During the company’s Keynote address Thursday, Apple revealed iTunes 10, complete with its very own social network for music called “Ping.” Steve Jobs has described the service as “Facebook meets Twitter for music.” Ping allows users to follow artists or friends to find out what they’re listening to or what they’re creating.

Facebook Tests Social Subscription
Jill Krumsick

Facebook is testing friend subscriptions, a new feature that allows for users to sign up for notifications on friend’s activities. Rather than looking to your news feed or segmenting by groups, subscription will allow for users to place priority on information and hopes to facilitate greater interaction.

Pretend Goods that Influence the Purchase of Real Ones
Jeff Whang

Chances are most of you reading this haven’t purchased “virtual goods” – but put your personal experience aside for a moment, because nearly $2 billion worth of revenue was generated this year by micro-purchases of virtual goods. While still an emerging market, there’s a case building for “virtual” goods’ impact on awareness, loyalty or even generation of real-life purchases.

What Big Brands Are Spending on Google
Alex Kenney

An internal Google document obtained by Advertising Age reveals the top spenders on search ads during the month of June. AT&T Mobility spent the most- coinciding with the release of the iPhone 4- at $8.08 million. BP jumped from an average of $57,000 two months prior to nearly $3.6 million during June in the wake of the oil spill, illustrating how important Google is for reputation management and in the battle of public opinion.

Samsung Officially Unveils Galaxy Tab
Sarah Voges

Samsung has released details about their new “smart media device” that runs on the latest version of Android. It has a few advantages over an iPad including two cameras and Flash support, but it does have a smaller screen. The Galaxy Tab will start selling in Europe in October and then the US later in the year.

“One of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display.”

Leading the charge is the following graph:

They go on to explain how just 10 years ago, web traffic accounted for roughly half of all online activity. Today, however, that figure has dropped to 23%. Taking its place are peer-to-peer services (23%), video (51%) and other apps. These statistics led the writers to envision “a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule.”

Problems

The argument that the authors are making rests on a controversial method of presenting the figures. First, the graph uses bandwidth to measure consumption, which is not the ideal metric for gauging how the typical user spends their time. This is because online activities take up different amounts of bandwidth. If someone spends five minutes on YouTube watching a video clip, it will take up more bandwidth than the hour they spend surfing the Web.

The graph’s illustration of the decline of web traffic is also misleading because it doesn’t take into account the overall growth of the Internet over the same time period. According to Cisco, the same source Wired used for its projections, total Internet traffic rose from about 1 exabyte (1,000,000,000 gigabytes) to 7 exabytes between 2005 and 2010. To incorporate this growth, Rob Beschizza from Boing Boing re-created the following graph, with the Y-axis representing exabytes of traffic.

Once total Internet traffic is taken into account, it becomes more difficult to make a case for the death of the Web (represented in red). In fact, the Web is growing faster than it ever has. It’s just been joined by even more explosive growth in file sharing and video, which is often embedded in the Web in any case.

Which brings me to my next point: The Wired article uses a narrow definition of the Web that doesn’t give it enough credit. It excludes some video, including Flash-based video on websites such as YouTube and Hulu, as well as social networking sites such as the 500-million-member-strong Facebook. If these key categories of Internet traffic were included under the umbrella of the Web, surely the graph would look much different.

Aside from these issues, however, the general trend of moving toward apps is accurate. And as more consumers make the leap to smart phones, they will continue to demand simpler, more effective ways to navigate the Internet remotely. For now, at least, apps seem to most effectively fulfill that need.

Don’t Count Out the Web Just Yet

The authors claim that at this particular moment in the brief history of the Internet, consumers are opting for the more controlled, perhaps more effective environment of apps. True, but it’s important to keep in mind that these technologies move in shifts. The browser had been king for most of the Internet’s history, until developers and consumers started craving the functionalities offered by apps. But it’s possible that the browser will eventually catch up and absorb most of the features that popular apps offer today.

If these features can be integrated into the browser, web-based applications may then take over. These apps have advantages of their own compared to those offered by Apple, Android or Blackberry. For one, they are not subject to Apple’s terms of use clauses. This means that users can still access their desired content in an environment in which they are comfortable and still retain the freedom offered by the Web. Also, web-based applications don’t need to be rewritten for different smart phone platforms, which cuts down dramatically on production costs.

