Black Friday: A Terrific Display of (Anti) Social Behavior

Black Friday is the day that officially ushers in the Holiday season. This is the time to begin thinking of decorating the Christmas tree, getting together with friends and family, and....firing pepper spray at fellow Wal-Mart shoppers? It seems that the antisocial behavior exhibited on this day gets more and more ridiculous with each passing year. I understand that a $2 waffle maker or $10 Xbox game are great deals, but at some point we need to realize that concern for other people should trump the promise of saving a few dollars.

As pleasurable as camping outside a Best Buy at 5:00AM sounds, I will be doing most of my shopping online this year. Major online retailers such as Amazon and Newegg.com offer sizable discounts and other special offers (such as free shipping). These deals aren't confined to Friday, either. Cyber Monday, the largest online shopping day of the year, offers further chances for saving.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the Black Friday pandemonium, check this out. Or click here if you want to see some of the deals that Amazon is serving up for Cyber Monday.

The Future of Television

Look at your TV remote. How many buttons does it have? 20...30...more? Would your grandmother have trouble just turning the thing on?

Now compare that remote to the iPhone. Most functions are performed using just one button. Google's homepage is another example of glorious simplicity. Both Google and Apple have found tremendous success in a variety of markets, but have historically faced difficulty in the television arena.

When Google TV was first released around a year ago, it received lukewarm reviews. Nilay Patel, an Engadget blogger, wrote, "Google TV feels like an incomplete jumble of good ideas only half-realized, an unoptimized box of possibility that suffers under the weight of its own ambition and seemingly rushed holiday deadline." Google TV certainly had some features that appealed to the tech geeks, but most went over the head of ordinary consumers.

Apple TV has been around since 2007. At first, it was basically just an external hard drive that connected to your television. Newer iterations let users stream content directly from the iTunes store. Surely there are a lot of good ideas at play here, but it has yet to take off.

Knowing Google and Apple, though, neither company is going to give up so easily. Google recently announced that it will be releasing Google TV 2.0 this month, featuring Android Market integration and improved search features. Meanwhile, Apple reduced the price of its product to $99 last year, and will undoubtedly be unveiling a new version shortly.

Imagine a world where you could turn on your TV and say, "I want to watch the Soup Nazi," and instantly that iconic Seinfeld episode starts playing. Envision using your Android phone to play a game against three of your friends right on your TV. Keep tuning in; you won't want to miss it!

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish." - Steve Jobs

Like many of you, I was deeply saddened at the passing of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs last week. Jobs was a true creative genius who completely changed the face of personal computing more so than any other individual on the planet.

Being a lifelong user of Apple products, I watched the brand go from a total also-ran to the most valuable company in America. When my parents first bought a Performa 430 in 1993, Steve Jobs was still working at a small company called NeXT (after being fired from Apple!). Few of my friends growing up had Macs, and for good reason. A lack of software compatibility was a big issue. Who could have predicted that Apple would become what it is today?

At Brandeis circa last spring, I'd guess that 60% of the student body owned a MacBook. Even among those students with Windows PCs, almost all owned either an iPhone, iPod, or iPad. I'm sure the trend is similar at most other schools. What do all these products have in common? They are the brainchildren of the one and only Steve Jobs, who, as we all know, returned to Apple in 1996 when the company bought out NeXT.

With Jobs gone, it is difficult to say what will become of Apple. Although he was a larger-than-life figure, he wasn't a one-man company. Apple employs thousands of brilliant designers, engineers, marketers, etc. I'm confident that they will continue to release revolutionary consumer tech products and maintain the best OS in personal computing today. But one thing is certain: the Apple Keynote events will never be quite the same without Jobs' signature "One more thing..."

If you haven't seen it already, check out Jobs' address at the 2005 Stanford commencement. There's a lot of great advice in there from a man who lived an unquestionably fascinating life.

Commemorating September 11, Digitally

It's hard to believe that ten years have passed since the tragic terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As Americans come together to remember those who lost their lives, and the heroes who risked their own, much of the activity is happening in the digital space. From Facebook to YouTube, and Twitter to Google+, the social sphere is abuzz with pictures, prose, and discussion related to that unforgettable day. While nothing can indemnify the families and friends of those who lost their lives, I believe there is a real value in this kind of dialogue.

Social networking sites allow people, perfect strangers even, to connect over a common interest or bond. Those who lost friends and family in the 9/11 attacks can come together in a community, whether they live in Manhattan, London, or Buenos Aires. And that feeling of camaraderie is vital to overcoming tragedy.

