Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

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Houses of Parliament by Google 3D Warehouse

November 14th, 2011 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Technology

You can visit the Google 3D Warehouse here.

Search engines are amazing but also suck

October 12th, 2011 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Social media, Technology

The other day Kate said: The Internet is Amazing.

It is amazing – bloody amazing.  Its very hard to remember what life was like before the Internet.  The amount of information and the things you can do on the Internet is mind-blowing.  Search engines are amazing too – simply by virtue of the fact that they can scan all of that information in a very very short amount of time.

Search engines are a big part of the Internet.

I think that search engines have achieved an incredible feat.  They are both incredibly incredible and yet more or less completely useless.  The problem is that the search begins when you get a search engine involved, they are what the say they are – a powerful engine for searching i.e. not find engines.

Social search is supposed to be the answer to this problem.  This is where you consult your networks for answers and recommendations.  Rather than chucking keywords into Google or Bing, you put out a tweet, or go to a forum or post a question on your Facebook.  Nice idea in theory but one that falls down unless your network of friends and their brains are equally distributed across the required range of topics and experiences (which is unlikely).

The other challenge is that its not very easy – unless you’re someone like Mike Arrington, Lady Gaga or Russell Crowe – to actually get people to respond.  In my experience the people that respond in social networks are tight connections (thanks guys).  It’s rare that a distant connection responds with an answer or piece of advice via a social network – even though you know they have answers and opinions.  Its good when they do.

It’s different in the real world. People will generally give you an answer if you ask them a direct question.  Its rare that you get a mute blank stare as a response to a question or request for advice although it has happened to me once or twice in France (I drove off).

This is probably why 80% of word of mouth still takes place offline.

What is the solution to this problem – I can’t foresee a future where I ask a question on Twitter and I receive 300,000 results in 0.24 seconds and neither would I want this.

I could probably do something with (a very) Advanced Search in Google but I am not convinced it would work that well.  Natural language processing isn’t the answer either as the real problem is the amount of dud, repetitive information on the Internet.

I’d like a search engine that trawled a limited number of trusted quality sources.  I would have to chose them, though I would be open to recommendations and lists (it would be dangerous to leave the selection process to any third party).  I should have complete control over my sources and should be able to add any that I please.  Could someone create this? Have they already?

Also, has any noticed that Google News is broken?

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Paper Camera app on Android is awesome

September 29th, 2011 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Social media, Technology

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Ignorant, stupid, disinterested? The Web will help you stay that way

May 30th, 2011 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Politics, Public Relations, Social media, Technology

The average web site gathers 64 pieces of information about you and then shapes your future experience according to the topics, interests and biases that it believes appeal to you. In this video, Eli Pariser talks about his book, The Filter Bubble, in which he takes issue with the way that google, Yahoo!, Huff Post, Facebook and other online news sides and social networks help us stay stupid, ignorant and disinterested. Pariser has also featured as a TED speaker.

I doubt that most consumers of digital media are even aware of this phenomenon. The political implications are massive.

It has significant implications for the PR and marketing industries. My first thought is that it steers marketers to advertising, which would add up given that this is the primary revenue stream for the sites in question.

http://m.democracynow.org/stories/11898

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Mobile internet and the changing search experience

May 28th, 2011 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Search, Technology

We all expected mobile to change search and now we’re beginning to see this come to fruition. Via the seer Robert Scoble I recently learnt about two new and quite similar approaches to mobile search.

One is built into Microsoft’s l latest version of Windows Mobile, which is called Mango and the other – Do@ – is an app that will be available on multiple mobile platforms.

Both take a similar approach in that they produce results as opposed to links. Someone has already gone to the trouble if defining the best results for you.

At a macro level, google is presented with some significant challenges with its traditional approach to search, results are heavily polluted and the Google search engine leaves a lot of work with the searcher, hence the company’s  foray into social search. The other problem is that the traditional approach to search simply doesn’t lend itself to the mobile experience.

Check out these videos to learn more, that’s assuming you’ve learnt anything up to now!

Windows Mango

Do@

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Ou private lives, a new commercial frontier

May 28th, 2011 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Social media, Technology

Capitalism is dependant upon growth to survive. Individual markets have a finite amount of growth potential, then they become commoditised. The public/ private sphere is changing and commercial interests are encroaching into new areas of the individuals life. Technology is obviously a driver of this but ultimately the driving force is economic interest. Amidst all the hype and excitement, it can be east to forget that the the minds driving these trends aren’t necessarily doing so out of the goodness if their heart. People are right to be skeptical about the long term impact of this emerging market. Or experience on this market and others suggests that the only safeguard we have are competitive forces, i.e. Free market dynamics will determine the outcome. Is this enough? What is actually at risk?

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Social Media Count by Gary Hayes

September 14th, 2010 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Music, Social media, Technology

Here is a very cool widget-cum-infographic, which shows how the social web and online content is expanding second by second.  A daunting prospect for marketers that need to somehow cut through and get their message heard.  This was created by Gary Hayes who can be found @GaryPHayes.