This is not the first time that Wired has tried to bury the Web. In 1997, Kevin Kelly and Gary Wolf wrote a feature called “Push! Kiss Your Browser Goodbye,” which predicted the complete obsolescence of the browser before the turn of the millennium. When the browser failed to die, Wolf, for his part, said it was the worst story ever published by Wired and has since apologized for his role in it.

Only time will tell where the Internet will end up, but if Wired’s track record of predictions plays a role, something tells me we’ll still be using the same old series of tubes.

How does online differ from television for advertising within a television show?

Let’s start with some basic statistics:

Although the number of people who watch television online is increasing, the in-home set is still our favorite way to watch our shows. People turn to the Internet for television shows because it allows them to watch television whenever and wherever they want. According to eMarketer, cross-platform viewers – who watch shows online and on the set – most frequently go online to watch an episode they missed or catch up on previous seasons and many missed episodes.

Younger audiences, especially 18- to 24-year-olds, participate in time shifting much more, taking advantage of the Internet’s convenience. Although it varies depending on the show, online viewers of television shows tend to be younger, more likely to be male and more comfortable with technology.

Comparing Ad Performance
The act of seeking out content online plays a big part in viewers’ engagement. The sense of empowerment makes viewers more receptive to ads, and the notion that advertising is the reason for free availability of the content is still around – unlike in television, where ads are viewed as an interruption. The environment also enables engagement because the user is required to click during the viewing process and is exposed to less clutter. In general, attitudes toward advertising are more favorable among online video viewers:

Hulu reports that 90% of its users think the ads they watch on the site are less annoying than those on television. Nielsen did a study that compared video ads run during online TV shows with their corresponding television ad. The online ads outperformed their traditional counterparts in all measurements.

Nielsen’s study only measures recall, not clickthrough rates or interaction, important metrics in the online environment. When the set of ads in an episode creates a story or a building experience, the ads perform better. Even if it’s not as interactive as a branded game, at least providing a link out to a website or more information is important, since 43% of cross-platform users stop a show to explore an advertiser’s website.

Overall, advertising in a television show online provides a unique opportunity to target a highly engaged audience that’s younger and technologically savvier than your usual show viewer. While this audience is smaller now, it is likely to grow significantly and begin mainstreaming as more people utilize Internet services. Most importantly, combining an engaged user with an engaging medium like the Internet provides a chance to create branded experiences and associations that can positively affect consumers’ attitudes about your brand.

Here are a few things to consider when getting involved in online television advertising:

1. Try repurposing a television ad. Some studies show that this type of ad performs well online and maintains a similar experience for both your traditional television and Internet viewers.

2. Consider your target. The demographics are a bit different online, so if you’re looking to hone in on your younger, hipper segment, this may be a great channel. You may want to consider how to create a more interactive experience for this tech-savvy group.

3. Measure the results. Online television provides the sensory benefits of television with the measurability of the Internet, so adding a brand study to your online television will give you a better picture of what specific metrics online television can effect for your brand.

4. Review your options. Television is available from multiple services online, with the most popular being Hulu and network or show websites. Some allow full-episode sponsorship or companion ads for your video placements. Hulu even allows viewers to choose whether they want to watch one longer commercial before their show begins or about five shorter commercials through the show.

A new report from Pew reveals that while young adults continue to be the heaviest users of social media, their growth pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users. Over the past year, social networking use among internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled—from 22% in April 2009 to 42% in May 2010. “While email remains the primary way that older users maintain contact with friends, family, and colleagues, many older users now rely on social network platforms to help manage their daily communications,” according to the author of the report.

Chrome Brings An Interactive Experience to The Suburbs
Jill Krumsick

Arcade Fire and director Chris Milk teamed up with Google Chrome to create an interactive music video experience called “The Wilderness Downtown.” The video, built in HTML5 for the Chrome browser, incorporates multiple windows, 3-D renderings, Google Maps, Google Street Views and an interactive drawing tool. Check out the experience and enjoy your trip home.

