Archive for 2010

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What Now For Yahoo!?

Friday, December 17th, 2010

It seems these days you can’t shake a stick without hitting some sort of news on the declining state of Yahoo!. The newest bit of information to come out verifies that it will be parting ways with a host of its services, some of which will be axed and some of which could be merged with other brands.

This comes on the heels of weeks of speculation – and finally confirmation – that hundreds of Yahoo! employees would be let go (4% of its workforce in all).  That news set the table for this current batch of cutbacks.

So, what happens to Yahoo! in the next year? That’s a questions that industry experts have been trying to answer for some time now and even this recent chain of events doesn’t tip anything off as far as what comes of the one-time internet powerhouse. Not to say that Yahoo! is not still a valuable commodity. Millions still use its plethora of services, including Yahoo! Mail.  But it’s easy to forget just how many sites fell under the Yahoo umbrella. Among those that will feel the wrath of the chopping block include Delicious, Yahoo! Buzz, Yahoo! Bookmarks, MyBlogLog and AltaVista. It should be noted though, that not all will be necessarily shut down. Some, like the popular Delicious, may find homes elsewhere.

Said a Yahoo! spokesperson, “Part of our organizational streamlining involves cutting our investment in underperforming or off-strategy products to put better focus on our core strengths and fund new innovation in the next year and beyond.”

In an interesting take on matters, Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Softbank which owns a sizable portion of Yahoo! Japan, said to DealBook that Yahoo! was foolish for trying to be an all things media-type site and acquiring services and brands it had no idea what to do with instead of focusing on innovating its technology in search.

At this juncture it’s hard to say what Yahoo’s “core strengths” are. Many in the industry believe the company has given up on its search technology after its search and ad deal with Microsoft. Now it’s giving up on relatively popular ideas like social bookmarking, it seems.

With the company seemingly having trouble finding its identity, the speculation truly begins. Will Yahoo! itself shutdown? Will there be a merger? Will it slowly fade away while continuing to downsize? Will there be some sort of new branding leading to resurgence? The only certainty here is that this one-time giant is standing at a crucial fork in the road.

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Annual eZanga Holiday Party Set For Tonight

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Tonight, eZanga.com will celebrate the holiday season with its annual holiday party at the Executive Banquet and Conference Center in Newark, Del. A staple for the company, the eZanga holiday party is a celebration of 12 months of ‘working hard, playing hard and eating hard’ bringing company staff, business partners, friends and family to one setting.

As always, Santa Claus(es) will be in attendance to hand out some interesting gifts to staff members, and attendees will be treated to the always-entertaining holiday video. Be sure to check back for photos and video from the event.

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Lowering Rates Key to Hotel Industry Upswing

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

In 2009, the hotel industry was faced with a frightening problem – how do we recover from an unprecedented decline?

An all-time low dip of 35.4 percent in net operating income (NOI) stunned the hotel industry, one of many affected big-time by a  sputtering national economy. Demand for lodging fell drastically, especially in big markets where group meetings and business accommodations pulled in big money.

Hotel managers across the country turned to one solution and as the calendar flipped to 2010, room rates came crashing down – and it worked. This year, the hotel industry is prepared to celebrate a speedy recovery and the average U.S. hotel will have a 5.6 percent increase in NOI. Not coincidentally, average daily rate for rooms is projected to dip slightly.

“Severe room rate discounting during the first half of the year has driven the quicker than expected demand growth in 2010,” said R. Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality Research. Demand growth for 2010 is projected to grow to 7.8 percent.

An article from USA Today details how hotels are reducing prices of luxury suites closer to regular room pricing in hopes of luring occupants to upgrade. For now, the hope is that by ignoring the stigma that these price reductions will devalue these rooms, the demand and profits will continue to increase.

Hotels are also getting creative and doing things it would not ordinarily do including offering room on executive floors to group  customers and offering suite upgrades on a stand-by basis according to the USA Today report.

Another way hotels can speed up the process to a full recovery would be to advertise such offers and rates more aggressively with online marketing.  As proven with the surge in online shopping this past Thanksgiving weekend, people are turning to the internet more to find what they want. A hotel offering a generous deal or one-of-a-kind offer would greatly benefit by reaching those consumers actively searching online for just that.

For the time being, the market appears to be clearing up and in less time it has taken some other industries to get back on track. As a result, room rates will likely soon rise again as the demand for lodging increases. But for this holiday season, travelers expecting to pay high end dollars for a quality stay could be pleasantly surprised.

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eBook Match up: Google eBookstore Versus Amazon.com Kindle of the Web

Wednesday, December 8th, 2010

After six months of tweaking, Google rolled out their eBookstore this past Monday offering over three million titles. Google’s book scanning process, which started in 2004 seems to have paid off now claiming to be the largest Bookstore online. Sounds like this may present some steep competition for Amazon’s Kindle.

