Was the Skype Outage Newsworthy?
Personally, the Skype outage yesterday was a bit disorienting. I use it mostly for chat and only occasionally for phone. But I use it everyday and the outage made me feel a bit out of touch.
Now, I have felt that out of touch/disoriented feeling frequently over the past several weeks as one thing after another that I take for granted disappeared or changed….my Sony Vaio laptop screen got broken and had to be replaced. I had to use my MACBook which was probably a good thing in some respects, but no Particls. Also, no files. Fortunately, I got the laptop back Tuesday.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I moved my blog to WordPress. Feedburner and Bloglines are still messed up. Eventually, I assume everything will be back where it is supposed to be. Oh, Qumana will not post pictures and Faces doesn’t seem to provide a url anymore. Or maybe it is just me.
But, despite my personal inconvenience with the Skype outage, there seems to be some questions being asked about whether or not the Skype outage was in fact newsworthy? As in important past the initial news. Was Skype’s reputation permanently damaged. Is this going to change future behavior?
TechCrunch noted that Ebay who owns Skype lost $1Billion dollars in market capitalization yesterday. I guess that would indicate he financial markets thought it was newsworthy. ZDNet’s Larry Dignan says that whatever the cause of the outage he would “think twice before relying on Skype. tgdaily called it “a permanent wake up call” for Voip vulerability.
Well, I was an early subscriber to Vonage. It constantly went down and customer support was non-existent. The price was right but the aggravation factor was too high. I switched to Charter when they added phone service to cable and internet. Hard to imagine, but although the price was still pretty good, the customer service was worse. I went back to AT&T. Long distance is ridiculously expensive so I use my mobile but at least the phone works and the bill is correct. So far.
All of the phone issues have been annoyances. Voip is buggy. The infrastructure is obviously buggy. But most of us have multiple forms of telephone services….landline out, use mobile and vice versa. However, the biggest inconnvenince to my life over the past few years, personal and business, has been the multiple outages at AmerenUE…..our power company. We have been without lights and air conditioning in the summer and without lights and heat in the winter. And for 2-5 days.
Old fashioned power outage. Now, who do we wake up with that call?
Skype’s outtage was all over Techmeme yesterday and today. It was a top story in tech news at Google news. It made the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. It was newsworthy. It just wasn’t fatal.
Tags: Skype, AmerenUE, Charter, Vonage, VOIP, AT&T, NewYork Times, Wall Street Journal, Techmeme, TechCrunch, Particls, Feedburner, ZDNet, Larry Dignan, media 2.0
AAF: MySpace and YouTube, Yes; Blogs, Not Really Very Much
An AAF (American Advertising Federation ) survey of industry leaders on digital media trends indicates that advertising agencies are not confident that Fortune 500 companies quite appreciate the effectiveness of digital marketing. Sixty three percent of Fortune 500 companies according to the survey are, “generally behind the curve when it comes to online strategy.” However, the agencies executives themselves acknowledge that fifty-eight percent are “personally “struggling simply to manage existing online efforts, let alone stay ahead of the curve.”
Well, what a shame about that curve; agencies think clients are behind the digital curve but agencies admit they can’t stay ahead of it. While the agencies and the client in this surveys are roundingÂ� Dead Man’s Curve they might want to drive by Todd Copilevitz’ and see why they are Advertising Themselves to Death.. Another eye opener awaits as Todd notes that General Mills has told its agencies that they will now be compensated based upon the dreaded RESULTS.
Might be important to realize that the Future of Advertising is NOW: Its not about whether the advertisers or the advertising agencies “get it.” The consumer gets “it” and that is really all that matters. According to Yankelovich and Forrester, seventy percent (70%) of consumers say they like products such as TiVo that block advertising and ninety two percent (92%) of these users fast forward through advertising. For more data, check out the Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMMA) Research Blog and to experience the future in real time join me next week at the Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMBAT 2) Basic Training Conference.
OK, and how does the AAF regard blogs and “user generated content sites”? “Advertising executives find blogs a riskier, less effective advertising vehicle than user-generated content sites such as MySpace, YouTube, Facebook, etc. Sixty-two percent (62%) stated that “blogs are too risky to advertise with due to lack of predictability of the editorial content,” while only 53 percent agreed with the same statement about user-generated content. Despite these concerns, an overwhelming majority said advertisers “should exploit the viral marketing opportunities” of user-generated sites and, to a lesser degree, blogs.
