I could attempt to try to describe this Hallmark “Tell Them” campaign. But all you need to do is watch this commercial. Come on, it’s only 30-seconds. Watch it-

And here’s the Facebook App we helped develop and launch this week:

The most notable innovation about this project?

50% of the 845+ million active monthly Facebook users browse the social network via an “App”. Meaning- they use a smartphone to do it. Not a desktop computer. Until recently, the Facebook App did not let users view “Page Tabs” or FBML/iFramed pages. Most Pages today, when you click links from Pages on your News Feed you’re redirected to the Wall. However, in Dec/January 2012 Facebook released capabilities to select preferred developers to allow for mobile optimization. Very few brands and businesses have taken advantage of this feature since it’s so new.

…our DEG CSS ninjas pulled it off!

http://inv.lv/z3WkU7 <<– click on this with your iPhone or Android phone. You’ll notice the same desktop, full browser experience- on mobile, using iOS or Android!

Please make your vow- and take it for a test-drive …and be sure to watch for the national TV campaign (now through Valentines Day) that exclusively has a TV end-frame driving traffic to our Facebook App!
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

Working closely with the client- we determined that one strategic objective for this project was understanding that the blog can be a channel- that (with the right content and outreach/distribution) can demonstrate enduring relevance (past and present) as helpful experts around the topics and services regarding taxes.

The graphics used, copy & text, and functional features we built into the blog were all strategic- in order to best communicate with design elements of “trust”, “innovation”, and “relevance” regarding the brand.

…so go ahead and take the blog for a test-drive. Feel free to look around and ask me questions if you’d like in the comments  http://blogs.hrblock.com

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

We just launched a new Facebook giveaway app for Title Boxing (a client). Here are 3 learnings I wanted to share given the many clients we work with for these types of promotions. 3 tips to keep in mind when developing a giveway or contest:

1.) The “5-second rule” applies.
When deciding on a contest or giveaway, it should take less than 5-seconds to understand what it is and how to enter. “Clever” isn’t always the most effective. And far too often in the boardrooms and those posh marketing conference rooms people get caught up in complicated promotions. The attention span of a user on Facebook is much lower than the average user. Facebook is inherently designed for media snacking, so a contest that takes time and work is typically less successful. Rule of thumb: make it simple and tell them in words how “easy it is to enter”.

2.) Ask for their email address.
Giveaways and contests are highly effective email acquisition tactics. We believe you have to “give to get”. And customers are ok with this. So make the [email address] field required. Also, the information you require on the form should be dependent upon the minimum amount of data you need to segment and take action on from an email and CRM perspective. Don’t get greedy and ask for more. Remember my advice from Rule #1.

Also, in compliance with Facebook Promotions Guidelines, you cannot use Facebook to notify winners, such as by sending them a message, chat, or wall post alerting them to their win. So having their email address is vital.

3.) When you build it, they won’t enter.
Just because you build an amazing contest or giveaway app, it doesn’t mean hundreds or thousands of people will flock to enter. Cascade and flex your digital channels (email, website, twitter, facebook) with a drip roll-out to drive traffic, stimulate buzz, and attention about contest. Bonus Tip: one of the best promotional strategies for a giveaway or contest is to work with influential bloggers or existing communities to push and support the promotion <– coorindate this prior to the launch

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

**update** Twitter reported officially that within a minute of the reported earthquake, there were over 40,000 #earthquake related tweets. And there were about 5,500 Tweets per second (TPS). For context, this TPS is more than Osama Bin Laden’s death & on par w/ the Japanese quake.

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

Over 11,000+ people entered the contest, their brand page has received a huge spike in LIKES, and it’s resulted in hundreds of thousands+ of Facebook Tab views on their page.

The idea behind the contest was simple. Give away a really awesome prize ($5,000 bucks and record a video of the winner) to the best “any day” special occasion. Hallmark believes that life is made up of small little moments that are special occasions. And we wanted to encourage people to share with everyone what they are!

There were some really creative contest entries received:

Much of the success for this campaign is attributed to the Hallmark marketing team’s drip roll-out across all digital channels, as well as a targeted outreach to mommy bloggers.

