Questionable Moves by Google Worth a Second Look

Usually when I talk about recent developments from Google, it's in reference to some big announcement or new feature and why it is/isn't a good idea. But today, I'd like to switch things up a bit and talk about a couple non-product issues that have come up over the past 24 hours that I found interesting.

The first was a story from TechCrunch about MySpace getting ripped on the discussion forum Quora when a user asked whether or not MySpace will be able to recover. Not so bad, right? But what was surprising was that one of the answers came from Google's VP of Corporate Development, who responded with a very sarcastic "Is this a real question?"

The reason this caught my attention is that Google is a major advertising partner with MySpace, so I'm surprised that Google would publicly criticize them. But is this a sign of an upcoming split, or Google simply being realistic?

The second move by Google yesterday was the announcement that new Flickr users will now be able to use their Google account to sign in, rather than using/creating a Yahoo account. My main criticism of this move is the fact that existing Flickr users still have to use their Yahoo account (which I only use to get into Flickr, usually after 3 or 4 failed attempts because I can never remember my Yahoo login info!)

My personal criticisms aside, there is one other huge reason people are questioning this move; Google owns Picasa, a direct competitor with Flickr. At first I agreed with these critics, but let's face it: Flickr is the gold standard of photo-sharing and Picasa is a distant second. So in many ways this a win-win, because Google will keep people from creating new Yahoo accounts to use Flickr while Yahoo will get more people to use Flickr instead of Picasa.

Both of these moves by Google show that even the little moves a company makes can have a major ripple effect.

Video Post: Companies Like to Show QR IQ

We've seen more and more QR codes popping up all over the place, with most of them allowing users to view websites or more information about a product or brand. And now, a website called Likify generates QR codes that automatically "like" your brand on Facebook. I dive into these codes and more in today's video post.

The Much-Anticipated MySpace Facelift

The Joan Rivers of the Internet, MySpace is continually fighting the online aging process and trying to stay in the social media conversation. Its latest facelift is actually its biggest overhaul to date, with a change both to its look and to the way the site is used.

Visually, MySpace is going with a modern, block look that you'd expect to see with iPad-optimized online magazines. But ascetics aside, there are several new features that are worth getting into:

• Everything but the kitchen sync - No longer wanting to compete directly with Facebook, MySpace has made it very easy for users to sync other accounts to their MySpace profile.
• Entertainment emphasis - MySpace has been trying to establish itself as a music, movies and media hub, and really pushes for that emphasis with the new user interface.
• The power of suggestion - MySpace now boasts a recommendation engine algorithm that provides suggestions based on your other activities.
• MySpace has unlocked the Badge-making Badge! - Keeping current with today's social media trends, MySpace users can unlock various badges and earn different levels of distinction.

With account syncing, profiles and social gaming, it seems MySpace is defining itself as a social network that's not sure it wants to be a social network. It's a confusing brand direction, but one that has raised a few eyebrows and garnered some much needed publicity.

Axiom Wins MarCom Gold

Obviously nobody gets into public relations for the recognition, but that doesn't mean we don't appreciate it when it happens.

And we here at Axiom are proud to announce that we've received a MarCom Gold Award in the MarCom Awards 2010 Competition for our work on a social media campaign that we put together for Country Inns & Suites by Carlson.

The MarCom Awards is an international competition for marketing and communication professionals, administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, recognizing professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of marketing and communication programs and print, visual and audio materials.

The social media campaign, called the 1K Country Adventure, took place throughout the week of June 6-12, and featured three families making their way across the country on a 1,900-mile-mystery road trip from here in Bloomington, Minnesota to College Station, Texas to help celebrate the 500th property to open in the Country Inns & Suites brand.

This campaign was very social media-intensive and relied heavily on the technological support of several partners as the families were guided on their mystery road trip with mobile videos that we produced in-house called Suite Stops (which you can find here). It took a lot of hard work and planning, but we were incredibly pleased with our results, and are honored that AMCP felt the same way and selected us to receive their MarCom Gold Award.

