June 2009 - Is The Next Quantum Leap In Technology Coming?
Hello and welcome to the APD newsletter for June 2009.
Wow, we are having such great weather here in the U.K! It’s been absolutely beautiful. And, it’s great to be able to take advantage of the nice weather we’ve had over the past few weeks. I am already sporting a rather nice suntan for this time of year!
Having said that, it has only been snatching five minutes here and ten minutes there in between finalising the Instant Social Traffic Formula.
And, I am pleased to tell you that the product is finished and we have just about got Butterfly Marketing configured (it’s another one of those IM learning curves), so…we’ll be going in to pre-launch this coming Sunday 14th June - exciting times!
What’s it all about?
Simply unlocking Google’s secret back door to page one ranking…overnight!
Indeed, Lee and I have worked out how to use social marketing techniques and tools to ensure page one Google listing in no time at all.
The best thing is…it’s worked every time we’ve done it and now we’re releasing this information to everyone. This is one you are NOT going to want to miss out on, because without it…you’re at a competitive disadvantage in the SEO wars!
More of that in the next few days, I’ll be mailing you soon.
Moving on, this month I am going to talk about what’s happening in the technology world. A new subject for the newsletter, but vitally important if you want to stay on top of the Internet marketing game.
During the last two or three years the pace of technological advancement has been steady and fairly slow, there haven’t really been any stunning “quantum leaps”.
However, over the last couple of months, that seems to have changed with some startling new announcements.
I’ve been doing some research for a side project I’m working on and have found out some really interesting “stuff”.
It’s common knowledge that Google and Microsoft have been engaged in a “tech war” since Google first rose to prominence in 2000.
Initially Microsoft decided the money was in software not search and were somewhat “gobsmacked” when Google finally made search pay big time. Since realising they’d made a mistake Microsoft have been trying hard to take a chunk of Google’s search business.
In the latest salvo Microsoft has launched a new search engine called Bing.
Bing is the upgraded version of the much-maligned “Microsoft Live Search”. In layout it looks very similar to Google, although it has a pretty picture as the background as opposed to the white screen.
I decided to try out Bing and to be honest it delivers almost identical results to Google at the detailed search level. However, with more broad terms it’s clear a different algorithm is being used, as the results are significantly different. This is a good thing in my opinion
Bing also has some nice and different features on the results pages. Overall I thought it was pretty good although I did get some pretty naff results on some searches I ran.
But, it is worth putting on your favourites and using to get a different view occasionally. I also think this will help draw new users to Microsoft Ad Centre, that is also good in my opinion.
As far as Google is concerned they have been making some changes on search recently and seemed to have made the “content is king” and “relevancy” maxims even more central to their raison d’être.
Google have been promising a major announcement on search for some time, so keep your eyes open. But, I think I know what is coming, more on this later.
Another change is that we are starting to hear the term Web3.0 being banded around. What is Web3.0?
Well, Web1.0 was very static and very much a one-way street in that users accessed static information and there was little or no user interaction.
Web2.0 delivered that “interaction” through Blogs, forums and social media. It allowed people to become masters of their own destiny and the small “man on the street” to compete with the “big boys”.
In essence, Blogging and social media changed the face of the Internet.
So, what changes we will see from Web3.0?
The best definition I could find for Web3.0 is that it will be a task based “journey”. Seeking information to seeking validation to seeking entertainment. O.K, what does that mean?
Well, for the technicians…”information will be held in highly specialised silos and will be moderated by a “cult of personality”. Information will be validated by the community and put into context with the inclusion of meta-data through widgets”.
Any the wiser?
Let me try and explain, well my understanding anyway. At the moment search is based around keywords or keyword phrases. These search terms let you see chunks of data based on the keyword (or phrase) you use to search. It’s linear with results presented en masse in order of relevance.
Indeed relevance has been the key word (excuse the pun) for Google over many years.
However, remember the word “context”.
Web2.0 gave us tagging, which I really like as it allows me to market on MY terms as opposed to Google’s…I like tagging! As it happens, it’s a subject I cover in depth in the Instant Social Traffic Formula. Basically, though, tagging allows searching more in line with how people think.
Web 3.0 will take this one step further.
Say you are searching for information on cars. In the Web3.0 environment you would search as you normally do, but contextual algorithms will bring back results that include not only the main keyword, but also sub categories.
So cars might return automobiles, Ford, Honda etc.
