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Mark Devlin
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2 years ago
in 2007/05/13/monitwitter/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Surely "monitter" would be a better name.
2 years ago
in 2007/04/22/alexa-vs-statsaholic-widget/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
I'm confused: Does a star support Alexa or does it support Alexaholic?
2 years ago
in 2007/04/19/petition-against-alexas-statsaholic-lawsuit/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Uh-oh. If he's not actually using the API then that's not good. I have been involved in these type of dramas before, and often they are not what they first appear. I should have found out more before posting my support so I'd like to remove my name from the petition, pernding further investigation.
Bilal: Alexa/Amazon is not a charity. They used their skills to collect user data. That data is an aggregate and does not belong to you, or to any other group of users. If they want to charge for it, that's their decision. It's not a tax if you have the choice not to pay it.
Bilal: Alexa/Amazon is not a charity. They used their skills to collect user data. That data is an aggregate and does not belong to you, or to any other group of users. If they want to charge for it, that's their decision. It's not a tax if you have the choice not to pay it.
2 years ago
in 2007/04/19/petition-against-alexas-statsaholic-lawsuit/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
I am a regualar user of Alexaholic. It is disgraceful that Alexa is bullying a company for using the tools it provides. Shame on Amazon.
2 years ago
in 2007/03/08/bolt/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
> Let’s hope it doesn’t make entrepreneurs more risk averse
Perhaps it will also make some entrepreneurs realise that they can't get rich by infringing other's copyrights.
Perhaps it will also make some entrepreneurs realise that they can't get rich by infringing other's copyrights.
2 years ago
in 2007/03/07/mark-cubans-youtube-love-affair-continues/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
>It’s like a Donald Trump versus Rosie O’Donnell feud for the tech blogosphere.
And about as interesting...
And about as interesting...
2 years ago
in 2006/11/02/indian-youtube-doesnt-deserve-15-million/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Theres's more to running a business than software development. Perhaps the company behind this would rather spend VC money on site promotion than software development. It could also be reasoned that by using off-the-shelf software will allow them to get to market faster.
2 years ago
in 2006/09/18/how-the-heck-did-zebo-get-4-million-users/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
steve-ray:
Alexa statistics may be of variable quality, but they will certainly tell the difference between a site with four million users and one with no users.
The site owner said that "four million people have joined the site since January". That is very different from them having four million email addresses. Even if ZeDO had four million email addresses it does not mean that ZeBO has four million users. To add them into PR for an unrelated site is misleading at best.
Peter:
That's got to be one of the most spineless comments I have ever read. Are you afraid that the Web 2.0 mafia will force you to put rounded corners on your site? As a consultant I suppose it pays to be nice to everybody, but it's not really journalism, is it?
Alexa statistics may be of variable quality, but they will certainly tell the difference between a site with four million users and one with no users.
The site owner said that "four million people have joined the site since January". That is very different from them having four million email addresses. Even if ZeDO had four million email addresses it does not mean that ZeBO has four million users. To add them into PR for an unrelated site is misleading at best.
Peter:
the reason I’m rarely skeptical about these sites is because I get snowed under with hate mail if I say the slightest negative thing. Injecting skepticism is about as far as you can go, unless you enjoy the death threats, comment spamming etc.
That's got to be one of the most spineless comments I have ever read. Are you afraid that the Web 2.0 mafia will force you to put rounded corners on your site? As a consultant I suppose it pays to be nice to everybody, but it's not really journalism, is it?
2 years ago
in 2006/09/18/how-the-heck-did-zebo-get-4-million-users/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Pete,
No disrespect intended, but what more facts do you need? Simple searches show that the site does not have anywhere close to four million users. Alexa charts, and the broader websearch chart (http://ranking.websearch.com/TrankTrend.aspx?ur...) also show that the site is not popular -- if anything it's popularity is declining.
Mr de Souza is an web advertising specialist. If he made a mistake with his numbers he is incompetent. If he insists on the four million number then he is lying. He can't have it both ways.
