Marketing
OpenMac & Psystar Reeks of A Publicity Stunt
I was writing a post this morning over at PCMech about OpenMac and why it’s going to fail. As I wrote that post, I had this nagging feeling in the back of my head that this was a complete and total scam. It is a play to get a boatload of attention.
Of course, I can’t prove it. But, then this evening I saw a post over at Guardian asking who Psystar really is. This post didn’t necessarily confirm my suspicions, but it surely solidified them.
Psystar has no business record. Their office location has apparently changed mid-stream. A phone call produced nothing. The quotes I put onto my PCMech story this morning seem to be geared precisely to stir up controversy.
So, this whole thing just reeks of a publicity stunt.
The Mac culture is a passionate one, just like the Linux crowd. And, these guys know full well that deliberately playing to that whole controversy of “Macs are expensive” is going to get them lots of attention.
And it worked. You can see in my prior post that PCMech managed to get onto Digg in a big way yesterday. But, the story on OpenMac, from the MacRumors.com site, was right ahead of our story. The Psystar site got hammered so much that it took their site offline for some time on Monday.
So, this company comes out of nowhere and gets featured in a Digg top story. It comes out deliberately rocking the boat. Apple, for it’s part, isn’t even responding yet.
Is this whole thing a publicity stunt?
Google Adwords Also Does Radio, TV and Print
Most people think of Google Adwords as a search engine advertising medium. Then, of course, publishers get to set up on the other end as an Adsense publisher and make money on the receiving end. It works well, too, and I personally make 4 figures monthly using Adsense.
Well, Google is also getting in on radio and TV with their Adwords program. Google Adwords audio ads allow you to set up radio ad campaigns. Google TV ads allows you to set up a television campaign. Google Print Ads allows you to use your Adwords account to manage print advertising.
I have never used any of these services, but was surprised to find that Google was doing it. It really is amazing that a business could, using Google, centrally manage advertising across the Internet, radio, print and television. That is amazing to me.
Obviously, advertising in radio or TV is going to be a lot more expensive than Internet advertising, however it can help you reach markets that don’t have huge Internet use yet. TV has amazing saturation in the population, too.
I have been a huge Google whore for awhile now, but seeing this type of thing just makes me want to have little Google children, too.
Web Video Marketing – Best Practices
TubeMogul has published a white paper of sorts which talks about the use of web video in marketing. In other words, how to get lots of people to watch your videos. The write-up starts with:
Online video is one of the best venues to engage an audience – don’t even think about excluding it! This new medium allows the video creator to communicate a message on multiple levels – via visual imagery, the spoken word, music and visual text. It may sound like a commercial for a Montessori school – but this is the way people learn, and consequently, the way legendary brands are created. As a case in point, think of traditional internet marketing; when was the last time that a paid search listing or banner ad raised your blood pressure or induced you to forward something to a friend? Get the point?
Click here to read the rest of the write-up on web video marketing.
BlogRush – A Second Chance?
A few days ago, I ripped into BlogRush. I wasn’t alone. Darren Rowse at ProBlogger reported a very low click-through rate. Mashable asked the question on whether it was a traffic generator or a pyramid scheme. The general consensus was that the click-through rate sucked. So after running the widget for a couple days on PCMech, I removed it.
Today, I put it back up for a second chance. Here’s why.
I got an email from John Reese (everybody did, not just me). The email was written in typical John Reese copy style. But, cutting to the chase, it signals that they are working on improving it. Among the changes he specified are:
- Manual Blog Review. This means they will manually approve all blogs which apply and will go back and audit all blogs which signed up previously. This is good as it will keep the garbage out of the network. As I said in my prior post, the structure of BlogRush is just a magnet for people looking for quick traffic. So, something has to be done to keep out sites which do not contain real content and are nothing but sales or ad-heavy garbage.
- More Categories. Again, this is good. I am testing BlogRush on PCMech, which is a computer and tech site. The only category it fit in was “Computers & Internet”. It’s an accurate category, but the problem is that I get lumped in with a BUNCH of internet marketing sites which are not related to PCMech at all.
