Technology

Using the iPhone for [Video] Social Marketing

October 5, 2013 by Pamela Leave a Comment

Sure, you can tweet, post and share with that iPhone. But you might be missing out on one of its best tasks: shooting great video.

A while back my husband plotted out a detailed contest entry for a horror convention. Unfortunately, the weather made it impossible to shoot his script, so he opted instead to write a very quick short. As luck would have it, the makeup artist never showed, and we were stuck without a pro cameraman, too. So, at the last minute, I jumped in to do his makeup (confession: I had no clue what I was doing). We called a few friends, too, and they were happy to show up with extra tripods and iPhones. Sans pro lighting, pro camera operation and pro sound, the shoot resulted in a one-minute segment for the entry, a two-minute segment for a local bar, and another segment to hype a local musician.

The long segment, which runs two minutes, is called “Send More Geeks to BackStreets”, and it’s a play on those Mac v PC commercials. A musician came in at the last hour to provide the twisted background music.

The last spot was created to support Billy Martindale, an acoustic guitar player and singer in our area. Billy was there to help out on the shoot, and Joe just thought it would be fun to try to get his friend to sing some “dead” music. We included some fan-shot video from a local bar.

High-end production? Not really. But the video quality of the iPhone is quite good, and fans and customers love seeing the “real” side of your business.

If you happen to be a pro camera user, you’ll want to check out the FiLMiC app for iOS. It includes many professional functions, including white balancing.

If your small business is lacking content on YouTube and related video sites, consider getting “real” with your customers. Introduce them to the warehouse or the folks who take their orders. Show them how a piece of equipment works, or just have fun. In other words, connect with your fan base on their level, and focus on the content more than anything.

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Marketing, Social Media, Technology

Mobile Apps: Great Looks and Functionality are Two Very Different Things

October 2, 2013 by Pamela Leave a Comment

Ever since iOS 7 was released, hordes of web sites have been telling us about so-called “hidden features” (which aren’t that hidden, by the way), and pointing out apps that look great in the new operating system. That’s all well and good, but what should be more important to any user is functionality, not looks. And developers need to realize this, even if they aren’t shouting it from the rooftops.

Granted, we want every screen on our device, be it the home screen, Twitter, or other app, to look pleasant. After all, when we like what we see, we tend to be more productive. Those looks, however, do us no good if the app lacks features or requires too much work to get the results we want.

Among the plethora of tech and social sites that released “awesome looking apps” galleries was Mashable. Their slideshow, called 20 Apps that Look Great in iOS 7 spotlights some cool designs, but the majority of those apps aren’t necessary for us to get work done.

We can ooh and ahh over cool animated weather apps all day long, but do we really need all those features? I’m not a sportsman, a boater, nor do I work in the weather field, so all I need to know is if it’s going to rain today and what I might expect the rest of the week. I don’t need animation or other flashy tools that drain the battery. Granted, some of them are pretty minimalist, but if someone launched an app that told me the weather on a screen that looked like nothing more than a text message, I’d embrace it.

I’ve been on the hunt for an ideal project management and tasks app. I’ve reviewed dozens of them, and the bulk of them continue to miss the point: we just want to get things done. Give me options to rank tasks by both color AND numbered priority, and let me export my content as hard data so I can analyze it a program of my choosing. Functionality over design is key in this department. (This is why I keep having a hard time deciding between so many of these apps, and currently just stick to Wunderlist).

OmniFocus 2 is nearly there. Unfortunately this app uses color coding and exporting data is cumbersome and requires you’re also running the Mac version (which doesn’t sync properly with iCal).

I miss the days of Palm. While non-Palm developers, then and now, tout that the user base couldn’t keep PalmOS and webOS afloat, there are plenty of things developers did right. Like allowing me to store my data locally, instead of forcing me to store it in the cloud. Like letting me export all my tasks and archived projects into delimited files, because I might want to analyze data using Access, Excel or some other program. Owning my own content is very important to me, so whenever I see that cloud storage is the only option, I run.

