Pinterest’s Impact on Social Media is Worth So Much More Than 1,000 Words

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.

Findability: The Ins and Outs

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!

Online Movie Rentals Kill Movie Store Romance

Remember the good ole’ days when your favorite Saturday night pastime was strolling through your favorite free-standing video store, hand-in-hand with the one you love, carefully examining every title in the New Release section and eventually choosing the best of three by flirtatiously playing a game of Eeny, Meeny, Miny Moe? Then after relying upon the childhood game of fate, wondering whether popcorn or candy was the appropriate compliment for Date Night. Well, it looks as if these innocent, relationship shaping days of movie selection are coming to an end – unless you hold hands while selecting a movie on Netflix.

In case you haven’t noticed, free-standing movie stores are slowly crumbling to their nemesis – The Digital Conquerer, or the Internet for the less dramatic. It seems as though online kiosks such as Netflix are becoming the preferred medium for movie mavens and are beginning to result in an epic defeat of their erected counterparts.

In the past year and a half, Netflix stock has dramatically increased from $22.98 per share in November 2008 to a March 31, 2011 closing of $237.78. This is largely in part to offering rental patrons a multitude of rental options, which cater to the American way of convenience and laziness. By constructing a business plan that offers immediate online movie viewing, DVD mailbox delivery, and video game lifestyle adherence with X-Box, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii movie streaming, Netflix feeds our hunger for instant gratification and minimal movement.

A slightly depressing glance at Blockbuster Video’s stock numbers since November 2008 suggest the one time movie rental monarch has been dethroned. The numbers show a steady decline from $1.19 per share to a current, debilitating presence of $0.122. Blockbuster also announced they would be closing between 500 and 545 stores by the end of 2010.

Another soon-to-be defeated pile of bricks, Movie Gallery, has reported a shocking number of store closings since 2005. At that time, Movie Gallery operated over 4,500 stores. Now, the decaying, Internet-conquered rental chain predicts they will run 1,610 stores, after 805 store closings in 2010. This could be in part due to the failed acquisition of Hollywood Video at the height of the company.

And what will happen when Neflix undeniably annihilates every single free-standing movie rental structure?

Older generations will tell stories of movie rental hardships, trudging through eight feet of snow, snowshoeing up two flurry filled mountains, just to rent their favorite romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock. Younger generations will say “OMG, LOL!” because their digital friendly parents will be sharing these rental sagas via instant message – likely browsing through the New Release section of Netflix, or something similar. And when this happens, the innocent, simple days of the Saturday night movie stroll will be only a memory.

Cloud Computing Makes Sense

If you’ve checked the business forecast lately, you may have heard predictions about a fluffy phenomenon heading your way.  This misty marvel drifts into your browser with the potential to shield your business from the traditional, out-of-the-box software storm it may be caught in, and can drastically reduce cost, allow you to access information wherever an Internet connection can be found, and give your business the agility it needs to compete in today’s market.

What is this technological transformation tool you ask?  The lighter-than-air computer craze known as coud computing.

Over the past few years, cloud computing has accumulated major interest among businesses and Internet technology patrons alike.

What does cloud computing actually mean?

According to InfoWorld, the “cloud” in cloud computing essentially serves as a representation for the Internet.  The computing aspect of the puzzling phrase encompasses different areas which fall into a trio of service categories: Software as a Service, Platform as a Service, and Infrastructure as a Service.

Software as a Service, or SaaS, is an easily deployable software program offered over the Internet.  The SaaS model allows a business or a user to subscribe to cloud-based software and to work within the software while on the cloud.  SaaS eliminates the need to consistently update and maintain software, as well as provides rapid deployment and lower tech support costs.

Platform as a Service, or PaaS, is an extension of the SaaS model, and gives a business the means to customize multiple applications which drive a business.  Platform as a Service offers real-time collaboration, easy deployment, and customizable user-interfaces.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Infrastructure as a Service model of cloud computing, or IaaS for short.  Pushing software applications aside, IaaS service providers give businesses access to data centers, computer hardware, and server hosting capabilities.  By taking advantage of the IaaS model, start-up companies, as well as enterprises can keep their overhead costs to a minimum.

