woensdag 29 november 2006
Wat de Long Tail niet is
Met het bezoek van Chris Anderson aan Nederland en zijn optreden tijdens Marketing3 krijgt de Long tail weer de nodige aandacht. In dat kader is het aardig om een oud bericht van Chris Anderson zelf aan te halen over wat de Long Tail nu eigenlijk NIET is. Dit aangezien daar nog wel wat misverstanden over lijken te bestaan. De Long Tail betekent bijvoorbeeld niet het einde van de hit(parade). UPDATE: Marco Derksen geeft terecht aan dat Chris Anderson zelf een slide gebruikt in zijn presentatie met als titel "The end of the hit parade". Dan moet hij dus ook niet zo zeuren wanneer hij verkeerd begrepen wordt;-)
maandag 27 november 2006
Starting in a coffee shop
It's a normal thing in Silicon Valley to start a business working out of a coffee shop. Last weekend I was discussing this phenomenon with a couple of Amsterdam entrepreneurs since it's a trend we don't really see happening here. The Guardian has a nice story on this topic.
"Since opening last year, Ritual Coffee Roasters' plain wood tables and leather sofas have become a cradle of start-up companies, including Rubyred Labs. The firm aims to 'turn ideas into top class internet products and services'.'We would come here a lot with our laptops, because so many people come here,' explained one of its co-founders, Jonathan Grubb, 27, wearing a sports hat and sweatshirt. 'The coffee shop has replaced the garage for internet start-ups."
Een café als kantoor
Afgelopen weekend had ik toevallig een discussie met een aantal startende ondernemers in Amsterdam. Allemaal webdiensten, allemaal vanuit thuis opgezet en op zoek naar simpele kantoorruimte. In Silicon Valley is het al langer 'normaal' om een bedrijf te starten vanuit een coffeeshop bijvoorbeeld, we vroegen ons af waarom dit in Amsterdam nog zo weinig gebeurt. Zie hier een aardig artikel uit de Guardian over onder andere dit onderwerp.
"Since opening last year, Ritual Coffee Roasters' plain wood tables and leather sofas have become a cradle of start-up companies, including Rubyred Labs. The firm aims to 'turn ideas into top class internet products and services'.'We would come here a lot with our laptops, because so many people come here,' explained one of its co-founders, Jonathan Grubb, 27, wearing a sports hat and sweatshirt. 'The coffee shop has replaced the garage for internet start-ups."
"Since opening last year, Ritual Coffee Roasters' plain wood tables and leather sofas have become a cradle of start-up companies, including Rubyred Labs. The firm aims to 'turn ideas into top class internet products and services'.'We would come here a lot with our laptops, because so many people come here,' explained one of its co-founders, Jonathan Grubb, 27, wearing a sports hat and sweatshirt. 'The coffee shop has replaced the garage for internet start-ups."
zaterdag 25 november 2006
AI in trading and marketing
That artificial intelligence will become more important in our daily lives has been clear for a while now. Nevertheless I found this little fact (below) mentioned in a NYT article on Ray Kurzweil very interesting, and it would not surprise me to see these kinds of techniques to be increasingly used in other industries like marketing as well. Google’s AdSense is probably a good example.
“Studies estimate that a third of all stock trades in the United States were driven by automatic algorithms last year, contributing to an explosion in stock market activity. Between 1995 and 2005, the average daily volume of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange increased to 1.6 billion from 346 million.”
AI op de beurs en in marketing
Dat artificiele intelligentie een steeds belangrijkere rol in ons dagelijks leven gaat spelen is al langer duidelijk. Maar ik vond onderstaand feitje uit een NYT artikel over Ray Kurzweil wel erg interessant, en ik denk dat we dit soort technieken ook steeds meer in de marketing industrie zullen gaan tegenkomen. Google's AdSense is er al een mooi voorbeeld van.
"Studies estimate that a third of all stock trades in the United States were driven by automatic algorithms last year, contributing to an explosion in stock market activity. Between 1995 and 2005, the average daily volume of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange increased to 1.6 billion from 346 million."
"Studies estimate that a third of all stock trades in the United States were driven by automatic algorithms last year, contributing to an explosion in stock market activity. Between 1995 and 2005, the average daily volume of shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange increased to 1.6 billion from 346 million."
vrijdag 24 november 2006
Innovatie en democratie
NU.nl concludeert uit een onderzoek van The Economist dat Nederland een perfecte democratie is.
De beste democratie misschien, maar de perfecte....?
Er zitten vele aspecten aan een democratie, en één daarvan is dat we deze week allemaal weer ons stemrecht hebben mogen uitoefenen. Het is een belangrijke vorm van politieke participatie, maar de manier waarop we dat doen is bedacht in de oudheid. Een tijd waarin bijvoorbeeld coordinatie en communicatiekosten erg hoog waren.
Wanneer we nu aan het begin van onze democratishe samenleving zouden staan, een samenleving waarin coordinatie en communicatiekosten als gevolg van o.a. het internet tot nagenoeg nul gedaald zijn, zouden we de formele politieke participatie dan nog steeds op deze manier invullen? Eens in de vier jaar naar de stembus om te stemmen op een partij en een individu die hopelijk een deel van jouw belangen gaan vertegenwoordigen?
Ik denk het niet. Democratie en politieke participatie zijn fantastische principes, maar wat mij betreft is de implementatie ervan grondig aan vernieuwing toe.
En nee, met innovatie bedoel ik niet dat we eens in de vier jaar via internet gaan stemmen.
De beste democratie misschien, maar de perfecte....?
Er zitten vele aspecten aan een democratie, en één daarvan is dat we deze week allemaal weer ons stemrecht hebben mogen uitoefenen. Het is een belangrijke vorm van politieke participatie, maar de manier waarop we dat doen is bedacht in de oudheid. Een tijd waarin bijvoorbeeld coordinatie en communicatiekosten erg hoog waren.
Wanneer we nu aan het begin van onze democratishe samenleving zouden staan, een samenleving waarin coordinatie en communicatiekosten als gevolg van o.a. het internet tot nagenoeg nul gedaald zijn, zouden we de formele politieke participatie dan nog steeds op deze manier invullen? Eens in de vier jaar naar de stembus om te stemmen op een partij en een individu die hopelijk een deel van jouw belangen gaan vertegenwoordigen?
Ik denk het niet. Democratie en politieke participatie zijn fantastische principes, maar wat mij betreft is de implementatie ervan grondig aan vernieuwing toe.
En nee, met innovatie bedoel ik niet dat we eens in de vier jaar via internet gaan stemmen.
