Infographics

BRB in 2 Weeks. I promise. In the meantime, here's something to ponder over.

Infographics!
Lately, I've been quite obsessed over infographics because I feel that we're living in an information-overloaded society. How often do we sit in a presentation and a lot of data is presented? The same goes for all the metrics reporting we're asked to do on spreadsheets. Sometimes, there's so much data and information that our brain turns numb.  It's inefficient and yet we're always looking for new ways to capture more data and more information.

Information needs to and CAN BE presented in an user-friendly and appealing way. That's where infographics come in. It's the concept of the "ideas, issues, knowledge and data being visualized!" (David McCandless, The  Visual Miscellaneum) The right amounts of information and design can be combined to successfully convey a point.

"Charts and Graphs Can Communicate Data; Infographs Turn Data into Information" - Randy Krum, Coolinfographics.com

There are variations of how it looks like but typically:

• Holds stats and main insights of the idea being conveyed by the author
• Presents ideas in a concise and intuitive manner
• Makes the reader think and realize what the big picture is
• Are visually appealing
• Are easy to understand
• Have the potential to be cross-cultural and cross-language

What Makes Good Information Design


Source: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/interesting-easy-beautiful-true/

Want Links to Good Infographic Sites?

• Cool Infographics
• Information is Beautiful
• Flowtown

I'm still going through David McCandless's Visual Miscellaneum. He's the guy behind the Information is Beautiful website. If you're thinking about getting the book, feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to share with you my two cents on it.

See you all in two weeks.

Kevin Harrington - The King of Infomercials

Kevin Harrington is known as the "King of Infomercials" who has launched more than 500 products, generating over $4 billion in sales worldwide. He currently stars on ABC's Shark Tank and is the CEO of TVGoods Inc.

The industry generates about $150 billion of sales a year and Kevin talks more about it on Business New Network. I have linked to the clip below. Unfortunately, the video was not embeddable. The video will open in a new window and load on the right side.

King of Infomercials [05-19-10 5:30 PM]

Loyalty Cards? Nah, Just Build An App Like Starbucks

Loyalty cards. Like everyone else, I'm tired of carrying a wallet full of them. By 2015, it's expected that at least 50% of all US mobile users will be doing transactions through mobile devices. (eMarketer, May 2009)

So Many Opportunities to Engage with Mobile
What I don’t get is why companies aren’t leveraging this more. There are mobile apps that can store all the loyalty cards a person owns, but some of them aren't free. And, this is what gives companies with retail outlets the opportunity to truly engage their customers. Why not include your brand’s loyalty program in there by letting the app be the loyalty card? It lets your customers participate in promotions and you’re helping them de-clutter their wallets. Of course, it doesn’t have to stop there. What about an app that actually facilitates the shopping process and also lets me login to my member’s area? Or, what about an app that lets customers locate you without needing internet access. There’s a lot of iPod Touch owners out there.

Starbucks, An Example
Starbucks makes it so easy for customers to drop in and satisfy any coffee cravings. I haven't see another brand that has been able to make an app for its customers that's fun, facilitates the brand experience and is actually useful at the same time.

The current app in Canada displays product offerings, allows you to locate the store with GPS and see store hours. In the US, I know there's a lot of experimentation going on. The customer can make payments with their digital Starbucks card built in the app and accumulate their loyalty points at the same time. While it’s not perfect, it’s evident that they’re working towards an app that customers can embrace.



Takeaway
Now is a great time to start transitioning customers from plastic cards to digital cards, which is exactly what they’ve done. Hopefully, this example gives an idea as to how good mobile apps for brands should look like.

Now, if you were to make an app for your customers, how would it look like? How would it work? Does it provide your customers with value? Does it facilitate a better customer experience? How does it tie back into your overall marketing goals?

Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action

An interesting spin on leadership by Simon Sienk on TED Talks. Examples used in the talk include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers. A few things you might disagree with or find controversial but for the most part I would say it's good.

Deliver Presentations Like Steve Jobs [Video]

Steve Jobs as a Speaker
Steve Jobs of Apple is considered one of the most effective speakers in (North) America. He knows how to create hype and deliver his ideas in a fun and easy-to-understand way. If you haven't seen him speak before, that's okay. I have embedded a video below that'll give you a glimpse.

We Need to Make Our Presentations Fun and Less Boring
We're often asked to make presentations or give a pitch about an idea. The question is - How do we do it effectively? Sometimes, presentations last for 10 minutes and sometimes it lasts for an hour. We've also packed our presentations so full of information and stats that it has almost become pointless to present. It would probably be easier to send your stakeholders the presentation in an email.

