Today, Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of “We Are Made In NY,” a campaign to celebrate and support the growing tech sector in NYC and the expansion of the Made In NY mark to include tech and digital companies for the first time. I know Rachel Haot was behind this effort- she is amazing.

New York City is home to the most innovative creators in the world. The “Made in NY” initiative and logo represents New York City’s efforts to support these creators in the fields of film and television production, the digital and startup industry, and theatrical production. It also serves to celebrate NYC’s evolving media, entertainment and technology industries via the marketing efforts, educational and workforce development programs.

The New York City is at the heart of a new digital economy and is home to more than 900 tech companies hiring for over 3,000 jobs. To learn more about these opportunities and to find resources to grow your digital company, visit www.WeAreMadeInNY.com.

My Twitter stream & inbox are overflowing with the over-discussed the trend of mobile connectivity and how everything we have known in the past has been reimagined to work in the palm of our hand, to add to the positive arsenal of tools we use to get through the day—see Mary Meeker’s latest 2012 KPCB Internet Trends Year-End Update from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for more evidence of that.

Being a NY’er (and someone who focuses on digital marketing & technology) I know the majority of us move pretty fast- walking, talking, working… my to-do list seems to get longer every week and I’m always looking for new and convenient ways of getting stuff done, NOW.

My top-5

Here’s a macro view of the top 5 categories of mobile products that have aided my on-demand lifestyle in NYC. When evaluating, I’m always looking for mobile products wrapped in a consumer-centric service to make my experience better. Most times when things are positive, we just want to share what we like (hence this post).

Some apps I have been using for years/months, some are emerging & I think have major possibility—–clearly I have an arsenal of choices

Transportation
Uber

By far the best on-demand mobile transportation app that has 100% changed my life over the last year since they introduced their NYC service last summer. Say you’re leaving Terminal 5 at 11:30pm on 56/11th, it’s raining & there’s not a cab in site? Or it’s a late night in the office and you cant keep your eyes open nevertheless walk outside to hail a cab while holding all the materials you have prepped for your client presentation in the morning—Uber to the rescue!

Find a driver in your vicinity, book a car and track them on your phone as they come to pick you up at your specified address to take you home! You’ll pay a premium for this service (average $10 more than a cab—sometimes more during rush hour when they impose “surge pricing” which can go 50% higher than normal)…but we’ve all been there and sometimes when you need to get home, you’ll pay anything. Aside from the ease of the car service itself, a frictionless payment transaction is baked into it—all payment/credit card info is saved in the app and they send you a email receipt—talk about ease of doing expense reports!

There are 20+ other NYC competitors including services like GroundLink although in full disclaimer, I have never used any others besides Uber. One benefit of  companies being 1^st to market with a service is they gain the most loyalty (when their product is good!)

Local Tasks/Skills/Jobs
Zaarly

Redefining what we used to call “the classifieds”. Zaarly is a local marketplace of everything you could possibly need- NOW! Need help moving? A developer to fix your website in 3 hours? How about an executive assistant for 3 days? Or possibly a handyman…check out this great crowdsourced marketplace that focuses on everyday help, business services, creative services, home service repairs, lessons and education just to name a few.

There are a plethora of desktop optimized services like WWOMP and Urgent.ly but in the age of “I need it now”- mobile seems like the most opportune channel for these services, like Zaarly & Task Rabbit.

I have used the Zaarly NYC service to find a bunch of UX designers, a personal assistant to do some things I just cant get to during the week and someone to fix my bathroom door, all within a few hours= happy Jess.

Cleaning Services (possibly a sub-set of the above)

GetMaid

Did your friends talk you into having an impromptu dinner party tomorrow night but your apartment might not be guest-ready? Parents coming into town unexpectedly after a long week? Hire an on demand cleaning service for $45/hour from GetMaid who will be at your apartment in 2 hours!

