Apple, #WWDC and the power of content marketing: 3 links from the week that was....+1 more

The big news in the technology business this week flowed primarily from the Apple’s WWDC 2013 and the official launch of the new OS for Apple devices.  As is often the case in big technology announcements from major players in the space, the press coverage was decidedly mixed, so I've endeavored below to cherry pick some of the best pieces that appeared on the Web in the days following the event.  One of the key parts of any WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference for those that don’t ‘speak geek’) is always the keynote speech by Apple’s CEO – this year provided by Tim Cook – which outlines where the company plans to take its efforts in the coming years.  While nothing will ever compare with Jobs’ famous “and one more thing” line which ended every speech he gave, this year appeared to be a success for Apple - although the jury is still out in the technology press about whether or not Apple is innovating or not.

WWDC 2013 keynote roundup

WWDC2013 Roundup:  All the New Toys Apple Announced Today

Here are the Things Apple Totally Ripped off from Competitors for iOS 7

Beyond just looking at the technology that drives business, I've also been fascinated by another topic that appears to be growing in importance for marketers and that is the concept of ‘content marketing’.  One of the things that I've found interesting is that this is simply a new-fangled way of talking about business development.  At the end of the day, people buy things from folks that they like doing business with and just as importantly from people they consider to be credible.  Content marketing is a unique way of communicating to your customers, clients, general public etc and does so in a way that it expands on the reasons the Web was built in the first place… to share valuable information.  This week the brilliant Mitch Joel (@mitchjoel on Twitter) published a great piece about content marketing… that I’d encourage you to review as you assess whether this is a strategy that can help you and your business.

The New Face of Content Marketing

And finally for this week’s +1… I wanted to draw your collective attention to an excellent new book by Jonah Berger called Contagious.  One of the questions that I’m often asked in designing ad campaigns is ‘how to make something go viral’ and while I wish I had a better answer, the fact remains that setting out ‘on purpose’ to create a viral ad is something that just happens and not something that you can purposely make happen.  I continued to believe that until I started reading Berger’s new book (a non-affiliate Amazon link to the book is enclosed below), and this week Beth Kanter (who’s blog I recommend you add to your ‘media diet’ each week) hosted a guest blog by Jonah that effectively lays out why my feelings on this topic may be changing.

The Science Behind Going Viral

Contagious:  Why Things Go Viral by Jonah Berger

So do YOU think that Apple is innovating as effectively as it should?  Is content marketing a part of your toolkit or is this just another marketing 'fad' that seems to come along every few months?  Can you really 'go viral' on purpose?  I'd love to hear your thoughts either directly by email or in the comments below.

PRISM, Google Glass & true believers - 3 links from the week that was.... +1 more

Hard to believe that my vacation is now a full week in the rear view mirror and while this has been an exciting week in the technology world, it was also a troubling one with the details about the US government’s PRISM program emerging.  As is my ilk on the weekend, I've tried to narrow down the week to a few articles that are not to be missed… so let’s get to this week’s listing.

For starters, the reaction from the tech community was swift and strident to the news that the NSA has a program in place called PRISM that apparently monitors phone traffic regardless of whether or not a person is under any type of suspicion.  Regardless of your political affiliation, in a world where the security of one’s personal data is an ongoing concern, this is a troubling development.  I've enclosed what I believe to be the best summary of situation – published yesterday morning by Gizmodo – and also chose to draw your attention to Google’s official response to both the PRISM program at large and why Google’s position on ‘full transparency’ is something that I wholeheartedly agree with.

What is PRISM? Via Gizmodo

What the ?.... – Google’s official blog response to PRISM

Fortunately, while a focus on whether or not the US government is spying on its citizens phone calls and Internet activity is important the entire tech world didn't spend the week focused on that issue and there was some excellent ‘forward looking’ and though-provoking content on the Web this week.  One of those pieces came courtesy of one of my favorite ‘must visit’ sites – Paidcontent – and laid out some terrific highlights from a PwC report that outlined the future of media……specifically what that future might look like in 2017.  The piece that drew my attention (and is likely the most powerful for those of use in the advertising business) is the suggestion that the growth of the advertising industry is only just beginning…. As long as we can figure out the so-called ‘data thing’… also known in the parlance as the ever elusive “Big Data”.  There are some terrific additional insights in the piece… and I’d also encourage you to make paidcontent.org a site you visit often in the future.

