Tech trends for AWC communicators April 2011

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Betamax photo courtesy

jurvetson at Flickr CC

Ear to the (Geek) Ground:Tech News You Can Use

2011 Update

Your Nerd Guide...

Sheila Scarborough

@SheilaS @FreelanceAustin

Co-founder, TourismCurrents.com

What This Is....

A broad-brush look at:

Tech/social media trends

What those trends might mean for communicators

Always asking .... So What?

What This Is Not....

A note-taking test!

Reference material will be available“Geek Dashboard Pack” handout

Slides on SlideShare.net

So, put down the pen/keyboard if you'd like, and let's get nerdy....

Big Themes for Today

Information & search engines

The world of mobile

(Pause for mid-session Q&A)

Mobile, continued

Updating the toolbox

Wrap-up Q&A

Ear to the Ground: Information and Online Search

King's College, Cambridge Library (courtesy Cornell U. Library, Flickr Commons)

Finding information online....How are search engines changing?

Or.... How is Google changing?

800 lb Gorilla (courtesy digitalART2 Flickr CC)

What's in a SERP? (Search Engine Results Page)

Control key closeup courtesy

renatotarga at Flickr CC

Search Results Are....

More real-timeUsing Twitter & Facebook data

More personalizedAccording to your location and previous

searches

More universal with photos/video

More socialResults from your connections

Pop Quiz!

What's the world's Number Two search engine?

YouTube

Google's fight against “content farms”

Panda (or Farmer)

Algorithm Update

Employee bonuses may be tied to social's success

Latest effort: +1 in searchSimilar to Facebook's “Like”

Google Keeps Trying Social

Finding information via Q&A

LinkedIn Answers

Facebook Questions

Quora

So What?

Know how people search for information

Know where people search for information

Can they find YOUR information?

….and when they do, is it high-quality and trustworthy?

Craft quality content, using the words your customers use to search

Ear to the Ground: Mobile!

Mobile (Yutaka Tsutano at Flickr CC)

Imagine everyone with the web in their pocket or purse

Shibuya intersection courtesy baldur at Flickr CC

OK, so you're ready to deal with a mobile world

Which comes first...

Build an app?

OR

Build a mobile-friendly website?

If you have a nice big budget, do both.

For the rest of us....

App vs. Website – Why an App?

Apps = focused solutions tailored to mobile devices

Brand awareness every time someone uses your app

People like customizing their mobile devices …. like they customize any computer

App vs. Website – Why NOT an App?

Must ensure that people even know the app exists

Must ensure that people can easily find it

Good design and functionality = $$$

You need to cover iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows .... and now tablets, too.

App vs. Website Smackdown

I'm in favor of website first, because....

What's the first thing people do when they pull out their phone to look for information?

They open up a browser.

You MUST get a mobile-friendly website.

The Pause That Refreshes:It's Q & A Time!

555 LED flasher candy creation (courtesy oskay at Flickr CC)

Pop Quiz!

How can you connect a piece of paper to the internet?

With a QR codeQR code treats by clevercupcakes at Flickr CC

New Orleans-based digital marketing guy Tom Martin

demo's a QR code on his phone

So on your computer screen, from Tom's Vimeo page, you'll see a video playing on his iPhone,

filmed by his handheld Flip video camera.

Got that?

You can see the possibilities here, right?

Which is why they're starting to show up everywhere

BUT....

Have a compelling reason to scan!

Should go to a mobile-friendly site (Duh)

Problematic in rural/isolated areas

Most free codes aren't dynamic

Will QR get bumped by NFC (Near Field Communications?)

Budurl.com Pro level

Kaywa at http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

Bit.ly link shortener will generate QR

Microsoft Tag

Some options: making a QR code

Mobile Wrap-up Thoughts

Tablets/iPads are mobile devices, too

Phone cameras – just getting started

Instagram

Livestreaming video from your phone

Location-based services & mobile GPS

Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook Places

Don't forget Yelp

Group texting: Beluga, GroupMe

Ear to the Ground: Updating the Communications Toolbox

Tools by L. Marie at Flickr CC

Don't Panic button by Jim Linwood Flickr CC

How can we keep UP with all this?!

The story comes first

The emotional connection comes first

THEN apply the best tool

It's not about the shiny tools....

It's about the application of those tools.

Staying Up To SpeedYes, mainstream media

Bloomberg BusinessWeek

The UK's Guardian Tech section

Find tech-savvy mentors

Go where the geeks are

Your local Social Media Club/SM Breakfast

BlogWorld & New Media Expo

CES & Barcelona Mobile World Congress

South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi)

SXSWi

Where the geeks are

5+ days20,000 people

SXSWi 2011 Trip Report

Moving more seamlessly between online and offline, usually via mobile

Big brands are there

Not always greeted with enthusiasm

Mashup I liked: The AVAdventure

Impact of Middle East use of social networks and mobile for revolution

Not there? Follow #SXSWi on Twitter

Communicator Takeaways

Know how people seek information online, and be there with what they seek.

MOBILE

Communicating well is the hard part.

Story/emotional connection comes first.

Don't let your toolbox get rusty.

Cull and sort, add and subtract as needed.

Whew! Thanks for Coming Today

She's geeky! (courtesy Cambodia4KidsOrg at Flickr CC)

Go Get Nerdy

Sheila Scarborough

@SheilaS

Co-founder,

TourismCurrents.com

This presentation was made with Impress open source

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