“Web 3.0″ still fuzzy

Just when most techs could barely stand being marginalized under the 2.0 meme, the 3.0 is now here and alive. 2.0 was about the democratization of the web. 3.0 seems to be getting tagged (no pun) as the semantic web where all content is tagged with meaning and more accessible. I still feel that is too esoteric, and really a variation on the 2.0 theme. I’d like to see a bigger definition to this “third wave”. I see web 3.0 as ubiquity, the end of isolating devices and access to the web to all. Mobile devices, game boxes, telephones, PCs, Mac, mp3s and TV sets. In fact, it spells the end of the analog vs digital era in entertainment. 3.0 should be the untethering of human beings to devices and the freeing up of access to all knowledge and tools wherever you are. Platforms that cross devices unhampered (there are already many), content that follows you on command.

Alas, the semantic web may win out as 3.0 and perhaps ubiquity will be relegated to 4.0. But truly, the latter is a bigger wave.

“The only game in town”, we humbly say

We have searched in vain to see if we are navel-gazing and to our delight and surprise found that we are running the only open web marketing event in Canada until 2008. Plexus 2007 is a conference and exhibit format using the Demo model which has taken silicon valley by storm. Anyway if you can correct us we will accept our challengers humbly.

Plexus foresees well over 2,000 attendees

The interest in on-line marketing is approaching its crest i.e. it is as high as it can get. Especially here in Canada. The solutions, platforms and services now available to reach customers are unprecedented  in lowering acquisition and maintenance costs. And becoming more relevant and resonant to each customer.

We are negotiating so many outstanding exhibitors for our Demoplex (who will also present on stage) in all facets of on-line marketing that I am confident no visitor will leave Plexus 2007 without feeling on top of the game. Here are just a few of the category players which we will reveal soon:

1. web analytics,
2. search engines,
3. ad networks,
4. email platforms,
5. marketing survey platforms,
6. sales generation platforms,
7. tons of digital media options,
8. mobile advertising,
9. mobile in all of the above,
10. rich media solutions, platforms, services,
11. social media
12. marketing project management
13. CRM

We will be starting a massive attendance campaign soon which will last 3.5 months using all methods available. That should not be too difficult with the investment we are making in top-rated keynote speakers and authors.

Yes, we are trying to set a record for attendance in Canada for an on-line marketing event. After all, AdTech which is well established in USA pulls in a reported 3,000+ in Chicago and 12,000 in New York. Our numbers are bang on; but, we are aiming higher. 

Search engines results should be dated

I don’t know about you but when I use any of the myriad of search engines, I like results that are not from 1997 to 2005. We’ve all learned, and the consensus is, that knowledge doubles every three years. There is value in archives but for the most part we all want current information whether we are searching for answers, inspiration or products. Hopefully someone is working on capturing authoring dates on content and making it visible in abbreviated results. Content relevance is good but not so if it is old.

A few days ago I ran searches for “trends in on-line advertising” and the results were targeted BUT they were over three years old. That’s not a trend.

When I feign to spend time clicking on results, I look at the copyright at the bottom of a site to see if they have updated the year–if not, I am suspicious especially when there are no dates on the site. I can’t count the many posts in the blogosphere that do not date their material, many under the guise of being current.

My point: there is a lot of dated, superceded, “dead” information on the web that may lead folks down the road no longer travelled. I’ll guess it is at least 30%–maybe much more. As one pundit said, “search engines are in their infancy”.

What I love about Amazon.com search tools is that you can change the search according to date of publication, not just subject relevance. That’s why New Releases is a whole other kettle of fish in the book and video biz–everyone wants to be au courant.

When doing searches the internet is looking old.

I’m just sayin’…

WordPress commits big faux-pas

Last night the guys at WP decided to retire their feed stats! Yes can you believe it? The vitriol that has flown into their comments (which are now closed) is exponential. Feed stats matter–people who subscribe to your feeds are higher in importance than views! Scratching my head on this one.

