Domain Sampling by Registrars to End

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has made a rule change that paves the way for a more equitable system of domain registration.

As it stands, domain registrars have up to five days to sample domains before purchasing them or not. This practice keeps the domains out of our (marketers) hands. Instead, large registrars, who load the parked domains with Adwords to see which domains earn the most revenue, tie up these domains for up to a week. Then they register the revenue-generating domain names only.

New Policy Aims to Curb Web Site Name Abuse - washingtonpost.com

The idea behind the so-called "add grace period" was to allow people who made a spelling or other mistake to get their money back and return the domain. But some registrars have built their entire business around abusing that well-intentioned policy, snatching up millions of domains at a time and only paying for and registering a tiny fraction of them that earn enough money through pay-per-click advertising traffic to justify the registration cost.

So the next time you see a parked at BoDiddly domain, notice if it is being held in place by Adwords, as if Adwords is actually monetizing these SPLOGs. Do you think G@@gle knows? Shame, shame . . .

Tags: icann, domain sampling, domain registrars, splogs, adwords

Yahoo! Still in the Game

The first time I heard of Yahoo! was when they acquired RocketMail, one of the first free web email providers. Yahoo! branded each email footer with Yahoo! and a tag line. Yahoo! has since become one of the top three search engines. Lately, they have made some questionable acquisitions that make it appear as if they are lacking a guiding management strategy.

I agree with Mark Simon from Search Insider » Don’t Underestimate Yahoo

He states that Yahoo! has what Google is lacking:

Strong, stable relationships provide unlimited upside . . . since inception, Yahoo has maintained good relations with the content partners. . . Unlike Google, which seems to regard the owners of the content . . . as "subjects," not partners, Yahoo treats these sources with respect in the form of licensing agreements.

Please visit and read the entire story on the site. It would be wonderful if a kinder, gentler search engine relieved Big G's stranglehold on the search engine market. Ask or Yahoo, or one of the many specialty search engines, may knock G@@GLE off their self-made pedestal.

We can only hope.

Tags: Yahoo, search engines

Give Good Valentine This Year

It is January 25 today. You have over two weeks to purchase the perfect gift, choose a thoughtful card, and to plan an amazing lunch or dinner date for Valentine’s Day. You do not have to spend a fortune to show your love. But, you should be imaginative and intuitive if you are serious about someone.

I have started researching options for valentines day gifts. At 1800flowers.com, you will find an excellent variety of gifts, and not just flowers and plants. Of course, they have roses, tulips and other more exotic flowers. They also carry chocolates and other sweets, spa gifts, Teddy bears, gift baskets, towering treats and small thoughtful tokens.

From $14.99 to $1000,
you may find an exquisite gift
for your loved ones
and other important people in your life.

You arrive at the gift guide, a very useful tool. Select what you wish to see first: roses, tulips, flowers, plants, chocolates and sweets, Teddy bears, gift baskets, gifts for him, love combinations or luxury gifts. You may sort these gift selections by occasion, flowers, plants. gift baskets and food, or price.

When you find something, check availability, just to be sure that it can be shipped to arrive in time for Valentine's Day. For those of you who ignore this post, you probably will find a box of chocolates and a cheap card at the pharmacy on the way home that day.

Tags: valentines gift, st. valentine, woman gift, man gift

Feel all Twingly Inside!

There is a new blog search engine from Sweden called Twingly. You may ping your blog and be added to their index--maybe. If you are a European blog, you may get priority. Which is as it should be.

According to TechCrunch:

Their focus, he says, will be to have a spam-free engine (something none of the others can claim) at the cost of inclusiveness. And at least at first, the engine will be focused on European blogs.

Now, for the really cool feature. If you look below, you will see a clip that shows how Twingly accesses worldwide blog activity in real time. They have made it a screensaver that you may download, which will track new blog activity 24/7.

Tags: twingly, blog search, spam free search

Entrecard may get the boot

I decided to use Entrecard on my travel blog when I moved it from blogspot to a hosted environment. This is a great idea. Sort of like the old "rent my blog" from Blog Explosion. You put a piece of code on your blog and people pay you Entrecard credits to place their Entrecard on your widget.

Here is a screenshot of the widget:



On the true widget, the E takes you to the Entrecard website. You click on Drop yours to leave your card, then you visit the hosted blog that is displayed.