In 2001, no one had ever heard of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Google+ (although they did know Google!). Difficult to imagine, isn't it? In fact, "social media" wasn't added to Webster's Dictionary until just a few weeks ago! Meanwhile, it's also very exciting to think about the possibilities that may arise within the next ten years, as social media becomes further intertwined into our lives.

Don't Know What You Want to Do? No Problem!

One year ago, I was interning in the legal department of a large financial firm. While I didn't HATE the work, I knew it wasn't how I wanted to spend the majority of my waking hours for the foreseeable future. I had contemplated going to law school, but the fire just wasn't there. Learning about the law did not motivate me to get up in the morning, or to work 80+ hours a week in the hope of advancing my career.

Rewind even further back, to the spring of 2007, as I was teetering on the precipice of high school graduation. I had recently been accepted to Brandeis University, and was eagerly anticipating my move up to Boston. However, Brandeis seemed to be getting a bit ahead of themselves. Here they were, asking me my intended major, when I had not even finished high school! I honestly had no idea. History, psychology, and business were options, but how could I choose? I ended up writing "Psychology" on that form.

Of course, I did not major in psychology at Brandeis. In fact, I only took two classes in the Psyc. department. At some point during my freshman year, I decided I wanted to be an Economics major (this was heavily influenced by an amazing professor named Mike Coiner). Meanwhile, the questions about my intended career lingered. I remember people asking me, "Oh, economics. What are you gonna do with that?" to which my answer was usually along the lines of, "I'm not really sure. But I have a lot of options." Although this turned out to be the truth, I had no clairvoyance on the issue until a few months into my senior year.

How I became involved in the world of Internet marketing is a story for the next post. But if you remember one thing you just read, remember that you don't always need to have an answer to "Oh, what are you going to do with that degree?" You'll figure it out sooner or later.

Obama's Twitter Gaffe

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, you are all too aware of America's impending debt crises. With the threat of a default looming closer, our boneheaded Congressman vegetate in Washington, unable to come to any sort of agreement on raising the debt ceiling. Meanwhile, Americans have become increasingly irritated, and our president is no exception. On Friday afternoon, Obama let his frustration be known via Twitter, where he tweeted the handles of each Republican Congressman, and urged citizens to voice their opinions. Many of Obama's recent tweets contained the #compromise hashtag to emphasize cooperation across party lines.

So, did Obama's #compromise campaign serve as a catalyst for solving the problem? Not exactly. In fact, it seems it may have backfired on him. @BarackObama lost around 37,000 of his 9.4 million followers in the following 24-hour period. Sure, this is only a 0.04% loss for the big chief, but it clearly illustrates that no one is invincible in the world of social media. If people view your contributions as noise, they are simply going to "unfollow" or "unfriend" you. Simple as that. In addition, any action taken on social media opens you up to criticism from the other side. Patrick McHenry, Republican Congressman from North Carolina, tweeted this: "Looking forward to all the new followers @BarackObama sends my way today in his Twitter spam campaign." Ah, politics at its finest.

My Initial Thoughts on Google+

I have been playing around with Google+ for about a week now, after receiving a highly-coveted invitation from a friend. I have to say that I'm impressed with the polished interface, the ease of sharing content, and the "Hangout" video chatting feature. I also like the idea of separating my connections into "circles," as I don't necessarily want my co-workers seeing all the same content as my close friends. Although the site as a whole is a bit derivative, there are undoubtedly a lot of great ideas at play.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find too many familiar faces on Google+, but that's too be expected since the product is still in beta. After all, Facebook and Twitter were similarly barren the first few months after release Another gripe is with the "Sparks" feature. Instead of displaying a stream of relevant content, the main page features ten pictures of generic interests, forcing users to go to the sidebar to select each interest individually (this will make more sense when you're actually using the site, I promise!)

The biggest hurdle Google+ faces is that it's unfashionably late to the game. Everyone is already on Facebook, and many people feel that they don't need or even want another social network. A small cadre of tech-savvy individuals is eagerly embracing Google+, but what about my parents, or my decidedly less geeky friends? How will I be able to convince them that they are missing out by not joining? Right now, I don't have an answer to that question.

To conclude, I highly doubt that Google+ will overtake Facebook as the king of social networking sites. Facebook has simply become too big and too ingrained in our culture. However, Google+ certainly proves an interesting diversion, and as more people join in the coming weeks/months, I envision spending a decent amount of time there.

Is Outbound Marketing Going the Way of the Dial-Up Modem?

When I was younger, I used to wonder if anyone ever purchased anything from those obnoxious telemarketers who always seemed to call in the middle of dinner. Would some poor man suddenly realize that he had been waiting years for someone to call him up and offer him a great deal on vinyl siding? And how about those teenagers who came to my door selling fancy sets of knives at exorbitant prices? Fact is, these simply are not very effective marketing methods. Telemarketers and door-to-door salesmen only continue to exist because they contribute just a bit more to their firm's profit than their near-minimum wage salaries detract.