But will cloud computing continue to hover over our computer or begin to float on into the land of lost technology?

I believe cloud computing is here to stay.  Cloud computing is granting small to medium sized businesses access to the technological resources they need to compete with the big boys; therefore sparking some much needed innovation, likely making corporations sweat.

By having the same access to data centers, server farms, and software platforms, cloud computing is helping to create a fair playing field.

So be sure to check the forecast later in the year, because the phenomenon known as cloud computing is predicted to be hot, with a 100% chance of collaboration.

21st Century Graffiti

I am not the most tech-savvy person in the world, so it took me a while to catch on to these strange blocks popping up everywhere.  A friend of mine filled me in on the phenomenon that I was missing out on: QR codes.

QR (quick response) codes are little squares of code that can be scanned by smart phones and link users to all sorts of information.  In short: they are a marketer’s dream.  These codes can be found anywhere from the bottom of a perfume advertisement in a magazine to the bathroom stalls in a club, logging face time with smart phones all over the world.  Now that the iPhone and the Android system have exploded across the market people of all ages have the capability to scan these little codes wherever they go.  QR codes can be linked to web pages, display text, link to URLs – the options are nearly limitless.

Perhaps the greatest way to use QR codes as a marketing technique is to present them with little to no information at all.  Nearly anyone can create their own code using online generators, and what better way to log site visits by posting a code on a bathroom stall and leaving it at that?  The phrase “curiosity killed the cat” comes to mind when musing about the use of QR codes as marketing schemes.  Give consumers a code to something and tag it with a phrase like: “New club opening, check it out…” and you are guaranteed to get a solid number of hits if the QR is linked to a website.  (Granted, the number of scans is contingent upon where the codes are placed and how many are available.)

The rising popularity of QR codes is just one more way people are linking print media to electronic media.  Magazines, newspapers, fliers and billboards utilize QR codes to direct people to websites and media just as footnotes direct readers to additional information on a text.  QR codes are merely modern day footnotes linking the world of print media to the ever-changing world of multimedia.

Beyond their practicality as a marketing technique, QR codes have caught on in the art world.  If you look closely enough, you can see codes adapted by artists in every facet of life, from giant wallscapes to cow sculptures on the sides of streets.

Yes, QR codes are one of the greatest marketing techniques we have seen so far, but beyond that they are an artistic revolution.  Although there are plenty of kids preserving the fine medium of spray paint, what are QR codes but 21st Century graffiti?  Where gangs once marked their territory by tagging walls and subway stations, corporations are now marking theirs with neat little strategically placed squares.  The main difference?  Corporations probably spend millions of dollars on focus groups in order to determine the most profitable places to leave their mark.

Top Five Tech Trends for 2011

Before you strap on your party hat, pop open your Korbel brand Champagne, and pucker-up for your stroke-of-midnight smooch, you and your friends may discuss the best and worst parts of 2010.

This conversation could include topics such as the Winter Olympics, World Cup, Republicans conquering the House of Representatives, and Gulf Oil Spill.  As with most “Year in Review” analyses, it will likely culminate into a Nostradamus-like prognosis of the year to come.

With this article, I hope to pass on my own technological wisdom in order to assist you with the technology portion of your 2011 Prophecy with my own Top Five Tech Predictions for 2011.

A Fluffier Government

The cloud, which is a fluffed-up word for Internet, looks to accumulate a public sector following in 2011. With Microsoft winning a bid to implement a cloud-based system for the Department of Agriculture, and Google and Microsoft competing to transform federal, state, and local governments into collaboration central, the cloud appears as though it will drift into Uncle Sam’s house—and he’ll have open arms.

Prediction: President Obama uses a digital signature to sign a bill into a law, which exists as a Google Doc.

