Internet Trends 2019: Mary Meekers’ Annual Report Shows Big Changes

Mary Meeker is a venture capitalist and former Wall Street security analyst. She’s ranked by Forbes as one of the top 100 most powerful women in the world.   When she unveils her annual presentation on Internet trends, it makes news. This year’s report is no different.  You read the full report here:  Internet_Trends_2019.  It’s 333 pages

Despite What You Hear, TV is still the Dominant Medium

Despite all the talk about cord cutting, streaming, social media, and digital marketing, it’s easy to forget that TV remains the dominant medium. Here are four facts that demonstrate the continued power of television as the dominant medium. People spend more time with TV than computers, smartphone, and tablets combined… by a factor of 5x.

Restaurants Are Spending Significantly More on Digital Ads

A new study shows that independent restaurants are dramatically increasing their spending on digital advertising.  Within the last year, 68 percent of those surveyed report they are spending more on digital ads than ever before to attract customers. The restaurant business has never been easy.  17 percent of new restaurants don’t last a full year. 

When It Comes to Digital, Consumers Say One Thing and Often Do Another

Consumers overwhelming say privacy concerns are starting to have them rethinking rethink how they interact online.  At the same time, however, their actions are telling a slightly less convincing story.  People say one thing to researchers, but their actions demonstrate something else. A third of those surveyed think digital is having a “negative effect on

Vast majority of video viewing still taking place on TV sets

Yes, there’s a fair amount of viewing these days on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers, but 70% of all viewing is still through the TV set. A survey of OTT consumers conducted for Nevion reports that 70% of those responsing still watch the majkority of programming on TV.  Only 20% regularly watch content

Advertisers have a problem, and it’s worse than they thought.

Quick Read:  Cord Cutting by Younger Consumers Making It Harder for Advertisers to Drive Conversation and Engagement with Their Brands, Especially in Tech, Telecom, Automotive SOURCE:  Engagement Labs Advertisers have a problem, and it’s worse than they thought. The decline of ad-supported television is driving down audience engagement with brands. A new analysis of consumer

DirecTV Now Streaming Service Loses A Quarter-Million Subscribers

The future of TV is supposed to be streaming, right? In its 4th quarter earnings report, AT&T dropped a bombshell.  The parent company of DirecTV announced that it had lost 267,000 streaming customers of its DirecTV Now service.  The forecast for sub losses was 19,000 according to the Hollywood Reporter.  Instead, more than a quarter-million

85% of Websites Fail to Meet Google Page Load Speed Standards

The faster your mobile site loads, the better you’ll look to Google’s robots when it scans your site.  Slow-loading websites are now being penalized in the algorithm while fast-loading sites are rewarded. Google recommend your site loads on mobile in 5 seconds or less.  Research from Unbounce, however, shows that 85 percent of mobile sites

Amazon is predicting what you want and sending out free samples

Amazon is apparently beta-testing a new advertising strategy that leverages its logistics and delivery expertise with its massive treasure trove of consumer data. A report in Axios says Amazon has teamed up with advertisers Maybelline and Folgers to send free samples to users with a predilection for purchasing their products.  Analyzing data using AI, Amazon

For Online Reviews, Recency Matters

Online reviews matter.  92% of consumers say they look at reviews.  68% say positive reviews increase their trust. In addition to looking for positive reviews, we now know that consumers also value recent reviews in far greater numbers.  85% of those surveyed say that reviews dated more than three months old are no longer relevant.

Hackers are now hacking Connected TV Sets

Yup, it happened. Hackers have been able to hack TV sets.  The guy behind the hack called himself, The Hacker Giraffe, and managed to exploit a Google Chromecast vulnerability in devices and posted a privacy warning (and promoted PewDiePie, a YouTube celeb). According to Media Post, the hack takes advantage of router settings that make