Tag Archives: internet

Yahoo buys Tumblr for a reported $US1.1 billion

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Yahoo’s board has approved a deal to purchase the popular blogging platform Tumblr for $US1.1 billion in cash following the move made by new chief executive Marissa Mayer to bring Yahoo back to younger internet users.

It’s good news for Yahoo who recently failed in a bid to take over the online video site Dailymotion after the French government, which owns a stake, intervened.

Tumblr CEO David Karp will reportedly assist Yahoo for four years and help push the brand founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York to new, lively online audiences.

With more than 108 million blogs, 50 billion postings in 12 languages and 175 employees, the website ranking site Alexa lists Tumblr as number 32 in terms of global popularity.

ABS: Australian internet connections grew 5% year on year

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‘The Internet rules’ is the message today from Google, after the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) statistics to come back finding a 5% increase in internet subscriptions year on year, taking total Australian internet subscriptions to 12.2 million.

MYOB’s Business Monitor found in August 2012 that more than 60% of Australian businesses lack a web presence, and Google Australia’s head of retail, Ross McDonald says if businesses aren’t online, they’re virtually invisible: “Today’s ABS figures show that to be more true than ever. Our use of the Internet is only growing, so without a website your business can’t be found on the world’s busiest shopping strip: the internet.”

There were 6.0 million mobile wireless broadband connections in Australia at the end of December last year, an increase of 2% since the end of June. Making it the most prevalent internet technology in Australia, accounting for 49% of all connections.

 

Online travel insurance decisions not driven by brand awareness

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In an interesting finding regarding the competitive travel insurance marketplace, a report released by international customer experience research company, Global Reviews, has found that when consumers look to purchase travel insurance online, brand awareness has very little to do with their final choice.

Of the top three companies named for high brand awareness, only one remained in the top three by the time participants reached their final preference. The company most often shortlisted by consumers only scored 2% brand recall when participants were initially asked to name five travel insurance provider brands.

The purpose of the November 2012 behavioural study was aimed at how consumers perceived travel insurance providers, and the importance of brand recall.

AAMI, Medibank and Allianz were leaders in the initial stage, however, after consumers went through their online research process, the heavyweights appeared unable to capitalise on their high brand awareness.

The reason lesser-known brands succeeded came down to the ‘shortlisting’ and ‘final preference’ phases, where these providers showed up the competition by offering more clear and concise information and options.

When researching their choice, over 90% of people confirmed they would do more than half their research for travel insurance online, while 67% reported they would ultimately purchase the product directly from the provider’s website, with only 18% keen to phone the preferred provider.

And with more than 75% of participants spending up to four hours researching before applying for travel insurance, a total of 86% would spread their research for a suitable provider throughout a period of seven days.

Global Reviews CEO, Greg Muller, believes that while some big brands spend their money on marketing to drive consumers to their respective sites, the inability to convert online visitors into purchasers is damaging to the bottom line.

“The report highlights that brand awareness is not necessarily a driver of sales acquisition and conversely some companies with lower brand awareness were able to gain a higher conversion rate via the use of an effective website sales journey,” says Muller.

 

Google’s search stronghold vulnerable to mobile threat

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Google may lose its dominance of the search market as internet use becomes increasingly mobile, according to a new report, which found the quality of traffic coming from Google mobile search substandard to that of Bing’s.

Despite Android’s strong growth, Adobe’s ‘The Dynamic Nature of Mobile Search in Asia-Pacific’ report suggests that Google may be toppled in the mobile search stakes unless it holds alliances with the right handset manufacturers.

When assessing the position of search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, the analysis of 2.5 billion visits to over 125 APAC websites reports that while Google retains the largest share of mobile search overall, Bing and local players such as Baidu (China) and Naver (South Korea) appear to offer brands more valuable visitors.

The report contends that the primary driver of Google’s dominant market share is not Android device penetration, but its position as the default search engine on competing smartphones. “Impending disruptions in both technology and new alliances could reshape the market share of current search engine leaders,” it warns.

The study found that Bing delivers lower bounce rates, with 29% of searches resulting in single page visits, compared to Google which delivers a bounce rate of 37%.