Abundance in virtual worlds
Wise words by Raph Koster on the recent events in Second Life. Yes, Second Life will have to face zero as well.
“Microtransactions for digital assets and virtual goods is a rising, potentially multibillion dollar industry. To succeed, entrepreneurs who are building networked systems based on user content (be they citizens of Second Life or the makers of virtual worlds themselves) must realize that anything displayable is copyable; the value lies instead in service and in server-side functionality. Content is like songs around a campfire: destined to be enjoyed for free. Those who build businesses around hosting campfires would be wise to focus on making the campfire experience great, rather than charging listeners by the song.”
Ook overvloed in virtuele werelden
Wijze woorden van Raph Koster over de recente gebeurtenissen in Second Life. Ook Second Life zal zich moeten onderwerpen aan het getal 0.
"Microtransactions for digital assets and virtual goods is a rising, potentially multibillion dollar industry. To succeed, entrepreneurs who are building networked systems based on user content (be they citizens of Second Life or the makers of virtual worlds themselves) must realize that anything displayable is copyable; the value lies instead in service and in server-side functionality. Content is like songs around a campfire: destined to be enjoyed for free. Those who build businesses around hosting campfires would be wise to focus on making the campfire experience great, rather than charging listeners by the song."
"Microtransactions for digital assets and virtual goods is a rising, potentially multibillion dollar industry. To succeed, entrepreneurs who are building networked systems based on user content (be they citizens of Second Life or the makers of virtual worlds themselves) must realize that anything displayable is copyable; the value lies instead in service and in server-side functionality. Content is like songs around a campfire: destined to be enjoyed for free. Those who build businesses around hosting campfires would be wise to focus on making the campfire experience great, rather than charging listeners by the song."
woensdag 22 november 2006
UGC succesvol?
Igor heeft het bij Molblog over een veelbekeken Youtube filmpje, Evolution of Dance, dat volgens hem aantoont dat UGC (user-generated content) gaat werken. Ik denk alleen dat het een slecht voorbeeld is. Het succes van UGC is meer gelegen in de eindeloze hoeveelheid individuen die iets produceren dat maar door 'enkelen' bekeken zal worden. Het gemak waarmee dit nu kan (zowel produceren als delen) maakt dat mensen er veel meer tijd aan gaan besteden dan vroeger (Video8 etc). Tijd die bijvoorbeeld ten koste zal gaan van het kijken naar traditionele TV. De hits waar Igor het over heeft hebben wat mij betreft meer overeenkomsten dan verschillen met 'hoe het vroeger ging'. Deze hit heeft namelijk niet zoveel met UGC te maken, meer met de nieuwe manier waarop content gedistribueerd en populair wordt. Zie ook het verhaal over Lonelygirl15, dat was geen UGC...
Whisful thinking
I find it hard to imagine that social networking and IM services will provide mobile operators with new revenue sources. Sure, there will be more data traffic over their networks, but I wonder if that's going to make them happy given their flat-rate offerings. Anyway, Vodafone clearly thinks differently.
“Sarin says social networking, mobile advertising, mobile video, and other advanced applications are on the rise. “We expect these services to generate 10% of our revenue within three or four years,” he says. Vodafone generated $29.4 billion in revenue and $6.6 billion in profit during the first half of the year, beating analyst forecasts.”
Wishful thinking
Ik kan me moeilijk voorstellen dat zaken als social networking en IM nieuwe inkomstenbronnen gaan zijn voor mobiele operators. Er zal wel meer dataverkeer zijn, maar of ze daar nu blij van gaan worden met hun flat-rate aanbiedingen vraag ik me af. Anyway, Vodafone denkt daar duidelijk anders over.
“Sarin says social networking, mobile advertising, mobile video, and other advanced applications are on the rise. “We expect these services to generate 10% of our revenue within three or four years,†he says. Vodafone generated $29.4 billion in revenue and $6.6 billion in profit during the first half of the year, beating analyst forecasts.â€
maandag 20 november 2006
What happened to Lonelygirl15?
She's still alive. Detailed Wired report on the advent and future of the YouTube-girl apparently coming from the Midwest, but who actually is an actress in a Beverly Hills home.
“Many assumed the series would sputter and die. Media reports zeroed in on how viewers had been duped, suggesting an inevitable backlash. But the fans — raised on the unreality of reality TV and with the role-playing ethos of the Web — seemed to take the revelation in stride. One guy who had corresponded regularly with Bree wrote to ask if he’d been conversing with Jessica Rose. “No, you’ve been talking to Bree,” came the reply (from Amanda). “If you want to talk to Jessica Rose, you can go to her MySpace page. If you want to keep talking to Bree, use this email.” “Fair enough,” the fan wrote back, and then went on to tell Bree the latest news in his life. To many, it didn’t seem to matter whether she was real or not. A number of posts appeared on YouTube denouncing the series, but many more responded with variations of this simple statement: If you don’t like it, don’t watch.”Hoe het afliep met Lonelygirl15
Het liep niet af. Mooi verslag in Wired over het ontstaan en voortbestaan van het YouTube-meisje uit het midwesten dat uiteindelijk een actrice bleek te zijn in een Beverly Hills huis.
"Many assumed the series would sputter and die. Media reports zeroed in on how viewers had been duped, suggesting an inevitable backlash. But the fans -- raised on the unreality of reality TV and with the role-playing ethos of the Web -- seemed to take the revelation in stride. One guy who had corresponded regularly with Bree wrote to ask if he'd been conversing with Jessica Rose. "No, you've been talking to Bree," came the reply (from Amanda). "If you want to talk to Jessica Rose, you can go to her MySpace page. If you want to keep talking to Bree, use this email." "Fair enough," the fan wrote back, and then went on to tell Bree the latest news in his life. To many, it didn't seem to matter whether she was real or not. A number of posts appeared on YouTube denouncing the
series, but many more responded with variations of this simple statement: If you don't like it, don't watch."
woensdag 15 november 2006
Eerlijk duurt het langst?
Eerlijk duurt het langst zeggen we wel eens, maar als je naar een aantal van de recent zeer succesvolle startups kijkt dan ga je jezelf toch afvragen of dat wel de beste strategie is....;-)
"There seem to be some dismal lessons in these stories. It appears the ideal startup will give away something that used to cost money for free (preferably copyright material and porn), use other people's content and resources, appeal to the baser human instincts (especially vanity and sex), and spam massive e-mail lists at launch."