…an email was pushed to customers:

A Facebook status update to our 200,000+ FB fans:

Tweets were sent:

…engagement with key “mommy blog” influencers:

This contest campaign resulted in a huge acquisition spike in “New Likes” to the page:

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

A few weeks ago, I shattered my glasses while traveling (bummer, i know). I started shopping the marketing for options for my new pair of glasses. Then I remembered hearing about an online designer glasses startup company called Warby Parker. These guys got a ton of tech-blog press earlier in the year- and their business model is impressive. I even heard one of their founders Neil Blumenthal speak at “Big Omaha”. They even carry a Toms Shoes-like promise: “Buy A Pair, Give A Pair” <– which I think is really cool. The unique part of their business that will grab your attention, is every pair of glasses cost $95. Yeah, you read that right. This includes the frames -and- lenses. Now that’s cool huh? Oh and they have free shipping and returns for all orders.

It all sounded too good to be true at first...
…so I decided to look-them-up and test drive if they really were the real-deal.

Before you commit to dropping cash for glasses that you haven’t tried on (b/c you order them online), Warby Parker let’s you pick 5 frames that they ship to you (for free, and they all have clear lenses).

Here’s what it looked like when the box came in the mail:

Then, I decided …why not crowdsource my purchase? I figured- my friends likely know better than I do which glasses look best on me, so why not ask them? This is the part I struggle with a lot. Why not let my friends decide for me? So I took some photos- and posted them to Facebook. I asked people to vote by leaving a comment or a “Like”. And almost immediately, the feedback rolled in…

Option #1: (clearly was the favorite of the 5)

Style: “Thompson“

Option #2: (this one was the “super geek” pair …)

Style: “Huxley“

Option #3:

Style: “Wiloughby“

Option #4: (i like these, i called these the “hipster” pair)

Style: “Zagg“

Option #5: (these were good- i couldn’t tell if the brown is/was my style)

Style: “Langston“

…my profile page had nothing but Warby Parker “glasses try-on” photos across the top

Overall, I was really happy with my purchase. The ordering process was super easy- they called my doctor and took care of everything with my prescription verification. Check ‘em out- these guys are doing a lot of things right. www.warbyparker.com
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

BTW, if you ever want to see all the keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, press: SHIFT + ?

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

Is Google is replacing our memory?

One could quickly conclude that the Internet is making us stupid because no one has to remember anything. Google is our professor. Even the Lord Chief Justice has gone on record saying web-savvy people make bad jurors because they can’t listen. I believe Google and the Internet aren’t replacing our memory or our intelligence; it just shifted us to think differently. And this is best explained by a concept explained by Harvard researchers (1985), called transactive memory. This is the notion that we rely on our family, friends and co-workers as well as reference material (like Google and the Internet) to store information for us. And when you think about it, the advent of the internet and the mobile web “free our minds” from having to store information.

Smartphones have changed your memory

The “always-online” Internet in our hands (smartphones), is the catalyst to the change for how we remember things. But it is not making us stupid. Because you are able to access the Internet almost anywhere, everywhere, at any time- the information itself (what you know in your head) may be less valuable then remembering how to access information or data in the future.

Now, more than ever- there is value and equity to knowing how to use tools to retrieve data. Understanding how to “search” when you need information. How do you “Google” things properly? It’s like the days of your elementary school librarian, who was invaluable because of their knowledge of the card catalog system. Librarians didn’t actually know the information- or answers to your questions, they just knew how to get you books that had what you need.

The advent of the Internet, Google, and smartphones have impacted human memory. Should we be teaching kids in school how to use Google? I think we should. I can remember taking tests and classes on the card catalog system. Isn’t that the modern day equivalent?

What do you think? Do you think the Internet has made us stupid?

–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

As you can see, my girlfriend is way better at using Twitter than I am!

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

Understand how the feed works.

Facebook and Twitter’s feeds may look similar- but they’re very different. If you want to best leverage the “how” and “when” to use the channel(s), you must first understand how each are presented and read/consumed by its users (the context). When you look “under the hood”, you’ll see the data is organized very differently between Facebook vs. Twitter.

