VisibleNation takes data from measurement to comparison

* This is a guest contribution by Allan Ireland Park, the Chairman of social data comparison site VisibleNation

visiblenationOver the past decade as the internet established itself as a household utility, as important as electricity and water, we have experienced a number of phenomena, usually described in single words.

‘Dis-intermediation’ was one of the first, mainly used by consultants, When I first heard this term I laughed. But it was a catalyst for the dot.com boom and this euphoric optimism shook up the established vertical market leaders. Continue reading

FTC clears Google for monopoly abuse, but will the EU?

GUEST POST: Will Becker is the MD and co-founder of Media Ingenuity, the corporate parent of TotallyMoney.com

Google IceLast week the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it would not be taking legal action against Google for monopolistic abuses provided that Google changed some of its business practices relating to mobile patents.

Interestingly, it found that Google had not skewed its search results to favour its own ‘vertical search’ products. That seems a strange finding as it is unlikely that the EU’s competition commission will come to the same conclusion at the end of a similar two-year investigation. Continue reading

Little Grey Cells #3… It’s time for an end of the TV-versus-internet argument

* Tess Alps is the CEO of Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV, and avid campaigner for the end of the TV-versus-Internet argument. She spares a few moments to engage with her Little Grey Cells

I like lots of media other than TV
Yes, both as a consumer and as a marketing professional. But I do this job because I have a strong sense of injustice; no medium is more undervalued or misrepresented than TV. It’s a mission.

TV, not the TV
That’s what I represent and care about. The cultural importance of that professionally produced content can’t be overstated and it needs serious money to maintain the quality and range we currently enjoy. I couldn’t care less what technology delivers it or what screen you watch it on. Continue reading

Little Grey Cells #3… It’s time for an end of the TV-versus-internet argument

* Tess Alps is the CEO of Thinkbox, the marketing body for commercial TV, and avid campaigner for the end of the TV-versus-Internet argument. She spares a few moments to engage with her Little Grey Cells

I like lots of media other than TV
Yes, both as a consumer and as a marketing professional. But I do this job because I have a strong sense of injustice; no medium is more undervalued or misrepresented than TV. It’s a mission.

TV, not the TV
That’s what I represent and care about. The cultural importance of that professionally produced content can’t be overstated and it needs serious money to maintain the quality and range we currently enjoy. I couldn’t care less what technology delivers it or what screen you watch it on. Continue reading

Social CRM: Stop thinking about ownership and start thinking about culture change

Who owns Social CRM? This debate continues to divide opinion, but I believe it is the wrong question. Ownership is not the issue, and only echoes the ‘who owns social media’ tedium, which I have ranted about for longer than I care to remember.

The social media ownership debate has been perpetuated by a range of marketing and communications agencies with the objective of grabbing budget from each other and squabbling over whose social services are ‘better’. Continue reading