So, if you were to dig deeper into the search and say decide to major on Ford (can’t think why) you would then be able to capture an RSS feed that would keep you updated with news on the subject of Ford cars. In reality you would probably dig deeper down to actual model level.
This “contextual” technology will permeate into the social media over time.
Moan for the day! I have to say; I do find this all a bit rich coming from Google though.
Why?
O.K, why don’t you try to put up an Adgroup with the keywords car, automobile, Ford and Honda in it. I have no doubt you would get slapped – very hard! For Google to cry “relevancy” in one breathe and then introduce contextual search in another seems to be at odds?
Maybe Google might change its view, but they do seem to like having their cake and eating it as well. Maybe if Bing can make inroads it will force change upon Google, but somehow I doubt it!
Moving on, but…more on Google a little bit later!
Let’s have a bit of fun and talk gaming for a while. Like you I thought Wii was a pretty major step forward in gaming. Here’s the rap, Wii is going to look pale in comparison to Microsoft’s latest gaming technology.
Announced a couple of weeks ago, have a look at the video below which show you examples of Natal in action.
I mean, bloody hell, is that cool or what?
Sales of the Xbox and most gaming consoles are on the way down as the market reaches saturation. So something new was needed. Yes, Wii was slightly different, but Natal has NO controller.
Your body becomes the controller. This may even persuade me to take up gaming! It’s physical and properly interactive. Soon, you’ll be able to have a great workout in your front room, and the best bit…it will be fun!
But also check out this video with interactive “child star” Milo. This is truly stunning technology. To be able to transfer data from the physical world into the electronic world so effortlessly is a real quantum leap forward.
Now I know this is the gaming world and it’s very different from business, but I am sure you agree this is a major jump forward in technology. It can only be a matter of time before Microsoft finds business applications for this technology.
Which brings me neatly back to Big Google and the wave.
Last week they premiered their new Google Wave technology.
I actually sat down and watched an entire 1 hour 20 minute demo. Normally nothing can capture my attention for that length of time. This is going to change the way we work, plain and simple.
So, what is Google Wave?
It’s a web-based tool that allows instant messaging, e-mail, real-time collaboration, forum functionality, wiki and source control all in one hugely functional tool.
Here’s just one of the advantages. Think Skype. If I message you, you have to just sit and wait while I type my message. Then I have to sit and wait for your reply. Still fun, but very inefficient!
With Google Wave we can see each other type in real-time. Not only that, but we can both add information and amend it at the same time. You can invite anyone with a “Wave” account to join in. You can even make some parts of the wave available publicly and some private between nominated participants.
You can import video, pictures, text, whatever you like and the entire wave is hosted centrally with full real-time access for all.
What’s more, it’s open source so anyone can create their own wave environment and have wave applications on their website!
Have a look at the demo yourself. As I say, it’s long but it’s worth it.
My mind was racing! Video sales letters are rapidly becoming the norm in the Internet marketing world. But, what about interactive sales letters? How much of a competitive advantage would that be?
But the part that really interested me is the spell checker. What? The spell checker, why is that so important I hear you cry?
Here’s the REALLY interesting part, the spell checker is truly contextual. In the demo, the demonstrator types in “Icland is an Icland” and in a nanosecond Wave corrects it to “Iceland is an island”.
Now that is very cool indeed.
However, what this shows is that Google has managed to get contextual algorithms working.
This means that the Web3.0 contextual search I mentioned earlier can only be just around the corner!
Contextual searching will definitely change the way search works. It is also sure to mean BIG changes in the way Pay Per Click works as well.
I haven’t thought through how that might happen yet. But if you want to stay ahead of the pack, you will need to understand and integrate these new and upcoming technologies into your business plan!
Exciting and daunting at the same time! Come what may, it looks like we are at the start of a new and exciting “wave” of technology!
One last thing! I was writing on this subject for a new Hubpage. So, I was looking for an image of Google Wave. Naturally I searched on Google images, but found nothing. Here’s the rub, I found the image on Bing! You have to laugh!
O.K, that’s it for this month, another rather long, but I think useful newsletter. I do like to deliver true VFM :>)
Keep a watch out for the Instant Social Traffic Formula, it’s going to be huge, so you will need to get in quick. I’m planning to give my APD list (that’s you) a head start for the pre-launch, so as I say, watch this space. In fact, if you go there now, I think the pre-launch sign up is working!
More next month, until then…
…as always, to YOUR success.
Cheers now and have fun!
Derek
Instant Social Traffic Formula
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