- Improve reporting. Always good.
- Flavors. Now you can get the widget in different colors. I only wish I could adjust the width. John?
- Post Filters. A way to control which of your posts should not show in the widget. Good because this allows for better targeting.
So, these are improvements. I admire how fast the BlogRush folks have been to reacting to and improving the system. And I must admit that the way they are handling it leads me to think perhaps I am too quick to the punch to write off BlogRush.
So, for now, BlogRush is back up on the PCMech site. I am curious to see if it brings any more traffic.
I know full well that BlogRush is not going to result in a HUGE traffic spike. Not in a million years. But, if it brings in some people (at hopefully a significantly better rate than it was), then why the hell not? At the least, it’s a way of participating in the blog community.
Getting Popular by Being Crap
As one that spends a lot of time online, and also pays attention (somewhat) to the national news, one pattern seems to stand out: If you are a pile of crap, people pay lots of attention.
Let me explain.
Have you seen the Chocolate Rain video on Youtube? If so, watch it. I should say, watch it for about a minute, because after that you might run out of hair to pull out. But, look at the number of views that thing has! As of this writing, it is almost 9 million. This video was so BAD, that it got really popular on Youtube. It lead to numerous parody videos. This one with Darth Vader is one of my favorites. John Mayer got involved, and soon the original guy (Tay Zonday) found his way onto Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Another example is the recent Brittany Spears performance. She was obviously whacked out and she generally sucked. That made a lot of news, of course. Then, this morning, I saw this video being talked about on Fox News. It’s some whacked out fan crying about Brittany. Personally, I think that video is staged. But, it’s still crap and it found it’s way onto national news.
So, we know sex sells. But, I guess, these days, crap sells, too.
Maybe one way to market something on the web is to create some buzz online by creating something that is just so crappy, it makes news. Hmmm…
Virtual Tradeshow for eCommerce Marketers
I just recently came across this virtual tradeshow called eComXpo. I have talked before about how it is important to get out there and network. It is usually with the help and knowledge of others that you can put yourself over the top. This is a really hard business in which to be a lone wolf.
Now, when I spoke about this, I was talking more about REAL tradeshows. The kind where you have to travel and you rub elbows with real people. But, I understand that that makes it harder to attend. I mean, I have a few shows I would like to hit by the end of the year, but I can’t because of other obligations (a baby on the way being a biggie). What makes eComXpo different is that it is virtual. You don’t have to GO anywhere. Sweet!
It is an online tradeshow for online marketers and those interested in affiliate programs and ecommerce. Sounds interesting. It is a 3 day tradeshow, running from October 9-11. It’s got all the makings of a normal conference: keynotes, booths, etc. But, in Second Life style, you are doing the whole thing virtually. Watch this video of how it works.
It is free and you don’t have to go anywhere. So, I thought it was worthy of bringing to your attention.
As a concept, these virtual expos are a really cool idea. It will never replace actually meeting with real people, but these kinds of shows definitely have a role.
Using Facebook to Improve Your Business
It has now been established that Facebook is new, different and all around cool. But, what is it’s impact in the world of internet business. Can it help you make any money?
Internet Marketers Should Take Notice
Internet marketers are all about people. Social networks, especially popular ones, have lots of people. So, yes, Facebook would be a natural fit for internet marketing. How would a marketer take advantage? Some ways may include:
- Establishing and enhancing your brand image
- Establishing and enhancing your authority in your market, a thought leader
- Using your network for market research (opinions and viewpoints, good for surveys)
- Creating a Facebook group of people of similar interest. Great for networking.
- Targeted Advertising…
Yes, according to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook is working on a system to allow targeted advertising to specific networks of people with similar interest.
Social-networking Web site Facebook Inc. is quietly working on a new advertising system that would let marketers target users with ads based on the massive amounts of information people reveal on the site about themselves.
Eventually, it hopes to refine the system to allow it to predict what products and services users might be interested in even before they have specifically mentioned an area.
Could this be the Adwords of the Facebook world? And we all know how much internet marketers drool over Adwords.
