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Responsive Design – Great But Not The Holy Grail!!!
Let me start off by saying that this blog is NOT about undermining or questioning the value in a Responsive Design & Approach. In fact am in the middle of two reasonably sized responsive executions with a team of rock stars @ SapientNitro for leading brands and can’t wait to see them go LIVE. I […]
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Google Wallet with NFC
Originally published by: robgonda.com on 2012-05-25 16:27:05 by Rob Gonda Google officially rolled out its Google Wallet mobile payment system Monday. Is still in its infancy, but the system already shows a lot of promise. It uses a technology called NFC (Near Field Communication) to securely send your payments digitally. The only phone in the […]
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Approach to Responsive Design | User Experience in Context
I will admit that until last year, I perceived Responsive Design to be just a front-end development methodology, a combination of css media queries and javascript to deliver a ubiquitous web experience across devices, resolutions, screen sizes and orientations. A closer experience this year has made me realize the opportunities and challenges responsive brings – […]
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Smartphones Are First Choice For Second Screen
A clear majority of TV viewers (63%) are consulting a connected device while watching TV, a new IAB/Ipsos MediaCT study shows. But among those “second screeners” the smartphone was the most popular multitasking device among 45% of respondents — the tablet with 30% and the familiar computer with only 21%. The findings are part of the larger report “Multiscreen Marketer,” conducted with IAB and Econsultancy, and “Screens to nth,” with Ipsos MediaCT, launched at IAB Innovation Days @ Internet Week. While 63% of people said they had used a connected device the last time they watched a live TV, the metrics for second screening during time-shifted TV viewing was similar, with 66% saying they used a device. An ongoing question about second-screen activities is whether they serve as a distraction from the televised content or a complement. The IAB study finds that the majority of users are engaged in a range of activities that have little to do with the TV content: email, social networking, text messaging. On the other hand, 45% of smartphone and 30% of tablet multi-iscreeners are doing something on their devices related to the show itself. It is most interesting that the peer-to-peer conversational behaviors are occurring most often on the device that otherwise people traditionally use for (duh) peer-to-peer communication. Yes, it seems like a simple observation, but it bears remembering when distinguishing between smartphone and tablet functions, especially when it comes to second screening. For instance, 45% of all smartphone owners using their devices while the TV is on will be doing something related to the show, Ipsos finds. But only 30% of tablet owners will. Among the behaviors most noted on smartphones related to the TV content are text/email/IM with a friend about the show (23%) versus 12% on tablet. Even more interesting is the surprising prevalence of voice chat (20%) over smartphones during a show. In fact, voice chatting over smartphones during a show is as popular as engaging friends on the social network (20%). My daughter clued me in to something akin to this behavior, as she and her friends now regularly schedule Netflix viewings over their respective Xboxes using the game console’s voice chat channel to share comments. This survey found that 33% of people said they thought it was a good idea to be able to converse with others who are not in the room about a TV show. Almost three-quarters of the 18- to-24-year-old segment (73%), which includes my daughter, like the idea. She will be so proud to be demographically correct. About 37% of smartphone multiscreeners are using their devices to talk about on-air ads they have seen, compared to only 18% of computer users and 16% of tablet users. Again, text/email/IM (22%) was more popular with smartphone owners than social networks (16%). Tablets become a greater second-screen force when the viewer is compelled to deeper drills like researching a product seen on TV or getting more detailed show information. The Multiscreen Marketer study focused on users who were employing multiple devices during their TV time. In these cases, the IAB and Econsultancy discovered, people with three or more screens going at once (TV, PC, smartphone and/or tablet) were much more likely to use them while watching TV. For the younger 18- to-44-year-old demographic, 77% of them are likely to be multitasking. And while many fear that multitasking ultimately dilutes the effectiveness of TV advertising, these early numbers suggest the opposite effect. Among “four screeners” 53% were able to associate up to three advertisers with TV programs, compared to 46% of three-screeners and 42% of two-screeners. The research suggests some possbile new paths among second-screen developers. Because Facebook and Twitter are the hammers that everyone has at hand, then “social TV” tends to look like the same nail –inviting your vast crowd of faux friends or like-minded strangers into your second screen. This research suggests to me that many viewers want to be able to construct much more intimate social circles around their viewing, either through voice chat rooms that an app might facilitate or a circle of friends that could share a more manageable flow of text exchanges. At our OMMA Mobile panel on second-screen efforts, I asked Yahoo’s Adam Cahan about the sometimes irritating torrent of social commentary that flows into some “social TV” apps, and he said that many people actually do like that torrent and enjoy dipping in and out of it. Most on the panel mentioned the need to curate the flow more effectively or editorially highlight the user-generated content that mattered. But I would like to see in the next generation of these apps social management features that allow the user to easily create a social viewing circle on the fly and choose their preferred communication mode to chat virtually about a show. After all, the best digital models are the ones that mimic and extend behavioral pattersn we bring to the technology — not the ones the technology wants to impose on us.
