Yahoo Portals Turn to PPC

Finally some common sense! Yahoo has now released PPC on their portal homepages here in Australia.

I think it's a comproise with just sponsored links being the option however it's a start in fixing the online advertising joke of CPM.

EO Global Leaders Conference - Hong Kong

The image to the left signifies that I am an EO member. EO stands for Entrepreneurs' Organization. I am about to join the board of EO in Melbourne and was sent to Hong Kong for membership training. What has this got to do with web marketing and the digital industry? A good question.

In Hong Kong I connected with hundreds of founders of businesses. The majority of these business owners were not online business owners but owners of businesses that included real estate development, law firms, manufacturing, call centres and software companies etc.


What I learnt was that as business owners we all were able to connect at a certain level. I also discovered that the entire industrialised World does not even come close to relying on digital marketing and web sites as we do in Australia, US and the UK.

I got that message from my visit to Singapore in January however I thought it may have been isolated. Sure email is a critical tool for most however search marketing, email marketing and web site conversions really seem to be far from the front of mind in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

One fantastic outcome for the web entrepreneurs is that even in a saturated market there is still plenty of room for growth.

Privacy – Who’s got my details?

When it comes to the Internet I often wonder just how many places my email address, mobile phone number and other personal information has ended up. It’s not like I am hiding my identity on the web, I write for my blog, my corporate web site, this web site and others however the real concerns come from the details that I have given to organisations that have requested them, banks I am with, government agencies and so forth.

I mean how many times are we requested to fill in a form online and where do those details reside? For business owners there is a good 10 point check list from the Privacy web site. Summarised it looks like this:

• Principle 1 - Collection
• Principle 2 - Use and disclosure
• Principle 3 - Data quality
• Principle 4 - Data security
• Principle 5 - Openness
• Principle 6 - Access and correction
• Principle 7 - Identifiers
• Principle 8 - Anonymity
• Principle 9 - Transborder data flows
• Principle 10 - Sensitive information

Download the pdf here: http://www.privacy.gov.au/publications/npps01.pdf

I am really interested in Principle 3, Data Security and Principle 9 Transborder data flows. It is a good time to point out that the Australian Federal Privacy Act stipulates that the act only apply if a commercial or not-for-profit organisation is turning over more than $3million annually. Why does the Act not apply for organisations that are smaller? Does that mean a huge retail organisation like Coles or Woolworths can abrogate their responsibility by engaging a small Digital Services company to perform email marketing tasks using a hosted solution in the US, India or China? The Act provides this out by stating that you can transfer personal data across borders if it is to fulfil a contractual obligation, i.e. perform email marketing for your client.

What about splash campaigns and web hosting offshore? Should we Digital Marketers be allowed to collect information off shore without giving warnings to the user? If we do provide a warning perhaps it should read:

“Dear User, you are about to fill in this form but we really do not know what the hosting provider may do with your information even thought we think it is only accessible by us, good luck as we have no clue!”

There needs to be a reform around the collection and hosting of personal data in the cloud and it’s something that we as an industry can set standards and frameworks to help protect us all.

Publishing with Digital Ministry

I was recently accepted as a publisher to a pretty cool new industry web site, Digital Ministry. I like how they have created a directory for Internet businesses and service / product providers and have combined it with relevant articles from industry professionals.

It's worth a look. You'll find what i have to say at: http://digitalministry.com/AU/profile/5285/David.Barnes

Enjoy!

Google is only human!

It had to come "Google to launch targeted ads based on your web browsing*". I mean there are no surprises, Google is a listed commercial entity with responsibilities to shareholders to build their profits. This initiative will do that. The "Don't be evil" mantra will soon become the biggest hoax and furphy since the dot com crash.

Personalised content serving has been around for years (it feels like centuries). Vignette and a few portal vendors in the late 90's and early 2000's were spruiking it as the next best thing, so why not have personalised tailored advertisements based off user behaviour from Google.

Well one thing we don't know is what next? Selling your data for other reasons? I think that the what if question is the community's main concern. The question: What are they doing with YOUR data? has not been answered and with this latest progression it really looks to me that the Google evil is on the way.

Software & web developers and who really made Google will start shying away at some stage and find an alternative.

It's going to get very very interesting.

* headline courtesy of news.com.au

Is Regulation The Way Forward?

A deregulated market gives flexibility to businesses that operate in industries that have been regulated by governments and industry bodies. Often benefits flow to the consumer with better pricing and services. The issue that we are facing in the Web Software & Digital Services Industry is completely the opposite: There is a lack of regulation and appropriate control mechanisms.

For example: Where does a consumer go to find accredited suppliers of Digital Marketing Services? If someone is Google Accredited does that mean they are able to consult on Yahoo or know when to NOT use Google and perhaps try more traditional direct marketing?

Clearly AIMIA is acting like an industry body but what standards are they putting in place? Do consumers and marketers know that they even exist and even if they do, what powers does AIMIA have to enforce some standards in the industry.

Then of course there is the online development. Choosing the right technology for a business is tough enough. Typically large organisations use Business Analysts, Software Architects, Software Engineers and many more experts to help determine their business needs and technology requirements. So where does a small - large business turn to to find suppliers to provide consistent reliable development and best practice?

Typically there isn't an industry body that can help regulate development and list suppliers that meet and provide standards based development. Indeed the only standards that can be adhered too are industry based data standards and this really doesn't help when it comes to software design standards, historical project delivery and other key technical items.

What happens is that the constant failure of IT related software projects do not allow organisations to achieve the outcomes based objectives they originally set. Also CEO's & CFO's are then baffled why systems are often needed to be rebuilt after 3 years or even less!

I hate to say it but it's time that a professional body takes some ownership of the problems this over supplied and under qualified industry is having. Training certifications that are standards and achievements based need to be devised and adhered to. An industry body that is substantial in terms of it's public awareness, fairness and standards that consumers are aware of and that they can go to for guidance when looking to invest into critical web applications and digital services.

Just a thought!!!

2009 Year of the Database

2009, more than ever will be the year of the Database. More web enabled database projects were delivered last year than ever before. This year will see organisations look to their database for a better understanding of their business, their customers and of course to communicate more effectively with all customers and stakeholders

Top Predictions

1. List building and broking will increase in popularity.
2. Database reviews will occur with many organisations finding they will need to start again due to poor information architecture from the outset.
3. Email Marketing will continue to grow in popularity.
4. CRM will have another huge year.