Microsoft’s new search engine Bing continued to sees gains in US searcher penetration and share of search result pages during the second week after its public launch, according to a follow-up study on its performance by comScore, Inc.

The qSearch analysis revealed that Microsoft Sites’ average daily penetration among US searchers reached 16.7% during the work week of June 8-12, up three percentage points from 13.8% during the May 25-29 work week prior to Bing’s introduction.

Microsoft’s share of search result pages in the US, a proxy for overall search intensity, increased to 12.1% during the period of June 8-12, and also climbed three percentage points from the work week of May 25-29, 2009.

An earlier comScore analysis conducted during the first week after Bing’s public launch found that the new search engine’s average daily penetration was 15.5% and its share of search result pages was 11.1% during the period of June 2-6, 2009.

“It appears that Microsoft Bing has continued to generate interest from the market for the second consecutive week,” said Mike Hurt, comScore SVP. “These early data reflect a continued positive market reaction to Bing in the initial stages of its launch.”

The New York Post reported that Bing’s early success has “rattled” Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who is said to be leading a team of top engineers in a quest to discover how Bing’s algorithm works and to complete performance upgrades to the Google system.

Originally  posted on Marketing charts

Amazon.com Inc. is taking interactivity to a new level by challenging consumers to come up with a new television commercial. The “Your Amazon Ad Contest” invites consumers to create an Amazon television commercial and compete for $20,000 in Amazon.com gift cards.

Entries are due by July 17. An Amazon judging panel will review submissions and select five finalists based on creativity, overall appeal and the likelihood of inspiring viewers to shop with Amazon, says the company, which is No. 1 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Amazon is hoping to tap into its shoppers and their creative juices, such as the widely reported spoof customer reviews on Amazon.com extolling the virtues and benefits of Three Wolf Moon T-shirts, says Steve Shure, vice president of global marketing at Amazon.com.

Contest finalists will be announced Aug. 24 and from that date until Sept. 6 shoppers can view entries online and vote for the audience prize winner. An Amazon judging panel will select the jury prize winner and each winner will receive a $10,000 Amazon.com gift card. If the same entry wins both, the winner gets $20,000 in Amazon.com gift cards. The winners will be announced on Sept. 21 and also will receive travel and lodging for two to attend a U.S. film festival to be announced where their commercials will be screened.

Consumers can upload their submissions to Amazon.com/yaac or WithoutaBox.com, an independent film network acquired by Amazon through its subsidiary IMDb. Content must meet Amazon’s standard content guidelines and submissions must be suitable for family viewing on a national network.

Reposted from Internetretailer.com

Social networking among US broadband users has grown an impressive 93% since 2006, and has increased the amount of time people spend communicating online 18%, to 32% of total online time, according to a new report from Netpop Research, LLC that delves into social networking trends and habits. (from marketing charts )

How many of you have accounts with Facebook? How about Linked In?

Currently there are 6 Major social networks out there and more coming online monthly.

Largest Social Networks:

Facebook

Myspace

Linked In

Bebo

Friendster

Hi5

Catching up quickly, Twitter and Blogcatalog

Technorati Tags: Bebo, Friendster, Hi5, Linked In, Social Networking Grows

I have been asked this question a few times in the past couple of weeks. “Is Selling on auction sites a waste of my time?”

My answer is not only NO, but HECK NO!

These sites are alive and kicking. With all the economic problems around the world, people are looking more now for a great deal than ever before. If you are looking for a great way to sell some stuff and make some extra cash, then start selling on ebay and overstock.com.

How to do market research for selling on auctions.

You have probably learned buy now that you cant just throw somthing up and hope that it sells. A little market reasearch is important. This means that you need to look at the supply, demand and avalability!

Supply – How many people are selling what I am interested in selling.

Demand – How many people are actually looking for what I want to sell.

Availability – Can I get the product I want to sell at a low enough price to make it worth it to sell.

Terapeak.com is service that will show you the supply and demand of a product selling on eBay.  It has a free service that works well enough for most people.

Auctiva.com Allows you to create awesome ebay listings without all of the extra added charges from eBay.

Wanna see the stats of how much traffic these sites get?

Compete.com

71,976,753 ebay last month unique visitors

7,410,121 overstock.com last month unique vistiors

That is a lot of people if you ask me!

NOW! get out there and make some sales. We all need to do our part to stimulate the economy!

Don’t wait for the OBAMA Bail OUT. Make it happen now!

Technorati Tags: economic problems, overstock.com, selling on ebay, waste of my time

The length of a string of words in the average US search request is on the rise, with longer search queries – averaging five or more words in length – this is a huge increase of 10% in January ‘09 vs. January ‘08, according to Hitwise.

The most notable change was in search queries that were eight or more words. These have increase over 20%. For the same time period, and shorter search requests have gone down.