“Bing’s performance in traffic quality offers it the potential to become a stronger competitor, but only if it increases the overall volume of mobile search referred traffic,” the report reads. “It’s possible that Bing’s superior results are influenced by the quality of its smaller audience rather than solely by its search algorithms.”

The study also forecasts that increases in mobile internet browsing in APAC and heavy reliance on mobile search will cause brands to rely more on search optimisation for driving mobile traffic than for traffic on PCs.

When it comes to driving traffic to websites, search was found to matter more on mobile devices than on PCs, with more visitors to mobile sites originating from search engines than visitors to full websites on PCs. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, were the source of 31% of website hits on tablets, 28% on phones and 25% on PCs.

“Digital marketers in the APAC region should ensure that they are adequately investing in search and stay ahead of the coming changes by developing country-specific mobile optimisation strategies that incorporate these realities,” the study advises.

 

ACCC puts the breaks on Optus

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The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has rebuked Optus for “confusing and deceptive advertising” with its ‘Think Bigger’ and ‘Supersonic’ broadband Internet provider campaigns.

The ACCC found that Optus breached the Trade Practices Act 1974 with misleading conduct. The campaigns advertised peak and off-peak bundles with data limits (eg; 50GB peak +70GB off-peak per month).

However, Justice Perram declared that Optus did not sufficiently disclose that the advertised service would be speed limited to a sluggish 64kbps once a consumer exceeded their peak data allowance. The consequence was that any unused off-peak data would no longer be available at a broadband speed.

“The contravention here is a serious one,” Justice Perram said, “and the public should be protected from any further repetition of it.

Optus maintains it had not breached the law because any consumer who may have been misled by the advertisements had their misapprehensions corrected through the Optus call centre or website before they signed up for a plan.

Federal Court Justice Nye Perram has ordered an injunction on the ads. Financial penalties will be handed down at a later date.

Travel takes 47% of online dollars

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The latest Nielsen ‘Online Retail Monitor’ study has shown travel sector purchases account for 47% of all spending in a flourishing online retail market.

The study, which analysed spending across 16 major retail product categories, showed that around one third of online shoppers bought travel product or services, from flights to hotels to travel products, with an average purchase of $1,168 over the 30-day study period.

A travel retailer’s website was also found to be the biggest influence on a consumer’s brand choice, followed by search engines and comparison websites.

QANTAS led the way in website popularity, with a unique audience of nearly 1.9 million, with 12.76% of all Australian internet users visiting the site at least once in September. Virgin Travel followed with 1.247 million visitors, then wotif.com with 1.224 million.

Travel purchases that were ultimately made offline were also often influenced by online research. 68% of those purchasing accommodation offline and 62% of offline flight purchases were supported by online research.

Nielsen’s quarterly ‘online retail monitor’ uses an online survey of 1,131 Australian internet users aged 18 and over. It looks at online spending and purchase behaviour and intention, the degree to which online is supporting offline sales and conversions, and more online and mobile shopping behaviour patterns.

Mums evolving online media habits

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If Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott are serious in their attempts to woo working mothers, then research reveals they should be spending more time targeting them online.

The research from pregnancy and parenting sites Birth.com.au and Kidspot.com.au has shown when asked how their media consumption had changed since becoming a mother, the majority of respondents had increased their internet usage but had reduced consumption of magazines and newspapers.

The survey, which questioned 2,891 mums and mums-to-be, found that 82% of mums seek opinions online to help them make a purchasing decision, while 75% regularly research products online (‘regularly’ defined as more often than once a month).

When asked to rank various websites by the level of trust they place in them, specialist sites that understand and engage their audience with a unique, non-commercial relationship are trusted twice as much by mums as a brand’s own website.

For marketers this means that they should still continue to invest in their own website – over a third of mums put some level of trust in the product information available there.

According to the research, however, the brands that partner with specialist editors that are experts in the audience’s subject matter enjoy far greater cut-through in user engagement (82% of mums feel some level of trust in specialist sites versus 53% in portals).

