Posts tagged know
Four Things You Need To Know About Search Retargeting
Apr 18th
In two very short years, search retargeting has been created, tweaked and matured to the point where most serious marketers already have it on their media plans or are considering it for a 2012 test. In short, search retargeting finds those individuals who have searched for a term that matters to…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
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What You Need to Know About CISPA
Apr 16th
Battle lines are being drawn over the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA). It’s a bill that would make it easier for private companies and the U.S. government to share user information concerning possible cyber threats. Microsoft, Facebook and a host of other technology companies are supporting the bill, but many digital rights groups fear that CISPA is another version of the Stop Online Privacy Act… but worse.
What Is CISPA?
CISPA is different from SOPA and PIPA in that it’s not primarily about piracy or privacy issues. Instead, it’s intended to help fight cyber attacks.
But the bills share similarities that raise red flags with digital rights advocates. Foremost, the language of CISPA is vague, broad and leaves much open for interpretation.
CISPA would amend a current law that defines how cyber threat intelligence information is used between the U.S. intelligence community and the private sector. Currently, that’s often difficult or prohibited. CISPA would remove that firewall.
It would be a two-way street, where the intelligence community could give private entities information (with proper security clearance) and would allow companies to voluntarily share information with the government. The bill does not say that companies must share information with the government.
The procedural elements are not what makes the bill concerning. The issue is how things in the bill are defined. This is where the vagueness comes in.
- Cybersecurity Provider: “A non-governmental entity that provides goods or services intended to be used for cybersecurity purposes.”
- Cybersecurity Purpose, Cybersecurity System, Cyber Threat Information: “[An entity] designed or employed to ensure the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of, or safeguard, a system or network, including protecting a system or network from:
Efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network; or theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information.
What are “goods and services intended to be used for cybersecurity purposes?” A Facebook status update was never “intended” to be used for cybersecurity purposes. Yet, under this law, a Facebook status update could be seen in a variety of ways. The wording of the definitions leaves it open for the government to request information from Facebook (or any other digital information service) over the smallest of updates.
Who Supports CISPA?
The bill is sponsored by two representatives:
- Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. His office wrote the bill.
- Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, ranking member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as a member on the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
- The bill is cosponsored by 106 representatives. See the full list here.
- In addition, CISPA has a letter of approval from 28 large technology corporations and organizations. That includes Microsoft, Facebook, Intel, IBM, Oracle, Symantec, Verizon, AT&T and CTIA.
Who Opposes CISPA?
- There is a competing bill in the House of Representatives sponsored by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) titled, “Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness Act” (the PRECISE Act). The Center for Democracy and Technology opposes CISPA but supports Lungren’s bill.
- Civic organization Avaaz.org has collected more than 600,000 online petitions opposing CISPA. The Electronic Frontier Foundation published a paragraph on its site titled, “Don’t Let Congress Use ‘Cybersecurity’ Fears to Erode Digital Rights.” The Constitution Project’s Virginia Sloan sent an open letter to “editorial page editors and writers” urging them to scrutinize CISPA.
- Hacker group Anonymous also opposes CISPA and has launched attacks against corporations that have stated support of the bill.
Does It Stand a Chance?
From a legislative perspective, CISPA is in a stronger place than SOPA ever was. It enjoys bipartisan sponsorship from Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Md.) and has 106 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, including the likes of Darrell Issa and Michelle Bachmann. Issa, as many will recall, was a staunch opponent to SOPA and holds influence as the chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
What’s Next?
CISPA made it through a Congressional committee in December with a 17-1 vote. It is currently being amended before going to a vote before the full House of Representatives on April 23.
The CDT, EFF, Demand Progress and the American Civil Liberties Union will launch a week-long campaign next week ahead of the voting on CISPA to protest the bill and educate citizens, and persuade them to contact their members of Congress to voice their concerns.
We will see if the anti-CISPA fervor reaches the level of the protests against SOPA and PIPA, but with some of the biggest technology companies supporting the bill, widespread blackouts are not likely.
