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Archive for March, 2010



Maura DeBartoli

03/25/2010

It’s OK To Talk Back
04:43 pm by Maura DeBartoli

“The most effective way to give support is to create a site that can match people, their skills and interests with the organizations who need them.” - Chris Hughes, Facebook co-founder

In a world that needs more “Good”
People are essentially all picking up pieces of the puzzle, shifting and sharing, but need that one little push to get to the end point of donating or taking an action. A viable solution? We can build an information channel for a community craving a space to build ongoing relationships with the causes or issues that matter the most.

Shape ideas
It has become more and more apparent that people are integrating their real world, with online worlds – especially with the introduction of things like Stickybits – “A fun way to add digital content to real world objects.” Also? Supporters are looking to engage in different ways, because not every good cause can foster advancement through word of mouth. Where are people meeting? Where are they sharing interests?

In related news, the Yes On 100 campaign – fighting for the passage of Proposition 100 in Arizona – looks to the best interest of educators, students, public safety employees, and more. A statewide population backing these great citizens, needed a place to congregate — to really share ideas, talk about events, and share ways to get involved offline. This place inevitably, came with a Facebook Fan Page.

Inspired by Social Media Examiner’s “What Is Engagement And How Do We Measure It?”
  • That can mean profits. You sold stuff = Successful engagement.
  • That can mean ideas. You got feedback on your product or service you can use = Successful engagement.
  • That can mean referrals. You got customers to tell other people you’re cool = Successful engagement.
  • That can mean digital merit badges. You got people to link to you, follow you, Re-Tweet you = Successful engagement.

Bottom line being, a high comment count can often count for higher engagement. However, are the comments you receive providing insight, or are fans playing ping-pong with ineffectual information?

You can develop meaningful efficiencies. Ask your fans for opinion, raise questions, and pop in your own comment once in a while. If a post is showing multiple signs of engagement, let the fans run with it for a while. When commenting starts to slow, give feedback, bring people back on topic, and you bring people together. This opens the door again for further brand engagement – and more “doing”.

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pmelbourneweaver

03/12/2010

Remember how the tortoise won?
09:27 pm by pmelbourneweaver

Apple has let customers pre-order iPads this week, and the device will be available to play around with on April 3.

With the release on the fateful day in April will also come some closure, as to if the device will really be revolutionary, or go the way of the Newton or AppleTV.

Many have compared the device to a the iPhone, saying it’s only difference is the lack of a cellular antennae and it’s screen being markedly bigger.

Many other devices, such as HP’s Slate tablet, and the Entourage Edge, threaten to put a dent in Apple’s new tablet. But, without the sleek look of Apple and the smooth user interface, they’ll be about as much competition as the Palm Pre was for the iPhone. (Check out the WSJ article)

The iPad may be just an iPhone on steroids, but the market seems to be begging for exactly that. Many companies are dishing out touch-screen, fully functional computers, such as HP’s TouchSmart 600 desktop and Toshiba’s touch-screen laptop, the Satellite M505.

But, as David Pogue states in his March 10 New York Times article, using the touch screen on a desktop can be tedious and tiring, resulting in what is known as “gorilla arm.”  Touch screens are much more comfortable and easier to use when you can place the device however you like. Mice and trackpads are horizontal for a reason: you don’t have to rase your whole arm to use them.

Touch is great on the iPhone, and will be even better on a big, beautiful 9.7 inch screen of the dreadfully named iPad.

For bulky, stationary objects like a desktop, or even a laptop, the formula just doesn’t work. Sure, the designers on Project Runway have traded in their sketch pads for fancy HP TouchSmart computers, but HP is paying thousands for them to do so. Toucj is about breaking down physical barriers with technology, to immerse yourself in what you are doing, it’s natural. To make it even more natural, complete mobility and freedom of movement are essential. It’s like writing on a notepad placed on a table as opposed to on a whiteboard, it’s just awkward.

Touch technology is the it thing right now in computing devices, but just because you can does not mean you should. If your product weighs over a pound, touch is not the best option. Apple’s multitouch trackpad found on MacBook and MacBook pro’s, and on their new Magic Mouse, is what competitors should be focusing on, not their über portable devices. There’s a reason Apple created an iPad and not a MacBook Touch.

Most touch screen cellphones s can’t get it right, and my guess would be that other tablets will have touch screens that are about as effective as the ones used to keep score at your local bowling alley.

The tech world is a very showy, surface value, first impression kind of land. But, just because you spray paint your hubcaps metallic silver doesn’t change the fact that their cheap, plastic hubcaps. A mix of patience and perseverance is what’s needed, with the perfect blend of the two a tough combination to achieve.

There’s a reason that Apple has dominance in the tech world: it strives for near perfection and complete control. This is why other companies may be able to create superior products, but generally end up with inferior sales.

The public knows what works well and what doesn’t, and just because you’re the latest and most flashy product out there doesn’t mean you’re in any way the best. The National Inquirer may be up for a Pulitzer because it was the first to break the John Edwards story, but most of other stories it puts out aren’ of a high enough quality to wipe off the Windex of Columbia Universities’ windows. Being first isn’t always best or right. Flashy is not not always functional, and not always complicated. Sometimes it’s the simplicity that makes things stand out, especially in the consumer technology industry.

