Ever since I was able to afford my own phone, I’ve been a hardcore BlackBerry fan. I fondly recall my first BlackBerry was the 7230. Yup, it was the notorious “BlueBerry”. Since then, I’ve had an array of different BBs: 7730, Pearl, Curve 8320, Curve 8900, Storm, and just recently the Bold 9700. Despite my affinity with RIM’s powerful messaging device, my fidelity (or infidelity, if you will) has been tested. Yes, I’ve tried a few Windows Mobile phones like the T-Mobile SDA and Dash; I’ve even had a Nokia 6101 as well (hey, I was young so give me a break!). Most recently, I succumbed to the hype of Android with the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G. After four months, I decided to part ways since it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
The reason I gave the brief background about all my previous phones is to let you know that I wasn’t a BlackBerry fanatic who was adamant that nothing can exist other than a BlackBerry (the thinking of a BB Fan Boy). I’ve tried pretty much every major OS and I know what their strengths and weaknesses are. By no means is BlackBerry OS flawless because it surely has its flaws. At the end of the day, there is no phone that can meet one person’s every single need. After all, phones are created generally for the masses and not for one single person. So as I stepped into this uncharted territory of Android OS, I sort of knew what to expect as I read a ton of articles before giving the green light.
This wasn’t my first touch screen phone so don’t get the idea that’s why I bailed on the MyTouch. I had a Storm before and had it not been for the disadvantages of an unlocked phone, I would have kept it (T-Mobile uses a different frequency for its 3G network so unlocked phones can’t partake in the festivities). The keyboard on the Storm was satisfactory so that wasn’t a gripe I had. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the MyTouch. The keyboard was a bit cramped and that’s probably because the screen was slightly smaller than the Storm. Since I’m a heavy textaholic and email whore, a phone’s keyboard is a make or break for me. In the MyTouch’s defense, I did read about its slightly cramped keyboard but still went ahead with the purchase since I thought it was just the reviewer over-exaggerating. So from the get-go, the MyTouch keyboard and I didn’t get along too well.
Moving on from the keyboard, my next gripe was emailing. Sure, the MyTouch is a sweetheart if you have a Gmail account but what about those that use Yahoo Mail? Guess what? You can’t get your email in real-time unless you opt for an updated service from T-Mobile which costs $35, which is $10 more than the BlackBerry plan and regular Android plan. This was a huge turn off for me! One of the best things about BlackBerry email service is that it is client agnostic. Meaning it plays no favorites to certain email clients. Android phones favor Gmail accounts for obvious reasons. It makes sense that Android phones are biased towards its own services so I won’t knock it for that, but it does leave a sour taste in my mouth knowing that I have to commit everything to Google when I’m using Android. If you’re wondering how I was able to get my Yahoo mail, I imported my entire Yahoo account into my Gmail inbox. Think Outlook, but instead everything is in Gmail. It solved the problem but it’s a problem I shouldn’t have had in the first place.
Perhaps one of the things I love most about BlackBerrys is their ability to auto turn on/off your phone to preserve battery life. As all cell phone experts will tell you, for best performance you should turn off your phone every day, even if it’s for just five minutes. I looked high and low for an Android app that could replicate this awesome ability but was not able to find anything remotely close. I tried Timeriffic but that didn’t work too well for me as it was overly complex. It lets you choose what times/days you want wi-fi on, bluetooth on, how loud you want the ringer, and a load of other settings but it lacked the ability to schedule an on/off time. It definitely felt overly advanced and it wasn’t what I was looking for.
As phones get more advanced in general, the comparison to computers becomes more appropriate. With apps and programs now widely available, I feel it’s comparable to what you’d see on a computer with programs such as a browser, docs, spreadsheets, etc. So just like when I’m done using a program on a computer I have the ability to close it, I would like to have the same ability on my phone. Lo and behold! BlackBerrys are the ONLY phones I’ve come across that let you close a program without downloading an app or going through loops and hurdles to do so. Every device has its RAM limitations so device makers should keep that in mind and allow for the closing of programs by default. It couldn’t be easier on a BlackBerry: when an app/program is open, you simply hit the BB button and scroll to the last option which reads “close”. Seriously, it couldn’t be easier. On the MyTouch, I had to download a task manager to legitimately close programs. That’s like hitting CTRL+ALT+DELETE every time you wanted to close a program on your computer. Yeah, imagine how badly that would suck. Another weird thing was that even when I did close all my programs via the task manager, some random programs would start up, eating into my precious RAM space. Don’t know if this was something that was caused by the task manager itself (everyone in the Android market rated this the best one) or if it’s just a problem in the MyTouch in general.
Since BlackBerrys are messaging powerhouses, a key component is cut/copy/paste. Again, this is something that is done seamlessly on a BB. However, the MyTouch struggled with this. First of all, the ability to cut/copy/paste is not available in every program. Huge letdown! From my experience, it was only available in the browser and the native messaging program. I wasn’t able to select text in an email or in the IM client I was using. Not very convenient to say the least. It’s important to note that I was using OS 1.6 (Donut) so I don’t know if the Nexus One or other devices running 2.1 allow for this in every screen but it certainly wasn’t a privilege I was blessed with.
Part of what makes the iPhone so great is that the UI is so clean and simple and the best part is that this simplicity trickles down to the apps, even 3rd party ones. Although not as smooth and simple as the iPhone (see, I’m not completely biased towards BlackBerrys), it is pretty easy to just jump right in and get started on a BlackBerry. To go back to the messaging aspect, I can go from one message to the next on a BlackBerry by just pressing N. How do I do it on Android? Well, I have to go back into the inbox and then go to the next message. I know it may seem like I’m nitpicking but this really does get frustrating when you have dozens of unread messages and just want to skim through them. In relation to email, another thing that annoyed me was that there are no shortcut keys to help you quickly reply or forward a message. You have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to do so. Again, not a deal breaker but definitely something that can get frustrating. After all, shouldn’t these phones help us accommodate making life easier? Just sayin’. Fortunately, text messaging is much better since it is threaded and looks like an IM chat window. So that’s a nice touch that I was really happy with.
I know it seems like I’m criticizing the MyTouch/Android mercilessly but those that have used this device/OS can definitely nod their head with many of the frustrations I’ve noted. Now, time for the part I know many of you have been waiting for: BlackBerry flaws.
First and foremost, the BlackBerry browser is a joke. Anyone that has used it has definitely taken a step back and wondered if they got blasted into the early 90’s. To call it a browser is an insult to browsers as a whole. Again, the iPhone is the leader hands down in this department but the MyTouch isn’t so bad. Although the original browser isn’t so great, I used the Dolphin browser which was pretty awesome since it had tabbed browsing a la Firefox. Why Android devices don’t have Chrome is beyond me and it made me weep since I have a huge crush on Chrome.
