Tushar Balsara's Blog

Leonardo Da Vinci's Principles

2017-12-11T10:05:00.001+00:00

Here are some principles attributed to da Vinci* that are timeless truths:

1) "There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see."

2) "It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."

3) "I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do."

4) “Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve.”

5) "Wisdom is the daughter of experience."

6) "The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."

7) "Where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge."

8) "Beyond a doubt truth bears the same relation to falsehood as light to darkness."

9) "The truth of things is the chief nutrient of superior intellects."

10) "Nature is the source of all true knowledge. She has her own logic, her own laws, she has no effect without cause nor invention without necessity."

11) "Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple or more direct than does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous."

12) "Nature never breaks her own laws."

13) "Great love springs from great knowledge of the beloved object, and if you little know it, you will be able to love it only little or not at all."

14) "He who does not punish evil commands that it be done."

15) "It is easier to contend with evil at the first than at the last."

16) "As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death."

Sourced from Ray Dalio's LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/leonardos-principles-ray-dalio/

Managing Complex Change - a leaders guide

2015-12-31T23:07:00.001+00:00

In our everyday work we are managing or collaborating on many aspects that aim to drive change or behaviour. The below framework is a nice way of understanding the key pillars or success factors needed to motivate teams or individuals. Frameworks are great to put perspectives and structure to our thought patterns.

The surprising truth about what motivates us

2011-11-19T19:42:00.000+00:00

Some believe money is the root cause of motivation, others think its passion while yet others believe its a bit of both. What's the right answer? This video discusses a research which dispels many myths. If you're a leader of an organisation or a team manager this may help you think how best you can motivate your team members.

LIfe in a Day - A single day on earth

2011-10-29T17:15:00.000+00:00

On July 24, 2010, thousands of people around the world uploaded videos of their lives to YouTube to take part in Life in a Day, a historic cinematic experiment to create a documentary film about a single day on earth.

Directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald, Life in a Day wowed audiences at the Sundance, Berlin and SXSW film festivals.

After releasing in cinema's across the world the movie has returned to where it all began "YouTube". Watch this amazing piece of cinema history for free.

Watch the trailer below or the full show at: http://www.youtube.com/user/lifeinaday

Thank You MediaVest....Hello Google!

2011-06-21T16:28:00.000+00:00

Below is an excerpt I sent out to my colleagues at MediaVest. However, I would also like to extend my thanks to my clients, suppliers and partners who have all contributed to a great learning curve and many many great experiences, partnerships and relationships during my time at MediaVest. Thank You!
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“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women are merely players. They have their exits and entrances and one man in his time plays many parts.” - Shakespeare

Today marks the closure for me of one chapter and the start of a new one. And what a chapter it has been! One which will definitely play an important role on how my story evolves. They say we are an output of our experiences and relationships and if that’s true then my time at MediaVest really enriches me and puts me at good stead for the future. Leaving your job is a life changing experience. It doesn't matter how long it was. The point being is it's a change in your day to day life. We don't really change jobs too frequently in a lifetime so everyone typically is a lasting memory.

Statistically many people will argue we spend more time at work than at home and more time with our colleagues than our families. This is probably why when people say I'll miss the people the most, they really mean it. Like your family that you are born into you don’t really choose the people you work with. The people you work with become your family whether you like it or not, you work together to overcome hurdles and with each success and failure you move forward together collectively.

Great companies are created by great people. It's always a team effort. While each one of us individually can and do make a difference, it's the combined effort that really makes it achieve great things. There is no doubt that at MediaVest you’re in a great company with great minds. If I had to roll back time I wouldn't choose anything else to do again or be with the same people together.

We never really plan to leave at a right moment, in the same way we never really know what the future holds. All we can do is take with us the experiences and relationships. For this, I thank you!

I started the mediapulse blog posts to help users to share experiences and thoughts with one another. I believed this made us all richer with each other’s experiences. This is my last experience with you at MediaVest but would love to continue this relationship further. So, stay in touch!

