research watch

Circadian rhythms found to be in control of all mammal genes

By Loz Blain

June 19, 2007 Ever wondered exactly why eating at night makes you put on weight, why some people are "night owls" or what controls your metabolic energy levels through the day? Instead of only 15% of our genes being regulated by circadian rhythms, as previously thought, researchers have discovered that ALL mammalian genes are affected by nature's daily clock - our entire bodies are regulated by genes whose expression oscillates on a daily cycle. What's more, if we're not exposed to a proper daily cycle of light and darkness, our genes don't have a reference point to synchronise to - and they can gradually get more and more out of sync with one another, causing organs to function ineffectively. Read More

The Science of team – systematically enhancing performance

By Mike Hanlon

June 14, 2007 Human history is largely the story of people working together in groups to explore, achieve and conquer—and in our modern world the role of teams is only growing, spurred by globalization and communications technology. Given the centrality of work teams, it is remarkable how much our society's perspective is focused on the individual. We school our children, hire, train and reward employees as individuals, yet throw individuals into a team with little thought to the team’s composition, training, development and leadership. Scientific American Mind’s June 2007 issue has an excellent article entitled The Science of Team Success about the growing body of research showing that groups can systematically enhance their performance. It turns out that what team members think, feel and do provide strong predictors of team success—and these factors also suggest ways to design, train and lead teams to help them work even better. If you work with other people, you should read this. Read More

Internet Advertising Revenues Soar Again

By Mike Hanlon

June 7, 2007 Figures released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers today show that Internet advertising revenues continue to skyrocket, the tech wreck of six years ago just an insignificant correction. The 2007 first quarter revenues of US$4.9 billion represent a 26 percent increase over Q1 2006 at US$3.8 billion and a 2 percent increase over Q4 2006 at US$4.8 billion. “The continued growth of online ad revenues clearly illustrates marketers’ increased comfort with the extraordinary vitality and accountability of this medium,” commented IAB President and CEO Randall Rothenberg. “It reaches consumers with an unprecedented level of efficiency and measurability that provides marketers with actionable data. And the ever-changing landscape of new platforms and technologies that enrich interactive advertising guarantees that this growth trend will continue.” Read More

Men in Grocery Stores “need assistance”

By Mike Hanlon

June 6, 2007 At Gizmag we try hard not to be sexist, racist, anythingist. We just report the important new technology insights and advancements, and given our readership is predominantly male, we thought TNS Retail Forward’s recently-released Men in Grocery Stores Report might make interesting reading. In summary: Many men shop inefficiently. They have difficulty finding items, especially when their partners compile the grocery list. Men forego buying rather than risk purchasing a substitute for an item their partners have listed. They circle back through aisles multiple times in their searches, hesitate to ask for help and don’t admit to not finding items when the cashier asks them whether they found everything they were looking for. They need assistance. Read More

Google becomes the world’s most valuable brand

By Mike Hanlon

June 4, 2007 We are all familiar with brands and we have all developed long term relationships with these consistent names. Every day we all make choices about which brands we interact with and each of us has our own relationship with the brands we choose – creating a consistent and ultimately worthwhile relationship with the client/customer is an incredibly complex process. Every interaction with the brand helps to define our view - is it reliable, is it the best, does it reflect who I am? Put all those thoughts together and you vaguely define the incredibly complex brand organism. The second annual BRANDZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands ranking was announced recently and the world has a new heavyweight champion. As a commercial entity, the number one spot is the holy grail, and the new champion is, astoundingly, Google. Millward Brown’s unofficial world championship ranking for brands ascribes Google a brand value of US$66 billion, 50% more than Coca Cola and double that of Toyota, McDonald’s, Nokia or American Express. The rise to the top of the heap took less than a decade with the final ascent seeing Google rocket past General Electric (founded 1878 - US$62 billion), Microsoft (1975 - US$55 billion) and Coca-Cola (1885 - US$44 billion). A free summary of the report is available for download ... Read More

Study shows finger length can predict SAT scores

By Loz Blain

May 30, 2007 Were you born to be better at math or literacy skills? Work out the ratio of your index finger length to your ring finger length to find out - a new study shows that boys with a higher ratio (ie. longer ring fingers) have a tendency to perform better at math, while girls with a lower ratio (or shorter ring fingers) tend to perform better in literacy tests. Take a look at our Editor's hand here; he's not too happy about these findings! Read More