Another big disappointment in BlackBerry is its selection of apps, or lack thereof. The Facebook app is mediocre at best and even the best Twitter app (in my opinion it’s UberTwitter) is ok. Neither are visually impressive to the point you have a geeky smile on your face and say “cool” in your head (and hopefully not out loud). BlackBerry, as well as Android, both lack something I feel is somewhat a necessity: ability to get screenshots. On the iPhone, it couldn’t be any easier and that’s one of the many reasons people are in love with it. The iPhone’s functionality and ease of use make it a sweetheart in this day and age where some devices are overly complex and unnecessarily so.
So now that I’ve gone back to BlackBerry, does that mean I’ll never go back to an Android device again? No, absolutely not. I’m always open to different platforms. They just have to have what I need. The current fleet of Android devices don’t. Windows 7 Series looks promising so that’s something I might test out if I hear enough good reviews and if the devices are appealing. Palm? No thank you. I won’t ever venture that route. Nokia? Umm, no thanks. Tried that already and I’m not going to make that mistake again. So it really goes down to BlackBerry, iPhone, Android and Windows devices. For the time being, I’m very happy with my BlackBerry. That’s not to say I won’t jump ship if and when the iPhone comes to T-Mobile. After all, my phone infidelity is well documented.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Monday, July 27, 2009
Securing Safety
I’m sure many of you have read about the recent Twitter security breach, infamously dubbed on the web as “Twittergate”. Many articles were written afterwards about how simple it was for the hacker to breach the Twitter employee’s account and gain access to sensitive information. From the readings, it was clear that the victim had a tendency to use the same password for all of their accounts (i.e., email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). This is a typical mistake that’s made but it’s understandable as to why people do use this method. Let’s face it, we have so many different logins for all of our activities, ranging from email to Facebook to online banking. It can get hard to remember all of those passwords and not many people are too keen on writing them down. What they do is prefer to use one password that they know they’ll remember (i.e., spouse’s name, child’s birthday, etc.) and this can leave them extremely vulnerable.
I won’t go into the depths of online safety because I don’t have the merits to tell you the most advanced ways to protect yourself. I also won’t go into the obvious dos and don’ts (i.e., don’t leave your passwords lying around on your desk, etc.) because I feel that’s redundant. Besides, I know my readers are smarter than that ; ) However, I do want to mention a few things that hopefully may help you create a stronger password. At work, our passwords must have one upper case letter, one lower case letter, one number, and one special character. So for example, if you got married in Rome in 2001 and you will never forget that date (hopefully for both you and your spouse’s sake!) and you want to use that as your password because it’s something you will remember easily then use the tip I mentioned above. Instead of having a password like Rome2001, use the combination of different characters to make it difficult to guess your password. Something like r0Me200! would be much harder to guess than Rome2001.
Although these “tricky” passwords are much harder to crack than regular ones, they can still be cracked (for those that watched National Treasure, you’ll recall the password hack scene). If someone is really determined to commit a crime, they can easily have keylogging software installed on people’s computers who aren’t too savvy. Keylogging is nothing new and is one of the easiest ways to get your information hijacked. Most people aren’t smart enough to NOT click on certain links, thereby leaving them vulnerable to attacks. So even with the most difficult password to crack, you can still be compromised. So what then, is our savior on the web?
There’s a safer way to generate passwords rather than resorting to letters, numbers, or characters. The answer? Images. As brilliant as many of you think I am, I will not take credit as the pioneer of this concept. I read about a company a year ago (their name escapes me at the moment) who was working on this as a means to counter online identity theft. The concept is simple yet brilliant. When creating any kind of account, you would be presented with 9 images, 3 of them being your password. You could even load 3 of your own images to personalize it. So if my 3 images were a Ferrari Enzo, a Real Madrid team emblem, and a can of coke, then those would be my unique login. Since there is no typing, this is not vulnerable to keylogging. Also, these would appear on different parts of the screen for added security. The screenshot below shows how difficult it would be to hack into this account.
Of course the password is only as good as the person creating it. If I choose images of three things that are easily guessable then I’ve defeated the purpose. So if I’m a professed lover of soccer, ice cream, and Adidas and numerous people know this, then these wouldn’t be the best things to use as my password. The concept is to have a password that not even your spouse would be able to figure out.
With the amount of identity theft and fraud that goes on, both here in the States and internationally, I’m hoping that websites, namely those that carry confidential information (i.e., online banking and e-commerce), will adopt this sooner than later. Someone shouldn’t have to be worried about being a victim every time they make a purchase. By giving people a sense of security, the web can take on a whole new shape that can truly be magnitudes beyond what we’ve imagined.
I won’t go into the depths of online safety because I don’t have the merits to tell you the most advanced ways to protect yourself. I also won’t go into the obvious dos and don’ts (i.e., don’t leave your passwords lying around on your desk, etc.) because I feel that’s redundant. Besides, I know my readers are smarter than that ; ) However, I do want to mention a few things that hopefully may help you create a stronger password. At work, our passwords must have one upper case letter, one lower case letter, one number, and one special character. So for example, if you got married in Rome in 2001 and you will never forget that date (hopefully for both you and your spouse’s sake!) and you want to use that as your password because it’s something you will remember easily then use the tip I mentioned above. Instead of having a password like Rome2001, use the combination of different characters to make it difficult to guess your password. Something like r0Me200! would be much harder to guess than Rome2001.
Although these “tricky” passwords are much harder to crack than regular ones, they can still be cracked (for those that watched National Treasure, you’ll recall the password hack scene). If someone is really determined to commit a crime, they can easily have keylogging software installed on people’s computers who aren’t too savvy. Keylogging is nothing new and is one of the easiest ways to get your information hijacked. Most people aren’t smart enough to NOT click on certain links, thereby leaving them vulnerable to attacks. So even with the most difficult password to crack, you can still be compromised. So what then, is our savior on the web?
There’s a safer way to generate passwords rather than resorting to letters, numbers, or characters. The answer? Images. As brilliant as many of you think I am, I will not take credit as the pioneer of this concept. I read about a company a year ago (their name escapes me at the moment) who was working on this as a means to counter online identity theft. The concept is simple yet brilliant. When creating any kind of account, you would be presented with 9 images, 3 of them being your password. You could even load 3 of your own images to personalize it. So if my 3 images were a Ferrari Enzo, a Real Madrid team emblem, and a can of coke, then those would be my unique login. Since there is no typing, this is not vulnerable to keylogging. Also, these would appear on different parts of the screen for added security. The screenshot below shows how difficult it would be to hack into this account.
Of course the password is only as good as the person creating it. If I choose images of three things that are easily guessable then I’ve defeated the purpose. So if I’m a professed lover of soccer, ice cream, and Adidas and numerous people know this, then these wouldn’t be the best things to use as my password. The concept is to have a password that not even your spouse would be able to figure out.
