Well... After many trials and tests, we've decided to release The Net Behaviour Report into the market. We're very excited about it really. It was a serious challenge... producing a single mechanism for ongoing tracking of how the Irish use the Web. Counting pretty much every site Irish Internet users mention. 500 plus sites, anywhere in the world, commercial sites, news and media, social networks, travel, music, airlines, recruitment, property... the lot. Exploring all of their communication technology use. Running indexes to describe each demographic segment, and all the time checking to see if the data makes sense. Does it stack up? Well it does, and I really think we've done it this time. There's a sample of the data that can be downloaded from this site, on the side bar, and we'll be updating this on a regular basis with more sample releases, and tables and that. And we'll also put up snippets and interesting facts that emerge from the data as we find it. If you have any specific questions for me, don't hesitate to email.
This is real time research too. We never turn it off, so we will be able to watch the web as it changes. New sites coming out of nowhere and becoming hugely popular, while some fade away. New ways of linking, tagging, digging, twittering, flicring, sniffing and, of course, blogging. New banking practices, entertainment sites, news sites, podcasts, video pages and messenger products. How things have changed in the last few years, and they are likely to continue to change. Becoming more complicated, more enmeshed with the real world, progressively linking more and more people with similar needs and interests in more efficient ways. Well, we want to understand it, and The Net Behaviour Report will help no end. Enjoy!
Friday, 4 April 2008
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
NB 10 Predictions for 2008
NB 10 Predictions for 2008
1) 80% Internet Access and More
2) Phone-on-Net, Net-on-Phone
3) Mobile Networking
4) IPTV Video Downloads
5) Net Literacy Becomes an Issue
6) Mobile Content Explosion
7) Buzz Increases
8) Beyond the Laptop
9) Delivery Divide for Net Content
10) Gaming Is a Bigger Deal
1) 80% Internet Access and More
Internet penetration? What is it? Well, if the question is, do people have access to the Internet, 80% or maybe even 90% of Irish will have. Especially if we recognise that the phone now carries Internet signals and emails. Also, if we recognise that there are café’s, schools, colleges and universities, friend’s houses, libraries and so many other areas to sit, type, read and watch online content.
When it comes to broadband, you can see from my previous posts that I think this is much higher penetration wise than is currently being measured… but, I also think Internet penetration itself is being massively underestimated.
So, 100% access to the Internet? Maybe not 100%, but a lot!
2) Phone-on-Net, Net-on-Phone
This will be a time where mobile net use will come into its own. Huge marketing drives are making it common knowledge that you can do so much netwise on the little yoke in your pocket.
iPhone will bring this home to the Irish market in a big way. The phone is no longer a phone, but a pocket laptop phone PC thingy. With WiFi and/or 3G, the world of Internet pages is your oyster.
3) Mobile Networking
A new but a cool thing that changes the way we think about the web, and our phone. Where are your friends these days? Mobile Bebo, Facebook and whatever takes your fancy are on your phone. Twitter can give you some information, but what about colleagues? Or people in a different city? Well, mobile networking links with GPS phone location information, and you’ll can to see where your friends are, and, because your phone has been located, you’ll receive ads from the café across the street. The phone tells the website you are on where it is.
4) IPTV Video Downloads
Very cool video on your phone. You’ll need Wifi hotspots for streaming currently, as most phones don’t have a 3G capacity, and the cost based on current billing would be prohibitive. With WiFi, it isn’t though. Ads in videos and TV content will be pre-roll, post-roll, or interstitial, and will give a good idea of how much of the video is actually watched. Downloaded video won’t tell you much though.
5) Net Literacy Becomes an Issue
Some people and ad agencies too, just don’t ‘get’ the net, and probably never will. It’s their second language, at best. They could be said to be a real world monoglot. The truth is, if you don’t live in the net, you don’t get the net. In the net? Well, for this sort of literacy and fluency I’m saying you have to acknowledge that the Internet is an experience, not a set of facts or reference points, like other one directional flat media. Experiential knowledge!
Imagine you are talking to someone who’s got a brochure of Paris, or who’s Googled it, when you’ve actually sat outside the Pompidou centre watching the performers, eating your baguette, and drinking cheap wine. You get it, and you can tell pretty quickly they’re making it up and don’t have the slightest clue of this rich, stimulating, interactive space. Computer and net illiteracy is immediately apparent to the native. All it takes is a misused buzz word, or someone trying to sound in-the-know, and they are rumbled. So blaggers, don’t blag about how much you know about the net. It’s so obvious and so sad. Worse, if you’re the media business, once a client knows you don’t know, your credibility is completely shot.
Can you become a native speaker? Well, if you change your lifestyle completely, give it loads of time, and try to learn as much as you can as you go - yes. If not. No. Kids have an advantage, but they still have to do the work, and spend considerable time in net country.
6) Mobile Content Explosion
The net goes mobile. The screen gets smaller. The net and phone can do new things together − cool things. Mobile net content is different, because it’s consumed with different hardware, software and in a different physical context, and the content has to reflect this. Mobile content provision is set to become the new big thing for 2008.
7) Buzz Increases
Much excitement. Not quite a la 1998, but close, and a rather slower build about better businesses and business models that make real money and reach real people. The buzz online increases too as Web 2.0 becomes less of a buzz word, and more of a commonplace, with sites seamlessly linked to social networks, UGC, photos , digs and rating sites. The future is buzz, the future is net buzz.
8) Beyond the Laptop
Laptops? Great! I love them. But, they are still really quite big. I know, I’m using one now. But mobile web and pocket PC means they’ll look even bigger. So, they’ll shrink and slim down to net size 0. Not much of a prediction, things are getting smaller you’d think, but I recently purchase a foldaway keyboard for my PDA. Now I don’t need a laptop most of the time, because I can do pretty much the same stuff out and about. So, it’s not so much that laptops are getting smaller, or lighter, it’s that phones and PDAs are taking their place in a mobile phone/PC marketplace. Convergence is becoming physical, as laptops get smaller, while phones get smarter.
9) Delivery Divide for Net Content
Net content delivery used to mean a server, some files, and a request from a computer for a standard format. Now, this has fragmented beyond recognition. There is several servers, maybe not belonging to you, presenting some of your content, and feeds and links from elsewhere to networks for PC and mobile screens. Videos are embedded from YouTube and other to stream video content you may, or may not have produced. Video delivery is also divided between streamed and downloaded, the advantage being streamed means an advertiser can gauge if the ad was actually seen.
A second divide? It only takes one literate individual a few days to build the most complex and rich online experience, leaving even giant corporates to flounder in the tedium of web 1.0 brochure land.
