No internet presence can be successful as an isolated island. Measuring traffic and understanding user behavior gives developers powerful tools in designing effective sites. Google Analytics introduced a new interface this year. Although it is often difficult to navigate, a few features are worth noting, if you can find them.

Visitor flow visualization

A powerful tool in understanding visitor behavior the flow visualization “tracks” user navigation through web pages within your site. For example, we see users coming to FTM from the Internet, and a smaller percentage browses further into the site reading other posts. For a site that is designed to retain user attention, or to encourage users to complete certain processes like entering data or completing a sale, visitor flow provides clues that site designers can use to improve outcomes.

In Site Analytics

Another great visualization tool puts analytics data directly on a site. This is an effective tool for web designers to see what works and what does not. It is like a map of user activities. It definitely helps designers to experiment with changing the layout and placement or look and feel of a sites based on actual user feedback.

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If Netflix planned to grab media attention the way it has in recent weeks, it certainly has succeeded brilliantly, multiple times. While the real stories may not be known for a while yet, one thing is certain: Netflix has made itself a permanent case study in business communication classes.

Confusion and mishaps aside, Netflix did succeed in carrying out a couple of major tasks: it separated its DVD by mail service financially from its streaming service, and it raised the price of both its services significantly.

Recently, there have been rumors of a failed courtship between Netflix’s and Amazon. Wall Street speculates that Netflix split up in order to sell, and reversed that decision when the merger fell through. While nothing can be confirmed, the sudden announcement of Qwikster and the subsequent hasty change of heart certainly suggests there was perhaps more drama behind the scenes than what the audience saw. Read more…

Earlier this year, Corey posted about Qwiki, a startup whose investors include Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Groupon co-founders Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky, and YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim.

Qwiki has opened its alpha release to the public since January. With its stated objective to “deliver information in a format that’s quintessentially human – via storytelling instead of search”, Qwiki has generated great interest, even hyped by media as the “next Google.”

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Last week, Netflix announced new pricing structure to split online streaming and DVD delivery into separate plans. So instead of paying a minimum $10 per month for both, users will pay at least $8 per plan, for a total of $16 to keep both plans. Netflix’s 60% price increase has sent shock waves through its user community. To date, there are over 5000 comments on Netflix’s official blog, over 70000 comments (including multiple comments from same users) on its Facebook page, with plenty of complaints going around.

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I received an invite to join “mylife” from a friend, never heard of it before. At first glance it looked interesting, advertised as a “people search” place, also aggregator of other social media sites. Alarming flags went up as I noticed the “service” they offer and cost associated. It turns out, they are in the business of collecting personal information and selling those same personal information for anybody who is willing to pay.

The same company owns wink.com, which sells people search reports plus property information, death records, marriage records, divorce records and reverse phone lookup; and a $39.95 background report with all other information plus, aliases & maiden names, birth date, address history, property ownership information, relatives & neighbors and ‘much more”. Read more…

When the dotcom boom went bust, it claimed its share of victims. Perhaps this is round 2, and digital media is being tested.

ManiaTV, once considered one of the pioneers in Web/TV convergence,  has been shut down. ManiaTV started in 2004, best known for its shows featuring comedian Tom Green, ran an Ad supported model. Targeting a mostly young male audience, it once had sponsorship from Adidas, Nike, Doritos, Verizon and AT&T.  It has been reported previously that its ad revenue has been drying up. It was shutdown as a direct result of investor pulling out. Read more…

Slingmedia is known as the maker of cool gadgets like Slingbox, which allows viewing and control of TV from the Internet. Slingmedia has made a couple of moves lately that may have more impact on mainstream media. Read more…

Johnny Lee was a Ph.D. student in “Human-Computer Interaction,” a rather abstract concept for most people. His research paper would be read by a small circle of researchers. His thesis would be reviewed by a small panel of top professors.

In December 2007, Johnny Lee posted a YouTube video related to his research.

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