A recently published New York Times article, which showcased tactics about how to (somewhat) avoid getting ‘big brothered’ by Internet giants, prompted this blog.  Rather than review the myriad of strategies discussed, I establish the underlying themes present in the NYTimes article so as to help you all build a base of knowledge about Internet privacy and security.  Such themes include (1) bubbling and (2) snooping.

First and foremost, I am saddened to destroy the notion of a ‘free Internet’ that most of us think exists.  By this I mean using Google (and others) to freely navigate the sea of information on the net.  Whatever we type, we get, right?  Well, it’s not that simple.  Major search engines are using our past behavior to decide what we view in the search results.  Simply put, they are filtering our search phrases to give us websites they think we want, rather than providing a free and open search experience.  This isolation of information action is called bubbling, which implies that we are being forced to live in a predetermined ‘bubble’ created by Google and friends.  To do so, the search giants monitor our search history and our Internet behavior (i.e., clicking “like” or “plus one”) in order to ‘personalize’ our results.  Much like a horse is forced to wear blinders so that it focuses on what is in front of him, we are [unknowingly] forced to wear blinders so that we don’t see ‘undesired’ results and can therefore ‘focus’ on the content that’s important to us.  Google pitches these blinder-friendly searches as a “personalized search” that yields ”results that are tailored to your preferences.” Albeit, many people may prefer this activity.  But I ask you, “At what point does it end?” To avoid such personalization, you can use a few different search engines, namely DuckDuckGo.com, which kindly asks Google to, please, dontbubble.us.

A second theme is one that I have found many of us know about, but really just don’t care.  But I believe that our apathy spawns from ignorance and dependence.  In other words, we don’t know what’s happening and we are stuck in our own ways.  This theme is the act of snooping, which is committed by “Internet service providers, search engine operators, email suppliers, and web site administrators.”  Such peeping Toms monitor your email or browsing behavior so as to sell your information to data brokers, who then sell it to health insurance or marketing agencies.  Snooping is especially easy if we use the same company for every online activity.  For example using Google Chrome to browse, Google search to surf, and GMail to correspond/chat would save Google the trouble of cross-referencing data because a profile is already created.  An obvious way to abolish our enslavement to the same organization is to use a non-snooping email service, such as HushMail, and to employ different companies to facilitate your Web needs.

Well, now that you know about some of the behind the scenes actions of your favorite companies, I hope you are at least aware that there are unethical, ‘not-so-crimes’ surrounding your online experience.  And yes, it’s happening right now.  Creepy, eh?

I spend a lot of time working with marketers who are obsessed with driving audience engagement. The conversation, which is becoming predictable, takes place most often in the context of a specific campaign that is not designed to deliver any long-term value for the audience (or for the brand for that matter).  “How can we get people to…?  I really want to have high engagement numbers on this one.”

It got me thinking about the ways audiences want to engage brands.  Sometimes we want to engage as a community, to be part of something bigger than ourselves, to participate in a movement and feel the power of the collective.  Other times, we want to interact as individuals.  We want to be treated as if we matter and our loyalty is important.  Of course, we also want to be able to change our minds on whether we engage at all at will.  That’s the prerogative of the customer.

In some cases creating tools that give us access to our personal data can allow us to act individually but benefit as a community.

If you knew that not running your lawn sprinklers during the next two days could save you $10 on your next water bill, would you opt not to turn them on? Possibly.  Yet, you have no way of knowing the dollar impact of a single action. You know every so often there are peak demands on the system but you have no insight into the specifics.  I wonder how much water we would save collectively by giving people access to their real-time data individually?  The water company could alert customers when there are high demands or restrictions on usage and therefore potentially lessen the impact for the entire community.

Think about it.  Brands who want to build community with their audience may only have opportunity to do so after providing value by engaging with their audience as individuals.

Windows 8 Start Screen

Watch out Apple, consumers can now preview Windows 8, the “re-imagined and re-invented” version of Windows 7. Below, I give you some information about the new features of the wonderful Windows 8. Come along for the ride.

Terrific Touch Screen

Windows 8 will offer intuitive touch-screen capabilities so that you can swipe, slide, and zoom your way around your PC or mobile device.  First, don’t freak out.  There is no bottom left-hand-corner start button.  You have to befriend the corners of your screen, which reveal the start button.  Once the “Start” button is tapped, a palate of colorful, “Metro” style applications appear before you.  This Metro look is meant to mimic the clean and simple navigation that metro cities offer its residents, and does so quite well. The metro-palate is a gateway to your beloved applications, such as Internet Explorer, Weather, Calendar, and Outlook.  Now, your hand is the mouse.  It is used to swipe from screen to screen, which store your applications.  Moreover,  you can customize screens to your liking, possibly having social applications on one palate and work apps on another.  Gotta have the work/life balance, right?