In addition to Google’s web reader, they’re offering free apps for Android and Apple devices. For many of the books offered you can customize font, font size, day/night reading mode and line spacing. With an open interface to integrate practically every device ranging from laptops to smartphone and e-readers (except Kindle)– Google’s convenience is unstoppable. Only problem is, you have to be connected to the internet for reading, unlike Kindle.

Speaking of the Kindle, what is in store for Amazon’s 72% share of eBook sales? Will the Kindle become a victim of yet another Google massacre? Amazon’s statement after Google eBookstore release insinuates they have some tricks up their sleeve to counteract Google’s Monday launch, resonating loud and clear to “Stay tuned.”

And how quickly the tides have changed. Yesterday Amazon demonstrated Kindle of the Web at Google’s Chrome event, which will allow users to read Kindle ebooks in their entirety directly through their web browsers–offering compatibility with PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, and Android phones. The version of the application is said to be available early next year.

Looks like Amazon is prepared to put up a good fight.

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eZanga to Attend Philadelphia Business Journal Expo

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

The Philadelphia Marriott in Downtown Philly (12th and Market) will host the Philadelphia Business Journal Expo Thursday December 2 from 2 to 5 p.m.

The event will give local business people and decision makers from varying business types in the Greater Philadelphia area a chance to network and interact. Over 50 exhibitors will be there, including eZanga.com so be sure to stop by and talk to our team.

Philadelphia Business Journal columnist Gene Marks will be the keynote speaker. For more information, click here to go to the event website.

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eZanga Makes the Lead411 ‘Technology 500′

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Technology business and data resource website Lead411 released its first annual Technology 500 awards today. eZanga.com made the list, placing at number 117.

The Technology 500 rankings honor the country’s 500 fastest growing private companies in the technology field based on yearly revenue growth percentage from 2007 to 2009.

Over 1000 applicants were reviewed over a two month span before the final list was released. For eZanga.com, the honor comes five months after Lead411 listed it among the Hottest D.C. area tech companies for its increased growth over a three month span.

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Online Shopping Gains During Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

This past weekend, millions of people shunned sleep, endured the elements and trekked miles and miles to retailers all over to take part the biggest shopping stretch of the year.

Others took a different approach.

While retailers across the country are rejoicing at a strong consumer showing all around (an estimated 212 million shoppers this year), online sales numbers are showing tremendous growth and this year accounted for a third of the holiday weekend shoppers, the most ever according to the National Retail Federation.

Coremetrics, an IBM company, estimates that online sales rose 33 percent on Thanksgiving, 16 percent on Black Friday and 19.4 percent on Cyber Monday from totals last year. Other statistics of note include an average consumer online order of $194.89, an 8.3 percent gain from 2009, and luxury goods sales increasing 24.3 percent over that time.

It probably shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone with a pulse on the increasing reliability of the internet that more consumers would turn to the internet for their shopping needs. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone at all that more people would go that route especially with horror stories of early morning Black Friday shopping which usually includes more than a few fights, injuries and even deaths. Why deal with that sort of insanity when you can accomplish the same mission in the comfort of your own PJ’s?

“Online shopping is increasingly becoming the refuge of those preferring to avoid the crowds and long lines,” ComScore Chairman Gian Fulgoni said in a statement. “The $648 million in online spending this Black Friday represents the heaviest online spending day of the season-to-date and a solid increase over last year’s Black Friday.”

The turnout for this year’s online sales should guarantee a heavier emphasis on online shopping deals next year, which is good news for the rising population of virtual consumers. The growing reputation of Cyber Monday made it a can’t miss event, and spurred it to 31 percent more online sales than Black Friday.

Like anything else, the more tech-savvy the population gets, the better off online markets thrive. This also bodes well for the ever-booming online advertising market, including the search engines that are widely responsible for leading users to the products and services they seek.

The train doesn’t stop here. All eyes will remain on the e-commerce landscape to see if those trends continue through the remainder of the holiday home stretch. While in-store shopping isn’t in any danger of falling by the wayside, online merchants may be able to grab a sizable chunk of the pie in the next few years.

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Cyber Monday is Here! Shop with Amazon, Google, and eZanga for the Best Deals

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Coined as one of the biggest online shopping days, Cyber Monday is hitting cubicals, offices and homes across America today. Last year, comScore reported that online spending increased 5 percent on Cyber Monday to $887 Million and that more than half of dollars spent online at U.S. Web sites originated from work computers (52.7 percent), representing a gain of 2.3 percentage points from last year. Today online retailers are extending deals, promotions, sales and free shipping to keep consumers in the holiday shopping spirit.

But most importantly make sure you’re shopping smart and safe today. Here are a few tips to avoid scams and identity theft:

1. Keep your computer safe– update your anti-virus and anti-spyware software and make sure your firewall is secure before shopping online.

