Publishers want a "Hulu for magazines." Will it work?
Due to the runaway popularity of Hulu, many different publishers are hoping to tap into a similar model for sharing their content online. The latest proposal is a "Hulu for magazines" idea lobbied by Time Inc. The new service would bundle magazine content from various publishers into a storefront that can deliver content to various devices.
Here's a problem with that. Hulu doesn't make money right now. And plans to resuscitate the magazine industry by following its business model may be, well, a little premature.
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This article covers what I've learned from working with hundreds of customers on improving the results that they get from email marketing by optimising the subject line.
Whatever software you use for your email campaigns, these tips are worth reading...
What if Google gets into the lead gen business?
This week Google was sued by Lending Tree, a company whose website enables consumers looking for mortgages and other loans to connect with lenders. LendingTree alleges that Google is planning to launch an online loan exchange of its own and that it will use technology provided by one of LendingTree's vendor. The problem: LendingTree alleges the vendor is contractually forbidden from working with LendingTree competitors, which LendingTree clearly believes Google is.
For its part, Google says that it's simply "working on a small ad unit test that will run against a limited number of mortgage-related search queries in the U.S." So while we don't yet have enough in the way of hard facts to evaluate the merits of LendingTree's claims, the lawsuit raises an interesting question: what if Google gets into the lead gen business?
The workaround: technology strikes back
People have been finding workarounds for poorly designed systems for many years. Although both the technology and the workarounds have become more sophisticated, the problem, and its solution, remains the same.
Many years ago, before web-based interfaces, we were asked to investigate why an online ordering system wasn’t delivering the promised productivity benefits. Our research, which involved videoing staff dealing with telephone orders and then interviewing them about the process, soon revealed the problem.
Q&A: Miles Shipside on Rightmove's iPhone app
Rightmove has just launched an iPhone app version of its property search engine, which allows users to search for properties by location or by using the phone's GPS.
I've been talking to Miles Shipside, Rightmove's Commercial Director, about the development of the new iPhone app...
Mobile app review: Rightmove on iPhone
Property search engine Rightmove launched its iPhone app today, allowing users to search for properties by location or by using the phone's GPS.
According to Rightmove, around 95% of visits to its mobile website came from iPhone users, so releasing an app that provides the best possible experience for these users makes sense.
I compared the Rightmove and Globrix mobile websites last week, and found the iPhone optimised Globrix version the easier to use. I've been trying out the new app to see how it compares to the mobile site.
Mobile site comparison: Rightmove and Globrix
Property search engine Globrix launched an updated version of its mobile website this week, with some extra functionality for iPhone users.
Rival Rightmove also has a mobile version of its property search engine, so I've been looking at the two mobile sites (on an iPhone) to see how the user experience compares...
Email marketing: Listen to consumers. And hit send at lunchtime.
Whatever you do, don't forget to write. A variety of new ways to reach out to consumers have popped up online, but a new study has found that targeted email marketing is leading to more response from consumers during the recession.
US Email Trends and Benchmarks found that 53% of consumers made an offline purchase because of an email message in North America. In Europe, 37% made offline purchases as a result of email messaging. Meanwhile, 59% of consumers polled in the Asia Pacific region made an offline purchase because of an email.
Those numbers are getting higher in the recession and point to an important fact: marketers should be reaching out to willing, engaged consumers.
Thinking outside the box and other bad advice
Earlier this month I opened CREATE 2009, a forum for academics and practitioners to share creative and innovative ideas for human computer interaction (HCI).
The conference's theme was ‘Creative inventions and innovations for everyday HCI’ so to start things off I outlined my four step approach to help designers find more creative solutions to their problems.
Facebook Fan Box and what it means for brands
Facebook has just launched Fan Box, a new widget. This is great news for brands wanting to grow a Facebook fan page. But it's probably going to drive traffic in the wrong direction for most brands.
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
