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Author Archive
Is the Twitter nest getting crowded? Speculating Twitter’s next move
Thursday, June 2nd, 2011 by Nevin McElwrath
Hungry Twitter
Recent news of Twitter purchasing Tweetdeck and cutting off third-party development of Twitter clients has me wondering where Twitter is headed. Twitter has no doubt proved itself as a contender in the online service arena. But can it prove it’s well-carved niche with the likes of Google and Facebook?
With the limitation of additional third-party clients and Twitter themselves gobbling up the big names in the client space, it’s clear that Twitter is aiming to consolidate and make the Twitter experience more consistent. Is that the only reason? Maybe. Maybe not.
With Twitter’s success comes eyeballs, and lot’s of them. Lately, Twitter has been monetizing the size of their audience with promoted tweets, or purchased tweets that appear on every search and trending topic. It’s a method that has worked so far, but it’s not targeted. Even Facebook will tell you, targeted advertising is where the revenue is.
Maybe their next step is more relevant ads; ads that are based the content of your lists and what you are tweeting and retweeting. Sound familiar? Facebook uses a similar method to target ads on your Facebook profile. It’s a strategy that requires plenty of infrastructure. If we look close enough, some of that infrastructure is already in place with the “Who to Follow” feature.
What is the benefit to Twitter of having users choose a Twitter-branded client instead of the many third-party offerings? My guess is to measure front-end metrics. Fragmentation among clients could make it difficult to truly measure front end user activity. Back end activity is already being captured through the current client calls to the API. This all only makes sense if Twitter jumps into the targeted ad space.
What are your thoughts? Would it affect how you use Twitter if they moved to targeted advertising?
Raising Entrepreneurs
Thursday, May 12th, 2011 by Nevin McElwrathFirst some background: I am a father to an amazing 2 year old son named Neilan who is in the midst of innocently testing as many boundaries as possible with his mother and I, but still has me belly laughing daily at his antics. He’s a true showman. While I believe raising your children to be entrepreneurs is a great thing to encourage – I do not think it is a good thing for everyone enforce. Why? It depends on your child’s personality traits. There’s no boilerplate on how to raise your child – that’s kind of the fun part. It’s up to you to see the traits and react.
The above video had a huge impact on how I approach supporting my son as he gets older. What opened my eyes the most? The things to look for when searching for those “entrepreneurial traits” that may be hard to see in your child. Neilan certainly is capable of having and/or developing these traits, it may be too soon to tell at 2 years old. There’s no doubt it’s in the blood lines. Both his mother’s family and mine have a plethora of entrepreneurial traits and characteristics both in personality characteristics and family history. However, that doesn’t mean his path is already paved. It’s up to us as parents to watch for the traits before we start encouraging. With a parent’s point of view, here are some of my takeaways from the video:
- Use encouragement instead of limitations to form your child’s interests and capabilities. Don’t build walls, supply them with the tools.
- Once the entrepreneurial traits are seen, encourage these skills: problem solving, to ask questions, to be creative, to lead others, to learn from mistakes, how to save money, to want to make money, how to sell, to ask for help, public speaking, to never give up, to see solutions.
- Teach your child to fish, rather than giving them a fish.
What was your most resonating takeaway from the TED video?
Why Facebook launched the Send button
Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 by Nevin McElwrathFacebook on Monday launched a new way to share content online – the Send button. While the functionality is nothing new, how you share content with friends may change with this new process of sharing. Facebook’s goal is to be that “pipe” in which you share more and more information, ultimately learning much more about you so it can deliver specific and targeted advertising down the road.
Let’s look at Facebook’s point of view for a minute. Why do you share links now? You know someone who would find a use for that content, right? Here’s an example scenario: You thought your friend would like this new recipe on a cooking site because she is into gluten free cooking. You send the web address to your friend(s) through the Send button, Facebook takes note of who you send it to, what the link is, the content of the page you sent, and your message. Before your friend knows it, they are seeing ads for gluten free cooking in the right hand column of your Facebook profile. This is exactly what advertisers are after – user relevance. Would you pay more to know that your product or service is being seen by your exact target audience? Absolutely. Targeted ads sell at a premium and Facebook is upping the relevance factor on it’s users.The difference here is that your friends are helping create your interest profiles for advertisers. In some instances, in bulk thanks to Facebook’s group features.
