Slade Sherman » Web2.0

Internet Trends 2011 – Globality

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:08:25 +0000

One of the dominant internet trends this year is Globality and the increase in the number of global web users of the web. 81% of internet users on top 10 global web properties are outside the US.

The above chart shows that more of the top web companies are now coming from outside the US with countries like China and Russia climbing the list of top online companies. These trends mean that online businesses need to look at other markets around the world and think about what needs to be done to get into those markets. China alone has almost double the amount of internet users compared with the US and countries like India, Nigeria, Russia and Japan are all adding more users compared with the US.

Technorati Tags: Online Strategies, Web2.0

Internet Trends in 2011

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 06:44:22 +0000

I watched a talk by Mary Meeker of Kleiner Perkins and she provides a great summary of Internet trends for 2011 and beyond. If you have time watch the video and in my next few posts I will provide a summary of her main points along with my view on what this could mean for your business or development project.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g9vmtG7r7c

Technorati Tags: Online Strategies, Web2.0

The personality traits of data.

admin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 08:39:06 +0000

I have been catching up on the great talks published by Web2.0 Summit that was on in San Francisco this week. Developments in mobile web, the cloud and social media over the last 18 months have lead to data being captured on a scale never before seen…It was asserted that more data has been captured and stored over the last 12 months than in the history of the web. Accordingly the theme of the summit this year was on ‘how companies leverage data’.

One talk worth sharing because in the difference in perspective is by anthropologist Genevieve Bell from Intel Corporation. As opposed to viewing data as something that is gathered and stored in a data farm, Genevieve asks ‘who is data and if it was a person who would it be like?’ to better understand the personality traits of data.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvn_l_Vh3hw

There are eight traits of data according to Bell:

Data resists being ‘digital’ and represents real things.
Data loves a good relationship and is social.
Data has a country – location / context is important.
Data is feral – privacy, security, beyond control.
Data has responsibilities – telling story comes with responsibility to tell it with the right spirit.
Data likes to look good – people lie about themselves to make them look best to others (100% of people lie in US online dating profiles).
Data does not last forever – ramifications on design.
There will always be new data.
What if we design for data the way we design for people?

The points listed provide a summary but you’ll get most value watching the video.

Technorati Tags: Data, Mobile Mesh, Web2.0

Don’t Amway your Facebook Page

admin — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:14:02 +0000

So you are at a social gathering, catching up with old friends and having a good time and then this school mate enters the room. She starts talking about this great new system/product/scheme and how it’s going to change your life / make you independently rich / introduce you to some inspiring new people. It’s clear that she isn’t really interested in YOU, as much as she is interested in what she is trying to SPAM / Sell you. You respond by avoiding her and moving to the other side of the room…you don’t want to be sold to at a social gathering.

In 2010, this social gathering is on Facebook. As a social network for ‘friends’ people go to Facebook to catch up with their mates so what does this mean for businesses with a Facebook page?

Uploaded with Skitch!

When you update your Facebook Business Page you’ll need to find a good balance between getting your business message across to your Facebook fans without “commercially spamming” them.

To stay loved keep the updates light and useful rather than advertising-heavy but at the same time give users a reason to connect with you and keep coming back.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Small Business Marketing, Web2.0

Prezi puts the WOW in Presentations

admin — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:21:52 +0000

Every now and then I get excited by an amazing new app that shifts the status quo and today I discovered one called Prezi. The site delivers a brand new approach to setting up presentations and it’s good to see something that offers a real alternative to PowerPoint. If you do presentations then give Prezi and go and it’s sure to WOW your clients!

I’m going to let the video do the talking but in summary, using their beautifully designed UI you can setup an account and then create awesome presentations. All editing is done by a simple menu and their ‘Zebra’ tool that allows you to add and edit text, images and video.

Prezi does to Powerpoint what the upcoming release of Sumwise promises to do to Excel (shameless plug for some exceptional friends of mine).

Technorati Tags: Business Tools, Small Business Marketing, Web2.0

Web2.0 vs Web 3.0 and The App Economy

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:59:59 +0000

Earlier today I came across a talk by the Marc Pincus from Zynga at this years Web2.0 Summit. If you have 10 minutes it is well worthwhile taking a look.

In the presentation Mark highlights the movement from Web1.0, with links and banner ads being the path to revenue, to Web2.0 with currency and monitization coming from SEO, SEM and Google Ad Sense and Ad Words. He goes on to describe new Web3.0 Third business plan of the internet that is generating revenue from the “app economy”.

In this app ecomony, Mark talks about how sellers of the future will increasingly use social media and friends/network sharing for sales of product and become less reliant on Google ad clicks. I believe that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg both in relation to Google type advertising and social media generated sales and that the market for both approaches is still in it’s infancy.

Technorati Tags: Mark Pincus, Social Media, Web2.0

Social Media Marketing on the Rise

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:33:59 +0000

eMarketer published a report called Hopes and Fears of Social Media Marketing yesterday covering how US Web retailers plan to use social media and community building tools in the coming year. The report suggests that web retailers surveyed are accelerating their use of, and commitment to, social media.

96% of online retailers surveyed currently employ or plan to employ Facebook Fan Pages within the next 12 months, and 84% plan to use Twitter for publishing.

The report provides strong evidence that retailers are understanding the importance of Social Media and avoiding Social Media is becoming less of an option. According to an August ’09 study, the top Social Media networks being embraced include:

Facebook (74 percent)
YouTube (65 percent)
Twitter (63 percent)
LinkedIn (60 percent)

Technorati Tags: Social Media, Web2.0

Is SMS marketing going the way of the Betamax?

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:34:59 +0000

The growth of SMS marketing has been incredible over the last decade and the benefits of SMS to business cannot be questioned.

There’s the reminder SMS I get from Hair Room or Back in Line Chiropractic each time I have an appointment. Great for business because it’s a cheap way to confirm appointments and reduce the costly no-shows.

As a Helly Hansen customer I’m also informed by SMS about store openings and VIP sale days. The promotions work! (see yellow arrow markers highlighting Helly Hansen purchases following SMS reminders).

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

So with mobile phones becoming smarter, the introduction of cheap data plans and the iPhone introducing a whole new batch of apps, my question is:

Is SMS marketing going the way of the Betamax? Is traditional paid SMS promotion in danger of becoming obsolete?

A new product for the iPhone called textPlus lets you send and receive SMS messages for free and also supports group chat. Then there are the micro blogging platforms (you may have heard of Twitter) that smart marketers are using to broadcast information and promotions relating to their brands. So with these emerging FREE micro blogging and messaging apps what is the future of SMS?

I’d love to hear from the SMS marketers out there. Why will SMS survive? What impact will free apps and micro blogging platforms have on the industry? Will the sky fall in on our SMS heads?

Technorati Tags: iPhone Apps, SMS Marketing, Web2.0

Web 2.0 Tool – You Send It

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:04:59 +0000

Recently I discovered a magic tool called YouSendIt. YouSendIt allows you to easily deliver files larger than what your email service allows.

The express version that i have been using works really well as it prevents the need for uploading large files to FTP space and then trying to explain to the person on the other end how to download the file. For a full review click here.

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

The interface is simple and easy to use and once you download the software, if you right click on a document in Explorer or Finder the ‘Send by YouSendit’ option appears as a shortcut. I love this feature as it cuts the steps for sending files down to a single click of the mouse.

This a great small business tool for any business that needs to send documents larger than 2MB.

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Technorati Tags: Web2.0, Web2.0 Weapons, YouSendIt