Category Archives: Data

The Gap Between Preception and Performance

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Sunset 2012-02-05 17.10.20 at Media Post shared some powerful data about the nature of a rewarding experience. Marketers too often focus on the customer actions they want without really understanding the values that drive those behaviors.

The resulting gaps impact sales results and brand engagement. The good news is that with a slight shift in perspective, marketers can gain the confidence that the customer actions they want can be predictably and reliably delivered. Read more about customers and What Are They Really Thinking?

I have seen this play out in the retail environment where products require a more education before the customer can fully appreciate the true value proposition of the products. In one case study we were able to boost engagement and sales to the tune of 40,392 units to 813,892 units in only two months.

We were able to crack the code for those customers. Results are often unprecedented.

 

Building An Empathy Map Of Your Clients, Customers

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Understanding the thoughts, emotions, motivations and needs of the audience a business serves is often a series of questions. These questions are a starting place.

The key to success is listening to the answers and taking action. That way the questions continually engage the audience and the level of feedback you gain helps to optimize how you operate your business

Empathy Map Questions

·  What are your customer’s concerns?

·  What are your customer’s real feelings?

·  Is your customer happy with your product/service?

·  How does your customer react to _________________?

·  Is your customer angry or upset about your product/service?

·  What are your customer’s dreams and aspirations?

·  What are your customer’s preoccupations?

·  What really counts with your customer?

·  What are your customer’s fears?

·  Who is your ideal customer?

·   What do they think about during the day?

·   Are they feeling stressed? Relaxed?

·   What other factors are they wondering about during a typical day?

·   Do they hate their job? Love their job?

·   What is their core yet unexpressed priorities?

·   What causes an emotional reaction for them?

·   What are their dreams and goals?

·   What worries keep them up at night?

STEP TWO: What does the person HEAR? What Friends Say, What the Boss Says, What Influencers Say

·  What channel does your customer use the most?

·  Is your customer easily influenced?

·   What influences your customer?

·  Who influences your customer?

·  Through which channel does your customer get their information?

·  Does your customer listen to family and friends?

·  Is your customer more influenced by peers and co-workers?

·  What music do they listen to?

·   What “self talk” goes through their head?

·   What kind of ideas, information and opinions are being shared with your target customer by their friends and family?

·   What kind of things do they hear at work?

·   Who are the people they are most influenced by?

·   What are the mediums and tactics used to influence them?

STEP THREE: What the person SEES: Environment, Friends, What the Market Offers

·   How does your customer interact with their environment?

·  What does your customer’s environment look like?

·  Is your customer more in a private environment or a public environment?

·  How does your customer respond in a private environment?

·   How does your customer respond in a public environment?

·  What is your customer exposed to on a daily basis?

·   What problems does your customer face within their environment?

·   Are they highly visual?

·   Are they looking for great design or content?

·   What do they see?

·   What does their environment consist of?

·   Who are the other individuals who form a part of the customer’s environment?

·   What kind of product offerings do they see?

·   What kind of issues and challenges do they usually have?

STEP FOUR: What does the person SAY and DO? Attitude in Public, Appearance, Behavior Towards Others

·   What does your customer say to others?

·   How does your customer respond to others?

·   What are your customer’s actions after a conversation?

·   Does what your customer says match what your customer does?

·   How does your customer portray themselves in front of peers?

·   Does your customer influence others with their actions?

·   Does your customer influence others with their words?

·   What information does your customer hold back from others?

·   What information does your customer repeat to others?

·   What are they telling others?

·   What actions are they taking on a day-to-day basis?

·   What is their behavior when they are surrounded by people?

·   What, according to them, are their priorities?

·   What is the gap between what they express and their actual actions?

·   Do they act as influencers and opinion leaders for others?

·   Place direct quotes from your customers HERE.

STEP FIVE: PAIN – Fears, Frustrations, Obstacles

·   What are your customer’s pain points?

·   What does your customer fear the most?

·   What does your customer fear the least?

