E-Commerce News: E-Marketing

Marketers Aim to Self-Regulate Consumer Tracking Online

Thursday - July 2, 2009

Companies that track consumer behavior online for advertising purposes are vowing to make their practices more transparent and to give people a way to decline being shadowed. It's unclear how much of an effect the new policies will have. One consumer group said the changes don't go far enough, and that extensive profiles of people still will be collected without their complete consent. The new guidelines, which were due to be unveiled Thursday, represent the industry's attempt at self-regulation. [More...]

The Business Case for Virtual Business, Part 2

Tuesday - June 30, 2009

There's no doubt some companies have succeeded in using virtual worlds for branding and interaction with their customers, whether through in-world stores, billboards or other means. Wells Fargo, for instance, has been operating its Stagecoach Island aimed at young customers for roughly four years and says it is pleased with the results. [More...]

Flash to Brighten Most Smartphones - iPhone, BlackBerry to Stay Dim

Tuesday - June 23, 2009

With the news that its omnipresent-on-the-desktop Flash player will be available in more mobile forms before the end of the year, Adobe is finally following through on its goal of joining the smartphone party -- but the two biggest names in that market are still missing from the invitation list. [More...]

Twitter Game Makes Money for the Mob

Tuesday - June 23, 2009

Twitter's founders still haven't decided how to cash in on their popular Internet messaging service -- to the delight of a rapidly growing audience. However, the deliberate approach may not prevent a gold rush among opportunistic outsiders. Lolplaying, the maker of a new role-playing game on Twitter called "140 Mafia," is trying to explore Twitter's moneymaking potential. [More...]

Gold Mine or Legal Mine Field: Pay Per Click Ads vs. Trademarked Keywords

Tuesday - June 23, 2009

Since its conception in 1996, Google's search engine has played a key role in redefining not only the role of the Internet, but also the accessibility of the Internet to the end-user. In 2000, Google began selling ads associated with search keywords. However, the way these ads are triggered has led to numerous controversies. [More...]

The Business Case for Virtual Business, Part 1

Tuesday - June 23, 2009

It wasn't long after the launch of Linden Lab's Second Life back in 2003 that companies and organizations around the globe began to sit up and take notice. The prospect of millions of potential customers -- all flocking to the same destination and congregating there -- is enough to whet the appetite of even the most conservative and change-averse organization, after all. [More...]

Drug Company Data Mining: Healthcare or Marketing?

Saturday - June 20, 2009

The prescription drugs you take are on the minds of a lot of people: judges on two federal courts, legislators in several states, countless doctors and, at the center, the companies that make money by figuring out who's prescribing what. Data-mining firms have sued to block laws restricting their activities in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. [More...]

Watch Your Word of Mouth

Friday - June 19, 2009

Blogs and online review sites have proliferated in recent years, as ostensibly "with-it" influencers offer "independent" reviews, endorsements and testimonials that increasingly drive consumer traffic to a wide variety of product sellers. However, many of those serving up rave online comments are being compensated in some fashion. [More...]

AP Looks for More Action Online as Newspaper Revenue Fades

Wednesday - June 17, 2009

The Associated Press hopes to negotiate more lucrative licensing deals with major Web sites while mining new revenue from advertisers and readers as the 163-year-old news cooperative adapts to Internet-driven changes in the media. Chief Executive Tom Curley touched upon the AP's financial priorities after a meeting with employees in which he discussed possible revenue opportunities and initiatives to protect online content. [More...]

How Big a Loser Is YouTube?

Wednesday - June 17, 2009

Internet video leader YouTube's losses have been overblown by some analysts, but corporate parent Google doesn't mind the misperception, according to a study being released Wednesday. Technology consultants at RampRate project YouTube's operating losses this year at $174.2 million -- far below the $470.6 million estimated by Credit Suisse analysts Spencer Wang and Kenneth Sena in an April. [More...]

The Next Wave of E-Tail: Considered Commerce

Wednesday - June 17, 2009

The products that fueled first-generation e-commerce -- books, software and music, to name a few -- are all simple to understand items that can be easily shipped to consumers. Today, we are at the outset of a second wave of online growth, as consumers push beyond these simple transactions to research and purchase more complex products online. [More...]

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