Līve Ambitions

Most of you already know that I’m not much of a Twitter fan, but I still use them because it’s the hottest thing in social media.  Today, Twitter launched their new homepage design, and I must admit I like the new look.  It has a nice and simple design with a prominent search bar at the top. 

Besides design, what I look for in websites is their usability and practicality.  I’m having doubts about their new search feature.  It’s bad enough that most people don’t go past the 1st page when searching for stuff, but the results are real time which means that you’re not always getting the best or most relevant results.  Is content on Twitter really meaty and compelling enough to justify search based solely on Tweets?  What do you think?

Interesting news.  Microsoft and Yahoo has agreed to combine forces in the search market to better compete against the giant of search, Google.  They’ve launched a website dedicated to the 10 year deal called ChoiceValueInnovation.com.  The gist of the deal is that Microsoft will power Yahoo’s search for both organic and sponsored listings, and in return Yahoo will receive compensation from Microsoft.  Meanwhile, Yahoo will “become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.”  Their PPC advertising platform will be handled Microsoft’s Adcenter.

So, based on current stats, this partnership deal would give Microsoft and Yahoo approximately 30% of the total search market share in the U.S..  If I were Google, I wouldn’t be too worried - its 2 competitors have had the capacity and resources for improvements, but they simply haven’t been able to gain ground on their own.  In my opinion, if Yahoo and Microsoft couldn’t compete on their own, they wouldn’t do better together.  Unless there are some significant advancements to the Microsoft/Yahoo algorithm technology, I don’t see them expanding their search market share by much, if any.

I’m not in favor of this search deal because I believe that market conditions are best when there are many competitors as opposed to only 2.  Instead of having 3 separate choices for search, now it’s only one or the other.  Microsoft and Yahoo would’ve been better off trying to improve their own search technology.  Who knows – maybe there’s a deeper underlying meaning to the deal.  Could it be a slow transition into a merger?  What do you think?

I’ve been outsourcing jobs, on and off, for the past 7 years.  Projects ranging from logos and banners to entire websites and articles were on my list for outsourcing.  In the beginning, I relied on services like Elance.com and Guru.com.  Then, for a little while, I looked to forums like DigitalPoint and Sitepoint to outsource my work.

In those 7 years of searching, I’ve never ended up hiring someone that wowed me.  Maybe I haven’t looked hard enough, but with so many resources out there, it’s hard to believe that there aren’t more skilled dependable freelancers.  You name it, I’ve tried looking for all types of freelancers – from writers and SEOs, to programmers and designers.

I know the saying “you get what you pay for,” applies to most things in life, but this is sometimes not the case when outsourcing work.  Sometimes you can pay a lot of money, and get poor quality in return.  And, other times, you can spend a little money and get good value for your money.  One thing I always do before hiring someone is to check out their portfolio – whether it be sample articles or demo websites.  But, sometimes you just don’t know what you’re getting until you actually try out the service.  For example, when hiring a writer, why does it always seem like their sample articles are so much better quality than the articles they produce for you?

Here are some of the problems I’ve run into in the past.

Problems with outsourcing writing jobs:

• Poorly written articles – bad wording and flow
• Poor grammar
• Factual errors
• Lack of dedication – loss of interest
• Difficulties in finding a writer with your style
• Difficulties in finding a writer with research skills
• Difficulties in finding a writer who specializes in various niches

Problems with outsourcing SEO jobs:

• SEOs that overcharge
• SEOs that are not reliable
• SEOs that talk big game, but can’t deliver

Problems with outsourcing programming jobs:

• Poor communications – hard to get a hold of
• Programming full of bugs and errors
• Excuses for delays. I once had a programmer go on vacation for 2 weeks without telling me.

Outsourcing design jobs:
Finding a designer is one that I’ve not had much issues with. There’s a ton of great designers out there, and they’re usually not hard to find.

Outsourcing can be a pain in the ass, especially if you’re anal like me. Wow, that didn’t sound right.  Let me rephrase that – If you’re really uptight about the quality of work, outsourcing can be difficult.  You really have to spend some time into searching for the right service provider.  I think the first step is to determine how much you’re willing to spend on a project, then it’s the process of elimination.

Here are some known sites where you can find freelancers:

• Guru.com
• Elance.com
• Odesk.com
• Rentacoder.com
• Craigslist.com – under gigs
• DigitalPoint Forums – under buy, sell or trade

Get 50% off all new submissions at the BOTW Directory.  This offer expires July 31st, 2009.

Use this coupon code at checkout:  BUNDLE

Get 50% off new submissions to the BusyBits directory by using this coupon code:  since2005

As far as I know, there is no expiration date on this offer.

Yesterday, Google announced that they would be launching a new open source operating system called Google Chrome OS.  This is big news as they turn up the heat to compete against the currently monopolizing OS which is Microsoft Windows.

According to Google, “Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS.”  Isn’t that what we’re all looking for in an operating system?  I like the fact that Google decided to step up to the plate, and offer the public a new alternative to the OS in our PCs.  I’ve been using Windows Vista at home and at work for about 6 months, and I must say I haven’t been impressed.  I’ve had issues with hardware imcompatibilities and occasional freezes.

Google Chrome OS is scheduled to be released mid-2010.  So, we’ll see.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to manage PPC campaigns in Google, Yahoo, MSN (Bing), MySpace, Facebook, Adsonar and even Business.com.  Here is how I rate them (1-7):

#1 Google Adwords - Google has not only proven to be a very effective tool for marketing, but also consistent.  Needless to say, Google brings me the most conversions at the most cost-effective rate.  In fact, in my experience, Google has brought in more conversions than all the other PPC traffic sources combined.

