Leadpile’s Blog

I don’t know about you, but can you remember the last time you went to a post office or mailed something? In the wake of email, online banking and other electronic methods of paying bills and communication, our post offices are suffering. MSNBC is stating that our nation’s post offices are looking at a potential loss of $7 billion this year. This means that the ability to operate all these post office locations is in jeopardy. There are nearly 33,000 post office locations and my guess would be the ones that could be in trouble would be the less populated areas. That only makes sense, but I think that we need our post offices to deliver to those that do not have computer access, those that need to still deliver registered letters/packages, and for those that still choose to receive “paper” copies of their bills.
So what is the resolution to this money issue with the post office besides just closing down offices? Could we see mail getting delivered less than 6 days a week? Leadpile and other lead generation companies are not necessarily focused on direct mail, however this is something that we are considering utilizing as a source of lead generation. I don’t really see the post office issue as affecting that decision.

In the days of companies trying to be the best of the best, companies are trying to always come up with fresh new ideas. Yahoo has rolled out it’s new search tool called “search pad”. This new Yahoo tool will allow those that are trying to do a lot of research on a prticular subject matter, to keep all their results in one common place to reference (a notepad per say). This new tool will allow you to really sort through all the various search results you obtained from a particular subject matter. This is not something that can be organized with search engines such as Google and Bing, so there could be some interest in this new notepad. The unfortunate thing about this new tool is it really is not beneficial for those that are just doing a quick search for simple subjects such as stores in the area.
The idea of this could be really good for students or workers that are doing an indepth report, and need to have a lot of material to complete the report. Unfortunately, the use of libraries has pretty much dwindled, where people now use the internet to research reports for school and work.
Leadpile and other internet companies have to have this same sort of initiative to stay around. The future of your company relies on knowing your competition will always be trying to come up with new/fresh ideas. If you want to stay around and remain competitive you have to come up with ideas to capture a new audience that some other company is not doing. This appears to be that attempt by Yahoo, and it certainly has a uniqueness that other search engines are not yet offering. So maybe it will be received with open arms like Microsoft’s Bing search engine. The key is to not capture of the attention of users, but to keep their attention.

It is not the most amazing thing the effects an “icon” can have on the media? All major networks changed what they were broadcasting this evening because of Michael Jackson passing away, and internet sites are all bombarded by searchers. I am not sure if you are one of those people that heard the possibility of something bad happening to Michael Jackson earlier in the day, but Leadpile was. Scrambling to find out what was going on with this icon was what was on the TV, the radio AND the internet. How amazing is that that someone has so much impact on the whole world? The media (internet, radio and television) is so so powerful to convey such an icon’s legacy!
Leadpile says goodbye to Michael Jackson.

If you have turned on the national news in the last week, there is talk about what is going on in Iran. Unfortunately, there is a lot of uproar going on, and there is some finger pointing going on with internet companies and their involvement. Internetnews.com is reporting,”Internet traffic experts and DPI firms have been hard at work assessing the traffic into and out of Iran, but such data only provides a certain level of insight into the motives and actions of the government of Iran. Experts believe that specific applications are being targeted, but cannot prove that the government is using a specific technology such as DPI. ” This opens up questions of how much should a government be able to interfere with it’s residence with their use of the internet. Are sites such as Twitter that powerful that there needs to be intervention? Technology is powerful, however is it really that powerful to affect results of Iran’s political affairs?

Are you ever watching your favorite television show and some sort of advertisement comes on that really you have no interest in? I know I know a lot of us don’t really care for advertisements at all, but what if the ads that are on your t.v. are things you are potentially interested in? How about if you’re watching a show like Home Shopping Network, and you can then use your remote control, push a few buttons, and charge a purchase from your television? How about voting for your favorite reality show contestant without using your phone?
All these are things that our televisions are going to be soon allowing us to do in addition to relevant commercials. NPRNews points out, “Consumer advocates worry about marketers compromising our privacy by rummaging through our viewing habits and getting us to trade personal information for coupons.” Potentially these marketing companies will know everything you have purchased, however they will not know detail information such as your name. Is this sort of thing crossing the line on your personal t.v time? This sort of thing is already happening with the internet (behavioral targeting) and websites you are visiting (cookies), so why not with your television too? Leadpile Lead Exchange does not use cookies with our lead generation, however many affiliate marketing networks do.