Email: tbalsara '@' gmail.comTwitter: @tbalsara
LinkedIn: in/tbalsara
Facebook: facebook.com/tbalsara…..and what the hell Google Buzz! :) profiles.google.com/tbalsara

(Seriously, if you don’t have a Google profile get one! Did you know You decide & control what the world see’s when someone searches for you! Get it at: https://profiles.google.com/ (and no I am not goooglised as yet!....just a Noogler i.e new @ Google. :)
All the best & Thank You!

Tushar

Celebrating the Internet - the dawn of another new era - IPV6

2011-06-08T10:39:00.000+00:00

Today hundreds of Internet giants, including Google and Facebook, are participating in the first worldwide "test flight" of a major engineering upgrade to the Internet's infrastructure.

If you do not notice any changes when your on Google or Facebook today, its a good sign!

Read more about it on my post on the Mediavest@Get Great Results Blog:

EU Law on use of Cookies

2011-03-11T18:01:00.000+00:00

The Information Commissioners office put out a press release on the 8th of March stipulating the deadline of May 25th for all websites to ensure by law that they provide an "opt-in" policy for using cookies to enhance and track consumer behaviour. This clearly can have far reaching implications. Read my recent post on the subject on the MediaVest Get Great Results Blog.

A Day Made of Glass... touch-screen technology

2011-02-21T20:48:00.000+00:00

In the world of touch-screen technology we sometimes forget who makes the screens! The whole is definitely greater than the some of the parts but sometimes its worth appreciating the individual elements. In this case, "glass"!

Great video showcasing the role of glass in context of the possibilities of tomorrow's tech.

Thanks to my friend Deep Lalvani for forwarding it on.

Facebook at 50bn

2011-02-08T21:21:00.000+00:00

Cross Posted from Get Great Results @ Mediavest Blog.

According to New York times, Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and Russian Internet investment group Digital Sky Technologies in a deal valuing the social networking site at $50 billion, Goldman has invested $450 million and Digital Sky Technologies, which has already invested about half a billion dollars in Facebook, put in an additional $50 million. This values the company more than Ebay and Time Warner.

More interestingly. Goldman is planning to create a special purpose vehicle to allow its high-net worth clients to invest in Facebook, the paper reported.

The question really is, Is this the true reflection of Facebook's profit potential? Or is it just artificial inflation for some of its private investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the American investment watchdog, also announced it is investigating the frenzy of trading in Facebook shares. Facebook is a private limited company but that hasn't stopped the stock that it has privately issued so far, to employees and early-stage venture capital investors, from changing hands at higher and higher valuations.

Electronic trading platforms have been connecting desperate buyers and eager sellers, ever since Facebook first agreed to find a way for former employees to cash out. Facebook shares are now out there being traded in the speculative world. The most worrying development has come in the last few months, with the creation of a number of so-called "single-asset funds". These funds buy up as much Facebook stock as they can and then sell shares in the fund to investors. It is like being granted access to an elite club.

So, if Google was the poster child of the dutch auction IPO, Facebook is the poster child for this new phenomenon of private investor marketplaces and will only see much more hyped early stage ventures soaring to similar such models. Conversations have already started for Twitter, Groupon, etc.

Why is this a bad thing? We are moving away from the principle of transparency of widely traded shares that make public companies accountable. Lack of financial disclosure of companies being traded outside of formal regulation is surely not a positive step forward.

Some may say it’s just another way our financial friends are looking to boost lost bonuses. Is this another bubble waiting to be burst.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/8237680/Goldmans-50bn-valuation-of-Facebook-could-make-2011-the-year-the-site-changes-status.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12106652

So, is the valuation realistic? Facebook estimate conservatively they will be able to make $100 per user. At 500mn users that equates to the current valuation of $50 bn. May not be that unrealistic after all. Mark Zuckerberg in a recent conversation said he expects to be at 1bn members by the end of 2012!

Two interesting developments to keep your eyes on. 1) The trading mechanism applied by Facebook, 2) The valuation and whether realistically facebook can convert it to profit.

Time will tell!

The Stranger in our home!

2010-06-26T12:15:00.001+00:00

I often don't read many of the forwards I receive but this one was relevant:

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The Stranger in our home!

A while ago, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?....

We just call him 'TV.'

