July 2004

Threshold News

Google sees Yahoo! in its rearview mirror

Something strange has been going on at Threshold Information lately. We've caught ourselves using Yahoo! search more and more often to track down hard-to-find information on the Internet. Sometimes (and here's where it really gets weird) we even turn to Yahoo! before trying a Google search – and often find exactly what we need!

When we heard recently that Yahoo! had rolled out its own Internet database (with search engine technology drawing on AlltheWeb, Inktomi, and AltaVista – all acquired by Yahoo!) we just had to try it out. And we liked what we found, for the most part. Yahoo's database is significantly smaller than Google's, and some of the advanced search features that used to be available in the search engines Yahoo! acquired didn't make it into the new database, which is bad news for researchers who relied on them. Still, functionality is rich in the new database, and we understand that Yahoo! is in the process of rolling out more.

We especially appreciate Yahoo's full Boolean search capabilities, including nested operations. We like that Yahoo! has beefed up its link searching capabilities, and that it supports wild card searching within a phrase using an asterisk, just the way it works at Google. Something Yahoo! provides that Google doesn't are numbered results, which come in handy when we need to refer someone to a particular search result, or keep track of which results we've used and found to be helpful.

Most important though – to us and to our clients with the toughest questions – is that Yahoo! searches consistently turn up at least a few hits we didn't see on Google, and on more than one occasion those have lead us to the nuggets of information we really needed. Not that we plan to abandon Google any time soon, but we suspect it won't be long before checking Yahoo! search on a regular basis doesn't seem strange at all.

Recommended reading: Search guru Greg Notess wrote an excellent column detailing the features of the new Yahoo! search in the July/August 2004 issue of Online.

Opportunities In Business

Pop-up stores: For a limited time only

The new word in marketing could be “pop-up,” and we don’t mean the online ads.

Short-term stores, appropriately dubbed pop-up stores, are, er, popping up in many locations, supporting a variety of industries (housewares, apparel, services). Much like holiday-merchandise stores that open in the fall and then close around New Year’s, pop-up stores are temporary digs that let retailers promote brands and reach shoppers for a few weeks in busy areas. The stores pop up – often unannounced – quickly draw in the crowds, then disappear or become something else. Pop-ups can choose unlikely locations – locations that might reach consumers otherwise off the store’s radar – for very little financial (no long-term store lease) commitment.

Using a sort of Planned Spontaneity, pop-ups offer a new marketing tool for retailers. Pop-ups help build brand awareness. By getting into a high-traffic area and tooting the brand, the exposure can give a boost to little-known brands. Plus, it is hoped that pop-up shoppers will then want to visit the permanent store for the full selection, full service experience.

Technology helps. In-store kiosks make it possible to purchase online from the retailer’s full line of merchandise, or to view a list of store locations. (Kiosks also decrease the need for expensive labor in the pop-up store location.)

With its high rents and high foot traffic, New York City is fertile ground for pop-ups – especially for retailers who do not to have (or cannot afford) a permanent store in the city.

The temporary retail industry weighs in at $10 billion, according to Specialty Retail Report. Virtually all malls now accept temporary tenants.

Who is popping up?

Target, with no permanent NYC store, opened a 1500 sq ft store in Rockefeller Center last September to sell the designer Issac Mizrahi’s new women’s clothing line. JC Penney has opened a pop-up to promote the Chris Madden housewares lines.

Expanding on the concept, Comme des Garcons, with a $2500 budget, opens temporary stores for one year or less in unlikely locations. A short run gives a sense of “catch it now before it’s gone” while performance artists and art both add sizzle to the store’s physical space. Stores are planned for Berlin, Stockholm, Brooklyn, and Warsaw.

Taking the pop-up concept mobile, the London Fashion Bus operates a double-decker bus refitted as a continually touring showroom. Stocked with 1400 items from 40 designers, the bus brings trendy goods to outlying un(der)represented areas.

Even the airlines industry is popping up. Song, the low-priced Delta unit whose personnel sport Kate Spade uniforms, opened last November for nine weeks, closing before Christmas, in Manhattan’s trendy SoHo neighborhood. The store offered Song’s in-flight menu, sold travel gear, let visitors experience in-flight entertainment options. And also sold airline tickets.

While analysts declare that pop-up ROI is good, the goal is more to generate public awareness of a product.

The consumer gets exclusivity, discovery, spontaneity. The retailer gets a new channel for quickly introducing items around the world, frequently in off-the-radar locations reaching off-the-radar customers.

Designers team up. Real estate agents make better use of vacant properties. Big brands add cache and agility to their otherwise fixed-location, massive flagship stores. And maybe even give strictly-online retail a bit of off-line visibility. (Yes, even eBay has operated a pop-up.) Everyone seems to win.

Pop-ups. They’re not just for online ads. Maybe your business could use one…?

Opportunities in Technology

Wi-Fi: X marks the (hot)spot

All manner of computer industry vendors are scrambling to build wireless network capabilities into their business strategies. High-speed wireless Internet communications – perceived as The Next Big Thing – is driving both Silicon Valley venerables and spunky new start-ups to be at the forefront of the revolution.

Wi-Fi (WIreless FIdelity – a wireless protocol used to connect to the Internet) is attractive. It offers rapidly increasing numbers of public hotspots – public areas where Internet access is often free. It’s getting more and more common to access the Internet from just about anywhere - parks, beaches, bars - via Wi-Fi networks. By year-end 2005, nearly all new laptops will come with Wi-Fi built in, according to Gartner.

With public Wi-Fi hotspots predicted to realize some 30 million users, and increase to almost 140,000 in number worldwide this year, Wi-Fi is, indeed, out there. The rapid spread of wireless Internet systems at airports has been a boon for travelers wanting unfettered use of laptops and other wireless devices. Hyatt Hotels has partnered with T-Mobile USA to bring high-speed wireless Internet access to the vast majority of Hyatt Corp’s 200+ hotels by mid-2005. Britain’s train-based Wi-Fi networks are on track for rollout by 2007. The UK plans to roll out Wi-Fi hotspots to libraries across the country; providing Wi-Fi access to people in the vicinity of a library, rather than just those who are using the PCs inside the building. Wi-Fi wireless communications will be included in the design of the Charlotte Bobcats’ new $265 million arena. A hospital in the Southeast is using Wi-Fi to help prevent costly medical errors.

The technology provides new conveniences, new ways of working and keeping up. It lets businesses stay in touch with customers, suppliers, and employees. The future of wireless technology lies in increasingly faster, more reliable methods of data transfer.

Visit these Websites to locate Wi-Fi hotspots in your area:

http://wi-fihotspotlist.com

http://wififreespot.com

http://wifinder.com