Similar to Uber, it has a frictionless payment service baked into the app with no need for paper payment exchange. An easy breezy approach to a sparkling tub & shining hardwood floors. While these on-demand mobile service might not disrupt behavior of those people who have bi-weekly cleaning automated through services like MyClean.com but I can see this service as a real saving grace when you need it! Currently servicing Manhattan and Brooklyn. Disclaimer- haven’t used yet but plan to!

Food delivery/dining locations
Seamless, Delivery.com & Foursquare

  It’s 8pm, you’ve been in a conference room for 8 hours and your team needs dinner to keep going.  A few services have capitalized on the NYC digital delivery trend for food—Delivery.com and Seamless were both originally designed for desktop years ago (and optimized for an experience across multiple mobile platforms 2+ years ago). Seamless, in particular has become a mainstay in my life ie: Pita Grill (a behavior I employ weekly in NYC when my fridge is void of healthy sustenance, I’ve had a long day or we’re looking for options for a late night team dinner at the office). In addition to NYC, Seamless covers 40 US cities and can filter by food, restaurant, rating or location (author note- please add vegan and gluten free, thanks!)

When I was visiting my parents in Delaware for Thankgiving, upon my arrival the night before the holiday, my parents asked me what I wanted for dinner and I pulled out my iPad to see what was available on Seamless. Notta. Nothing. I received the message “ no merchants are currently available in your area for delivery”. I was heartbroken.  Selfish author note #2- please Seamless, add Delaware to your list, soon. K thanks.

I used to use Foursquare just to check-in to places for a gaming aspect, then I started leaving reviews and tips b/c I saw how much I valued ones others had written. I now use this app more now to gain dining recommendations from my friends & people that I follow that have similiar tastes. Truth. I’ve actually started making to-do/to-eat lists in Foursquare. We’ve all been in the situation when we’re standing on a street corner in a neighborhood with a bunch of people and the inevitable “where should we go for dinner” question arises. Because I thought ahead to help myself later, I have on-demand recommendations saved in my app… be it for myself, a friend, or client– I have it ready to go in an easy-to-access list. Doesn’t get much better/easier than that.

Commerce

Ebay’s Now App

Ho Ho Ho. Need a fake Christmas tree (or presents for your staff party) delivered to your door on a Sunday while you’re writing and simultaneously trying a new recipe? Download the new Now App from eBay that offers same-day delivery (in under an hour!!) across multiple NYC-based retailers like Walgreens, Home Depot, Best Buy and Urban Outfitters. I ran into the staff from eBay yesterday (literally) in the Meatpacking district while walking home from the gym.

This app brings true retail experience from your palm to your doorstep (similar to MaxDelivery a popular NYC delivery service for home goods, food, wine, etc…)

Cute set-up & great awareness, and hot chocolate! I think Edelman managed this mktg event- well done.

In return for downloading the app on-site, they gave me a $25 gift card for my 1^st purchase. Additionally all customers receive $15 off their first purchase. Not too shabby. Can you guess what I ordered?

Living in NYC certainly provides its’ own challenges when it comes to living an on-demand lifestyle— these digital services offer great solutions that address our un-met needs which is the ultimate goal of any consumer-centric product.

What mobile products/services do you use in your on-demand lifestyle? I’d love to know- use the comment section below to share your thoughts/experiences.

Big f’n deal. I have my health. I have my apartment- its unscathed. My family sold their central NJ house & NJ beach house and moved to Delaware months ago; they are safe- unscathed. I can’t say the same for the rest of the tri-state area like Queens, Staten Island and my beloved New Jersey inclusive of towns I used to live in such as Hoboken and various beaches along the jersey shore. A lot has happened over the past 5 days and I feel like I’ve had it easy.

