Ready for a fierce competition? YouTube.com may be one of the most visited sites right now but what do you think of MySpace TV? They have the audience. But they are pretty much doing the same thing YouTube is doing, only… a few steps later. What about a new site from News Corp. and NBC Media that will offer full-length episodes without infringing on copyrights called Hulu.com! Not bad for companies that are usually competing against themselves!

It’s not available yet but their site claims to be launching a Beta version to users who sign up through Hulu.com sometime in October. While Google scrambles to try and make money from YouTube they may have a bigger battle on their hands when this site launches. It’s got the financial backing of some major players and a name that’s easy to remember. If it provides a unique look at online videos it could very well give YouTube a run for their money.

Jason Kilar is the inaugural CEO and has some impressive experience in establishing innovative companies known to rock the Internet world. Does Amazon.com ring a bell? He was a Senior Vice President there.

Of course there is a lot of theory being thrown around and we won’t know until Hulu.com launches but there is definitely a space for someone with a good niche to step in as a legitimate competitor to YouTube. This will make for great marketing discussion for a long time!

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Something monumental happened earlier this month and you probably didn’t even notice. Unless you’re a nerd with the Alexa tool bar installed on your browser you wouldn’t have noticed that MSN recently overtook Google, in terms of Global traffic rank, to own the #2 overall spot. This could be a sign that the do-no-wrong Google might be mortal after all. This is monumental because MSN can now offer advertisers the second highest traffic rank on the Internet, which means big bucks while Google just got a Whammy. When single day spots on Yahoo can fetch six figure placement costs what do you think moving up in ranking will do for MSN? Even a fraction of movement could have enormous financial impact, so believe me it’s important.

Then again, rank could just be digital smoke and mirrors. Media Metrix reports that Microsoft is only the fourth ranked property in the United States (July 2007), beyind Yahoo!, Google and Time Warner (AOL). If you look a little deeper you’d see that the only country it ranks #1 is in Chile and in the United States it’s the FIFTH most popular site, allowing MySpace and YouTube to crash the party behind Yahoo! and Google.

Did you see that? I said “property” and “site” while the actual domain is something entirely different too. Hitwise lists msn.com as the NINTH most visited domain, behind Microsoft’s own hotmail.com. All very compelling if put in the right sentence. I’m certain you can bet that salesmen at MSN are sure to be playing that tune to their advantage when collecting ad placement fees! If you are trying to buy those spots you may think this Rank Marketing (traffic rank) is rather rank Marketing (highly offensive; disgusting).

For the record, HookorSink.com’s rank has surged to #286,505 globally and #29,425 in the United States (Aug 30, 2007). Watch out Google and MSN, this marketing discussion blog is coming up fast!

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With the purchase of Cingular and BellSouth AT&T is looking to cut costs by consolidating their advertising and marketing budget. Advertising Age estimates their overall spend topping $3.3 billion in 2006. So when the nations second leading advertiser shifts, we listen. Recently, AT&T gave Omnicom Group’s BBDO lead agency responsibility and is now analyzing it’s media buying and planning account. The review is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Incidentally, Proctor & Gamble is the nations leading advertiser (admittedly, this link has AT&T as #3).

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Online dating services are one of the most heavily scrutinized channels on the Internet and it’s become an all out battle to be on top. True.com recently gave HookorSink.com a few minutes of their time to answer some questions we had about their marketing, business methods and the industry in general.

Known for their sexy online ads, True.com has found many ways to distinguish themselves from the competition through their underlying philosophy of trying to end divorce and innovative use of technology (They currently hold over 25 different trademarks). Love or hate them you’re sure to have an opinion about their approach. Take a second to hear things from their point of view in this un-edited, raw conversation that may have more than one surprise in store:

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In Madison Avenue’s ongoing quest to convince consumers to clean EVERY orifice, now there is Murine for ears! Introducing Murine Earigate. What’s that you say? I couldn’t hear you. No, not Watergate — Earigate! Get it? Irrigate… nice!