Of course, outbound marketing is still necessary for most businesses. Print ads, television ads, billboards, PPC campaigns are all examples outbound marketing, and we still see these things every day. Actually, we see A LOT of them, and therein lies the problem. It is simply too easy to tune them out. Is your favorite radio station playing a commercial? Just turn the dial. Or, better yet, subscribe to satellite radio, which does not air advertisements at all!

The high costs of outbound marketing prove another detriment. To purchase a 30-second spot during Super Bowl XLV (2011, for those not following the Roman numeral system), you'd have to shell out almost $3 million! Will you be able to recoup that huge sum via increased sales? Possibly, but there is no way to be certain. I, for one, do not like those odds. This is obviously an extreme example, but outbound marketing efforts almost always come with a hefty price tag.

All of this leads us to a discussion of a (somewhat) radical, new idea referred to as inbound marketing, which will serve as the subject of my next post.

The Benefits of a Web Presence, Even for the Smallest Businesses

Last weekend, my friend and I decided to order some take-out after a busy day. We faced the invariably contentious decision of where to order from - Chinese or Mexican? Pizza or burgers? Craving carbohydrates, we decided to go with Italian. Searching Google for "Italian food in [location]" brought several dozen results on Google. When the first result brought us to an informative, professional-looking site, we were sold.

Even for a small-town, mom-and-pop operation, having a strong web/social media presence is crucial. Those of my generation, who are used to doing anything and everything online, will greatly appreciate being able to find your business quickly and easily. Having a poorly designed or outdated website (or even worse, NO website) will only serve to drive people to more web-savvy competition.

Take Burgerittoville, a novelty fast food place in my hometown. Although their website is a bit barebones, it does convey most of the essential information customers will be looking for: Menu, contact info, directions, special deals, and a link to their Facebook fan page. One mysterious omission, though, is hours of operation. Another weak point is the fact that Burgerittoville's Facebook page has not been updated since November '10 (how much business do you think that is generating for them NOW?).

Small businesses would be wise to hire part-time employees or interns to maintain their website and associated social media accounts. A website should not be "one and done" deal. It needs to be constantly revised and updated to include the most relevant information. This is especially true in regard to social media. Facebook and Twitter pages need to be updated at least several times a week in order to garner significant results. At the same time, students and those new to the marketing arena will receive invaluable hands-on experience.

A Word on Filter Bubbles

A few weeks ago, I listened to this TED talk on filter bubbles, given by Eli Pariser (I highly recommend it!). In short, Pariser discusses how Google shows different search results to different people, based on myriad factors including location, age, gender, browsing history, etc.

While I appreciate what Google is doing with local search (I really don't want to search for pizzeria and come up with results in Arizona), I find it a tad frightening that there is no standard version of Google search. Before listening to Pariser's talk, I always assumed that if I was logged out of my Google account, I would see a "standard" set of results, and that those same results would displayed to any user who was similarly not logged in. But alas, this is not the case. Even while searching "anonymously," Google will still consider your location, your operating system, and your browser choice, among other identifying characteristics.

My advice to Google: Offer more options in terms of tweaking the search results that an individual user sees. Users most likely don't always wish to search locally, or to see only results that were popular with others of a similar age or ethnicity. It is critically important that people see certain information, even if their demographic data and browsing history indicate they might disagree with it. Progress cannot be made if Google spoonfeeds to us only content we find agreeable. Let's pop the bubble!

YouTube to Introduce Live Streaming

YouTube has announced plans to begin offering live video content on its site within the coming weeks, via a special page called “Live.” This means that concerts, sporting matches, educational lectures, and various other events will soon be viewable on YouTube in realtime! For now, the ability to share live content will be limited to a select number of partners. This restriction is understandable, as YouTube wishes to maintain a certain level of quality on its site. However, the company does plan to extend Live significantly over the next several months. It is not clear whether YouTube will eventually allow all users to stream live content, but we suspect this will be the case.

YouTube’s announcement has major implications for the world of online video. Although a handful of live video sites, such as UStream.com, are already up and running, these platforms simply cannot match YouTube in terms of brand recognition or financial backing. Live will cause more consumers to be drawn away from their televisions and toward their laptops, netbooks, iPads, and mobile phones. In terms of online marketing, businesses can benefit considerably from streaming video. For example, a small technology firm attending an industry conference could stream that conference directly onto their YouTube channel, drawing in many visitors who otherwise may never have stumbled across the page.

