Patricio Robles

Can the model behind the HuffPo's new venture keep journalism afloat?

As newspapers continue the struggle to adapt and survive in a digital world, just about everyone in the business is trying to figure out how to make journalism a profitable exercise in the 21st century, especially online.

Charging for content is back in vogue, but charging for valuable content that publishers have foolishly devalued through ad-supported business models that don't look so great today is a tough proposition.

by Patricio Robles 30 March 2009 09:22am 1 comment

10 ways to be a great SEO

Despite the fact that SEO can make or break a business online, SEO still conjures up a lot of negativity.

Some of the negativity is fair. While there are plenty of legitimate SEOs, the market still has its fair share of snake oil salesman going from client to client in a hit-and-run fashion promising the world but delivering none of it.

by Patricio Robles 30 March 2009 10:00am 17 comments

The rise of the ghost tweeters

Twitter's growing mainstream popularity is a hot topic. It's why those of us in the tech and digital marketing worlds can't seem to go a day without reading news headlines about the microblogging service that has fascinated us all.

But Twitter isn't perfect; there is a dark side.

by Patricio Robles 27 March 2009 09:32am 3 comments

Yahoo loves multivariate testing

It's one of the most powerful tools in an online publisher's arsenal but it's one that few make effective use of. I'm talking about multivariate testing.

As part of its effort to turn its business around, Yahoo is using multivariate testing extensively on its homepage to figure out which combinations of content and features produce the best results.

by Patricio Robles 26 March 2009 14:58pm 6 comments

Now you can lose money as an iPhone developer!

A lot has been made about the significant amounts of money some of the most successful (and lucky) iPhone app creators are making.

The lure of instant fortune has turned iPhone app development into a get-rich-quick pursuit for thousands of developers who all hope that the App Store does for them what it has done for the most successful app developers.

by Patricio Robles 27 March 2009 09:01am 2 comments

Are you staying on top of your campaigns?

I was browsing around News.com yesterday looking for my fix of tech news and I noticed something: an ad.

I know. Many people have display advertising blindness but unfortunately I still notice them from time to time. This one stood out, however. It's the ad you see to your right.

by Patricio Robles 26 March 2009 09:00am 1 comment

Google does no evil, except when there's lots of money involved

One of Google's biggest goals seems to have little to do with dollars and cents. It's a simple one: 'do no evil' and it has been widely promoted for the simple fact that few billion-dollar corporations set such a goal.

Obviously, aiming to do no evil and actually doing no evil are two different things and Google has been criticized over a number of issues.

by Patricio Robles 25 March 2009 15:35pm 3 comments

Social media on the non-profit radar but strategy not so clear: report

A growing number of charities and non-profits have gone social. From Facebook to Twitter, social media has an obvious appeal: the costs of getting involved are low, awareness can be generated virally and people naturally tend to use social media to engage around topics and causes that are important to them.

But what isn't so well understood is how social media can best be applied to the non-profit sector in meaningful ways.

by Patricio Robles 25 March 2009 12:30pm 9 comments

Google search result snippets get long tail-friendly

Increasingly, internet users are using longer queries to search for information on the web.

That's not all that surprising. Most information we seek out isn't generic in nature and as the average web user gets more sophisticated, it was inevitable that search queries would get more sophisticated too.

by Patricio Robles 25 March 2009 08:57am 1 comment

Social media isn't just for the kids anymore

When we think of the most avid users of social media and social networking, the image that comes to mind is probably that of a tech-savvy 20-something.

It's well-known that Gen Y has led the adoption of many of today's most popular social media services but is it really correct to assume that Gen Y is still leading the social media pack?

by Patricio Robles 24 March 2009 15:25pm 2 comments