This month is all about speed: from the running of the Kentucky Derby and the Indianapolis Mini Marathon, to the Indianapolis 500 just a few short weeks away—we’ve got a need for speed. To keep the theme going, check out this article about the top online news sites and how they rank in speed.
News junkies now have insight into the fastest online news sites in 2012, thanks to PageSpeed Online, the web-based version of Google’s tool for measuring site performance. If you are like me and enjoy getting a broad picture of the day’s news—but don’t have time to wait and watch pages spin and struggle to load—save yourself some time and check this list for the fastest players.
Tags: Google, online, online news, page speed, PR, Public Relations
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Today is a big day. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that oversees top-level domain (TLD) names, is opening the doors to a historic change in the Internet’s naming system.
ICANN officially expanded the current system of TLDs to allow companies to register their names or brands as a TLD. Currently ICANN offers 22 generic TLDs, like .com, .net and .tv. With this new system, there will be potentially thousands of new TLDs registered every year. The idea of this is rather appealing. Just think how much the better the experience would be if you were to go to www.running.nike or www.mustang.ford instead of www.nike.com/running.
The price (and potential for disaster) however, are not appealing. With an application fee of $185,000 and a $25,000 annual fee, only the largest brands will really be able to take advantage of this and customize their slice of the web. Of course, there are already a lot of naysayers who don’t like this idea at all. They see it as wasting money, as they will inevitably have to buy up their names just to defend their brands online.
As I said, on paper this does seem like a good idea, but without a ton of cash just lying around, it is not something the average company will be able to attempt—and without a definitive plan to protect the company reputation in place, you may not have a choice. Inevitably, this change will also be accompanied by a slew of legal action around trademarks and reputation.
In case you want your own customized TLD, applications will be accepted starting today, January 12, 2012, through April 12, 2012, and the new domains should start early next year.
What do you think? Does the necessity of protecting you and yours from potential negative impressions outweigh the high costs?
Further reading:
Article from Reuters
Blog post at PC World
Tags: brand, Branding, Commentary, domains, ICANN, Internet, online, URL
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It is not uncommon for people to think of public relations as primarily media relations; however, a key element to public relations is knowing and understanding an organization’s target publics. Social media brings on a new way for organizations to communicate with their key audiences. It is critical to remember that social media is a two-way street that is best used when an organization’s social media team is willing to actively participate in the conversation— not simply push out information.
Cyber Monday snafu
During this year’s Cyber Monday, my favorite stores, Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor LOFT, took to Facebook and Twitter to promote 50 percent off everything online until midnight, with the use of a special code. While this started off as a great promotion (that I was excited to take advantage of), both store websites went down in the morning. This is not the first time Ann Taylor’s websites have collapsed during an online sale, but one would think that after a previous disaster several months prior, their IT department would make sure it never happened again. Regardless, almost instantly the angry Tweets and Facebook posts from customers began, asking when the sites would be up.
Apparently Ann Taylor realized their IT problems were far from an easy fix and they extended their sale to Tuesday and Wednesday—depending on the store—and the LOFT even said customers could visit stores and still receive the same discount if they spoke with a sales associate. I’m not sure what the protocol was for communicating this to the stores, but apparently some of them missed the memo and would not honor the discount. The backlash from customers was again taken out on the company’s social media pages.
Below are sample screen shots from both Ann Taylor’s and the LOFT’s Facebook pages on Monday.
Partial PR communication strategy falls short
Although Ann Taylor and the LOFT’s social media teams couldn’t respond to all the negative comments individually, they did take time to answer customers’ overarching concerns about the online sale and communicating the message to stores. I’m sure every effort was made internally to resolve the problems online and in stores, but this is a good reminder that public relations is more than how to work with media—it’s how to communicate to target publics. In this case, the target publics were customers and sales associates, but it seems as though the second half of this equation was late being notified of the online sale suddenly being available in stores.
