We knew information overload would become a deterrent to the online world, just maybe not so fast. After all, the concept of being able to talk to (and hear from) almost everybody in our universe has been so exciting the past few years that the number of friends, followers, likes, retweets, blog comments, etc. created a lot of egomaniacs trying to win popularity contests. No more. Statistics show many people are now spending more time unfriending others on Facebook than they are sending friend requests. Another report says there is as much unfollowing as following going on in the Twittersphere. Not to mention emails, RSS feeds and blog posts that are being ignored more than ever. Let’s face it. It only took a few years for us to be over the excitement of this new technology that connects everyone, everywhere, 24 hours a day.
That’s why the new buzz terms are desired relevance and quality engagement. Larry Page always said his dream was to develop the “perfect search”, meaning someone would type in a couple of keywords and only one Google search result would appear because it was exactly what that person was looking for. That’s a great example of relevance and quality engagement, isn’t it? Hopefully that’s what they’re trying to accomplish with Google+, the 10,000 pound gorilla’s latest attempt to overpower Facebook. Watch a demo and see how one of Google+’s core benefits is focusing in on quality over quantity engagement. Google understands how quickly we have become fed up with TMI (too much information), and it appears they’re trying to offer an alternative that at least moves information overload into smaller buckets. We say good luck with that Google, but hey, at least they’re trying.
Yet the biggest challenge with achieving quality over quantity experiences is how the powers of the online world will most likely get there. We want relevance, so they need to know more about us. This is why search engines and websites are developing even creepier Big Brother tools to watch and respond to our every move. The more apparent this becomes, the more we complain. The powers that be say we’re spoiled; that we want to have our cake and eat it to. We say there’s got to be a better way. While that battle will take some time before it’s resolved, the average individual’s impatience with information overload is ready to explode. Which is why we at Brandtailers foresee the next group of genius geeks will be those who can take a person’s way-too-big to be useful anymore world, and hone it back down into something meaningful, useful and, most of all, enjoyable.
A few months ago we got our hands on a new Augmented Reality (AR) marketing tool for smart phones that could prove useful for our commercial real estate clients. Rofo, a commercial real estate search tool, and Junaio, an augmented reality browser, joined together to create the first commercial real estate augmented reality mobile application. You can view a one minute video of it here, but basically it allows anyone to point their smart phone at a building and see any real estate space available, including photos, space size, costs and more. In one click you can also email the listing broker or landlord. Bye-bye real estate signage, hello peering through walls.
But is this really a new technology? Not really. Not by the new definition of new, aka developed within the last 6 months. Augmented Reality (AR) has been around for several years, you just may not think of it as that. How about that Yelp app on your smart phone that finds and reviews restaurants you’re close to via your phone’s GPS. Or how about Layar, a popular app that shows you what is around you by displaying real time digital information (layers) on top of reality. Augmented reality (AR) has been growing rapidly since 2009, but what’s exciting (and a bit creepy) about this tool of late is the way marketers are starting to use it. Here are just a few:
POS augmented reality application: LEGO augmented reality kiosk shows what’s inside the box.
iPhone RFID: object-based media – location-based urls with your phone – wave your phone by an object and it tells you something about it, drives you to a URL.
Tissot watches – sit in front of your computer and virtually “try on” the different styles.
These are most likely just teasers for what media and communication experiences will look like in the near future. According to Juniper research, the current global revenue for augmented reality (AR) is currently less than $2 million, but is projected to be around $1.5 billion globally by 2015. At this past spring’s SXSW conference, a panel of augmented reality developers said the future of AR is working it into the everyday, via glasses/goggles or even AR contact lenses. They said once these tools are available to the masses, marketing and advertising as we know them now will once again be a thing of the past.
Hold on. It’s coming fast. And it will give all new meaning to the term “reality check”.
Compared to the 152 million Americans who use Facebook daily, statistics show only 13% of Americans actively engage on Twitter. Oh sure, there are 175 million registered Twitter accounts, but only about half of them follow 2 or more people. About 90 million Twitter accounts with zero followers and 56 million accounts following no other accounts.¹
And yet Twitter seems to get the most social media attention second to Facebook, right? Why?