Wind/Rain

I saw an apartment building’s entire facade fall off right around the corner from me!

rescue trucks looking for people stuck in the building. I was told this apt building was a brothel. not confirmed (but would explain the similar decor and the fact there were only beds in there)

faceless

Afterwards, I watched my landlord scream when he found out the apartment’s rubble fell on HIS car. I watched the NYPD try to keep calm in the face of chaos on the street as the biggest storm began to surge at 7:30pm.

my landlord screaming

Not once on Monday night did I turn the news on- I was  glued to Facebook & Twitter real time updates from my friends.  My friend Jason set up a public Facebook group called Post-Apocalyptic Hurricane Sandy Resource Center for all our friends to communicate through- (which reached a high of 502 ppl as of today) In fact, after I heard the building fall next to my apartment, within 3 seconds I saw a tweet from a girl in my neighborhood who confirmed the facade fell off a building. News doesn’t travel any faster than that.

Lights out

My apt in NYC lost power at 8:38pm on Monday night after an explosion at the Con Ed substation on east river rendered all of lower Manhattan DARK within seconds. After the blackout, that’s when people stopped communicating a lot, we were all trying to reserve power in our devices.

Credit: Instagram GeorgeWeld http://instagram.com/p/RYwzK9wIt-/

Credit: Instagram Nick Summers http://instagram.com/p/RYue5_koDz/

Day 2

Like the rest of lower Manhattan, I spent the past 5 days hopping from place to place, first staying with an uber generous friend Gemma with a device obsession and penache for PPT just like me (and a cute dog to boot!)

Checking in on other friends, trying to get work done/ trying to connect with co-workers during the entire ordeal was tough. The agency I work for had no power all week & no email for the first 2 days of the aftermath and less than 75% had cell service– but EVERYONE was on Facebook. So we created a private group for our agency called the HavasLifeNYC #Sandy Comm Center and soon enough connections were strong and communication was flowing. I personally felt better hearing from my most of my colleagues that they were ok.

Day 3/4: Getting back to normal. Kinda.

I went home mid-week to empty my freezer and fridge and my neighborhood was a ghost-town. Tumbleweeds were blowing up and down 14th street. The only signs of life I saw were small vendor tables selling flashlights and batteries.

I worked on a lot of PPT watched a lot of NY1 (best station/Sandy coverage ever) and followed Con Ed on Twitter incessantly waiting for updates on the power situation in the outer boroughs. It wasn’t until Wednesday that I really understood the magnitude of what had occurred in other places besides Manhattan. I started seeing posts my friend Joe had written from Hoboken and Normandy Beach on their Facebook Page, my beloved New Jersey (raised there & proud of it)  near and dear to my heart. I saw the mass destruction at Breezy Point/Queens, The Rockaways and Staten Island and I. COULDN’T. STOP. WATCHING. I was so restless.

Day 5

Volunteer

I woke up Friday and decided I had to do something, I couldn’t just sit in a hotel room all day and wait for emails to come through- I had no hard deadlines at work that day and there were people who had no running water, food or power and who knew what kind of deadlines they had? I searched around twitter with the hashtag #SandyVolunteer and found @OccupySandy who linked me to Occupy Sandy Relief NYC Facebook page and they had boatload o f donation centers and volunteer opportunities listed- mostly on the LES. I spread that news across every social channel I had access to in an attempt to evoke the humanitarian in all of us to come out. I  headed downtown & couldn’t believe the # of popele that were there, cars & bikes all with an influx of supplies for us to take with us.

My group headed to the Lillian Ward houses (16 buildings) most of them 15 flights up that had no power, running water for 3 days- 50% of them elderly. We packed up loads of bottled water, food, supplies and flashlights and climbed up the stairs and knocked on every door providing them what they likely didn’t have access to. Most were so grateful for our efforts and thankful for the water & PB&Jelly sandwiches.

Pretty sure this was FEMA bringing in supplies

The con ed substation that blew up Monday night

 

a sad halloween on the streets

some people were still in good spirits

 

Volunteering. Just do it!!!