You receive Entrecard credits each time someone drops a card and each time someone clicks from your widget to your guest's blog. If you drop a card, your card goes into the blog owner's inbox at the Entrecard website in an attempt to get regular visitors.

The problem is that every marketer came out with a system to drop cards faster and blogged about it. Next, someone had to make a entrecard surfer, viewer and rotater. Now, instead of readers, you get people passing through.

I have never seen so many contests as I have since I started using entrecard. Everyone want you to subscribe to their feed, write a blogpost about their contest, fave them to Technorati, Stumble, Digg and do other things to them. It is like "Quick, grab 'em!"

If you are looking for visitors and you have the content to hold them, entrecard is a good deal. If you are trying to gain exposure for a new blog, it is worth a try. Check it out and make your own decision. Drop by Texas RV Travel blog and drop me a card. I return visits and I leave comments.

Tags: entrecard, card drop, 125x125 advertising space

$15,000 for 60-second Advertisement

Do you feel that you have creativity burning in your soul? Swiffer needs you. Check out the YouTube Swiffer Break-up Music Video Contest today. Create a break up video demonstrating how you broke up withyour old cleaning products when you switched to Swiffer.

Use Internet Explorer, totally exposed to all cookies, to download a tool kit of music clips and art work you may use. Make a complete a** of yourself and you could win $15,000. Hey, I am so there.

Tags: breaking up, swiffer music video contest, youtube

First, You Have to Have a Product

Number one rule in marketing is that you must have a product. The drug makers of Vytorin and Zetia, spent $102 million and $83 million, respectively to market them (TNS Media Intelligence). The TV campaign, from Omnicom Group's DDB Worldwide, features ads which are among most-recalled by viewers (IAG Research).

There are two sources of cholesterol: food and family

Do you remember seeing these advertisements on TV? Probably one of the most effective advertising campaigns of the year was short-circuited by the failure of the product to back up the claims made. A study, conducted in 2006, but not released until last week, revealed that Vytorin, a combination of Zetia and Zocor, DID NOT reduce buildup of fatty plaque in arteries.

Drug Makers Yank Vytorin TV Ads - Advertising Age - News

Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp. have yanked the popular "two sources" TV advertising campaign for cholesterol-lowering drug Vytorin.

Tags: product claims, mispent marketing, most recalled ads

Affiliate Lounge : Sharing Secrets, Spreading Credits

You should visit the Affiliate Lounge. They have some great posts, like the post about Lushable. Lushable artificially inflated their RSS subscribers by subscribing themselves over and over. They were caught and now everyone knows.

Besides for the scoop on who did what, you will find lots of useful information on Affiliate Lounge. Right now they are having a contest for 500 EntreCard credits and hosting.

Stop by and visit. Tell them CyberCelt sent you.

War is a demonic, destructive suction tube

Click excerpt of Dr. King's speech Beyond Vietnam
to open a larger copy in another window

On the third Monday in January, we celebrate the the life and the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. When Dr. King died in 1968, many believed that the dream died with him. It did not. Dr. King left a huge body of work, a great life of accomplishment and an ardent group of followers that continue his work today.

While looking for a quote for my post on Monday, I was amazed by the speeches he made during his short life. He was a strong speaker with a reverent voice and there will never be another voice as powerful. The human race lost more than a human rights activist, civil rights leader, and a man of God; we lost an important voice for the conscience of America.

Even 25 years later, his words have the ability to move me to tears. Why did we not, why do we not, heed his words?

Tags: vietnam, mlk day, voice of conscience, remember, listen

There Goes Another TV Season

The LA Times newspaper reported that Twentieth Century Fox Television, CBS Paramount Network Television, NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Television have all terminated development and production agreements with the striking writers.

By eliminating the deals now, the studios will no longer be obligated to pay the writers even if the strike ends in the next month or two. Well, it look like another season of MORE reality shows and reruns and less new content. Television as media may be hurt by this as more people rent movies and games, or watch Internet television instead of TV.

I feel for the writers who lost their jobs from this strike. Going for months without a paycheck is extremely difficult, especially if the strike spans the holidays.

Tags: writers strike, terminated agreements, fired writers

The American Ho-Hum?

