Another action-packed day here in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 Expo. I’ve got to say I feel somewhat of the minority toting around my PC laptop. I am in a Mac world it seems.

The day really kicked off when Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google took the stage and announced that they are adding presentations to their Google Docs and Spreadsheets. Not only is it newsworthy because it could potentially replace the need for Microsoft’s PowerPoint, but it also offers the ability to collaborate on presentations in real-time with individuals anywhere as long as they have an internet connection.  Granted, if it is anything like Google’s spreadsheet then it will certainly be a slimmed down version, but I am still excited to see it. Many of Twelve Horses employees telecommute, so having an office suit that is completely portable will be a great help.

After that announcement, Eric Schmidt and John Battelle, CEO of Federation Media sat down for a frank and fairly amusing discussion on other hot topics surrounding Google. As Tim O’Reilly put it yesterday, “Google is the oxygen that breathes life into so many businesses.” With that being said, Google’s enormous influence in combination with ongoing acquisitions of companies like DoubleClick make some individuals a little uneasy.

Not only is it the fact that one company is storing a lot of personal data, but it is also data that can be used to put other entities out of business. Schmidt tried to curb this concern by repeatedly emphasizing that even Google must carefully consider its end users.

One last thing that resonated with me was a question Battelle asked pertaining to any potential future acquisitions or companies that Google has on its radar. Schmidt replied by saying, “…mobile, mobile, mobile.” The mobile device is clearly already a powerful tool and one that still has far to go. It might be Google that is the catalyst for some significant evolution in this channel; however, just like the issues surrounding net neutrality, so much of the success depends on the carriers.

 After the keynote I attended some great sessions:

• Social Networking Winners & Losers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  • A great discussion that was moderated by Forrester Research with panel members from Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, and Yahoo Groups.
  • The message: give people the power to create their own groups. They want to define what it is.
• Using Widget Syndication for Online Marketing and Measurement
  • Check out Widgetbox. Drag and drop, easy to use, and can be deployed in a variety of ways on blogs and web pages.
• Emerging Trends in Search Engine Optimization & Search Engine Marketing
  • I read David Berkowitz’s weekly Media Post column on search engine marketing and optimization, so it was great to finally meet him.
• What I Learned from Syphilis: Epidemiology & Viral Marketing
  • An amusing end to the day’s sessions by drawing parallels between the success of the most deadly diseases,  and how a company should implement new software and marketing campaigns.

After that it was on to the Conference Attendee Party, which was sponsored by Nokia. Free drinks, food and photo opps with the Nokia girls, which were then displayed on flat screens around the room. They eventually cut off the alcohol supply, so we poured out on to the beautiful streets of San Francisco.

Tomorrow is the final day of the Web 2.0 Expo and then it is back to the stables.

tags: web, 2.0, expo, online, social, mobile, networking, search, engine, optimization, marketing

In the past couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of guest lecturing to two different marketing classes.

1. The University of Nevada, Reno Student Chapter of the Reno-Tahoe American Marketing Association (AMA)
2. An MBA marketing  class at Morrison University.

In both cases I spoke about subjects of online marketing such as:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Website Design and Development
• Blogging
• Email Marketing
• Online and Offline Integration
• Marketing Strategy

These are some bright students of varying ages that I am speaking to, and they are all busy filling their heads with the fundamentals of marketing. However, one component of their education that is clearly missing is the emphasis on online marketing. There is not a dedicated class as part of the curriculum.

This needs to change!

Upon finishing my presentations, I received numerous questions, students came up to me after class to speak further, and in general there was much enthusiasm surrounding the subject matter.

I recognize the difficulties that universities have to contend with when it comes to changing the academic process, or including new courses, but in the realm of day-to-day business, how important is online marketing for so many different businesses? The answer - very!

If schools are really going to empower their marketing students to get good jobs and demonstrate value for their employers, they must have a foundation in online marketing.

tags: online marketing, search engine optimization, email, marketing

The easiest way to avoid being falsely marked as spam is to have your recipients add your email address to their address book. Here is how to do that for the most popular email clients:
OUTLOOK

• Right click on the email
• Move down to the “Junk Email” option
• Select “Add the Domain to Safe Senders List”
• Click “OK”

AOL

• Open the email
• Click the “Add Address” Icon
• Click on the “Save” button

Yahoo!

• Open the email
• Click “Add to Address Book”
• Click “Add to Address Book” Again

Gmail

• Open the email
• Click the down arrow next to “Reply,” at the top-right of the message pane
• Click “Add sender to Contacts List”

Hotmail

• Open the email
• Click the “Save Address” button
• Click “OK”

Technorati Tags: AOL, Email Marketing, Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, Spam, Whitelist, Yahoo

This video advertisement was created by some of the core developers of Google’s Gmail email program. If they had run this through branding and marketing, I doubt it would have ever seen life on YouTube.com. However, it’s awesome. I have no doubt that those are the actual developers and their script. It’s transparent and honest. Great job!

