What is the Big Picture?

Each and everyday we're bogged down with our tasks at the workplace. It's very easy to get lost in the miniscule details of things and lose sight of the big picture.

We need to step back more and ask ourselves:
- How does everything all tie in together?
- How does what we're doing support the goals and missions of the organization?

Use the big picture as a guiding map. It gives us an idea of what projects we should engage in and what metrics we should use. It lets leaders know what direction they should be paving away at so that they can delegate and continuue to look for new ideas to help them get further ahead.

The Future of Search

Google Goggles - Google’s experimental Android visual search application that will also be available on iPhone and other platforms. It uses pictures to search the web, whether it be landmarks, books, contact info, art work, places, wine, logos, etc. It also has the ability to translate text in photos. Check out the video.



Neat, eh? I know this is not necessarily new news but I was just thinking how Google is using its existing databases and linking it all together to make this all work. They're linking pictures to search entries to book titles of different languages to people. There's a lot of intricacies involved but they're one of the few companies that fully leverage their data creatively.

Pivot - Turning Information Into Insights

Today, information is readily available at the tip of our fingers. And, probably too much. The internet was not as enriched with information before as it is today, most of which I believe have been fostered through the growth of social media.

If you step back to think about it, a lot of the information we use are supplied to us through blogs, Wikipedia, Slideshare, Flickr, etc. by the global online community. In some ways or another, we're all information overloaded. We have more information than we know and it's all scattered across the Web.

A new tool to help people make better use of digital information is a data visualization technology called Pivot. Created by Microsoft Live Labs, it's still in its experimental stages. "Pivot allows people to visualize data [see video how this is done] and then sort, organize and categorize it dynamically. The result is that correlations, exceptions and trends become immediately apparent in ways they can’t when information is stuck in rows and columns." (Microsoft)

Having applications such as this can help us in making better choices and decisions. By allowing users to interact with data, the process becomes less intimidating and lets people truely see how powerful and informative putting information together can be. Those who can make sense of the mountains of data obtains intelligence and competitive advantage over those who don't.

Watch Microsoft Live Labs Director Gary Flake demonstrate how an insight can be drawn with Pivot. Perhaps, consider experimenting the tool as well. Free at the moment. http://www.getpivot.com/download/

FedEx (Brazil) Delivers the Message

A brilliant ad from DDB Brazil for FedEx. What an interesting way to depict "fast, reliable and easy delivery." It's simple, effective and gets the message across.


Source: Ads of the World (http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/fedex_londonspain)

Credits:
Advertising Agency: DDB, Brazil
Creative Directors: Rodrigo Almeida, Renata Florio, Sergio Valente
Art Director: Max Geraldo
Copywriter: Aricio Fortes
Photographer: Manolo Moran
Via: adgoodness

Square - A Step into the Future of Mobile Payment is Here

Another reason why mobile will dominate over the next few years. There's just so much that can be done.

What is Square?
Square is a small little device that accepts credit and debit cards from your mobile device created by Jack Dorsey, the founder and chairman of Twitter.

It’s essentially a small magnetic reader that plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone. When a credit card (or a debit card) is swiped through the reader, it reads the data and converts it into an audio signal. The microphone picks up the audio, sends it through the processors and then is routed to Square’s software application on the iPhone. From there the encrypted data is transmitted using either Wi-Fi (for iPod touch) or a 3G Internet connection to back-end severs, which in turn communicate with the payment networks to complete the transactions.





Official site: http://www.squareup.com/

Aardvark: The First Social Search Engine

Aardvark for the First Time
I decided to check out Aardvark for the first time this morning.

Aardvark "finds people, not web pages, that have specific information" by leveraging the knowledge people have and pooling their expertise into one place. It uses social media distribution channels to get live answers to your questions.

It's quick and it happens in real-time, something that is possible with access made available over e-mail, Instant Messenger, Twitter, and the iPhone. Best of all... it works! My favourite part of this is that it's user-friendly and easier on the eyes than Yahoo! Answers.







So, back to this morning. I asked a question about Sakuras in Toronto and before long (within 20 minutes or so) someone from California had an answer to my question. It wasn't a cheesy answer either. I understand that for some questions it may take a longer waiting time but this example definately shows the potential of where Aardvark can go. More importantly, there's an atmosphere in there that makes it easy and fun to communicate questions and answers.

