Every year there are studies of leading web sites to see how close they are getting to providing a good experience for their users. Every year, major businesses and well known brands are criticised in a range of studies for not making their web sites usable. So it comes as no surprise to learn that the latest research from WebCredible has shown that few of the main retailers have produced web sites that work. The research shows that Marks & Spencer has the most usable online retail web site, but Woolworths and WHSmith score poorly in comparison. The main criticism of online retailers is that it's not easy for users to find things, particularly they are not able to track their shopping as they travel around the web sites. Marks & Spencer makes this much easier for people, but is still far from perfect, even though it's judged to be the top site. For instance, my own analysis shows that M&S doesn't have a clear focus for its online shop, the colouring isn't what users would expect, so the instant impact is that it isn't the M&S shop. Given that people make up their mind whether or not to give a web site "a go" within 50 milliseconds, M&S is probably losing out on people before they've even got into whether or not the site is usable. The same us true for many of the other sites checked out by WebCredible. So what does this tell us about online retailers? Essentially, they still haven't grasped what they need to do to succeed online.

Labels: internet, shopping

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One of the difficulties that governments face is that the global nature of the Internet makes their job more difficult. Even in relatively open societies like the USA and the UK, it's possible for governments to exert some control over their citizens using taxation policies, for instance. However, with the existence of the Internet governments are being frustrated at every turn. How does the UK government, for instance, legislate for online activities that actually take place elsewhere in the world? How does the Australian government collect income taxes on revenue generated by a Sydney-based business where the money was raised and spent in the USA? Governments are grappling with such issues and finding it difficult. Some people are living entirely online with all income being generated outside their tax system and being spent outside it. Add to this the fact that barriers are being broken down. People in some countries are beginning to discover that those in power have lied to them in order to control them; some people are learning that other religious beliefs exist, for the first time. Such knowledge and information sharing is changing the way societies work. And governments don't like that. So, consider how governments will react to the latest development from Canadian scientists. They have come up with a way of circumventing government imposed Internet censorship. Some countries restrict Internet access, but with this new technology that will be possible to get round. This will open the floodgates to change within restricted societies and will mean dramatic changes worldwide. It will eventually lead to the end of government as we know it today.

Labels: future, politics

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At November 29, 2006 1:20 AM  Jeremycj said…

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Have you noticed how you always seem to see the same names and faces on the Internet?

Why is it that all these top gurus seem to have a closed-door “Internet Marketing Country Club” and HOW did they break into this club?

It’s easy to stand on the outside and think that these guys have somehow just magically worked their way into this small group based on who they know or some special sort of handshake. But the fact of the matter is that this “inner circle” of Internet marketers are no different to you.

The only key difference is that they have followed a SPECIFIC SET OF STEPS to become more and more successful to become part of “The Internet Marketing Country Club”. And that’s the important thing about making it BIG online - it’s not a total coincidence. It’s not down to luck..

..it’s down to someone following a SPECIFIC RECIPE! You can follow simple instructions can’t you? Then you can be super-successful online, it is that EASY.

You can discover EXACTLY what these STEPS are in this FREE Report “The Internet Marketing Country Club”;

http://www.internetmarketingcountryclub.com

Labels: internet marketing

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As if the power of Google, MySpace and other big players isn't enough to convince you of the need for user-generated content, consider a report in this week's New Media Age magazine. A report on page 6 is headlined News International seeks user content for new free-paper site. The story goes on to report the fact that The London Paper is focusing on user-generated content for its online edition. According to the paper's online editor, James Law, they want to steer away from merely repeating the content of the printed newspaper. User-generated content allows them to do just that.

Labels: user-generated

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Reuters, the world's leading financial information and news organisation, has just invested $7m in blogging. They have announced that they are to use the services of Pluck, providing the outputs of blogs as part of their news service. The fact that such a respected news information organisation like Reuters is going to use blogs as part of its output should be a signal to us all as to the value of blogging. If you are not blogging, you are nowhere on the Internet these days.