View the YouTube Live page here, and check out some of the upcoming events that are going to be broadcast!

A Helpful New Tool from Facebook

Earlier today, Facebook released a tool called Insights for Websites that allows website owners to see how visitors interact with their content. It shows real-time statistics for “Like” buttons, comment boxes, and the number of times a page is “shared” with friends. To see Insights for your site, you must first claim your domain by linking it with a Facebook page or application that you manage. Although Insights works with any website associated with a Facebook page, it will generate more useful data for a site that uses Facebook plug-ins (e.g. the “Like” button).

One of the most exciting elements of Insights is the ability to segment visitors by demographic statistics such as gender, age, location, and language. Of course, this data is aggregated to protect individuals’ privacy. Other web analytics programs such as Google Analytics also offer demographic data, but do not provide numbers for the key categories of age and gender. This data can help you target your advertising toward a more specific group of people, which will lead to more views, and ultimately, more business.

Read the full article on Facebook’s blog here: https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/476

The Rise of QR Code

Chances are you have seen one of those odd, square-shaped, black-and-white designs on a billboard or in a magazine, and thought to yourself, “What is that thing?” These designs are called QR (quick response) codes, and function much like a traditional barcode. QR codes are used for myriad purposes: to direct people to a URL, to display text, to show a Google Maps location, or even to join a Wi-Fi network. They are extremely simple to use – all one needs is a camera-equipped smartphone with an application for reading QR codes. This function is available out of the box on Android phones, and free QR code-reading applications are available for all major mobile platforms. The codes are also easy to generate – you can get them instantly (and for free!) at sites such as QRStuff, Delivr, and Kaywa.

QR code can be used in a wide variety of ways – on business cards, on resumes, in store windows, on posters, in print and mail advertisements, etc. Businesses can use the codes to offer customers special incentives or discounts. Customers like them because they are fun and interactive. Another benefit of this digital technology is the ability for businesses to monitor their ROI in real time. QR code has even begun to show up on resumes, with job applicants trying to stand out from the crowd by including instant access to their online portfolio or self-promoting video.

One of the most exciting aspects of QR code is its immediacy. While a URL linking to a personal blog or video could be included on a business card, the receiver of the card will likely wait until he or she is in front of a computer before they check it out. Even if he or she does own an Internet-capable smartphone, manually typing URLs on these devices can be tedious. With all the pressures of daily life, there is also a significant possibility of the receiver forgetting about to view the content completely. With a QR code, customers will be able to watch a video or view a website immediately on their smartphone, with no hassle.

QR code is still an emerging technology, and has not completely caught on in the United States. A large portion of the population is not yet aware of this new marketing mechanism, and among those that are aware, many do not possess the technology needed to make use of them. However, as smartphones become even more ubiquitous in the coming years, and as marketers invent new and exciting ways to utilize this technology, expect the use of QR code to increase in kind. We believe that it will prove an excellent way to foster customer interaction, create buzz around interesting products and services, and bolster sales.

University Career Fairs - Amazing Networking Opportunities or Time Wasters?

Back in October 2010, I attended a career fair at Brandeis University in Waltham, where I am currently a fourth-year undergraduate. Each semester, Brandeis’s Hiatt Career Center hosts an on-campus career fair in which approximately fifty companies participate. There is no denying the fact that these events are an excellent way for students to explore career opportunities and to have their resumes seen by dozens of potential employers. However, I sometimes question if the fairs are implemented in the most effective manner possible. At Brandeis’s fair, there were simply too many students packed into too small of a space. The room was extremely crowded, long lines formed in front of the booths of many employers, and recruiters were not able to have meaningful conversations with students. In most cases, students simply introduced themselves, handed a resume to the recruiter, and moved on. Not the most satisfying of interactions.

I recently had the chance to attend another career event, the Career and Internship Connection (CIC) fair, which was held at the John Hancock Convention Center in Boston. I found this fair to be far superior to Brandeis’s for a few reasons. First, it was only open to students who registered a month in advance, and the number of attendees was capped at a number that would prevent overcrowding and massive waiting lines. Additionally, students were able to apply for information interviews with specific companies through the CIC website. I was lucky enough to secure an interview with one of the firms I was most interested in, and I had a great conversation with their recruiter about my career goals and positions that seemed like a good fit. Overall, I found the CIC fair to be a much more pleasant and informative experience than the Brandeis fair.

In order to be most advantageous to all parties involved, attendance at university career fairs should be limited to a finite number of students, depending, of course, on the size of the venue and the number of employers participating. Additionally, more time should be set aside for one-on-one conversations between students and employers. Otherwise, both students and recruiters are likely to leave the event feeling like no genuine connections were made, and that their time was not well spent.