Internet Marketing

Microsoft Media Network Grows 31% in the US

Just wrote a post on the MSA Blog about the Microsoft Ad Network growing by a third between December 08 and December 09.

Pretty awesome numbers too from comScore.

The UK has a load of info on the offering here – Microsoft Media Network

LookingGlass Video & BA Strike Update

Been meaning to post this video – “sizzle reel” – as I posted an interview with Cindy Chiu about Microsoft LookingGlass up on the Microsoft Advertising Blog recently.

Reception to my previous post on the British Airways Strike has been enormous. Over 1000 people have visited and and at the time of writing 70+ have left their stories.

Here’s hoping this afternoons legal judgement falls in the consumers favour.

One good thing to come from this is the Social Media story that I’ve written about on my Media Week Blog about the BA Strike.

Bet this one gets called out in presentations all through 2010!

Searching For Santa at SES Chicago 2009 & Finding Bing

A very Greg Jarboe looking Santa, quizzes the searcherati at Search Engine Strategies in Chicago about what they want for Christmas.

Jim Sterne, Matt McGowan, Motoko Hunt, David Szetela, Dave Naylor, Anne Kennedy, Bryan Eisenberg and Li Evans all feature.

Bill Hunt gets the festive link lovage though – watch till the end to see why!

Wish I’d gone now!!!

Lee Odden on Social Media Marketing at PubCon 2009

I couldn’t make it to PubCon this year, but with so many bloggers and video folks there, you are never very far from the action online.

One of my fave Social Media folks is Lee Odden who writes for TopRankBlog and in this 4 min interview with Mike McDonald from WebProNews, Lee talks about whether social media should be a direct marketing tactic, building relationships, branding.

“It’s not a silver bullet, it’s a method of communicating a message.”

New Bing Maps with Silverlight & Photosynth

Update: Not sure I made it clear below but this is a US release with some content available from some countries thrown in, including the UK. Check out this video for more on Reuters. I think you’ll agree it’s a great showcase for what’s in store but for now outside the US http://www.bing.com/maps is still the de facto experience.

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Not content with sitting back and delivering a simple mapping solution, the guys from Bing have created what is simply an awesome and groundbreaking experience which takes some of the best Microsoft technologies and melds them together.

Check out http://www.bing.com/maps/explore

A simple search for “Trafalgar Square” renders what you’d expect right? – A map!

Just to the left of it though, is some info on the landmark from Wikipedia and some useful weather information but wait….there’s more….

Click on the icon at the bottom of the page and you get four types of view – Automatic, Road, Aerial and the fabulous Birds Eye!

But wait…….there’s even more….

Click on the little guy icon for a choice of views made up of Photosynths made by our community of UK photographic enthusiasts.

But….ok….you guessed it…..there’s a little bit more….

If you go back to the regular results and click under Explore – What’s Nearby – Bing throws up restaurants, bars, hotels and cafes!

Check out and have a play at Kew Gardens – Stonehenge – London Eye

The US takes it a step further with Streetside – take a look around the streets around the Empire State Building!

I was lucky enough to meet Blaise a couple of years ago, and he said this was the vision, but never in my wildest dreams did I think the experience would be this damn good!