Developers for business apps need to take note of a few things, including:

Your users might be elderly, color blind, or even totally blind. Using color-coding as the only means to prioritize tasks is a fail.
Your users might be techies who want to work with their data in a multitude of other programs. At least Wunderlist lets you email tasks in a “one per line” format. And it’s free.
It’s not all about the cost. If OmniFocus added a few key features, I’d have no problem forking over the $120 it would cost me to run it on both my iPhone and my Mac. And if little guys charging a scant $2.99 would spend the time necessary to do it right, they could sell to more power users and eliminate a lot of unnecessary support calls.
The bulk of complainers have no right. And the majority of dissatisfied users will never say a word. This is true most all businesses. (More often than not, the less money one pays, the less he reads and the louder he screams.
The more you let us choose, the more we’ll respect you. Yes, I know there are some restrictions on what you can “hook into” on the platform. But anything that’s part of the app itself should have options, plain and simple.

With that, I’m still trying to find some apps that look great in the latest iOS, while still providing the functionality I need. If you find one, let me know, because I’d love to whip out my credit card.

Filed Under: iOS7 (Apple), Technology

iOS 7 Home Screen Sharing Tells Us Most Users Still Rely on Email

September 23, 2013 by Pamela Leave a Comment

The majority of iPhone users “dock” the email app icon.

If you’re one of those companies that’s been transitioning from email marketing to social marketing, you may want to rethink that strategy. Granted, millions of smartphone users rely on sites like Twitter and Facebook to learn about new products and find deals on their favorite brands, but the majority of them still rely heavily on email.

How do we know this? By looking at the thousands of home screen pics recent iOS 7 adopters have been sharing around the web. Culling through nearly 300 of them myself, I found only two screen caps that didn’t include the email app icon in the dock (the “locked” bar at the bottom of the screen). Even those two had the email icon somewhere on the home screen (the first page of apps).

This tells us that email is quite important to even the most social of users.

It also reminds us that mobile-friendly emails are important. More and more folk are bypassing connecting via a desktop computer. Some don’t even have one, while others rely on it only for specific tasks, spending the majority of their online time with smartphones and tablets.

The screenshots also show us how socially connected users are. Typically, smartphone users will organize apps in order of importance, with the most regularly used apps on the first page. In the screen caps I studied, the majority had Facebook, Twitter, and at least one other social app on the first page. This was usually Instagram or Vine, but plenty also connected to Pinterest and YouTube. The more “techie” and business users (which was deduced from the content of their tweets) opted instead for Google+ and LinkedIn.

Even when the home screen isn’t social, the email app is still docked.

Then there are those who don’t organize social apps on page one. But, they still dock email!

Business marketing needs a healthy balance between social and email. By finding out which social networks your target audience prefers, you can better strategize. But it doesn’t look like email marketing is going to be replaced by the social world anytime soon.

Filed Under: Ecommerce, iOS7 (Apple), Marketing, Marketing Tagged With: iOS, marketing, mobile

iOS7 Installed. Now What?

September 21, 2013 by Pamela 2 Comments

iOS7 Lock Screen affected by Wallpaper/Background

The iOS7 Lockscreen design takes into account the wallpaper background.

You might have noticed that I’ve not posted here for quite a long time. That’s because I’ve been working hard on several other projects. After upgrading to iOS7, though, and reading the thousands upon thousands of complaints on Twitter (as well as some very legitimate concerns and questions deeply hidden), I decided to provide some (hopefully) useful tips.

First, iOS7 is as much about increased functionality and portability as it is about the design. That’s why it can be frustrating for power users to hear others complain about the layouts of the OS. I’m not entirely committed to the design changes myself, but they are far outweighed by the plethora of new things I can do with my iPhone.

Also, note, I am a convert from webOS. I still use a TouchPad, but my smartphone is an iPhone 5. So, yes, I’ve been in the place many of you are today. I switched from a truly multitasking webOS to iOS, and it was not a simple jump when it came to moving around the screens. But, I did it. In fact, iOS still isn’t up to the speed webOS was when everything fell apart. It might never be. Food for thought.

But, I digress…

Here are the KEY things you need to know about iOS7. Hopefully you’ll take the time to look at these before driving yourself nuts. Remember, it’s okay to read the manual first!