Cyberwar Goes Public

2010’s Cyberwarfare implications will shoot into 2011 like a speeding bullet. Noting such 2010 attacks January’s Google China security breach and the recent WikiLeaks fiasco, hackers likely will infiltrate servers in 2011 with full force.

Also in 2011, become aware of the information that is stored in your browser’s cookie, which is a piece of text used to automatically authenticate log-ins for sites such as Facebook and Gmail.  HTML5 supported browsers already flaunt sensitive cookie information, and user-friendly hacker programs such as Firefox’s Firesheep extension make it simple to use this information to hijack your Facebook, Twitter, or Gmail account.

Prediction: Pajamas become the new standard uniform for the armed forces.

Tablet-tastic Retail Sales

The tablet takeover appears on track for 2011.  The technology research firm Gartner projects that tablet sales will hit approximately 55 million units next year, triple the number for 2010.  Gartner also states that in 2011, all-in-one tablets, such as Apple’s iPad or Dell’s Streak, will “cannibalize” their reader-focused counterparts, such as Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes and Noble’s nook. As Apple rolls out the iPad version 2 in Spring (although last week Technorati reported the Chinese manufacturer said it could be out this winter) and Google enters the tablet game, Gartner’s forecast could reign true in 2011.

Prediction: The tablet replaces the dog as man’s new best friend.

Internet TV Takes Control

In 2010, Google released Google TV, a zombifiying box that brings the experience of the Web to your home television set, setting the standard for Web-based TV.  Also, online television platforms such as Netflix and Hulu turned profits, convincing more and more people that the scheduled-TV model is dying.  With Time-Warner reporting a 150,000 subscriber loss during the months of July to September 2010, and Comcast citing a 275,000 subscriber loss during the third quarter, Internet TV looks to continue to crumble cable service in 2011.

Prediction: Mirroring the concept of the “couch potato,”  the “streamer” becomes the 2011 hip word, which is defined by those who stream TV from multiple locations.

4G Mobile Internet Makes an Impact

4G, or the fourth generation of mobile Internet, showed its face in 2010, but didn’t make much of a public impression.  Available only in major cities, 4G is accessible through a handful of mobile products such as Sprint’s HTC EVO 4G and myTouch 4G.  But because AT&T is rumored to expand the 4G network in mid-2011, and as people begin to adapt to the superior speed, 4G Internet is sure to become a 2011 mobile necessity.

Prediction: The iPhone 4G that supports 3G Internet begins to work with 4G Internet and Apple renames the phone, “The iPhone 4G squared.”

Accessibility: The Standard for Good

Have you ever tried surfing the Web without relying on your hands or fingers to navigate the sea of information?

How about blindly tunneling through the depths of the Internet and relying on a computer program called a screen-reader to read every piece of text displayed on a website aloud?

And when is the last time you visited YouTube and streamed your favorite video – with the sound off?

Although these tasks – and even the thought of these tasks – may be irrelevant to a “normal” person’s everyday Web experience, people with disabilities are faced with a daily struggle to interact with a Web that caters to a world without encumbrances.

To combat this struggle, many governments around the world – including the United States – passed laws that require any person or business with a website to follow guidelines in order to make the technology accessible to people with disabilities. These policies – though more stringent in some countries than others – strive to promote the ultimate goal of the Internet: the universal availability of information to everyone.

Even though these laws encourage Web developers and business owners to adhere to standards of accessibility, they often are overlooked.

Most of us get lost in a Web that is drenched with data and hyperlinks and that is powered by loyal patrons who love to skim, share and soak up real-time information. In 2009, an Internet monitoring company, Netcraft, released figures that reveal the Web contains more than 215 million websites with registered domain names, and that display some sort of content. That was a year ago.

With our real-time addiction and these overwhelming figures for content-driven websites, how can we possibly police every website for thorough accessibility compliance?

Sadly, we can’t.

But we can make sure that if we have any influence over the creation of or the maintenance of any type of Web presence, we must strive to advocate accessibility standards as best we can.

