- Who visits the site?
- Why do they visit the site?
- How are they using the site?
- What do they do?
Site visitor activity is carefully monitored on a number of levels. A visitor profile might consist of categories and products viewed, search usage, depth of visit (i.e. page views per visitor), order / transaction activity, and user intent. Combined with entry and exit survey data, user-behavior patterns emerge. After important data is gathered and organized, Web site owners should adjust their Web site content and marketing campaigns accordingly.
Three types of core data about user behavior are critical for an effective online presence:
- Attitudinal data (what do my customers think)
- Behavioral data (what are my customers doing)
- Competitive data (how do we compare with others in our industry)
A solid understanding of a Web site visitor's goals and behavior patterns coupled with an ongoing commitment of continual refinement and research are key elements for staying ahead of the competition and converting sales.
Source: Search Engine Watch
Skype was designed to allow users to make free telephone calls over the internet. But the sound quality is excellent and the software also allows callers to exchange files and play music while they are talking. Radio buffs are now exploiting the new technology to become both interviewer and DJ on a shoestring budget. In doing so, they may be starting a broadcasting revolution, one that democratises the industry and makes the amateur broadcaster king.
Skypecasting, as it is called, is possible because of another trend dubbed podcasting. Podcasts are MP3 files that are automatically delivered to subscribers' MP3 players when posted online...Now with Skype, podcasters can do more than just post an album by their favourite band or record a monologue on current events. They can interview a band on the other side of the world before playing its latest set, or bring together overseas experts to discuss a topic. With a little know-how, Skype allows these conversations and music clips to be saved as MP3 files, posted online and then automatically downloaded by listeners.
Source: New Scientist Tech
Three videos from a dinner broadcast on C-Span surprisingly make it to Google Video’s top 10.
The stunning success of the video of comedian Stephen Colbert’s performance at the White House Correspondents Dinner has propelled C-Span to the top of the Google Videos charts.
C-Span said in an interview that the video is among the most viewed in its history. The public affairs channel usually skews to an older demographic group than the type that frequents Google Video.
Mr. Colbert skewered the president, who sat less than 15 feet away, as well as the White House press, in a 24-minute performance that found its way onto YouTube.com and ifilm.com last week.
C-Span runs live and archived programs such as American Perspectives and Book TV, along with White House press briefings, on its web site C-Span.org. The site made both YouTube.com and ifilm.com remove the video of Mr. Colbert’s performance from their web sites.
C-Span, which broadcast the dinner, gave Google Video permission to carry the video of the entire dinner, which runs about an hour and a half. Google Video also has a shorter video of just Mr. Colbert’s performance, which runs about 24 minutes.
A third video of President George W. Bush’s presentation at the White House Correspondents Dinner, which included an impersonator, Steve Bridges, who “translated” the president’s remarks, runs just under 12 minutes. All three videos are in Google Video’s top 10.
Mr. Colbert’s lampoon of the president is No. 1, while the dinner in its long form is No. 6. The video of the president and his double ranks No. 8. Full Story / See the Videos
Source: Red Herring
Universal Orlando resorts wanted to redesign the Hotels section of the Universal Resorts web site to better represent their brands and drive hotel bookings. They wanted improve the marketing value of each hotel experience. Convince users the only way to vacation better in Orlando, FL is to stay on-site. Leverage unique themes and amenities of each hotel to hook consumers as well as provide tools and information to help them make a better decision for themselves and their families.
Our first step in achieving our goal was to execute a usability analysis and identify personas for the On-site resorts section of the UO site. Benefits of the usability analysis and persona development are: Knowing more about the preferences of Universal Orlando’s audience to help Universal attract and sell to customers. Developing a web site that helps consumers achieve their goals and task based segmentation helps you figure out whose goals you should aim to fulfill. Figure out how your audience goes about completing tasks; provide the tools that are much more attuned to their needs. We first started with a Persona profile that categorized their target market into 4 categories. We then built a working Wireframe to set the navigation and booking process. We than built a Task Analysis for each of the personas on top of the newly designed wireframe. This process was to aid in the visualization that each person can effectively reach their intended information online. Click here to see their new web site: http://www.universalorlando.com/ht_index.html
There are so many links and such little time. How can you decipher which Web sites are worthy of a few precious moments? Try one of these:
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