If that isn’t enough to grate me, the feed stats button was buttressed to another called “Blog Surfer” that took me to a line-up of posts by Robert Scoble. Arrrrrgh! While I may have visited his blog a couple of times in the past I’ll decide want I want on my dashboard not WP. I am not the least bit interested in Mrs. Scoble’s trip to the spa and the like. WP thinks this may force views to other WP bloggers–but it is really a form of advertising. I thought WP was dead set against this! The dashboard entry point and forums provide enough here.

Please WP, you are excellent thinkers and doers but this one is a thumbs down of stellar proportion.

First results: what our marketing customers want

We conducted an on-line survey of our customers and viewers, marketing execs and agencies, in reference to web marketing and the results were somewhat in line with other larger scale surveys with a few surprises. The question was, “how do you feel about the following subjects scoring 1 as not important and up to 5 as most important”. In order of importance here are the topics ranked from highest to lowest:

Ranked 1st: web analytics

Ranked 2nd:

• Social media marketing

• Search engine marketing

• Advertising on the web

Ranked 3rd: Improving web site content

Ranked 4th:  eMail marketing

Ranked 5th: Rich media in on-line advertising

Ranked 6th: mobile marketing

The disparity between analytics and mobile marketing surprised us but this is still directional data. We are continuing the surveys and will adjust the results as we advance. Bear in mind these are Canadian executives and their vision and needs likely differ from their US counterparts.

As results come, they confirm that our growing line-up of keynote speakers at Plexus 2007: the Web Marketing Conference & Demo is bang-on.

Two high profile keynotes for Plexus 2007

Now that Plexus 2007 is refocused on internet marketing–email, search, networks, streaming media and much more–it seemed fitting to invite Kevin Lee, Chairman of Did-it.com and John Stichweh, Global Digital Marketing Director for Coca-Cola. They are leaders in search and email email marketing and will give our audiences on November 27 and 28 the knowledge they need now to leverage the internet’s deep reach of consumers. Watch for the growing list of top Keynotes and Presenting Demoers at Plexus 2007.

Corporate blogs: powerful marketing tool

Many corporations are reluctant to enter the world of social media fearing a loss of control over their relationships with customers. Funny thing is the consumer has always been in control.

The key precedent to entering the world of blogging is transparency. Currently, consumer trust is at an all time low and transparency is the antidote. Someone recently posted that a corporation that does not offer a blog from its CEO or executive team is suspect. There is truth in this statement. The web is about interactivity; marketers have always wanted a relationship with their customers and the web is the simplest, most accessible tool.

Remember blogs can and must be moderated. Where my blogs have received thousands of spam messages over the last six months, these spammers are now posting “nice blog” and other short saccharine statements with minimum links to get through our filters. But moderation saves the day. Expletives, hateful comments (under the guise of freedom of expression)–all can be deleted. I compare much of stealth hateful comments to “road rage”. The blogosphere has too many hateful participants and frankly the more we moderate, the more it will be taken over by social decorum. There is no more honesty in freedom to hate than there is in freedom to be kind. Even Tim O’Reilly is trying to start a new higher standard for blogging; I blogged about this earlier. I applaud this worthy cause and his courage.

Blogs put a face, a voice and a heart behind a corporation and its brands. It adds vital meaning to the brand. And builds community around it. And furthermore, it also provides a zero cost, authentic tool to learn how your customers feel. In a panoply of marketing tools, this is probably the most effective.

The truly fearful can turn off comments as a starting point—it’s not interactive but it does provide a sincere voice. I’t s a good start.

Blogging is an indispensible tool for marketers. Some say, “I don’t have time to blog”; truly, they are postponing the inevitable. Blogging should be on every marketer’s daily To Do list.

Rethinking this blog

I have been absent from posting beyond my norm–for 8 days. And I am crestfallen. Sometimes you have to pull away to get perspective. Well, I’ve been rethinking the focus of this blog. My focus at Plexusity is now is about marketing brands with technology and the web.  So I won’t be writing about gadgets or software unless they enable marketers, brands and their customers. I have always run a brand practice or ad agency and I must stick to what I do best. Socrates waxed about this.

