Marketing Tom - Internet Marketing

Filing From Flock

If this goes the way I intend, then this post will have been created through Flock, the Social Web Browser. Flock, according to its website is "powered by Mozilla, the same fast and secure engine that powers the Firefox browser."

After months of hearing about people using it, I have finally decided to dip my toe into the water.

It looks like a superb tool for updating your Facebook profile, Twitter account, Flickr, YouTube, Photobucket and Picassa accounts. It also looks like an ideal tool for publishing direct to your favourite blogging software - in my case Typepad.

Having just started to read Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff's brilliant book Groundswell, where their Social Technographic Ladder breaks consumers down into 6 categories, I was quite taken by Flock's use of tabs to reach out to:

• Social Animals
• Shutterbugs
• Bloggers
• Media Junkies and
• News Hounds

Go ahead, give it a try!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: flock, browser

Xobni - Now Open To The Public

After 7 months of invite-only access, Xobni is now open to the public. For those who don't know, Xobni is:

"the Outlook plug-in that helps you organize your flooded inbox"

Xobni appears in your Outlook screen as a panel. It allows you to see your Outlook contacts in a whole new light by letting you see their conversations with them, the network (from your Outlook contacts) they belong to and even the files you have exchanged with them. At a glance it shows you how many emails you received from a given contact and the emails you also sent them. In graph format it will even show at what times of the day the contact is most likely to email you!

I haven't been using it for a couple of months and boy, does it offer you a whole new outlook on the way you handle email contacts.

If you haven't used Xobni, I would strongly recommend that you take a look at it. Here's a video to get you started:

Skype Allows You To Make Direct Calls

Over the past week I have noticed that the telephone numbers on the websites have been visiting have turned into 'active' Skype buttons. So, if you have Skype connected, you can click the button and make direct phone contact (ususally through Skype Out). I saw it first on some Spanish travel sites and cost/time barriers seemed to suddenly seem very small.

I came
I saw
I Skyped

This is a brilliant stroke by Skype and must surely have telecoms companies quaking in their boots (again!).

Future of Web Apps - London

The Future of Web Apps looks like it could be one of the top events of Web 2.0 in the UK this year. If I wasn't on holidays, I'd certainly be there.

Firefox 2.0 Just Released

Following hot-on-the-heels of Internet Explorer's latest browser release, Firefox have just launched Firefox 2.0. A browser for the Web 2.0 age? Well, you'll have to download it to find out.

Here is what Firefox have to say about their key features:

Enjoy a Better Web Experience

Firefox 2 delivers helpful new features to make your online experience more productive.

Stay Secure on the Web

Firefox continues to lead the way in online security, and now includes active protection from online scams to keep you safer.

Personalize Your Browser

Choose from over a thousand useful add-ons that enhance Firefox. It’s easy to personalize Firefox to make it your own.

Some of the online news sites have this to say:

Mozilla this week unveiled Firefox 2.0, the next generation of its Web browser that includes security enhancements and quite a few new features that make Web browsing a bit more fun and a lot more intuitive.
Washington Post

New features in this latest version of the open-source browser include a spell checker for Web forms, antiphishing warnings, and improved search and tabbed browsing capabilities.
MacWorld

Cover Your Online Tracks With Hacktivismo

Just came across an interesting article on Smartbro's Ups And Down about a new "Firefox-based" browser which allows for anonymous webs surfing. Apparently it has no installation which means that it can be used from a USB drive. According to a press release:

Hacktivismo, an international group of computer security experts and human rights workers, just released Torpark, an anonymous, fully portable Web browser based on Mozilla Firefox. Torpark comes pre-configured, requires no installation, can run off a USB memory stick, and leaves no tracks behind in the browser or computer. Torpark is a highly modified variant of Portable Firefox, that uses the TOR (The Onion Router) network to anonymize the connection between the user and the website that is being visited.

As Smartbro says:

When you use Torpark, it will show different ip address every a few minutes to the website your visiting. For example if you are in London, Torpark will show the website that your in Australia and a few minutes it will show that you are in China.