With the amount of identity theft and fraud that goes on, both here in the States and internationally, I’m hoping that websites, namely those that carry confidential information (i.e., online banking and e-commerce), will adopt this sooner than later. Someone shouldn’t have to be worried about being a victim every time they make a purchase. By giving people a sense of security, the web can take on a whole new shape that can truly be magnitudes beyond what we’ve imagined.
Creating the Super Car
Being on the road a lot, both on my daily commute and from road trips, I witness a lot of bad drivers. I don’t mean just drivers that drive fast because technically a fast driver is not a bad driver. If the highways are clear and you know what you’re doing, by all means, put the pedal to the metal. What I constitute as a bad driver is someone who weaves through traffic without using signals, changes lanes constantly, doesn’t stay within their lane, or drives dangerously close to the car in front of it. I don’t know how many auto casualties there are every year but I’m sure it’s a significant amount. What if there was a way to make cars smarter, creating an added level of skill not all drivers posses? That would decrease the number of accidents significantly.
Auto manufacturers are already leading the charge with making their models smarter to make for safer driving. Both Mercedes and Volvo have already incorporated some of the key features I will outline. The 2009 Mercedes E350 has been dubbed “The World’s Smartest Car” with its many features. Top on that list would be the car’s ability to sense when it is only a short distance behind the car in front of it, allowing it to apply a hard brake when it feels an accident is imminent. That’s pretty impressive, especially on local roads because studies show that 75% of accidents happen at 20 MPH or less. The Volvo XC60 also has the same feature, making it an accident preventive vehicle. But this feature only concentrates on one aspect I mentioned: preventing cars from driving at extremely close distances. How can the others be incorporated into cars to truly create the world’s smartest car?
Similar to Neilsen chips on a TV, a similar chip can be created to monitor cars. Neilsen chips can see how many people watched a certain program on a certain day at a certain hour. Using that basic structure, a smart chip can be created to monitor a driver’s behavior. Let’s look at the key areas of focus for creating a smart car: 1) weaving through traffic without indicators, 2) not staying within the lane, and 3) constantly lane changing.
Weaving through traffic - I think this is the number one culprit for car crashes. Usually when a car is weaving through traffic, it is also speeding. A car going fast while moving in different directions is definitely a recipe for a car crash as controlling becomes significantly harder. Sensors can be added to corners of the front bumpers to monitor if the driver is changing lanes without the use of an indicator. Just like how the Neilsen ratings get recorded, the chips can record the data of a car and can issue tickets without cops having to chase down the law breakers. Reality is, cops aren’t around to catch every bad driver so this would be their aid to help really crack down. In addition to safer driving conditions, another byproduct would be fewer expenses to pay cops and all the costs associated with hiring cops (cars, gas, etc.).
Not staying within the lane - Often, accidents occur when a car is driving outside of its lane as it is ambiguous as to what the driver is trying to do. A siren-like noise can be used to alert that driver that they are driving out of their lane. The noise would have to be so loud that it gets the driver’s attention because they might be driving out of lane due to sleepiness.
In addition to the security precautions I mentioned, there are others that can be applied to create for safer roads. Cars can have sensors in both the front and rear bumpers to recognize vehicles or even people so that cars never come into contact with another object. Tires can be created to be more advanced and take into the natural elements for enhanced performance. If it rains or snows causing slippery roads, tires should have a back-up source to help deploy the proper brakes needed in those circumstances. Brakes can also be more advanced to recognize when cars are skidding or spinning out of control so they can apply a hard lock on the brakes, bringing the car to a complete halt.
Although cars have been around for almost 200 years, there are still plenty of places for advancement, mainly with safety as a primary concern. I’m sure there are several other features cars can have to make them safer but these are the ones that I feel need the most urgent addressing. As technology continues to advance, I’m sure an automaker, whether Japanese or German, will come through with a breakthrough in automobiles that will forever revolutionize the automobile as we know it. Hopefully, that day will be sooner than later.
Auto manufacturers are already leading the charge with making their models smarter to make for safer driving. Both Mercedes and Volvo have already incorporated some of the key features I will outline. The 2009 Mercedes E350 has been dubbed “The World’s Smartest Car” with its many features. Top on that list would be the car’s ability to sense when it is only a short distance behind the car in front of it, allowing it to apply a hard brake when it feels an accident is imminent. That’s pretty impressive, especially on local roads because studies show that 75% of accidents happen at 20 MPH or less. The Volvo XC60 also has the same feature, making it an accident preventive vehicle. But this feature only concentrates on one aspect I mentioned: preventing cars from driving at extremely close distances. How can the others be incorporated into cars to truly create the world’s smartest car?
Similar to Neilsen chips on a TV, a similar chip can be created to monitor cars. Neilsen chips can see how many people watched a certain program on a certain day at a certain hour. Using that basic structure, a smart chip can be created to monitor a driver’s behavior. Let’s look at the key areas of focus for creating a smart car: 1) weaving through traffic without indicators, 2) not staying within the lane, and 3) constantly lane changing.
Weaving through traffic - I think this is the number one culprit for car crashes. Usually when a car is weaving through traffic, it is also speeding. A car going fast while moving in different directions is definitely a recipe for a car crash as controlling becomes significantly harder. Sensors can be added to corners of the front bumpers to monitor if the driver is changing lanes without the use of an indicator. Just like how the Neilsen ratings get recorded, the chips can record the data of a car and can issue tickets without cops having to chase down the law breakers. Reality is, cops aren’t around to catch every bad driver so this would be their aid to help really crack down. In addition to safer driving conditions, another byproduct would be fewer expenses to pay cops and all the costs associated with hiring cops (cars, gas, etc.).
Not staying within the lane - Often, accidents occur when a car is driving outside of its lane as it is ambiguous as to what the driver is trying to do. A siren-like noise can be used to alert that driver that they are driving out of their lane. The noise would have to be so loud that it gets the driver’s attention because they might be driving out of lane due to sleepiness.
In addition to the security precautions I mentioned, there are others that can be applied to create for safer roads. Cars can have sensors in both the front and rear bumpers to recognize vehicles or even people so that cars never come into contact with another object. Tires can be created to be more advanced and take into the natural elements for enhanced performance. If it rains or snows causing slippery roads, tires should have a back-up source to help deploy the proper brakes needed in those circumstances. Brakes can also be more advanced to recognize when cars are skidding or spinning out of control so they can apply a hard lock on the brakes, bringing the car to a complete halt.