"There seem to be some dismal lessons in these stories. It appears the ideal startup will give away something that used to cost money for free (preferably copyright material and porn), use other people's content and resources, appeal to the baser human instincts (especially vanity and sex), and spam massive e-mail lists at launch."
dinsdag 14 november 2006
What's wrong with Second Life?
With all outside attention focused on Second Life it's interesting to follow its development from an insider perspective. Many signals are pointing at fundamental problems. Read this interview for some insights.
“I mean, there is room for just about everyone on Second Life. I don’t personally believe it’s the corporations that are the problems. It’s the core attitude of the host company. The eagerness to put the bottom line ahead of the benefit and safety of their customers… the ones who are paying the bills. As an example… Linden Lab has much vaunted their “more than 1 million members” status. To get there, they opened the grid to no-ID registration. Email addy only. And we all know how easy it is to get an email addy. As a result, griefing increased by major amounts. The number of adolescents (and resulting problems) increased by major amounts. These things were not for the good of the grid.”
Wat gaat er mis met Second Life?
Met alle belangstelling van buiten is het steeds interessanter om de insiders te volgen voor wat betreft de ontwikkeling van Second Life. Steeds meer signalen wijzen erop dat er iets fundamenteel fout gaat. Lees dit interview bijvoorbeeld.
"I mean, there is room for just about everyone on Second Life. I don't personally believe it's the corporations that are the problems. It's the core attitude of the host company. The eagerness to put the bottom line ahead of the benefit and safety of their customers... the ones who are paying the bills. As an example... Linden Lab has much vaunted their "more than 1 million members" status. To get there, they opened the grid to no-ID registration. Email addy only. And we all know how easy it is to get an email addy. As a result, griefing increased by major amounts. The number of adolescents (and resulting problems) increased by major amounts. These things were not for the good of the grid."
"I mean, there is room for just about everyone on Second Life. I don't personally believe it's the corporations that are the problems. It's the core attitude of the host company. The eagerness to put the bottom line ahead of the benefit and safety of their customers... the ones who are paying the bills. As an example... Linden Lab has much vaunted their "more than 1 million members" status. To get there, they opened the grid to no-ID registration. Email addy only. And we all know how easy it is to get an email addy. As a result, griefing increased by major amounts. The number of adolescents (and resulting problems) increased by major amounts. These things were not for the good of the grid."
Born in 1985
Interesting article in the Guardian on how today's 21 year-olds have been raised in parallel with the advent of the internet, gaming, etc.
“These kids have been socially conditioned in a universe that runs parallel to the one inhabited by most folks in the media business. They’ve been playing computer games of mind-blowing complexity forever. They’re resourceful, knowledgeable and natural users of computer and communications technology. They’re Digital Natives - accustomed to creating content of their own - and publishing it.”
“These kids have been socially conditioned in a universe that runs parallel to the one inhabited by most folks in the media business. They’ve been playing computer games of mind-blowing complexity forever. They’re resourceful, knowledgeable and natural users of computer and communications technology. They’re Digital Natives - accustomed to creating content of their own - and publishing it.”
Geboren in 1985
Aardig stukje in de Guardian over hoe de 21-jarigen van nu gelijktijdig opgegroeid zijn met de opkomst van internet, gaming, etc.
"These kids have been socially conditioned in a universe that runs parallel to the one inhabited by most folks in the media business. They've been playing computer games of mind-blowing complexity forever. They're resourceful, knowledgeable and natural users of computer and communications technology. They're Digital Natives - accustomed to creating content of their own - and publishing it."
"These kids have been socially conditioned in a universe that runs parallel to the one inhabited by most folks in the media business. They've been playing computer games of mind-blowing complexity forever. They're resourceful, knowledgeable and natural users of computer and communications technology. They're Digital Natives - accustomed to creating content of their own - and publishing it."
zondag 12 november 2006
Microsoft, Microsoft & Microsoft
De afgelopen week was ik op uitnodiging van Microsoft (dank Arnout!) in Barcelona bij de TechEd Developers 2006. 5000 deelnemers, waarvan 10% uit Nederland, dat daarmee na Engeland het best vertegenwoordigd was. Interessant om na te denken over het waarom...
Alles draaide deze week om Microsoft, de toekomst, en technologie. Het was erg interessant, al voelde het soms of ik in een science fiction film rondliep waarin 5000 robots werden klaargestoom voor de strijd om het universum. De strakke organisatie met teveel staf, de moderne lokatie, en de wel erg verdachte reacties van de meeste deelnemers op grappen die kennelijk alleen in code gemaakt kunnen worden droegen daar allemaal aan bij...
Maar goed, de inhoud. Het was een bijeenkomst voor ontwikkelaars, dus sessies als ‘Hardcore .NET Production Debugging’ heb ik even overgeslagen..;-) Er bleef echter genoeg interessants over, in veel opzichten was het denk ik meer inspirerend dan bijvoorbeeld de Web 2.0 Summit die gelijktijdig in San Francisco werd gehouden. De impact van de zaken waar Microsoft aan werkt is groter dan de meeste startups die op de Summit langskwamen, vaak zelfs in dezelfde domeinen. Sterker nog, juist als startup (maar ook als marketeer) zou je goed moeten kijken naar wat men in Redmond allemaal uitvoert. Het biedt kansen, maar voor velen zeker ook bedreigingen en uiteindelijk gemiste kansen.
Bij deze een korte opsomming van wat ik zelf heb meegemaakt met de nodige links voor meer achtergrond en uitleg. Daarna ook nog een korte reflectie op Microsoft als bedrijf. Ik werk al even met ze samen, maar deze week was toch nog erg leerzaam...
- Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF & WPF/e(verywhere))
- WPF gaat de gemakkelijke ontwikkeling van hele rijke gebruikersinterfaces (2D en 3D) mogelijk maken. Zowel op de desktop (WPF) als in de browser (WPF/e) via een plugin. Het concurreert in dat opzicht met Adobe’s Apollo en Flash, en geeft je in theorie meer mogelijkheden om optimaal gebruik te maken van de resources die de client (PC) je ter beschikking stelt. Serieuze concurrentie voor Flash dus, op alle platformen en browsers (in het geval van WPF/e). De tools om er gebruik van te maken zijn nog niet helemaal af, maar van wat ik gezien heb zijn de Expression oplossingen veelbelovend, niet in de laatste plaats vanwege de integratie met Visual Studio. Dit maakt een echt iteratieve samenwerking tussen designers en developers mogelijk.
