5 Great Marketing Tips for Ecommerce Sites

Shopping Cart and eCommerce News | 5 Great Marketing Tips for Ecommerce Sites

By the ZippyCart Ecommerce Software Reviews Content Team

There are a variety of ways in which you can market your ecommerce site so that you can increase visitors and ultimately your revenue. Some marketing strategies can be very expensive to learn like pay per click advertising, and other marketing techniques can take a lot of time to learn and perfect. If you are new to ecommerce or a even seasoned veteran, there are still probably some online marketing techniques which you can learn to help grow your business. Below we have put together some social media tips for ecommerce sites, as well as some on-site ideas to improve marketing efforts.

1. Build a community and products will sell
If you spend all of your time pushing products or services to people via social media, then you will get some sales, but you will also turn off a lot of people and potentially lose some of your customers. This is why you need to focus on building a community by connecting with customers and giving them insight into your ecommerce company. Social media is a great channel to increase sales, but it has to be executed correctly or it could have dire consequences. Figure out a ratio of community versus sales communication that works best for your ecommerce site. Most likely something like 80/20 or 90/10, where you only push products, sales, or promotions 10% or 20% of the time.

2. Figure out which social media channels work best for your ecommerce site
Not all ecommerce sites sell the same products, and therefore they also have different demographics when it comes to their customer base. Not all social media channels will be right for your business, as your customer base might not even use Facebook or Twitter. Make sure to review your analytics, and search online to see what social media channels your customers are using. You might even try to poll your customers on their favorite social media sites as another way to get insight on where else you can connect with your customers.

3. People love exclusive offers or contests promoted via social media
Social media marketing is perfect for promoting exclusive deals and offers. Make sure to utilize channels like Twitter and Facebook to give your followers and fans a special promotion via these social media sites. Many ecommerce sites will run coupon codes only on Twitter, or have a contest just for their Facebook fans. Vanns recently had a Facebook contest where they asked their fans to submit pictures of their old televisions for a chance to win a new 55" LED HDTV. Running promotions or contests like this is a great way to retain customers as well as they will continue to check back to see what new promotion or deal you may be promoting.

4. Utilize BOGO and bundled products to increase sales
Not all products you decide to sell on an ecommerce site will be a big success, in fact you may cycle out some products with poor sales so you can make room to test new products. Implementing a BOGO (Buy one get one free) or bundled product offering to your site is a great way to draw in visitors and unload some of your products that are not selling well. When you bundle products, you can give customers a way to still buy a top selling product, but then have a chance to get a significant deal on a couple other items you want to unload. make sure you have the right ecommerce software solution that can accomdate a BOGO or bundled product offering.

5. Reward users for referring real friends and family
Word of mouth advertising is a great way to build a bigger customer base, and have more people discover your ecommerce site. One of the best ways to do this is by implementing a refer a friend option, so that happy customers can share your ecommerce site with their friends and family. Many ecommerce software solutions offer a way for you to add in a refer a friend feature (sometimes called "tell a friend"), but why not take that to the next level and reward the referrers? A great example is group buying site, Groupon, which offers $10 in Groupon Bucks for each friend that you refer to their ecommerce site. Just make sure you have proper security in place to ensure noone takes advantage of your reward system.

