Get Ready For Wearable Tech.

Get Ready For Wearable Tech.

You have a  cable management system for your corporate data center servers; I have a cable management system for my car.  I have not one, but two battery packs with me – at all times – just in case anything needs recharging.  While writing this I have 7 screens pointed at me.  I recently used my woodworking skills to create a custom cradle for my iPhone.  Are you getting the picture?  I’m a gadget geek.  And things are about to get worse – I mean better – for both of us.

Wearable computers?!? Yes!

The next few years will be the “Internet of Me“. Devices are being built to connect you to your digital world –  and you’ll wear it. Want proof?
Personal Tech

Personal Tech

Personal Technologies

  1. Smart Watches: Recently Pebble announced it will finally ship it’s smart watch. The Pebble will connect with Android and iPhone devices giving wearers easy access to texts, calendar reminders, emails, running stats and their music catalog. Yes, it’s totally fantastic; I got a gray one – it will go with a suit and a t-shirt. Click for a video overview.
  2. Bluetooth headphones: I just ordered an Air-Fi bluetooth headphones that will allow me to control my smartphone from the headset. As a podcast addict who’s continually getting tangled in my own earbud wires, I have high hopes of going wireless.  It will also let me quietly watch zombie TV shows while @FairlyOddMother sleeps soundless next to me. *Okay, considering these as a *new* gadget is an admittedly a bit of a stretch, but they are pretty cool.
  3. Health devices: Wearable gadgets like the Nike Fuel and the fitbit FLEX have been on the market for a while and they continue to get easier to use with each iteration of devices. Although health is important to me, I have concerns about this category of gadgets, see below.
  4. Heads Up Display: Soon you won’t have to be an air force pilot to rock a HUD.  Google announced Project Glass and Time Magazine recognized the gadget as one of 2012’s most innovative products.  This technology will provide an information overlay to your everyday life. Click here for a Google Glasses preview.  This product category is among the most revolutionary.  I expect the glass movement will take hold but eventually in a different form.  perhaps a sticker that you can attach to your eyeglasses or sunglasses yet such a development is likely 5+ years away.

[notice]I love gadgets… but do I need another gadget?[/notice]

Things to think about before buying that next *cool* gadget:

  • Value – are you going to gain intrinsic value when you insert this device into your life relative to the cost?  Ask yourself: what problem is the gadget solving? Is it saving you time or helping your business grow?  It’s easy to get sucked in to the new device that’s being talked about on Mashable, but look at the full cost and value of the gadget before you buy.
  • Ecosystem – does the device bring with it an entire set of new headaches? new cables, adapters, chargers, batteries, cases, backups, security, data synchronization, etc.  Manufacturers and software vendors have a vested interest in locking you into their product ecosystem (Apple’s Lightening connector comes to mind).  Think about the total cost in dollars and effort required to add the new device to your tech arsenal before clicking “buy.”
  • Lifecycle – is the gadget likely to exist as standalone product for the foreseeable future or are its features likely to be replicated in a device you already have – like a smart phone?  GPS and eReaders are examples of devices that are waning because their features are being incorporated into smartphones and tablets. The category of personal health devices is a good topic for discussion here.  People very interested in exercise and health may be keen to get a Nike Fuel or fitbit FLEX, but many people will be happy to wait until these features are provided in the next evolution of smart watches.  I can easily see the next hardware version of Pebble (or maybe iPebble?) providing such features.

You don’t have to be “this guy”

Brace yourself for the blowback

For the most part, it’s been easy to be an early adopter of new technologies of the past.  Although it may be impolite to stare at your smartphone and ignore the people around you, it was still cool to have such a new device.  The “cool factor” will hold true for some personal tech like the health oriented wrist bands and maybe smart watches. However, a lot of people will think that it’s all too much.  They’ll say “I just need a watch that tells time”.  And when it comes to a heads up display, well you’re definitely going to attract attention with one of those in a conference room.  People at MIT have been wearing computers for decades and they looked pretty silly; however the new personal gadgets are much more developed and aimed at the mass market, but that doesn’t mean everyone is going to think it’s “cool.”  Early adopters will hear:

“I will never wear a smart watch or that thing on my face.”