The design is only part of it. While you may love or hate the design of iOS7, take note that this minimalist approach means more features and ease of use when it comes to third-party apps. It means better standards and a smaller learning curve when installing and trying new apps.
It’s about the future. There are lots of features in iOS7 that are less talked about, including multi-path TCP (see this primer at Quartz), which means less failed data sends when changing internet connections.
The wallpaper you choose changes many things. It changes the not only the background, but also the color of folders, the lock screen, control center and more. Tinker with images or photos until you find what you like. In other words, you don’t have to get used to just white and muted gray.
Brightness. Contrast. Bold Text. Motion. These four things are all under Settings and Accessibility. Work with them and you’ll have less eyestrain and nausea.
If your “already learned” swipe from left to right doesn’t do what you intended, swipe right to left. Some of the gestures have been changed, so to delete an email, you now need to swipe right to left.
Embrace Siri. Even if you hated her in iOS6, give her another try. You can now ask her many more things. She’ll tweet for you, she’ll post to Facebook for you. Learn all the commands. Why? Because I don’t want to get back-ended by you because you’re still intent on tinkering with your device while you drive. That, and you’re going to find that Siri is not only going to help you do things faster, she’ll also help you do them better.

Many things affect battery life. By turning off features you don’t need you’ll have enough battery power to do important tasks.

If you want to improve battery life, you need to adjust many settings. By default, many functions are turned “on” when iOS7 is installed. By turning off what you don’t want or need, you can greatly reduce that constant battery drain people are screaming about. This includes turning off features like automatic app updating (save that for when you’re connected to Wi-Fi) and Background App Refresh (turn this off for apps that don’t need to constantly refresh data). There is a great walk-through on features that can suck the life out of your battery at Snapguide.
Take time to learn. It’s amazing how many people claimed they loved or hated iOS7 within the first two days of release. On average, it takes our brain seven days to “learn” something new. Just as you grow to love your friends, you’ll need to grow to love iOS7 (or vice versa). So, instead of throwing your hands in the air and crying foul, give it time.
Remember, not everyone is you. I use my iPhone primarily for work. Sure, I play a few games, but I’m not a “gamer”. My point is, not everyone uses their device for the same purpose. Keep that in mind when you’re getting frustrated because a feature is, by default, turned on (or off), or if something doesn’t work exactly the way you want. Because Apple did.

In the days (and weeks, and months) to come we’ll see updates, tips and tricks across the web. Some will be addressed by Apple, and many by users just like you. Until then, be patient. And, take note, what you feel today may very well change next week.

Filed Under: iOS7 (Apple), Technology Tagged With: iOS, iphone

Why I’ll Keep Using webOS

August 24, 2011 by Pamela 5 Comments

UPDATE: After needing to perform several tasks via specific apps for work, I had to switch to iOS. However, I still use my TouchPad and still have an affinity for webOS, and I always will.

Soonafter HP announced it’s ceasing webOS hardware operations, several longtime naysayers called me out on my supportive comments about the TouchPad and webOS smartphones.

More so, people wanted to know what I thought about HP waving the white flag.

I’ve had difficulty getting all my thoughts together. Partly because I’m in mourning. Partly because there are so many “what ifs” running through my mind I can’t get them sorted.

Do I feel dissed over HP’s decision? You bet. After all, like many here, I’m not just a Palm/webOS user, but a loyal advocate. I grew my business with many tools, including Palm products. I’ve used webOS to further streamline small business consulting operations. This, despite the fact that nearly 75% of my clients and colleagues use iOS, and the remaining use Android. I’ve been the lone webOS user at many small conferences, at Starbucks, even at the local bar. I’m the one who tells my husband to wait in the frozen foods aisle for a minute because, “I just saw someone texting on a Pre!”

Over the past few days I’ve received several messages, and one in particular sums them all up:

“It looks like it is time for you to join the iPad team! What are you waiting for?”

Well, I’m waiting for plenty of things…

Disposable money. $600 worth.
True multitasking.
Flash. I’ve heard all the arguments, but if you had to incur the cost hundreds of thousands of small business and band sites do in order to have Flash content converted properly, you’d understand why it’s an important feature to have – at least today – on mobile devices.
The ability to do what I want, how I want. iOS5 is going to be slick as heck. But, you know what? I want all those syncing features they tout sans cloud.

But there’s another key reason I’m not switching any time soon…

I don’t have to.

My devices work. Why spend money needlessly?

Despite the TouchPad being discontinued, it will still talk to wireless printers, still run Flash components and sync data.

Even if webOS itself is nixed, there are loyal developers and the Homebrew community who – unlike big business – will stick around until it gasps its last breath. These guys have never been paid the recognition they’re truly worth. They do what they do because they love the platform and have an affinity for making the rest of our experiences better. To them, jumping off the ship even while sinking is cowardice. Rather, they play the captain, stay with the ship and bail water as best they are able.