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CONVERGENCE 2012 What Do You Know About SEO? – Radio Ink
Apr 13th
 SubmitinME |
CONVERGENCE 2012 What Do You Know About SEO?
Radio Ink You've heard the term "SEO" — that is, "search engine optimization." In fact, you've probably heard it hundreds of times in the past few years, and maybe you've heard people talking about what it means. It's a way of "gaming the system," trying to … SEO Philadelphia Company, 1SEO.com Announces Google Page Rank Services SEO Agency 101 Google Outlines SEO Over-Optimization Penalty |
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3 Things You Need to Know About Google’s Earnings Call
Apr 12th
Google reported earnings from the first quarter of 2012 today, and it looks like the Mountain View company is running as strong as ever – or at least stronger than at the end of last year. Revenues for the first three months of the year came in at $10.65 billion, an increase of 24% from the first quarter of 2011. Google is still a one-trick pony when it comes to earning money, with 96% percent of its revenue coming from company-owned websites or network partner sites. Advertising is still the name of the game for Google.
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5 Things the Experts Say You Need to Know About the Facebook-Instagram Merger
Apr 10th
Depending on which hastily pasted-together analysis you believe, Facebook’s $1 billion acquisition Monday is reason enough to close your Instagram account, and Facebook is going to ruin Instagram. We’re not buying it, so instead we spent Monday interviewing a dozen experts for their thoughts and opinions on the deal.
All agreed that the deal is big, but only time will tell how big. In the meantime, they gave us five areas to watch, as the Instagram acquisition may very well shift how Facebook views content and serve as an acknowledgment that the Web is becoming increasingly visual.
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“What’s the deal worth, by normal analysis, not pie-in-the-sky valuations? Zero! Or next to zero. But so was Youtube before Google bought it and flipped it into a money-making magnet.” – Bert Martinez
“It will take months to know what it means for Facebook. The price is eye-popping, but then, so is Facebook’s expected valuation. What’s ultimately important is, did Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg see this acquisition as an opportunity or a necessity?” said Brad Allen, investor relations expert at KC Associates. “The acquisition coming in front of Facebook’s IPO looks defensive. If the social media juggernaut is going to be able to justify its heady valuation, it needs to be the only rocket ride available for traders to jump on.”
While there are concerns with any acquisition of this magnitude, the people in the know seem to be cautiously optimistic that this deal will benefit three sets of stakeholders: Facebook investors, Facebook users and Instagram users. What follows is a summary of insight we received in interviews with more than a dozen social media experts and investors Monday.
Subtle Shift: Facebook Sees Future in Content Creation
The biggest hidden message in Facebook’s move Monday is acknowledging it has not paid enough attention to the content-creation side of social, according to Matthew Siegel, co-founder of Indaba Music, a musician collaboration and marketing platform.
“Before Instagram, Facebook was used exclusively to share content – it didn’t provide tools to actually create content (with the exception of typed status updates). It left creation to others – notably Zynga for games, native camera applications for photos, and record labels/Spotify for music,” Siegel said. “The Instagram acquisition signals Facebook’s recognition that it is important to have a hand in the creation of content… I may spend two minutes shooting and reshooting a photo that my wife is finally happy with, but only four seconds posting that photo to Facebook.”
Instagram Addresses Concerns About Facebook’s Mobile Strategy
Considering that Instagram secured funding just last week based on a valuation of $500 million, there are valid concerns that Facebook may be overpaying for Instagram by paying $1 billion. But there are two reasons why people who will buy shares in next month’s initial public offering of Facebook should be encouraged.
First, as we noted yesterday, it shows Facebook is willing to find new revenue streams, even as user growth slows and its advertising strategy flounders. But it also addresses one of the biggest concerns raised by potential investors: Facebook’s ability to grow in mobile.