As a Web 2.0 consultant and leading blogger in this space it puzzles me why you were not able to determine whether Zebo's numbers were reasonable or not on your own. Thank god for reader comments ;)
No disrespect intended, but what more facts do you need? Simple searches show that the site does not have anywhere close to four million users. Alexa charts, and the broader websearch chart (http://ranking.websearch.com/TrankTrend.aspx?ur...) also show that the site is not popular -- if anything it's popularity is declining.
Mr de Souza is an web advertising specialist. If he made a mistake with his numbers he is incompetent. If he insists on the four million number then he is lying. He can't have it both ways.
As a Web 2.0 consultant and leading blogger in this space it puzzles me why you were not able to determine whether Zebo's numbers were reasonable or not on your own. Thank god for reader comments ;)
2 years ago
in 2006/09/18/how-the-heck-did-zebo-get-4-million-users/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Peter,
So what your saying is that if a company says they have X number of users you will just take that for granted? A quick search on popular items from Zebo's tag cloud reveals the following:
car - 10,521 users
bike - 3312 users
dvd - 4752 users
shoes - 9560 users
clothes -11254 users
It is impossible that they have four million users. They might have maybe as many as 20,000 users (and how many of them are fake remains to be seen).
From the NYTimes article:
"Yet some four million people have joined the free site since January, during its private beta test, according to Roy de Souza, Zebo’s founder and chief executive."
Mr Souza is lying. I doubt they even have four million page views.
So what your saying is that if a company says they have X number of users you will just take that for granted? A quick search on popular items from Zebo's tag cloud reveals the following:
car - 10,521 users
bike - 3312 users
dvd - 4752 users
shoes - 9560 users
clothes -11254 users
It is impossible that they have four million users. They might have maybe as many as 20,000 users (and how many of them are fake remains to be seen).
From the NYTimes article:
"Yet some four million people have joined the free site since January, during its private beta test, according to Roy de Souza, Zebo’s founder and chief executive."
Mr Souza is lying. I doubt they even have four million page views.
2 years ago
in 2006/09/18/how-the-heck-did-zebo-get-4-million-users/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Please do not reward people who lie about their numbers by giving them publicity.
2 years ago
in 2006/07/26/meebo-im-now-in-netvibes/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Ask and ye shall receive...
Crisscross Friends will launch a meebo.com-like aggregated instant messenger on August 1. The IM system will be integrated to our social network, giving profile-to-profile messaging, as well as the ability to simultaneously talk to your Yahoo, MSN, Google and AOL contacts.
http://www.crisscros.com/friends
Crisscross Friends will launch a meebo.com-like aggregated instant messenger on August 1. The IM system will be integrated to our social network, giving profile-to-profile messaging, as well as the ability to simultaneously talk to your Yahoo, MSN, Google and AOL contacts.
http://www.crisscros.com/friends
3 years ago
in 2006/06/01/nowpublic-gets-14-million/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
For sites similar to my own, I look at the number of posts, or user-generated pieces of content in a given time frame. I also look at the quality level of user activity, and whether there appears to be growth in the product and its userbase.
As I mentioned in my blog you could also use systems like Websearch.com, that give a wider view of the market than Alexa. There are also professional comparison tools (if you can afford them).
What I'm saying is that reliance on a single metric such as Alexa.com can lead to distortions in the perception of both individual companies, and the market in general.
As I mentioned in my blog you could also use systems like Websearch.com, that give a wider view of the market than Alexa. There are also professional comparison tools (if you can afford them).
What I'm saying is that reliance on a single metric such as Alexa.com can lead to distortions in the perception of both individual companies, and the market in general.
3 years ago
in 2006/06/01/nowpublic-gets-14-million/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
can you fix the closing blockquote tag? sorry.
3 years ago
in 2006/06/01/nowpublic-gets-14-million/ on Mashable - The Social Media GuideHowever, even if we tracked “buzz†around Newsvine vs NowPublic, I think Newsvine would still come out on top.
Which begs the question: are you tracking "buzz", or are you tracking ability to perform? Both of those sites are performing well in buzz, but not so well in the wider market.
