Traffic Toolshop Times

…changed how nearly all of us viewed the personal computer.  Love him or hate him, Bill Gates and Microsoft have made using computers an integral part of everyday life.  It can be argued that without Microsoft and Windows computers would have remained the domain of engineers, scientists and technical geeks.  The advent of graphical-based interface programs and devices made it easy for the rest of us to use computers for a variety of purposes.

Sure, the rumors perpetuate about someone else or some other company inventing the concept and Bill Gates “stealing” the idea.  Fact is, Gates, as Ellison, McNealy and others would later do, saw the value in making something as mundane as the computer into an integral part of daily life be it personal or business related.

So, Bill Gates is the fourth person in this lineup of six men who made internet marketing possible.  Even if the business owner is not fond of Microsoft or Windows chances are their customers like using it.  Making computers easy to use also made them easy to conduct business through, and as the saying goes … the rest is history.

Have you ever had one of those moments?  One where you hear or read the words you’ve been trying to express?  A recent post on the Bizphere blog is like that.  So, be honest, haven’t you ever wondered why those who claim to be gurus are the only ones that make money?  Or, how about the televangelist who is always talking about how God wants to make you rich but your “harvest” never seems to arrive?

The similarities are striking.  The TV preacher says you must have faith, keep “sowing your seed.”  The dishonest internet marketer says you need to buy this product, that product, attend his/her seminars, and buy the home study courses.  It seems both of these hucksters want to string you along until you either exceed your credit limit or go away in a frustrated mood.

Unlike a good football or baseball coach who really does want you to succeed the unscrupulous preacher/marketing guru is hoping you continue to fail.  Why?  So you keep coming back for more.  Keep casting that bread upon the water.  Keep investing in your marketing education.  Soon, your havest will come in or your products will start selling, etc.

“Real” hope is like wrapping paper and ribbons wrapped around a dream and in working your rear end off to make that dream come true.  The dream is the driving force and hope is “along for the ride” so to speak.  I could provide examples, but like I mentioned earlier, the Bizphere blogger says it better:

http://www.bizphere.com/are-you-buying-hope/

Quick!  Identify the correct answer concerning the birthplace of the internet browser:

1. A secluded, tiny office in the Silicon Valley region of California.
2. The basement of a computer science building at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
3. In the lab of a technology company located in North Carolina’s Research Triangle.
4. On a university campus in the heart of Illinois.

If you chose “D” then pop that cork and start celebrating!  The National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, a sleepy Midwestern university town is indeed the birthplace of technology that made the Internet user-friendly, thereby making it a daily necessity of life for hundreds of millions of individuals.

University of Illinois student Marc “Andreessen and a full-time salaried co-worker Eric Bina worked on creating a user-friendly browser with integrated graphics that would work on a wide range of computers. The resulting code was the Mosaic web browser.”[1]

A while after graduating Andreesen and co-founder Jim Clark started a company in Mountain View, California. They soon changed the name from Mosaic to Netscape Navigator to stay in good graces with the University of Illinois.

This concept of taking the World Wide Web that Tim Berners-Lee and his colleagues at CERN had created and combining it with a user-friendly browser that appealed to the masses resulted in the internet boom heard around the world.  “Mosaic is clumsy but extraordinarily fun. With Mosaic, the online world appears to be a vast, interconnected universe of information. You can enter at any point and begin to wander; no Internet addresses or keyboard commands are necessary. The complex methods of extracting information from the Net are hidden from sight. Almost every person who uses it feels the impulse to add some content of his or her own. “[2]

Think about it.  If you had to type long lines of code just to go to a website would you do it?  Navigator (a.k.a. Mosaic) enabled everyone to have an enjoyable ride on the information superhighway. Many other browsers are now in use but it is Netscape Navigator that brought the Internet from a limited use tool to the mass market commodity we all enjoy today.

Okay, so it is not of the liquid variety but there is no doubt that Java must be Scott McNealy’s favorite drink.  And every internet user should be grateful for his “addiction” to Java.  The programming language was gathering dust on an engineer’s desk, industry experts said it was a waste of time and money, but McNealy just couldn’t shake his interest in it and continued to breathe life into the project.  He remained confident in Java’s potential.

“But McNealy is convinced that the Net–and Java, in particular–will alter the dynamics of the business. “Applets” written in the Java language can be zapped across the Net to run on any device that has a Java “virtual machine”–a tiny bit of code that mimics a computer.”[1]

The combination would become almost as legendary as peanut butter and jelly.  What Larry Ellison was to databases McNealy was to connecting computers to the internet.  “When computers are networked, their power multiplies geometrically. Not only can people share all that information inside their machines but they can reach out and instantly tap the power of other machines–essentially making the entire network their computer.”[2]

It would be hard to underestimate the impact Java had on developing interactive content to attract people (and their money) to the new online frontier that burst over the horizon in the middle of the 1990s.  The Internet transformed the desktop computer into a virtual world-wide library, shopping mall, public forum, convention hall … the possibilities seemed endless!

 McNealy has overseen the Company’s deployment of world-class products. Today, Java powers over 3.5 billion devices; Sun’s Solaris is one of only three remaining operating systems in the marketplace; the Niagara chip is a leading, high performance, low power, sustainable technology; and the world’s most advanced multi-core system, SPARC, is taking market share.”[3]

So, as you browse the internet while sipping your beverage of choice think about where we would be without McNealy’s fascination with Java.  Chances are pretty good it would be somewhere besides in front of your computer.