What’s more our Plexus 2007 event is totally focused on bringing technologies and the web to the marketing and advertising biz. This too is a refocus.

I do write another blog dedicated to Branding. Running two blogs, 3 websites, umpteen events, writing a book, coaching clients, managing one corporation and running a family. You’d expect I’s say, “running on empty” next. Not a chance!

New VS Old: the trial of the century this July 27

VS

The internet is all about openness, sharing, community. It is the democratization of all voices, the”long tail”.  It’s what it is. I believe in creative rights totally! But the thing is, if Viacom were to win its case now to be heard July 27 ‘07 (NYTimes) it could truly alter the face of the internet. And the tail could be snipped short creating costly barriers to viewers and put power back in the hands of traditional networks for awhile.  Networks are still thinking analog and fighting to maintain a dying model while they figure out a way to dominate on internet turf. This win will buy time while they create a new revenue stream to upshore losses in the old format.

Digital entertainment will be ubiquitous within five to ten years and we will see the rise of production companies who find impetus solely from the internet using BitTorrent styled or compression technologies. The world will move from 20 some broadcast hours to a place where there is no limit on time or choice. Audiences will become exponentially fragmented and advertising will become less intrusive and relevant. No one not even Viacom will be able to stop this reality.

If YouTube get their wrists slapped it will cost them and their users will have to begin opening their wallets, BitTorrent style. Or offer a pre and post-roll advertising model for free access. Don’t we have enough advertising in our lives! In the end, YouTube will remain the leading purveyor of home-grown and perhaps professional shorts (although I don’t feel professional shorts should be placed in an environment replete with content that offends mainstream sensibilitities).

Google are requesting a jury for this epic day. Internet users around the world must be posted for this drama as it unfolds. This signifies that the internet is still young and undefined. It is not just technology advances that define it as we can see; it is also special interests. Democracy is for all. Everyone gets their kick at the cat.

MARIE’S PICKS: Semantic Search Engine Hakia

I truly enjoy using Hakia for my queries — not key words–I get more focused (hence less) answers. I use it first before Google. “Search for meaning” indeed. Here is the value described by Hakia verbatim:

hakia is building the Web’s new “meaning-based” search engine with the sole purpose of improving search relevancy and interactivity, pushing the current boundaries of Web search. The benefits to the end user are search efficiency, richness of information, and time savings. The basic promise is to bring search results by meaning match – similar to the human brain’s cognitive skills – rather than by the mere occurrence (or popularity) of search terms. hakia’s new technology is a radical departure from the conventional indexing approach, because indexing has severe limitations to handle full-scale semantic search.hakia’s capabilities will appeal to all Web searchers – especially those engaged in research on knowledge intensive subjects, such as medicine, law, finance, science, and literature.

Dr. Riza Berkan, CEO, states that searches take an average of 11 minutes and 50% are abandoned. He also claims that web search is in its infancy.

The search biz has ballooned with vertical applications including search engines for videos (Purevideo) and blogs (Blogdigger). There are hundreds now. There are Clustering Search Engines (Kartoo), Meta Search Engines, Talking Search Engines (AbbyMe – truly an avatar like person talks to you – great fun!), Filtered Search Engines… There is a lot out there to challenge the supremacy of Google which frankly is the time-gobbler among them all. It is truly this factor that has spawned so many.

Soon we will need a search engine of search engines.

War of Words Waging in the Valley

Tim O’Reilly launched a call for Bloggers’ Code of Conduct (COC) to end the vitriol that pervades the blogosphere. For those of you who do not know O’Reilly he is rumored to have launched the term Web 2.0; he also manages substantial interests in technology events and publishing in the Valley.

Many take this COC as censorship but Tim is clear to state that it is to offer the Freedom of Civility. The usual suspects are weighing in, including Danny Sullivan (search engine star), Mike Arrington (tech review star), Robert Scoble (blog star) and Doc Searls (of Cluetrain Manifesto fame). The New York Times has also joined the frey.

My take: It’s about time this conversation begins.

