E-consultancy - Social Media - Internet Marketing News and Blogs

Q&A with Stephen Davies (PRBLOGGER) on Twitter

Mon, 1 Dec 2008 12:26:00 UT

Stephen Davies (aka PRBLOGGER) recently set up his own PR company and actively uses Twitter to interact and influence with the great and good in his sector, and beyond.

I asked him a few questions about his Twitter habits...

Q&A: Steve Howell of charity auction site Celeb2nds

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:30:00 UT

Celeb2nds auctions items donated by celebrities, from David Beckham's boots, to Cliff Richard's�jacket, all�in aid of its eight founder charities, which include the Rainbow Trust and Dial a Dream.

The site is pretty well designed too, though there are a couple of slight issues; the 'auctions ending soon' display could be promoted better, as on eBay, and the fairly hefty delivery charges, �10 for a signed Harry Hill joke book�for example, may deter some bidders.

Q&A with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:29:00 UT

Online shoestore Zappos was founded in 1999 and has in less than a decade grown to be one of the leading lights of e-commerce.

Zappos CEO�Tony Hsieh is a firm believer in the value of a delightful customer experience and is an early adopter of Twitter. I asked him a few questions to find out how this focus on satisfaction (and the Twitter factor) is helping the company progress.

How do you measure success online?

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 10:30:00 UT

How do you measure the success of an online�business,�given the current economic climate?

Tying in rather neatly with Chris Lake�s blog post a couple of weeks ago,�20 ways to delight your customers in 2009,�last week saw E.Factor hosting their Measuring Success event.

E.Factor is a relatively new online social networking-site that has already gone global, with a rapidly growing membership of business people and investors.

Twitter: Facebook isn't worth $15bn (NO DEAL!)

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:11:00 UT

Last month Facebook apparently offered Twitter $500m worth of its stock to buy it. Mark Zuckenberg is a known fan of Twitter, having described its �model� as �elegant� at this year�s Web 2.0 Summit.

Google makes search more social with SearchWiki

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:30:00 UT

Google, a company that has built its success in search on the back of a superior search algorithm, is looking to humans as it makes search a bit more social with the launch of SearchWiki.

Adding online chat to your website

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:15:00 UT

Community features, while not right for everyone, can be a useful way for many online publishers to create more loyalty amongst users and keep them hanging around longer.

While social networks and blogs are all the rage, one shouldn't forget about message boards and chat when considering community.

Sun Microsystems axes 6,000 staff, digs PR hole, jumps in

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:28:00 UT

Is the press release terminally ill? After seeing how Sun Microsystems �announced� a batch of layoffs I�m starting to think that it might be.

Sun has axed up to 6,000 of its workforce, or as much as 18% of total headcount, as part of a plan to reduce annual costs by $800m.

Given the economic climate this is understandable, but rather than being upfront about it Sun has chosen to bury the bad news among marketese and feelgood sloganeering.

Using Twitter for customer service

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:30:00 UT

Microblogging service Twitter is not only useful for online marketers, or to link to interesting blog posts; it can also be an effective customer service tool.

Rebecca on SEOmoz has provided an interesting case study describing how Comcast used Twitter to solve an issue for her; something other companies can potentially�learn from.

Is Google's First Click Free a blow to Facebook and Twitter?

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:30:00 UT

Google News publishers know all about the wonders and horrors of First Click Free.

Google News wants to include prestigious newspapers and let users click through to the stories which matched keyword searches.

Some newspapers still want to operate on a subscription model.�

How charities can learn from Obama's online campaign

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 11:30:00 UT

Whatever your political views, it's hard not to be impressed by the way in which Barack Obama used the internet to get his message across.

From YouTube channels to Twitter and Facebook�accounts, Obama's team showed a real understanding of online media�to campaign and raise funds for the candidate.

There is plenty that charities could�glean from�the Obama campaign's online marketing, and much of it didn't cost the earth...

The Web Week in Review

Fri, 7 Nov 2008 08:45:00 UT

The news was dominated by the presidential election in the�US this week, but the past five days also saw more volatility in the world's financial markets and more than enough news to go around in the technology industry.

Why advertisers are missing a trick in social media

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 11:09:00 UT

Users have the real power to make or break a brand�s campaign, simply by ignoring it.

One of the first questions you need to ask is: "Who do you want to reach through your campaign and what's in it for them?"

A look at Enterprise 2.0

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 09:00:00 UT

As consumer-focused Web 2.0 startups start to feel the pain, one might argue that there will be an increased focus on bringing Web 2.0 to the enterprise.

My favorite research firm, Forrester Research, has projected that enterprise spending on Web 2.0 applications for businesses, also called Enterprise 2.0, will reach $4.6 billion by 2013.

Facebook music - sweet song of success or final ballad of failure?

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:45:00 UT

The New York Post recently reported that Facebook, perhaps spurred on by the launch of MySpace Music, is now serious about pursuing a music service of its own.

Gary Vaynerchuk on video, social media and Twitter

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:14:00 UT

Gary Vaynerchuk is director of operations at Wine Library, a wine retailer, and is perhaps more widely known in internet marketing circles for his videos, where he primarily delivers insights into topics related to social media.

He is also the face behind Wine Library TV, the video-based wine tasting blog that has done much to help transform the Wine Library business into a $50m-a-year retailer, from $4m six years ago.

Gary is a blast...

We know CPM advertising sucks but what are you going to do about it?

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:45:00 UT

I came across an interesting post on Mashable last week, written by Jitendra Gupta, the CEO of internet startup SezWho.

In it, he focuses on social media advertising but also addresses the broader issue of CPM-based advertising. It's this part�that I feel is worth discussing.

The Web Week in Review

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:15:00 UT

Earnings season is in full swing and while there were a few pieces of "serious" news that I�found interesting, it was a story of a virtual murder from Japan that took the cake.

The problem with the 'top-down' approach to revenue estimation

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 07:45:00 UT

AdAge published an interesting article this week with a subtitle that caught my eye:

"Entrepreneurs Discover Digital Spending Isn't an Infinite Quantity" .

Is Nokia guilty of SEO PR astroturfing / comment spamming?

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:35:00 UT

Has Nokia bee n a victim of brand sabotage or agency heavy-handedness? Because something is very amiss in the way it is conducting its social media / SEO�strategy.