DropshipDirect.com - Inventory Data Field Definitions

http://dropshipdirect.com/warehouse/product-data-field-glossary-a-32.html

Product Data Field Glossary

FOR: Inventory Data Export INVENTORY DATA FIELD GLOSSARY Resellers may take advantage of comprehensive product information in the form of multiple data fields and export methods. Below is a glossary of these items and their related definitions: ASIN -- The Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) is a product identification number used by Amazon.com and its partners. Despite the name, it is not a "standard" outside of Amazon.com. It is valid only for referring to products within the Amazon.com network of sites. Each product sold on Amazon.com is given a unique ASIN. For books with an ISBN, the ASIN and the ISBN are the same. However, due to the fact that new ISBN-13 numbers will be issued, this is likely to change. Books without an ISBN and other products are also assigned ASINs. ASINs are also used for other items used by Amazon.com (and subsidiaries), such as businesses in the yellow pages (on A9.com) and OpenSearch feeds. CATEGORY -- A product's category is also known as its subcategory within the DropshipDirect.com Product Menu. Subcategories are more specific, descriptive groupings of similar products. Examples include laptop batteries, baseball collectibles, and watches. CSV -- The comma-separated values (or CSV) file format is a file type that stores tabular data. The format is very old, dating back to the days of mainframe computing. For this reason, CSV files are common on all computer platforms. CSV is one implementation of a delimited text file, which uses a comma to separate values. However CSV differs from other delimiter separated file formats in using a " (double quote) character around fields that contain reserved characters (such as commas or newlines). Most other delimiter formats either use an escape character such as a backslash, or have no support for reserved characters. CSV export methods may not always support descriptive fields (see "Product Description") that contain commas, as this combination can cause data conflict. EBAY CAT ID -- Assigned by eBay for its various product-related categories located at ebay.com. eBay category identification tags are always numeric; DSDI™ provides the best suggested category match for a given product within the DropshipDirect.com database. IMAGE NAME -- Image names are usually (but not in all cases) identified by a series of numbers associated with a product's category, subcategory, and SKU assignment. Image names correlate with the images published at the DropshipDirect.com website and are always formatted using JPEG technology. In computing, JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) is a commonly used standard method of compression for photographic images. The name JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group, the name of the committee who created the standard. JPEG should not be confused with MPEG, the Moving Picture Experts Group, which produces compression schemes for motion pictures. JPEG provides for lossy compression of images (although there are variations on the standard baseline JPEG which are lossless). The file format which employs this compression is commonly also called JPEG; the most common file extension for this format is .jpg. IMAGES PATH -- Indicates the entire image path located at the dropshipdirect.com website for image and site navigation management purposes. The image path is constructed by referencing top and sub-level categories associated with each DSDI™ product. For example, sports_outdoors/outdoors/camping/beach_towels/ refers to inventory and/or images offered within the beach towel category. IMPORTANT NOTES -- Certain items include special consumer guidelines and/or warranty issues (i.e. "custom trimming may be required" or "no warranty provided"), which are published within Important Notes. MAP -- Resale price maintenance is the practice whereby a manufacturer and its distributors agree that the latter will sell the former's product at certain prices (resale price maintenance), at or above a price floor (minimum resale price maintenance) or at or below a price ceiling (maximum resale price maintenance). These rules prevent resellers from competing too fiercely on price and thus driving down profits. Some argue that the manufacturer may do this because it wishes to keep resellers profitable, and thus keeping the manufacturer profitable. Others contend that minimum resale price maintenance, for instance, overcomes a failure in the market for distributional services by ensuring that distributors who invest in promoting the manufacturer's product are able to recoup the additional costs of such promotion in the price they charge consumers. Some manufacturers also defend resale price maintenance by saying it ensures fair returns, both for manufacturer and reseller and that governments do not have right to interfere with freedom to make contracts without very good reason. Although resale price maintenance is again no longer legal at the present in the United States, manufacturers and distributors reserve the right to suspend Retailer customer accounts when MAP pricing is not adhered to. This particularly applies to non-stocking scenarios when said inventory is dropshipped by DSDI™ or its manufacturers. MANUFACTURER NAME -- The name of the manufacturer and/or brand associated