Government 2010

Posted in news on June 22, 2009 by Editor

Web 2.0 in government is about increased user interaction and more rapid delivery of services to citizens via web based systems.  The advantages of interactive web technology to government and politicians are beginning to be better understood. 

The Government 2010 series of live streamed conferences will bring together thought leaders to debate how government will embrace this-generation web technologies to create next-generation government.  Politicians, civil servants, bloggers, academics, researchers and technologists will take part in these events.  Our research sponsor will be YouGov. 

You can participate too: via free live streamed conferences or by attending the live events in person. 

Our first conference is planned for October 22nd in London.  Here is where you can watch the debate unfold. 

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It’s been a while….

Posted in news on June 15, 2009 by Editor

Sorry for not keeping this site as up-to-date as I’d like.  I run a multitude of client blogs as well as quite a few others of my own.  However, if you have content you would like to submit please just email me on jeff@NOSPAMquadco.co.uk (removing NOSPAM before sending).  Please write the post in the style of a blog post and I’ll consider it for publication.  Ideally I’m looking for web focused information regarding marketing research or marketing intelligence.

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Web 2.0 Business: Getting Up and Getting Out 28th January, Belfast UK

Posted in news on December 9, 2008 by Editor

We’re delighted to announce that we’re organising another in our occasional series of day-long seminars…

Web 2.0 Business: Getting Up and Getting Out

This seminar is designed for companies active in the Web 2.0 – content producers, web application developers, digital production studios – who want to find out more about funding and developing their businesses. It will be ideal for owner-managers, agencies, software firms and digital departments.

A more strategic seminar than previous ones the day-long event will fall logically into 2 sections: Getting Up and Getting Out.

Getting Up will focus on funding, support, and start-up issues. We’ll have external speakers from a VC, a vendor start-up programme, and a funding-savvy CFO. Don’t expect the same-old. We’ll tell you straight what you need to know. In this section we’ll also be discussing both data and application mash-up technologies (sure ways to quick revenue).

Getting Out will provide tips and techniques for getting messages to export markets with examples of how we can use Web 2.0 technologies to support growth. In particular, we’ll focus on eMarketing to support export.

As before, the seminar will be led by Jeffrey Peel, Managing Consultant. The external speaker line-up will be featured here, on this page, over the coming weeks. So please bookmark the permalink.

As before, the event will be supported by InvestNI. Venue is to be confirmed but will be a central Belfast hotel or conference facility. We’ll feed and refresh you…coffee and muffins on arrival and a buffet lunch.

And we’re fixing the price, as before, at a credit-crunch-busting £95 + VAT.

Registration is simple. Simply fill in the registration form. You can register up to three delegates on each form. Once you have completed the form you will be taken to a PayPal page where you can pay.

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Couples and Sex: New Survey

Posted in news with tags , , , , , on November 17, 2008 by Editor
Couples and Sex Survey Launched Today

Couples and Sex Survey Launched Today

A new web sex survey was launched today – designed to help understand the sexual attitudes and behaviours of long-standing couples.  Claire Spencer, the researcher behind the survey, believe this is the first survey to tackle the issue of sexual health in established relationships.  

According to Claire, ”Most surveys of this nature view sex through the lens of younger people, focusing on casual sex, whereas it is our belief that couples have a lot of useful advice to offer up.  Our questionnaire asks couples about the regularity of sex, use of sex ‘aids’ and other questions relating to sexual relations with a long-term partner. 

Paula Hall, sex therapist for Relate concurs.  She says, “Sex after the novelty has worn off is often considered unglamorous and unexciting …but …sex doesn’t have to become boring or routine: the sex you can have with your long-term partner can be the best sex of your life.”

Survey now closed but click here to see a presentation of the results.  You’ll need Adobe Flash installed and sound on your PC to view the video.  The survey was administered by Quadriga Consulting for i to i.

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Second Generation Analytics

Posted in news with tags , on November 12, 2008 by Editor

According to this article in Computerworld Large companies are slowly starting to install upgraded Web analytics tools to gather and scrutinize data from their growing numbers of second-generation online applications.

For years, enterprises have used traditional Web-analytics tools to simply measure page views and keep track of traffic on corporate Web sites.

Read the full story.

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What do YOU think?

Posted in opinion with tags , , , , on October 21, 2008 by Editor

As researchers we need to get real to what’s happening in the world.

For one thing, the Internet is having a massive impact on what we do and how we undertake research. Increasingly, the developed world at least, is getting more connected. Social networks are becoming one of the primary means of communication for 10-25 year olds.

Terrestrial advertising revenues are tanking while Internet advertising is on the up (although admittedly all advertising revenue will come under strain in the midst of a global recession).

Web 2.0 allows researchers to tap into social networking communities and making use of these communities to undertake targeted qualitative and quantitative research online. What are you doing? Take our mini poll.

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PollDaddy Poll Widget Outfit Acquired by WordPress

Posted in news with tags , , on October 18, 2008 by Editor

By Jeffrey Peel – PollDaddy provides polling and survey widgets to over 300,000 users around the world. Launched in October 06, the company has grown to become the number one provider of poll widgets online. The company’s polls are used on Social networks, blogs, corporate websites etc.

