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Defense Department Launches Blogging Platform

The Defense Department has launched “DoDLive” a centrally linked platform from which services can create and maintain blogs.

“This blogging tool allows all branches of the military an opportunity to establish an official blog about their command, organization or unit,” said Brian Natwick, acting director of the Defense Media Activity’s emerging media directorate and general manager of the Pentagon Channel.

The blogging platform will help Defense Department organizations to communicate on a more personal level, and can be used as an extension to their websites.

“Having a central blogging capability means that not only can readers know they’re receiving reliable content, but it enables conversations through which the Department of Defense can learn and grow,” Natwick said.

Beta testing of the platform began in January. Since the beta launch, the Air Force and Army added service specific blogs, and the Coast Guard is expected to join in soon.

The department’s official blog is at http://DoDLive.mil and is managed by the emerging media directorate. Posts will cover a variety of topics, including first-person updates from Pentagon Channel reporters and senior Defense Department officials, “DoDLive Bloggers Roundtable” content, internal messages for military audiences and updates on military news stories.

The blog will also highlight the department’s other social media outlets such as the Wounded Warrior Diaries, “DoDvClips,” and the “Armed with Science” and “Dot Mil Docs” audio webcasts.

“We recognize our service members and organizations are blogging already, and we encourage that,” said Les Benito, director of the department’s public Web site.

“What ‘DoDLive’ gives us is the top-down support that will help the department dispel any lingering doubts about blogging and security and whether organizations should or shouldn’t engage. We hope the conversation expands because of it.”

With Memorial Day coming up take a minute to hear General Casey’s message in this video.

Elvis Gets iPhone App

If you are an Elvis fan then you might be “all shook up” over the release of Elvis Mobile, a free iPhone application for iPhone and iPod Touch users.

Elvis Mobile is available through the iTunes App Store. Features of the app allow fans to view newly released pictures and videos, listen to podcasts from Elvis Radio, provide Graceland Livecam access, and report Elvis sightings around the world. Content on Elvis Mobile will be maintained by Elvis Presley Enterprises and updated daily.

“Elvis always believed in embracing new technology and this new Elvis Mobile application is another unique way to continue Elvis’ legacy,” says Scott Williams, EPE Vice President of Marketing.

“Elvis has had a commanding online presence for a number of years with elvis.com. With Elvis Mobile on the iPhone and iPod Touch, we’re giving fans of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll another tool to experience Elvis in a new and interactive way.”

Elvis Mobile App Features:

• An “Elvis Sightings” section allows fans to submit their Elvis pictures, taken with their iPhone, directly to www.elvis.com from anywhere in the world and simultaneously update their Facebook pages with the same information.

• An “Image” section will be updated weekly and will feature never-before-seen and rare pictures of the life and times of Elvis Presley.

• A “Video” section will be updated periodically with clips of Elvis and special Elvis events/happenings.

• A “News” section features the latest information on all things Elvis from www.elvis.com.

• A “Livecam” section gives fans a real-time look at Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion in Memphis, TN.

• A “Podcast” section allows users to listen to The Graceland Beat from Elvis Radio.

The Elvis Mobile app was created by Memphis-based RESOLUTE Games Corporation.

Women Trust Blogs More Than Social Networks

Women are nearly twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information (64%), advice and recommendations (43%) and opinion-sharing (55%), while they are 50 percent more likely to turn to social networking sites as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family (75%), according to a new BlogHer study.

The “2009 Women in Social Media Study” by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners, found that while women who use social media platforms share a strong desire to connect and to entertain themselves, there are also ways in which the reasons for using various social media platforms differ.

Since last year, women are turning in even greater numbers to blogs (55%), social networks (75%) and online status updating (20%) as a primary sources of community interaction, entertainment and information.

Because they are viewed as trusted sources of information, blogs now carry considerable influence on consumer’s purchasing habits with 45 percent of survey respondents saying they purchased an item after reading about it on a blog.

“Social media continues to be a growing phenomenon, and bloggers, in particular, represent a highly engaged and influential segment of social media users for brand marketers looking to connect to consumers online,” said Susan Wright, President of Compass Partners LLC.

“Bloggers have a broad reach in the social media population and the survey demonstrates that women who blog are the most actively engaged social media participants — constantly seeking out new ideas and ways to share their opinions about those ideas.”

This study measured the habits of women who participate in any social media activity weekly or more often with about half participating daily. Of the 42 million women engaged in social media weekly, 55 percent of women participate in some form of blogging activity; 75 percent participate in social networks such as Facebook or MySpace and 20 percent use Twitter.

As a result of the increased activity, the study found that women online are now more than ever spending less time engaging in traditional media activities like watching TV (30%), listening to the radio (31%), and reading magazines (36%) or newspapers (39%).