 

These are the tech laggards who also said, “I will never enter a credit card into a website.”  I’m just saying – prepare yourself.

Are you ready?

In summary, consumers are about to be deluged by a new category of products – wearable technology.  Manufacturers will be unleashing confusing and incompatible devices and while some will be revolutionary, many will be knock-offs or poorly conceived.  As these new devices are made available, ask yourself if they add true value to your life, look at how the gadget fits into your current ecosystem of devices and think about whether you want to be an early adopter of this technology or wait for personal technology to go mainstream.

[important] Are you picking up what I’m laying down? Sign up to receive updates automatically:

  • Subscribe via RSS
  • Subscribe via email

[/important]

Feature Photo Credit: Bfishshadow

5 Marketing Technology stories you might have missed 12-8-12

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology 5

5 Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition: #65

Stories This Week: Best Apps of ’12, Twitter advertising best practices, social media’s 15 mins, 5 Marketing Mega-Trends, Socl – MSFT’s social network

1. 25 Standout Apps From 2012

[Mashable] Instagram, Twitter and Facebook were, without a doubt, the most talked about apps of 2012, but they’re not what Mashable considers the top apps of the year.

My Hits: Instagram, Foursquare, Buffer, Twitter, Facebook, Untappd and Google Authenticator (2 factor security)

My Misses: The “where my friends are apps” (Highlight, Glancee, Sonar, etc.) and Facebook

That’s right, Facebook is on my naughty and nice list. I truly have great experiences with friends there, but in 2012 Facebook’s need to drive revenue diminished the social experience of its users.

2. 4 Tips For Using Twitter Ads & Promoted Tweets

[TopRank] Implementing a successful social media advertising program is an art form.  There are many opportunities for success and failure, which is why it’s imperative that you follow a set of best practices to increase your chances for success.

My Take: Click through for details, but the four tips are below.

  1. Tip 1: Pin To the Top of Your Timeline
  2. Tip 2: Utilize Hashtags
  3. Tip 3: Promote Good Content
  4. Tip 4: Using Geographic Targeting For Improved Results

3. Is Social Media’s 15 Minutes Of Fame Up?

Gartner Hype Cycle

Gartner Hype Cycle

[SEOMOZ] This Op-Ed takes a more critical tone in measuring social media’s: The Good, The Bad and The Money

My Take: The author raises good points, brand managers do need to understand why they’re using social media and for what gains.  Check the comments for some eager push back on how social media can better serve small/medium businesses (post purchase). 

Having a technology background, Marketing’s reaction to Marketing Technology life cycle follows a predictable pattern that has been documented for decades.  The trend is nicely illustrated by what Gartner calls the “Hype Cycle”.  Technologies spring to life, go through a period of exuberance, take their lumps as people realize the technologies failings, then settle in as the technology matures and finds its place in the technology toolbox. Sure, many technologies fade away before becoming truly productive, but considering the scale of consumer impact that social is having – I find it hard to imagine social is a fad.

4. Five Marketing Meta-Trends

[ChiefMarTec] Scott Brinker covers 5 huge trends in Marketing. What are they? Click through to slide 18.

My Take: Not the first time I’ve covered Scott’s work in this space. Pay attention to what he’s saying, he’s predicting the future in real-time.

5. Microsoft pulls back the covers on Socl, opens its social network to the public

[TheVerge] Microsoft is opening the doors on Socl, the mysterious social network project from its FUSE research group. As ZDNet reports, up until now the beta had been limited to a small set of users, but now anyone with a Facebook or Microsoft account is free to sign up.

My Take: Ugh.  Really. Come on Microsoft, another social network?  I’m sitting this one out.

 

[important] Are you picking up what I’m laying down? Sign up to receive updates automatically:

[/important]

 

5 Marketing Technology stories you might have missed 12-1-12

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology 5

5 Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

Well Movember is over, but it’s not too late to make a donation! If you’re interested and able you can donate here: http://MoBro.co/iamreff

MT5 Edition: #64

Stories This Week: Social doesn’t drive sales, Lanyrd steps in to fill a gap, growth in mobile, mobile SEO tips, Thunderclap

1. Twitter Generated Zero Percent of Black Friday Sales

[Mashable]

My Take: When you look at one part of the customer life cycle (acquisition) and expect every sales/marketing tactic to serve it…well that’s just silly.  This article admits social media was used to share experiences post purchase providing two potential benefits. First, it immediately drives word of mouth which leads to additional sales. Second, and depending on privacy settings, it provides the brand with an opportunity to interact with the new customer where they can thank them, offer additional tips or products and learn what the customer didn’t like about the process – all of these things should be quite valuable to the brand.

