Blue Interactive Agency

Comparing Visitor Engagement by Keyword to Uncover User Patterns on Your Site

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:29:58 -0500

How imperative are each of your website keywords, and what sorts of user behaviors are stemming once they arrive at your page through specific keywords? Before deciding to eliminate a keyword from your list for optimization of your site, consider a few tweaks in the content. Oftentimes a keyword will draw a user in enough to visit a page, but the content is not relevant enough to keep the visitor engaged long enough to remain interested, click through, and consider a purchase.

Oftentimes, raw aggregate data is not enough to go on in determining behaviors and visiting patterns of users. By narrowing down and taking a look at just the keywords levels in your website analytics, you may better compare a variety of groups and types of visitors.

Ask yourself: Is there a keyword lowering user engagement stats? Conversely, is there a keyword whose visitors are highly engaged?

Take a moment to analyze your visitors' next steps. Many analytics platforms offer a feature that provides a list of where visitors click to after landing on a page within your site. Whether users are moving deeper into the site and closer to purchase, or retreating further out of the site, recognizing common next steps of users based on their keyword use will help you uncover future paths of other visitors.

From there, reasses the conbination of your keywords in relation to their relevance or irrelevance.

Although developing an effective strategy for keyword use is important, results take time and often depend on how the keyword strategy aligns with the content involved in the site. In the grand scheme, alignment in relevance between your content and keyword use will produce the best results.

Silverpop and SeeWhy Partner to Automate and Optimize Abandonment Follow-up Actions

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:36:44 -0500

Silverpop, currently the world’s sole provider of marketing automation solutions and email marketing has partnered with SeeWhy, Inc., the website conversion company. Silverpop accommodates the specific demands of B2C and B2B marketing, while SeeWhy optimizes real-time actions of unique visitors to a site, improving website conversion through perpetual analysis of visitors’ behaviors.

The partnership between these two companies integrates Abandonment Tracker Pro, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering which meets the demand for remarketing solutions by automating and optimizing abandonment follow-up actions. SeeWhy’s research has found that within the first and most crucial hour of a user abandoning a site, only two percent of web analytics users are able to conduct email remarketing campaigns beyond their regularly generated email marketing campaigns.

In addition, of the users not currently performing email remarketing and ROI conversion strategies, ninety percent have an interest in doing so. Further supporting those numbers, the 8^th Annual Merchant Survey of the e-tailing group discovered the top technique merchants plan to use in order to impact their web conversion rates is targeted email marketing.

Following online shopping cart abandonment, there is typically a number of days that pass before an email remarketing strategy is used. However, immediate follow-up is the most relevant and least intrusive to the recipient. The integration of Silverpop with Abandonment Tracker Pro, real-time email capabilities become a realistic remarketing strategy. This can have a dramatic and positive impact on a site’s conversion rates, encouraging up to half of abandoners to buy with a simple and effectively-timed follow-up. If too much time goes by, the abandoner will find the product elsewhere or completely lose interest.

Google Simplifies Our Lives. Again. For Free.

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:28:12 -0500

In March, Google announced Google Voice, a new addition to the company's toolbox of technology crafted to improve and simplify the way we manage our phone calls, texts and voicemail. The concept stems from GrandCentral, bought by Google a few years ago.

The tool enables users to use a single number for all incoming home, work or mobile calls simultaneously. Did I mention this service is FREE? Now that I have your attention, while the technology does not seem as impressive as some new media tools, it is most definitely a needed convenience in the busy lives of many. In addition, those already using the service are grateful, with more time freed up from organizing and synchronizing work and personal connections and scheduling. Let's point out the obvious-you could essentially never miss a call.

Initially, the new service was only available to existing GrandCentral clients. Now, those who email Google to request the service will get back an invite via email for it. Customers are able to select their own number, and begin controlling their phones...all of them.

While the innovative service remains free of charge at the moment, it should be interesting to see how the tool affects Google's mobile strategy in time.Relayed by Blue Ineractive Agency, your Fort Lauderdale web design and interactive marketing team.

Google News Now Trawling Wikipedia

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:31:42 -0500

To acknowledge the popularity and large fan-base enjoyed by online user-derived dictionary/encyclopedia Wikipedia, Google News is now including it among the stable of publications its bots crawl to generate the site. While Wikipedia's articles have long appeared among Google search results, now when you perform a search specific to Google News, some of the returned results will feature prominent links to Wikipedia articles.