Although cars have been around for almost 200 years, there are still plenty of places for advancement, mainly with safety as a primary concern. I’m sure there are several other features cars can have to make them safer but these are the ones that I feel need the most urgent addressing. As technology continues to advance, I’m sure an automaker, whether Japanese or German, will come through with a breakthrough in automobiles that will forever revolutionize the automobile as we know it. Hopefully, that day will be sooner than later.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Why Twitter Matters
Whenever a new form of social media hits the scenes, it's usually dubbed as just a fad, present only for the time being. However, some of these have withstood the test of time and have cemented their place in the fold of society. The two that come to mind are Facebook and the more recent, Twitter. All social networks have relatively the same foundation: connect, share, rinse, and repeat. The beauty of social networks is that you can be virtual friends with people whom you may never meet in person and learn things you would never have otherwise known. The way I use Twitter and Facebook differ. Facebook is more of a medium I use to connect with family, friends, and co-workers to keep in touch via photos, wall postings, notes, etc. Twitter, however, is less personal. I follow (the lingo used in Twitter to refer to friends) people half way across the world, from different age groups, races, occupations, etc. Because Twitter is less personal, I feel that is its biggest advantage.
By being friends with people from various backgrounds, I get to learn things that I would not otherwise be aware of. Yes, most of the news stories I receive in my feed can be read on news sites but the personal insights that ordinary people give cannot be replicated elsewhere, making them unique. What I find most attractive about Twitter is its way of communicating: in 140 characters or less. So yes, I can read a news story about something or I can get the main points in 140 characters through Twitter. Quite honestly, I prefer getting it through Twitter. Another aspect I love about Twitter is that it is in real time. I'm a big sports fan and I found out about the historical move of Christiano Ronaldo going to Real Madrid from ESPN via Twitter. Even more recently, I learned about the Iranian election dispute and the revolution currently taking place there from CNN and TIME via Twitter. The way I look at it, Twitter is the RSS feed simplified; it brings a wealth of information to your fingertips, seamlessly and efficiently.
Moving away from just the personal use of Twitter, I'll shift my concentration to the business facet of it. Given Twitter's huge number of active users, along with it's exponential growth, it gives marketers and brands a new avenue to build customer loyalty and to reach to potential new customers. I've had a few interesting personal experiences and would like to use them to illustrate the value of Twitter. A few months ago, a pair of Altec Lansing headphones I had bought not long ago ripped. In my moment of upset, I sent a tweet expressing my dissatisfaction with the brand and giving it two thumbs down. The following day, I received an email from the Product Manager of the headphones division apologizing to me for my unpleasant experience. The fact that he apologized for the brand's shortcomings impressed me but he didn't stop there; he went above and beyond the call of duty. He asked which pair I had and was going to give me a free replacement pair. I told him which pair I had (yes, I was honest!) but told him that I wasn't too fond of that model and asked for another model. He said he'd be willing to give me an even better model than the one I had asked for. Am I wowed? Ecstatic would be a more appropriate word. So after a few days, he gets back to me and apologizes saying that his team can't find that pair he told me he was going to give me. However, he said he was going to give me a higher end model than the one he initially said AND to make up for the delayed response, he would give me one of the highest end models. So a few days passed and I received both sets of brand new headphones, both in perfectly new shape. I was wowed out of my socks as I was totally not expecting this kind of great customer relations and treatment just from simply venting my frustration through Twitter.
Altec Lansing isn't the only one with outstanding customer care. I've had pleasant experiences with both Drugstore.com and Zappos. There was an issue with one of my orders from Drugstore as it kept getting destroyed in transit. I vented my frustration and the next day, the Director of Customer Care saw my tweet and contacted me directly. She apologized for the hiccup and offered a $20 credit and overnight shipping. Ironically, the second shipment also got messed up in transit. She apologized once again and reissued another $20 credit and overnight shipped my package, this time with a shipping manager overlooking the package. So all in all, for a $60 order, I only had to pay $20. Not bad : ) The same incident happened with Zappos. I ordered a pair of sunglasses and they were slightly cracked and in my usual fashion, I sent a tweet venting my discontent. Minutes later (not even exaggerating), a customer care rep contacted me apologizing for the faulty product. He offered a replacement to be sent overnight and I didn't even need to send my faulty pair back. Pretty awesome.
I don't only tweet my unpleasant experiences with brands/companies; I also commend companies for their good work. All three of the above-mentioned companies got a shout out with my approval and have all been recommended to my friends and family as both reputable and pleasant companies to do business with.
Twitter can be used in a variety of ways. There are some who simply tweet about their personal life and yes, it can get a bit boring. However, there are many people who are not quite household names but still celebrities in their own right. I use Twitter for news, for laughs, for insights, and just for a nice little read. It's a nice, little, 140 character (or less) bundle of joy.
For those looking for interesting people to follow on Twitter, here are some of my faves: @espn, @TIME, @arjunbasu, @avinashkaushik, @rainnwilson (Dwight from The Office), @THE_REAL_SHAQ, and @caseymckinnon. There are loads more from my list of people I follow so take your pick!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The How vs. The Why
As far back as I can remember, I've always been a very inquisitive person. I was never content when someone gave me the "what" or even the "why"; I always wanted the "how". I guess it's just in my nature to look beyond the simple observation of the "what" or the causal response from the "why". For me, what's significant is how something happened. An example that is relevant to all of us is the situation the global economy is in. Anyone can tell you that the economy is doing terrible (the "what"); it is also fairly easy to explain "why", in this case being that lending houses were being too nonchalant when giving loans as well as consumers spending beyond their means. Granted, the "why" is a bit more involved as it goes deeper into the situation but the "how" digs even deeper. In this case, the answer would be that government's laissez-faire and lack of regulation allowed lending houses to make too many risky gambles and unfortunately, they lost the majority of those gambles. Yes, I agree that all three of those ("what", "where", "how") pose three separate questions, but the "how" is what gives you the best understanding of the situation.
I mention this because in my line of work, the "how" is the most significant detail. In Search, the "what" is a given and that is that consumers are looking for the most bang for their buck. The Internet gives them a wealth of information and resources to do their due diligence and get the best deal on the product they want. The "why" is a no-brainer: because they want to save money and by comparing prices from multiple retailers, they are doing just that. The "how", that's the Fort Knox of Search. By figuring out how consumers are searching, you are positioning yourself for success.
I've had the privilege to work with people from diverse backgrounds and with that being the case, have been exposed to different demographics. In Australia, consumers are rather indifferent about brand names as opposed to here in America. Let's pick a product to help illustrate this: a 42" lcd tv (I know, my love for electronics is very subtle!). An American male in his 30's would be more likely to search the term "sony 42 inch lcd tv" (or panasonic, samsung, etc.) than his Australian counterpart. The Aussie male would most likely type in just "42 inch lcd tv". The American society has a tendency to be brand conscious as they feel a brand name adds value, whereas Australians are content whether they get a Sony or a Sceptre just as long as they get a good deal on a good product. Search behaviors vary in different parts of the world so it would be ill-advised to use the same tactic across the world for a global campaign.