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Why is Big Data Revolutionary?
Originally published by: ZDNet » Tech on 2012-04-10 21:29 PDT by Andrew Brust Summary: Big Data is revolutionary, and not merely the evolution of BI and data warehousing technology. Here’s why. Last week, Dan Kusnetzky and I participated in a ZDNet Great Debate titled “Big Data: Revolution or evolution?” As you might expect, I advocated […]
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Save The Cleverness And Keep The CRM
When online marketers think about developing email campaigns, they typically focus on two areas: open rates and conversions. And the open rates, as we all know, have everything to do with subject lines. There’s no question that very clever subject lines give emarketers terrific open rates. We’ve seen them all, and at one time or another we’ve probably used many of them: “Don’t Read This Email!” “Psssst ….” “What Don’t You Know?” “It’s Almost Too Late!” Sound familiar? These and many other “clever” subject lines are tremendously effective for getting people to notice and click on an email. Customers open the emails. Your open rates go up. Who’s going to argue with that? As contrarian as it seems, I will. Depending on clever subject lines only gets you so far. Let’s say that you have a list of these clever email subject lines, a whole campaign of them, in fact. Do you really think that you can simply attach a clever subject line to your regular email content, and call it a day? There’s a certain amount of inherent pressure to bring the email itself to the “cleverness” level of the subject line—and, believe me, it’s a lot easier to think up a clever phrase than it is to maintain that tone and language throughout an entire email. And maybe you don’t want to, anyway—it may not fit in well with whatever it is that you’re selling. And it can get worse. A clever subject line that leads to a hard-sell email raises complaints. I don’t know about you, but I’d much prefer to have people ignore some of my email campaigns than complain about them! But let’s go a little deeper into the analytics. Clever email subject lines may increase your opens, but do they perform well otherwise? The reality is that clever subject lines and email campaigns work best for borderline spammers who are trying to entice people with whom they have either a questionable relationship—or no relationship—to open their email. For CRM marketers, those of us who are deploying campaigns to opt-in lists, the results driven by clever campaigns are typically disappointing and can increase both unsubscribes and complaints. They fail because email campaigns need to have one very clear, very solid call-to-action, one that logically follows your business model. And the cleverness can become a call-to-action on its own, one that competes with—and detracts from—the call-to-action in the email. And one that will drive down conversions. What makes a great subject line? Clarity and sense of purpose are what make a great subject line and great email. The call-to-action in a successful email campaign should be clear after one second of viewing, and it is an expected next step after reading the subject line. Remember the marketers’ mantra: tell people what you are going to tell them, next tell them, and then tell them what you just told them. This is what makes for a successful email campaign. Let’s look at an example: Subject line: Early-bird special on new summer arrivals. Email: Summer arrivals are now in stock. As an early-bird subscriber you get the best selection and free shipping when you order this week. Link: Takes you directly to the summer arrival page (when possible with a personalized welcome to the early-bird subscriber). What we’re seeing here is a clear subject line, one that’s followed through into the email. Clicking it open, we see an email that carries a single message, a message that’s not cluttered up with secondary offers or distracting images. It respects your subscribers’ time by immediately letting them know the promise you’re making to them, and then, step by step, it follows up on the promise. Less is more in this case, and it’s truly the most effective way to deploy your email strategy. Don’t think that your subscribers will get bored with your email messages: it is excellent CRM to show your subscriber that you know exactly what you are doing, and that you take your subscribers seriously. A simple subject lines shows that you don’t have to be clever to win their business! Your customers will appreciate your clarity and take actions when appropriate, exactly as you want them to. Gimmicks can only get you so far. Building solid relationships through transparency, make-a-promise/keep-a-promise behavior, and outstanding customer support are the best ways to create, deploy, and return ROI on your next email campaign.