Aardvark Has Potential
Now that Aardvark has been acquired by Google, the big search giant will have access to a database of search queries and insights of what people want to know. Looks like there's going to be a few things Google will be able to do with this.

Now, we'll just have to sit back and see how Google propels this in the near future.

Company Site: http://www.vark.com/

Pick Up A Book!

In today's digital age, most of us are texting away on our mobile device or on the internet surfing, watching videos, Tweeting, posting on someone's wall in Facebook, chatting away on MSN, and the list goes on and on. While I'm a big advocate of using technology and digital media, I still believe that picking up a book to read is a good habit to keep or even re-start.

I've always had a liking for non-fiction books and I recently found out why. It's more than just facts or made up stories. Books have the ability to provoke thoughts, give insights and inspire. They're a great point of reference for when you get lost or unsure of what to do. It unleashes you into another world. If it's someone's memoirs, you can live through and see the consequences of their decision making and know the what-could-be's if you take similar steps. It opens you to other people's perspective and thinking processes. It gives you the ability to learn from the best.

Growing up I couldn't understand why anyone would want to read anything like that. Someone else's biography? How boring! It wasn't until I had to read up on different business leaders for a University assignment that I started to realize how valuable that information is. The ones who are successful (the ones with the books) all had very unique traits about them. The way they see things and the way they approach things are uniquely different and when you read up their stories you understand why they have the success they have. Sometimes, all it takes is just to have a different perspective.

Having said that, the attitude must be there too. Be hungry for information. Be receptive to new thoughts. Want to learn. Want to improve. Then, apply what you read to see how it can help you become a more successful person in life and at work.  All in all, the point I'm trying to make is to unleash yourself in the bookstore and pick up a few books.

Cheers.

Do You Know Your Competitors?

Today I was thinking about how to best stay on top of your game whether you’re an individual, a small business or a big business. This goes beyond knowing what they sell or what they do but rather to put the emphasis on HOW they do it. No matter what the current success is, it’s always good to look at how your competitors are leveraging the tools they are using, their processes, their campaigns or communication strategies with customers. See how everything ties in together. And, do it often. It's quite useful if you’re about to enter into an area you aren't familiar with, such as social media.

Knowing your customers is key to your marketing strategy. You know what you’re up against. Moreover, for a generation that isn't as brand loyal, Gen Y-ers maybe less forgiving if they aren’t treated right or if their customer experience doesn’t match that of the underdog. All it takes is one unhappy Gen Y customer to do up a quick text message from their phone that is linked to their Twitter and Facebook accounts before their entire network finds out about it.

Questions About Your Competitors

So, here are a few questions to ask yourself about your competitors (using my example for social media):

• What social media platforms are they on?
• What other tools are they using to help them integrate the different communications they have with customers or to manage the relationship with customers?
• What are they doing on these different social media platforms?
• What is unique about what they are doing?
• How does your company online image compare to your competitors?
• How does your competitor interact with their customers? Is their service prompt and efficient?
• How does your online experience compare to your competitors?
• Who does a better job in keeping customer profiles and how is this information being leveraged?
• Who appears more often on these different social media platforms over the same period of time?

How to Get Started
Try the following:

• Subscribe to their newsletter
• Become a fan on Facebook
• Follow them on Twitter
• Download their mobile apps
• Check their website statistics with analytics-type tools
• Set a Google alert for your name as well as your competitors

Social Media Resources

I've been following the growth of social media and its impact on businesses well over a year now. The biggest mistake I made was thinking that a lot of people already know about some of the most basic resources readily available. It wasn't until recently that I realized I was wrong. A lot of people don't have time or the passion to follow it as closely as they need to. What makes it even more difficult is that there are a gazillion articles and tons of research being pumped out everyday because the industry is developing so fast.

I think a great starting point for anyone just diving into the social media scene is to look at case studies or what other companies and organizations have done. Thankfully, Facebook and Twitter now have a dedicated space to share how their tools can be leveraged optimally for businesses.

Facebook Marketing Solutions
http://www.facebook.com/marketing
Lots of yummy information and examples here.

Twitter101
http://business.twitter.com/twitter101
Check out the Twitter 101 Special Guide deck that can be downloaded via the 'Download the slides' link on the left column at the bottom.

