Reflections & analysis about innovation, technology, startups, investing, healthcare, and more .... with a focus on Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes. Blogging continuously since 2005.

Category: Marketing/Branding/PR (Page 5 of 29)

The Book That Rules in Marketing & PR, Now In Its 2nd Edition

NewRules-Mktg+PR-2ndEd Without a doubt, David Meerman Scott is one of the people I most respect in this business. He's also my favorite author and speaker, and a great friend. (Heck, he's even a surfer, and sends me cool pix of some of the beaches he visits in his world travels!)  David is the guy that inspired me to finally realize that what I am is a "content marketer" and "brand journalist." He's the ultimate champion of people like me — and my hero, for sure.

I was lucky enough to get David to speak at the October 2008 meeting of our Social Media Breakfast-Twin Cities (which, by the way, has grown to be the largest SMB group in the country). We offered a free copy of the first edition of his book The New Rules of Marketing & PR to all those attending, thanks to a generous sponsor.  David packed the house, was a huge hit, and the Twin Cities became an even hipper PR and social media town than it already was… 🙂

So, I was delighted to hear that the Second Edition of the book is now available. "It's gone through an extensive rewrite," said David. "Of course, I've checked every fact, figure, and URL. DavidMeermanScott But I've also listened. In the past two years, I've met thousands of people like you who have shared stories with me, so I've drawn from those experiences and included many new examples of success." 

He said these new stories and examples are even more valuable and timely than the original ones. Thus, even if you've read the first edition, he promises you'll find many fresh ideas in the second edition.

"When I was writing the first edition of the book back in 2006," said David, "Facebook was only available to those with a .edu email address (students and educators), so I didn’t feature Facebook. And Twitter didn’t even exist at the time I was researching the first edition. So I have added extensive new information and examples on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites." Since the term social media has become so strong in the past few years, it's not surprising to now see it in the book's subtitle.

The power of the ideas David talks about in The New Rules of Marketing & PR propelled the book to the BusinessWeek bestseller list and kept it there for six months. Another stat that blew me away is that it's been the number one public relations book on Amazon for approximately 910 days. My gosh, that's more than two and a half years!  David still says he's stunned.

(A few links: David's blog, Web Ink Now, is ranked in the AdAge Power 150 as one of the top marketing blogs. Also, here's the direct link on Amazon to the Second Edition of "Rules"… and a page with links to all the online bookstores where David's books are available.)

When David launched the first edition of The New Rules of Marketing & PR (via Wiley), he pioneered a tactic that attracted the attention of hundreds of bloggers, typically overlooked by marketers at the time. Since then, the book has garnered numerous awards, been adapted at universities and in politics, has been translated into 24 languages, and even sparked the idea for a series, "The New Rules of Social Media." More importantly, as his Wiley publicist points out, the book has provided a hands-on manual for new marketing. "Marketing campaigns have never been the same, and a new decade brings new opportunity to connect online with buyers and communities."

The New Rules of Marketing & PR explains how to harness the power of the Internet, how to identify the right audience, create compelling messages, and get those messages directly to your targeted community — with powerful new tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more.

David says the underlying message of the book remains the same: "The tools of the marketing and PR trade have changed. The skills that worked offline to help you buy or beg or bug your way in are the skills of interruption and coercion. Online success comes from thinking like a journalist and engaging as a thought leader."

Right on, David!  I can't wait to dive into my copy of the second edition.

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An iPhone Fanboy Reviews the Droid

Or should I say "tears it apart"?  No, seriously, my objective is to be fair here.  As an independent blogger, I take the opportunity from time to time to do a review. And I was offered a Droid loaner a few days ago by my PR buddy Al Maruggi, while we were at our Twin Cities Social Media Breakfast meeting.  I told him, sure, I'd take a look at the new phone from Motorola and Verizon he handed me in the box, then return it to him today. Droid_VS_iPhoneNote to the FTC: I'm not keeping it, dudes — it's a loaner!  Of course, I don't need it, anyway, since I'm now into my third year of unmitigated iPhone bliss, having upgraded to a new 3GS a couple months ago. Well, I should say bliss with Apple, not necessarily with AT&T.  The latter is, of course, the only carrier choice in the U.S. for the iPhone — unless you want to jail-break your phone and void the warranty.  People tell me they do that on T-Mobile and the phone works fine.  But for those locked into a Verizon contract, or those convinced they can't live without the better 3G network that Verizon claims it has (you know, the superior coverage they keep beating us over the head with in their ads?), then the Droid would seem to be the closest you're going to get to the iPhone experience on Verizon. 