“Instagram is the most popular mobile-only social network and the overall sixth most-used iOS app, reaching 10% of all iPhones,” said Guy Rosen, CEO of Onavo, an app download service. “Considering mobile is Facebook’s biggest challenge, as clearly laid out in their S-1, acquiring the breakout mobile-only social network is a natural move.”
Facebook is Acknowledging a Shift to the Visual Web
Michael Downing, founder and CEO of social video service Tout sees the acquisition as a reaction to services like Pinterest. Indeed, Mark Zuckerberg has previously signaled that he likes the Pinterest model of site design.
“In a general sense, this acquisition on the heels of the dramatic growth of Pinterest in the last few months is a massive reflection of just how fast the Social-Stream is becoming visual in nature, meaning evolving social engagement driven purely around visual media, not text – and just how valuable that will inevitably be to every major participant in the social media landscape,” Downing said. “This is a huge endorsement of the shift to the visual web and visual conversation in a social media framework.”
Facebook is Still Facebook, Instagram is Still Instagram
Yesterday’s headlines made a big deal about the value of the deal, but keep in mind that Facebook is projected to be worth more than $100 billion following its IPO. Jason Cieslak, managing director at branding firm Siegel+Gale, thinks it’s a good deal for both companies, but not as massive as yesterday’s flood of headlines might suggest.
“There is a cautionary tale in this space where this has been done before: Flickr being acquired by Yahoo, and even HP’s purchase of Snapfish,” Cieslak said. “I think it is safe to say that neither acquisition was a massive impact for both companies. Nice, but not transformational.”
All That Said, This Deal May be Worthless
Keep in mind that Facebook is paying $1 billion for a company with no business plan and that was valued at $15 million just one year ago. Money isn’t everything – Instagram has, after all, created a product that people love and, more importantly, encourages them to engage, create and share content.
But money is something given that Facebook will reportedly have its IPO next month. Marketing consultant Bert Martinez doesn’t expect the deal to impact Facebook’s IPO one way or another and says an Instagram merger was inevitable, given the company has been courted by both Facebook and Google in recent months.
“What’s the deal worth, by normal analysis, not pie-in-the-sky valuations? Zero! Or next to zero,” Martinez said. “But so was Youtube before Google bought it and flipped it into a money-making magnet.”
Image courtesy of Dan Frommer.
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Do You Know SEO? City Offers Social Media Class – Patch.com
Apr 5th
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Do You Know SEO? City Offers Social Media Class
Patch.com The seminar will also cover what the acronyms SEO, CTR, PPC, CPM mean and how social networking (Twitter, Facebook) and Web 2.0 tools (blogs, podcasts) can help grow and market a business. The event is free but seating is limited. |
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Watch, Know, Learn: A Rich Online Video Academy
Apr 2nd
The Khan Academy gets a lot of deservedly favorable attention for its breadth and depth of online video instruction. But there’s another, similar site that I think deserves applause for quality, authoritative online video instruction. It also happens to be a freebie. It’s called…
Please visit Search Engine Land for the full article.
View full post on Search Engine Land: News & Info About SEO, PPC, SEM, Search Engines & Search Marketing
What Startups Need to Know About Marketing
Apr 2nd
One of the hardest things that a startup can do is get its marketing act together. Part of the problem is that entrepreneurs are passionate about creating their business, but not necessarily savvy about setting the right tone for the pitch. Another part is what Marcia Kadanoff, the CEO of OpenMarketing.com says where “many smaller companies can’t always find the right mix of marketing skills or people. You have to be an expert in so many areas, including SEO, content marketing, automation tools and other tasks. Plus, many marketing folks aren’t good people managers.”