So what is this telling us? People are getting m0re specific in the requests. They want more specific restultzzs.

If you are a online marketer or are looking for a company to work with you on the ways of the internet. You should check services offered by Resultzzs.com They will be able to show you the path!

A good friend of mine is about to “retire”, well at least that is what he says. Aussie Rodney is finally to a point in his life where he is ready for a change. Ok, so you are asking your self what is this all about?

Well here goes, you have heard of the Geek Squad and I’m sure you have seen the ever so popular T.V show “CHUCK: with there NERD HERD. Well now there is an Aussie Version, the “Geek in a Bus” couldn’t think of a catchy title.

Aussie Rodney’s Outback IT SERVICES!!!

Imagine covering an area of Continental USA, north & west from Dallas, in a motor home or converted bus, providing a personalized network and PC repair service to anyone & everyone, wherever they are in Australia.

What a great excuse to visit a remote cattle station!

Will this do for transport?  http://rvpoint.com.au/DesktopDefault.aspx?ItemID=3038163&TabID=205104

Downunder IT Services

Good Luck Rodney!

Technorati Tags: australia, nerd herd, outback

What is a gravatar?

A gravatar, or Globally Recognized AVATAR , simply an (avatar image)  that follows you from blog to blog appearing beside your name when you comment on gravatar enabled sites. Avatars help identify your posts on web forums, so why not on blogs?

This is a really easy way to brand your company or self as you leave comments in forums and on blogs.

You guys know what an icon is RIGHT? well and avatar is pretty much the same thing.

How do I set up a gravatar?

Well,  you will either take a picture of your self or create an image.

Facebook Sample Gravatar

This is a great example of a very professional looking gravatar.

Personal Sample Gravatar

Here is a awesome example of using some abstract photography to make a gravatar.

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After choosing a photo, go to gravatar.com
Click sign up, it is located at the top of the page – really tiny text!

They will ask you to upload an image. The only thing you need to worry about is that the image is square.

If it is rectangle it makes it a bit more difficult to use their cropping  tool. After the image is uploaded the next screen will help you to crop the image, it will show what you uploaded and it will be slightly grayed out with a box over the top. Just grab the corners of that box to show what you want in the avatar. Once you are done hit the crop button everything else will be cut out and you will be left with your avatar.

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Why do I want a gravatar?

Well when ever you leave a comment on a blog you sign it with your email address. If you sign it with the email address connect to your Gravatar it will display that gravatar next to your comments.

Like I said before, it is a awesome way to brand yourself.

So get out there and do it.

Technorati Tags: avatar image, gravatar

Technorati Tags: advertising campaigns, busiest shopping days of the year, mobile outreach

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of writing guides out there. But in my opinion, none surpass the simple, direct advice of The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B.White. I was first introduced to them while in college. I had this really amazing but difficult instructor. She was very into the formal presentation of writing.

So when I came accross a writing guide written by Strunk and White that fit BLOG posting I figured I had better share it with you.

What a great way to start the new year than cleaning up the way you write in your blog.

Read the best parts of the book here

Below is a excerpt found on copyblogger.com

1. Put the reader first. The purpose of writing is clear, sometimes persuasive, communication. It is not about you or your clever ideas. If you write to impress, you will distract the reader from the content. Good writing is like a store window. It should be clean and clear, providing an unobstructed view of the contents within.
2. Organize your thoughts. You don’t need a detailed outline for most writing. But you do need to know what you want to say before you say it. If you’re comfortable with the sort of outline you learned in school, use it. Otherwise, simply jot down the important points you want to make and arrange them in the order you want to make them. Eliminate any ideas that are not directly related to these points.
3. Use short paragraphs. Look at any newspaper and notice how short the paragraphs are. That’s done to make reading easier since our brains take in information better when ideas are broken into small chunks. In ordinary writing, each paragraph develops one idea and includes many sentences. But in blogging, the style is less formal and paragraphs may be as short as a single sentence or even a single word.
4. Use short sentences. You should keep sentences short for the same reason you keep paragraphs short: they’re easier to read and understand. Each sentence should have one simple thought. More than that creates complexity and invites confusion.
5. Use simple words. Since your purpose is to communicate and not impress, simple words work better than big ones. Write “get” instead of “procure.” Write “use” rather than “utilize.” Use the longer words only if your meaning is so precise there is no simpler word to use.
6. Be specific. Don’t write “Many doctors recommend Brand X.” Write “97% of doctors recommend Brand X.” Don’t write “The Big Widget is offered in many colors.” Write “The Big Widget comes in red, green, blue, and white.” Get to the point. Say what you mean. Use specific nouns.
7. Write in a conversational style. There is a road sign often posted near construction sites that always irritates me. It reads, “Maintain present lane.” Why so formal? A more conversational style would be better: “Stay in your lane” or “Do not change lanes.” If you write as if you’re wearing a top hat and spats, you distance yourself from the reader and muddle the message.
8. Be clear. This may be the most important rule of all. Without clarity, your writing fails on every level. You achieve clarity when you accurately communicate the meaning in your head to the head of your reader. That’s difficult. Look at your writing with an objective eye. Consider what might be misunderstood and rewrite it. Find what is irrelevant and delete it. Notice what is missing and insert it.

