Yahoo! 100 brands not about mashups!

I posted this verbatim at GigaOm moments ago about the Yahoo! 100 brands launch:

OK let’s not talk about underlying technology (mashups) or whether someone else has aggregated or not. Creating a brand or 100 brands is about resonating with an audience. Yahoo! are learning to leverage their investments in brands to create deeper meaning with a broad range of customers. In the olden days I called it cross-marketing. But it has to resonate personally. So the content must mindmatch the visitor so they will come again and again. It’s not just the unique visitor stats that count; it’s the nubmer of views, etc… It’s all about building deep relationships. Not technology. When you make toast you do not think about the little red wires inside. Yahoo! is making toasts–light ones, gold ones, dark ones. The visitors’ response will tell all. And frankly there is a hunger unparalleled in history for advertising that works–traditional media is not returning history’s results. Yahoo! is smartly rising to the call. And I assure you it is a loud cry. It’s a good thing guys. One of you commented that Vonage was misplaced on the wii page. Huh? An almost pure-play company who provides VOIP. This is a relevant place for Vonage and better than the expensive irrelevant audiences they were reaching with that lobster on TV. Yahoo! indeed.

Have a look at Yahoo!’s wii media brand.

Web bloggers navel gazing?

I have read too many didactic comments from web-savvy bloggers about blogging that are erroneous. I finally figured out that they see things from they own vantage point i.e. the web community.

Today I respsonded to Rand Fishkin’s podcast at Podtech about tips to make a blog better. Rand states that bloggers should not allow comments lest they look unpopular. But in fact the lion’s share of visitors do not comment. They come for inspiration, information, etc…. Even Guy Kawasaki’s blog  at 6,000 views per day shows low two digit comments. I would presume Robert Scoble has the same dynamics.

We must stop this narcisstic process and allow bloggers to flourish without self-consciousness, with honesty and transparency. In fact, in the techonology field knowledge outpaces most other industries; hence, activity outpaces all. So please let’s not judge all blogs by the same standards. There are blogs in textile, mediation, faith, pet training, employee motivation, marketing, toe nail viruses, shoe collecting, Hollywood “has beens”… You get my point. And in business views are even more important than comments.

Enabling comments is important otherwise it’s not a blog. It’s not social media. It’s just blowing your horn. But don’t fret if comments don’t fly. Read your stats and analytics. There is life there. Even if you blog is about hair roots. Blog away, invite people in even if they are just peeking from your porch.

A tip: if you really want comments be controversial or sensational…if you can handle the vitriol. If not,  you can enable moderation.

LinkedIn has LuckedIn!

I gave LinkedIn a tough post many moons ago but now…I am starting to see value. I came to LinkedIn in 2006 as a result of an invitation from a brainiac colleague in Massachussetts who specializes in FMRI (equipment that reads blood flow to the brain in response to stimuli). I never knew about LinkedIn ’til then. I accepted the invitation; the proviso was that LinkedIn HookedMeIn. I never liked lock-ins (not a good cue). I could not partake in his network at the time. It was all not clear to me what they were all about and I had zero time to check it out. However, last month I went and enhanced my profile vowing to leverage its value at a later date. Perhaps now I should move forward!

Just yesterday (these people work on Sundays) LinkedIn announced it raised another round of funding i.e. $12.8 million US (nice to see the investments are beginning to creep above the 2006 rounds of $3-$10 million). 

Linked In declares it has 9 million users and is gaining 100,000 new members per week. Ouch! My skepticism seems to be challenged. I am still a Member but now I am paying attention.

What’s the money for? Well I suspect LinkedIn Answers was a driver to this investment. This service allows you to ask your personal network professional questions and get answers now. LinkedIn Experts launched on January 4 ‘07 takes Answers a step further. A question will render the top five experts to answer a question–the answer comes from the selected expert at $500 per hour. LinkedIn keeps $250. If this model takes off, it could become the norm for  the procurement of “soft” goods; however, it is not threat to enduring consulting relationships. It is rather an entry point. A chance to hasten “the pitch” process. Or at its core, get a quick answer without the consulting fees customary of think-tanks in the five figure range.

