Image via Wikipedia

Brian Morrissey had a quick piece yesterday morning that analyzed how “location” is increasingly tying together our virtual and physical environments.

If I’m a brand marketer or digital strategist, one of the nice by-products is I can now spend more time on engagement strategies. Here’s the way Morrissey described location’s impact on marketing.

This evolution has major implications for brands, giving them the possibility of tracking the success of digital campaigns to the store level and changing how they market to consumers.”

Think about the way check-ins and geo-fencing [a la Placecast] are changing the tactical approaches to one-on-one marketing and customer loyalty.  In essence, brands can now have their own content delivery networks (CDNs] and almost automate the entire opt-in process within the mobile experience.

It’s really pretty simple, if I’m near your storefront and you reach me with something valuable, there’s a good chance I’ll share at least some of my information or social profile. And as socialCRM gets more sophisticated and things like Twitter are more deeply entrenched in customer service, the brand experience will be much more fluid. Savvy organizations will proactively engage with you based on your preferences.  It’s that level of personalization, coupled with the ability to track behavior, that has so many folks excited about location’s impact on marketing.

• Top 10 Free iPhone Apps For News Junkies
  (tags: news feeds iphone mobile)

• 8 Mobile Technologies to Watch in 2009, 2010 [Sarah Perez @RWW]
  "Mobile User Interfaces + Mobile Web/Widgets"
  (tags: mobile+computing mobile readwriteweb technology)

• 10 Questions To Ask When You Want To Monitor Social Media [YackTrack]
  (tags: social+media+marketing social+media+measurement social+media+monitoring)

Image by cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr

One of the other quotes that stood out was John Batelle’s prediction that the microblogging interface would change and “look nothing like a microblog.” I’d guess that has  a lot to do with the interface disappearing in some respects. By that I mean interfaces will be accessed through all sorts of services, applications and embedded widgets. And in a sense I think it’s already changed pretty drastically.

The other thing that almost everyone seems to allude to is how social media will become more entrenched in the inner-workings of companies – from their external communication practices to the way business systems are built, designed and deployed. 

That last part is why you hear so much about “social business,” which is a really tough thing to distill into something folks can understand.

If you stray too far to the technical, toolset, or process side, you sound like a business process re-engineering (BPR) evangelist. Jump over too much to the “social media” side and you quickly run the risk of being categorized as too fluffy or someone trying to socialize things that really don’t need to be social.

2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions in 140 Characters, by TrendsSpotting

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

• Top Mobile Phones, Sites and Brands for 2009 [Nielsen Wire]
  I’ve owned handsets 1 and 2.
  (tags: nielsen+online mobile stats research brands)
• Understanding Social Media Using Sentiment Analysis [Eyefortravel]
  (tags: sentiment+analysis social+media+measurement social+media+monitoring)

• Measuring Social Media Marketing [New Marketing Labs]
  (tags: socialmedia business strategy consulting measurement roi metrics)

Image by George Dearing via Flickr

• User adoption: Killer app for SOA and Enterprise 2.0 [IT Project Failures]
  (tags: e2.0 adoption SOA technology)
• 3 Steps to Selling Your Idea to Your Boss [HarvardBusiness.org]
  (tags: business+strategy)

• The Year in Innovation [BusinessWeek]
  (tags: strategy innovation businessweek)
• A Day in The Life of NYTimes.com [Bits Blog]
  (tags: media web visualizations NYT)
• ComScore: iPhone overtakes Windows Mobile use for the first time in US
  (tags: microsoft mobile iphone apple android comScore)

Image via Wikipedia

• New Nielsen Data Likely to Shock Some Web Publishers [AdAge]
  "There are other services that link online demographics to offline activities, but none as widely used or trusted by planners as Nielsen’s @Plan. When agency buyers are putting together a media plan, they’ll check @Plan for the top sites reaching their target audience — and then buy those sites."
  (tags: nielsen+online metrics online+advertising media+buying measurement digital+media)

• Social Initiatives: B2B vs. B2C [eMarketer]
  "The “2009 B2B Social Media Benchmarking Study” found that those B2B companies already using social media were much more active in the space than their B2C counterparts.."

