Teens Learn From Advertising on Social Sites

I found these stats very interesting. They are American driven but it paints an interesting story.
The Teen Topix study conducted by OTX, investigated the complex lives of the 13 -17 year old set, found that teens are spending an average of 11.5 hours online, doing everything from instant messaging and visiting social networking sites to shopping and listening to music, but dispels myths that this group wants to do everything online.

The study did find that 24% of teens are spending more than 15 hours a week online and when all teens were asked how frequently they do typical online activities, instant messaging came up as the most frequent activity, followed by visiting social networking sites, email, searching, and visiting virtual community sites.

• 45% spent from 1 to less than 8 hours on line during a typical week
• 31% from 8 to less than 15
• 24% 15 hours and over
  

78% of teens are concerned about computer viruses while online, followed by:

• Identity theft (67%)
• Unauthorized access to personal information (65%)
• Scams (60%)
• Spam (60%)

The average teen has signed up for over four social networking sites and currently belongs to two, reports the study. Teens are receptive to advertising on these sites, where the majority of teens learn about:

• Financial services (63%)
• Movies in theaters (59%)
• Mobile services and accessories (58%)
• Travel (57%)
• Other websites (53%)

View http://blogs.mediapost.com/research_brief/?p=1730#comments

Ten things Google found to be true.

Ten things Google has found to be true

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.

From its inception, Google has focused on providing the best user experience possible. While many companies claim to put their customers first, few are able to resist the temptation to make small sacrifices to increase shareholder value. Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users who come to the site:

* The interface is clear and simple.
* Pages load instantly.
* Placement in search results is never sold to anyone.
* Advertising on the site must offer relevant content and not be a distraction.

By always placing the interests of the user first, Google has built the most loyal audience on the web. And that growth has come not through TV ad campaigns, but through word of mouth from one satisfied user to another.

2. It's best to do one thing really, really well.

Google does search. With one of the world's largest research groups focused exclusively on solving search problems, we know what we do well, and how we could do it better. Through continued iteration on difficult problems, we've been able to solve complex issues and provide continuous improvements to a service already considered the best on the web at making finding information a fast and seamless experience for millions of users. Our dedication to improving search has also allowed us to apply what we've learned to new products, including Gmail, Google Desktop, and Google Maps. As we continue to build new products* while making search better, our hope is to bring the power of search to previously unexplored areas, and to help users access and use even more of the ever-expanding information in their lives.

3. Fast is better than slow.

Google believes in instant gratification. You want answers and you want them right now. Who are we to argue? Google may be the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have users leave its website as quickly as possible. By fanatically obsessing on shaving every excess bit and byte from our pages and increasing the efficiency of our serving environment, Google has broken its own speed records time and again. Others assumed large servers were the fastest way to handle massive amounts of data. Google found networked PCs to be faster. Where others accepted apparent speed limits imposed by search algorithms, Google wrote new algorithms that proved there were no limits. And Google continues to work on making it all go even faster.

4. Democracy on the web works.

Google works because it relies on the millions of individuals posting websites to determine which other sites offer content of value. Instead of relying on a group of editors or solely on the frequency with which certain terms appear, Google ranks every web page using a breakthrough technique called PageRank™. PageRank evaluates all of the sites linking to a web page and assigns them a value, based in part on the sites linking to them. By analyzing the full structure of the web, Google is able to determine which sites have been "voted" the best sources of information by those most interested in the information they offer. This technique actually improves as the web gets bigger, as each new site is another point of information and another vote to be counted.

5. You don't need to be at your desk to need an answer.

The world is increasingly mobile and unwilling to be constrained to a fixed location. Whether it's through their PDAs, their wireless phones or even their automobiles, people want information to come to them. Google's innovations in this area include Google Number Search, which reduces the number of keypad strokes required to find data from a web-enabled cellular phone and an on-the-fly translation system that converts pages written in HTML to a format that can be read by phone browsers. This system opens up billions of pages for viewing from devices that would otherwise not be able to display them, including Palm PDAs and Japanese i-mode, J-Sky, and EZWeb devices. Wherever search is likely to help users obtain the information they seek, Google is pioneering new technologies and offering new solutions.