Be sure to check out the scenario of the TV spot below and also a “Director’s cut” of the spot at Murine.com. It sounds like a really fun campaign strategy to introduce a new product. Also, look for the cloned products from various competitors before year’s end!

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Google ain’t no angel and they do, in fact, have to play by real world rules too.  The “buzz” would suggest that only Yahoo! makes mistakes but that’s because the “buzz” doesn’t look any deeper.  Earlier this week Google responded to complaints about customers receiving credits instead of refunds for their videos purchased through Google Checkout, which is being shut down.  When told that their videos already purchased would no longer be visible in February of ’08 customers were not satisfied with credits to buy magazine subscriptions with.  Bindu Reddy, Google’s video product manager, said “Our bad.”

So as Google is looking to actually make money from YouTube they are trying to figure out how.  Getting mixed reviews, YouTube has launched a new in-video advertising opportunity for a select few companies on very specific videos.  These 10 second clips will appear at the bottom of the video while it’s playing.  Original testing indicated that 15 and 30 second clips had a 75% abandonment rate while these 10 second overlays experienced only 10% drop off.

Currently, no ads will appear in user-generated videos but YouTube has signed up 3,000 content providers already.

Will this new method be a stroke of genius (aka “pulling a Google”) or a huge flop (aka “pulling a Yahoo!”)?

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I have been recently involved in the launch of a new web service. One of the channels used to promote this service was through email. As I went deeper into this process i started a research about the efficiency of this method, as well as finding a strategy that will work best. Mr Jakob Nielsen says in his article “Email Newsletters: Surviving Inbox Congestion” that users spend on average 51 seconds on a newsletter, reading about 19% of it’s content. The key word in reading a newsletter is “scanning”.

Why does this happen? The user registered to receive stuff to it’s mail, it means that is interested in what those people offer, but still, 19% of it’s content is read. It made me wonder about this subject, especially when i was involved in promoting a service. The answer hit me when i remembered about an article of Seth Godin, a marketing guru, that said “consumers got way more choices and way less time, and in a world you have more choices and less time, the obvious thing to to is just ignore stuff”. He’s right! I happen to ignore stuff that is sent to my email, and if i consider the subject of the mail to be interesting i place it in a folder that i will probably read later, but in 90% of cases i just delete it, because it didn’t catch me at first.

The i started to realize that even if i registered to receive stuff daily/weekly or monthly it does not mean i have to read it. Ok, i trust the site i subscribed, but this doesn’t mean i like or am interested in everything that site offers me.

So, first impression has a huge impact in my decision of reading that email or not. How do i make my first impression? It’s pretty simple, i just read the subject of the mail. If the subject doesn’t get my attention, that email is just not interesting to me.

In promoting a service or a new product, the subject of the mail should be catchy and in a teaser kind of way. If this makes the user click and see the mail, it’s a good start, but the hard part is just getting started. Remember that 19% and that most email clients have a default setting to block images. So, the whole effort is concentrated in formatting that text is such a manner that is extremely simple to read, and select a few words as keywords to fit in that 19%. The image(s), if seen, should just complete my campaign, and improve my experience in reading that email in almost 51 seconds.

The text should be emotional, to give me a certain feeling. In emails this has higher importance than on websites, because it’s my inbox and I am very important to me so I have to feel good, safe and secure. I decided to read, i am wasting about one minute of my time to give you a chance to convince me about your product. I even might try it, if i see what’s in it for me. How do i see this? Those highlighted keywords must make me read the benefits I have.

If I stop and read more than 19% and if i click to register or to see more than the email won a client. If not, the email was a success, but I am not that much interested in the product. If i delete it just by seeing the subject, then other users might do the same and the campaign is probably a failure.

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Web 2.0 has nothing to do with catchy tunes, except in examples like this. Tay Zonday, a PHD student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, created an overnight spectacle viewed nearly 7 million times on YouTube. It’s catchy and it’s odd and who knows exactly why this particular video is so popular. What IS Web 2.0 about this song is the way it became a hit. Millions of people “tuned” their surfing into YouTube, a collaboration if you will.

