9 posts tagged “rss”
"To grow bigger" is an inevitable pressure rising from within.
[+] The Internet was born to be open.
The Internet was born to be open and free. Since the time when people established the underlying architecture of communications network, the Internet was endowed with the attributes of a decentralized architecture like its genes. Some negative impacts have come along, such as issues of online security and spams. Yet as such things are the consequences of the working of the Internet's genes, they are meant to subsist. For those Internet businesses that go against the Internet's innate characteristics, they would inevitably face tremendous pressure from competition.
Ten years ago, the Internet had posed a severe challenge to the conventional logic of business world – monopoly - , especially of the capital-intensive media industry. The Internet broke the structure and created an opening. An open Internet enabled more content partners to join. Free Internet services quickly drew in a large number of users. People running Internet companies were aware that only through opening up themselves could they continue to grow.
As the Internet follows the pattern of scale economy, inevitably, there is always an innate pressure for Internet businesses "to grow bigger." They need to quickly increase their user base and traffic to achieve a comparatively low marginal cost. One way to grow big fast is to offer free services; to open and embrace more partners is another. During the first decade of the Internet, these two methods seemed to work well.
Now we've seen a third method emerges with Web 2.0 - social network. The way social network works is similar to multi-level marketing. Spreading from one user's social network to another's and then many others', social network services quickly accumulate a huge amount of users. However, the pressure to grow bigger never wanes. Following the innate nature of the Internet - open and free - , renowned social network services providers have come up with solutions: an open platform and opening up users' profiles.
[+] No opening up, no monopoly
Doesn't it sound paradoxical? The only way to achieve a monopolistic position on the Internet is through opening up. In the conventional business world, businesses that survive fierce competition would build bulwarks to enclose its empire within and erect competition barriers. This is why we've seen the first-generation Internet companies, such as Yahoo!, developing into new monopolies. It seems that they have followed the same trajectory of history.
If its monopolistic advantage can last out, why would Yahoo! have Yahoo! Open Strategy? Why would a monopoly need to open itself up? The reason is new players keep coming on the stage, first Google, and later MySpace and Facebook. They have come with a new revolutionary power to rewrite the old business rules, and on the Internet, the revolution can happen at an astonishingly fast speed.
Openness is embedded in the genes of the Internet. It is difficult to monopolize the Internet marked with a decentralized architecture. Internet companies are constantly under pressure for growth, and putting up walls is not good for growing big because no Internet company, however powerful it may be, can monopolize the traffic on the Internet with its own websites - the majority of the traffic is always fall outside its own websites.
Moreover, new comers will exercise the power of openness to challenge the success of existing players. One of the most successful products of Google is the omnipresent Adsense, but Google has been threatened first by Facebook, which took the lead to open its platform, and later by MySpace, which was the first to open up users' profiles. They have unsettled both Yahoo! and Google. More openness leads to greater competition.
[+] Technological innovation is a key catalyst.
The first-generation Internet aggregates and opens up "content;" typical examples are portals like Yahoo!, and issues concerned around copyrights, trading of content and the transformation of patterns of mass communications. The second-generation Internet aggregates and opens up personal relationships; typical examples are social network websites like MySpace, and issues concerned around privacy, property rights of personal data and the transformation of patterns of interpersonal communications.
A key catalyst of all the changes is technological innovation, such as standardization of data exchange and standardization of applications interoperability. The former refers to the prevalence of document (e.g. XML) exchange standards and the later the sophistication of Web Service. The former enables users to insert content of one website to other websites; the latter allows users to embed a function module of one website to other websites.
10 years ago, when a portal wanted to use the content of a certain media company, both parties would need to go through a lengthy process of program development and docking. Now, website operators share their content in standard RSS format freely. When this becomes a common practice, the barriers to content exchange are instantly pulled down, and content may flow more rapidly on the Internet.
The concept of open platform, first raised by Facebook, is to allow applications of other websites to be embedded on Facebook. On the other hand, the idea to open users' profiles, first brought up by MySpace, is to enable users to embed their personal profiles onto other websites. The mode of the former is like "one-stop shopping"; the latter is more like "take out" - portable personal profile.
Furthermore, the idea, initiated long ago, to integrate various login ID's for different websites into a universal one, has been back to the talk again. The Internet world is sure to become more transparent with data flowing faster and content and functions among websites more integrated. It will affect the closer integration of industry chains, the decline of old business giants and the emergence of new ones, disputes over privacy issues and so on.
Openness is a path of no return, but where is it going to take us?
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Prev : New Landscape in China's Telecom Market (8) WAP Sector Is Slowing Down
Next : Openness, where is it going to take us? (2)
- Today in History
Openness, where is it going to take us? (1) - 2008/11/09
The Web 2.0 Revolution (10) the Big Future of Web 3.0 - 2006/11/05
How the two classes represented in Web 2.0 websites determines the websites' business model.
[+] Class barrier in the brick-and-mortar world
As the core of Web 2.0 is community, which is a topic related to sociology, we may need to talk about the concept of upper-class and lower-class societies. It is an important concept because how the two classes are reflected in Web 2.0 websites would determine how websites should shape their business models.
The two classes mentioned above can be associated with "white-collar" and "blue-collar" classes according to the nature of work, or "non youth (particularly those at work)" and "youth (those at school)" with respect to age.
Please pardon me if such definition appears a bit too rough. I do not intend to work out an exact definition, as it does not make much sense here. The distinction mentioned above may be imperfect but is easy to understand and practical for observation.
In the real world, the blue-collar and the white-collar classes do not usually mingle with each other. They do not belong to each other's social networks. In particular, young people are often seen as a special group. They do not care about mortgage or car loans as adults do, and they have their unique consumption behaviors.
Social classes determine our social networks, because our daily life decides the topics we would be interested in, and these topics are critical in our social network. The patterns are attached to us and have direct influence on what class of people we would share sympathetic responses with on Web 2.0 websites.
To put it simply, is there any social networking website similar to MySpace that can attract people of every class in the society? Moreover, since the ultimate goal of Web 2.0 is to build up the connections among people, then is it possible to break the class barrier in the real world so that exchanges between different classes can become possible in virtual world?