10) Gaming Is a Bigger Deal
Gaming is the biggest thing to hit IP and the entertainment Industry, since the Internet itself and maybe moving pictures before it. It presents media buyers with new challenges like content and ad delivery, demographic reporting and automated tracking, streaming versus downloaded delivery, and real time playing and reporting. Online and offline IP facilitated gaming has changed the way many of us understand games, entertainment, film and even the narrative form − forever.
1) 80% Internet Access and More
2) Phone-on-Net, Net-on-Phone
3) Mobile Networking
4) IPTV Video Downloads
5) Net Literacy Becomes an Issue
6) Mobile Content Explosion
7) Buzz Increases
8) Beyond the Laptop
9) Delivery Divide for Net Content
10) Gaming Is a Bigger Deal
1) 80% Internet Access and More
Internet penetration? What is it? Well, if the question is, do people have access to the Internet, 80% or maybe even 90% of Irish will have. Especially if we recognise that the phone now carries Internet signals and emails. Also, if we recognise that there are café’s, schools, colleges and universities, friend’s houses, libraries and so many other areas to sit, type, read and watch online content.
When it comes to broadband, you can see from my previous posts that I think this is much higher penetration wise than is currently being measured… but, I also think Internet penetration itself is being massively underestimated.
So, 100% access to the Internet? Maybe not 100%, but a lot!
2) Phone-on-Net, Net-on-Phone
This will be a time where mobile net use will come into its own. Huge marketing drives are making it common knowledge that you can do so much netwise on the little yoke in your pocket.
iPhone will bring this home to the Irish market in a big way. The phone is no longer a phone, but a pocket laptop phone PC thingy. With WiFi and/or 3G, the world of Internet pages is your oyster.
3) Mobile Networking
A new but a cool thing that changes the way we think about the web, and our phone. Where are your friends these days? Mobile Bebo, Facebook and whatever takes your fancy are on your phone. Twitter can give you some information, but what about colleagues? Or people in a different city? Well, mobile networking links with GPS phone location information, and you’ll can to see where your friends are, and, because your phone has been located, you’ll receive ads from the café across the street. The phone tells the website you are on where it is.
4) IPTV Video Downloads
Very cool video on your phone. You’ll need Wifi hotspots for streaming currently, as most phones don’t have a 3G capacity, and the cost based on current billing would be prohibitive. With WiFi, it isn’t though. Ads in videos and TV content will be pre-roll, post-roll, or interstitial, and will give a good idea of how much of the video is actually watched. Downloaded video won’t tell you much though.
5) Net Literacy Becomes an Issue
Some people and ad agencies too, just don’t ‘get’ the net, and probably never will. It’s their second language, at best. They could be said to be a real world monoglot. The truth is, if you don’t live in the net, you don’t get the net. In the net? Well, for this sort of literacy and fluency I’m saying you have to acknowledge that the Internet is an experience, not a set of facts or reference points, like other one directional flat media. Experiential knowledge!
Imagine you are talking to someone who’s got a brochure of Paris, or who’s Googled it, when you’ve actually sat outside the Pompidou centre watching the performers, eating your baguette, and drinking cheap wine. You get it, and you can tell pretty quickly they’re making it up and don’t have the slightest clue of this rich, stimulating, interactive space. Computer and net illiteracy is immediately apparent to the native. All it takes is a misused buzz word, or someone trying to sound in-the-know, and they are rumbled. So blaggers, don’t blag about how much you know about the net. It’s so obvious and so sad. Worse, if you’re the media business, once a client knows you don’t know, your credibility is completely shot.
Can you become a native speaker? Well, if you change your lifestyle completely, give it loads of time, and try to learn as much as you can as you go - yes. If not. No. Kids have an advantage, but they still have to do the work, and spend considerable time in net country.
6) Mobile Content Explosion
The net goes mobile. The screen gets smaller. The net and phone can do new things together − cool things. Mobile net content is different, because it’s consumed with different hardware, software and in a different physical context, and the content has to reflect this. Mobile content provision is set to become the new big thing for 2008.
7) Buzz Increases
Much excitement. Not quite a la 1998, but close, and a rather slower build about better businesses and business models that make real money and reach real people. The buzz online increases too as Web 2.0 becomes less of a buzz word, and more of a commonplace, with sites seamlessly linked to social networks, UGC, photos , digs and rating sites. The future is buzz, the future is net buzz.
8) Beyond the Laptop
Laptops? Great! I love them. But, they are still really quite big. I know, I’m using one now. But mobile web and pocket PC means they’ll look even bigger. So, they’ll shrink and slim down to net size 0. Not much of a prediction, things are getting smaller you’d think, but I recently purchase a foldaway keyboard for my PDA. Now I don’t need a laptop most of the time, because I can do pretty much the same stuff out and about. So, it’s not so much that laptops are getting smaller, or lighter, it’s that phones and PDAs are taking their place in a mobile phone/PC marketplace. Convergence is becoming physical, as laptops get smaller, while phones get smarter.
9) Delivery Divide for Net Content
Net content delivery used to mean a server, some files, and a request from a computer for a standard format. Now, this has fragmented beyond recognition. There is several servers, maybe not belonging to you, presenting some of your content, and feeds and links from elsewhere to networks for PC and mobile screens. Videos are embedded from YouTube and other to stream video content you may, or may not have produced. Video delivery is also divided between streamed and downloaded, the advantage being streamed means an advertiser can gauge if the ad was actually seen.
A second divide? It only takes one literate individual a few days to build the most complex and rich online experience, leaving even giant corporates to flounder in the tedium of web 1.0 brochure land.
10) Gaming Is a Bigger Deal
Gaming is the biggest thing to hit IP and the entertainment Industry, since the Internet itself and maybe moving pictures before it. It presents media buyers with new challenges like content and ad delivery, demographic reporting and automated tracking, streaming versus downloaded delivery, and real time playing and reporting. Online and offline IP facilitated gaming has changed the way many of us understand games, entertainment, film and even the narrative form − forever.
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Broadband by Any Other Name Would Work as Fast
I was intrigued by recent figures from Comreg. They showed many impressive percentages, but in my opinion give a very unclear picture of Internet access and use in Ireland. The problems stem from three sources: − the definition of broadband, the obsession with ‘at home’ connections, and the research method (door-to-door).
These three issues combined lead me to the conclusion that we are significantly underestimating broadband use in Ireland and Internet use in general.
The report starts by stating that 54% have access to the Internet as do 48% of households.