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Thoughts on Google Instant

September 13th, 2010 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Search, Technology

Google launched an updated search offering last week called Google Instant.

Search results appear in real-time with Google Instant, the user no longer needs to click the ‘Search’ button or press enter. Results are personalised based on search histories (if you’re signed in to a Google account).

Search results appear and are revised as search terms are entered letter by letter.

Some quick thoughts from me on what this means:

  1. Google Instant will improve search literacy – users will become adept at creating long strings of keywords.
  2. The top Google ranking positions become even more crucial for website owners. The aim for website owners has always been to rank on the first page of the Google search results.  Top ten was acceptable pre-Google Instant.  I reckon its all about the top five results now, as this is all most users will see as they modify their search terms.
  3. Companies with generic terms in their brand names may suffer as a result of Google Instant as they stand more chance of losing users along the way. The generic keyword (i.e. relating to your industry or category) will expose the user to a whole raft of competitors.
  4. Organisations need to review and improve their Search Listing (the copy that appears under each Search Results) as this may be the bait that catches the searchers eye resulting in the click you want.
  5. For advertisers, hmm…. I am not sure what this means but I don’t think its very good. It may be good for Google because it will generate more impressions but I think it means a reduced dwell time for ads overall, which I would assume is likely to drive down CTRs.
  6. Google Instant will deliver a better mobile experience, where users are typically hunting for something very specific and are less inclined to scroll – click – scroll – click.  It will work better with speech input.  This is important because mobile apps are circumventing search in some respects.  There is a need to improve the mobile experience.

Google Instant is coming to all Google properties in time.  The company is claiming that Instant will save time.

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Twitter is one social media platform; is it right for your business?

August 28th, 2010 by Daniel Young | 2 Comments | Filed in Public Relations, Social media, Technology

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A recent research project by Edelman and Brandtology identified Twitter as the top channel for technology brand mentions in Australia.  The Whirlpool and Overclockers forums ranked in second and third place respectively.  I believe that these findings are reflective of a mature social media environment for technology brands in Australia.

Google, Apple and Microsoft ranked as the most talked about technology brands in the study which uncovered more than 154,000 mentions of 60 major technology brands across 581 influential online channels between April and June 2010.

The survey found that 27 of the 60 technology brands researched did not have a local presence on Twitter.  This represents an ‘opportunity for brands to…become smarter about communicating through this channel,’ according to Edelman.

But is Twitter the right channel for all technology brands?  I don’t think so.

Take the enterprise tech sector as an example (the study covered: ‘Internet and Software, Consumer Electronics, Mobile and Telecommunications, Business and Consulting and IT and Technology brands).  This  sector of the IT industry is characterised by complex technology and business issues that aren’t well suited to the  open Twitter platform limited as it is to 140 character updates.

Enterprise tech brands tend to be most interested in reaching senior decision makers within medium to large organisations – individuals that are less likely to be spending time on Twitter.  These brands need to demonstrate authoritative positions on commercially sensitive and strategic issues.  Twitter just isn’t designed or suitable as a platform for this sort of discussion or engagement.

With these facts in mind, I would be inclined to recommend that enterprise tech brands seek to establish online communities where customers can engage with experts and product specialists but also – importantly – share ideas and experiences with other customers.   I would look to the social media platforms where these targets are already active, the most obvious one being Linkedin.

It’s important that organisations monitor conversations about their brands across all forms of social media, including Twitter, but the most ‘active’ channels aren’t necesarily the best places to actually engage your target audience in a meaningful way.

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Are you a leftie if you believe in the power of social media?

July 29th, 2010 by Daniel Young | No Comments | Filed in Media, Politics, Social media, Technology

Over the weekend I listened to yet another great podcast from The RSA.

Clay Shirky presented on the topic of a ‘cognitive surplus’ for his book Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organising without Organisations. He said that approx100million hours has been invested in the creation of Wikipedia.  By contrast, there are trillions of global hours available within ’surplus’ every year.  The premise for the presentation was that humans are generous creatures and that new technology presents huge potential for altruistic, collaborative behaviour that delivers a greater good.

This idea is the basis for many aspects of the Social Web (for want of a better term, as this is broader than social media).  The notion that efficient networks without geographic boundaries will  act as the vehicle for human endeavour in the pursuit of positive economic, creative and educational outcomes has great appeal.

The idea of a cognitive surplus is also fascinating in the context of widespread budget deficits but don’t expect any major policy announcements from Gillard or Abbott on this topic just yet!

The presentation got me thinking about the question of a political culture within the realm of  the Social Web.  If Social is about sharing, co-operation and contributing to community then is it safe to assume that a left leaning political culture underpins the ‘movement’?

Is it important for the community to acknowledge in some capacity the presence of a common political ethos within the Social Web or the perhaps to acknowledge the lack of one?  Does the Social Web transcend traditional notions of political affiliation or realisation?  Are creativity and collaboration apolitical forces in 2010?

Most importantly, can our positive vision of a Social good delivered by technology and the Web be achieved without a political consensus?

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