[+] Virtual communities are where people with similar attributes get together and share feelings
A magazine editor, a 35 female with a son, has just started to Blog on a social networking website. It is not easy for her to find people on SNS website at her age. She feels uncomfortable about the photos of young and beautiful people appearing on the homepage of the site.
She is not sure who are reading her baby-nursing diary. Are the visitors really interested or they just drop in by chance? Once she got a request to add her to the Friend List, and she found out it was sent by an 18 year-old guy. She has no idea what to talk about with him.
I believe that many people have similar experience of bumping into some gathering place of a unique group or class of people without staying for too long. Web 2.0 communities have their own characteristics. As I said many years ago: communities are where people with similar attributes get together and share feelings.
Despite that there are few exchanges between upper and lower classes, still they belong to the same society. The challenge for Web 2.0 operators is to first attract different classes of people and then distinguish them through proper guidance, so that they can form their respective communities they should belong to.
However it is so difficult that many Web 2.0 operators consciously or subconsciously choose to focus on a specific class in their operation. This has great impact on the websites' style and business model. I illustrate the characteristics of the two classes of netizens below:
For example, social networking websites like Linkist are targeted at white-collar class. Such websites do not attempt to charge their users as they are reluctant to pay, even though they are better off. Affordability is one thing, and the willingness to pay is another. Fortunately, advertisers are interested in this group of users.
[+] Impact of social classes on business model
I suppose you, my dear reader, access the Internet from home or office rather than from an Internet cafe, and live in some big city like Beijing or Taipei. You actually have no idea about how people away from big cities get onto the Internet.
People of different social classes are used to their specific ways of thinking. Therefore we can find a certain niche market for a certain class. If you look into Alexa's website traffic ranking in Taiwan, you'll find ek21.com outdoing many well-known websites.
This website provides the so-called Avatar services, including chat-rooms, voice chatting, personal web-pages, personal web space and icons and so on, which are all potentially profitable services. If you look closer, you will find out that active users on this website are mostly those you don't usually associate with, such as waiters, drivers, part-timers, and people living outside metropolitan cities.
Before the emergence of Web 2.0 website startups, ek21.com has been making money for years by charging users. Of course most of its users do not pay, but still it has enough paying users to sustain itself very well.
Hard to imagine, isn't it? Because you are a white-collar worker unwilling to pay, it is difficult for you to understand the behaviors of the lower-class people. These people spend money out of impulse. As long as your offering is attractive and does not cost much, you can siphon money from their pockets. However, advertisers are not interested in these people.
The population of the lower-class society is huge, and it is even more so in China. There are some very profitable Internet companies thrive on providing service to the lower-class people, such as qq.com. This company has more than 400 million accounts, and their major revenue source is user charges.
[+] Consumption behaviors of the lower class
If your Web 2.0 website is targeted at lower-class (ex. students or younger people), but you are putting efforts on advertising sales, then I have to tell you that you have missed an important revenue stream: user charges.
What services can you charge users for? Look at qq.com and ek21.com, and you'll find easy answers. The point is to sell virtual items rather than sell real world products electronically. The latter is against the nature of Web 2.0. In Web 2.0, it is interpersonal interaction that can help you make money.
If you want to know more about the other class, try online games. A few years ago, through playing a then very popular online game "legend," I got to know truck drivers, beetle nut girls, housewives and gangsters - people I would never have the chance to know otherwise.
Many of these people do not have an email account; they access the Internet at an Internet cafe, have few ideas about what Google is, and never use MSN. Their favorite online activities are playing games and chatting. This is a blue-collar market, which is beyond your imagination.
Similarly in China, young people, students, laborers and residents in towns and small cities consist of the biggest group of users in the market. These people log on the Internet at the Internet cafes where they can play games or chat at just RMB 1 per hour.
In small cities where there is little entertainment, online games and chatting can serve as some kind of affordable leisure activities. Any Web 2.0 website which can seize the mass lower-class population is sure to succeed. Even though these people do not make much money, they tend to spend money out of impulses and they are quick payers.
[+] Break the class barrier
Web 2.0 entrepreneurs are often constrained by the barrier of their class background. When developing online communities, very often they can only base on the life style of the class they are familiar with. Most people cannot do business targeted at a different class of people who live a different life.
Yet, many Web 2.0 entrepreneurs confined themselves within an even smaller circle. I once told a startup entrepreneur that it did no good to maintain the elite atmosphere in his website. My suggestion to him was to develop a product that is aimed to be very popular in the market but disgusted by famous Bloggers.
In the US where there are over 100 million online users, it takes as few as 100 recommendations to digg a bookmark onto the front-page of the famous social bookmark website del.icio.us. This is pseudo democracy, which is an exclusive game within a bunch of elites.
Things like RSS, Tag, Trackback, Wiki, Widget are nonsense created by elites in the upper-class society. When I first saw Web 2.0 technical documents, I thought these things should all go to the trashcan because they were too perplexing for the public.
They may not be the root cause for class barriers in the virtual society, but they are surely responsible for making them more difficult to cross. They keep the elites within a wall from the general public, which may lead to restrictions on business.
These techniques are still too primitive to be generally accepted by either upper or lower class societies. To make Web 2.0 more accessible, we may need to hide these things or package them in a more friendly way.
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Prev : Web 2.0 Think Again (1) It's All about Relationships Next : Web 2.0 Think Again (3) A Reason to "accost" Someone Online
- Today in History
Web 2.0 Think Again (2) Upper-class Society and Lower-class Society - 2007/05/27
Web 2.0 Think Again (1) It's All about Relationships - 2007/05/20
Brief Study at Portable Multimedia Player (PMP) - 2005/05/29
I see the light of hope: this could be used to have people subscribe to newsletter.
[+] Another way to replace email marketing
When email becomes a very unreliable communication tool, is there any effective way to distribute information besides RSS? Look into your daily life, are there any other common communication tools?
You may immediately think of Instant Messenger (IM). Yes, in this prospering Internet age, everyone has at least one IM open on his desktop. In some sense, the use of IM even has replaced email.
Just think, if you can inform your clients via MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger as soon as your website has new products or new services to be released. It could be much more efficient than email or RSS.