The blogosphere does not have the respect of the big business community and many other web users thanks to its limited lexicon, explitives and often baseless posting and commenting. O’Reilly seeks to make blogs more transparent i.e. no stealth journalism. This should keep the web more honest. In a seven step initial proposal, he also exhorts blog owners to be more vigilant with abusers–and to cease their own abuse. O’Reilly’s idea has been mocked by many; this is symptomatic of the fact that these are the voices usually heard. There are many who support him. It will be very interesting to see this play out. Movies always end in good conquers evil.

WANTED: mashup or wiki STAT !

I simply cannot keep up with the number of brilliant platforms and hosted services I have subscribed to. This is a problem for me; but it is also a problem for them. Here are the several favorites to which I have subscribed and cannot tend to: del.icio.us, LinkedIn, Technorati, Newsgator, Geni,  Adobe Connect, Eyejot and Paypal (I am missing many). And there are temptations to sign-up for more! Along with my commitment to posting in my two blogs, managing programmers for 3 web sites, email and my demanding business–not to mention my personal life–these wonders are dropping off my radar. I need easy access to them on one screen interface–period!

Now I am on the lookout for an app that mashes it all together without any coding on my part–in a secure environment. But can I find the time for this?!

eBay: Another on-line ad exchange!

A few days ago I announced in Hot New Launches April 2007 that DoubleClick is launching an on-line ad exchange. But three marketers, Philips Electronics, Home Depot and Hewlett-Packard, had already contracted eBay to the tune of $50 million to build a similar exchange. In lock-step the cable networks are digging in their heels and refusing to sell air time to eBay, fearing the permanent reduction of the price earned by human negotiation.

I like the access these exchanges provide to marketers indeed. Will these auction platforms provide the intuitive thinking media planners and buyers bring to the table? Most media planning is based on numbers, ratings, reach and frequency. Program selection requires more than Nielsen ratings; however, the marketer will be able to choose content on-line. So will these auctions put traditional media negotiations at risk? Will eBay offer a visual plan and buy spreadsheet? Will it be this intelligent?

Air time buys have always been made within a model that includes a number of impressions within a four week period. Ideally, a minimum of three impressions are required to get advertising to the minds of viewers. That means you must buy multiples of three :30s to ensure that you are seen three times e.g. 24 spots and more.  (With audience fragmentation this increases!) There is no doubt as neuroscience proves that repetition can result in message absorption; BUT if the advertising is not engaging emotionally, a higher buy is required. More spots. Frankly, air time is a commodity. The content rules. No auction will ever benefit content, its relevance and resonance. This is the untouchable. TV is still the best device today for quality, intrusive content delivery–and it is now that networks have a morsel of power left to ensure their sustainability.

I don’t think off-line media will soon die. Simply, the players will increasingly adopt on-line media and both will subsidize each other depending on the momentum of this media evolution. No doubt, this is THE industry under siege at the hands of web 2.0.

So for now these exchanges will have to find propulsion through other than cable delivery networks. Will the resistance end here? On-line is hot and will breathe life into these engines. Don’t forget this ad space:  outdoor, radio, print, shelter, transit, mall, elevator, grocery carts, product placement (brand integration), dirigeables, wall graffitti, urinals and forehead tattoos.

HOT NEW LAUNCHES April 2007

1. Ballhype.com: It’s a social, collaborative site for sports fans. They can comment on their favorite teams local to national and rate the comments Digg style. This site is totally dedicated to sports fans with no other aim.

 

2. EMI  launches DRM-free music! That means no anti-copying software. Steve Jobs is putting his and Apple’s name and reputation behind the move. The music in question is said to be of higher quality and now available on iTunes.

 

3. YuMe Networks launches first advertising within downloaded videos on BitTorrent entertainment network! On any device! Add to your lexicon,  air-time “pre-roll”, “mid-roll”, “post-roll”, watermark and more on-line.

 

4. DoubleClick announced today that it is launching an ad exchange. It’s like a cross between Sabre (airline booking software) and eBay. Any advertiser will be able to bid for ad space on this interface.

 

5. Google Desktop for Mac. It’s a Universal application which indexes the contents of your hard drive. The image on the right is the new side bar. Reviews are not half bad.

