Blog xyzt, s.a.

At Microsoft Live Labs they are all about experiments, and Pivot is one of the most ambitious to date.

“Pivot makes it easier to interact with massive amounts of data in ways that are powerful, informative, and fun. We tried to step back and design an interaction model that accommodates the complexity and scale of information rather than the traditional structure of the Web.

Although trends don’t start and stop on January 1st, there is a definite change from what we had seen in the last year (2009) and what we will see this year (2010). Most of the time, this shift is subtle. It’s a perfection or re-interpretation of a currently hot trend, a new esthetic or a way too look at old designs and give them a new twist. As designers master the skills of design aesthetic, web design continues to push forward to what’s next or what needs to be fully discovered and experienced.

“With the new CSS3 and HTML5, designers and developers are trying to utilize the new features to create impressive designs. Sketchy and large background styles are fading out. Serif fonts and texturized background will be popular. Thanks to CSS3, we are going to see a lot of rounded corners, RGBA transparency, and drop shadows. With the rise of smart phones, mobile web design is going to pick up this year.”

@: www.webdesignerwall.com

Let´s know see some of the trends to 2010:

Big Headings

Big headings in header (as part of design interface) will gain more popularity in 2010, giving the top of the web-pages more importance.

Example: www.blackestate.co.nz

Serif Fonts

Most of the web sites that we see today were designed in either “Verdana, Arial or Tahoma” (sans-serif fonts), but that is going to change in this new decade. Serif fonts will get more attention. Not to difficult our reading but to bring new context to word’s and their true meaning, used very often in titles, phrases our citations.

Example: www.legistyles.com

Texturized Background

The big background trend is going to be gradually out-of-date and be replaced with subtle and texturized (particularly the light noise) background, that confers to the web-page elegance and also less visual noise.

Example: www.siblingrivalrywine.ca

Minimalism

This trend comes and goes every once in a while but it seems that during the 2010 minimalism is going to be one of the more prominent trends regarding the web design.

Elegance and simplicity is one of the trends that are more appreciated in web designs.

Example: www.informationarchitects.jp

Text Shadow

Lots of web sites are using text shadow to add more depth to text, and give highlight to certain menus or buttons.

Example: www.adiirockstar.com

Mobile Design

With the release of iPhone in 2007, web designers face a new challenge. With the increase of the users and the numbers of smart phones that support full CSS and Javascript, mobile design is definitely going to be the future of web design.

Lots of companyes are allready offering a mobile version of their web site.

Example: www.nclud.com

This information was gathered in many blogs, here are some of them and also related articles:

www.designtutorials4u.com

www.webdesignledger.com

www.webtoolkit4.me

www.uxpassion.com

www.siteinspire.net

In 2010, consumers expect to increase their consumption of luxury hospitality, travel and gourmet cuisine.

The “Vila Joya Hotel Luxury Survey” study shows that 86% of respondents are willing to spend the same or more in luxury hotel products this year compared to 2009.

One objective of this study was to identify the factors that most influence the consumer regarding the consumption of luxury and the price they are willing to pay. The first place is occupied by the Service provided, followed by Quality.

The food and the relaxing experience are crucial in choosing a luxury hotel. Nowadays, the consumption of “gourmet dining” and SPA experiences appears at the top of consumer preferences.

Most respondents also revealed that the budget available for luxury goods and services is approximately 15% of their annual income.

The preferred brands: Ritz at hospitality and Moët & Chandon in the food & beverage sector.

The study included respondents living in Portugal, United Kingdom, Ireland and other countries such as Spain, Denmark and India.

It was conducted by “Hotel Vila Joya” in partnership with ILM consultant.

Source: Journal Publituris February 2010

Web Analytics

New tools, features and functions, as well as new software progressions had been taken place in web analysis world and have been keeping marketers closer to the user behavior.

The social media and mobile channels continue to grow and marketers need to know deeply the consumer actions.

We think marketers should be aware of these developments and understand how they can maximize their analytic tools.

Here, we present you some priorities marketers should follow in 2010.

Everything is measurable

Adobe’s acquisition of Omniture (a leading analysis provider) made possible a more comprehensive view of user behavior.

The combination of the two companies will increase the value Adobe delivers to customers. For designers, developers, and online marketers, an integrated workflow — with optimization capabilities embedded in the creation tools — will streamline the creation and delivery of relevant content and applications. This optimization will enable advertisers and advertising agencies, publishers, and e-tailers to realize greater ROI from their digital media investments and improve their end users’ experiences.

