Great, today I will like to chat about the Internet world. The people are now navigating towards the Internet for their transactions. And it looks like all the brand new companies that are taking limelight. Brands that we have not heard of.. So, kinda of more "coool" and "in" are important. Most of the offerings are, besides the big boys offering, niche. It is those niches that grows later. U Tube, MySpace started small - a niche and grew.

Reminds me of the Japanese who conquered the motorcycle market, they went after a niche and the rest is history.

ComScore Media Metrics Releases provide some interesting insights into the markets in US. Even though there are sub-prime issues out there, consumers still needs to fly, eat, entertain, etc. Here is the Dec findings.

Usage of Internet in America… rising as reported by ComScore Media Matrix Release Tip 50 US web Ranking for “December = Here is an excerpt taken from their report.

“Holiday shopping resulted in several retail categories experiencing significant growth during the month. The fragrances/cosmetics category climbed 30 percent to 21.5 million visitors, making it the top-gaining category for December, led by BathandBodyWorks.com with 4.4 million visitors (up 27 percent) and Sephora.com with 4.1 million visitors (up 41 percent).

The consumer goods category once again saw significant growth for the second consecutive month, gaining 23 percent to nearly 36 million visitors. OfficeMax led the category with 15.3 million visitors, up 170 percent from the previous month, with much of the growth generated by the popular Office Max branded viral holiday greeting site ElfYourSelf.com. OfficeMax also claimed the top-gaining property position for the month. Other consumer goods sites achieving growth included QVC Sites, up 3 percent to 6.1 million visitors, and retailer Hammacher Schlemmer's site Hammacher.com, up 9 percent to 807,000 visitors.

The retail - music category posted a 17-percent increase to nearly 28 million visitors, led by Barnes & Noble with 9.3 million visitors (up 20 percent), CDUniverse.com with 3.5 million visitors (up 4 percent) and eMusic with 3.4 million visitors (up 89 percent).

Other retail categories experiencing strong growth for the month included jewelry/luxury goods/accessories (up 22 percent to 24 million visitors), retail-food (up 14 percent to 19 million visitors), retail-sports/outdoors (up 13 percent to 36.6 million visitors), and flowers/gifts/greetings (up 12 percent to 44.6 million visitors”

This information is supplied through the courtesy of Google Alert. I use it..
comScore Media Metrix Releases Top 50 US Web Rankings for DecemberCNNMoney.com -
USAORG 24468 5 Fox Interactive Media 81847 30 Yellowpages.com Network 24453 6eBay 79892 31 Bank of America 23771 7 Amazon Sites 65205 32
Superpages.com...<http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQTU15815012008-1.htm>See all stories on this topic:<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQTU15815012008-1.htm>

Different Strokes for Different Folks users of Yellow Pages

During the course of my selling career in the Yellow Pages, I came across different usages of Yellow Pages, some use it to source for agencies (esp people from overseas), some for selling things (I confess before joining Yellow Pages, I used it extensively to do my research to sell my first deal, my friends from the Insurance also did - use the White Pages instead for names) others use it for door stopper etc.

Today, as I look at it, the usage patterns is still strong and here are snippets of what the creative businesses and wannabes are using the Yellow Pages for.... here are some of them from all over the world....(and how did I do it? I subscribed to Google Alert and provides me info to my email account each day)

I got the best toe job in townGuardian Unlimited - UKAnd then one day I noticed in the Yellow Pages that there were all thesebeauty salons offering pedicures, so I tried all the ones in my area andeventually ...<http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/fashion/story/0,,2237967,00.html>See all stories on this topic:<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://lifeandhealth.guardian.co.uk/fashion/story/0,,2237967,00.html>

Know your market by testing and talkingFinancial Post - Toronto,Ontario,CanadaWhile you can find market research consultants in the Yellow Pages, manyentrepreneurs find "do-it-yourself" a valuable investment. ...<http://www.financialpost.com/small_business/startup/story.html?id=228683>

Here is a snippets of it....
If you see sufficient opportunity, move on to primary and secondary research. The latter means using "secondary" sources (such as published research, directories, market statistics) to explore the size of the market for your business. Urban population studies, government and industry statistics, trade association forecasts, and research reports from securities analysts may all help you figure out the dynamism of your market and its appetite for new suppliers.

While you can find market research consultants in the Yellow Pages, many entrepreneurs find "do-it-yourself" a valuable investment

Huh, this is even more bizazz as the author related an incident in the S America city where kidnapping was a way of life and even had "negotiators" in the Yellow Pages...

"Almost every family had someone who was kidnapped by the guerilla forces, and it was always women that were kidnapped," she said. "The family I stayed with had an aunt that was kidnapped, and they talked about it very casually. There were even negotiators in the yellow pages."

Check the full stories from here...

Author discusses travel experiencesBurlington Hawk Eye - IA, United StatesThere were even negotiators in the yellow pages." Harless became a nursepractitioner in her late 30s but never imagined the conditions she would beworking ...<http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/Book_011308>

Well, there are more stories of such.. just go to Google Alert to find out how you can also use this service to do your marketing research FREE.

C U

Singapore Yellow Pages unveils medium term growth

Its great news! Yellow Pages is not going to be left behind in the race to get a slice of the adpie in Singapore from 2008. With the appointment of Mr. Danny Chow as the CEO and a new board, we will be able to see that this new thrust will lead them to more sustainable growth in the long term.

As mentioned yellow metal can be gold, so yellow pages can be worth its weight in gold too as the metal hits US$914 this morning.

As Channel News Asia reports. "SINGAPORE : Directories publisher Yellow Pages has unveiled its new medium-term growth plan. The company is now seeking to embark on a new phase of growth after emerging from a boardroom tussle last year.

The new growth plans are being spearheaded by its newly-appointed CEO Danny Chow. Yellow Pages said it plans to launch new print products starting with a new Hotel Edition Yellow Pages.

It is seeking to tap into growth in the tourism industry. Yellow Pages also plans to have new products targeted at motorists, the heartland areas, newly-arrived long-term residents and the active ageing population. Read on...