- Windows CardSpace & het Identity Metasystem
- Dit zijn ontwikkelingen waar ik al langer over schrijf en TechEd stelde me in staat om wat meer de diepte in te gaan en de mensen achter deze initiatieven te ontmoeten. Windows CardSpace is eigenlijk de Microsoft implementatie van het (tevens door Microsoft geinitieerde) Identity Metasystem dat een (missende) identiteitslaag aan de internet infrastructuur wil toevoegen. Sommigen zullen zich nog HailStorm en Microsoft Passport herinneren waarmee eenzelfde doel beoogd werd. Echter, deze keer gaat men niet uit van een centralistisch model waarin Microsoft the ‘trusted third party’ is, maar van open standaarden en interoperabiliteit tussen verschillende identiteitssystemen. En de industrie volgt Microsoft in deze, zij het met enige waakzaamheid. Ik moet eerlijk zeggen dat de presentaties en demo’s de nodige vragen bij mij hebben opgeroepen met betrekking tot de haalbaarheid ervan. Alles lijkt prima te werken in een situatie dat één persoon altijd één niet-gedeelde PC gebruikt. Maar zo gauw ik me bij een website wil aanmelden vanuit een internetcafe of vanaf de mobiel dan begint het lastig te worden aangezien m’n identiteiten gekoppeld zijn aan mijn PC. Verder ben ik bang dat het richting eindgebruikers nog lastig gaat worden om e.e.a. uit te leggen. De open standaarden en interoperabiliteit zorgen er mogelijk voor dat er vele spelers zullen komen die allemaal hun eigen propositie hebben. Vanuit een technisch en theoretisch perspectief werkt alles perfect. Maar vanuit een communicatief perspectief heb ik zo m’n twijfels. Er zijn zeker oplossingen te bedenken (en deels reeds bedacht) voor bovenstaande uitdagingen, maar met name in de adoptiefase zal het moeilijk worden om iedereen mee te krijgen. Het zijn vragen die ik Kim Cameron en Steve Plank zeker nog zal voorleggen, met name de eerste is zeer actief en open in de dialoog met bloggers over deze onderwerpen.
- Windows Live Contact Control
- Ik heb interessante discussies gehad met Danny Thorpe, bij Microsoft verantwoordelijk voor dev.live.com. Hij is tevens de ontwikkelaar van de Windows Live Contact Control die ik al even suggereerde als oplossing in de discussie over Verjaardagsalarm op Marketingfacts. Het is een zeer interessante widget die iedere website in staat stelt om gebruik te maken van de bestaande Windows Live contactenlijst van een bezoeker. Het is tevens een eerste stap op weg naar open API’s, en wat dat betreft zijn ze al verder dan Hyves;-) Al is er nog weinig ruchtbaarheid aan gegeven.
- Microsoft Robotics Studio
- Ik hoop al langer dat we over niet al te lang ook fysiek rondlopende en pratende Ecckies zullen zien. Robots zijn er natuurlijk langer, maar met de komst van Microsoft Robotics Studio wordt het een stuk eenvoudiger om ze te programmeren. En te koppelen aan andere (online) applicaties. Wordt vervolgd dus....
Microsoft is een apart bedrijf met veel gezichten. Daar waar ik over het algemeen vooral gewerkt heb met MSN/Windows Live, heb ik nu ook echt kennisgemaakt met het 'echte' Microsoft. Een bedrijf dat (o.a.) ontwikkeltools en softwareoplossingen maakt, primair voor bedrijven. Het succes dat ze daarmee hadden en hebben is echter niet zomaar te herhalen met echte consumentendiensten zoals die nu gebundeld worden onder de Windows Live vlag. Maar daarover later meer, nu eerst even ontMicrosoften...;-)
The semantic web, for real
New York Times has an article on Web 3.0. Formerly known as the semantic web, with Tim Berners-Lee (WWW inventor) as the driving force behind that vision.
Leaving aside all the jokes about the term Web 3.0 there's a deeper thought in the article, something Nicholas Carr recognizes as well. It also has a lot to do with what Tim O’Reilly calls ‘harnessing collective intelligence‘, a key characteristic of Web 2.0.
Anyway, I feel all these thoughts and terms really do point at a logical evolutionary path for the web.
“Their goal is to add a layer of meaning on top of the existing Web that would make it less of a catalog and more of a guide — and even provide the foundation for systems that can reason in a human fashion. That level of artificial intelligence, with machines doing the thinking instead of simply following commands, has eluded researchers for more than half a century."
Het semantische web, nu echt
De New York Times heeft een artikel over Web 3.0. Voorheen noemde men dat het semantische web, met Tim Berners-Lee (de uitvinder van het WWW) als drijvende kracht en inspirator achter deze visie.
Los van alle grappen die te maken zijn over de term Web 3.0 zit er wel diepgang in het artikel, iets dat ook Nicholas Carr ziet. Het heeft echter tevens veel te maken met wat Tim O'Reilly de basis van Web 2.0 noemt, 'harnessing collective intelligence'. Al met al wordt met deze termen en trends wel een logische richting aangegeven voor de evolutie van het web.
"Their goal is to add a layer of meaning on top of the existing Web that would make it less of a catalog and more of a guide — and even provide the foundation for systems that can reason in a human fashion. That level of artificial intelligence, with machines doing the thinking instead of simply following commands, has eluded researchers for more than half a century."
Los van alle grappen die te maken zijn over de term Web 3.0 zit er wel diepgang in het artikel, iets dat ook Nicholas Carr ziet. Het heeft echter tevens veel te maken met wat Tim O'Reilly de basis van Web 2.0 noemt, 'harnessing collective intelligence'. Al met al wordt met deze termen en trends wel een logische richting aangegeven voor de evolutie van het web.
"Their goal is to add a layer of meaning on top of the existing Web that would make it less of a catalog and more of a guide — and even provide the foundation for systems that can reason in a human fashion. That level of artificial intelligence, with machines doing the thinking instead of simply following commands, has eluded researchers for more than half a century."
zaterdag 11 november 2006
Web 2.0 Summit summarized
I like this summary of everything I've read about the Web 2.0 Summit. Microsoft’s TechEd in Barcelona (which I attended this week) was more interesting I think. More on that later…
“When we were in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, there was tangible excitement about the new age of digital media. The Hollywood types were bursting to talk about this revolutionary age of amateur talent ushered in by YouTube. This week, web 2.0 crowd treated the YouTube acquisition simply as a huge transaction, with the only interesting aftermath being lawsuits. Here, we’re so far ahead of the curve, it’s a race to see who can be cynical first.”
Web 2.0 Summit samengevat
Vond dit wel een mooie samenvatting van alles wat ik gelezen heb over de Web 2.0 Summit. Wat dat betreft was Microsoft's TechEd in Barcelona (waar ik deze week was) interessanter. Daarover later meer...