For emails and RSS, they have to wait for people to receive them. However, if you send information through IM, a message box will pop up directly on the user's desktop. Normally, people will take a glance at the IM message that pops up while leaving email unread for a while.
In August 2006, when I was thinking hard about the alternative solution to the newsletter marketing, MSN Messenger came up to his mind very soon. Almost every white collar was using it, and the user group was pretty much the same with that of Digital Wall. I then started to look for a feasible plan.
[+] The possibility to use MSN Bot
The most awkward way is to register an MSN Messenger account and ask the newsletter subscriber to add this account into his MSN Messenger contact list. Each time the website is updated, messages with the URL of new articles will be sent to those readers.
But that will bring about several problems: 1) Obviously, the messenger contact list is going to be extremely long. I have over 140,000 readers. But what is the maximum number of contacts Microsoft allows? It is not possible there is no such a limit, isn't it? 2) It's never going to happen to send IM messages to readers manually! How much time will that costs! 3) If I send out thousands of notification messages to subscribers within a certain period of time, how could it be possible that Microsoft's servers would not block me as a spam message publisher?
Many people may know that such kind of IM has robots, so does MSN Messenger, which is called 'MSN Bot'. MSN Bot is actually a program-controlled account. You may chat with it after you add such account into your own MSN Messenger contact list.
Some MSN Bots have rich functions. For example, if you ask it an English word, it will give the translation in other language. And some other MSN Bots can do map searching, etc.
Microsoft also encourages the development of Bot. If you are interested, you can take a look at this interesting MSN Bot developing contest:
https://www.robotinvaders.com/main/Default.aspx
I see the light of hope: this could be used to have people subscribe to newsletter.
[+] Limitations by using MSN Bot
Website operators can release MSN Messenger accounts which are actually MSN Bot programs. Subscribers then add that kind of account to their MSN Messengers. Message publishing is accomplished by sending messages to everyone's IM by the program.
However, that solution is not perfect. Microsoft still blocks large amount of message publishing. Sending messages separately in separate hours may be a way to get around. However, problems still exist when the number of readers is huge, because it might be a week later when the last reader receives the message.
It then comes to my mind that, would logon notification work instead of IM message publishing? As we all know that MSN Messenger will give out notification when contacts log on. Therefore, as long as operators set up logon and logoff time schedules for the MSN Bot, subscribers will be notified automatically.
The effect is much worse than sending messages directly. Since Microsoft still has maximum limit on the number of contacts, this method is not suitable for the case of large number of subscribers. If those limitations could not be solved, this method will be restricted.
It is still possible to get around the limitations posted on the amount of MSN message publishing and the number of contacts. In fact, Microsoft has special authorized enterprises across the globe. As long as operators pay them for sending large number of messages, those limitations could be overcome. However, small websites need cheaper solutions.
[+] The twilight for IM marketing
Either developing MSN Bot or paying for sending messages is beyond the capability of ordinary website operators. At least the cost is much higher than the relatively low-cost email marketing. However, the situation is changed with the advent of Microsoft Windows Live Alerts.
This service is for the content subscription service through Windows Live Messenger (the former MSN Messenger). For example, the user will be informed by the Messenger when MSNBC news is updated.
Windows Live Alerts：http://alerts.live.com
Subscribers can set up time slots to keep from beiing disturbed by messages during work. They can also set messages to be forwarded automatically to their email boxes when they're offline. Finally, the role of IM has been shifted from a communication tool to a content publishing tool.
If you are a content provider, you can apply to become a Microsoft content publisher in order to be assigned a unique subscription URL. By simply clicking the URL, users will get into the subscription process and receive messages from you.
The instructions for how to become a content publisher can be found at: http://signup.alerts.live.com
This service is still on test. Therefore, all applications are sent to the U.S. headquarters. Processing one application needs a little time. It's not known yet whether there is any limit for the number of subscribers allowed for individual content providers.
[+] The Fourth Generation of Internet marketing: Rights in the users' hands
We can imagine that content subscription through IM will increase rapidly. We are more excited to see that Internet companies have opened such platform for website or Blog operators. IM will become the channel for the new generation of content aggregation and publishing.
If you run an eCommerce site, as long as people are willing to subscribe to your Windows Live Alerts, why not sending out discount information through this channel? Of course, it will become more competitive because every website runner can send messages to Internet users through it.
Internet marketing has evolved to its fourth generation with RSS and IM subscription as the major tools. We should keep in mind that from the first to the fourth generation, the power of choice has been gradually transferred to Internet users' hands, and that is an everlasting marketing law in the Internet age.
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Prev : The Fourth Generation of Internet Marketing (2) RSS Tracking Next : The Mist of 3G in China (1) 3G Makes No Profit
- Today in History
The Fourth Generation of Internet Marketing (3) IM Marketing - 2007/01/07
"The personalized RSS Feed subscription URL" is the ultimate solution to the issue of user tracking.
[+] The preciseness challenge for RSS subscription marketing
As a matter of fact, RSS subscription marketing is not able to track users' activities because of its open feature. Currently, most of website operators provide open RSS Feed URLs that could be obtained and added to the reader software by everyone.
The idea of one-to-one marketing, the most advocated personalized marketing in the Internet age, thus collapses because website operators are not able to identify subscribers, not mention to track and analyze their post-subscription behavior. That is the preciseness challenge for RSS subscription marketing.
Before we find solutions to that problem, let's look back at how previous Internet marketing tracks subscribers. First of all, newsletter subscribers have to leave their email addresses or register to become members. Therefore we have the basis to identify users: user name or email address.
When a website operator sends out newsletters or marketing emails, the typical way is to insert a transparent image in the email in order to track whether the user has opened this email. When the image is displayed on the user's screen, the server on the operator's end will create an access record.
The image is imperceptible since it's transparent. Actually, the user's email address or user name has already been sent back to the server at the moment when the image is displayed. Therefore, the website operator knows which user has opened this email.
After identifying who has opened this email and comparing with the user's registration information, it is not a problem at all for the website operator to obtain information such as the gender ratio of the user group, its age distribution, even previous website shopping records of the user, etc.
