Chapter 11: Super-Connectors and Predicting the Next Rock Star
Overall, I didn't really like this chapter. It was scattered and boring to me. Honestly, I felt like I learned absolutely nothing.
The first part felt like it went on and on about this Arctic Monkeys band when in the end his main point was the fact that they were on the forefront of Web2.0 and didn't even know it. He then starts talking about Super-Connectors and gives the example of Tila Tequila which if I am thinking right is that bi-sexual woman that was on that reality TV show searching for love. Supposedly she helped launch MySpace (didn't know that at all). It basically says that connecting with others has drastically changed whereas it used to be a rule of 150 and now that is completely out the window. He suggests if we follow the movements of great super-connectors we will know trends of the future. I'm not too sure about all that personally.
Tancer then starts talking about tracking movement through the internet as ways of predicting outcomes. He goes on and on about it but that is basically the main idea behind it. He goes into the band again and researching their online success and begins a discussion about the tipping point for what is driving the searches for these bands. Page 197 has a graph that shows it; the difference between search engines and social networking sites in terms of use for accessing the bands.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Epilogue: Who We Are and Why It Matters
So we’ve finally come to the end of the book, and I don’t know about you all, but after all that reading I’m still left with a few questions. Nevertheless, here is the chapter review.
Tancer gives some insight into his catalyst for writing this book. He is often intrigued by things that he has seen or heard and, as a lover of data, feels the urge to explore these topics further. Often a simple search will transform into a more in-depth analysis. Tancer references his foray into the world of Restless Leg Syndrome and poses a valid question about the correlation between media coverage and Internet searches. Does the media coverage of a new topic (like Restless Leg Syndrome) drive searches on the topic? I would venture to say yes. Information from news stories and commercials can cause users to respond online in a certain way. I’m sure that searches for “swine flu” have dramatically increased in the last few days.
Tancer also writes about how people have been bombarded with information from a variety of sources including the Internet, television, radio, and newspapers. This takes me back to the first day of MIS class when Dr. Lohrke showed that short video clip overrun with information. How we respond to information overload provides insight into what affects us. This is the key for corporate executives, many of whom are looking for innovative ways to gain new customers and keep old ones.
The Internet is changing how we experience the world. It seems as though we have gone from a nation of delayed gratification to one of instant gratification. We can be very impatient; we want what we want and we want it now. Gone are the days of sitting around the table reading the newspaper, writing letters to pen pals (this was popular a really long time ago but I’m sure all of us remember), and making friends the old-fashioned way. These tried-and-true ways of conducting day-to-day business and personal affairs are obsolete. Now practically everyone uses the Internet to catch up on the news, write emails, and “friend” each other on Facebook. Although come to think of it, it seems like even Facebook is past its prime.
So what does this all mean? Apparently, everything new quickly becomes old, courtesy of the Internet. Even when we think we have the most accurate and up-to-date information, a click of the refresh button quickly changes all that. Tancer concludes the book with this paramount statement: “If you want to understand the new connected world and how we choose to live in it, look no further than our Internet behavior; after all, we are what we click.”
Tancer gives some insight into his catalyst for writing this book. He is often intrigued by things that he has seen or heard and, as a lover of data, feels the urge to explore these topics further. Often a simple search will transform into a more in-depth analysis. Tancer references his foray into the world of Restless Leg Syndrome and poses a valid question about the correlation between media coverage and Internet searches. Does the media coverage of a new topic (like Restless Leg Syndrome) drive searches on the topic? I would venture to say yes. Information from news stories and commercials can cause users to respond online in a certain way. I’m sure that searches for “swine flu” have dramatically increased in the last few days.
Tancer also writes about how people have been bombarded with information from a variety of sources including the Internet, television, radio, and newspapers. This takes me back to the first day of MIS class when Dr. Lohrke showed that short video clip overrun with information. How we respond to information overload provides insight into what affects us. This is the key for corporate executives, many of whom are looking for innovative ways to gain new customers and keep old ones.
The Internet is changing how we experience the world. It seems as though we have gone from a nation of delayed gratification to one of instant gratification. We can be very impatient; we want what we want and we want it now. Gone are the days of sitting around the table reading the newspaper, writing letters to pen pals (this was popular a really long time ago but I’m sure all of us remember), and making friends the old-fashioned way. These tried-and-true ways of conducting day-to-day business and personal affairs are obsolete. Now practically everyone uses the Internet to catch up on the news, write emails, and “friend” each other on Facebook. Although come to think of it, it seems like even Facebook is past its prime.