Mouse and Tangible Keyboard Still an Option

Many of us may feel that swiping, sliding, and zooming is, well, too much work.  That said, Windows 8 gives all you ‘mouseketters’ and old school keyboard cats the option to easily switch from natural gestures to the happiness of hardware.  Instead of swipe, scroll.  Instead of tap, click. The right-click option is now the key to open the new application portal, where all of your applications live.  You can search this portal for documents, control panel features, and just about anything else you can imagine.

Security

For all you security sticklers, Windows 8 gives offers new features that assist with malware and virus protection.  The operating system now features Secure Boot, which deploys malware detection software at start up so that malware is detected and destroyed before it takes control of your machine.  For Secure Boot to properly function, Windows machines must be equipped with an ARM processors, which reduce the power consumption needed to run your device.  While this may sound good on the surface, Secure Boot cannot be uninstalled.  So, if you are using Linux, you may be in for some hurtin‘.

Internet Explorer 10

The new IE is said to be more secure and faster.  Microsoft also says IE is “less browser, more Web.”  To translate, this means that your browser controls (e.g., back, forward, refresh) are hidden.  You again have to embrace your screen’s corners, which when tapped or hovered over, reveal the browser controls.  Sounds like a bunch of extra steps, so watch out. Browsing could get a little cumbersome.

So there you have it.  Some of the highlights from the new Windows 8 Consumer preview.  If you’d like to try Windows 8 out of yourself, click the link below.  Have fun!

Try out the Windows 8: Consumer Preview

Windows 8 Official Consumer Preview Official Demo

Now Here This! I Am Socially Marketing At You!!!

I saw an advertisement this week for a course called:

“Social Media and online marketing for businesses taster course – for business owners looking to make the most of the internet!”

Who should attend? According to the ad: “Any business looking to get more leads, more clients and more business through social media and online marketing!”

Granted there is a wide range of social marketing skills amongst small business owners and this course is geared towards those who are on the “late adopter” side of the equation, but I was seriously upset that there are people out there espousing to be experts, charging $235/day to teach people to be obnoxious, transaction-oriented, list builders, who alienate their customers and blow it with potential prospects before they even get started.

What is social about “Carney-Barking” on social networks? Where is the “give to get” mentality?  What happened to using social networks to build relationships with your audience?

The ad continues: “Looking to get more potential customers to your web site and grow your business?”

So social marketing is all about dragging people back to your own site and stuffing them in the marketing funnel? Let me guess, we will measure engagement with conversion metrics.

Finally: “Our one day intensive course will help you get to grips with social media and online marketing and add value to your business’s reputation.”

Reputation? The course should be called “How to Blow Your Reputation Online By Carney-Barking Your Wares in the Most Obnoxious, Disruptive Ways Possible”

I’m sure there are courses like this taught all over the world every day – people trying to make a quick buck off of buzzwords and trendy topics.  I feel bad for the poor suckers that waste their money on them.  If they implement any of the tactics supported, the cost of the course is likely WAY higher than just the cash outlay.

Have you ever attended one of these type seminars?

Last week, Mashable’s Sarah Kessler authored an article about Pinterest clones which focused on sites that have copied the look, feel, and/or overall functionality of social media’s most recent phenom. What I haven’t seen though, are posts that put forth some higher order thinking around the act of curating content and what that means for individuals and for social media in general.

Before going any further, let’s agree on a definition. Content curation does not include generating content, but amassing content from a variety of sources, and delivering it in an organized fashion. Anyone interested in finding relevant content pertaining to a specific category and funneling this information to an audience (public or private) in a mash-up style is a content curator.

Let’s face it. Pinterest is beautiful. The images that we are pinning make it so. However, content curation is not only about collecting beautiful, funny, interesting images. It is about collecting information for future use, reference, enjoyment, etc. Pinterest has put a pretty face onto a very important concept and one that we should examine deeper.

What if you (or a loved one) recently received an unexpected medical diagnosis? I bet first thing you would run to Google and start searching for answers, reading everything you could to understand all you could. But then later, how could you share with your family what you have learned? A piece of content from WebMD, a snippet from the Mayo Clinic, an article from the New England Journal of Medicine. “Wait? Where did I read that? I wanted to be sure to ask my Doctor about that one thing…” Some content I might want to keep private and share only with select loved ones, while there are other scenarios where I might be willing to share my learnings with the world.