Free Tools

Google Analytics’ free tools are extremely important for marketing tasks.

These solutions permit marketers to customize what is being tracked and how dashboards display analytics reports.

Multichannel analysis

Marketers should plan multichannel campaigns. It will be crucial to conceive cross-channel behavior and identify patterns.

The next stage integration

The trend of social media analysis will help to implement strategic marketing campaigns to promote a social marketing mix. In 2010, marketers need to see social media as a marketing channel that contributes to the revenue results. Once again, web analytics needs to be considered!

Mobile devices

Measuring and analyzing mobile devices users, it is ponderous that marketers find new ways to use this medium. They need to connect with mobile users so they can expand relationships through a several number of different platforms.

Analysis to live by

The analysis will be the most important work of a web analytics professional. Along the way, marketers should be able to bring the data together, considering analytics from the beginning of a campaign and making persistent optimizations.

full article at: http://www.imediaconnection.com

ITB Berlin 2010

Find what’s new in e-GDS – Global Distribution Solutions. xyzt, s.a. will be presenting its online booking platform, during ITB 2010, held from 10 to 14 March in Berlin.

The company has already showed the world its innovations at WTM 2009, one of the leading world tourism fair, such as ITB is. 

A set of news makes e-GDS B2C Version 5.0 enable to increase direct sales on the online channel. Highlight to the Dynamic Packaging that allows hotel services and product’s cross-selling. And the customer can do this in a simple, safe and efficient way! 

e-GDS CRM (Customer Relationship Management) permits better relationships between the hotel and the client. This module integrates directly with the booking system. e-GDS CRM is the full solution to manage contacts and loyalty points. 

The new modules are fully integrated with the others: e-GDS B2B (Corporate / Agency), e-GDS CMS (Content Management System) and e-GDS Channel Manager (Distribution Rate and Inventory Management). 

More than 7 thousand exhibitors from all over the world…

Be one of the 160 thousand visitors expected! 

Get in touch with e-GDS, the integrated solution that responds to the online hospitality big challenges and opportunities! 

We would like to invite you to our stand (119) to present you all e-GDS’s news! To more information, please visit our website at www.e-gds.com. 

We look forward to your visit!

Social Media

Marketers agree that social media is one of the most helpful tools to make e-mail campaigns prosper with more objective, successful and important e-mails.

Social media allows the sharing of opinions, that will extend the reach of those “socialized” e-mails campaigns, by letting people do the sharing with others who they feel will be interested in receiving emails.

Social media websites grant “word of mouth” to succeed and enhance SEO results with no extra efforts!

Building an e-mail list, getting names and e-mail addresses can be easier by starting with social media, like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Answers to questions about how often do people want to receive e-mails or how often do they have time to dedicate themselves to e-mails can provide marketers useful information on frequency and timing of e-mails sends.

See the article below and think about it!

Pepsi recently became one of the first companies to pull its Super Bowl ad spend and redirect it to social media.  Breaking a 23-year tradition, Pepsi instead will invest in a social media campaign called the “Pepsi Refresh Project.”  The project will enable people to start communities for charity projects that need funding.  People get involved by suggesting and voting to determine which projects get funded by Pepsi.

Reading news like this, it’s easy to think that social media is choking off all marketing efforts.  Truth is, for email marketers, social media is one of the most useful tools available to make campaigns bloom with more targeted, relevant and successful emails.

full article at: http://www.mediapost.com

As far as we know, correct constructions always begin with the planning and then start to build up! A “Search Engine Optimization” Strategy must follow the same rule.

SEO Strategy must be planned and implemented before the launch of the website for several reasons: new domains rarely appear in search engines, redesign that takes SEO into account can be time-consuming and costly and sometimes it disrupt URL structure, wasting equity earner before.

And if you try, you will agree: it’s much easier and successful get a solid optimization into your website before launch.

We found an article that identifies three main steps to build an well-organized information architecture that is friendly to users as well as search engines, and, as far as we know, those are three of the best highlights to be concerned:

Take attention and, why not: Give it a try!