Delayed + Filtered (Facebook)

You may not realize it, but there’s logic behind your Facebook News Feed. What you see on your Facebook homepage is based on an algorithm (referred to as “Edge Rank“) that determines what you see from your friends and pages. This is a smart filter- so you only see relevent, valuable content from your friends based interactions (# views, likes, comments, shared). Furthermore, your News Feed has a “freshness” delay to what content to show you. Meaning, you are not seeing every up-to-the-minute updates from friends and pages. Instead, you’re viewing the results of a highly complex equation- that’s delayed and filtered just for you. It’s a custom experience. And you can bet Zucky designed (and continues to refine it) Facebook’s algorithms to best help users weed through the mess of seeing every action users are taking.

Real-Time (Twitter)

Your Twitter feed is like a never stopping, flowing river, with snippets of 140 characters of text and links. It’s unfiltered and raw. Meaning, the moment any of whom you’re following updates on Twitter, you see it in your Timeline. It’s as simple as that.

So what should you do?

Twitter is a channel in which content moves fast. Minutes, not hours (and it moves fast in everyone’s feed, no matter the device they’re using). The speed and velocity is so quick- a study found the average lifespan of a Tweet is only 1 hour. The content and updates you post in this channel are very disposable. And I’m a firm believer that no one reads all your tweets. (so get over yourself).   But it also means Twitter is a great communication channels for live events and commentary about things happening right now. For example, you could ask your friends and followers what was the song just sung on American Idol? Or complain about the bad foul in the NBA Finals on the basketball game you’re watching. Tools like Facebook and Google aren’t best designed to help you with answers to these types of real-time questions.

Facebook is different. There is a much longer expiration date for content on Facebook. It’s more likely to “stick” to friends’ News Feeds longer (hours). Look at your own News Feed. When you scan it top to bottom, what do you see? If you look closely, there are time stamps ranging from “15 minutes ago” all the way to “18 hours ago”. This means, when you create and share content- understand the Facebook channel has a longer shelf-life.

It’s important to understand that users consume and view Twitter in real-time vs. Facebook, which is delayed and filtered. This context provides important considerations for [what] you should share and [how] you do it. Knowing this information, informs how you craft relevant, valuable content, and message it appropriately in each channel.
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

There are many tech journalists sensationalizing this annoucement, and it’s making brands and companies sit on edge. These articles are pushing the idea of “jumping first” to secure their trademark and intellectual property before someone else claims it. But, is that right? This begs to question, from a digital strategy perspective- what should you do? Will there be a rush to grab and secure domains? Does it matter?

There’s a lot of buzz about gTLD- and I think it’s being blown way out of proportion. I’ll explain why below.

First, if you’re a small business, this annoucement is something you can’t afford. It’s expensive. Unless you’ve got lots of cash- the price tag for these domains are out of your reach. And more importantly, it’s not worth the investment.

For the CMOs and digital strategists at large brands and companies- or even VCs and entrepreneurs- here are the facts and things we know right now about the annoucement:

• From January 2012 to April 2012, applications will be accepted for new domains. Not everyone will be granted a top level domain name. ICANN gets to decide.
• It cost $185,000 to apply. And $25,000 per year for operating costs. ICANN said other fees might apply as well.

What’s the up-shot? For corporate web strategists and CMOs, here’s my recommendation and POV for you to consider:

At best, gTLDs are a marketing opportunity. Not a requirement. They are vanity domains that would allow you to start marketing a new type of friendly URLs. But, therein lies part of the problem. If you transition to using this new type of URL, you then have the burden of socializing and marketing to your customers a new URL for them to remember.

URLs that are different, aren’t always better.

These domains are also present potential weird, clunky, naming issues. Since they go against the conventional .COM domain scheme we all know, it’s a new learning curve for the non tech-savvy users like my mom and my sister. And with the high price tag for these domains, these types of domains won’t overtake .COM URLs. They will be exceptions to the rule.

