Finally got my Nintendo Wii, the latest game console from the Japanese videogame giant. I’ve had a few weeks to play with it and I believe Nintendo might have stumbled upon an Internet surfing killer-app (with or without knowing it). The Wii comes pre-loaded with a version of the Opera browser and you can easily surf the web on your TV from your couch using the very imaginative wii-mote.
I ended up spending 2 hours on Saturday night watching all sorts of clips from YouTube and other video sites. It also made me think in terms of business opportunity. Most sites are currently not configured for the TV screen. You can access them but user experience is not optimal. Given that the Wii installed base is growing like crazy (5.84M consoles sold since November) and that Nintendo expects to sell 14M more in the next 12 months, this console will de facto become an important tool to access web content.
In addition, Nintendo will put energy behind the web access aspect of the Wii as we can see from this Gamespot quote: “As for the Wii, the company said it “will further intensify Wii’s ‘Channel’ concept which already includes the abilities for the Wii owners to create their caricatures, view weather forecasts, news, and surf the web. Wii will encourage communication among family members as each of them can feel something relevant to themselves and be motivated to turn on the power everyday in order to enjoy ‘the new life with Wii.’”
What it means: given the large installed base of the Nintendo Wii, make sure you have a wii-enabled (wiinabled?) version of your site. You’ll need larger font size and bigger buttons. From a design point of view, you can inspire yourself by looking at DVD menu screens. Promote the fact that you’re wii-compatible on your home page and reach a new user base surfing the web in their living room.
Just received this news from my friend Ben Saren. His company, Citysquares.com, just raised its series A funding round from eCoast Angel Network. The amount was not disclosed. Up until now, the site was self-funded. The company will use this investment to expand its sales and marketing operations and improve the user experience on its website. CitySquares.com is a Boston-area hyperlocal web site.
Ben sent me this article providing more details about the deal and CitySquares itself:
Ben Saren founded Citysquares with partner Bob Leland with the intention of providing neighborhoods in the Boston area with a meeting place on the web — each designed around the qualities that make that neighborhood unique. In 2005 the pair launched sites for seven neighborhoods in Somerville and Cambridge; the company now covers 25 separate communities from South Boston to Allston/Brighton.
While Saren would not disclose specific traffic numbers for the various sites included in Citysquares, he said the following has been loyal, and the five-person company has experienced traffic growth climbing at what he describes as a better-than 45 degree angle over the past year. Forty percent of the site’s traffic is new, while 60 percent comes from repeat traffic, he added. Revenue, from businesses advertising on the sites, was under $1 million in 2006.
What it means: Congrats on the funding Ben! I am a strong believer in hyperlocal sites and content. It takes a lot of efforts to get them off the ground and it’s difficult to get to critical mass but, if you’re successful, you become deeply ingrained within your community.
About 6 weeks ago, USA Today relaunched their web site, integrating better social tools. The ProNet Advertising blog offers an update on this re-launch. Here are the highlights:
As a direct result of these community-focused changes, the site has seen a staggering 380% increase in new user registrations, in addition to a 21% increase in unique visitors, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Not only have the registrations and visitors increased, but there has also been exponential growth in user-interaction with the site. For example, for the month of March, users posted almost 40,000 comments on the site.
What it means: as Muhammad Saleem says in his ProNet blog post, “not only does this show the strength of social media and its ability to create community and engender user-engagement, but it also shows the versatility of the medium and its adaptability to any space, no matter how old or truly novel.” I will add the following: people want to interact with content, discuss with others and leave comments. Make sure your site allows them to do it.
(via Forbes.com)
Seat Pagine Gialle SpA’s 2008-2011 business plan, due to be released on May 11, will include investments into the company’s internet activities and its international operations, chief executive Luca Majocchi said.
In an interview with Milano Finanza on Saturday, Majocchi said investments will be financed via the strong cash flow he expects from Seat PG’s activities in Italy, where also an ‘interesting’ sales growth is expected.
Majocchi said the re-engineering project at is UK unit Thomson will be brought ahead, and in Germany an internet business will be launched.
Turning to new markets, he said in that Turkey Seat is developing a joint venture with Dogan and in China it plans to reinforce its position.
In further comments, Majocchi said he expects a ’strong growth’ of operating margin this year thanks to the absence of one-off costs for the launch of new products and organic growth in Italy.
What it means: I consider SEAT PG one of the most innovative directory publishers in the world (and they are very fun to work with!). Can’t wait to see what they have in store. Check out their 3D view of major cities in Italy (similar to what I blogged about on Monday) to get an idea of their innovations online. Click on the 3D button and select Roma to see Rome’s colosseum. Very cool!
According to the Wall Street Journal, the newspaper industry’s online revenue growth seems to be slowing down and might not be the lifeline they were expecting. Here are the highlights of the article:
Last week, that lifeline began looking frayed. New York Times Co. warned Thursday that online advertising growth this year won’t be as strong as the 30% it had projected. On the same day, Tribune Co. reported that the growth rate for first-quarter interactive revenue was