Who Talks and Texts the Most in the US?
Sarah Voges

A recent Nielsen post explains that Hispanics and African Americans text more. When split by age, teens unsurprisingly take the lead on texting. When it comes to talk time, women talk 22% more than men on their mobile phones. Nielsen also has some interesting maps of how much we talk or text by state.

MySpace Syncs with Facebook Status Updates
Brian Kress

MySpace seems to have come to terms with the reality that Facebook is winning the social media race for the foreseeable future. As a result, MySpace yesterday started letting its users sync their status updates to their Facebook profile or page and share content with their friends over on that “other site.”

Vail Ski Resorts Launches Social Skiing
Jeff Whang

EpicMix is an innovative service launched by Vail Resorts at a number of mountains they operate that combines features similar to Nike+ with location-based capabilities. It will let you earn points and rewards for various skiing accomplishments, view location of friends and family on the mountain and track vertical feet traveled. You can track your activity through a mobile app or go online back at the lodge and see all you’ve accomplished that day.

What makes Facebook’s introduction of this new feature big news is mainly twofold: (1) why did this take so long to add and (2) will it wipe out the category pioneer Foursquare and its runner-up Gowalla?

First off – when you think about all the activities surrounding social and mobile user behavior, identifying or acknowledging one’s location is the magic nexus that can fuel greater levels of engagement between customers and brands.

Whether it’s a local business wanting to reach out to potential customers in a surrounding area or a major brand wanting to communicate its numerous locations (especially the one near you) or allowing customers to search and find the right spot to meet up, it’s the point of “getting local” that makes LBS the next great marketing frontier.

And what makes the social aspect so important is the difference in philosophy of top-down vs. bottom-up messaging. Rather than having “Big Brother” track you down to shove a marketing message (top-down) in front of you while you are out shopping or running errands, allowing customers to chat about brand locations and share their perspective (bottom-up) gives brands the opportunity to travel the conduit of word-of-mouth messaging and connect on a localized level.

Quite frankly, Facebook could have implemented this functionality 18 months ago. Foursquare is barely two years old and, while the pioneer of LBS, is just now topping three million users. Perhaps Facebook felt that with all their privacy issues, launching another context-sensitive feature might have blown the debate over use of user data clean out of the water.

Second, Facebook could not forgo Foursquare for much longer given that much of the user and sharing data within LBS could greatly mirror much of what users like to update. Scan your own Facebook page and see just how many posts are about “where” your friends are or what they are doing “where.”

Some in the industry, such as PCMag.com, note that with the introduction of Facebook Places, the entrance of such a big player will validate the LBS category, as evidenced by a recent increase in Foursquare sign-ups. While they might see a momentary lift in the tide, there’s one number we just can’t ignore – 500+ million. That’s the size of Facebook’s user base, and we see no slowing on the horizon. Five hundred million vs. three million? You take a guess.

So where exactly will this net out?

There’s still a degree of uncertainly regarding long-term use of LBS, and I’m thinking those that are dense will use it the most. No, I’m not referring to a mental state, but rather density of population. Identifying one’s location in a metropolitan area – say Manhattan – is far more valuable to a group of friends who are within walking distance of their favorite pub. Of course, the flip side of that argument is the notion of relying on your friends’ referrals to save you time and effort – like the suburban mom not wanting to drive all over town to find a new dry cleaner. Maybe “being dense” is relative?

Well, there is one overarching issue that perhaps all competitors will have to deal with – and that’s a new Net ailment that’s starting to spread: “check-in fatigue.” Just chat with a few of your friends who have used Foursquare and Gowalla for more than a year, and you’ll hear them express a bit of weariness over constantly remembering to “check in.” And trust me, being the virtual mayor of “XYZ” is a game that really has no rewards except for temporary bragging rights.

Which leads me to a last point noted initially by our Director of Digital Strategy John Keehler, and that’s the question of why no one has implemented the concept of the “check-out”? You’d think businesses would love having users who are leaving, say, a restaurant or store to note their experience – especially if it’s a good one – and say something like, “Just left the new Kent Rathbun concept and had a fantastic evening…”

So where do you net out on this debate? Will Facebook rule location-based services or is there room for more focused, nimble start-ups? We’d love to hear your personal perspective, so post your comments below – right after I “check out” of this blog post.