I've Been Guilty of That and I Want to Change
I hope you'll join me on this quest to make presentations more interesting and fun after watching this clip on The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo. (He also wrote a book about this that I think I might end up buying. Has anyone read it? Any good? Let me know!) I want to create hype, make my ideas easy to understand and leave my audience members wanting for me. Do you? Join me!

Why Brands Need to Build and Nurture Social Currency [Infograph]

A wonderful infographic from Fast Company I wanted to share. It's based on data gathered in a report on social currency from Vivaldi Partners. Some interesting numbers in there not on this infograph. If you have time, take a peek at the full report.

Click on the image to get an enlarged version.

Have You Noticed the Facebook "Like" Button? It's Facebook Open Graph.

It's almost widely-known in the social web/ tech space that Facebook is looking to be the standard for "social personalization" for pretty much everything people do online. And lately, there's been a lot of mention around Facebook's Open Graph API.

What is Open Graph?
It's a collection of everything a web user likes across the internet. Some of you may have noticed a new "Like" button at the bottom of webpages surfacing lately. It's one of the new tools that's a part of Facebook's Open Graph program. The thought is that people click on the button as they surf the web and share what they like with their network. In the background is an API used to gather all of this information, which will allow other sites to highlight content based on user preferences. Over time, Facebook will have a collection of all the things you and your demographic group likes - books, music, food, events, clothing, etc. all stored in one place.

Impacts of the Open Graph on the Social Shopping Experience
1. With Facebook Open Graph, companies will be able to provide an online shopping experience customized to a customer's "Likes", item previews, and past purchases. So far, not a lot of companies have the ability or luxury of this competitive advantage except for giants like Best Buy.

2. It's a known fact that people trust reviews and recommendations from peers. At least most of them are. As people become more transparent with their online shopping process and share with their friends that process, consumers will become even more powerful in spreading the word about a product. Good or bad. Try and leverage the former.

3. Have you noticed yourself more likely to buy when you're with someone else as opposed to shopping alone? Making the shopping process more social will allow a friend to give their opinion about a product that may make the sale faster. Sometimes, people hold back on a purchase simply because they're indifferent between two miniscule things (e.g. colour). Unless it's really bad, I usually find that friends will encourage you to buy anyway.

The Wrap Up
Last year, there was a statistic that showed Facebook being one of the top drivers of traffic to Google. A few weeks ago, Facebook had already surpassed Google in web traffic. At this rate, watch to see that more and more web traffic to online stores will start to come from Facebook. Perhaps, now, we'll all have a better reason to buy Facebook credits (to use towards online shopping) as opposed to buying virtual gifts for our friends. That is, if you do.

I'll leave you with a video of the 2010 f8 Keynote Remarks from Mark Zuckerburg. Enjoy.

POP QUIZ - Do YOU Know What the Current State of the Internet Is?

A video created back in Febuary by JESS3, a creative agency in the US. This video gives a quick snapshot of the current state of the internet and how far we've gone in a mere 15 years. Don't expect these numbers to stay the same though. This space moves so fast it truly is hard to track. Good to know for reference sake.

JESS3 / The State of The Internet from JESS3 on Vimeo.

Social Media Revolution 2

About a month ago, I posted a video called Social Media Revolution by the author of Socialnomics, Erik Qualman. It's a very good video and persuasively tells us that social media is more than just a fad.

Having grown up through the digital age, social media to me now is a lesson of applying what you know. That's all it took. People weren't sure of how to use it at first but it caused a fundamental shift in behaviour after they figured out how it worked. Look at all the the unique and creative ways that social media is used today for personal and product branding.

Social Media Revolution 2 (Refreshed Video of Last Year's)
Anyway, good news. Erik Qualman has updated the video from last year to reflect recent changes. Another well-done video.

Want A Good Book To Read? Read "Trust Agents"

Read this one - Trust Agents. It's amazing. It's exactly what the title says it is. Great book. Great take on examples. Had action items for readers throughout the book.

It reached:

• New York Times bestseller list (#13)
• Wall Street Journal bestseller list (#8)
• Amazon top 100 list (#30)
• The Amazon Best Books of 2009 list (Business and Investment category)

Cover  

A Visual Description
Chris and Julien, the authors of Trust Agents, talk trust and technology with Dan Patterson of ABC News. The clips below broken into two parts will give you an idea about the book.

