Is Google Instant A Revolution in Search?

Google Instant will become the core search experience on Google.com for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE 8. It also will be offered to users in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the U.K. who are signed in and have Instant-capable browsers. Over the coming weeks and months, Google Instant will berolled to all geographies and platforms.

Google Search Impressions Will Change Because of "Google Instant"

As Google Instant rolls out widely, the raw number of ads displayed per query will inevitably increase as Google displays a sequence of best guesses about its users' desired queries and shows results for the top guess.

For example, a search for 'a' displays results and ads for Amazon.com; an 'e' search does the same for eBay.com. That is going to require some tweaking of what an "impression" is.

To qualify as an impression, an ad exposure must last for at least three seconds, Google now says.

Even with that calculation in place, the effective click-through rate experienced by many Google advertisers may change.

Google Instant Will Impact Search Ads and SEO

Google Unveils Instant Mobile Search

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as users type. Google's key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page.

The most obvious change is that users should get to the right content much faster than before because they don’t have to finish typing a full search term, or even press “search.” Another shift is that seeing results as one types helps people formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. Users can adapt their searches on the fly until the results match exactly what they want. 

Google Instant can save 2 seconds to 5 seconds per search, Google estimates. The new algorithms also will make smarter predications about what any user might be looking for. 

link

Using Google Instant

Google Instant is largely about accurately predicting what a user is looking for, allowing you to stop typing before completing the thought. Google says this can save two to five seconds per search, but if you're a fast typist and smart searcher, it's probably less.

Still, having your thoughts completed by a machine and the results automatically delivered is different.

Using Google Instant: 5 Quick Takeaways

Google Instant Makes SEO Irrelevant

Google's new "Google Instant" search refinement might have direct implications for search engine optimization, in fact eliminating much of the value of bothering with SEO.

With Google Instant, no two people will see the same web. Until now, a single search would return the same results for a particular search query, to anybody who typed the same query. That's what made search engine optimization work.

If people start tweaking their searches in real-time, behavior will change, lessening the odds that multiple users will type exactly the same search terms.

Google Instant means no one will see the same web anymore, making optimizing it virtually impossible. Real-time feedback will change and personalize people's search behaviors, says Steve Rubel.

Google Instant Makes SEO Irrelevant

Google Unveils Instant Mobile Search

Google Instant is a new search enhancement that shows results as users type. Google's key technical insight was that people type slowly, but read quickly, typically taking 300 milliseconds between keystrokes, but only 30 milliseconds (a tenth of the time!) to glance at another part of the page.

The most obvious change is that users should get to the right content much faster than before because they don’t have to finish typing a full search term, or even press “search.” Another shift is that seeing results as one types helps people formulate a better search term by providing instant feedback. Users can adapt their searches on the fly until the results match exactly what they want. 

Google Instant can save 2 seconds to 5 seconds per search, Google estimates. The new algorithms also will make smarter predications about what any user might be looking for. 

link

QuickPay Unveils Mobile Credit Card Swiper

In partnership with ROAM Data, QuickPay Merchant Services nows offer the ROAMpay credit card swiper for smart phones.

The ROAMpay device allows merchants who use smart phones to process credit cards wirelessly safely. This swiper is compatible with the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid and also be used with the new Apple iPad. Merchants will have all the same functions as using a traditional credit card terminal but just will have the ability to accept payments in remote locations.

QuickPay Next to Market With Mobile Credit Card Swiper ROAMpay

How Much Did Apple 4 Antenna Issue Affect Potential Buying Interest?

Apple's iPhone 4 antenna issues might have cost Apple some sales. At least by one analysis, conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, as much as 20 percent of potential sales might have been affected.

All of that noted, Apple still seems to be selling iPhone 4 models as fast as it can get them built. Some 80 percent of respondents said the antenna issue had no effect on their thinking.

link to article

Gwallet launches mobile ad network

http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/08/gwallet-brings-offers-to-mobile-apps-partners-with-ad-exchange-mobclix/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

Bank of America seeks to evaluate mobile payments user experience

Technology isn't the issue; user experience is.

http://blogs.forrester.com/emmett_higdon/10-09-02-bank_america_seeks_evaluate_user_experience_not_technology_mobile_payments_pilot?cm_mmc=RSS-_-MS-_-1709-_-blog_1879

Something New from Google?

http://www.jatinmahindra.com/2010/09/08/is-google-about-to-give-results-while-you-type-your-query/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JatinMahindraDotCom+%28jatiN+mahindrA+doT+coM%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

iTunes app total downloads to overtake songs this year « asymco

http://www.asymco.com/2010/09/08/itunes-app-total-downloads-to-overtake-songs-this-year/

Google Logo Bounces

I have no idea why Google did this for a day, but I admit to mousing around and causing the balls to fly around the screen.

Why Apple And iPhone Have Already Won The Mobile Payment War

In a survey of 982 iPhone users, 756 users spent between $6 and $25 a month on apps, while 89 users spent over $26 a month on apps – which is the equivalent to buying one $0.99 app a day.

Close to 77 percent of all participants purchased content.

