While many marketers are aware of the role of statistical significance in A/B testing, a more fundamental understanding of the mechanics that lie beneath the phrase can improve tests' accuracy and defensibility.  Read the full article on the Experian Marketing Services blog.

While most of the inbox management applications integrate with web-based accounts such as Gmail and Yahoo, Inky concentrates instead on desktop users with an email client that automatically sorts messages by relevance and learns how to categorize messages the more it is used. The application is now available as a Beta download for Windows and Mac users.

A Washington attorney has claimed that EPA Chief Lisa Jackon's resignation today was driven in part by the investigation into her use of an alias email account at the EPA. Jackson used the email alias "Richard Windsor" at the EPA, a move she said was precipitated by too much email volume at her own account but which critics claim kept conversations private and complicated oversight of the EPA. Some House Republicans last week acknowledged to Jackson the need for a second email address for some communications purposes, but noted that her "choice to use a false identify remains baffling."

Eloqua CEO Joe Payne and CTO Steve Woods have reassured the company's clients that they are "convinced" Eloqua's open system allowing integration with different CRM applications, data sources and social media platforms will persist after their acquisition by Oracle closes. Many of the leading applications with which Eloqua integrates are owned by Oracle's direct competitors, including SalesForce.com and Microsft CRM.

The updated version of the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act passed through Congress last week after the provisions requiring a search warrant to view emails older than 6 months were stripped out. However a Democratic aide indicated that the bill's author, Senator Patrick Leahy, did not expect the bill to pass through the lame duck session and would instead be a multi-year effort. Introducing the measure into the so-called Neftlix bill that did pass helps maintain momentum for the email initiative into the new congress of 2013, the aide said. 

With the rapid proliferation of new mobile devices, each with its own screen size and resolution, the current propensity to design mobile emails for each device has become untenable. Instead, email marketers should adopt a device-agnostic approach that trades per-device-optimization for an adaptive layout that renders well in any platform. Read the full article on VentureBeat. 

MailChimp has announced the upcoming launch of Gather, a SMS iPhone app aimed at event marketers and producers. Developed as a companion to a company's existing event registration process, Gather collects mobile phone numbers from attendees for sending real-time SMS messages during an event. In order to encourage participation from users who prefer to protect their mobile numbers from marketers, Gather sets an automatic expiration date following the event for numbers collected. Gather will be available as an iPhone app for event professionals in January. The notifications sent through the app are simple SMS messages so recipients do not need …

An analysis of the email marketing performance of SantaClaus.com by Return Path has found that Saint Nick's digital marketing elves follow email best practices by properly authenticating emails and keeping Santa's Sender Score quite high, from 87 to 98 while sending high volumes of email. Santa also enjoys enviable engagement, with fully 100% of his emails read before being deleted.

A study by the Direct Marketing Association has found that email generated $39.40 in sales for every one dollar spent. Search earned $22.38, display advertising $19.71 and social media followed at $12.90 in sales for each dollar spent.

The updated version of the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act included a provision that would require a search warrant in order for law enforcement agencies to obtain emails over 6 months old. When the original law was written, email volume was low and archiving was almost non-existent. Many privacy groups supported the new bill since the advent of cloud-based emails, backup servers and virtually unlimited email storage means that most emails continue to exist much longer than 6 months. The bill passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee in November but was stripped of the language which stipulated the use of …