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Friday, May 11th, 2012
Mozilla, creators of popular internet browser Firefox, claim Microsoft is restricting user choice in Windows 8, by only supporting Internet Explorer.
In a potential online PR disaster for Microsoft, both Mozilla and Google have raised public concerns about the future of Windows operating systems.
Harvey Anderson, from Mozilla’s general counsel, claims Microsoft will return Windows 8 users to the “digital dark ages”, when only Internet Explorer was available to navigate the web.
Anderson says Microsoft is refusing to allow Firefox, Chrome, or indeed any other browser to work on its new operating system, which will be loaded on ARM processor chips.
Mozilla claims Microsoft is planning for its new Windows RT (Windows running on ARM) to run in two environments – a ‘Classic’ mode, and a ‘Metro’ mode which will run apps.
“However, Windows on ARM prohibits any browser except for Internet Explorer from running in the privileged ‘Windows Classic’ environment,” Anderson said. “In practice, this means that only Internet Explorer will be able to perform many of the advanced computing functions vital to modern browsers in terms of speed, stability, and security, to which users have grown accustomed.
“Given that IE can run in Windows on ARM, there is no technical reason to conclude other browsers can’t do the same.”
Anderson said the decision would restrict user choice whilst also killing competition and innovation.
“We encourage Microsoft to remain firm on its user choice principles. Excluding third-party browsers contradicts Microsoft’s own published Principles, that users and developers have relied upon for years,” he said.
Anderson’s comments may hit home hard with Microsoft, which has already faced antitrust action in the past. Back in 2001, DOJ vs Microsoft saw the firm forced to allow PC sellers to include non-Microsoft software on new computers. The European Commission was also involved, leading to Windows users being given a choice of browsers in Europe.
Google has backed Mozilla’s concerns. A spokesman told V3: “We share the concerns Mozilla has raised… we’ve always welcomed innovation in the browser space across all platforms, and strongly believe that having great competitors makes us all work harder.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in Search Engine Marketing & Internet Marketing.
Tags: ARM, Browsers, chrome, Classic mode, Firefox, internet, Metro mode, Microsoft, mobile, mozilla, online, search, Windows, windows 8, windows RT
Posted in Online PR (Public Relations)
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Friday, March 16th, 2012
Search engine giant Google is set to tweak its algorithm to improve its semantic search results.
Google is hoping to make its results more informative and useful for mobile users, and those using voice recognition technology.
Amit Singhal, from Google, revealed that upcoming algorithm changes will focus on semantic search tweaks.
Industry experts have postulated that Google’s focus on semantic search ties to the launch of the Google Assistant – which will allow Android users to make voice-activated search queries, much like Apple’s Siri feature.
Google has already introduced some semantic results: if a user asks “How tall is the London Eye?” the top result answers the question with “Best guess for London Eye height is 135 metres” – using aggregated information from trusted sources like Wikipedia.
Type “weather”, and the first result will show the latest forecasts.
The move is particularly useful for mobile web users, as it provides instantaneous answers without the need to trawl through websites. For queries on-the-go, semantic makes the search process smoother and more refined. For voice queries, it ensures a useful result is returned.
Google has led the way for search algorithm – constantly tweaking its site to return more relevant, higher quality and specific results. Its search technology already knows to look for synonyms (motor and auto, for instance) – but semantic will take this a step further: by essentially guessing why the user has made a specific search query.
By analysing billions of daily searches, Google is building a “Knowledge Graph”: a database with some 200 million entries that will help to track how searchers use results data, so the results can be made more relevant.
Of course, it will be some time before the technology becomes smart enough to react to queries like a human might – but these changes will certainly make mobile internet navigation more simple.
By displaying direct answers internally, instead of returning external pages, Google is, however, essentially positioning itself as a one-stop Internet shop. Whereas users now will initially go to Google to find web pages to comb for further information, semantic results will, to some extent, negate the need to do this.
