MyAdvertisingMarket.com

January 9, 2010

Google, Advertising, New Media And Energy

For the last few years, our organization has been exploring how an information technologies company fits together with an energy company.

With the demise of traditional publishing (i.e. newspapers and broadcast television), has come the rise of new media marketing. Though the cost to produce each ad has plummeted, the cost to store and distribute each ad has soared. For instance, the cost to produce a newspaper ad might be over ten thousand dollars; however, the cost to produce a similar Internet ad might be under a thousand dollars. On the other hand, the cost to store and distribute a newspaper ad is insignificant while the cost to store and distribute the Internet ad is substantial.

One of the largest costs associated with Internet advertising is energy. Data centers, servers, off-site backups and other related new media services are extremely energy intensive. By 2006, it was estimated that “Google is the largest consumer of electricity in the world.” Though Google does not disclose what they believe their environmental impact to be, there is no doubt that alternatives to traditional energy sources would be very desirable.

Niki Fenwick of Google said, “Right now, we can’t buy affordable, utility-scale, renewable energy in our markets. We want to buy the highest quality, most affordable renewable energy wherever we can and use the green credits.”

“We don’t have any concrete plans. We want the ability to buy and sell electricity in case it becomes part of our portfolio.”

It is almost as if Google has been reading our playbook:
MyEnergyTech.com
Data Center Resources
Sustainable Energy

December 31, 2009

Washington Times A Sign Of The Times

The Washington Times, a 27 year old newspaper, is gutting its staff of 40% of their employees. The entire staff of photographers were terminated. Also, the sports section will be eliminated. “Our market-based, forward-looking plan is both a response to the recessionary economy, continued downward financial pressures on the news industry and our transition into a 21st century multimedia enterprise,” said the president of The Times.

Newspaper publishers and television broadcasters had already seen a huge downturn in advertising revenues. Then, the economic slowdown landed a fatal final blow to many traditional publishers.

RELATED ARTICLE: TV Advertising In Trouble

December 29, 2009

TV Advertising In Trouble

Free-to-view television programing could vanish. For over 60 years, network broadcasters have supported programming through commercial advertisements; however, several factors could be combining that make free TV a thing of the past.

Cable, satellite and the Internet have fractured the networks’ audience. The downturn in the economy may be landing the final blow on advertising revenues for CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX. Rupert Murdoch told shareholders, “Good programing is expensive. It can no longer be supported solely by advertising revenues.”

Super Bowl ad sales have been much more difficult for this year’s game. For the first time in 23 years, Pepsi will not be advertising during the Super Bowl. Prices for Olympic advertising has been cut almost in half.

December 25, 2009

FTC Google-eyeing Google

Filed under: Business Trends — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 12:11 am

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has made a second request to Google for information about its proposed $750 million purchase of mobile phone marketer AdMob. It is another example of the government’s increased interest in Google’s advertising empire.

“We know that closer scrutiny has been one consequence of Google’s success,” Paul Feng, Google product manager.

December 20, 2009

Google Fined Over Copyright Violations

Since 2004, Google has been scanning in millions of books and making them available to the public. Google says, “The Library Project’s aim is simple: make it easier for people to find relevant books – specifically, books they wouldn’t find any other way such as those that are out of print – while carefully respecting authors’ and publishers’ copyrights. Our ultimate goal is to work with publishers and libraries to create a comprehensive, searchable, virtual card catalog of all books in all languages that helps users discover new books and publishers discover new readers.”

A French court has fined Google 300,000 Euro and 10,000 Euro / day while Google is in violation. Google attorney, Alexandra Neri, said the company would appeal.

“It shows Google that they are not the kings of the world and they can’t do whatever they want,” said Serge Eyrolles, president of France’s Syndicat National de l’Edition.

Philippe Colombet, the head of Google’s book-scanning project in France, said the company disagrees. “French readers now face the threat of losing access to a significant body of knowledge and falling behind the rest of Internet users,” Colombet said. “We believe that displaying a limited number of short extracts from books complies with copyright legislation both in France and the U.S. — and improves access to books.”

U.S. and German courts are also trying to determine how the Internet is affecting intellectual property rights.

November 12, 2009

Google.com: New Caffeine Search

Filed under: marketing and advertising — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 7:20 pm

Although you may not notice a radical difference, Google is changing the way it ranks search results. Google search results are based on a complex algorithm. Factors, such as, the domain name, the age of the domain name, type of webpage, links out and links in are calculated into a formula. The result gives the content its page rank.

Though Google is not making public the details of the algorithm, some changes are obvious. A much heavier weighting is being given to “real time” searches which connect sites like Blogs, Twitter and FaceBook directly to Google.

Matt Cutts of Google said: The Caffeine update isn’t about making some UI (user interface) changes here or there. Currently, even power users won’t notice much of a difference at all. This update is primarily under the hood: we’re rewriting the foundation of some of our infrastructure.