Occupy Sandy Relief NYC is a community relief effort organized by Occupiers to help residents in the hardest hit areas of NYC recover from Hurricane Sandy.

http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/

They not only bring in relief to areas that are not experiencing government aid, but also build & work with existing organizations to build strong community centers. They are building a relief effort that will still give communities access to necessary resources 5 yrs from now. People who’s homes were lost and businesses destroyed may not have the resources to rebuild their lives. These are the people who are forgotten by short-term shelters and Red Cross tents, because they require a sustainable, local, long-term approach.

The most up to date volunteer efforts for Saturday 11/3 & Sunday 11/4 are listed here. http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/sandy-volunteer-update-for-sat-113-sun-114/

and there are hundreds more listed everywhere you search for them (hail hail social discovery/SEO!)

I’m still not feeling settled at all. I can’t help but think of all the people who lost their homes, those that lost their children and those that still dont have power or food or peace of mind. I feel very fortunate for my situation and will continue to do all I can to assist with the relief efforts. Oh, and I’m praying for NO SNOWSTORM on wednesday! For crying out loud!

Will end with this Banksy image I stole from Facebook. NYC. Still beating.

Banksy. Still beating #NYC

“Promote an Important Post: Now you can promote posts and move your important news, links and photos higher in news feed. This post will be marked as Sponsored. “

 

I see this ending badly for some, perhaps becoming the new late night infomercial— FOR YOURSELF! Look at me, no really LOOK. AT. ME. NOW.

To me, that is what the potential of personal promoted posts say to me. Not to mention how these actions may escalate cyber bullying and Mean Girl behavior (something I read a lot about).

In Facebook’s mission statement released at the time of their IPO- they stated:
“Simply put: we don’t build services to make money; we make money to build better services. And we think this is a good way to build something. These days I think more and more people want to use services from companies that believe in something beyond simply maximizing profits.”

“By focusing on our mission and building great services, we believe we will create the most value for our shareholders and partners over the long term – and this in turn will enable us to keep attracting the best people and building more great services. We don’t wake up in the morning with the primary goal of making money, but we understand that the best way to achieve our mission is to build a strong and valuable company.”

I just don’t see personal promotion fitting in, it seems less authentic? (at least on Twitter, that behavior is expected and somewhat condoned). One large thing I enjoy about the Facebook platform is that I know how to work the algorithm, I know how to keep the uber life-casters at bay and how to keep the people I care about, who I find most interesting in my feed (blame my career I know the tricks). Now I fear I will lose control over that & be inundated with things I would prefer not to see (choosing my words carefully here).  Am I the only one who thinks that?

Oh Facebook, I beg of you please go find another way to make money, this is authentic sadness.

Not every social platform is appropriate for every brand (depending on the behaviors of your target audience and what your brand objectives are) as supported by Digiday’s review of a few industry social marketers and what emerging social platforms their are considering for their brands. Once that is determined, creating a weighted grid around spend/effort for each platform is necessary for any marketing director to appropriately plan for budget and resourcing needs.

Based on brand objectives, I’ve been focusing on the following dimensions

• Which platforms are right for your customer?
• What’s the demographic utilization and traction of each platform?
• What marketing capabilities do each platform have?
• What are the expected marketing results?

I wish I had this infographic from Visual.ly a month ago. (I also wish Pinterest and Instagram and Google+ were in here in place of Digg). I might just make my own, these infographic tools are getting easier to use everyday- and they are really fun when you play around with the interface templates.

Learn about infographic design.

 

 

This year I’ve been asked more recently about responsive design. It’s not new- it’s just the hot buzz word. Everyone seems to think responsive design is the magic bullet to design, timing, and cost efficiencies. It’s not.

I’m busting through 2 myths about responsive design because I’m kinda over talking about it.

It seems like a short cut:

It’s NOT. It’s only a design/layout technique and doesn’t account for content. That approach won’t work for every brand/site presence.

It replaces tedious mobile context design:

It does not and SHOULD not. Fixed vs. fluid design needs to be thought through based on the content strategy for your site: how are you users consuming content on mobile devices? What objectives do you have for the end mobile user experience? You can’t assume they will consume the same content in the same way they do desktop. Ie: Mobile= short form—a user insight that doesn’t often change.