“The scale of social media usage among U.S. women continues to grow, and blogs remain the go-to resource for those who want to gather information, share ideas and get reliable advice,” said Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer co-founder and COO.

“At a time when the economy is top of mind for more than 70 percent of these active social media participants, women who blog are turning to online resources, including blogs, to help them make their day to day purchasing decisions.”

Satisfaction With Government Websites Dip

Citizen satisfaction with federal government websites fell in the first quarter, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) E-Government Satisfaction Index.

The report released from the University of Michigan and e-government sponsor ForeSee Results, finds that citizen satisfaction dropped half a point from the previous quarter’s all-time high to 73.6 on the ACSI 100-point scale.

The decline since last quarter may be due to high expectations for e-government in Obama’s first 100 days in office and to a fall in satisfaction with program sites, which are focused on a particular federal program rather than an agency or department.

Program sites overall declined 3 percent to a score of 74, while agency sites (74) and department sites (73) remain on par with the previous quarter.

“The appointment of the nation’s first chief technology officer, chief information officer and chief performance officer should be good news for e-government, as all have said they are dedicated to innovation and breaking through the red tape that hampers technological advancement,” said Larry Freed, president and CEO of ForeSee Results.

“As a candidate, Obama made his campaign accessible to voters, and as President he hopes to do the same for government. Change may have come to Washington, but it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Of the 107 sites measured, 24 websites (up from 22 last quarter) are top performers meaning they have scores of 80 or higher. With tow sites scoring 90, the Social Security Administration has a higher score than any private sector website measured by the ACSI. Overall, e-government trails private sector ecommerce (80) and e-business (79.3) websites.

“In many ways, government websites have it a lot tougher than private sector sites because they have to organize varied, complex, and extensive information. Also, government websites often have more first-time or infrequent users, making it more difficult to create a good user experience,” said Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI at the University of Michigan.

“Although the drop in user satisfaction is a reason for concern, there are obviously some e-gov successes that show it is possible to do very well.”

Social Network Usage Overtaking Email

Social networking activity increased significantly during an eight-month study of over two thousand home-based consumer Microsoft Windows PCs and several hundred home Apple Mac computers in the U.S. while email usage remained flat, according to ClickStream Technologies.

Comparing usage on Windows PCs of the top web mail sites and MS Outlook usage of leading social networking site Facebook, ClickStream found that the usage of Facebook nearly doubled among adult U.S. Internet users while email usage remained flat.

During the period between October 1, 2008 and ending February 28, 2009, usage of Facebook jumped from 16 percent to 32 percent among U.S. adult Windows Internet users while usage of MS Outlook remained flat.

Among 18-24 year olds MS Outlook usage averaged about 14 percent penetration per month while Facebook usage averaged 38 percent.

The study also compared all US Windows users’ use of web mail sites such as Google Mail and Microsoft Hotmail. Similar findings showed a steady combined penetration of about 80% during the study, but a decline in clicks and average minutes users spent interacting with the sites in these months.

While both web email and application-based email like MS Outlook is not showing a significant overall drop, new online social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter are experiencing a significant growth rate compared to email.

Online Fraud Likely To Increase

Internet fraud in the U.S. increased by 33 percent in 2008, rising for the first time in three years, according to a report released in late March by the FBI’s Internet Fraud Complaint Center.

As the recession continues, early indicators for 2009 show Internet fraud is likely to increase. From February to March 2009 there was a 50 percent increase in reported Internet fraud complaints.

“These numbers are shocking, but given that the vast majority of incidents go unreported, the threat of identification theft is actually much more serious than even these figures would lead us to believe,” says Justin Yurek, President of ID Watchdog, Inc.

Internet fraud includes everything from bogus sales on auction and classified sites such as eBay and Craigslist to smaller scale version of the Ponzi scheme carried out by New York financier Bernard Madoff. One new Internet identity theft scam involves emails that look like they came from the FBI or other federal agencies requesting the recipient’s bank account information in order to help with illegal wire transfer investigations.

“This report underscores the rampant growth of identity theft threats across the board from both high-tech but also low-tech sources,” says Mr. Yurek.

“With ever-evolving methodologies used by identity thieves, the average consumer requires a broad-based protection services to help monitor for instances of fraud.”

Identity theft is now the fastest-growing crime in the United State, with nearly ten million Americans victims of some form of identity fraud each year.

Online Video A Bright Spot For Newspapers

Brightcove has released data showing significant adoption and monetization of online video by major newspapers such as the New York Times and The Washington Post.

Brightcove said that its 30 newspaper clients streamed 42,777,231 online videos in the first quarter of this year, a 179 percent increase from the first quarter of 2008. The company said its newspaper clients are uploading about 3.5 times more videos per day then a year ago.

Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire said newspapers are seeing the value of online video news content and are integrating it into their overall news offerings.

“Online video for newspapers is in an early stage as a business, but they are starting to monetize it and sell ads for higher rates,” Allaire said.