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Kadanoff, who has served as the Chief Marketing Officer for numerous startups in Silicon Valley and got her start doing marketing at Apple, says that any inbound marketing campaign has three main elements: First is getting found and requires search-friendly content at the heart of your marketing campaigns. “Don’t limit the conversation to your website alone. These days, you need high-impact compelling content to put out there where your potential target can find it. And I’m not talking the boring stuff. No one ever bought because you bored them to death. It’s a very rare small business that can create fun, engaging content that can serve as lead bait. So yes, get professional help. A website for your business will cost you anywhere from $0 (if you do it yourself) to $100K+ or more but personally we don’t believe you need to spend more than $5-$15K these days to get a hard-working website that will meet your business objectives. Don’t blow your whole budget on your website. Marketing — whether online or off — is best handled as an ongoing process, which means you want to budget for this 12 months a year. Use social media and distribute your brand at the right points of conversation to help you get found by more people. Build a larger audience for your products and services gradually over time.”
Second, start converting visitors into sales leads, and then these leads into customers. Any suggestions for lead gen tools? Finally, optimize your website, rethink your landing pages and examine the campaigns you have used to see how you can do them better. “Just because someone worked in marcom or demand generation at a big company and got laid off, doesn’t make them an appropriate resource for your company. Look for folks who understand how to use online marketing for businesses to drive results in a closed-loop fashion. By closed-loop we mean all the way from a click on your website to revenue.”
Do business people need to know what a landing page is and how to do A/B testing before diving in to online marketing? “Not at all,” she says. “A good agency will take the time to educate you about what you need and why you need it.”
She has a few other suggestions too. “First look for a mix of skills and talents. As a small business, you will typically be able to hire one or two people to handle your marketing. When you outsource your marketing, you should be getting access to an entire team of talented individuals, people you could not afford to hire in on a full-time basis.
Second, look for a firm that is truly collaborative. The traditional agency model where the agency does everything for you is dead and buried. Think about social media. You can’t have your agency do social media for you – you’ll lose the authentic voice and without that you will fail. Look for an agency that will teach you how to use social media and truly wants to share the workload with you. Clients make the work we produce on their behalf better. They really do.”
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The End of RIM As We Know It
Mar 29th
BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion shares are down tonight after reporting a terrible quarter: Sales are shrinking at a time when its main competitor, Apple, saw iPhone sales more than double. RIM is no longer profitable. And now it is looking for a new plan.
It is, truly, the end of RIM as we know it.
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The important bits from RIM’s earnings release (PDF) include:
- Sales down 25% year-over-year to $4.2 billion, for the quarter ending on March 3. (For context, Apple’s iPhone revenue grew 133% year-over-year in Q4, and even struggling Motorola’s mobile device sales grew 5%.)
- A net loss of $125 million, versus a profit of $934 million a year ago.
- “The company expects continued pressure on revenue and earnings throughout fiscal 2013.” It will also stop making public predictions of how it’s going to do financially. (So as not to keep missing those numbers, and end up looking worse.)
- RIM’s former co-CEO, co-founder Jim Balsillie – who was often the face of the company – will leave its board of directors. And its COO and CTO are leaving.
- RIM is “undertaking a comprehensive review of strategic opportunities including partnerships and joint ventures, licensing, and other ways to leverage RIM’s assets and maximize value for our stakeholders.” In other words, figuring out what to do next.
This is a completely different company than the one that helped lead the smartphone revolution over the past decade, and even than the one we knew just a year ago, when it was at least still profitable. (Its rise and fall, captured in the chart above, is worth a look.)
Not only is RIM in worse financial shape, but all bets are off for its recovery.
There is a very real chance that RIM will come out of this as the property of another company, or at least very different than it is today. If it stays independent, it will have to become smaller and more nimble before maybe becoming successful again.
One option for RIM might be a deal to merge with Microsoft and/or Nokia: Its enterprise customer base could be worth something to them. Or RIM could try to partner with one of today’s smartphone leaders, such as Samsung. But the Canadian government may try to block a deal that turns RIM’s ownership over to a foreign company.
But it should finally be clear to everyone – especially new CEO Thorsten Heins – that what RIM has tried to do in recent years just isn’t working. And now it’s time to wind down the old RIM that we knew and do something different. Or it’s all over, for real.