The Coming of Mobile TV

By Mike Hanlon

May 15, 2007 At some point during late 2008, half of all human beings on Planet Earth will be carrying a mobile phone. That’s a milestone of significant historical importance. So we’re not surprised that the prospects for revenue generation through services offered on the mobile phone are so optimistic. The last few years have seen mobile phones become far more powerful, capable of conducting business on all levels, and incorporating many new and useful features, and with 3G and beyond technologies, become capable of video reception. With the expected analog broadcast signal switchoffs looming, Infonetics’ "Mobile Video Devices, Services, and Subscribers" report published last week, predicts a massive jump in video services revenues. Service provider revenue from mobile video services jumped 317% to almost $200 million worldwide from 2005 to 2006, and is expected to triple in 2007. Similarly, the number of worldwide mobile video subscribers increased more than 300% between 2005 and 2006, and is set to soar to over 46 million by 2010. There’s an excellent article on emarketer covering the same subject entitled “Global Mobile TV and Video Get Real”. Watch this space – we expect it to become the next great commercial battlefield. Read More

Statistical Analysis of Complex data sets with Robust Statistical methods

By Mike Hanlon

April 12, 2007 Robust statistical analysis methods capable of dealing with large complex data sets are required more than ever before in almost all branches of science. The European Science Foundation’s three-year SACD network, which was completed in December 2006, developed new methods for extracting key structural features within the data. Such features can include outlying values that may be particularly significant within the increasingly large and complex data sets generated in financial markets, medical diagnostics, environmental surveys, and other sources. Read More

LHC reaches temperatures colder than outer space

By Mike Hanlon

April 11, 2007 The first sector of CERN ’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to be cooled down has reached a temperature of 1.9 K (-271°C) - colder than deep outer space! Although just one-eighth of the LHC ring, this sector is the world’s largest superconducting installation. The entire 27-kilometre LHC ring needs to be cooled down to this temperature in order for the superconducting magnets that guide and focus the proton beams to remain in a superconductive state. Such a state allows the current to flow without resistance, creating a dense, powerful magnetic field in relatively small magnets. Guiding the two proton beams as they travel at nearly the speed of light, curving around the accelerator ring and focusing them at the collision points is no easy task. A total of 1650 main magnets need to be operated in a superconductive state, which presents a huge technical challenge. Read More

Worldwide IPTV equipment revenue tops US$1B in 2006

By Mike Hanlon

April 4, 2007 The world’s television stations must surely be wondering how the inevitable coming of IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) will play out, particularly after market research firm Infonetics Research’s latest report shows IPTV equipment sales, service revenue, subscribers, and service provider capex all posted phenomenal growth in 2006, and are expected to continue surging through 2010. The report, IPTV Equipment, Services, Subscribers, and Capex, shows that worldwide IPTV equipment manufacturer revenue jumped 150% in 2006, easily passing the $1 billion mark. While the IPTV equipment market is expected to grow at a more moderate pace in coming years, all categories but one tracked by Infonetics are forecast to at least double or triple between 2006 and 2010. Read More

Digital Photo Frame sales booming

By Mike Hanlon

April 2, 2007 Approximately 1.7 million digital photo frames were sold in the U.S. in 2006, representing an explosive year-over-year growth rate of more than 400%, according to Parks Associates. The number exceeded Parks Associates’ forecast by 42% and not surprisingly, forecasts have been ramped up – the company’s revised U.S. forecast shows 50% cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) to 2010. Read More

Integrated Marketing Communications and Consumer Control become major marketing issues

By Mike Hanlon

March 28, 2007 Once upon a time, not long ago, media was dominated by newspapers, television and radio. Advertising agencies made one advert and ran it many times. Life was easy, lunches were long and cheques were fat, but the proliferation of new media and the growing complexity of the media landscape is quickly becoming the biggest challenge faced by marketers. A survey conducted by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) polled over 100 senior marketers to select from a comprehensive list of subjects to rank their top three issues that directly impact their marketing decisions and plans. Integrated marketing communications jumped from the fourth spot in 2006 to the top of the list this year. Read More

