WICKED Wordpress Theme Generator - My New Favorite Tool

Yvo Schaap has created a WICKED Wordpress Theme Generator - literally allowing you to create a new WP theme on the fly.

If you’re like me…and short on time and dont want to mess with CSS - this would be a great tool to use if you pump out several wordpress sites over a weekend.

The Wordpress Theme Generator lets users create their own custom themes and layouts for Body Size, Sidebars, Menu and overall presentation; then download the files in Zip format for easy upload to their Wordpress blog.

Realtime features allow you to see what you’re making as you build it.

check it out

IDNs vs ASCII Domain Name Brand Protection

One thing that I see all the time lately is a company that has an older web 1.0 domain name like companname-fr.com or companyname.fr and yet, they fail to realize that the IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) version of their brand is still unregistered or even worse, it’s owned by someone else. IDNs are growing even more important for businesses, it’s really Local Search of Steroids, you have a person that speaks a certain language, searching from a certain location, and they already have certain expectations about the content that they find when they access the website. IE. if someone in Russia types in школы.com, they would expect to find information about “schools” in Russian.

I came across a thread at IDNforums that discussed this a little but, (it was actually about using “articles” like “EL or “L” in french names, but you’ll see where I am going here…

There are a few examples given where “articles’ are used in French domain names:
lemonde.fr
l-hotel.com
delamour.com

I want to take a closer look at l-hotel.com. This company does have a real usage for this domain as, l’hotel means “the hotel” in French, however this company, L’Hôtel, a large world-wide brand, fails to protect their brand from an IDN standpoint. Hence, take a look at L’Hôtel.com

– Now, if you’re IDN savvy, you’ll realize that the this domain is actually different, when it’s converted to Puny Code, www.xn--lhtel-7ta3296c.com. But the concept remains, if L’Hôtel really wanted to protect their brand, then they need to pay attention to the IDN version of their domain name.

Hotels.com
I will show you another example, and I’ll keep it very simple, but you’ll see that there are many more possible combinations than I use in the example.

Hotels.com owns hotels.fr - But, Do they own; hôtels.com (hotels in French) or hôtels.fr NOPE!

This will be a challenge for companies in the future, as they not only need to protect their brands from a .com perspective, but, in all CCTLDs and in close to 200 different languages. In many cases there may be several companies that can claim rights to the IDN version of a domain name and to a ccTLD version or a combo of the 2. Especially with generic words like “hotel.”

Venture Capital Activity: Technorati Buys Personal Bee, Akami Buys Red Swoosh, LinkedIN, Y Combinator

Technorati Buys Personal Bee

Technorati said Wednesday that it has acquired Berkeley-based Personal Bee, an online service which allows people to create their own personal sites using RSS feeds. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ted Shelton, founder of Personal Bee, will join Technorati as its VP of Business Development.

Akamai Buys Red Swoosh
Akamai Technologies said today that it is acquiring San Mateo-based Red Swoosh, a developer of client side technology for media distribution, in a deal worth $15M. Akamai said it purchased Red Swoosh in an all-stock merger transaction, and that it will use the acquisition to augment its services. Akamai said that Red Swoosh will be integrated into its existing engineering team in California.

LinkedIn Claims 10M Users
Palo Alto-based LinkedIn, the online social networking web site focused on business professionals, said today that it has reached 10 million users for the site. The company said that it is currently growing at the rate of over 130,000 members a week. LinkedIn provides social networking tools targeted at business users, and has received funding from Sequoia Capital, Grelock, Bessemer Venture Partners, and the European Founders Fund.

Y Combinator is Breaking VC Ground!

The Mercury News has a good description of how Y Combinator works:

Here’s how it works: twice a year, Y Combinator invites “hackers,” or programmers, to fill out an online application, outlining who they are and a business idea. One winning batch of teams is funded in winter and the other in summer. With Y Combinator’s help, each becomes a real company - one that is expected to create its product within three months. The amount of money Y Combinator gives each group - $5,000, plus an additional $5,000 per founder - is a pittance for what it asks in return, which is, on average, a 6 percent stake in their start-up. That money has to really stretch. Beyond their living and working expenses, it must also cover relocation costs, as the winter winners must relocate to the Bay Area and the summer winners to the Boston area.