Surprisingly it’s not because Lady Gaga tweets about her sex life, or because Coby posts pre-game comments. It’s because of what happened during the election in Iran, the earthquake in Haiti, the Tsunami in Japan, the killing of Bin Laden and, most recently, the many tornado warnings tweeted across the south. It’s because Twitter’s powerful ability to instantly deliver important information anywhere in the world is undeniable. And people are catching on. In fact, Twitter celebrated its fifth birthday on March 21 and announced that “While it took about 18 months to sign up the first 500,000 accounts, we now see close to 500,000 accounts created every day.”
How many of these new accounts will be made up of active users? Here are some recent new statistics:
1. Most new active Twitter users are 25-49, well educated, affluent, early adopters and tech savvy.
2. Most new active users engage in the environment daily, and are considered influential within their online world.
3. Most new active users follow companies and brands to learn about products and services and to offer advice, input and recommendations regarding them.
4. Most new active users (79% to be exact) are more likely to recommend brands they follow.
5. More new active users are conducting B2B business than B2C business.
Let’s focus on that last one. Why is B2B so popular in this environment? Maybe because tweets can be very targeted and relevant, creating reputations of knowledge and influence. Think of a tweet as a potentially powerful blog in 140 characters or less. Then think of how easily it can be spread (aka re-tweeted) as a recommendation. Worthwhile messages can go from one influential person’s following of 500 people to 500,000+ potential customers in a matter of minutes. Try getting those engagement numbers from a direct mail piece! And to top off Twitter’s B2B strength, remember that the more relevant the 140 characters are to a potential customer’s keyword searches, the higher the tweet post will show up in organic search results. This message content can enhance a business’ overall SEO. Not bad for a free communication tool, eh?
Twitter will most likely continue to morph into something no other social media resource can offer. It’s live search capabilities, along with its increasing credibility as something more than celebrity stalking, will no doubt add millions of new active users over the next year or so. With massive numbers of active Twitter users, you find untapped potential.
Time will tell. What do you think?
¹Stats from Hypebot
No, for a change we’re not talking about Facebook, although it is certainly one example of this new concept. Likeonomics is the new buzz word in marketing that actually makes a tremendous amount of sense. Rohit Bhargava, best selling author of Personality Not Included, is about to launch his new book, Likeonomics, which covers today’s increasing need for marketers to be believable. Rohit explains, “Likeonomics is a term that explains the new Affinity Economy where the most likeable people, ideas, and organizations are the ones we believe in, buy from and get inspired by.” He notes that we are in a modern day Believability Crisis, stating the many obvious reasons why consumers mistrust most businesses today. We couldn’t agree more.
In 2009, Chris Brogan came up with a great line in his book, Trust Agents, authored with Julien Smith, stating that Human is the new black. What a great way to explain that vulnerability, truthfulness and humility are what today’s consumers look for first when choosing a brand. Yet the majority of marketers are still fearful of communication messages that embrace transparency, simplicity and telling emotional, human stories.
The Likeonomics concept is one more example of how people trust the opinions of strangers more than messages from well-known brands. Rohit Bhargava says it best in his book, “Wikipedia is only the most visible example of a revolution in trust that has meant that people are going online and trusting the opinions and expertise of people who they don’t know. Content creation, aggregation and now … content curation are all new forms of microinfluence and they are shifting everything we know about trust.”
The potentially great outcome of this could result in marketers finally embracing the fact that truth sells. Advertising efforts will no longer be based on who has the biggest budgets and delivers the most jaw dropping creative. Instead it will be about who delivers the most believable message. This can level the playing field for the underdogs to have their shot at market share. All we can say is, it’s about time. Bring it on.
Co-organizing the upcoming TEDxOrangeCoast event on May 19th has led me to believe Orange County needs a kick in the rear to become a little more TED savvy. We TED fans are just about as crazy for TED as Apple fans are for their iPads. If you’re not familiar with TED, spend 16 minutes watching anything on TED.com and you’ll see what I mean. Over 2 million people visit the site every month. TED talks are now being translated into 18 different languages. Oh, and the cost of attending TED’s annual conference in Long Beach? A mere $6,000 for tickets that sell out faster than a Lady Gaga concert. (FYI, TEDxOrangeCoast, thanks to our sponsors, is only $95)
But TED’s founder, Chris Anderson, never meant for TED to become an elitist venue. That’s one of the biggest reasons why he developed TEDx. Created in the spirit of TED’s mission, “ideas worth spreading,” the TEDx program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the local level.