What digital media will look like in 2017 – highlights from PwC’s report

A topic that I've been talking about in this space often in recent months is wearable computing – yes I STILL love my Nike FuelBand (you can read my thoughts on that HERE) – and while I wasn't fortunate enough to lay my hands on Google Glass in their initial release, my friend Hillel Fuld (@HilzFuld on Twitter) did and wrote a terrific piece that not only outlines his initial feelings on the platform, but also makes a compelling case for why this may well be the ‘next big thing’.  What strikes me as interesting from a marketers perspective is that Google  Glass (or wearable platforms like it) may well end up being the ultimate marketing vehicle that could exceed the power of the ever-present cellphone screen sooner rather than later.

Five of the Biggest Misconceptions About Google Glass

Finally, as our +1 for this week, I ran across an article this morning that articulates something that I've believed for a long time… and I think applies no matter what industry or business you’re in.  True believers succeed.  For those of my readers that own their own firms this is a self-evident statement (let’s face it when you’re in a ‘if you don’t sell you don’t eat’ situation motivation comes easily), but in larger companies finding ‘true believers’ in the company, products and mission can be challenging sometimes.  As you read this piece I’d encourage you to give some thought to whether or not you are true believer… and if you’re not… should you be doing something else with the limited time you've got in this life??!  Just some food for thought.

‘True believers’ get ahead at work

Thanks for reading and hope you have a fantastic weekend.

Mobile, mobile, mobile & @elonmusk on the future of everything else

One of the advantages of being on vacation is getting the chance to do some reading and thinking about some of the trends that are evolving in the technology business (and yes… I consider this relaxing believe it or not) and the past few days have been full of great content.

I picked a couple of pieces to share with you this morning… that are primarily focused on mobile, but more importantly are designed to be used to help you and your clients (yes I’d encourage you to share this with your clients as well) have a clear picture of why mobile is so important both now and going forward into the future.

The first piece is an interesting take on what folks are actually doing on mobile devices, but one of the interesting parts of the posting is the quote that starts the analysis “Reality’s the second screen, and MOBILE is the first screen” – we truly are living in a mobile world and the more we do to help our clients understand the critical nature of those efforts.

Data Monday:  What Are People Doing on Mobile?

A second key component to any work that we’re doing with our clients in the mobile space is to have a clear picture of where these trends will likely go, and in a piece published in the Engage blog from TMG Custom Media, you’ll find a fantastic listing of 10 mobile trends for 2013 that we and our clients overlook at our peril.  As you’ll note as you review the content… this isn’t about creating a ‘one size fits all’ approach, but rather needs to be what we’ve always striven for with our clients… a custom solution created by talented consultants who truly care about the success of our clients’ business.

10 Mobile Trends for 2013 (That Brands Need to Embrace

Rounding out the mobile component this morning… comes a piece Cox Business… hosted on a site called CoxBlue (which I’d encourage you to check on a regular basis).  The posting (guest written by an extremely talented blogger from the UK – Lilach Bullock (@lilachbullock on Twitter) – talks about a number of ‘free’ tools for optimizing your website for mobile, but also points up the need for having a company/consultant that can truly guide your company through the process of ensuring that you make the most out of this critical platform.

How to make your business website mobile friendly - CoxBlue

Finally, the #D11 conference (sponsored by ‘All things digital’ and the WSJ) is in full swing this week in CA and one of my heroes (Elon Musk - @elonmusk on Twitter) gave an interview yesterday in which he not only outlined how he’ll continue to change the face of motor vehicles with the Tesla product line, but also goes on to talk about travel to Mars and his concept for altering travel between LA and SF… with the so-called “Hyperloop”!  If that wasn’t enough to get you to click on the link below… Musk’s interview is only one link out of 10 in the attached piece that highlight some of the incredibly innovations that are being worked on across a number of industries at this moment in time… once again showing that technology is truly doing what many of us hoped it would do…. Changing all aspects our lives… for the positive… forever.

Electric Cars, Wearable Computing and TV Disruption – 10 Things You Missed During the First Two Days of D11

Obviously there is a lot going on at the moment in the technology space and that begs an important question.  Why are any of these developments important to us as marketers?  Simply put, as our world gets increasingly complex and cluttered (both in terms of message volume and platform) our ability to cut through that clutter and deliver messages to consumers in a compelling and powerful way will only become more important.  Whether it’s on mobile devices, Facebook, or one of the ‘wearable’ computing devices that will become ubiquitous in the coming years, our ability to identify and support the best ways for our clients to reach consumers will be challenging… but a challenge I know I’m more than ready to tackle.... what about you?

So... any content you saw this week that I should know about?  Have thoughts about how mobile (or Elon Musk) are changing all aspects of the world around us?  Drop me a line or add your comments below as I'd love to hear from you!

