NONE: ONLINE-ADS>> WB '97#3: More Convergence, Less Divergence
ONLINE-ADS>> WB '97#3: More Convergence, Less Divergence
rhoy_at_tenagra.com
Fri, 13 Jun 1997 15:16:28 -0500 (CDT)
This is the third in a series of 10 reports from Richard Hoy
covering the Web Broadcasting '97 conference. You will receive
these reports in addition to your normal Online Ads posts/digests.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This week's Online Advertising Discussion List sponsor:
More neighborhoods to visit than New York. (And much safer.)
Stop by and see our online media kit. No need to take the subway.
http://www.geocities.com/mediakit/
======================================================================
Web Broadcasting '97 coverage
June 12, 1997 / Issue 3
________________________________________________
Sponsor:
We surf over 30 online news sites each week
specifically looking for Internet Advertising
and Marketing news... So you don't have to.
EXPOSURE Internet Marketing News - One message,
per week, by email.
http://www.exposure-usa.com/exposure/
>> Free subscription <<
________________________________________________
More Convergence, Less Divergence
Session:
Choosing a Push Platform
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
speaker:
David Strom, president, David Strom, Inc.
David Strom reiterated what seemed to be the
mantra of day one: more convergence, less
divergence.
Strom, who publishes his newsletter using push,
said that push is especially difficult from
a publisher's perspective. Many products don't
allow you to keep track of subscribers, and those
that only do so in a rudimentary way. He has
found it is difficult to accurately estimate
your costs in advance. And everyone uses
different protocols, interfaces, client and
server pieces - increasing the chance things
will conflict.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
----------------
Strom threw out several questions publishers
need to ask before deciding on a platform:
- How much gear is involved in creating
this publishing platform?
- Do you need more than one server?
- What version of which operating systems are
supported?
- Does the server need a constant Internet
connection? Or can it operate behind a
firewall?
- What particular versions of client software
is required in addition to or instead of
browser software?
- What control does the publisher have over
administrative functions or update schedules?
- What reports do the tools provide and
how easy are they to interpret and act upon?
PROS AND CONS
-------------
In order to give the audience some idea of what
each product is good for, Strom came up with his
pros and cons for each major player:
BackWeb
-------
pro: the most high-level deals with publishers
and software vendors.
con: server software complex, reports are
difficult to interpret.
Diffusion
---------
pro: most flexible delivery methods, including
email and fax.
con: installation requires their engineers, server
software is complex.
Intermind
---------
pro: most channels, simplest publishing
system.
con: uses its own database and web server software
for publishing.
Marimba
-------
pro: most flexible push content types and complete
environment.
con: sure helps to know java; this isn't the place
to start learning.
PointCast
---------
pro: simplest corporate pricing model
con:eats bandwidth like there is no tomorrow; even
with I-Server.
TIPS AND TRICKS
---------------
Strom offered some tips and tricks for the
various major platforms:
BackWeb
-------
Reports are a series of comma-delimited
numbers and text. Create a spreadsheet template
into which you can import this data so you can
generate charts. Understand that you won't
have much control over content display. Also,
spend some time learning all the bits and pieces
that come with the server.
Diffusion
---------
Get someone with MS Exchange on staff. Start
with a virgin NT server (it seems to work best
when there are no other programs on the server).
Intermind
---------
Don't ever move the database once you get it
up and running.
Marimba
-------
Don't install on your Web server machine. To do
anything really interesting, you will need their
programing tool - Bongo. You will probably need
repeaters and proxies to work across firewalls.
Best for non-HTML objects.
PointCast
---------
Set-up is simple, but you have little control
over content display. Watch out for bandwidth!
One last point Strom emphasized: there is no
comprehensive directory of push channels. No
'Yahoo,' if you will, of everything you can
get via push. It could be an opportunity for
someone.
David Strom's full analysis of push technologies is
available online at:
http://www.strom.com/imc/t4a.html
_________________________________________________
Reporting provided by Richard Hoy, moderator of
the Online Advertising Discussion List
http://www.o-a.com
__________________________________________________
UNSUBSCRIBE INSTRUCTIONS
========================
You may leave the Online Advertising Discussion List at
any time by sending an email message with the word UNSUBSCRIBE
(just the word) in the body or content of your message to:
online-ads-digest-request_at_o-a.com
if you get the digest version, and
online-ads-request_at_o-a.com
if you get the non-digest version.
Online Advertising Discussion List
http://www.o-a.com/