So what does this all mean? Apparently, everything new quickly becomes old, courtesy of the Internet. Even when we think we have the most accurate and up-to-date information, a click of the refresh button quickly changes all that. Tancer concludes the book with this paramount statement: “If you want to understand the new connected world and how we choose to live in it, look no further than our Internet behavior; after all, we are what we click.”
Monday, April 27, 2009
Chapter 10 - Finding the Early Adopters
This chapter is centered around who the "early adopters" are. Off the cuff...I think the chapter missed the mark. I think it would have been more beneficial for the author to give suggestions on how new emerging sites could attract the "early adopters" in order to be successful in the future. It is true that if an emerging site does not have "early adopters" it will fail due to lack of market share.
During his review on how YouTube gained quick popularity, Tancer reviews the definition of "Clickstream analysis" = a report that provides the top sites visited before and after a domain. His explanation for YouTube gaining market share is due to the fact that early adopters were using email as a tool to spread the word about the new site.
Tancer then went on to explain which Claritas PRIZM segments formed the 'early adopters'. In summary it was the following three segments:
1) Bohemian Mix
2) Money and Brains
3) The Young Digerati
They are all young and trendsetting groups, so it is no surprise that they are the drivers behind making a website popular.
This chapter mentions many social networking and media sharing websites that I had never heard of. I am intrigued by some of them, and may take some time to check them out. For example: Veoh and Wikimedia Commons (both competitors of YouTube). As well as Stickam.com and Webcamnow.com, which appear to be webcam-based social networking sites.
The overall theme of this chapter is best summarized on page 184:
"As we build on our understanding of how Internet data can help us visualize the diffusion of new technology, robust models that identify the ebb and flow of behavioral segments' usage will revolutionize our ability to market and track the potential of new services that are brought into the marketplace"
During his review on how YouTube gained quick popularity, Tancer reviews the definition of "Clickstream analysis" = a report that provides the top sites visited before and after a domain. His explanation for YouTube gaining market share is due to the fact that early adopters were using email as a tool to spread the word about the new site.
Tancer then went on to explain which Claritas PRIZM segments formed the 'early adopters'. In summary it was the following three segments:
1) Bohemian Mix
2) Money and Brains
3) The Young Digerati
They are all young and trendsetting groups, so it is no surprise that they are the drivers behind making a website popular.
This chapter mentions many social networking and media sharing websites that I had never heard of. I am intrigued by some of them, and may take some time to check them out. For example: Veoh and Wikimedia Commons (both competitors of YouTube). As well as Stickam.com and Webcamnow.com, which appear to be webcam-based social networking sites.
The overall theme of this chapter is best summarized on page 184:
"As we build on our understanding of how Internet data can help us visualize the diffusion of new technology, robust models that identify the ebb and flow of behavioral segments' usage will revolutionize our ability to market and track the potential of new services that are brought into the marketplace"
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Chapter 8: Data Rocks and the Television-Internet Connection
Tancer begins the chapter by recalling his time at The New York Search Engine Strategies Conference, what he believes to be the one of the most popular conferences of the year (I’m guessing there were not a lot of conferences that year). Tancer reveals a little about his childhood and his apparent thirst for data at such a young age. He references another author, John Bartelle, and “the database of intentions,” a collection of what a sample of Internet users are searching on each day. Bartelle provides his description of the database: “This information represents, in aggregate form, a place holder for the intentions of humankind—a massive database of desires, needs, wants, and likes that can be discovered, subpoenaed, archived, tracked, and exploited to all sorts of ends.” This is basically a convoluted way of saying that a simple Internet search can spawn endless possibilities.
Speaking of convoluted, todays searchers have begun to include more information in their Internet searches. Maybe this has to do with the fact that there are entirely too many search results for a term as simple as “handbag” (46,400,000 via Google). What years ago may have just been a search for “handbag” has now grown to a search for “Stephen Sprouse Louis Vuitton bag” (which yields only 616,000 hits via Google).
Tancer talks about effective product placement and how it has the ability to influence Internet searches (although I’m not entirely convinced that The Apprentice was a representative example since its ratings have been fairly low, but I digress). Maybe Tancer is attempting to use product placement to increase viewership of the show?