The new standard started as an experiment, visible to only a small number of Google's searchers. The company noticed that people were using the Wikipedia articles, which are drafted by volunteers collaborating online, and moved to make the function permanent. Google found that people were utilizing the Wikipedia articles as complementary information to other sources found in their search. Google's quest to provide relevant content to search queries is an ongoing strategy by the company that is frequently enhanced and altered.

The new strategy by Google News was actually news to Wikipedia, who learned of the enhancement through an online subject by the Nieman Journalism Lab.

Twitter Upgrades Tweet Fleet

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:28:48 -0500

As popular micro-blogging site Twitter propels forward, it is being groomed and tweaked to fit the needs and preferences of its dynamic user base. Recent changes include improvements to Twitter search function, and the addition of a prominent featured user section. Twitter ascended rapidly to become the third-largest online social networking service, and is showing that it is remaining dedicated by constantly evaluating and evolving its forum.

Prioritizing search has been a smart move for Twitter. People search daily, many multiple times daily for information, products, and services. For this reason, providing a convenient and functional search option is a great way to cater to Twitter users. Twitter users also tend to be frequent tweeters, so access to a search bar along with the Twitter platform is a perfect match for tweeters searching for information. Twitter has expanded its search bar, shrinking the Twitter logo at the top slightly.

The changes were made with a new search text-entry box positioned at the top right of the site. The revamped Twitter search will boast the capacity to search for tweets that match not just the search query word, but to return relevant discussion about the query. Watch out Google. Many Twitter users are unlikely to notice the small tweaks and changes rolling out, as a large portion of tweeters use the service via stand-alone apps developed by third-party companies, such as Hootsuite and TweetDeck.Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, Fort Lauderdale web design and internet marketing firm.

Twitter Redesign to Feature Expanded Search Bar

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:46:41 -0500

It hardly seems possible that Twitter has already chirped its way to the third-largest online social networking service, riding the draft winds of Facebook and Myspace, according to Compete. The majority of Tweeters initially signed up for the service in 2008, thus giving Twitter an impressive online traffic increase of almost 1000 percent in its first year. I assume a thank-you Oprah is in order...along with other high profile and celebrity tweetsters.

More recently, there has been increasing chatter in the cyber-sphere about Twitter attracting a growing number of users, possibly positioning it to potentially ...compete with Google? Surely, that is impossible? Well, Twitter does already feature a search function, search.twitter, and some feel that could allow the social networking sensation to compete with larger search engines someday, if it strengthened its search capabilities.

And to thicken the plot, recently announced new features of Twitter include a...more powerful search function. This will obviously be fascinating to...follow! Sorry, couldn't resist myself. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, Fort Lauderdale web design and interactive marketing firm.

Bing off to a Respectable Start

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:16:02 -0500

While it remains to premature to state victory, Microsoft's latest attempt at search, Bing, is off to a respectable start. At a whopping two weeks old, Bing has generated a nice bump in users, possibly thanks to spreading the word about the newly released search engine.

According to comScore.com, Bing's market share in the U.S. rose from 9.1 to 11.1 percent between June 2nd and June 6th, an impressive figure of its impressions. It is common for new products and services to see an increase in interest and publicity initially, the trick and goal is to capture that interest and maintain it. This becomes especially important given the competition for search business between Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, the search business market leaders. Microsoft has spent much effort and funds promoting Bing on both the internet and television.

Microsoft has succeeded in gaining attention, and is most likely aligning themselves for continued momentum. Not to mention the fact that Bing must perform on a level to compete with number one search engine, no simple task considering the enormity of Google. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, Florida web design and interactive marketing solutions.

Take a Bite out of Apple's New 3GS, and Join YouTube's Citizen News Channel

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:54:10 -0500

Apple Inc. has generated yet another sensational stir by announcing its latest in citizen journalism, err, smartphone technology, with the iPhone 3GS. The next-generation iPhone was introduced on Monday when Apple demonstrated a new video recording function that has the capacity to transform millions of iPhones into tiny video cameras-capturing their surroundings with the touch of a screen.