Out of those who access the Internet, the percentage who connected with a home broadband connection is 52% (eircom broadband). 9% connect through wireless broadband, 9% with WiFi, and 6% with ISDN. 3% connect with cable (NTL) and 1% with a mobile broadband connection (3G).
The problem is that, with the exception of ISDN, all of the connections above are broadband, but by another name. (ISDN is midband). The term ‘broadband’ refers to the speed of the connection, (anything over 512kbps), regardless of the mode of connection. It doesn’t matter if the connection giving that speed is wireless, mobile, via a cable, Wifi or 3G. If they invent some new connection type next year, and that delivers data at more than 512kbps… that’ll be broadband too. Based on these figures, and with this more accurate definition, the total broadband connectivity of Internet users is actually 75%, − that is, 75% of Internet users use broadband, and this is out of 54% of the total population who have Internet access. Does this include broadband 'at work', cafe, schools and colleges...? These, in my opinion, will take care of most of the rest. In short, very few Irish Internet users will be accessing the Internet through anything other than a broadband connection. They may not be at home at the time, but that’s not the point, is it? It’s also true that mobile broadband has proved to be a lot more cost effective and efficient solution lately. If you’re a student, or you know which café to visit, it’s probably free! Other research shows that some are using the one broadband connection for TV, music downloads, Skype (VOIP) phone calls, radio and office/education purposes. And why not. It’s so much cheaper (NB/MIR 2007/1).
The report says that only 13% have dial up speed at home. I think that some of these may also have broadband at work, or university, or with Wifi through a laptop. The report doesn’t clarify. But, I’m more inclined to believe the number with only dial up access to the Internet is actually much smaller.
The report then says that only 4% say their broadband speed is 512 kbs or less, but this wouldn’t be broadband speed anyway. 28% say their connection speed is between 1 and 3mbs, which is a good workable speed, and 18% between 4 and 6Mbs, which is pretty fast. But intriguingly 51% of broadband users don't actually know the speed of their broadband connection at home. This begs the question − why do so many people not know the speed of their broadband at home? Are the researchers reaching the right people in the household? The ones who set up the connection? I think it’s a problem to be explored in more depth, and it may be a limit of door-to-door research. I’d have expected that more people would know their net speed, but this report suggests that that this is not the case. (Perhaps it’s simply the case that mobile broadband users aren’t at home.)
Growth, Drivers and the Future
Younger users’ consumption of online gaming, uploading photos, downloading videos and use of VOIP is driving increasing broadband speeds. An increase in the choice of connection vehicles, such as WiFi and mobile is also aiding penetration. Increasing levels of home broadband usage will soon affect bandwidth (contention) and home broadband speeds, though, currently most are happy with their home Internet connection. 3G is unlikely to encounter have such bandwidth issues in the foreseeable future, because there are no wires.
I predict the next year, especially with Christmas, will see an enormous growth in mobile broadband penetration nationally necessitated by poor home broadband access, and must have gadgets like iPhone and Vodafone / 02 3G. There will also be a huge growth in Internet access and use. The satisfaction levels with these modes of Internet connection are very high. Growth will happen mostly amongst younger groups, and those who don't own their own home. While such penetration is only at 1% currently, I think 3G could grow to as much as 10% or greater, bringing total broadband penetration/access among Internet users toward 85%, and total Internet use towards 65 or even 70% (taking into account the growth of non mobile access sectors). So many free Wifi hotspots have sprung up in Dublin in the last year and I’m sure the number will only increase. (This is huge, as, after all, Dublin is where half the county lives or works.) The online gaming industry will probably push Internet and broadband further, again, driven by the Christmas season. We can expect to see growth in Mobile Video and IPTV and these will increasingly be 3G enabled for many segments.
Some say that broadband speed is dropping, but this is a mistake stemming from the fact that they are only looking at individual cases of connection problems, and ‘at-home’ broadband. At-home broadband is becoming a largely irrelevant concept as laptops are increasingly prevalent and net enabled phones, or smartphones become commonplace. At the same time they note that dial up Internet access, and even fixed line telephone use is falling, while VOIP is growing. There’s a need to join the dots here. If 29% are making VOIP calls elsewhere and through other means... they are, of course, accessing the net elsewhere at broadband speed, and no doubt through the same mechanisms. It's the only way to get Skype to work properly.
iPhone and 3G, will push broadband and Internet penetration further in the coming year. Such must-have gadgetry has always driven technology take-up and net use just as the iPod made mobile music and related services like iTune super-popular. Downloaded mobile video and TV will also grow, and is gaining traction in countries such Denmark, Austria, Germany and Finland.
These three issues combined lead me to the conclusion that we are significantly underestimating broadband use in Ireland and Internet use in general.
The report starts by stating that 54% have access to the Internet as do 48% of households.
Out of those who access the Internet, the percentage who connected with a home broadband connection is 52% (eircom broadband). 9% connect through wireless broadband, 9% with WiFi, and 6% with ISDN. 3% connect with cable (NTL) and 1% with a mobile broadband connection (3G).
The problem is that, with the exception of ISDN, all of the connections above are broadband, but by another name. (ISDN is midband). The term ‘broadband’ refers to the speed of the connection, (anything over 512kbps), regardless of the mode of connection. It doesn’t matter if the connection giving that speed is wireless, mobile, via a cable, Wifi or 3G. If they invent some new connection type next year, and that delivers data at more than 512kbps… that’ll be broadband too. Based on these figures, and with this more accurate definition, the total broadband connectivity of Internet users is actually 75%, − that is, 75% of Internet users use broadband, and this is out of 54% of the total population who have Internet access. Does this include broadband 'at work', cafe, schools and colleges...? These, in my opinion, will take care of most of the rest. In short, very few Irish Internet users will be accessing the Internet through anything other than a broadband connection. They may not be at home at the time, but that’s not the point, is it? It’s also true that mobile broadband has proved to be a lot more cost effective and efficient solution lately. If you’re a student, or you know which café to visit, it’s probably free! Other research shows that some are using the one broadband connection for TV, music downloads, Skype (VOIP) phone calls, radio and office/education purposes. And why not. It’s so much cheaper (NB/MIR 2007/1).
The report says that only 13% have dial up speed at home. I think that some of these may also have broadband at work, or university, or with Wifi through a laptop. The report doesn’t clarify. But, I’m more inclined to believe the number with only dial up access to the Internet is actually much smaller.
