Media Hunter

Newcastle web designers must stop thinking like web designers

Web design in Newcastle seems to be stuck in the Web 1.0 era. A quick look around the sites produced by leading Newcastle web designers reveals fairly standard formats that deliver the old-fashioned "brochure-style" efforts we were all discovering a decade ago.

Its like Web 2.0 never made it up the F3 to Newcastle.

This is a big concern and means that many businesses in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley are missing out on the benefits of modern web strategy and social media concepts. Some of Newcastle's agencies are designing extremely attractive Flash websites that look great and do almost nothing for the businesses they serve.

Google Chrome makes search engine optimisation a greater priority

Google's Chrome browser has exploded onto the internet today with thousands of people downloading the new browser and posting their thoughts about it.

Last night I posted on Sticky Advertising an early insight into how Google Chrome will place an even greater importance upon search engine optimisation. In just 10 hours the website was bombarded with the most hits it has ever received.

Is Google Chrome a hot topic or what?

Intel, Yahoo beam web widgets straight to TV

Source: Reuters and smh.com.au

After years of false starts aimed at bringing the web to TV sets, Yahoo said it is working with Intel to create web computer channels that run alongside TV shows.

The web company and world's largest chipmaker are working on what they call the "Widget Channel", which will enable TV viewers to interact with and watch a dynamic set of TV widgets - small web-based applications that complement TV shows.

Widgets will appear in the corner of a TV screen and work something like a picture-in-picture window of advanced TV sets.

These small windows let viewers chat with or e-mail friends, watch videos, track stocks or sports teams or keep up with news headlines or weather by using a TV remote control.

Newcastle digital agency nails the SEO formula

Note: Blatant self-promotion

Newcastle-based advertising agency Sticky recently announced their transformation to become the Hunter Valley's first digital, social and tradition media agency. The agency is particularly focusing on better web design and search engine optimisation, and already are achieving spectacular results.

Less than one month after making the announcement, Sticky has secured numerous new clients for their fully optimised web designs.

Sticky's search engine optimisation approach has been working even better than the agency anticipated. The following is from the Sticky Advertising website:

Discover the future of media

Hot on the heels of last month's PubCamp events in Sydney and Melbourne comes the third annual Future of Media Summit. The summit is two simultaeneous events held in Silicon Valley USA and Sydney Australia merging seamlessly by video, online discussion and cross-continental panel and conversations.

Holding Page Blues

How many times have you been to a site and seen the old message "Under Construction" or "Coming soon". Obviously all sites must undertake a refresh from time to time, but what stuns me is that many businesses that should be profiting from a strong web presence are willing to leave lame holding pages up for long periods of time.

One radio station in my market appears to have had a holding page, or at least a very basic interim site, up for close to six months. In some ways I hope that's their interim site, because if they aren't feverishly working away on an amazing site as we speak, then they have absolutely no appreciation for how they should be marketing themselves and interacting with their audience in 2008.

(Shameless self promotion time).

Sticky Advertising is just days away from launching a totally new web presence. It's been carefully planned  and developed for several months...not just the site, but the lead up announcements, the release and launch strategy....even the holding page.

Rather than just stick up a lame holding page, we felt it necessary to leave something entertaining, dynamic and indicative of the agency's attitude. This holding page is really a chapter in our evolving story. And in my own humble opinion it is more interesting than many full sites (ok, I am very biased, but check it out and judge for yourself).

My question is...why don't more businesses dedicate a little more thought to their "transition sites"? Surely they realise that potential customers might visit and get a poor impression of the business. Any thoughts?

In the meantime, Sticky's holding page is up for only a few more days. We launch the new site next week.

ABC, Nine & MTV now available on iTunes in Australia

Source: Media Spy

Downloads of local and international TV shows are now available in Apple’s Australian iTunes store. Around 21 different shows ranging from Desperate Housewives and Lost to segments from Foreign Correspondent and Canal Road are now legally available for download at $2.99 per episode.

At present the Nine Network, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, MTV, Disney Channel and ABC Studios - producers of overseas hits such as Lost and Desperate Housewives are available in the store.

No anouncements have been made about plans for the Seven Network, Ten, or SBS to join the service. US network NBC left the store last year as a result of disputes over the cost of programs.

PubCamp Sydney vox pop

Here are a few vox pop pieces we did at PubCamp 08 in Sydney

PubCamp - The Web 2.0 Media Day from Sticky Advertising on Vimeo.

Traditional v new media debate

By Craig Wilson

At the Sydney PubCamp Web 2.0 Media Day much of the discussion and vigorous debate centred around the topic of traditional verses new media. The room largely divided into two camps, with the majority supporting new media. This was fairly predictable given the nature of the day and the web 2.0 focus of the event.

What surprised me was the strength of conviction and belief in one form of media over the other. There seemed to be very little middle-ground.

As a representative of an advertising agency I saw the debate from a very different perspective. We are heavy users of traditional media but very interested observers and emerging users of new media. Our view is definitely that there is room for both and will continue to be for quite some time.

The passionate new media fans clearly believe that new media will swamp, overtake and render extinct the traditional media channels such as television, radio and press. Clearly there is evidence that Gen Y and younger have adopted significantly different media consumption habits than their predecessors. TV viewing in declining, radio and press have experienced a similar downturn in overall consumption.

PubCamp 08 - Sydney

Yesterday Gordon Whitehead and I trekked to Sydney to attend PubCamp 08 - The Web 2.0 Media Day. We took video and mic in hand to capture some of the presentations and random comments at what was a fascinating event.

So far our workload has prevented us from getting to the video but we will be posting soon...stayed tuned.

Meanwhile, in the spirit of Web 2.0 style collaboration and information sharing, please take the time to read the thoughts of one attendee, aka Stubborn Mule.....