Avoiding the perils of re-buffering
Online, streaming video is becoming a significant part of most organizations, from universities to corporations, and non-profits to health care. It’s important to make online video as smooth for the user as possible, and yet, optimize bandwidth.
Variable bandwidth can be a good solution. It means “feeding” the right video, depending on the user’s connection (dial-up, DSL, T1, T3…). Someone on a slower connection would be fed 128kbps versus someone on a faster connection, who might get the same content, but perhaps at 512kbps. This can be one solution for the ever-present issue of re-buffering.
How predictive analytics can help
Businesses spend bundles of money on direct mail campaigns. Finding the most fruitful mailing list can be hard…and no one wants to waste money mailing to names that are no longer with the company, won’t buy, or simply don’t exist. Predictive analytics can help you mine data to get the most out of a mailing.
Meet “Bill”
So, it was a Sunday afternoon, and somehow, I had a moment of downtime. I went to my computer (yes, the one I use to work all the time…hmm), and began to storyboard a concept I’ve had in my head for some time. “What’s that?” you ask? It’s “Bill.”
For a while now, I’ve envisioned a cartoon-style campaign that would tell the story of a new business owner named Bill. Bill doesn’t think marketing will do anything to help him sell his product…the ubiquitous “widget.” Bill will learn over the course of time how different marketing intiatives can help him out. Subscribe to my YouTube feed and watch him learn.
YouTube passes Yahoo in search
YouTube recently passed Yahoo in search rankings to become #2, behind,…drum roll please…Google. Google owns YouTube, which gives Google the top two spots. Now, Yahoo’s search queries dropped a little, so it can’t be purely credited to YouTube. However, there are some implications.
One, video is clearly becoming a huge part of the online world. Marketers must consider this in their SEO plans and start including video in their overall strategies.
Two, pay-per-click YouTube ad services will bring Google more revenue.
Three, meta content considerations are vital! If video search is to be successful for your enterprise, the engines have to be able to index it. Since many searches for video come through Google (not YouTube’s search as much as you’d think), make sure the meta information is there for the engines.
I have a feeling this will have further ramifications. We’ll find out.
Real-time Search Engines Will Raise the Stakes for Marketers
We’re familiar with social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Ning. It’s seemingly endless, but no one will deny the power of these new media. “Conversation is truly king” and those people interested and empowered by these sites are lining up to take on a role.
Marketers and public relations professionals have to be involved and knowledgeable in this technology. What presents a fresh new challenge in this arena is the rising prevalence of “real-time search.” Sites like Scoopler and Tweetmeme increase the power of conversation ten-fold. Making discussion searchable instantly means that public relations issues must be addressed with urgency and honest like never before.
The “water cooler gossip” is now not only online, but searchable. Many of these new search engines also personalize data so that people can rank searches, and powerful algorithms will use that information to personalize the results.
It’s more imperative than ever that communications professionals be involved in the new media. Anyone who does not take part is simply ignoring the crowd.
Content Management for small business
Being a smaller sized business brings lots of wonderful benefits to the entrepreneur. From total control of the direction the business plan takes to flexible work schedules if needed. On the flip side, owning your own business usually means extra work – as proprietor, you get to be the owner, the human resources department, the maintenance staff, sales staff, and often, the IT staff.
A Web site is a requirement in today’s business environment. It is an immediate communications channel that funnels your message to your key stakeholders: suppliers, staff, community, and the ever-important, customer. The best thing about a Web site is the dynamic nature of the medium. A Web site can be changed in quick fashion to reflect new-found realities in the ever-changing world of small business.
Content Management System (CMS) is the term commonly used to describe a Web-based application built using one or more technologies that allow a Web site owner to log-in to a back-end portal as administrator and modify or edit pre-determined dynamic area of their site. Once built and launched, the business owner has the flexibility to make changes as they need without the need for a Web site designer to make the changes for them. The result is cost savings and an up-to-date Web site for the business.
Your business takes hard work and time commitment. CMS takes the cost of updating your Web site away, giving you more time to spend on your customers, and therefore, your bottom line.