Another round of product placement was showcased during the “Google Pontiac” commercial. During this time, I noticed just how much Tancer loves data. A simple request to google Pontiac translated into a plethora of questions about the specificity of the search.
Tancer gets his first taste of the online streaming video phenomenon courtesy of the Golden Spruce. This encountered happened by chance, mainly because Tancer was befuddled by some search results. Further research into the search term revealed that while Internet users do follow directions fairly well, they are even more likely to follow the directions when there is some incentive (i.e. a chance to win $100,000 courtesy of Treasure Hunters).
Tidbits:
Tancer loves data
Data is the new black.
Tancer is a fan of acronyms.
NBC is getting a lot of product (or network) placement in this chapter.
Speaking of convoluted, todays searchers have begun to include more information in their Internet searches. Maybe this has to do with the fact that there are entirely too many search results for a term as simple as “handbag” (46,400,000 via Google). What years ago may have just been a search for “handbag” has now grown to a search for “Stephen Sprouse Louis Vuitton bag” (which yields only 616,000 hits via Google).
Tancer talks about effective product placement and how it has the ability to influence Internet searches (although I’m not entirely convinced that The Apprentice was a representative example since its ratings have been fairly low, but I digress). Maybe Tancer is attempting to use product placement to increase viewership of the show?
Another round of product placement was showcased during the “Google Pontiac” commercial. During this time, I noticed just how much Tancer loves data. A simple request to google Pontiac translated into a plethora of questions about the specificity of the search.
Tancer gets his first taste of the online streaming video phenomenon courtesy of the Golden Spruce. This encountered happened by chance, mainly because Tancer was befuddled by some search results. Further research into the search term revealed that while Internet users do follow directions fairly well, they are even more likely to follow the directions when there is some incentive (i.e. a chance to win $100,000 courtesy of Treasure Hunters).
Tidbits:
Tancer loves data
Data is the new black.
Tancer is a fan of acronyms.
NBC is getting a lot of product (or network) placement in this chapter.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Women Wrestlers and Arbitraging Financial Markets
Women wrestlers and arbitraging financial markets was interesting. I was hoping to hear more about Xena the warrior princess than Stacy Kibler (who by all looks shouldn’t be a professional wrestler). In the beginning of the chapter, the author attempts to predict the winner of DWTS2 by tracking the spike in Internet traffic. His research resulted in predicting Stacy Kibler would win, followed by Drew Lachey and then Jerry Rice. The actual results were Drew Lachey, Jerry Rice, and Stacy Kibler. Of course this through the author into a frenzy of trying to figure out what he did wrong. He concluded that by judging popular opinion, that was only half of the result as the judges provide the other half of the result. Second, a phone voter may not represent the same demographic than an internet voter. Tancer then concluded that he had to “weed” out some of the searches who were just looking for photos on unrelated DWTS sites such as “World of Wrestling.”
Tancer then goes on to arbitrage unemployment claims and real estate property values. With real estate property values, he gets bitten by the “Stacy Kibler coefficient.” Based upon internet activity, he predicted that homes sales were going to increase; actually, worried home owners were doing more searches concerned about the value of their home than people actually interested in buying homes.
Great quote on page 169 applicable to many things. “It has become very clear that the data is always right, but pitfalls exist in how we interpret it, from gleaning insight into search terms to knowing the difference between search intent and actual behavior.”
Tancer then goes on to arbitrage unemployment claims and real estate property values. With real estate property values, he gets bitten by the “Stacy Kibler coefficient.” Based upon internet activity, he predicted that homes sales were going to increase; actually, worried home owners were doing more searches concerned about the value of their home than people actually interested in buying homes.
Great quote on page 169 applicable to many things. “It has become very clear that the data is always right, but pitfalls exist in how we interpret it, from gleaning insight into search terms to knowing the difference between search intent and actual behavior.”
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Book Review Criteria
1) Mention the name of the author and the book title on the first slide.
-Click: Unexpected Insights for Business and Life by Bill Tancer
2) What is the author's viewpoint and purpose?
pp. 102: at the click of a button, we can find out what our society is thinking and what they are interested in and WHY!".
3) What are the author's main points?
4) What kind of evidence does the author use to prove his points? Is he convincing?
5) What do you like or dislike about the book's writing style? Is it funny? Does it give you a sense of the place it's set? What is the author's/narrator's "voice" like?
