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Consumers’ increasing appetite for mobile applications is driving online retailers to speed up their mobile marketing initiatives. According to a Forrester Research, Inc. study produced in partnership with Shop.org, the National Retail Federation’s digital division, nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of online retailers either already have or are developing a mobile strategy. One in five boasts having a fully implemented mobile strategy in place already. The survey of 109 companies is part of The State of Retailing Online research series, which provides eBusiness professionals with an annual industry benchmark for marketing and business investment and activities.

Mobile Commerce has tremendous potential

“It’s imperative for online retailers to stay on top of what their customers want, and these days it’s all mobile all the time,” said Scott Silverman, executive director, Shop.org. “Mobile commerce has tremendous potential and will no doubt grow to become a significant part of overall sales volume in years to come. Whether to increase customer satisfaction, grow their brand, or drive traffic and sales, online retailers are in this game to stay.”

“Mobile investment is modest now, but we see that it will pick up in the future, especially among the biggest brands that have already invested significant amounts in their mobile operations,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, vice president, principal analyst, Forrester Research, and lead author of the report.

Earlier this year, Forrester forecast US online retail sales to total $173 billion in 2010. According to “The State Of Retailing Online: Marketing, Social Commerce and Mobile Report,” Web retailers with mobile strategies:

•Are investing in features that support the cross-channel experience. Product and price information, store information, and coupons to support the in-store experience are among the most popular features that retailers are offering consumers.
•Have varied levels of investment. On average, respondents anticipated spending $170,000 on their mobile sites this year, large multichannel retailers are spending several times that amount, while smaller online pure plays on average are investing much less.
•Are experiencing modest gains. Retailers reported that their mobile browsers at this juncture are generating a little less than 3 percent of overall site traffic and just 2 percent of revenue.

Retailers are spending nearly 40% of their budget on paid searchTried and true marketing tactics such as paid search, email, and affiliate marketing command the biggest percentage of an online retailers’ marketing budget. According to the report, retailers are spending nearly 40 percent of their marketing budget on paid search.

Retailers are finding value in social media marketing, but the ROI for driving online sales remains murky. Listening to customers is the most significant objective for social tools according to respondents, with 80 percent of retailers reporting that they are pursuing social strategies to experiment and learn. And while 28 percent noted that social marketing has helped grow their business, direct sales from social tactics are not widely measured.

By Paul Verna

Most of the attention in the online video space has focused on either media content and consumers or marketers and video advertisements. But companies continue to push further into this realm with non-advertising content.

Recent studies have shown that growing numbers of retailers are adding video capabilities to their sites. Surveys of Fortune 500 companies also indicate a broad-scale increase in the use of video for marketing purposes. In this sense, video has gone from a luxury to a near necessity for companies seeking an edge in marketing their products. From home-goods merchants to automobile manufacturers, companies across a wide spectrum are finding ways to use video in their marketing efforts, and consumers are embracing—sometimes demanding—these changes.

Retail is a sector where online video is becoming more important for driving sales. When asked by Multichannel Merchant to identify rich media features that they used, 46% of US multichannel retailers picked video, making it the highest-ranked category in the survey. Another 42.3% of respondents said they planned to add video capability in the next year.

Several studies point to increased use of video by US companies. According to Forrester Research, the percentage of the top 50 US online retailers that offer videos on their sites skyrocketed to 68% in 2009 from 18% in 2008.

Marketers are on board with more than just ecommerce applications, as well. A study led by the Society for New Communications Research noted 31% of Fortune 500 companies with public-facing blogs used video blogging in 2009, up from 21% in 2008.

27% of companies surveyed will increase video budgets

Ad-ology asked US marketing executives whether they would increase, decrease or make no changes in their 2010 marketing budgets for social and traditional media. Nearly 27% said they would increase their online video budgets for viral clips and podcasts, while 5.5% would decrease their budgets. Out of the remainder, 41% would leave the budget intact and another 27% said they did not use video. These responses put video ahead of mobile marketing and search optimization as budget priorities for US marketing executives.

As eMarketer’s Tobi Elkin noted in the report “Consumer Packaged Goods Sector Taps into Online Video,” “Creating an online video presence helps marketers facilitate an ongoing dialogue with consumers, boost brand equity, lure prospective customers and solidify support among brand loyalists.”

On the receiving end of these marketing efforts, consumers are accessing increasing amounts of video on multiple platforms, from laptops and home PCs to smartphones and tablets. As these devices continue to penetrate the market, consumers will expect ubiquitous access to video content. Examples might include watching product videos at the point of sale or viewing a portion of a podcast on a PC and resuming the session on a tablet. Marketers are aware of the potential and are upping their game in a variety of sectors.