Well Yankelovitch did report that 55% of consumers still enjoy advertising “itself’. Of course that reminds me of the oft quoted John Wannamaker comment about the 50% of add dollars that are wasted but he just didn’t know which half.
Tags: advertising, marketing, word of mouth marketing, WOMMA, WOM, digital advertising, digital media, YouTube, MySpace, blogs
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Inter-tainment: Surfin’ USA
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project "surfing for fun" is something that two-thirds of all Internet users do online; it follows using search engines and emails and ties with reading the news. Given the inherent reluctance that people might have in admitting that they surf for fun…the Playboy Effect, as in "I only read the articles" it is possible that the entertainment value of the internet may even be understated.
Translating this into numbers, 40million people said they were "surfing for fun" which is up from 25mm in November 2004. A new report by Jupiter Research says that online consumers spend 14 hours per week online which is equal to the amount of time that they spend watching TV. The report, "US Entertainment and Media Consumer Survey" written by Barry Parr says that in 2005 TV use increased and consumers are now spending the same amount of time on line.
Other media such as magazines, newspapers, and books according to Parr, are being displaced by TV and the Internet. 37% of the 14 hour crowd report that they are spending less time reading because of their Internet activities. So, the lesson for advertisers does not really ever change: fish where the fish are…and they are online. And the consumer is controlling the information. The strategy is "pull, don’t push" here.
Technorati Tags: advertising, media, TV, web surfing, Pew Internet,
SuperBowl Ad Engagement Measured By Brain Scan
There were two messages that came accross loud and clear at the recent WOMMA Conference regarding new marketing versus old marketing : the consumer is in control of the information and advertisers are there to provide the means to the information; this means that advertising should engage, not disrupt, intrude, or "break through" the clutter.
There has been much discussion regarding the portfolio of advertising presented at the SuperBowl and many different opinions offered as to the effectiveness of the various ads. Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles’s Ahmanson Lovelace Brain Mapping Center and FKF Applied Research used brain-scan images of people watching the advertising during Superbowl XL. They tracked the ads by measuring "activity in key parts of the brain areas that are known to be involved in wanting choosing, sexual arousal, fear, indecision, and reward" and then provided their results in terms of engagement: most engaging, middle of the road, and least engaging. The brain images are on-line for your viewing pleasure.
Their press release mentions that their sample was a group of "male and female SuperBowl viewers in their 20s and 30s chosen to represent typical audience viewers of the SuperBowl." Obviously, this has to be taken into consideration when interpreting their findings.
The "Most Engaging Ads" according to the scans were Sierra Mist, "Airport Security" and the Disney "NFL Dreamers" spot although this was engaging only on the first showing. The "Middle of the Road Ads" were Bud Light’s "Employee Incentive Plan" and Cadillac’s "Catwalk". The "Least Engaging" ads were "Aleve with Leonard Nemoy, " Burger King "Whopperettes," Budweiser’s "Junior Clydesdale," and Career Builder’s "Chimps Celebrate."
Dr. Joshua Freedman, UCLA Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and co-founder of FKF Applied Research notes that one of the advantages of brain scanning versus more traditional kinds of ad research such as focus groups, interviews and polls is that with brain scans the viewer’s emotional response is measured without relying on their interpretation of their reaction and without the influence of other’s responses or questions.
Other interesting results of the brain study were the contrast between the results at SuperBowl Ads.Com and the scans. For instance, FedEx Caveman placed #1 in the poll while failing to show activity in the emtional centers of the brain. The Dove "Real Beauty" ad which has been described as tugging at the heart strings did not show significant engagement in the emotional centers of the brain.
So…if the results of the brain scans indicate that none of these spots were engaging, what’s an advertiser to do at the Superbowl? All those consumers dressed up, but where do we go?
Manfred Marek summarizes some recent studies that incorporate neuroscience into the discussion of engagement in advertising. Scott MacDonald of Conde Nast presented a paper at the 2005 Worldwide Readership Symposium which looked at consumer’s relationship to magazine and television advertising. He said that with televsion, engagement with program content leads to
increased advertising resistance. Can we hypothesize perhaps that the more engaged the consumer is with the game, the less engaged they will be with the advertising?
Marek mentioned another study by Starcom which indicated that the most "time-shifted" TV
viewing happens during the most highly rated shows. Again, the message is the more involved the consumer is with the content, the less involved they will be with advertising that interrupts the content. Hence, the increase in product placement makes sense.