Labels: blogging, internet

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If your web site doesn't include the option for user-generated content, the chances are it won't be the kind of web site that is required in the near future. Up until recently the web was one-way - someone published a web site and someone else read it. Now, new technologies mean that the web can become two-way, with users adding material to your web site. Because some of the most popular web sites involve a great deal of user-generated material, many Internet users are becoming used to adding material to other people's web sites. If your web site doesn't allow user-generated content, fairly soon you will be seen as out of date, past it, non accessible.

As an example, Amazon allows users to generate content in the form of reviews and book lists. MySpace, Technorati and DiggIt are all entirely user-generated. Google is almost entirely user-generated. And look at what Google is cooking up for the future - almost everything in its labs section is devoted to user-generated content. This should be telling you something. It should be pointing out that those people who look to the future of the Internet believe that user-generated content is the way to go. If you don't cotton on to that thought, your web site may have no future.

Labels: user-generated

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As the Christmas trading season takes force online, retailers are being urged to ensure their web sites don’t annoy visitors. So what’s  the most annoying thing you can do? Add a pop-up advert. According to research from Taylor Nelson, 84% of people find pop-ups “extremely annoying”. Dead links are also a source of significant annoyance as is content that is out of date, slow loading pages and a lack of contact information. These are things that many web sites appear not to worry about, instead focusing their efforts on good design. But the Taylor Nelson study shows that poor design is one of the least annoying things of all. In other words, what this study shows is that you need to get the content right,  not the design.

Labels: internet, shopping

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I was chatting with Karen Skidmore today and we were discussing why women don’t take part in Internet activities as much as men do. I know that’s a sweeping generalisation but we agreed that on business sites, such as Ecademy, the bulk of the discussion is performed by men. Then we looked at Bounty which is frequented by first-time mums. This has an active and thriving online community, in spite of the fact that the participants must have more on their mind (with a young baby in hand) than contributing to an Internet site. So what gives women the incentive to take part in Bounty, but not Ecademy? For one, Bounty is clearly more “feminine” in its colours and approach. Ecademy is black and blue and very masculine in look and feel – in spite of the fact that it was invented by a woman (Penny Power). The fact that there are lots of men contributing in a very manly way, may also be a disincentive to women on web sites that include both genders. On Bounty, it’s clearly a women’s club, so perhaps they chat more freely because men are not taking part. Whatever the actual reasons behind the difference between Ecademy and Bounty, one thing is clear. If you are setting up a web site where you want involvement from as many people as possible, you need to take into account gender issues.

Labels: internet, user-generated

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If you needed any more evidence that the intermediary market is disappearing, you only need to look at the latest info from Hilton Hotels. The company has just reported that it expects to get $2.5b in online bookings for this year, compared with just over $700m four years ago. The Internet is now the single biggest source of bookings for the Hilton Group. However, tucked away in the Hilton report is the fact that the number of bookings coming through third party agencies has remained flat at merely 3% of bookings. So, in spite of the huge growth of online agencies for the hotel and travel markets, they appear to have done little to boost the bookings. What this means is that such intermediaries are spreading their available business more thinly. Most people booking hotels now go direct to the hotel web site, assuming they are a big brand. Where the intermediaries can do well, in the short term, is in the private hotel sector. But as online branding and search improves, the need for such agencies will inevitably diminish. The Hilton report shows us that with good branding you don’t need intermediaries any more, unlike the days of offline only business where they were essential.

Labels: future, internet

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I'm currently at the Professional Speakers Association's annual congress at The Belfry. Two speakers today have confirmed something that many web site owners don't appear to know. And that is the fact that people connect to what you say and what you write at the emotional level. They might justify their reaction in logical terms, but tons of research shows that people connect to you emotionally. So if your web site doesn't trigger some emotion, you probably aren't connecting well enough. Check your web site for it's emotional value; otherwise you won't really be getting through to people will you?

Labels: internet, speaking

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Clearly plenty of people believe the Internet has potential. That’s obvious from the latest Netcraft survey which reveals there are now more than 100 million domains listed on the Web. However, the survey also shows that the vast majority of those (around 60%) are inactive. Over 60 million domain names have been bought but have yet to be turned into active web sites. Either people are buying the names in the hope they will use them one day, or they are buying them and have yet to get around to do anything with them. Possibly, with that many unused domain names around, people have even forgotten they own them. But it’s a curious survey isn’t it? Why do so many domain names get bought, yet are not turned into web sites? Laziness? Forgetfulness? Too busy to do anything with them? Who knows.

