The Internet's big three for 2007

Jonathan Bowers, December 20th 2006, 10:39AM

As this is one of my last posts for 2006, I think it's worth projecting forward to next year, considering what the biggest areas of Internet advancement will be and what businesses need to think about in order to maximise.

I'd like to pinpoint three things that we should be looking at.

The first is RSS. 2007 will mark a split between people who browse for content and those who choose content to be delivered to them. Every business needs to offer an RSS feed. Newsletters, press releases, special offers, industry news, company news, free giveaways should all be available for people who desire to receive them. Providing feeds not only makes the visitor feel in control but it reduces your workload on building mailing lists. Businesses need to take them as seriously as News sites do.

The second big thing is video on the Net. We're beginning to see mobile tv and IPTV. Video on demand is a priority for telecoms and media companies. Channel 4 has made less money on advertising this year in the UK than Google. We all know where the consumer's eyes are going. So what are the best ways to keep our products in front of our audiences? And does the video wave offer us new ways to present our offerings on our own websites and other people's?

I think Second Life will be the YouTube of 2007. There's already a huge amount of money and enthusiasm being pumped into the virtual world and businesses, from retailers to radio stations have stamped their brand on this environ. One Chinese entrepreneur has already made a million dollars by buying, developing and selling virtual land. How can you build your profile and convert virtual cash into real revenue next year?

One thing is for sure. The Internet has to be placed closer to the heart of every UK business if they want to grow in 2007.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what the major Internet trends will be in the coming year. Maybe you disagree about the impact of RSS or the importance of Second Life for businesses? Let me know.

Tags: iptv, rss, second life
# Comment (0 comments)

Domain name or RSS which will matter most?

Jonathan Bowers, December 15th 2006, 9:45AM

With the announcement that vodka.com is being sold for £1.5m it's clear that emphasis on the right web name is still hugely important. However, with RSS becoming more mainstream, how much does the name of the site really matter?

I think this view may change depending on whether you're a marketeer, a salesman, a content provider but ultimately I think it depends on what your sites main objective is.

I can see RSS causing a split online between sites that provide information and sites that aim to drive sales. The consumer market will doubtless remain within the domain name camp, while news sites are more likely to champion the RSS route.

What are your thoughts on this?

Tags: domain_names, rss
# Comment (0 comments)

Building the profile of a creative sector

Jonathan Bowers, September 6th 2006, 10:07AM

Yesterday, I spent the day at FACT in Liverpool. I was producing a podcast for the Arts Council, who were presenting a one day conference for Arts organisations across the North West.

The day was all about blogging, podcasting, RSS and e-marketing and it was interesting to see the spread of knowledge across the delegates. Some knew all about the various techniques but many were there because they were entering at ground level.

Perhaps, most interesting was the fact that the majority of the clued up members worked for the smallest organisations. They'd already got to grips with various technologies through the need to stretch very limited budgets.

It felt a little bit like taking coals to Newcastle. With podcasting being a very creative medium, I spent a lot of time talking to some of the North West's most creative thinkers about how they can innovate their web services.

The podcast (online soon) offers a flavour of the day and gives direction to some pioneering thoughts about the arts sector online today - so it'll be well worth listening to. A podcast can only be as good as its subjects and there was a wealth of knowledge and experience at FACT yesterday, so I am looking forward to the end result.

Tags: blogging, fact, podcasting, rss
# Comment (0 comments)

A new Netscape for the less personalised Web

Jonathan Bowers, June 15th 2006, 10:02AM

My immediate thoughts on the rebirth of Netscape are that AOL are joining a selection of content providers appealing to the lethargic nature of Internet users.

I can see Netscape appealing heavily to those who are not web savvy enough to download a comprehensive aggregator and choose their own RSS feeds.

But RSS is a bigger issue here than some might think. If user trends continue towards personalisation on the web then more people will be interested in using emerging platforms such as Windows Live and Google's personalisation system than a site that makes you work to find the content.

Will Netscape therefore go down the Ajax route in order to compete directly with the big players? If not, then the success of the new site will depend very much on the quality of commentary its editors provide on the existing stories that web users can easily access themselves.

I hope the site works for AOL/Netscape though, as it would be good to see them competing again with the Internet giants that have left them behind in recent years.

Tags: aggregators, netscape, online_news, rss
# Comment (0 comments)

RSS over Search Engines?

Jonathan Bowers, June 1st 2006, 10:05AM

Following on from yesterday's post about 'ransomware', I've noticed that the news sites are now featuring the same story the MEN broke yesterday. However, before I found it through the search engines my RSS feeds delivered the story on BBC News, The Register and The Times Online.

So as RSS becomes more widespread, what does this mean for search engines? If you use Google News or Yahoo News this morning, the story is picked up from all the sources above and more, but through a general web search none of the above appear in the top ten pages of results.

Is this an indication of the 'invisible rules' of search engine optimisation? Or is it a deliberate attempt by the search giants to delineate information into sections. Either way, my prefered way to receive news is through RSS, so what will happen to the engines if this becomes the mainstream method of receiving news and subsequently other types of information?

Tags: news, rss, search
# Comment (2 comments)