Google to acquire DoubleClick for $3.1B

Seeking to expand its already well-honed ability to sell targeted Internet advertisements, online search leader Google Inc. said it has agreed to pay $3.1 billion in cash to acquire ad-management technology company DoubleClick Inc.

The two companies announced the deal after the markets closed Friday. The boards of both companies have approved the takeover, which is expected to close by the end of the year.

New York-based DoubleClick helps its customers place and track online advertising, including search ads, which Google — more than its nearest search competitors Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and Microsoft Corp. — has turned into an extremely lucrative business.

Shares of Mountain View-based Google rose 3 cents to $466.32 in after-hours trading. DoubleClick has been privately held since 2005.

The sellers are San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, along with JMI Equity and DoubleClick management.

Commentary:
From DoubleClick’s announcement of the exchange:

Using the new platform, publishers and other sellers make specific inventory available for purchase. Sellers define a minimum bid value - or “reserve price” - for the inventory and specify rules to restrict certain advertisers, formats and content. In parallel, buyers specify the inventory they wish to purchase, and the associated bid value for that inventory. They can also specify a rule to dynamically control the bid so that the bid price is automatically adjusted in line with inventory performance.

From the New York Times:

DoubleClick, which was founded in 1996, provides display ads on Web sites like MySpace, The Wall Street Journal and America Online as well as software to help those sites maximize ad revenue. The company also helps ad buyers — advertisers and ad agencies — manage and measure the effectiveness of their rich media, search and other online ads.

DoubleClick has also recently introduced a Nasdaq-like exchange for online ads that analysts say could be lucrative for Google.

“Google really wants to get into the display advertising business in a big way, and they don’t have the relationships they need to make it happen,” said Dave Morgan, the chairman of Tacoda, an online advertising network. “But DoubleClick does. It gives them immediate access to those relationships.”

From Bloomberg

`Deep Pockets’

Google declined to give financial details for DoubleClick, whose headquarters are in the same building as its own New York offices. The purchase eclipses the $1.65 billion Google spent to buy video-sharing Web site YouTube in November and was 50 percent more than Hellman & Friedman had wanted. A person with knowledge of the talks said last month the firm may seek about $2 billion.

“The amount is mind-blowing,” said Richard Fetyko, an analyst at Merriman, Curhan and Ford in New York. Fetyko follows DoubleClick rival AQuantive Inc., which he rates buy and doesn’t own. “Apparently there was very competitive bidding. Microsoft has deep pockets, but apparently everything has its limits.”

Friday’s Trip Around the Blogosphere

Kathy Sierra’s - Creating Passionate Users
You really ought to check out Kathy Sierra’s recent post about “outspending vs. outteaching”.

Is Google Acquiring G.CN ?

The China Search Engine View blog writes:

[W]hen you search the whois here, you may find there is one item more, “Registrant Organization: 北京刘元和君咨询有限公司” (Jan Liu & Associates), the attorney for Google’s case of googel.com.cn and googel.cn. Has Google really got g.cn?
This looks pretty realistic to me – and I must say that it’s an interesting branding play for Google China!

Speaking of Google – Aaron Wall has a great discussion about Google being and invisible hand in online marketing .

Aaron takes a look at the perception of trusted advertisers and how that affects your marketing spend and budget.

Their newest ad unit is an unmarked text link ad, which only displays any ad notification AFTER people hover over the link. Publishers who refuse to sell links directly will publish the ads, and if they spread anything like AdSense does, what happens to links to commercial sites? What happens when virtually nobody is willing to link to a commercial site unless it is through Google? What happens when their affiliate payouts are not high enough to solicit a review? And what happens to those businesses when Googlers decide they want that market for themselves, like real estate?

Korean Video Site PandoraTV Closes $10 Million Financing

Sometimes billed as “the Korean YouTube,” PandoraTV has completed a second funding round of $10 million led by Silicon Valley-based DCM. Previous investors Altos Ventures, STIC International and Saehan Ventures also participated in the round. The funding will be used to support the company’s growth, expand its service offerings and finance the further build-out of its network infrastructure. PandoraTV also reported that David Chao, co-founder and general partner of DCM, has joined its board of directors.
The Seoul-based video sharing site was founded in October 2004. PandoraTV claims to have 12 million monthly uniques.