Back to the "how" of Search. As a Search marketer, you should ask yourself a series of "hows" before rolling out a campaign. Here are a few sample questions:
Now let me tackle each one of these questions. The first question relates to user experience and how that can be beneficial to your performance. Let's continue to use our American and Aussie male to help illustrate and I'll use Best Buy as my client. Since we mentioned that Americans are more receptive to brand names, I would use ad copy that looks like this when advertising in America:
In Australia, since they are less brand conscious, my ad copy would look like this:
For the American ad copy, I made sure that the brand name was mentioned multiple times to ensure that I do in fact carry what they are looking for: brand name TVs. For the Australian ad copy, my focus shifted. I put more emphasis on the money they would be saving at Best Buy as opposed to the competitors. I also emphasized that although they are going to save money, they shouldn't expect to get a third rate TV, but rather one that is top of the line. Taking note of these kinds of cultural preferences will work wonders for your campaign performance.
Before you start to think that I completely dismiss the "why", let me explain the significance I put on the "why". After establishing the "how" (i.e., how people are searching), I examine the "why". In this case, I have multiple "whys":
1. Why did/didn't the user click on my ad?
2. If the user clicked my ad, why didn't they make the purchase?
There are a multiple of "whys", but I will only concentrate on those two. For the first question, I can observe what it is about the ad that caused the user to click it or not click it. Was my ad well worded? Did I have spelling/grammar mistakes? If I'm seeing that my ads have a horrible click through rate (calculated by clicks divided by impressions, i.e., 100 clicks from 1,000 impressions would mean a 10% click through rate), I should go back, examine and make changes. The beauty of Search is that changes can be made on the fly and are so easy to implement. So if I spot a typo, I can make the change and it should be reflected within five minutes.
Now let's examine the second question. Again, there could be many reasons as to why a purchase wasn't made after a user clicked an ad. Was the user looking for TVs and my landing page took them to toasters? Do I simply not carry that product? If it's the former, I should definitely find a better landing page; if it's the latter, I should pause the keyword. There's no sense in spending money on a keyword which isn't even part of my store's inventory. I just want to mention how important it is to review your keyword list before setting them live. Let me illustrate by again using Best Buy as my client. Let's say I had the keyword "cars" in my keyword list. Since this is a very broad term, I would be getting a lot of bad clicks from those who aren't familiar with what Best Buy is. For example, if someone was looking to buy a car and they clicked my ad and saw that I didn't sell any cars, I just wasted however much that click was. If the click was $1.00 then I wasted $1.00; now imagine if it was 1,000 clicks. Yeah, not a pleasant thought, especially for my client. Although Best Buy does install car systems, they don't sell cars so I should make sure such broad terms aren't in my list.
The way I see it, I view my investigation similar to an autopsy. The "how" would be analogous to the cause of death, which is deemed a priority; the "why" would be the motive (I'm a big CSI geek!). Important to note that this is my approach and I'm not saying this is the only approach, but this is just how I proceed. I hope this has helped shape a different way to approach your Search campaign's performance. As always, feel free to ask whatever questions/concerns you may have.
Cheers.
I mention this because in my line of work, the "how" is the most significant detail. In Search, the "what" is a given and that is that consumers are looking for the most bang for their buck. The Internet gives them a wealth of information and resources to do their due diligence and get the best deal on the product they want. The "why" is a no-brainer: because they want to save money and by comparing prices from multiple retailers, they are doing just that. The "how", that's the Fort Knox of Search. By figuring out how consumers are searching, you are positioning yourself for success.
I've had the privilege to work with people from diverse backgrounds and with that being the case, have been exposed to different demographics. In Australia, consumers are rather indifferent about brand names as opposed to here in America. Let's pick a product to help illustrate this: a 42" lcd tv (I know, my love for electronics is very subtle!). An American male in his 30's would be more likely to search the term "sony 42 inch lcd tv" (or panasonic, samsung, etc.) than his Australian counterpart. The Aussie male would most likely type in just "42 inch lcd tv". The American society has a tendency to be brand conscious as they feel a brand name adds value, whereas Australians are content whether they get a Sony or a Sceptre just as long as they get a good deal on a good product. Search behaviors vary in different parts of the world so it would be ill-advised to use the same tactic across the world for a global campaign.
Back to the "how" of Search. As a Search marketer, you should ask yourself a series of "hows" before rolling out a campaign. Here are a few sample questions:
1. How can I create the most targeted experience so that my potential users will get the best user experience?
2. How can I find out what tactics my users are most receptive to?
2. How can I find out what tactics my users are most receptive to?
Now let me tackle each one of these questions. The first question relates to user experience and how that can be beneficial to your performance. Let's continue to use our American and Aussie male to help illustrate and I'll use Best Buy as my client. Since we mentioned that Americans are more receptive to brand names, I would use ad copy that looks like this when advertising in America:
In Australia, since they are less brand conscious, my ad copy would look like this:
For the American ad copy, I made sure that the brand name was mentioned multiple times to ensure that I do in fact carry what they are looking for: brand name TVs. For the Australian ad copy, my focus shifted. I put more emphasis on the money they would be saving at Best Buy as opposed to the competitors. I also emphasized that although they are going to save money, they shouldn't expect to get a third rate TV, but rather one that is top of the line. Taking note of these kinds of cultural preferences will work wonders for your campaign performance.Before you start to think that I completely dismiss the "why", let me explain the significance I put on the "why". After establishing the "how" (i.e., how people are searching), I examine the "why". In this case, I have multiple "whys":
1. Why did/didn't the user click on my ad?
2. If the user clicked my ad, why didn't they make the purchase?
There are a multiple of "whys", but I will only concentrate on those two. For the first question, I can observe what it is about the ad that caused the user to click it or not click it. Was my ad well worded? Did I have spelling/grammar mistakes? If I'm seeing that my ads have a horrible click through rate (calculated by clicks divided by impressions, i.e., 100 clicks from 1,000 impressions would mean a 10% click through rate), I should go back, examine and make changes. The beauty of Search is that changes can be made on the fly and are so easy to implement. So if I spot a typo, I can make the change and it should be reflected within five minutes.
Now let's examine the second question. Again, there could be many reasons as to why a purchase wasn't made after a user clicked an ad. Was the user looking for TVs and my landing page took them to toasters? Do I simply not carry that product? If it's the former, I should definitely find a better landing page; if it's the latter, I should pause the keyword. There's no sense in spending money on a keyword which isn't even part of my store's inventory. I just want to mention how important it is to review your keyword list before setting them live. Let me illustrate by again using Best Buy as my client. Let's say I had the keyword "cars" in my keyword list. Since this is a very broad term, I would be getting a lot of bad clicks from those who aren't familiar with what Best Buy is. For example, if someone was looking to buy a car and they clicked my ad and saw that I didn't sell any cars, I just wasted however much that click was. If the click was $1.00 then I wasted $1.00; now imagine if it was 1,000 clicks. Yeah, not a pleasant thought, especially for my client. Although Best Buy does install car systems, they don't sell cars so I should make sure such broad terms aren't in my list.
