experience designer + writer
Path has a nice user interface although I’m not really sure I need another social net right now. I do like the fact that companies are moving to a more fluid, mobile based interface.
But what I like most about Path is the photo filters. They should release a version with which you can just use the filters without having to go live with it.
What’s going on in new media marketing, pulled from social bookmarking site Creativing.com:
Fantastic selection of work. This is a must see for anyone in marketing. (Thx to John Durham for the link.)
I don’t see any of these as having a real chance of unseating Facebook, but it’s a good read comparing their strategic approachs. Diaspora is the most interesting, as it’s open source. So many other platforms are moving towards open source, and as Facebook’s big strategy is to be a platform and not a destination, they could be vulnerable to an open source movement. Especially given the increasing amount of data they have on people (e.g., Places).
I really like the simplicity of this site. I don’t get how they’re comparing this site to a social network site, but it’s well-done none-the-less.
Like the Library of Congress putting a lot of the National Archives photos on Flickr before. While the pics have been available on the NASA site, it’s nice to see them moving to a common online photo site. As a Flickr user, I’m glad to be able to see these pics up in my rotation of photos by contacts.
The patent is for “ranking search results based on the frequency of clicks on the search results by members of a social network who are within a predetermined degree of separation”. Interesting that the patent was filed in 2004. They were focused on that very early on, and the vision is still holding strong.
I’m pretty underwhelmed. Of course, social media and open anything aren’t really Apple’s things. But really, there just isn’t any depth of content or relationship to the conversation or the connections.
Even if the ChatRoulette URL proves to be dead, the idea of randomly connecting with strangers via video will surely surface somewhere else, probably more closely aligned with a specific interest group.
Uncovered this article from earlier this year. If you’re not familiar with Jeremy Allaire, he’s had a great career charting technology trends and making products that address the changing needs. His take is that of a seasoned technologist who’s seen a lot of things come and go. Bottom line is, there’s still a lot of tumult in the industry (witness the h.264 pending usage royalties in 2014) and a clear vision of the future online content platform probably won’t emerge for at least a couple of years.
Given this works wtihin 50 meters of a business, that means a lot of potential checkins when people are just walking past. I can’t imagine how that’s good for Foursquare.
A good set of campaign metrics to follow that provide a well-rounded view of performance. This is a good read for people outside SEM who aren’t overly family with campaign analytics
What’s going on in new media marketing, pulled from social bookmarking site Creativing.com:
Fascinating podcast on 60s magazine Ramparts, which went from a Catholic literary quarterly to seminal left-wing publication. Jan Wenner worked there before launching Rolling Stone. So did the founder of Mother Jones. Great stories about Robert Sheer getting an interview with Fidel Castro (just after playing a basketball game) and their radical cover concepts.
A don’t-miss interview with Bob Stein, Director of the Instituted for the Future of the Book. Any doubts about the veracity of his title are quickly dispelled once he starts talking. It’s great to hear an industry insider — although I’m sure he’s considered an outsider by many — to be not only aware, but inviting to the inevitable changes hitting the industry.
If you want to know what the general public is really interested in, check out what they’re searching for. The top searches are really no surprise. Celebrities, wrestling, car racing, and a TV show, and a video game. The surprise entry goes to Naruto, a Japanese Manga series. Obviously something the fans are quite, well, fanatic about.
I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of this service before, as it seems logical. It’s $.99 for basic 128kps mp3s. $1.19 for the full 320kbs. And if you think about the time it takes ripping, then this seems like a great deal. Especially in mass volume.
The Hive Awards are an alternative to the more traditional, let’s say “big budget” award shows (although I understand that not all entries require big budgets). At any rate, this is definitely worth checking out.
More steps towards Facebook’s goal to be the connector across anywhere on the web. This is big, as while Yahoo is certainly having their challenges, they’re still the number 3 site globally in terms of traffic.