Money in Facebook Applications
This new growth of Facebook does, of course, open up markets for making money. Remember all the websites that popped up offering Myspace profile themes? Well, those things made money by, if nothing else, banner advertising. So, sites offering up Facebook applications are likely to serve the same role.
Also, some applications have become a bit of a commodity. In fact, Inside Facebook reports that TripAdvisor.com has just paid $3 million to the “Where I’ve Been” Facebook application. That is, by far, the largest such acquisition. There have been many smaller ones. I have even seen job postings on sites like Craigslist for Facebook app developers.
The reason is clear. Businesses are catching on to the viability and money potential of this whole social networking phenomenon, thanks to Facebook. Some of them truly get it, others are probably just getting on the buzz bandwagon. Either way, its an interesting mass migration.
Next Steps
So, how should you get started on putting Facebook to use?
- Get a profile
- Start adding friends. Think strategically. There is the “more the merrier” approach, and then there is the “those that really matter” approach. Think of both.
- Search for relevant networks and join in.
- Explore the Facebook applications that would be applicable to you and set them up.
And with that, happy networking!
This Chick Gets Around! – Stock Photography
It’s so funny. Being that I work online, I get around to a lot of different websites and am involved in a lot of things. And seeing as I am in the business, I can see what other people are doing and many times know exactly where they’re getting it from. Well, stock photography is one of them. I am a user of Istockphoto from time to time. When I need something that I have neither the time nor inclination to create myself, many times I will check out IstockPhoto for something to get me started. Let’s look at this image I used several months ago on the PC Mechanic Store. And let’s compare it to the version on IstockPhoto.
Looks pretty similar, right? It is. All I did was add a little text to it and kick it out the door onto my site. Why did I choose that image? Well, she was holding a laptop with a blank screen. It’s computer related (so is my site), and the blank screen meant I could put something of my own on top of it. Secondly, she’s a cute woman. Most of my audience are guys. Connect the dots here. It isn’t hard. 
Am I alone? Hell no. Crucial Technology is now running an advertising campaign across tech sites (PC Mechanic being one of them) that is using banners with this chick all over them. Observe:
I am also a subscriber to Website Magazine, and who did I see staring at me in one of the ads? Yep, you guessed it:
Is she modeling for all these companies? No. She modeled for one photographer who then stuck the image up on stock photography sites. Then, a bunch of us lazy business owners went and bought the image and used it in our ads. Will most people notice? Probably not. Well, the one in the magazine reaches an audience that is a lot more likely to notice. After all, website owners have a much higher likelihood of using stock photos.
Stock photography is a huge time saver. But, on the flip side, you do run the risk of lessening the impact of your ad if somebody notices that they’ve seen that image before. I mean, we’re SUPPOSED to think that this cute chick is really endorsing this company. Instead, I come off thinking that the business is just super lazy and are aware of Istockphoto.
Related Reading
Youtube Launches New Ads, VideoEgg Takes Notice
It really was only a matter of time. Youtube is launching new ads that appear IN the videos. Is this rubbing some users the wrong way? You bet.
Better than Preroll?
As online video gets so popular (and Youtube is the current king in the arena), more emphasis is going to shift to video advertising. Youtube, particularly, would be interested in video ads because so many of their videos appear outside of Youtube. Even on Youtube’s site, you don’t see any ads. One would think they’d use some Google ads on there, but they don’t (at least I’m not seeing them).
Given that video ads on Youtube has been on the horizon all along, the question was what format. Pre-roll ads (where the ad plays before the main video) are common, but tend to piss off viewers. Post roll isn’t as effective because they’ve already watched the content. So, Google decided to do something a little different with Youtube – trying to satisfy their viewers.
Embedded Video Ads
Their new format will slide in an ad from the bottom of the video about 10 seconds into the clip. It overlays right on top of the video. If you click on the ad, it will pause the video and show the advertisement. When you close the ad, the video will continue playing. Here is a video which demonstrates the new format.