The way I see it, I view my investigation similar to an autopsy. The "how" would be analogous to the cause of death, which is deemed a priority; the "why" would be the motive (I'm a big CSI geek!). Important to note that this is my approach and I'm not saying this is the only approach, but this is just how I proceed. I hope this has helped shape a different way to approach your Search campaign's performance. As always, feel free to ask whatever questions/concerns you may have.
Cheers.
Search: How to Approach it?
In my previous post, I covered the fundamentals of Search. Here, I'll dive in a bit deeper and shed some insight on some of the tactics I use to create campaigns that produce results.
Like with all things new and unfamiliar, Search can be a bit daunting when you want to roll up your sleeves and get started. Worry not, for I am here to make the process as painless as possible : ) First, let's familiarize ourselves with some of the terminology.
For starters, let's look at the basic account structure. There is a hierarchy which basically consists of this:
Now let's observe each one further.
To make sense of this structure, let me use a company that we are all familiar with: Amazon. Now that we have a client, this should be a bit clearer.
Since Amazon carries pretty much everything, we'll pick one category to use as our "Account". I'm a tech lover so let's use Electronics as our Account. Now that we have our Account name, the rest should fall into place. For Campaigns, we can use a couple of the different categories within the site; I'll use TVs and Computers for simplicity's sake. So now that we have our two Campaigns, "TVs" and "Computers", we can move on to Ad Groups. Although a hierarchy, it makes sense to actually build out your keyword list first. Google has a Keyword Tool that gives you a list of keywords which you can get by providing a link (i.e., Amazon Electronics) or by providing a list of keywords which the tool will provide additional variations of. So if you type in "tv", it may give "sony tv", "lcd tv", etc. This tool is free so if you are interested in checking it out then give it a stab. After you have your keywords, you can then place them into Ad Groups. My word of advice: have as many Ad Groups as possible (each search engine has its own quota). Why? Because you want your keywords to all be similar so that your Ads (I'll get into that a little later) will be relevant to every keyword. Here are my sample keywords to help illustrate:
lcd tv
sony lcd tv
sony bravia tv
52" sony bravia lcd tv
I would not place ANY of these keywords in the same Ad Group because they are all separate products despite their commonality of being lcd tvs. Here is how I would designate these keywords to Ad Groups.
This way, you can make the most targeted Ad Copy (I'll explain why that's important in a future post). I want to also clarify that I wouldn't put only one keyword per Ad Group; I would put concatenations of those terms in those Ad Groups. For example, in the "lcd tv" Ad Group, I'd also throw in keywords like "buy lcd tv", "lcd tv deals", etc; I would also use the same method for the other ad groups. Regarding Ads, keep in mind that they are on the Ad Group level and not the Keyword level (except on Ask.com). Therefore, if you have 1,000 Ad Groups, you need at least 1,000 Ads. Don't let that number frighten you as creating ads is a simple task once you master a few Excel tricks. Here is an example of what one of the ads would look like in the "lcd tv - sony - bravia" Ad Group:
Sony Bravia TV
Get Great Deals on Sony Bravia
LCD TVs at Amazon.
Amazon.com
As you can see, the ad has the keyword in both the title and in the description and by having an ad that is relevant to ALL the keywords in an Ad Group, your Quality Score increases. Ad relevance is one of the factors that determine quality score and here are the other factors. I won't go into depth as to what the quality score is now but in short, it is what determines how much you will have to pay per click. So what you want to aim for is the highest quality score possible so that you pay the least per click and can get the best position as possible.
So now that we've established the basic framework of what a typical Search account looks like, I feel comfortable rolling up my sleeves and going into some of the nitty gritty details. I'll prevent information overload so will briefly touch upon some of the other key aspects that one needs to be aware of when launching a Search marketing campaign.
One thing to keep in mind is your budget. You shouldn't be disheartened if your company doesn't have an Amazon-esque budget to spend on your Search campaigns. With proper consulting, you can get the most out of your Search dollars. When deciding how much to allocate to each campaign, think of the popularity of the category. Let's say in addition to TVs and Computers, I had another campaign for Networking (i.e., cables, storage, etc.). This isn't as popular as TVs and Computers so it wouldn't make sense to allocate to the three campaigns with an even split of the budget; giving TVs and Computers 40% each and Networking 20% would make more sense. Keep in mind that this isn't a rule set in stone and you should move money and allocate towards performance a few days/week after a campaign has launched. So for example, if I see that my TV campaign is performing much better than I predicted, I'd shift more dollars from either of the two lesser performing ones.
Everything in this post gives a fundamental look at how a Search campaign should be set up. Of course, there are so many other facets to it, but I'll save those for other posts : ) I hope this was informative and if your company is looking to venture into Search then at least this is something you can relay to your marketing team to teach them the basics.
Like with all things new and unfamiliar, Search can be a bit daunting when you want to roll up your sleeves and get started. Worry not, for I am here to make the process as painless as possible : ) First, let's familiarize ourselves with some of the terminology.
For starters, let's look at the basic account structure. There is a hierarchy which basically consists of this:
Account
Campaign
Ad Group
Keywords
Campaign
Ad Group
Keywords
Now let's observe each one further.
To make sense of this structure, let me use a company that we are all familiar with: Amazon. Now that we have a client, this should be a bit clearer.
Since Amazon carries pretty much everything, we'll pick one category to use as our "Account". I'm a tech lover so let's use Electronics as our Account. Now that we have our Account name, the rest should fall into place. For Campaigns, we can use a couple of the different categories within the site; I'll use TVs and Computers for simplicity's sake. So now that we have our two Campaigns, "TVs" and "Computers", we can move on to Ad Groups. Although a hierarchy, it makes sense to actually build out your keyword list first. Google has a Keyword Tool that gives you a list of keywords which you can get by providing a link (i.e., Amazon Electronics) or by providing a list of keywords which the tool will provide additional variations of. So if you type in "tv", it may give "sony tv", "lcd tv", etc. This tool is free so if you are interested in checking it out then give it a stab. After you have your keywords, you can then place them into Ad Groups. My word of advice: have as many Ad Groups as possible (each search engine has its own quota). Why? Because you want your keywords to all be similar so that your Ads (I'll get into that a little later) will be relevant to every keyword. Here are my sample keywords to help illustrate:
lcd tv
sony lcd tv
sony bravia tv
52" sony bravia lcd tv
I would not place ANY of these keywords in the same Ad Group because they are all separate products despite their commonality of being lcd tvs. Here is how I would designate these keywords to Ad Groups.