2. Shop with trustworthy retailers– Look for an “s”  in https:// and in the lower-right corner for the “lock” symbol before paying. Shoppers should also find a logo or icon representing verified safe shopping through a third party, assuring credit card information and other confidential information is secured, and information will not be retained once you make a purchase. Look for icons such as VeriSign Secured and McAfee Secure before check out.

3. Some deals are too good to be true– E-mails claiming unreasonably low prices on those hard-to-get items? Go with your instincts…although it’s hard to pass up great deals it may save you in the long run.

4. Phishing– Watch out for fake e-mail confirmations, claiming they need to ‘confirm a few things before checking out’. Remember, if you have any doubts about the site, you can right-click anywhere on the page and select “Properties.” This will show the true URL and the dialog box will reveal if the site is not encrypted.

Not sure where to start? First check out Amazon’s lightning deals–this is a promotion offering a limited number of discounts on an item for a short period of time. For deals and steals aggregated in one place, visit comparative shopping sites, such as eZanga, making shopping faster and easier. And of course search Google to find out the hot search items and coupons and promotions attached.

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Apple’s iOS 4.2: iPad Redefined

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

The moment Apple users have been waiting for—the highly anticipated iOS 4.2 mobile software upgrade finally hit the iPad Monday. Some are calling it a ‘milestone update for iPads and iPhones’. This roll out addresses most of the hang ups iPad users have faced since inception, now offering:

  • Multitasking– ability to switch between multiple apps, while preserving iPad’s battery life
  • Folders– capable of organizing apps by drag-and-drop
  • Unified Inbox– fast inbox switching and a threaded message view
  • Game Center- play friends or be matched with new opponents, showcase scores and achievements, and discover new games their friends are playing
  • AirPlay- new feature for streaming music, video and photos wirelessly from iPad, iPhone and iPod touch to Apply TV. Also will be able to use AirPort Express and AirPlay to stream wirelessly to any stereo or powered speakers, or directly to AirPlay- (speakers coming to market in upcoming months).
  • AirPrint– Wi-Fi print that simplifies printing by completely eliminating printer drivers. The first to support printing direct from iOS devices include: HP Photosmart, HP LaserJet Pro and HP Officejet

The Find My iPad (or iPhone) feature, once only available for $99-a-year fee–is now free to use without a MobileMe subscription. The Find My iPhone app can be downloaded free at the App Store, letting users locate a missing device on a map and have it display a message or play a sound. Users can remotely lock or wipe data from a lost device to protect privacy.

“iOS 4.2 makes the iPad a completely new product, just in time for the holiday season,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Once again, the iPad with iOS 4.2 will define the target that other tablets will aspire to, but very few, if any, will ever be able to hit.”

Although a few kinks still need to be worked out, I think we can chalk this up as a W for Apple, giving web browsing a convenient look and feel with even more options. Companies such as Apple are changing how people communicate every day–bending technology trends and transplanting advertising budgets to the Web, solidifying the internet as the place to interact and be seen.

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Turn the Page: Phone Books Nearly Extinct

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

It was never a matter of “if” but “when”.

The digital age has left a lot of casualties in its wake and in the last five years it was expected that white pages, yellow pages and printed directories in general would succumb to a digital Ice Age of sorts, ultimately leaving them extinct (newspapers, you are on the clock).

According to the Washington Post, Verizon, one of the nation’s largest land-line carriers, has already had requests granted to stop printing and delivering residential white pages in five states and is looking to extend that mission to all 12 states it supplies to. Instead, the directories will be available online, on CD, or – for those who find it absolutely necessary – printed and delivered on request.

Picture taken outside of the eZanga office.

Picture taken outside the eZanga office.

With the online revolution in full swing for years now, the dominance of companies like Google and Facebook prove that information and connections are increasingly being shared over the web. Over 77 percent of people in the U.S. spend their day online. Their thinking is “why rummage through thousands of numbers in the phone book when you can simply search for it online?” And that’s not to mention the plummeting state of land-lines due to the overwhelming use of cell phones over the last decade. Finding people under the age of 30 who use a land line is becoming an ever more difficult search mission. Verizon’s directory producer, Gallup for SuperMedia, says the percentage of households using the residential white pages dipped from 25 percent in 2005 to 11 percent in 2008.

Word on the street though is that more than enough people are still using the yellow pages. The Yellow Pages Association (the above mentioned “street”, mind you) says that 550 million residential and business directories are printed every year, so they are doing just fine, thank you. That likely isn’t a shocking fact considering you pass roughly 10 percent of those lying helplessly in the front lawns of people happily using their computers instead. Oh yeah, getting rid of these mammoth books also saves a lot of trees in the process.

SuperMedia did indicate that they would continue to supply the government and business pages, but for how long? More local businesses are visible on the internet and are finding it to be a better way to reach customers. Every state has its own government website.

There will remain people stuck in their ways; those who refuse to showcase their business online and those who refuse to learn how to turn on one of those dadgum smart machines because they can always pick up the phone book. Sooner rather than later, they won’t be left with much of a choice.

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