Here are a few best practices to promote the greater good of accessibility standards:

► Closed captions for videos – On Oct. 8, President Obama signed an accessibility law that requires any video displayed on the Internet to have a closed captioning option. Sites such as Hulu and YouTube are embracing this standard, offering closed captioning on numerous videos throughout their sites.

► Alt text for images – For those not familiar with website design code HTML, the element image – the code used to post an image to a webpage – contains a tag within the element called “alt,” which means alternative text.

The original purpose of the “alt” tag was to provide a textual summary of an image that will replace the image if an image does not load.

The alt tag now is used by the blind and by anyone else using a screen-reader, which reads the text within these “alt” tags in order give information about the images that are displayed on a page.

► Do not trap users in content – For those users using a keyboard or voice command software to maneuver through a site, it is good practice not to rope someone into the content of an external plug-in.

For example, when a user is tabbing through the content of a website, he or she may have to tab through an external plug-in in order to reach the bottom of a webpage and may have to go through the plug-in in order to reach his or her final destination.

Some plug-ins are built to restrict access to content within the plug-in; therefore trapping a user in the mini application. To avoid this, install plug-ins that do not promote this inaccessible behavior.

For more accessibility standards, visit the Techniques and Failures for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 provided by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Zuckerberg Reveals New Facebook Features

On October 6th, 2010, Mark Zuckerberg and company revealed from within the Facebook Headquarters – a place that resembles my high school cafeteria – three major renovations to the Facebook experience.

First, in order to downplay his portrayal as a self-absorbed monster in The Social Network, which is currently the number one movie in America, the crafty billionaire planted the idea in listeners heads that Facebook now cares about user-privacy and user-control. To achieve this goal, Zuck told the audience that Facebook will finally give a user the chance to “Download Your Information.”

When using the “Download Your Information” feature, a user can navigate through the Application Settings section of Facebook, locate a feature called “Download Your Information,” and request a downloadable ZIP file to store on his or her personal machine. The ZIP file will contain every piece of data a user has ever posted to Facebook, encompassing such things as photos, messages, wall posts, friend lists, profile information, and anything else imaginable.

What I truly hope happens with the “Download Your Information” feature is similar to that of an alcoholic confronting an overflowing trashcan of wine bottles and succumbing to the reality of his or her addiction. I hope that when a Facebook user takes advantage of this feature, he or she examines this ZIP file for what it really is: evidence of a problem. Remember: The larger the ZIP file, the greater the obsession.

The second announcement Zuckerberg mentioned in his trio of transformations is one that allows a user to control the information sent to third-party websites through Applications. The new “Application Dashboard” feature gives a user the ability to view a command-center filled with Application data that displays what information is being transferred to external websites and when the last time an external website acquired personal information.

Although at first glance the “Application Dashboard” seems like an altruistic move by the former privacy monger, Zuck has made locating the Dashboard quite difficult. Instead of accessible through the sensible “Application Settings” section of the “Account” tab, the Dashboard can be found tucked-away in the bottom left corner of the “Privacy Settings” screen, displaying in 8.5 font-size: Edit your settings. I had to pull out my monocle for this one.

Last but not least, the 35th richest person in America unveiled a new “Groups” feature – not to be confused with the groups we all joined five years ago – that lets users create a collective Facebook wall that only specific users defined within a Group can access. Also, Group members, when online, can interact with one another in a real-time group chat setting.

Zuckerberg and friends sold the Groups feature by trying to convince viewers that we need to filter out the statuses and updates from acquaintances – the Facebook friends that we do not seem to care about – and create a more personalized way to interact with our “real-life” friends by creating a “Group.”

While I tend to agree that there is a need to eliminate some of my “friends” status updates, especially the ones that contain a picture of an eight-month pregnant belly, I think that the Groups feature is diverting from Zuckerberg’s vision of a more “open and connected” world.

How are we supposed to become open and connected when we are invited to close off our friends? And will we actually be more connected if we end up using the Groups feature, or will this submit us deeper into to the virtual world we have become so accustomed to?

