Digible

A condensed soup of all things digital and marketing stewed by Erin Butler var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-20294914-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[erin-butler]

Digital Bill of Rights. Yea or Nay?

With all these Internet Acts and infringements on our digi-liberty, wouldn't it be nice tohave a Digital Bill of Rights stitched into the U.S. Constitution? Yea, I say.

Below are the coveted rights, proposed by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), found on the former's personal site, KeepTheWebOpen.com.

1. Freedom – digital citizens have a right to a free, uncensored Internet 2. Openness – digital citizens have a right to an open, unobstructed Internet 3. Equality – all digital citizens are created equal on the Internet 4. Participation – digital citizens have a right to peaceably participate where and how they choose on the Internet 5. Creativity – digital citizens have a right to create, grow and collaborate on the Internet and be held accountable for what they create 6. Sharing – digital citizens have a right to freely share their ideas, lawful discoveries and opinions on the Internet 7. Accessibility – digital citizens have a right to access the Internet equally, regardless of who they are or where they are 8. Association – digital citizens have a right to freely associate on the Internet 9. Privacy – digital citizens have a right to privacy on the Internet 10. Property – digital citizens have a right to benefit from what they create, and be secure in their intellectual property on the Internet.

While this is a huge step in the right direction, there are a couple tweaks that can be made, which a little crowdsourcing can help cultivate. For example, as seen in number five, being "held accountable" is not really a right, but rather a responsibility, and the right to anonymity has been valued since the dawn of the Interwebs. Also, why are we called "digital citizens" as opposed to just citizens? This marginalizing verbiage could make a difference later down the line, and I wouldn't exactly consider my parents to be "digital"-anything.

So what do you think: Additions, subtractions or comments?

For more information, see Mashable's latest post. Photo credit Digital Trends.

[erin-butler]

SOPA: Impending Doom

Impending doom or impeding doom?

The House votes today. This could be the end of freedom as we know it.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) both violate the First Amendment for many reasons. They could pass at any moment, and have implications that would change our lives forever. Or at least the estimated 240 million Internet-using Americans.

I urge you to promptly educate yourself and take action now. Our First Amendment rights depend on it.

What is SOPA, you say? Well look here. 

What is PIPA, too? Check this out.

[erin-butler]

Past Year in Browsers

Just kidding.

Some hopefully unsurprising stats:

IE (thank goodness) continues its steady rapid decline, while FireFox begins that same dreaded path. 

Chrome has just passed its mammal friend in the race, making Google one step closer to ruling the world. 

Safari is inching its way up. Or should I say centimetering.

And Opera...well it ain't over til the fat lady sings.

Is it time for you to make the switch?

[erin-butler]

Is Email Dead? Say it isn't so!

Whenever I hear this question, my heart screams NOOO! Thankfully, so do these statistics.

Spam sure does look like the Grim Reaper though. Where would you be without email?

Yep. At a post office.

by NowSourcing via

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SOPA

Scared yet?

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AR: Are we there?

Earlier this year, we saw global grocer Tesco (Homeplus) take over Korean subways with a virtual shopping experience that included 2-D displays of merchandise on the walls and QR codes for commuters to scan. They could purchase these virtual items while they waited for the subway, and would find them delivered to their home upon their return. This was a unique, profitable execution that grabbed worldwide attention and raised the bar for retail advertising creativity.

Now Tesco is back at it again with a new campaign and extended digital efforts. Along with utilizing more traditional media, the “Big Price Drop” initiative is running a print campaign that can be accessed using an Augmented Reality and image recognition smartphone (or tablet) app called Blippar. While this is a concept with huge interactive potential, I’m not so sure they hit home with consumers on this one.

As you’ll see in the video, the AR component is visually stimulating at first, but a useless recipe and simple store locator aren’t incentive enough for users to download and open the application on their device. We need deals, people! Or at least a good joke. 

I look forward to seeing better strategy behind the technology, but in the mean time, it’s another notable step in the digital direction.

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I recently discovered this snazzy website that converts your wordy resume into an infographic. Pulling from your LinkedIn profile, Vizualize.me puts your stats into a customizable depicted format, making you look more design savvy than you really are. Or at least saving you much time and grief.

So now, my resume infographic has its own URL. Too bad it is still in beta and you have to earn an invitation. Jealy? Well get to spreadin' the word and your boring office job could appear as a colorful chunk in the past!

[erin-butler]

Angry Birds of Mass Destruction

Our favorite mobile game manifests itself in the streets of Barcelona, as T-Mobile creates a life-size interactive game of Angry Birds, inviting people to play. This is all a part of their ongoing "Life is for Sharing" campaign, spreading from a few stragglers in the street to a cohort to the world. The life-size model directly reflects what they do on the handset, complete with a live band playing the theme song. I wish I were there to witness it in all its splendor.

[erin-butler]

Pepsi TV Check-in ad

I totes called it. Technology is birthing more and more of these TV/smartphone interactive campaigns, and consumers are just drinking it up. This time, it is the IntoNow application partnering with Pepsi Max: activate the app while watching the new commercial spot, "Field of Dreams" and receive a coupon for a free 20 oz. Pepsi Max.

IntoNow's patented audio-fingerprinting technology automatically identifies any content from the past five years, including live or delayed television content. 

Consumers are rewarded for paying attention to ads, and marketers can further measure the effectiveness of their campaign, as well as driving desired behavior.

