E-consultancy - Communities - News and Blog

Q&A: Santiago Siri of Popego

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 07:45:00 UT

Launched recently, Popego gathers together your profiles from various social media sites, and uses them to build up an 'interest profile' to recommend content to users.

We�talked to founder Santiago Siri about Popego's user experience, privacy concerns, and how the company plans to monetise the site...

BusinessWeek's Business Exchange: putting Web 2.0 in its proper place

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:04:00 UT

In a post more than a year ago, I discussed the commoditization of social networks.

10 Twitter tools

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:30:00 UT

Twitter's popularity is growing and regardless of the skepticism that exists about it, marketers and businesses are taking notice.

If you're thinking about giving microblogging on Twitter a try or are already using Twitter, here are 10 Twitter tools that you can put to work.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee in crazy kitemark scheme

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:06:00 UT

Sir Tim Berners-Lee is to offer reputable websites a kitemark, to help web users work out that they are trustworthy and reliable. The father of the web is to launch the scheme via his World Wide Web Foundation , which begins its work in 2009.

This is, of course, completely bonkers. Why has it come about? Because of a bunch of cults, that�s why...

Q&A: YouWriteOn.com's Edward Smith

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:00:00 UT

YouWriteOn.com is an Arts Council-sponsored�website�that provides a�platform�for aspiring writers to display their work and have it reviewed by their peers.��

It is similar in focus to Authonomy, which we looked at a week ago; with the top rated writers qualifying to have their work critiqued by publishers, including Random House and Orion.

We talked to YouWriteOn Manager Edward Smith about the site...

Announcing E-consultancy's Innovation Awards

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:20:00 UT

Does the internet industry need yet another awards night? After three years of debating this question we've decided that there's a bit of a gap in the market. And this is why we�ve just announced the launch of our Innovation Awards.

Entries are now open for those clients, agencies and suppliers that have been involved in innovative web projects and technologies during the past year. There are 15 categories to choose from.

Judging will be determined by E-consultancy's analysts and a panel of industry experts including Apple, Google, Dyson, BBC, Orange and innocent drinks.

The awards will be announced and presented at London's glitzy Park Lane Hotel on 2nd December.

Q&A: Sift Media's Ben Heald on B2B online publishing

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 11:51:00 UT

This week, we speak to Ben Heald, chief executive of Sift Media, about the challenges of B2B online publishing, including the economy, how to monetise international traffic and tackle participation inequality in social media.

We ask him about trends from audiences and advertisers, how the sector is moving forward in terms of best practices, and why his journalists are now paid on a performance basis.

Site review: Authonomy

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 12:11:00 UT

Authonomy, a site from publisher Harper Collins, is a social network which will allow aspiring writers to exhibit their talents online.

Publishers receive too many manuscripts to sift through themselves,�and this seems like�a good way to sort the wheat from the chaff, so how does it shape up?�

IA: Bottom up meets top down in School of Everything

Fri, 5 Sep 2008 09:00:00 UT

The innovative School of Everything offers a great chance to learn from others like you.�

But will its combination of user-generated and company-generated navigation help or hinder findability in the long run?

The first half of 2008: the internet economy in review

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 07:50:00 UT

With the first half of 2008 solidly behind us, I thought it'd be worthwhile to look back at some of the general trends established in the internet economy. After all, it's hard to know where you're going if you don't know where you've been.

What follows are the most important trends I saw in the first half of the year.

10 reasons why Twitter is great for the search industry

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 09:00:00 UT

Twitter was launched back in July 2006, and many people wouldn�t have expected to remember�it even a few weeks later.

But two years on, writes Kevin Gibbons,�it�s still going from strength-to-strength and continuing to prove many of its early doubters wrong.

Will Facebook's Engagement Advertisements engage?

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 07:30:00 UT

Facebook's ill-fated Beacon failed to successfully solve the problem that has plagued advertisers on social networks - dismal results.

In fact, it became a legal liability for some of them.

The Web Week in Review

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:45:00 UT

It�s that time of week again so without further ado, here�s what�caught Drama 2.0's attention�in the last seven days.

Q&A: BA's Chris Davies on user-generated content

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:28:00 UT

Here, we�quiz Chris Davies, digital marketing manager at�BA,�on the�aims behind its soon-to-launch social networking site Metrotwin.com.

We ask about the risks and rewards of user-generated content (UGC) and�how�its benefits�should be measured.�

Ning blocks popular widget provider, leaves users in the dark

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:50:00 UT

Ning, the social networking startup co-founded by Netscape founder Marc Andreessen, gives individuals and companies the ability to build their own social networks using the company's hosted platform.

Funded to the tune of over $100m on a half a billion valuation, Ning has been the subject of a considerable amount of hype.

Q&A: ABN Amro's Popke Rein Munniksma on virtual worlds

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:33:00 UT

As head of 3D experience at ABN Amro, Popke Rein Munniksma is experimenting with virtual worlds as an opportunity to promote the bank�s brand and cut the costs of internal meetings.

Here, we ask him about ABN Amro�s virtual world investments beyond the much-maligned Second Life, the challenges of gaining internal acceptance within his organisation and how he sees 3G technology being used within the firm�s existing websites.

Online Reputation Monitoring worth �60 Million in 2008

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:31:00 UT

E-consultancy�s latest addition to its research, the Online Reputation and Buzz Monitoring Buyer�s Guide, reveals that this sector will grow by 30% in 2008, to an estimated value of �60 million.

The addition of this guide not only demonstrates the accelarated growth of this rapidly developing market, but also shows how the industry has moved on, from a rather fluffy approach to online PR, to quantitative measurement that incorporates analytics, monitoring tools and tangible metrics.

Q&A: The New Football Pools� Dominic Starkey on its digital revamp

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:21:00 UT

The last few years have seen football pools operators� once-massive audiences dwindle as the popularity of the lottery and online gambling has soared. But Sportech, the company which now owns the main pools players Littlewoods, Vernons and Zetters, is attempting to see their luck turn.

Last month saw�the announcement that it would bring all three brands into one website - footballpools.com - as well as the launch of radically different digital�strategy centred around �social betting�. The company has also been investing heavily in content, improved analytics practices and new channels on MySpace and Facebook.

Following all that, we�grabbed a few minutes with head of online marketing Dominic Starkey to see how challenging the whole process has been...

Did Exxon Mobil get 'brand jacked' or did Twitter users get 'punk'd'?

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:45:00 UT

Did you know that Exxon Mobil has "supported local NGOs in Angola and Indonesia to develop their capacity to effectively partner with multinational companies"?

Or that "Exxon Mobil has spent over $13m in the Save The Tiger Fund since 1992"?

Q&A: Paul Ricard of on-demand music site Deezer

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:00:00 UT

Deezer, based in France, is an on-demand music streaming service, which offers an impressive range of tracks from a mix of major labels and independents.

It recently launched in the UK (see our review of the site), and we have been talking to UK Manager Paul Ricard to find out more...