The iPad may not be the most creative product, but it’s certainly the most functional, and due to it’s use of an improved version iPhone operating system, one of the most simple. There are many things that it can be faulted for, but simplicity and functionality will be the ones that will no doubt make it a best seller.

Photo: Apple

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Kelly Watson

03/11/2010

Mobile Email Marketing: Is it for you?
09:34 pm by Kelly Watson

As email marketers, it is our job to understand how and when people want to receive our email messaging. So, when we find ourselves tapping away on our preferred smart phones, checking our emails on the go, we begin to wonder how many other people ultimately prefer to do the same. Is the desktop email experience slipping behind us? Are hand-held phones begging for us to re-imagine the way we once knew email marketing?

According to a recent study by research firm Radicati Group, the number of consumers who access email on mobile phones is expected to soar from 200 million at the end of 2009 to more than 1 billion worldwide by the end of 2013. These past two years have introduced to us the new Blackberry and Android smartphones, both capable of rendering HTML emails. As of Q3 2009, there have been 41 million smartphones sold globally, increasing the chances that your subscribers are indeed viewing your emails on a mobile device.

The day when more people open and respond to their email on phones rather than PCs is closer than we may think. Thus the question is – when is it time to start creating a mobile version of your emails?

Here are a couple questions suggested by MediaPost to help you figure it out.

1. Does your site offer a good browsing experience when viewed from a mobile browser?
What is beyond the email for mobile users? By creating a mobile-friendly email experience for your subscribers, you set the expectation that they will be able to browse your site as well. You will want to make sure your mobile landing page does not include rich-media content for mobile users. Perhaps you will need to create a mobile-friendly website as well.

2. Is your branded content designed to be viewed “on the go”?
Consider how your subscribers engage with your content. If you typically send long newsletters, perhaps a mobile version wouldn’t be the best. Or if you want to encourage subscribers to spend a lot of time on your site, this may not be the best direction for you either. Think short and sweet. Mobile users are not going to zoom and scroll for a long read. Create a path for mobile users to make quick decisions and actions.

So, you think you have what it takes to be an email marketing maven? Here are a few design tips suggested by AWeber Communications that will put you on the right path towards successful mobile email messaging.

1. Include a plain text version of every email message
If a subscriber’s mobile device doesn’t support HTML, subscribers will still see a plain text version.

2. Optimize images
Adding alternative text, or alt-tags, to your images will prevent blank spaces if an image cannot properly render. At least your subscribers will know what the image is about and ultimately get the message.

3. Use a Powerful Subject Line and design for the “top of the fold”
In case subscribers have trouble viewing your email, keep subject lines to the point so they understand the email and perhaps are inspired to hop on to the old desktop to re-view the message. And when they do get your email on their smartphone, remember, they have a smaller viewable area – so keep it compelling at the top.

4. Don’t crowd clickable links
Have you tried touching the correct link on a touch phone? Not only is it frustrating but it doesn’t provide proper navigation to your site. Always include links to the important pages on your site so it is easier for subscribers to reach the next step of your interaction.

5. Watch your width
Make sure subscribers can view your email by scrolling down – not to the right. If you are expecting to send more content heavy mobile emails, consider both vertical and horizontal width limitations.

So, do you think you’re ready to make the next step in your email marketing strategies? This is the future friends but don’t worry, we’re here to help!

Happy emailing,
Kelly

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Andy Forwark

03/03/2010

How To Easily Use Non-Web Safe Fonts In Your Designs With Cufón
01:23 pm by Andy Forwark

As a frontend developer, I don’t do much design work. I am usually handed a design and asked to build out the HTML and CSS before handing it off to the backend developer. I’m given the design, open it up in Photoshop, and as I go through and make my edits, I will sometimes notice headlines with fonts that are not safe for the web.

If you use an image to replace those headlines, it hurts the site as far as the SEO goes, right?. Wrong. Using CSS there are plenty of ways to keep the markup for the web crawlers, and the viewer will still see the design with the correct font face. To do this, you just us a simple image replacement technique with CSS, probably ten different ways to do it. These techniques work great, but what happens when your client asks you to change that headline to something else? You have to then go back to Photoshop, edit that piece of text, re-save the image, and then update your CSS with the new image name. Sounds like a lot of work to change one line of text right?

Allow me to introduce my new friend, Cufón. Cufón is a JavaScript library that renders a font file into a script that allows you to replace HTML elements on a page with that specific font file. Pretty slick right? Now when your client asks you to change the text in a headline, you only have to change it in the HTML, instead doing all of that other work!

So, whats the browser compatibility? The good news is that it works in IE6. Need I say more? And, yes the standards too (Firefox, Safari, Chrome). You can see a full list here.

One more note worth pointing out is that if the user has JavaScript turned off for some reason, then they wouldn’t see the pretty font face, but they would still see the heading on the page. So for the next project you get, don’t stress because your designer used non-web safe fonts, go ahead and try it out — it’s easy to implement into any site. You can “see” Cufón in action at The Visual Click, or over at Press75.

Do you have any secrets to add or other pieces of advice? I would love to hear your thoughts.

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