Johns reaction: Has the fight back started?

While U.S. newspapers wage a long-standing fight for print advertising and subscribers, they managed a slight gain in circulation, fueled by increases in digital circ. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations latest twice-annual report on newspaper circulation, average daily circ for 618 measured newspapers rose 0.68 percent, with Sunday circulation for 532 papers rising 5 percent. The report compares the six months ended March 31, 2012, to the year-ago period. On average, digital circ accounted for 14.2 percent of newspapers' total circulation in the six-month period up from 8.7 percent a year earlier. Digital circulation could include tablet and smartphone apps, replica PDFs, e-reader editions and restricted-access websites.
Read on

Johns reaction: THoughts on how we measure the latest fad...

Did you detect the sarcasm in that statement Two nights ago at Social Slam in Knoxville, Tennessee, I got asked if Pinterest is the hottest thing since... well, the last hottest thing (let's call it Instagram for argument's sake), then (not even twenty-four hours later), I'm on a flight home, reading USA Today when the top headline for the Money section is: "Pinterest growth curve levels off." So, that's it We've already fallen out of love with Pinterest According to the article in the newspaper: "...meteoric growth for the overnight app sensation slackened, according to two market-research firms. The image-bookmarking site and social network drew 18.7 million unique visitors in the U.S. in March, compared with 17.8 million in February and 11.7 million in January says comScore."
Read on

Johns reaction: Couldn't agree more. Funnels are tools used by agencies to explain the complex process of flogging products and services. However the reality is like many things a matrix, check out the Paul Adams video in Articles.

The funnel is a lousy metaphor for measuring conversion. In real life, funnels let everything pass through a 100% conversion rate if you will. A better metaphor would be a sieve, or buckets with holes in them. But my problem with funnels isnt the metaphor. Its the mindset. The funnel ignores how the web works. It presumes that users are dropped into this vacuum from which we control their destiny. If a user didnt go from step 2 to step 3 then we need to tweak some copy or test new buttons. To paraphrase Billy Beane: were not solving the problem, were not even looking at the problem. Lets see where the funnel breaks...
Read on

Johns reaction: Another arrow to put in your quiver

Since Pinterest was founded in 2008, it's proven one thing: People love their visuals. And it looks like the site is becoming a hot space for online video marketing opportunities as well, with its recent integration of the Vimeo platform.
Read on

Johns reaction: Great overview of two leading crowd sourcing products, ODesk and Mechanical Turk.

A question that I receive often is how to structure tasks on Mechanical Turk for which it is necessary for the workers to pass training before doing the task. My common answer to most such question is that Mechanical Turk is not the ideal environment for such tasks: When training and frequent interaction is required, an employer is typically better off by using a site such as oDesk to hire people for the long term to do the job.
Read on

Johns reaction: image is everything these days...

But as Bob Dylan famously said, the times they are a changin , and social media seems to be doing it more frequently than other marketing channels. The most recent trend to come to social media is the dominance of visual content. Facebook has turned its walls into timelines and Pinterest, the online photo scrapbooking site, is now the number three social network in the country for total visits, and videos and infographics are peppering blogs everywhere.
Read on

Lucios reaction: What's your opinion? Will it work?

Facebook has announced that its offers system has begun to roll out, having first been revealed at its marketing conference at the beginning of March. Offers are free for business pages to create and share but are only available to a small number of local business Pages (April/2012)
Read on

Johns reaction: Always interesting to see how the big boys are dealing with Social, here is Accentures take on the possibilities.

In an age of information overload and unlimited choices, any marketer worth their salt knows that brand engagement is driven by providing precisely relevant experiences that attract and hold the attention of each consumer. Consumer relevance cannot be episodic. Maintaining relevance continuously as consumers move seamlessly from one interaction point to the next is a new demand of the digital age. The imperative for consumer relevance requires a brand to harness deep contextual knowledge about each consumer and apply it intelligently to create persuasive experiences at every touchpoint. This ability to be relevant at scale , will determine which brands win and which brands get lost in the war for consumer attention. To deliver relevant experiences at scale companies need to be able to tap into the wealth of data sources that provide valuable signals on what can attract and hold consumer attention at any moment in time not just data about geo-location, gender and age, product preference or purchase, but also more importantly likes, interests and who they talk and listen to. With the explosive growth in the use of social media, social networks provide a richness of data that can help build more precise insights into consumer context and will allow companies to tailor brand experiences making them more compelling, more persuasive and more relevant.
Read on

Kelly s reaction: A mobile tsunami is coming. This is a great insight to the future of mobile, from a handset, operating system and content perspective.

