Posts by InsightsDigital

I just read this article about a company named uSocial which specializes in selling Facebook friends and followers. http://mashable.com/2009/09/02/usocial-facebook-friends/
What do you think?

I just saw this site on a review blog and I thought people on this site will appreciate this site: http://www.gotofreestuff.com/

I just read about this startup that helps users create their own digital business card.http://dooid.com/home/index.php
So what do you think? Would you use such service? I personally think that my signature is enough.

If you ever ran a PPC or search campaign, one knows that one will receive a big spreadsheet with just metrics. So which factors do you look for when you review such data? Which factors you should not even care about?

I have known many bloggers who are regarded as influencers, but at the same time, I really wonder on the metrix these software use to regard these bloggers as influencers. I know one tech blogger who blogs for sincerity sake and another blogger who actually likes and brags about the tech toys he have received. So both can be regarded as influencers but at the same time, one do wonder which one can actually genuinely move the needle.

Until you brought it up, I never heard or played Farmville. Perhaps it does not attract my demographics and friends. Also, I have seen so many of my Facebook friends have Mob Wars or Mafia Wars that I feel I am part of a few capos.

Many sites have that strong sell side and for me, its a turn off.

The fact that search engines now release twitter and facebook updates allows more "intelligence" gathering by these unscrupulous researchers.

It's true: some stay, some leave, some return. Also, its interesting to mention that though the early adopter or late adopters will leave, there could also be an influx of the late laggards joining Facebook and Twitter which changes the consumer mix of these online communities.

Thanks Marketing Rob for bringing this issue up. I am surprised that I have not seen much commentary about this on the multiple tech scene groups/message boards I belong to. I can be devil's advocate and say that this is no similar to the law that stated that the government can takeover private property for the sake of the government. Also, with the amount of personal data that Google collects on users, there is no such thing as privacy anymore.

Thanks MarketingRob for sharing those stats. I also liked how you used Facebook page as a referral page rather than just to put a facebook page for the heck of it. From those stats, I infer that though the productivity of employees in a company is affected, the value of a business having a social media presence and connection with customers overweighs the cost.

So skype is best for international calls, it seems. Hence, if one does not have any international callers, then Skype may not be useful.

I think LinkedIn is the leader and the other ones may have been a close second. Perhaps those two dont hae the critical mass like LinkedIn.

I also advise on focusing on a few long tail keywords.
Check this out: http://www.searchengineguide.com/matt-bailey/keyword-strategies-the-long-tail.php

Optimizing your SEO on your site is always a good thing. It will help generate visitors to your website, especially if its an e-commerce site.

If you are talking about Fields Internet Media website, it depends on when you created the site. Organic growth does take time. How much time varies. You may also want to explore:
1. Digital Press Release on a Discount
2. Join tech related boards and jump into the chance when someone talks about hosting, mention your site. Dont forget to also mention about your community.
3. Post it as a business on major search engines - including location.
4. Bookmarked your site on social book marking sites.

I like to share this article about ROI and analytics: http://social.eyeforpharma.com/story/paying-attention-roi-analytics

I developed the following analogy with cookies: there is nothing free in this world. You go to a "free" site, get the information or experience you want, and then leave and you may come back. In exchange, the site will just give you a cookie or identifier. Though there are many posts and opinions against cookies, I personally think that it also helps heighten visitors' experience, like you mentioned.

Very good post. Thanks for sharing.

I read in a blog that it encouraged users to visit those sites. I personally dont see the need if I am already on LinkedIn. So have you used those sites? If so, whats your opinion of them?

Here is more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentiment_analysis
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/technology/internet/24emotion.html

The majority of advertising firms have dedicated insights/analytics division. So as small business owners, we should pay attention to the big companies and incorporate insights in our marketing strategy and plan.

Of course, we all know that ROI means Return on Investment. Though, in today's technology world, ROI for a website or online community is beyond money. It is about engagement, word of mouth, and conversion. So what do you think?

Well Tiger, I did smile with your martian remark. Imagine a martian on steroids. Well I think that is what Black Hat SEO. It will make it obvious to the powers that it was not legit.

I think it is commonplace for most sites to use cookies. But FireFox users do know and aware of limiting cookies on their computers. So if your site have cookies, which issues have you noticed? What lessons have you learned?