PS:
He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'
Their first child is "Cell Phone".
Second child "I Pod"
Third one on its way "I Pad"
-----

Television takes centre stage in many of our lives. Even though the internet is growing at a rapid rate the amount of time we spend in front of the TV is only increasing. The influence it has on our way of life is often undermined. The changing landscape with the rise of reality tv, catch up, video on demand, gaming and the soon to come 'proper' internet TV will continue to have a strong influence and revolutionise our social and family experiences. Lets give respect to the medium that continues to play a large part in our lives.

Google renames Adplanner and opens up methodology

2010-04-16T22:21:00.001+00:00

In a recent move by Google they have made a few key changes to their Adplanner product.

1) Renamed it from Google AdPlanner to DoubleClick Adplanner - this sees them leveraging the DoubleClick brand as the enterprise level planning product and also indirectly positioning the relevance and importance of it to media planners and agencies who are there primary target audience for this product. A change which may not seem much on the face of it will surely be one to watch as the product evolves.

2) Opened up their methodology. They have applied for accreditation by the Media Rating Council (MRC), an independent advertising industry group that works to accredit audience measurement services that are valid, reliable, and effective. As part of the MRC audit, they will be sharing more details about their data sources and methodology. The MRC accreditation will provide independent confirmation that Ad Planner's methodologies, and the processes supporting this technology, adhere to industry standards. Since its launch the Adplanner methodology has been criticised for the lack of transparency and information on how the numbers come together. This move is an initiative from Google that they are keen for Adplanner to be a serious player for audience research and measurement and want media planners and agency to take them seriously. Read the Adplanners methodology document

This is what Google says:

"Ad Planner uses a hybrid measurement methodology that combines direct-measured site traffic, through Google Analytics data that publishers have chosen to opt in to provide us, and sample aggregated data from Google products and services. We currently have over 10,000 sites that are contributing direct measured opt-in data to Ad Planner. Our sample data comes from a variety of sources including anonymized, aggregated Google Toolbar data from users who have opted in to enhanced features, opt-in anonymous Google Analytics data, opt-in external consumer panel data, and other third-party market research. All of this data is aggregated over millions of users and is powered by computer algorithms. The breadth and reliability of this aggregated data means that our traffic measurements are among the most accurate in the industry."

We will see future significant additions and integration with DoubleClick. Given the scale of their data its not out of the question that the Adplanner data could well become the dominant online consumer metric that is used in the future. Any bets?

This blog has moved

2010-03-20T20:26:00.002+00:00

This blog is now located at http://blog.tusharbalsara.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

Media Matters - MEN Article

2008-06-24T08:36:00.001+00:00

Article posted in the Manchester Evening News - 24/06/08

IT won't surprise you to hear that digital has become mainstream.

The darling of the media and advertising worlds, marketing budgets continue to shift towards online channels.

It is predominantly influenced by the proliferation of platforms such as Google Adwords, affiliate marketing and cost per acquisition advertising networks.

This in turn has redefined the way marketers think of marketing accountability.

Marketers now have more visibility and control over the performance of every marketing pound.

This has lead to increasing investments into the medium, often pulling budgets away from traditional sources of advertising.

In some cases, advertisers have ploughed all their budgets into the new medium and withdrawn all traditional placements as they cannot necessarily see the same directly attributable tangible evidence. This is where caution is required.

Traditional marketing sources such as Press, TV, radio and other 'offline' channels have a 'halo effect' on the internet. Often the sites consumers navigate to are influenced by your traditional offline media campaigns.

The impact of this 'halo effect' varies dramatically from advertiser to campaign and there are numerous studies confirming the trend.

One of our prospective clients came to us having recently pulled the plug on all their offline marketing initiatives with the view of investing wholly in the online medium. Unfortunately, after a week, they had witnessed a dramatic decrease in brand impressions with a corresponding decline in site traffic and sales.

This crippled their online campaign with every acquisition online costing much more and resulted in massive under delivery against an optimistic increased forecast.

This is a classic example which details why the 21st Century marketer needs to understand how their consumers interact with an increasing and highly-cluttered media environment.