Despite the housing slump, Williams-Sonoma is succeeding by focusing on grabbing more market share in one area that is growing… online sales of home furnishings. This year, the strategy has contributed to what looks to be a 9% growth in revenues from 2009.

Facebook Unveils Location Based Service, Facebook Places
Sarah Voges

Last week, Facebook released Facebook Places, a service that allows users to check in to locations and share that information with their network. Users can also find other friends nearby using the service or log in a friend who doesn’t have a smartphone (right now Places is only available on the iPhone). Businesses can claim their own places by filling out some forms and filing the proper paperwork. Creating a place also creates a page for that local business.

39% of On-The-Go Consumers Want Location-Based Coupons
Alex Kenney

Brands are increasingly turning to location-based services to drive foot traffic to their locations, and there seems to be enough consumer interest to warrant such a push: 39% of on-the-go consumers are interested in receiving coupons for nearby stores through devices such as their mobile phones, according to a recent study by JiWire. Overall, findings report that A25-34 have the highest interest in location-based advertising.

Coca Cola Village Uses Real Life “Like” Buttons
Colin Hogan

This year’s Coca Cola Village Amusement Park event in Israel brought the virtual world of Facebook into the real world event. Upon entering, visitors were handed RFID-enabled Facebook bracelets that contained their Facebook username and password. On each village attraction, they attached an RFID microchip capable of capturing the users data and sending it directly back to Facebook, creating a real-time sharing experience for the guests with their Facebook friends.

Google Introduces Streaming Search
Jill Krumsick

In continuing its move toward real-time engagement, Google tests streaming search capabilities. Streaming search allows results and ads to display as the user types, rather than waiting until the search term is entered. Initial questions surround user experience and if this will be an annoyance, as well as the effect this will have on advertisers with rapidly changing paid ads.

Facebook, Twitter… and Tumblr?
Jeff Whang

Everyone these days seems to have figured out that Twitter and Facebook are worth paying attention to and in some cases, having a presence on those networks. Add one more network that’s exploding in usage and popularity, particularly among a young, savvy audience: Tumblr. As of today, it has just hit 1 billion posts with 7.2 million users generating 5.2 million posts a day and 1.7 billion pageviews a month.

1. Will this technology add value to the project? Rather than just being “cool,” will the technology benefit the user in some way? Will it solve a problem?

2. Has the technology been established; is it stable? There’s no point in using a technology that is so cutting edge that it is still full of bugs. Sometimes a new piece of web tech requires some kind of hardware to use, a webcam or a specific type of smart phone. If your target audience doesn’t have this hardware, then the technology is useless.

3. Is the technology convenient? Even if it addresses a problem, users will move on immediately if it gets in the way or takes too long. An animated intro may provide valuable information, but returning visitors are not going to sit through it every time.

These can be difficult axioms to follow for those of us who thrive on digital trends and bleeding-edge advances in web development. It’s always tempting to jump at the chance to implement something original and cool. Recent years have been littered with web properties damaged because the people behind them were too concerned with what they could do and not what they should do.

Recently, Google announced its plans to pull the plug on Google Wave after the web tool failed to live up to its promise. Google’s engineers saw Wave as an opportunity to implement some advanced document collaboration technology and didn’t give nearly the consideration necessary to what users would actually need it for. After a splashy demonstration at Google I/O and weeks of anticipation, Google began sending out invites to select users. The near unanimous consensus was that Wave was cool, but most people couldn’t figure out what it was for. It implemented some fascinating in-browser technology, but it failed to demonstrate how these technologies actually improved its users’ lives.

A great example of such a failure that members of my generation will remember was Nintendo’s Power Glove. Every kid on the block wanted a Power Glove until the day they brought it home from the store and realized that it was useless for actually playing video games. Almost two decades later, Nintendo redeemed themselves by doing motion control the right way with the Wii console. This time, they built the system using the problem/solution model. The problem was finding a way to get gamers physically active while playing and by doing so engage a broader audience. It should also be noted that while the Wii was a revolutionary implementation, it is also far behind competitors Sony and Microsoft when it comes to other technologies such as high-definition output and graphics acceleration. The Wii doesn’t need those things to be successful because it doesn’t address the problem Nintendo set out to solve. The Power Glove was an important first step in developing this motion control technology and while it was a failure, it paved the way for Nintendo’s future success.