HP says the company will continue webOS software development, and hopes to partner with a hardware manufacturer. Some speculate it’s too late for that, and, perhaps it is. But this webOS user will keep forging onward until the powers-that-be, or her devices, just totally give out.

For those freaking out over the madness that is HP and webOS, I can only offer this one piece of advice. It comes from my husband – who’s said it to me hundreds of times as I’ve often (and, quite excitedly) try to make webOS the topic of conversation:

“Hon, it is just a device. It’s not like you couldn’t manage your life before it existed.”

Filed Under: Technology, webOS (Palm) Tagged With: HP TouchPad, smartphone, Technology, webOS

Move Over Netbook… The TouchPad Has Landed…

August 10, 2011 by Pamela 3 Comments

This past June, my husband bought me a netbook – an Acer Aspire One. I’d previously been lugging around a bulky laptop, though I’d often forget to put it in the car. Joe wanted me to have something I could carry in my purse so I could easily work on-the-go. It’s worked well, allowing me to handle online store emergencies as they happen (I’ve been known to stop off at a McDonald’s or Starbucks to fix issues).

When HP announced the launch of the TouchPad, I was eager to get my hands on the device. Not that I saw it as an absolute necessity, but rather a great add-on to my productivity suite of gadgets and software. Most of my friends and colleagues tote around iPads and Android devices, but I don’t like the restrictions set forth by Apple, nor the security issues with Google’s OS. Still, laying out hundreds of dollars for a device that would – for now – merely accompany my webOS smartphone was difficult to justify.

Then HP offered to send me a 32GB TouchPad to put to good, small business use. The only agreement was that I would write about the device from time to time. Who was I to refuse?

Rest assured, no promises of “praise only” comments were made.

With that, I’m declaring Wednesdays “webOS Wednesday” – whether posting here or at other outlets, I’ll be sharing my findings each week.

If you’re looking for ways to increase productivity and streamline communications, I invite you to come along for the ride. If you currently use another tablet, that’s fine – you’ll still gain some ideas on working more seamlessly.

To kick things off, I’ll share the #1 feature of webOS and the TouchPad: Multitasking. You can run multiple apps in pure form. That means web sites will load while you’re playing a game or writing an email.

Just how many apps can you run at once? I run 7-10 simultaneously (which I think would be the tops for many), but this video created by webOSroundup.com hits 31 (many HD) before the device poops out.

Oh, and that netbook? For now, it’s on standby as I get to know my new TouchPad. So far, I’ve been able to do everything I need while on-the-go.

You can follow all my posts on the HP TouchPad at the webOS Wednesday page.

Disclaimer: HP has provided me with a 32GB TouchPad and wireless keyboard for personal and business use, with the agreement that I will share my experience with the devices.

Filed Under: Technology, Tools I Love..., webOS (Palm) Tagged With: android, iPad, productivity, Technology, webOS

Review: ENCHANTMENT (Guy Kawasaki) is a Must-Read

March 15, 2011 by Pamela 6 Comments

I spend at least half my work time learning—that is, expanding my knowledge and understanding of current trends in the fields of ecommerce, usability and security. Most of my learning takes place online or in-person. I’ll admit, the number of business books I read is limited, mostly because I see reading time as relaxation time, and for that, I delve into fiction.

I received Guy Kawasaki’s latest book, Enchantment, as I was wrapping up work on my own recently published commerce manual. I was put on the list* to receive a review copy, and when the release date (March 8^th) passed me by I felt quite guilty. Fortunately I was heading to California on the 9^th for the annual Miva Merchant conference, and what better way to pass the time while at 35,000 feet?

I’ll admit, when Guy announced the title of his new book, I wasn’t impressed. The word enchantment, to me, had little to do with business in our busy world today. When he revealed the butterfly cover, my concerns grew—all I could wonder was, How is he going to push this book to the masses with a weak title and “pretty” cover? Despite the fact he’d already explained the basic concept of enchantment (in the sense of his message), it was still a turn off.

Mid-way through Chapter One I was hooked, primarily because Guy’s writing style is exactly what I hope mine is perceived as… Direct, easy to understand, and sans sugar coating. Yes, Guy’s very blunt about key issues, going so far as to say the moral wrongdoers have no right to succeed in business.

Enchantment is a guide for advancement. From teaching us how to smile and give a proper handshake, to lessons on leveraging today’s technology, Guy’s directives are not only clear, they make sense.

