Digital Strategy and Online Marketing

Microsoft Maps Research Developments TED video

2010-03-09T16:52:00.002+11:00

On the topic of Augmented Reality, there was a recent talk at TED by Blaise Aguera y Arcas on Microsoft maps research developments Augmented Reality. Some of you may remember Blaise from his presentation in May 2007 on a Flickr 3D photo research project for Microsoft called Photosynth (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/blaise_aguera_y_arcas_demos_photosynth.html).

This new stuff is amazing!

SixthSense Technology - serious augmented reality

2010-02-12T09:00:00.002+11:00

Augmented reality is not a new concept, interacting with the physical world via a virtually generated interface or object is the general idea. Personally I haven't really seen anything of great potential beyond entertainment until now. The SixthSense system that projects information onto the objects in front of you via a mini-projector hanging around your neck is something pretty special. Coupled with a mobile phone to provide the connection and a camera the possibilities for augmentation of the environment surrounding the individual with simple gestures is seemingly endless. Not unlike the concepts made famous in the movie Minority Report, the SixthSense system recognises your gestures and utilises it's link to the cloud to provide real time information and feedback as a transparent layer onto the objects being interacted with. It may look a little nerdy right now but this is a big step forward and may well change the way we interact with the world around us, I'm keen to try it.
Pranav Mistry's presentation on TED is particularly enlightening. View it here.
A little more on Augmented Reality.

Australian Website Blackout Protest

2010-01-25T15:40:00.005+11:00

IT News released a twitter today about 125 Australian websites who are voluntarily blocking out people in protest to the new ISP filter policy the Australian Government imposed on the Australian public. This and other anti-filter campaigners were part of a movement called The Great Australian Internet Blackout http://www.internetblackout.com.au/websites/.

The tweet read:
AusIT #Technology #News Blackout: 125 websites self-censor to protest filters http://bit.ly/4qGk0U #Australia

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/165526,blackout-125-websites-self-censor-to-protest-filters.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The article details this and some other active protests which attempt to send a message to the Government that it shouldn't impose such extreme measures. Its a great idea that if given the right support could realy pack a puch.

I had an alternative brilliant idea! Lets start our own internet! Who's with me?

Internet Censorship and ISP Filtering in Australia

2010-01-18T16:11:00.003+11:00

So Internet Censorship is a hot topic at the moment and even though here in Australia we couldn't stop the government implementing an ISP filtering system there is still a great deal of talk. This article talks about Google, China and the freedom of global Internet and it points to a number of articles and posts on the subject around the world. In particular it pointed to this blog post Australian government's efforts to censor the Internet down under which details the Google view and how openness and freedom is essential to development as opposed to oppression and denial.

The article says "Germany and Italy have mandatory ISP filtering, however in both cases they are of a clearly limited scope. In Germany, the scope is child abuse material and in Italy, it is child abuse material and unlawful gambling sites. Australia's proposed regime would uniquely combine a mandatory framework and a much wider scope of content, the first of its kind in the democratic world. "

We all know child abuse material is wrong and forbidden and we would never endorse it but there is a limit to how much you can control especially over the Internet. This action will not automatically stop these people from doing illegal activities it will just force it even further underground and harder to pin. What is affected here is democracy. The aforementioned blog on Google and China quotes Jonathan Rosenberg, Senior Vice President for Product Management in The meaning of open and I paraphrase:

"Open will win. It will win on the Internet and will then cascade across many walks of life: The future of government is transparency. The future of commerce is information symmetry. The future of culture is freedom. The future of science and medicine is collaboration. The future of entertainment is participation. Each of these futures depends on an open Internet."

So if open and transparent government is the future then perhaps the solution for this problem is no to cut and filter individuals freedom of information but rather ask the people for a solution, give them power and opinion, use the open system to solve the problem, why not get people to report illicit activities and being rewarded etc... we need to think forward not backwards.