Imagine a student doing research on a topic from World History WWII to present. Instead of providing a bibliography at the end of his paper, he would provide the mash-up of sources used including news articles, official websites, pictures, music, and audio/video broadcasts. The student would spend more time interacting with the content instead of searching for it, and the class presentation would engage his peers at higher levels than ever before.

There are no limits when it comes to the types of content that can be curated. When you think about it, any piece of online digital content that can be shared can be curated.

Will there come a day when we replace the role of researcher or analyst with professional curators? Maybe. The more we flood the Internet with content (useful and otherwise), the more we need curators and the more we need to become curators ourselves.

Hats off to Pinterest for using the concept of pictures (each being worth 1000 words) to show us the importance of collecting and for sparking a whole new wave of thinking about content and the way we consume, create and share it.

Image Courtesy of Babble.com

As Valentine’s Day peers its heart around the corner, guys and gals around the world frantically scour their hearts and their minds for the most romantic ideas about how to create the perfect Valentine’s Day moment. A fireside date filled with chocolate covered strawberries, a homemade lobster ravioli in a brandy cream sauce, and the crackle of wood and fire harmoniously illuminating your smiles and burning your passion. Reservations at a quaint French cafe, savoring the finest cheeses imported from Europe while sipping a $75 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, and Hank Jones-like piano delicately filling your ears. Ordering roses from 1-800-FLOWERS.com and texting “I luv you” on your way home from work. Sending an e-Card with a dancing heart, saying things like, “In case you’re heart of hearing, I said I love you!” or “Your love keeps my heart pumping.”

Wait, what? 1-800-FLOWERS.com? Text message and e-Card? What’s romantic about that?

According to 2011 survey results from the eBillme Online Spending Index, 32% of consumers indicated that they planned to do their Valentine’s Day shopping online. And that was 2011.

On into 2012, online Valentine’s Day florists are continuing to encourage the love struck to keep their business blooming by advertising to a specific audience: the busy bee. AmericanFloralDistributors.com is offering FREE Valentine’s Day delivery via FedEx. 1-800-FLOWERS.com is also getting involved with Valentine’s Day specials starting at $19.99.

While great news for the e-Commerce industry, these projected spending percentages will undoubtedly result in purchases dictated by major corporations. The classic bouquet of roses and heart shaped box of chocolates will most likely end up on the doorstep this February 14th, continuing the Valentine’s Day cycle.

But what’s wrong with this?

A bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates is always a treat for the eyes, ears, nose, and most importantly, the heart. But when Valentine’s Day lovers expect this, and only this, is when the magic of the romantic holiday dies.

Valentine’s Day is supposed to bring out our most creative side and our most sensitive side. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t see the romance in spending 3 – 5 minutes pressing a button to order $125 roses, while having someone else deliver these roses to your house.

I understand technology has made a drastic change in our social norms and our day-to-day activities. I also understand that technology has made it easier to purchase anything online, and have these items delivered to our doorstep with little to no work. It’s when this technological love trap defines what love should look like, and is considered appropriate Valentine’s Day behavior, is where I draw the line. Technology should be there to assist us with our romance, not become our romance.

So, I think everyone should think twice about pushing the “Submit” button this Valentine’s Day and for once, give a gift that really means something.

So, you’ve found a web design firm and you’re thinking about bringing your business to the world of the Internet. Or, maybe you’re doing some research about creating a business that is designed to operate through a website and you’re considering jumping in the Interwebs in 2012. No matter what the case, there are certain strategies your organization should consider before creating a valuable and lasting Internet presence.

Value Proposition.

Your company should define how a website will add value to the organization. You should ask yourself questions such as, Will having information displayed over the Internet benefit the organization? Does having a website further enhance the value of my already stable business? Could a website boost the value of my stable or struggling business? Will having a website make my product easier to access and cheaper to distribute?

Revenue Model.

It is important to define questions associated with how your organization will receive revenue and profit through the website. You should ask, Will I need to set up advertising on a pay-per-click basis? Should I construct an e-commerce system? Will the having a website cut customer service costs and increase product availability?

Market Opportunity.

When focusing efforts on creating a website, you should pay attention to the overall financial opportunities associated with your market. Scope out the intended market and see what opportunities exist. Ask questions such as, Where does a website fit into my marketing plan? How can the website take advantage of opportunities within my specified market?

