I came across this article this morning and finally got around to writing about it.  It opens alot of possibilities to local advertisers with useful content for consumers.  Akoo plans on making your cellphone a universal remote control that can select on-demand content from big-screen TVs in airports, bars and restaurants.

Consumers will be able to activate on demand their favorite music, videos, movies, internet sites, etc. on Akoos big screen TVs located at different locations all thru their cellphone.  This is a pretty nifty concept, as there are many times that I have wanted to look at things larger while being mobile. A great example of this, has been at airports when I have been waiting on my flight.     

Akoo plans on inserting ads into the content that consumers demand of the local area.  Pretty smart as the consumer is within a point of sale area as they access the content on a Akoo screen.

Many new platforms are being developed that involve a consumer using their cellphone for purchases and information via the internet.  Will the cellphone become the preferred method of conducting transactions in the real world and for online needs? Has it already?

How can geo sites be developed to be embraced by this evolving trend, other than being mobile friendly?  I am sure there are hundreds of ideas.  The cellphone is all about local! There has to be a stream connected to geo domains that is feasible.

What are your thoughts?

(via NYTimes.com) 

Microsoft released today that it will launch its beta platform on 1 March, Engagement Mapping.  This is nothing more than tracking consumers habits online to see how they respond to ads presented to them on sites they visit and at what point they decide to make a purchase online.  

Google.com has been promoting a similiar platform for a while now.  They have given the user the option to signup for it and be tracked how they search the internet and interact.  There have been alot of consumers who have signed up and it has helped Google develop new platforms catered to consumers.

Engagement mapping will be beneficial to advertisers who want to learn the most effective way to spend their advertising dollars.  It will also help advertisers understand how consumers make their decision at the Point of Sale.

This is a little disturbing to me as it is another violation of privacy for consumers.  I hope that Microsoft will make it optional to participate in the beta program.  If they do not, your ip address will be tracked forever and everything you do on the internet will be tracked and sold to the highest bidder.  The only good thing that can come out of this is the development of platforms for all domains, to include geo domains.

We will have to wait and see how things turn out with the beta program.  A savvy domainer registered the domain engagementmapping.com today. I hope this domain has not been TM by Microsoft.  He may not be so savvy if they have!

(via NYTimes.com)

If you are still looking for validation to get into the geo domain industry or if you are still undecided whether you should advertise on a geo domain, I have some news for you.  The local advertising market continues to grow at an astonishing rate and consumers are the cause of this growth.  Local.com reported their 4th quarter 2007 earnings of $5.9 million.  This was 6% higher than 3rd quarter and was a growth of 64% over 4th quarter 2006. 

What does this mean?  This means that consumers and advertisers embraced local.com’s platform.  Overall, consumers increased the bottomline by increasing monetization by 114% from 4th quarter 2006.

This is only the beginning as consumers are just figuring out how to get the local information they are dire need of.  Some obviously have already figured it out and have started to embrace thousands of geo domains for their local needs.  It is always good to see news that validates local market growth. And keep in mind, this is only one company out of thousands in this market with revenue growth and increased consumer use.

“Local.com doubled local search revenue from 2006 to 2007, and we are set to double overall revenue in 2008. In the past quarter our organic traffic has grown substantially, page views per visitor are up, and monetization is at an all-time high. We entered 2008 very strongly,” said Heath Clarke, Local.com chairman and CEO.

 (via foxbusiness.com)

Another announcement of network growth.  The future of the internet is Networks, and the big boys are leading the way.  Yahoo! has recruited 4 media publishers to its expanding consortium network.  Networks are one of the best ways to dominate a niche or industry.  It is a collective effort in which everyone benefits, most of the time.  

It is better to receive 10% of a dollar working with others to dominate a sector, rather than earn a lesser amount doing it on your own and competing with a network.  

Yahoo!’s partnership with the Newspaper Consortium spans multiple initiatives, including for many members, the adoption of Yahoo! HotJobs as their exclusive online recruitment solution, the distribution of headlines across Yahoo!, the adoption of Yahoo! Search on newspaper sites, cross-selling of advertising with newspapers’ local sales forces selling local advertisers’ inventory on Yahoo! and Yahoo!’s national sales force selling national advertising on newspapers’ sites.

This is why we have focused 100% of our effort in building networks to mirror successful strategies.  If the big boys continue to do it, it must be a strategy that works.  The number one issue with any network, is defining the benefits of memberships and owner shares.  Once you get thru this eventful task, networks can create wealth and dominance as a unified front. 

I believe we will see many more announcements to come as the local market continues to evolve.

(via TradingMarkets.com)

Friday, a letter addressed to microsoft employees was sent by Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s platform and services Division.  The letter stated that it will take time to fully integrate the technology infrastructures if indeed the merger takes place. Microsoft remains determined to acquire Yahoo! despite obvious problems announced with the merger of different infrastructures; to include Yahoo! declining their offer.