Major trends in 2010 Online Marketing

2010-01-07T08:45:00.003+11:00

New Tweet style presentation of TrendSpotting's Online Marketing Influencers "Major trends in 2010 Online Marketing". Key trends tagged as #social media #games #e-mail #real time #direct response #measurement #mobile #geo-location #video #niche

2010 Online Marketing Influencers: Trend Predictions in 140 characters by Trendsspotting

View more documents from Taly Weiss.

Full series available here: http://www.slideshare.net/TrendsSpotting
Including social media 2010 trend predictions
And here's a nicely distilled set of predications for social media

Apple’s Tablet will make a splash in 2010

2010-01-04T15:22:00.003+11:00

The iSlate set to launch some time this year (rumours being true) is certainly going to make a splash when it becomes available. There's no doubt it will be a hit in 2010 following hot on the heals of the iPhone and iPod phenomena. It tops the list of technologies to watch here, and here are a couple of other links to the rumours surrounding it's release:
http://www.islate.org/
http://gizmodo.com/5434566/the-exhaustive-guide-to-apple-tablet-rumors

RIP Australian net neutrality.

2009-12-16T16:32:00.002+11:00

All Australians are free, within the bounds of the law, to say or write what they think about Australian governments or about any other subject or social issue as long as they do not endanger people, make false allegations or obstruct the free speech of others. The same applies to Australian newspapers, radio and television and other forms of media. Australians are free to protest the actions of government and to campaign to change laws.

- an excerpt from Life in Australia

When I migrated to Australia a few months back, Immigration provided me with Life in Australia, a 46 page booklet outlining the core values (including the one listed above) that ensure that Australia maintains its high standard of living as a free, democratic country; I was required to promise to abide by these values. As such, I was all the more shocked by yesterday’s announcement that the Australian government will move ahead with its ill-advised (and highly protested) plan to instill mandatory Internet filtering.

Murdoch's Anti-Google Ploy or how to Play Nice Online

2009-12-04T15:31:00.012+11:00

Media Baron Rupert Murdoch informed media last week that his News Corp news resources which owns huge news and information websites including The Australian, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Post would be cutting a deal with Microsoft to block Google and give exclusive search results to Bing in an attempt to drive clicks away from Google's dominant search engine. Murdoch inferred that Google were stealing content stating they were "Content Kleptomaniacs" saying that they need to start paying for it.

Murdoch does have a point, however, that the NEWS services we receive today are based on a capitalist controlled consumer driven system that requires funding. Writers, services, cost and other aspects of the company need to be paid for some how. They are not a free service like abc.net.au. However I think blocking Google is a bit drastic!

On top of this online Advertising has not returned as much as first thought meaning the information services we receive for free today may change to subscription, blocking content to payed subscribers only.

A flip side to Murdoch's intention could be that if News Corp does block Google and people don't swap to Bing, then people would simply read their News from alternative free sources, especially in these hard economic times. This could give independant resources and channels a chance to win new readers and have a broader reach. Alternatively Google and News Corp could play nicely and come to some happy middle ground. Either way the changes that are happening will not stop the new generation of free information be it through search engines or the ever increasing social networking channels such as Twitter, where content providers work hard to earn their followers and advocates.

How these changes play out could severely effect the future of digital strategy and in a sense we are influencing these changes by supporting them or not. I've always said that the digital is an unpredictable medium which can't be controlled and this is a prime example.

Via: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/25/cashmore.news.corp.google/index.html

It seems Google and News Corp are friends now... here is Google CEO Eric Schmidt's response
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107104574569570797550520.html

Social Media Use by Australia's Best Brands 2009

2009-12-01T13:46:00.003+11:00

It's pretty clear that brands are getting into social media. This report published by Burson-Marsteller looked to identify how top Australian companies are using key social media platforms to communicate and engage directly with stakeholders, in particular via Twitter, Facebook and Blogging. This is a good look at what's being done in the social media arena by 20 companies as chosen by Interbrand in its 'Australia's Best Brands Report' for 2009. I think most notable is that these companies are favoring Twitter and Facebook over blogging as their preferred channels.