Just think of the implications this could have on accurate stats reporting for websites amongst other things.

Web 2.0 Thoughts

from Gaping Void

Web 2.0 Projects

If you would like to get an up-to-date list of the latest Web 2.0 projects, head off to Web2logo.com. As Steve Rubel reports Web2logo.com is a visual front end for Web2list. Simply click on the logo and you will get the latest information on that project. If you would like more information and reviews of Web 2.0 technologies, take a look at the Web 2.0 Awards on the Seomoz site.

On Flickr and Yahoo!

The Search Engine Watch blog notes that Flickr #1 Photography Site In UK, whilst over on Yahoo!'s Search blog the guys at Yahoo!say that the search engine will now return Flickr images on its main search results pages.

Google Buys Writely

Both the Google blog and Writely Blog announce that Google has indeed bought Writely. Writely is a Free, at the moment!, online collaborative tool which allows users to share, upload/download documents through their website. I have been using this tool for the past few months on a number of projects and am mightily impressed. I just hope now that Google will ensure that it remains an exciting Web 2.0 tool.

Technorati Tags: writely

Web 2.0 Explained

There's been a lot of hype surrounding Web 2.0 and how it is going to change the Internet landscape. Well, you can get the low down on Web 2.0 from an in-depth article in .Net Magazine, written by Ivan Pope. Here's an extract from that article:

While no one can pin down exactly what makes a Web 2.0 project (possibly because the name itself is already controversial), most commentators agree they can recognise it when they see one. As forecast by The Cluetrain Manifesto (www.cluetrain.com), everything is a conversation. The internet has become the transport layer for that conversation, and the conversation is increasingly happening in real time. We are all able to participate and choose when and were we do it: blogging, podcasting, publishing, programming, all have become almost omnipresent in a relatively short period of time.

Technorati Tags: Web 2.0

Fon - Spanish Wi-Fi Start Up Gets Investment from Google

As someone who has a keen interest in what goes on in Madrid, I was pleased to hear that a Madrid-based company has just received the backing of Google and Skype to the tune of $21.5 million. According to their website Fon is:

".. a Global Community of people who share WiFi. Share your WiFi broadband access at home/work and enjoy WiFi all over the world! FON: small cost, great benefit!"

Though this idea is not new, Tech Convergence thinks that Fon might have the right formula in that:

One, it aims to be global in scale, rather than a limited local community movement. Secondly, it has a business model that encourages people to build the Wi-Fi access community, and free software that attenuates the security problem of sharing bandwidth.

If you provide broadband for others, you get to keep a small percentage of FON’s traffic revenue. For end users, you either get free or very low cost Wi-Fi access, depending on the area.

The company is only 3 months-old and was set up by Argentine Internet Entrpreneur Martin Varsavsky, who first posted his thoughts on the business on his blog.

Articles
FON Wi-Fi backed by Google, Skype (Tech Convergence)
Google, Skype Fund FON's Wi-Fi (Red Herring)
Start-up opens world to WiFi (Mercury News)
Google, Skype Back WiFi Startup (Light Reading)

Google's Beta Version of New RSS Tool

Google has just unveiled the beta version of its new RSS Reader, aptly named Google Reader! Google Reader is similar to other online RSS Readers and offers a smart user interface in Google's cool blue colours and user friendly design. In essence, it allows you to search for feeds, subscribe to them, label (categorise) feeds and view feeds within its interface. In order to use Google Reader you will first need to set up an account.

Here are some screenshots:

Display of your feeds

Display of articles from feed

If you would like a more comprehensive analysis of Google Reader, Take a look at  Gary Price's First Fast Impressions of Google Reader.

Why Did eBay Buy Skype?

Still wondering why eBay would buy Skype? Well, here’s John Batelle’s take on it:

Now eBay buying Skype? You kidding me? Of course that makes sense. Who is the largest paid search advertiser in the world? eBay. (Or at least in the top three). Why? They are a *mature business* which has reached the stage of *paying well for acquiring customers.* Skype has tens of millions of potential customers, AND a way for folks who are buying and selling to talk to each other for free. But the first point is more important than the second, trust me. Think AOL and ICQ. No brainer.