In 2006, LinkedIn generated revenues just over $10 million US; yet, it is valuated at $250 million. For bubble-mongers this does sound familiar; but it is widely accepted by pundits that business networks such at this one are faring well. Xing, its Europeean competitor, is reporting similar revenues. This is a space to watch. Business web apps were slow to get going; but now I delight in the flurry of web offerings to businesses. Just last week Big Blue (IBM) launched it own awesome web app (see post below). The growth on the web is now turning to biz.

IBM launches web 2.0 app for business! Say what?

It’s called Lotus Connections and was announced yesterday at its Lotus conference in Florida. I don’t believe it’s available in beta yet; but it is due to be launched sometime this year. It rivals Microsoft’s SharePoint insofar as it is entirely web 2.0 enabled. (Frankly, SharePoint has not made a big dent in business sectors–yet.) The Lotus platform is more pointedly described as “collaboration” software rather than “social networking” where business feared to tread.

While we have seen breakthrough social networking platforms enjoy unprecedented participation on a global scale, business dragged its heels. But now IBM stands a chance to make its mark–again–as a leader in the most lucrative market.

The web as a platform is still fairly unchartered for business. The fear of loss of security and control are the root cause, holding corporations back. But now with the new Lotus, the conversation will increase. My hope is corporations will be quick to embrace a platform that will enable employees and associates to exchange information easily and quickly on the web, without the annoyances of lock-in software.

I am so glad the Big Blue is providing impetus for business to leverage what the web has to offer. Now let’s see how this pans out. Watch for a flurry of web apps. And certainly a competitive response from Microsoft.  Quelle surprise!

What I love about Apple

What’s most fantastic about Apple is not its brilliant innovations. Or its aesthetic breakthroughs.  Or even because it brought back Steve Jobs. Apple is brilliant because it keeps it eye off the competition in terms of defining itself and it products.

In the corporate world, Apple is the rugged individualist (although sleeker). The world is increasingly held captive wondering, “what will they do next?” Apple never disappoints. Ultimately, Apple competes with itself. How will they top the iPhone in 2008?  I am setting my brain’s Tivo to a January launch of something not thought of yet. Apple makes it harder on themselves to be great. Now that all competing eyes are on them, Apple has the leading advantage: they know what they are up against.

Mozilla marketing tactic irritates

Mozilla’s Firefox could lose the love of many if it continues its guerilla tactic of interfering with browsing with IE. People like to make their own choices. And to have your viewing highjacked while in process is simply annoying. I downloaded Firefox having heard the buzz; yet, the only way to get it to stop this behavior is to remove it. I thought Firefox could take the place of grace. One of our programmers said, “I don’t use Firefox because of this annoying intrusion”. Be careful Mozilla, this behavior is unlike the glowing chatter in the marketplace. I’ll bet the buzz is abating.

Anderson & Kawasaki frown on Google ad revenue

Seems getting a payment from Google Adsense is not what you’d imagine. And even if you are a top world blogger the revenues are so small that I quote Chris Anderson (of Long Tail fame), “Don’t give up your day job”. When a prolific web 2.0 thinker and serial entrepreneur like Guy Kawasaki warrants (according to Google) revenues as low as $200 + per month for his blog  with an average of 6,200 page views per day…the revenue is inane. That is simply discouraging to all bloggers seeking revenue. There are now several paid advertising networks like PayPerPost that render far greater revenues for your blogging time.  And Guy has moved his ad management from Google Adsense to Federated Media.

Time is money. That will never change. The internet is no longer about pennies. The value of a page view is high compared to traditional media and far greater in value than set by Adsense at less that 1 cent per view. Remember we are talking about viewers who actively come to your site or blog–not intrusively interrupted by an unrequested message. This is where the gold is. Everyone is asleep at the wheel on this. Guy Kawasaki’s blog: High, high value. Top 100 blogs too. Top 1,000. Top 10,000. And then there are the niches who don’t make the top but have an unshakable following. I’ve been in the ad biz all my adult life and I stake my livelihood on it.

The industry needs to rethink! The distributors need to take a smaller cut and compensate quality content producers for their real value. There’s not a moment to waste here. If left unchecked,  the outcome will be the attrition of quality blogs. The Kitty Liner magazine (parody-dont’ go looking for the URL) and The New Yorker are not at the same page price. Value must be reflected. Time for a market correction. Now.