Archive for the ‘Mobile’ Category

How Important Is Online Privacy To You?

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

I would say a large percentage of the social media population is addicted to its services. However, it is Facebook that we would blame if our boss saw a picture of us heavily indulging in a Bulls’ win the night before a pitch or we would certainly blame Foursquare if a creepy cube mate joined us for lunch after discovering our check-in location. We consume social media but we are the first to complain when our lack of privacy tends to affects our personal lives.

For example, Location Based Services (LBS), the mobile technology that leverages geographical positioning, are one of the most used technologies in the ever-evolving world of social media. Useful services such as GPS navigation, weather alerts, traffic updates, restaurant info, and of course, check-in games, all fall under the title LBS. While researching for our office’s recent Digital Power Hour, I came across some interesting privacy concerns regarding LBS and turned it into the following quiz question:

Q: Rank the concerns of LBS users in order from most to least concerning.

The correct answer (which stumped all of our attendees) is as follows (note the #1 concern):
A: 1. Privacy/Stalking
    2. Not enough Deals/Coupons
    3. Mobile Battery Drain
    4. None of My Friends Use it
    5. Waste of Time
(Source: http://socialwayne.com)

Another privacy issue that really struck the office employees was in regards to a presentation on Google +1: Our audience initially thought Google +1 would show everyone what websites an individual had viewed, airing all of our Google-searching secrets. Our AE, Matt Koppelman, calmed the employees’ concerns by explaining that for Google +1 to work, an individual must make a Google profile and voluntarily select +1 so one’s friends can view their recommendation.

So naturally, I turned the audiences’ concerns about Google search privacy into a poll.

The results? Only 1 percent of contributors to the poll said they wouldn’t mind their search history to be viewed by others.


 

Google, Apple, Facebook, And Microsoft are no strangers to concerns regarding privacy safety, frequently appearing in the media over legal infringements. Facebook recently went as far as trying to hire a PR firm to draw attention to Google’s privacy practices (yeah- it didn’t go so well). Even the FCC and FTC are actively addressing LBS by holding a June forum amid growing concern about security and privacy for users of those applications.

Though we consumers believe we always have a right to our privacy, the evolution of technology will forever challenge the limitations to these rights.

Word of Mouth and Reaching the Masses Today

Friday, May 6th, 2011

News, especially big news, has always had its way of permeating to reach the masses – it’s kind of the reason the group as a whole is called “mass media” in the first place.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave (What? Too soon?), you may have heard that Osama Bin Laden was killed in a raid by United States Navy SEALs this past weekend… but HOW did you hear about it?

Odds are it wasn’t from a traditional news source, a newspaper or a newscast, at least not initially.

Tyler Gray, deputy editor of Fast Company, posted to the site that a single Tweet preempted the President’s official announcement – and by a significant margin since all three appeared the same day.

While Urbahn later said that he received his information from a TV news producer, and told his Twitter followers to wait for the official announcement from the POTUS himself, that cat got out of the bag and wasn’t going to go back in.

Across the country, Dan Shulman was calling the ninth inning of ESPN’s Sunday night Mets-Phillies game when his colleague in the booth, Bobby Valentine held up a text message on his cell phone.

The text was simple, according to Shulman, reading only “Bin Laden is dead.”

After confirming the news, Shulman told ESPN viewers – but the Philadelphia crowd had already begun chanting, “U-S-A, U-S-A,” as fans were receiving text messages and checking emails/Twitter/mobile news.

So we have, in essence, literal word of mouth (WOM) from the producer to Urbahn, a Tweet (consider it digital WOM) and a text message (mobile WOM). While The Huffington Post may have their list of 13 Strangest Ways People Found Out Bin Laden Died, WOM (traditional, mobile and digital), is directly responsible for some of the most powerful imagery in terms of the speed of information we have seen in a long, long time.

While it can be said on anecdotal evidence alone that mobile/digital WOM has already become an important factor in news, the PEW State of News Media 2011 report delivered this past March confirms it.

In 2010, every news platform saw audiences either stall or decline — except for the internet.

We can clearly see the shift from static news sources to more dynamic ones, but the report also included information from the survey. Released with the report (produced with the Pew Internet & American Life Project, in association with the Knight Foundation) PEW found that nearly half of all Americans (47 percent) now get some form of local news on a mobile device. What’s more, the report also found that mobile news is only likely to grow.