| Ad Group | ||
| lcd tv | lcd tv | |
| sony lcd tv | lcd tv - sony | |
| sony bravia tv | lcd tv - sony - bravia | |
| 52" sony bravia lcd tv | lcd tv - sony - bravia - 52 |
This way, you can make the most targeted Ad Copy (I'll explain why that's important in a future post). I want to also clarify that I wouldn't put only one keyword per Ad Group; I would put concatenations of those terms in those Ad Groups. For example, in the "lcd tv" Ad Group, I'd also throw in keywords like "buy lcd tv", "lcd tv deals", etc; I would also use the same method for the other ad groups. Regarding Ads, keep in mind that they are on the Ad Group level and not the Keyword level (except on Ask.com). Therefore, if you have 1,000 Ad Groups, you need at least 1,000 Ads. Don't let that number frighten you as creating ads is a simple task once you master a few Excel tricks. Here is an example of what one of the ads would look like in the "lcd tv - sony - bravia" Ad Group:
Sony Bravia TV
Get Great Deals on Sony Bravia
LCD TVs at Amazon.
Amazon.com
As you can see, the ad has the keyword in both the title and in the description and by having an ad that is relevant to ALL the keywords in an Ad Group, your Quality Score increases. Ad relevance is one of the factors that determine quality score and here are the other factors. I won't go into depth as to what the quality score is now but in short, it is what determines how much you will have to pay per click. So what you want to aim for is the highest quality score possible so that you pay the least per click and can get the best position as possible.
So now that we've established the basic framework of what a typical Search account looks like, I feel comfortable rolling up my sleeves and going into some of the nitty gritty details. I'll prevent information overload so will briefly touch upon some of the other key aspects that one needs to be aware of when launching a Search marketing campaign.
One thing to keep in mind is your budget. You shouldn't be disheartened if your company doesn't have an Amazon-esque budget to spend on your Search campaigns. With proper consulting, you can get the most out of your Search dollars. When deciding how much to allocate to each campaign, think of the popularity of the category. Let's say in addition to TVs and Computers, I had another campaign for Networking (i.e., cables, storage, etc.). This isn't as popular as TVs and Computers so it wouldn't make sense to allocate to the three campaigns with an even split of the budget; giving TVs and Computers 40% each and Networking 20% would make more sense. Keep in mind that this isn't a rule set in stone and you should move money and allocate towards performance a few days/week after a campaign has launched. So for example, if I see that my TV campaign is performing much better than I predicted, I'd shift more dollars from either of the two lesser performing ones.
Everything in this post gives a fundamental look at how a Search campaign should be set up. Of course, there are so many other facets to it, but I'll save those for other posts : ) I hope this was informative and if your company is looking to venture into Search then at least this is something you can relay to your marketing team to teach them the basics.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Social Media: What's All The Hoopla?
My older brother often asks me "What's so great about Facebook?". My short and simple answer:"It helps me stay connected." In a nutshell, Facebook is designed to help you communicate with those in your network, whether it's family, friends, co-workers, or even strangers from halfway across the world. Contrary to the popular preconceived notion that Facebook is just a means of wasting time, it is actually so much more. Granted, the overwhelming majority of Facebook users do just waste their time by taking silly quizzes, perusing through their friends' pictures, or by just looking for attractive people (read: "stalking"). Although these can be fun and a way to kill time, that's not what I feel the social network's true purpose is.
One of my friends, who is one of the few people I know not on Facebook, told me that he felt it was a waste of time. Taking his comment almost as a personal insult, I gave him my quick 2 minute marketer's pitch about why I feel it's important and why I encourage people to be on it. I have lots of family in London and I get along with them pretty well and from time to time, like to know what they're up to. Before the advent of Facebook, I'd write them one-liner emails asking how they're doing and how they've been. They'd respond with their whereabouts and reciprocate the questions I asked them. BORING! Gone are those days where I'd be reluctant to reply to their emails as it would just get down-right redundant after a few back-and-forth emails. Now, it's much more dynamic and so much more interesting. How? Well, now I show them what I'm up to rather than them having to ask, either by status updates, Twitter messages, or pictures I post. So now they can see that I was in Rhode Island on some given weekend and they can actually see how beautiful the scenery is without me having to describe it or attach photos (which was also a chore!). That's just the bare bones concept; there's so much more I can dive into but that's beyond the scope of this post. I'll try to add to this one if I continue to hear people dismissing social networks.
I know there are some who like to be cryptic and keep to themselves and would rather prefer not to have their personal life out on display. OK, I respect your privacy and understand where you're coming from. However, those same people shouldn't be ignorant and feel as if they're being forced to provide information. After all, you choose what you want to post. Had a great vacation in Brazil? Show the pictures of the beautiful scenery, not of you taking body shots off of the local waitresses. Don't demonize social networks because you posted something potentially incriminating. When posting, keep in mind that the Internet is a massive medium and if there are some things that can get you in trouble, keep those to yourself. I give you that word of caution.
Let's step aside from Facebook and look at some of the other social networks. I won't pretend to be an expert on social networks but I do know a decent amount. In addition to Facebook, I'm also an active member on LinkedIn and Twitter. I'll just touch briefly on what each of these are and why I feel they're important. LinkedIn is what I like to refer to as "Facebook for Professionals". It works similar to Facebook but it doesn't concentrate so heavily on pictures, notes, etc. Rather, it takes a more professional approach and helps you link up with people you may know. It derives from the basic principles of "Seven Degrees of Separation". Here's an illustration to help clarify: I'm friends with Joe Shmoe. Joe is friends with John Smith. John's company is looking to explore Search marketing and sees that Joe knows someone in that field (me!). So John approaches me and tells me that he could use my services and would like some guidance on how to approach their Search campaigns. Voila! A connection has been made. To add even more, let's say Joe and I worked together and he wrote a raving review about me and how I'm great to work with, etc. This further encourages John to contact me because his buddy Joe is saying good things about me so I should be considered as a serious candidate. This is just one simple scenario; imagine more elaborate ones where you have the potential to get noticed by an employer/head hunter who feels you're a viable candidate for a more senior role (i.e., Director, VP, etc.). I use LinkedIn more as a utility to help me get noticed, much like I use this blog. I am a strong advocate of the old adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know." You can be the smartest person out there but if you don't know anyone or vice versa, your true potential will never be realized. This is why I encourage people to join LinkedIn so they can get noticed by the important people in their field.