with a given product. MASTER CATEGORY -- The Master Category is a field associated with a product for organizational and promotional purposes. The master, or primary category, is a descriptive text (i.e. Automotive, At Home, Collectibles, Sporting Goods, etc) assigned to a product. This field serves as a helpful reference when exporting and managing DSDI™ inventory data. Primary categories are located at the top level, residing over multiple subcategories (see "Category"). MODEL -- Model numbers are manufacturer assigned digits associated with product inventory. Manufacturer model numbers are most commonly used by consumers wishing to research pricing and product details while browsing the internet. Model numbers are not always unique, as generic number-based model numbers may often be assigned by multiple manufacturers. MSRP -- The (manufacturer's) suggested retail price (MSRP or SRP), list price or recommended retail price (RRP) of a product is the price the manufacturer recommends that the DSDI™ Retailer sell it for. This helps to standardize prices among locations. While some stores always sell at below the suggested retail price, others do so only when items are on sale or closeout. Much of the time, stores charge less than the suggested retail price, depending upon the actual wholesale cost of each item, usually purchased in bulk through a distributor such as DSDI™. PRODUCT ADDED -- Otherwise known as DATE ADDED, this field specifies when inventory was originally loaded into the product database and made available for purchase. Ideally suited for SORT functions within spreadsheets to determine newest wholesale products offered by DSDI™. PRODUCT DESCRIPTION -- An HTML formatted paragraph or series of details describing the function, features, and specifications of a specific DSDI™ product. PRODUCT ID -- An internally assigned number created by DSDI™ for every consumer unit in its product inventory. In most cases, the Product ID is not publicly visible. PRODUCT NAME -- The short title description associated with a given product. Product name is the most common method referenced by consumers while searching for merchandise via the internet. PRODUCT SPECS -- Additional specification (optional) product information highlighted within the Details tab of the product page. QUICK SHIP -- Inventory that normally ships within 2 business days of order placement. RESELLER PRICE -- Actual wholesale product cost charged to DSDI™'s Reseller customer. SHIP ETA -- Estimated time for inventory to be re-stocked by DSDI™ and available for dropship fulfillment distribution. An updated Ship ETA Calendar is available at http://dropshipdirect.com/warehouse/upcominginventory.php. SHIP EXCEPTION -- Normally, DSDI™ transactions ship within 3-5 business days of original order date. However, some products are custom-manufactured and/or may require additional processing time prior to shipment. Exceptions are posted here. SHIP PRICE -- A flat rate shipping cost charged to the Retailer customer by DSDI™. In most cases, flat rate shipping prices are usually assigned when a package is considered either oversized or is delivered via an alternative small parcel carrier (i.e. United States Postal Service). Otherwise, shipping cost is normally calculated based on UPS published (residential delivery) rates based on product weight, postal code origin (97367), and delivery postal code. SKU -- An SKU or Stock Keeping Unit is an identifier that is used by merchants to permit the systematic tracking of products and services offered to customers. Usage of the SKU system is rooted in the drill down method, pertaining to data management. SKUs are assigned and serialized at the merchant level. Each SKU is attached to an item, variant, product line, bundle, service, fee or attachment. STATUS -- Refers to product availability status. ACTIVE indicates merchandise is either immediately available for purchase or on temporary back-order (with an available ETA re-stock date). INACTIVE products are no longer available from DSDI™ for purchase. However, inactive items may be re-stocked in the future (ETA unknown). TAB -- Tab Delimited data uses specific characters (delimiters) to separate its values. Most database and spreadsheet programs are able to read or save data in a delimited format. The tab key is used to indent text to a preset horizontal position. STOCK QUANTITY -- Number of currently available inventory units for wholesale distribution. Stock quantity is often updated, thereby encouraging frequent inventory data feed updates by Retailers for their inventory maintenance needs. UPC -- The Universal Product Code (UPC) is one of a wide variety of bar code languages called symbologies. The UPC is the barcode widely used in the United States and Canada for items in stores. The UPC has only numerals, with no letters or other characters. The first L digit is the prefix. The last digit R is an error correcting check digit, allowing some errors in scanning or manual entry to be detected. UPC codes can be utilized by Amazon.com, eBay, and other marketplaces. WEIGHT -- In most cases, weight consists of the combined package weight for a shipped product. The exception to packaged weight is BILLABLE WEIGHT, when a product's package dimensions exceed normal shipping carrier (UPS, FedEx) guidelines. In the case of oversized package dimensions, BILLABLE WEIGHT is used for total pounds within the weight field.