"When we were in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, there was tangible excitement about the new age of digital media. The Hollywood types were bursting to talk about this revolutionary age of amateur talent ushered in by YouTube. This week, web 2.0 crowd treated the YouTube acquisition simply as a huge transaction, with the only interesting aftermath being lawsuits. Here, we’re so far ahead of the curve, it’s a race to see who can be cynical first."
"When we were in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, there was tangible excitement about the new age of digital media. The Hollywood types were bursting to talk about this revolutionary age of amateur talent ushered in by YouTube. This week, web 2.0 crowd treated the YouTube acquisition simply as a huge transaction, with the only interesting aftermath being lawsuits. Here, we’re so far ahead of the curve, it’s a race to see who can be cynical first."
vrijdag 10 november 2006
Wat gaat TomTom doen?
Vandaag kondigde Google verdere integratie aan tussen Google Maps for Mobile en GPS. Ik had al wat demo's gezien, en ondanks het feit dat een aantal mensen het niet met me eens zijn denk ik toch echt dat partijen als TomTom moeite zullen hebben om de goede prestaties vol te houden...
"It's hard to enter a starting point if you don't know where you're starting from. We think that integrating GPS capabilities into Google Maps for Mobile will make our phones much smarter -- and you've told us that too.
When you use Google Maps on the Helio Drift you always know where you are. Start Google Maps and a blue dot is placed on the map at your current location. You can even see yourself move on the map as you change location. Say goodbye to sore thumbs from having to constantly type in your location."
"It's hard to enter a starting point if you don't know where you're starting from. We think that integrating GPS capabilities into Google Maps for Mobile will make our phones much smarter -- and you've told us that too.
When you use Google Maps on the Helio Drift you always know where you are. Start Google Maps and a blue dot is placed on the map at your current location. You can even see yourself move on the map as you change location. Say goodbye to sore thumbs from having to constantly type in your location."
Brands producing own content, new?
Is this new? They started doing this back in the 1930's....
“Marketers have found a new way to try to keep viewers from tuning out: offer them TV shows, movies and online programming created by the marketers themselves, often with help from their advertising agencies.
These new offerings, the marketers hope, will be entertaining enough to endear viewers to the brands behind them.
Burger King, for example, is making a feature-length film that may star — no surprise here — the “King” character of its ad campaign. Office Max recently created a show on the ABC Family channel. Anheuser-Busch plans to start a seven-channel TV network online, called BudTV.
“It’s the exploration of sort of a new world,” said Doug Powell, chief integrator of Maiden Lane, an advertising agency. “Clients would love to have a way for customers to be able to participate with their brands more often and not have to rely on the traditional media world.”
Merken met eigen content, nieuw?
Is dit nieuw? Volgens mij bestaat het al sinds de jaren 30 van de vorige eeuw...
"Marketers have found a new way to try to keep viewers from tuning out: offer them TV shows, movies and online programming created by the marketers themselves, often with help from their advertising agencies. These new offerings, the marketers hope, will be entertaining enough to endear viewers to the brands behind them. Burger King, for example, is making a feature-length film that may star — no surprise here — the “King†character of its ad campaign. Office Max recently created a show on the ABC Family channel. Anheuser-Busch plans to start a seven-channel TV network online, called BudTV. “It’s the exploration of sort of a new world,†said Doug Powell, chief integrator of Maiden Lane, an advertising agency. “Clients would love to have a way for customers to be able to participate with their brands more often and not have to rely on the traditional media world.â€
"Marketers have found a new way to try to keep viewers from tuning out: offer them TV shows, movies and online programming created by the marketers themselves, often with help from their advertising agencies. These new offerings, the marketers hope, will be entertaining enough to endear viewers to the brands behind them. Burger King, for example, is making a feature-length film that may star — no surprise here — the “King†character of its ad campaign. Office Max recently created a show on the ABC Family channel. Anheuser-Busch plans to start a seven-channel TV network online, called BudTV. “It’s the exploration of sort of a new world,†said Doug Powell, chief integrator of Maiden Lane, an advertising agency. “Clients would love to have a way for customers to be able to participate with their brands more often and not have to rely on the traditional media world.â€
donderdag 9 november 2006
The importance of 0
Techdirt’s Mike has been writing about the concept Chris Anderson now calls the ‘Economics of Abundance’ for a while. He explains why this concept is really very simple, but still difficult to understand for some. Who knows what might happen when they start to get it….;-)
“However, the point is that if you understand the zero, there’s nothing to worry about and the model works perfectly. It just requires a recognition that the scarcity doesn’t exist. Instead, you have abundance. You can have as much content as you need — and in that world, it makes perfect sense that there’s no costs, because without scarcity there need not be a cost. Supply is infinite, and price is zero. That does not mean, however, that there’s no business. Instead, it just means you need to flip the equation and use the zero to your advantage. Instead of thinking of it as forcing a “price” of zero, you think of it as being a “cost” of zero. Suddenly, you’ve lowered the cost of making something to nothing — and you should then try to use as much of it as you can. One simple example of this is to use that item that “costs” zero as a promotional good for something that does not have a zero marginal cost. When you realize how zero factors in, you realize that there’s nothing new or radical here at all. It’s just coming to terms with the idea that free market economics still works in the face of zero (in fact, it thrives) and there’s no reason to put in place government-sanctioned barriers to shape the market.”
Het belang van nul
Techdirt's Mike schrijft al langer over het concept dat Chris Anderson nu de 'Economics of Abundance' noemt. Hij legt nog eens simpel uit waarom dat concept eigenlijk vrij eenvoudig is, maar toch moeilijk te bergijpen voor sommigen. Wie weet wat er gebeurt wanneer ze het wel gaan begrijpen....;-)
"However, the point is that if you understand the zero, there's nothing to worry about and the model works perfectly. It just requires a recognition that the scarcity doesn't exist. Instead, you have abundance. You can have as much content as you need -- and in that world, it makes perfect sense that there's no costs, because without scarcity there need not be a cost. Supply is infinite, and price is zero. That does not mean, however, that there's no business. Instead, it just means you need to flip the equation and use the zero to your advantage. Instead of thinking of it as forcing a "price" of zero, you think of it as being a "cost" of zero. Suddenly, you've lowered the cost of making something to nothing -- and you should then try to use as much of it as you can. One simple example of this is to use that item that "costs" zero as a promotional good for something that does not have a zero marginal cost. When you realize how zero factors in, you realize that there's nothing new or radical here at all. It's just coming to terms with the idea that free market economics still works in the face of zero (in fact, it thrives) and there's no reason to put in place government-sanctioned barriers to shape the market."