Be Smart and Earn Your Respect

2009-12-01T09:41:00.009+11:00

Every day there are new opportunities to slip in a cute smart idea. Here is one I found today on a blog I frequent, I Believe in Advertising. The campaign attempts to demystify the idea that Malaysia Airlines are expensive.

Smart ideas earn respect for your brand which translates to a good product. Brands who go the extra mile and appreciate peoples desire to think for them selves and not be force fed will goa long way... that and being able to tickle ones funny-bone! :)

Link: http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2008/11/golden-holidays-diving-rock-climbing-snowboarding/
Via: http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/

Hulu and Facebook Video Stats Increase: Has Online Video Overtaken Television?

2009-11-26T09:46:00.011+11:00

I read an article today on Mashable which reported on U.S.A. video content that Google/Youtube, though it remains the top video site with more that 1 million hits a day, may have some competition! The figures for people watching video through alternative video content channels were recently released by ConScore with Hulu (U.S.A. only) and Facebook receiving phenomenal double figure percent increases in hits.

Imagine what would happen to Hulu if they opened their content world wide rather than being a U.S.A. only site! As for Facebook, its not even a video based website and these figures prove social video will be the next big thing. Uploading directly to Facebook is easier because people want to share media and if a friend sends you a video you are likely to watch it because it from a known source.

It would be interesting to see how these figures compare to broadcast networks these days. Has online overtaken Television? If it hasn't I'd be surprised and imagine it won't be long until it does.

For more information read the full article here:
http://mashable.com/2009/11/25/hulu-facebook-video-stats/
Original source from ComScore:
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/11/Hulu_Delivers_Record_856_Million_U.S._Video_Views

Digital Strategy New Look

2009-11-24T09:56:00.004+11:00

You may or may not have noticed but this digital strategy website has been given a new look. This new look is based on the Q Limited Branding with whom we are a part of. Q Limited (ASX:QXQ) is a publicly listed company specialising in digital services. We have people who are market leaders in Strategy, Design & Production, Interactive Sales and Advertising, along with Search Engine Optimimastion and Management (SEO & SEM), Email Marketing and Lists generation management and collection and with many more services. If your interested please view our website: www.qxq.com.au

Flash iPhone Apps - Good or Bad?

2009-11-18T11:48:00.008+11:00

I recently was delighted to find out that Adobe will be releasing a feature in its new version of Flash, CS5 mid next year sometime that will enable Flash to export to iPhone apps. How good is that? Way to bring the mountain to Mohummad Adobe!

This sounds like a great idea giving all us budding ActionScript developers and designers a chance to develop for the iPhone without learning the XCode Objective C and C programming languages.

However upon further investigation there is a bit of criticism surrounding the authenticity of such an application in terms of how it will perform on the iPhone, how will bugs, testing and debugging work in the Flash IDE and on the iPhone, along with other things such as not getting full access to all the libraries and functions the iPhone offers such as the photo library and finally file size may be an issue due to the fact it uses a virtual machine to run on the iPhone.

These are all speculative thoughts as CS5 is yet to be released and are simply considerations for both Adobe while working on the feature and for Developers when they decide to create an iPhone app, and if so if to use Flash or XCode.

So is Flash on the iPhone is a good or bad thing? Generally I think good. Its defiantly a great advantage for Flash Developers to get their stuff out onto the iPhone though I think it remains to be tested thoroughly by these developers and even your average Joe. Say all the bugs, testing and performance issues were fixed I still think that there would be some advantages of developing your app in XCode rather than Flash such as file size which given the nature of the way Flash will be using a virtual machine to run on the iPhone, Flash will inevitably add file size. However the say there is a right tool for the right job, and I think if you can make Flash work for you on the iPhone then its definitely a good thing. I am a Lecturer at Sydney University and am just wondering about the posiblities of adding an Flash for iPhone component into the course... how would students react and who would be interested, I wonder? I'm sure it would be a good thing for students to learn.