3 years ago
in 2006/06/01/nowpublic-gets-14-million/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
I suggest you avoid using Alexa as the basis of comparison of Web 2.0 start-ups. Please refer to my post on the Alexa popularity myth. In short, Alexa results are over-represented by tech users (and are easily gamed), therefore they did not give an accurate analysis of a start-up's position.
As for NowPublic's "change of strategy" -- a casual look at the site will show that there are hardly any views or comments on their "popular" stories. The site has much less than their claimed traffic levels.
How can NowPublic sell user-generated content when there is none? And how can they sell content to news providers when what little seed content they do have comes from the same news providers themselves?
BTW, OhMyNews worked in Korea because there was a huge gap in the market because national news was so restricted. The market in the U.S. is far more open and competitive.
As for NowPublic's "change of strategy" -- a casual look at the site will show that there are hardly any views or comments on their "popular" stories. The site has much less than their claimed traffic levels.
How can NowPublic sell user-generated content when there is none? And how can they sell content to news providers when what little seed content they do have comes from the same news providers themselves?
BTW, OhMyNews worked in Korea because there was a huge gap in the market because national news was so restricted. The market in the U.S. is far more open and competitive.
3 years ago
in 2006/03/23/spout-social-movies/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
The 43things privacy policy says:
It would be no surprise to find out that 43things shares personal info with Amazon.
Other Businesses: We work closely with other businesses, and we may share user information with those businesses.
It would be no surprise to find out that 43things shares personal info with Amazon.
3 years ago
in 2006/03/23/spout-social-movies/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide3 years ago
in 2006/03/02/newsvine-launches-phew/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Newsvine is yet another example of a news site that appeals to geeks only. Its appeal to a mass audience is limited, not expanded, by its emphasis on high-levels of user paticipation and cool design over basic news presentation. IMHO the front page is awful, with a poor selection of stories, and too much room taken up by graphics. I wonder what the business model is - I don't see any advertising on the site.
BTW, my site, Crisscross, has let readers comment directly under newsfeeds since 2000. It's hardly an innovation.
BTW, my site, Crisscross, has let readers comment directly under newsfeeds since 2000. It's hardly an innovation.
3 years ago
in Revenge of the M-listers? Sign me up on Mathew's comments
As someone who is new to blog usage. I have noticed three simple points about writing blog posts. These are probably obvious to you. The first is that if you comment on someone else's blog those comments do not appear on Technorati, the second is that comments do not appear on the main RSS feed.,a nd the third is that comments are not tagged. So to get proper exposure, it makes sense to comment on your own blog about posts on other blogs. Another point is that you can edit your posts on your own blog. All these combine to create the link-farming you mention in your post.
Of course, I should really have posted this on my own blog, so I will do that right now. No more comments for me ;)
Of course, I should really have posted this on my own blog, so I will do that right now. No more comments for me ;)
3 years ago
in It’s the Value, Stupid on Disruptive Thoughts
Great blog and insightful commentary. Subscribed!
I have noticed that attention is given to services that are representative of the Web 2.0 mind-set, which values design over content, disruption over evolution, and ideas over business sense.
I have noticed that attention is given to services that are representative of the Web 2.0 mind-set, which values design over content, disruption over evolution, and ideas over business sense.
3 years ago
in 2006/02/28/blogbuy-michaels-little-edgeio-killer/ on Mashable - The Social Media Guide
Are you being ironic when you say you can't wait for the Techcrunch review? To my mind, the credibility of Techcrunch has been damaged by their hype of Edgeio. How can they be expected to give a fair review of their own products, and fair reviews of competing products in the same space? And if you can't trust their views on this product, can you trust their reviews on other products?
There is also a chilling effect on criticism. Participators in any review site should be able to state their opinions on any product without fear that they are upsetting the owner's pet project.
BTW, I think Blogbuy is a far better name than "Edgeio", which is too geeky to gain mass usage.
There is also a chilling effect on criticism. Participators in any review site should be able to state their opinions on any product without fear that they are upsetting the owner's pet project.
BTW, I think Blogbuy is a far better name than "Edgeio", which is too geeky to gain mass usage.
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