·   What kinds of frustrations does your customer face on a daily basis?

·   What obstacles have gotten in the way of what your customer wanted?

·   What obstacles does your customer still need to overcome today?

·   Why hasn’t your customer been able to reach their goals?

·   What future fears could your customer have?

·   What frustrations could your customer have in the future?

·   What frustrates them about their current situation?

·   What are the moving away from?

·   What are their main concerns or causes for frustration?

·   What stands between them and reaching for their aspirations?

·   What are the methods they employ to reach their goals?

STEP SIX: GAIN – Wants/Needs, Measures of Success, Obstacles

·   What kinds of success has your customer had?

·   How did your customer measure the success that they had?

·   How did your customer obtain their success?

·   Is the customer happy with your product or service?

·   What future success does your customer have?

·   What long term goals does your customer have?

·   What short term goals does your customer have?

·   What makes your customer the happiest?

·   What are your customer’s wants and needs?

·   Where would they like to be?

·   What are they moving toward?

·   What are their expressed goals and needs?

·   What is their metric for measuring success?

·   What are the methods they employ to achieve success?

Tracking Web Users: Confusing Consumers For Profit?

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Cartoon Man With Magnifying Glass Viewing Man Viewing ComputerThere’s a lot we take for granted in our web browsing. There’s all that tracking of where we go and what we do – even if we do nothing. And don’t get me started on privacy policies, terms and conditions and all the other ridiculously long scrolling admonitions we often agree to with a knee-jerk response to end the tedium and get on with what we came for.

Nate Cordozo has an excellent story about this on Electronic Frontier Foundation‘s site. If a business model wouldn’t work if users had to opt in, it deserves to fail. Maybe if we flipped the funnel so to speak, we’d get a far better web user experience. If every site had a default “NO Tracking” setting, we’d start to reassert some autonomy of our virtual lives.

Then again, maybe that’s the point. The more we get used to ‘sharing’ everything in our virtual world, and I use that term loosely, then we’ll be used to submitting to all sorts of other practices, policies and laws designed to constrain what we as free humans can do .

When do you think the last time that “This call is being recorded for training and customer service” actually resulted in either? Why should we think web tracking will be any different?

‘Choice’ In The Subject Line Boosts Engagement

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Man Overwhelmed by beverage choices @lauriesullivan, at Media Post shared some interesting data regarding engagement results from email and text message campaigns. Engagement where the recipient has a ‘choice’ in the matter, i.e., click to request a coupon versus just sending the coupon, had a significant impact on open rates and conversions.

Experian Marketing Services released its quarterly email benchmark report Q2 2015 focusing on engagement rates and duel subscriber rates, those who subscribe to email and some sort of alternative communication, like mobile text of push messages on their device.

“Customers who texted to get a coupon were more willing to complete a purchase than those receiving a push campaign, but both message types were successful in generating revenue.”

Analysts also looked at consumers who subscribe to both email, whether opened on a smartphone or desktop, and some other form of communication such as mobile text or push messages on their device.

In the analyses of SMS and MMS messaging programs from two brands it turns out dual subscribers were 3.9 times more likely to complete transactions than email-only customers. Transaction rates for mobile campaigns were 10-times higher than those for email campaigns

More than half of all email opens and 38% of clicks occur on mobile devices, but sometimes it takes two channels to make a campaign work. So, to better understand the value of mobile subscribers, Experian Marketing Services analyzed case studies from two brands with on-going SMS and MMS messaging programs. In both cases, analysts could attribute transactions to mobile campaign data by subscriber.

Consider this: signing up to receive emails, subscribers can open those emails on desktop, tablet, e-reader or mobile device. Mobile SMS and MMS require a separate opt-in. In the first analysis, “Brand A,” which sends emails and SMS messages announcing seasonal products, wanted to see if email subscribers who also provide their mobile phone numbers transact more in any one channel, compared with email-only subscribers.