  (tags: socialmedia business research socialnetworking metrics emarketer statistics socialmediamarketing b2b marketing)

• How to get a new iPhone app noticed [The Guardian]
  "Bizarrely, it seems I could make more money nowadays from an app review site than from an app itself."
  (tags: media marketing iphone apps guardian iphonedev mobile)

Image via CrunchBase

While Jive and Lithium are the ones mentioned in this Wall Street Journal piece, Telligent also has a strong story when it comes to the integration of mobile environments and things like online forums and groups.

A good example, and one the WSJ briefly alludes to, is having the capability to use email to push messages back and forth to a customer’s online forums. But that scenario isn’t just a no-brainer for external communities. It’s also big when you’re introducing online applications inside the firewall to a group of new users. By allowing a company’s employees to use their mobile phones, you don’t have to disrupt the way they’re communicating today.

We typically set up groups internally and users can create and receive updates on their mobile devices when new information is available. As users get comfortable with that approach, they’ll often move to more sophisticated subscription options like RSS feeds or personalized widgets.

While I’d rarely be against the development of a full-blown iPhone app in this context, I think the way mobile’s evolving, most access will be browser-based.

Dedicated applications will bring their own merit though, perhaps providing offline access, exclusive content and the "official" brand feel that a richer client app might provide. Either way, the mantra should be flexibility. If your customer can’t tell your online forum is anchored to your website, that’s probably a good thing.

Posted via web from George Dearing dot com

Image by Just Nora via Flickr

Note to self..log out of the AppStore before letting son play with iPhone. And what kind of message does it send to companies trying to capture attention in crowded app stores?

Ok so he’s only three, but his purchases were driven by the icons of the apps and of course by the screenshots included. Pay attention to detail and represent your brand/company at every turn like it’s the last time anyone will ever see you.

Posted via email from George Dearing dot com

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

• Augmented Reality: Not That Real Yet – BusinessWeek
  (tags: software web technology mobile iphone businessweek augmented_reality augmentedreality)
• Does working from home make you more productive? Yes (with data)! « RescueTime Blog
  "we felt like we weren’t working as hard, but were actually logging about 22% more development and design hours."
  (tags: productivity office statistics stats work telecommuting)

• 33 things you don’t need if you have an iPhone
  (tags: iphone GTD)

  

• Google ChromeOS: It’s basically a modified browser that runs web apps
  "It’s an operating system based on a web browser called… Google Chrome. The idea is that you won’t have to (or be able to) install a single application directly on your PC. Rather, all of your apps will be run from the web and all of your data will be stored in the cloud. "
  (tags: google chrome chrome+OS)
• Microsoft, Salesforce.com Offer Social Tools [WSJ.com]
  "The moves are the latest sign of how consumer-oriented technologies—from instant messaging to Apple Inc.’s iPhone—are invading the workplace and forcing companies to adapt to advances that boost productivity."
  (tags: social+networking social+technologies microsoft salesforce web2.0)

Image by dpstyles™ via Flickr

• 6 Innovative Ways Businesses are Capitalizing on Foursquare
  Simple ways to stimulate market conversations and engagement.
  (tags: foursquare marketing business advertising ecommerce)

Image via CrunchBase

• Success Factors for Brands on Facebook [ADWEEK]
  "There’s no media cost to setting up on Facebook, but brands often find the quickest way to build a sizable following is through — you guessed it — paid advertising.

