Google is Offering Free Web Analytics Software

Google has announced that they are offering Google Analytics for free (previously called Urchin). Urchin was originally $500 a month, after Google purchased the company they dropped the price to $199 and now it's FREE. The catch? -- For unlimited use, you need to be an AdWords customer. Non-AdWords customers are limited to 5000 page views a month.

Forbes Has Thrown a Rock In the Bee's Nest

The cover story for the November 14th issue of Forbes is called "Attack of the Blogs"
Shel Isreal has written a thoughtful letter to the author Daniel Lyons.

This article is so one sided it makes me wonder if they are trying to be as sensational as possible to sell magazines.

I intercepted our CEO's copy and tucked Shel's letter right on the front page. I then went up to his office and told him to read the letter BEFORE reading the article.

Thanks Shel!

DaimlerChrysler Is Listening -

Randall McAdory from DaimlerChrysler was interviewed by chiefmarketer.com. It's good to see my former employer is 'with it' when it comes to tracking the conversation online. McAdory obviously understands the importance of the blogosphere in not only getting unfiltered feedback on their brand, but also as a way to research and uncover new trends.

Many other companies have learned the hard way that ignoring this segment can be very damaging to the brand. Two top examples are Dell Computer and Kryptonite Locks. In both of these cases, they ignored the issues and got burned.

DC needs to take part in the conversation as well. I think starting up their own DaimlerChrysler blog is a crucial next step.

Received My Copy of Naked Conversations!

Looks like I might be one of the last people to receive the galley copy of Shel and Robert's new book Naked Conversations. I started reading it tonight and have completed the first three chapters. It is extremely well done. I found myself nodding my head and talking to the book! I guess this is because I have been used to reading the chapters online and then 'talking' back by posting comments on the book blog. ;-)

Before receiving my copy, I was wondering - "How different will the book be then the chapters posted in the blog?" (I believe I actually posted something to that effect on the book blog). Well I have to say, I really hope this blog2book idea catches on! The galley copy that I am reading is very well organized, engaging, flows easily from one topic to the next and (most importantly) keeps my attention from beginning to end. I highly recommend this book to anyone wondering what this blogging thing is all about and how they can get it started in their company.

As I have watched this book take shape and evolve over the past 6 months I have launched my own blog - The Mason Technologist, helped to organize an OPML reading list project for our clients and prospects, launched RSS feeds for many of Mason's clients including Bruegger's and Speedline and most recently helped to launch Latino Lingo (a blog about how to bridge the gap to the Hispanic market) which is taking off with leaps and bounds and is quickly becoming the goto spot for Hispanic marketing information!

I fully embrace the ideas that Robert and Shel write about in Naked Lunch and look forward to posting additional comments as I get further into the book!

Great job guys - Naked Conversations is really something to be proud of!

Cool Links to On-Line Marketing Resources

Tom Phelan over at AAAA just sent me this cool link to a complete list of links for every kind of marketing activity you could want.

The Mike's Marketing Tools Directory offers the best internet marketing books, ebooks, software programs, CDs, videos, audio CD-roms and cassette tapes, online subscriptions, and web-based services - check it out - Ecommerce Software Directory.

Latino Lingo Blog Goes Live Today

Wilson Camelo (one of the very first subscribers to The Mason Technologist), just jumped in feet first into the world of blogging today by launching his blog Latino Lingo

Wilson will be writing about the best ways to tap into the $700 billion purchasing power of the Hispanic population.

Dave Winer Sells Weblogs.com for 2.3M

Verisign has purchased the Weblogs.com pinging service. They plan on keeping it as a free service, but may add additional premium features in the future. The second I post this, it will be listed on weblogs.com ;-)

Google Releases Their Own News Reader

Check it out at reader.google.com. - Good idea to name it just 'Reader' and not limit it to just 'News Reader' or 'Blog Reader'. RSS will enable us to aggregate and read News, and blogs and websites of all shapes and sizes and all the other new things we haven't even dreamed up yet!