#2 MSN Adcenter (Bing) - Although MSN Adcenter was the late bloomer in the PPC industry, I think they’ve made significant progress in a short amount of time.  I see consistent conversions from MSN on a daily basis, however, their traffic is only about 1/10 of what Google brings.  Cost per conversion is also good.

#3 Yahoo Search Marketing - I’m a little biased against Yahoo because I never really liked them as a search engine.  Google has always been more superior in terms of relevancy, for both organic and sponsored search, so it’s no wonder why Yahoo has lagged so far behind.  Conversion volume from Yahoo may be slightly higher than Bing, however, you can also expect to spend more per click. 

#4 Facebook Ads -  I was running an ad through Facebook with a targeted audience of a little over 1 million members.  Soon after the campaign was set to active, I was surprised to see the volume of views and click-throughs.  I think I received 200 clicks within a matter an hour or two.  I tried them out for about a month, but unfortunately I couldn’t continue due to the high cost per conversion rate.

#5 Adsonar – Adsonar has a massive content network (ie. Fox, AOL, ET, People.com and many more).  In fact, their coverage is so big and fast that your balance may be used up in a matter of minutes.  If you don’t have a big budget, it may even be hard to test out a campaign.

#6 MySpace – MySpace is pretty similar to Facebook ads in that they both allow you to target a large number of members based on specific categories.  I used them for about a month, and dropped them due to lack of traffic and conversions.  At least, I didn’t spend much money to test it out.

#7 Business.com – I was pretty dissappointed with these guys.  I received a bunch of click-throughs, but 0 conversions.  I think their traffic may cater more for B2B type of businesses.

Remember, this is my personal opinion, and it is only based off my own experiences.  Your results may vary based on the type of products or services you’re selling and the profit margin involved.  Some type of products may perform better for certain types of audiences.  The bottom-line with any ad campaign is that it should be profitable.  If you spend $1000 and make $1200, you’ve still made a profit (even it’s small).  If your business is still in its infant stages, you may even opt to break-even just to get some exposure.  Finally, if you’ve tried to optimize your ad campaign and you’re still losing money, then it’s time to move on to a new PPC program or marketing strategy.  Don’t try to force something that doesn’t work.

I know there are other PPC programs out there like Bidvertiser and Clicksor, but I’ve never tried them out.

Update:  After I wrote this post, Microsoft and Yahoo joined forces to “change the search landscape.”

Have you heard of this?  The FTC plans to monitor blogs for false claims and a lack of disclosure for compensation.

As you know, there are tons of blog owners out there that recommend products or services in return for some sort of compensation, whether it be cash or free products.  I would be curious to know how the FTC intends on tackling this massive challenge.  Also, I’m a little split on this subject because on one side, you have the issue of freedom of speech and on the other side, you have the issue of protecting the consumer.

I’m all for protecting the consumer, but where do you draw the line?  At some point, the consumer needs to take responsibility for their own actions.  If you get ripped off, it’s partially your fault for not doing sufficient research.  I know fake reviews on the web are easy to fabricate, however, you shouldn’t buy something solely based on a single review you read on the internet.  There will always be people who stretch the truth and even lie to make money.

I personally do not find anything wrong with promoting a product or service you believe in.  And, hey, if you can get compensated for something you would’ve written about anyways, why not?  It’s a win-win situation.  Now, the FTC wants you to disclose when you’re getting compensated for a review or recommendation.

I’m assuming the FTC is not so much concerned about monitoring personal blogs, but more interested in detecting flogs (fake blogs) or marketers that practice fakevertising (fake advertising).  An example of a flog would be a fake news site set up on an “official news” sounding domain to promote certain products or services.  An example of fakevertising would be using the name of a famous celebrity to promote a product.  I’m sure you’ve seen those fake ads featuring Oprah Winfrey or Dr. Phil.

Jay Weintraub offers an interesting look at flogs.  These unscrupulous marketers aren’t simply exercising their freedom of speech, they are taking it one step further.  They are blatantly misleading and lying to the public by using fake celebrity endorsements.

Lately, there’s been more celebrity deaths than usual.  Although its sad when anyone passes away, I was shocked when I heard about the deaths of Michael Jackson and Billy Mays - mainly because they were still fairly young and I assumed they didn’t have any health issues.

R.I.P Michael Jackson.  I was affected by this one the most because I grew up listening to Michael Jackson.  He was truly a unique artist, with an unmatched talent.  He was such a huge superstar that he almost seemed immortal – like he wasn’t human.  I feel so bad that he had to face so many hardships during his last years.  He gave so much to the world, and the world gave him nothing but drama.

R.I.P Farrah Fawcet.  To be honest, I wasn’t too familiar with Farrah Fawcet until I heard of her death.  I saw snippets of news regarding her battle with cancer and I knew she was a Charlie’s Angel, but I never watched that show before.  You could say her popularity was before my time.  Regardless, may her soul rest in peace.

R.I.P Billy Mays.  I had to do a double-take when I first saw the article on Yahoo, saying that Billy Mays was dead.  I wrote a post not too long ago regarding his new show on the Discovery channel called Pitchmen.  From what I saw, he looked like a good family man with a passion for what he did.

R.I.P Ed McMahon.  I guess this news wasn’t as shocking to many because he was 86 years when he passed.  In my opinion, if you can make it to age 86, then you’ve lived a long fulfilling life.  Still, I do remember watching him on the Johnny Carson show when I was a kid.

God Bless to all that passed, and may he console the families and friends of those who passed.