For an e-commerce site, it is important to monitor conversion rates and optimizing it. So what other metrics do you assess/monitor on your website to help increase sales? I found this very interesting slides stating this:
http://www.slideshare.net/dennis.mortensen/using-web-analytics-insights-to-sell-more

So have you used web analytics to increase your sales?

Many businesses have incorporated sentiment analysis software/platform to understand the sentiment of their visitors. I am aware of popular content sites like Huffington Post and other similar sites that have added this component. So for your business site, would you add sentiment analysis to understand your visitors and optimize your online community/site to increase conversion?

Have you downloaded snow leopard yet? I was planning to stop by the Apple Store and get it today instead of ordering online but I was not looking forward to the long line. So what do you think of Snow Leopard? What sup with Apple naming system? I do like it but do you think they are running out of animals?

Growing an online community and/or visitors to your website does require monitoring metrics and optimizing the website to increase engagement and conversion rates. So what recommendations to you have to decrease bounce rates?

Many social media monitoring tools measure and find influencers. So if you had experience with such service, what do you think? Do you think it has helped your business finding and outreaching these influencer bloggers? What do you think?

Oh I just found this blog about Radian6: http://www.webmetricsguru.com/archives/2009/08/connecting-the-dots-with-topical-influencers-using-radian6-pros-and-cons/
I do wonder if insights can be actionable.

For the bloggers on this network, do you welcome PR and corporations outreaching you for publicizing their products or services? Or are you offended?
I just read this article that inspired me to write this post: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007248

I read a report about Skype doubling its connection fee. I personally have never used Skype nor have I found a use for Skype. Have you used Skype either for business or pleasure?

Thanks Amber for sharing this insight. I actually spoke with someone from Radian6 last week and learned more about its capabilities for one of my pharma clients. I have noticed that many pharma companies are hesitant though, especially before the Fed's release their own guidelines in the near future....

I read on this blog about the author's algorithm for ranking the expertise of a user in a collaborative tagging system, like Del.ICIO.US

http://www.michael-noll.com/blog/2009/06/05/telling-experts-from-spammers-expertise-ranking-in-folksonomies/

I found it very interesting. Perhaps its a little too scientific for the masses but with the correct fine tunning or add-on tool, it will probably become very helpful for businesses. What do you think?

I read on one site that it is optimal to create a marketing plan on one page. Can you? What about a business plan?

I went to Craigslist and found many marketing plan consultants. I wonder how can you measure or assess which one is good for your business?

Thanks for sharing that thread. Black Hat SEO may provide good short term results but in the long run, it is like making a deal with an unethical agent. Think of it as steroids. It may give you fast results but it is not good at all.

I have not seen any updated articles on comparing bing with yahoo except this one: http://searchengineland.com/can-bing-change-the-culture-of-online-search-23709

I personally did not see any difference with Caffeine what so ever but I do wonder if Caffeine works better for popular search terms.
http://mashable.com/2009/08/10/google-caffeine/

Pointroll caters to rich media small ads. So have anyone here used Pointroll?

I am just wondering if anyone on this board did used beach advertising and what were the success metrics or experience?

These Twitter related applications are popping up daily but if I will bring these up to my clients, the main question will be: "Can this help my business?" What would you say?

I betcha that many on this board have experience this:
You are on the beach soaking up the sun. You look towards the horizon. You see a plane/helicopter with an air banner advertising - it is usually for a big wannabe blockbuster or adult services place. But I wonder if anyone on this board used such tactics to drive online traffic and that such tactic was part of your advertising strategy.

True. What do you believe about copyrighting or trademarking the idea before the competitors take the idea?

Are you familiar with PointRoll data? If so, what are the main differences with DART? Most importantly, what questions should you be asking yourself when you look into PointRoll data/reports? Thanks

I agree with you that tracking success on your e-marketing tactic/website is essential in order to track success.

Thanks for sharing that post. I will check it out and post results.

Do you use Google Caffeine? Did you notice a difference in your search results? Or most importantly, will you optimized your website differently for Google Caffeine?

I spoke with a friend of mine today who complained on how she thought Bing interrupted her user experience while being on Yahoo. She consulted me since I am considered the tech guru. Thus, I wonder if you have heard similar complaints. What are your thoughts?