As a consultant and researcher in personalization, I have a vested interest in asserting that personalization has immense value to an organization. But flabby assertions don’t help you understand what to invest, or the return on existing in-vestments, or progress toward a goal, or setting the goal to begin with. The leaders in personalization measure,Continue reading “What is Personalization Worth?”
Tag Archives: Personalization
Boggled by Botched Personalization
The forklift was the wakeup call, the image that proved my world is better personalized than I realized. Until yesterday, I thought the rudimentary personalization I routinely encounter mattered little to my experience. Sites I often visit always show me products I wouldn’t wear, articles I don’t want to read, items I would never buy.Continue reading “Boggled by Botched Personalization”
SMART: Closing the Revolving Google Door
You’re deep into a forum and encounter a post mentioning the product that will solve your problem. Or, you’re on a product page staring at a product that might solve your problem, but won’t feel convinced unless you can read a how-to article. Ideally, the information you want next would be available from a linkContinue reading “SMART: Closing the Revolving Google Door”
How to Avoid Sinkhole of Personalization
The success of recommender systems has rescued personalization from the scrapheap of technology fantasies. 1:1 was really exciting in the mid-90s, and lots of otherwise stable and rational people threw money and time at it. It didn’t work, and personalization became a four-letter word, one that didn’t shock so much as engender pity for theContinue reading “How to Avoid Sinkhole of Personalization”
Graphdive: Sociable Personalization
Not long after my Facebook initiation, I tried to access it from a hotel room far from home. Facebook felt it needed to verify my identity by showing me photos of three “friends” and asking me to identify them. The “friends” were all classmates from schooldays decades in the past: I couldn’t even match theirContinue reading “Graphdive: Sociable Personalization”
Personalized and Dynamic RichContent
I’m a girl, and I don’t ski. Why would you show me skis and images of a guy skiing? Well, two reasons: your site doesn’t recognize me, and can’t select and deliver the appropriate con-tent. Yesterday, RichRelevance released RichContent, a new offering in its Rich- family of solutions which aims at mitigating both of thoseContinue reading “Personalized and Dynamic RichContent”
Consumer-Driven Personalization at Khan Academy
Last week I had the pleasure of watching Salman Khan describe the purpose and history of Khan Academy. You can enjoy the story by viewing his TED talk. Khan Academy’s design began with the commitment to the metric that matters most to its customers: success in learning. That focus has resulted in creating a highlyContinue reading “Consumer-Driven Personalization at Khan Academy”
Loving/Hating Digital Small-Town Life
“Why, o why, cant’ shopping online be more like going to the corner store, where they know me, know what I buy, and give me personal service?” Online shopping critiques nearly always include this plaintive plea. Sometimes a site is applauded for coming close, some of the time. More often, a site or company isContinue reading “Loving/Hating Digital Small-Town Life”
Personalization Trends in Sydney, Australia
image by freeimageslive.co.uk – aussiestock I got a glimpse of the trends in personalization in Australia, when I participated in a networking event in Sydney yesterday. Conventional wisdom has it that it takes two years for markets and trends emerging in the USA to reach Australia. But based on what I learned at the meeting,Continue reading “Personalization Trends in Sydney, Australia”
The Science of Personalization: Guess, but Test
Not long ago I worked with a stomach-driven organization. A stomach-driven marketing organization starts the day with a guess. Red! Make all the pages red, customers will buy! The team scrambles, the pages are red. No buying? It’s the weather. Lots of buying? It’s the red. Being stomach-driven worked when your competitors were also stomach-driven.Continue reading “The Science of Personalization: Guess, but Test”
On Target 