[+] The tracking method of traditional email marketing
In addition, the email sent out may have many links in it, which in fact may carry the reader's personal identification information such as the user's name or email address. When the reader clicks on these links, the operator will know which member has clicked on which link.
Therefore, it is completely possible to analyze which members open the marketing emails after they receive them, which links they click on and what they do on the website. The similar system can even track how many times the reader forwards the email to others.
For a user of the Internet, the above sounds horrible, doesn't it? Such things are taking place in your daily life but you are just not aware of them. However, current anti-spam mail systems are becoming smarter. They start to help you filter those images that contain tracking technologies.
At the beginning, the anti-spam mail technology is used to get rid of spam mails. But nowadays, even the most honest website operators are severely impacted. Sometimes, even the registration confirmation email or inquiry email for recovering the user's forgotten password could not be delivered, not mention those marketing emails.
RSS is an emerging way to keep in touch with users. But its anonymity bothers operators a lot. However, operators are still able to track users' reading behavior as long as they make some changes to the RSS subscription method.
The key point, which I believe, is called "personalized RSS Feed URL".
[+] Introducing "personalized RSS Feed"
You can find the typical open RSS Feed on many websites, such as:
Digital Wall (English version): http://english.digitalwall.com/rss20/rss_eng.xml
Obviously, this kind of RSS subscription website doesn't have personal identification information. When 30,000 users subscribe to the above websites through their RSS reader software, the operator cannot tell who they are.
If the URL of RSS Feed is changed to:
http://english.digitalwall.com/rss20/rss_eng.may@yahoo.com.xml
Do you notice that I added a personal identification information - email address in the RSS Feed URL? In other words, "personalized RSS Feed URL" is the ultimate solution to the issue of user tracking, that is, to issue each person a different RSS Feed.
Website operators should use the personalized RSS Feed URL instead of the open one. Those who want to become subscribers have to register as a member or leave email addresses in order to obtain the unique RSS Feed. It is up to the user to choose from email subscription or personalized RSS Feed.
Website operators might be afraid. Will that establish an obstacle to subscription? I have to point out that operators used to ask users to register membership or leave their email addresses to become subscribers. What is the difference from the personalized RSS Feed?
It's easier for the website operators who already have newsletter subscribers or members to transit from email subscription to RSS subscription. By creating a unique RSS subscription URL for each user, the operator can inform the user of this option every time when he logs in.
The subsequent analysis of users' reading behavior is similar to that of email marketing. As long as the user is identified, it is easy to perform any analysis. So far, a RSS advertising market is emerging: to insert advertisement in RSS Feed according to the user's identification information.
[+] The privacy issue
The above proposal might be rejected by fundamentalists who think that it violates the idea of RSS open message publishing. Years ago, when emails were used as spam mails for the first time, fundamentalists reacted drastically, but spam mails became part of our daily life at last.
In fact, most things prevail out of commercial demand. It has been at least seven years since website operators started to do user analysis through their email reading behavior, not mention that Amazon started very early to analyze users' shopping habits through their website surfing behavior long time ago.
Will that violate the right of users' privacy? It is the same to ask whether the email tracking technology violates the right of privacy. Now that the former has existed for such a long time, probably the latter will develop rapidly as long as there is strong commercial demand.
The difference is that basically the control is retained in readers' hand with RSS subscription. As long as readers find out that the content is not good or the advertisement is too much or even the update is too frequent, they can keep themselves from disturbance by simply unsubscribing from the reader software. This feature will constrain operators who use RSS marketing not to abuse it.
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Prev : The Fourth Generation of Internet Marketing (1) RSS Marketing Next : The Fourth Generation of Internet Marketing (3) IM Marketing
- Today in History
The Fourth Generation of Internet Marketing (2) RSS Tracking - 2006/12/24
Dream of "Digital Furniture" Store - 2003/12/28
Is there still any reliable way to distribute information in the disordered world of Internet?
[+] Emails are not reliable
In a busy office, Chen is confirming with the client on the phone whether the price list has been received which is just sent by fax. Fax as an outdated technology is not so reliable. Loss of documents happens from time to time. Telephone follow-up is therefore necessary.
Meanwhile, Li, who sits next to Chen, is apologizing on the phone to the client, because he had thought the client had received the email he sent out, but obviously the client does not. The client is outraged. Li ensures that the email has already been sent out. Although feeling aggrieved, Li has to make apology.
Ms. Zheng, who sits behind, has just purchased a purse from the net. The browser shows the transaction is successfully completed, but she still has not received the confirmation email from the online shopping site. She calls the customer service, they send the email again, but she still fails to receive it.
Secretary Tao wants to subscribe to several newsletters to learn more industry knowledge. The website indicates that the registration won't be successful until she clicks the link in the confirmation email. But she does not receive it even after waiting for the entire afternoon. So, she wants to change the email address, but is not allowed to login to do so because she has not obtained the membership yet.
The company's IT manager has just sent out an email, stating that the anti-spam mail system he recently brought in performs extremely well, and saves a lot of money for the company to process spam mails. The others are going to an uproar at that, because bunches of their emails have been filtered by the system.
[+] Worries of website operators
Ironically, people who purchase anti-spam software to get rid of the increasing spam mails often find friends' emails in the spam mail box. The software is useless if the user reduces its sensitivity, because by doing so, he has to filter hundreds of spam mails by hand every day.
From the perspective of the website operator, the traditional website design is based on the principle of 'emails are going to be received'. However, now they have to reconsider the website design and additional service costs under the assumption that emails could not be received.
I used to see an shopping website teaching users how to set up the white list function in their Yahoo! email box to receive member newsletters and marketing messages from the website. The power and effect of marketing has been largely reduced by doing so, because few people will bother to set up that function.
Realizing that email as a way of Internet marketing is doomed to fade away, I have studied the ranking methodology of search engines since early 2005, and wrote three articles entitled "The Third Generation of Internet marketing: Search Engine Marketing" in April of the same year, and used the skills in those articles till now.
Improving the ranking on search engines will help websites to constantly attract visits. But that is only helpful to obtain new clients. For the old ones, email is still an important tool, but becoming increasingly ineffective. It is really worrying to see the reach rate of the newsletter keeps going down.