Long ago in what seems like a far away place, the concept of using computer programs to store and organize information was born. The internet as we know was not even dreamed of. In fact, the personal computer was not even on the market yet.  Before the 1970s databases, once created, could not be easily modified.  Storage of data was the primary function rather than organization of information.

In the early 1970s, E. F. Codd forever changed how databases were looked upon by claiming that databases should be relational not just functional.[1]  About five years later, a man named Larry Ellison, along with two other business partners, saw the value in producing relational databases for commercial use, and Oracle was born.  Fast forward to the late 1990s – The Internet is enjoying widespread popularity and Ellison realizes, “’The Internet changes everything,’ I really mean everything.’ … This is where Internet computing comes in. Even Ellison’s bitterest competitors in the database business agree that the Internet, with its potential to connect virtually every computer in the world, will make database technology more crucial than ever.”[2]

So many interesting facts and tidbits of information could be added here.  However, blog posts should not read like a novel or textbook so suffice it to say that Larry Ellison is “database man” because of his foresight into the capabilities and versatility of databases.  Online businesses, websites, even computers themselves would not be a staple good on the desks of homes and offices everywhere without them.

I’ve decided to embark on a journey.  You are welcome to join me if you would like.  Along the way, we will make six stops to honor the courage and creativity of six men.  Six men you should thank every time you sit down at your computer to use the internet.  Now, of course women have made significant contributions as well, but that is not the focus of this study.

Hmmm, should I list their names here or reveal each one as we travel along the cyber pioneer trail?  Okay, here is the first one - drumroll please - Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle.  For those of you who are research hounds like me take some time gathering details and then we can compare notes in my next post.

Businesses, big and small, local and international are embracing online advertising more and more as part of their promotional budgets. This is my first attempt at including a video on this blog. What better way to add a new feature here than a story on how Google and other companies are moving to satisfy the appetite for taking online promotions to the next level.

Excellent!  Brilliant! Outstanding piece of writing is how I describe a recent entry on the Gwave Consulting blog.  The author presents five myths about marketing online and how believing these myths can be detrimental to your business’ image.

For instance, in Myth #2 the topic discussed is building a list.  Having a “substantial opt-in mailing list is a valuable marketing asset” - for most marketers there’s no difference in opinion on that part of the equation.  The real value, as Gwave mentions, is in the quality of the names not in the number of names.  A properly used targeted list is almost always better than a large list of impersonalized leads.

Myth #4 is worthy of discussion here as well.  Obviously copywriting is an essential part of any marketing plan.  However, sales gimmicks should not be substituted for words that communicate using your very own “business voice.”  Go for the long-term value rather than short-term gain in your promotions.

Learn more about all five marketing myths here:  http://gwaveconsulting.com/site/2008/07/11/five-myths-of-internet-marketing-you-need-to-know-about/

Continuing on the theme from the July 3, 2008, post - the internet is “growing up” and internet marketing is maturing, too.  Refusing to accept these changes will not delay them or prevent them.  Business fundamentals may stay the same, but methods change, offline AND online businesses must be agile to stay competitive.

Piper Jaffray Investment Research, on page 256 of a 2007 report, stated:  “Engagement marketing can take many forms, including interaction with an online ad, Website interaction (such as customizing a car), taking a survey, search queries, and user-generated content. The key is that the consumer is actively engaged with the brand, and the campaign is user-driven as opposed to advertiser-driven.”

I can almost hear it, someone reading this is probably thinking that this report does not apply to internet marketing, or internet businesses.  There’s nothing I can say that will change that.  Then again, I don’t have to convince anyone because stale or diminishing results from your online business or membership site will make it evident.

Traffic Toolshop was born to help you grow your online business or blog by using research and resources your competitors don’t use because they see no value in  them.  More than ever, successful internet marketing is moving towards providing long-term value to the customer and building brand loyalty, instead of just attempting to “make the sale”.

Profits may be the fuel, but providing value to your customers is the engine that will take you into the future on the information superhighway.

Earlier today, I was having a discussion with some other website owners on a forum that caters to internet marketing topics.  It became very evident that in this forum there was no interest in providing long-term value to your customers or members.  Making the sale was all that mattered to them.

Someone even claimed that it all revolved around being an entrepreneur.  Excuse me, but just because you sell things does not make you an internet or any other type of marketer - it makes you a salesman or saleswoman.  You may be a darn good one, but don’t claim to be in marketing.  For goodness sake, it certainly DOES NOT make you an entrepreneur!

An entrepreneur is constantly evaluating the business environment and looking for ways to introduce new ideas.  The average salesman is only focused on methods that worked yesterday, so they must work today as well.  You’ll notice I said “average” because the best salespeople do the research and are obsessed with satisfying their customers, not just selling something to them.  Huge companies that were in business for over 100 years (e.g., Montgomery Ward) are now extinct because they did not change with their customers needs and wants.

The internet as we know it today is entering its teenage years.  As it continues to “grow up” many programs, gimmicks, and strategies that worked over the last decade will need to be adjusted or abandoned to meet the changing needs of the e-commerce, blog, and internet marketing offramps along the information superhighway.

To be continued …