6) Does the author have the necessary expertise to write the book?
7) What are the most appropriate criteria by which to judge the book? How successful do you think the author was in carrying out the overall purposes of the book?
8) Describe the setting of the book.
9) Describe the book's main characters.
10) Did you like the book?
11) What was your favorite part of the book?
12) Do you have a least favorite part of the book? If so, what was it?
13) Would you recommend this book to another person?
14) What type of person would like this book?
15) If you could change something in the book, what would it be?
-Click: Unexpected Insights for Business and Life by Bill Tancer
2) What is the author's viewpoint and purpose?
pp. 102: at the click of a button, we can find out what our society is thinking and what they are interested in and WHY!".
3) What are the author's main points?
4) What kind of evidence does the author use to prove his points? Is he convincing?
5) What do you like or dislike about the book's writing style? Is it funny? Does it give you a sense of the place it's set? What is the author's/narrator's "voice" like?
6) Does the author have the necessary expertise to write the book?
7) What are the most appropriate criteria by which to judge the book? How successful do you think the author was in carrying out the overall purposes of the book?
8) Describe the setting of the book.
9) Describe the book's main characters.
10) Did you like the book?
11) What was your favorite part of the book?
12) Do you have a least favorite part of the book? If so, what was it?
13) Would you recommend this book to another person?
14) What type of person would like this book?
15) If you could change something in the book, what would it be?
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Chapter 7 - Web Who.0
This chapter is all about Web 2.0 what is means for users and the internet in terms of definitions, changes, uses, etc. He defines Web 2.0 as " refers to those sites that allow users to generate their own content and share that content among other users" (page 120 second full paragraph on page). But I thought the most interesting way of putting it was what he said on page 120 at the very top "What changed was that, rather than circulating content created by content publishers, such as portals or the online versions of newspapers and magazines, in May 2005, we began circulating content created in dorm rooms, on webcams, in basements and home offices. A select number of internet users had become the content creaters."
Tancer goes on to discuss the Pareto Principle 80/20 rule and how that rule has become less useful in terms of who produces and consumes info in today's 2.0 world. And because the rule we are programmed to refer to is not accurate Jakob Neilsen created a new theory and rule. Neilson came up with the 1-9-90 rule which is that 90% of online users are "lurkers" who just use and look but do not add or edit content, 9% contribute occasionally, and only 1% are active contributors. So of course Tancer is interested and creates a study to test the rule with three sites: YouTube, Flickr, and Wikipedia. He finds it to be true but a bit of a sliding scale.
Then he gets into Facebook and creates his own page. After he gains over 1,000 friends of varying ages and backgrounds he starts to see what all you can gain/learn from Facebook and similar networks. I enjoyed the part about his friend Lauren's comments on facebook and the "stalking" aspect of it. This leads to Tancer asking when is all this information too much information?
I found it entertaining his discussion on TripAdvisor and the normalcy of knowing all about a place before you go there from reviews and comments because I do that. I don't know I actually learned anything from his discussion about it other than I just agreed I do it and I like it. I am a huge opentable.com girl. That topic lead into the topic of generational expectation gaps and the restaurant example of plate clearing expectations between a young contemporary and an older affluent suburbanite. So true I think.
Lastly he talks about the dying of paper newspapers and people's news gathering shifts from news outlets traditionally used to alternative sources like blogs. I am not convinced that newspapers are out though, I do agree they have been hurt by all this but I don't see them disappearing. We shall see..
Sorry this is more summary than thoughts but I thought this chapter covered many topics on Web 2.0 so it is important to note them for remembering later.
Tancer goes on to discuss the Pareto Principle 80/20 rule and how that rule has become less useful in terms of who produces and consumes info in today's 2.0 world. And because the rule we are programmed to refer to is not accurate Jakob Neilsen created a new theory and rule. Neilson came up with the 1-9-90 rule which is that 90% of online users are "lurkers" who just use and look but do not add or edit content, 9% contribute occasionally, and only 1% are active contributors. So of course Tancer is interested and creates a study to test the rule with three sites: YouTube, Flickr, and Wikipedia. He finds it to be true but a bit of a sliding scale.