[+] Microsoft IE 7.0 paves the way for the prevalence of RSS
The first generation of Internet marketing is the purchase of the website banner advertisement starting from 1998. The second generation refers to the email marketing coming afterward, while the third generation is called search engine marketing. Then what else to do after all of the three approaches have been used up?
Or I should ask in this way: in such a disordered Internet, is there still any reliable way to distribute information? I used to count on the newly emerging dissemination method - RSS. My website - Digital Wall - started to provide RSS subscription in 2004. Currently, the pageview of RSS almost accounts for half of that of the website.
In spite of that, RSS is still a subscription method difficult to explain, and needs to install special reader software. It sounds difficult to expect ordinary readers or consumers to download and install certain software in order to subscribe to newsletter.
In addition, I think that the user interface of RSS is a big issue. In the instant when the visitor clicks the 'RSS' or 'XML' icon, the XML markup language pops up, and that is too overwhelming to make the subscription intuitive.
The good news is that Microsoft IE 7.0 has embedded RSS subscription function and provides more user-friendly interface and gets rid of the long strings of XML. With the gradual update of the browser version, users will no longer need to download and learn how to use additional readers.
[+] Those who can analyze RSS users will grasp business opportunities
Although the subscription procedure of RSS is not so intuitive, website operators at least do not need to write user instructions for different RSS readers, instead they can only provide the illustration for IE 7.0. Therefore, operators should be prepared with the advent of IE 7.0 as soon as possible.
It can be seen that, for website operators, RSS subscription will gradually replace email. While for users, RSS is a way to regain the right of use, because they can receive the latest messages without leaving any information on the website.
However, that brings a new problem for website operators. Before, receivers' activities could be traced by the hyperlinks embedded in the email, such as whether they kept shopping on the website, whether they were male or female, how old they were, etc.
Since RSS is based on open subscription, registered members do not need to leave any information. Therefore, operators are not able to know who the subscribers are, not mention to analyze their activities after receiving new messages. Operators are nearly uninformed, because they can only measure the result of the marketing on the basis of RSS pageview.
If any website operator could solve the issue of RSS subscriber behavior analysis regarding to Internet marketing and website operation, they will grasp huge business opportunities, because the email marketing has faded away. In a user-as-king era prompted by browsers, RSS will become the new mainstream.
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Prev : Great Future of Wireless Broadband (4) WiMax, 3G and 4G Next : The Fourth Generation of Internet Marketing (2) RSS Tracking
- Today in History
The Fourth Generation of Internet Marketing (1) RSS Marketing - 2006/12/17
Internet and Books (2) the Supply for Content Exceeds the Demand - 2005/12/11
VoIP (4) Dual-network Handsets Will Die of Subsidies - 2004/12/19
VoIP (3) Phone Number Is Vital - 2004/12/12
Web 2.0 is not the end of the revolution; it is but an evolution.
[+] Web 2.0 is a confusing term
On the topic of Web 2.0, I have written 10 series articles, spanning the areas of Internet media, search engine, online communities and electronic commerce. I elaborate my thoughts on Web 2.0 thoroughly with the axis on the idea that the declining cost of storage of bandwidth will trigger changes when it continues to drop to a critical level.
In this last article I would like to point out a simple fact that, for me, there is no such a thing as Web 2.0 in the world. The source of the confusion, which has become even more ambiguous when there are so many people in the world so eager to give it an explanation, lies in its version number.
The appearance of 2.0 easily leads people to mistake that it is a completely different thing from Web 1.0, and to ignore that there may also be versions like Web 1.7354 or Web 1.212 in between these two. It misleads people to think that web 2.0 is a Revolution but not Evolution.
This is why Web 2.0 is but a transition but not an end of some kind of revolution. As nobody can clarify the causes and effects and even the direction of future developments, it does not bring too many benefits to us by using this term.
[+] The survival condition for Internet services: Cost
Along the course of Internet development, many new things have appeared, and managed to survive, with the decline of Internet bandwidth and computer storage cost. Many innovations may have been brought up long before the year of 2000, but they didn't make it to survive or succeed because of the lack of a favorable cost condition.
Now the operators have found that they can buy bandwidth and storage several times as much as what they used to get with the same money, and now they can supply services, in great quantities, which they may not be able to provide even with huge investment. An example is the 1GB email service by Google. This is the first type of typical responses.
For free personal homepage and photo album service appearing in the early time, once abandoned by portals because of the unbearable burden of high bandwidth cost after the year of 2000, they are now in mass supply in the form of Blog similar to the old personal homepage service. There is now a favorable cost condition for the emergence and popularity of Blog.
Broadband access is getting more popular among Internet users, and users can get several times the bandwidth they used to get with the same amount of money. As such, users are become more willing to use more sophisticated services that demands higher bandwidth and involve more interaction. There are still cost conditions for users to accept certain types of services.
[+] Cost shifted back to Internet users
It is not smart for website operators to only thinking about providing services that consume a lot of bandwidth. The real smart operators will think about how to shift the cost of high-bandwidth services back to users. As such, we've seen some B2C services turning to the C2C model.
One most striking example is the Internet phone service provided by Skype, which shifts the part of the service that consumes the most bandwidth back to users by enabling them to connect to each other directly. The operational cost has thus been greatly reduced, which has drastically changed the cost structure of and the dynamics in the telecom industry.
The reason why Wikipedia can challenge the traditional Encyclopedia Britannica is that it has shifted the huge burden, the compilation of the encyclopedia, back to Internet users themselves. This is the typical challenge posed to B2C by C2C in the so-called Web 2.0 way.
Even software developers are taking this trend seriously and are starting to take advantage of it. Microsoft, Google and Yahoo! rush to open their website API, hoping to attract programmers in the world to develop applications in accordance with their standards. It is exactly to throw back the software development cost back to the Internet.
[+] Cost conditions for web-based software to prevail
Speaking of software, there are more and more software companies putting efforts in developing web-based software. In the past, consumers used to buy packaged software to install on their home PCs, now they only need to connect to vendors' websites to proceed with similar functionalities via their browsers without buying packaged software or any installation.