What are your views on targeted ads? Creepy? Useful? Reminds you of the annoying eCards from a few years back? Let us know in the comments below – or better yet, “Send” this story to a friend.
DECA’s local impact
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 by Nevin McElwrath
In the business world, preparation is key to many forms of success. Enter DECA (formerly known as Distributive Education Clubs of America). DECA aims to give high school students the skills needed to enter the workforce prepared and ready for that success. What is DECA? DECA is a global high school business organization whose main goal is to prepare emerging young leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Worldwide, over 185,000 high school students are members. (source: deca.org)While DECA’s large-scope benefits may be easier to see, local impact may need a closer look. In order to see the local benefits, we need to ask the right questions.
The following questions were asked of Stephanie McElwrath, the DECA Advisor for the Penn High School Chapter in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Q. What opportunities are there for local businesses to be involved?
A. Local businesses can be involved in DECA by being on a chapter business advisory board, allowing students to do projects based on their businesses (and in turn being able to use any information or marketing products created free of charge), sponsoring chapters and judging DECA competitions on the local, state and national levels.
Q. Why should local businesses get involved in local DECA chapters?
A. Local business involvement will only make the DECA chapters stronger. Teaming up with these outgoing young people not only helps to give businesses a fresh look at their product or service, but it also can create networking opportunities for the businesses with their target market.
Q. In what ways are DECA alumni encouraged to be involved and help the community?
A. DECA is a strong organization and because of that, their alumni are very committed to helped current DECA students. Alumni are encouraged to help mentor current students, judge competitive events and host DECA students at their businesses. Because a large majority of DECA alumni attend a 4 year college, alumni can also help current DECA students by mentoring them on what to expect in college, majors, etc.
Q. What are local DECA chapters doing to help the community?
A. Local DECA chapters are heavily encouraged to help the community by using their entreprenuerial and marketing skills to run fundraisers that benefit local and national non-profit charitable organizations. These community service projects are done annually by most DECA chapters.
With the local integration with the leading youth within the community, DECA stands to not only build invaluable relationships, but improve and strengthen the local economic health along the way.
If you, or know someone who has DECA experience, tell us your story in the comments below.
Top 5 Game Changing Tech Stories of 2010
Friday, January 7th, 2011 by Nevin McElwrath2010 was a big year for the tech industry. New markets became relevant, Facebook reminded us no one is anonymous, web technologies were given a second look, and TV was rethought.
5. Old Spice “I’m On A Horse” campaign finds a new way to promote.
The campaign had legs from the beginning. Remember this?
And this ..
Old Spice later used social media sites like Twitter and YouTube to communicate with fans and respond with quick witted and hilarious responses from questions asked on Twitter.
4. Apple ignores Flash With It’s iPad
Why? Apple’s reasoning is they were not pleased with the stability and performance of Flash as a browser plugin. The new HTML5 spec that is currently being ratified provides some overlap to Flash. While I somewhat agree with Apple and it’s stance against Flash on the web, Flash still has it’s place – just not where we are used to it living. I dive a little deeper in my blog post from earlier in 2010, “Adobe’s Flash in the Pan?”.
3. Success of AppleTV, Roku, Netflix, XBox Live and GoogleTV show hopes of a new “Cable Killer” market.
A la carte television may be the wave of the next few years. Content providers still have to jump on board. Top television network executives are slow to jump on what they say is just another trend. Increasing success of these new Internet TV boxes show what consumers are hungry for. An interesting wrench we may see in 2011; the conflict between ISPs that are also cable providers. Ahem, Comcast,Time Warner, DirectTV and Dish.
2. Facebook’s Privacy Woes Bring Privacy Into The Spotlight
Facebook’s “opt-in” approach to privacy struck a nerve with the paranoid. Rightly so, Facebook makes more money by sharing more information with advertisers for targeted ads. It is beginning to be a tug-of-war between a large percentage of users and Facebook’s own business model. A study found that 60% of Facebook users were thinking about quitting the service. – IT security firm, Sophos PC World Article – May 2010 2011 should show this struggle continue.
