Disqus - Latest Comments for Johan Bosini

Re: Alexa : Yahoo vs. Google

Johan Bosini — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 16:15:00 -0000

Alexa is a very nice tool - however I would not trust its stats at all - as they are not very accurate.

Re: Alexa : Yahoo vs. Google

Johan Bosini — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 20:53:00 -0000

Hi there
Firstly, don't get me wrong - I love alexa and use them daily for all sorts of things. Alexa does not pull stats from all internet users - it monitors behavior of users that have downloaded its toolbar only.

The stats from Alexa come from a self-selected group of Alexa toolbar users on MS IE/Windows which most certainly under-represents some segments of the general Internet population. Mozilla and Mac users are excluded. Also, generally technically minded people use Alexa - there are millions of people out there who do not know about them.

Also - most AOL users have Alexa installed as a default... so it is immediately USA skewed. The other major users are webmasters - again these people are not your average internet user. Many internet marketers and online marketing companies use alexa - but not your average Joe.

Having said all this I think it is a great tool to see how a sites usage is changing, but these rankings/stats should not be applied to the internet population as a whole because that is not what they measure.

In short Alexa excludes too many demographics. For one designers use apple computers - and thus Alexa excludes them, most technical administrators use linux, and so Alexa excludes them too. Also - many anti spyware programs delete Alexa, as it is picked up in virus scans. It can only generate stats for those users that have the toolbar installed, and who has it, and where they live on the globe is questionable.

Alexa is a great tool - but know its limitations.

Johan Bosini

Re: Alexa : Yahoo vs. Google

Johan Bosini — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 22:13:00 -0000

Re: S&P Vista Research Appointment

Johan Bosini — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 22:17:00 -0000

Vinny,

I would like to say congratulations to you. It must be rather strange for you to join a group considered "high-quality industry veterans" at the age of 27... but I guess the internet is such that a vertran does not have to be in their 70's. Well done though - you have done SA proud.

This does bring me to one question for you however, and this is by no means a dig. You seem to have focused your efforts on many markets aside from South Africa. I understand that earning dollars is far more attractive than rands however... Your mission, in your words, "is to continuously improve the infrastructure for global online marketing and technology and expand search marketing into every corner of the globe." What about your home land? You seem to have skipped focusing on South Africa?

I know our internet penetration is low, our bandwidth expensive, and our trust of online shocking, however if we follow the US a few years in its shadow - surely now is a good time to get in?

Well done again.
Johan Bosini

Re: S&P Vista Research Appointment

Johan Bosini — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 08:54:00 -0000

Hi Vinny,

Thanks for the detailed response. Just to let you know - I was temporarily involved with the affiliate network you referred to on a project basis. I think there is great growth on the cards in SA if/when everyone buys into the model. We all know it works with the right mix of offers, product/website functionality and distribution. Each of these has its own challenges.

Good point on the attitude of business in South Africa seeing a website as a "nice to have because the competitors have one" rather than an additional revenue stream.

Johan

Re: Web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 Roundup

Johan Bosini — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 08:39:00 -0000

In agreement, there is no set standard for what Web 2.0 actually means or requires. Many feel the new naming convention will result in a second bubble - developers building hype about nothing much really - only for investors to discover they are still just websites...

However I think you are both missing the point (as I see it anyway). Web 2.0 is the movement away from static webpages to interactive webpages with ajax technology and feeds etc. In this way users can update the site themselves to see what they want to see. It is referred to as a second generation of services available on the WWW that lets people collaborate and share info online - previously most sites were static in nature.

The term was popularized by O'Reilly Media and MediaLive International as the name for a series of web development conferences that started in October 2004. It really is the same internet - but it just highlights that those in the industry are trying to work together in making better products online. So why a new name you ask? What was wrong with Web 1.0? Well, in I think that in order to build something better you need to know that the old one was not good enough - it just puts a peg in the sand to say "that is where we were - and that is where we are heading".

The whole thing may be silly - but it may also help some people to understand the "evolution" of the internet and what it is both capable and not capable of. In truth - it is marketing of the web really - to get some interest from both investors and users. Is this such a bad thing though?

Johan Bosini

Re: The Clash of the Titans - A Fresh Perspective

Johan Bosini — Mon, 08 May 2006 11:54:00 -0000

Hey Vinny, I agree with you 100%. MSN and Yahoo have been chasing Google for some time now. I think that further to your in-depth reasons though there is another simple reason for MSN and Yahoo lagging behind and it is nothing more than consumers wanting simplicity. Google is a search engine with other really cool functionality (if you choose to use it). MSN and Yahoo are portals (news, email etc) and have a search engine too (should you choose to use it).

Google has managed to keep things simple. Simplicity is both sacred and central to competitive advantage for companies like Google. This is just another reason I love Google so much. They also have allowed for people to choose what content they wish to see with a nifty site at www.google.com/ig. Microsoft is hot on their heels too with a funky customisable desktop style web platform called START. See www.start.com where you can have all sorts of RSS feeds and email and and and… Hold on, we are getting complicated already... back to the plain white page with nothing else but a search bar in it... www.google.com (Vinny in our case it will default to www.google.co.za ... smart people ... like you said)

Johan Bosini

Re: Google Video Ads Launches…

Johan Bosini — Fri, 26 May 2006 23:00:00 -0000

Vinny,

Just an observation - I am sure this service will not be very popular in countries like SA... with our bandwidth and all... c'mon telkom... make it possible for us to have an option of watching the google video ads!