Marketing Strategy.

Develop a plan or strategy to market the findability of your website, as well as the product or service offered. Having a website no one uses is pointless and results in unnecessary costs. Questions to ask include, Will users or visitors be able to find my website? How will my company market itself over the Internet? Will I use organic SEO strategies or paid marketing strategies? What offline strategies will my organization use?  Should we use social media?

Competitive Environment.

Once you have found your market opportunity, you must conduct some research and find out what your competitive environment looks like.   Ask yourself, Who is my direct and indirect competition? And also inquire into how you will distinguish yourself from your competition by use of your website.

Competitive Advantage.

After determining who your competition is, the next step is to decide how a website can influence and create an advantage over competition. Ask yourself if your website will offer superior, easier-to-use, and seemingly better technology than a competitor’s?  Does your website contribute to lowering the cost of your product? Will your website distribute more relevant information than your competition?

And there you have it. Some of the most important questions organizations and businesses should ask themselves when creating a web presence. Remember, although it seems like a creating a website is a simple way to increase awareness of a business, organization, or product, many pieces have to come together to awaken a website’s potential. Using these six categories is a great starting point for your business.

For those of you who don’t know, we are currently interacting with the second version of the World Wide Web, more formally known as Web 2.0.  But what about Web 1.0?

Web 1.0, or the beginning of the Internet, offered websites with little or no user interaction. Remember the days of AOL or CompuServe.  Basically, when you viewed a website, you would get static information embedded on three or four webpages, such as a home, about, or contact page. There was no option to post a comment, tag a picture, or rate a seller, buyer, or a hotel room.

Anyway, this brings in Web 2.0, or the current state of the Internet. Web 2.0 builds on the information offered in Web 1.0, but allows users to share information with others (Facebook, Twitter), to submit information to systems that serve to predict wants and needs based on input or purchases (amazon.com, Pandora.com), to run software programs through the browser (Facebook Games), and thus promotes an overall user-centric, content driven web experience. For example, Facebook would not exist without users supplying content.

Web 3.0, or the Semantic Web, however, is based on the concept that the meaning of words (semantics) will be defined so that computer systems will “know” what we want when searching. With the Semantic Web, a user may to enter a complex sentence and search engines should know exactly what a searcher is talking about.

For example, if planning a night out, a user will be able to enter “I want to go to a restaurant for under $50 and then go to a jazz club near the restaurant until 2:00am. I also want information on taxis. What are my options?” The search engine will provide the user with information on cheaper restaurants, jazz clubs, directions to the clubs and restaurants, cab numbers, as well as organize the information.

It’s basically the adult version of iPhone 4S’ Siri.

Experts also say that browsers will act like a personal assistant for a user. Browsers will essentially learn as you surf, storing information about what you like and dislike. Once the browser learns more about you, the less specific your search engine requests will need to be.

How will search engines “know” what we want? (It’s about to get technical….try to keep up).

Currently, search engines look for what is know as metadata to interpret a search request from a user. Metadata consists of specific keywords, descriptions, and titles. This is why when searching for information on where to go for lunch, a user will likely enter something like “lunch restaurants Houston.”

For Web 3.0 to understand our complex sentencing, computer software agents will sort through websites using what is known as an ontology program, or a file that defines the relationships among a group of terms. This basically means understanding how certain words of a sentence are associated with each other.

An ontology program works kind of like a family tree. For example, if I talk to someone about my brother, he or she understands that my brother and I are products of the same parents. Similarly, an ontology program will be set up to identify the sentence structure of how specific words relate to one another. Certain words will relate to the subject of a sentence, and the browser or search engines will recognize these words and split them into specific classes and relationships. The browsers and search engines will then be able to place the words or a complex sentence together and will appear to be “all knowing.”

So, is the Semantic Web possible?

Well much of the initial technology already exists, however there are a few problems associated with Semantic Web development. Different software development challenges arise. For example, the vagueness of user requests such as subjective concepts and some logical inconsistencies of sentence structuring. Another major problem is security. Because browsers will learn daily, will they store credit card numbers? SSNs? Addresses? And who will have access to this information?

That said, there is tons of additional information available on semantic web and Web 3.0 possibilities. I encourage you to check it out! It’s interesting stuff.

Also, check out the video below.  It may blow your mind.

[VIDEO] Evolution Web 1.0, Web 2.0 to Web 3.0

Recently there have been numerous debates about privacy and free speech regulations on the Internet.  These debates have arisen because the growth of social media outlets has facilitated free speech in ways we never imagined.