The LOFT posted this status update later in the week to follow up:
Going forward, store managers and sales associates should know when giant online sales are about to happen and be prepared to offer the same savings. Of course, this might not even be necessary if Ann Taylor and the LOFT’s websites are upgraded to better handle such a large online customer base. Internal communication within an organization is key to successful business practices.
Hopefully by the time this is posted, I’ll have been able to successfully go online and make a few Ann Taylor purchases to freshen up my wardrobe.
Tags: Commentary, Communication, current events, Customer relations, Cyber Monday, Events, Facebook, online, PR, Public Relations, social media, Twitter
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The topic of infographics came up during a recent conversation I had with a colleague. The question wasn’t about whether to create infographics or not, but rather what really makes an infographic an infographic and not just another chart or diagram.
I, of course, have an opinion on the matter (imagine that), but I really would like to open this up as a discussion. First things first, though, let’s establish the ground rules defining what an infographic is and how it is used. Then I will give you my opinion.
According to Wikipedia, “information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge.” Essentially it means taking complex information and presenting it in an easily understood manner, allowing the end user to grasp the concept without being overwhelmed with the data.
Today’s infographics are primarily found online, usually in blog posts. And they’re routinely presented in a long, vertical format, controlling the reader’s visual consumption of the information through scrolling down the page.
While infographics have been around a long time (a really long time), they have seen an increase in popularity and usage recently online, especially in blog posts. The reason is they make great link bait. Infographics that are both informative and visually appealing get shared. A lot. Each share or mention could potentially (read: should) be a link back to the source or creator. Being that a link on the web is considered a vote, a good infographic that gets shared can account for a lot of votes. And those votes can help improve your search engine ranking. (I know I am oversimplifying SEO and link-building strategy, but for the sake of this discussion, bear with me.)
Infographics come in all sizes and shapes. The data they convey varies even more. Typically they encourage the reader to follow along and see how the information interrelates and progresses. The good ones (i.e. those that are shared) are super simple, easy to follow and visually appealing (more on this later). Here are just a few examples of some recent favorites (and shares).
The Life and Times of Steve Jobs (shared below, as well)
The Environmental Impact of Spam
How Much Data Will Humans Create & Store This Year?
For those of you who made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. For those who just skipped ahead to see how wrong my opinion is, shame on you. (Oh, who am I kidding? I would have done the same thing.)
As I alluded to earlier, a good infographic is one that is easy to understand and is visually appealing. But there’s more to it.
What makes an infographic great? At the core of any content is a story. People are more likely to share a story than they are data. Great charts and graphs are created all the time, but because they fail to convey the story in a compelling manner, they fall flat. If you haven’t already, take a look at the Steve Jobs example included below. It literally presents the man’s life story from start to finish, or in this case, top to bottom.
You probably wouldn’t finish a book—not to mention share it—that didn’t pull you in to the story. The same goes for content. Whether it be an infographic on the web or copy in a print ad, without a story, there’s no reason to listen or share.
So there you have it, my thoughts on the subject. I invite you to share yours in the comments. What makes an infographic great and worth sharing?
Interested in finding more infographics than you can shake a stick at? Check out these resources:
Info Graphic World – They literally specialize in creating these and are really good at it, to boot.
Daily Infographic – The name says it all.
Information Is Beautiful – Literally making information and data sexy.
Mashable – More than just infographics. News, stories and trends, as well.
Marketing Tech Blog – Great resource for all things marketing, techy, bloggy…
Fast Company – A wide variety of topics visualized.
Created by: Infographic World
Tags: blogging, Commentary, Communication, Creative, Design, How to, online, search engine optimization, SEO, social media, social media marketing
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Several MBers attended ExactTarget’s user conference Sept. 13-15, and they’ll each be sharing the key ideas they took with them from the event. Check back in the coming days and weeks for more insight!
Last week I had the privilege of attending ExactTarget‘s annual interactive marketing conference, Connections 2011. Overall, the conference was fun and very informative. ExactTarget does a great job putting the event together and carrying it through to the end.
I thoroughly enjoyed everything from the opening keynote speakers, to the breakout sessions and the closing day “marketing burst” sessions. I left with a few “aha” moments and lots of key takeaways from the event.
