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eBay To Integrate SMS Outbid Alerts

posted on August 31, 2007

eBay eBay is launching its own mobile re-bidding service in the UK, France and Belgium, following a successful test period in Spain – rolled out last September. The service, being delivered by mBlox and Dynetic, will allow users to monitor auctions while on the move and has been designed to scale across all European markets.

Although there are similar, partner services, this official solution will be integrated and will be offered to users as an option during the online bidding process. The service will help users to track higher bids through SMS alerts, so they can react from their handset if they need to increase a bid.

Described as a “fundemental evolution” in Internet auctioning, Ian Jordan, Head of UK Innovation, explains the problem with traditional web-based auctions;

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Exclusive: Leaked Photos of Google GPhone?

posted on August 30, 2007

We just received an email–from what appears to be a reliable source–with an exclusive photo of what could be the new Google GPhone.

Eric Dytzel says, “Source in Tawain close to GPhoneLife.com has leaked a prototype of the rumored GPhone. Definitely a mobile version and appears to have all the bells and whistles.”

We’re not even sure if we can display the image, so you’ll have to check it out here.

When you’re done, leave a comment and let us know if you think it’s legit. ;-)

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Thanks to Advertisers – Great Ad Opportunities Available

posted on August 30, 2007

It’s that time of the month where we give thanks to the advertisers that help keep Marketing Pilgrim going.

Nick Stamoulis – a veteran internet marketer offering a customized internet marketing strategy for your business.

Sponsored Reviews – bloggers earn cash for reviewing products and services. Advertisers build buzz and links for your web site.

Search Engine Guide – one of the best resources for companies looking for comprehensive search engine marketing advice.

VCars – marketers drive cars too and VCars is a great resource for buying a used car or keeping updated on the latest car news.

iBegin Source - millions of local business listings, free for non-commercial use.

Weblinx – provides UK search engine optimisation services.

GoToWebinar - helping businesses to make money by hosting online seminars.

Advertise on Marketing Pilgrim

Want to reach thousands of daily readers? We have a few advertising options available including:

  • 125×125 ads, above the fold, on every page
  • 468×60 animated ad, on every post page
  • RSS text ads – your ad in our RSS feed
  • Various text link ad options
  • Have something else in mind? Want to sponsor the entire site? Let’s chat.

Get more info on advertising or drop me an email.

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Google’s Blogger Under Attack

posted on August 30, 2007

The BBC reports today that Google’s free blogging software, Blogger, is under attack from malicious spammers. According to the report, legitimate blogs are being hacked, with fake entries being added.

These fake entries feature links to “booby-trapped downloads that could infect a Windows PC.” The links may be disguised as links to greeting cards or YouTube videos. Infected computers are being mind for “saleable data” or being leveraged to commit further attacks.

“The criminals responsible for this spam campaign are experts at exploiting social engineering to propagate their botnets,” said Bradley Anstis from security firm Marshal.

The spam messages have been changed to capitalise on news events and the viral payload has been updated many times to fool anti-virus programs.

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Adjust Your Rankings with a Few Clicks

posted on August 30, 2007

If you could influence or manipulate your search ranking, would you? Of course you would. That’s our main goal as search marketers. Sproose, a search engine that allows users to vote and rank the listings in their index, has just launched their voting technology for their video search.

Sproose delivers a “human popularity voting” model where each user may influence the ranking of the index creating improved search results. The more users that vote a site the further up in the ranking it moves. The same voting technology is now being applied to the Sproose video search index.

So basically, here’s how it works:

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YouTube Complies with Viacom, Makes Deal for Music Royalties

posted on August 30, 2007

As always, copyright issues abound for Google’s video-sharing darling, YouTube. First, Google Blogoscoped found YouTube complying with a copyright take down request from Viacom. Not huge news, other than the fact that the clip in question was apparently featured another clip—which Viacom had used without permission. The removed clip was uploaded by the actual copyright holder, producer Chris Knight.

Wait, what? Let’s walk through that again. Web Junk 2.0, a Viacom-owned VH1 show, used a video clip produced by Chris Knight without his permission. Knight, the rightful copyright holder, uploads the Web Junk 2.0 clip of his clip. Viacom files the standard DMCA take down notice with YouTube so they can take down their stolen stolen content. YouTube complies.

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The Benefits of Your Competitors Going Public

posted on August 30, 2007

Recently, Vitacost, the biggest online player in my company’s industry, announced their decision to go public. We have been watching Vitacost for years. The problem is that information about them was hard to obtain—private companies tend to be secretive. So, it is actually kind of liberating to watch them start to go public because all of a sudden, we are swimming in great information.

For example, we now know that Vitacost operates on about a 33% gross margin and is now profitable with a 5% net margin. They spend 11% of revenue on administrative expenses, 11% on marketing, and 5% on fulfillment. They grew 55% in the last quarter over the same quarter last year to $22.8 million. We also found it interesting that 35% of their revenue comes from sales of their own brand while the rest came from selling other brands and their own brand sales are growing faster than other brand sales.