Pretty cool idea, you can use Google to search for RSS feeds and then automatically subscribe to them. I am still using bloglines, but I may try to clean up my OPML list and import it into Google to give it a try.

Blogs Being Added As a News Source On Yahoo

Yahoo has announced they are now listing a list of relevant weblogs.

According to Biz Report:

"Yahoo's inclusion of blogs in its news section represents another
validation for a growing group of people that are bypassing newspapers,
magazines and broadcast outlets to report and comment on topical events."

Check it out for yourself at news.yahoo.com, they show blog listings in the right hand column. Very cool!

Good Advice on Formatting HTML Email

MarketingSherpa has a great Article on basic formatting suggestions for HTML emails:

#1. Add a hotlinked text-line at the top of every message (can be in tiny type) that says something such as "Did your email system mangle this newsletter? See it Online."
Note: Don't say "Click Here" because that wording as a hotlink in an HTML-heavy message can get you filtered as a spammer in some systems.

#2. Remind your opt-ins incessantly to add your send email address to their address book which means your email won't be filtered or hurt in most systems. Best places -- on "thank you" landing page they see when they opt-in, and in your welcome-to-our-list autoresponder. Some mailers such as TJMaxx.com also add a reminder in text at the top of every HTML email they send. The bad news is, most email recipients are lazy especially when it comes to commercial email. They leave address settings on default, they don't bother clicking to see images. Fewer than 5% of your recipients will heed you if you do both #1 and #2. But heck, those are very motivated prospects and may be among your most valuable list members.
Next:

#3. Get yourself and your email creative team sample email accounts at Gmail, AOL 9.0 etc. Keep all settings on default so you see worst possible scenario of what may happen to your HTML creative. Often you'll find yourself adding more text wording to messages than you had initially. Images simply can't be relied on for the entire message. Neither can HTML click buttons. If a recipient can't see the button, they're not going to click.

Technoroti Blogging Survey Results Published

View the results of the survey here.

To me the most interesting statistic was on the question "When looking for product information which do you trust most?" Nearly 63% said that they trust other bloggers more then any other source. As the blogosphere continues to grow every day, the free flow of information and the collective conversation grows with it. Word of mouth now moves at the speed of electrons.

As Rich Edelman writes in his blog:

The survey shows a disconnect between the ways companies have traditionally communicated with the blogosphere and how these bloggers want and expect to be communicated with now. The top-down, one-way, press release culture has to be supplanted by an approach based on dialogue and co-creation of brands and corporate reputation. In fact, in many of our client programs we're already seeing a fundamental re-ordering of the relationship between markets and marketers, with the blogosphere providing a channel for real input and dynamic discussion. Smart companies have also recognized the potential for inside-out communications, with empowered employees and informed consumers as the best sources of credible commentary.

Welcome Magnet Members

Glad to have you stop by. The Mason Technologist is in the same spirit as Magnet where we can share experience, knowledge and ideas with other agencies in other parts of the country and the world. Come back often! Subscribe to my feed or subscribe via email by entering your email address at the bottom of the right hand column. I welcome your comments and feedback.

RSS Users visited Three Times as Many News Web Sites as Non-Users

The latest release from Nielson//NetRatings reported that RSS users are significantly more engaged in online news than non-users, visiting an average of 10.6 news sites compared with 3.4 news sites for non-users. Not only do RSS users visit more news Web sites than non-users, they also visit those sites more frequently. Thanks to Wilson for forwarding this to me!

Does Google Penalize You for Decreasing AdWords Bid Costs?

Robert Cringely's latest article documents research on how Google seems to have penalized this AdWord advertiser for decreasing his bid costs.

Any AdWords user should read this article.

Steps to get of automated voice response hell

We've all been there. Calling our bank, credit card company or cellular company and we have to hit dozens of key combinations before we can actually speak to a human.
This website details the necessary steps to cut through the voice jail.

Many systems just require you to hit zero, but quite a few are a bit trickier then that. Hopefully you don't have AT&T for cell service -- they report that AT&T wireless as "no easy escape".

This is yet another example of brand contact where many companies fall short.