New research substantiates Video Games as key advertising vehicle

By Mike Hanlon

March 23, 2007 New media research and measurement firm Interpret’s Gameasure report is likely to make a few marketing managers think about the most effective way to spend their precious budget. The report reinforces the significance of video games as a medium for marketers seeking to reach and influence key demographic groups, particularly young males. The report measures actual reach, frequency and demographic makeup of over 80 video game titles and shows that games reach well beyond reported retail sales figures. Read More

US$300 Billion Digital Living Service and Product Revenues by 2010

By Mike Hanlon

December 31, 2006 The dot.crash is now a distant memory and the internet juggernaut appears destined for ubiquity and becoming an integral part of the lives of all humans given a few decades. A hint at just how big digital living revenues will become came last week with the release of a new study entitled "Digital Living 2006 Forecasts." The report details how rapid consumer adoption of Internet and mobile services will boost U.S. spending in digital living services and products to nearly US$300 billion by 2010. With forecasts and analyses on more than 50 digital lifestyle categories, the report forecasts a steady rise in U.S. household spending for these advanced products and services over the next five years. Read More

Australia’s Proposed Draconian Copyright Laws

By Mike Hanlon

November 22, 2006 French philosopher Joseph Marie de Maistre's famous quotation, “Every country has the government it deserves”, seems particularly apt with Australia’s citizenry continuing to put up with ongoing ill-considered legislation as the country tries to keep apace with the fast changing world of digital media. The Australian Internet Industry Association (IIA) has issued a warning that changes to Australia’s copyright laws being rushed through Australian Parliament risk making criminals out of everyday Australians. The IIA in conjunction with QUT Intellectual Property Law Research Program has compiled these risk analyses (teenagers, families, small business and industry - all in PDF format) of how Australians could be liable for heavy fines and even jail under the new copyright regime by engaging in activities which many would regard as commonplace. The illustration is just one example - there are dozens of other frightening potential scenarios. “We can’t be sure if this is the government's intent, or whether there has been a terrible oversight in the drafting of this Bill. Either way, the consequences for the average Australian family could be devastating, “ said IIA chief executive, Peter Coroneos. Read More

Connectivity is the business opportunity in the digital home.

By Mike Hanlon

August 16, 2006 We are rocketing into the future and it pays to look at the trends if you’re planning on being a significant part of the digital economy. Accordingly, the new report from Parks Associates entitled “Networks in the Home: Connected Consumer Electronics” is worth noting - the number of U.S. households with a connected entertainment network will reach 30 million by 2010, according to the report. “Broadband proliferation is a fundamental driver of connected entertainment opportunities inside the home,” said Harry Wang, research analyst at Parks Associates. “But more importantly, better network configuration tools and easy-to-navigate user interfaces will assuage consumers’ concerns about setup difficulties or application glitches.” Connected entertainment will be at the heart of the development and business opportunities in the digital home. Read More

Photo messaging climbs as cameraphones snap up market share

By Mike Hanlon

August 7, 2006 You don’t need an IQ much larger than your shoe size to realise that cameraphone ownership and usage is climbing across the U.S. and Europe, though mobile market market research specialist M:Metrics, is able to put numbers to the growth and reports it is quite explosive. With summer vacations in full swing in America, photo messaging has increased 32 percent since February, while in Europe, it has increased 20 percent in France and 16 percent in the United Kingdom, while remaining steady in Germany, where 19 percent of mobile phone subscribers used photo messaging in June. The table shows the Photo Messaging Conversion Rate for Camera Phone Owners for the most recent quarter, Ended June 2006. Read More

X|Media|Lab

By Mike Hanlon

July 28, 2006 We need to acknowledge that we’re a bit biased when it comes to international media event the X|Media|Lab, with two of Gizmag’s lead players having participated in an event last year. The next X|Media|Lab event is being held as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), to be held at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) August 11-13th and features an elite international network of the worlds outstanding digital media practitioners, innovators, and power-brokers. This time the unique mentoring process for participants include senior managers from Current TV (Al Gore's cross-platform iTV initiative), China's Beijing Film Academy (including the Dean of Animation, the Head of Digital Media, the Head of Mobile Content, and the Director of New Media and Technology at Harbin Institute of Technology), the Georges Pompidou Centre's Forum des Image (Mobile Movies), the Founder and CEO of Bollywood's biggest entertainment portal, the Editor of Singapore Press Holdings brilliant new STOMP ("Straits