Then he gets into Facebook and creates his own page. After he gains over 1,000 friends of varying ages and backgrounds he starts to see what all you can gain/learn from Facebook and similar networks. I enjoyed the part about his friend Lauren's comments on facebook and the "stalking" aspect of it. This leads to Tancer asking when is all this information too much information?
I found it entertaining his discussion on TripAdvisor and the normalcy of knowing all about a place before you go there from reviews and comments because I do that. I don't know I actually learned anything from his discussion about it other than I just agreed I do it and I like it. I am a huge opentable.com girl. That topic lead into the topic of generational expectation gaps and the restaurant example of plate clearing expectations between a young contemporary and an older affluent suburbanite. So true I think.
Lastly he talks about the dying of paper newspapers and people's news gathering shifts from news outlets traditionally used to alternative sources like blogs. I am not convinced that newspapers are out though, I do agree they have been hurt by all this but I don't see them disappearing. We shall see..
Sorry this is more summary than thoughts but I thought this chapter covered many topics on Web 2.0 so it is important to note them for remembering later.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Chapter 6 - Summary and thoughts
This chapter contains the reason for this book. To quote Erin..."at the click of a button, we can find out what our society is thinking and what they are interested in and WHY!". Reference Page 102, second paragraph, sentence that starts with "We were talking specifically about..."
This chapter basically outlines some of the nations fears and social anxieties, based on search results. I feel at this point as though the author is turning the book into a psych book. He introduces a lot of his own theories and thought, which I guess is good, but are they all substantiated?
I found it interesting that the author points out that there has been an increase in "how to" queries - which gives him data on what we all want to learn about. Although the results are scary when he lists things like "How to make meth", "How to make a bomb" being close to the top (Page 114)!
In this chapter, the author briefly explores what other countries are searching for. The differences he highlights are vernacular, and probably not relevant to the overall theme/message of the book.
The author points out seasonal patterns again, stating that majority of the "why" searches are performed during the school year. He begins to ramble in this chapter and continues to point out random thoughts, not tying the overall theme of the book together.
This chapter basically outlines some of the nations fears and social anxieties, based on search results. I feel at this point as though the author is turning the book into a psych book. He introduces a lot of his own theories and thought, which I guess is good, but are they all substantiated?
I found it interesting that the author points out that there has been an increase in "how to" queries - which gives him data on what we all want to learn about. Although the results are scary when he lists things like "How to make meth", "How to make a bomb" being close to the top (Page 114)!
In this chapter, the author briefly explores what other countries are searching for. The differences he highlights are vernacular, and probably not relevant to the overall theme/message of the book.
The author points out seasonal patterns again, stating that majority of the "why" searches are performed during the school year. He begins to ramble in this chapter and continues to point out random thoughts, not tying the overall theme of the book together.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Chapter 5: Celebrity Worship Syndrome
Before I even started reading this chapter, I smiled: two of my most favorite time killing sites to visit are www.tmz.com and www.thesuperficial.com. Which are two total celebrity worship sites. There is now even a tmz television show! I think it is the "Calgon take me a way syndrome....also known as aspiring to be famous." Or otherwise just highly entertaining.
Does anyone really want to see a Paris Hilton sex tape? Really. Just needed to say that. Anyway, three stages of CWS as I refer to it are : entertainment/social stage, intense personal stage, and borderline pathologial stage..where CWS becomes an obsession.
[Note: this author likes to talk about Playboy, porn and sex tapes way too much, he might be in the pathological stage].
Is Anna Nicole Smith's death really the 5th most important topic that it should be the 5th most popular U.S. search item? I think not.
Interesting quote: "Some celebrities garner more attention if society has found a way to identify with them" [92]. Enter Chris Brown and Rihanna.
Celebrity sites that have the most male viewers: eogtastic.com and propeller.com.
Is he really talking about Perez Hilton (a.k.a. Mario Lavandiera)? Does he really attract the "Urban Uptown" PRIZM segmentation? Really? I laughed when it identified me with the target population of TMZ. Maybe Tancer IS on to something...
Is it just me, or is this book full of completely useless factoids that rarely fit the pieces of the puzzle together? I honestly do not see anything relevant in this chapter to share in our final presentation. Anyone disagree?
Does anyone really want to see a Paris Hilton sex tape? Really. Just needed to say that. Anyway, three stages of CWS as I refer to it are : entertainment/social stage, intense personal stage, and borderline pathologial stage..where CWS becomes an obsession.