For story with complete data charts, go to e-marketer.com.

By Roger Jefferies

Are you convinced about the need for spyware blockers but don’t know where to start? There are a lot of choices out there but one of the best spyware blockers you can use is Spyware Doctor. Spyware Doctor has been used by millions of people around the world and has received an award from PC Magazine so it has proven itself to be a good product.

What does Spyware Doctor do? It protects you in real time against threats, plus it can remove malicious files once they are on your hard drive. It protects you against keyloggers, spyware, adware, trojans, phishing, popups, bad sites, and identity theft. It runs quietly in the background when you are surfing the Internet and does its job without disturbing your activities. This is one of the malware blockers that also warn you against bad websites. The program will block the site or warn you before allowing it to load if it has detected something suspicious about the site. It will also halt downloads if they are questionable. By doing this you are safe no matter if you are browsing, using an instant messenger, or reading email.

Spyware blockers are only as good as their updates so any blocker you buy should offer frequent updates, daily updates are best. That way you can stay one step ahead of the hackers and spammers. Spyware Doctor is one of the adware blockers that offers daily updates to new known threats. Spyware blockers are important in today’s world but they are just one of the tools you need. Your best option is to install software that performs multiple tasks like Spyware Doctor does so you have all around protection.

Spyware Doctor is just one of the brands available

Spyware Doctor is just one brand of many different malware blockers on the market. The problem with malicious files is so big an entire industry has sprung up in order to cope with it. Before you buy any adware blocker, you should compare different products to make sure you buy the best one for you. If you don’t want to buy one, you can download a free one from the Internet. The important thing is that you protect your computer by preventing the unauthorized downloads in the first place. Spyware removers are useful too, but once spyware is on your computer, damage has already been done. Your goal should be to block spyware and to do that you need to choose from among adware blockers that have solid reputations and are updated as often as possible.

Remember, no matter how good Spyware Blockers are, if they are not installed and functioning properly, they won’t do you any good. It isn’t difficult to install Spyware Doctor or similar software, but if you are not comfortable with doing so, you can take your computer into a shop like Best Buy and let the service techs get you set up with all the protection you need.

Roger Jeffries is convinced that spyware blocker programs have saved his skin more than once. Visit his website to learn free ways to safeguard your most sensitive date with great, reliable www.myspywareblockers.com programs, and how to choose the right one for you.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Roger_Jeffries