6. You can make money without doing evil.

Google is a business. The revenue the company generates is derived from offering its search technology to companies and from the sale of advertising displayed on Google and on other sites across the web. However, you may have never seen an ad on Google. That's because Google does not allow ads to be displayed on our results pages unless they're relevant to the results page on which they're shown. So, only certain searches produce sponsored links above or to the right of the results. Google firmly believes that ads can provide useful information if, and only if, they are relevant to what you wish to find.

Google has also proven that advertising can be effective without being flashy. Google does not accept pop-up advertising, which interferes with your ability to see the content you've requested. We've found that text ads (AdWords) that are relevant to the person reading them draw much higher clickthrough rates than ads appearing randomly. Google's maximization group works with advertisers to improve clickthrough rates over the life of a campaign, because high clickthrough rates are an indication that ads are relevant to a user's interests. Any advertiser, no matter how small or how large, can take advantage of this highly targeted medium, whether through our self-service advertising program that puts ads online within minutes, or with the assistance of a Google advertising representative.

Advertising on Google is always clearly identified as a "Sponsored Link." It is a core value for Google that there be no compromising of the integrity of our results. We never manipulate rankings to put our partners higher in our search results. No one can buy better PageRank. Our users trust Google's objectivity and no short-term gain could ever justify breaching that trust.

Thousands of advertisers use our Google AdWords program to promote their products; we believe AdWords is the largest program of its kind. In addition, thousands of web site managers take advantage of our Google AdSense program to deliver ads relevant to the content on their sites, improving their ability to generate revenue and enhancing the experience for their users.

7. There's always more information out there.

Once Google had indexed more of the HTML pages on the Internet than any other search service, our engineers turned their attention to information that was not as readily accessible. Sometimes it was just a matter of integrating new databases, such as adding a phone number and address lookup and a business directory. Other efforts required a bit more creativity, like adding the ability to search billions of images and a way to view pages that were originally created as PDF files. The popularity of PDF results led us to expand the list of file types searched to include documents produced in a dozen formats such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. For wireless users, Google developed a unique way to translate HTML formatted files into a format that could be read by mobile devices. The list is not likely to end there as Google's researchers continue looking into ways to bring all the world's information to users seeking answers.

8. The need for information crosses all borders.

Though Google is headquartered in California, our mission is to facilitate access to information for the entire world, so we have offices around the globe. To that end we maintain dozens of Internet domains and serve more than half of our results to users living outside the United States. Google search results can be restricted to pages written in more than 35 languages according to a user's preference. We also offer a translation feature to make content available to users regardless of their native tongue and for those who prefer not to search in English, Google's interface can be customized into more than 100 languages. To accelerate the addition of new languages, Google offers volunteers the opportunity to help in the translation through an automated tool available on the Google.com website. This process has greatly improved both the variety and quality of service we're able to offer users in even the most far flung corners of the globe.

9. You can be serious without a suit.

Google's founders have often stated that the company is not serious about anything but search. They built a company around the idea that work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun. To that end, Google's culture is unlike any in corporate America, and it's not because of the ubiquitous lava lamps and large rubber balls, or the fact that the company's chef used to cook for the Grateful Dead. In the same way Google puts users first when it comes to our online service, Google Inc. puts employees first when it comes to daily life in our Googleplex headquarters. There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to the company's overall success. Ideas are traded, tested and put into practice with an alacrity that can be dizzying. Meetings that would take hours elsewhere are frequently little more than a conversation in line for lunch and few walls separate those who write the code from those who write the checks. This highly communicative environment fosters a productivity and camaraderie fueled by the realization that millions of people rely on Google results. Give the proper tools to a group of people who like to make a difference, and they will.

10. Great just isn't good enough.

Always deliver more than expected. Google does not accept being the best as an endpoint, but a starting point. Through innovation and iteration, Google takes something that works well and improves upon it in unexpected ways. Search works well for properly spelled words, but what about typos? One engineer saw a need and created a spell checker that seems to read a user's mind. It takes too long to search from a WAP phone? Our wireless group developed Google Number Search to reduce entries from three keystrokes per letter to one. With a user base in the millions, Google is able to identify points of friction quickly and smooth them out. Google's point of distinction however, is anticipating needs not yet articulated by our global audience, then meeting them with products and services that set new standards. This constant dissatisfaction with the way things are is ultimately the driving force behind the world's best search engine.