Why Apple And iPhone Have Already Won The Mobile Payment War

High-Definition Voice Initiative Launched in United Kingdom

XConnect, Polycom, BroadSoft and Dialogic are working together to promote the adoption of high-definition voice by service providers in the United Kingdom.

The initiative was launched in response to U.K. service providers’ interest in HD voice services. The HD initiative is designed to raise awareness and educate service providers about the benefits of HD voice and help them resolve implementation challenges.

As part of the initiative, XConnect announced that the XConnect Global HD Voice Federation is now open to HD voice-enabled service providers globally, following its successful launch in the United States.

First to join from the U.K. are service providers Simwood, SureVoIP and thevoicefactory.

The federation enables the exchange of HD voice calls among all participants, all interconnecting through XConnect’s carrier hub and routing through phone-number lookups via its carrier ENUM registry.

The Title II Broadband Credibility Gap: Can An Agency Trust Itself?

The problem with Title II regulation of broadband access is that it relies on a "promise" by regulators not to impose a wider range of traditional common carrier obligations on Internet service providers. This is part one of a three part series.

Here is part two:



Here is part three:

Google Voice Podcast

Jim Burton, Dave Michels,Samantha Kane, Jon Arnold, Michael Finneran, Art Rosenberg, Don Van Doren, and Steve Leaden talk about the implications Google Voice poses for the broader unified communications space. 
 listen here

Mobile Broadband Now 24% of All U.S. Consumer Connections

About 24 percent of all U.S. broadband consumer connections already are mobile, and in just six months in 2009, mobile broadband accounts in service grew 40 percent, the Federal Communications Commission reports.

Of 113 million broadband connections in service in the United States in mid-2009, about 35 million were mobile broadband connections, the Federal Communications Commission reports.

Compared to the beginning of 2009, when there were 25 million mobile broadband subscriptions in service, mobile broadband grew 40 percent in just six months.

There were 94 million residential connections in service at mid-year 2009, of which 71 million
were fixed-technology connections and 23 million were mobile wireless.

Mobile broadband connections are growing much faster than fixed connections are, but the ironic result is that average consumer broadband speeds might appear to be slower than they actually are, since in 2009 most mobile connections operated slower than most fixed-line connections.

That will change once fourth-generation networks become more widespread, and more consumers actually subscribe to 4G services. Right now, virtually all mobile broadband services operate at 3 Mbps or less. That should not be the case once 4G networks start to be used.

full report here

Analytics is Key for All Targeted Advertising

Mobile analytics are crucial for the future of mobile advertising for drop-dead-simple reasons. The whole point of targeted and location-based marketing is that companies pay to create impressions and leads at the times when such pitches are likely to have an impact, and rarely, if ever, at other times.

That old adage about "half my advertising investment being wasted; I just don't know which half" is being challenged by targeted approaches, when it is possible to eliminate the "wasted half."

The long-term repercussions on the advertising ecosystem are hard to predict, though. One might argue that new targeting techniques will drive incrementally more spending, or incrementally less.

Is Unified Communications a Ponzi Scheme?

Gartner VP Nick Jones says he is "an unashamed unified communications skeptic for a mixture of technological and business reasons." That might exaggerate the attitude most potential buyers might have, but there is little doubt the value proposition sometimes is a bit unclear.

"UC looks to me like an ill-assorted mix of technologies that vendors want to sell in a single bundle because it’s convenient for them, rather than because they’re what your employees actually need," says Jones. To be sure, the return on investment for full-blown UC solutions has often been difficult to illustrate.

In recent days some attention has shifted to video conferencing, audio conferencing and related solutions that essentially can be proven in by reduced spending on physical travel, coordinating remote work teams or enabling sales and marketing activities on a more affordable basis than has been possible in the past.

In fact, some might argue that one issue is the relative easier task of identifying point solutions that unify some business processes, without requiring a shift to a completely new architecture. Under those conditions, it is easier to point to incremental advantages from unifying some specific processes, but not all.

The other issue is the new complexity social media and social networking represent. It is not always immediately obvious how to integrate those tools with existing email, messaging, voice and mobility solutions in a specific enterprise context.

"UC is a dinosaur in a world of fast-moving little furry mammals; the leading edge of communication and collaboration is happening in the consumer space driven by companies like Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Fring, Nimbuzz and dozens more," he argues.

These are better, cheaper and more fashionable than UC and there is no way the so called “enterprise” vendors can keep up with their rate of evolution, Jones argues.

Mobility can be equally challenging, sometimes as mobility relates to enterprise integration, sometimes related to the more-dispersed nature of work, where integration "backwards" to the enterprise phone system might represent less value in a highly-distributed, mobile-reliant enterprise. In many cases, hosted services might be viewed as a more flexible, less costly and more effective alternative.

Also, UC is technically unachievable because many communications channels such as SMS and MMS aren’t accessible to enterprise servers, the only place where everything actually comes together is on your mobile handset, Jones argues.

In part, his observations intentionally are intended to provoke a sharper debate about unified communications, to present one side of a debate on UC merits. But lots of observers might agree the questions remain germane in many cases.

Is Unified Communications the biggest scam since Ponzi?