[Note: this author likes to talk about Playboy, porn and sex tapes way too much, he might be in the pathological stage].
Is Anna Nicole Smith's death really the 5th most important topic that it should be the 5th most popular U.S. search item? I think not.
Interesting quote: "Some celebrities garner more attention if society has found a way to identify with them" [92]. Enter Chris Brown and Rihanna.
Celebrity sites that have the most male viewers: eogtastic.com and propeller.com.
Is he really talking about Perez Hilton (a.k.a. Mario Lavandiera)? Does he really attract the "Urban Uptown" PRIZM segmentation? Really? I laughed when it identified me with the target population of TMZ. Maybe Tancer IS on to something...
Is it just me, or is this book full of completely useless factoids that rarely fit the pieces of the puzzle together? I honestly do not see anything relevant in this chapter to share in our final presentation. Anyone disagree?
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Chapter 3 Prom In January
Chapter 3 is about the spike in prom related (especially dress) searches starting as early as January contrary to what retailers think. With prom usually in May or late April, January is very early to be shopping. Tancer also examines this phenominon in the UK and shows very similar trends. He becomes alittle crazed about finding out the reason for this early search and gets into myspace as typical personas of teenage girls of different social sectors. The main answer he gets for why this is comes from a man in publishing that says the prom advertising is one of the biggest revenue builders in terms of advertising and so they start advertising earlier to make more money. At the end of the chapter Tancer throws in info on engagments and wedding dresses. He makes the statement that men could possible make one of the largest and most important purchases of thier life (an engagement ring) a week before the engagement while girls search for dresses months in advance. Engagment rings spike around the week before Thanksgiving and he theorizes this is because the guy wants to ask the parents permission when they go home for the holiday.
My thoughts:
-I thought it was weird and smart at the same time to look at myspace for consumer behaviors. However he looked at pictures, notes, etc about these teenage girls. In response, I increased my security on facebook.
-He seemed to be a little too obsessed with this whole prom dress thing. So much so that when he was at the lecture series in the UK they already knew this about him and asked him not to speak about it...which he did anyway. If someone has to ask you not to talk about prom dresses cause they already know you are obsessed with them, isn't that more weird than anything else?
-The whole engagement thing is pretty true. I would believe that men don't take as long as girls do to look for special items but I am not sure that I believe it is for the reason he says. I am sure some of it is but I think it might also be that time of year where people think about togetherness with all of the holidays. The year is beginning to wrap up and it is starting the beginning of the gift giving season, maybe there is more wiggle room on price at jewelers. That topic is still up in the air for me.
My thoughts:
-I thought it was weird and smart at the same time to look at myspace for consumer behaviors. However he looked at pictures, notes, etc about these teenage girls. In response, I increased my security on facebook.
-He seemed to be a little too obsessed with this whole prom dress thing. So much so that when he was at the lecture series in the UK they already knew this about him and asked him not to speak about it...which he did anyway. If someone has to ask you not to talk about prom dresses cause they already know you are obsessed with them, isn't that more weird than anything else?
-The whole engagement thing is pretty true. I would believe that men don't take as long as girls do to look for special items but I am not sure that I believe it is for the reason he says. I am sure some of it is but I think it might also be that time of year where people think about togetherness with all of the holidays. The year is beginning to wrap up and it is starting the beginning of the gift giving season, maybe there is more wiggle room on price at jewelers. That topic is still up in the air for me.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Chapter 4: Failed Resolutions and the False Hope Syndrome
This chapter focused on Internet searches during January. These searches reveal the key to what motivates us and what disappoints us. Tancer made an interesting correlation between dramatic ads for weight loss and search habits. Tancer also makes note of "false hope syndrome"; the greater our expectations, the greater our disappointment. Like other chapters in the book, this chapter also focuses on the psychology behind Internet searches. Consumers want to have control over some aspect of their lives and often use outrageous ad claims as tools to gain control.
NBC has gained publicity from its show The Biggest Loser. Some see the show as a motivating factor for people to get in shape. Internet searches for television shows and commercials increase drastically after they are aired. Since the show debut, more searches are highlighting fitness and nutrition as opposed to just dieting, proving that more people are interested in making lifestyle changes as opposed to quick fixes.
Traditionally, visitors to certain websites were often included in surveys or research studies. Because site demographics change frequently, that is not always the case in today's society. Some statistics suggest that couples are waiting longer to start families, which factors into the change in demographics within a year.