The Experience

So, okay, let's start with that — at least the initial experience. (And no company, hands down, does that better than Apple.)  Which of the above phones would you rather have?  It all starts with the home screen, I guess. Now, granted — on the Droid, if you touch the arrow on the tab at the bottom and slide up, you get a much better looking screen on with all your little app icons — and without the mottled gray background (what's with that?) — but, overall, I have to say that the visual experience with the Droid doesn't compare well with the iPhone.  And I say that even knowing that the screen is supposed to be higher resolution than the iPhone (personally, I didn't notice that much).  I guess it's really the "brand experience" I'm talking about here.  And that applies to the box, the packaging, too.  Motorola (or is it Verizon?) tried to come up with something here as good as the iPhone, but to me they missed the mark. Something about the darkness of the whole thing — the black, the gray, and then that goofy little glowing red ball on the screen (on both the package and all over Verizon's promotional materials). Inside the package, though, the little "Getting Started" booklet is very nicely done — love the fanfold, and it tells you everything you need to know, quickly.

(NOTE: See the "Update" added at the bottom of this post.)

The Feel

The Droid feels good in my hand — solid, a little heavier than the iPhone. But that seems to be because it has more metal. And, heck, it does have a slide-open keyboard, so it should be heavier.  But that slight additional weight didn't bother me.  It's also a little thicker than the iPhone, as you would expect — but that's hardly even noticeable.  It's a teeny bit narrower as well.  To be quite honest with you, though, that actually feels a little more natural in my hand than the iPhone does.

A Look at How the Droid Is Billed

So, here's how Verizon presents the new Droid phone on its web site — including a big fat poke at the iPhone in a commercial they run at the front of this web page (hit "Skip Intro" if you've seen it). Funny how every new smart phone out there has to go after the leader. And Motorola, the manufacturer of the Droid with whom Verizon partnered, describes the phone thusly on its media center page for media and bloggers:

Introducing DROID by Motorola, a Smartphone powered by
Android 2.0 developed in partnership with Google and Verizon Wireless,
the nation’s largest 3G network. DROID delivers high-speed Web,
voice-activated search, a super large touch screen and thousands of
customizable apps and widgets from Android Market™. With the
thinnest full QWERTY slider available on the market, it’s a
no-compromise supergenius in your pocket, multitasking at break-neck
pace to get things done.

High-Speed Mobile Browsing

• See the Web at break-neck speed on the largest high-resolution display with a Flash 10 ready HTML browser.

• Look up favorite sites, video and music fast with a high-speed, cortex A8 processor and lightning-fast connection.

•View it all on the 3.7” display with more than 400,000 total pixels, which is twice that of the leading competitor.

• Work faster on the Web with double tap to zoom in and out.

Google Searches Beyond the Web

• Type your search to deliver results such as contacts and music offering a complete search experience on a mobile device. 

• Use voice-activated search to serve up both your contacts and Google search results, based on your location. 

• Find your way with free spoken turn-by-turn directions with Google MapsTM Navigation (Beta), with Street View and LatitudeTM. View geographic information, such as My Maps, Wikipedia entries and transit lines, right on the map.