Pepsi isn't the first to utilize the burgeoning relationship between phone apps and TV. Shazam recently teamed up with Old Navy, urging viewers to tag the original song in the commercial, and win a pair of jeans. Simiarly, Honda Jazz launched an animated campaign allowing viewers to snatch characters from their TV spot and play with them on their phone. By offering direct, even tangible awards for interest and participation, it's a win-win for brands and fans alike.

Pepsi Max "Field of Dreams" spot

Old Navy + Shazam

Photo courtesy of lostremote

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From ufadsociety blog

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Honda Jazz "Screen-hopping"

Now this is inter and active. Honda, launching its animated campaign for its Honda Jazz model, will be the first to utilize a new technology called "screen-hopping." This television advertising campaign lets consumers interact with the TV commercial using an iPhone app. 

This free app will allow the audience to engage with characters appearing in the TV ad, "This Unpredictable Life", by virtually snatching them from the commercial onto their mobile handset screen instantaneously.

Reminds me a little bit of Pokémon-- Gotta catch...'em...all....

Once transferred to their mobile device, users can interact with features of the individual characters: the dog, baby head and other somewhat bizarre creatures. Utilizing multi-faceted technology, Honda's audience can connect with and consume the campaign's media elements in a whole new way. 

Leading the way with this inventive idea, ad agency Wieden+Kennedy has crossed a threshold to a vast digital world. Doors keep flying open and blowing my mind.

The campaign itself promotes a greater brand connection. Its message of making your (yes, talking to you) way through "This Unpredictable Life" demonstrates Honda's down-to-earth understanding of what its audience needs. I needed to watch the ad spot a few times to truly grasp what was being said and animated...and to get over the character's awful hairdo at a certain point. But I digress. 

Screen-hopping is a trailblazing attribute. I'm not sure how many adults will want to engage with little animated characters on their phones, but its certainly an interesting concept and an entertaining campaign.

They should have made an app for Droid. Boo.

[erin-butler]

Social transforming SEO

Bad news for spammers and link farmers.

Bruce Clay, renowned search engine optimization pundit, recently asserted at the 2010 PubCon conference, “Likes are the new links.” Just what does this mean, and more importantly, how does it affect your business’s search engine ranking?

Internet search engines began with good intentions and methodology. The more links you have, indicating that your website’s content was effective, the better your rankings in organic results. Over time, people have gradually been abusing this algorithm, striving for quantity of links and letting quality suffer. There became many roads and doorways to websites that simply did not deserve the attention of users.

Links bias search results, and the trust score of links are dropping. Link farmers and brokers will gladly sell you links, but they can even hurt your ranking because they are not trusted or meaningful.

Well the tides are turning as netizens catch on to these spammy tactics. Social media has fostered the growth and importance of site “likes”, recommendations and referrals. This form of sharing is far more valuable than unknown sources linking to you, and the community is likely to trust these likes over any other link.

Social sites such as Facebook and Twitter have been in cahoots with search engines Bing, Google and Yahoo in order to improve the search experience for web-goers. In the early stage, the “like” information and tweets would be integrated into search engine algorithms, making results more significant and valuable. In the near future, SEO will not be about who can buy most links, but rather who can earn them. You will need quality content on your website, because on-page SEO will soon make a comeback.

Bruce Clay thinks that in 6 months to a year from now, social referrals will be a major part of search algorithms, and we will notice a general shift toward improving quality of sites, not the size of sites. 

And that, my friends, is what nature intended.

Might I just note: I wrote a strikingly similar blog post for Purple, Rock, Scissors. Just double-posting.

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Interactive viral video ad

Okay, I may be a little late on this one. Hopefully, so are you.

Take a moment to watch this amusing ad for Tipp-Ex white out (if you aren't one of the 14.5 million views so far). But be careful, for the moment that you take may quickly turn into an hour.

A hunger encounters a bear at his campsite, setting in motion an interactive game/video in which you choose what the hunter does to or with the bear. Just type the verb phrase into the "whited-out" fraction of the sentence and you get a slew of reactions.

This series, created by French agency Buzzman, is fairly reminiscent of the BK's Subservient Chicken by CP+B. But this time...it's a bear...and quite unexpected. Well, now you know what happens. Or do you?

Writer's block? Try any of these (not that I did, of course...): dances with, eats, sings with, hugs, is shot by, loves, kisses, feeds, buys, spanks, plays football with, fights, breakdances, smokes with, seduces, erases, tickles, cuts, buys, washes... eh, I don't have time for this.

[erin-butler]

IBM predicts five imminent innovations

The future as we stereotypically imagine it is rapidly approaching. From papyrus to iPads, telephones to Facebook, what could possibly be next? As a digital strategist, I wish I could say I have the answers, but IBM beat me to it, of course.

The following are IBM's recently released "Next Five in Five," a list of life-changing innovations predicted to make a debut within the next few years. Looks pretty promising, although it is sans flying cars.

Interactive holograms and real time 3-D interface from digital devices

Batteries recharged by air, static electricity or kinetic energy, lasting 10 times longer than they do now. 

Invaluable info collected from sensors in everyday devices and social media will be collected by scientists to formulate data sets for research.

Insightful computers feeding information to you to optimize your daily commute and soft-pedal traffic jams.

Systems that recycle thermal energy inadvertently emitted by computers and data centers.

It's about time, I say. My mind is teeming with the possibilities these technologies hold. Considering the likely immensely positive impact of these innovations, let's hope IBM is right. 

Now if only teleportation were on the map.

[erin-butler]

New year's resolution: Watch more TED Talks.