Finding the ideal combination of media channels which will influence the customer and move them from research to action is becoming more important. Ploughing your budgets in the most effective areas is definitely the right thing to do.

However, caution is required when managing the transition as this may have a much larger effect across the board

A controlled test-learn-refine strategy is the only approach to delivering the optimal media mix.

Value at every point in journey (Precision Marketing)

2008-06-09T10:42:00.003+00:00

Article Published in Precision Marketing 06.06.08

The long accepted notion of "last click" or "last view" of an ad receiving all the glory for a subsequent sale or conversion is now dated. Tushar Balsara, head of operations and assosiate director at MediaVest explains more.

Granted, this approach has been sufficient and has built a medium which is recognised as one of the most accountable media channels. However, one of the fundamental flaws with this is that it ignores all exposures that lead up to and influences a sale, resulting in some elements of your campaign being given more credit than they truly deserve. As marketers, this means our budgets are not necessarily aligned in the most appropriate way to maximise our campaigns.

The digital media business is no longer simply about buying ad space. It's a platform for engagement, focused on delivering experiences. Search, social networks, widgets, videos and a multitude of touchpoints each deliver a unique experience. We need to understand the impact of these touchpoints on the final sale, in order to justify our continued investments in each of these independent channels.

By redefining the attribution methodology, we can more accurately value the impact of each interaction. To do this, each touchpoint should consider a number of variables: recency, frequency, creative size, on-site response behaviour to KPI pages and, lastly, the environment of the media buy. Each marketer needs to evaluate their customer data and work out a methodology that works for them in line with their campaign objectives.

One of our clients implemented custom attribution methodologies and found that generic search keywords had been undervalued using the old last-click measurement. Based on the new attribution data, the client could double their spend on volume driving generic terms and saw an increase in conversions for the same cost per acquisition. They also identified and removed a wide range of "long-tail" keywords which did not play any influence in the path to conversion, saving an additional 30 per cent of their budget.

The concepts of behaviour and value based targeting will continue to get more complex and settling for the old, familiar last-click methodology simply won't do.

Digitalisation, interactivity and mobility influence marketing communication

2008-02-11T22:18:00.000+00:00

Article published in PR Sense, October 07 Issue - http://www.prpoint.com/

The basic purpose of marketing is to get your message to the customer and in turn motivate them to purchase your product. Traditionally, marketing departments leverage media outlets such as press, TV, radio to get the word out and build brand recognition.

Today, the environment for communication is transforming as we progress deeper into a digitally driven age. Mobile phones, the Internet, satellite radio, pod casting, interactive tv are only some of the ways that are dramatically changing how a consumer can access information. For a marketer this means new touch points and opportunities to communicate with your next potential customer.

The future for communication planning is evolving. There are three things that are influencing this transformation - digitisation, interactivity and mobility. Firstly, Digitalisation is changing society and all means of communication within it. Never before has it been so easy to source information at our fingertips. Secondly, Interactivity is changing the way we communicate. The Internet has changed things radically. Search engines, discussion groups, blogs, and other tools and models enable customers to reveal their preferences or intentions about a given product or brand. This feedback is the holy grail for marketers. Lastly, Mobility. We do not stay in the same place and when we move or travel we are now empowered by our mobile phones, blackberrys, laptops and other devices that lets us carry everything with us. We are always reachable.

Consumer behaviour is changing and in turn the way we must communicate with them. The world of marketing communications is no longer about talking at customers in a one-way monologue, but has moved towards involving and establishing a dialogue with customers. Marketers need to create a relationship and bond that involves an engaging customer experience that does not end with the first sale but lasts for the lifetime of that customer relationship. As marketers we need to think about how to best harness these new opportunities and what message to communicate through which channels.

Sophisticated marketers are investigating new ways of reaching out and communicating with their consumers through search engines, podcasts, videos, social networks, virtual worlds and even via in-game advertising. Your next customer is probably right now searching for your business on Google, are you there?