This Information Page was published on Monday, February 12, 2007.

Drop Shipping Best Practices

http://www.doba.com/drop-ship-articles/all_about_drop_shipping_articles/drop_shipping_best_practices.html

By Stuart Lisonbee, Doba Education Specialist

In my article, "The Value of Drop Shipping," I sing the praises of drop shipping in helping you reduce costs both in time and money and more efficiently ship product. You can maximize the power of drop shipping by embracing the following three drop shipping best practices:

• Choose your drop shipper wisely
• Focus on margins as a dollar amount
• Research products carefully

In the following sections, I explain each of these practices in greater detail.

Choose the Best Drop Shipper

With drop shipping you lose some control over inventory and shipping. To minimize the risk of being unable to fill a customer's order, choose a drop shipper who offers the following:

• Quick shipping
• Large inventory of in-stock items

Focusing on Profit Margins in Dollars

To cover shipping and handling costs, a wholesale supplier has to charge you more for each item it drop ships than for items you buy in bulk. You can still find drop-ship items that garner up to 100% profit margins, but high-percentage margins are in short supply on drop-ship items.

The key to boosting your profits is to focus on margins as a dollar amount rather than as a percentage.

If I sell an item that costs me $10, for instance, and I sell it for $20, my profit margin is 100%, but I've made only $10 on it. If I sell an item that costs me $500 for $550, however, my profit margin is a measly 10%, but I've just made $50—five times more than I did on the item with the 100% margin!

With drop shipping, selling a high-priced item carries no more risk than selling a low-priced item.

Researching for Potentially Profitable Products

The beauty of working with Doba is that it connects you with so many dropshippers and suppliers (over 200 at the time of this writing and growing quickly) with a combined inventory of over 1,000,000 products. The sheer number of available products can be overwhelming, and you want to add only those products that offer the highest potential profit to your product line.

How do you choose products with the highest potential for profit? I use the following criteria:

• If your drop ship supplier provides an exportable data file (such as Doba's Data Export Tool), sort the data using spreadsheet software to show items with the highest profit margins (by comparing cost against
  MSRP)
• Compare your cost to the price of items sold on highly competitive sites such as Amazon.com or eBay. On eBay, be sure you're looking at ended items, and not currently running ones
• Compare your cost against items listed on comparison shopping sites such as Shopping.com, PriceGrabber.com, Google Products, Shopzilla, and others
• Many shopping comparison sites will have a "hot list"—of items that are the most popular. Look for these items and compare your cost against the typical retail price

This list is not comprehensive, but gives you a good place to get started. With time, you'll learn new and unique methods of researching products.

At first, you might have to spend several hours a day researching products and narrowing your list, but as you gain experience, you'll be able to slash your research time. I'm now able to find two or three dozen products—with just a couple hours of research—that have the potential to sell for good profits on eBay.

By implementing three simple drop-ship strategies—choose the right drop shipper, focus on profit margins as dollar amounts, and research products carefully—you can maximize the power of drop shipping, minimize your risks, and boost your bottom line.

Register a Business in Canada

http://www.salehoo.com/education/business-setup/register-a-business-in-canada

Education » Business Setup » Register a Business in Canada

Step One: What type of business will you have?

Sole proprietorship: You have complete control over the business. This form of business has low start-up costs and few regulations, but you are personally responsible for any debts and obligations. If you operate under your own name you do not need to register, but if you earn more than $30,000 a year you will need to apply for a GST number.

Partnership: Each partner shares the obligations and profits. This requires a partner agreement.

Corporation: A legal entity. A corporation has higher costs and taxes and more regulations but shareholders have limited responsibility for debts and obligations.

Co-operatives: A corporation controlled by its members.

Step Two: Choose a Business Name

Deciding on a corporate name is not difficult, although it does have to meet certain requirements in order to be acceptable. Normally a search is made when you register to ensure that no other businesses have similar names in the state. You can also register as a numbered-name corporation, although most businesses will find a name useful.

A corporate name is usually made up of:

• A distinctive element
• Descriptive element
• Legal ending.

The distinctive element is the part of the name that makes it different from any other company, for example, in the name "Zebidiah Motors Ltd", Zebidiah is the distinctive element. This does not have to be a name, it can also be a coined word, a descriptive name (e.g. 'Quality', 'Budget'), a Geographic word (e.g. Sahara, Toronto), or a general name (e.g. 'General', 'Community').

The descriptive element of the name describes what the corporation does: e.g. "Electrics (as in Godwin's Electrics Ltd), while the legal ending is "Limited, Incorporated, Corporation" or abbreviations such as "Ltd, Inc. Corp."

You always need to include the distinctive name and a legal ending, however you do not necessarily need to include a descriptive element. So "DashFar Ltd" is an acceptable name.

If your company name uses common or popular names, the chance of it being accepted decrease. If the name is similar to, or the same as, another company in the same jurisdiction as you, then you may be prohibited from using that name.

There are several different name search options available, which will cost between $8-12 per search.

• Use the business names public record at the Companies Branch
• Search online through OnCorp Direct Inc.
• You can also get a NUANS report (New Upgraded Automated Name search), which is a Canada-wide corporate and business name registry. To search this you will need to contact a private service provider.

To register a business name you need the name and address of the business, a description of the business activity that will be performed, and your name and home address.

You can register your business name through the public office of Companies Branch in person or by mail. (Forms are available from the branch or at local Land Registry Offices). The fee for registering a business name by mail or in person at the Companies Branch is $80. You may also register your name at a Local Tax Service office.

Step Three: Choose whether you will incorporate provincially or federally.