HP's new tablet

I'm a diehard Apple guy (unlike my friend Steve), so HP's new Slate 500 is less than compelling to me. I'm old enough to remember the early Windows-based tablets that never really worked, since the OS was designed for a keyboard and mouse, not a stylus. Now we have the Slate, which is based on the much-better Windows 7 OS, but still was designed for a computer, not a tablet (ie. something you control with your fingers).

I'm sure, like the old Palm Pilot, that developers will design specific apps for it, but at first glance, it looks like general consumers would be better off with a generic Windows laptop. As for me, I'm taking a look at the new Apple MacBook Air, especially the one with the 11-inch screen (I already bought an iPad for the office!)

What sets the iPad and the Mac laptops apart is that their software has been customized for the hardware...it's been this way since 1984 and unfortunately, many Windows devotees just haven't had the opportunity to experience this seamless connection between software and hardware. If you try out an iPad, you'll see it doesn't work like a laptop, because it isn't meant to do the same things. It's primarily designed to consume media like movies, books, magazines and TV shows. Sure you can email and surf the web, but you'll be much happier creating content on a laptop or desktop computer.

As for the Slate, I don't think you'll be happy at all.

One-Third of iPad Owners Are App-less

With Apple's announcement yesterday of the App Store coming to the Mac, most people assumed it would be the move that will push the new Macbooks to unprecedented success when it's launched.

But I'm not so sure, especially after seeing a recent Nielsen report about app-buying habits on the iPad. Shockingly, over 30% of iPad owner have never downloaded an app for their device. The reason this is so surprising is that app support was one of the major selling points behind the device.

Apple should take notice of these statistics, because a third of your users going app-less on a device aimed to be used for apps can't be taken lightly. And while app support is a cool feature and certainly hasn't deterred people from buying iPads, we all may have overestimated the impact of apps on non-smartphone devices.

Additionally, there are two main takeaways from this study. One, Apple will have to make sure that apps never become the primary selling point for any of their devices given the high percentage of people who don't utilize them outside of their iPhones.

Secondly, this is good news for iPad's competitors who have been criticized for not supporting apps, because obviously there are a multitude of other reasons why people buy tablets. This means the tablet playing field might be a lot more level than we originally thought.

Gender Confusion for Android

Android may still be the third must popular smartphone brand behind Apple and Blackberry, but it may not stay that way for long based on a recent Neilsen report. But despite the growth rate suggested in the report, Android is still dealing with a largely-male user base that lacks universal appeal. I look into both of these issues in today's video post:

Starbucks Adds A-Latte to Online Experience

Starbucks made a splash when they started offering free Wi-Fi in their coffee shops, but now they are hoping to rope in even more coffee aficionados with the launch of the Starbucks Digital Network (or SDN for short).

It's basically an exclusive content network curated by Starbucks and meant to add to the customer’s experience while in the store. Customers who use Starbucks' free Wi-Fi at any of their 6,800 or so stores in the U.S. will be greeted with this SDN.

SDN is a collaboration between Starbucks and Yahoo, offering access to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA Today, with more content centered around six channels (News, Entertainment, Wellness, Business and Careers, the Starbucks customer channel My Neighborhood, and a channel focused on Starbucks' social media outlets).

It's a smart move, because there is a large demographic of caffeine addicts like myself who hang out in coffee shops quite a bit. But honestly, I think the free Wi-Fi is still more important than this personalized network. I'm not necessarily saying that people won't use the SDN, just that I doubt the impact of this SDN alone.

However, this a unique branding opportunity and it will be interesting to see if any other franchised companies who offer free Wi-Fi will try to duplicate Starbucks' efforts and make digital networks of their own.

Clicking Away Our Photo Freedom

When I signed up for Twitter, I, like many people out there, didn't even bother to skim the Terms of Service section before clicking I Agree (c'mon, why would I want to read 5 pages to start sending 140-character tweets?). But if you're one of the millions who upload photos to Twitter, you may have clicked away the rights to your pictures.

Although most of those Terms of Service sections are pretty generic legal lingo, the writers at Photofocus uncovered a sneaky little curveball Twitter threw in. I'll start by laying out what's actually in Twitter's Terms of Service:

By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed).

