Leadpile’s Blog

A couple years ago, there was an article that came out about the impact of the Google and does it really make us not use our brains? The verdict on this is up in the air, but one group did a study to detmine the impact the internet has on all of us. This study found that actually the internet helps to make us all smarter. “Most of the respondents also said the Internet would improve reading and writing by 2020, according to the study, conducted by the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University in North Carolina and the Pew Internet and American Life project. Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and the rendering of knowledge, said study co-author Janna Anderson, director of the Imagining the Internet Center.”
I think studies like this have come up, determining if the internet really affects our intelligence, because the use of the internet and the power of it are indescribable. What else is there in this world that has so much inpact and access to so many people in this world? Of course there are going to be skeptics that think that it is making us “stupid”, but then again (like this study) many feel that the internet is truly something that is changing the way we think. So what do YOU think? OR don’t you?

Reuters is reporting that the FCC is trying to regulate a minimum broadband speed that American households are delivered by our nation’s broadband companies (ie-Verizon, Comcast, Time Warner and AT&T are the largest) provide all of us. “The planned initiative, which will be proposed in the National Broadband Plan report to Congress next month, comes a week after Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) said it would build a super-fast Internet network for up to half a million people, a project that could pressure telecommunications companies to loosen their control of Web access in the United States.”
So once again is Google pushing the envelope on the way things are done technologically? From everything I am reading it appears that they are in fact doing that and this is forcing broadband companies to compete technologically to stay in business. This new initiative potentially by the FCC could be a great thing for all of us and how we get out internet delivered to us. Nice job Google!

In the age of the internet, trying to figure out who goes online more can be a tricky question at times. However, it seems each era of people has their own “area of interest” with the internet.
4/5 of young adults between the ages of 18 and 29 are wireless internet users, while many of them are using their laptops, some are using their cell phones and other mobile devices to access the internet. The internet is everywhere and it appears it is a way of life for most young adults.
On another note it seems that 63 percent of 30-to-49-year-olds, and 34 percent of those age 50 and older use wireless connections for the Internet. Bottom line is we all use the internet as if it was something we can not live without. What will be the next generations “must have” if the internet is now already a must have? Is there something else technologically that will roll out what young adults HAVE to have? Is there a point where parents need to control how much their children are actually on the internet, and more specifically their cell phones? What about all the other things like the ipad, iphones, social networking, texting… what is next in the technology world and what parents have to “control”?

As a follow up to our recent post discussing China’s Internet censorship and regulations, Google has now pulled the plug on launching it’s cell phone in China. Google’s mobile phones equipped with Internet applications were decided by the company to be “not a good experience” for the consumer. Currently, China has over 700 million mobile phone accounts and consumers driven by the latest technology.
According to the Associated Press, it has been rumored that Google has threatened to shut its Chinese-based search engine if the restrictions are not eased. The Chinese government is standing strong on it’s decision that “Foreign enterprises in China need to adhere to China’s laws and regulations, respect and the interests of the general public and cultural traditions and shoulder corresponding responsibilities. Google is no exception,” as stated by a Foreign ministry spokesman at a new briefin
It will be interesting to watch this controversy unfold as many Chinese and foreign businesses rely on Google’s email and maps…If Google is blocked and access is restricted it could certainly disrupt things!

A new calling device was announced today that could save people a lot of money on cell phone minutes they are currently racking up. This new product is called the MagicJack. The MagicJack uses the internet to make free calls from cell phones when in the home. According to yahoo.com this device uses the same radio frequencies that cellular carriers have paid billions of dollars for exclusive licenses.
The way it works is like a tiny little cell tower located in your home. It is plugged into your computer and connects to a cell phone that is located within 8 feet of the MagicJack. It places a call to your cell phone, once the phone is connected by entering a security code with the keypad of the phone, it is connected and you are able to make calls as long as it stays in range of the device. The device is said to have a range that will cover a 3,000-square-foot home. No minutes will be charged to your cell phone because the call is placed over the Internet.
Introduced at the International Consumers Electronics Show, the MagicJack is expected to start selling in May for $40, it will provide free calls to the U.S. and Canada for one year. I guess the cell phone companies are going to have to come up some more creative ways to charge the consumers.

Believe it or not Wi-Fi is going to be available in cars in the near future (2010 to be exact). Many of us need to go to coffee shops or other public places that allow us the convenience of getting internet access, however it seems that Ford cars are going to be starting to install WI-FI capabilities in next years models. This will be possible with the SYNC system who is partnering up with Microsoft. Consumers will then be able to utilize their laptops in their cars wherever they want!
The advancement of technology is so amazing. Not only can people use their cell phones to access the internet, now they are going to be able to sit in their cars and be on an actual laptop when needed. So will something like this maybe impact the lead generation world, where more people can potentially fill out online forms such as Leadpile’s Microclick form on a website? I think so!