The report then says that only 4% say their broadband speed is 512 kbs or less, but this wouldn’t be broadband speed anyway. 28% say their connection speed is between 1 and 3mbs, which is a good workable speed, and 18% between 4 and 6Mbs, which is pretty fast. But intriguingly 51% of broadband users don't actually know the speed of their broadband connection at home. This begs the question − why do so many people not know the speed of their broadband at home? Are the researchers reaching the right people in the household? The ones who set up the connection? I think it’s a problem to be explored in more depth, and it may be a limit of door-to-door research. I’d have expected that more people would know their net speed, but this report suggests that that this is not the case. (Perhaps it’s simply the case that mobile broadband users aren’t at home.)
Growth, Drivers and the Future
Younger users’ consumption of online gaming, uploading photos, downloading videos and use of VOIP is driving increasing broadband speeds. An increase in the choice of connection vehicles, such as WiFi and mobile is also aiding penetration. Increasing levels of home broadband usage will soon affect bandwidth (contention) and home broadband speeds, though, currently most are happy with their home Internet connection. 3G is unlikely to encounter have such bandwidth issues in the foreseeable future, because there are no wires.
I predict the next year, especially with Christmas, will see an enormous growth in mobile broadband penetration nationally necessitated by poor home broadband access, and must have gadgets like iPhone and Vodafone / 02 3G. There will also be a huge growth in Internet access and use. The satisfaction levels with these modes of Internet connection are very high. Growth will happen mostly amongst younger groups, and those who don't own their own home. While such penetration is only at 1% currently, I think 3G could grow to as much as 10% or greater, bringing total broadband penetration/access among Internet users toward 85%, and total Internet use towards 65 or even 70% (taking into account the growth of non mobile access sectors). So many free Wifi hotspots have sprung up in Dublin in the last year and I’m sure the number will only increase. (This is huge, as, after all, Dublin is where half the county lives or works.) The online gaming industry will probably push Internet and broadband further, again, driven by the Christmas season. We can expect to see growth in Mobile Video and IPTV and these will increasingly be 3G enabled for many segments.
Some say that broadband speed is dropping, but this is a mistake stemming from the fact that they are only looking at individual cases of connection problems, and ‘at-home’ broadband. At-home broadband is becoming a largely irrelevant concept as laptops are increasingly prevalent and net enabled phones, or smartphones become commonplace. At the same time they note that dial up Internet access, and even fixed line telephone use is falling, while VOIP is growing. There’s a need to join the dots here. If 29% are making VOIP calls elsewhere and through other means... they are, of course, accessing the net elsewhere at broadband speed, and no doubt through the same mechanisms. It's the only way to get Skype to work properly.
iPhone and 3G, will push broadband and Internet penetration further in the coming year. Such must-have gadgetry has always driven technology take-up and net use just as the iPod made mobile music and related services like iTune super-popular. Downloaded mobile video and TV will also grow, and is gaining traction in countries such Denmark, Austria, Germany and Finland.
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
IPTV: TV Advertising to Fall Apart
For years now, people have been predicting the demise of TV and TV advertising. But there wasn’t much substance to these predictions and they seemed somewhat far-fetched. However, when Bill Gates makes predictions and acts upon them by launching Microsoft IPTV it is hard not to take notice. Actions speak louder than words after all, and Bills actions are big actions.
What he’s saying in speeches, and predicting is also a lot more subtle and specific than the mutterings of crystal ball gazers heretofore and I think he’s absolutely right, and what he predicts is, in fact, inevitable. The time frame is the only thing that is in question.
In speeches he’s saying that the TV advertising business model, where the vast majority of traditional ad spend goes will fall apart over the next five years, when the new type of news-on-demand interactive TV formats come into their own. Google, and Yahoo! also have IPTV offerings, and services like Joost, Babelgum, 4OD stimulate this growth.
That’s the technology, and how often have you seen articles on the net telling you there is a new offering that will change everything. However, this is different! (Don’t they all say that?) I think this is different because three things are happening in tandem and when these all move together, change happens. Yes, firstly the technology has developed and advanced, but secondly society has also changed with peoples’ behaviours and media expectations shifting through YouTube, Video on demand and UGC. And finally there are necessary major economic shifts, through advertising, to pay for it all. That’s the full set of requirements for technological and social change. These are the three elements that explain why VHS succeeded where Betamax failed and then why DVD outstripped them both; why vinyl gave way to cassette, CD and then downloads changed the music industry forever; and also why IPTV will rock the world of TV advertising and change it forever. (In fact, more recently Amazon are trying the same trick for books with Kindle).
Yes, the technology is changing, but also peoples’ behaviour and the economics to pay for it all is shifting also. The technology has advanced as has the broadband speed to deliver the new formats, but also net ad spend has increased, by around 17% worldwide last year. While it’s still only a small proportion of total ad spend, in many countries it’s on a par with, or bigger than newspapers, radio and outdoor. Over perhaps 5 years, this is a tectonic shift in the world of advertising. TV ad spend however is the mother load and when this starts to come netwards you have to take notice. Bill Gates is predicting this will happen before we know it.
Traditional advertisers are therefore presented with opportunities, challenges and new paradigms to come to grips with. It must be understood that the net simply isn’t like TV, even though you can watch TV over the net. If you don’t take this on board, the TV advertising you deliver over the web simply won’t be effective. There are two reasons for me saying this:
1) The net is a 2 way active and interactive medium, while TV is a one way passive medium and consequently...
2) The net viewer is in active mode, rather than a passive one, so therefore has a totally different set of expectations and behaviours.
It’s TV, yes, but sent through a different channel, for an audience in a totally different state of mind.
TV is passive. Marshall McLuhan called it a ‘cold medium’, because you do nothing. The viewer simply sits back and video and audio wash over them, their only action being to change channel – if they can remember where they put the remote, it’s that long since they actually did anything (imagine losing your wireless mouse, or keyboard?). The modern net, with web 2.0, is not only active, it’s a super-heated hyperactive zone of multi-tasking – the opposite end of the scale, with viewer/users collaborating, communicating, sharing, viewing, reading, talking, listening and contributing to the medium all at the same time at super high speed. When you sit in front of a computer, your role, your expectations and your control is totally at odds with the TV experience. And consequently, where with TV people have to watch long tranches of boring ads because they have no choice but to watch, change channel, or put the kettle on; with IPTV they do have a choice and will ruthlessly flash to something more engaging in the blink of an eye immediately forgetting what they’ve just seen.