1. Emerging Tablet market grows wings – and soars
Apple didn’t invent the market, but they made it relevant. Apple’s own sales estimates were 10 million units in 2010. I don’t think they were far off. Sales numbers have not been released quite yet but I expect close to 10-12 million. The iPad gained a ton of ground early in the tablet race but more competition is coming. Watch next year’s CES in January 2011 for a ton of new tablets to make their appearance as well.
How Digital Content Consumption is Shaping Tech Innovation
Tuesday, December 28th, 2010 by Nevin McElwrathOur Digital Crossroads
Over the past few years, we’ve seen a shift from what we know as your typical computer. A few years ago (heck all the way back to the Apple II), computers, more or less, took the same form; A monitor, CPU, with a mouse and keyboard. Recently, with the onslaught of touch screen smartphones, we’ve seen a convergence of computers and mobile phones. This blurs the all-to-familiar lines, effectively creating a separate market for each. How we are consuming content is changing just as much.
The Digital Content Road We’ve Travelled
It started when the web became (semi)mainstream back in the late 90’s. A new form of ever-changing content was available and quickly caught on. People were consuming content in a whole different way. But it was the Wild West, there were very little standards to utilize. Everyone was now a legitimate content creator on the world wide web. But the only way for people to consume this new content was either sitting in front of a desktop or with a wired connection to a laptop. It wasn’t a solution that was convenient or on their terms.
Then came the introduction of wireless routers. This was just a taste of freedom, a “taste maker” if you will. It offered people the ability to consume content more on their terms, but not completely. Enough to make them hungry for more.The latest hurdle comes in the form of legislation threatening Net Neutrality, letting companies price and tier the internet depending on your location and sites you visit. While the bill is worded carefully to seemingly close a lot of holes, it opens plenty more loopholes for companies to take advantage of. A few responses to the bill: Steve Wozniak’s Response to the FCC. Al Franken’s declaration to not support new FCC bill.
Importance of an Open and Mobile Internet
Being connected abroad is much more important today than it used to be. What you can do with that connection is changing every day. New markets are emerging and new content and services are taking different forms to accommodate. Innovation is taking over with the freedom to create in a wider space.
Where Are We Headed?
We are beginning to see the niche split already. Down the road, smart phones, tablets and desktop computers will separate their niches even more, to what degree is debatable. Clearly defined niches will appear: one more for content creation, the other for content consumption.
Current Trends – Intimacy
Current trends can be telling as well. We are seeing much more intimate ways of interacting with content. We can now touch our content and have it recognize us when we step in front of our television. Some great touch interfaces come in the form of Apple iPhones & iPads, Motorola Droid X, HTC Evo, etc. This year Microsoft responded to the Wii’s success with Kinect, a camera accessory for it’s Xbox that tracks your movements and allows for interactions based on body movement.During the D8 conference this past summer, Steve Jobs defined PCs as trucks, relating the PC industry to the Auto industry. “All cars were trucks because that’s what you needed on the farm,” he said. Now trucks are one in 25 to 30 vehicles sold, he said. “PCs are going to be like trucks. They will still be around.” He added, “This transformation is going to make some people uneasy.”
Proof of Influence
How we consume our content and it’s influence can be seen in recent events. Emerging markets, market shifts, and disappearing markets are proof that change is happening. An example of an emerging market can be seen in Apple’s iPad. The increase in ebook and e-reader sales now encompasses 15% of total book sales can be viewed as shifting markets. The slowly dying netbooks industry shows the overlapping devices tend to fall in the canyon first as the markets separate.
Midst of Change
There’s no doubt that we’re in a period of change in how we consume our content. Factors in the tech industry that influence change can be ever changing. One thing is for sure, consumers have the end say with their wallets. As dedicated content creators in this space, Force 5 will be watching closely.
The Value of QR Codes
Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 by Nevin McElwrath
You’ve probably seen them. Tucked in the lower corner of a magazine ad, on the back of a business card, on a bus sign or even on the entire side of a building. It’s an increasing trend in advertising that some say is a fad, and some say the next great new way to promote.What are QR Codes? QR Codes, simply put, are 2 dimensional, scannable barcodes that can either be used to dial a phone number, visit a web site, display text or send a SMS. The data is stored directly within the code, so it will not expire.