Microsoft wants to compete with Google.com in the online advertising boom and search engine market.  One way is to acquire a company such as Yahoo!  The local market has started to explode and Microsoft is tired of loosing market share against its biggest competitor, Google.com.  Google.com  has dominated the local advertising market by a large margin thru its search engine and the genius patform, Adsense.  

In an article released today on NYTimes.com, Microsoft may change their acquisition strategy to acquire SAP. instead.  The future is uncertain for Microsoft and Yahoo!.  However, the only thing that we can count on is that the local advertising market will continue to explode and mergers will continue to take place to keep leaders of the industry on top.

(via NYTimes.com)

Well, I will finally shed some light on the projects currently ongoing in the background.  Many of you have sent many emails asking what services are coming and when.  It has taken alot of work to get this far and much more work still needs to be done. This has been done in 3 months time since launching the blog in December. 

As you all may already know, the hardest part to building anything of real value on the internet is securing the right domains for the products/services being offered.  This took alot of work, negotiating, and spending.  These are the platforms currently under development or on the radar to be developed.

I will not go into detail on each service, for competitive reasons.  We hope this now paints a clear picture of how serious we are and what is to come for you and the industry as it continues to grow.  SimplyGeo.com will be the center to all these services.  Strategic partnerships are available for some of the services.  Experienced developers and programmers, please feel free to send an email.  

GeoAuction.com: Home of the 5% commission for geo domains only.  A small listing fee will be charged for the lowest commission charged in the domain industry and it will have some additional features built in as it evolves that are not available on any domain auction system in the industry at this time.  There is alot more to this.

GeoDomainServices.com A service much like Jay’s Domaintools.com.  The difference will be a variety of services catered to the geodomainer. Hosting, development, templates, membership, databases, etc. etc. 

GeoDomainer.com:  The storefront of the industry.  Shirts, hats, eBooks, etc.  

GeosForum.com: The simplygeo.net forum will be switched over to this domain. 

GeosForSale.com: A listing service to list geo domains for sale by owner, exactly like classifieds. No commission, very small listing fee. Will be promoted heavily.

GeoDomainIndustry.com:  A site explaining the industry and benefits that geo domains have to offer advertisers.

AssociatedGeos.com: A membership association for all owners of geo domains. Fees used to promote the industry thru media channels, offer seminars, and pay for future Expos.  Members will get benefits to services offered in the network and attendence discounts to expo shows, as well as be able to share trade secrets and proven strategies.  

GeosAdvertising.com/SimplyGeoNetwork.com:  A database of advertisers wanting to do business with geopreneurs. A consulting service connecting the advertiser with the right geo domains.   

These are being supported by the SimplyGeo.com network for specific geo markets to connect advertisers with a unified network. Some may end up falling under the network.

AssociatedYellowpages.com, AssociatedCountries.com, AssociatedStates.com, AssociatedClassifieds.com/CityClassifieds, and AssociatedCities.com

There you have it, quite a busy network to be developed.  Thank you once again for your continued support.  Hope this anwers some of the questions you may have had.

Godspeed,
Steve

UPDATED- Thank you for your comments and support.  This network is designed for the small guy, so they too can build wealth faster and smartly within a community of peers striving for the same goals.  Of course all networks have services available for the big boys. So, we will launch these as well.  Our whole strategy is to build a DisneyWorld of the Geo Domain Industry.  You can find everything you need at DisneyWorld, whether you are rich, middleclass or poor. The SimplyGeo.com Network will offer the same structure, except no mickey mouse and donald duck!

It will not be easy, I am sure we will fail at some things. This has been anticipated and we will continue to work at the service that does fail, and make it successful with your help.   Thanks again.

__________________________________________________ 

What is in a name?  Everything, if you are building a network to exploit and promote an industry.  The Geo Domain Industry is going to be promoted through a network method no one has done in the domain industry ever.   

We are going to use the terms associated with the service instead of branding a name.  Makes sense when you look at how people search the internet on search engines and communicate at functions when discussing an industry.  

We are proud to announce that SimplyGeo.com, LLC has acquired the following domains.

GeoExpo.com
GeoAuction.com
GeoDomainer.com

These domains speak volumes if you understand the geo industry and see how they clearly communicate a clear message.  They will become integral parts of the SimplyGeo Network in the future.  Tomorrow, I will post the complete network that is currently being built behind the scenes for the industry. 

There have been tons of emails coming in asking when the services will be launched and what they include.  I will list a general outline of what is to come, however, I can not reveal when they will be launched publicly as of yet.  Please remain patient, it is hard work building a complete industry from scratch.  The good news is that the industry will be defined once the network is launched.