Useful links:
Adobe at MAX
http://cs5.org/?p=359
Adobe's CS5 to iPhone information and videos
http://www.adobe.com/iphone
http://adage.com/digitalnext/article?article_id=140566
Adobe CS5 FAQs
http://labs.adobe.com/wiki/index.php/Applications_for_iPhone:Developer_FAQ
Some speculative blog entrys on the topic
http://www.taterboy.com/blog/2009/10/use-flash-pro-cs5-to-build-iphone-apps/

How is Social Media Shaping our Future?

2009-11-16T14:39:00.006+11:00

Social media and Networking is undoubtedly changing the way people communicate today. Its easy, powerful, long reached and effective nature reflects societies ambition to adopt quicker and simpler ways of doing things. Social networking is effectively about getting the message across without the noise.

One person who has a valid opinion on this topic is Venessa from Space Collective

Whats important about Venessa's entry is that within the haze of turbulent digital data spat out by the social media cyclone, in order for the individual to decipher any meaning, creditability and relevance from it, we need, as pointed out in the article, "a new approach to thinking in general, a new 'thought architecture'; "

People need to stop thinking of technology as a means to an end but rather a manifestation of the human psyche, that is, we can shape this movement anyway we like so long as we are liberated from any stigma or inhibitions caused from our history or backgrounds. We need to think lateral.

This is where creative art can be of importance. Works by artists such as the links below take these technologies and re-interpret them in a new light giving a new angle which may lead to new though. The thing to remember is so long as we remain critical of these technologies and question how this is benefiting ourselves then we will maintain a self awareness and identity.

Social Media Artist Links:
http://www.gbk.com.au/artwork/1283/video?destination=artists%2Fgrant-stevens%2Fny-la
http://bit.ly/visualize-unibrennt
http://joshblog.net/projects/roktok/roktok.html
http://www.rhizome.org/editorial/359
http://neoformix.com/Projects/OscarTwitterMap/

Creative Anti-Smoking Campaing

2009-11-02T10:37:00.002+11:00

In Australia for awhile there has been a heavy graphic Anti-Smoking campaing begining with the grim reaper and the hook TVCs. Now they just use shock factor graphics and stories. Here is a more creative Anti-Smoking campaign from around the world.

Over 30 Anti-Smoking advertisements can be found here

Don't Kill Good Ideas

2009-09-24T16:44:00.000+10:00

SEO and your business

2009-09-09T14:52:00.006+10:00

Everyone is talking about SEO. Optimizing your business for Google and other search engines is very important if you are relying on your web site to get you business. However, it is also important to remember that the like most things the web sphere shifts and constantly changes and you business needs to reflect these changes in its optimization. Some simple points are.

Use more CTAs
You can never have enough key phrases or Call to Actions on your site! Continually add new Call to Actions links to new information, products or services on your site. For example if you have a new or imporved service and wish to get some attention, place a link to a focus page on the new service with some nice designed CTA saying something along the lines of "New Business Service! Improved! Find out more..."

Blog it
Try using a blog to pull hits through to your site. You can setup your own blog easily on blogger like we have here or you can install your own fairly simply. You may even just coment on somones blog to link to your site though there is never any guarantee that the comment will be published.

Look at the numbers
Use Google analytics or similar and look at whats working and whats not. Use this to inspire new content. Try and get conversion working if you are and e-commerce site.

Go Public
Its all well and good to be amazing with SEO but digital is not the only point of contact for all businesses. If this is you then make an effort to market your self in the physical world. Visit shops, malls, museums, libraries and other public areas leaving some marketing material. You can also drop flyers, advertise in local papers and magazines or event pay for advertorial or if your lucky get some free publicity in a newspaper article. If you sell your self in the public relm more than likely this will filter back into the digital realm pulling your rank up in turn.