  Take Little Debbie. Nearly six months ago the snack food brand set up shop on Facebook with a standard fan page. It posted updates, uploaded old TV spots and waited. Crickets. Then, last Thursday, it rolled out an engagement ad "reach block" that messaged 21-49-year-olds touting a sweepstakes for a Smart car with the option to become a fan. Within 12 hours, Little Debbie’s fan base went from 5,000 to over 125,000. It welcomed people with a message asking their favorite Little Debbie snack. It got over 6,000 comments." (tags: facebook brands social+media social+networks)

• M-Commerce’s Big Moment [BusinessWeek]
  "Yet, m-commerce may finally be hitting its stride. And some analysts who in recent years became more conservative in their forecasts are now having to make upward revisions. In January, consultant ABI Research projected North American sales of physical goods ordered via cell phone would reach $544 million this year, up from $346 million in 2008. Now, Mark Beccue, senior analyst at ABI, is considering updating his 2009 forecast to $800 million. "I thought hockey-stick growth was going to come in 2010, but it looks like it’s already a hockey stick," Beccue says. "Next year, it will double again."
  (tags: retail iphone mobile m-commerce mobile2.0)

TreeHugger’s post on Green iPhone apps got me thinking about the upside that exists as mobile content and apps continue to explode. With such clear demand, you’d think it would be easy to find apps.

I like 3rdWhale President Ron Williams’ idea of simply adding a "sustainability" tag to the iTunes store and homepage. And with Apple’s recent Green push, you’d think they’d be all over the opportunity to boost firms with a green gene.

What this also shows is how much opportunity there is for brands and content providers. If I were a media company or brand I’d be looking to cut content and licensing deals that put my company front and center alongside these niche providers. Not to mention iPhone apps are the gateway interface to other brand touches and interactions. And guess what — a lot of those interactions will ultimately be tied to transactions. Think M-Commerce.

via treehugger.com

It’s amazing how far the U.S is behind in mobile payments. I don’t really go to Starbucks but I’m certainly interested in how this plays out. There’s big implications for brands, especially as their experiences move to the handset.
I can see all sorts of mashups spawning from the convergence of location-based services, micropayments and of course social networking.

Fast Company references NOTCOT.org for their latest piece on WorkSnug.
I hadn’t seen NOTCOT before but it looks like a interesting blend of design, innovation and techie stuff that’s useful. You can follow them on Twitter here.

As far as WorkSnug, I love the business model’s simplicity, though my fervor stems more from the useless miles I’ve driven looking for suitable workspaces. Here’s to their success.

“Using a database of ratings–from wi-fi signal to noise levels–Work Snug will lead you to a decent work space while you’re away from the office.”

Image via CrunchBase

AdMob surveyed more than 1,000 iPhone, iPod touch and Android users and here’s what they found:

• Android and iPhone users download approximately 10 new apps a month, while iPod touch owners download an average of 18 per month

• More than 90 percent of Android and iPhone OS users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer

• Upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when users were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app

• iPhone and iPod touch users are twice as likely to purchase paid apps than Android users.

• Users who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month

The stat showing 90% of users look for apps directly from their mobile device is significant because it’s that use case that can increase adoption and stimulate sales for the non-mobile app.

A few examples are DropBox, Evernote, Remember The Milk and Box.net. Without my exposure to the iPhone version, chances are I wouldn’t have upgraded to the full blown version. Increasingly, we all want to move back and forth between our desktop and mobile environments.

With that comes the desire to have things in sync and generally accessible with the same interfaces we’re used to. As you develop your service or product, think about how those two environments need to complement each other. A consistent user experience, and one that extends to mobile, will certainly increase your chances to build brand and generate some revenue

via metrics.admob.com

 

You can see the engagement potential immediately with things like "meet the cast" and 1-click access to backgrounders and interactive quizzes.

I could see additional real-time tie-ins by pulling in hashtag or keyword-driven searches from users discussing current episodes. I’d also add Discovery’s blog content to the mix, which could link to relevant posts and other behind-the-scenes content and footage. Overall though, Discovery Communications has delivered a solid iPhone interface to its brand.