* Full-disclosure update: When we first wrote these "10 things" four years ago, we included the phrase "Google does not do horoscopes, financial advice or chat." Over time we've expanded our view of the range of services we can offer –- web search, for instance, isn't the only way for people to access or use information -– and products that then seemed unlikely are now key aspects of our portfolio. This doesn't mean we've changed our core mission; just that the farther we travel toward achieving it, the more those blurry objects on the horizon come into sharper focus (to be replaced, of course, by more blurry objects).

Yahoo-Google in online ad deal

Yahoo has agreed a deal with Google which will see Yahoo use the search engine giant's advertising technology.

Under the agreement, Google ads will appear alongside some Yahoo search results in the US and Canada.

The announcement came after Yahoo said it had failed to persuade Microsoft to renew its bid to buy all of the internet company.

Recent talks concluded after Yahoo rejected a Microsoft proposal to buy just its online search business.

Potentially lucrative

Yahoo said the agreement with Google could be worth up to $800m (£410m) in additional revenue every year.

"This commercial agreement provides Yahoo with the opportunity to deliver more relevant ads to users and provide advertisers and publishers with better advertising technology," said Eric Schmidt, Google chairman and chief executive.

"We believe that the convergence of search and display is the next major development" in online advertising industry, said Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang.

The partnership will initially last for three years, but could last up to 10 if Yahoo decides to renew.

Google said the deal did not need regulatory approval but that it would delay its implementation by up to three and a half months to give the US Department of Justice a chance to review it.

Alternative deal

Shares in Yahoo closed down 10% after it said its attempts to revive Microsoft's $47.5bn (£24bn) offer for the whole of Yahoo had been unsuccessful.

The shares fell as low as $22.50 earlier in the trading session, their lowest level since the software giant first offered $31 a share for Yahoo in January.

Yahoo rejected a new proposal from Microsoft to buy just its online search operations.

“In the weeks since Microsoft withdrew its offer to acquire Yahoo, the two companies have continued to discuss an alternative transaction that Microsoft believes would have delivered in excess of $33 per share to the Yahoo shareholders," Microsoft said in a statement.

"This partnership would ensure healthy competition in the marketplace, providing greater choice and innovation for advertisers, publishers and consumers," the company said.

Yahoo, however, did not want to sell off only one part of the business.

It said such a deal "would not be consistent with the company's view of the converging search and display marketplaces".

The BBC's technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones said that according to Microsoft sources the company was no longer interested in a full takeover because Yahoo had been "underperforming" and was losing some of its key staff.

Yahoo's shares closed 10% lower at $23.52, while Microsoft finished 4.1% higher at $28.24.

U.S. Internet will shrink to 2 strong players: report

An Internet analyst for a major Wall Street firm argues in a new report that Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc will be long-term winners, while Yahoo and IAC InterActiveCorp fall by the wayside and eBay Inc becomes a merger target.

Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Jeffrey Lindsay argues in a 310-page report entitled "U.S. Internet: The End of the Beginning" to be published on Tuesday that Google and Amazon are best placed to withstand the current economic downturn.

"We expect two players to continue to perform strongly, Google and Amazon," Lindsay writes. "Both Google and Amazon.com are still racking up annual growth rates in the 30-40 percent range, with only a relatively modest slowdown in sight."

Lindsay reiterates his previous positions that Yahoo eventually will be sold to Microsoft Corp and that Barry Diller's IAC e-commerce conglomerate will go ahead in August with its five-way split-up, as planned.

"Arguably the weakest players have strayed furthest from their original competences and have been operating largely as conglomerates," the Bernstein analyst says of Yahoo and IAC.

In the short-run, however, Lindsay believes Yahoo will see gains if it reaches a deal to turn over some part of its search advertising sales to Google to run or if Microsoft resumes acquisition negotiations.

He argues that eBay "could potentially attract a Microsoft-like suitor in the future," especially if growth in its core auctions business fails to resume and because eBay could spin off its PayPal or Skype units to make a deal work.

Even the strongest companies have weakness, Lindsay argues. Google has yet to articulate a compelling strategy to achieve the same level of strength on the emerging mobile Internet that it has on the computer-based Web.

Amazon and eBay are likely to be forced eventually to pay state sales taxes. Ironically, he notes, this may work to their advantage as large companies, because they have more resources than smaller e-commerce players to collect such taxes.

