Archive for April, 2007

iPhone… the next iPod?

Monday, April 30th, 2007

Critics so far have been relatively harsh on the iPhone. There are a myriad of reasons given why the iPhone is set up to fail (limited battery life, storage capacity and price are usually at the top of the list). So why would anyone stand behind this latest offering by Steve Jobs and Apple?

What made the iPod so successful? The concept. Simple yet stylish. Ease of use. The driving forces behind Apple’s brand. It was more expensive than any of its competitors, yet people were willing to pay extra for these reasons.

The iPhone is no different. In fact, it’s better. Not only is it stylish, it couldn’t be any easier to operate. It has the ability to run the Mac OS, which is a huge plus. Although the world is dominated by Windows users, learning how easy the Mac OS is might actually turn the tides. Being able to sync all your email and calendars with the iPhone makes it a must have for any Mac user looking for a mobile solution. Up until now, it has been impossible.

The techologies built into the iPhone are revolutionary. It will set the bar for every other cell phone company. Once it hits the market, there will be no looking back. One year from now, people will be wondering how they ever got along without the functionalities that were introduced by the iPhone. They might not show up exactly the same in other cell companies’ offerings, but the basic concepts will be there.

If this is only the first, what will it look like 3 years from now? Like the iPod, this is a simple, stylish, easy to use device that will only get better. Will it be as successful? Definitely.

Seth Godin’s Dip Tour

Friday, April 27th, 2007

Seth Godin has come out with yet another (soon to be) best-seller. He’s come up with an ingenious way of marketing it as well (go figure).

The Dip comes out soon and Seth Godin is making appearances in select cities as a part of “The Dip Tour”. It’s not your normal book tour, though. In order to promote his book, if you buy 5 books in advance you get to see Seth speak for free. Or, if you’d like to think of it differently, if you pay $50 to see him speak you get 5 free books.

Either way it’s a win – win – win situation. You get to see Seth Godin speak for $50, you also get 5 books (you AND 4 of your friends win), and he gets some great permission / viral based marketing out of the deal. I’m catching him in Ann Arbor, hope to see you there.

Site Stats to Gold (Analytics and You!)

Friday, April 20th, 2007

NEOUPA (Northeast Ohio Chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association) hosted an event last night, “Using Analytics for a Better Customer Experience”. Analytics is a way of taking website statistics and actually giving them meaning.

Web stats by themselves are useless, there’s no human connection as to what those stats mean or more importantly, why we should care. Matt Bailey, founder of SiteLogic, gave an engaging presentation that brought to light why analytics are important and how to effectively use them in order to create value from stats. His presentation included the Red Shirt Phenomenon which broke down the process. It’s worth checking out.

SEO companies in general seem to miss this mark. They’re more than happy to provide pages upon pages of stats, but if those stats are hollow and can’t explain the human connection, they’re essentially useless. Where are people coming from, what is their purpose, what is important to them and what can be done to accommodate them more?

Thanks for the presenation Matt.

Future Of Online Advertising (FOOA) 2007

Saturday, April 14th, 2007

Interruption marketing is on its way out.

People have been desensitized to most traditional forms of marketing such as magazine ads, television commercials, and direct mail. When was the last time you actually paid attention to any of these (unless of course you’re watching the Super Bowl, and even then do you really remember who or what the ad was for?)

The future of advertising is online, so why not attend the
Future Of Online Advertising this June 7-8 in NYC?

I’ll be there. If you’re looking to get a jump on how to spend your ad dollars in the 21st century, I’d recommend booking your trip now.

Here’s a rundown of topics to be covered, and who will be speaking:

Topics:

    * How to guarantee the success of your online ads
    * Tips for packaging your inventory and maximizing ad revenue
    * Online Advertising Basics – Everything you wanted to know but were afraid
    to ask
    * Advertising in RSS feeds – the next big thing?
    * Marketing Beyond Google, Yahoo, AOL & MSN with Scale, Quality and Safety
    * It’s all in the creative – how to create successful online ads
    * Targeted Ad Networks – Cost Per Influence Vs. Cost Per Thousand
    * Ads in Online Video – the future of interactive advertising?

Speakers:

    * Erick Schonfeld (Business 2.0)
    * Henry Copeland (Blog Ads)
    * Jim Coudal (Coudal Partners)
    * Mike Hudack (blip.tv)
    * Jay Adelson (digg/revision3)
    * Darren Rowse (ProBlogger.net)
    * Greg Stuart (IAB)
    * Carla Hendra (Ogilvy)
    * Matt Freeman (Tribal DDB)
    * Jeremy Allaire (Brightcove)
    * Chas Edwards (Federated Media)
    * Steve Rubel (Edelman)
    * Andrew Goodman (Page Zero)
    * Michael Walrath (Right Media)
    * Steve Olechowski (FeedBurner)
    * Alyson Racer (New York Times)

Caddying on the Pro Tour

Friday, April 13th, 2007

Last weekend while at the Masters Golf Tournament, my brother and I met two guys from Wichita, Kansas. We had a chance to hang out with them. One of them, Corey, was telling us that he had caddied on the Pro Tour for about two and a half years.

He said it was the time of his life. He got to travel and play on courses all over the United States and learn from some of the best. He was genuinely happy and was getting paid to do something he truly enjoyed.

One day, he woke up and thought to himself, “I don’t feel like going to work today.”
That was the last day Corey ever caddied on the Tour.

If we don’t have the drive to do what we’re doing, there’s a good chance we’re not going to put 100% into it. If we’re not 100% into it, we’re wasting our time, and effectively everyone else’s as well. Have passion for what you do. If you don’t, find what you have passion for and do that.

Working at SeaWorld

Monday, April 2nd, 2007

After receiving a degree in marine biology, internships throughout the world and a few years at SeaWorld, I came to a realization. My passion just wasn’t there.

Sure, swimming with humpback whales and feeding sharks for a living is exciting, but those moments are far and few between. Everyone has these moments in their jobs. We wouldn’t have gotten into that line of work in the first place if there wasn’t some type of excitement.

Learning the ins and outs of web development as a hobby, it consumed my interest. After a few opportunities to actually apply my new skill set, I soon realized this was what I needed to be doing. Years after leaving my career in marine biology and building web sites, my career continues to evolve.

Building a site is important, but actually helping small business owners leverage the power of the internet is where my passion lies. We must all evolve, whether it be at our current job, or taking that risk and starting over. If we don’t, we’ll all be stuck at SeaWorld feeding the sharks.