One of those key takeaways is just how fast mobile is growing. With smartphone sales outpacing desktop computer sales, it’s an audience or medium that everyone should pay more attention to. And it’s not just about reading email or keeping up with social media on the phone—it’s making purchases directly from the device, as well. Retail emails (those emails typically sharing a product and/or offer) see almost equal numbers of clicks from mobile users and from desktop users.
Another significant takeaway from the breakout sessions was the common theme, regardless of session topic, of data measurement and management. Nearly every presentation included a strong stance on finding out what you should measure and how you should measure it. One presenter even said, “If you don’t have the ability to measure it, why are you even doing it? Every time you begin something, you need to ask, ‘Why are we doing this, and how are we going to measure it?’”
And it’s not just measuring it—it’s measuring it correctly, using reliable data sources to gather and review the information that is important to you. With so many data sources today, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds. Finding the sources that will provide you the best information for what you are trying to track is key.
All in all, the event as a whole was great. Getting to hear people like Jimmy Wales (founder of Wikipedia) and Aron Ralston (inspiration for the film 127 Hours) speak and share their stories and passions was incredible. I find it pretty cool that ExactTarget can bring so many interactive marketing experts to one place. It doesn’t hurt that they’re just minutes away.
Tags: Commentary, Connections 2011, current events, data management, data measurement, Events, ExactTarget, Indianapolis, mobile, online
Posted in Digital Media | 2 Comments »
Like millions of other consumers, several offers from daily-deal sites like Groupon and LivingSocial arrive in my inbox each day. While other marketing channels have struggled through the economic downturn of the last few years, these sites have turned consumers’ penny-pinching into a winning marketing format. The next trick will be figuring out how to leverage it for B2B marketing.
The leaders of the pack are Groupon and LivingSocial. These two got the wheels rolling on the bandwagon in late 2008, amid the collapse of the housing market and economy, when consumers were really beginning to tighten their purse strings. The invention of the daily-deal email paired tried-and-tested geographic targeting—employed by direct mail marketers for years—with the more social environment of the digital scene. A limited number of deals were offered, in a limited time frame.
To say the concept took off is an understatement.
The estimate of the number of current daily-deal sites in the market today varies widely, with some sources estimating 350, others as many as 500, and some even estimate that there are 3,000 globally.
And the landscape is changing daily. Yelp recently announced that it would cut its Yelp Deals sales staff by half, and Facebook retreated from the daily-deals market entirely. On the other hand, Google is just getting its feet wet: it promoted a local offer on its home page on August 31 for the first time. Google Offers is only available for nine cities right now, but interested consumers can already sign up for many additional cities (including Indianapolis) that will be rolling out soon.
Groupon continues to flex, as well—for the first time, an offer for reduced tuition for a course at National Louis University in Chicago hit inboxes this week.
Then there are the niche players: for every potential target audience, there’s a daily-deal site to serve it. There’s Daily Deals for Moms (self-explanatory); DealChicken, from Gannett, which uses its local media outlets; Gilt Groupe, for the designer fashion/accessory crowd; blissmo, for the eco-conscious among us, etc.
You’ll notice that the vast majority of these players have one big thing in common: they cater to business-to-consumer marketers. Few sites have figured out how to successfully leverage the trend for the B2B market, but one—Groundswell Health—is trying. This San Francisco company is bringing collective buying to healthcare practices and other purchasers of medical supplies and equipment.
B2B targets aren’t often able to make purchasing decisions with the same speed that the daily-deal model has capitalized on, but I could see this being leveraged for things like conference passes (which already offer early-bird registration deals), office supplies (want to buy eight pounds of coffee today for half price?), and other purchases that are on the smaller side of the business-purchase equation. It wasn’t specifically targeted to businesses, but MB recently bought and used a Groupon for our favored lunch-catering service, so there’s certainly a market out there.
For a company considering a dive into the daily-deal pool, there are arguments on both sides of the coin. The decision needs to be made strategically, with your overall business and marketing goals in one hand and your budget in the other. What are some of those pros and cons?