Among various web-based tools, those which provide functionalities similar to Microsoft Office receive most attention. Many websites provide registered users with functionalities similar to Word or Excel that can be operated via browsers; the most striking example is Google's Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
At the moment, these web-based browser-interfaced software tools are given for free, but there will certainly be for-pay services. For example, versions with less, simpler functions may be given to users free of charge and subsidized by advertising revenue, but premium versions are to be provided on a monthly subscription basis. For developers, it means that they can sell software online now.
AJAX technology provides better interactivity and similar experience on a browser as that with conventional software. It also allows multiple users to edit the same document at the same time, enabling efficient communication. It was but it didn't hit the market many years ago when Microsoft put it at the core of its browser system. Why?
The answer is still the cost! For many years, software companies sell packaged software through distributors. Now because of "the declining cost of computer storage and network bandwidth", web-based versions will be cheaper than packaged ones in terms of selling costs. There are cost conditions for a product to become a market success.
[+] Take the advantage of low interpersonal communication cost
When the bandwidth becomes cheaper for users, the cost of interpersonal communication, whether between acquaintances or strangers, will consequently fall. This paves the way for social network websites to take off. We finally come to realize that "the cost to find a certain type of people gets a lot lower than before", which is sure to arouse dramatic industrial changes.
When the cost of interpersonal communication keeps dropping, the transaction cost would be falling down too. By this it means that the intermediaries who had played a role in facilitating the meeting and transactions between two parties are no longer able to charge high fees for the matching service.
This is why eBay has posed a threat to traditional B2C business, and classified websites like Craigslist are to encroach on the market of auction websites like eBay. As the direction of the Internet development is clearly towards lower transaction cost, there will be little room for intermediaries to monopolize and charge for transaction information.
As for e-commerce companies, there is no need to fear or doubt, because the key underneath the transformational force has remained the same thing: cost. The only thing they need to think through is how to take the advantage of the growing user base to drive the cost down and to create more value.
[+] What does Web 3.0 look like? When will it arrive here?
For those who are not familiar with the Internet industry, they may base their understanding on media reports and associate Web 2.0 with gossips and online dating, online diaries and photo sharing, getting to know more people through social network websites, or hearsays about big buyout bids for some Web 2.0 website.
I am always in the belief that terms like RSS, Blog, SNS, and Wiki describe only the appearances; they are the effects, not the causes, of the changes. Allow me to reiterate that "the key is always the cost," and the true spirit of the so-called Web 2.0 is:
The root of the Internet revolution is but one thing - the ever declining cost of digital storage and transmission bandwidth. Socially, it is reflected on "the continuously falling cost of interpersonal communication; on the business side", it is "the gradual disintegration of enterprises which used to thrive on their monopoly of capital and information".
I have been asked by some reporters to predict the possible scenario of Web 3.0. All I can say is that, just imagine what will happen to the world when the above mentioned cost is approaching zero, and you may get to see some look of Web 3.0.
As to when Web 3.0 will arrive, I can give you a sure answer. It is when the fiber reaches each household or 4G wireless broadband network prevails everywhere, when you can get bandwidth several times as much as that offered by ADSL or 3G services now. It will surely arrive in five to ten years time.
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- Today in History
The Web 2.0 Revolution (10) the Big Future of Web 3.0 - 2006/11/05
The B2C model won't disappear, so we need to think about how business patterns are likely to change when the cost of bandwidth, of online user communication more precisely, is in a downward trend.
[+] C2C eCommerce is in line with the Web 2.0 spirit
Among all the various applications rising with the diffusion of the Internet, eCommerce, particularly the B2C model, has the least to do with the Internet. While a consumer does place an order online, the vendor conducts the following procedures completely in the physical world - there is little to do with the Internet.
So we finally come to realize that Amazon is actually a retailer. It focuses on reducing stock and operational cost, lowering the cost of goods through bulk purchases, and lifting sales by promotion campaigns, just like any traditional retailers. Its gross margin is practically at the same level of the traditional retailing business - nothing much to expect here.
On the other hand, C2C model is more relevant to the Internet world. What operators like eBay provide was simply a transaction platform for numerous small buyers and sellers. Apparently, the model of e-market, which is formed by gathering many individual users, can expand at a much faster rate.
This was the time when Internet forerunners first learned about the power of the Internet. In the C2C model, the most costly problems, i.e. inventory stocking and logistics, of the B2C model is thrown back to small buyers and sellers.
By matching buyers and sellers, B2C operators are able to collect fees of posting items or advertisements. Online auction services have been in full bloom these days. At the time when it's just sprouted, there was no such term as Web 2.0, but who would say it's not Web 2.0?
[+] Craigslist replaces eBay, not newspaper classifieds
After ten years of development of the Internet, users now are able to get more bandwidth with less money. This is beyond question. As discussed earlier, when the cost of bandwidth drops to a critical point, new intermediaries will arise and old ones be challenged. Let's never forget the true meaning of Web 2.0:
The root of the Internet revolution is but one thing - the ever declining cost of digital storage and transmission bandwidth. Socially, it is reflected on "the continuously falling cost of interpersonal communication; on the business side", it is "the gradual disintegration of enterprises which used to thrive on their monopoly of capital and information".
Following the step of auction websites, classifieds websites such as Craigslist in the U.S. has become a popular new paradigm. The success factor of Craigslist is that, it shares with users the savings obtained from the declining bandwidth cost over the past decade.
Ebay's users will be charged for making transactions on it, but most Craigslist's users don't need to pay for their classifieds posted on the website. Yet Craigslist, a high-traffic C2C website, can still survive without being beat down by the massive bandwidth consumption. This tells us how much the bandwidth cost has dropped these days that it has affected the way business is done on the Net.
Most reports about Craigslist center on its huge influence on traditional newspaper classifieds. Yet to me Craigslist is indeed a newer breed of intermediary which challenges the position of auctions websites like eBay, an once-new intermediary that took the place of traditional businesses many years ago.
[+] How the Web 2.0 spirit is infused into eCommerce
So, does it mean that all old B2C websites need to start doing C2C business in order to adapt to Web 2.0? Not at all. ON the contrary, this is exactly what we should avoid, because B2C model will not disappear. Instead we need to think about how the way of doing business may change when the bandwidth cost, or the cost of communication among Internet users, continues to fall.