"However, the point is that if you understand the zero, there's nothing to worry about and the model works perfectly. It just requires a recognition that the scarcity doesn't exist. Instead, you have abundance. You can have as much content as you need -- and in that world, it makes perfect sense that there's no costs, because without scarcity there need not be a cost. Supply is infinite, and price is zero. That does not mean, however, that there's no business. Instead, it just means you need to flip the equation and use the zero to your advantage. Instead of thinking of it as forcing a "price" of zero, you think of it as being a "cost" of zero. Suddenly, you've lowered the cost of making something to nothing -- and you should then try to use as much of it as you can. One simple example of this is to use that item that "costs" zero as a promotional good for something that does not have a zero marginal cost. When you realize how zero factors in, you realize that there's nothing new or radical here at all. It's just coming to terms with the idea that free market economics still works in the face of zero (in fact, it thrives) and there's no reason to put in place government-sanctioned barriers to shape the market."
dinsdag 7 november 2006
The world in 3D
Like I said before, Second Life to me is especially interesting because of the idea it gives us on how we might use the web in the future. Microsoft’s latest Virtual Earth release is also a clear step in that direction. And it's clear where it is going:
“Pretty wild! 3 Dimensional virtual world navigation in a web browser. Best of all, Spaceland has been architected to work the way the web works, from the ground up. You can link to a place in Virtual Earth in 3d, the same as you would in 2d! just use the Share menu above the map to clip a permalink to your current view. Same as it ever was."
De wereld in 3D
Zoals ik eerder gezegd heb vind ik Second Life met name interessant vanwege het scenario dat het ons voorschoteld over hoe we in de toekomst het web zouden kunnen gaan gebruiken. De laatste release van Microsoft's Virtual Earth is ook een duidelijke stap in die richting. En het is duidelijk wat het doel is:
"Pretty wild! 3 Dimensional virtual world navigation in a web browser. Best of all, Spaceland has been architected to work the way the web works, from the ground up. You can link to a place in Virtual Earth in 3d, the same as you would in 2d! just use the Share menu above the map to clip a permalink to your current view. Same as it ever was."
"Pretty wild! 3 Dimensional virtual world navigation in a web browser. Best of all, Spaceland has been architected to work the way the web works, from the ground up. You can link to a place in Virtual Earth in 3d, the same as you would in 2d! just use the Share menu above the map to clip a permalink to your current view. Same as it ever was."
maandag 6 november 2006
Optimizing the newspaper
Google starts a test where they will be selling newspaper ad space. Will be interesting to see when, and if, newspapers will start optimizing their printing process (localization for example) to make sure the most relevant and profitable ads will appear. Optimizing from a revenue perspective that is, not from a cost perspective like today.
“Some newspapers see Google’s proposed system as a way to increase sales. “Every day in the newspaper we have a fair amount of space we set aside for ads that we are unable to fill,” said Owen Youngman, a vice president for development at The Chicago Tribune. “Google says they can bring us thousands of small advertisers for space we would otherwise fill with house ads, and we say ‘Great.’"
De krant optimaliseren
Google start een test waarbij ze advertentieruimte in kranten gaan verkopen. Ik ben benieuwd hoe snel het aantrekkelijk wordt voor uitgevers om hun drukproces te optimaliseren (bijv. lokaliseren) zodat de meest relevante advertenties getoont kunnen worden. Optimaliseren vanuit een opbrengstenperspectief dus, niet kosten zoals nu eerder het geval zal zijn.
"Some newspapers see Google’s proposed system as a way to increase sales. “Every day in the newspaper we have a fair amount of space we set aside for ads that we are unable to fill,†said Owen Youngman, a vice president for development at The Chicago Tribune. “Google says they can bring us thousands of small advertisers for space we would otherwise fill with house ads, and we say ‘Great.’ â€
"Some newspapers see Google’s proposed system as a way to increase sales. “Every day in the newspaper we have a fair amount of space we set aside for ads that we are unable to fill,†said Owen Youngman, a vice president for development at The Chicago Tribune. “Google says they can bring us thousands of small advertisers for space we would otherwise fill with house ads, and we say ‘Great.’ â€
zondag 5 november 2006
Trust through the blogosphere
Tim Berners Lee blogs about blogging and highlights something that is indeed becoming more visible every day. Blogs provide filters for the web and a certain level of trust as well. Multiple initiatives that are rooted in the blogosphere are making this trend even stronger.
“A great example of course is the blogging world. Blogs provide a gently evolving network of pointers of interest. As do FOAF files. I’ve always thought that FOAF could be extended to provide a trust infrastructure for (e..g.) spam filtering and OpenID-style single sign-on and its good to see things happening in that space.”
“A great example of course is the blogging world. Blogs provide a gently evolving network of pointers of interest. As do FOAF files. I’ve always thought that FOAF could be extended to provide a trust infrastructure for (e..g.) spam filtering and OpenID-style single sign-on and its good to see things happening in that space.”
Vertrouwen door de blogosfeer
Tim Berners Lee blogt over bloggen en geeft iets aan dat inderdaad steeds zichtbaarder aan het worden is. Blogs voorzien het web van filters en een zekere zin van vertrouwen. Meerdere initiatieven die ontkiemen in de blogosfeer versterken deze trend.
"A great example of course is the blogging world. Blogs provide a gently evolving network of pointers of interest. As do FOAF files. I've always thought that FOAF could be extended to provide a trust infrastructure for (e..g.) spam filtering and OpenID-style single sign-on and its good to see things happening in that space."
"A great example of course is the blogging world. Blogs provide a gently evolving network of pointers of interest. As do FOAF files. I've always thought that FOAF could be extended to provide a trust infrastructure for (e..g.) spam filtering and OpenID-style single sign-on and its good to see things happening in that space."
vrijdag 3 november 2006
The future of Second Life
Would you like to understand how virtual worlds like Second Life should develop and evolve? Read Stef Wade's thoughts on this topic, I can only agree. Like I said before, Second Life is a great prototype of how we might use and experience the web in the future, but that does not necessarily mean Second Life itself will be a success.
“It is not easy for Linden Lab to give up the monopoly they have in SL. But as far as I can see, it is the only possibility to be successful in the market. An open system will invite competition to the LLs own court, but it will be the only way to prevent the marketplace from splitting into many small pieces.”