Some hypothetical examples of brands using gTLD:

• drink.coke could be a very intriguing URL to be able to market for a campaign (hat-tip to @brandon_r for tweeting this idea)
• But would Google.com change to google.google? Does that make sense?
• What about BP.green? Or TOMS.green?
• Toyota.drive? Audi.cars?
• You could argue this might work well for larger brands that have sub-brands? Procter & Gamble use: pringles.pg? or gillette.pg? Or even pump.pg?

In my opinion, all these name associations make it harder for the customer. And it’s not worth the marketing dollars you would have to spend, not to mention the early adopter price tag of $200,000+.

Let’s not forget about the past –> .MOBI

I can remember many years ago, there was a “gold domain rush” that brands needed to acquire .MOBI, it was predicted that mobile website would use .MOBI instead of .COM. Fast forward to 2011. The best practice and industry standard is to use what is called a sub-domain (e.g. http://m.papajohns.com or http://mobile.blackberry.com).

There are also many other generic, non-company centric, #failed-to-go-mainstream gTLDs. Did you know .TRAVEL already exists? So does .JOBS? And there’s even .MUSEUM?

In my opinion, tech journalists are just trying to stir the pot here. Some brands will pick-up these gTLDs and likely create redirects. Hardly a gamechanger. And judging by the already failed releases of other gTLDs like .TRAVEL or .JOBS …it’s hard to make an argument that “an opportunity exists to make a ton of money investing in generic phrases like .ECO or .GREEN.”

You don’t need a gTLD. Save your money.
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

You’ve heard of Bushnell right? They are a global outdoor brand that’s typically known for binoculars (when i was a kid, i would beg my mom to buy Bushnell when we would go to Bass Pro). For this project, we worked with their up-and-coming GPS product team for the launch of a device called the BackTrack. It’s essentially a GPS that’s stripped down to be as simple as possible. And the price point is cheap (sub $100).

The objectives for this project were as follows:

• Create a primary marketing homebase or ‘hub’ for all things BackTrack D-TOUR
• Website visitors should be able to easily learn about the product and where/how to purchase the product. In two-clicks or less, website visitors should have a basic education on what the product is and where/how to purchase the product.
• Launch the website quickly and efficiently (we only had 1 month to design and launch this Project)
  
• Develop and incorporate light, appropriate social media features into the website that enables consumers to easily push out content to their social graph. Make it easy for consumers to share content from the website to their friends on social networks.

1.) Overall Design:
The focus was to create a clean, device focused design that was simple. The device itself is simple and intuitive. So the website should mirror and emulate this.

2.) Tech Specs:
We hate flash. So do mobile devices and Apple products. So we created this 360 rotation feature that is *not* flash based. You can click and drag it. We used some clever HTML5’ish wizardry to create this feature.

3.) Social Media Contesting:
You can utilize social media tools in many ways. We set the objective to use only light social media tactics that “push out” content the goal being discovery and traffic driving. This is why we recommended and deployed a simple “Tweet or Facebook” to enter contest. It’s a light, minimal way to get users to push out to their social graphs link backs to the website.

4.) How it Works:
We believe online documentation, videos, how-tos and walk-throughs *is* the new form of sales. People want to check up. They want to verify. They want detail. And facts. People want to know what happens AFTER you buy this thing. That said, we advised on the strategy and execution to create guided walkthrough videos that are relevant for prospective and existing owners of the device. We also shot a video blog for YouTube and the official Bushnell channel.

So what do you think? Check out the website and let me know your feedback. I can take the heat- so tell us the good and the bad. We’re always trying to improve and get better with each project we launch.
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

But what is a Digital Native?

This is my definition: I think of them as a generation. Digital Natives (D.N.) didn’t learn to be digital, their lives are ingrained in it. Society as a whole, their friends — life has them surrounded and they know no other way. Digital Natives don’t know or remember the world with out things like the iPhone, Facebook, or Twitter. They were born into it. Some believe that Digital Natives are those born after 1980. In my opinion, it’s later than that. It’s 1993 <– because that is when AOL was released for Windows.

D.N. are the opposite of Digital Immigrants. This is many of us. Including me. Including Mark Zuckerberg. We learned email and social networking later in life. We knew life and what it was like before these technologies and social tools. And unlike D.N., it wasn’t considered a norm of society when were born.