I fear that eventually – without realizing it – people will be sucked into this virtual community we call Facebook, if we are not already. I believe, and I hope that I am wrong, that people are using Facebook more and more as an end and not as a means to an end.

Think about it. When is the last time you heard a Facebook friend’s voice rather than read his or her words on your wall? When is the last time you interacted with your family member by observing his or her body language and facial expressions rather than looking at his or her static pictures and funny emoticons?

What we now consider a real-life conversation is slowly shifting from tones to text. From sound to silence. And from face to Facebook.

Article first published as Zuckerberg Reveals New Facebook Features on Technorati.

Will Facebook Places end up MIA?

Facebook doesn’t like to be outdone, so it’s about time founder Mark Zuckerberg introduced “Places,” a location-based application much like Gowalla and Foursquare.  Now Facebookers no longer have to divert their attention to applications like Twitter in order to tell their followers where they are every second of the day – with Places Facebook once again comes out on top of the social media ladder.

Each new application that emerges on the social media scene is usually met with scorn and pleasure in near equal parts.  The big allure of Facebook’s Places is the fact that it incorporates the same basic functions of Gowalla and Foursquare but with the greater influence of the Facebook name.  Although the emergence of sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn has jump started the growth of the social media community, Facebook continues to reign supreme in the world of social media (with an estimated following of 500 million users – and counting).  Critics of the new application will likely be skeptical of the security of posting your location online.  More and more Internet predators emerge on the scene everyday, and with teens and young adults flooding the Internet location-based networking opens doors for people to be exploited.  Mark Zuckerberg insists, however, that this new feature will only extend to people in your network, limiting the amount of information available to the general public.

After Twitter emerged on the scene Facebook incorporated the idea of tagging friends in status updates; this same tactic is now extended to the new Places application.  This sets the bar high for location-based social media, uniquely allowing friends to share information about their location.  This feature is what will draw teens and young adults to the application.  The whole point of social media is just that: to be social.  What’s the point of merely posting your location online?  It seems rather egotistical to me.  The advent of including friends in location-based social media is a natural progression in this socially-driven online world.

Facebook Places is a new breed of social media that will consume the lives of teenagers and young adults (at least for a while…).  Each new trend or application has its honeymoon period: those using it will love it, those not using it will be ridiculed and convinced to use it, and its creators will high-five each other for their creative genius until the cows come home.  Is Places the new Beanie Baby of the decade?  Maybe, but probably not.  Teenagers are a fickle breed, riddled with ADD when it comes to new technology.  Places will likely fizzle out as soon as the next big media gadget appears.

As far as marketing gurus are concerned, Facebook Places might as well be the Holy Grail of social media; with one post on Places the new place in town can become the only place in town.  Now when little Suzie goes to get pizza and updates her Facebook Places on where she is, Johnny can make his move and “conveniently” join her – bringing along a few friends, of course.  Now the previously mentioned pizza place has an onslaught of customers.  Groups of younger adults seldom travel solo, taking packs of friends with them everywhere, and Places only makes this herd mentality that much easier to maintain.

In summary, here’s my take:
Places is great for promoting events and locations within your Facebook network, but how many more applications do we really need?  At the end of the day Facebook Places will fizzle into the background, losing its momentum just as quickly as it started…but has it even started?  Asking around, few people have even heard of the application.  Is it possible that Zuckerberg has as of yet failed to create a following for his new brainchild?  Only time will tell…

This entry adapted from a review of Reggie Bradford’s article found on: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=13583

Facebook Makes Major Announcements at F8 [LIVE]

Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is making major announcements to an audience of developers and press at the F8 Conference in San Francisco.  Ben Parr from Mashable is there taking notes.   Article

Most notably: The developer policy of not storing user data for more than 24 hours is now gone — this will give developers more time to use user data via Facebook Connect.

I don’t know if this policy will make brands more social or more stalker-like.  However, it’s my experience that access to data  makes marketers smarter in general.  They tend to present more relevant content when they know more about their consumers.