Pros:
Cons:
This is just a short list. Check out the links at the bottom of this post for a couple articles that offer some good tips for marketers considering a daily deal. Also, take 25 minutes and listen to NPR’s Planet Money podcast, “Groupon! Monty Python! Price Discrimination!” which offers a great history of the coupon trend and includes stories from businesses who’ve tried it.
As a consumer, I loved Groupon at first (I signed up in November 2009). I liked that it introduced me to many locally owned, lesser-known small businesses in my area, in addition to having the chance at unprecedented offers.
But now? Very few offers come through Groupon or LivingSocial that interest me. As soon as the national brands jumped on board (who are understandably better set up to absorb the low margins), the sense of exclusivity that made it fun diminished, and it began to feel like yet another expected email advertisement.
Nevertheless, I’m still a subscriber. The potential offers are too good for me to ignore. And I continue to sign up for niche services that seem more targeted to my interests.
The takeaways for a business contemplating making an offer? Do your research, consider the opportunity strategically, and put a solid customer-retention plan into place before making your own daily-deal offer.
Take your time; this opportunity won’t expire in 24 hours.
Now, let’s hear from you: Has your company tried this? Are you considering it? Where do you think this daily-deal trend will go next?
Further reading:
A Marketer’s Guide to the Daily Deal Market Beyond Groupon and LivingSocial
5 Tips for Social Couponing Bliss
Groupon! Monty Python! Price Discrimination!
Previous posts:
How valuable is your customer?
Podcasts: Why you should be listening
Tags: Advertising, Commentary, current events, Customer relations, daily deal, email marketing, Groupon, LivingSocial, Marketing, online, online advertising, social media, social media marketing
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Fall is just around the corner. I know this because daylight seems to be slipping away ever so slightly each day, the air is cooler each morning, and school is back is session. It is the latter that inspires this post today.
Ever heard of the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, by Robert Fulghum? I’ve heard many people quote it, and even I have referenced this book with a chuckle from time to time. This is not a book review, because I have to confess—I haven’t read the book. But here are some snippets from it and how we can think about these things as it applies to the digital world. This may not have been the intent of the book, but I see some interesting correlations.
Share: Social media is all about sharing. What have you shared with your network today?
Don’t take things that aren’t yours: In this world where “content is king,” it is important to give credit where credit is due. (Thanks, Mr. Fulghum, for the inspiration for my blog post today.)
Don’t hit: I’m glad to see that the “poking” feature is pretty much dead on Facebook. It seems like several years ago, everyone was poking one another. I really didn’t get that, and I’m glad to see that phase is over.
Warm cookies and milk are good for you: Really? I’ll go along with that. Who doesn’t like a fresh-out-of-the-oven cookie from time to time? (My favorites are chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin.) You can think of cookies on computers in much the same way: On one hand, they are good, because they help us to retain preferences and passwords on all the sites we visit…but accepting too many cookies can lead to being stalked by over-aggressive marketers. No one likes that. This leads me to the next idea:
Balanced life is good: Moderation is a good thing. Don’t spend too much time in front of the computer. Be sure to get up and socialize in person with your peers.
Wash your hands: Office spaces are germy. Washing hands is just a good thing. Have you looked at your keyboard lately? It could probably use some attention.
As I was dropping off my 5-year old at Kindergarten this morning, I asked him what I should write about today. He said I should incorporate two black and white penguins who fly. He knows that penguins don’t fly, but he said they can fly in his dreams.
So I end on this note: never forget your dreams, and incorporate your imagination into your problem solving. Kids have a wonderful way of bringing us to the here-and-now and helping us to look at things in a different way.
Tags: books, Commentary, online
Posted in Digital Media | 5 Comments »
Walk down the street or open a magazine and chances are you’ll run across a little icon that’s changing the face of communications. It’s called a Quick Response code or QR code®.
A QR code is a two-dimensional matrix code readable by QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code itself consists of a series of black modules arranged in a square on a white background.