So, what can advertisers do to address this viewer promiscuity? Several things in fact and all of them have the IPTV web viewer firmly in mind. The IPTV viewer expects to be offered the capacity to engage with a product or brand on the Internet, (something they are never even offered on traditional TV). IPTV ads therefore need to offer some incentive to engage, like a special offer or reduction. There needs to be a URL to visit and view the product, if they have the time, or somewhere within the ad to register their interest for later, if they don’t. They might be given the capacity to leave contact information, or ring a special phone number on their mobile or work number and this number will relate to this specific ad campaign, not the whole company. In short, ads need to be tailored to the needs of the viewer. They need to have their requirements, interests and availability to the fore to ensure optimal success.
Online, there is also the capacity to know far more about the specific viewer of an ad than on TV. National research projects, like Net Behaviour’s MIR/NB Report means we have a very clear idea of the demographics of the Irish people who visit pretty much any site or Internet software, their frequency of doing so, and a whole tranche of other activity, such as their online purchasing activity. Pre and post ad view and click tracking can tell a considerable amount about viewers interests both through the sites they visit and where they go on these sites. Registration and social networking software means you can know each viewer's age, sex, interests, friendship networks and even what they buy. Ad view capping software also means that ads aren’t wasted through several views of the same ad, but rather views can be evenly spread amongst those who would have most interest, and only shown the optimal number of times to ensure the message has got across, but not too many to irritate.
So, while there are challenges presented to IPTV advertisers, these are completely outweighed by the important new opportunities the Internet offers, and the increased the capacity to make a sale. In short: For TV, getting the viewer from the point of actually seeing the TV ad to buying a product is largely in the lap of the gods, if they even remember seeing the ad. For IPTV advertisers on the other hand, they have a much greater say in what a viewer does immediately on seeing their product advertised. The audience is offered a much greater opportunity to engage with the message on the spot. They can explore the products specifications and price, learn about the producer, and even interact with the ad message asking the advertiser to contact them at a later date, and all without interrupting their reason for being on the site hosting the ad in question. They can also much more easily take the desired action – buy the product.
So, in conclusion: in this instance I think Bill Gates must be 100% right. TV advertising will move towards an IPTV model before we know it. The technology is there, the consumer will prefer it and the advertising will be more effective and efficient. But, the ad industry must just take on board that while it is a TV message, the Internet is a totally different channel, and one much better suited to engaging with the consumer.
What he’s saying in speeches, and predicting is also a lot more subtle and specific than the mutterings of crystal ball gazers heretofore and I think he’s absolutely right, and what he predicts is, in fact, inevitable. The time frame is the only thing that is in question.
In speeches he’s saying that the TV advertising business model, where the vast majority of traditional ad spend goes will fall apart over the next five years, when the new type of news-on-demand interactive TV formats come into their own. Google, and Yahoo! also have IPTV offerings, and services like Joost, Babelgum, 4OD stimulate this growth.
That’s the technology, and how often have you seen articles on the net telling you there is a new offering that will change everything. However, this is different! (Don’t they all say that?) I think this is different because three things are happening in tandem and when these all move together, change happens. Yes, firstly the technology has developed and advanced, but secondly society has also changed with peoples’ behaviours and media expectations shifting through YouTube, Video on demand and UGC. And finally there are necessary major economic shifts, through advertising, to pay for it all. That’s the full set of requirements for technological and social change. These are the three elements that explain why VHS succeeded where Betamax failed and then why DVD outstripped them both; why vinyl gave way to cassette, CD and then downloads changed the music industry forever; and also why IPTV will rock the world of TV advertising and change it forever. (In fact, more recently Amazon are trying the same trick for books with Kindle).
Yes, the technology is changing, but also peoples’ behaviour and the economics to pay for it all is shifting also. The technology has advanced as has the broadband speed to deliver the new formats, but also net ad spend has increased, by around 17% worldwide last year. While it’s still only a small proportion of total ad spend, in many countries it’s on a par with, or bigger than newspapers, radio and outdoor. Over perhaps 5 years, this is a tectonic shift in the world of advertising. TV ad spend however is the mother load and when this starts to come netwards you have to take notice. Bill Gates is predicting this will happen before we know it.
Traditional advertisers are therefore presented with opportunities, challenges and new paradigms to come to grips with. It must be understood that the net simply isn’t like TV, even though you can watch TV over the net. If you don’t take this on board, the TV advertising you deliver over the web simply won’t be effective. There are two reasons for me saying this:
1) The net is a 2 way active and interactive medium, while TV is a one way passive medium and consequently...
2) The net viewer is in active mode, rather than a passive one, so therefore has a totally different set of expectations and behaviours.
It’s TV, yes, but sent through a different channel, for an audience in a totally different state of mind.
TV is passive. Marshall McLuhan called it a ‘cold medium’, because you do nothing. The viewer simply sits back and video and audio wash over them, their only action being to change channel – if they can remember where they put the remote, it’s that long since they actually did anything (imagine losing your wireless mouse, or keyboard?). The modern net, with web 2.0, is not only active, it’s a super-heated hyperactive zone of multi-tasking – the opposite end of the scale, with viewer/users collaborating, communicating, sharing, viewing, reading, talking, listening and contributing to the medium all at the same time at super high speed. When you sit in front of a computer, your role, your expectations and your control is totally at odds with the TV experience. And consequently, where with TV people have to watch long tranches of boring ads because they have no choice but to watch, change channel, or put the kettle on; with IPTV they do have a choice and will ruthlessly flash to something more engaging in the blink of an eye immediately forgetting what they’ve just seen.
So, what can advertisers do to address this viewer promiscuity? Several things in fact and all of them have the IPTV web viewer firmly in mind. The IPTV viewer expects to be offered the capacity to engage with a product or brand on the Internet, (something they are never even offered on traditional TV). IPTV ads therefore need to offer some incentive to engage, like a special offer or reduction. There needs to be a URL to visit and view the product, if they have the time, or somewhere within the ad to register their interest for later, if they don’t. They might be given the capacity to leave contact information, or ring a special phone number on their mobile or work number and this number will relate to this specific ad campaign, not the whole company. In short, ads need to be tailored to the needs of the viewer. They need to have their requirements, interests and availability to the fore to ensure optimal success.
Online, there is also the capacity to know far more about the specific viewer of an ad than on TV. National research projects, like Net Behaviour’s MIR/NB Report means we have a very clear idea of the demographics of the Irish people who visit pretty much any site or Internet software, their frequency of doing so, and a whole tranche of other activity, such as their online purchasing activity. Pre and post ad view and click tracking can tell a considerable amount about viewers interests both through the sites they visit and where they go on these sites. Registration and social networking software means you can know each viewer's age, sex, interests, friendship networks and even what they buy. Ad view capping software also means that ads aren’t wasted through several views of the same ad, but rather views can be evenly spread amongst those who would have most interest, and only shown the optimal number of times to ensure the message has got across, but not too many to irritate.