But what you may not know is that PollDaddy is based in Sligo in Ireland and was acquired earlier in the week by Automattic, owner of the ubiquitous WordPress blogging platform (upon which none other than this and the Number 10 web sites – among thousands of others – are built).

According to Matt Mullenweg, Automattic’s CEO, “As we started to look at building out our own service for this, it became more obvious that, while on the surface it’s a very simple problem, there’s a lot of hidden complexity and opportunities for some really powerful features under the hood…There are probably a dozen companies addressing this space right now, but as we started to survey the space I was struck by how often I’d see this “PollDaddy” thing pop up.”

As well as providing Pro accounts for businesses, PollDaddy recently launched a new service called PollDaddy Answers which is a directory of over 400,000 polls which have been created on PollDaddy so far.

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McCain Foods Talks with Moms

Posted in news with tags , , , , , , , on September 25, 2008 by Editor

McCain Foods in the United States is asking parents across the United States what they think about school food.  Working with social networking and blog research specialists Quadriga Consulting Ltd and itoi Research in London the firm is recruiting Mom bloggers from across the USA to participate in a discussion via the Internet. 

As part of the exercise, a new blog has been created - that goes live today. 

So, if you are a Mom blogger and resident in the United States, and want to take part please take the time to read the first 2 starter posts and comment.  McCain want to hear your views.

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Blogs & Social Networks: One and the Same?

Posted in opinion with tags , , on September 15, 2008 by Editor

Blogs and social networks are merging into one category these days.  For example, what’s the difference between a Facebook Group microsite and a blog? 

Both contain content, both have discussion  trails, both have communities of interest.  Blogs have become more like social networks as social bookmarking has become more important, and the social bookmarking sites themselves are beginning to look more like social networking sites.  Then throw feeds from one platform, into another, and everything is mixed up.  Enter the social networking ecosystem. 

From a marketer’s point of view the new social networking challenge is to fixate less on one platform or another – but rather jump right in to the interconnected mix.  The challenge is to stir things up in a way that helps build knowledge about interconnected customers and prospects. 

What do you think?

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Microsoft Sells Greenfield ISS Business

Posted in news with tags , , on September 11, 2008 by Editor

REDMOND, Wash. and Wilton, CT– September 10, 2008 – Microsoft Corp. and Greenfield Online, Inc.(Nasdaq: SRVY) today announced that in connection with the acquisition agreement between the two companies, announced on August 29, 2008, Microsoft has signed an agreement to sell the Greenfield Online Internet survey solutions (ISS) business to ZM Surveys LLC, an entity affiliated with ZM Capital,L.P. (”ZM Capital”), a private equity investment partnership focused on entertainment and media investments.

ISS collects, organizes and sells consumer and business professional data in the form of diverse and demographically representative survey responses to marketing research companies on a global basis.  ISS manages Internet panels, including the Greenfield Online panel in the United States and Canada; and the Ciao Survey panels in Europe, and other countries in Asia and Latin America, as well as provides solutions via its Real-Time Sampling® capability that recruits survey takers across the Internet in real time. ISS targets its Internet survey solutions to approximately 2,500 full service marketing research and consulting firms and large international marketing research companies worldwide. 

ZM Capital has advised that it intends to keep the Greenfield Online ISS business as a standalone, independent, privately-held company. The transaction also represents the first portfolio investment made by ZM Capital.

Albert Angrisani, Greenfield Online’s President and Chief Executive Officer said: “We believe that Microsoft’s decision to sell Greenfield Online’s ISS business to ZM Capital is an excellent opportunity to strengthen our industry leadership around the world. The ZM Capital acquisition is a very positive development for ISS clients and employees, and I believe the team at ZM Capital has the right combination of domain experience and resources to help the ISS business develop the next generation of products and services.”

“We are excited to acquire one of the industry’s leading service providers as the inaugural investment for ZM Capital,” stated Andrew Vogel, a partner at ZM Capital. “We intend to keep the Greenfield Online ISS business a standalone, independent service provider and have no current plans to integrate or merge ISS with any other company. We look forward to working with the management team to leverage the company’s strengths in data quality, technology and worldwide reach to further its global leadership and to deepen the company’s relationships with its approximately one thousand market research clients.”

Commented Tami Reller, Corporate Vice President and CFO for Windows and Online Services, Microsoft, “It was very important to Microsoft to find the right partner to champion the continued growth of the Greenfield Online ISS business, which is not a fit within Microsoft’s strategy for our Live Search platform.  The strength of the ISS business allowed us to find the right buyer for that business, letting us focus on our acquisition of Greenfield Online and its Ciao comparison shopping business, which we believe willhelp bolster our commercial search strategy in Europe.”

The agreement with ZM Capital is subject to customary closing conditions, including a financing contingency. Microsoft’s acquisition of Greenfield Online is not contingent on the closing of the sale of ISS to ZM Capital. The merger of Greenfield Online and Microsoft and Microsoft’s sale of the ISS business are expected to close simultaneously in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., served as Greenfield Online’s financial advisors in connection with the transaction. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as Greenfield Online’s legal counsel. NewStar Financial and CIT are providing senior financing and Veronis Suhler Stevenson’s Structured Capital fund is providing mezzanine financing in connection with ZM Capital’s acquisition of the ISS business. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as ZM Capital’s legal counsel.

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