PlusOne - Musings of a marketer

The impact of China’s restrictions on access to certain websites may have spilled over to other web services.

Today we find we have been unable to connect to our business associates in Chine using Yahoo IM, and attempts to reconcile communication using Skype and Twitter have also proven unsuccessful.

All Skype users in China appear offline, and the usual quick responses from people when contacted using the Twitter service have been met with a stoney silence.

Has anyone else been experiencing difficulties contacting people in China using these live services?

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If you are looking at where the humble mobile phone is going, this story from AMTA is worth looking at. Seems the modern journalist will be able to go places and do things with an element of subterfuge as they won’t have to lug around lots of equipment…

Journalists use their “mojo” to find new ways of storytelling

Reuters news agency in London has equipped its journalists with a mobile journalism toolkit about a year ago. Reuters’ product manager of mobile and emerging media, Ilicco Elia, says this is the start of a future form of journalism and a new way to tell stories.  In fact, the BBC’s technology editor, Darren Waters, has been filing mojo (mobile journalist) reports from various parts of Europe since late last year, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

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If you have ever had the misfortune to deal with PayPal, you will know what a frustrating time it can be. Response after response that does not deal with your question.

Sadly I have had the same experience with the Telstra email help desk.

This was my question “Can you please provide me with a direct contact number for someone who can talk to me about commercial opportunities with the new Quick Codes. (These are bar codes that can be scanned by new Telstra phones - a VERY useful and exciting prospect - I have been trying to get other suppliers of this style of technology to get it auto installed on Nokia phones ex factory, to no avail…..)

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Wondering how to make a commercial run on the surge to mobile web browsing? It seems at present its pretty clear cut. People look at different things on the weekend that they do during the week.

So here’s the tip….develop products and servcies athat are very much focussed on recreation and leisure.

If you have a web site that deals in recreation or leisure, then make sure you develop a mobile browser friendly version.

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This articles examines the predicted surge in mobile advertising in Australi a with the increased market penetration of 3G handsets that have enhanced data capabilities.

The main drawback as hinted at in this article is that Australia has comparatively high mobile data charges - though lower than some countries like Canada. Telstra is under pressure from 3 who is lowering its data charges to more realistic levels.

Telstra is pushing mobile with several new offerings for marketers about to hit the streets. The main aim is to drive dtat charges onto consumers.

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The old adage that nothing in life is free is very true.

Phone scammers hoodwinking teens - ABC News
Parents are being warned to advise their children about the risk of being tricked into mobile scams.

The New South Wales Government says consumers should be wary of texts or calls asking for a response to a simple trivia question.

Fair Trading Minister Linda Burney says the only reward is higher call costs.

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The rising price of petrol is hurting. It is hurting a lot. This is evidenced by the average speed of motorists - they are driving more slowly in an effort to conserve fuel. People are also driving off at petrol stations without paying.

The Labor Government has had a tinker around the edges with possible ways to reign in the price of petrol.

The National Fuel Watch Scheme may or may not work. It does not work for Shell Australia who publishes their fuel prices on their website every day for branded Shell outlets. But I know that there is one Shell outlet in my city that runs its own pricing policy.

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If you are into seeing the future early, have a look at the video linked to from the site below.

Cisco On-Stage TelePresence Holographic Video Conferencing

The ‘Cisco On-Stage TelePresence Experience’ was an ambitious collaboration between Cisco and Musion Systems, which took place during the opening of Cisco’s Globalization Centre East in Bangalore, India.

Musion seamlessly integrated their 3D holographic display technology with Cisco’s TelePresence’s system to create the world’s first real time virtual presentation.

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I have written here before on the topic of online merchants and their perception of the role of affiliates.

Even today, I received an email from a large insurance group with the subject line “Advertising Enquiry” and the body of the email talked about inviting me to join their pay-per-sale affiliate program.

Advertising is about creating awareness. It is about branding. It is about getting your logo seen.

Sadly all too many merchants think that doing this will induce people to click on these graphic ads and follow-through and make a purchase.

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Grokdotcom reports on the Top 10 Online Retailers by Conversion Rate: April 2008

Must admit the benchmarks are pretty interesting - especially for we mere mortals who see so many people leave our site in the first 30 seconds - the benchmark 600+ seconds is something to aspire to.

Of interest, and a statistic that mirrors the data for our sites in the 15% natural search traffic. This shows that other methods of gaining traffic do work and that a sudden slip in the SERPs may not spell utter doom.

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