Using Firefox, Safari and Chrome at the same time I sometimes come across some interesting a/b tests and this time it's Google. Looks like the search giant is experimenting with a new search results page design making the local and vertical search customisation options more prominent than before, i.e. the left hand pane is open by default rather than hidden and a location auto-detect function has been added.

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In cas you ever wondered where your Google Analytics data goes if you opt in to share it with the world, here is your answer: "To improve the quality of our site traffic estimates, we have upgraded our traffic estimation model. Our model uses a hybrid methodology that combines sample user data, from various Google products and services, with direct measured site-centric data. The model's direct measured signal is pulled from Google Analytics customer accounts that have chosen to opt-in to sharing their data with Ad Planner."

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The guys at AdGooroo have published another one of their search advertising reports which contains some really interesting data. 

Apart from the above the report also contains the following.

• Monthly Change in First Page Advertisers
• Avg # Ads/Keyword (US & International)
• Avg # Ads/Keyword (US only)
• 2009 Retailer Search Spending (Top 80 retailers, Google US)
• Top 25 US Advertisers by Search Engine

Download the full report here.

http://succeed.adgooroo.com/Q409_Search_Advertising_Report.html

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Looks like marketers are getting worked up about behavioural targeting without reason but Google could probably do a better job at promoting their opt-out service and raising awareness about the option as well.

Nine months ago, when Google first introduced behavioral ad targeting, it also rolled out an ad preferences manager. The page allows Web site visitors to edit their advertising interest categories -- for instance confirm an interest in cars or entertainment -- or to opt out of behavioral targeting altogether.

As it turns out, relatively few users visit the page, and among those who do only a small fraction opt out, according to Google. The finding suggests that those who seek out the page are predominantly comfortable with Google's behavioral ad practices.

"A good percentage of users are saying they'd rather control [behavioral targeting] than opt out," said Wong.

A rough calculation suggests that at the most, about 6,600 of Google's users are opting out of ad targeting per week. The figure is based on a generous estimate that the site captures 99,000 visitors on an average week -- the most possible if the site is indeed capturing tens of thousands yet not more than 100,000 visitors, as Google indicated to ClickZ.

Under this estimate: 6,600 (number of users opting out) x 4 = 26,400 (number of users editing preferences) x 10 = 66,000 (number of users taking no action). The sum of those three is 99,000 -- again, the maximum number of weekly visitors to page, according to Google.

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1. Remember that innovation requires no fixed rules or templates -- only guiding principles. Creating a more innovative culture is an organic and creative act.
2. Wherever you can, whenever you can, always drive fear out of the workplace. Fear is "Public Enemy #1" of an innovative culture.
3. Have more fun. If you're not having fun (or enjoying the process) something is off.
4. Always question authority, especially the authority of your own longstanding beliefs.
5. Make new mistakes.
6. As far as the future is concerned, don't speculate on what might happen, but imagine what you can make happen.
7. Increase the visual stimuli of your organization's physical space. Replace gray and white walls with color. Add inspiring photos and art, especially visuals that inspire people to think differently. Reconfigure space whenever possible.
8. Help people broaden their perspective by creating diverse teams and rotating employees into new projects -- especially ones they are fascinated by.
9. Ask questions about everything. After asking questions, ask different questions. After asking different questions, ask them in a different way.
10. Ensure a high level of personal freedom and trust. Provide more time for people to pursue new ideas and innovations.

Read about the 40 remaining ways to foster innovation here
http://www.ideachampions.com/weblogs/archives/2009/12/50_ways_to_fost_1.shtml

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All marketers would have seen the below graph before and understand how the theory behind it impacts their marketing campaigns but most might wonder in which phase certain products actually are. Some might know for their own products based on sales numbers but these might not be that easy to come by in large organisations and when it comes to competitor products the guesswork really starts.

So why not use search term trends provided by Google free of charge to establish what lifecycle stage a particular product is in? The search term volume over time shows the change in interest in the product pretty well. Check out the below search term trends for the most popular N-Series Nokia products and how closely each resembles the lifecycle curve vs. the iPhone.