In the past protests and opinions were spread exclusively by word of mouth and printed fliers – now movements spread online.  Facebook offers apps (like the Washington Post Social Reader) that allow friends to share what news articles they read online.  Due to apps like these people worry about the death of print, wondering if the era of good old fashioned news is over.  That may not be entirely the case.

Although print media has suffered blows in the past few years the sentiments are still the same.  People still want access to news articles and opinions without worrying about censorship.  The average American has the ability to publicly express their opinion in nearly a dozen ways on a daily basis.  The modes of voicing beliefs have changed over the years, but citizens still cling to the thought of free speech.

It used to be that people fought for free speech in order to protest wars or acts of racism, but free speech encompasses so much more now.  We could not have dreamed that we would want to share every single aspect of our daily lives online, but since that is now the norm we cannot think of any other way of living.

Spreading information is easier than ever now that all of our friends and coworkers are online.  Any information we want to share can be published with the click of a button, but all that information can be blocked just as simply.  With every new technological improvement we gain the ability to share more of our lives and opinions – but every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

The threat of over sharing now extends beyond awkward stories at office parties.  Just as quickly as relatives can post embarrassing baby photos, a radical across the world can launch a political movement.  While many movements can be seen as threats, just as many can be greatly beneficial to society.  News travels at incredible speeds, and social and political activists take advantage of that speed.  Nations struggle to keep up with the amount of information that is put online on a daily basis and censorship gets more challenging with each passing day.  The easier it is to spread information, the harder it becomes to stop it.

The force at which activists used to protest can now be magnified with online news reports and social media posts.  While the fear of censorship and the battle for free speech may never end, our ability to voice our opinions only grows.

Oh where, oh where has findability gone?? Oh where, oh where could he be?? You are probably asking yourself, “What in the world is findability?” “Is that even a word?” and “Why do we want to know where he went?” Stay tuned.

Findability

In the field of web design and information architecture, findability is most definitely a word, and an important one at that. According to Peter Morville, a founding father of information architecture, the term and concept of findability is defined as “the ability of users to identify an appropriate website and navigate the pages of the site to discover and retrieve relevant informational resources.” Basically, the concept of findability is the fully developed puzzle when you piece together the many factors associated with web design that cater to and enhance a user’s overall web experience. These puzzle pieces include, but are not limited to, search engine optimization (SEO), information architecture, usability, and accessibility.

Search Engine Optimization

One way to achieve findability of a website is to increase its search engine ranking through a method called search engine optimization, or SEO. SEO is the process of tweaking a website in multiple ways with the goal in mind of increasing search engine ranking. These ways include both technical and non-technical methods such as supplying a website with fresh and reliable content, keyword placement, emphasizing heading tags or meta tags, and an inbound links strategy.

Information Architecture

Information Architecture, as it relates to web design, involves designing and organizing a website’s structure, navigation, and content so visitors can easily interact with and locate desired information. Basically, like an architect would combine strategies to design a seemingly complex and beautiful structure while simultaneously catering to ease of human access to rooms and offices throughout the inside of the structure, a coder/designer should use the same concepts to create a beautifully laid out, easily navigable website so visitors have no problem finding the information they need.

Usability

Usability, when referring to the human-computer interaction sense, is basically how well an application or website is designed as it relates to its particular use. Is the website usable to a visitor? Usability can encompass such aspects of webdesign including credible content, or if content relates to a specific webpage. Does the ‘Members’ section of a website give access to member log-in or the ability to create an account? Usability is also related to providing visitors technology that actually works. Does the JavaScript serve its function? Do the links embedded in the text lead a user to where it’s supposed to? Basically, usability can be thought of as a measurement of how efficient and effective the website communicates information to a visitor.

Accessibility

Just as it sounds, the accessibility piece of the findability puzzle defines how accessible a website is to its audience. This includes broad aspects involved with findability such as online and offline promotion, as well as giving access to certain technological platforms and commonly used technologies, like smartphones or developing with either Flash or Java. Accessibility is also associated with providing those with disabilities the same viewing opportunities as those without, which is clearly defined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Wait….so at the beginning of the blog, why did we want to know, “Oh where, oh where has findability gone??” Well, for many years, the important concept of findability has been “tragically misunderstood and overlooked entirely” by developers, information architects, copywriters, and organizations alike. This blog is meant to serve as the unofficial resurrection of findability and meant to assist in promoting the awareness factor of the truly awesome findability concept.

Happy finding!