How It Worked for Me

I must say the Droid itself, and Verizon's service, worked pretty darn well, in the few hours I spent playing with the phone. The hardware is solid, and the service is fast — whether accessing the web, the "Android Market" to download apps, sending emails and texts… it all was quite speedy. I downloaded about four apps, one at a time, and they were all on my home screen fast. I've never used the Android Market before to get apps (this is the first time I've ever even used an Android phone), and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to see how well it worked. (I hear about 10,000 apps are available there now, versus 85,000 for the iPhone on the App Store.) I downloaded a few apps from Minneapolis-based DoApp Inc. (which already has 75 in the Android Market) — I grabbed "MyLite," our local "WCCO-TV Mobile Local News," and a similar one for San Diego called "SD 6 News."  I also searched the Android Market for the app I use most — "Tweetie" — but no dice.  Also couldn't find "Twitterific," another one I've used.  But there were tons of Twitter apps in the Market, most of which I'd never heard of, or they were specialized apps for certain kinds of tweet content. The one general Twitter app that looked to be the most highly rated, in the five-star icons that appear with each app, was "Twidroid" — but I didn't take the time to try it (I know how Twitter apps work).

I also tried the camera yesterday, and found it works okay, though it took me a while to figure out how to best use the skinny little camera button on the side. And I really didn't notice the camera's auto-focus function. I did email photos successfully.  They must be big files, because it's a 5-megapixel camera.

Built-in apps like YouTube worked great. Again, quick access — and I searched on my name, and up came all my videos very quickly, in a nice interface, and even some I had favorited (all mixed together with my vids). The Maps app was awesome. Very impressive, and the GPS function was pretty darn accurate in instantly finding my location. There's a new "Layers" aspect to the Maps that I didn't really understand, but I clicked on "Traffic" and got a different view. Then I drilled in via the "Satellite" menu option and got a scary-good overhead view of my neighborhood — up close and personal.  Maybe that higher-res screen is what made the Maps look so darn good on the Droid.

The slide-open keyboard worked okay for me, but my fingers (which really aren't very big) were fat-fingering that thing bigtime. I honestly would have no idea how anyone could double-thumb that keyboard — except maybe someone with thumbs the size of a three-year old. I much preferred using the "virtual keyboard," which comes up automatically when doing searches, emailing, etc.  But the keys are much smaller for that in portrait mode than the iPhone's virtual keyboard — making it horribly hard to use!  So, flip it to landscape mode, and you get much bigger keys. That option worked way better for me.

So, What's My Net-Net?

Okay, those are some of good things. I try hard to be a positive guy!  But now how do I really feel?  🙂 Let me try to give my overall, bottom-line assessment…

Some things that really bugged me were the lack of the nice big, round home switch which I'm so used to at the bottom front of the iPhone. Man, I really missed that on the Droid!  Having to go to the top of the phone, and find that little tiny switch at the upper right was a real pain. I swear it takes two hands, or a real contortion of one hand, to press that damn thing!  That is a major user-experience mistake in my book.  I also found a lot of other things that just weren't intuitive about the phone's operation, or the navigation within apps, including email and texting. For example, I could not figure out how a text became a Draft when I was trying to send it, nor could I figure out how to retrieve that Draft so I could send it. Couldn't figure out how to delete some private messages I'd sent, either, before I turn in the phone. And, right now, I can't even get back to the home screen, no matter how many times I press the little home icon on the front of the phone.  Another weirdity: I have yet to see where I go for "Settings" — there's no icon I can see for that, as there is on my iPhone.  So I could not, for example, shut off the damn machine-language guy saying "Dro-o-o-id" in a low, bass drone every time an email came in. Puh-lease. Also, it just never really seemed natural to use this phone — which way to hold it… up or sideways, or slide it open… or what. And that home button way up top, then the camera button way down low. 

So, okay, my net-net … you knew this was coming: it ain't no iPhone.  Now, if you really can't leave Verizon, and you really want to pay the same price as an iPhone ($199 with a two-year contract), just to stay with Verizon — then, yes, it's a close experience.  But close is what you get, not the cigar.

Then again, if you really like Verizon all that much, why not just wait?  All us fanboys in the know predict Apple is sure to add Verizon as a carrier for the iPhone here in the U.S., just as soon as the AT&T exclusive expires. 