Huge Growth Projected in Podcasting

If you thought that Podcasting was a flash in the pan, you'd better think again. According to research by the Diffusion Group:

demand for time-shifted digital audio files or "podcasts" is expected to grow from less than 15% of portable digital music player owners in 2004 to 75% by 2010.

Their report Podcasting: Fact, Fiction and Opportunity, suggests that between 2004 and 2010, suggests that the compound annual growh of podcastng between 2004 and 2010 will be 101%. The article points to the use of podcasting amongst broadcasters like ABC and NBC, who are offering downloads of recorded newscasts. If you listen to BBC Radio 4's popular news programme, Today, you will hear them mentioning that you can download podcasts of their 8.10 interview every day.

Via: Econtent Mag & Technology 360

Technorati Tags: podcasting | BBC | broadcasting |

Interview with Blake Ross of Firefox

Over at Red Couch, Shel Israel has a really interesting interview with Blake Ross, one of the key Firefox pioneers. It's hard to believe that he is still only 19! There are some pretty neat insights into how Firefox was able to gain so much global popularity from 'humble' beginnings. From a blogging perspective, it is interesting to see how he used the blog - first, as a tool which "chronicled our work on the fledgling browser" and, more recently, the blog has "served as a hub for a series of marketing activities."

Blake Ross describes in the article what he calls the buzz pyramid:

1. Long before the mainstream or the mainstream media heard about Firefox, the blogosphere was buzzing about it daily. The blogosphere, of course, represents just a tiny fraction of Internet users, so this is the apex of the pyramid.

2. The “intermediate media” hears the buzz at the apex and reports that “everyone’s talking about Firefox.” These are outlets like c|net that sit between mainstream media and personal websites, and indeed from their tech perspective, “everyone” really is talking about Firefox-.

3. The mainstream media hears the buzz among the intermediate media and again carries the story that “everyone” is talking about Firefox. “Everyone” is still the blogosphere, but in the context of ABC, USA Today and other mainstream outlets, people interpret it to mean, well, everyone. ....

4. Word spreads throughout the mainstream and mainstream media continues to cover the story, propagating the word further. A growth cycle is created that Firefox has yet to break out of as the pyramid’s base grows ever larger.

It's interesting to see how a small minority of people could influence the many millions (26 million at last count) to download this browser. There are a number of keys to Firefox's success, but one of the main ones is its ability to give its community a number of tools that they could use to sell the product for them. The Spread Firefox website allows users the ability to download Firefox buttons, logos and other marketing tools; invites them to come up with the most original dipslays for Firefox and even offers them a free blog, where they can discuss the pro's and cons of the service.

It would seem that the company has truly embraced the Open Source Movement, from Open Source Software Development to Open Source Marketing.

Related Links
The Rise and Rise of Firefox
What is Open Source Marketing

The Rise and Rise of Firefox

There's a great story in the latest edition of Wired, entitled The Firefox Explosion, about the spread of Firefox. It discusses the role of the 2 main men behind Firefox, Blake Ross, "an angular, hyperkinetic 19-year-old Stanford sophomore with spiky black hair" and Ben Goodger, "a stout, soft-spoken 24-year-old New Zealander." Ross, it appears, was fixing bugs for Netscape at the age of 14 and then decided to start a splinter group. When Ross went to college Goodger took over and Firefox ended up being released in late 2004.

To date there have been 25,241,830 Downloads. In 99 days!!

The article also talks about how one user, Rob Davis, fed up with Internet Explorer and enamoured with Firefox instigated a campaign to raise enough money to post an ad in the New York Times; he did, by getting 10,000 fans to donate $25. A large portion of the article is obviously taken up by the effect that Firefox's success has had on Microsoft's Internet Explorer. And boy, is it having an effect.

Related Article
Firefox - a viral marketing phenomena