Back to the January 2007 issue.

Interactive Highlights for 2006

(by Craig Cooke, CEO)

2006 was the year for Web 2.0. The trend began in 2005, but the past year it became even more apparent as the business world focused on capitalizing on this development. If you’re looking for proof, consider this: YouTube.com sold for $1.65 billion to Google, making it one of the largest Internet acquisitions ever. This was one of five purchases for Google in 2006. Smaller deals in the range of $20 million to $50 million occurred throughout the year as well, among a variety of online-based businesses.

Search marketing continued its steady pace as Microsoft launched AdCenter, their equivalent to Google AdWords. Not only did paid placement continue its hot streak, organic search engine optimization experienced explosive growth.

Mobile marketing turned up the heat in 2006 used in conjunction with other media. The main method was combining text messaging with television shows. The music industry utilized this tool extensively throughout the year. 2006 made this medium a viable communications tool as consumers embraced it more than ever.

Email and advergaming have proven themselves and remain viable tools. Organizations are utilizing email service providers more than ever to ensure proper delivery and compliance with federal regulations. Advergaming opportunities continue to increase with the release of new gaming consoles and organizations such as Massive that sell advertising through a network of videogames.

The big hit of the year was social networking through user-generated content. MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and others all experienced rapid growth in 2006. Consumers now have the tools necessary to create rich content containing podcasts, video, audio, and more. This movement itself proved the viability of Web 2.0 and was the biggest hit online for the year.

It has been an exciting year. The pace has accelerated once again for the Internet. 2006 was a great year, but 2007 will be even better.

To learn how Rhythm Interactive can help your business develop a winning marketing strategy for 2007, contact us at 949.215.1250.





Statistics Corner

According to a Forrester study, 79% of marketers have used or piloted a search marketing program.

Online spending reached approximately $670 million on December 12th, the busiest online shopping day of the holiday season according to comScore Networks.

According to JupiterResearch, online ad spending will reach $17.70 billion in 2007, an increase of 12.7% over 2006.

We respect your privacy!

We do not share the names and email addresses of our subscribers with any third party.

See our privacy statement for details about our policy.