Times Online Mobile Print"), the Creative Director of London's biggest advertising agency, the Chair of the Producers Guild of America's Interactive Media Council, the Entertainment Technology Center at CMU (and formerly Head of Research at Electronic Arts) and Nokia Research Centre in Finland, and more. Read More

WiFi phone market doubling each year

By Mike Hanlon

July 27, 2006 … and still more one-glance-graphics indicating the state of play in the telecommunications space. The worldwide WiFi phone market increased 116% between 2004 and 2005 to US$125.5 million, and is projected to more than double in 2006 as enterprises and consumers slowly but steadily continue deploying voice over wireless LANs, according to a new survey. The survey estimates that WiFi phone revenue will double, almost triple, every year through 2009, when it will reach US$3.7 billion. Initially an enterprise application, VoWLAN will eventually become more popular with consumers as well, having enormous growth potential as part of a VoIP service bundled with broadband connections. Read More

Retail Bank Delivery Channel Strategies

By Mike Hanlon

July 26, 2006 A picture might be worth 1000 words but a nice chart can tell a hell of a story and this one clearly illustrates how the channel utilization of banks has evolved over the past five years. Financial Insights has released a report examining the way in which customers interact with their banks. Comparing 2001 and 2006 survey data the findings show minimal changes in branch and ATM use and call centre and Internet channels enjoyed significant growth. Read More

US Population goes from 9% online to 77% online in a decade

By Mike Hanlon

June 22, 2006 Harris Interactive’s latest poll of the internet population indicates the percentage of adults in the United States who are online passed the 77% mark in the first quarter of this year, up from 9% in November 1995. Full details of the poll are available here, but we just couldn’t help ourselves and had to chart the figures as they show that the internet has moved from novelty to mainstream in a decade and given the long term trend, we can expect within a short time internet access will be ubiquitous. Interestingly, the percentage of adults who use a Personal Computer has grown from 50% in 1995 to 81% in February/April of this year, indicating that whereas less than one in five PCs were connected a decade ago, almost all PCs are now connected. And the characteristics of the internet population that were evident in the beginning of being predominantly male, well educated and high income are still to be seen a decade later. One wonders just how far we’ll progress in the next decade as convergence takes hold. Read More

High efficiency flat light source could be the end for the light bulb

By Mike Hanlon

April 20, 2006 The end of the lightbulb is nigh! Scientists studying organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) have made a critical leap from single-color displays to a highly efficient and long-lived natural light source. The invention is the latest fruit of a 13-year OLED research program led by Mark Thompson, professor of chemistry at USC and Stephen Forrest of the University of Michigan. If the device can be mass-manufactured cheaply - a realistic expectation, according to Thompson - interior lighting could look vastly different in the future. Almost any surface in a home, whether flat or curved, could become a light source: walls, curtains, ceilings, cabinets or tables. Since OLEDs are transparent when turned off, the devices could even be installed as windows or skylights to mimic the feel of natural light after dark - or to serve as the ultimate inconspicuous flat-panel television. This is potentially a disruptive technology and could significantly change the way we interact with our homes. Read More

Fujitsu Server Achieves World Record Performance

By Mike Hanlon

February 2, 2006 Fujitsu has announced that its high-end model PRIMEPOWER 2500 server recently achieved a new world record in the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation Java Business Benchmark 2005 (SPECjbb2005), with a performance of 1,157,619 business operations per second. SPECjbb2005 is a benchmark test developed by SPEC to evaluate the performance of servers running Java-based applications. It simulates the processing of actual wholesale industry business tasks, such as ordering, shipping, receipts and payment processing, inventory management and customer data management. Thus, the results can be used as an index of processing performance that reflects real-world business operations. Read More

The Interactive virtual showroom

By Mike Hanlon

March 12, 2005 Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications HHI in Berlin are demonstrating a system at CEBIT that can display real environments as high-resolution 360-degree panoramas rather than simply on two-dimensional monitors. Videos, moving or stationary objects, and sound can be embedded in the display. Read More

Common sense 101 - The Most Hated Advertising Techniques

By Mike Hanlon

December 7, 2004 If you suddenly found that your company was doing something that resulted in a very negative response from your customers, would you stop doing it? If your answer is YES and you have a web site that runs advertising or your company runs web advertising, you'd better read this. Read More