AOL came into this decade as an independent company, and it looks as though they will be leaving the decade solo. In recent news, AOL and Time Warner are “divorcing” and many are wondering how this will impact the internet veteran. AOL became famous as the big dial up internet company, and now they seem to have some challenges on their hands as they try to compete with other internet service providers.
Will there be a big challenge on their hand to get back in the internet “game”, or do they know what they are doing and will jump right back in game after the divorce from Time Warner?
We wish you luck in your new single life!

Have you ever received a coupon or incentive via email and then forget about it or lost track of it because you didn’t print it right away? Good news! JCPenny has selected a handful of it’s stores to test mobile coupons.
According to ONLINE MEDIA DAILY, 16 JCPenny locations installed “2D” capable scanners at registers that have the capability to read the barcode off the coupon directly from consumer’s cell phones with email capabilities. Customers can download a free application at cellfire.com/jcpenney or by texting “JCP” to 28888 from their cell phone.
JCpenny will be promoting several different incentives to test this during the holiday season. Pending the results of this trial, JCPenny will possibly expand this feature to additional stores.
“Ten million digital coupons were redeemed in the first six months of 2009, up 25% from a year ago.” For the high percentage of Blackberry and iPhone users that have their phones within reach every moment of the day, this could be potentially a great new thing! The incentive to use the coupon could be much greater given that printing, saving, and finding the coupon could be a thing of the past!

Sitting at my desk I can look around and see a LG phone, Dunkin’s cup, Apple computer, and the list can just go on and on. Whether it’s billboards, magazines, people’s clothing, or on the internet, advertising is literally everywhere. But where hasn’t advertising really tapped into yet? Your cell phone.
Mobile advertising is a market that many companies are trying to get more into. With everyone and their mother having a smart phone, it only makes sense for this to be the next big step in advertising. According to emarketer.com, the projected spend for 2009 in mobile advertising is 416 million, and it will soar up to $1.56 billion by 2013. Currently, the main forms of mobile advertising are through texting and banner ads. The mobile banner ads work in a similar fashion as internet banner ads. With mobile texting advertisers can purchase packages to meet their needs (packages can include a certain number of texts per month along with keywords) and then send them out to all their contacts.
Personally, I think that mobile advertising is great. Just the other week, I received a text for free admission to a concert because I had been at that same venue earlier that week. All I had to do is just show the text at the front door and I was in. No strings attached! Marketing strategies with incentives always seem to work the best. It gets the consumer in the door (for free in this case) and it still brings in revenue with other purchases such as food and beverages. If this isn’t a win win situation, then I do not know what is.

It looks like big brand names are maybe seeing that technology (the internet specifically) is where they need to look to to promote their products bigger and better. In recent years, luxury brands have not had to look at using the internet to generate business. They would do costly things like high end fashion magazine layouts or lavish displays at their stores. However, when times are tough (and you see a lot of traffic on your website) you brainstorm on ways you can generate business for the smallest cost. This is why many luxury brands are now looking at the internet as a way to generate more interest in their “brand”. Previously, businesses could solely depend on traditional sources of revenue, but never the internet. Adage.com reports that less than 33% of luxury companies were using the internet to generate business. I can not imagine this, but it seems it is in fact true. The future of the internet is really where it is at, yet some are just a little slower at seeing the “light” it seems. I guess better late than never!

We all know the importance of the internet in all of our lives, however there are some things that will go down in history. It’s like when a baby does little steps, talks, goes to school etc, you want to know what led up to that child to become who they are today. The internet is our world’s little baby!
11 Points.com points out some very interesting facts about “our” internet:

1. The first image posted on the internet was in 1992. This image was a random picture of 4 women.
2. The first email sent was back in 1971 by a programmer named Ray Tomlinson.
3. The first spam email to go out was in 1978 by a company called DEC (which is no longer in business).
4. The first banner ad was created by AT&T in 1994.
5. The first item sold on eBay was a broken laser point in 1995.
6. The first Tweet was performed by one of the founders of Twitter back in 2006.
7. The first search engine (called Archie) was created back in 1990.
8. The first domain name registered (symbolics.com) was in 1985.
9. The first YouTube video was created in 1995.
10.The first pornographic website registered was in 1994.

No matter how involved you are in the internet today, there is a deep history involved in what happened in previous years to create what we all call the internet today. I can’t wait to see the new list of “first” in 5-10 more years……… It’s such a big beast with so MUCH more potential!

Yahoo has come out ahead in a recent court case involving it’s Launch Media division and major record labels. These record labels wanted to be able to mandate a “status” of the media division (Launchcast Webcasting Service) as an “interactive service”. This title would have then made it a requirement for Launchcast to pay higher fees to broadcast it’s music. Instead the court ruled that the webcasting service would be treated as that, a web service, and only be required to pay some small royalty fees. This is great news for Yahoo who could have had to pay a lot more money to run their internet radio service.
This court case, and others involving major record labels, has really put a damper on the record label’s ability to earn revenue from their music being played. This opens up more conversations in the fact that how can record labels continue to earn revenue? Are we potentially looking at a whole new outlook on record labels and what they do to create music? What about the idea of them being run by internet companies? Distribution of CDs has really dropped off in recent years, and court cases like this one will continue to add fuel to this uphill battle the record labels and their artists are going through.