Take the tourism for example. We all know that selling air tickets or tour packages online has been the most popular line of eCommerce. Yet we also know that a group tour can be a torture to many of us, because the tourist agency can only offer an ordinary tour plan with very few characteristics. It is almost impossible to offer a tailor-made package, since it is very costly to gather a group of people who have similar requirements to travel together.
Well, this is exactly where we see an opportunity for Web 2.0. The "declining cost of communication among people" has made it possible for an agency to find a group of similar interests and age to tour together.
Through proper execution, it is likely to find enough people who would like to join a tour, even for not very popular routes, in a very short time at a fairly low cost. This will lead to the downfall of discounted packaged tours and the rise of unique boutique tours. Who in the tourism business will be able to seize the power of web2.0?
[+] Apply Web 2.0 to reduce the cost of B2C eCommerce
B2C eCommerce is characterized by low gross margin similar to traditional retailing business, therefore B2C operators will care more about cost control than those running other types of websites. If the introduction of Web 2.0 services will only lead to the increase of bandwidth cost, then it's really not a good idea to go after Web 2.0.
Let's recall the case of eBay. Are there any things other than the costs logistics and warehousing that we can throw back to online shoppers? How can we make the best use of the trend of Web 2.0 to lower the operational cost in the name of consumer participation, and achieve a win-win situation for both operators and consumers?
Take the example of tourism mentioned above. Wiki applications may be very suitable for sharing individual travel experience. So, is it possible that a travel agency can reduce the number inbound calls for customer service and further lift its online sales through these applications that enable consumers to share their content voluntarily?
Here I would like to leave these questions to B2C eCommerce operators. If you still think that Web 2.0 means those terms like Blog, or RSS, or SNS, and you have no idea how these terms can be associated with your own business, then please allow me to remind you once again: the key is cost.
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Prev : The Web 2.0 Revolution (8) Transformation of the Telecom Industry Next : The Web 2.0 Revolution (10) the Big Future of Web 3.0
- Today in History
The Web 2.0 Revolution (9) New ECommerce - 2006/10/29
The Web 2.0 Revolution (8) Transformation of the Telecom Industry - 2006/10/22
Blogger, are you a producer or consumer?
[+] New economy brought forth by Blogs
There is a lot to talk about on the cultural dimension of Blogs, and in fact we've seen quite many smart discussions. Here, however, I would like to focus on the business model, as I always think that the economic activities play a primary role in our world. We need to find a way for Blogs to become sustainable.
At the time when the Internet was just to take off, there were free online forums and bulletin boards here and there. You made an application and you got an account for free. Nice and easy. After the burst of the Internet bubble, we started to see paying services. This time, it doesn't take long before we see paying Blog services. Obviously, service providers have become more experienced this time.
Together we see RSS readers rise along with Blog, free and paying alike. Also there are Blog search engines, Blog portals, Blog news websites, and people start to talk about how to market goods or sell advertisements via Blog. Doesn't it look familiar to the Internet revolution kindled by the browser wars in the old days?
The difference is that there are now a bunch of big-name companies on the Net, but even they don't want to take the risk of underestimating the influence of Blog. They rush on to launch free Blog services for users. Most of them see Blog services as an extension to their existing offerings with no plan to charge for these services, at least for now.
Interestingly, online diary service has been available in Taiwan for years even before the birth of the term" Blog". An online community website (love.youthwant.com.tw) hosted by YouthWant, a portal very popular among young students in Taiwan, have been offering an online diary service for members paying monthly fees; non-paying users can visit or subscribe to view the content. Is it possible for Blogs to copy this business model?
[+] It is passion that is to sustain Blogs
The core to the Blog phenomenon is passion. If it is nothing to do with making money and it takes a lot of efforts, then there is little chance that one can hang on to it for long, not to mention when it's even taking money out of your own pockets. If you are not someone who has lots of free time and deep pockets, you must have unfailing passion for it.
I write about trends and developments in technology every week since 1999. A lot of people in this field have tried the same but many quit within a year, the reason being: too busy at work; need to spend time with wife and children; too exhausted that all one wants to do at weekends is take a good rest. Even if you offer to pay these guys for their writings, they would just turn it down with a fatigued smile.
A persistent Blogger will normally undergo the following phases: (1) the Blogger gets started in a fit of passion; (2) Passion dying down yet the Blogger keeps on writing as a promise to himself; (3) the Blogger hangs on because of the commitment to the growing readership; (4) Writing has been internalized and becomes a belief or a habit. Any guess what? Most of the people fail to make it through Phase 2.
There are debris of deserted forums and personal websites everywhere on the Net, or the evidence of the intense but short-lived passion. The question is, Blogs too are websites where users gather together out of spontaneous ardor. Is it possible then that a Blog website can be developed into a Business?
First of all, it is absolutely unwise to overlook such kind of passion. Secondly, passionate people can be leveraged to become a business after some proper organization. This is why the world is packed with a variety of charities and non-profit organizations, and there are always people willing to devote their time and money to them.
However, these are after all organizations formed in the name of charity. If one day the Bloggers, who write diaries on the Internet without getting paid, find that their efforts are used by service providers for profit, what would they think?
[+] A confused production-marketing relation
The most famous Blog website in China, www.blogchina.com, attracts a group of IT elites, who regularly publish articles and criticizing current issues on it. Since last year, it has introduced commercial advertisements onto its website. Some of the users roared: "we are now their tools of the trade!"
To the Bloggers, the content, the result of their unpaid efforts, is not provided for the website operators to seek profits. Furthermore, there is a fundamental concern: Can there still be "neutrality" in Blog contents after the introduction of commercialization? Will Blog become another medium under the manipulation by advertisers at the end?
Let's put aside the dilemma of profit or principle, of survival or independence, and think. If the Blog service providers are really serious about making money, shouldn't they pay the Bloggers, the genuine producers in the science of economics, for their efforts?
No one can afford to keep a large number of in-house reporters to produce content in order to satisfy the consumption demands on the Internet. Yet Blog service providers see hundreds of thousands of Bloggers as free content producers. Is it fair not paying the producers?