 Unfortunately, it goes a bit further:

You agree that this license includes the right for Twitter to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Twitter for the syndication, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services, subject to our terms and conditions for such Content use.

If you're confused by all of that, I'll summarize it Twitter-style in 140 characters:

If you post a picture on Twitter, we can do what we want with it and sell it to whoever we want. You want a royalty check? Sorry Charlie...

Now I won't rake Twitter over the coals too much here, because in all fairness they did put it right there in black and white. But given the backlash, I wouldn't be too surprised if Twitter did go back and change their stance on photo posting.


However, anyone who posts pictures on Twitter needs to be aware of this and needs to accept the fact that those pictures could end up somewhere else without their permission. This is especially true for photography enthusiasts and professionals, because they lose all licensing rights to their photos once they're posted on Twitter.

More importantly, this is a wake up call that we do need to start paying attention to every Terms of Service agreement, because you may end up clicking away your freedom.

Say What? Teens Send 3,300 Texts Per Month

Like most other millennials, I spent my high school years covertly sending text messages under my desk, afraid to go an hour without any contact with my fellow text-addicts. I also remember being scolded by my parents on a regular basis for racking up 500 or so texts a month.

Boy, have things changed.

A recent study showed that the average teenager sends over 3,300 texts per month. It's an incredible number when you think about how that breaks down. That's over 100 texts a day, or about 6 texts per hour factoring in 6 hours of sleep. It's also twice as many texts as millenials (18-24 year olds) are sending these days.

Teenage texting technology has made some advances over the years, and teens nowadays would scoff at using the same chunky flip-phone I was using back in my English class (back then, War and Peace couldn't hold my attention nearly as well as drama over the homecoming dance could).

Not only are smartphones becoming the norm in high school hallways, they're being used with greater efficiency.Both of these factors support the rise of texting so far, and more importantly show that it's likely to continue its stellar growth.

Facebook Friday: One Small Misstep for Users, One Giant Leap Back for Company-kind

Staying true to their inability to be happy with their layout, Facebook is rolling out more changes, this time with plans to remove the profile tabs.

As a Facebook user, I don't really have strong feelings either way about this change. I don't think Facebook has gone more than a month without changing something on their site, and with each new feature or different placement I've been left with mixed feelings about its usefulness.

But as a social media professional, I'm worried about the impact of soon-to-be-tabless profiles. And if you work with Facebook at all from a corporate or brand standpoint, you should be worried too.

I understand that most Facebook users only have the basic tabs for their Facebook wall, photos and notes that can be accessed other ways. However, most companies utilize other options as well, with different contest pages or promotion-specific tabs. The reason why companies use the tabs is that they are easy to find and navigate, and removing those tabs eliminates their usefulness.

Ease-of-use is so critical when organizing any sort of online presence. Websites need to be intuitive and social media channels need to be intertwined and be easily navigable. Making a website or Facebook page hard to use is the quickest way to lose traffic, and I'm afraid that Facebook's decision to remove the profile tabs will limit what companies can do on the world's largest social network.

Video Post: The Gap Flap

Another week has come and gone since our last video post, and Gap has been the company making a splash the last several days...but not exactly for the right reasons.

The short version of the story is that Gap unveiled a new logo design that was ripped by the social media masses. Gap then decided to crowdsource new logo ideas via Facebook submissions, before ultimately scrapping both their new logo and any Facebook submissions and returning to their original logo.

The issue here isn't necessarily about ascetics or Gap's design savvy (or lack there of), it's about re-branding. Preparation is crucial, and it's especially important to have a plan in place in the event of a social media backlash.

To view the AdRants.com survey cited in the video, click here.

Are Long Posts Finally Acceptable?

For years, the rule of thumb for anything you post online had been "keep it short and sweet." Videos had to be less than 2 minutes, blog posts had to be a couple paragraphs maximum, even legitimate news organizations had been shaving down their online articles to keep pace with our short attention spans.

Here's the problem...I talk a lot, I admit it. And if I really get into a story, it tends to turn into something resembling a novel more than a blog post.