Some interesting things to note:
-The correlation between diet searches and Thanksgiving recipe searches (Most people pig out during the holidays but try to make up for it in the new year)
-Promotion of the author's blog (ilovedata.com)
-The rise of product placement is directly related to the rise of DVR usage
-Cookie tasting study
-The only bad publicity is no publicity (i.e. wardrobe malfunction)
-There are notes in the back of the book (pg 205) that may reveal a little insight into where Tancer gets some of his information but not necessarily how
-News events, especially tragic ones, bring about awareness on certain topics (deaths of Peter Jennings and Dana Reeve).
-Segues into each chapter
NBC has gained publicity from its show The Biggest Loser. Some see the show as a motivating factor for people to get in shape. Internet searches for television shows and commercials increase drastically after they are aired. Since the show debut, more searches are highlighting fitness and nutrition as opposed to just dieting, proving that more people are interested in making lifestyle changes as opposed to quick fixes.
Traditionally, visitors to certain websites were often included in surveys or research studies. Because site demographics change frequently, that is not always the case in today's society. Some statistics suggest that couples are waiting longer to start families, which factors into the change in demographics within a year.
Some interesting things to note:
-The correlation between diet searches and Thanksgiving recipe searches (Most people pig out during the holidays but try to make up for it in the new year)
-Promotion of the author's blog (ilovedata.com)
-The rise of product placement is directly related to the rise of DVR usage
-Cookie tasting study
-The only bad publicity is no publicity (i.e. wardrobe malfunction)
-There are notes in the back of the book (pg 205) that may reveal a little insight into where Tancer gets some of his information but not necessarily how
-News events, especially tragic ones, bring about awareness on certain topics (deaths of Peter Jennings and Dana Reeve).
-Segues into each chapter
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Chapter 2 - Getting to What we really think
This chapter focussed on the "question that keeps market researchers up at night". It was heavily centered on political searches and statistics, which was timely in a way with the November 2008 election being just a few short months ago. The author debated whether the number of hits to a political website could determine the outcome of the election. He described the link between what was being talked about in the news and the increase in hits on certain sites. This shows that there is a direct correlation between what is in the news and what people want more information on (via the web). No big surprise there.
Another major topic for the author in this chapter was how marketers can utilize 'click' data to determine which products are losing market share and brand equity. The example given (p 37) was for IBM's ThinkPad brand. The main point was that "Search and Internet" behavioral data can be used to provide insight into the decision process that consumers use and can be observed without the selection biases that are often found when using traditional surveys.
On page 42, the author mentions "Google Trends", which is a service that Google offers to rank search volume of specific terms. I was unclear if this data was provided or available to anyone. May have to look this up and research further...
Some interesting terminology was used in this chapter....good key words for our presentation! Clickstream Reports was one....and still something that I wish we could somehow get our hands on!
Another major topic for the author in this chapter was how marketers can utilize 'click' data to determine which products are losing market share and brand equity. The example given (p 37) was for IBM's ThinkPad brand. The main point was that "Search and Internet" behavioral data can be used to provide insight into the decision process that consumers use and can be observed without the selection biases that are often found when using traditional surveys.
On page 42, the author mentions "Google Trends", which is a service that Google offers to rank search volume of specific terms. I was unclear if this data was provided or available to anyone. May have to look this up and research further...
Some interesting terminology was used in this chapter....good key words for our presentation! Clickstream Reports was one....and still something that I wish we could somehow get our hands on!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
About the author and Hitwise
Here is Bill Tancer's bio on www.hitwise.com:
http://www.hitwise.com/who-we-are/bill-tancer.php
Here is the hitwise blog, which I thought was interesting reading:
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/index.html
Hitwise is owned by Experian, one of the credit rating companies. THAT is interesting.
http://www.hitwise.com/who-we-are/company-history.php
Looks like their "search" methodology is going to be trade secret, so we'll never know...
http://www.hitwise.com/who-we-are/bill-tancer.php
Here is the hitwise blog, which I thought was interesting reading:
http://weblogs.hitwise.com/index.html
Hitwise is owned by Experian, one of the credit rating companies. THAT is interesting.
http://www.hitwise.com/who-we-are/company-history.php
Looks like their "search" methodology is going to be trade secret, so we'll never know...