De toekomst van Second Life
Wil je een idee krijgen van hoe virtuele werelden als Second Life zich zullen (moeten) gaan ontwikkelen? Lees hier wat Stef Wade erover denkt, ik kan niet anders dan het ermee eens zijn. Zoals ik ook al eerder zei, Second Life is een mooi 'prototype' van hoe we het web in de toekomst mogelijk zullen ervaren en gebruiken, maar dat betekent niet noodzakelijk dat Second Life zelf een succes gaat worden.
"It is not easy for Linden Lab to give up the monopoly they have in SL. But as far as I can see, it is the only possibility to be successful in the market. An open system will invite competition to the LLs own court, but it will be the only way to prevent the marketplace from splitting into many small pieces."
"It is not easy for Linden Lab to give up the monopoly they have in SL. But as far as I can see, it is the only possibility to be successful in the market. An open system will invite competition to the LLs own court, but it will be the only way to prevent the marketplace from splitting into many small pieces."
A lot to learn
All the rumor surrounding YouTube makes it even more clear that most content companies still have a lot to learn. Hyperpeople explains it better then I could have...
"Television producers are about to learn the same lessons that film studios and the recording industry learned before them: what the audience wants, it gets. Take your clips off of YouTube, and watch as someone else – quite illegally – creates another hyperdistribution system for them. Attack that system, and watch as it fades into invisibility. Those attacks will force it to evolve into ever-more-undetectable forms. That’s the lesson of music-sharing site Napster, and the lesson of torrent-sharing site Supernova. When you attack the hyperdistribution system, you always make the problem worse."
"Television producers are about to learn the same lessons that film studios and the recording industry learned before them: what the audience wants, it gets. Take your clips off of YouTube, and watch as someone else – quite illegally – creates another hyperdistribution system for them. Attack that system, and watch as it fades into invisibility. Those attacks will force it to evolve into ever-more-undetectable forms. That’s the lesson of music-sharing site Napster, and the lesson of torrent-sharing site Supernova. When you attack the hyperdistribution system, you always make the problem worse."
Nog veel te leren
Alle rumoer rondom YouTube maakt nog maar eens duidelijk dat de meeste contentpartijen een hoop te leren hebben. Hyperpeople legt het beter uit dan ik zou kunnen...
"Television producers are about to learn the same lessons that film studios and the recording industry learned before them: what the audience wants, it gets. Take your clips off of YouTube, and watch as someone else – quite illegally – creates another hyperdistribution system for them. Attack that system, and watch as it fades into invisibility. Those attacks will force it to evolve into ever-more-undetectable forms. That’s the lesson of music-sharing site Napster, and the lesson of torrent-sharing site Supernova. When you attack the hyperdistribution system, you always make the problem worse."
"Television producers are about to learn the same lessons that film studios and the recording industry learned before them: what the audience wants, it gets. Take your clips off of YouTube, and watch as someone else – quite illegally – creates another hyperdistribution system for them. Attack that system, and watch as it fades into invisibility. Those attacks will force it to evolve into ever-more-undetectable forms. That’s the lesson of music-sharing site Napster, and the lesson of torrent-sharing site Supernova. When you attack the hyperdistribution system, you always make the problem worse."
donderdag 2 november 2006
Large and small social networking services
I agree with Robert Young that Facebook and Six Apart are two of the most interesting 'mainstream' social networking services at the moment. However, I have difficulty with his implicit statement that advertising revenues will create a lot of wealth for these companies.
Marc Canter's vision is very appealing. He says there won't be only a few large centralized social networking services, but instead expects there to be many smaller ones that are relevant in a specific context. The larger ones will facilitate this by building the social networking infrastructure (with Facebook and Six Apart as leading examples), using standards and open APIs. However, a consequence of this will be that at least part of the advertising revenues will go to the niche oriented services. The fact that a user uses SixApart's Vox to create a profile, write blog posts and submit videos (read Robert's piece on 'consoles for consumer control') doesn't necessarily mean they will be seen (consumed) by others at the same place. They will be cross-posted to the relevant niche networks... And that's why I think opening up Facebook for everyone was a bad idea. They are losing their context (students, universities). How will that end...?
"I’m probably also one of the very few that felt Facebook made the absolute right decision when they opened up its social network. Their timing, in my opinion, could not have been better, particularly in terms of competitive positioning against MySpace. With the move, there is no doubt in my mind that Facebook has placed itself on a new growth curve… one that will benefit from the churn of members from competitors as well as newbies to social networks. Having said that, let me qualify my thesis a bit. As I wrote in my last post, Facebook has a low “narcissism” ratio, relative to more “Hollywood-oriented” social media services… and it’s very important that it stay that way as it pulls back its velvet rope to the masses. But doing so puts Facebook on the same evolutionary path with Six Apart… at the conceptual level, both companies are ultimately aimed at becoming personalized portal platforms (what I’ve previously referred to as “consoles for consumer control“)."
Marc Canter's vision is very appealing. He says there won't be only a few large centralized social networking services, but instead expects there to be many smaller ones that are relevant in a specific context. The larger ones will facilitate this by building the social networking infrastructure (with Facebook and Six Apart as leading examples), using standards and open APIs. However, a consequence of this will be that at least part of the advertising revenues will go to the niche oriented services. The fact that a user uses SixApart's Vox to create a profile, write blog posts and submit videos (read Robert's piece on 'consoles for consumer control') doesn't necessarily mean they will be seen (consumed) by others at the same place. They will be cross-posted to the relevant niche networks... And that's why I think opening up Facebook for everyone was a bad idea. They are losing their context (students, universities). How will that end...?
"I’m probably also one of the very few that felt Facebook made the absolute right decision when they opened up its social network. Their timing, in my opinion, could not have been better, particularly in terms of competitive positioning against MySpace. With the move, there is no doubt in my mind that Facebook has placed itself on a new growth curve… one that will benefit from the churn of members from competitors as well as newbies to social networks. Having said that, let me qualify my thesis a bit. As I wrote in my last post, Facebook has a low “narcissism” ratio, relative to more “Hollywood-oriented” social media services… and it’s very important that it stay that way as it pulls back its velvet rope to the masses. But doing so puts Facebook on the same evolutionary path with Six Apart… at the conceptual level, both companies are ultimately aimed at becoming personalized portal platforms (what I’ve previously referred to as “consoles for consumer control“)."