Labels: internet

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Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, is concerned that if the development of the Internet is left unchecked it could lead to the spread of misinformation. Some would say that is already happening. You can find plenty of web sites that are blatantly untrue; you can even find people hiding behind false identities so they are more able to spread such negativity. Even so, Sir Tim wants to set up a research project to look into such issues.

There is no doubt that the Internet will see radical transformations in society. For instance, political systems are currently battling away to stay in power in spite of the breakdown of international barriers. Old regimes are fighting hard against the influx of new ideas. Taxation systems are being bolstered against the possibilities of international trading without barriers. People are becoming more connected than ever before; in the past most people could count around 100 friends and acquaintances, now younger people are counting them in their tens of thousands. And the way we think is changing – people expect instant answers, rather than having to wait. Plus our behaviour is altering; we spend more time connected via a computer which we use as an extension of our brain.

Clearly human society and behaviour is on the cusp of significant change – probably the most significant change since our ancestors got up from all fours and started walking on two legs. Wouldn’t it be fascinating to come back in 1,000 years time to see what the impact had been? And whether or not Sir Tim’s research project had been influential in avoiding the potential problems he foresaw.

Labels: internet, politics

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Like it or not, your business will have to change. That’s because human behaviour changes from time to time, even though the fundamentals remain the same. In a new report out today on TV watching habits, there’s an interesting nugget in the details. It seems that 28% of teenagers watch TV online - and most of what they watch is news. But why they watch online, rather than on a TV set is interesting. They prefer using the computer than a TV set. One of the reasons behind that is the fact they can skip the ads. As these teens grow up, TV companies will have to provide more of their output via the Web – and they’ll have to discover new revenue streams other than advertising. They may not want to, but their audiences will dictate that happens.

Labels: internet

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At February 07, 2008 12:58 PM  kalwar.g said…

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Once again, Google is showing us the future of the Internet. Today it seems that Google has bought JotSpot. This is a “wiki” gadget - essentially it allows your visitors to create your web site. It’s used by many big players on the Internet. For instance, Ebay uses JotSpot to allow Ebayers to contribute articles on how to make money online, get the best prices in auctions and so on.

Google’s purchase of JotSpot shows the way Google is thinking. They have already bought YouTube, the social video service. Now with JotSpot, it shows that Google clearly believes the future of the Internet is in user-created content.

That has significant implications for businesses, particularly large firms. Once everyone gets used to the idea of user-created content they will expect every web site to have such capabilities. That means corporations will need to open up their web site to creation of content by their customers. Within a couple of years the days of companies being in control of their online content will be disappearing rapidly. Businesses need to start thinking now about how they will manage their organisations in the era of customer controlled marketing, for instance.

Labels: future

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The days of mass audiences are over. I remember as a child when a typical TV programme would get 15m viewers mid-week, sometimes 20m. The BBC used to attract around 12m people to its Radio One breakfast show. Almost half the nation used to listen to Noel Edmonds in the mornings. We saw the break up of mass audiences with the introduction of Satellite TV in the UK. Instead of having to reach mass audiences, the BSkyB network can make money by having hundreds of channels that reach smaller audiences. You still get your millions of viewers, but in chunks, rather than all together.

The Internet has further demonstrated the value of going for the small audience. Your average retail store has limited shelf space and so can only stock a small range of items. Even large hypermarkets don’t have enough shelf space to put on sale everything that’s available. Plus there is the distribution difficulty of getting all the products to all the outlets. The Long Tail, by Chris Anderson, clearly points this out. If you haven’t read this book and you are running any kind of online business, you need to!

But I was reminded of this book when I spoke at a meeting yesterday where one member of the audience was concerned their product was too narrowly focused. Ideal, I said. Internet businesses need to think of supplying thousands of very narrow niches, rather than trying to aim for the mass audience. Mass marketing is dead.

Labels: future, internet, speaking

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