Comparing both, Experian found significant increases in the percentage of mobile and email subscribers who had completed transactions. Dual subscribers (22.5%) were 3.9-times more likely to make a transaction, compared with email only subscribers (5.7%).

The second study with another brand analyzed SMS and MMS campaigns during eight months from another brand. It compared two types of mobile campaigns for Brand B, broadcast campaigns, in which the brand pushed SMS to the subscriber, such as a sale starts tomorrow, and pull campaigns, in which customers texted to get an offer such as “Save 25% off with in-store coupon- code XXX123.”

SMS push or broadcast campaigns made-up more than 95% of the volume, but pull messages added to stronger transaction results. It also compared transaction rates with Experian email benchmarks finding that mobile transaction rates were more than 10-times higher than the all industry average email transaction rate at 0.64% for all mobile campaigns compared to 0.06% for all industry email.

Customers who texted to get a coupon were more willing to complete a purchase than those receiving a push campaign, but both message types were successful in generating revenue. The overall revenue per message was $0.32, which is more than 3-times higher than the all industry revenue per email for this period at $0.09.

Power(ed) Readers: Americans Who Read More Electronically Read More, Period

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Majority of Americans, and two-thirds of Millennials,

read at least some books electronically

NEW YORK , N.Y. – April 17, 2014 – As with just about every other aspect of our lives, the ways in which we can read books have undergone radical shifts over the past few years. Not long ago hardcover and paperback were the main options available to readers, but then e-readers hit the scene, followed by tablet computers. With the additional options of reading on your computer or your phone, these days it seems as though just about the only thing standing between Americans and a good read is setting aside the time. Americans seem to be embracing their broader options, as the majority (54%) currently read e-books, including two-thirds of Millennials (66%).

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,234 adults surveyed online between March 12 and 17, 2014.

When asked to consider any format – not just hardcovers and paperbacks, but electronic formats as well – a strong majority of Americans (84%) say they read at least one book in an average year, with over a third (36%) saying they read more than ten. On average, Americans report reading roughly 17 books per year. Looking at demographics, Baby Boomers and Matures (whose readerships average roughly 19 and 25 books per year, respectively) both read more in a typical year than Millennials (13). Women, meanwhile, (23) read twice as many books as men (11).

Two-thirds of Americans (65%) purchased at least one book in the past year, with one in ten (9%) purchasing over 20 and an average of over 8 books purchased. Women also purchased more books in the last year, on average, than men (10 vs. 7, respectively).

Powered Readers = Power Readers

Interestingly, there appears to be an intersection at work between how Americans read and how much they read. Those who read either more or exclusively in the e-book format are more likely to read over 20 books in an average year (30%) than either those who read more/only in hard copy (18%) or those who read in both formats equally (21%). They also report a higher average readership per year than either hard copy hardliners or equal-opportunity readers (22.5 books vs. 16 and 15, respectively).

Looking at the number of books purchased in the past year, with a reported average of 14 books, those favoring e-books purchased roughly twice as many as those preferring hard copies, who purchased an average of less than seven.

Print Still Predominates

However, in terms of overall users, the hard copy format is still king. Nearly half of Americans (46%) say they only read hard copy books, with an additional 16% saying they read more hard copy books than e-books. Seventeen percent (17%) read about the same number of hard copy and e-format books, while 15% read more and 6% read exclusively in the electronic format.

About half of Americans (51%) say they read the same amount in the past six months as they did before, while nearly a quarter (23%) read less in the past six months and fewer than two in ten (17%) read more. Younger Americans often get blamed for declining readership nationally, but Millennials (21%) were more likely than their elders (14% Gen Xers; 15% Baby Boomers and Matures) to have read more in the past six months.

Further reinforcing the interplay between reading format and overall readership, those who read either more or exclusively e-books are more likely to indicate reading more over the past six months (29%) than those preferring hard copies (13%) or those who reading both formats equally (16%).

To see other recent Harris Polls, please visit the Harris Poll News Room.

Want Harris Polls delivered direct to your inbox? Click here!