So, while there are challenges presented to IPTV advertisers, these are completely outweighed by the important new opportunities the Internet offers, and the increased the capacity to make a sale. In short: For TV, getting the viewer from the point of actually seeing the TV ad to buying a product is largely in the lap of the gods, if they even remember seeing the ad. For IPTV advertisers on the other hand, they have a much greater say in what a viewer does immediately on seeing their product advertised. The audience is offered a much greater opportunity to engage with the message on the spot. They can explore the products specifications and price, learn about the producer, and even interact with the ad message asking the advertiser to contact them at a later date, and all without interrupting their reason for being on the site hosting the ad in question. They can also much more easily take the desired action – buy the product.
So, in conclusion: in this instance I think Bill Gates must be 100% right. TV advertising will move towards an IPTV model before we know it. The technology is there, the consumer will prefer it and the advertising will be more effective and efficient. But, the ad industry must just take on board that while it is a TV message, the Internet is a totally different channel, and one much better suited to engaging with the consumer.
Monday, 3 December 2007
Thursday, 29 November 2007
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
Irish Online Recruitment
After travel, recruitment is the most popular category of Internet use on a monthly basis by Irish Internet users. Irish jobs is the most popular Irish recruitment site, and the 6th most visited site by Irish Internet users, with 34% visiting the site at least once a month. Recruitment sites are much more likely to be visited weekly, or monthly, or less often, than on a daily basis.
This makes sense, as many will post their CV on several sites, and ‘see what comes in’. Around 20% of recruitment site users are apparently actively looking on a daily basis for a new job.
The second most popular sites is Jobs.ie, with 29%, and then comes Monster.ie, with 27%. Recruit Ireland comes in with 26%. There is then a drop off to the less mainstream and niche sites, with Publicjobs.ie with 13%, Nixers.ie 8%, Careersinhealthcare.ie 5%, Brightwater.ie 5%, Educationposts.com 5% and Salesforce.com with 1%.
This makes sense, as many will post their CV on several sites, and ‘see what comes in’. Around 20% of recruitment site users are apparently actively looking on a daily basis for a new job.
The second most popular sites is Jobs.ie, with 29%, and then comes Monster.ie, with 27%. Recruit Ireland comes in with 26%. There is then a drop off to the less mainstream and niche sites, with Publicjobs.ie with 13%, Nixers.ie 8%, Careersinhealthcare.ie 5%, Brightwater.ie 5%, Educationposts.com 5% and Salesforce.com with 1%.
Thursday, 21 June 2007
The NB Report
Net Behaviour is pleased to announce the arrival of The NB Report©. In essense, this report tells us how Irish people use the web.
The NB Report© is carried out by Monitrack Internet Research (MIR), in conjunction with Amárach Consulting. It contains information on over 475 websites used by Irish consumers across all categories; from search engines and blogs to news and media sites, and even on corporate sites within key industry sectors.
The research gathers data on an ongoing basis from over 30 online sampling points and soon it will be imported into the MediaStar software where it will provide a range of coverage and frequency information for Net Behaviour clients.
The document below will give you a flavour of the research concerning the Top 20/30 websites used by Irish people, and more…
The NB Report© will further enhance our digital communications service for NB clients. If you would like to discuss The NB Report© please don't hesitate to contact us.
--------------------------------
The Top 20 Sites
The top categories are, perhaps unsurprisingly, search, airlines, shopping, recruitment, news, chat rooms/messenger, classifieds, and entertainment. Search is used most often and Google is the most popular search engine with a whopping 82% of Irish online users visiting the site every month. Yahoo! comes in second with 51% of online users; Ryanair (47%) and Aer Lingus (47%) come in with third and forth places on our monthly table of top 20 websites and eBay is in fifth position.
An impressive 87% of Irish Google users use the site on a daily basis, compared with 42% of Yahoo! searchers, and 39% of MSN searchers.
Recruitment sites are very popular with Irish people. Most classified Internet sites, such as recruitment sites, are used weekly, or monthly, rather than daily. The most popular recruitment site is Irishjobs.ie, with 35% of Irish people who use the Internet visiting the site in a given month, and 42% of these visiting weekly, it takes position 6 on our top 20 websites. Recruitment sites are well represented accounting for four of the top 20.
Myhome.ie is the most popular property website, with 29% of Ireland’s Internet users going to the site every month; coming in 12th and the only property website to make the NB/ MIR Top 20.
The most popular news source in Ireland is RTE.ie, with 35% of Irish people visiting the site in a month for news, 38% of these daily. In fact, RTE.ie news service comes in at an impressive 9th place on our top 20 Irish Internet uses table. The next most popular news source is BBC.co.uk, with 26% of Irish Internet users per month, and position 15 on our top 20. Skynews.com is in position 17, with 25% visitors per month.
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia is very popular indeed with Irish people, 32% using it each month. It comes in at number ten on our top 20. Golden Pages.ie is in 19th position, with 25% visitors.
Three places on our Top 20 are taken up by some of Ireland’s newest Internet uses. MSN Instant Messenger (34% and position 8), YouTube.com (28% and position 13) and iTunes (24% position 20). For those who aren’t familiar with these, Instant Messenger is one-to-one real-time chat software, very popular among younger people, and users of social networks like Bebo.
In fact, Messenger is much more popular than email for this demographic. YouTube.com is the world’s must popular video site, where anyone can upload their own video for all to see, and iTunes.com is owned by Apple, and is Ireland’s most popular space for buying music for MP3 players and iPods.
Household names from 21 to 30
From 21 to 30 we had AIB / 365 Online (24%), Bebo (23%), Daft (22%), Amazon (22%), Argos (22%), Yahoo! Messenger (21%), Ticketmaster (21%), Pigsback (21%), eircom (news) (21%) and finally Tesco (21%). These fall broadly into the categories of banking, shopping, chat and news (eircom).
Internet Categories
MIR treats the Internet as a functional entity exploring website function and use from the users’ perspective, as well as the website address. The total number of people who use a site is easily found even if that site, for example, provides such diverse services as email, news, search, music downloads and radio. However, typically advertising will be placed on a single section of a multifunction site – the business news section, the technology news, or email login and MIR data can provide this basic categorical information, from the users’ perspective.
This approach gives the advantage of providing an accurate estimate, for example, of the total popularity of business news for Irish people on the Internet, whether they visit specific business newspapers online, the business section of a web portal or bulletin boards exploring the demographic breakdown of the audience along the way. Net Behaviour can then target advertising of behalf on clients knowing a lot about the business Internet audience, where they go online and frequency.