Part 1

 Part 2

People With Mobile Devices Use Apps to Get Data Off the Net

Steve Jobs made a point at the recent iPhone OS 4 preview keynote: The way people pull data off the internet from their desktops is different from mobile devices. Rightfully said. Basically, the difference is what allows apps to exist. People use apps to pull information not their mobile web browsers.

Why Apps Work
I think a lot of that has to do with the size limitations of the device. The screen size of most mobile devices make it hard to browse the internet, especially when you’re out and about doing something other than sitting down in front of a computer at work or at home. The whole web page would be shrunk down to fit the screen alright but you wouldn’t be able to do much unless you zoomed in. That really kills the experience. That was until Apple came along with their iPhone. Let’s be honest now. Apple has a good product out there.

The iPhone and the proliferation of apps really filled in a lot of the gaps around the mobile experience. When I’m out and want to check something quickly whether it's for information or email, I want it back instantly and in a manner that’s easy to digest. What I’ve also noticed more and more nowadays is my growing hunger for information. I’ve become so accustomed to Googling things that I’ve built a habit of relying on it regardless of where I am. The development of mobile apps allow that.

My Apps Satisfy My Hunger for Info on Mobile
Currently, I have an app that takes me directly to:
- Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc
- My email accounts
- Weather temperatures
- Restaurant suggestions
- Address search
- Maps
- Dictionary definitions
- News headline
- My bank account

Looking at this list alone reveals how it can be different from search on a desktop. At the desktop level, I do more in depth searches, such as shopping and real researching that require more time.

Takeaway
So, the takeaway? If you were ever to create a mobile app for your customers, make sure it gives them value and that it’s created in a manner that’s easy to navigate around and allows information to be digested easily.

The Digital Empires

Nick Bilton of the New York Times put together a chart of all the big tech companies together making it much easier to compare the big players.

One thought though. I wonder how this chart will change with mobile adoption expected to balloon over the next couple of years.



Source: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/a-big-picture-look-at-google-microsoft-apple-and-yahoo/?src=twt&twt=nytimesbits

What is BumpTop? More 3D ... 3D Desktop Manager

Google continues to build its empire with the acquisition of BumpTop, a 3D desktop manager. The idea and concept sounds neat but I`m not sure if I want my computer to mimic the mess or piles of folders I have lying around. Isn`t that the point of having computers to begin with?

Here's a video that demonstrates how the BumpTop works. It's probably not necessary to watch the whole thing. After a little while, I'm sure you'll get the jist of it. Sorry I couldn't find a more interesting video to post.

The Case for "Added Value"

There is so much competition in today's global economy. I always believe that a product is a product. Under the right circumstances, a product or service can be substituted. What sets one apart from another aside from branding (and assuming you have a good product) is added-value, especially after the sale.

Demonstrate how else your customers can use or apply your product with a little bit of creativity.
Check out these videos Toyota has made for the Sienna. It's about how each parent in this family use their Sienna. It's quite comical (because it was purposely done up that way) but it helps deliver the point.





Provide information in the form of tips, advice or what's new that is relevant to the wants and needs of your customers.
If you're a small business providing service to your clients, consider letting them know of new and better methods to help them achieve their results more effectively. Make sure your clients are on par with the rest of the industry if not exceeding it. If you notice something that they should be doing, suggest it to them. This also represents how forward-thinking and up to date with trends your company is. What can you tell them to help them get ahead of their competitors?

If you're a company providing goods or services to a group of customers, provide tips and advice that are relevant to them. With the cost of digital communications being so low, this is a perfect way to provide after sales service. Give them information that will help deepen the connection between them with the product or service. What can you tell to help them achieve the best experience out of the new dishwasher, the new TV or new car they just bought from you? What can you do to make things interesting so that your customers can brag about you and click on that "Send to a  Friend" button?

Create a special area that allows you to connect with your customers.
This special area where your customers have access to your channel would also be the perfect opportunity for you to deliver added-value to them. One big faux-pas is to focus only on selling. No! Don't do it! I beg you! No one appreciates that and before long your customers will find you cheesy and then word will spread that your community (in the words of my generation) "sucks." Think in their shoes in terms of what you would like to see or find of value if you were the customer. You can also establish this on Facebook, Twitter, your own community, etc. Snoop around and check out the programs Starbucks has for its customer.

Create a mobile application that allows your customers to see their profile online to book appointments, make payments, or connect with the community.
The penetration of mobile devices is increasing and will continue to increase. This gives your customers added convenience to access your service even on the go. In Canada, two of the biggest banks (TD Canada Trust and CIBC) now offer mobile applications to access your bank account.