European aerospace giant EADS is poised to unveil a “hybrid” aircraft which runs on algae fuel, a world first, its technical director said on Friday.The firm will present the machine at the Berlin Air Show (ILA) that runs from June 9 to 13, Jean Botti told the Die Welt daily.
“At the ILA, we are going to fly for the first time a craft with biofuel that has been made 100 percent from algae. That is a world premiere,” Botti said.
“We need a paradigm shift in the aviation industry. We soon need an alternative to kerosene,” he said, adding: “If 10 percent of our fleet is flying with biofuel in 2040, I would be extremely happy.”
Slimy, fast-growing and full of fat, algae is quickly gaining ground as a potential renewable energy source.
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The Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese construction firm, has recently proposed a plan to harness solar energy on a larger scale than almost any previously proposed concept.
Their ambitious plan involves building a belt of solar cells around the Moon’s 6,800-mile (11,000-kilometer) equator, converting the electricity to powerful microwaves and lasers to be beamed at Earth, and finally converting the beams back to electricity at terrestrial power stations. The Luna Ring concept, the company says, could meet the entire world’s energy needs.
Shimizu envisions that robots would play a vital role in building the Luna Ring. Teleoperated 24 hours a day from the Earth, the robots would perform tasks such as ground leveling and assembling machines and equipment, which would be done in space before landing them on the Moon. A team of astronauts would support the robots on-site.
Due to the massive amount of solar panels and other materials needed for the project, Shimizu proposes that lunar resources should be used to the fullest extent possible. The company’s plans call for producing water by reducing lunar soil with hydrogen imported from Earth. Lunar resources could also be used to make cementing material and concrete, while solar-heat treatments could help produce bricks, glass fibers, and other structural materials needed for the project.
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Particle collision thought to replicate Big Bang forces, may help explain how things exist
by the logic of science, things simply shouldn’t exist. The best scientific minds of several generations have reasoned that shortly after the Big Bang created the universe, matter and antimatter should have wiped each other out.
“It’s like looking back to the instant where everything began,” said Joseph Lykken, a theoretical physicist at the sprawling research facility near Batavia, Ill. Simply put, the Fermi team sent protons and antiprotons around its underground Tevatron accelerator ring into a head-on collision, which produced slightly more tiny fragments called “muons” than tiny fragments called “antimuons.”
It was a laboratory victory of matter over antimatter, and a minuscule replication of what scientists believe must have happened shortly after the Big Bang, though exactly how matter won out has long confounded them.
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Believing that a moon base is essential for exploration of the solar system, Japan has recently announced plans to send humanoid robots to the moon to construct a robot lunar base.
As part of the $2.2 billion project, the robots will begin surveying the moon around 2015, and then build the unmanned base near the moon’s South Pole by 2020.
A Japanese government panel chaired by Katsuhiko Shirai, President of Waseda University, has developed a rough outline of the project. First, the robots, weighing about 660 pounds each, will begin by surveying the moon, taking images of the surface, collecting rocks, and returning the rocks to Earth via rocket for seismographic research. Later, robots will be sent to the moon to construct the lunar base for themselves.
According to the government panel, the robots and the unmanned moon base will be powered by solar panels. The robots will be controlled from Earth, but will also have a high degree of autonomy that enables them to operate on their own to perform certain tasks. Ultimately, the base could serve as a starting point for future robot colonizers, and even human colonizers.
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Two NASA robots are surveying a rocky, isolated polar desert within a crater in the Arctic Circle. The study will help scientists learn how robots could evaluate potential outposts on the moon or Mars.
The robots, K10 Black and K10 Red, carry 3-D laser scanners and ground-penetrating radar. The team arrived at Haughton Crater at Devon Island, Canada, on July 12 and will operate the machines until July 31. Scientists chose the polar region because of the extreme environmental conditions, lack of infrastructure and resources, and geologic features. Additionally, Haughton Crater is geographically similar to Shackleton Crater at the South Pole of the moon. Both are impact craters that measure roughly 12.4 miles in diameter.
“We are learning about the awesome potential of human and robot teams,” said S. Pete Worden, director of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., where the group conducting the survey is based. “Studying how humans and robots can maximize scientific returns in sites such as Devon Island will prepare us to walk on the moon and Mars.”
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A twice weekly hip strengthening regimen performed for six weeks proved surprisingly effective at reducing — and in some cases eliminating — knee pain referred to as patellofemoral pain (PFP) in female runners. The study by Tracy Dierks, assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, was based on the theory that stronger hips would correct running form errors that contribute to PFP, even though study participants were given no instruction in gait training. The study used a pain scale of 0 to 10, with 3 representing the onset of pain and 7 representing very strong pain — the point at which the runners normally stop running because the pain is too great. The injured runners began the six-week trial registering pain of 7 when they ran on a treadmill and finished the study period registering pain levels of 2 or lower; i.e. no onset of pain.
“I wasn’t expecting such huge reductions, to be honest,” Dierks said. “We’ve had a couple of runners who have been at level 2, but the overwhelming majority have been a 2 or below.”
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The privately-owned US firm SpaceX launched a rocket on its first test flight Friday, in what observers say is a milestone for the space industry and in the race to develop commercial carriers. SpaceX said on its website. It was due to place the Dragon capsule, a mockup of the company’s spacecraft, into orbit.” The first and second stage of the white, 180-foot (55-meter) tall rocket separated successfully, Regardless of the outcome, this first launch attempt represents a key milestone for both SpaceX and the commercial spaceflight industry,” the company said.
The launch represented a key test in developing commercial launchers capable of ferrying cargo and astronauts to the orbiting International Space Station (ISS).

iPhone, Blackberry and Android details sketchy

By John Riley

Excitement is already building for the new iPhone 4G and signs suggest it will be unveiled June 21 following the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. RIM has said they will be releasing their Blackberry 6 operating system in the 3rd quarter with a new user interface and WebKit browser, but it may be fall before they release a new phone. Meanwhile, Sprint will be announcing the new HTC Evo 4G this summer, reportedly the premium Android phone.

All U.S. carriers now have phones with the Android operating system. T-Mobile and Verizon are already promoting it as their flagship smartphone. This week, a more advanced Android version, 2.2 Froyo, was officially announced and the big question is whether existing Android phones will receive the update. HTC has said they will. A staggered roll out with the Nextus One smartphone has already been announced, but other Android phones will probably not receive the upgrade as quickly.

Android 2.2 Froyo will have faster speed, better browser performance, sound alert when the battery is low and several smaller improvements. Since January 2009, Android is second only to Blackberry in the percent of Smartphone Operating Systems Unit Share. Apple’s OS X is third.

