Green on the Net

A recent study shows that sustainability buzz grew 50% in 2007. The net has become a forum to discuss green tactics, raise awareness and educate, pressure companies to be environmentally responsible and monitor change in the environment. Blogging has taken off in the recent years and from it we are able to creat mini-movements via discussion and posts. With blogs and company websites we have seen a movement to go green and be environmentally conscious. The key to encouraging action is education. The web has given us a forum to educate a mass of people worldwide on this topic, usually at little to no cost and little work.

One of the biggest benefits of the web in terms of environmental issues is the ability to communicate with and pressure companies to be more responsible. Customers hold companies accountable for their actions and the results of those actions on the environment. There is now a way to offer awareness regarding which companies are being environmentally reponsible, which ones are not and what issues have arisen. This gives the consumer power to only support companies that are in fact responsible.

Some of the top search topics on the web currently are things such as: renewable energy, resource conservation, pollution and toxins. This is an uplifting piece of information that shows our society is moving in a positive direction with regards to the environment. The internet is a very powerful tool in spreading trends and ideas and this concept is one that we should hope takes off and continues with the speed it has gained thus far.

Will mobile advertising stick?

Advertisers worldwide plan to spend $4.7 billion this year in mobile display ads, but will they work? Mobile devices have become an accessory for every man, woman and child in many areas of the world, so this is an obvious outlet for advetisers to reach their markets. Will it catch the attention of those clients or will it just become an annoyance for mobile users around the world?

In terms of cell phones, text message ads are under great debate. Due to the nature of certain text message plans, many users will be charged to receive these ads, so can the message really get out without raising alarms with plan holders? The first telemarket platform seemed like a great way to reach a large number of people who all held an outlet to be marketed to. After a while however, we all started avoiding the phone during dinnertime, knowing there was a telemarketer on the other line. This then caused many consumers to act on this annoyance. "Do not call" lists were developed and the effectiveness of these marketing tactics fell drastically. It seems now there is merely a morphed version of this same platform hitting our cell phones today. So will there eventually be a "Do not text" list barring marketers from sending messages to certain phones? I think more so than with landlines because as brought up before, this time it can fall on the recipient to foot the bill.

Riability and Liability in Websites

The U.S. Court of Appeals just ruled that Craigslist, Inc. is not liable for any discriminatory listings that may appear in their online advertising website. With the ease at which people can create websites and postings, it is difficult to determine or monitor the authenticity or how appropriate the page or listing is. As more and more people turn to the internet to do their research, classified searches and social networking, the concern has grown as to what we are viewing and how real or true something is that we see online. Also, it is nearly impossible for some sights to monitor the contents as to whether they are offensive, discriminatory or accurate.
Some sights such as Facebook.com ask you to verify that you have the right to distribute anything you post as well as insure the company that it is not pornographic or inappropriate. Simply checking a box does not ensure any of those things. Other than being reported by other users, there are very few ways to monitor such a large filing of people's pages, pictures and posts. So how do we know the sights we are on are not only accurate, but they do not contain any content that may be offensive or inappropriate? We have been told to make sure we trust the sight publisher. This can be possible for news sources, but some searches may not be that easy.
It is a freedom that we are entitled to print whatever we would like on the internet at this point, within reason. So who can we trust? If there was a more effective system that could issue a stamp of authenticity to websites that wish to be recognized as such, we could establish information as authentic, correct and appropriate, just as we have with other media. It is however, nearly impossible and unnecessary to do so for all websites and postings, which may not be a bad thing.

Microsoft's Unsolicited Bid for Yahoo

As Microsoft's bid for Yahoo of $45 billion seems to be too low, we ask, what will it take and why is Microsoft so set on obtaining the company? This deal could be one of the biggest deals in the technology sector and a major claim to the online marketing division.
Microsoft is obviously very concerned with Google obtaining a monopoly position in the market and it hopes to combat this threat by introducing a rival that can compete with the search engine giant. This also shows that Microsoft is struggling in its in-house strategy and is looking to re-focus and compete with companies such as Google.
Some say that if the two companies combine, then the combination of the captured audiences will put them on top. But is this necessarily true? Most web surfers rely heavily on google to navigate through every aspect of their online needs. Google has mastered the art of online marketing and when a company seeks to advertise or get a piece of the online market, Google is usually where they turn first. This dynamic of companies and consumers turning to Google first will be very difficult to interfere with. Even if Microsoft spends the needed money to obtain Yahoo, to actually break into the Google customer base will be a very difficult move. With Microsoft's difficulty in making a strategic plan to determine the direction the company wants to take or the direction they wish to focus on, it may be a struggle to enter the battle with Google.

Cyber Valentine's Day

The days of men coming home empty handed to an angry woman on February 14th are over. No man who goes near a computer at any point within a 2 week frame of Valentine's Day will not be reminded that on this day in mid-February, they are responsible for some sort of emotional expression towards the woman or women in his life.
The internet has revolutionized the way we go about Valentine's Day and any holiday for that matter. Now as you go to search for something on google or yahoo, you are bombarded with advertisements for flowers, candy and special gifts to give your valentine. From the marketer's stand point this is an amazing phenomena. No longer do we only get the straggling male who accidently wandered into the mall on his lunch break and realizes he needs to get his wife candy in two days because of a giant sign in a store window. Basically, this target market is difficult to remind to go into a florist or jewelry store on a given day in February unless the placement is on a case of beer or disposable razor packaging. Thanks to the internet, we can bombard men with advertisements not only to remind them of the holiday, but also to guide them through the gift giving process.
Along with placing reminders and guiding the purchasing process, men are suffering now from greater expectations from their girlfriends and wives on romantic holidays. Now, anyone can send flowers or buy chocolates, but due to advancements in technology, gifts can be specialized and unique, making the expectations more demanding. Luckily, you can google "unique valentine's day gifts" and thousands of options will appear and be sent all with the click of a mouse.

Democratic Debates on Youtube

The internet has undoubtedly changed the design and approach to the presidential race. Starting this year, the democratic debate not only was aired on the internet through CNN and Youtube, but it also gave citizens the chance to in a sense, interact with the candidates. Youtube accepted video clips of questions for the candidates to be submitted prior to the debate. During the debate, the host would present the candidates with the video clips to receive their response. In past years, it is generally a panel of reporters who are asking the questions, however this approach has completely changed the way the debate is designed. It is said to be a more democratic approach to the debate, which I agree with. It is in the best interest of the voters to present their own questions, since it is the voter who needs to make an informed decision as to which candidate will best serve our country. This format allows the voters to receive answers to the questions that really matter to them.

Besides allowing the voters to take a more directly involved role in the debates, the use of internet has also led to a more informed nation overall. This is the first election that has been so highly reported on in an online media format. It grants access to the information to those who depend so heavily upon the internet as it is. This also happens to be the generation that has been heavily criticized for their loack of knowledge and participation in the elections and politics as a whole. This gives the 18-24 demographic the ability to not only have the information readily available, but in a format that they are exposed to daily. It in a sense makes it "cool" to be informed, which as wrong as it sounds, is the only way to motivate a nation of young people to become involved in such an important part of our country and its politics.