 

TABLE 1

BOOKS READ IN A YEAR (ANY FORMAT)

By Generation, Gender & Preferred Format

“Now, we’d like to ask you some questions about books and reading. When we refer to books, think of books in any format – not just hardcovers and paperbacks, but electronic formats as well. How many books do you typically read in an average year? If you are not sure, please use your best estimate.”

Base: All adults

Total

Generation

Gender

Preferred Format

Millennials (18-36)

Gen Xers (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

Male

Female

Read more/only hard copy

Same

Read more/only ebooks

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%
0

16

15

18

16

15

20

12

15

30

8
Any (NET)

84

85

82

84

85

80

88

85

70

92
1-2

17

17

16

17

15

19

14

20

10

12
3-5

18

25

17

16

12

21

16

18

14

22
6-10

13

13

13

13

15

11

15

15

7

14
11+ (NET)

36

30

35

38

42

29

42

32

39

47
11-20

15

13

15

15

17

13

16

14

18

14
21+

21

17

20

23

26

15

26

18

21

30

Mean

17.1

13.2

15.4

18.6

25.2

10.9

22.9

15.9

14.8

22.5

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

 TABLE 2

BOOKS PURCHASED IN THE PAST YEAR

By Generation, Gender & Preferred Format

“How many books have you purchased in the past year?”

Base: All adults

Total

Generation

Gender

Preferred Format

Millennials (18-36)

Gen Xers (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

Male

Female

Read more/only hard copy

Same

Read more/only ebooks

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%
0

35

31

35

36

42

38

32

37

38

27
Any (NET)

65

69

65

64

58

62

68

63

62

73
1-2

16

18

17

13

14

19

13

17

12

16
3-5

20

21

19

20

18

19

21

21

18

17
6-10

12

13

12

11

8

11

12

11

14

12
11-20

9

11

8

8

6

6

11

9

7

10
21+

9

5

8

12

12

8

11

6

10

19

Mean

8.4

6.5

8.5

9.8

9.3

6.9

9.9

6.6

8.5

14.0

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3

READERSHIP – HARD COPY VS. ELECTRONICALLY

By Generation, Gender & Children in Household

“Currently, how many books would you say you read in hard copy form (e.g., hardcover, paperback) versus electronically (e.g., on a smartphone, tablet, e-reader)?”

Base: All adults

Total

Generation

Gender

Millennials (18-36)

Gen Xers (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

Male

Female

%

%

%

%

%

%

%
I only read hard copy books

46

34

46

52

57

44

48
I read more hard copy books than “e-books”

16

21

14

14

17

15

17
I read about the same number of hard copy and “e-books”

17

26

16

13

9

21

14
I read more “e-books” than hard copy books

15

14

18

15

11

14

15
I only read “e-books”

6

5

7

6

7

6

6
Read more e-books than hard copy (NET)

21

20

25

21

17

21

21
Read any e-books (NET)

54

66

54

48

43

56

52

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 4

READING MORE/LESS IN PAST 6 MONTHS

By Generation, Gender & Preferred Format

“Over the past 6 months, how have your reading habits changed? Please choose the statement that best describes you.”

Base: All adults

Total

Generation

Gender

Preferred Format

Millennials (18-36)

Gen Xers (37-48)

Baby Boomers (49-67)

Matures (68+)

Male

Female

Read more/only hard copy

Same

Read more/only ebooks

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%
I read the same amount as I did before.

51

39

54

56

59

53

48

54

47

44
I read less than I did before.

23

26

23

21

19

19

26

24

22

19
I read more than I did before.

17

21

14

15

15

16

17

13

16

29
Not at all sure.

5

7

6

4

4

7

4

5

8

5
I purchase more books now, but do not read them as readily as I did before.

5

8

4

3

3

4

5

4

8

3

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

 

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between March 12 and 17, 2014 among 2,234 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The Harris Poll avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of The Harris Poll.

