Seihaku’s Blogmarketing Bible

As the wave of Web 2.0 entered the domestic market, we had become like the sunflower whose sole gaze is on the foreign piece of information. Although shown to be ineffective, their words are becoming the very trend of Web 2.0, influencing all domestic Web 2.0 concerned parties. The current situation seems no different from a cult scene, full of fanatics and their leader.

Indeed, the word Web 2.0 may be a word that could be a great Internet troll in itself. However, we can all agree that Web 2.0 will be revolutionary. But different aspects of accepting the topic of Web 2.0 are all subtle. Global enterprises, who create the global standard, can view the research results of many netizens on the Internet in real time, even if they are given just the topic, and are able to simulate it against the various equations of business. Maybe, they, including Google, are already in the process of databasing all the creative ideas of the geniuses around the world had researched, through a secret search engine. And it is interesting to see that such system is adequately practical with today’s technology.

Then, what should the Web 2.0 related officials of Korea must approach the topic of Web 2.0 in order to create added value? Let us not mention any technological or literary approaches here. Today’s industry are divided by 1% innovators and 99% followers by the development of networks. And technology are equalized in a sense that anyone can imitate another technology. Eventually, rather than creating localized added value, it would be more of a realistic approach to create a global added value by having a convergence between a few expert areas.

If a FTA is concluded between US, Europe and Asia, an enterprise will collapse if it cannot establish competitiveness in a global market, regardless of the its competitiveness in Korean market. Furthermore, Internet related Korean Web 2.0 firms will have a tougher time due to its low entry barrier. A necessary management strategy in such circumstances are obviously securing world class competitiveness of Asia, Europe, US, not Korea.

In this aspect, there is no meaning to the efforts and passion of many Web 2.0 followers whose intention is to deploy a business exactly according to the foreign global enterprises. I hope that they won’t make the foolish mistake of creating a business model according to the logic following their predictions, even if they accept the same information.

99% of Web 2.0 related logic are developed in a similar way. You will not be able to create added value if you pool in on the idea of mass psychology in developing your business. Why? there will be many more who will run their business in a similar idea and methods. And furthermore, foreign global firms will watch you, looking at the business litmus results, and then start a global business through its size advantage, reentering the Korean Market - a worst case scenario.

With these assumptions, the safest bet would be to find a small stream on the side and create an added value from it instead of following the big stream global Web 2.0 trend. First, obtain all Web 2.0 information entering Korea from overseas; refine its logic; predict any forces that may have a business plan out of it; then find and concentrate on a small area where it can create added value where it doesn’t look too profitable for them to infringe upon.

It may be a very small market from out viewpoints, if you consider how the market expands to the whole world in a Web 2.0 standard, you can create added value beyond all our imagination.

Think. Google or few Web 2.0 related top enterprises throw in a topic of interest. Through a specific keyword, if a business development of certain individuals, enterprise business models can be databased, then applied in a business equation to simulate short and long term to test the business in a virtual world, hundreds of time, will it be an overstatement?

We must have a business mind at its maximum in order to protect the innocent, passionate Web 2.0 related people of Korea. That is also protecting our future from the unseen powers of Web 2.0 and a way to secure our survival in case of transcendent authority.

Blog contents design, a simplified form of web design yet different in how it puts up a single content on one page instead of numerous contents on many pages. Tracing back to the origin of blog design, you will eventually reach books and magazines. The basic designs of books, magazines or inserts, in which its sizes and materials were influenced by monitors and resolutions, eventually led to today’s blog contents design.

Of course, various UI designs were created in between. For example, UI design of portal sites are arranged by sorting the significant and insignificant among many contents in a detailed and organized way; UI design of google basically shows the search result in a brief, simple way. Eventually, the essential in UI design is how to present an identity in a most effective way and essence of it comes down to people’s visual habit.

Men’s habit is like an automated process that habituates through an extended period of experiences. It applies equally in viewing books, magazines, portal sites and blogs. In other words, looking at a web page, a man’s eye moves naturally and according to its moving sight, an information get recorded in the brain. We need to carefully examine the UI design of blog contents at this point.

Naver, utilizes an eye-tracking system, that can track eye movements, to perform analysis on sector concentrations, and prices its advertising cost based on its data. But, blog contents UI design, which the focus is on the exposure of single contents, has to be different. Customizing blog design to make it splendid, and organizing various information and design in fancy ways may give you an upper edge in terms of visual effects, but can cause you problem in terms of concentration competency.

In other words, blog design, composed of articles that must be understood according to a logical flow, it is better to use neutral colors; plain, simple layouts; and type faces that are highly visible and readable. And most of all, you need to take extra care in making sure the eye movement flows as naturally as possible. On the contrary, for blogs that are exposed to the teens, you should maximize visual effects; minimize texts so that scrolling won’t be necessary; try various experimental typography; and use sensual colors.

In the end, various visual identities, from the standpoint of consumers, to an extent in which learning isn’t required, should be centered around contents, and approached in a diverse and fun way. If a innovative design is applied in order to differentiate itself in a visual aspect, a consumer may think that the focus of a blogger is in the visuals, not the contents, so it is essential that you find the right balance.

The development of blog contents has to be influenced by blog interface design and it is most important to apply the concept that makes contents look good, as well as maintaining uniformity in design. When your contents are scrapped, only the inner designs of the contents are exposed to other consumers, so you should focus more on contents design edits that composes the article, pictures, movies and other individual contents source design instead of background designs.

In blog marketing, blog contents design is more important than UI design and bloggers should have keen design sense.

Global corporates, especially the Web 2.0 firms who survived, seem to have quite an appetite. They seem to focus on just swallowing everything, all that we could ever think of. Indeed, enormous funds and the concentration of intellectuals makes it possible for them to create an Internet trend as well as a global standard thus brought about this situation, literally showing an omnipotent authority and immense power. Each and every individual bloggers seem unable to survive. What should bloggers, or blog marketers to be precise, do for survival? Will google extend its power to the realm of contents beyond the realm of search?

Top several global corporates are ruling the Internet space and few other firms are fighting for survival in the sections of the world(classified by languages). Under given situation, contents market too, seem to devoured by the mega corporations but the trap lies right here. You must note that contents can be saved within a database, but cannot be owned. Google may provide customers an information about a book, from its database with their search engine technology. But for contents, present is most important and contents or services that can generate new values by combining several technologies (like meshup services) will grow to be more essential.

Google will have difficult time marketing a futuristic contents through convergence.

The value of creative and challenging netizens, who will create new services utilizing an open API offered by google, will shine as time passes. This is due to the sensitivity of man as technology reaches its peak. In the example of TVs, what’s important to customers isn’t the size or the picture quality but the programs contents and the quality of it.

Will the value of today’s google or amazon be maintained regardless of the development of Internet technology? I can’t help but to raise a doubt. In the end, platform providers like Microsoft, Google, etc, exist only to provide infrastructures for content providers and all value added and profits ultimately goes to the content providers.

Look around, how many people enjoys googling because they like google? Don’t forget that the purpose of using google is that I can effectively find a content or information of concern. Consequently, the age ruled by the platforms will soon fade and an age will come when the power of contents, people’s final destination, will grow. That’s why we need to focus on contents.

If you look at the past as the age of Microsoft and the present as the age of google, then the future is the age of many individual bloggers. Google or MS will take the role of simply providing infrastructures. If they refuse to provide infrastructure, there are many engineers across the world who will come up with an alternative idea and we just to choose.

Eventually, the survival keyword of the future will be the faithful supply of services wanted by the netizens.