We also measure the total popularity of multi-function portals such as RTE.ie or eircom.net regardless of their use (this is not explored in the above table).
Methodology
MIR research is carried out by Monitrack Internet Research in conjunction with Amárach Consulting and is used by Net Behaviour, and Monitrack clients. The NB Report is a cut of this data. The MIR sample is gathered from over 30 websites and search engines visited by Irish people. The sample quoted above is 1,267 and was gathered between January and March 2007. MIR currently contains information on over 475 websites, search engines and web entities used by Irish people. It also explores research and purchase behaviour online, mobile phone usage, blogging, podcasting, bulletin board use and indeed all other Internet uses for Irish people. Sites are explored through a full set of standard demographic information in Media Star and Espri.
‘The Monitrack policy for MIR research is the same as that developed for the JNIR research. The data presented shows people who use the Internet, rather than ‘unique users, ‘impressions’ or ‘hits’, as the research is carried out with questionnaires, rather than with automatic technologies, like tracking software, cookies or server logs. MIR will typically show numbers which are much smaller than other methods but these are counting different things,’ according to Emmet Kelly. ‘Automated research tells a story of activity, rather than people. Researchers, marketers and media buyers need to know about the people who use a product or service online, as much as the activity surrounding that service,’ said Emmet.
In addition to the NB/MIR data, Net Behaviour employs ad-tracking software for ad campaigns, and buys advertising space with existing currencies such as CPM, CPC, CPA and sponsorship. Automated research data such as that provided by ad tracking software is ideal for optimising advertising spend, while MIR tells the story about how the Irish use the web, gives insight, and helps us make predictions.
All MIR research is carried out in-house and the research, and research methods are the property of Monitrack Internet Research
The NB/Monitrack Team
Monitrack is an Internet research specialist, and formerly carried out the JNIR research. The JNIR was originated by Emmet Kelly and Justin Cullen, who subsequently, with Sinéad Morris, also of Monitrack, founded Net Behaviour some 20 months ago. Net Behaviour is an Internet media buying agent for some of Ireland’s largest agencies and has carried out over 300 campaigns since it was founded in late 2005.
The NB Report© is carried out by Monitrack Internet Research (MIR), in conjunction with Amárach Consulting. It contains information on over 475 websites used by Irish consumers across all categories; from search engines and blogs to news and media sites, and even on corporate sites within key industry sectors.
The research gathers data on an ongoing basis from over 30 online sampling points and soon it will be imported into the MediaStar software where it will provide a range of coverage and frequency information for Net Behaviour clients.
The document below will give you a flavour of the research concerning the Top 20/30 websites used by Irish people, and more…
The NB Report© will further enhance our digital communications service for NB clients. If you would like to discuss The NB Report© please don't hesitate to contact us.
--------------------------------
The Top 20 Sites
The top categories are, perhaps unsurprisingly, search, airlines, shopping, recruitment, news, chat rooms/messenger, classifieds, and entertainment. Search is used most often and Google is the most popular search engine with a whopping 82% of Irish online users visiting the site every month. Yahoo! comes in second with 51% of online users; Ryanair (47%) and Aer Lingus (47%) come in with third and forth places on our monthly table of top 20 websites and eBay is in fifth position.
An impressive 87% of Irish Google users use the site on a daily basis, compared with 42% of Yahoo! searchers, and 39% of MSN searchers.
Recruitment sites are very popular with Irish people. Most classified Internet sites, such as recruitment sites, are used weekly, or monthly, rather than daily. The most popular recruitment site is Irishjobs.ie, with 35% of Irish people who use the Internet visiting the site in a given month, and 42% of these visiting weekly, it takes position 6 on our top 20 websites. Recruitment sites are well represented accounting for four of the top 20.
Myhome.ie is the most popular property website, with 29% of Ireland’s Internet users going to the site every month; coming in 12th and the only property website to make the NB/ MIR Top 20.
The most popular news source in Ireland is RTE.ie, with 35% of Irish people visiting the site in a month for news, 38% of these daily. In fact, RTE.ie news service comes in at an impressive 9th place on our top 20 Irish Internet uses table. The next most popular news source is BBC.co.uk, with 26% of Irish Internet users per month, and position 15 on our top 20. Skynews.com is in position 17, with 25% visitors per month.
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia is very popular indeed with Irish people, 32% using it each month. It comes in at number ten on our top 20. Golden Pages.ie is in 19th position, with 25% visitors.
Three places on our Top 20 are taken up by some of Ireland’s newest Internet uses. MSN Instant Messenger (34% and position 8), YouTube.com (28% and position 13) and iTunes (24% position 20). For those who aren’t familiar with these, Instant Messenger is one-to-one real-time chat software, very popular among younger people, and users of social networks like Bebo.
In fact, Messenger is much more popular than email for this demographic. YouTube.com is the world’s must popular video site, where anyone can upload their own video for all to see, and iTunes.com is owned by Apple, and is Ireland’s most popular space for buying music for MP3 players and iPods.
Household names from 21 to 30
From 21 to 30 we had AIB / 365 Online (24%), Bebo (23%), Daft (22%), Amazon (22%), Argos (22%), Yahoo! Messenger (21%), Ticketmaster (21%), Pigsback (21%), eircom (news) (21%) and finally Tesco (21%). These fall broadly into the categories of banking, shopping, chat and news (eircom).
Internet Categories
MIR treats the Internet as a functional entity exploring website function and use from the users’ perspective, as well as the website address. The total number of people who use a site is easily found even if that site, for example, provides such diverse services as email, news, search, music downloads and radio. However, typically advertising will be placed on a single section of a multifunction site – the business news section, the technology news, or email login and MIR data can provide this basic categorical information, from the users’ perspective.
This approach gives the advantage of providing an accurate estimate, for example, of the total popularity of business news for Irish people on the Internet, whether they visit specific business newspapers online, the business section of a web portal or bulletin boards exploring the demographic breakdown of the audience along the way. Net Behaviour can then target advertising of behalf on clients knowing a lot about the business Internet audience, where they go online and frequency.
We also measure the total popularity of multi-function portals such as RTE.ie or eircom.net regardless of their use (this is not explored in the above table).