“ 3 steps to building an SEO-friendly site structure

By Ian Hughes

(…)

Step 1: Start with keyword research
You can’t do SEO without keyword research. Keywords are your building blocks. So don’t whiff this step by relying on brainstorming, purchased keyword lists, or a limited tool set. Be thorough and aggregate a comprehensive, accurate list of keywords from multiple data sources:

• You can seed your list with free, public keyword tools such as WordStream’s Free Keyword Tool or the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. Try entering both words and phrases related to your business and the URLs of competitive sites. Look at synonyms and related terms. Focus on relevance, not popularity.
• Whenever possible, use private data sources too. If you’ve been operating a related website, mine your log files or web analytics for real keywords that drive traffic and conversions.

Step 2: Group your keywords
This is the single most important step to transform a raw list into something truly useful and actionable. Segmenting your keywords into tightly themed groups will create a map for the layout of your website:

• Broad, high-level groups will correspond to the top-level categories on your website, so potential customers can easily find what they’re looking for. For example, a home goods site would have keyword groups (and site segmentations) devoted to bath products, bedding, kitchenware, and so on.
• Narrower subgroups of keywords will further help site visitors drill down to find their exact needs. Keyword subgroups under the kitchenware parent group might include pots and pans, small appliances, utensils, etc.
• This grouping process will save you lots of time in the end. You can create a series of focused, optimized pages that each target a small group of related terms, rather than needing to craft a unique page for every single keyword.”

“Step 3: Map your keyword groups onto your site
The last step is to map your keyword groups and subgroups onto your information architecture. Start with your homepage and top-level category pages, then build out your website by creating a hierarchy of optimized content filed under the appropriate category.

For a new business, SEO-friendly design is every bit as important as attractive design. With an organized, logical site structure that is easily navigable by humans and spiders alike, your site will be primed to enjoy better rankings for relevant keyword searches. After all, what good is a nice-looking website if your customers can’t find it? “

Source: imediaconnection.com

Economic recovery and optimism in Tourism and Hospitality is high, in the hotel european sector!

According to the hotel.info survey, “Confidence Barometer 2010”, the major part of european hotel operators are approaching the new year with optimism and expect recovery and more business.

Only spanish hotel operators have a more reserved view of the future, considering slowly recovery.

The italian hotels operators exceed the levels of optimism: 76,59% believe in a recuperation of any sort (slow or fast).

The survey achieved 2.000 hotels of all types.

Get more appreciations in the text below.

“ Confidence barometer 2010: Most hotel operators cautiously optimistic

Monday, February 01, 2010

Crisis-hit 2009 is over. The hotel sector felt the full force of the global economic collapse. However, it seems the worst is behind us, and confidence is growing in all quarters that 2010 will be a better year.

With this in mind, hotel.info, the free online reservation service for more than 210,000 hotels worldwide, conducted a survey of the hotel sector entitled “Confidence Barometer 2010″, to ask its partner hotels in Europe what expectations hotel operators had for the coming year.

Within just 12 hours, more than 2,000 hotels of all types responded with the following results:

Almost half of hotels (46.08%) are approaching the new year with cautious optimism, and, according to hotel.info, expect a moderate, albeit slow, recovery. Nevertheless, 24.44% are more optimistic in their outlook, and believe they will be doing significantly more business very soon and will be operating at higher capacity. In contrast, just 6% anticipate a rise in hotel rates this year. Only 16% of the hotels see no material improvement in 2010 compared with the fourth quarter of 2009, revealing a less optimistic viewpoint than their colleagues. Around 7% of hotel operators admitted to uncertainty and felt unable to provide an assessment.

Overall, however, the hotel.info sector survey revealed a comparable attitude across Europe. Only Spanish hotel operators, a country that has been particularly badly hit, have a more reserved view of the immediate future than their European counterparts. The percentage of hotels that expect a tangible recovery before long is lower here (15.28%). Indeed, a considerable majority (55.56%) even believe the recovery will be slower. Taking into account the number of hotel operators who believe in a recovery of any sort – be it slow or fast – Italian hoteliers seem to be most positive (76.59%) about the prospects for 2010. The comparable average figure for Europe as a whole is 70.52%. “

Source: http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/35387-Confidence-barometer-2010:-Most-hotel-operators-cautiously-optimistic

For those who still do not know us, we leave here a little bit of what we are. It serves only to satisfy more direct curiosity, but anything else … www.xyzt.pt.

When asked about what we are, we usually answer: a team committed to innovation and anticipation of the future. And where is that reflected?

Digital Marketing
e-Business
Consulting
e-Management
Image, Communication & Multimedia

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… CY: wait… I: wait… YCat: wait… I: wait… Top: wait… I: wait… L: wait… C: wait…