There are also codes that look like this:
This is a High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB)—the name that is used by Microsoft® for its 2D barcode technology and serves as the basis of the Microsoft Tag application. Codes are made using clusters of colored triangles instead of square modules typically associated with 2D barcodes. HCCBs can range from 2-color black and white up to 8-color images.
Microsoft Tag is a proprietary 2D barcode implementation of HCCB that is specifically designed to be scanned by a mobile phone. The major difference between Tag and other 2D barcode technologies is that the URL (or data) is stored on the cloud. This means that you can actually use a single tag multiple times, allowing you to adjust your campaign on the fly.
QR codes have been around since the 1990s.
The QR code was originally developed in 1994 by the Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave to be used in tracking parts in the automotive supply chain. It has since been adapted for a variety of uses, including but not limited to, sharing a vCard, opening a web page, composing an email or sending a text message. They have been used everywhere from product packaging, magazines and signs, to trade shows, buses and business cards.
The applications are virtually endless.
QR codes can be used in a variety of ways and places. Using them in marketing efforts provides a greater ability to track response and calculate ROI.
Examples of QR code uses:
Why consider QR codes:
They’re green.
Using QR codes helps reduce the use of printed materials which saves paper, making it a more sustainable and cost-effective option for promoting your business.
Concise up-front information.
By using a QR code on your printed material, you don’t have to weigh down your target audience with too much information. In addition, it saves the recipient from having to carry physical materials, such as brochures and press kits, around with them—items that can be misplaced or accidentally thrown away. QR codes significantly increase convenience for your target audience members who use smartphones and provide an immediate experience with a brand.
Increased website traffic.
Since QR codes instantly take smartphone users online, they increase website traffic for companies. And chances are, once the person is online, they will delve deeper into the company web page to find out more information.
They’re new and different.
Tech-savvy smartphone owners love all things new and different. Giving them a new, more convenient and creative way to access information may get them more interested in what your company or products have to offer.
Cost considerations.
Denso Wave owns the patent rights on the QR code (the term QR code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated), but the use of them is free of any license. QR codes are defined and published as an ISO standard.
A variety of online tools make it easy for anyone to generate a QR code. Real costs are incurred when there is a need for detailed reporting and campaign control using a provider like ScanLife.
Want to learn more?
Scan either the QR code or the Microsoft Tag featured in this article (or simply click this link) to view a digital version of our QR code white paper.
Originally published in the MB Journal Q2 2011
Posted in Advertising, Branding, Communication, Digital Media, Marketing, Public Relations, Social media | Comments Off
TweetBusiness books put me to sleep. I know they offer a lot of expertise, but I find it physically difficult to slog through most of them.
But you know what? I don’t feel like I’m really missing out on much. Call me a product of generation Y, but because of the up-to-date, relevant information I can get through blogs and podcasts – many of which are offered by those business-book authors themselves – I feel like I’m staying educated.
I’ve extolled the virtues of blogs (and feed readers) here in the past, but podcasts deserve a post of their own.
Podcasts are audio files that are released through the web in episodes and generally on a schedule. This Mashable article includes a good introduction:
“[Podcasts] are simply audio files released through the web on a — more or less — regular basis. Like a YouTube video, podcasts don’t really have a set time limit. They can range from just a couple minutes to upwards of two hours. But unlike YouTube videos, podcasts rely more heavily on subscriptions, meaning people actually sign up to receive your podcast whenever it comes out (though they can listen without subscribing).”
Podcasts share characteristics with both blogs and radio shows. Like blogs, anyone, whether novice or expert, can create one, and each post – or episode — is distributed online and can be subscribed to via RSS. Like radio, many are audio-only episodes (though more and more video podcasts are being produced) and feature a host who either speaks on a particular topic in each episode or interviews a guest. (Many traditional radio programs are also available after broadcast in podcast form online.)
After you’ve downloaded a podcast audio file, you can listen on your computer or sync the file with your favorite MP3 player or smartphone. (I favor the iPod route, myself, so for the purposes of this post, that’s the method I’ll refer to.)