Completed and complimented with a "Send to YouTube option", it has never been easier to upload iPhone content onto the most popular web video site. This feature will essentially create millions of citizen journalists, armed and ready to share their stories and eyewitness accounts at a moment's notice. The process of gathering, editing and sharing news has never been faster in the history of journalism, or enjoyed such an open sharing platform. The public is becoming increasingly savvy and educated on the techniques and best strategies to use while reporting online, and the ettiquette is continuously improving.

In response to the immense growth in online reporting by individuals on YouTube, the company added a "Citizen News" channel to support the increased need (though some report that the channel is not updated frequently enough).

Technology is improving the method in which users move what they create to where they display it, a very crucial improvement. To locate availability of Apple's 3GS, visit their website for details. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, Florida web design and interactive marketing firm.

Palm Pre Availability

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:33:33 -0500

The Palm Pre has been one of the most anticipated smartphone releases for the summer of 2009, and following its June 06th release, it was not exactly the "iPhone killer" that the masses buzzed about.

The Palm Pre debuted at The Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan on Friday morning, catering to "business customers", as the key word was used repetitively. This is not surprising, as Sprint's business sector makes up a majority of the company's income. In recent years, many of Sprint's clientele have transitioned to rival carriers to obtain the latest in multimedia devices and services. Sprint is optimistic that the Palm Pre could be the solution to entice new clients and retain its current ones.

When asked about the potential availability of the Palm Pre through Verizon in the future, Sprint avoided the question by stating that the company would be the sole distributor of the device in the United States until the end of 2009.

Palm Pre and Sprint executives tap-danced around bluntly comparing the new device to Apple's iPhone by placing emphasis on the competitive features that the Palm Pre has that the iPhone lacks, including a full QWERTY keyboard, removable battery and software features such as cut and paste (a common complaint of iPhone users).

The Palm Pre will integrate with Facebook to import profile photos into address books, and it is expected to release a beta version of the software developer's kit to outside developer's in the very near future. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, Fort Lauderdale web development for your interactive identity.

Privacy V.S. Progress

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:30:58 -0500

With all of the concern regarding online privacy and tracking, it is important to take into account the differing views and opinions involved. There are some who simply want more information provided to them about how they are being tracked online, and to have more control over how the information gathered about them is utilized.

The current data practices of Internet companies are not cohesive with the expectations of their customers, thus creating a rift between the parties. It is common for Internet companies to collect information about their users, and also to divulge what other sites were visited by the user in a growing of marketers to appeal to an increasingly receptive audience based on tracking their interests, age, gender and habits. This practice is referred to as behavioral targeted advertising.

Under much debate is the practice of Ghostery, wherein companies use browser plug-ins that detect cookies, web beacons, and other third party attempts to collect information from users and store it, often without their knowledge. Studies are still going back and forth with accusations, but what remains the most amazing is the often overlooked fact that online marketing is evolving into a futuristic and accurate being, and is developing the ability to single out their target audience, a way to save the time and effort of both marketers and users. It seems that once the etiquette of personal information storage and usage is clearly defined, the process will become quite the norm. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, South Florida web development and online marketing agency.

Google unleashes Wave upon us-Google Wave

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:05:47 -0500

The innovative and ingenious creators of Google Maps, Jens and Lars Rasmussen, have been busily developing Google's newest communication and collaboration tool-Google Wave. For the past two years, the brothers have been in Australia developing the new tool for communicating over the Web. They exhibited their work for developers in San Francisco on Thursday.

Essentially, Google Wave is an application operating in a Web browser that creates a shared online desktop for two or more users to easily interact and exchange messages and information, similar to instant messaging or email. The users are able to share and edit rich documents including images, formatted text and graphics. A cool feature of Google Wave is the ability for users to drag and drop widgets into a Wave, and play a game together, publishing results to the Web or saving them. According to Lars,
"It is a communications and collaborations tool. We call it a Wave. It is equal measure document and conversation".

A novel concept from the bright minds behind the sensational Google Maps, Wave will be available in late 2009. Google is making the tool available to developers immediately, to incite them to build new apps for it. Rumor is that developers at Google have created a Wave that follows the Twitter messages of the user. It has the potential to become a convenient place where people can keep up with various mail and instant messaging accounts. Google is certainly making waves, and showing that internet browsers have become dominant enough to be used as a platform to develop multifaceted apps-a potential blow to the desktop. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, South Florida web design and online marketing firm.