Product and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The Harris Poll® #37, April 17, 2014

By Larry Shannon-Missal, Harris Poll Research Manager

About Nielsen & The Harris Poll

On February 3, 2014, Nielsen acquired Harris Interactive and The Harris Poll. Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

More Men Pushing Shopping Carts, Are Your Adapting?

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Male African American ChefWhen at risk males were surveyed regarding their interests, cooking and food service were at the top of the list. Seen as a career track, food is rapidly becoming a driving force throughout multiple sectors of the economy. What would it look like if we used eating, food, nutrition and health as economic redevelopment drivers?

 

From Nielsen

Between 2004 and 2011, cooking moved to seventh from 12th on a list of men’s top interests, according to a recent study by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA). That puts cooking ahead of politics and reading and right below cars. And another PLMA study found that 47 percent of men polled do more than half of their families’ shopping and cooking.

It’s not surprising then that Nielsen research shows men have gained or maintained trip share in all retail channels except drug stores since 2004. While women still drive 64 percent of all shopping trips, dominating every retail channel except convenience/gas, the rise of male shoppers cannot be ignored. As men assume more household responsibilities, their new influence over how cupboards and refrigerators are stocked requires food manufacturers and retailers to fine-tune their marketing plans or risk losing business.

Differences Abound Between Male and Female Shoppers

As with so many other areas, men and women shop differently. Women are more likely to seek out deals: they buy more on sale in total (34% of dollar purchases versus 28% for men) and shop with coupons about twice as much as men (7% versus 4%).

Home Depot Caped Cruader Super DadWhen we compare the distribution of all-outlet spending for women and men, the split varies by age. Young women under 36 years of age outspend their male counterparts almost 2:1 (19% versus 12%). The gap narrows with age, though women 36-44 years old retain a slight edge (16% versus 13%). Men find their stride from 45-54 years old, outspending women by a nose (27% versus 26%), then extend their lead during the 55-64 timeframe (26% versus 21%) and maintain it after age 65 (23% versus 18%).

So what are the sexes buying differently? Women dominate trip share for beauty, baby and basic food categories. Female share of category sales in many beauty and baby categories are between 79 percent and 90 percent. Female shoppers hold a 74 percent share of category sales by gender for items such as baking mixes, desserts/gels/syrups and breakfast foods, leaving men with just a 26 percent share. Even though men spend more per trip than women in many of these categories, more women buy and they buy more often.

Convenience stores, however, break all the rules. Male shopping trips in this channel lead female trips 57 percent to 43 percent. The channel’s unique position could set an example for others to follow. To help simplify shopping like convenience does, top-selling categories—such as beer, carbonated beverages, snacks, juices, bread and milk—are already collaborating with retailers to harness store layout, package design and in-store signage to create themed deal areas that bundle items, benefiting retailers, manufacturers and consumers.

Finding the Sexes’ Common Ground in Stores

Produce Filled Shopping CartWhen it comes time to shop, both genders share a preference for heading to the stores on the weekends. Men and women also buy many of the same items when they head to the store: bread/baked goods, fresh produce, snacks and milk appear among the top 10 most frequently purchased categories for both sexes.

Men and women also have similar habits when picking products. They equally favor brands compared with private label (about 80% versus 20% for both), although women spend more on both. And both sexes show strong preferences for brands in certain categories. Women account for 81 percent of dollars spent for branded hair care. And well over half of men buy branded products in motor vehicle care (57%) and liquor (58%).

What do These Differences and Similarities Mean for Retailers?

Men and women’s unique shopping habits can provide challenges to retailers attempting to reach both. However, the benefits can far outweigh these difficulties—especially for certain categories and channels. Men’s lower interest in shopping for deals provides a unique opportunity for premium priced brands and non-promotional items—especially with men under 36 years of age. And while convenience is a nice-to-have for female shoppers, it’s a deal breaker for men. Does your marketing exploit or ignore this positioning opportunity? Marketers with campaigns at odds with their shoppers’ preferences may be overdue for a review.