As the CEO and owner of an agency that has the highest regard for good branding, I also appreciate the strict brand guidelines TEDx organizers must adhere to. Everything we have created for our venue must pass TED’s brand police approval process. This way every TEDx event around the world will maintain the spirit, appeal and rich content TED is so well known for. I really appreciate this.
But what’s up with Orange County? Most of us think of OC as something a bit more than reality TV, right? Perhaps it is So Cal’s little Silicon Valley? I would bet, if you ask the average person in Silicon Valley about TED, they would launch into their favorite TED talk. Yet what I’ve discovered in Orange County is quite different. In fact, I’m down right surprised at TED’s much smaller brand awareness here. My reason for co-organizing TEDxOrangeCoast is to change this.
Orange County is the perfect breeding ground for “ideas worth spreading”. There is so much brilliance and innovation occurring around us every day, but it’s too quiet. We’re a little too laid back. We need a jolt. That’s also the reason for our TEDxOrangeCoast theme, “Innovation Without Borders”. Our local area is bursting at the seams with powerful stories of local people who are not only innovative, but inspirational in the ways they’ve broken through cultural, physical, economical, geographical and political borders to achieve their goals.
Our speaker line-up is off the charts. 24 innovators from all walks of life, some whose names you already know, and some who – once you hear them – you’ll never forget. But the speakers are only part of what TEDx events are about. They participate (pro bono, by the way) to initiate and stimulate conversations within the audience. Most TED and TEDx venue attendees say they learned the most from conversations with fellow attendees during the breaks and afterward. That’s our plan, too.
If you still don’t quite understand what TED is, I encourage you to spend just a few minutes on their site. Look at the topics of the talks, the quality of the speakers and the massive interaction occurring worldwide thanks to this organization. Then look around you. You’ll probably see what I see. A wonderful opportunity for Orange County to embrace TED and share our own ideas worth spreading. I hope you’ll join me.
In the song “Tracing” John Mayer sings the following verse that has always resonated with me:
And if you want to know the moment
I knew that I was still alone
I found I’d never learned your number
I only stored it in my phone
You’d think by now
I’d know the shape of calling home
“The shape of calling home” is the perfect way to describe the feeling of dialing a phone number from memory and seeing your finger trace that familiar shape across the keypad. There was a time, not so long ago, when we memorized all our most important phone numbers. Sure, details of infrequently used numbers could be stored in computers, address books or rolodexes but the good ones – the ones that really counted – we knew them by heart.
However, with the advent of the smart phone, speed dial and self-syncing contact lists, the day-to-day necessity for memorizing phone numbers has been eliminated; especially for younger generations that have grown up with this technology at their fingertips. When you hit “reply” to a text message, it barely crosses your mind that there is even a phone number involved.
There is no doubt that such new technology has brought with it a whole lot of convenience. Even if you lose your phone… no big deal… just update your Facebook status to request all those misplaced numbers.
But in certain situations, no amount of technology can quite replace a memorized phone number. This was starkly illustrated in the title of a blog entry I spotted recently quoting a survivor of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. It read, simply: “No phone, don’t remember parents’ number, no way to contact my family” [http://hearthevoicefromjapan.blogspot.com/2011/03/no-phone-dont-remember-parents-number.html]. This person’s contact list was, quite literally, washed away in the disaster.
Living in earthquake-prone California, it is hard to ignore the fact that unforeseen events might occur at any time and if they do an old-fashioned dial-it-yourself phone might just be your first means of contact to those nearest and dearest to you. So think of this as a public service announcement; memorize those important phone numbers and encourage your loved ones to do the same. Let’s hope there isn’t any reason for you to thank me for this advice anytime soon. But if there is, you might find great comfort in knowing the shape of calling home.