Tushar Balsara, Associate Director & Head of Operations, MediaVest

Tushar joined MVi, MediaVest Manchester’s digital team in October 2003, and pioneered the setup of the search marketing division in 2004. Tushar at present is Head of Operations and is responsible for supporting Mediavest clients in transforming their businesses online in the digital world. MVi provide their clients search engine marketing, display media planning and buying, affiliate marketing and strategic consultancy services. Tushar is a regular speaker at digital marketing conferences.

Reflections on technological & behavior changes

2006-12-06T00:58:00.000+00:00

If your reading this article you have probably been exposed to you tube, myspace & probably secondlife - the topics of discussion around most quarters that I visit. I would be surprised if you've been exposed to this and its not changed the way you behave and interact on the web.

Technological connectivity is/will transform the way people live and interact. The technology / PC/internet revolution has done just that. Yet we are at the early, not mature stage of this revolution. New developments in website technology, accessibility and fields such as Nanotechnology are causing this change.

More transformational than technology itself is the shift in behavior that it enables. We work not just globally but also instantaneously. We are forming communities and relationships in new ways (apparently 12 percent of US newlyweds last year met online). More than two billion people now use cell phones. We send nine trillion e-mails a year. We do a billion Google searches a day, more than half in languages other than English. For perhaps the first time in history, geography is not the primary constraint on the limits of social and economic organization.

Companies need to understand the implications of these trends alongside customer needs and competitive developments. Executives who align their company's strategy with these factors will be the best placed to succeed. Reflecting on these trends will be time well spent.

Reality Check for Online Advertising?

2006-12-06T00:25:00.000+00:00

According to a Mckinsey Article:

Internet advertising has recaptured the imagination of marketers.
Yet recent McKinsey research finds that supply bottlenecks could limit the pace of online ad growth and drive prices higher. Moreover, a dearth of ad agencies that can manage both traditional and digital campaigns could further slow the shift in spending to online ads.
Over time, inventory levels will increase, and marketers will be able to shift larger portions of their budgets online. Until then, marketers will have to manage a broad and rapidly changing array of media vehicle

Interesting read (registration required). The article talks about demand outstripping supply over the next 24 months (US data). I cant see this happening over the next 6-9 month horizon but as the ability to optimise inventory improves I can see inventory being optimised more efficiently and the effective CPM rising sharply, this in turn can catapult demand. This is already happening with the rise of the adnetworks. All we need is a mass supplier to do this better (Google Adsense maybe?).

Internet companies want a piece of the tradional media pie

2006-12-03T20:59:00.000+00:00

Knowledge @ Wharton writes:

"After conquering the advertising frontier in cyberspace, Google, Yahoo and eBay are now turning to traditional media for future growth by brokering ad sales for offline media like radio, television and print. The Internet players' foray into offline advertising could drive down rates, but advertisers and media companies may not completely abandon the current system of relationship-based sales for Internet auctions, according to Wharton faculty and industry executives. There will be little, if any, change in the way viewers see traditional media advertising. What will change are the middlemen who broker these ads." - Read the article for more.

Its still early days for this to be a threat and for the likes of Google to change the rules of this game. The Global offline media market is worth $200 billion plus in comparison to an estimated $20 billion global online advertising market. Surely, they would love to get a piece of this. From a technology standpoint its not difficult for these companies to make the process a whole lot easier and efficient. As technology has changed the models of several other businesses, personally i think its only a matter of time before it starts impacting the world of media buying. As media is gets more fragmented and the number of platforms and channels to target users increase the traditional architecture of media negotiation will have to change.

The benefit to advertisers would be reduced costs driven down by an open market and hopefully open up entry to a whole raft of new marketers where the barrier to entry was not reachable. There will be a backlash by agencies, marketers and several individuals but as technology brings in the efficiency the question will be are individuals, sales houses, media agencies and the likes providing that much more additional value to their customers?

The value of an agency will still be there, it will be different, but the rates won't be at the center of their offering. I can see a world where advertisng is bought, created and consumed is completly different from today.