I am not sure if this is something new, or maybe just a White House position I have never really paid attention till now, however President Obama has named 2 high profile company executives to his tech council.  Tech Council?  Yes, there is such a thing and I think this is a sign of the times.  America has gone internet “crazy” and it is only right to have a President working closely with individuals from Google and Microsoft.  Google’s Eric Schmidt and Microsoft’s Craig Mundie have joined a team (PCAST) of 20 advisers to the President.

“PCAST is designed to give the White House a pipeline to some of the leading voices in science, engineering and technology as the administration crafts policies in those areas,” according to Internet News.  Leadpile Lead Exchange, and other internet companies, like the idea of the potential of more advacements and assistance for this growing internet world we are all a part of.  Maybe in the next presidential term there will be representatives from social networking sites and maybe affiliate marketing companies? Now that is a great idea!

We all purchase items, do online banking, pay our bills, apply for credit and all sorts of other tasks each day through the internet.  Companies like ours work with trying to connect those on the intenet looking for services, with those that can provide that service. Unfortunately, no one, including Leadpile Lead Exchange, is 100% safe from online fraud activity.  According to internet news,“Sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet.” It appears a lot of this increased fraud is directly related to the e-commerce industry. Everyone and anyone is buying their products online while supplying their credit card information. Groups such as The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) partner up with agencies such as the FBI to help monitor internet fraud. However, 2008 saw a 33% spike in the the number of complaints received versus the year before.
We all know the internet is the wave of the future, but how are we all going to maintain consumer safety with such a massive conglomerate as the internet? Is there really a way to be totally safe on the internet? Sadly, fraud is not the only issue the internet is dealing with.  Children and young adults are using the internet as a means of socializing and even “bullying”/harassing others.  I am thinking schools will need to incorporate internet communication skills and proper etiquette to help with teaching children proper ways to utilize the internet. This might help prevent some of the fraud and other problems the internet is facing. Educate kids at a young age to help define the future of the internet. 

Calling all college basketball fans…… March Madness is going on now!   
Did you know you can follow everything on the internet?
The tournament started back in 1939, however the availability of it at your finger tips was not present back then. 
Nowadays, websites such as NCAA.com and directtv.com offer up to the minute stats and videos on the tournament.
The internet is the wave of the future, and it is certainly something all of us can not live without…….even when it comes to basketball!

As children, we all got exposed to the library and how important it was to read books.  However, in recent years the library has become a far second to the internet.  With most Americans having a computer in their home, children are now learning the importance of the internet.  The internet has become the quickest way to learn about anything you could imagine.  However, is this affecting the library and the number of people that attend them?  It appears, there is still value added with the library.

According to NPR News, the library is in fact still a place that many recommend you go to for job information, financial advice/information, and anything else you need to know. In recent years, there has been grants given to libraries that allows them to update resources and offer programs to consumers. Some see a library and it’s librarians as a more “trusted” source for information about things like their finances. The internet can be something potentially that people might not trust as much. So, if you are little overwhelmed by all the information on the internet, you might now want to start to reconsider utilizing your local library! Leadpile Lead Exchange also believes in the power of reading and the library. The Heber-Overgaard Library was one of our designated charities, that the Leadpile team contributed donations to in 2008. Knowledge is power!

To no surprise, job websites have seen an increase in traffic to their sites.  With the national unemployment rate above 7%, Americans are reaching to the internet to help find a new job.

According to DMNews, more than a half of a million jobs were lost last month, which is the most in a month in 35 years. Therefore, job websites are beefing up their ways to monetize this traffic. Some are incorporating newsletters, which contain helpful information about interviewing and other helpful tips. However, others are offering potential advice on starting a new business during these tough economic times. Leadpile Lead Exchange does not necessarily work with job websites, however we do work with lead types/services some of these consumers would be interested in obtaining. Home based business is a lead type that we are working with, which a perfect opportunity for consumers to try and be matched up with those that can help them start up that new business.

Some higher traffic job websites:

1. Snagajob.com
2. Careerbuilder.com
3. Monster.com
4. Simplyhired.com
5. Dice.com

Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com both are sites that also took advantage of the highly watched Super Bowl. This exposure is certainly going to help contribute to some increased traffic.