Normally, those long-winded blog posts would have me concerned that my readers might get bored and move on halfway through a story. But just like we saw a cultural shift from longer newspaper-style articles to short Twitter-esque posts, we are now seeing the pendulum swing a little more the other way with a renewed focus on lengthier stories.

One innovation we have to thank for this is the rise of bookmarking apps and websites like Instapaper and Evernote that allow people to easily bookmark stories to read later. The way they work is simple; you see an article you like but don't have time to read it (or are working and shouldn't read it) so you send the link to one of these services and you can read them from your computer or smartphone when you have the time.

I've been using both Instapaper and Evernote for a few weeks now and it's been great for me as a reader, but they are even more important to me as a writer, That's because they open the door for me and every other blogger out there to write more in-depth. The reality is that it's extremely difficult to analyze anything in two or three paragraphs, and this emerging trend of social bookmarking alleviates the pressure.

So there you have it, a long-winded post about how it's okay to write long-winded posts.

Twitter's Billion-Dollar Question

"A million isn't cool. You know what's cool? A billion."

This is one of the more famous lines (albeit paraphrased) from the Facebook movie The Social Network, and I think Twitter co-founder Evan Williams must be a fan of it based on his recent comments.

When asked whether or not Twitter could hit a billion users, Williams did not hesitate in affirming that it would. And while he didn't give a timetable for this goal, there's still the question everyone is now asking: Can Twitter hit one billion users?

Let's look at where Twitter's at right now. In June, Twitter COO Dick Costolo reported they had 190 million users. That's a solid number already and it continues to grow, but it seems rather bold to predict a billion users when you're less than a fifth of the way there. Mark Zuckerberg didn't even say Facebook would hit a billion users until it had already crossed the 500 million mark.

The other factor revolves around user retention. There was a recent infographic making its way around the Twittersphere, and there was one point specifically that was garnering a lot of attention. According to the infographic, only 3% of users have more than 100 followers. This is a problem because Twitter's success comes from higher levels of involvement, and low follower counts are often a sign that the engagement is lacking.

This illustrates the over-arcing obstacle Twitter faces in hitting their billion-user goal; Twitter is hard to get into. Sure, making an account and following a bunch of friends or celebrities is easy enough, but getting the most out of the service requires much deeper levels of engagement.

But there is hope. Twitter continues to grow with a very successful new redesign and increased ubiquity in our online culture. And if more users can get past that steeper learning curve and really become more involved with it, it's hard to doubt Twitter's potential to one day answer this billion-dollar question.

Google Goes Knight Rider All Over California

In true Knight Rider fashion, Google has been developing self-driving cars. And this isn't a rumor or plan for the future, they've been testing these cars on actual California roads for months now.
As a tech-geek, you can bet I've read the slew of articles about Google's new endeavor and am very curious/excited/salivating-over the what this technology may bring. But I won't get ahead of myself, because there are a few issues to address before we see swarms of robot-cars on our highways.

The first, but potentially most divisive, question is also the simplest: Does the public want self-driving cars?

Here's a few different takes on this question, starting with why people do want cars that drive themselves:

• Safety concerns: Over a million lives are lost each year to road traffic accidents (according to the World Health Organization). It's hard to think that self-driving cars wouldn't help bring that number down significantly.
• Stop the texting menace: In the same vein as that first point, there's a big push these days to stop people from texting while driving. Cars that drive themselves would eliminate the threat that texting causes.
• Far more productive traffic jams: Not having to drive would allow people to actually get work done during those long morning commutes, which could have a big impact on overall productivity.
• We're a techno-centric society: In our modern world, innovation breeds aspiration. If it's new, a lot of people will want it solely for that fact.