The below graphs shows nicely how the interest in the respective Nokia product grows over time with adoption and then finally drops back down with new products being introduced. Overall sales numbers probably correlating quite nicely with search term volume.

Interesting is the trend for the iPhone. As you can see it doesn't follow the standard product lifecycle curve at all but so far manages to keep growing rather than declining which is a prime example for how you can keep products alive by introducing additional features and services. Just think about the iPhone integration with iTunes and the growing number of applications and you get the drift.

Read some more about the product lifecycle theory here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_life_cycle_management

Check out the original Nokia Google Trends data here
http://www.google.com/trends?q=n95%2C+n73%2C+n96%2C+n70%2C+n82&ctab=0&geo=all&geor=all&date=all&sort=0

Check out the original iPhone Google Trends data here
http://www.google.com/trends?q=iphone&ctab=0&geo=all&geor=all&date=all&sort=0

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Another awesome article form Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, especially the stats on how many decisions we make online vs. when watching TV which has serious implications for online advertising and website usability.

Today, of course, we're in the opposite scenario: everything we write competes with trillions of Web pages, all a few clicks away. As a result, most people actually read very few words on the Web.

The velocity of media consumption has increased dramatically. Readers no longer linger over lovingly described passages detailing a lord's style of dress. They click here, they click there, they click everywhere. But they don't stay.

People's consumption of print media is different than their use of websites, leading to the many differences in designing for print versus the Web.

Compared to TV, the Web also has a much finer granularity of user control:

When watching TV, you make one decision every 30–120 minutes: pick a show or movie to watch, and then it's lean-back time. Ah, easy.

When surfing the Web, you make a decision every 10–120 seconds: leave or stay on this page; leave or stay on this site. Where to click now? Where to click next? A bit stressful.

Adding up all these differences explains the fast pace of Web use: the velocity is much higher than we see for TV use.

Read the original Alertbox article here
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/media-velocity.html

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It seems to me that more and more businesses now have corporate twitter accounts and given that most blog publishing platforms now have Twitter integrations, this has become the channel of choice to follow business news updates rather than RSS. The below Google Trends search term data doesn't prove that but at least supports the theory to some extend. Your thoughts?

http://www.google.com/trends?q=twitter%2C+rss&ctab=0&geo=au&geor=all&date=all&sort=0

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Check out trendwatching.com's latest trend briefing, which highlights 10 trends for 2010.

1. BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL | Forget the recession: the societal changes that will dominate 2010 were set in motion way before we temporarily stared into the abyss.

2. URBANY | Urban culture is the culture. Extreme urbanization, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and far beyond will lead to more sophisticated and demanding consumers around the world.

3. REAL-TIME REVIEWS | Whatever it is you're selling or launching in 2010, it will be reviewed 'en masse', live, 24/7.

4. (F)LUXURY | Closely tied to what constitutes status, which itself is becoming more fragmented, luxury will be whatever consumers want it to be over the next 12 months.

5. MASS MINGLING | Online lifestyles are fueling 'real world' meet-ups like there's no tomorrow, shattering all predictions about a desk-bound, virtual, isolated future.

6. ECO-EASY | To really reach some meaningful sustainability goals in 2010, corporates and governments will have to forcefully make it 'easy' for consumers to be more green, by restricting the alternatives.

7. TRACKING & ALERTING | Tracking and alerting are the new search, and 2010 will see countless new INFOLUST services that will help consumers expand their web of control.

8. EMBEDDED GENEROSITY | Next year, generosity as a trend will adapt to the zeitgeist, leading to more pragmatic and collaborative donation services for consumers.

9. PROFILE MYNING | With hundreds of millions of consumers now nurturing some sort of online profile, 2010 will be a good year to help them make the most of it (financially), from intention-based models to digital afterlife services.

10. MATURIALISM | 2010 will be even more opinionated, risque, outspoken, if not 'raw' than 2009; you can thank the anything-goes online world for that. Will your brand be as daring?

Check out the full trend briefing here
http://trendwatching.com/briefing/

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