Gliffy.com & Cogmaps

2006-12-03T15:28:00.000+00:00

If your into flow charts, workflow documents, organisation charts, floor plans, website layouts, etc you'll love gliffy.com. Most people may have used Microsoft Visio but paying for a product such as visio has its pitfalls. Very often the cost of buying a product does not outweigh the immediate benefits unless your a heavy user. Searching long and hard on the internet, this is when I came accross Gliffy. Gliffy is free (for now) and more importantly web based tool similar in features to Microsft Visio. Being webased it has all the features of a collaborative software.

See some examples of the product in use. Have a play, I am sure you'll find an innovative way of using it.

CogMaps
I can see Cogmaps being a great product for some companies. The Organisation Chart wiki can be a boon to many sales houses who just want to know what the company hierachy is. Moreover organisation charts change more frequenctly these days with the average employee turnover only on the increase. Organisation wikis such as cogmaps can be a great collaborative tool to understand company hierachies. Is your organisation on there?

Quotes Page Updated

2006-11-26T17:02:00.000+00:00

New Quotes added:

"Success means never letting the competition define you. Instead, you have to define yourself based on a point of view you care deeply about." - Tom Peters

"Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it." - Lou Holtz

"A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes." - Mohandas Gandhi

"The more you can dream, the more you can do." - Michael Korda

"Thinking is one thing no one has ever been able to tax." - Charles Kettering

"Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get." - Dale Carnegie

"The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different." - Peter Drucker

Big 3 to work together?

2006-11-18T13:01:00.000+00:00

According to TechCrunch

"In an encouraging act of collaboration, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft announced tonight that they will all begin using the same Sitemaps protocol to index sites around the web. Now based at Sitemaps.org, the system instructs web masters on how to install an XML file on their servers that all three engines can use to track updates to pages. This should make it easier to get your pages indexed in a simple and standardized way."

The coming together for a unified standard is a great move. For users it means better search results. Search Engines wont be talking about their index size anymore. The key USP is going to be how they manipulate the data to make it relevant for the users. Google's Onebox results, froogle are only a few examples in play. There's much more creativity and innovation to come from this space.

Google Ad OS

2006-11-16T00:49:00.000+00:00

Robert Young writes:

Just like Microsoft’s Windows (or any other OS) manages all the hardware and software resources of a computer, Google’s Ad/OS will similarly manage all the critical components of an ad campaign, regardless of media type. But instead of controlling and allocating memory, Google’s Ad/OS will allocate ad budgets… instead of prioritizing system requests, controlling input & output devices, Google’s Ad/OS will enable ad inventory buying & placement… instead of facilitating networks and managing files, Google’s Ad/OS will optimize media buying across the spectrum & manage creative placement.

At present the central Google Adwords interface manages all elements from Keyword Search, Site Targeting, Mobile Search and Analytics. MSN's new adcenter has set out to achieve the same goal of centralising all media activity in one place. Its only a matter of time before we see alot more integration in products, reporting and more importanly optimisation.

Welch's 6 Commandments

2006-11-16T00:39:00.000+00:00

As posted by VC Confidential

Rule 1. Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.
Rule 2. Be candid with everyone.
Rule 3. Don't manage, lead.
Rule 4. Change before you have to.
Rule 5. If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete.
Rule 6. Control your own destiny, or someone else will.

Google Cheat Sheet

2006-11-16T00:10:00.000+00:00

Being a search addict (its my job) I thought I'd share the google cheat sheet to help you create better search queries and in turn improve the search results you get. The search query parameters help filter the natural search results. If your an advanced searcher (there are a few new parameteres) or your a novice and want to improve the search results you get, try your hand on some of these.

http://www.google.com/intl/en/help/cheatsheet.html

Most of the parameters work on the other engines as well so give it a play.

Ps. Several people who use match types on adwords dont know you can use many of the same features in the search box to filter your natural results. eg. phrase and negative match

Book Review - The Long Tail

2006-11-13T00:10:00.000+00:00

I have been reading Chris Anderson's book "The Long Tail" and this is must read for anyone interested in the world of business and economics. Chris illustrates the changing world of economics in the digital age and highlights how the traditional rules of demand and supply are changing are falling away in a world of unlimited abundance. The book includes excellent examples and case studies from Amazon to Netflix and illustrates this further with comparisons with traditional organisations like Walmart.

Further reviews of the book can be found at Amazon.