A new technology that looks poised to take the Internet by storm is HTML5. It’s been buzzing for months now. Such web giants as Google and Apple have endorsed the updated markup language. However, over 40% of the web surfing world still uses a browser that does not support HTML5 (Source: W3 Counter). While it promises to be the future of the Web, using HTML5 right now just doesn’t make sense for many of our clients. To do so would be using technology for technology’s sake and likely not create an effective solution. As a web development agency, Click Here has a responsibility to our partners to be informed about such new advances, but part of being informed is being able to say “no” to new tech.

To stay in front of emerging tech, Click Here has an internal, cross-discipline group set up specifically to push these boundaries and come up with interesting ways to apply new advances in digital development. Whenever we come across something that piques our interest, we take it upon ourselves to brainstorm how it could be beneficial to our partners. Then we build prototypes and put them through the paces. That way the failures we learn from are never at the expense of a client. We are always on the lookout for the next solution; however, any new technology must always be measured against its ability to solve a problem. After all, technology without purpose may be cool, but it’s very rarely profitable.

The first version of Internet Explorer was released on August 16, 1995. While it has had its ups and downs over the past 15 years, it is still the most popular browser in the world with 61% market share (Firefox is second at 24%). The next version, Internet Explorer 9, is expected to launch on September 15th.

Buzzfeed Offers Secrets Behind a Viral Web Hit
Brian Kress

“Going viral” is one of the most elusive goals of digital media. No single group has found the Coca Cola secret formula for success, but there are ways to increase your chances of making viral content. In a presentation delivered last week, Buzzfeed’s Jonah Peretti gave a half-sales-pitch-half-presentation on a few hints for creating viral content, including the gem: “The Mullet Strategy.”

Why People Follow Brands on Twitter
Colin Hogan

When people follow a brand on Twitter, what motivates them to do so? A report released this month by ExactTarget shows that the top reason, cited by 38 percent of respondents, is “to get updates on future products.” 32 percent said they want to stay informed about the activities of a company. Only 23 percent mentioned “to show my support for the company to others.”

Mobile Advertising Trying to Find its Footing
Jeff Whang

With impressive smartphone penetration numbers coming out on what seems a weekly basis, mobile advertising is certainly getting the attention of brands that want to connect with their audience on the go, but there are a still a lot of questions, experimenting and not quite a clear model of success out there yet.

Delta Ticket Sales Set to Fly on Facebook, in Display Ads
Sarah Voges

“Delta Air Lines has begun selling plane tickets directly through display ads on Facebook and third-party publisher sites. The flight purchaser has the option of sharing the destination in his or her Facebook news feed, which will then include a “Book this Trip” link for friends.”

The plight of the advertiser or ad agency today is filled with difficult decisions on where to place online advertising and whether the ad space (impressions) purchased on carefully selected sites will result in a memorable brand experience or, better yet, a direct e-commerce transaction. With millions of websites on the Internet and hundreds of billions of available impressions, inventory aggregators such as ad networks and ad exchanges are making a business out of consolidating ad space across the Internet and offering single-point access to most inventory on the Web. Audience data companies such as Experian and BlueKai are tracking web audiences, selling their historical behaviors to advertisers looking to enhance the value of those impressions, and offering a peek into the user behind the impression. Rich media companies happily offer their creative optimization services, hoping to use targeted messages and unique ad executions to bolster marketing effectiveness. All the while, third-party ad servers are hosting creative files and tracking every ad impression and click down to the eventual user transaction on an advertiser’s site. Now breathe! If only there were a hub that plugged into all these companies and centralized their offerings, ultimately streamlining an otherwise complicated and time-consuming media planning and buying process.