When Caffeine was introduced, so was a sandbox, where people could play around with Caffeine based search results, and get a look at how rankings were altered (if at all), and try to get a feel for how it was going to go. Now that sandbox has closed up shop, it looks like the Caffeine update will be live in Google search before too long.

Based on the success we’ve seen, we believe Caffeine is ready for a larger audience. Soon we will activate Caffeine more widely, beginning with one data center.

October 12, 2009

Shopping Safely Online

Filed under: Business Trends, privacy — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:13 pm

National Cyber Alert System
Cyber Security Tip

Shopping Safely Online
Online shopping has become a popular way to purchase items without the hassles of traffic and crowds. However, the Internet has unique risks, so it is important to take steps to protect yourself when shopping online.

Why do online shoppers have to take special precautions?
The Internet offers a convenience that is not available from any other shopping outlet. From the comfort of your home, you can search for items from countless vendors, compare prices with a few simple mouse clicks, and make purchases without waiting in line. However, the Internet is also convenient for attackers, giving them multiple ways to access the personal and financial information of unsuspecting shoppers. Attackers who are able to obtain this information may use it for their own financial gain, either by making purchases themselves or by selling the information to someone else.

How do attackers target online shoppers?
There are three common ways that attackers can take advantage of online shoppers:

Targeting vulnerable computers – If you do not take steps to protect your computer from viruses or other malicious code, an attacker may be able to gain access to your computer and all of the information on it. It is also important for vendors to protect their computers to prevent attackers from accessing customer databases.

Creating fraudulent sites and email messages – Unlike traditional shopping, where you know that a store is actually the store it claims to be, attackers can create malicious web sites that mimic legitimate ones or create email messages that appear to have been sent from a legitimate source. Charities may also be misrepresented in this way, especially after natural disasters or during holiday seasons. Attackers create these malicious sites and email messages to try to convince you to supply personal and financial information.

Intercepting insecure transactions – If a vendor does not use encryption, an attacker may be able to intercept your information as it is being transmitted.
How can you protect yourself?
Use and maintain anti-virus software, a firewall, and anti-spyware software – Protect yourself against viruses and Trojan horses that may steal or modify the data on your own computer and leave you vulnerable by using anti-virus software and a firewall (see Understanding Anti-Virus Software and Understanding Firewalls for more information). Make sure to keep your virus definitions up to date. Spyware or adware hidden in software programs may also give attackers access to your data, so use a legitimate anti-spyware program to scan your computer and remove any of these files (see Recognizing and Avoiding Spyware for more information).

Keep software, particularly your web browser, up to date – Install software patches so that attackers cannot take advantage of known problems or vulnerabilities (see Understanding Patches for more information). Many operating systems offer automatic updates. If this option is available, you should enable it.

Evaluate your software’s settings – The default settings of most software enable all available functionality. However, attackers may be able to take advantage of this functionality to access your computer (see Evaluating Your Web Browser’s Security Settings and the paper Securing Your Web Browser for more information). It is especially important to check the settings for software that connects to the Internet (browsers, email clients, etc.). Apply the highest level of security available that still gives you the functionality you need.

Do business with reputable vendors – Before providing any personal or financial information, make sure that you are interacting with a reputable, established vendor. Some attackers may try to trick you by creating malicious web sites that appear to be legitimate, so you should verify the legitimacy before supplying any information (see Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks and Understanding Web Site Certificates for more information). Locate and note phone numbers and physical addresses of vendors in case there is a problem with your transaction or your bill.

Take advantage of security features – Passwords and other security features add layers of protection if used appropriately (see Choosing and Protecting Passwords and Supplementing Passwords for more information).

Be wary of emails requesting information – Attackers may attempt to gather information by sending emails requesting that you confirm purchase or account information (see Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information). Legitimate businesses will not solicit this type of information through email.

Check privacy policies – Before providing personal or financial information, check the web site’s privacy policy. Make sure you understand how your information will be stored and used (see Protecting Your Privacy for more information).

Make sure your information is being encrypted – Many sites use SSL, or secure sockets layer, to encrypt information. Indications that your information will be encrypted include a URL that begins with “https:” instead of “http:” and a padlock icon. If the padlock is closed, the information is encrypted. The location of the icon varies by browser; for example, it may be to the right of the address bar or at the bottom of the window. Some attackers try to trick users by adding a fake padlock icon, so make sure that the icon is in the appropriate location for your browser.

Use a credit card – There are laws to limit your liability for fraudulent credit card charges, and you may not have the same level of protection for your debit card. Additionally, because a debit card draws money directly from your bank account, unauthorized charges could leave you with insufficient funds to pay other bills. You can further minimize damage by using a single credit card with a low credit line for all of your online purchases.

Check your statements – Keep a record of your purchases and copies of confirmation pages, and compare them to your bank statements. If there is a discrepancy, report it immediately (see Preventing and Responding to Identity Theft for more information).