“We invested in this category early, and our account managers understand the challenges of integrating digital media in a newspaper environment. We work with our newspaper customers to improve workflow, simplify monetization of their video content, and deliver the best user experience to their customers.”

Online video will not make up for the loss of print revenue for newspapers, but digital will continue to be a growth area for newspapers and a major part of future business models according to Allaire.

Charity websites lack particulars and panache

You’d think that charity websites would want to make two things clear from the outset – what their mission is and how they spend donated money. But it seems that’s not the case, according to new research  from Jakob Nielsen.

Non-profit organizations could be missing out on millions in donations, purely because of bad website design and usability issues, according to Nielsen’s recent blog post.

 In it he identified two “donation killers”:

 Content - 53% of donation killers related to unsatisfactory content such as bad copywriting and missing information, including the omission of vital details that could sway a donor’s decision such as the organization’s goals and how donations are used.

Usability – 47% of problems that killed the desire to donate were related to usability including cluttered pages, confusing navigation and over-formatting.

One element of charity’s website that really does need to stand out is ‘how to donate’. Traditionally this is a prominent element of a donation campaign, irrespective of the media used. Yet, in Nielsen’s research, his testers were unable to find a way to donate on 17% of sites. That’s incredible – a charity’s number one mission is to encourage donation and yet nearly 1 in 5 has no clear and visible direction on how to do so on their website.

 However, the actual process of taking money from donors was “OK”, says Nielsen. It seems website developers are old hats at the checkout process - it’s just the persuasion and panache aspects that they’re lacking. Perhaps, instead of money, those in the know could donate to charities their time imparting some equally-valuable online knowledge?

Majority Of Messages Sent By Mobile

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of all messages globally are now sent through a mobile device, according to a new study by TNS. This is a big increase over a year ago when it was only 59 percent. The trend is higher in emerging markets where nine out of ten messages now go out via mobiles.

“As mobile devices slowly take away usage share from fixed services in developed markets, in emerging markets consumers are more likely to by-pass fixed communications altogether and go straight to mobiles,” said Sam Curtis, Sector Development Manager at TNS Technology.

Emailing from a PC is still the most popular form of messaging in the developed world, but there are signs that too is changing. In Japan for example, 40 out of 100 emails sent are from a mobile device and in North America, 69 percent of those using email on their mobile phone use it daily, compared to only 43 percent globally.

Mobile instant messaging (MIM) is another communication technology experiencing strong growth. Thirteen percent of mobile users now use this feature globally compared to only 8 percent in the previous year.  The growth among Smartphone users is even more significant with an increase from 13 percent to 41 percent this year.

In emerging markets MIM has the most opportunities. In China for example, 16 percent of mobile phone owners use MIM, which accounts for 27 out of every 100 messages sent across all technologies.

“This is another example of the emerging market consumer leap-frogging right to the most suitable technology,” said Curtis.

“We have also seen very similar trends emerging in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.  MIM’s low cost and less formal tone is ideally suited to consumers who can communicate without boundaries for the first time.”

Want Star-Spangled Banner Ads?

Thanks to a new spin on banner advertising content you, too, can have a seasoned sports pro or up-and-coming sporting talent endorsing your products or services without spending the equivalent of a pro-footballer’s annual salary to do so.

New ad units launched this week by Brand Affinity Technologies (BAT) enables those with limited budgets to feature one of over 1,400 professional athletes in their banner advertising. Advertisers are provided with detailed profiles of each sportsperson and both images and video are available for use, with the stars in a variety of poses and expressing various emotions.

The cost is reasonable, too. According to reports, CPMs for use of the celebrity images run to $1 to $2.50, a snip of the cost of most celebrity fees. “Most advertisers’ perception is it would cost them $500,000 to get into endorsement advertising,” said Allie Savarino Kline, vice president of marketing at BAT. With this new solution, even 10 million clicks would cost just a fraction of that.

Devin Hester and a veritable team of other famous athletes including Brooks Robinson, Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, Walt Frazier and Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett are all on BAT’s books. Of course, the sports stars have the final say in where, and for whom, their faces are used and at the same time, advertisers retain the right to cancel agreements should the celebrity do anything to harm their brand’s image. According to Kline, images can be changed within the hour, perfect for when that bong/steroid/sex romp story hits the headlines.

BAT also tracks online buzz about the athletes by generating heat-maps based on daily athletic performance and national media exposure. This profiling allows advertisers to select ad placements in locations and on websites where they will have the most impact.

“What we found is that even with as few as a single exposure to a BAT-enabled ad, an online display ad that includes BAT-endorsed talent, we saw lifts across-the-board in every single brand metric and every single direct-response metric,” said Kline.

To date, it’s reported LegalZoom.com and ticket seller StubHub have used the service. http://www.clickz.com/3633105