Month: February 2004

February 19, 2004

  • Thought

    Spot-on analysis from John Battelle on the reasonableness of Google using search created context to serve up image-based ads as well as text ads across AdSense sites:

    “In other words, it won’t be long before Google combines the contextual relevance of AdSense text links with more brand-driven, rich media ad units. And that means they start becoming a major ad serving service in the vein of Doubleclick and its kin.”

February 17, 2004

  • Thought

    Jakob Nielsen’s latest Alertbox is “Targeted Email Newsletters Show Continued Strength”:

    “E-newsletters that are informative, convenient, and timely are often preferred over other media. However, a new study found that only 11% of newsletters were read thoroughly, so layout and content scannability is paramount. “

  • Thought

    Wired News: Webmonkey, RIP: 1996–2004:

    “They finally pulled the plug. Webmonkey, the site that turned humble Web developers into attention-grabbing authors, said last week it is closing down following a round of layoffs in the U.S. division of its parent company, Terra Lycos (also the parent company of Wired News). Judging by blog posts and e-mails, the site’s fans aren’t surprised. Still, they’re sad to see the end of an era.”

February 13, 2004

February 11, 2004

  • Thought

    I’m very happy to see that Puretracks has chalked up one million downloads:

    “The move comes as Puretracks — with a catalogue of more than 250,000 tracks — announced that it has crossed the one-million download threshold after roughly four months of operation. By comparison, Apple Computer Corp.’s iTunes service crossed the four-month mark with 10 million downloads, although that service’s U.S. customer base is also roughly 10 times the size of the comparable market in Canada.”

    I would also note that Puretracks has Canada’s higher broadband penetration in its favor and greater proclivity to use file-sharing networks against it. So on the whole, Puretracks is doing at least as well as iTunes all things being equal. And given that they had a previously unknown brand while Apple had 20 years of headstart as a brand, I’d say they are doing pretty darn well.

  • Thought

    George Colony, Chairman and CEO of Forrester has done a spot on analysis of why Google has fundamentally changed the Internet, but won’t be the stellar IPO that everyone seems to think it will be.

    Read Colony’s My View: Googlescape to find some solid analysis.