Podcasts offer a wealth of knowledge and commentary on any topic under the sun – and it’s usually completely free to listen. Want to learn about marketing? You’ll find hundreds of options. Interested in Internet marketing specifically? Dozens are at your disposal. It’s a bit like perusing the shelves at your favorite bookstore.
If you’re one of those people who find yourself saying, “I don’t have time to read,” then podcasts are definitely for you, because you can listen while you multitask. My favorite time to listen to podcasts is in my car during my commute to and from work. I know of at least one of my coworkers here at MB who listens to podcasts on his iPod while he walks his dog. Maybe you’ll want to listen while you’re fixing dinner, getting ready for work, working in the yard… you can take advantage of the opportunity to keep busy while you’re listening at the same time.
The major hub for podcasts is the iTunes store, but other sources like podcast.com are available, and you can often get the files directly from the provider’s site.
If you go the iTunes route, you can download podcasts directly from your smartphone. Or you can launch the program on your computer, open your iTunes store and click Podcasts in the menu bar at the top. On the Podcasts home page, you’ll find new and noteworthy episodes, staff favorites, and a list of featured providers.
You can narrow down your options by using the drop-down menu (tiny white arrow next to Podcasts in the menu bar) to broadly navigate categories or by doing a search. The search box at the top right is at your disposal, or you can return to the home page, click Power Search near the top on the right side, and choose Podcasts from the first drop-down menu you’re given. This is handy if you’re looking for something more specific, like podcasts about marketing in the business category.
Now it’s up to you. You can try an episode or two before you decide to subscribe, or jump right in. Download to your heart’s content; the only limitations are how much storage space you have for your files and how much time you have to listen.
The magnitude of available options can be overwhelming, so how do you narrow it down? Check out the listener ratings in the iTunes store, search your favorite blogs for suggestions, or try asking your friends.
And what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t give you some recommendations myself? Here are some of my favorites, all of which are free and available through iTunes:
Give podcasts a try. Whether you only have five minutes or you’re willing to listen for 60, podcasts are a treasure for the intellectually curious. Listen for professional development, listen for fun — just listen.
Further reading/links:
Mashable: Top 4 tips for creating a podcast for your small business
Mashable: 3 Podcast success stories from creative small businesses
Apple: FAQs: For podcast makers
Wikipedia: About Podcasts
Tags: blogging, Communication, current events, fun, Marketing, online, podcasts, RSS
Posted in Digital Media | 2 Comments »
Bring up “cloud computing” at your next cocktail social hour, and you’ll find that people generally fall into two groups: those who stare back at you blankly (and perhaps start to back away) and those who perk up with excitement because they’ve finally found someone else who knows what it is and can talk about it.
How would you like to become a solid part of that latter group? I’ll let you in on a little secret: at a high level, cloud computing is an intimidating term for something you’re already using without thinking about it. It’s just a matter of putting a name on it to connect the dots, and bam, you’re one of the cool kids.
One of my clients is a local cloud-hosting firm, Bluelock, so in working with them, I’ve quickly had to develop an understanding of cloud computing that goes a little deeper than what most people will ever need.
Cloud computing is a tech-industry buzzword for a practice that has become an integral part of our daily lives: the move to conduct more and more activity via the Internet. There are essentially two parts of the cloud-computing equation:
1. Information and software/applications reside in an outside server. Traditional software applications (such as Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Suite) are installed on your computer’s hard drive, then you run the application from your machine. With cloud computing, software applications are run from a server that could be next door or across the country – it doesn’t matter. All you need is an Internet connection, and you’re set. Installation, configuration and maintenance are no longer on your plate.
2. Access. With cloud computing, you can access information any time and from anywhere, so long as you have an Internet connection. At the office, at home, at your favorite café, or sitting in the airport – it’s all possible.
HowStuffWorks.com has a great article that explains how cloud computing works in a way that doesn’t require a degree in IT to understand it. (For once, I don’t recommend the Wikipedia article on the subject; wait to read it until you’re looking for more technical information. It’s not a good place to start.)