Viacoms Brand Solutions (VBS) conducted research using MRI brains scans of TV viewers and found according to Marek "that advertising content that is relevant
to the programme environment in which it appears is more likely to
stimulate brain activity in areas of the brain commonly associated with
advertising effectiveness…But the survey also shows that programme content
primarily activates the part of the brain that deals with absorption,
indicating that viewers lose themselves in the programme. But as soon
as the commercial break starts, viewers re-engage with their
surroundings – memory and decision-making faculties take over again."
A couple of possible conclusions: Superbowl advertising might be more engaging to the viewer if it was relevant to football. Remember Mean Joe Green? Maybe it was so mega-engaging because it was about football! US Today lists 10 Rules to Make Ads Magical that I think make some excellent points…one more might be engage with the programming.
Technorati Tags: SuperBowl, advertising, neuroscience, brain scans, consumer engagement, WOMMA, ad research
The Anytime Show Starring Jay Leno
Marketing Vox reports that NBC will be distributing TV shows on ITunes, eleven of them to be exact; included will be Law & Order, Dragnet, Knight Rider and the Tonight Show and Conan O’Brien…they will be available first thing in the morning after the night they air on the West Coast for $1.99. The march of the time shift/place shift continues…..the Global Village never sleeps but we can, thanks to our Video IPod
The medium, or process, of our time-electric technology-is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal life. It is forcing us to reconsider and reevaluate practically every thought, every action, and every institution formerly taken for granted. Everything is changing-you, your family, your neighborhood, your education, your job, your government, your relation to "others." And they are changing dramatically. Marshall McLuhan 1967
Was Marshall McLuhan an IPod visionary?
If you aren’t convinced read this:The Video IPod Goes to School was posted by Tris Hussey at A View From the Isle. He is talking about a class at Carleton University in Ottawa where the lecture that is being given is available through ITunes…an audio or video lecture available anywhere/anytime. The University of British Columbia is making some awesome digital content available free through ITunes. University of Washington, Purdue, and Drexel are a few other universities doing similar things.
Technorati Tags:
IPod, Video IPod, ITunes, Marshall McLuhan,
Bill 0′Reilly Declares Blogs Garbage
"I don’t read them, I mean it’s so outrageous", O’Reilly said on his show on July 18, 2005. Then last night on the Factor he attacks blogs calling them ideological weapons and smear campaigns as reported by Think Progress and Crooks and Liars. OK, Bill so I do watch your show because I believe it is important to hear opposing viewpoints. I have not read your book for kids. I am assuming (risky I know) based on interviews you have given about your book that you advise kids to be informed. I know that is the advise I give my own kids who frequently ask me why I watch your show since I frequently don’t agree with your opinions. Although, I would also advise my kids not to settle a lawsuit if the accusations were false. Hmmmmm?
So tell me, if you don’t read blogs, please explain to everyone how you know that they are "garbage"? Not to make an extreme comparison or anything, but wasn’t this the same premise upon which the Nazi’s burned books? Let’s declare the ideas we disagree with as garbage to protect others from reading them.
So, I say to Bill 0′Reilly: Your premise is garbage. You should read blogs to designate them garbage. I watch your show and and have personally heard you rant about the uninformed who express opinions. So, I believe I must request that you please take to heart your claim to be "fair and balanced" and at least read a blog or two, or just "shut up". (I also tell my kids not to say "shut up"….)
Not Quite Six Feet Under Yet
Well I could blame it on our recent four day power outage but that would only partially explain my confusion. You see, I thought Six Feet Under had ended two weeks ago with Nate’s death. OK, so I was multi-tasking while watching, which I am slowly accepting is a bad thing. But it seemed to be an appropriate place to end…from Dallas and J.R. to Seinfeld’s Susan, Buffy and who can forget Rosalind Shays’ fall down the elevator shaft on LA Law?? Come to think of it though…I don’t think I remember who did shoot JR and although I always look down before getting in an elevator since watching that episode of LA Law, it may not have been a finale.
But, the good news I guess, is that Sunday August 21st is the Six Feet Under Series finale and Nate is already dead. Certainly, no need to kill off anyone else. Anyway, I will be watching…. thanks to B.L. Ochman’s Weblog for posting the question about why the Six Feet Under characters weren’t blogging. If she hadn’t, I might have missed it. Now, we can blame the power outage for Sam missing the Andy Milonakis season finale…and he assures me that there will not be re-runs. At least Andy blogs.
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