QR Codes are not effective just anywhere. The effectiveness can be optimized by using the QR Code in the way it was intended. In this case, it’s important to understand how the QR code works. The code is optically scanned by a camera and through the use of software, directs you to the intended destination – whether be a website, plain text or a phone number. Smart phones are the ideal tool for using QR Codes due to their ability to utilize a camera and process the data relatively quickly. FYI: The “QR” in QR Code stands for “Quick Response”.
The real value in QR Codes come in their usage. You would not use a QR Code in an email signature or a tweet. Unless your email or twitter client happens to double as a QR Reader, this would not be ideal usage. QR Codes shine when they are used out in the physical world.
Some QR Code ideas:- Tshirt or Conference Badge
- Back of business card
- Brochures, magazine ads and other print media
- Back of company car window
- Link to a demo video of a product out in the field. ie, How to change your lawnmowers spark plug with a code in the owners manual.
- Coupon codes that can be redeemable or returned to the merchant
- Or, better yet, a QR tattoo
For those who would like to experiment, generate your custom QR Code here.
Another 2D Code variation:
Microsoft Tag
Microsoft’s version of a 2D barcode that enables great analytics and the ability to alter the tag contents after creation. The difference here is that the tag value is stored on Microsoft servers rather than in the tag directly like QR Codes.Depending on your mobile OS, here is a list of QR Readers for a variety of mobile platforms.
In combination with a great marketing campaign, QR Codes can help achieve the engagement necessary for success. If you’d like to assemble award winning marketing and branding campaigns, let us know!
State of HTML 5
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 by Nevin McElwrathIf you are a web developer or familiar with web technologies, there’s no doubt you’ve heard about HTML 5 and the “next level” of web design and functionality. It’s morphed into a buzz term that has been thrown around a lot lately. Between Apple’s spat with Adobe over Flash and the latest browsers touting HTML 5 compatibility, there’s still a lot to know about the always evolving markup language of the world wide web.
First off, what is HTML 5? Simply put, it’s the next version of HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that “aims to reduce the need for proprietary plug-in-based rich internet application technologies such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight”. [credit: Wikipedia] Another standard that is in the draft stage is CSS3, or version 3 of the Cascading Style Sheets spec, meant to eliminate styling woes of version 2 and “offer a more robust layout feature set”. [credit: Wikipedia] I agree to the argument that the CSS spec is more meant for styling rather than layout, but that’s another lengthy blog entry.
What does this mean for web developers? When implementing HTML5 paired with CSS3, it means more options to achieve the look or functionality you are after – with the use of web standards, and not of proprietary plugins such as Flash or Silverlight.
The new specs also eliminate the need for CSS and Javascript hacks to achieve, for example, rounded corners, drag and drop, animations, gradients without images, embeddable fonts, support for SVG (scalable vector graphics), a standard video playback method, and others. Of course this all depends on your browser of choice. As of this blog entry, only Chrome, Safari, Opera and Firefox support the current working draft of HTML 5 and CSS3.
What does this mean for the end user? For one thing, it means more engaging design and functionality on many sites. While this is, to an extent, entirely subjectable, it opens the door even wider for a diverse variety of sites to differentiate themselves from the rest. This to me, is very exciting. Creativity will play an even bigger role in site production.
HTML 5 people in-the-know:
- Ian Hickson, HTML5 spec Editor and author of Acid tests.
- Apple Inc for their introduction of the <canvas> element, later becoming part of the HTML 5 spec.
- Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG). Founded by members of Apple, Mozilla, and Opera. The group is responsible for “evolving HTML and related technologies.” – [credit: Wikipedia]
- World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the international standards organization responsible for standards adoption for the World Wide Web.
- Tim Berners-Lee – credited with inventing the World Wide Web and is director of the W3C.
To check your browser for HTML 5 compliance, try the HTML 5 test.
As always, Force 5 is on the bleeding edge of HTML 5 and what it offers to the web.