The easiest way to begin wrapping your mind around this is with some recognizable examples.
Companies and individuals alike are using cloud computing for both personal and business activities.
1. Email: If you have a web-based email account, such as Gmail, Yahoo!, or Hotmail, then you’re using cloud computing. To access your email, connect to the Internet, and voila – email, 24/7. You don’t need a software application installed on your computer – heck, you don’t actually need a computer at all. Smartphone? You’re set.
2. Social media: All social media platforms are hosted online, so you are using cloud computing each time you log into Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Take it a step further, and think from the perspectives of the people who manage the operations of these behemoth companies: As a business owner whose members exceed 500 million, would you want to have all the servers needed to hold their data under your own roof? And speaking of businesses…
3. Business applications: Salesforce.com is a CRM platform whose value proposition is built on the idea that you can manage a sales team’s data from anywhere. If it’s a team that travels regularly, they can remotely keep lead status and contact records up to date. As Salesforce has grown, it has really embraced the idea of cloud computing by offering more and more business apps developed either in-house or by partners. While it is a sales pitch, they also produced a nice video that explains cloud computing in relation to business. Check it out:
Miller Brooks uses a cloud-based project management system called Workamajig for job tracking, accounting, logging staff hours, etc. In the old days, we used software installed on a server in our building. Each time the company released an upgrade, we personally had to install it. And each time we ran into a snag, we had to figure it out ourselves or wait for a technician to visit and fix it. By using a cloud-based system, upgrades are released automatically, and having the server space in our office to house the software is no longer something we have to consider.
4. Data storage and backup: You’ve heard it before: the best way to ensure you never lose your files is to have a backup copy stored somewhere off-site. This was true in the days of paper files, and it’s true of electronic files today. Cloud computing allows you to back up your data – whether they’re project files or photos of your daughter’s wedding – easily, cheaply, and even automatically. Carbonite is one site that can automatically sync your files on a regular basis, and you can access your files through your account from any computer at any time. Dropbox is another example of a site that allows you to access your files simply by logging into your account.
5. Collaboration: As our companies begin to adopt a more fluid workforce that needs to be able to work remotely — whether it be from our laptops, smartphones, or tablet computers — staying organized is incredibly important. We also need to be able to collaborate on projects, and that’s one area that is steadily growing “in the cloud.” Applications like Google Docs allow multiple people to collaborate on one document, so you don’t have to worry about multiple versions floating around getting confused. Basecamp is another project management/collaboration tool that helps teams of people do just that.
6. And the list goes on: Need more examples of cloud-computing applications? Manage your voicemail with Google Voice; distribute a PowerPoint slide deck using Prezi, SlideRocket or SlideShare; share – and even edit – your photos and videos through Flickr, Picasa, Aviary and YouTube; manage your personal spending with Mint; arrange your next vacation using Hipmunk; and listen to music via Pandora. All of these household names are available to you by means of cloud computing.
I’ve mentioned smartphones a few times already, and they’re worth mentioning again. We owe a great deal of credit for this movement toward cloud computing to the widespread use of smartphones. People want to be connected while they’re on the go, and they don’t want to have to tote a heavy computer with them to be able to manage it. Tablet computers like the iPad are built on the concept of cloud computing: users access applications through the Internet, not through software installed on the tablet’s hard drive. As our reliance on – and acceptance of – doing work through the Internet grows, so will the demand that our smartphones and tablet computers keep up.
So, the next time you’re chatting with some new contacts at a tradeshow, fruity cocktail or cold beer in hand, and someone mentions cloud computing, you’ll be one of the cool kids who can remain engaged in the conversation.
Maybe you’ll even score some credibility with a potential new customer because of it.
Further reading:
How green is cloud computing?
How Groupon is using cloud computing to scale its business
Amazon launches a new music service based on the cloud
Why the cloud is actually the safest place for your data
Tags: clients, cloud, cloud computing, current events, digital vocab, Facebook, Internet, online, social media, Twitter
Posted in Digital Media | 6 Comments »
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May 17, 2012—The faces of MB