Digital Trends from SXSW Interactive 2011 (Part 2)

Monday, March 21st, 2011

QR Codes Everywhere

One trend I was eager to get a pulse check on was QR Codes.  For a few years now, they’ve been threatening to take hold in the US – but it just hasn’t clicked with consumers, despite lots of trial and error by brands and marketers.

They were everywhere at SXSWi.  On virtually every poster, booth and business card.  Generally, they linked to a website or a YouTube video.

Some interesting executions included RightNow which hosted a scavenger hunt featuring runners you had to find to win a prize package.

RightNow's QR Code Scavenger Hunt

Although I didn’t see him, the famous blogger Robert Scoble w walking around wearing a QR Code on his shirt  linking to his Twitter feed from SXSW.

This widespread usage accompanied a lot of talk about the ‘outernet’ aka the ‘internet of things.  The thinking being that QR codes combined with RFID tags and AR visualization technology would soon reveal the information layer that hides beneath the surface of everything in the modern world.

But that’s the future.  At this point, it seems like a lot of printing space devoted to not a lot of action. I didn’t see a single person interacting with a code at any point during the conference, nor was I directed to one.

The whole experience of interacting with a QR code is still too much effort for too little reward.

But wait, there’s more…

There was too much to do, see and learn. Some other sites that don’t fit neatly into themes but are worth checking out:

Secretregrets.com – like PostSecret.com but earnest, less art directed and with comments.

Thinklove.com – uniting people around the world through buzzing bracelets and love.

Viewdle.com – an app facial recognition in social media, sadly coming soon.

And some buzzwords and concepts I learned:

“Forking” is the act of knowingly stealing code.

Using RFID and facial recognition, products will start to check into you.  The first steps can be seen in Kraft’s Meal Planning Solution device.

Extropians and Transhumance.  Google it. Its weird.  Its real.  Thousands of Americans already have chips imbedded in their brains.  This may be the future of humanity.

The Connected TV – it’s a big deal for an ‘old’ medium.

And one trend I could do with out:

Working a photo of Charlie Sheen or #winning into every presentation, even if just to say you wouldn’t.  Note to presenters, this joke is dead – try to resist the urge to include it, hard as it might be (even I couldn’t resist).

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Digital Trends from SXSW Interactive 2011 (Part 1)

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

SXSW Interactive 2011 was a whirlwind. Equal parts inspiration, education, networking frenzy and frat party, this year’s attendance up 40 percent (est.) which overwhelmed just about everything from internet connectivity to the participants themselves. An event of this scope is impossible to sum up neatly, so rather than try, here’s a few trends I picked up on.

1. Gaming the system

Seth Priebatsch, “Chief Ninja” at SCVNGR, gave a great presentation on the “game layer” which was both inspirational and insightful. SCVNGR is like a Groupon or Gowalla, but with more focus on rewarding actions by incorporating game style rewards into real world activities. He made a compelling case that while the social layer has defined the last decade, the game layer will define the next one and will have make an even bigger impact on our lives.

The premise is simple, everything in life can be viewed as a game. People like playing games because they tap into deeply ingrained motivational triggers. If we can align our goals with sound gaming mechanics like reward schedules, inclusive ownership and communal game play, we can solve everything from cheating in schools to global warming to selling more deodorant.

This notion of communal game play was a common thread through much of SXSWi and showed up in surprising ways. Even personal improvement got a community game play makeover. ‘Life hacking’ threaded through panels like “Can the Internet make us happy?” where Veer Gidwaney discussed Dailyfeats which views life as a series of daily accomplishments that earn, wait for it… real-life rewards. Completing tasks like getting up at a decent hour or eating fruits and vegetable can earn you a gift card.

Charities and social action fit nicely into this thread. A multitude of “Greater Good” panels discussed practical ways of leveraging communities and moving from Corporate Social Responsibility to Corporate Social Value so companies can make money by doing good. In other words, aligning with sound gaming principals.

SXSWi and its participants weren’t all talk, they put their money where their mouse is. Powered by CasueVox, the SXSW4Japan site launched within 24 hours of the beginning of the disaster, and raised over $50,000 after 3 only days. This is a great example of Real Time Engagement Marketing for Good executed flawlessly and should be viewed as a case study.

SXSW4Japan

2. Moving beyond the keyboard
Between Augmented Reality (AR), touch screens, device convergence (and operating system divergence), Kinect’ed TVs one thing was clear, how we interface with computers and data is changing fast. First the obvious, tablets, are in widespread use. Excluding smart phones, I’d guess that about 40 percent of the screens being used to blog/like/comment/tweet/note were iPads and a handful of tablet competitors.