Try Social Media
If you haven't already, sign up to Facebook, MySpace or Twitter and start using the marvelous wonders of Social Networking. Its cheap and easy to learn plus there is a tone of information on it out there.

Use Quality Outbound Links
Using outbound links can increase your search rank dramatically so long as they are of a quality source. Its a good idea to check old links to make sure they are still active and have not fallen to link rot

Try and get some Quality Inbound Links
Inbound links are of much higher value than outbound links. This is because they are harder to get and quality again plays a big factor. This can relate back to the go public point where you need to get out there and sell your business to other sites in the public sphere so they can link to you... hunt around and try email people regarding a link swap or try and get an article in someones blog or better yet a major journal or paper.

Be Persistent and Think Lateral
These are all pretty common sense ideas to help you get more traffic. The main thing is to keep doing more and more of this. Try some thing new, review it and if it works keep doing it, if not scrap it. Try and come up with some alternative ideas and lateral thinking which might help broaden your reach. Most importantly have fun with it. If its a chore then it will become tiresome fast and you wont succeed. If you don't see the benefits instantly, stick with it, it can take a while to filter through and it can be quite rewarding!

Useful Links
Must See SEO Guide for All WordPress Bloggers
Google Ranking Factors Checklist

When will Microsoft Learn

2009-06-25T09:23:00.002+10:00

Microsoft Office 2010 is planned to use word to render its Outlook emails. This means that there will very ugly table formated emails for the next several years. The solution may lie somewhere in the actual users... yes Microsoft you might have to hear what your users actualy want rather than just pumping out rapid development over night. Visit here http://fixoutlook.org/ and have your say!

Google 1st Rank for "digital strategy"

2009-06-12T17:39:00.008+10:00

Celebrations are in order!

That's right we here at Clear Blue Day have managed to push our Digital Strategy Blog up to the number one rank in Google. Click here to see the rank results.

Want your company or organisation ranked number one in Google? If so why not give us a call or email us at Clear Blue Day and see what we can do for you?

Another opportunity for you could be some affiliate marketing on our blog. If you would like a spot here on our site give us a call Clear Blue Day.

Give the dog an ibone

2009-06-05T16:42:00.001+10:00

… it's the latest thing, comes in stylish black.
ibone

Me, Myself and my iPod

2009-06-05T14:02:00.007+10:00

The origins of the "i" prefix phenomena and perhaps the first truly successful digital strategy.

It all started back in the late 90's when Apple release a cultural phenomenon known as the iMac which popularised the modern day computer and the Internet over night! Its alternative bright (non-beige) colours and ergonomic design softened the cold hard edge forged by male dominant generic PC producers who were more interested in the computers power and capacity than its friendliness or design.

Shortly after in 2001 the Apple release another cultural phenomenon in the portable field with it's iPod. Though simply an affordable MP3 player its success was again its friendliness using a wheel interface and easy music management through its free proprietary application iTunes.

Then the "i" buz took off. Initially standing for Internet with the iMac, then becalming an identity reference to the self as in Me myself and my iPod. And all of a sudden everyone wanted their own piece of the i phenomenon. We started seeing things like the iBook, the iSight, iCal and now iPhones, iLife and iWork. If you can think of a word and add the i prefix to it, you something with a 21st century ring to it. There are "i" everything now. From iShoes to the eyeToy camera for the Sony PlayStation and millions of other spin-offs, the "i" prefix phenomena has truly taken hold of anything in the personal technology industry.

If there were only a definitive list of all the "i" products available then we could truly see the impact a little lateral thinking from Apple and arguably the first successful digital strategy has caused. I might start one and call it The Definitive iList!