Sometimes responsive design can be a combination of both fixed & fluid when you use priority guides that are put in place during the wireframing/prototyping phase. If your UX designer/strategist are not doing the due diligence in this approach you’re probably doing your user a disservice.

Suggestion: make sure you do end user persona research- that should inform your approach to mobile design/content architecture and the appropriate & expected end user experience.

Great video from Brian Fling at PinchZoom talks about responsive design—Brian is a trusted authority on the topic of mobile/design/user experience.

A visual explanation of responsive design is and how it works is found here. They basically sell Joomla as the CMS platform of choice- not advocating for Joomla- just showing for the demo (and definitely not for the music editing choices.)

In case you dont know what it is here a quick video that explains it.
(Google totally masters video overviews in under the 1:15 mark!)

Few thoughts on this:
Google says that “Many researchers are used to doing multi-question surveys in which the same respondent is asked to fill out a 10+ minute questionnaire. With Google Consumer Surveys, you can run multi-question surveys by asking people one question at a time.” Most custom research methodologies/projects I develop & field are meant to have questions that build upon each other so we can theme the collective data from respondents and create insights. Rarely do I ever need/want an answer to only one question.

I guess there are brands/businesses out there that may just have ONE QUESTION– but I’d bet it’d be difficult to find a strategist/planner fielding that survey to agree. We always have soooooo many questions!

I do think this would work well for creative concept validation testing (since there are options to show images, etc)

This is clearly a well monetized product for Google at .10/per response for general population and .50 for demographic targeting and they even let you type your audience closer with a screener question ie: “are you a dog owner”, etc. (Note to all: when purchasing your survey the minimum responses you can choose are 1000 per question– those with a budget should recognize you’ll pay minimum $100 per question.)

There are some good tips here about types of surveys you can field and some pretty interesting formats to craft your survey questions in.

I don’t yet have a full understanding of the types of publisher networks these will run on, however being the inquisitive research junkie I am, I am going to develop a quick survey on Spotify vs. iTunes: Understanding the attitudes and behaviors towards music platform use to see what type of responses I get (like when I ran Facebook ads for my blog when that launched year ago). Always living like a tourist…(and clearly loving music.)

Creating the the survey was pretty easy. I like the templates they give you- easy breezy.

I’ll give it a few days and follow up with what I see.

Great documentary on how brand advertising can no longer sustain traditional ways of existing just as a product and hiding behind “advertising”.

Real time consumer involvement is forcing transparency on behalf of companies in a largely commoditized and consumer opinion-driven marketplace.

Brands, and the companies that make them, need to provide value beyond just a product; to differentiate and win consumers they need to be transparent in their mission and values on what that organization stands for. Great case studies were featured from PepsiCo, Zappos, Unilever, Patagonia, Under Armour.

Quiet possibly my favorite case from the film showcased how social media and 1 petition posted on change.org  took down pink slime and had it removed it from school lunches… in 10 days. (If you were living under a rock during that social movement this past March pink slime is a term used for the mixture of beef scraps and connective tissue that ends up in your ground beef amongst other things- GA-ROSSSS.) In addition to the win in schools, the USDA, meat industry and major retailers all backed away from it and the demand for pink slime dropped so dramatically that Beef Product Inc. shut down 3 of it’s 4 factories…. 3 weeks after the onset of the social media storm. Talk about action. That is real. That is the power of today’s consumer.

Great quotes from the film:

“Being a great company is the new brand.” – Alex Bogusky, COMMON

“Companies have to shift from saying they are great, to BEING great.” – Carter Brokaw, Meebo

“We took funds from paid media and put that into customer service experience instead.” – Tony Hsieh, Zappos

Check out the trailer

A separate clip from the film: great mini portrait of Alex Bogusky on why he left advertising and what he’s focusing on now—mostly sustainable initiatives for social good. —he’s always got something worthy to say that somehow never seems elitist or preachy. Watch it.