On the other hand, here are the obstacles Google will likely face:

• Safety concerns: Yes these cars could save some lives, but as with any new technology there's a margin of error, and the thought of being in that margin while cruising along at highway speeds will deter people.
• For the love of the road: Sure, it might make those morning commutes and road trips more tolerable, but let's not overlook how many people honestly love driving. A lot of people like hopping in the car and going for a drive, and this technology practically eliminates it.
• 'Green' technology: I'm not talking about hybrids here, I'm talking about money. Remember, Google is a business and businesses need to make money. Google has admitted they're not completely sure about monetizing this technology, and expensive experiments like this need strong financial backing to avoid an early death.
• The times they are a-changin' (but we don't like it): With the millions of people in this country, it's a given that wide, sweeping change is usually met with hesitation and scrutiny, and game-changing technology like this won't please everybody.

So whether you're already planning to be the first in line to buy one of these self-driving cars or writing an angry letter to Google as we speak, I offer the following advice. First, let's stay realistic, because we won't see these cars hit the public for a few years yet.

More importantly, both sides need to take the others' point of view into consideration, because regardless of who or what's controlling the car, we all need to drive on the same road.

Facebook Friday: All About Groups

The social media headlines the past couple of days have been dominated by stories about the new Facebook groups feature. And even as a social media professional, it took a while for me to wrap my head around the concept.

But for those who haven't heard (or just aren't sure what it's about), here's a brief breakdown:

• You can now create groups of friends centered around a certain topic (for instance, I'm part of the MN PRSA group).

• Members can post comments on the group page that other group members are notified about.

• There's a new group chat feature, where any and all members of a group can chat with each other rather than having to talk to each individual in separate chats.

That's the basic three-point breakdown of what these new group features are, but will they be a welcome addition?

An early complaint involves those notifications I mentioned in the second point. If you're part of a particularly large or talkative group, you may find yourself bombarded with emails and notifications about new posts and comments. You can limit these notifications or turn them off completely, but you must go into the group and do this manually.

Likewise, membership to the group is now opt-out as well. This means that if someone invites you, you're instantly added and must manually leave the group. And if a friend adds you to one of those large/talkative groups, chances are your inbox will be full of notification emails within minutes.

The one new feature here I do like is the group chat, which is effectively an AOL Instant Messenger-style chat room. I, like many, have had to deal with the frustration of having to chat with several mutual friends about the same topic in separate chats, but this group chat should eliminate this problem.

Regardless of how you feel about them, these changes will have a big impact on how Facebook is used. Naturally, it will take some time before we get a good handle on just how useful it really is, and we will definitely revisit this topic in the near future.

Video Post: Apple's Slice of the Pie

News outlets and blogs tend to jump all over any story about Apple or its upcoming products, but is it really dominating the news headlines like we think? There was a recent study done by the Pew Research Center that looked into that very topic, and Steve discusses it on today's Daily Axioms Video Post. You can find the article about the study here:

Final Cut Pro or Avid

As the video production intern, I want to give you my two cents in the age old debate: Final Cut Pro(FCP) vs Avid. Having used FCP and Avid I see both sides of the argument. Before coming to Axiom, I interned in New York City for City Lights Media Group. At City Lights I used Avid and became an advocate for Avid. Since coming to Axiom, I have switched to FCP.

Choosing between FCP and Avid is like choosing between what kind of car you want to drive. Mercedes or Lexus? Both will get you to work but one might be more expensive and have some features that other does not. With that said that does not mean the other is less attractive because it is more affordable. Avid is double the price of FCP. That is why 50% of the market sales for NLE's are going to FCP according to Apple.

In my experience with both, I've found out that Avid works better for bigger productions such as feature films and TV series. For example, last year's Oscar winner for best movie "Hurt Locker" was edited on Avid. On a feature film you might have multiple editors and Avid is more stream line for bigger productions. With Final Cut Pro it works better with smaller productions such as internet videos. Usually FCP users are the only ones who are editing. Also FCP is more user friendly and the learning curve is shorter.

They both will get the job done. There are few advantages for either systems but ultimately it's still your job as the editor to utilize the system and make a great finished product.

Here at Axiom, we run the full Final Cut Studio system. How about your shop? Avid or Final Cut Pro?

Panasonic's Upcoming Gaming Device Raises More Eyebrows Than Expectations

Taking a look around the techno-blogosphere, it's clear the "it" technology this year is the tablet. All the buzz right now focuses on iPads, Dell Streaks, Samsung Galaxies, and any mention or rumor of a new competitor in this fast-growing market.