So think about it, when you have a generation who is “born digital” with the internet and other technologies, they are acclimated to these technologies in very different ways than many of us. Their experience is completely different than ours.

The internet has changed how we make decisions, educate, communicate, research and buy things. It’s a daily utility in our lives. It even has changed how we relate to the world and our friends. Google is our professor. Facebook, email, and text messaging is how we thread our daily social interactions.

• We don’t use phone-books, we use Google.
• We don’t wear watches, we carry cellphones.
• We don’t read newspapers, we read blogs.
• We don’t talk at the water cooler, we G-chat.
• And we often meet online before we meet in person.

Watch this…

What happens when a generation that is “born digital”, starts creating and inventing? We are in the most rapid era of technology and information transformation ever. And it’s exciting to think what the future holds.
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

This year, I decided- to share all the great commencement speeches I’ve found with you. So here goes. I’ve mined and hunted through YouTube to find only the best ones- so these are the ones that I liked. Enjoy them and share them! BTW, my favorite commencement speech of all-time is one by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, it is eloquent, inspiring and well delivered.

If you listen closely there’s great life advice I took notes on like:

• Limit your “always” and your “nevers”.
• It’s not *what* you know, it’s how you think.

1.) Tom Hanks (actor), Yale University Commencement

2.) Marissa Mayer (VP Google), Harvey Mudd College

It starts at around the 40:00 minute mark.

3.) Amy Poehler (SNL comedian), Harvard University

4.) Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO), Barnard

5.) Bill Clinton (president), NYU Commencement

6.) John Chambers (Cisco CEO), Duke University

7.) Denzel Washington (actor), Pennsylvania

8.) Stephen Colbert (actor), Northwestern

Conan O’Brien (talkshow host), Dartmouth

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

**UPDATE** after you watch the video above, there is another interesting written piece by Eli on Wired, check out this article.

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

My new favorite reality TV show is…

You. <– yes, I’m talking about *you* …my friends. I enjoy following “your show” online.

Hear me out on this one.
Our culture is obsessed with reality TV because we get to see the raw, unedited (generally), intimate details. We feel like we are “right there” because we watch all the fights, the arguments, and the rise to fame (and fall) of people. A certain obsession with reality TV shows also exist for reasons of idolization. For some people, reality TV provides the facade that *we* could be on-screen doing what they are doing. It’s almost subconsciously spoken… “I could do that”.

That said, these social technologies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs all have the ability to provide that same level of entertainment that Reality TV delivers …but in a more intimate way. And unlike traditional TV, it can be interactive <– and that IS the awesome part. You can interact and converse with the individual online (through comments, Tweets, and messages) and sometimes face-to-face. This added dimension of interactivity with the individuals themselves is what truly makes this whole “internet thing” just plain awesome

My favorite online “Reality Shows” are:

Just like with TV, many of us follow a variety of reality shows. And online, I enjoy following and interacting with many different types of people and their own “reality shows”. For instance, here are just a few that I’m hooked on… i’ve got them DVR’d <– ok, i’ll stop with the jokes

Sam Meers
His ability to story tell in a blog post is what got me hooked and has kept me hooked in following him. I actually first started following him online because his friend Diana suggested I do so. Then after meeting him in real life, I found out he is just as engaging in-person as his written blog posts. He’s a marketer through and through. And he is the master of weaving a marketing lesson into almost any common life-situation.

Rebecca Peters
I met Rebecca first at a wedding she was photographing. Our conversation turned geeky and I realized she shared a lot of the same common interests. As an amateur photog, I’m always trying to learn and improve. She was incredibly nice and gave me helpful tips when we first met. Now, I enjoy following her on Facebook, Twitter and on her blog. We’ve kept in touch and have become great friends, while helping each other with our passions and hobbies. She’s a wicked smart chick. And her geeky husband David is just as cool too.

