5 Marketing Technology stories you might have missed 1-28-12

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 Edition:  #23

This week: 50 tools you should know, CMAD3, “Showrooming”, Google consolidates its privacy policy and opens to teens.

1. 3rd Community Manager Appreciation Day was Jan 23rd 2012

[Web Strategist] Jeremiah Owyang started CMAD 3 years ago to celebrate and support those who support us!

My Take: I’m glad Jeremiah started the special day to salute community managers. In addition it also raised awareness and helped define the position with greater clarity.

2. Showdown Over ‘Showrooming’

[WSJ] Box retailers are tiring of customers coming to their stores to inspect products then buying them online at a discount. Essentially consumers are using retailers as showrooms.

My Take: Target is trying to squeeze vendors to match price. I just can’t see that working.  So what will work?

Apple is extending its Best Buy program to put Apple outlets in more stores. like Target. Will that be the future? Will Amazon partner with retail stores or open actual its own retail stores?

3. Google Consolidates It’s Privacy Policy

[VentureBeat] Google is changing its privacy policy, consolidating 60 different policies into one. You cannot opt-out of it unless you stop using all Google products.

My Take: This is part of Google’s plan to unify it’s properties under one umbrella. Thankfully you can manage all of your Google apps on one Dashboard as well as download all of your data in Google’s cloud with Takeout.

4. Google+ includes Teens

[Mashable] Google, which had previously barred consumers under 18 from joining Google+, is attempting to avoid such a situation on its network via a series of enhancement aimed at protecting people on the network aged 13-17.

My Take: Google continues to ramp up it’s ability to compete against Facebook (and twitter). It’s easy to forget that Google+ is still a new product. It’s only been broadly available for the few months. Will teens adopt Google+?

Consolidating it’s product platform, opening to teens and allowing for pseudonyms – are all part of it’s competitive strategy.

5. 50 Tech Tools You Should Know About

[CNN] CNN tallied 50 tools/apps that caught its eye.

My faves: Path (love), Flipboard, Hipmunk, Instagram, Pinterest, Tweepi, Zite (love)

BONUS Social media cheat sheet

[Mktg Tech Blog]

 

Social Media Cheat Sheet

Social Media Cheat Sheet

 

 

 

 

5 Marketing Technology stories you might have missed 1-21-12

Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 – #22 Stories this week: new apps for Facebook open graph, dead SOPA, Google includes social in SERP, paid search in B2B, and social ROI. Continue reading

5 CES Products That Caught My Eye


Marketing Technology 5

5 CES Products That Caught My Eye

MT5 – #21

Stories this week: This week I’m bypassing a lot of good news (Google+ into SERP for example) to focus on 5 CES products that caught my eye.

Continue reading

5 Marketing Technology stories you might have missed 1-7-12


Marketing Technology 5

Marketing Technology Stories you might have missed

MT5 – #20

Stories this week: Spotify unlimited streaming no longer free, Ultrabooks are fake technology, huge Google+ growth, Klout picks up $30mm and learn to code.

1. Get Ready To Pay For Spotify Music Service

[link] Spotify launched with 6 months of free desktop streaming. If you signed up when it first released you can expect to get an email soon regarding upgrading to a paid service.  It’s reported that users will be able to stream 10 hours per month for free. In looking at the pricing plans, it appears free users will have to pay $5 to continue to get unlimited streaming.

My Take: Spotify’s product launch has been pitch perfect.  They used klout to launch to influencers and early adopters and their product has worked as advertised.  People are hooked and I expect a number of people really enjoy the service and will gladly pay $5 a month. However, I ALSO expect many to jump back to ad supported (free) services like Pandora.

2. Ultrabook Laptops – Are they “Technology” or “Marketing”?

[link] This Fast Company asked if the laptop is dead, drawing comparisons between the marketing strategies of the once hot, now marginalized, netbook and the Ultrabooks that are set to light up CES next week.

My Take: Here are Ultrabooks being announced at CES. Do they look much different than a typical high-end business laptop to you? To me it seems Ultrabooks are a Marketing ploy, not a new category of laptops.

Google+ Growth in Dec 2011

Google+ Growth in Dec 2011

3. Google+ Sees Massive Traffic Growth in Dec.

[link] Google+ visits jumped 55% in December.

My Take: Maybe a lot of people had time on their hands over the holidays…maybe people are taking Chris Brogan’s advice and setting up their Google+ profile…in any case, Google+ is not a Facebook killer.  It will continue to grow in 2012 because Google is going to use it as a mechanism to unify all it’s properties, but will the sum be greater than the parts?

API Billionaires Club

API Billionaires Club

4. Klout Picks Up C Level Funding

[link] Klout secured $30 in funding.

My Take: Klout gets so much attention for things it is and isn’t. It’s neither savior nor devil – but it is hot.  Look for klout to look past the super influential and focus more on the “kinda influential” in 2012. There are also rumors of a mobile app.

5. Learn To Code

[Code Academy] [Code Year] Sites are popping up that teach you to code. Basic programming is a great skill to have and here are great ways to get started. Since I haven’t used these sites, I don’t know if they are free or freemium.

My Take: It saddens me that I have a Computer Science degree but I don’t code. I’ve forgotten so much that these services are highly attractive to me.  Yet, taking on yet another obligation is against my 2012 resolutions…speaking of which I need to write that post before 2013 hits.

How I use Bufferapp

Buffer App

http://bufferapp.com

How I use Bufferapp

Jeff Cutler asked “How can someone get the most out of Bufferapp?”  I started and stopped using Buffer two times before it took hold, now I’m an avid user. With that in mind I’ll try and answer Jeff’s question. If you think I missed something, hit me up in the comments.

What is Buffer?

From the website:

We designed Buffer to offer you a both personal and yet more efficient solution to handle twitter.

Buffer makes your life easier with a smarter way to schedule tweets. Work out all your tweets at one point in time during the day. Then fill up your Buffer with your tweets and Buffer schedules them for you. Simply keep that Buffer topped up and you will then be tweeting consistently all day round, all week long.

How I use Buffer?

I use buffer in two ways:

  1. During my commute on the train I scan hundreds of RSS feeds. Articles I want to share I add to my buffer. Usually I find 10-20 articles worth sharing. Without Buffer these articles would all be tweeted all at once – very annoying to my followers and since I’m an early bird, most people wouldn’t see what I’ve shared since they’re still eating their Cheerios. With my Buffer schedule set up, (one time set up) my tweets trickle out through the day.
  2. During the day, if I see something interesting come out during the day I can share content with two clicks. Easy peasy.

Why I like Buffer:

  1. Simple and easy to use
  2. Posts to Facebook and Twitter
  3. Allows me to schedules tweets
  4. Straight forward analytics (see image)
  5. Integrates with Bit.ly Pro so I can use my custom domain shortener (reff2.me)
  6. When installed on an Android phone, sharing is a snap
  7. On an iPad, where integration is less straight forward, I can still send articles to my buffer via email or via a Bookmarklet.
  8. Browser extensions make sharing super easy
  9. Socialbro integration allows my to find the best time to tweet and set that schedule for my buffer

 

Buffer Analytics

Buffer Analytics

 

What I don’t like about Buffer:

  1. Free version only allows you to put have 10 items in your buffer at once
  2. The paid version is $10/month when a more suitable price point is $3

Sign up for Buffer here and I get an extra post in my buffer!

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