 

6. The Coop: Mozilla adds social networking into Firefox.

 

7. Sansa Connect: A collaboration between Yahoo!, SanDisk and Zing Systems to launch yet another wireless MP3 player this Friday April 13th for $250 US. 

 

8. MailChannels launches a new spam filtering program that slows email by an additional 8 seconds rather than the former 2 seconds. This cuts down on impatient spammers. It can retrofits into any email infrastructure saving corporations a great deal.

Keep posted daily for more hot launches to this month’s awesome beginning!

Another Bubble is here

A new launch late March 2007 named BubbleGuru is all about interrupting the viewer at your web site with a sizeable bubble housing a webcam-produced video of yours truly. If you are a guru indeed it may captivate the viewer. Think demo assistance. Or words from the CEO. The Bubble guys would be wise to show the various usages rather than “good for business”–show me how! Inspire me.

But judging from the quality of most home-grown videos, “BubbleGoof” may be a required brand extension. Indeed, for the casual user this will be fun. For established web sites and blogs……hmmm? Many “gurus” would not be hired as extras anywhere (they tend to be knock-offs of Napoleon Dynamite!) All kidding aside, I would hesitate to annoy with trite content (the bubble can be turned off by the viewer at any time). The Bubble is not to be taken lightly; good content is key.

The bubble follows you as you scroll down–blocking whatever is behind it. Intrusiveness is not where it’s at-but hey, this tool offers an easy turn-off button. Frankly, I would not be surprised if many refreshed their pages just to see it again. Because after all, it is a fresh idea.

On the up side, I think there is too much friction getting videos live at any address. It’s nice that the user is empowered, doesn’t need a programmer and can change the message every day. Really, it’s a bubble-vlog.

Have a look here and see how the bubble looks in action at our tech event site: http://www.bubbleguru.com/flag_page.html?=DKs75MpI&=www.Plexus2007.com

BubbleGuru is in beta like most of The Valley. You can test drive it for free. Kick back one night this week with a glass of Chardonnay and have some fun.

BRAND OF THE WEEK: Kincafe

I just recently posted Geni as the Brand of the Week, a social collaboration platform for the building of a family tree. But Kincafe (a fun relevant name) is Geni on steroids. It is very intuitive as it is very visual, using icons, images, and less text (text is sequential and slow to the brain). But what is great is that it takes collaboration a relevant step further with photo album building, blog, stories, shared between family members and friends.

I began to muse the opportunities that Kincafe could evolve into. The problem with Web 2.0 is that the hosted services are fragmented–and there is only so much time any of us have to spend sitting at a keyboard. And more user IDs and passwords than we can maintain. This is where the battle will be won, aggregated functionality.

So Kincafe could become a substantive “inner circle” network adding features like auto-prompted birthday greetings or birth announcements, videos, audios–as it is Kincafe is a fabulous way to keep in touch and add meaning to “family” or a group of friends.

I’ve heard musings about Kincafe taking longer than Flash based Geni but I think these are small glitches, easy to overcome. The depth of the service is to be noted. My personal preference is the zoom tool at Kincafe rather than the tedious scrolling at Geni–but hey, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison”.

I expect like Geni you can use Kincafe free up to a point. How to monetize this for the founders is a question I am sure I will get an answer to shortly.

BRAND OF THE WEEK: Geni

This hosted app in beta is something everyone can use. More than a tech innovation, Geni is about every human being’s need for meaning and yearning for immortality. It is a user-generated, hosted genealogy application. It operates somewhat like LinkedIn where you invite family members into the community and in turn they do same. The net result should be a detailed at-a-glance picture of family history.

The application gives you a chance to set-up your immediate genealogy for free. After setting-up my children, sisters and brothers, parents, grandparents and aunts/uncles, I am going to have to pull out the VISA card. After setting-up approx. a dozen members, Geni advised me that I used up 30%. Immediately, Geni sent me an email with my temp password.

