PixelThoughts

This blog has moved to it’s new home here.

It’s the same great content and the same great writer with a new look, feel, and fancy URL.

It’s been at least 18 months if not two years since I first heard about eyetracking heatmaps, and I still think the idea is great. Being able to actually see what is working in your designs makes so much sense, particularly for anyone sending out regular templated newsletters.

However this isn’t a post about heatmaps, rather its all about Eyetools ability to speak intelligently about their product and generate new business.

The thing is, they really do have a compelling product.  Seeing is believing, and even better seeing is really understanding how it can be applicable to one’s own business.  And so it should come as no surprise that they’ve created a blog to showcase their product.  A blog that has been updated four times in the last year, and I won’t even mention the spelling mistakes (mostly because I can’t spell to save my own life and my mother taught me a proverb about people in glass houses or something).

The point is, if you’re going to blog, blog regularly, and most importantly, give people a reason to read your posts! Oh and try and double check the spelling.
Eyetools Eyetracking Research: Eyetracking Circuit City’s email template

The Guardian’s reporting that we here in the UK have finally managed to brush off the dot com burst and are only now creating new interesting websites. OK its a bit of an oversimplification, but so is saying that “In Britain, the internet doldrums took a long time to disappear”.

At any rate, here are the Guardian’s ten favourite companies that “are establishing themselves as innovative or interesting in their respective fields.”

1. Dopplr - Social networking for frequent travellers
2. Extate - Intelligent search of property websites
3. Garlik - Online identity management
4. MindCandy - Alternate reality gaming
5. Moo - Print on demand: cards, notes and stickers
6. OnOneMap - Map-based property search
7. Touch Local - Local directory services
8. Trusted Places - User-created local information
9. Zopa - Peer to peer lending
10. Zubka - Recruitment 2.0

Top 10 Dotcoms to watch : Guardian Unlimited via MarketingVOX

Ever wished you could make your competition disappear?  I know I only REALLY considered it after watching the last season of the Sopranos.  Well you may not be able to make your competition vanish from the face of the earth, but there are some slightly “evil” ways of bumping them off of all good search engines.
I can’t really recommend these techniques to anyone in good conscious, but you should be aware that there are people out there who can torpedo your site at least temporarily.

The Saboteurs Of Search - Forbes.com via Brand Republic

I once had a conversation with a good friend about supporting Firefox in the websites that his company was building. While he agreed with me, his company had a different point of view. Their belief was that no web browser was worth supporting if it didn’t have 10% of the market share. Of course they were rabid Microsoft fan boys, but that’s really besides the point.

The point actually is that Firebox is now commanding a very serious share of the market and continuing to grow. Just to give you some numbers…They have 30% of the market in South America, 27% in Europe, and 19% in North America. And if you happen to be developing a website for use in either Slovenia or Finland then you damn well better make sure your site looks perfect in Firefox…it has upwards of 45% of the market.

But of course I’m sure you are all already supporting Firefox completely anyway, and I won’t fault you for asking what is the point of this post.  Well it’s not for you anyway, its for the punks who work at my mates old company, and of course for David as well.
Firefox Market Share Surges to 28% in Europe, Growing Globally - Marketing Charts

Finally, the day is here. The proof I’ve been waiting for.  I can finally go home and call my mother, and say “Mom, digital agencies have higher profits than traditional agencies!”  And oh, how we will laugh.

Digital agency profits overtake traditional for first time - Brand Republic

I realize that sometimes my life appears to be a bit sad.  Like the days when I get to write blog posts gushing about Melinda Krueger’s Dear Email Diva column.  That’s not to say that it isn’t a good column (although I generally find it pitched at a fairly basic level) no I just wonder how cool my job must seem to my daughter.

Regardless, this weeks column really is worth reading.  It actually consists of a letter from Al Iverson, Director of Privacy and Deliverability at ExactTarget who waxes lyrically about blacklisting, who to pay attention to, and who to ignore.   Anyway, it’s worth a read if you’ve got questions about this rather specific topic.  Otherwise, file this post away for that rainy day when you do need it.
Media Post : More — And Better — Information On Blacklists

Business Week put this handy dandy chart together from some Forrester data.  It breaks online users into six categories: creators, critics, collectors, joiners, spectators, inactives and then shows the percentage of the US pop that falls into each of these categories broken down by age group.

Trust me it’s much more interesting as a chart.
Chart: Who Participates And What People Are Doing Online

I don’t think anyone will be surprised to see that MySpace is losing ground to Facebook these days and it’s hardly surprising that Nielsen//NetRatings numbers are making the rounds today backing this up.

The number of unique UK visitors to MySpace declined by 300,000 to 6.5m in May against the previous month, while Facebook gained 527,000 visitors over the same period, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

What is interesting? These are May numbers!  Back in May I was actually still checking MySpace occasionally.  I can’t tell you the last time I had a piece of MySpace email, whereas I’m currently getting swamped by Facebook requests.

Let’s just say if I was Jerry Yang I’d be less inclined to swap 25% of my company for MySpace than a couple billion for Facebook.
Facebook gains ground as MySpace suffers drop in visitors - Brand Republic

No quotes, in fact nothing more than a highly recommended link to an article from MIT on virtual life, it’s past present and future.  11 pages of well thought out goodness.

Second Earth : Technology Review