Direct Marketers Heed The Signs And Punch Up Email

According to the Direct Magazine annual forecast survey, E-mail has become the top medium choice for direct marketers, supporting yesterday's Research Brief on consumer's attitudes about marketing communications modes.

Of the firms polled, 72% send e-mail to customers, a 10% increase over 2007, and 50% to prospects, a 9% hike. In addition, 55% of those who use the medium plan to increase their budgets for it next year.

Direct mail, while declining, remains a strong second, says the report. Of those polled, 66% are sending mail to customers this year, a 4% drop from 2007, and 59% are mailing to prospects. That number is 1% lower than last year. In addition, 37% of those companies plan to spend more on mail to customers in 2009, and 39% on mail to prospects.

Other online channels have also gained in usage. The survey shows that 39% of those polled conduct search engine marketing, a 10% increase over 2007 and 41% advertise on other Web sites. However, that number is flat from last year. In addition, 25% conduct affiliate marketing, a 4% increase over last year.

Traditional media appear to in decline. Only 7% advertise on radio (down from 10% last year). And 16% buy direct response space (down from 23%).

Inbound telemarketing is used by 17%, down from 21% in 2007. And 20% conduct outbound calling-the same as last year.

Card pack usage rose four percentage points to 10%. But statement stuffer use fell by half to 9%.

Marketers Can't Ignore Social Media

Social networking sites represent a new mass medium for brand advertising, but marketers must shape their campaigns to fit the contours of users' online conversation to reap any gains.

Accomplishing that goal isn't necessarily easy, acknowledged entrepreneur Seth Goldstein in a keynote address at the Interactive Advertising Bureau conference Monday on user generated content and social media.

The co-founder and CEO of Social Media Networks pointed out that even Google has struggled with how to make money through advertising on MySpace and other social sites. But with so many people spending so much time on social networks, advertisers can't simply ignore the critical mass of consumers they bring together.

"Social media is killing advertising," Goldstein said. "A few years ago people started to become more interested in each other [online] and less interested in advertising." With response rates for standard banner ads under 1% and search not geared to brand advertising, social media is the next frontier for major marketers to attack.

How do they do that? By asking consumers questions about their likes and dislikes to figure out how best to engage them on social media platforms, according to Goldstein. That might include anything from "What book are you reading?" to "Which shoe best fits your personality?"

By asking such questions about behavior and brand preferences, marketers can more seamlessly insinuate themselves into the millions of "quiet conversations" going on within social networks. Social marketing "now feels awfully crude and jarring, but will become more sophisticated in the coming years," said Goldstein, in an interview.

To that end, SocialMedia plans to introduce a new type of "social" banner ads that promise to raise response rates and CPMs by making ads more relevant. While Goldstein declined to disclose details of the new ad format before launch, he said the program was starting with a small list of prominent advertisers "looking to scale their conversational (marketing) efforts" across social Web properties.

Consumer packaged goods, wines and spirits brands, automotive and entertainment are among the advertiser categories showing the most interest in cracking social media marketing. CPG brands that haven't previously marketed aggressively online all have dollars earmarked for social media spending in 2009, he said.

In his talk, Goldstein described Facebook's controversial Beacon ad program, which notified friends about users' purchasing activity on other sites, as a "setback" for the industry but an important step toward integrating ad messages into peoples' everyday exchanges online.

A key will be the emergence of more advanced filtering and targeting technologies within social networks to insure that messages reach the right audience at the right time. "If it's wrong, it's just spam," Goldstein said.

With social sites still struggling with monetizing a glut of inventory, he estimated CPMs at only about 5 cents for run-of-network buys on social platform and between 10 cents and 80 cents within specific applications within networks.

As an example of a more nuanced approach, he cited a campaign SocialMedia had created for the BMW Series 1 model allowing people to customize their own cars through an online application and invite friends to join them on a virtual "joy ride" of their choosing. "You're giving people a chance to express themselves around a brand," Goldstein said.

Users interaction with a branded application such as BMW's will then show up in their news feed, status updates and other communications on the social network.

What about all the goofy, time-wasting applications launched on Facebook in the last year, spawning everything from online food fights to zombie bites? The utility of these apps doesn't really matter, engagement does, explained Goldstein.

"They're important because people are spending an ungodly amount of time with them," he said, likening social apps to songs that become popular for a time before giving way to the next hits. Continuing the analogy, he compared popular application developers to top bands that keep churning out hit songs.