The app is intuitive in that girls are pink, boys are blue. And an on-screen scroll tool allows you to move around and add to your family tree visually. And I did not have to go in and set a password!–this in itself is a task no one likes when they are just testing the waters. Again intuitive.

What’s nice about this is that family can participate in adding their information about the tree. What I don’t like is that aging members are not on the web–and much of the knowledge is lost to the dearly departed. But hey, family will have to dig (no pun). Geni is to genealogy what Flickr is to family photo albums-live. Perhaps one day Geni will link to databases to help us add that knowledge. It would also be nice if we could skip generations adding ancestors which we happen to know about while we fill in the gaps with family Members. Perhaps Geni will become so robust that it could fill in the blanks. Why not ask for the moon? But one thing is for sure, I’d like to be able to print the tree on a large poster once we have it as complete as possible. Makes a great Xmas present. Add that to the Flickr photo album.

Geni was founded by former executives and early employees of PayPal, Yahoo! Groups, Ebay, and Tribe; so, we can expect this application will just get better and endure. Right now its fun, worthwhile and I’m getting drawn in!

PLEXUS 2007: The Web Marketing Conference & Demo

I am excited about the “demo” format : CEOs, CTOs and CMOs presenting their innovations in multi-media regalia within 7 minutes on stage (digitally recorded for continued viewing on the web) and joining their intended audiences again in their “theatres” in our large Demoplex. This format has been used for years for start-ups and has drawn mostly VCs. But we are bringing the format to our broad business audience, who want to squeeze as much value as possible from spending one or two days at an event. Time is money and they have little to spare. This format delivers. It’s dynamic and eliminates yawns. Frankly, it delivers more value than a short parade of “talking heads” in the tech innovation sector.

There is no better outlet for new launches. Demos trigger buzz and fast growth. Expect many unveilings at the Plexus 2007!

Plexus 2007  is in Toronto this November 27 and 28, 2007. Starting at $2,777 CAD a Demoer can get a spot at the event. And for a little more Sponsors can have a real presence with business.

It’s an international event which will draw from across Canada and be easily accessible to N.E. USA and Europe.  

It will be a “medium tail” event populated with Fortune 500s, medium biz, small biz, start-ups and homepreneurs to be. There simply is no event in Canada yet that can enable businesses whose core competencies may not be technology to leverage everything technology has to offer them to market to their customers. Tech events are usually esoteric, geek populated. This event is especially for marketing, advertising and the throngs who populate the industry.

Expect innovations in web marketing, customer management, ecommerce, mobile marketing, security, analytics, social media, internet media and so much more.

I am “Pumped for Plexus”. hmmmmm… That could be our t-shirt mantra.

HOT NEW LAUNCHES March 2007

A number of developments in web 2.0 and gadgetry keep the market hopping. HOT NEW LAUNCHES will be published each month featuring innovations from start-ups and behemoths. It is a live list that will grow through the month so you can have a quick picture of what’s fresh in the marketplace.

1. Google launching a mobile phone – a Blackberry like device with a C++ core. Google did start a partnership with Samsung in January; so there is collaboration here. Lots of chatter here and chattering teeth from the competition. Idea rating: 3 1/2 stars

2. My.Netscape - the next generation of Netscape’s personalized home page in beta (there’s nothing at this link today-keep checking). The chatter in the market is hopeful on this one. Idea rating: 2 1/2 stars

3. Adobe Creative Suite 3.0 – due out March 27. Idea rating: TBA

 

4. Geni on-line family tree building already into its second round of financing with Charles River Ventures value at $100 mm. I simply love this hosted app. I am in! Idea rating: 3 1/2 stars

 

5- Skype Prime Beta a Skype to Skype 1-900 style i.e. paid by the caller to experts at the posted fee per minute. This is about a brand so visionary that it sees beyond its appliance. Linked in has a similar service but I do not believe for mobile and for larger fees. Idea rating: 4 stars

 

6- Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 Sonys’ first wireless digicam which will send images over wi-fi networks. Standard resolution 480 X 640 at 30 frames per sec. Memory card able to hold 8 GB. No touch screen on this one. Idea rating: 3 1/2