Consumers say "No"

As many as 73% of web users have left a favourite website because of intrusive or annoying ads, according to research, with gambling and financial service ads coming off the worst, according to independent research, conducted by Opinion Matters for HowTo.tv showed that the figure rose to 84% among 25-34 year olds -- an increase of over 20% on the 2007 findings. (Internet users refuse to put up with intrusive ads

Email is going the same way, with users seeing emails as spam, not because they are unsolicited, but because they are not relevant (see my Blog Relevance is key to email success).

Google has halved the length of time that it will store user data in fear of a consumer backlash.

Visitors come to websites to serve their needs not yours. Whilst they accept that you need to generate value from their visit in order to support the service, putting your needs ahead of their is a risky business.

Successful Internet businesses work because the service that they offer focuses on giving the user what they want. Monetisation is either done by aligning the users activity with sites revenue model, or by making sure that any conflicting need (for example, advertising) doesn't detract from the user experience. After all, if you don't have any visitors, it doesn't matter how much monetisation you include, you won't make any money.

Also read ... previous blog FT shows the Internet is still "free"

Browser war gives hints of the future!

Google's launch of it first browser, Chrome, means that browser wars are very much back on the agenda.

Within the world of browsers, this is a position move, as competition drives innovation, which drives improvement. The launch of Firefox 3 and IE8 at the same time is a clear indication that competition is hotting up and the resulting innovation (or in some cases, keeping up with the Jones's) is coming on line.

Google has taken a fundamentally different approach to it's browser, by focusing on speed and ease of use, rather than on in-built functionality (like IE) and plug-ins (like Firefox). It's belief is that the server should take the load of process and running applications.

This ties in with its development of other user applications. Picasa, its photography application, and Google Docs, as well as Gmail with its almost limitless storage, encourage users to use server based applications which they can access from any PC. This harks back the days of the mainframe and the thin-client. The days before Bill Gates's vision of a Personal Computer on every desk top.

Which brings me to my prediction that the introduction of Chrome, with its thin-client approach to computing, is the first step in Google challenging Microsoft on its home territory. Building on its experience with the Android platform for mobile phones, how long will it be before we see Google developing a low cost thin-client PC running on a Google operating system, designed to use all of Google's server based applications. Back to running processes on mainframes, it's just that now, those mainframes are provided by Google online.

It's funny how things run full circle!

Read more ...
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2008/tc2008092_293242.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/057ea574-7a04-11dd-bb93-000077b07658.html

Relevance is key to email success

New research by Marketing Sherpa / Q Internetactive has confirmed something that we have been saying for a long time. If you are going to send people emails, make sure that they find them interesting.

It's pretty obvious really. If you have opted-in to receive an email, you have an expectation that you will receive something that is of interest. If the email you get doesn't meet that expectation, then you will increasingly see it as spam. Spam gets junked, or opted out.

It is important to understand 2 things about an opt-in. One is that it is not given lightly, it is a considered action - "Yes - I like what this business does and I want to be informed of interesting things.". Two is that this permission has a real value. It is permission to have a relationship and as we all know, it is the relationship that we have with our customers that generates value.

So if you have won that permission, don't waste it by sending worthless emails. People see worthless emails as spam, regardless of their opt in. Cherish it and build on it by providing value and you will get value in return.

FT shows the Internet is still "free"

The Internet is about content. It always has been and no-one would really dispute that.

It is also about free content. Unlike mobile, where people are in the habit of paying for stuff, the web has always been seen as a freebie.

There have been many attempts to get the online audience to pay for content, but inevitably leads to a reduced user-base. And this reduction in the user-base is more costly that the increase in revenue from the smaller number of paying users. (Paying users also have higher expectations and are less willing to put up with advertising.)

The move by the FT to drop its charging model in October 2007 has seen it acquire new registered users at a rate of 12,000 month, reaching 500,000 registered users this summer.

What does this mean for you? Provide your customers with free content that they want and they'll keep coming back!

Right Move online

Rightmove, the online property search website, has increased revenues by 49% to £37.8m in the first six months of the year.

Such success is spectacular in any situation, but in the face of the credit crunch and a 50% drop in house sales, it also bucks a trend.

It has achieved this by offering Estate Agents a more cost effective route to market. Specific benefits include reduced advertising and printing costs.

What can the Internet offer you in the tightening economic climate?