Can you Bing it?

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:43:15 -0500

Word is that Microsoft is striding towards progress in its plight to compete with Google's internet search lead. (We recommend a catapult). Microsoft has dubbed its latest challenger "Bing". It would certainly seem that search can be as catchy to get into as the names they go by, requiring tenacity to brand and compete.
The unveiling of Bing will signify that Microsoft may be beginning to progress in its efforts to revive its internet search business, which is dominated by Google and tailed by Yahoo, placing Microsoft in 3rd place.
The marketing minds of Microsoft are aiming for Bing to depict a sound, similar to a bell to signify the moment when a search provides an answer. Aha! We get it now. Bing is fully equipped to assist users with locating goods and services, and responding to typical search queries. Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of Microsoft's online audience business groups described Bing as "the sound of found".

Google rose to infamy relatively quickly, so much so that the word google itself began to be used synonymously with search. Bing is Microsoft's answer to Google, a term that Bill Gates no doubt hopes users will begin to embrace, and to um...Bing things. Bing is set to replace Microsoft's Live Search, which replaced MSN Search. Billions of dollars later, the company is paying attention to Google's tactics (which include a quirky name).

Google's fast track has plunged them into a cozy lead over other search business competitors, in fact, it would seem as though there are no competitors. It is, of course, too soon to tell if Microsoft's rebranding tactic will have much of an impact against such a force. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, Fort Lauderdale web design and online marketing firm.

Germany data protection official threatens Google Street View

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:08:02 -0500

Thursday a German data protection official threatened search powerhouse Google with "unspecified sanctions" should the company not conform with the country's strict privacy laws regarding the use of Google Street View.

German data protection regulator for the city of Hamburg, Johannes Caspar, relayed that officials were leaning toward using force to pursue unspecified sanctions unless Google provided written guarantees agreeing to alterations before 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Google's German headquarters is located in Hamburg.

It seems the two entities are of differing opinion when it comes to 12 points involving the operation of Google's Street View. One example is that in Germany, there are privacy laws in place that forbid distribution of pictures taken of individuals on their property without their consent.

Currently, Google is posting the captured data and removing it when a subject/property owner makes a complaint. Some are concerned about Google's handling of the data it records that has been removed. In Germany, private citizens may also sue Google in German court for unauthorized filming.

In the city of Kiel on the Baltic Sea, residents placed stickers on their doors last year warning Google not to film their property on Google Street View. Google has been diligently compiling photos of France, Italy, Spain, Britain, the Netherlands and more in Europe since 2008 for its new Street View feature. Thus far, approximately 300 people in Germany have voiced complaints to officials regarding the filming.

Google has not yet determined a date for introducing Street View into Germany, which is the largest of the European economy. Both sides are working to resolve the impasse. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, South Florida web design and online marketing firm.

Yahoo, "The End of the Blue Links"

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Wed, 27 May 2009 08:39:45 -0500

The latest ComScore results from April are not suprising, Google holds the lead in the world of search with 64.2 percent, placing Yahoo at 20.4 and Microsoft pulling in at 8.2 percent. The word dominate comes to mind here. Yet it is not Google's style to adhere to auto-pilot, they are continually improving and tweaking their search technology. Yahoo has been doing the same.

Recently in San Francisco, Yahoo touted its progress with its own search developments, calling the presentation "The End of The 10 Blue Links". Speakers included head of Yahoo Labs and Yahoo Search Strategy Prabhakar Raghavan, Vice President for consumer products Larry Cornett, and Senior Director for mobile search Lee Ott.

Yahoo showcased the highlights of the methods the company has used to evolve its search strategies over the years. Previously, answers to queries for a sporting event, theatre inquiry, celebrities and more would provide neat rows of blue links. Yahoo determined, in large part due to its mobile search tactics, that users were most interested in locating information when searching for things, such as location, show dates and times, etc rather than simply another link.

For that reason, Yahoo has been working to increasingly provide boxes of information rather than links commonly displayed in its search results, complete with photos and or video when available. Mr. Raghavan explained Yahoo's web evolution as a move from a Web of pages to a Web of objects-a more tangible Web.

