Just over New Year’s Microsoft experienced an epic failure when their Zune mp3 players automatically shut down, turning millions of their 30G products into paperweights.
On New Year’s Eve, we ran a quick Insight on the failure to see what the Internets were saying about the Zune blackout.
In our half-day at the office on New Year’s Eve, we pulled in 154 Nodes. These are the 100 most frequent words used among those Nodes.
Words like “time,” “help,” “today” and “currently” suggest the immediacy of the problem. While words like “frozen,” “support,” and “screen” give insight to the nature of the problem.
People also compared the Zune to its competition, the iPhone and iPod. Of the 154 Nodes, 93 mention the Zune and 50 mention Apple, iPod or iPhone.
A new article in AdWeek paints a desolate landscape for Web and brand ads in 2009, basically saying video and social networking CPMs will tank.
Unlike several industry observers who in recent weeks have cited online video as a strong spot in the online ad economy, Khan claims that the medium has yet to establish a sustainable business model, despite the massive growth in consumer consumption. Advertisers have “failed to understand the consumer demand,” said Khan during a conference call held Monday.
Because ROI is difficult to measure in the Web space, I can understand why J.P. Morgan’s report comes to these conclusions. BUT…
I see this as a perfect time to invest in solid resources that give you a clear, accurate look at your reach on the Web.
Spark has the capability to do this, especially when it comes to monitoring the success of online video.
From our dashboard, you can track views, comments, ratings and votes dating back for two months. You can read uncensored comments and see exactly what other sites are linking to a video.
It’s easy to monitor something labeled as “risky” when you have the proper resources. It’s time for companies to make an effort to understand how online content works.
JCPenney has this cute video for the holidays. My friend Todd sent it to me after I suggested getting my mom a cleaning lady for Christmas (without any sarcasm!)
Notice it has nearly 300,000 views. They even have a cute Web site that goes along with it.
SNL has seen plenty of Web success since the 2008 Presidential Election.
During the election, America saw a revival of Saturday Night Live. But most Americans didn’t watch Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin on TV - they saw it online.
Posting videos clips from shows or commercials can be profitable, especially on YouTube.
According to the New York Times, only three percent of the videos on YouTube are profiting through their partner program… but those that are making money could be stacking cash to the ceiling.
YouTube declined to comment on how much money partners earned on average, partly because advertiser demand varies for different kinds of videos. But a spokesman, Aaron Zamost, said “hundreds of YouTube partners are making thousands of dollars a month.” At least a few are making a full-time living: Mr. Buckley said he was earning over $100,000 from YouTube advertisements.
Spark makes tracking online video simple. For most video sites, we embed the video and related statistics directly in the Site Details page.
You can monitor your online video efforts and UGC without leaving our application.
Recent Forrester research says that attempts at blogging in the corporate world are an epic fail when it comes to gaining consumer trust.
Most company blogs remain stale, lifeless, selfish attempts at public relations. I feel like many corporate blogs (Spiral16 excluded, of course) are glorified billboards.
Only 16 percent of consumers trust what they read on a corporate blog.
Who do consumers trust online? E-mail from friends and family ranked first at 77 percent, followed by reviews (think Amazon.com), search engines and social networks.
USA Today reported on Tuesday that the FCC will vote on nationwide, free broadband on Dec. 18 - the last FCC meeting before President-Elect Obama takes office.
If it passes, it will end two years of debates and free broadband could be a reality within a year.
How would it work? The FCC will auction off a chunk of currently idle airwaves. The auction winner must use 25 percent of those airwaves to provide free broadband, but can also provide faster speeds for a price.
The FCC would put some restrictions on the auction winner, including an adult content filter. You can remove the filter if you prove you are over age 18.
Giving every American free access to high-speed Internet would revolutionize information sharing and begin to close the technology gap between rich and poor, rural and (sub)urban.
Spark shows you the sentiment behind online conversations.
Stepping outside the comfortable corporate bubble to see the real-world conversations being had about your brand is tough. Accepting that you can’t control those conversations is tougher. Relinquishing message control to consumers is scary.
There are ways to help generate positive buzz, though. A new study shows that audiences like participating in brand-initiated user-generated content:
Twenty percent of young broadband users worldwide have already engaged in some form of it and another 30 percent say they plan to in the future.
The biggest draw for those willing to create content is free stuff. Duh. Swag can range from free dinner to more luxurious perks. AMC gave local bloggers a free movie and Current offers $2,500 for ads that air on their channel.
Positive influence comes with a price - a “what’s in it for me?” attitude - but the benefits could be priceless:
The technique is best used to enhance brand perception, the study reports. Indeed, brands can benefit from just asking consumers to participate in some form of UGC.
At Spiral16 we recognize the importance of online sentiment. That’s why one of the best features we offer is a sentiment monitoring tool. You can navigate directly to the good and bad in a matter of seconds. Perfect for monitoring the effects of UGC.
I have been using LinkedIn and Plaxo for a long time. It’s nice to see both sites start to understand the power of connections and external content.
LinkedIn added a new applications platform, so now - with the new WordPress feature - my network is able to see my updates as they’re posted. I can also add a presentation to my connections’ profiles using Google Docs Beta. I also recommend the CompanyBuzz application.
Maybe one day you will see a Spark app so you can do data analytics and virtualization of your own profile to see how it connects internally to LinkedIn and beyond.
If you’re sick of election posts… sorry. It’s all anyone is talking about today (other than Kansas State coach Ron Prince ain’t welcome no mo after Kansas destroyed his team last weekend).
Chances are you Googled something on Tuesday’s Hot Trends list. Google put together three blog posts (one, two, three) on the top searches for election day. Trends shifted throughout the day (from polling locations to exit poll results).
Here are some interesting trends, according to Whitney:
The Huffington Post and FiveThirtyEight.comwere two of the top political news outlets of the day. I wonder what will happen to the Huff’s traffic now that the election is ovah.
Chuck Norris and Tina Fey were in the top names searched (including Obama, McCain, Palin, Bristol Palin and Colin Powell)
Comedy Central’s Indecision 2008 was ranked among the major news networks.
Chicago-area residents searched for Metra Schedule information - maybe to get to that ginormous party in Grant Park. I know from experience that you always want to check the train schedule before you leave the house…
Toward midnight President Obama, Proposition 8 and CNN’s hologram technology were popular searches - as well as Obama jokes.
But how much of that material is legal to share with others?
When I went to vote, I was told to put my camera away. However, according to the Citizen Media Law Project, the law in Kansas doesn’t expressly prohibit cameras in polling places (same for Missouri).
I should’ve fought to keep my camera rolling… though it would be illegal for me to post a photo or video of a marked ballot.
Check the laws in your state before you share your content!
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So this is where you'll read about us, our product and some of the insane things we do that help us achieve excellence by the end of the work day.
Just over New Year’s Microsoft experienced an epic failure when their Zune mp3 players automatically shut down, turning millions of their 30G products into paperweights.
USA Today 