More charts: RIM’s Rise and Decline: A 10-Year View
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What You Need To Know About Facebook’s New Privacy Policy
Mar 21st
Perhaps the first thing you need to know is that after Friday, Facebook will no longer be calling it a privacy policy. The name is being changed to “Data Use Policy.”
And most importantly, if you “use or access” Facebook on or after Friday, you are agreeing to that name change, as well as all of the changes Facebook is making to its policy. We were given public comment from Sarah Downey of Abine, which she describes as “an online privacy company in Boston that is concerned with anti-privacy behavior by Facebook and other companies.”
Her comments, which are being submitted to the FTC as part of the public-comment period that closes Friday, are a good breakdown of what the changes entail and a warning of why users may want to read the entire policy before agreeing to its terms.
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“This Statement is take it or leave it: users agree to it simply by using Facebook. Most of them will never know when or if the Terms change, let alone what they mean.” – Sarah Downey of Abine
We’ve asked Facebook to respond to the entire text of her statement and will update when we hear back from the company.
Many of the changes are to keep in accordance with an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission. But from where Downey sits, “the changes reflect the fact that Facebook is extending its data collecting tentacles in all directions: towards people who never even signed up for Facebook, activities that aren’t clearly defined as sharing, and mediums that aren’t clearly defined as advertising.
“There are also obvious imbalances of power throughout the Statement: for example, Facebook forces its app developers to adhere to privacy standards that Facebook itself doesn’t do, like making it easy to delete your account,” she said. “Furthermore, this Statement is take it or leave it: users agree to it simply by using Facebook. Most of them will never know when or if the Terms change, let alone what they mean.”
On a point-by-point basis, Downey raises the following red flags:
- Downey agrees with the name change, if only because it is more accurate of what the statement does: the statement is not about protecting the user’s privacy, but instead about how Facebook uses their information and data. “Facebook has always been after your data and you have very little privacy on the site,” she said. “It’s also telling: the way that Facebook and other companies use your data IS your privacy. They’re one in the same.”
- A change in section 2.3 of the policy essentially allows your friends to give apps permission to access your personal information. “Your friends’ activities can implicate your personal information, which seems counter-intuitive,” Downey said. “If I do not explicitly give an app permission to access my information, it should not have access to my information.”
- Overall, Downey said the policy makes it harder for companies like Abine, which develop apps to protect user privacy, to operate and offer service on Facebook.
- Facebook’s ban on multiple accounts and using a pseudonym may violate First Amendment protections in the U.S. “The courts have inferred a fundamental right to privacy from the Constitution, and anonymous speech is a recognized First Amendment right, online and offline,” she said. “Facebook can try to undermine the Supreme Court all it wants, but it’s not good policy and we should never accept it.”
- The new policy requires you to keep your profile and contact information up to date and acuarate. “Um, like hell I will,” Downey said. “Facebook’s just going to sell it and share it with who knows how many hundreds of partners, affiliates, third parties, and advertisers, and I’ll have no idea where it will end up.”
- Downey is concerned that language in certain sections of the policy has been changed from “users” to “users and non-users who interact with Facebook.” That could mean the policy can now extend to people who don’t even have a Facebook account.
The new policy should not just concern Facebook users, Downey said. Third party developers should also be worried, as Facebook is now requiring comply with rules that the social network itself does not comply with.
Directives for app developers include:
- “You will delete all data you receive from us concerning a user if the user asks you to do so, and will provide a mechanism for users to make such a request.”
- “You will not sell user data.”
- “We can require you to delete user data if you use it in a way that we determine is inconsistent with users’ expectations.”
- “You will make it easy for users to remove or disconnect from your application.”
“Kind of like how Facebook makes it nearly impossible to delete your account, making you weigh deactivation versus deletion, wade through dozens of pages and links, and wait 2 weeks,” Downey said. “Yeah, right.”
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