses, and will not cut off their nose to spite their face.  Facebook’s new geolocation application, Places, can drive up search indexes even more as users entrust the privacy settings installed online.  Yahoo wants to gain credibility as a content provider, and possesses loyal visitors who use the website for assorted page applications such as Finance, News, and Sports.  They can now focus on delivering that content with more quality.

In a perfect world, the companies will save resources, while creating a vacuum for research and development that offers a premium price point for online advertisers.  Innovative technologies will present themselves and shift seamlessly between platforms. Here are some thoughts from advertisers at the San Francisco SES Conference on the impact.

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1.  Paul Allen Sues Apple, Google, over patents

This story broke on Friday afternoon.  It’s not unlike the suit by Larry Ellison of Oracle over Java Technology, but equally as laughable.  According to the piece, Allen had been sitting on these patents for years and just now realized that they have value.  It’s like the alphabet inventors suing the estate of James Joyce because they are still making revenue from the sales of Ulysses.  I’ve documented on the space about the mobile technology being in a virtual shootout for control.  This is just another gun firing the pistol.

2.  HP and Dell square off for 3Par

HP and Dell continue to reach outside of their traditional customer PC markets by bidding for the data management firm.  The latest word is that 3Par executives consider HP to have a superior presentation and plan to nullify the agreement with Dell.  Both corporations are looking to gain control in the race for cloud computing.  Cloud computing is an emerging industry with remote data centers offsite.  Firms now are expanding their reach into the market with CRM solutions that can be an asset for small businesses.   These days, tech firms are looking to exhaust their piles of cash on the balance sheet.  Whether their decisions benefit shareholders will be seen later on.

3.  Yahoo and Microsoft team up to counter Google

After two years of rebuffing the pursuit, Yahoo and Google team up to gain market share in search advertising.  Bing, Microsoft’s emerging search index, has made moves with an alliance with Facebook, who presents a wealth of personal data for marketers seeking to leverage revenue from social media.    Small businesses will have a wider array of pay per click rates to choose from that fits their respective budgets.  Yahoo receives a strong chunk of the revenue gained from search on their site, while Microsoft provides the algorithms. Both companies can also start experimenting with product innovation, giving hope to restoring Yahoo’s former glory as a search leader.

4.  Intel makes a second deal in two weeks; this time for Infineon

Intel continues to expand into wireless technology buy purchasing Infineon.  Infineon specializes in electronics for automobiles along with producing chips for security cards.  Intel’s track record of expansion has been relatively weak of late, and it is unclear when the investment will return dividends since mobile technology has negligible security issues at this time.  This should be nice for Infineon, as they can focus on product innovation, which has been their weakness.

5.  Google to Acquire Angstro

Google acquired this start-up to build their portfolio and challenge the social media industry, where Facebook clearly is the titan. Angstro has developed applications that mine personal data to deliver search results on a person’s professional network. Angstro also creates social networks and caller IDs for sites like LinkedIn.  Google is clearly worried about Facebook as an emerging search presence and after the disaster of Buzz, looks to pull a rabbit out of their hat. It could be too little, too late.

That’s the Blue news for now. See you next week.

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Those unsure of the distinction between the two can follow this distinction.  Google Places is seeking to overtake Yelp, Facebook, Craigslist, and other classified search hubs through acquiring third party publisher sites.  Third party publisher sites are created for advertisers to provide server space, campaign delivery, and reporting facilities needed to show content at an optimal cost.  Yelp clearly doesn’t have the financial resources of Google, so third party publishing is a fiber of their cyberspace identity with cookies being the sweet tooth. Cookies are placed on viewed websites to eliminate repeat pop-ups per page open, establish an advertising sequence, and monitor web traffic for analytical reports.  It gives them the platform for their unique customer reviewers to post routinely, creating a bucolic online community.  I think this will be a permanent discontinuation since the e-classified market needs to distinguish itself.

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The current format of mobile advertising or marketing does not have a major effect on the buying decision of the consumers and various studies reveal that the response of consumers towards this form of marketing fall in different categories which include a disruptive nature of the advertisements, a need for personalization of advertisements, and the advantages or use of mobile advertisements. The major advantage of this media as a tool of marketing is that it will improve the chances of reaching consumers directly with personalized content. On the other hand, most companies think of negative response from consumers and invasion of consumer privacy as main disadvantages.

Recent studies reveal that one third of Americans who have signed up for promotional alerts via mobile phones indicate that these marketing services make an impact on their buying decision. Placecast studies indicate that only 3% of women and 7% of men are interested in location based social networks.  The check-in services or the mobile optimized location based services of leading social networks has only a limited impact and the reach is still not measured properly.  Studies also reveal that the short messaging services as a new advertising medium can generate good responses as high as 40% compared to direct mail and banner advertisements.  Location based mobile advertising messages are having higher click through rates when compared to online advertising messages.

The key for success in mobile marketing is to maintain a certain level that will not disturb the mobile phone users. So for every marketer, it is very important to know the use of mobile marketing to make a clear impact on the buying decision of a consumer. Mobile media is considered to be more personal than any other traditional mode of communication and emails. It is highly recommended to follow a conceptual framework when defining a mobile marketing campaign using the permission based marketing strategy.