Archive for June 2009
What Makes an App Fly or Die
When ever I see an Install button a voice inside my head says Muust inssstaaall. Since it's a nagging voice I usually do what it says.
However, when the app is installed it has a quite short time span to impress me. I'd say it has less than five minutes before I make the decision whether this particular app is hot or not.
Last night I downloaded the Twitter app Seesmic Desktop after it received a good review by Mashable. I took it for a spin but when I got to user group management I went no further. I have been using TweetDeck for some time now and have arranged the people I follow in groups for a perfect Twitter experience.
Since I need an easy way to arrange my user groups, and Seesmic Desktop couldn't offer that, I closed down the app and I don't know when I'll open it back up again.
I might be wrong – there could be an easy way to handle users in SD (but if so it is too hard to find) – the point is that apps need to be aware of what their users are after to be impressed. And they need to display it loud and clear.
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How Not to Pick a Name for a Joint Venture
Photo: Thomas Hawk
Nigeria's state-run gas company NNPC and Russian Gazprom formed a joint venture last week. And guess what name they chose for the JV. From BBC:
The new firm, to be called Nigaz, is set to build refineries, pipelines and gas power stations in Nigeria.
I had to do some serious searching before daring to blog this. Maybe Russian or Nigerian April Fools is late in June?
Via @jimmsy
Data as Art #7 – Petra Cortright
Evernote Gets Collaboration Features
Big news, all you Evernoters out there: collaboration features have arrived to your favorite notes software. This turns Evernote into a briliant tool. Not only can you sync notes between PC, Mac, web and mobile, now you can also collaborate on notes. Only premium users can alter a shared note which could turn loads of non paying users into paying.
This also fulfills one of my three web wishes for the year.
Do You Care About the Details?
Caring about the details is often what makes a marketing initiative fly or crash. I found the above picture on Swedish online market place, Blocket, in an ad for a couch. I have a hunch this one won't fly.
Data as Art #8 – Chris Collins
I know we've had this one up before(courtesy of Tor), but it's simply too good to be left out.
Data as Art #9 – Harm van den Dorpel
We Need to Learn How Kids Consume Media
Above screen dump is made by @alexstempel on his home computer, which his son uses. The top circle is an attempt to find a site with games ("gejms" is the Swedish pronounciation of "games"), and the below circle is an attempt to find Indiana Jones. Alex's son simply typed the letters that sounded like they shape the word.
This is unbelievably cute and funny, but also an interesting look at how kids shape their own ways of consuming media. 20 years ago, gamers were considered to be kids or at least not grown up. Today everybody is a gamer and the gaming platform is one of the hottest marketing platforms around.
Today's equivalent could be virtual worlds, such as Club Penguin or Stardoll. Kids love it. Us grown ups don't understand it at all.
Data as Art #10 – Eilis McDonald
Social Media Measurment is Hard Work – not Hard
Amber Naslund at Radian6 wrote a very thoughtful post saying that social media measurement is very doable, however it takes lots of work. Some of Amber's ideas:
- Set measurable goals
- Benchmark your situtation when you start, so you can track progress
- Learn correlation of data to be able to learn how social media affects other parts of your business
- You can get results data, but you will always need manual analysis
I think this is a great way to talk about social media measurement in a way that people understands.
The Future of Media Consumption
I don't have a morning news paper subscription. I would like to read it, but it simply doesn't fit into my life structure (or as it is popularly called in Swedish – the puzzle of life). This doesn't mean that I don't consume news, instead I read all news in my RSS reader.
However, I know I'm a tech and information geek and that most normal people aren't, and RSS readers are still quite geeky. I also know that a lot of people consume loads of online news and blogs the old surf from site to site way, i.e. without a tool to make news consumption efficient. This is why there is a need for a paradigm change in how you consume online content.
I am personally waiting for a screen that is integrated with my dining table, with internet access and touch screen so that I can consume my news in a service like feedly (which turns my chunks of the Internet into something more visual and news paper-ish).
TechCrunch's CrunchPad is something close to my vision – a surf pad with touch screen. With people increasingly multi consuming media, never watching tv without surfing the web at the same time, I think these kind of tools could become popular. And maybe a glimpse of what future media consumption could look like.
Take a look at the video below for a (unfortunately not so inspiring) video of the pad.
What do you say – "gaaah, cravings! Want one!"?
The PR Agency Needs to be Digitally Transformed
Photo: thatliz
I read an interesting post on my good friend Jerry Silfwer's blog (Swedish), where he pasted a comments thread with Christan Rudolf on the blog Disruptive (Swedish) about the state of PR and SEO. The three of us have been discussing the issue on both their blogs, so I figured I'd share my thoughts.
SEO is becoming a more and more important part of PR. If digital PR work is done without SEO it won't be found, and as Christian says "SEO is social - it is all about keeping a conversation", which is where PR comes in.
I am personally quite certain that most (if not all) PR agencies will need SEO skills inhouse, actually they already need it. PR agencies also need skills within digital strategy, digital creative as well as moving image.
Don't get me wrong, PR isn't going to be only digital, but almost all campaigns will be digitally integrated and to be able to create meaningful campaigns you need to be really close to all things digital.
Today lots of agencies focus on the strategic parts, which means advising clients on how to do things, but not necessarily what to do and most often not actually producing the project. Agencies will of course be able to use partners outside of the company, but I don't think it is the right way to go.
Finally, a list of questions to ask your agency to check how digitally transformed they are:
- What should my company do in PR to enhance SEO?
- Could you show me your top three digital projects?
- Can you show me a technological tool that you developed, be it for internal or external use?
- I heard social media is measurable – what do you think?
Are these relevant questions? What other questions should be asked?
Twitter is Still the Coolest Kid in the Class
LinkedIn performed a survey asking what new platform is the most important to master as a brand. Twitter came out on top of LinkedIn (that's right, they lost on their home turf...) Digg, iPhone (is it really comparable?) and Facebook.
I'm certainly not surprised that Twitter wins. Right now the service is the cool kid in the class, and a lot of people will give the answer they think will win rather what they believe. The most important part of utlizing these tools for any kind of brand (be it your personal or company's) is to find out where your network hangs out, since that's where you will find the business opportunities.
But people and communities are constantly on the move trying to find new cool places to hang out or tools to use, so I'd say the most important part when using web tools for professional purposes is to stay curious.
Via ReadWriteWeb.