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Questions from Group meeting on 2/24
We talked about the following points and questions during our meeting on 2/24:
- The author seems to be a subject matter expert.
- We'd like to know more about the data mining process and how the author obtains his information to document in the book.
- Does he have a personal relationship with certain ISPs and/or websites?
- Certain websites have counters for how many visitors see their site. Does the author obtain that informaiton somehow??
We also talked about how to access this blog and write to it. And...we discussed that we do not want the blog entries to be simply summaries of the chapters. Although a summary of the chapter will be nice to document in the blog (i.e. put one in), we also need to be looking at what Dr. Lohrke handed out to us at the beginning of the semester and focus on some of those aspects.
Don't be afraid to ask open ended questions in the blog. And don't be afraid to post to answer someone's question. But, in the end, we'll try to get all the questions answered for the presentation. OR...if we don't answer them...they will be good questions for our book review (i.e. "these are things that we wanted to know from reading the book, but weren't told").
Happy "Clicking" and Reading!!!
- The author seems to be a subject matter expert.
- We'd like to know more about the data mining process and how the author obtains his information to document in the book.
- Does he have a personal relationship with certain ISPs and/or websites?
- Certain websites have counters for how many visitors see their site. Does the author obtain that informaiton somehow??
We also talked about how to access this blog and write to it. And...we discussed that we do not want the blog entries to be simply summaries of the chapters. Although a summary of the chapter will be nice to document in the blog (i.e. put one in), we also need to be looking at what Dr. Lohrke handed out to us at the beginning of the semester and focus on some of those aspects.
Don't be afraid to ask open ended questions in the blog. And don't be afraid to post to answer someone's question. But, in the end, we'll try to get all the questions answered for the presentation. OR...if we don't answer them...they will be good questions for our book review (i.e. "these are things that we wanted to know from reading the book, but weren't told").
Happy "Clicking" and Reading!!!
Chapter 1 - PPC: Porn, Pills and Casinos
To say the least, this chapter was an interesting way to start the book! As we all know the quick and dirty summary of the chapter tracks the habits of Internet users through porn, gambling, and perscription websites (though he spends an awful lot of time on porn).
Interesting facts I didn't know or think about:
Interesting facts I didn't know or think about:
- Online adult sector revenue is cited as high as $97 billion annually
- Porn consumers are hard to survey because no one really wants to give away their deep, dirty secret
- 40,000 top porn sites accounted for 10% of all Internet visits in August 2007, down from 16% in August 2005. Could this be that people aren't wanting their usage of porn sites to be tracked? Or, is the author right that certain social networking sites are replacing porn sites because people are meeting each other in person? [see theory page 25].
- Friday, then Saturday are the busiest porn traffic days; Thanksgiving is the least trafficked day-the author surmises that this is because there are too many family members around to get alone time
- 72.6% porn users are male
- U.S industries charge $10-15 for one Viagra pill; the pill can be manufactured for less than $2 a pill
- Viagra, Alli and Lexapro are the most search for drugs online
Other revelations brought out in chapter one:
- On what the author does for a living..."looking at anonymized and aggregate user behaviors for millions of U.S. Internet users" [19]. I for one am hoping he explains how he does this!
- Low and behold he says on page 31 he works for Hitwise and has for the past four years. Must research Hitwise.
Chapter Assignments
Chapter 1 - Erin
Chapter 2 - Melissa
Chapter 3 - Melanie
Chapter 4 - Jasmine
Chapter 5 - Erin
Chapter 6 - Melissa
Chapter 7 - Melanie
Chapter 8 - Jasmine
Chapter 9 - Erin
Chapter 10 - Melissa
Chapter 11 - Melanie
Chapter 12 - Jasmine
Chapter 13 - Erin
Chapter 2 - Melissa
Chapter 3 - Melanie
Chapter 4 - Jasmine
Chapter 5 - Erin
Chapter 6 - Melissa
Chapter 7 - Melanie
Chapter 8 - Jasmine
Chapter 9 - Erin
Chapter 10 - Melissa
Chapter 11 - Melanie
Chapter 12 - Jasmine
Chapter 13 - Erin
Saturday, February 21, 2009
chapter assignments
Hi ladies. I hope your weekend is going great. Melissa, can you post the chapter assignments? I didn't write them all down because I thought we were going to post them. I can do my first post then. Thanks! Erin
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