Viewers Respond
Just looking at that one video, you can get a sense for the polarizing effect this has had on Youtube viewers. Such as:
whats the big deal. tiny ad and it disappeared.. compare that with the shit that yahoo makes you watch 40 secs between each vid. Google paid 1.6B for utube they should make some money of their investment
and
I gotta’ agree here. As if “Just a small percentage of viewing space” isn’t a big deal. It is a big deal. I don’t want ads invading the pleasure of viewing videos on youtube. It’s obtrusive and annoying.
VideoEgg Responds
VideoEgg is a competitor to Youtube, and they have responded by saying Youtube is copying their ad format. And check out the VideoEgg site to see that they have backed up that story with a HUGE kick in Youtube’s nads.
Take that, Youtube.
Will Youtube Share?
The question I have is whether Youtube will issue payments to publishers, similar to what they do for Adsense. I really think they should.
The Art of Evangelism – Guy Kawasaki at Gnomedex
Guy Kawasaki is the original tech evangelist online. He came to Gnomedex and did a great talk. Guy is a fantastic speaker. He knows what he’s talking about, and he communicates in a clear and humorous way. He had the crowd in stitches several times. The topic of his talk? The Art of Evangelism.
The word “evangelism” comes from a Greek word meaning “Bringing the good news”. A tech evangelist is a person who promotes and talks about technology, usually new technology. What’s interesting to me is if you Google search for “tech evangelist”, you see a lot of the names pop up who are here at Gnomedex. So, Guy defined 11 points to the art of successful evangelism:
- Make Meaning
- Make Mantra. It is a huge mistake to create a “mission statement”. Huge buzzwords, and they mean nothing and generally suck. Guy gave the example of the mission statement of Wendys. It reads: “The mission of Wendy’s is to deliver superior quality products and services for our customer and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships.” OK, it’s buzzword heavy, but seriously, has any trip to Wendy’s had you thinking of these words? Probably not. If anything, I’m thinking “this looks nothing like I see on TV”. Guy says to, instead, use 2 or 3 words. Wendy’s would then read: “Healthy fast food”. Nike: “Authentic athletic performance”. Fedex: “”Peace of Mind”. Ebay: “Democratization of Commerce”. Check out the Dilbert Mission Statement Generator for a good laugh.
- Roll the DICEE. Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Elegant (like Apple), Emotive. Guy’s golden touch: “Whatever is gold, Guy touches”. Make something work evangelizing.
- Niche Thyself. You don’t want to do what everybody else does. You also don’t want to do what nobody is doing because it won’t make any money (in other words, it’s stupid). Instead, you want to do something that nobody else is doing, but truly offers value to the user and is, thus, worth money.
- Let a hundred flowers blossom. Meaning, make it flexible and don’t build yourself into a box.
- Make it personal. Ever think about HP’s recent ad campaign that reads: “The PC is Personal Again”?
- Find the true influencers. The higher you go in an organization, the thinner the air. Find the TRUE influencers, which is usually the people further down the hierarchy. Bloggers, anyone?
- Enable test drives. You WANT people to test your products and your ideas.
- Look for agnostics, not atheists. In other words, you can’t necessarily sell to somebody who is against the concept, but you can sell to somebody who is not familiar with it at all or is a bit of a doubter.
- Provide a slippery slope. Allow your product to lead into others. Easily.
- Don’t let the bozos grind you down. There are going to be some who say you are dumb for doing what you’re doing. Guy brought up a quote of his own when he turned down an opportunity to interview for the CEO position of a little known company called Yahoo. Yeah, that worked out.
Lastly, when it comes to developing a new product, Guy has a very memorable motto: “Don’t Worry be Crappy”. In other words, don’t wait to launch. All first products have some bugs. People will accept some bugs for something innovative. If you wait until everything is perfect, others will surpass you quickly.
While Robert Steele brought Gnomedex 2007 out of the gates with an overly political, pompous smart-ass soapbox speech, Guy Kawasaki made a truly useful speech which was a real pleasure to listen to.
I'm David Risley. I've been making my living as a blogger for over a decade. Blogging is my business and how I support my family. With this blog, I'm just gettin' REAL and telling you how this business works. 