Draw something app launched 6 weeks ago. It' the number 1 app in 79 countries and has 20+ million users - it generates a $100k revenue a day. It took AOL 9 years to reach 1 million users, facebook 9 months and Draw something 9 days.
Read on

Johns reaction: Interesting point to note when hiring account managers and sales people or any role that demands face to face

If you're a digital native, you should be aware that the internet may have partially rewired your brain in such a way that when you meet people face to face, you're less capable of figuring out what they're thinking. No, I'm not joking. There's a significant amount of scientific literature on this. Compared with people who didn't grow up using computers and the internet, you may be slower to pick up on nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, tones of voice, and body language. That could be a liability if you want to work in a field such as consulting, financial advising, and diplomacy that requires face-to-face interactions. The trick, if you're looking for a job in areas such as these, is to be aware of your possible shortcomings and try to compensate for them.
Read on

Johns reaction: Apple and facebook not Greenpeace favz

When you use the internet have you thought just how much energy you're using, or the size of your carbon poke print This story may give you some idea of just how much energy the wired world sucks down.by Dan Ilic
Read on

Marks reaction: Excellence and perfection are treated as synonomous, but are they really? This brief comment explores the difference between excellence and perfection in relation to the fast paced world of online retailing

Most people would tend to think that striving for excellence and striving for perfection both mean the same thing. Do they? I have been very privileged to have worked in quite a few different industries in my life, which has given me many life skills that are very valid in the frenetic online retailing and ecommerce world.
Read on

Johns reaction: Good overview on how to create good and searchable online content

This week we're going to piggy-back a little on last week's Whiteboard Friday that discussed how to increase your blog's visibility. So you get readers to your site, now, how do you keep them there? Well the direct answer is great content. Create awesome material that keeps your readers interested and engaged and they'll keep coming back for more. Beyond that, they may even hit the "Koolaid Point" and become fans and evangelists for you, helping to grow your audience even wider. So what are the four cornerstones of creating great content? Watch the video and Rand will discuss them in all of their glory. When you're done, scroll down and we'll briefly recap the main points for you.
Read on

Brads reaction: We have also updated our Facebook page to Timeline. I have found it actually a little nicer and impactful than the old pages. facebook.com/dministry

Now that Facebook Timeline has finally rolled out for brands, companies have endless opportunities to refresh their social media strategy. Sounds overwhelming, doesn't it Let's break it down.As of Wednesday, brands can opt in on the new features. If you are not familiar them, be sure to review them here before you dive into this project. Some of the prominent changes include a new layout with cover photo, highlighting features and the ability to edit and update without navigating to a separate page. Timeline will automatically go live for all brand pages Mar. 30.
Read on

Brads reaction: "We may use the name you provide for your Google Profile across all of the services we offer that require a Google Account. In addition, we may replace past names associated with your Google Account so that you are represented consistently across all our services."

For those of you who've been keeping me company on Twitter today, you'll know I set myself the mind-numbing task of reading the new Ts&Cs Google are introducing tomorrow. The company has everyone in a bit of a stir, as it brings together all of the data the search giant has collected about you across its many online properties.
Read on

Brads reaction: Bit disappointed with the change here of the removal of the Facebook landing page.

Today Facebook announced to brand marketers the world over that, within the month, everything they knew about fan Pages on Facebook would be overturned. While you get your brand ready for the new Timeline format, here are six important changes to keep top-of-mind.
Read on

Johns reaction: Always amazed at big consultancy firms like Accentures take on Social media. They seem somewhat behind the thinking but they do but a business spin on it that most media people cant.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, instant messaging, video conferencing, web meetings: These and many other collaboration and social media platforms are now an everyday part of people s lives around the world. They are also finding their way into enterprise communications and management strategies. But are these social media applications and technologies ready for an even greater challenge helping companies and government agencies successfully navigate major business change programs
Read on

Marks reaction: Although published in Nov, Its always refreshing to see another report on the state of Online Retailing in Australia. The more reports out there the greater the opportunity to be able to compare and get a better understanding of where the industry is at, at the moment.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has published its latest research report: E-commerce marketplace in Australia: Online Shopping. The report is their first look at the developing online shopping market from both a supplier and user perspective.
Read on

Johns reaction: interesting perspective, refreshing even...

I was invited to speak at the MonkiGras event this week where getting a little sweary and ranty is kind of encouraged (it goes well with the craft beer consumption that is an integral part of the conference mix). This was my contribution. When I checked the agenda to see what I was supposed to be talking about at Monkigras, I saw that I was down to talk for 15 mins about Crafting Good UX . Where to start.
Read on

Brads reaction: Go on Facebook, you know you want to.

It's time for Facebook to go hat in hand to Apple and make a deal to get integrated into its operating systems, iOS and OS X. The two companies have been in a stand off for a long time. In 2010, Steve Jobs said Facebook's "onerous terms" prevented it from being integrated into iTunes social network Ping. We're not sure if that was Steve Jobs bending the truth to his liking, or if Facebook was really asking for something outrageous.
Read on