When writing fails, it’s probably because you don’t have something to say, are too concerned with affecting a style, or both. Follow the suggestions here, and you will avoid these problems and many others. Plus you will find that your copy is more lively, more meaningful, and more profitable.

Thanks Copyblogger

Technorati Tags: elements of style, persuasive communication, strunk and white, william strunk jr

More than two-thirds of US consumers say digital out-of-home (OOH) advertising catches their attention, and the majority say it is less annoying than ads onTV, radio, the internet, and in magazines, according to data from a report by EPM Communications.

Moreover, more than one-third (36%) of consumers say they take action as a result of digital OOH ads, EPM said, citing data from SeeSaw Networks/OTX. Among those age 18-24, that number rises to 51%.

The report, “Digital Out-of-Home Media,” which draws on industry data from SeeSaw, the Cinema Advertising Council and Arbitron, also states that digital OOH advertising – which is a $1 billion business and growing -  places second (48%), after television (56%), in terms of the percentage of people who find it “entertaining,” and only 26% of consumers say digital signage advertising is annoying, when compared with ads on the internet (67%), radio (52%) and TV (51%).

As recently 2006, running an ad on high definition TVs in supermarkets, malls or arenas was largely experimental, EPM said. However, lower technology costs are making digital signage more accessible to marketers who have the opportunity to reach various audiences where they live, work, travel, shop and participate in recreational activities.

The report states that the compelling numbers behind the digital OOH phenomenon prove its value, and offers recommendations and considerations for starting digital OOH ad campaigns. It also highlights several key areas of future opportunity for placement of digital signage to capture the attention in the following venues:

Supermarkets, malls and retail: In-store TV networks and other digital signage at retail figure prominently into the practice of “shopper marketing,” and can significantly influence shoppers as they make their purchase decisions. Key things to consider before advertising in such venues include high costs, a lack of a captive audience because shoppers are continually “on the move,” and stiff competition with other stimuli on the shopping floor.

Transit terminals, sidewalks, highways: Catching consumers’ attention as they move from one location to another is becoming more attractive to advertisers, who are increasingly including mobile phone and website “calls-to-action” to accompany screen advertising. Key considerations include a sometimes-high cost, ensuring that spots are short and to-the-point, and making messages effective without audio.

Taxis, offices, gas pumps and planes: These locations and others, such as elevators and fitness centers, generally capture a higher-income audience whose time for TV viewing at home is increasingly limited, but who have several minutes in which they are “captive” to a screen. Considerations include varying audience dwell times, high rates and the fact that shorter spots usually yield higher recall rates in certain venues.

Bars and restaurants: Digital screens in restaurants, clubs, bars and nightlife locations enhance the value proposition of static “billboard” advertising and can often reach the notoriously elusive 21-34-year-old demographic. Things to consider for ads in these venues include varying audio levels, interactive screens that offer deeper reporting data and the opportunity to offer complementary marketing initiatives in the form of branded drink coasters, collateral and talent appearances.

Arenas: The third-party installation of hundreds of digital displays in the concourses of professional sports and entertainment arenas enables advertisers to bypass sporting leagues and event organizers yet still reach desirable target audiences. Key considerations include audiences with relatively short viewer-time, the calculation of rates based on Arbitron and ticket data formulae, and the opportunity to extend digital display messages to sideline signage and JumboTron scoreboards. Opportunities also exist to include mobile phone and web calls to action and Bluetooth interactivity.

Cinemas: Digital ads in movie theaters are claiming a bigger slice of markers’ budgets, drawing funds away from new media and TV spot production, according to EPM. In-cinema advertising reached $650 million in 2007, up 42% over 2006.When considering these types, be mindful of theaters’ unique A/V requirements, which may require ads for other venues to be resized, recut and remixed – even provided in film format. A growing number of in-cinema campaigns are also extending off the screen with other opportunities to continue marketing efforts.

“Finding the right person at a company to implement a digital out-of-home campaign remains the greatest single challenge for clients, agencies, and network sales reps alike,”  said Ira Mayer, president and publisher, EPM Communications. “‘Digital Out-of-Home Media’ provides complete contact information for more than 100 key players among network & service providers, network aggregators, agencies experienced in digital out-of-home campaigns, research firms and consultants, and trade groups.”

Thanks Marketing Charts

Technorati Tags: captive audience, purchase decisions, shopper marketing