Each province has different regulations and costs for registering a business so you will need to search for the name of your province plus register a business. Incorporating federally is a good idea if you wish to do business across the nation and/or wish to protect your company name Canada-wide.

Jurisdiction Current Government Incorporation Fees

• Federal $200
• Alberta $225
• British Columbia $352
• Manitoba $300
• New Brunswick $260
• Newfoundland $250
• Nova Scotia $390
• Ontario $360
• Prince Edward Island $260
• Quebec $300
• Saskatchewan $265

Step Four: Fill out the registration form

To incorporate in your province go to your local company office or website.

• Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• Newfoundland
• Nova Scotia
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan

If incorporating federally, you may be able to do it online through the Corporations Canada Online Filing Center. You will need to register with Strategis Secure Server Facilities to be able to do this.

• Cost: $200
• Payment methods: American Express, Visa, Mastercard.
• Time: Same day service
• All business registration forms available here.

Step Five: Apply for your Business Number

A business number is used for tax purposes and as a business identifier. You may be able to apply for a business number at the same time as you register your business.

To apply for a business number you need:

• Full names and social insurance numbers (SIN) of all owners, directors, partners or officers
• Businesses physical & mailing address

Apply online for a business number here.

How To Set Up a Sole Proprietorship in Canada

How To Set Up a Sole Proprietorship in Canada | eHow.com

The sole proprietorship is the easiest business type to set up in Canada. In certain cases the provincial and territorial governments of Canada will view your business as self-employment for legal and tax purposes. Setting up a sole proprietorship in Canada involves registering a business name, purchasing liability insurance and filing for a federal tax number if necessary.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Small business attorney
• Business plan
• Business name

Registration, Insurance and Taxes

1. Step1

   Choose a name for your sole proprietorship and decide whether to apply for a trademark. A trademark is not a necessity, but it offers the highest level of legal protection. According to CanadianBusinessResources.ca, trademarked names for Canadian businesses must be descriptive, distinct and different from any other business name. An example of a name that meets these criteria is "Dave's Candy Factory." "Dave's" satisfies the distinction requirement and "Candy Factory" fulfills the descriptive requirement.

2. Step2

   Perform a name search to ensure that your chosen name has not already been registered. You can choose to allow the governing authority to perform the search for you, but according to amazines.com, submitting your own name search results with your registration paperwork will help to expedite your registration.

3. Step3

   Register your company with the appropriate authority in your province; offices and requirements vary for different territories. Most provinces now allow you to register your business online as well as in person. Follow the link in this article to find a list of provincial and territorial government websites that contain the exact requirements for your chosen province. If you will be doing business in more than one province, you must register your business name in each. Business name registration is good for three to five years, and must be renewed before or on the expiration date. Grace periods are allowed by certain provinces, but it is a good policy to submit your renewal fees early.

4. Step4

   Purchase business liability insurance. As a sole proprietor, you will be responsible for any claims against your business by creditors, which can result in personal financial difficulty if your business is not successful.

5. Step5

   File for a GST/HST registration number from the Canada Revenue Agency and begin to collect sales tax when your revenues pass $30,000. According to canada-esl.com, sole proprietorships in Canada do not have to file separate taxes until they reach $30,000 in annual revenue. As long as your revenue is under this level, all business income will be taxed as personal income, and all business losses can be included as personal tax deductions

What Form of Business Is Best for you?

Ask an Expert

Expert: Michael Fromstein

Dave asked:

I am aware that to register a business as a corporation is more complicated than as with partnerships and sole proprietorships, but how exactly? Also, concerning financial risks with corporations, is the entrepreneur personally liable for an outstanding startup bank loan should the business fail?

Michael Fromstein answered:

Dave's first question was: Registering a business as a corporation is more complicated than as partnerships and sole proprietorships, but how exactly?

"1. Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is a business owned and operated by one individual. It is not considered to be a legal entity under the law, but rather is an extension of the individual who owns it and therefore does not require any specific legal organisation, except of course, the normal requirements such as licenses or permits. The owner has possession of the business assets and is directly responsible for the debts and other liabilities incurred by the business. Any loans of the proprietorship are identical to personal loans of the individual. The income or loss of a sole proprietorship is combined with the other earnings of an individual for income tax purposes.