Google+, Google Glass & a renaissance for the Web - 3 links from the week that was.... + 1 more

With the Memorial Day holiday now in our rear view mirror for another year here in the US, I thought I’d take advantage of the long weekend (and thus the extra day to review the best of this week) to pick some key pieces of content that came of out of this past week… that I felt might have an immediate impact on your business or will in the relatively near future.

The first of this week’s offerings focuses on Google and more importantly a complete and total redesign of Google+.  You've heard us discuss in this space on a number of occasions (and through a number of different voices) the growing importance of the Google+ platform and with this overhaul (which was announced as a part of the recent Google I/O event which I discussed at length HERE in case you missed it), Google has clearly laid down the gauntlet that they are playing for keeps in the social space.  I’d encourage you review the attached piece with an eye towards to fact that you and your business will find yourselves at a disadvantage without a Google+ presence (the role this platform will play in search will only grow over time), but also to bring to your attention some key design elements (including enhanced display across a variety of platforms/devices) that can likely be put to immediate use in your business.

Google Launches Dramatic Redesign of Google+, Emphasizing Context and Content Discovery

A second Google development I've been watching closely is Google Glass (my friend Hillel Fuld - @HilzFuld on Twitter - is apparently having his delivered later this week… so I’d course encourage you to follow him as he’s always got insightful things to say about new platforms).  The enclosed piece below is the best (and most updated) posting I’ve been able to find thus far in terms of what is and is not available on this platform at the present time.  Like any other ‘bleeding edge’ technology, it’s long term impact on marketing and consumer behavior is still a major unknown, but considering the fact that this is Google we are talking about… betting again Sergey and Larry is something that you do at your own peril.

Google Glass Apps:  Everything you can do right now –

Unless you've been ignoring the feverish coverage surrounding the acquisition of David Karp’s Tumblr (and the creation of a number of newly minted Web multimillionaires), you are no doubt aware that Yahoo paid $1.1 billion in cash for the blogging website in recent weeks.  While the jury is out on whether Yahoo can make a horse race out of this company (since as well know creating an audience and monetizing it are two completely different things), what IS occurring without question is a powerful return to the heady days of the early Web.  The piece I’ve enclosed today (written by Brian Solis - @briansolis on Twitter), is one of the best analyses to date about what made Tumblr so valuable to Yahoo.. and why this purchase may herald a truly ‘new day’ for the Team at Yahoo…. As long as they can effectively execute on the business model.

A Date with Irony?  Yahoo’s! Billion Dollar Tumblr Acquisition Rekindles the Golden Days of Web 1.0 and 2.0

And finally for  our +1 this week.. I chose a bit of a brain dump of some the best stats and content available on the Web in terms of inbound marketing.  Covering a variety of topics this treasure trove of content should not only help you get a handle on why approaching marketing from a wide range of platforms is so critically important… I hope it will also help to bolster the case you've often heard me make… that one single platform for marketing (whether it be online or off) is simply insufficient for success in today’s complex and platform agnostic environment.

The Ultimate Resource  for 2013 Inbound Marketing Stats and Charts

I hope you’ll find today’s edition of use to you and as always look forward to your thoughts and feedback as we continue to explore this increasingly intricate landscape that is marketing today.

Big Data & the power of 'near stalking'

Before we do anything else, let me explain the title of today’s edition.  One of the most fascinating parts of social media and database marketing is our ability to track down vast amounts of personal information about people at a scale we could not imagine even five years ago.  The volume of personal and professional information that is now simply ‘available for the searching’ provides us with the ability to gather usable information quickly and efficiently.  This is of particular importance is a day and age where consumers are bombarded with vast quantities of commercial messages.  While consumers have grown accustomed over time to exposure to this vast quantity of information, they are growing more impatient with content that is not targeted to their particular needs.  This is where the concept of ‘near stalking’ comes into play.

Call it ‘big data’, data mining or just plain old targeted marketing (who ever thought the day would come when targeted marketing was classified as ‘simplistic’) at its core, the best messages that we as consumers react to today are those that speak to us directly.  The best systems (my favorite example being Amazon’s powerful More Items to Consider feature), are those that continue to learn over time.  The more data (or in the case of marketing messages the more specific details about your consumer) that you can add to a particular system the more powerful and exacting the message becomes.  Whether it is the frequency of the message or the content itself, each of the elements of a campaign can (and frankly should) be calibrated to meet the needs of each consumer interacting with your message.  The days of simply creating an ad campaign and then engaging in ‘set and forget’ are long gone and those advertisers that don’t engage directly with data to ensure an effective message – will be lapped by those that do.