Yet we see a paradox in the case of love.youthwant.com.tw, where members must pay monthly subscription to publish their diaries, which makes them "consumers" in every sense. The members are willing to pay for the service because they enjoy a sense of satisfaction and achievement to know that people are reading their writings. This is what they think about the paying service.
The website love.youthwant.com.tw packages the online community service with a game-like situation, which make the paying members feel interesting. Unlike advertising revenue, such kind of income comes directly from users. So, there is no issue of the neutrality of media - it is not a media service; it is a game.
There is no free lunch in the world. For a Blog website to become a business, the service providers must first resolve the paradoxical relations with its producers. To put it in a different way: is it possible that producers can have some kind of rewards to fuel their passion for writing, to encourage them to produce continuously? This is an issue that Blog service providers must address.
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Prev : Media, Community, and Blog (3) Deconstruct Blog Next : Media, Community, and Blog (5) The Power of Media
- Today in History
Predictions on China Internet Market (5) Search Engines - 2006/03/26
Media, Community, and Blog (4) Production-Marketing Relations - 2005/03/27
Media, Community, and Blog (3) Deconstruct Blog - 2005/03/20
Stop Internet Marketing (3) All Determination; No Distribution - 2004/03/21
3G Time Comes (3) SMS, Email and MMS - 2003/03/23
We can treat Blog as a "personal publishing system."
[+] Blog is about keeping a diary online.
"Blog" can be translated to Chinese as "Wang Zhi" (literally "online journal") semantically, or "Bu Lo Ge" phonetically. In China it is also known as "Bo Ke". If we follow the semantic translation, we can know that Blog is actually about writing journals via the Internet. You can keep your diary on a website that offers Blog functions.
What to write about then? Well, you can write whatever you feel like, from petty things in daily life, thoughts about work, gourmet's reviews, to dating experience and a great many. If you feel it's a bit unorganized this way, Blog websites also provide categorization facilities to help you arrange your articles. Some of them allow you to upload photos or to choose your favorite layout.
We can treat Blog as a "personal publishing system". All major news websites have a publishing system at the backend to allow editors to publish their news articles to the webpages of the websites. Blog websites provide such function to ordinary users so that they can publish their articles on the websites too.
Once you register an account on the website providing Blog service and select the layout your desire, you can start writing your own diary. This kind of free Blog website will usually attract a lot of people to write journals on it. These many journals will then be grouped into different categories, giving a sense of tribal units, which makes "Bu Lo Ge", meaning tribes in Chinese literally, a vivid translation.
There are also paying Blog services offering sophisticated facilities, huge capacity and personalized URL's. You can have functions originally designed for large-scale news websites with affordable monthly subscription. Seeing this, I cannot but sigh with envy: I could have spared a lot of efforts should Blog have been available at the time when I was writing the program of my personal website Digitalwall.com.
In fact, Digitalwall is a kind of Blog. Although there is no such term as Blog when my websites first appeared, if you put aside the technical issue, you'll find that they are absolutely a Blog whether in terms of practice or substance.
[+] The Blog spirit echoes to the calling of the me generation
This is a time of the "me generation", and "We the Media" is very much the embodiment of the time. Yet there is a difference about Blog. With Blog, people are not only free to speak whatever their want, but their words and ideas can be "published" onto the Internet, which has become a sort of mass media, in a very inexpensive way.
In the past, without being reported by the media, there is no way that your words and thought can be known to the world. The mass media even have the right to "interpret your words" and to "garble your statement". Now you don't need to cope with these reporters and intermediaries any more. You can write whatever you want to the world.
Blog also stands for a belief about life, the essence of which "I think, I write, and I reflect upon myself". This is the purpose of keeping a diary, and there is nothing extraordinary in it. Regular writing on the Net naturally prompts one to review and introspect oneself.
The beauty of Blog is that it allows users to give responses and to create links. Readers can voice their thoughts about your articles; links can be set up to connect two different Blogs. If you refer to someone's article in yours, you can build up links between these two through standardized procedures.
Are there other forms of Blogs in addition to diaries? The answer is definitely positive. Blog is a "personal publishing system" for individuals. Some Blog websites are operated as if they are news media. They release news articles regularly through the efforts of "volunteer reporters".
Usually Blogs offer RSS subscription. Once you have RSS reader installed and the RSS feeds of your favorite Blogs configured, the reader will capture the most updated articles for you. It is very much like email newsletter subscription, except that you don't need to leave your personal information even email address.
[+] Blog meets the criterion of Quality Content
The difference between a Blog and a traditional online forum is that the latter is similar to a "public hall" where anyone can come and talk. On the other hand, a Blog is more like "a private room"; you are welcome to pay a visit, and maybe give some opinions on the decor.
Compared with the casual chatting, small talking or even spamming in online char rooms or forums, the content on Blogs is at least the efforts of Bloggers, no matter they are good in style or not. The subjects of Blogs are of a wide variety; so that readers can easily find some things that they have feeling for. As it is "a private room" of the Blogger, s/he will surely pay more attention to writing.
Maybe we can say that the development of the Internet during these years has led to the maturation of standardization of technology and the decrease in bandwidth and storage cost, which has enabled individuals to create their own Internet media. These small websites may not be as fancy as big Internet media run by deep pockets, yet they are complete in every sense.
For Blog service providers, the whole websites were made possible by joint efforts, the content is finally qualified as attractive in some way. Yet there are still obstacles lying ahead. There are still costs of bandwidth, machines and equipment. Are they to be covered by selling advertisements or by subscriptions? These problems remain to be solved.
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Prev : Media, Community, and Blog (2) The Dream of New Media Next : Media, Community, and Blog (4) Production-Marketing Relations
- Today in History
Predictions on China Internet Market (5) Search Engines - 2006/03/26
Media, Community, and Blog (4) Production-Marketing Relations - 2005/03/27
Media, Community, and Blog (3) Deconstruct Blog - 2005/03/20
Stop Internet Marketing (3) All Determination; No Distribution - 2004/03/21
3G Time Comes (3) SMS, Email and MMS - 2003/03/23