Methodology
MIR research is carried out by Monitrack Internet Research in conjunction with Amárach Consulting and is used by Net Behaviour, and Monitrack clients. The NB Report is a cut of this data. The MIR sample is gathered from over 30 websites and search engines visited by Irish people. The sample quoted above is 1,267 and was gathered between January and March 2007. MIR currently contains information on over 475 websites, search engines and web entities used by Irish people. It also explores research and purchase behaviour online, mobile phone usage, blogging, podcasting, bulletin board use and indeed all other Internet uses for Irish people. Sites are explored through a full set of standard demographic information in Media Star and Espri.
‘The Monitrack policy for MIR research is the same as that developed for the JNIR research. The data presented shows people who use the Internet, rather than ‘unique users, ‘impressions’ or ‘hits’, as the research is carried out with questionnaires, rather than with automatic technologies, like tracking software, cookies or server logs. MIR will typically show numbers which are much smaller than other methods but these are counting different things,’ according to Emmet Kelly. ‘Automated research tells a story of activity, rather than people. Researchers, marketers and media buyers need to know about the people who use a product or service online, as much as the activity surrounding that service,’ said Emmet.
In addition to the NB/MIR data, Net Behaviour employs ad-tracking software for ad campaigns, and buys advertising space with existing currencies such as CPM, CPC, CPA and sponsorship. Automated research data such as that provided by ad tracking software is ideal for optimising advertising spend, while MIR tells the story about how the Irish use the web, gives insight, and helps us make predictions.
All MIR research is carried out in-house and the research, and research methods are the property of Monitrack Internet Research
The NB/Monitrack Team
Monitrack is an Internet research specialist, and formerly carried out the JNIR research. The JNIR was originated by Emmet Kelly and Justin Cullen, who subsequently, with Sinéad Morris, also of Monitrack, founded Net Behaviour some 20 months ago. Net Behaviour is an Internet media buying agent for some of Ireland’s largest agencies and has carried out over 300 campaigns since it was founded in late 2005.
Friday, 30 March 2007
Turning Up the Volume
I wanted to turn up the volume, so I did. Nothing happened. I worked for the day in relative silence, but something struck me. Volume, no longer means what it used to. It's louder and bigger than ever before. I'll explain.
First, back to the beginning. I turned up the volume, and nothing happened.
Maybe the volume button the computer wasn’t working. I went into the sound
properties on the control panel, and clicked on the tab. There was a Volume
Control, Wav, SW synch and CD player. I understood the first and the last and
thought the second one was a .wav file, short for wave. Simple. I turned them
all up. I could have clicked ‘mute all’, or muted them all
individually, if I’d wanted no sound, which was what I had… so I
didn’t want that, so I didn’t do it.
Still no sound.
I went to the speakers attached to the laptop, and turned the knob on those to
full. I checked connections, and thought… I’ll reboot,
that’ll fix it. So I did. It didn’t.
Still no music!
And do you know what I thought? I thought… this is nuts. There are so
many layers and levels between me and the music that even turning up the volume
can be a bloody trial. I can do that on old machines in a jiffy and I
didn’t even like the music that much. I’d spent 10 minutes
foostering around for no sound, and all because of layers and layers of
software, hardware and options. Would I give up? Yes I would. For the
moment. Music isn’t that important. Is it? Ironically, I thought
having some background music would make me more productive? I’d have to
work pretty hard to catch up on the time I’d lost already.
Silence… kind of. I worked away for most of the day, to the irritating
clatter of my own keyboard, busses, ambulances and fire brigades, other
peoples’ radios and the odd screech from the kids scrapping at the bus
stop. I worked away to the sound of Dublin instead of music to give me
enthusiasm.
But there was volume after all. Lots of it. Just not a lot of music, or sound.
I sent an email to 3,000 people for research purposes, spoke to several more
through boards and chat, work related emails flying back and forth, another
mail shot, the mobile phone beeped with texts, and rang with calls while the
work phone bleeped every few minutes and the doorbell rang.
The ads we post on websites and search engines must have been seen by 20,000
people to generate the 2000 or so clicks we’d tracked so far and the
online videos… hmmm. 600 views? You Tube viral views? Thousands. By
5.30pm we’d generated maybe 25,000 communications, many through the
little laptop in front of me, in only 6 hours. Thats a lot of volume.
And the moral, (if there is one)? In this new digi-world, sometimes it can be easier to
ask 25,000 strangers to pay attention and click, or let them tell you all about themselves, than it is to sit back, on your own, and listen to a good tune. :-)
First, back to the beginning. I turned up the volume, and nothing happened.
Maybe the volume button the computer wasn’t working. I went into the sound
properties on the control panel, and clicked on the tab. There was a Volume
Control, Wav, SW synch and CD player. I understood the first and the last and
thought the second one was a .wav file, short for wave. Simple. I turned them
all up. I could have clicked ‘mute all’, or muted them all
individually, if I’d wanted no sound, which was what I had… so I
didn’t want that, so I didn’t do it.
Still no sound.
I went to the speakers attached to the laptop, and turned the knob on those to
full. I checked connections, and thought… I’ll reboot,
that’ll fix it. So I did. It didn’t.
Still no music!
And do you know what I thought? I thought… this is nuts. There are so
many layers and levels between me and the music that even turning up the volume
can be a bloody trial. I can do that on old machines in a jiffy and I
didn’t even like the music that much. I’d spent 10 minutes
foostering around for no sound, and all because of layers and layers of
software, hardware and options. Would I give up? Yes I would. For the
moment. Music isn’t that important. Is it? Ironically, I thought
having some background music would make me more productive? I’d have to
work pretty hard to catch up on the time I’d lost already.
Silence… kind of. I worked away for most of the day, to the irritating
clatter of my own keyboard, busses, ambulances and fire brigades, other
peoples’ radios and the odd screech from the kids scrapping at the bus
stop. I worked away to the sound of Dublin instead of music to give me
enthusiasm.
But there was volume after all. Lots of it. Just not a lot of music, or sound.
I sent an email to 3,000 people for research purposes, spoke to several more
through boards and chat, work related emails flying back and forth, another
mail shot, the mobile phone beeped with texts, and rang with calls while the
work phone bleeped every few minutes and the doorbell rang.
The ads we post on websites and search engines must have been seen by 20,000
people to generate the 2000 or so clicks we’d tracked so far and the
online videos… hmmm. 600 views? You Tube viral views? Thousands. By
5.30pm we’d generated maybe 25,000 communications, many through the
little laptop in front of me, in only 6 hours. Thats a lot of volume.
And the moral, (if there is one)? In this new digi-world, sometimes it can be easier to
ask 25,000 strangers to pay attention and click, or let them tell you all about themselves, than it is to sit back, on your own, and listen to a good tune. :-)
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