You don’t realize how much you live by the internet until you can’t get yours to work (sigh). And can anyone tell me why my internet connection will work on my Apple Powerbook but not on my IBM Thinkpad?? Just another reason why macs are better.

The What Have I Been Reading Reading List:

• The Future of the Micro Site – Consumer Generated Content: (via: Marketing Vox) As I was about to reply to Collin about an off the Blog conversation regarding my feelings on Microsites, (Yes, you do need to blog what you wrote, good stuff) I came across an article about the report from JupiterKagan “Microsites Becoming More Popular” (I can’t seem to find this report, anyone know where I might find it?). “An important component to campaigns that include microsites will be the movement toward consumer-generated content, 34% percent of advertisers planning to use microsites intend to use consumer-created content in their overall marketing efforts. Advertisers who plan to use microsites are planning to use weblog and viral advertising nearly three times as much as those advertisers who are not planning to use microsites. While only 30 percent of companies whose annual revenues exceed US $500 million used promotional microsites in the past year, 45 percent of such companies plan to use them in the coming year. The movement toward consumer-generated content will be an important component of microsites. Such sites are dependent on viral promotion, and allowing users the ability to add their own created content is a great way to engage users and get them talking about the campaign.” In the article they note the microsite created by Organic for X-Men: The Last Stand on MySpace.com as a microsite example, you can read more about the campaign on Search Engine Lowdown. See also: How-To: Harness Word of Mouth as a Media Channel
• U.S. Teens Graduate From Choosing IM Buddy Icons to Creating Elaborate Social Networking Profiles “Over a three-year period, the top sites among teens 12-17 have shifted from those offering a selection of instant messaging buddy icons to those providing assistance with social networking profiles and page layouts. In September 2003, the No. 1 site among teens was Originalicons.com, with teens composing 77.6 percent of its unique audience. In September of this year, sites offering tools to improve social networking profiles with song lyrics, pictures, quotes and layout designs won out with those ages 12-17. PLyrics.com ranked No. 1 among teens, who made up 68.4 percent of its unique audience.
• S–Commerce: Beyond MySpace and YouTube; A new approach for brands to participate in social networking (download the PDF - New Research Reveals Next Wave of Social Networking Opportunities) “s–commerce” - seamlessly integrating commercial and social web. (via: Click Z ) “S-commerce innovators are using one of six strategies to integrated consumers into their sales and marketing efforts: Branded micro-sites; customer reviews and ratings; online customer forums; peer-to-peer transactions; product-focused blogs; and community-created products. By understanding why people seek out social sites and the factors that shape their participation, marketers can explore and create new ways for their brands to thrive within the social web.”

The I Also Glanced Over Reading List:

• Internet Users Watch Less TV: If you have an Internet connection at home, odds are you’re watching less television. Maybe as much as 25% less. Yahoo users are watching less. MySpace.com much (less), the difference is 20%.” (via: Media 2.0). See also: Mobile and Web TV Are the Future for Disney Media: “Content delivered via wireless devices still has the potential to be a big winner, Disney executives believe, despite the company’s decision to shutter its ESPN Mobile venture late last month.”
• SEO is a Business School of Thought - Not a Process “Many “SEO’s” have went through a fairly specific lifecycle of becoming successful entrepreneurs. Stumble into the web. Learn SEO fundamentals. Apply SEO. Rinse. Repeat. SEO’s are the brains and inspiration behind many web 2.0 business models. Sometimes these innovators aren’t even aware that they are applying SEO principles.”

The Too Cool: Goes to (if true) Calorie-Burning Beverage Enviga. “Coke, Nestle claim that it can boost a drinker’s metabolism. Coca-Cola and Nestle are preparing to launch a carbonated beverage that burns calories. The brand uses a blend of green-tea extracts known for boosting metabolism called Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).” I’ll believe it when I drink it.

“No matter what goes on I’m still getting mine/ No matter the year/ No matter the place/ No mater the time” - 1-9-9-9 - Common

Posted by: Natasha “That Girl From Marketing” Robinson

Are Microsites the Brochure sites of yesteryear? Like a new toy for Christmas, we wait with anticipation for it to arrive, someone pays a lot of money for it, and once it arrives we play with it, show it to all our friends, they “ohh” and “ahh” over it and then soon all the shine is gone and we move ont the next one… and someone wonders why they paid so much for a toy that no one longer plays with. Of course, at less than 100k companies can afford to build and burn microsites (I’ll save my thoughts on how companies can build and burn sites, yet balk at the price of SEO services for another date.).

When I think of the microsites that will have a long shelf life, I think of Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty and Converse’s ConverseGallery.com. What do these microsites have in common? They have moved from simply being glorified brochures to giving people a way to interact. Is the point where I mention Consumer Generated Content or Social Media Optimization (SMO post count:2)?

The What Have I Been Reading Reading List:

• Consumers exposed to both display and search ads convert at higher rates – “Consumers exposed to both display and search advertising converted at a 22% higher rate than those using search alone, according to a study from the Atlas Institute. Atlas also found that search-click-only users converted at a rate 3.3 times higher than the display-click-only group. Combined display and search clicks converted at a rate 4 times higher than display click only.” See the full PDF: The Combined Impact of Search and Display Advertising
• Gender Marketing Web Design Differences – “If your target is men, make them happy now because they’ll probably forget you before the next page loads or they leave the store. …Women want to know more up front than a man does; men are more willing to gamble a bit in the hopes of a greater reward. Women will gather together but will make their individualized decisions in the end. Men, on the other hand, will make ‘individual’ decision based on following the herd” See also: The Power of Personas
• Top 21 Signs You Need a Break from SEO – (via the Daily Searchcast - And yes Danny, you have gotten funnier) “The S, E, and O keys on your keyboard are broken. When your son tells you he wants to go play in the sandbox, you fear you won’t see him again for eight months. And this one is actually a great idea. …your brilliant idea for 2007 is to create an alter-ego for yourself called ‘SEO Shaft.’ Your blog’s tagline will be ‘Can ya Digg it?’” I’ll add my own: You need a break from SEO when you read a post about an SEO idea and then buy the domain. See also: You Know You’re Working Too Hard…

The I Also Glanced Over Reading list:

• Viral Ads: It’s an Epidemic (via: Church of the Customer Blog)
  
• Estée Lauder Launches 1st Online Campaign – Welcome to 1999, I mean 2006.
• Scripps Network Opens Online Marketplace

The Too Cool: Goes to Graffiti Research Lab. I have a love of Graffiti and Street Art - my previous logo for this site should have given a hint (I need to find a way to incorporate that here) - so this is too cool. From the website: “The Graffiti Research Lab is dedicated to outfitting graffiti writers, artists and protestors with open source tools for urban communication. The goal of the G.R.L. is to technologically empower individuals to creatively alter and reclaim their surroundings from commercial and corporate culture. G.R.L. agents are currently working in the lab and in the field to develop and test a range of experimental technologies for the state-of-the-art graffiti writer. This site documents those efforts with video documentation and DIY instructions for each project.” WHAT!!! How cool is that?! (via: PSFK)

“They say I should be more focused / and be more patient /and find a better way to let off my fustrations” - Doin Me - Little Brother

Posted by: Natasha “That Girl From Marketing” Robinson