Internalising information to Google could have repercussions for search engine optimisation strategies. For precedent, Rupert Murdoch already signalled disdain with Google News search results returning “copyrighted” content from the Sun and the Times.
News Corp’s way of dealing with Google republishing stories in its News results was swift, and expensive: paywalls.
Some trusted information sites are unlikely to oppose to Google cutting out the middle man for organic queries. But this won’t be the case across the board. How those sites react to semantic search remains to be seen: as well as how Google manages this process.
News brought to you by ClickThrough – a best practice Internet Marketing Agency.
Tags: apple, data, Google, google assistant, mobile, query, results, search, semantic, SEO, siri, voice search
Posted in Search Engine Optimisation
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Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
Location check-in service Gowalla has shut down.
The move comes just three months after leading social network Facebook subsumed Gowalla’s staff.
The closure comes as Facebook looks to increase and improve location-based services on its site: as rival check-in site FourSquare continues to grow in popularity.
As if sharing what you had for lunch with the world wasn’t enough on your social network of choice, the rise of location services like Gowalla and FourSquare allowed you to tell everyone exactly whereabouts you’d eaten, too.
“Checking in” was originally seen as a faddy addendum to social media – a kind of show off’s travel diary, a way of localising yourself more urgently and definitively than simply saying “stuffing my gob with McDonald’s” in a status update.
FourSquare and Gowalla both caused a few ripples of concern at launch: several national newspapers sent reporters to try to track down FourSquare users based purely on public information from the app, and their social media profiles. Unsurprisingly, it worked: and very quickly too.
Despite the initial concerns, though, location check-in services burgeoned in popularity, with FourSquare fast becoming the global check-in service of choice for anyone unconcerned about signposting the best times for burglars to pop round.
Both services went live in 2009, but FourSquare’s position became unassailable, leaving rival Gowalla having to refocus its service time and again.
Despite losing ground to FourSquare, Gowalla was still seen as a tempting acquisition: Facebook eventually subsumed Gowalla’s team, including co-founders Josh Williams and Scott Raymond, in December last year.
The Gowalla team is now working on Facebook’s own location check-in services. Whilst mobile users have been able to use an internal Facebook app to geolocate themselves since 2010, the network is looking to increase its locational offerings, including check-in deals with retailers.
Visitors to Gowalla’s homepage are now met with a short thank-you message: “Thank you for going out with Gowalla. It was a pleasure to journey with you around the world. Download your check-ins, photos and lists here soon.”
News brought to you by ClickThrough – experts in SEO, Pay Per Click Services, Multilingual Search Marketing and Website Conversion Enhancement services.
Tags: app, check-in, facebook, foursquare, gowalla, location, mobile, photos, travel
Posted in Social Media Marketing
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Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
We spoke previously about how to make more of mobile marketing, so let’s look at yet more methods which you could be using to get more traffic to your websites, social networking pages, and to your bricks and mortar stores.
QR codes, which we have written about previously, have a mixed press. As they have become more popular, so have the types of QR code and number of readers increased, until there is no standard and this has caused customer confusion. However, judging by the fact that even shopping channels on TV are now adding QR codes, there is still mileage in making information available by a QR code.
You need a smartphone in order to be able to read a QR code, so be aware when using them that you are targeting only those with smartphones. This is a growing percentage of the population though and it is going to become increasingly likely that those without a smartphone are not as inspired by the digital world as those who find them essential.
QR codes can be used in a huge variety of ways and there are some excellent websites which cover news and reviews of QR codes, such as Anise Smith’s QR Scoop.it
Google+ has also made life easy for mobile users from day 1 of the field test, with apps for Android and iPhone, and now additional facilities such as being able to join a Hangout from a mobile. This is a great way to engage with mobile users. For some, it may be the novelty of being able to get involved in something that is outside of their previous experience, but for others the ease of access wherever they find themselves when the Hangout is ongoing may fire the enthusiasm to join in.