Build-A-Brand feels you should be able to create a brand as quickly and easily as registering a domain. This type of thinking is fascinating, as the implication is that a machine/algorithm/formula can create a strong brand presence. I suppose if you’re a local dry cleaner this approach may work better than what many of them usually end up with. But given that most really successful small business ideas that grow to big companies are generally born out of the passion of the entrepreneur, I have to think a formulaic approach like this will never capture that sensibility. And I do think the difference will be noticeable.
If you’re at all familiar with Drupal, you know it’s a remarkably powerful CMS. You also probably know that CMS has terrible usability. This system is a great look into how to keep the former and ditch the later. In a drag and drop interface that is likely AJAX, thought I’m not certain (any techsperts, please correct me if I’m wrong).
Love this interview with legendary sports photog Neil Leifer, who shot the famous 1958 NFL championship game shot of Alan Ameche going into the end zone for the winning score. He took that snap on his 16th birthday. It’s full of great anecdotes about what it’s like to stand inches from the ring where Ali just clocked Liston (his most iconic image). There’s a gallery exhibit at the Anneneberg Space for Photography, in Century City, which sounds like a must-see. I went to a different show there a couple of months ago, and it’s an exceptional place.
I’m always curious how other people use the new media tools we all have at our disposal. Here’s an interesting look at how 5 journo’s use social media.
My weekly update of what’s going on in new media marketing, pulled from social bookmarking site Creativing.com:
A stylish, hip run-through of the various shoes he wore throughout his career, as well as the continuing line of Air Jordans. While Jordan’s skills were undeniable, he also made an enormous impact on the fashions of the game. And of course, wearing a uniform of not much fabric, the fashion statements ultimately came down to the shoes (later to be overtaken by tats, perhaps). At any rate, a fun recap of his career, and introduction to the latest line of Air Jordans.
I like where consumer’s heads are, at least according to this survey. Basically, it looks like consumers are running everything through one big BS filter. But interestingly, they’re not against having a little fun. What these five trends say to me is, consumers are looking for straight-shooting companies that aren’t trying to sell them on traditional marketing tactics like bandwagon and products with bloated feature sets. In exchange for that dose of reality, they’re willing to engage and participate in a little fun. Oh, and if they don’t get this from their current brands, they’re ready to jump ship.
After reviewing what consumers are thinking, it’s interesting to see how the views of marketing execs compare. For the marketers who get social media, it looks like they’re on the right track. Emphasis is on building better relationships and extending their brand awareness. For those who aren’t interested, it’s typically because of low ROI tracking, and a lack of control over their precious brands. And from what consumers are saying, if that’s their mindset, they’re probably not going to succeed in social media anyway. Once again, it looks like the marketing industry is going to offer big rewards to early adopters.
A good breakdown of how to apply some traditional marketing evaluation metrics to social media, and move a little bit closer to the holy grail of marketing. Perfect data. However, this will probably never address the issues of the ROI-bent marketers surveyed above, and they’ll likely sit on the sidelines until they’re well behind in the game.
Saddled with the ignominy of auto-tuning, T-Pain comes back like a great social marketer should. He takes the criticism head-on, and even turns it into a point of engagement that he can profit from. An auto-tuner iPhone app. And with the app, he’ll likely demonstrate that even with auto-tune, you still need some skills to sell a million songs. Or ringtones.
My new fave method for tossing together a quick sketch of a site layout. This is almost as fast as drawing on paper. (Especially when I have to spend so much time explaining what I’ve drawn.)
Great premise behind a campaign for what’s being touted as a very good movie. As the movie ends, theater goers are ENCOURAGED to turn on their cell phones and send a text to stop the killing of dolphins in The Cove, the subject of the movie. Cool way of turning a taboo into a call to action.
What’s certainly one of the most photogenic events anywhere is captured with beautiful interpretation of the desolation of the environment combined with the inspiring transformation it goes through every year.
I haven’t really dug into exploring this yet, but on the surface it looks impressive. Build good looking flash sites in a flash. With optional e-commerce shopping carts, and other advanced features like auto-coding Google Analytics. It’s remarkable where templatized site building is going.
Check out the nav on this site.