One aspect that differentiates PandoraTV from other video sharing sites is its concept of “personal TV stations” that allows users to post video clips, run their own TV shows, and even advertise products or services in each personal TV channel. Samsung Electronics and SK Telecom recently launched programming on PandoraTV’s viral service. Release
– The financing comes at an interesting moment for Korea’s entertainment industry. The Hollywood Reporter notes that one aspect of a Free Trade Agreement signed with the U.S. lifts restrictions on the programming of foreign content, while another steps up pressure on South Korean internet service providers to protect intellectual property.

Marketing to Young Hispanics

Hispanics now account for nearly 14% of the U.S. population, but only 3.2% of total advertising is spent on Hispanic media.
Wow! This leaves a lot of room for a few smart companies to swoop in and take advantage of this market!

The English language is gaining importance in marketing to Hispanics, but you should still consider using Spanish so that you don’t alienate a large percent of the Hispanic population. The key to your success may be in using both English and Spanish advertising depending on your local target demographic.

Younger Hispanic-Americans have assimilated into American society and are comfortable moving between English and Spanish life with regards to the content that they consume. An ad in English may effectively reach young Hispanics, while older and recent immigrant Hispanics often are staying with Spanish-language content.

I have consulted clients in high Hispanic population markets such as Miami and the Los Angeles area. I have learned that, overall, Hispanic consumers have certain predictable values. While not every Hispanic shares these values, they are common enough to note.

Hispanics tend to be:
Family-centric and their family member’s opinions count a lot!
Fashion driven
Brand consciousness
Loyal to retailers and brands
Open to referrals

So how can you tap into this market?

Develop a message that is relevant to the Hispanic audience that reflects their goals and values. Ignore the fact that you’re marketing to a different ethnicity and look at marketing principles that actually mean something. Cater to the language and lingo that is used in your target market.

Group shopping is common; this creates a unique shopping experience where you’re not just trying to market to 1 person, but rather an entire family or small group of friends. If you can offer something that gives the buyer an easy way to explain the pros/cons of your product, make that front-and-center!

Brand names are big! You’ll find that there are many loyal customers in the Hispanic market, often making their buying decisions solely on brand and their past experiences with that brand.

Trust is important; building long-term trust can make or break a sale. If you promise one thing today, make sure that your promise holds up when it’s time to close the sale.
Local Participation is often the “word of mouth” marketing that you need to make a sale. You don’t exactly have to fly into your target market territory, but participate on forums and blogs that your audience reads. Be Visible.

While many of these concepts sound simple, they are different for each culture that you market to. Remember that people have different needs and wants; you need to be able to figure out what those are and then provide an answer to those needs. Sometimes it takes a different approach that takes into consideration that culture’s buying habits and procedures.

Yahoo Launches Mobile Publisher Services

Yahoo Mobile Publisher Services are the front runner right now in the mobile search and development game. Take a closer look at the features that Yahoo! Mobile Publisher Services is offering.

The Yahoo! Mobile Publisher Services will go live today across 19 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, UK, US and Vietnam.

Yahoo! Mobile Ad Network

The Yahoo! Mobile Ad Network will allow mobile publishers to have syndicated advertising served on their mobile content and services. Publishers will be able to select the ad formats they want to have run, such as display, sponsored links, video or in-game placements.

By bringing together the global audiences of Yahoo!’s popular mobile services with those of participating publishers, Yahoo! will create a combined pool of valuable inventory. Yahoo! will use its leading global sales force and proven ad-serving technology to sell and serve this valuable inventory to leading advertisers.

Launch partners in the Yahoo! Mobile Ad Network include MobiTV, the global leader in mobile and broadband television and music services, Opera, the leading provider of Web browsers for mobile devices, and go2, the leading location-enabled mobile content network in the U.S. The first advertisements will go live in the second quarter of 2007. Yahoo! plans to expand the number of partners in the Yahoo! Mobile Ad Network over the coming months.

Yahoo! Mobile Content Engine

The Yahoo! Mobile Content Engine will enable publishers to bring their content to Yahoo!’s mobile audience. It will also help enable publishers who do not have a mobile site or only have a limited mobile offering to quickly distribute their content to consumers on their mobile phones.

