iTV, Internet Soon to Marry?
"How soon will the dating game between the Internet and television turn into a marriage?" asks Nielsen Media Research. With many companies curious as to the answer, Nielsen has launched its first "Convergence Lab" in the U.S., an ongoing consumer research laboratory that will electronically measure
television viewing and Internet activity as they occur in sample households. The first report is due in March. "For the first time, electronically quantified television and Internet activity will measured in the same sample households, and reported promptly to clients," explained a senior vice president for Nielsen. "Previously, all such information was obtained through telephone recall surveys, which do not have the same level of reliability, precision and tracking capability as our electronic methodologies." Some types of data that should be reported include:
- Correlation, if any, between overall TV viewing and Internet surfing;
- Correlation, if any, between types of programs watched on TV and content surfed on the Internet;
- Correlation, if any, between specific programming outlets or programs viewed and the likelihood of viewers visiting related Websites;
- Instances of simultaneous usage of the TV and the Internet.
FCC Issues Report on Video Competition
According to a recent report from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) DSL service providers are gobbling away at cable companies' clamp on American eyeballs and attention. It seems that not only are cable companies losing their television customers to competing service providers, but more and more Internet users are seeking high-speed connections from DSL providers rather than their local cable company. The 133-page report provides an in-depth look at the status of competition in the market for the
delivery of video programming and can be accessed at http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Reports/fcc01001.pdf.
Canada B2B Business Set for Growth
By 2005 Canadian business-to-business transactions will account for 18 percent of all such trade in the world, and will generate about C$272 billion in online B2B revenues. Leading the way in Canada will be Ontario and Quebec, according to Forrester Research. At that time, more than 92 percent of Canada's online B2B trade will occur in four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia. "Although only 16 percent of Canadian companies have a clear B2B strategy, they will increasingly recognize the benefits of the Net and come to depend on it to plan, source, distribute, and sell product over the next five years," said a Toronto-based analyst for Forrester. "Ontario and Quebec will take the lead in online business trade, accounting for C$193 billion of the total C$272 billion in 2005."
Growth ahead for Direct Marketing
"The Direct Marketing Industry Online: Perspectives on 2001," a new report from ActivMedia Research shows that e-commerce revenues among direct marketers with offline brick-and-mortar operations are anticipated to grow by 136 percent while the rest of the Web is expanding at 115 percent. The report attributes this growth to great pre-planning. Analysts believe that because direct marketers carefully planned their Web expansion strategies, they are more likely than dot-coms to be successful. Currently, one-third (36 percent) of all direct marketers online are profitable, and this proportion is expected to rise significantly over the coming two years. "Rather than cannibalizing sales from offline channels,
direct-to-consumer direct marketers who sell online are finding that the majority of their site visitors and buyers are brand new customers, not just offline customers buying through a new channel. Furthermore, most direct marketers are expanding their sales reach geographically when they enter the e-commerce
marketplace, both domestically and abroad," a spokesperson said.
European E-Learning Market Will Top $4 Billion by 2004
E-learning is fitting the bill for many Europeans, with a 96 percent compound annual growth rate of its usage expected through 2004. By that time the e-learning market is likely to be valued at $4 billion. According to researchers at IDC, nearly half of the e-learning market will be devoted to IT education, while the remainder will be made up of soft skills training, such as sales, marketing, and leadership skills. "Although the delivery solutions or infrastructure tools segment of the market is an important one, I believe it will become increasingly commoditized over the next few years with a few dominant players emerging," said a senior research analyst at IDC. "The market is not only highly fragmented but also volatile with a variety of players both old and new vying for a dominant position. The traditional players are likely to have a strong role in the future consolidation of the market."
Windows NT Targeted by Hackers
A recent survey on Attrition.org, a site that highlights hackers' deeds, shows that Microsoft Windows NT is the favorite target for hacking and defacement. Last month, more than 57 percent of defaced sites were on
servers using NT, while Windows 2000 was on nearly 10 percent of such sites. Sites using Linux were targeted 21.3 percent of the time, while Microsystem's Solaris sites were hit just over 4 percent. What's the reason so many Microsoft server system sites were targeted? An IDC analyst told C-Net News, "I think Microsoft software is actually a target because Microsoft is so powerful and popular that anyone who succeeds in breaking into that software usually gets a lot of interest in the press. Many of
these people are hacking because they want to be known."
Lottery Addiction Worries Chinese Officials
An increasing number of Chinese lottery players are tipping over the line into obsession several physicians told the Shanghai Daily newspaper. In Shanghai alone 15 million people purchase as many as 43 million lottery tickets a month, with the top prize valued at $600,000. As the number of addicted players increase, say physicians, so too do the number of suicides as players realize they haven't won the jackpot. Several cities have banned lottery ticket sales during special holidays because robbers looking for quick money to replace that lost playing the lottery targeted so many businesses.