Robert Scoble
You could argue Robert is “the original” technology blogger turned video blogger. He covers and highlights anything interesting in tech. And he’s damn good at it. It’s been fun following him online through his Microsoft days, to PodTech, Fast Company and now with Rackspace. I’ve run into Scoble in real life a few times, shared some laughs, beers and we’ve even played cards. He’s just a great guy who’s dedicated to evangelizing great tech. And I really digg that.

Justine Ezarik (iJustine)
I first met Justine back in 2007, when we were each 1 of 6 people in the U.S. crazy enough to broadcast our lives online (Justin.TV), on the internet, LIVE 24/7 (most people don’t know that’s how i got started with video). She’s an incredible video blogger who has done amazing things, while carving out her own unique style, and is certainly a leader in the space. Following her “show” online is easy, she creates and produces so much YouTube video content- it’s incredible to follow and watch.

Lyndsay Rush
Few people possess the incredible talent of writing with very few words, but still are able to paint vivid pictures of any situation. Lyndsay is one of those few people. We were friends in college and even back then she was easily the funniest person I knew. She’s moved around the country to different cities, but it’s been fun following her freelance writing career in different publications. Her humor comes through on anything she Tweets, posts to Facebook or writes a blog post about (i would stay her writing style is a derivative of Tina Fey …but cooler) . I always take mental notes watching her technique when she posts.

I’m a believer that social technologies have the power to greatly augment relationships (not destroy or lessen). Time and physical space make it impossible for me to be around any of these wonderful and talented people I’ve listed above. I wish I could grab coffee with Lyndsay or Scoble each week. Or even shoot some vblogs with Justine today. I can’t. However, I’m able to keep in touch with a level of regularity and intimacy with all of them because social media tools make this possible. All of these people share their details online. And just like Reality TV, it’s these details that makes us feel closer to these people we care to follow, but not able to participate as closely because of time and space constraints.

Who are your favorite “Reality Shows” online? Share them in the comments, I’d like to know- perhaps I’ll start watching
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

Smartphones killed the phonebook.

When is the last time you opened a phonebook to lookup a phone number? Be honest (perhaps the better question is, do you even own a phonebook?). We now search on Google for local business phone #’s using our mobile devices. And often, we aren’t looking for a website to read, but just a phone number to call.

Create “click-to-call” phone numbers on Google.

Did you know, as business owner, you can advertise at the top of Google’s search results page with a “clickable” phone number? You can customize the AD with phone number shown based on person’s location, and even track analytics on # of calls received. All you need to do, is sign-up for GoogleAdWords, setup location extensions, and check mark “show ads on iPhones and other mobile devices” on your profile. That’s it. Customers will then be able to click-to-call you from any ADs you run. And the costs are the exact same as the cost of a click to visit your website.

Here’s an example of a search I did for “chinese food” in Kansas City. There’s an opportunity here for someone to bid on this phrase and put their business in this result listing. Also, I should also probably charge my battery. 31% is scary close to being low battery!

Given the proliferation of smartphones and the behavioral shift that Google has become the new phonebook, have you adjusted your digital marketing accordingly? Setting up ADs like this are simple. Don’t over think it. It just makes sense. Have you done this already? Is it working well for you?
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I took some screenshots of my own data from my iPhone to show you what it looks like when you use the App to visualize the data file. It’s interesting b/c there’s many places I’ve been that aren’t on this map.

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

Hear me out on this one.

Freemium exists. Freemium works.
The “freemium” formula is all around you. You may just not have thought about it. Traditionally, we’re familiar to the physical product or service freemium promotions. You know like those free food samples you get at Costco? Or when you’re walking out of a concert or a ballgame, the free swag and t-shirts that get thrown at you. Even online web services like Pandora, Flickr and Skype are freemium.

Another opportunity exists.
There’s another kind of freemium opportunity I believe that has emerged given the advent and adoption rate of YouTube. It’s online video. We are living in a day and age, where it’s not just your TV that is demanding your attention to watch and consume video content. Your cell phone, tablet, and computer continue to erode at the time we’re relying on TVs to exclusively consume video. 24+ hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute. And there are over 2 billion views on YouTube each day. And movie trailers are some of the most viewed types of content.