Lost iPhone reveals new design

When an Apple employee accidently left a prototype of the new iPhone in a bar last month, the finder sold it to the Gizmodo.com blog who disassembled and reported on it in detail. From this story, I learned the design is very different from what came before. For example, it will have a front facing video chat camera, a camera flash and improved display. The back is entirely flat and has an aluminum border going completely around the outside. The screen is smaller and the battery is larger. It also has a new operating system (4.0). Finally, the phone has a Micro-SIM rather than SIM, which is a strong indication it is a new generation device.

The Blackberry 6 operating system most likely will be used to catch up with some of the slick features already offered by some of it’s competitors, specifically gigabytes more memory, flashy software, improved browser, and faster processors. Historically, most of Rim’s revenue has come from high-end devices. Now, the lag in adding features raises a question of RIM’s strategy in that the company could see greater revenue in the lower-end mass market than in the high-end smartphone.

Yet, in the fourth quarter 2009, Nielsen pointed out only 21 percent of American wireless subscribers were using a smartphone which leaves nearly 80 percent of the market open to upgrading. That seems a likely outcome as Nielsen also noted 45 percent of respondents said the next phone they buy will be a smartphone.

Bandwidth hogs may pay more

As the new generation of smartphones make their way to the market, another development seems certain to join the fray. Smartphones are bandwidth hogs and standard cell phone owners are subsidizing them by paying the same rates. Carriers are not immune from the problem because their data traffic has become clogged. This has led Verizon and AT & T to consider setting up a tiered pricing system rather than the flat-based usage now in effect.
Whether a usage based plan or a tiered plan, the result could be a cheaper monthly bill for the cell phone customer because the smartphone owner will pay more as carriers try to free up more bandwidth.

I have not been able to find any information about pricing. Whether these new technical marvels will command a higher price than current models is uncertain. However, new technology tends to be accompanied by premium prices. Stay tuned.

But financial services firms must effectively market value, convenience and security

For consumers, mobile banking is about convenience: the ability to check account balances, pay bills and transfer funds from a device they take with them everywhere. For financial institutions, it is a means to deepen customer relationships, streamline operations and cut costs.

Several forecasts predict that by 2015, 50% or more of US mobile users will be conducting transactions from their mobile devices.

“The ubiquity of these devices offers banks an opportunity to connect with customers outside the online channel, including those who are always on the go as well as the underbanked and unbanked consumers who lack consistent Internet access,” said Noah Elkin, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “Mobile Banking: Financial Services Firms Look to Cash In.”

Estimates of mobile banking adoption vary widely, although it appears to be growing at a good pace. For example, studies conducted in 2009 by Mercatus, Mintel Comperemedia and Experian Simmons put the usage rate between 7% and 11%.

However, in a January 2010 survey by Luth Research for the Mobile Marketing Association, mobile banking usage was 17% among the overall US population and 19% among mobile phone users. A March 2010 study by OnePoll for mobile billing and message delivery firm mBlox uncovered a 25% usage rate among US mobile phone users.

Research among smartphone users reveals much more extensive mobile banking adoption. Data Innovation’s January 2010 “Mobile Money Study” found that nearly 70% of smartphone users had accessed mobile banking, payment or financial services in the past three months.

“Smartphone users are more likely to engage with a bank’s Website or mobile application, but it is important to provide services, such as SMS banking, that engage the larger population of non-smartphone users,” said Mr. Elkin. “SMS reaches a wider audience than the mobile Web or applications, including the significant number of mobile users who have yet to trade up to smartphones.”

For complete data tables to e-marketer.com
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Missed opportunities for some marketers

From e-Marketer.com

Despite social media marketing’s popularity, business-to-business (B2B) companies are still fairly new to it. According to a survey from Business.com, 73% of B2B respondents have less than two years of social media marketing experience.

March 2010 research from marketing automation firm Genius.com and BtoB magazine found that about one-half of business-oriented marketers are staying away from social tools such as blogging and Twitter. Facebook was more popular, with nearly three-fifths participating, and business-focused social network LinkedIn was used by three-quarters of B2B marketers.

Both business-oriented social networks and general social networks offer B2B companies a variety of opportunities. They can improve communication between customers, prospects and suppliers; aid collaboration between business partners; help with product development; and identify leads.

B2B companies also have an advantage when using social media because they tend to focus on goals and results, such as leads, that visibly affect their bottom line. Business.com found in 2009 that those B2B marketers who do use social media tend to do so more extensively than their business-to-consumer counterparts.