September 28, 2009

What Is The Price Of Freedom?

Filed under: Business Trends — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 7:55 pm

Facebook is finding out the cost of freedom — $9.5 million.

A couple years ago Facebook started a marketing division called Beacon. Beacon worked as a go-between for Facebook and third-party businesses, such as, Blockbuster, Fandango and Overstock.com. The idea was to show a Facebook member’s friends recent purchases in the belief that it would be a “trusted referral”. If I bought a movie ticket through Fandango, my friends on Facebook would be offered to buy tickets, too.

Sharing a consumer’s information is usually not a good thing to do… as Facebook found out. People became outraged at their opt-out program. Unless you were clever enough to catch their 4 second pop-up to opt-out, you were automatically opted-in. Then your friends were exposed to your purchasing patterns including the holiday gift you purchased for them.

A lawsuit was filed against Facebook which they have agreed to settle. The settlement calls for Facebook to fund a foundation to promote online privacy, safety and security with $9.5 million.

August 25, 2009

Guidelines for Publishing Information Online

Filed under: marketing and advertising, privacy — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 9:32 pm

by The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team

Remember that the internet is a public resource. Avoid putting anything online that you don’t want the public to see or that you may want to retract.

Why is it important to remember that the internet is public?
Because the internet is so accessible and contains a wealth of information, it has become a popular resource for communicating, for researching topics, and for finding information about people. It may seem less intimidating than actually interacting with other people because there is a sense of anonymity. However, you are not really anonymous when you are online, and it is just as easy for people to find information about you as it is for you to find information about them. Unfortunately, many people have become so familiar and comfortable with the internet that they may adopt practices that make them vulnerable. For example, although people are typically wary of sharing personal information with strangers they meet on the street, they may not hesitate to post that same information online. Once it is online, it can be accessed by a world of strangers, and you have no idea what they might do with that information.

What guidelines can you follow when publishing information on the internet?
View the internet as a novel, not a diary – Make sure you are comfortable with anyone seeing the information you put online. Expect that people you have never met will find your page; even if you are keeping an online journal or blog, write it with the expectation that it is available for public consumption. Some sites may use passwords or other security restrictions to protect the information, but these methods are not usually used for most web sites. If you want the information to be private or restricted to a small, select group of people, the internet is probably not the best forum.

Be careful what you advertise – In the past, it was difficult to find information about people other than their phone numbers or address. Now, an increasing amount of personal information is available online, especially because people are creating personal web pages with information about themselves. When deciding how much information to reveal, realize that you are broadcasting it to the world. Supplying your email address may increase the amount of spam you receive (see Reducing Spam for more information). Providing details about your hobbies, your job, your family and friends, and your past may give attackers enough information to perform a successful social engineering attack (see Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for more information).

Realize that you can’t take it back – Once you publish something online, it is available to other people and to search engines. You can change or remove information after something has been published, but it is possible that someone has already seen the original version. Even if you try to remove the page(s) from the internet, someone may have saved a copy of the page or used excerpts in another source. Some search engines “cache” copies of web pages so that they open faster; these cached copies may be available after a web page has been deleted or altered. Some web browsers may also maintain a cache of the web pages a user has visited, so the original version may be stored in a temporary file on the user’s computer. Think about these implications before publishing information—once something is out there, you can’t guarantee that you can completely remove it.
As a general practice, let your common sense guide your decisions about what to post online. Before you publish something on the internet, determine what value it provides and consider the implications of having the information available to the public. Identity theft is an increasing problem, and the more information an attacker can gather about you, the easier it is to pretend to be you. Behave online the way you would behave in your daily life, especially when it involves taking precautions to protect yourself.

July 30, 2009

Yahoo And Microsoft Ad Partnership

Filed under: marketing and advertising — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 5:58 pm

Recently, Microsoft unveiled their new search engine service, Bing. They claim “Live Search is evolving.”

Yesterday, Microsoft and Yahoo announced they entered into a search ad partnership. Google has a 65 percent share of the U.S. search market, compared with Yahoo’s 19.6 percent and Microsoft’s 8.4 percent. Hoping to take on the search giant, Google.com, the combined partnership is seen as a viable option for advertisers and publishers.

“Yahoo! and Microsoft, after months of negotiations, unveiled a 10-year Web search and advertising partnership on Wednesday that sets the stage for a joint offensive against Internet titan Google.

Under the no-cash deal, Yahoo! will use Microsoft’s new Bing search engine on its own sites while Yahoo! will provide the exclusive global sales force for the companies’ premium search advertisers.

The agreement between the Internet portal and software giant, which will be subject to review by US anti-trust regulators, is expected to close in early 2010,” the companies said.

Under the agreement, Microsoft will acquire an exclusive 10-year license to Yahoo!’s core search technologies and will be able to integrate them into its existing Web search platforms.

“This agreement comes with boatloads of value for Yahoo!, our users, and the industry,” said Carol Bartz, Yahoo CEO.

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