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Hot or Not: E-mail Marketing vs. Social-Media Marketing

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The following is also my column this week in Advertising Age.

Contrary to popular belief, video didn't kill the radio star, YouTube didn't knock off TV and Twitter didn't shut down blogging. However, in each case the steady advance of new technology definitely forced the incumbents to evolve. One can argue, for example, that some of the more established blogs on the web benefited greatly from building content strategies that engender massive link sharing on Twitter. Much the same, TV ad creative has changed to facilitate additional exposure on YouTube.

Enter e-mail marketing, which, to some degree, has been beaten down by regulation, and has taken a backseat to social networking. Nielsen revealed last week that e-mail's share of time declined 28%, putting it in third place, while social networking, the leader, climbed 43%.

Despite these attention currents, however, the reality is that e-mail is stronger than ever. According to an eConsultancy study of 1,400 U.S. consumers, 42% said they prefer to receive ads for sales and specials via e-mail compared to just 3% who said the same for social-networking sites and 1% who preferred Twitter.

Savvy marketers are beginning to see that if they leverage all of their channels effectively, they can increase their overall ROI and, in the process, establish a deeper bond with customers and influencers.

They will have help.

Quietly and steadily, email marketing is evolving and turning more social, thanks to a blitz of homegrown innovations, acquisitions and start-ups that are reinventing the platform. Many companies are building end-to-end "social CRM" tools that will help marketers manage their relationships by mashing up existing customer touch points and social-networking sites.

Here's a look at some of the companies in the space:

  • Constant Contact, an e-mail-marketing vendor, in May acquired Nutshellmail, a handy tool that helps individuals and businesses manage their entire social-networking presence via e-mail. Nutshellmail offers a suite of plug-ins, including one that makes it easy for businesses on Facebook to add an e-mail newsletter. Constant Contact is planning to build this into an entire end-to-end offering for small -and medium-size businesses.
  • Rapportive, which provides contextually relevant information to Gmail and Google Apps users about their contacts and the companies they work for, last week generated a fair amount of buzz for raising a seed round that included high-profile investors such as Paul Bucheit, Gmail's architect and now a key member of the Facebook team. Xobni, a similar technology that integrates with Blackberrys, Facebook, LinkedIn and more, raised $16 million earlier this year. Meanwhile, Microsoft's new Outlook Connector brings a similar functionality right to millions of corporate desktops.
  • MailChimp, a popular e-mail-newsletter platform, is in the process of integrating Facebook "like" buttons to campaigns. This will provide marketers with detailed analytics that reveal how many and who clicks on "like" and whether they progressed down the funnel toward a sale, thereby increasing overall accountability.
  • Flowtown and Rapleaf, meanwhile, are taking the opposite approach by helping marketers understand the social connectivity and influence of existing members in their online databases. Flowtown has an e-mail-campaign-management system that integrates with many of the larger platforms, as well as an array of powerful insights tools.

As more marketers apply analytics across the entire marketing spectrum (online and offline) and tap into tools like the ones mentioned above, the mentality will change from reach to relationships. In the process, both e-mail and social-media marketing may gain, but what's clear is that the two are increasingly made for each other.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steverubel/~3/0WfEPNZcvnI/hot-or-not-e-mail-marketing-vs-social-media-m

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Google Instant Makes SEO Irrelevant

Google today launched an ambitious effort to speed up searching. But what they really did is kill SEO.

Google says:

"Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as you type. We are pushing the limits of our technology and infrastructure to help you get better search results, faster. Our key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page. This means that you can scan a results page while you type."

The most important consideration for marketers or anyone who creates content, however, is in the bullets...

"Smarter Predictions: Even when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, predictions help guide your search. The top prediction is shown in grey text directly in the search box, so you can stop typing as soon as you see what you need."

Here's what this means: no two people will see the same web. Once a single search would do the trick - and everyone saw the same results. That's what made search engine optimization work. Now, with this, everyone is going to start tweaking their searches in real-time. The reason this is a game changer is feedback. When you get feedback, you change your behaviors. 

Think about it. When you push a door and it doesn't open quickly, you push harder. When you try to drive a car up a hill and it doesn't go as fast as you would like, you step on the gas. Feedback changes your behavior. 

Google Instant means no one will see the same web anymore, making optimizing it virtually impossible. Real-time feedback will change and personalize people's search behaviors.

::LATER: Google is saying expect traffic fluctuations around organic keywords.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steverubel/~3/YEzUWXW0J00/google-instant-makes-seo-irrelevant

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343 Industries adding 12 more positions for 'the future of Halo'

The new Halo house, 343 Industries, is once again hiring for "Halo jobs," ranging from "multiplayer designer" to "environment artist." Though the dozen listings don't spell out anything specific about a new project, job applicants must "demonstrate that you've played all of the games and thought a lot about the [Halo] franchise."