Hangouts can have infinite purposes and it is worth considering how you could use the Mobile side of Hangouts to reach out to your own customers.
As with both QR codes and Hangouts, one of the side effects of using such features is that you are upskilling your customer base. Whilst these may seem to be features that at present only early adopters and adept smartphone users may understand, the simplicity of use and the additional benefits you can offer – discounts, one to one interviews, direct feedback to your company, focus groups, special offers, etc – will encourage your audience to try them if you provide sufficient motivation to make the effort.
Let us know how you get on!
Tags: engaging users, hangouts, mobile, qr codes, smartphones, upskilling
Posted in Blog, Mobile Search
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Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
There seems to be a fear, not just in major brands but also in SMEs, about mobile marketing. We all relate to the subject based on how we feel about our mobile phones. Just ask around the office right now, or your family, how they feel about marketing messages on their mobiles, and you will see where this fear could stem from. For the vast majority of people, receiving a marketing message on your mobile is a no-no.
However, mobile marketing is not just about sending a text/SMS to a willing (or unwilling) recipient. Mobile marketing needs to be thought of as a far broader church. Once you understand what a mobile phone is capable of, and how your potential audience are most likely to use theirs, then you can target your actions appropriately.
For instance, SMEs, retail outlets and rural businesses should all be at the least listed on Foursquare. This is one of those discrete and gentle touches with mobile marketing and geolocation. A simple sticker in your window, register your venue/outlet/premises on the Foursquare site, and offer a Mayoral prize each week to attract customers to check in.
You can take this further by organising flash mobs at your venue or shop and offering a special FourSquare badge or similar to those who attend. Tie this in with a Tweet-up and people will hang around that much longer. And spend, remember, talk, tweet about the event etc. Don’t forget a good hashtag for Twitter….
Apps are of course the big thing and generally these fall into three main courts – iPhone, Blackberry and Android. Whatever you do with mobile marketing should try to reach all the bodies of smartphone users, or risk alienating those who are left out.
Starting with the simplest type of engagement, you can encourage people to take photos either of your venue, products or for a themed competition. Add a little creativity, such as encouraging instant uploads with Instagram, or composing them into Photograms, and almost anyone with a camera phone and an app can enter.
Perhaps this is where many people fall down in the definition of ‘marketing’. It is no longer simply push marketing that is required, but now, especially with social networks, pull marketing with heavy consumer engagement is equally as important.
So, it is no longer about billboards and TV adverts that force feed the information about a product to the consumer, but very much more about dialogue, engagement and consumer interaction.
What else can you do with mobile marketing? What are you doing with mobile marketing that you feel others couldn/should be doing too?
Tags: android, apps, blackberry, engagement, flashmob, foursquare, geolocation, instagram, interaction, iphone, location, marketing, mobile, photogram, pull, push, smartphone, text, tweetup
Posted in Blog, Mobile Search, Social Media, Tips & Tricks
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Monday, September 19th, 2011
Mobile Commerce
Google Wallet, a tap and pay mechanism for smartphones, has been in testing for a while but rumours are circulating on Twitter that the official launch date may be September 19th.
At present, Google Wallet only works on the Nexus Android smartphone which is only available in the USA, but if Google wish to corner the pay-by-phone mobile commerce market, then it is likely that it will soon be available across more Android models. Mastercard are involved in the Google Wallet project and so the endeavour is likely to seek global adoption.
What does this mean for businesses? If you have been focusing more on social media than what is happening with mobile marketing, it may be time to begin to look at the opportunities which mobile marketing presents, and more importantly, what is up and coming with M-Commerce.
Whilst many retail locations have got in on the Foursquare and Gowalla geolocation marketing, there is still a level of trepidation and uncertainty surrounding more direct mobile marketing. Obviously, the major concern is that it could be all too easy to slip up and be accused of spamming mobile users and/or targeting the wrong market by not fully understanding the process.