2. Lanyrd Jumps Into The Space Left By LinkedIn’s Events App Closure With New Features

[TechCrunch] This week LinkedIn shut down it’s Events service giving startups like Lanyrd a better path to customer acquisition.

My Take: I’ve only used Lanyrd for one event, this years SxSW. It seemed fairly well featured and well integrated with social yet in the case of SxSW it was a bit slow to update the content of the conference (as I recall). Then again, SxSW is massive so difficulty is kind of expected.

Growth of Avg Time Spent On Major Media

Growth of Avg Time Spent On Major Media

3. Trends for 2013: Making Mobile-First a Priority

[eMarketer] For years, marketers emphasized a build-for-the-desktop-first approach, with mobile serving as little more than a sideshow. However, rapid advances in smartphone and tablet ownership have changed that equation.
My Take: Call this the “Tablet Effect”.

What’s diminishing? Print magazines and newspapers

What’s growing? Online reading via smartphone and tablet

If you don’t have a “Mobile First” strategy now, why not?

4 Ways Mobile Impacts SEO

[ConvinceandConvert]  The dynamics of search are constantly changing.Take a look at what factors currently influence mobile SEO.

My Take: SEO is a highly technical skill and these are a few tips to consider when developing a mobile SEO strategy.

5. Be Heard For Saying Something Together

[Thunderclap]

Thunderclap allows a single message to be mass-shared, flash mob-style, that rises above the noise of your social networks. By boosting the signal at the same time, Thunderclap helps a single person create action and change like never before.

My Take: A little bit Kickstarter and a little bit Charity Water.  I heard about Thunderclap from CC Chapman’s “Amazing Things Will Happen” book campaign. You can check out Thunderclap by supporting his Thunderclap here (ends Dec 3rd). 

[important] Are you picking up what I’m laying down? Sign up to receive updates automatically:

[/important]

 

5 Marketing Technology stories you might have missed 11-24-12

 

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology 5

5 Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

I hate cancer. I bet you do to. This month I’m growing a moustache as part of Movember. If you can, please donate $10 to killing cancer here: http://MoBro.co/iamreff

MT5 Edition: #63

Stories This Week: what to do about Facebook, top content marketing challenges, Apple’s big problem, are tech titans ready for a fall? & last call for Movember

1. What’s Really Happening on Facebook (and What to Do About It)

[AdAge] Since Facebook made a change to its algorithm back in late September, the owners of many pages have seen a decrease in the reach of their content, specifically in organic impressions. Their complaints have been noted and shared by many industry websites and blogs, but there has been just as much confusion about what is really happening and what we can and should do as a result.

My Take: Read this article in full. As a commenter suggests, it’s time to rethink your reliance on Facebook. It’s quite obvious – the free ride on Facebook is over. You may want to orient Facebook traffic back to your owned media where you have greater control.

Content Marketing Challenges

Content Marketing Challenges

2. Originality Is Content Marketers’ Greatest Challenge

[eMarketer] A report by Curata found that 87% of US B2B marketers have used content marketing this year—the most popular tactic of any queried.

My Take: Ever notice that my stories tend to support my theories? Nah….me neither.

With so many Marketers focusing on content marketing what becomes increasingly clear is how difficult it is to create content worth viewing. This study shows that creating original, quality content is the biggest challenge to Marketers – no surprise.

3. Apple’s Big Problem: Google Is Getting Better At Design Faster Than Apple Is Getting Better At The Internet

[BusinessInsider] Google’s weakness has always been design. The general knock on Google and Android is that it’s made for robots more than humans. Apple, on the other hand, excels at design. It makes products for humans.
My Take: Apple stock slide last week is likely a referendum on product innovation and executive management. This article highlights just how bad Apple is at building web services (Google’s strength). Other competitors to watch? Amazon and Microsoft.