Although mums have been quick to embrace sites like Facebook, online forums continue to win the majority of mums trust – 79% of respondents said they either somewhat trusted or completely trusted mum’s opinions posted on a forum while only 44% trusted opinions shared on social networking sites like Facebook.

“(Mum’s) penchant for online is triggered by a persistent hunger for information and advice during pregnancy that shows her the merit of the medium in a whole new way. She quickly learns the value of specialist editors plus online forums full of mums that have done it all before. Her fondness grows, her dependence deepens and the trust she puts in websites exceeds any other option – online or offline,” said Kidspot CEO Katie May.

AFACT short on facts says iiNet

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Internet service provider (ISP) iiNet has accused the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) of lying.

The company released a statement indicating AFACT’s suggestions that ISPs are refusing to negotiate the availability of content online are completely untrue.

“Contrary to the false claims made today by AFACT, iiNet and other ISPs have always been ready to negotiate online content matters with copyright holders,” said the statement.

The spat is the latest in a long running dispute between the two, intensifying when iiNet was facing court action in late 2009.

The ISP has countered the AFACT claims by asserting the association is not part of the solution, but hindering the process of developing mutually beneficial business relationships.

iiNet’s statement has also pointed to the fact that, having lost comprehensively in the Federal Court and continually refused to accept offers to have constructive discussions, AFACT’s latest claims are well short of the facts and continue their uncooperative and unproductive approach.

“The internet industry and copyright holders had been in detailed discussions for a number of years, before AFACT and its executive director, Adrianne Pecotic, called off negotiations in August 2007 to commence their unsuccessful legal proceedings against iiNet in the Federal Court. In fact, a number of Australian ISPs including iiNet have successfully negotiated with rights holders for a range of online rights such as Village Roadshow, Fox Sports and Bloomberg.”

According to the statement, iiNet ‘continues to sponsor and participate in the Internet Industry Association’s Synergy events, the major business development roundtable with leading ISPs and leading content owners’.

“It is clear that in an election year AFACT is now seeking to force an unworkable political solution rather than work with the internet industry to develop a practical and commercial outcome that protects and benefits copyright holders,” said the statement.

Facebook vs non-Facebook user void opens

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Findings from a report from Nielsen show that the amount of time spent online and general levels of internet engagement of Facebook users is far greater than non-Facebook users.

The report findings highlight the extent to which Facebook is influencing Australian internet activities, with Facebook users spending an average of 3.26 times longer on the internet than non-Facebook users.

Even excluding time spent on Facebook, users are still spending 2.5 times more on average per month than those who aren’t on Facebook.

Of the 14 million Australians who use the internet in any given month, around 8.8 million (63%) are Facebook users while 5.2 million (37%) do not engage with the site.

Mark Higginson, director of research for Nielsen’s online division, explained that results in are extraordinary because they point to the emergence of a fractured internet population, with each group displaying distinctly different online habits.

“This isn’t just about the rise and rise of Facebook – these numbers have implications for how we view internet usage as an industry. Around the world, advertisers have observed the phenomenal rise of Facebook with a sense of curiosity, anticipation and in many cases perplexity. It is now more evident than ever that those advertisers need to understand how they can tap into this trend and use it as a way to engage their clients, customers, stakeholders and the general internet population,” said Higginson.

Nielsen’s research also shows that Facebook users are becoming more entrenched in their favourite social networking site, with share of online time given to Facebook increasing from 20% in July 2009 to 27% in February 2010.

Aussie social media obsession danger

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An RMIT University lecturer has warned that Australians are revealing signs of ‘obsessive-compulsive behaviour’ in their use of social media.

John Lenarcic believes that spending long periods online, frequently checking email and accessing the internet even when away from computers is symptomatic of a society enamoured with being online. Lenarcic’s research suggests that people are exposed to an average of 100,500 words (or 32GB of data) every day.

“Using the internet to excess can disengage you from the physical aspects of communication and could even affect the way people interact, making them more impatient or abrupt,” Lenarcic explained in an interview with News.com.au.

According to Nielsen’s 2010 Internet and Technology Report, Australians spend almost two working days (17.6 hours) online each week, with some younger users spending up to 22 hours a week on the internet.