This is possible thanks to algorithms and Search Monkey. Search Monkey allows publishers to flag information on their pages directly to Yahoo, making it easier for the search engine to process. Yahoo is striving to meet and exceed the intent of its search users, and will continue to evolve over time. Relayed by Blue Interactive, Fort Lauderdale online marketing and Web development firm.

Google faces class action suit regarding trademark infringement accusations

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:58:20 -0500

Google has found itself in murky waters over its online advertising practices. There are companies who are livid about the methods Google allows paid ad placements to operate. Google defends its practices, citing the effectiveness of competitive trademark usage.

Geico, American Airlines and other large corporate entities have filed suit against Google regarding the competitive uses of their respective trademarks (those suits were settled). Brand owners consider the usage abuse of their brands, and say that it confuses customers and increases the cost of doing business.

Google is unphased by the commotion and lawsuits. In fact, this month, Google spread its policy of permitting anyone to purchase someone else's trademark as a trigger for an online advertisement to 190 new countries. Google will also allow limited use of trademarks in the text of some search ads, regardless of if the owner of the trademark objects.

Google maintains that the changes will lead to ads that have more relevance to the user. An example being that if someone entered "Dell" into a query, not only would the official Dell website appear, but other sites who sell Dell products.

Microsoft and Yahoo allow similar uses of trademarks within the text of their online advertisements, although they do not allow the controversial method of utilizing trademarks as triggers for competitor ads. Dynamics of trademark usage are up for a unique interpretation on the internet. Google functions for its users, the ultimate in search technology, if a Google user is searching for a product, they will also be provided with competing products with potentially lower prices. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, your Fort Lauderdale interactive marketing solution.

Gremlins, Tribbles and Twitters

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:44:44 -0500

The Starship Enterprise had tribbles, and we have twitters. In the original Star Trek, tribbles were similar to Gizmo from the Gremlins, furry, adorable, and reproduced in the same rapid and anomalous manner. The adorable puffs soon became arduous to manage. Enter Twitter.

The unremitting stream of information bestowed upon us by Twitter is quite comparable to the gremlins and tribbles, in the form of tweets. The popularity of blogging has hit the microscopic scale, and micro blogging is now filling every available crevice with tidbits of information and constant updates, leaving many feeling overwhelmed.

The popularity of Twitter has soared, attracting an extensive variety of users, from celebrities like Oprah Winfrey to businesses eager to connect with prospects on a more personal platform. Twitters numbers are astounding and impressive, during the month of April the site relished an 83% increase in traffic, drawing in an additional 17 million new users (according to ComScore).

Twitter will continue to evolve and improve, striving to attract new users while maintaining current user satisfaction to the best of their ability. Upwards of 60% of new Twitter newbies stop using it in their first month (according to Neilsen) a figure the company would like to improve. Twitter is aiming for roots and wings. Relayed by Blue Interactive, South Florida web design and interactive marketing powerhouse.

Personal Mobile Wi-Fi Bubbles

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:25:52 -0500

One day, we will giggle at the thought of driving around cities in search of WiFi hotspots, or desperately scouring the airwaves in search of an unprotected signal. We will hang out in coffee shops because we want to, not to access delicious free internet. Those days are rapidly in the works. What is stalling universal wireless Internet?

The options available to get online these days are blemished, with much room for improvement. The Internet was drastically altered when users made the leap from desktop to laptop, and the search to improve mobility has leapt and bounded forward exponentially since that stance.

While laptops are mobile, users consistently find themselves much less free than anticipated. Rather, users find themselves rooted to tables in coffee shops, or searching for free Wi-Fi signals, the majority of which are now password protected. Leaving your home with your laptop presents a problem, to connect or not to connect?

Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile or AT&T offer internet on the move, for approximately $60 per month, at not so cable modem speed, and a few laptops have a cellular modem built in, proving to be a zesty drain to the battery.

Imagine your own personal Wi-Fi hot-spot bubble, enveloping you wherever you go...the car, the beach, the mall, without cellular modems. Imagine staying at a hotel, without having to be assaulted and insulted by their grossly overpriced Wi-Fi services. That is freedom. And in case you did not know it, it exists!