Interested in learning more? Contact Nielsen

Mapping The Protests In Turkey

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by Allison McCartney3 weeks ago Filed Under: Data

In Istanbul, a small citizen sit-in quickly escalated into a nation-wide movement of anti-government demonstrations that has so far claimed the lives of two people and mobilized an estimated 250,000.

While video can offer a live glimpse of the action and social media can reveal the thoughts of the crowd, only a map can illustrate the massive geographical scope of the movement.

To date, about 90 protests have been reported in 67 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, many in territories hundreds of miles from Istanbul and Gezi Park.

Using a compilation of the latest news reports, we plotted the location of the largest protests, how many people participated and on what day the protests started.

#OccupyGezi: Turkish Protests in 2013

#OccupyGezi: Turkish Protests in 2013 infographic by amccartney.

How To Boost Your Internet Search Skills

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By Fred Burks at Want To Know Info

When conducting Internet searches, there are several very useful search techniques for finding the most reliable information available. I try to find the most widely respected sources for any articles I write. Most people tend to respect messages which are backed up by information posted on websites of the major media, universities, or government sources. Below are a few key Internet research techniques to use search engines more effectively and find the most reliable sources. The tips covered are:

    • How to verify and find the strongest source for information

 

    • Set your search results to 100

 

    • Take advantage of the “Cache” link

 

    • Find disappeared articles and older versions of webpages when you have the URL

 

    • Use search engines to search a single website

 

    • How to find reliable sources when you only have text or video

 

    • Search for reliable videos

 

  • Consider a “What You Can Do” section

Note: For a separate article with great tips on how to improve the ranking of your website or webpages on search engines, click here.


 How to Verify and Find the Strongest Source for Information

Whenever you receive important information about which you are uncertain, there are several ways you can try to verify what you’ve received. Particularly if you are writing an email to friends or posting a message to the Internet with information that may be difficult to believe, your friends and readers will generally trust what you write more if you include links to reliable sources for any key information you provide. Here are a few key techniques you can use to verify information and find the best sources:

    • Pick out several of the key words which would identify Internet posts on the topic.

 

    • Type them into a search engine.

 

    • On the results list, scan the URLs at the bottom of each entry.

 

    • Look for the most reliable source listed.

 

    • Search both Google and Yahoo, as they often differ.

 

  • At the bottom of the search page, if you find “repeat the search with the omitted results included,” it may be worthwhile to click it to find more results.

If you don’t immediately find a good source, search both on the search engine’s regular search page and its news search page. The news search can be found in the string of links at the very top left of the page on Google or in the dropdown “more” menu on Yahoo. The regular search is more complete, but often has many entries from non-reliable sources. The news search page limits your search to more reliable news websites, but often misses key important sources. If the information you are searching is recent news, you might want to start on the news search pages.

Important Note: Entries to news searches on most search engines are usually deleted after about one month, so you won’t find older media articles there.


Set Your Search Results to 100

To ease your searches, set your search engine to display 100 results. Here are directions to do so using Google. Yahoo is similar, though the page you want is under the link “Options” and then “Settings.”.

    • Go the “Search settings” link. It is in the drop down menu on the wheel icon at the top right of the Google search page.

 

    • Scroll down to “Number of Results” and change it to 100. This makes searching through more than 10 results much easier.

 

    • In that same window you might want to choose “Open search results in a new browser window.”

 

  • Click “Save Preferences” and you are done.


 Take Advantage of the “Cache” Link

If you click on a search entry and it gives you a blank page or an error message, it will usually still be available at that cache link. To find the “Cache” button on Google, place your cursor to the right of search entries and an image should appear to the right. A cache link should be available in the third line on this image. On Yahoo, the cached link is on the bottom line of each entry. You might want to download and save the entire page (File > Save Page As), as it will likely disappear from the search engine before too long if the webpage has been removed.


Find Disappeared Articles and Older Versions of Webpages When You Have the URL

The Internet Archive is a very useful source for Internet research. It can be used to find a copy of an important web page that has been removed. It can also be used if a webpage has been changed and you want to see what it used to look like. Here’s how to use this great resource.