So much popularity has brought the video to the forefront of “what’s hot” right now. You can hear references on the radio, see Tay interviewing on Jimmy Kimmel or cruise any number of his online hangouts (MySpace, YouTube, TayZonday.com). His MySpace profile has over 290,000 plays of his songs, his YouTube “channel” has over a million views and his website (although almost completely empty) is in the top 20,000 websites in the U.S. (Aug 22nd, 2007).

If numbers doesn’t impress you then watch out for the true power of Web 2.0, with everyone putting in their own version of this overnight sensation. John Mayer did a cover of the song, Tre Cool of Greenday, McGruff the crimedog, Chad Vader (yeah, like Darth Vader), and numerous other versions. While not everyone who tries to embrace the community of the Internet succeeds, examples like this prove it is possible. So go market yourself with a catchy tune!

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The battle between Microsoft and Apple keeps heating up and we, the consumers, all benefit! Available in “Winter 2007″ Microsoft Surface brings touch-screen computing to a whole new level. As usual, this level will only be attainable to people with really thick wallets. Initial prices are estimated around $10,000 per unit but it just may be worth it.

The 30″ table-top computer allows several people to work on their own or at the same time using only their hands. On their dedicated site Microsoft shows some of the options available right away like reviewing two phones by laying them on the table top. The computer recognizes what model the phone is and displays quick statistics that may sway you to buy one over the other. Sharing photos, sending information and cruising the internet has never been easier. How about paying for your portion of a meal by laying your credit card right on the table and dragging the pictured menu items to your side?

It really is very cool and incredibly innovative. However, every time the mention of something cool comes out about Microsoft so do the nay-saying, Gates haters. Check out a recent blog comment:

IN THE late 1970s !!!!! —> Bill used a rear-projection screen, with an infra-red camera below the “Data Table” (as we called it), which could “see through” the projection coating. So you could see multiple fingers touching the surface of the screen.

This was PROVEN TECHNOLOGY over 30 YEARS AGO !!!!

and another wise, wise individual piggy-backed this sentiment with:

Microsoft does the same damn thing that Apple does – take stuff that already exists and apply it in a way that’s accessible to the public in the form of a product that (many) people can afford to buy and use.
Xerox made the mouse.

Thank you, oh thank you for such wisdom.

Who else has “surface computers” ready for the consumer? If you’re having trouble coming up with an answer that’s because there isn’t anyone. Quick, go search YouTube for some amazing prototype concept videos that aren’t available yet. I’ll even help you out by providing a link directly to Google Search.  And don’t even think about comparing this 30″ table to the miniPhone, I mean iPhone, unless you are one of the few blessed with very tiny fingers.

Save your pennies, this product is going to be cool!

Microsoft gets a “Hook” rating from hookorsink.com.

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I was in Best Buy looking to purchase a DVD player for a friend and noticed a new section in the store, the Apple section.  Of course I couldn’t ignore that it existed so I cautiously wandered over.  I have been courting a Mac for a while but just can’t afford it and was afraid if I actually touched it the temptation might be too much to handle.  The newly advertised iMacs weren’t out yet but the old ones along with the sexy laptops were all out to play with.

Best Buy is apparently testing these new stations within a select few Southern California stores and I’m lucky enough to live near one.  ZDNet first published the news based on BestBuy.com’s suggestion that Apple’s were “Available at most stores”.  However, Apple Insider has noted that these setups exist at only 7 of their stores.

What interested me at first was the obviously cool computers but a second look helped me realize how far away this section was from the normal computers.  It’s almost like the Apple’s are too good to hang out with those lowly PC laptops and desktops.  Is this tech-elitism enough to tempt people like me into purchasing a Mac because I can touch the beauty now?  Since it’s still being tested we won’t know for sure.  However, I did walk out of the Best Buy with only a DVD player.

Image from CNet’s News.com

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