2. Partnerships
A partnership is a relationship between persons carrying on a profit-motivated business in common. That is, a defining characteristic of a partnership is that there must be more than one person involved in the business. Any number of individuals operating a business in common can establish a general partnership without any government approval. A general partnership is created by the partners and is routinely registered with the government within 60 days of creation. Registration is relatively easy and primarily involves paying a fee to the government. Determining and documenting the rights and obligations of the partners is much more involved. These rights, responsibilities and obligations are typically detailed in a partnership agreement. It is a good idea to have such an agreement for any partnership. A partnership is a legal entity recognized under the law and as such it has rights and responsibilities in and of itself. A partnership can sign contracts, obtain trade credit and borrow money. Any partner is responsible for all liabilities of the partnership. Creditors often "go after" the wealthier partners first when the partnership does not pay its obligations. When a partnership is small creditors may require a personal guarantee of the partners before granting credit. A partnership does NOT have to file income tax returns or pay income tax. The financial information from the partnership is combined with the personal income of the partners to determine their overall tax liability. Partnerships with more than FIVE partners have to comply with Revenue Canada's reporting requirements.

3. Corporation
A corporation is a separate legal entity which exists under the authority granted by either provincial or federal law. A corporation has substantially all of the legal rights of an individual and is responsible for its own debts. It must also file income tax returns and pay taxes on income it derives from its operations. Typically, the owners or shareholders of a corporation are protected from most of the liabilities of the business. However, when a corporation is small, creditors may and almost all banks will require personal guarantees of the principal owners before extending credit. The legal protection afforded the owners of a corporation can far outweigh the additional expense of starting and administering a corporation.
Corporations must file annual income tax returns with the Revenue Canada (federal) and the Ministry of Finance (provincial) and possibly other provinces in which it does business.
Legal fees for incorporating commonly run from $ 500 to $ 1,000, and government fees, vary depending on provincial ($ 315 in Ontario) or federal ($ 500 ) incorporation."

Dave's second question was: Does one form of operation provide more protection from creditors, that is is the entrepreneur personally liable for an outstanding startup bank loan should the business fail?

"In practice, there is no practical protection for the small business person from the banks. There is initial legal protection only when the business operates from a corporation. However, because banks do not want to assume the risks of carrying on the business when the owner assumes the benefits, banks virtually always require a personal guarantee from small businesses. All the assets of the guarantor are available to the bank to settle the original debt, regardless of whether or not the original loan was to a sole proprietor, partnership or corporation.

There is additional information on this and related subjects in the business resource library at our web site. Much of the above content is contained in our booklet "Starting Your Own Business" {in English and French} in the "Business" section of the Canadian portion of our library."

About the author

Michael Fromstein is a tax specialist with Integrated Professional Specialist Services.

Will the Google-Adobe alliance benefit open source?

Will the Google-Adobe alliance benefit open source? | Open Source | ZDNet.com
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn @ 6:24 am

Google's dalliance with Adobe is turning into a full-fledged bromance.

Blog posts at both Adobe and Google confirming that Flash is being integrated with Chrome read like explanations of a peace treaty.

As with all good treaties, the two sides have been dancing toward one another for years. Tools for importing Flash into Google Android have been around since 2008.

There's also a "great game" aspect to all this. Flash competes directly with Microsoft Silverlight. Apple has made no secret of its distaste for Flash, which is notably not supported on the iPad. This is all about new mobile platforms, competitors to the iPhone and iPad.

An anti-Adobe bias is already trickling into the Apple grassroots, ironic given the two firms' close relationship during the old desktop publishing days of the 1980s.

It should be noted that Adobe has taken some steps down the open source road as its relationship with Google has grown closer. Two Flash platforms were open sourced, and as our Stephen Shankland reports, Adobe is adopting next generation Web standards.

Now, Flash will be bundled, and updated, alongside Google Chrome, so Flash users on Chrome have an easier time of it than those on other browser platforms, who must get the plug-in separately. This is also an all-clear to supporters of Android and the coming Chromium operating system to go with Flash for rich Internet applications.

It may not be an all-clear to open Web advocates. HTML5 and open codecs like Ogg Theora (that latter is supported natively in Firefox) are not going away. Google has bent toward Adobe here just as Adobe has bent toward Google.

The fact remains that Adobe Flash remains proprietary, while Google is all about open source. Can two companies share a technology apartment without driving each other crazy?

Many people don't think so. Early comments on Google's post announcing the tighter Adobe relationship were pretty negative, with one writing simply BOOOO!. The Mozilla Foundation has long warned that Adobe, like Microsoft, has an "agenda" which threatens the open nature of the Internet.

What do you think?