Those with at least one profile were more likely to manage a presence on several sites than the general B2B respondents to the Genius.com survey, and were more likely than B2C companies to measure their social success.

“While recent studies have shown that up to 90 percent of consumers are using social media to make their purchasing decisions, B2B marketers seem to be out of step and are using these tools much less frequently,” said the Genius.com report.

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Four in five have no mobile presence

Website redesigns are in the cards for about two-thirds of multichannel retailers, according to the “Outlook 2010: E-Commerce” survey from Multichannel Merchant. Online retailers are looking to refresh their look and improve search engine optimization, navigation and conversion rates.

Thy are also looking to add more advanced features, such as social media tools, video, forums and personalized recommendations. Mobile, though, is barely on the horizon for most survey respondents.

Four in five US multichannel retailers polled said they were not using any mobile commerce functionality in February 2010. The most common m-commerce application in use was mobile advertising, and just 6.5% of respondents had a mobile site. Slightly fewer had an iPhone app.

The report suggested that retailers could be put off investing in mobile by carriers’ failure to keep up with consumer demand for mobile data service.

Consumers, though they are avid cross-channel shoppers, have only embraced mobile browsing and purchasing on a small scale. Three-quarters of respondents to ATG’s “Cross-Channel Commerce: The Consumer View” survey said they never researched products on their handsets in Q4 2009.

According to Forrester Research, 25% of US online retailers are planning at least some mobile features for 2010, compared with just 4% in 2009. North American retail executives told RIS in January 2010 that they hoped to increase customer engagement through m-commerce by serving consumers the way they want to be served.

Printed with permission of E-marketer. For full story and data charts go to e-marketer.com.

The Path to Growth Comes From Leveraging your Assets

By John Riley

 In the rush to get on the social media bandwagon, it appears a number of companies have been satisfied to simply post a note inviting visitors coming from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to follow their company or brand. With that non-engaging message, the result is a lost opportunity and the likelihood the visitor won’t return. 

 The benefit of social media is to build relationships and that means there needs to be a dialog between the visitor and the website host. Because of the immediacy of these social media tools, it’s essential the website has a mechanism in place to respond in kind so the dialog can be initiated. When that happens, the response is an opportunity to influence visitors to later communicate their endorsement of the company or product to their friends and associates directly or through social channels.

 For the website host, a ‘what is’ analysis of the state of the company’s current website capabilities accompanied by a projection of ‘what the capabilities should be’, that is based on the company’s vision, needs to be prepared. Also prepare a clear and concise brand positioning statement designed to attract the maximum  number of your target audience. Then, implement the steps necessary to make it all happen.  Recognize that as the level of sophistication increases, so will the need for resources and management support.

 You have to start with a strategy

 Start with a social media strategy that takes into account all of the company’s assets that can be leveraged to help build the brand. Study the website and either incorporate with or link to a company blog. While the website provides company and product information that can be assimilated and digested, the blog is ideally suited for interaction with visitors on any number of issues important to the host or visitors.  

 Access to the blog can be handled in two ways. First, allow visitors to use their existing login.  The disadvantage of this option is the inability to capture the visitor’s e-mail. Second, use a sign-in process to capture the visitors’ information. This option usually provides more complete and accurate information, but its’ the less desirable choice because of the inconvenience.

 Keeping the visitor on site once he’s there requires an attractive website/blog with compelling content. The challenge is to know who the target audience is so the content can be designed to satisfy their curiosity and stimulate interest. Most important is the need to refresh the blog content at least once or twice a week to sustain visitor interest. This is where a social experience needs to occur so the visitor can interact with the brand or socialize with the host, both of which will keep the visitor on site longer. When the experience is positive, that person becomes an ambassador for the company or brand within the social network fraternity/sorority.

 Participate in conversations anywhere

 When the coordination between website, blog and social media is functioning, customers, employees and prospects can interact as a community. However, that will take more time.

But don’t overlook the importance to the brand of taking part in conversations wherever they take place, i.e. blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or forums.

 An essential element in strategy is brand tracking. That requires tracking the brand’s progress continually. The obvious reason is to detect any negative results so corrective action can be taken promptly and avoid any long term damage to the brand. If progress is positive, further upgrading of the social structure can take place to accelerate the progress. Listening to customers and prospects is the most important part of this process and the social interface should take precedence over the automated data collection systems although ideally, both should be used.

 Social media can be an important asset for any company, but like any tool, it needs to be used properly. To do that requires a strategy that links all the resources to a common goal or vision. Otherwise, the time and money spent on these tools won’t help drive your marketing plan.