Twitter, on the other hand, is different from both Facebook and LinkedIn. Well, at least I think so. I use Twitter to throw my thoughts out there, despite how random they may be at times. It helps me to just unwind and get my brain thinking. I remember free-writing in school where I would just write anything that came to mind; now, I do the same with Twitter. Surprisingly, it helps me get my thoughts in order and it helps me clear my mind. Aside from the random things I Twitter, I feel that Twitter has a greater purpose. First and foremost, Twitter is a great communication tool. Often, I see fellow Twitterers asking questions or asking for advice and within minutes, their followers (Twitter's term for friends) reply by the dozens and give their input. It's the way collaboration was meant to be: dynamic and in real-time. Second, Twitter can be used as a great market research tool. Working in Search, it's important to know about the trends and what consumers are thinking and how they are behaving. Let's say I have a client that is a travel agency (i.e., Cheaptickets, Orbitz, etc.) or an airline (Delta, US Airways, etc.) and there's an amazing new resort in San Diego and people are Twittering rave reviews about it. For simplicity's sake, let's refer to this amazing resort as The Grand Resort (lame name, I know. It's late so gimme a break!). So now imagine hundreds, if not thousands, of people writing tweets (Twitter's term for a message) "The Grand Resort was amazing. Definitely going back!" or to some variation of that. There would be a huge spike in traffic for terms like "San Diego resort" or even "The Grand Resort" and my job as a search marketer would be to capitalize in that small window. I could quickly take these terms and concatenate "cheap tickets" or "great deals" to them, i.e., "cheap tickets to San Diego", "great deals on the Grand Resort". If these tweets were coming in now, then there would be a great opportunity to capitalize on this as spring break is around the corner and this could very well be a popular destination. One of the key aspects of marketing is timing and if you're timing is right, the other variables will fall into place.
So there's my quick pitch on the importance of social networking. I hope I've convinced those who aren't on any of the above-mentioned social networks to at least join one.
Cheers.
P.S.: For those wondering why the blog is named "In SCearch", it's because the SC in SCearch are my initials and this blog consists of my views and experiences with Search.
One of my friends, who is one of the few people I know not on Facebook, told me that he felt it was a waste of time. Taking his comment almost as a personal insult, I gave him my quick 2 minute marketer's pitch about why I feel it's important and why I encourage people to be on it. I have lots of family in London and I get along with them pretty well and from time to time, like to know what they're up to. Before the advent of Facebook, I'd write them one-liner emails asking how they're doing and how they've been. They'd respond with their whereabouts and reciprocate the questions I asked them. BORING! Gone are those days where I'd be reluctant to reply to their emails as it would just get down-right redundant after a few back-and-forth emails. Now, it's much more dynamic and so much more interesting. How? Well, now I show them what I'm up to rather than them having to ask, either by status updates, Twitter messages, or pictures I post. So now they can see that I was in Rhode Island on some given weekend and they can actually see how beautiful the scenery is without me having to describe it or attach photos (which was also a chore!). That's just the bare bones concept; there's so much more I can dive into but that's beyond the scope of this post. I'll try to add to this one if I continue to hear people dismissing social networks.
I know there are some who like to be cryptic and keep to themselves and would rather prefer not to have their personal life out on display. OK, I respect your privacy and understand where you're coming from. However, those same people shouldn't be ignorant and feel as if they're being forced to provide information. After all, you choose what you want to post. Had a great vacation in Brazil? Show the pictures of the beautiful scenery, not of you taking body shots off of the local waitresses. Don't demonize social networks because you posted something potentially incriminating. When posting, keep in mind that the Internet is a massive medium and if there are some things that can get you in trouble, keep those to yourself. I give you that word of caution.
Let's step aside from Facebook and look at some of the other social networks. I won't pretend to be an expert on social networks but I do know a decent amount. In addition to Facebook, I'm also an active member on LinkedIn and Twitter. I'll just touch briefly on what each of these are and why I feel they're important. LinkedIn is what I like to refer to as "Facebook for Professionals". It works similar to Facebook but it doesn't concentrate so heavily on pictures, notes, etc. Rather, it takes a more professional approach and helps you link up with people you may know. It derives from the basic principles of "Seven Degrees of Separation". Here's an illustration to help clarify: I'm friends with Joe Shmoe. Joe is friends with John Smith. John's company is looking to explore Search marketing and sees that Joe knows someone in that field (me!). So John approaches me and tells me that he could use my services and would like some guidance on how to approach their Search campaigns. Voila! A connection has been made. To add even more, let's say Joe and I worked together and he wrote a raving review about me and how I'm great to work with, etc. This further encourages John to contact me because his buddy Joe is saying good things about me so I should be considered as a serious candidate. This is just one simple scenario; imagine more elaborate ones where you have the potential to get noticed by an employer/head hunter who feels you're a viable candidate for a more senior role (i.e., Director, VP, etc.). I use LinkedIn more as a utility to help me get noticed, much like I use this blog. I am a strong advocate of the old adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know." You can be the smartest person out there but if you don't know anyone or vice versa, your true potential will never be realized. This is why I encourage people to join LinkedIn so they can get noticed by the important people in their field.
Twitter, on the other hand, is different from both Facebook and LinkedIn. Well, at least I think so. I use Twitter to throw my thoughts out there, despite how random they may be at times. It helps me to just unwind and get my brain thinking. I remember free-writing in school where I would just write anything that came to mind; now, I do the same with Twitter. Surprisingly, it helps me get my thoughts in order and it helps me clear my mind. Aside from the random things I Twitter, I feel that Twitter has a greater purpose. First and foremost, Twitter is a great communication tool. Often, I see fellow Twitterers asking questions or asking for advice and within minutes, their followers (Twitter's term for friends) reply by the dozens and give their input. It's the way collaboration was meant to be: dynamic and in real-time. Second, Twitter can be used as a great market research tool. Working in Search, it's important to know about the trends and what consumers are thinking and how they are behaving. Let's say I have a client that is a travel agency (i.e., Cheaptickets, Orbitz, etc.) or an airline (Delta, US Airways, etc.) and there's an amazing new resort in San Diego and people are Twittering rave reviews about it. For simplicity's sake, let's refer to this amazing resort as The Grand Resort (lame name, I know. It's late so gimme a break!). So now imagine hundreds, if not thousands, of people writing tweets (Twitter's term for a message) "The Grand Resort was amazing. Definitely going back!" or to some variation of that. There would be a huge spike in traffic for terms like "San Diego resort" or even "The Grand Resort" and my job as a search marketer would be to capitalize in that small window. I could quickly take these terms and concatenate "cheap tickets" or "great deals" to them, i.e., "cheap tickets to San Diego", "great deals on the Grand Resort". If these tweets were coming in now, then there would be a great opportunity to capitalize on this as spring break is around the corner and this could very well be a popular destination. One of the key aspects of marketing is timing and if you're timing is right, the other variables will fall into place.
So there's my quick pitch on the importance of social networking. I hope I've convinced those who aren't on any of the above-mentioned social networks to at least join one.
Cheers.
P.S.: For those wondering why the blog is named "In SCearch", it's because the SC in SCearch are my initials and this blog consists of my views and experiences with Search.
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