Multiple online consumer panel membership "doesn't affect quality"

A comprehensive research study by the Online Research Quality Council (ORQC) of the ARF concluded that respondents who are members of multiple panels are not necessarily a threat to data quality. Read more here Research-live.

"Findings of the study into duplication and overlap of online panel members concluded that multiple membership only has an impact on data quality when members take part in the same survey more than once. Duplication rates when combining two panels – a realistic scenario for a survey – ranged from 2% to 19%, with the average “well below 10%”, the study said. However, for surveys taking place in localized markets the rate could be significantly higher.

Further research will look at survey response quality, inter-study comparability and benchmarking. The full industry report, incorporating all the papers, will be published later this year. Committees of the ORQC focusing on industry solutions and metrics will review the results on overlap and duplication in panels to come up with principles, recommendations and guidelines for the industry, the foundation said."

Google's response to the McKinsey report on cloud computing

Last month McKinsey & Company released a report through the Uptime Institute entitled "Clearing the air on cloud computing." "Clouds already make sense for many small and medium-size businesses, but technical, operational and financial hurdles will need to be overcome before clouds will be used extensively by large public and private enterprises," the report said.

Click here to learn more about cloud computing from Google's POV on the official Google Enterprise blog.

McKinsey report on cloud computing and some search data from Compete on netbooks

McKinsey: 'Cloud Computing' Overhyped, Still Too Expensive
"Is the whole "cloud computing" craze overhyped? Here's one clue it might be: Lots of companies are boasting about how they're cloud computing players, but there's still no real definition of what cloud computing is. In a new report, "clearing the air on cloud computing," McKinsey deflates some of the claims made about the cloud, saying the buzz is disconnected from reality and the promised cost savings just aren't there yet. But the news isn't all bad for cloud computing players: Startups and small-to-medium sized business can see gains by 'going cloud' that still elude big business." Read more on the Silicon Alley Insider.

Netbooks: Searching along a converging frontier
"Depending on your vantage point, a netbook might look like a small laptop or a large Smartphone. Below chart from Compete shows the top 10 sites that people were directed to after going to a major search engine and looking up a term that included the keyword ‘netbook.’ The sites are ranked by the percentage of all traffic generated by searches including the keyword ‘netbook’ that went to a particular site. So these ‘netbook’ searchers are going to retail and manufacturer sites, but many are visiting third party review sites, blogs and information sites like Wikipedia to learn more about the devices, likely because heavy marketing and media reports on netbooks are a relatively recent phenomenon." Read more on the Compete blog.

Viral videos

For some of the latest viral videos sponsored by advertisers, check out the Ad Age Viral Video Chart. Hope you enjoy the videos!

Technology news from The New York Times

Here is a roundup of the latest technology news from The New York Times:

Skype, the Web Phone Giant, Brings Cheap Calls to Cellular
"Skype, the Internet calling service that has more than 400 million users around the world, is aggressively moving onto mobile phones. The company plans to announce that it will make its free software available immediately for Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch and, beginning in May, for various BlackBerry phones."

Do-It-Yourself Magazines, Cheaply Slick
"For anyone who has dreamed of creating his own glossy color magazine dedicated to a hobby, the high cost and hassle of printing has loomed as a big barrier. With a new Web service called MagCloud, Hewlett-Packard hopes to make it easier and cheaper to crank out a magazine than running photocopies at the local copy shop."

Is Facebook Growing Up Too Fast?
"Sometime this week, the five-year-old start-up, born in a dorm room at Harvard, expects to register its 200 millionth user."

Video Game Makers Challenged by the Next Wave of Media
"The video game market has expanded greatly, with more women and older gamers playing. People are playing on consoles, computers, cellphones and hand-held gadgets. But a proliferation of free or low-cost games on the Web and for phones limits how much the major game publishers can raise prices. It also diverts attention from the game consoles, like the PlayStation 3 from Sony and the Xbox 360 from Microsoft."

Marketing After the Recession

According to Professor John Quelch, the downturn in economy has likely changed people's buying habits in fundamental ways. In this article, for Harvard Business Online, reprinted on HBS Working Knowledge, he discusses why marketers must start planning today to reach consumers after the recession.

Are CMOs gaining ground in the recession?

A recent Ad Age article by John Quelch has some good news for marketing heads: Chief marketing officers are holding on to their jobs longer. According to Spencer Stuart's annual survey of CMO tenure at the 100 most advertised brands in the U.S., average time on the job has risen to 28.4 months from 26.8 months in 2007 and 23.2 months in 2006.

In this Ad Age article, Quelch lists the top four issues on which CEOs look to CMOs for guidance. Here is a summary; for details see Ad Age.
- Shifting consumer behavior: The recession has changed consumer attitudes and behaviors and the CEO needs a CMO who understands company's brands, consumers, and their comparative profitability.
- Price positioning: The economic downturn has increased customer price sensitivity. Marketers need to hit key retail price points and revamp their promotion and marketing strategies to maximize price competitiveness.
- Stretching marketing dollars: Recession demands that marketers come up with creative ways of doing more with less.
- Embracing digital: Rather than avoid online advertising, now may be the time for many companies to experiment further and allocate more of their budgets to search advertising, banner advertising or motivating user-generated content.