The allure of these tablets are obviously the different functions they serve, whether it's as a laptop, media player or a gaming device. This means that if you're a device that only does one of those things (I'm looking at you, gaming devices), you've probably already seen your popularity slipping.

I've made this point before when talking about the impact of smartphones on gaming devices, but the latest move by Panasonic warrants a revisit to this topic. Panasonic is diving into the already-shallow waters of hand-held gaming devices with the upcoming release of the Panasonic Jungle.

It's a questionable move to say the least, because as I mentioned earlier, the hand-held gaming market has taken some serious hits over the last couple years due to the rise of smartphones and tablets.

This raises the obvious question; why doesn't Panasonic scrap the gaming-only device and focus on creating a tablet? They have the resources and the credibility, and a device that only does games provides serious limitations. A tablet could still be used for gaming, but would provide the added functionality and utility of a laptop.

I'm aware my suggestion is a hard left turn from where they were originally going, but if Panasonic is set on diving in to those gaming waters they might find that it's not so easy to stay afloat.

LinkedIn Quietly Making Big Strides

These days, if you don't completely overhaul your website's layout or have a possibly-scandalous movie coming out, it can be hard for your social network to get much attention.

This is the problem LinkedIn has been facing, because despite being an afterthought in the minds of many people across the social media universe, the professional-centric network has actually made a few solid upgrades over the last week or so.

These changes include a couple of beta projects like a LinkedIn-Twitter hybrid called LinkedIn Signal (which filters and displays tweets from people in your network) and a LinkedIn Career Explorer that lets college grads see data and stats about their prospective fields to better gauge where their industry is at.

But my favorite change is the upgrade to the company pages on the site, which now feature more prominent "Follow Company" buttons, easier-to-view employee profiles, and graphs that allow you to see the composition of the company. These graphs show the different job functions of the employees, as well as the educational degree and where the employees went to school. Most impressive, you can see the experience levels of the company's employees. Here's Axiom's experience level graph:

As you can see, graphs like these provide simple and usable data that even casual LinkedIn users can get something out of. Also, these graphs will require that employees keep their profiles updated to better ensure their accuracy.

So although LinkedIn's 80 million users are dwarfed by the hundreds of millions who use Facebook and Twitter, they are making the necessary upgrades to stay competitive with these larger networks.

Facebook Friday: Will Photo Upgrade Be A Flickr Kicker?

Just a day or so after I wrote about the online arms race between Facebook and Google, Facebook announced more upgrades, this time to their photo-sharing feature. But before I get to the affect this will have, here's the low-down on this high-res photo upgrade:

• The biggest difference will be a larger photo size, increasing it from the current 720 pixels to 2048 pixels (184% increase)
• This larger display size means support for high-resolution photos, which is good considering how prevalent high-res cameras are nowadays.
• Facebook will use a lightbox display for photos, meaning you won't have to jump from page to page to view each photo.
• As expected, internal upgrades should allow for faster upload times.

So that's the technical side of the upgrade, but what about its impact?

Clearly, this puts Facebook in direct competition with Flickr. Until now, Flickr carved out a niche for itself as a photo enthusiasts/professionals' network with high-res capabilities, while Facebook was the place to share snapshots and family photos.

It's same dynamic we see between YouTube and Vimeo, where YouTube (like Facebook) is the much more popular site with lower quality videos and Vimeo (like Flickr) is less trafficked but specializes in higher quality videos.

And even when YouTube started supporting HD videos, we didn't see Vimeo fall off the map. That's because the professionals who had helped position Vimeo as design-oriented saw no need to switch websites because Vimeo is as much about the site's demographic as its HD capabilities.

This is why Flickr shouldn't be too concerned with Facebook's upgrades. Photography enthusiasts and professionals will continue to use Flickr because that's the niche it's carved out, and it goes beyond the high-resolution features. That's why these upgrades are nice, but not enough to muscle out Flickr.

Remember, no amount of organic products can turn a Wal-Mart into a Whole Foods.