Last updated 7 months ago
Renowned technology pundit and former Morgan Stanley analyst, Mary Meeker took the stage today at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. TechCrunch's Alexia Tsotsis is at the conference and is reporting on Mary's findings.
Among the many digital media trends mentioned during her presentation, globalization of Internet properties topped the most interesting trends in technolgy for 2011. Most notably though, mobile communications dominates as one of the most intriguing future areas of development for commerce.
What stands out most to me is Mary's redefining of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - 2011 style. Take a look at the graphic at the top of this article and tell me if you think internet/mobile has, in fact, replaced some of your most basic human needs. I know for one, I couldn't imagine living without the Internet or my mobile phone. Love to hear your thoughts.
Last updated 8 months ago
According to a recent Pew Internet Research Report, 28% of American Adults now use location based services from their mobile smart phones. This number is up from 4% just over a year ago and points to a rapid adoption of mobile apps that include geo specific data to augment more social services.
TechCrunch indicates the Pew report shows American adults use mobile phones for maps, directions and recommendations. Although only about 5% use mobile devices for checking into local establishments, the report does illustrate the importance for business owners to focus on customer online reviews. Reason being, people are constantly on the move and, at the same time, researching consumer reviews on the fly and when in close proximity to the business.
Is your business taking advantage of this rise in consumer mobility? What is your strategy to take advantage of this growing trend?
Last updated 8 months ago
Salesforce CEO, Marc Benioff recently sat down with Google's Chairman and former CEO, Eric Schmidt to discuss a wide range of topics. From their early days at Sun to Google's current pursuit of the cloud trifecta of mobile, local and social, the hour long interview provides great insight into one of the great minds in our industry. Schmidt also provides his thoughts on our country's politcal challenges as well as ideas that could shape future policy.
This is a must watch video so make sure you wash the dishes, put the kids to bed and nestle down to some really great content! Let me know what you think about the ideas expressed in this video.
Last updated 8 months ago
Despite a recent report from Experian Hitwise indicating a slow down trend in both unique visits and average time on site, comScore reports for about the same time time period show a 50% uptick in time spent on the fledgling social network. This news comes on the heels of comScore's report that Google+ has hit the 25 million visitor mark, a number that far exceeds any other social network in terms of speed to get to that important milestone. These reports, although contradictory, do have industry experts pondering whether the social network is losing steam and what, if anything can Google do to stem this tide.
It leaves me wondering what I would do if I were Google (yeah, I know that's a big stretch) to create more site stickiness. My initial thought is Google+ should go heavy at the gamers market - its actually a niche with huge implications - millions of gamers looking for people to play with. I'd gather the best minds in the gaming space wrapped around securing the most popular games and the invitations will fly, subscribers will grow and so to will TOS (time on site). The real engagement quality of social media will be a by product but in the meantime, there will be a good enough reason to join the party. Game on Bro!
Are you a gamer and if so, would that be enough to keep you engaged in Google+. Love to hear your thoughts.
Last updated 8 months ago
When it comes to search algorithms, Google is well known for playing close to vest and rarely discusses openly how they go about ensuring quality results. Technology insider and search SME, WebPro News (WPN), gives those of us who are intrigued by search marketing a great opportunity to get an inside look at what KPIs Google uses to determine quality search results.
Google engineers give a rare perspective of how they monitor, test and optimize users search experience. If you are in to the techno uber-geek, this video is a must watch.
