Patricio Robles

Is behavioral targeting breaking online publishers' business model?

The recession is hitting publishers hard. This is true online and offline as advertisers aren't limiting what gets put on the chopping block.

Many believe that the trackability and accountability will keep online publishers in good stead and despite declining online ad spend, it's easy as an online publisher to look at the woes of the newspaper industry and feel pretty confident about the future.

by Patricio Robles 07 April 2009 12:02pm 4 comments

Can Twitter make real money if it can't slay the fail whale?

Twitter's ascent as a social media powerhouse continues unabated.

The next step in its rise: monetization. Twitter has to make money at some point, it has critical mass, there's no shortage of monetization concepts floating around and Twitter management has all but admitted that 2009 is the Year of Revenue.

by Patricio Robles 07 April 2009 09:03am 1 comment

Amazon shuts the book on PPC arbitrageurs

PPC arbitrage has always been a touchy subject for search engines, marketers and affiliate program operators.

Countless millions have been earned by arbitrageurs who purchase ads through Google, Yahoo and the link and send that traffic to affiliate programs through which they can earn more than they spend on those ads.

by Patricio Robles 06 April 2009 16:12pm 2 comments

UK internet users like ads, sort of

It's commonly accepted in the online publishing world that internet users don't like ads. While 'hate' might be strong word, it's hard to argue that advertising is an internet user's best friend.

For publishers relying on ads to pay the bills, that usually means one thing: striking an appropriate balance. Enough ads to pay the bills, not so many ads that your users 'hate' you.

by Patricio Robles 06 April 2009 09:15am 0 comments

AdWords lawsuit has big implications for Google and advertisers

AdWords is Google's cash cow and it helped the company go from upstart to 800 lb. gorilla in a remarkably quick period of time.

But what if a single legal issue put AdWords as we know it in jeopardy?

by Patricio Robles 06 April 2009 09:50am 0 comments

Newspaper panacea: a paid content cartel?

Everybody has accepted that the newspaper industry is in real trouble. The debate is now what newspapers can do to survive and rebuild for the internet era we live in.

Paid content seems like one of the most immediate possible solutions for stemming declining print and advertising revenues but paid content isn't easy for a number of reasons.

by Patricio Robles 06 April 2009 12:30pm 2 comments

Digg gets into the toolbar, URL shortening market

Digg, the popular content sharing website that lets users 'vote' for their favorite content on the web, is a favorite of online publishers. Get Digged enough and you might hit the Digg homepage, which can drive tens of thousands of visitors in short order.

Currently, there are two ways to Digg content: on the Digg website or through a button that publishers place on their web pages.

by Patricio Robles 03 April 2009 09:13am 3 comments

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.

by Patricio Robles 03 April 2009 10:50am 0 comments

Should brands ignore social media criticism?

Social media has given brands a new medium in which consumers can be engaged. Most agree: there's something really important about this, even if we disagree on just what that is.

At the same time, social media has given consumers a powerful new tool for interacting with brands. It's now possible to provide feedback, issue praise and voice complaints in a manner that can have a real impact very quickly.

by Patricio Robles 02 April 2009 11:16am 9 comments