Could it be that American Idol has saturated the market in the USA? According to preliminary Nielsen data, premiere night for American Idol received a 13.8 rating among adults 18-49. which is down 13 percent from 15.8 rating last year and down 10 percent from 15.3 rating in 2006. Among total viewers, American Idol was seen by an average of 33.2 million, down 11 percent from last year.

'American Idol' Premiere Lowest Rated in Four Years - Advertising Age - James Hibberd: Rated

"Idol" fell from last year's series-high premiere perch, yet was once again a ratings titan that readily blew away all competitors Tuesday night, as well as all other network premieres from earlier this season.

There are so many new reality shows, like The Biggest Loser, that may appeal to people. Not everyone can be a rock star, but we can all lose weight. Is that it? LOL

Tags: american idol, biggest loser, premiere night

Stop Discrimination Against Mothers

Mothers more often than not are the breadwinner in a single family home. Women should not be penalized because they want to have children. They earn and deserve fair and equal pay.

The Fair Pay Restoration Act is currently stalled in the U.S. Senate. It easy passed easily the House last year. Our voices are needed to move it through the Senate. This Act will restore a big part of people's ability to challenge discrimination in the workplace.

U.S. Senators are home for the holidays through the third week in January. When the Senate reconvenes, they are scheduled to hold a hearing on the Fair Pay Restoration Act (1/24/08) That means we have a chance to meet with Senate staff or Senators before they return to D.C. and vote on this important issue.

Please set up a meeting with your U.S. Senators in your home state during January, to deliver petition signatures supporting equal pay for equal work. Your meeting will be posted on the MomsRising.org site so that others may join you. A face to face meeting with your your Senators is a powerful way to remind them of priorities. All we want is for her or him to vote for the Fair Pay Restoration Act!

Click here to sign on to coordinate a meeting in your state:

The Fair Pay Restoration Act reverses the recent U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Ledbetter vs. Goodyear that discrimination claims must be made within 180 days after the pay is set, which was a major setback to women's rights, and any employee's ability to stop pay discrimination based on race, religion or national origin.

You may also want to read a related post about Maternal Profiling on my Losing Proposition blog.

Tags: moms rising, fair pay restoration act, meet your senators

New Hampshire primary and polls

Last week's presidential primary not only surprised Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but also pollsters that had totally been off the mark about the outcome.

Lies, Damned Lies and Polls - eMarketer is a great article about the validity and accuracy of polls.

. . . pollsters asked "Who will you vote for?" when what everyone actually wanted to know was "Who is going to win?" The answer to the first question on the Democratic side was "Obama," but the answer to the second proved to be "Clinton."

This was interesting reading about a predictive tool used for determining political strategies in presidential primaries. Also, there is commentary by six senior eMarketer analysts, each giving an opinion about the presidential race.

What factor will determine the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party? Will it be the importance of social networks, a candidate's ability in raise money, young people flocking to the polls, or the whimsy of the general voting public?

Keep 'em guessing, America!

Tags: barack obama, hillary clinton, opinion polls, presidential primary

Equinox Ads : Tasteful and Truthful

David

Table

Equinox has a new print campaign called What's your after? The advertisements display beautiful male and female bodies in various poses. Each advertisement makes a tongue-in-cheek statement on the human condition. If interested, view the ads on MediaPost.com. There are several more.

Tags: whats your after, human condition, beautiful bodies

AMA Webinar : Web Analytics

Web Analytics: A Day a Month

Tuesday, January 15, 2007 10:00 am Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -08:00, San Francisco)

This webinar is appropriate for anyone responsible for data analysis and online optimization efforts, at any level in the organization and with any level of experience

Topics

• Building dashboards, reports, and analysis that give you the facts for better decisions
• Setting up a "Web Analytics 2.0" measurement environment
• Sifting through mountains of website data to quickly find what matters most
• Allocating staff and resources for maximum benefit
• Reconciling different sources of data
• Selecting vendors and improving vendor relations

Presenters

• Eric T. Peterson, Web Analytics Consultant, Author of Web Analytics Demystified
• Elissa Fink, VP Marketing, Tableau Software
• Marla Chupack, Moderator, American Marketing Association

Free! --) Registration required

These free webinars are a great opportunity to learn new skills and to network. They are not the most high-tech event, which is surprising when you think of the association putting these on. However you will learn from experts and usually you receive a free whitepaper or a copy of the presentation. Do not forget to register. You should download the software before the webcast starts in case of problems.

Tags: webcast, AMA, marketing