So far, there's been no official announcement regarding a new Halo game, with 343's current focus on "supporting" Halo: Reach, according to Microsoft. An HD remake of Halo: Combat Evolved, built with the Reach game engine, is rumored to be in development.

Joystiq343 Industries adding 12 more positions for 'the future of Halo' originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/21/343-industries-adding-12-more-positions-for-the-future-of-halo/

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Rock Band Weekly: David Bowie

All you need to know about next week's Rock Band DLC featuring David Bowie is: Ziggy played guitaaaaaaaaaaar! Also, he believed in "fame" and "modern love" with "young Americans" named "Blue Jean." Check out the full details after the break.

Continue reading Rock Band Weekly: David Bowie

JoystiqRock Band Weekly: David Bowie originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/21/rock-band-weekly-david-bowie/

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Bulletstorm PC to support Nvidia 3D Vision display

Based on all the promotional materials we've seen and hands-on time we've had with Bulletstorm, we can confidently say that the game looks to be what those in the scientific community would call "a trip." Epic Games has clued in our sister site Big Download to a feature that might exponentially increase said trippyness: The PC version of Bulletstorm will include 3D-display support, provided you've got the right kind of monitor, glasses and an Nvidia GeForce-based graphics card.

As excited as we are about the opportunity to freeze an enemy in the air, then kick him backward through actual planes of depth, we're actually more thrilled about something else: seeing the game's dialog as three-dimensional subtitles. It's like we can reach out and touch the "dick-tits."

JoystiqBulletstorm PC to support Nvidia 3D Vision display originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/01/21/bulletstorm-pc-to-support-nvidia-3d-vision-display/

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Houdini Out of Free Trial Traps

All you did was sign up for the free trial and now, 32 days later you have a charge on your Visa card for 29.99 that you didn't want. If only you could turn back time like Marty Mcfly and do it all differently.

Free Trials are actually pretty cool ideas, I get a chance to try something out for a bit and if I don't like it, I don't pay for it... yet. Pre-planning is a prerequisite to free trials, without it you will pay the price (pun intended) unless you know how to get around the fees.

? Free Trial/ Costly Shipping:  Frankly I stay away from these as they aren't free when I have to pay to get it mailed out and usually at a cost that is 2-3 times the usual cost of the 1st class mail option they sent it to you. There is are a few items that are worth the shipping cost (see free sterling silver site), but I wouldn't personally think of it as free, I would think of them as costing 6.99, for shipping.

? Clock is Ticking: The free trial doesn't start from the time you finally get around to downloading the software or watching the HBO channel, it starts the minute you click on the button to order or say, "Yes, I would like to try that for free."

? Read the Tiny Print: The itsy, bitsy, teeny, tiny print will definitely tell all the conditions of the trial. Look for length of trial, cost after trial and anything you may be signed up for with a 3rd party (name/address selling) or if you have to send anything back at your own cost. Until you know the rules, don't jump into the pool.

? Befriend the Calendar: When you do find out the length of the trial, write it on a calendar or send yourself an email or set an alarm on your phone. I would also suggest that you make it a day or two ahead of the end of trial so that you can hit the snooze for another day if you absolutely have to.

? Know Canceling Techniques: Have yourself all ready with whom to call, where to write or what links to click to cancel. If one way doesn't work, you will have alternatives to try to cancel. Also another good reason to cancel ahead of time because sometimes they will take 24- 48hours to "complete the cancellation" and you don't want to be outside your trial period when that happens (not that it would be your fault, but err on the side of caution).

? Big Brother Your Statement: On the day of the end of the trial to 30 days beyond, keep an eye on your card statement to make sure nothing was added "accidentally". Some people may have print outs of the page that showed the order and fine print for proof that the company didn't follow through on their word. But I haven't come across that yet, Simply keeping an eye on my statement details for a period of time is usually enough.


The most common trial options are:
 Health or Beauty aides - Shipping is usually required or return of the bottle at your cost may be necessary
Credit reports - typically require you to sign up for a 2-4 week trial of a report watch system. Your best place for these is Annualcreditreport.com, which is the official site with no strings attached.
Tea/Coffee - I have the Gevelia coffe maker ads on my site as I have used them without troubles and they do have a monthly club you participate in unless you cancel within the required time.
Computer or Computer Software - The computer offers usually require you to sign up and sometimes order other products or get others to sign up with you. I'm not a fan of those.
With free computer software, Download.com has quite a few free trials, but you want to check that you get the full software and not a chopped down version and how long the trial is of course.
Magazine subscriptions - I come across these often and usually they will stop after a certain time if you send the bill back with cancel. But if you have given your credit card to get the free issues, be diligent about checking the statement as I have seen charges show up months later.