Enter the Demand-Side Platform, a media buying “software” that gives buyers powerful bidding tools and direct access to industry suppliers of ad space and consumer data, while being operated through an intuitive and clean user interface. The DSP sits between ad space buyers (advertisers, agencies) and ad space sellers (ad exchanges, websites), acting as a neutral facilitator to the buying and selling of online display media in an auction-based bidding model similar to the stock market. Valuable user information such as recent online behaviors, characteristics and even offline purchasing information from aforementioned third-party data companies is integrated into the system and available as à la carte-style add-ons for unprecedented ease of targeting across media buys. The DSP’s “secret sauce” optimization algorithm processes thousands of data points, such as advertiser targeting criteria, and bumps it up against the billions of ad space impressions in auction to identify the best possible match, then bids according to desirability on an impression-by-impression basis within milliseconds of an ad call. In this way, advertisers are only paying for the true value of each impression or user. After all, there is a user or real person behind that impression, a person who unknowingly waits for an ad to load each time he/she visits a web page. By using Demand-Side Platforms to enhance the seemingly endless amount of user data made available today, advertisers can shift to buying audiences, not sites or placements per traditional media buying practices.

The impact of the DSP movement is already being felt across the industry. Advertising holding companies are busy building their own trading platforms to harness the buying and targeting power across all their ad agencies. Others are quickly licensing one of the existing DSPs on the market today to increase cost efficiencies. Ad networks, the original ad space aggregators, are shaking in their boots while trying their darnedest to stay relevant and offer value in today’s changing landscape. Many will fail at proving differentiation and simply fade into extinction.  Other networks are secretly developing their own bid/optimization algorithms to join the DSP rat race while uncertain if it’s truly too little, too late. If ad networks can focus on their strengths: securing more direct and exclusive inventory relationships, rolling out unique and targeted ad solutions (i.e. Brand Safety Guarantee, above-the-fold only targeting), making rich media integration and products a focus (i.e. synced ads) and perhaps most importantly excelling in end-to-end customer service, then certainly the rise of the DSP does not have to mean the fall of the ad network.  An industry-wide shake up is eminent however and far-reaching implications will be felt by all, therefore be on the lookout and expect many more Demand-Side Platform-related headlines such as Google’s recent acquisition before this year is up.

Mobile video advertising is set to grow exponentially over the next few years, thanks to increased mobile video consumption by consumers. Revenue tied to mobile video will nearly triple from 2009 to 2014 — jumping from $436 million to $1.34 billion, according to eMarketer. In 2010, mobile video revenue should reach $548 million, which predicts that the population of mobile video viewers in the U.S. will approach 24 million this year.

Gen X, Internet: Growing Up Together
Jeff Whang

Read on for a thoughtful essay on how Gen X and the Internet are both coming of age – and the impact that’s going to have on the way we do business.

Why Entertainment Will Drive the Next Check-in Craze
Alex Kenney

In recent months, new services have popped up that re-purpose the check-in concept to media and entertainment, as opposed to location. Philo, Miso, and GetBlue are three such services- each with a different twist- that allow individuals to make social connections around activities like TV viewing and book reading.

MetaMirror: The Future of TV?
Brian Kress

Notion, a European industrial design studio, may have just built the future of television with their new product: MetaMirror. MetaMirror is a concept application that would enhance the TV experience without disrupting the current expectations of home entertainment. It does so by using the “second screen” – aka the laptop, mobile phone, or iPad that’s in your lap while watching TV – to display interactive, contextual content on a live TV program (just look at the pictures, you’ll get it).

Pre-roll ads on Your Gaming Console
Cheryl Huckabay

Blip.tv has taken pre-roll ads to a new level. They’ve created a way to extend a pre-view of a new game to your Xbox or a new television series to your cable box. All this takes place from a pre-roll advertisement purchased through their network. It works remotely similar to the way you program your DVR from a computer.

Microsoft, Yahoo Let Users Choose Ads
Sarah Voges

Major sites, like msnbc.com, yahoo.com and hulu.com will be allowing viewers of online video segments to choose what advertising they see. The hope is that this will improve relevancy and click through rates. But if users are just choosing ads for brands they already like, how does it affect our ability to expand our brand’s appeal to new people?

Google and Verizon Weigh in on Net Neutrality
Jill Krumsick

Google and Verizon’s joint statement about Net Neutrality raised concerns this week. While the companies support an open network, their proposal includes what some are calling a loophole by making exceptions for the mobile internet and potential new services from broadband providers.