    • Copy the URL (Internet address) of the missing or changed page.

 

 

    • If there is anything in the “Wayback Machine” box, delete it.

 

    • Paste the URL you’ve copied into the box and click the “Take Me Back” button.

 

  • Click on any date listed to see the original article as it was posted on that date.

The above method will show you exactly how the webpage looked on the date it was copied into the archive. Please note, however, that any website can request not to be listed on the Internet archive. Though very few websites have done this, unfortunately many major media websites have done so. If this is the case, you may still be able to find the article on another website using a quote from the original article, as mentioned in the section immediately below.


How to Find Reliable Sources When You Only Have Text or Video

If you receive the text of an article you want to use that claims to be from a major news, government, or other reliable source, but no link is given, or the link is to an less-known news website, you can usually find the original article easily on its source website. The same technique can be used when you watch a Google, YouTube, or other video of a news report and want to find the report posted on the major media website.

    • Copy a string of seven to ten words or so from the text. It is generally better to find text with less commonly used words.

 

    • Copy that string of words into your favorite search engine and put quotation marks on both ends. This limits the search to only webpages with that exact string and order of words.

 

    • Click “Search”

 

    • Scan the URLs at the bottom of each entry listed to find the news website.

 

    • If the list is too long and the article is less than a month old, click on the “News” link. This limits the search to pages from websites defined as news websites by these search engines.

 

  • For video, use the same technique by typing in a string of seven or so words spoken in the video.

For articles from a news agency like AP (Associated Press), some people will be more convinced if the article is picked up by a website like MSNBC, ABC, New York Times, etc. By doing a search on a string of words as instructed above, you will often find the article published on a major media website. You can then list the sources as something like MSNBC/AP or New York Times/AFP. Always include links for verification.

Important Note: If a legitimate, but important AP article is not picked up by other media sites, you can then be fairly certain it is being censored by media ownership. In my extensive research on the Internet, I have found this happens often with subjects most sensitive to the power elite of our world. For clear examples of this by numerous award-winning journalists, click here.


Use Search Engines to Search a Single Website

When you want to search for something on a specific website, there is a way to refine your search so that the entries listed only come from the specified website. In the search engine, simply type “site:” then enter the site’s URL, no quotation marks. Type in a space after the URL, and then whatever words or string of words you want to search. When entering the site, http:// and www are not necessary, but there must be no space between the colon after the word “site” and the URL.


Search for Reliable Videos

You can sometimes find video coverage of key information by doing a simple video search using key words at www.google.com/videohp. Google owns both Google Video and YouTube. They also list many other video websites on the video search page, so searching this one resource gives you search results for most popular video websites online. A few times I’ve been amazed to find video footage of sensitive articles which disappeared from their source website. Even if you have the written text from a major media website, including a link to or embedding a video report of the text in your message can make it much stronger.


Consider a “What You Can Do” Section

These Internet search tips should help you to find the most solid sources available for information you receive and articles you write. If you want to recommend to your readers to contact the media and their political representatives about your information, you can use this link or post the information from the link. You might also want to include a “What You Can Do” box like that below. It encourages people to join in spreading the word and making a difference.

 

What you can do (sample):
  • Explore other informative and inspiring articles I’ve written available here.
  • Inform your media and political representatives of this valuable information. To contact those close to you, click here.
  • Read concise summaries of revealing major media reports on available here.
  • Visit our Media Information Center at www.WantToKnow.info/mediainformation.
  • Spread this news on Internet search techniques to your friends and colleagues, and bookmark this article on key news websites. Together, we can make a difference.


Fred Burks served as personal language interpreter to Clinton, Bush, Cheney, Gore, and other top dignitaries in secret meetings. As part of an international network of researchers and news analysts, Fred obtains and disseminates key, reliable information about powerful, yet little-known forces which shape our world.


Note: For a separate article with great tips on how to improve the ranking of your website or webpages on search engines, click here.