One of the most quoted statistic about social media in Australia is that it is one of the top 20 most well-connected internet using nations in the world, and ranks in the top 10 for use of social-networking websites.

Backing Lenarcic’s concerns, Dr Neville Meyers from the Queensland University of Technology insists that the fact people are walking around with laptops and smartphones leads to this access to ‘information overload’.

“In a recent survey on mobility, 15% of participants told us that even on holidays they felt like their mobile phone might ring and it could be a colleague trying to track them down,” said Meyers.

Australian social media usage hits nine million

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Online Australians are increasing their participation rate in social media at a rapid pace, with content sharing the most popular social media activity, according to a report from Nielsen.

The ‘2010 Social Media Report’ found that close to four in five Australian internet users (78%) sent or shared a photo in the past year and nearly three quarters (74%) sent or shared a link.

The biggest increases in social media usage were reading and posting on Twitter, reading wikis and engaging with brands and organisations via social media, including watching online video to support purchase decisions.

Twitter’s audience levels grew by more than 400% in 2009 and nearly one quarter of online Australians (23%) read ‘tweets’ in the past year, 14% ‘followed’ companies or organisations via Twitter (up from 5% in 2008) and 13% posted ‘tweets’ (up from 4% in 2008). Wikis continued to grow as a popular form of online content – close to three quarters of Australian internet users (73%) read a wiki in the past year compared to 61% in 2008 and just 37% in 2007.

Melanie Ingrey, research director for Nielsen’s online business, indicates that nearly nine in 10 Australian internet users (86%) are looking to fellow users for opinions and information about products, services and brands.

“Australians’ engagement with online word of mouth communication is going to increase in coming years as social media plays an increasingly important role in consumer decision making. For now, the battle of the social networking sites has clearly been won, and Facebook has proven its dominance by providing valuable and compelling content that has users spending more than eight hours a month on the site,” said Ingrey.

Social networking on sites such as Facebook was a key driver in Australians’ trial and uptake of social media. Close to three in four online Australians (73%) have looked at others’ profiles on social networks and well over one third (37%) of these report to be interacting with others via social networking sites on a daily basis.

Facebook dominates the online social networking space, with three quarters of Australian internet users (75%) reporting to have visited Facebook, 59% have a Facebook profile and the average time spent on Facebook in a given month is eight hours – seven and a half hours more than its closest rival site, YouTube.

Moreover, 83% of social networkers name Facebook as their main social networking platform, up from 72% in 2008 and 34% in 2007.

Nielsen’s report found that over one quarter of social networkers (26%) participated in mobile social networking in the past year, with younger consumers the most likely to participate in social networking via mobile – 66% of mobile social networkers are under 35 years.

Facebook is the most popular social networking site accessed via mobile (92% of mobile social networkers have visited Facebook), followed by YouTube and Twitter (18%) and MySpace (9%).

However, Twitter sees the most frequent mobile usage, with half of its mobile users visiting the site daily. In comparison, Facebook saw 36% of its mobile users visit the site daily, while 22% of MySpace users and 16% of YouTube users were making daily visits.

Conroy takes aim at Facebook

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Facebook has come under fire from Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, after a memorial page for a murdered schoolboy was vandalised.

Senator Conroy criticised Facebook for not being able to adequately monitor the activities of people who deface users’ pages.

“I think there is a situation where people take Facebook with an enormous amount of trust and theyve got to clearly explain what went wrong with their security systems, how this was able to happen (and) importantly, how they’re going to ensure that this doesnt happen again,” asserted Senator Conroy.

The social networker defended its reliance on users to report offensive material before taking action.

“Facebook is highly self-regulating and users can, and do, report content that they find questionable or offensive. In the tragic case of Elliott Fletchers memorial groups, vandals had posted vulgar and pornographic material. We responded to reports by users as well as to direct contact from law enforcement and have removed the groups and disabled the accounts of the people responsible,” said communications and public policy director Debbie Frost.

Senator Conroy’s comments come as he attempts to introduce legislation that will filter the internet.