So here is my idea:

What if, film companies posted 20-minutes of “freemium” movie footage online for movies? It would give audiences, in a sense, a try-before-you-buy experience that is different then the semi-tired formula of using movie trailers to get people drawn-in. If what they see is good, people will want to keep watching to find out what happens. They’ll want to go to the theater to see how it ends.

I’m not reinventing the wheel here.
Parts of movies like Harry Potter and Wolverine have been leaked illegally online before, and they’ve been box offices successes. I think that if film companies would open themselves up to trying this idea, they might see releasing 20-minutes of actual movie is more effective than a 2-minute movie trailer. 20-minutes is the perfect edge of an audience investing just enough time to get hooked into the storyline.

If film companies wanted to be really smart:
…they would require an email address or click to “Like” on Facebook before you could watch it the movie content. This would allow them to capture data about their audience, to then be able to use the information to market back (relevant) new movies they might be interested or perhaps incentivize them with an emailed coupon reminder to see the movie in theaters -and- could be smartly triggered on a Thursday, just in time for the weekend.

I know zero, zilch, natta about the movie business. But why hasn’t anyone tried this?
Is this idea so crazy that it would never work? Why?
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

It’s incredible how relevant and dead-on this video is, even though it was filmed back in 1997. Steve advises how brands should focus on marketing that targets consumer needs to evokes feelings and perceptions about the brand and what it stands for -vs- talking about yourself or your product and services (it’s not about me, me, me).

I’ll be honest, this video is exciting and gets me re-energized. As a digital marketer and web strategist, watching and listening to Steve Jobs speak with such passion and purpose is reinvigorating. Especially since the consistency of what Apple stand for today is exactly what he preached in 1997.

I’m determined to make my mark.
And even though this is a snippet of video from 1997, makes it exciting to be here in this space today.

–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I’ve attended and presented at many conferences, lunch-n-learns or [insert corporate event name with a guest speaker name here] …and i have a pet peeve with the a few guest speakers and how they start their presentations. Stop me if you’ve heard this one:

1.) Introduction is given by the organizer of the event…
2.) Then, the guest speaker get’s up and begins by taking the first 1-minute to thank the organizers all by name and for asking them to speak at the event.

Why do people do this?
The audience almost never cares to hear this.

Isn’t the 101-rule-of-public-speaking to “know your audience”? I don’t think anyone came to your presentation to hear ‘thank yous’. And you’re cutting away from the time they paid to learn from you. Can’t these ‘thank yous’ be done off-stage?

This idea isn’t going to change the world…
…but can’t we respect everyones time and move the ‘thank yous’ off-stage? Or send them a card.

Thank you,
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

Before I call my clients or send them an email, I check their Facebook updates or Twitter feed.

This “life hack” can give you instant personal context for conversation. If I’m friends with my clients online, this data allows you to immediately jump into the details.

“I saw you posted on Facebook you had dinner at X, that’s a great place to eat! You should try…”

“Your pictures from your vacation to Rome were incredible. What was your favorite part of the trip?”

“I didn’t realize you ran in 5ks, I actually am into running as well.”

It’s not creepy.
When you reciprocate friendships on social networks you’re enabling the communication.

It’s not invasive.
When someone clicks “Post” or “Publish” for their status update, they are accepting that it is shared online and can be read by other friends/colleagues <– which is the point of using social networks isn’t it? It’s all about wanting to have real interactions with real people.

Social media enables ambient intimacy to occur. It allows us to keep in touch with people with a level of regularity and intimacy that you wouldn’t usually have access to, because time and space conspire to make it impossible. And these social technologies have the power to greatly augment (not destroy or lessen) existing relationships. But like anything, you must understand how to integrate it appropriately- but once you do, it’s powerful stuff …like help you with work relationships.
–

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen

I created this big-ass image below, which illustrates what Podcasts I listen to. If you use the App called “Stitcher“, all Podcasts are sequenced and on-demand (no need to download audio files, you can just listen over 3G). Submit your Podcast suggestions in the comments. I’m always looking for new ones that are good!

I like to Tweet about tech: http://twitter.com/rm And you can friend me: http://facebook.com/ramseymohsen