The Yahoo! Mobile Content Engine will allow publishers to make their content, such as listings or articles, discoverable to consumers by integrating it into Yahoo! oneSearch. For example, a real estate company could publish a list of homes for sale, enabling a consumer to find them and get the detailed listing information they need all through Yahoo! oneSearch.

Yahoo! Mobile Media Directory

The Yahoo! Mobile Media Directory will allow publishers to make their mobile media content accessible directly through Yahoo! oneSearch. Publishers could submit a catalog of their content such as ringtones, games, video and applications.

Yahoo! Mobile Media Directory will combine Yahoo!’s editorial expertise, innovative search technology and the power of ratings and reviews from the Yahoo! community to drive discovery of mobile media. For example, a mobile game publisher could submit a list of their games, enabling a consumer to more easily discover a game, get relevant information like ratings and reviews all through Yahoo! oneSearch, as well as go to the publishers’ mobile site to get the game.

Yahoo! Mobile Site Submit

The Yahoo! Mobile Site Submit will allow publishers to provide information about their mobile site, such as a description and relevant tags, to ensure that their sites are accurately indexed and available to consumers through Yahoo! oneSearch. For example, a hotel could submit their mobile site, including description and tag, enabling weekend travelers to find their location and see if they still have rooms available through Yahoo! oneSearch.

Loren Baker over at the Search Engine Journal has a great compilation of Yahools Mobile publisher services that have recently been launched.

Are your Customers Actually Reading Your Newsletter?

Newsletters can be one the best ways to open up to a customer and gain important information about your customers that you can then use to sell them a product or service. Often times many businesses that I’ve consulted with for Search Marketing spend hours crafting a Newsletter and many more hours sifting through their email list to send out targeted emails. The problem is, how do you ensure that those customers are actually going to read that email?

Newsletters are tricky for 1 main reason; they’re a dime a dozen, you can probably find quite a few in your email box, or even wose, in your spam folder. How many people ACTUALLY READ a newsletter and come away from it not feeling like they were just SOLD something? This 1 reason is why so many people feel like their newsletter campaigns aren’t getting the ROI or buzz that they feel like they should have.

So what does an effective newsletter need to be successful?
Four concepts should be addressed in a successful newsletter:

Informative - Eye Catching - Interest Holding - Wanting More

Create valuable information for your readers, are you an expert in your industry, or better yet, does your company want to position themselves as an authority in your industry? This is key, if you’re an authority, then show it! Be the source for updates and inside access for your industry. Give the reader a little more than they’re expecting and far more than your competitors are giving. As you write your newsletter, take a few seconds and think to yourself what you’re leaving out of your newsletter, then do 1 of 2 things. Either you should write a little extra and answer those lingering questions or you should provide a link to your own site where that information can be found.

Energize your readers with eye catching photos or commentary. Technical talk has it’s place, but so does uniquely presented content. If you can figure out a way to differentiate how you discuss and position your product from your competitors, you’ll be miles ahead.

Your readers are valuable; show them just how valuable they are!
Don’t forget that often the best stories come from the “trenches” – do your customers have a really cool application for your product or some enhancement ideas that you think others may enjoy hearing about? Take the time to listen to your customers and showcase some of the best aspects of how your product or service is being used in the “real world.” I guarantee you that if a customer submits a question or comment and you include that in your newsletter, that they will forward your newsletter to all their friends and family…How’s that for buzz marketing?!

One of the last but most important strategies that you can use is to place the contents of your newletter online with a little bit of extra content. Then invite your reader within the newsletter to visit your site if they want more information. You’ll be gaining traffic and, if done correctly, you will have created an excellent conversion opportunity for yourself.

Do you wear a Fanny Pack?

Undoubtedly if you’ve every been to Disneyland or on any family vacation for that matter, you’ve seen scores of parents and their kids running around with some type of funky colored “fanny pack, or should I say “body bag” ?

What?!

In a case of translation gone wrong, German speakers translate the literal translation of “fanny pack” to be “backpack” … which in German really means “Bodybag.” Some German manufacturers have tried to tap into the global fanny pack market by changing the name of their product, and as you can imagine, marketing a “Body bag” can be quite difficult.

This is just one example of cross language and culture marketing gone bad, so bad, it can even be deadly.