Grote en kleine social networking diensten
Ik ben het met Robert Young eens dat Facebook en Six Apart de twee meest interessante 'mainstream' social networking diensten zijn om te volgen. Waar ik echter moeite mee heb is zijn impliciete stelling dat advertentieinkomsten deze diensten erg waardevol gaan maken. Ik geloof zelf sterk in de visie van Marc Canter dat er niet een paar grote online social networks zullen zijn (zoals ook Erwin denkt), maar eerder vele kleintjes die allemaal relevant zijn in een bepaalde context. De 'grote jongens' gaan dat faciliteren doordat ze een social networking infrastructuur aan het bouwen zijn (met Facebook en Six Apart als goede voorbeelden), gebruik makend van standaarden en open API's. Echter, dat betekent ook dat veel van de advertentieinkomsten (middels pageviews) uiteindelijk bij de niche diensten terecht gaan komen. Het feit dat een gebruiker bijvoorbeeld SixApart's Vox gebruikt om een profiel aan te maken, stukjes te schrijven en video's te plaatsen (zie ook Robert's stuk over 'consoles for consumer control') betekent niet dat iedereen ze daar ook zal zien. Ze worden namelijk meteen doorgeplaatst naar de relevante niche netwerken. En daarom is het feit dat Facebook is geopend voor iedereen wat mij betreft een slechte zaak, ze verliezen daarmee namelijk hun context (studenten, universiteiten). Gaat dat goed aflopen....?
"I’m probably also one of the very few that felt Facebook made the absolute right decision when they opened up its social network. Their timing, in my opinion, could not have been better, particularly in terms of competitive positioning against MySpace. With the move, there is no doubt in my mind that Facebook has placed itself on a new growth curve… one that will benefit from the churn of members from competitors as well as newbies to social networks. Having said that, let me qualify my thesis a bit. As I wrote in my last post, Facebook has a low “narcissism†ratio, relative to more “Hollywood-oriented†social media services… and it’s very important that it stay that way as it pulls back its velvet rope to the masses. But doing so puts Facebook on the same evolutionary path with Six Apart… at the conceptual level, both companies are ultimately aimed at becoming personalized portal platforms (what I’ve previously referred to as “consoles for consumer control“)."
What ever happened to OhmyNews?
BusinessWeek has an update on OhmyNews, the newspaper largely made by citizens and itself very newsworthy a couple of years ago. Beginning 2003 I wrote about for the first time.
Apparently OhmyNews is not yet structurally profitable. Read the article for the details, but this quote from McKinsey's Korean director is very short sighted for someone who is a strategic advisor to large corporations....
"Other industry watchers also express doubts that citizen journalism will turn out to be a going concern. Had it been an attractive global model, "someone would have made lots of money by now," adds Stephen
Bear, Seoul-based director of McKinsey's Korean operation."
Apparently OhmyNews is not yet structurally profitable. Read the article for the details, but this quote from McKinsey's Korean director is very short sighted for someone who is a strategic advisor to large corporations....
"Other industry watchers also express doubts that citizen journalism will turn out to be a going concern. Had it been an attractive global model, "someone would have made lots of money by now," adds Stephen
Bear, Seoul-based director of McKinsey's Korean operation."
Wat is er gebeurd met OhmyNews?
BusinessWeek geeft een update over OhmyNews, de krant die grotendeels gemaakt wordt door burgers en een paar jaar geleden zelf veel in het nieuws was. Begin 2003 schreef ik er voor het eerst over.
Kennelijk is OhmyNews nog niet structureel winstgevend. Lees voor de details het artikel, maar deze quote van de Koreaanse McKinsey baas vond ik nogal kortzichtig voor iemand die strategisch advies geeft aan klanten....
"Other industry watchers also express doubts that citizen journalism
will turn out to be a going concern. Had it been an attractive global
model, "someone would have made lots of money by now," adds Stephen
Bear, Seoul-based director of McKinsey's Korean operation."
Kennelijk is OhmyNews nog niet structureel winstgevend. Lees voor de details het artikel, maar deze quote van de Koreaanse McKinsey baas vond ik nogal kortzichtig voor iemand die strategisch advies geeft aan klanten....
"Other industry watchers also express doubts that citizen journalism
will turn out to be a going concern. Had it been an attractive global
model, "someone would have made lots of money by now," adds Stephen
Bear, Seoul-based director of McKinsey's Korean operation."
woensdag 1 november 2006
Wikipedia heerst
Ik merk dat ik Wikipedia steeds vaker gebruik. En er ook naar link vanaf m'n weblogs. Ik ben duidelijk niet de enige wanneer je dit onderzoek leest. Maar in toenemende mate gebruik ik Wikipedia echter direct, niet via een zoekmachine. Gaat interessant worden om te zien hoe, en of, Google and Yahoo die trend(?) zullen omarmen.
"In a research project, Cuhalev gathered a random sample of about 1,000 of the 1.4 million topics covered by Wikipedia. He then ran the terms through the Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines. He found that Wikipedia did in fact appear with remarkable consistency in the upper reaches of search results. On average, the online encyclopedia appeared in the top-ten search results 65% of the time - and 26% of the time it actually had two results in the top ten. (Cuhalev has posted a summary of his findings on his blog, and the full report can be downloaded here.)"
"In a research project, Cuhalev gathered a random sample of about 1,000 of the 1.4 million topics covered by Wikipedia. He then ran the terms through the Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines. He found that Wikipedia did in fact appear with remarkable consistency in the upper reaches of search results. On average, the online encyclopedia appeared in the top-ten search results 65% of the time - and 26% of the time it actually had two results in the top ten. (Cuhalev has posted a summary of his findings on his blog, and the full report can be downloaded here.)"
Wikipedia rules
I find myself using Wikipedia more and more these days. And linking to it as well. Apparently I'm not the only one when looking at these research results. Increasingly I'm using Wikipedia directly however, not through a search engine. So it will be interesting to see how, and if, Google and Yahoo will embrace that trend(?).
"In a research project, Cuhalev gathered a random sample of about 1,000 of the 1.4 million topics covered by Wikipedia. He then ran the terms through the Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines. He found that Wikipedia did in fact appear with remarkable consistency in the upper reaches of search results. On average, the online encyclopedia appeared in the top-ten search results 65% of the time - and 26% of the time it actually had two results in the top ten. (Cuhalev has posted a summary of his findings on his blog, and the full report can be downloaded here.)"
"In a research project, Cuhalev gathered a random sample of about 1,000 of the 1.4 million topics covered by Wikipedia. He then ran the terms through the Google, Yahoo, and MSN search engines. He found that Wikipedia did in fact appear with remarkable consistency in the upper reaches of search results. On average, the online encyclopedia appeared in the top-ten search results 65% of the time - and 26% of the time it actually had two results in the top ten. (Cuhalev has posted a summary of his findings on his blog, and the full report can be downloaded here.)"
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