However, understanding mobile marketing is one thing, but grasping how to best engage with your potential customers once you have attracted them to your shop or website is of at least equal importance. Whether it is making it simple to add products to a shopping list using a mobile app barcode scanner, or making it really easy to pay using a smartphone, e.g. by incorporating a Google Wallet type idea into the shopping experience, generating sales has to be on the radar!
Although it will take time for smartphone payment apps and M-Commerce to reach mass market, the probably imminent launch of Google Wallet means that you should start looking at how this will affect your business, and how you can maximise sales potential from mobile marketing and payments by keeping an eye on forthcoming product launches such as Google Wallet and other M-Commerce solutions.
Tags: Google, marketing, mcommerce, mobile, payments, wallet
Posted in Blog, E-Commerce, Google, SEM Industry
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Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
I’d like to lay a bet that this summer location based services and mobile search hit the ground running. However, they can only achieve the potential offered if companies actually use location based tools, apps and services to reach the target audiences.
I am going to pick on a single event, and hopefully illustrate how it can benefit local companies and their customers.
#R1BW.
This is due to be held in Carlisle. Interestingly, looking at Twitter, a large proportion of those who applied for, and then won, tickets are unsure of where Carlisle (or even Cumbria) is.
Enter location based marketing. Hotels, hostals, campsites, breakfast vans, police, ambulance, hospitals. Trains, taxis, private hire, buses. Radio stations, press. An umpteenitude of services will surely be required?
Think that 40,000 people don’t need something from you over a long weekend? OK, if you aren’t willing to spot the gap in the market for your products, then make room for all those who will be selling merchandise, sorting out luxury tepees in Brampton, running taxis etc.
Location based marketing could well come of age this summer as more and more people rely on their smartphones for information rather than asking those passing in the street. People will resort to the Net for solutions.
As we move into festival season, and despite the recession, we will find more and more of the 18-35 demographic seeking solutions online from their newly found homes [read: fields].
Is your company listed online in as many places as possible for your target audience to find you? Are you cross-linking between local companies and chambers of trade for maximum effect?
Just because you only sell suckling pigs to the trade near Carlisle, Glastonbury, Reading etc, don’t assume that you may not have a market….Ditto if you sell hot air balloon rides, late night limos, or half days on your farm. Each of the latter may seem unlikely landing points for a festival-related search, and yet each of the above may bring you customers during an event where people have travelled from far and wide and intend to have a ‘holiday’.
Locating yourself on the map could be the best thing you have done for years. Making your website user-friendly, mobile friendly and with a clear ‘market place’ of your offerings, could bring you in those bookings that capitalise on an event near you, with very little expenditure on your behalf.
And don’t forget offers on Foursquare and Gowalla as well as checking the hashtags for major events near you that you could benefit from by engaging in any conversations on Twitter.
Tags: foursquare, gowalla, location based, maps, marketing, mobile, smartphones, twitter
Posted in Blog, Small Business Resources, Social Media, Tips & Tricks
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Friday, November 21st, 2008
A new Ofcom report out this week highlights the fact that the UK is fast becoming an advanced digital nation.
Firstly, in adoption and use of new technologies, Ofcom reports that the UK consumers are embracing new digital services, as well as being prolific in their uses of mobile phones, both for calls, texts and now mobile broadband. It is becoming increasingly important to ensure that your website works on mobile platforms, as we have posted about previously.
Although ad revenues for TV are down, and now are being overtaken by subscriptions, the shift for advertising has been to online strategies.
£1 in every £5 of ad spend is now online, making internet marketing in the UK one of the highest in the countries surveyed, and up by a third on 2006. For anyone still unsure about where to put their marketing budget for 2009, this type of research surely makes it a no brainer! Call your Internet Marketing company today!
Tags: IM, mobile, UK
Posted in Mobile Search, SEM Industry, Stats & Trends
