Barry Diller: The Internet's free phase is coming to an end
Information may want to be free, but InterActiveCorp's chairman thinks we're all going to be paying for it soon. Speaking at the second annual Advertising 2.0 conference in New York Wednesday, Barry Diller was emphatic that the free period of the Internet is coming to a close:
"People will pay for content. They always have."
The digital media chief disparages the idea that consumers expect free content online, calling it "an accident of a historical moment that will be corrected."
The beginning, middle and end of brand storytelling
Storytelling is being hailed as the new big idea, but it's not that new. What makes a good story in this viral, user-generated, post advertising world has always made a good story.
From papyrus to pulpit to plasma screen, the attributes of a ripping yarn have remained the same: credibility, digestibility, and most importantly, emotional resonance.
Gamers teach their old consoles to do new tricks
The gaming industry is often referred to as recession proof, but the general inclination of people to purchase goods that can
entertain them at home in tough times is not enough to fuel the gaming
sector right now. The $1.83 billion console industry fell 18% in March and 8% in
April.
However, those numbers have less to do with the flailing economy than the state of the gaming console business right now. All three of the leaders in the space — Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony Playstation 3, and the Nintendo Wii — have not launched new consoles in about three years. Rather than start selling new products, they're looking to marketing tactics and repositioning what they already have on the shelf to increase sales.
Can iPhone apps lift your brand value through association?
Brands can get a generous lift when affiliated with high quality products such as the iPhone. But what about the applications in the App Store? Let's look at why Apple should build a sustainable eco-system for technology-based mobile applications, which is the key to product quality and research into the potential of mobile applications that brand marketers can harness.
Video games change television consumption habits: Nielsen
What do people do when times are tough? History suggests they look for escapes. Some go to the movies, some eat candy and some indulge in sin. And some play video games.
The healthy growth in the video game market has not been dented by the recession according to Nielsen's newly-released 'State of the Video Gamer' report, which looked at console and PC video game usage in the United States for Q4 2008.
Who says you can't go public in today's market?
The IPO market for technology startups seems all but shut these days thanks to the recession and financial system meltdown.
The bar has been raised very high; much higher than most tech startups are confident they can reach.
Mobile site review: Betfair
Betfair has had a mobile version of its website since 2006, and according to its Twitter account, has taken over 6m bets from mobile users.
With the popularity of online betting, it seems especially well suited for people out at sports events who want to place bets.
Betfair launched an iPhone optimised version of its site in December, and has recently updated it. I've been seeing how well it works...
Study: iPhones and mobile commerce do not mix
The Apple iPhone doesn’t make it into the top 20 most popular phones for buying things via the mobile internet, according to a study by Bango.
The research was based on worldwide mobile internet traffic that passed through the Bango network in February.
All in all, the habits of around 1.1m unique visitors were tracked. One in four made a purchase of digital content and services, such as videos, music, games, ringtones and subscriptions, which forms the framework of the study.
Geoff Inns talks about the growth of Gamespot UK
Gaming news and reviews website Gamespot is now the most popular site for gamers in the UK, with a total audience of 4.5m.
Gamespot, along with the rest of CNET's network of media sites, was acquired by CBS last year for $1.8bn. I've been talking to Geoff Inns, CBS Interactive's UK Product Director for games and entertainment about the recently released ABCe figures.
Interview with Martin Newman on e-commerce project management
Martin Newman is an e-commerce expert who we recently commissioned to produce a step-by-step guide called Delivering Successful E-commerce Projects, which I have just published.
Here I talk to Martin to cover some of the key challenges and issues for e-commerce project managers. These are outlined in more detail in the report, alongside lots of guidance (it contains more than 400 practical recommendations). Why not grab a copy today?
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