Social Media Revolution

This video, which is produced by the author of Socialnomics, details social media facts and figures that are hard to ignore. There are still a few companies who haven't jump on to the bandwagon yet but this is in fact one of the best ways to get connected with your customers. Hopefully these numbers (although from 2009) are motivating enough.


Source: Socialnomics

Bell Canada's Commitment to Service Commercial

Bell Canada Commercial - 2010 from Chris on Vimeo.

Two Months and Still Impressed
It's been about two months now since I first saw this commercial but it continues to impress me. With rising competition and the widespread of the internet and social media, managing the brand and the customer experience is important. I've been a long time Bell customer and there were times when Bell service really just came from the gutter. It seems that is of the past with this new commercial and perhaps other companies experiencing reputation damage can learn a thing or to from this commercial message.

Bell's New Message Cleverly Communicated
The commercial communicates what normally isn't seen by the customer, the backend of any requests or issues submitted. Bell cleverly shows how "behind every client is an entire company devoted to service" by making its logo transparent with all of their different departments hard at work for you. As a customer, it makes me feel special and begin to understand all the small intracacies taking place behind the scenes. The message is concrete and share how they are achieving this:

• Extended working hours and grown the team to offer more flexibility
• Over 11,000 service representatives to take calls
• 9000 technicians to provide same or next day service on repairs and installation

They nicely summarize it off with "the idea behind all of this is to provide you with the best fastest service in the country."

Now, they just need to deliver on their promises and stay consistent with their messaging because I"ll be expecting that the next time I make a call in. At least for now, Bell's got me rooting for them again! [/Hands up!]

My Insights from Guu Izayaka

Guu
Guu is the latest hype in Toronto, offeringTorontonians an authentic Japanese pub experience. Located on Church and McGill in Downtown Toronto, two-hour long lineups are not unheard of. The well-established chain from Vancouver is giving Torontonians hungry for new and unique places something to talk about.



So, How Special is Guu?
I sat there last night with a buddy and I asked myself what’s vaccuuming all these people in here? What’s making this place more successful than others? What are they doing right?

Let me share with you my thumbs-up experience. There weren't any lineups when I went during the middle of the week but the place was 90% full. A line was forming by the time I left.

What's Vaccuuming People in Here?

The Experience is Uniquely Different.
A Japanese pub experience that is. It's fun! How often do you get to go to such a crowded energetic place with the staff shouting out Japanese greetings to welcome you when you go in and to thank you when you leave?

Service is Great.
You are handed a hot moist towel pretty much right after you sit down. You can see that the place is busy (and typically many servers at other places will start to neglect you) but here at Guu all of the servers try their best to attend to your needs.

The Food is Different.
There are tons of Japanese restaurants in Toronto but Guu 's Japanese items are more on the snacking/ appetizer side. You don't get to taste those often here. Oh yes, did I mention the presentation of the food? And, by the way, even their cocktail drinks have an unique slant to it. The concept of a Sake Mojito just sounds cool even before drinking it! See my slideshow of pictures below.

They Pay Attention to Small Details.
Two things here.
1) Japanese marble soda is nothing too unique to the Asian population here in Toronto but if you've never had it before, I must say it's quite neat. However, that's not even the main point here. If you look at the photo near the end of my slideshow with the soda bottle, pay attention to how the bottle packaging is customized to the restaurant. "Guu is Guuud!" Bravo for thinking of that.

2) Next thing. At the very bottom of the receipt, they'll write their thank you in Japanese but it'll also say "Becareful! Guuing is addictive." It shows how consistent they are with their theme of business and it certainly adds to the fun and energy of the place.

Smart Choice of Location
Like they always say in business school: location, location, location. After all this hype is over, who will be their true customers? I think they chose a good area because it's just right by one of the liveliest part of town. There's the Eaton Centre, Nathan Phillip Square and Yonge and Dundas Square, all within walking distance from and to Guu. Great for tourists and local people who are enjoying a day Downtown. Then, you've got a ton of students with Ryerson University pretty much right next to it. Finally, for blue collars wanting to swing by after work, it's not out of reach either.

My Only Complaint
The portions are a little too small for what you pay. I understand the food is more unique but if you want me to come more often, give me bigger portions. Just slightly bigger portions.

Overall
Despite all the different Japanese restaurants in the city, Guu is the first of its kind in Toronto. The overall experience from the joint makes it easy for the Gen Y crowd to share within their network online!

It'll be interesting to see what happens as time passes.