The Novatel MiFi 2200, will be available from Verizon in mid-may. Similar to a thick credit card, it has a power button, status indicator light and swappable battery. Turn on your MiFi, wait a few seconds, and revel in your own personal, password protected wireless hot spot. ($100 with a two-year contract of course). With the MiFi in your bag, pocket or vicinity, you are online, unplugged and free to evolve the way you work and live. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, South Florida internet marketing and web design firm.

New Search Tool Tackles Tough Queries

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Thu, 14 May 2009 08:55:08 -0500

Stephen Wolfram of Wolfram Research and his team have been discreetly developing WolframAlpha for years. WolframAlpha is a search tool intended to answer lengthy, more in-depth queries. What Wolfram was very clear on, is that the new search tool is not intended to compete with Google, despite chatter to the contrary and the fact that the tool does not search web pages.

WolframAlpha has the capacity to answer a wide variety of search queries, making it a very useful and anticipated web product. While creator Stephen Wolfram may be interested in developing potential partnerships with search companies, he is displeased with rumors that WolframAlpha is aligning itself to compete with them.

The anticipated WolframAlpha will not help with movie times or camera shopping, but rather it will provide the answers to longer queries using the plethora of data the company has accumulated. The web product is expected to be available at worlframalpha.com this month, yet it will not be a completed product at the time of its release. The project will begin as a working version, and amass increasing amounts of information over the years, providing better answers to complicated queries. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, your Florida web design and SEO solution.

Google Book Search moves along

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:20:11 -0500

The American Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Association of Research Libraries have implored that a federal judge to pay special attention to the class-action settlement between Google, authors and publishers in the Google Book Search controversy.

In a court filling the three groups asked Judge Denny Chin of Federal District Court to provide continued oversight of the settlement, as a measure to ensure that the pricing Google charges for subscriptions to its digital library are not too high from lack of competition. Google Book Search is the only tool of its kind so far, a natural monopoly, and the company has set up alliances.

The groups have also voiced their concern to Judge Chin regarding the privacy of readers of the online books. Google has repeatedly stated that it will place the privacy of users foremost. Google, the Author's Guild and the Association of American Publishers maintain their stance that the deal is beneficial for authors, publishers as well as the public. Google has assured all parties that Google Book Search will not prevent competition.Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, your Florida online marketing resource.

Apple sharpens Nine Inch Nails

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:25:10 -0500

Apple has recently shown its modest side and reinforced its stance on profanity, by rejecting a Nine Inch Nails themed app for the iPhone. As apps developed for the iPhone are on the rise, the company is under more scrutiny regarding the materials found within the applications.

Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails published a message he received from Apple's iPhone developer group over the weekend on nin.com, the band's official website. Apple found the application unsuitable for its iPhone, as it offered a streaming rendition of the band's popular hit "The Downward Spiral", which Apple labeled "objectionable content".

Trent posted on nin.com that he loved Apple products, and that he urged the company to "think your policies through", to which Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This Apple application issue comes directly on the heels of the controversial baby shaking app released and then retracted by the company. The app sold for .99 cents, and upon shaking your iPhone the baby on the screen would appear with two red X's coving its eyes, to signify its demise. There was an online uproar over the baby application, and Apple promptly removed it. For more information on technology and interactive marketing, visit Blue interactive Agency blog

MySpace Slows Down

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:02:24 -0500

There are people who use MySpace, Facebook, and those who feel compelled to use both social networking sites. MySpace has the title of the country's leading social networking service, yet has been slowly losing its users.

There is a recent trend showing some users gravitating to other social media networks, notably Facebook. According to ComScore, MySpace users are younger and have lower incomes than Facebook users, so it is important to separate user demographics in order to obtain a more complete perspective on the issue.
The trend for parents, executives and career-oriented individuals to choose Facebook over MySpace is mostly due to the available features incorporated into the site that make it ideal for business connects and use. The music industry is still connected deeply to MySpace, where nearly every band seems to have a MySpace page for fans.