Touchscreens were ubiquitous and utilitarian. Multiple panels explored the new design challenges this presented. Microsoft’s Kay Hoffmeester noted that we’re in the very early stages of touch interfaces and are limited by our ability to envision new ways of interacting with computers.

Combining touch gesture interfaces with augmented reality is where the magic happens. Panels with titles like “Non-Visual Augmented Reality and the Evaporation of the Interface” and “Augmented Reality for Marketers: Future of Consumer Interactions” explored what the “outernet” will look like. Augmented Reality allows us to view imagery and information on top of the real world which has widespread implications.

Right now we have clunky implementations like Yelp Monocle and the Layar AR browser which require users to hold up a phone to view AR. But at least two speakers swore we’ll soon all be wearing goggles which superimpose keyboards, data and inevitably advertising on top of the real world. The value beyond seeing restaurant recommendations is clear when you see Word Lens in action, which translates words on the fly.

Word Lens In Action

Devices like the XBOX Kinect brought this brave new world back to earth and made it all seem achievable. Hacking the Kinect for serendipitous entertainment was a huge hit at the Frog Design Party. Now picture Kinect-like devices all over your house. No more remote controls. Just a few finger swipes in the air. Put on your AR goggles and you’re living in Snowcrash.

3. Community and Location-Based Services are still the killer apps
Even if the social layer is old hat, it was still a big part of the program. Now that social media is de rigor and part of every discussion, the focus is on refinement of tactics, usefullness and increasingly sophisticated uses for applying data from the social graph. The trade show was chock full of new ways of managing and leveraging social data and connections at the enterprise level. Phrases like “leveraging Facebook’s aggregated credibility score” were thrown around causally. Many tools for organizing social group communications were being hyped and seen in action in the wild. Some popular tools included:

  • GroupMe which lets users start groups with the people already in their contacts. When a message is sent, everyone instantly receives it, like a private chat room that works via SMS on any phone. This was great for herding the cats to parties and networking events.
  • LocalMind is a bit like a mashup between Yelp and Quora.
  • Crowdbeacon was another similar service just brought to my attention.

These tools all lost their value when the phone and internet connections slowed to a crawl. Phones became the only reliable working tool. Surprisingly, my calls never got dropped.

Digital Lunch and Learn Update

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

 

On May 19, MS&L Chicago hosted a Digital Lunch and Learn event for several PR, marketing and mobile professionals who were looking for more information on the evolving trends in social media and mobile marketing. Four experts sat on a panel discussion entitled Leveraging Social Media and Mobile Communications to Connect with Audiences in Real-Time. The panel included Webster Lewin, SVP and director of digital innovation and strategy; Jason Steinberg, VP and director of digital strategies; David Binkowski, SVP of Word of Mouth marketing; and Lori Laurent Smith, SVP and group director of strategy and client services.

Attendees enjoyed lunch at N9NE Steakhouse and discussed the trends and challenges they were seeing in reaching audiences through social networking sites and mobile applications across a variety of different verticals, including the education space, non-profits, hospitality, and the medical industry. After lunch, the panelists shared insights on how hyperinfluencers and early adopters of these tools are making an impact on consumers and on sales. The panelists also discussed the steps that companies can take to  develop a social media marketing plan and mobile communications strategy to engage audiences in real-time.

Guests at the Digital Lunch and Learn walked away with new ideas to integrate into their digital strategies and marketing programs, and of course, a delicious lunch.

Back to In The Loop Home

Word of Mouth Powering the Food Truck Craze

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

DANNY MOLOSHOK / Reuters

Pop quiz: What recent phenomenon combines convenience, community, spontaneity, digital savvy and delicious cuisine? I’m talking about food trucks—gourmet, inventive, upscale, quality and often organic eats that roam the streets and require you to follow them, via social media, to find out where they’ll stop next. 

Back when I lived in L.A., I frequently tracked where Kogi BBQ, The Green Truck or Coolhaus would show up next.  Whether it was 2 a.m. or 4 p.m., buzz on the various trucks’ locations quickly grew via twitter feeds and word of mouth. It seemed like every few weeks, both the number and originality of the trucks grew exponentially.  After settling back in the Midwest, I often wondered why, when cities like San Francisco, NYC, Seattle and Portland were bringing their unique treats to the streets, Chicago wouldn’t take part in the trend.