Useful Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMac
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod

Another thought on security

2009-05-27T10:06:00.001+10:00

Secure your campaign sites

2009-05-27T09:48:00.002+10:00

Have you ever wondered why there are those individuals out there in the world of the web that just exist to hack in and to compromise your work? I have. There isn't really any meaningful gain to be made from doing it yet it happens all the time. The trick is to make sure that whatever you build, you try and get in the head of the 'hacker' as you build. Believe me they will try everything to get in there and mess with your system, purely for the thrill of it.

There are a large number of forums out there so take a quick look as you are building to see what type of processes are being used and the methods employed to get in. Lock up your code as best you can, use encryption and secure protocols for passing sensitive data around because they are looking for it.

So if your online promotion has a form for entering in data be sure and trap as much information about your users as possible to get back to the source of the input. This means IP address, time and date. Use methods to stop bots and server apps such as Captcha to make sure your entries are from humans, not servers.

Make sure your hosting location is robust enough to handle a large amount of activity, whether legitimate or not, this includes your database.

Food for thought, don't let your promotion go sour because there was a little hole through which an enormous amount of data was squeezed.

Here's a good article from Adobe about reducing risk of attack on Flash based applications.

Does Your Idea Have Legs? Social Media Project Networks

2009-05-26T16:50:00.001+10:00

Kickstart Your Idea
I recently came across an American site http://www.kickstarter.com/. Its a pledge site for people who need help getting there art, design and ideas off the ground. Or as they put it:
Kickstarter is a funding platform for artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, inventors, bloggers, explorers...
So the deal is if you have an idea you may submit it and if you reach the pledged amount you receive the funding. Its a great use of digital media and online social networks. It demonstrated the scale and breadth of which the online communities are willing to support good ideas.

FaceBook film wins attention at Canes
A film created by volunteers and donations using FaceBook and social media networks has grabbed the attention of Cannes and all for under a hundred bucks! The film, Colin, which is surprising Cannes critics could be the first of a series of similar trends that seem to populate social media networks in waves of thought which is to use social media to create. Look out Hollywood.
http://mashable.com/2009/05/23/colin/

Open Flash
This site takes the concept of open source and puts it online. Wonderfl is an online flash project manager and compiler that lets you create and compile ActionScript to swfs. Again this site uses the social network to publish and share your code giving you access to many rich developed project code and it also allows you to push your developed concepts through the established network
http://wonderfl.kayac.com/

On Knowledge and Digital Learning - Who Controls Knowledge

2009-05-05T11:45:00.006+10:00

In response to the previous post on "Wolfram Alpha - computational knowledge engine" I instantly though of the library scene in Star Wars where Obi Won searches for a planet which has been erased from the public library catalog, though fiction the concept is still valid. This lead me to ask the question who controls knowledge?

We used to go to libraries and get information from books. So I ask, aside from the fact that I was told to never believe anything your read on the Internet and given that the Image is the new carrier of information, how do we know what we are reading is the truth?

"We stand at present on the crest of our own critical wave. From orality to textuality we now move towards a hypertextual, data-driven, digital, 'New Media' revolution. The impact that this revolution will have on the acquisition and transmission of language, and the effect in turn imparted upon mind and the matter of thought and consciousness are interesting in their own right. For my purposes though, and as a distant echo to some of Socrates’ concerns, I perceive the current digital momentum behind language and textual technology as a creative force that will fundamentally alter the 'written' model." A Polyptychal Discursion by Daniel Rourke

So if during this shift of knowledge, learning and information sharing we remain critical through art and free thought, the path of knowledge will remain true.

I am all for new ideas and as Bruce Mau states in his manifesto "Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead." So why not try Wolfram Alpha and make up your own mind.

Always question your sources, and to answer the question what is knowledge and who controls it? Perhaps the answer is in the process of learning through social and communal growth itself.

Useful Links:
http://spacecollective.org/Spaceweaver/4701/What-about-wisdom

A pair of Thylacines in Hobart Zoo prior to 1921 (Note that the male in the background is larger than the female)