Social networks are evolving and becoming a part of everyday personal and business dealings, with new features and politics keeping users interested. It seems that the platform MySpace utilizes simply does not offer enough interactive features to satisfy a user base that is becoming accustomed to them. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, SEO web design and internet marketing firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Google's Book Search still under scrutiny

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:40:25 -0500

Google's controversial Book Search has been under the microscope from many angles over the past few months. Recently, the Justice Department has begun an inquiry into the antitrust implications of the settlement between Google and the authors and publishers.

The settlement was announced in October, and it grants Google permission to place library books online, and to profit by selling access to individual works and subscriptions to the collection to libraries and other institutions, and share the revenue among the publishers and authors.

The various groups who are opposed to the settlement include the Internet Archive and Consumer Watchdog. Lawyers for the Justice Department notified parties to the settlement, including Google, representatives for the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild that antitrust issues were being scrutinized.

Critics of the settlement raise concerns that it gives Google an exclusive license to profit from millions of books, and they claim this is unfair. In 2005, a class action suit was filed by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers against Google over its Book Search technology, which scans works found in libraries for users to access online. Google Book Search generated a stir regarding its use of copyrighted works and accusations of violations thereof. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, your Florida web design and search engine marketing solution.

General Electric's digital breakthrough puts 100 DVD's on one disc

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:18:16 -0500

General Electric announced on Monday that it has discovered a breakthrough in the form of a digital storage device with the capacity to store the information contained on 100 DVD's, on one disc. The advance in storage is currently in the laboratory success stage.

The breakthrough disc is said to be in the laboratory success stage until it is proven to work with products that have the potential to be mass-produced at affordable prices. Industry analysts and optical storage experts who were informed of the breakthrough agree that it holds the potential to push the envelope in consumer, commercial and scientific markets. Low cost storage evolves consistently, giving G.E. the potential to be the next big thing in low-cost digital storage.

G.E. has also been developing promising endeavors in the field of holographic storage, the optical process that stores three-dimensional images as well as the 1's and 0's of digital data. Holographic storage may be able to package much more information than conventional optical technology like DVDs and high-capacity Blu-Ray discs. Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency, Florida web design and interactive marketing solution.

Tweets from your Tweeps, Twerps & Twitching

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:18:11 -0500

Oprah's first tweet increased Twitter traffic by 43%...yes...it happened (this according to Hitwise web tracker). Twitter can thank Oprah's tweetership for an estimated million new users joining post-broadcast. The self-propagating social networking craze is twitching its way to the twip-top, one tweeting celeb at a time.

Twitter is a digital pulse with the ability to serve as many things to many tweeps. Users have the capacity to choose which people and companies to follow, essentially molding their very own news reels. The obsession over Tweeting on Twitter becomes apparent when all of the bursts, insights, advice, random musings and complaints are updated, a lot, and lobbed at users at a bamboozling pace.

Those opposed to Twitter cite an overabundance of technological tools in an already overflowing toolbox. Torn by the tech-savvy transitions, these poor individuals are new to and intimidated by Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and perhaps found transitioning from their prehistoric desktops to laptops threatening. For these users, I recommend tweet tools designed to minimize noise, such as TweetDeck and Nambu. Technology continues to evolve and excite, to tweet or not to tweet, that is the question.Relayed by Blue Interactive Agency,your Florida web design and integrated marketing solution.

Yahoo and Microsoft still flirting?

Blue Interactive Agency (Blue Inteactive Agency) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:20:00 -0500

It has been a difficult time as of late for many companies, Microsoft and Yahoo included. It is reported that the two online entities have resumed talks regarding a wide-ranging advertising partnership. Talks of an outright merger or sale of Yahoo's search business to Microsoft have not resumed thus far.

Investors have long been chattering over the business possibilities between Microsoft and Yahoo. Market results Tuesday after close show that Yahoo's troubles are not yet past, as they are down from a year ago. Ears are perked for further development details that could spell progress in the near future.

Investors have been honing in on various key points to form predictions, including a new round of potential layoffs, which are rumored to cut several hundred positions in addition to the 2,400 jobs cut last year. Another measure Yahoo has undertaken in attempts to recover is to attempt to sell some of its properties, including HotJobs.

Expected net revenue analysts expect Yahoo to report are approximately $1.2 billion, down from last year's $1.35 billion. On the upside for online business, Google has enjoyed a 10 percent net revenue rise this year. Updated by Blue Interactive, your SEO web design and interactive marketing firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.