One objection I often here is that ‘big data’ is something that only makes sense for large companies and not SMBs.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Business today requires that we take advantage of each and every competitive advantage afforded to us and so-called ‘big data’ (or as I prefer to term it – ‘near stalking’) gives you a unique ability to target a message directly at a particular consumer – and do it in a way to almost guarantees engagement.  Don’t believe me?  Below you’ll find a couple of recent pieces that I believe not only bolster the case for your exploring this for your business, but show that regardless of the size of your business or client base – you ignore the power of ‘near stalking’ at your businesses’ peril

How Small Businesses Use Big Data

Using Big Data to establish market dominance

How Big Data Is Changing the Whole Equation for Business

Got questions about how ‘big data’ applies to your business or industry?  Think I’m off my rocker for encouraging businesses of every shape and size to use data to grow their business?  I’d love to hear from you… either directly by email or in the comment section below.

The 'overnight sensation' of Tumblr and the next big thing

One of the things that inspires me on a daily basis is getting a chance to read about / think about great technologies and the people who build them.  In recent days (and in light of recent events) I started thinking anew about what inspires us (or at least me) to come into work every day and work to help build and execute on the very best advertising products out there.  All of you have likely seen most of the coverage of the recent acquisition of Tumblr by Yahoo for $1 billion, and the making of its CEO – David Karp – into the proverbial ‘instant millionaire’.  The truth however is much more complex than it appears and has some powerful lesson for me as I work for a company that is in the midst of a pivot in business that is as jarring as it is important to the future success of the company. 

One of my favorite bloggers – Mitch Joel – put out his new book yesterday (Ctrl, Alt, Delete - my review HERE) and in it he talks about the concept of ‘embracing the squiggle’ which articulates something that I think we all believe but rarely think about… that success is rarely found by following a straight line.  Proof positive of that came from a blog posting written a couple of days ago by Marco Arment (who not only founded Instapaper, but was one of the first employees at Tumblr) in which he outlines not only the guiding vision that David had from the time he founded the company in September 2006 (yes.. this is a “overnight sensation” 7 years in the making), but details many of the trials and tribulations that they faced along the way and you’ll likely find (as I certainly did) allusions to the ‘squiggly’ nature of the business that we find ourselves in today.  Is it always perfect – no.  Is it always pretty – no.  But from where many of us sit, we begin today another step further along the road to becoming what we all hope we’ll be…working for a company that does great things... and allows us to do work that truly matters - to both us and the world.

The One-Person Product

Finally, I ran across a tweet from Aaron Levie yesterday (the CEO of Box.com and another wonderkind that will likely be the next to hit ‘high tech lottery jackpot’) that I think distills why I’m so excited about the future of the business I'm in... hopefully as you read this... you're in a similar place as well!

“It's simple:

1.       Build what you think comes next.

2.       2a. If you're wrong, repeat step 1.

3.       2b. If you're right, repeat step 1."

A Google I/O 'Special Edition': The evolution of the 'advertising ecosystem'

I don’t often publish a pair of ‘link editions’ in the Intersection in a single week, but with the vast number of changes/announcements that came out of this past week’s Google I/O Developers conference… this week merited an exception to this rule.  One of the exciting parts of any Google announcement is the breadth of changes that the company rolls out as a part of their ongoing adherence to agile development and each year at the Google I/O conference… they typically take this to the next level.

So what is Google I/O you ask?  Built specifically for developers that work on the Google platforms (mainly focused on Android) this is a ‘must visit’ confab for the best developers in the world for these platforms and you can expect that as other ‘surfaces’ like Google Glass become more prevalent in the future, you can expect that future conference will add those components to the mix.  One of the challenges that I've always encountered in preparing ‘wrap ups’ of conferences like this is to identify the highest impact pieces… so a solicited a little ‘help from my friends’ and have collected below four of the best links that tell the broader story of why this event was so important to follow.

So why is it important you ask?  Because Google sits at the epicenter of the advertising ecosystem of the Web and has the ability to impact virtually every part of the advertising that we do on the Web.  Regardless of whether you are buying Google AdWords, paying attention to SEO, optimizing your website for mobile or assessing how best your company can use a Google+ profile to generate additional traffic for your business… the changes and initiatives that our outlined in the pieces below WILL impact your business and that of your consumers… and your ignore them at your peril!

Some of the best articles you need to read about Google I/O

Google I/O 2013:  Everything You Need to Know

Google I/O:  Our Short Version of a Very Long Keynote

Everything announced at the Google I/O keynote in one handy list

Did you find another piece on Google I/O that I missed?  Have a topic that you feel deserves attention or coverage in a future edition of The Intersection?  Have a key development that you think needs to be highlighted here?  Feel free to drop me a line or post a comment on the blog as I’d love to hear from you.