Archive for January, 2009

We’ve been tweeting about Twitter for some time, suggesting it’s the new superstar of the web. The latest figures from Hitwise shows that Twitter has overtaken Digg for usage. No surprise that on Obama’s inauguration day, the microblogging service doubled its resources as users logged on to share thoughts and experiences. The Independent writes that Twitter’s success is not down to the brilliance and simplicity of its concept, but a demonstration that every good dotcom needs a good name.

The Vatican is launching its own channel on YouTube where catholics and the curious will be able to see Pope Benedict and other church events. The digital move marks the Vatican’s deepest foray into new media since it launched its website www.vatican.va in 1995.

The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising has warned that traditional ad agencies will suffer if they don’t embrace changes in media from social networks like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The Social Media Futures report warns that two-thirds of ad agencies are not prepared for industry changes. In its worst-case scenario, the resulting decline in paid-for advertising space could see £16m of revenues lost by the advertising industry by 2016, if agencies fail to create new applications to appeal to users of social media.

As Google’s results boosted a host of depressed technology investors, by meeting forecasts and reporting a $382m profit, the search giant closed down some of the businesses on its periphery. Most notable, was the closure of Google Print Ads, its three-year old service that had hoped to revolutionise the newspaper industry.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO has confirmed his interest in Yahoo’s online search operations. During a conference call with investors, when questioned if he was interested in a deal with Yahoo, he confirmed: “We would like to do one.” Microsoft disappointed the city with its latest results. Its loss-making online operation posted revenues of £638m in the last quarter and the company will also cull 5,000 jobs, the first big layoffs in its 33 year history.

Football Superstars, the world’s first virtual football world, is gaining momentum attracting more than a quarter of a million users. Football Superstars enables gamers to recreate themselves online as a footballer and play free games from 3-a-side to 11-a-side. Off the pitch they can socialise in restaurants and clubs and buy equipment and clothes in virtual stores. Gamers can also dedicate time to training and chat with the paparazzi in a bid to boost their status. In the last two months, 220,000 individual games of football have been played.

The Wall Street Journal has cited an important new microtrend – the new information shopper. These window shoppers use the internet to gather as much information as possible before committing to buying a new product or service. 92% said they had more confidence in information they seek online than anything coming from a salesman or other source. We have seen many of the big market areas convert to an information-driven model — cars, homes, personal computers and medical care are areas where nearly 4 in 5 shoppers say they gather information on their own from the Web before buying. It’s not just expensive items - 24% said they are doing online research before buying shampoo. Seventy percent of Americans now say they consult product reviews or consumer ratings before they make their buying decisions. Sixty-two percent say they spend at least 30 minutes online every week to help them decide what and whether to buy.

Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s new CEO will be paid at least $19m in cash and stock during her first year in the job. This will be topped with a huge windfall if she manages to turnaround the ailing internet firm. Yang, already a billionaire from his holdings in Yahoo, had settled for a salary of just $1. In an early press conference following her appointment, Bartz said she was determined to give Yahoo, “”some friggin’ breathing room,” and added, “Everyone on the outside’s been deciding what it should and shouldn’t do. That’s going to stop.”

New research from Pew Internet confirms that the share of adult internet users on social networks in the US has more than quadrupled in the last four years from 8% to 35%. This percentage also means that adults represent a larger amount of users than the 65% of teens who used online social networks. Interestingly, Pew goes on to report that 60% of adult social network users restrict access to their profiles. The older generation is networking online too - 10 percent of online adults 65 and older have a profile on a social networking site in the US.

Yahoo is ditching its European contextual ad product, Content Match, which operates in a similar way to Google’s AdSense. It is set to close throughout Europe by the end of March. Instead Yahoo says it will focus on sponsored search and display advertising. It is not yet known if the product will be withdrawn from the US market.