Enchantment is not a guide for becoming an instant hit. It’s about building relationships atop strong foundations.

I was so impressed with Enchantment that I made a last minute change to my presentations, which focused on shopability. During my sessions I explained how small business ecommerce sites shouldn’t try to mimic Amazon.com’s layout and flow. I used the product page for Enchantment as my example (with a side-note suggesting that the audience buy his book. Yes, the entire audience).

This was when I realized Guy used more “pull” than “push” when it came to marketing his latest book and growing his readership (he explains both these methods in the book). I’ve seen more third-party tweets, facebook posts and blog posts about Guy’s book than I have any form of mass advertising. And that’s exactly what Enchantment is about—growing by means of relationships and support—something every business and person needs in order to succeed.

Steve Wozniak says, “Read this book to create a company as enchanting as Apple.”

I say, “Read Enchantment if you want to succeed in anything…”

* This is not a paid review. I was provided the book only for consideration of review, with no agreements made. I do, however, use an affiliate link while linking the book title to amazon.com.

Filed Under: Ecommerce, Must Read Web, Social Media, Technology, Tools I Love... Tagged With: Ecommerce, marketing, Mistakes That Kill, reviews, social media

webOSroundup: Users Have But One Job

February 28, 2011 by Pamela Leave a Comment

All this talk about the Pre3 and Sprint reminds me of something… Oh, yeah, how Verizon and other carrier users had to wait – sometimes for nearly a year – while Sprint users gleefully showed off their goods. It also reiterates something I tweeted earlier this month:

You’re either married to a device or a carrier. Pick one.

Read my editorial at webOSroundup

Filed Under: Technology, webOS (Palm) Tagged With: smartphone, webOS

webOS: The “Other” Smartphone Operating System

October 20, 2010 by Pamela 3 Comments

Frequent readers of this site know that I’m quite passionate about webOS, the operating system that drives the Palm Pre and Pixi. For many businesses developing smartphone apps, webOS is commonly at the bottom of the list. This is largely due to Palm’s market share in the world of smartphones. Companies ordinarily target the device OS with the largest market share. This is why most apps are developed for the iPhone and Android phones first. But it’s worse than that.

Many companies are waiting to see just what HP is going to do with Palm’s critically acclaimed, yet not-so-popular webOS. Users like me are left wanting more, while the Android and iPhone markets continue to grow.

This past summer I gave 10 tips on shopping for a smartphone. I think if more people really took the time to do the research, they’d find that the “obvious” choice is not always the ideal one. That’s not to say that webOS devices are for everyone – I wholeheartedly agree that the iPhone, Android and Blackberry have their place in the market for good reasons. However, the sheer number of complaints people post about their devices every day speaks volumes about the need to know what you’re buying before you sign a long-term contract.

At the same time, companies need to realize that there are users of each OS that are both loyal and passionate about their devices, and they, too, are seeking all-important services and apps. This is why Palm launched the PDK, which allows iPhone app developers to easily port their software to work on webOS.

Which brings me to the most common reason app developers and companies aren’t focusing on webOS at all. Despite many announcements concerning the future of webOS, Palm’s the underdog. Many developers (like Evernote) would rather wait and see if the platform gains momentum. The problem is, waiting could be opening the door for competitors to jump in and convert users on-the-fly.

It’s already happening – many independent developers are using service APIs to fill the void. The Foursquare webOS app was developed by @zhephree. While he had Foursquare’s support, the fact that a groundbreaking service which relies entirely on mobile needed to rely on an outsider to reach millions of additional users says something. Even Square co-founder Tristan O’Tierney said that company was playing wait and see with webOS.

For developers and service providers sitting on the sidelines, unwilling to take common business risks, while waiting to see if they can benefit, I have two letters: H…P…

That’s right, one of the biggest names in tech – Hewlett-Packard – has already announced it’s going full steam ahead with webOS. If that’s not enough reason for companies to get in on the ground floor in order to reap big-time benefits later, I don’t know what is.

Filed Under: Technology, webOS (Palm) Tagged With: android, iphone, palm, smartphone, webOS

webOSroundup: Now THIS is Multitasking

October 14, 2010 by Pamela Leave a Comment

There seems to be a great deal of confusion about multitasking on mobile devices. That is, what one company calls multitasking is what another calls unitasking with quick-swapping.

In order for true multitasking to work, four elements must be present…