Free trials can be very useful as long as you are proactive with regard to the fine print before you sign off on the trial.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/IpRp/~3/6y3fbO8rRPQ/houdini-out-of-free-trial-traps.html

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CNC weaving attachment

Its a project page for a 4-day blitz project I did last week to start the new year off right - it looked at programming a 3-axis CNC gantry mill to do some simple wrapping/weaving tasks. Since I won't be able to work on the project for quite some time I've made all the source files available for download in the hope that an interested maker would pick up where I left off.

3-Axis CNC 'Weaving'

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Modern Mechanix | Digg this!

Source: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/01/cnc_weaving_attachment.html

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A Privacy 9-11 Could Derail Social

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I have a macabre habit. No matter how hard I try, I can't kick it.

Each year, come the first week of September, I deliberately seek out the most horrific footage from September 11th that I can find. I watch videos of the second plane hitting the World Trade Center at full speed and of desperate workers leaping to their death.

As a lifelong New Yorker, this is my way of coping with the tragedy. I purposefully make myself feel uneasy to remind myself that if we get too comfortable, we will forget and it will happen again.

Making a connection between a global tragedy like 9/11 and digital privacy may seem like a leap, but I am going to try. Hopefully you'll bear with me. My apologies in advance.

Flashback to early 2001 and you might recall that America was blissfully ignorant about our national security. Terrorism was something that happened elsewhere, never on our shores. It didn't enter our mind such an event could happen here until a few dozen suicidal extremists found a weak link in our system, commandeered our airspace with simple box cutters and murdered thousands of innocent people. They forced us to think the unthinkable.

Today I have an similar uneasy feeling about social networking and, to some degree, cloud computing. I believe that a Privacy 9-11 looms. I don't have evidence to support it. All I have is a bad vibe that too many people are apathetic about securing their privacy and this creates lots of weak links waiting to be exploited with digital box cutters.

The risk of a Privacy 9-11 is not rooted in technology. Rather, it's about sociology.

Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and others have hardened technological defenses that protect our privacy. My concern is user apathy. Too many people today have a free-spirited attitude about their privacy. To be sure, there are lots of people who are paranoid. But we are outnumbered.

Anyone in security will tell you that a good defense is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. Net, no matter how hardened our technological defenses are, it's my bet that somewhere someone will suffer a major privacy leak that impacts millions, sends shock waves through our system and makes us feel less secure than we did before. Such an event could slow interest in social networking and derail its marketing potential.

Perhaps this event is years away. Maybe it is completely far fetched. What's certain, however, is that as our once-analog social lives become increasingly digitized, now is the time for leaders to table the issue. Marketers, consumers, government and (not least of all) the platforms - all of whom have much at stake here - must work together to ensure that we are doing everything possible to protect and defend the digital privacy of our netizens.

Right now, we're not.

The risk of a Privacy 9/11 - a cataclysmic event that exposes the private information of millions of people - can be prevented if we act. Privacy, like terrorism, is something many don't think about until they have to. Some are doing an exemplary job of showing people just how their data is being used. Others - marketers included - need to go to the same lengths.

Consider Amazon.com, for example. The e-commerce giant doesn't rely on Facebook's arcane permissions screen to explain what data they share with your friends if you opt into their new social sharing features. Forrester analyst Auggie Ray points out that Amazon tells consumers in detail what will/wont be shared and the benefits in opting in. 

Much the same, Google last week simplified its privacy policy across all of its sites in an effort to make them more user-friendly. It also maintains a Dashboard that every user can look at to see just how much or little of their data is on Google's servers.

Finally, perhaps stung by prior criticism, Facebook too recently simplified its privacy controls. More importantly they gave users the ability to monitor for suspicious logins and even log out of Facebook remotely.

Amazon, Google and Facebook should be lauded for educating consumers. They see consumer privacy and security as a mutual responsibility - which it is. But this is only the beginning.

The next step is for marketers, government, media and platforms to stand together in shaping standards in how we educate the public about the risks of our increasingly socially connected world - and in setting behavioral norms. For example, a study released by Georgia Tech found that passwords today  
should be a minimum of 12 characters . Too few sites mandate such lengths. A coalition could change this.

The time to prepare for a Privacy 9/11 is now - even if it means that we might make some people uneasy. It's for everyone's own good and it all starts with education.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/steverubel/~3/kr3Yea_Qy-I/a-privacy-9-11-could-derail-social

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