5. A Trillion-Dollar Transfer Of Wealth Is About To Hit Silicon Valley

[ReadWrite] if you add up the market valuation of the old-guard companies selling to the enterprise — Oracle, SAP, Microsoft, Cisco and so on — you’re looking at about $1 trillion in total. And those companies are about to get hit with a tsunami of competition as smaller, more nimble rivals rush into the market offering solutions that outperform the old guys at a fraction of the price.

My Take: This is a provocative OpEd piece. I agree that the pace of innovation is increasing and that some established companies may be slow to adapt. And in general, the longevity of large companies has shortened. Yet, expect these established companies to be well aware of the impact of “the cloud” and tech-consumerism. Established companies will be those buying the nimble companies that are held up to be the new conquers. Ultimately some titans will fall and many startups will wash out – I don’t see that as much of a change from the existing status quo.

5. Last call for Movember

I’m sneaking in one last call for Movember donations, if you’d like to donate you can do so here: http://MoBro.co/iamreff

And remember, Moustaches don’t make you creepy; being creepy makes you creepy.

 

[important] Are you picking up what I’m laying down? Sign up to receive updates automatically:

[/important]

 

5 Marketing Technology stories you might have missed 11-17-12

5 Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

I hate cancer. I bet you do to. This month I’m growing a moustache as part of Movember. If you can, please donate $10 to killing cancer here: http://MoBro.co/iamreff

MT5 Edition: #62

Stories This Week: Texting declines, Agile Marketing, what Ads are effective?, mobile payments takes a step back, must have social tools

1. OMG! Text messaging in decline for the first time

[cNet] A wireless industry research report says both messaging revenue and total volume declined in the third quarter in the U.S., a first for both.

My Take: Apps like Apple’s iMessage and social networks (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) are stealing traffic from traditional SMS based communications. Thank gawd. Never a huge fan of texting.

2. 10 key principles of agile marketing management

[ChiefMarTec] In a nutshell, agile marketing adapts management methodologies from agile software development (and agile project management) and applies them to marketing teams.
My Take: I learned about Agile Marketing at the recent Inbound Marketing Summit where Scott Brinker and Frank Days were on a panel 
Agile Marketing

Agile Marketing

Old School Advertising Preferred

Old School Advertising Preferred

3. Consumers, Marketers Disagree on Effective Ads

[eMarketer] Internet users think TV ads are more effective than online placements
My Take: Trying to unpack this….a cynical view is internet don’t want ads polluting their playground. That makes sense especially when, until recently, online advertising has been so “ham handed”.  However, when viewing Ad viewing through the user experience the differences come to the surface.

  • Print magazines are a “lean back” activity. Consumers flip through them while killing time or relaxing in general.  People pick up a magazine when they have  a few minutes to themselves and while in “lean back” mode they are more open to an Advertising message.
  • Online is a “lean forward” activity – especially when considering mobile.  When online, people are in task mode. They are trying to get something done and online Ads interrupt their activity and potentially cause the user to lose their train of thought. Very frustrating.
These lines blur a bit when considering online digital magazines and in this case I feel the tactile experience of print wins over the screen experience.

4. Why plastic cards aren’t going away in mobile payment future

[GIGAOM] Google is reportedly poised to follow PayPal’s lead by introducing a plastic payment card. The moves show that payment systems can find value in plastic cards, which can be accepted everywhere and can get around hardware limitations that hold back some technologies like NFC.

My Take: At first this was a head scratcher – why are tech companies taking a step back to analog solutions instead of pressing digital?  David Talach, vice president of strategic partner development at point of sale equipment vendor VeriFone, says:

“This is about smart companies making smart moves to use what exists today, quickly leverage that and bridge to mobile and NFC tomorrow,” he said.

5. 24 Must-Have Social Media Marketing Tools

[SoMeExaminer] I like tools….you like tools. And this is a good, up to date list.

My Take: Pay attention to Pocket. Stephanie Simmons uses Pocket the way I do. It integrates well with Buffer.

 

[important] Are you picking up what I’m laying down? Sign up to receive updates automatically:

[/important]

Load more