What do you think?  Lock yourself in for two more years with Verizon now, or wait for the iPhone?  What would you do?

UPDATE 11/6/09:
Wanted to cite an earlier, very comprehensive Droid review by Engadget, which appeared prior to mine.  (Amazing how being a paid blogger let’s you go to the lengths this guy did.)  Also wanted to give this local shout-out: Garrick Van Buren’s Droid review.  Finally, I point you to what I think is the best review of all — by the master himself, Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, on November 3rd: Motorola’s Droid Is Smart Success for Verizon Users. In addition, here are some more local tie-ins: a growing, grass-roots local organization called Mobile Twin Cities, and their Google Group.  They’re focused on all things mobile, including marketing, and all mobile OSes, including both Android and iPhone, of course.  And, on top of that, we even have a burgeoning Minnesota Android Developers Google Group as well.

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Check Out “The New Me” on the Web

So, what do you think of my new online business card?  Here's a JPEG of it:

GT-buscard2

To see the real thing, go here: http://graemethickins.businesscard2.com.  When you click through to that link, mouse over the card and check out all the features!  Do you have one of these yet? 
You should!  It's free, and so easy to set up.  Just go here to get your own: www.businesscard2.com. (Or there's a link in the footer of every card.)  Business Card2 is a powerful new
tool that lets you easily manage and promote your online identity. BC2-logo

I'm happy to report that Minneapolis-based Workface LLC, the
developer of BusinessCard2, is my newest client. Very cool stuff!  Please check out their web site. And stay tuned… because the story is just beginning.

So, I Went to the MIMA Summit… Maybe You Heard About It?

It was October 5th at the Minneapolis Hilton. And if you didn’t hear about it, where were you?  Well, at least if you’re from these parts. Because, when marketers gather for an annual confab, they know how to hype it — especially our local marketing community.  MIMA-logo I said the same thing in my coverage of last year’s event.  Except, this year, the local crowd brought new meaning to the word noise, owing to the fact that — unlike last year — they now seem to have fully embraced social media.  Yessirree, can you say… Twitter, Twitter, Twitter?!  Matt Wilson, current/outgoing president of MIMA, said from stage soon after the event was underway, “You know we’ve made it when our Twitter hashtag has already been flagged as spam.” MIMAsummit09-logoAnd that wasn’t even the only hashtag — there were other variations being used, too, by what had to be a large majority of attendees pecking away on Twitter apps all day long, most from their mobile devices. (You could spit from any spot in the Hilton and hit an iPhone.)MIMAsummit09-ballroom

But myself and my colleagues from Minnov8 decided, as we have for other recent conferences we’ve covered, to skip trying to live-Twitter the whole thing — so limited by 140 characters and all — and live-blog it instead using a tool called ScribbleLive.  And, when we wanted to tweet — or when we needed to, when the wi-fi was challenged (which it was a lot) — we had it set up with our Twitter streams feeding into that live-blog window, too.  So, all four of us had our mobile phones at the ready to tweet, as well as our laptops open to live blog.  We were jumping back and forth between the two, but it worked pretty well.

So, here’s the result of that live-blogging/Twitter-feed combo: it’s now archived here at Minnov8.com. And there’s other Minnov8 coverage of the event as well from my colleagues: Steve Borsch did a great recap post, and Phil Wilson shot and edited a nice FlipHD video, interviewing attendees at the closing reception to get their takeaways.

I did some audio interviews, which you can listen to or download here:

• Graeme interviewing Rohn Jay Miller of interactive agency IconNicholson

• Graeme interviewing Mark Kurtz, VP New Media at Gage Marketing, a sponsor of the event

• Graeme interviewing Scott Severson, CEO of AdFusion

• Graeme interviewing Lee Odden, SEO guru and head of TopRank Online Marketing

Here’s my Flickr set of photos from MIMA ’09, such as they are (can you say grab shots?):

And, just for fun, here’s a quick Animoto video I made for free using that photo set:

Finally, here’s a video I shot with my new iPhone 3GS before the morning sessions got going:

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