It would seem I’m not the only one wondering. Professional chefs and eaters across the city are rallying to bring food on wheels to Chicago. Chicago All Fired Up is one truck that has managed to get through the red tape. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been so easy for others, as Chicago’s law that mobile food vendors can’t cook food on-site, along with several other issues, is causing a food revolution unrealized in the Windy City. Despite the setbacks, supportive websites, new Twitter feeds and grassroots campaigns are popping up every day. Entrepreneurs and chefs are coming up with several new concepts and ways to affect change.

Local chefs Philip Foss and Matt Maroni have been working to get our city’s mobile food vendor licenses amended and started chicagofoodtrucks.com, creating both a Twitter feed and Facebook page to provide a forum for discussion and creative solutions. Local Top Chef Master, Rick Bayless, has offered his support via his Twitter feed, and Time Out Chicago recently launched Street Food Now to “speak out on Chicago’s right to eat meals that come on wheels.”  Can you imagine being able to step outside during lunch for fresh macaroni and cheese, meatballs or even flatbread from a parked truck? These are real ideas in the works.

The good news is that you won’t have to wait long for a preview–  another business appears to have the go-ahead beginning May 10. You’ll have to follow Flirty on Twitter or Facebook to find out where you can get sugary goodness like the CBFF (chocolate w/ Nutella ganache) handed to you from a mobile cupcake shop. I assume they bypassed the restrictions because cupcakes don’t require on-site preparation. Hopefully Flirty is one of the many in a long line of Chicago vendors that can successfully join this literal bandwagon. I’m interested to see what happens next– what will supporters do differently or next to persuade lawmakers to change their mind? How big of a role will social media continue to play?

So, what do you do if you’re game for tacos on wheels? Speak up. Time Out Chicago offers a quick tutorial on who to contact and what to say. Do you want Chicago to be the next city to hop on the food truck trend?

All Media is Social Media

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

It’s week two for me here at MS&L’s Chicago office as the VP, Director of Digital and I have to say I’m loving it.   I’ve been doing the digital thing for over twelve years, from content to media – there’s not much I haven’t had my hands in.   But I wanted to focus on what I feel is the most transformative revolution in marketing since the 30 second TV spot was invented; social media.

Reading Jeff Bodzewski’s previous post “Social Media is Dying” got me excited to be here among like-minds. I love a bold statement like that, even if it is just designed to get a reaction.   But beyond that – there was more than a grain of truth to it. 

Pretty soon, social media is going to fade into the background and simply become plumbing; surrounding us but rarely thought about.  All media will be social.   The recent evolution of Facebook Connect into Open Graph gives a glimpse of how the world will begin to look in a few years. Facebook Connect allowed sites to pull in Facebook data, and do rudimentary status updates but Open Graph takes that even further and allows for true 3rd party integration.

By placing a “like” button on content across the web, Open Graph extends the reach of Facebook beyond the confines of its site.  Now users can be away from Facebook, but still update their profile with places they’ve been, music they like, food they’ve eaten and more.  And the like button is just the first small step -  people are capable of much more sophisticated interactions beyond “like” and so is the Facebook platform.

Now, consider that all media is quickly gaining a social component.  TV, music and movies have always been the fodder for chatter – in other words, the social currency that fuels our conversations.  Soon (now?), our entertainment devices will allow us to not just get ammo for the water cooler, but facilitate our sharing, rating, manipulation and interactions.

Televisions are getting socialized through Yahoo! TV, Hulu and products like Boxee, music services like Pandora, iMeem (rolled into MySpace), Grooveshark , and Last.fm have long allowed these types of interactions.   Even out of home advertising is getting into the game with digital out of home activations that incorporate user interactions and feedback.

With a bit of technological wizardry, we can expect our entertainment to become aware of what we like based not only our own behavior but the behavior of our social networks.  Even better, our own preferences will be incorporated into the programming itself.  This could end the dominance of search engines for delivering digital content and yield new formats where users at home play along in Jeopardy, dictate the story arches of sitcoms and get custom product placements in their shows (Remeber the iPad in Modern Family?). 

As with many new technologies, there’s a lot of trepidation.  In the long run, I believe we’ll come to love our media “knowing” more about us, what we like and what our social graph likes.  I often think of how much I appreciate Tivo making recommendations for programs that I would like to watch.  It’s surprising how well it knows me – and it doesn’t have the benefit of knowing what my friends are watching too.

Like a conversation with a friend – content will be personal, it will be recommended to me rather than me searching for it, it won’t interrupt me and will become integrated with the natural rhythms of my life… in theory.