BTW, isn’t it telling they released it on YouTube and not on Google Videos?

[via AdRants]

Technorati Tags: Gmail, Transparency, Google, Google Video, Branding, YouTube

Do you have a business idea that you’re sure will make tons of money? Are you struggling to figure out how to get your foot in the door to pitch it? You can always do what Aaron did. Aaron wanted to get in front of Google to pitch his idea. He started by creating a very simple website and uploading some videos to Google Video. His idea was simple:

1. Fly to Mountain View
2. Sit in Google’s lobby until someone listened to his idea
3. Pitch
4. Fly home

Underlying all this was the real plan: go viral. Because of the uniqueness of the whole concept and the way he went about it, he was sure Google would hear him. Unfortunately, they didn’t. At least, not at first. But he persevered. Once he arrived, he kept updating the site and producing videos. Word started to spread and then he made Digg.

He has had his meeting with Google, met Robert Scoble and Dave Winer, and has promises from Google for a follow up meeting. He continues to stay in Mountain View and has been there for the last 7 days. Good luck, Aaron.

[Via Robert Scoble's Blog]

Technorati Tags: Dave Winer, Google, Marketing, Robert Scoble, Viral

One of the first posts I did on Horse Power speculated on the backlash Apple would feel when consumers wised up to DRM. I faulted Apple for the FairPlay DRM system they used implying that the DRM was designed to tie iPod users to iTunes and exclude other MP3 players as well as prevent the iPod for use on other download sites. Well, this speculation has come true. Apple is getting sued harassed by many European nations to open up its closed loop system to allow others to play.

Steve Jobs responded with a post on Apple’s news section called Thoughts on Music. Mr. Jobs pushes back and lays blame for the closed DRM system on the recording industry. He claims that the tough restrictions the labels put on Apple forced them into the current system and he would love to go DRM free if only the labels would cooperate.

In my opinion, this deflection is to prevent the negative brand backlash I had predicted back in May. While I’m not convinced he is an opponent to DRM, I do think this is a convenient way to educate consumers while positioning Apple as forward thinking. It’s almost as if they created the problem so they could reap the benefits of fixing the problem. It will interesting to see how things play out from here.

Technorati Tags: RIAA, Steve Jobs, DRM, Apple, iTunes

StumbleUpon is a fun social networking tool that allows users to surf websites that match their personalized areas of interests.  Once a user establishes a profile, they can download a toolbar for their web browser (Internet Explorer and Firefox are both supported).  When the user wants to surf, they can click Stumble, and be wisked away to a website at random.  In the background, StumbleUpon is matching the user’s areas of interest web sites that other users have submitted that match those topics.  Users can also enter a keyword into the StumbleUpon toolbar and search for submitted sites that match that word.

This is very similar to social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us and digg except it has the element of surfing built in.  Rather than the user looking for specific content from like minded submitters, the toolbar does that step for them.  It’s more passive and has a certain element of surprise built in.

Why should website owners care about this?  Getting your site submitted to StumbleUpon can dramatically increase web traffic to your site.  The spike may only last a week or so, but depending on your site goals, this can be significant.  Users can also submit individual pages as well as the whole site.  Therefore, if you’re producing regular content - say a blog - each post has the opportunity to be submitted and becoming viral.

Yahoo fell in love with RSS back in 2004 and 2005.  Everything they did was RSS enabled and they did a lot to bring RSS to the mainstream with tools like My.Yahoo.com.  However, it appears that this love affair is waining in favor of page views.   The majority of Yahoo’s business model is based off advertising which requires readers to come to their website where the ads are visible.  RSS is a great way of distributing and consuming information, but it doesn’t require the user to go back to the mother ship.

The proof of this possible change in strategy?  Steve Rubel points to three new sites launched by Yahoo:  Yahoo! Food, Yahoo! Advertising and Yahoo! TV.  All have fantastic use cases for RSS.  None of them have it.

So what does this mean for RSS?  I think it means that instead of companies jumping in with both feet, they will need to evaluate whether RSS makes sense for their model.  Companies that don’t rely on page views to track success will continue to use RSS.  Those that rely on advertising and other monetizing efforts will need to evaluate the pros and cons.

When I found this image, I had to order a poster size version for the office.  I love the way the diagram uses the full text sentences to illustrate the icons and drive the viewer’s eyes to the next step in the flow.  I’ve put together hundreds of Visio diagrams, but now I have a new bar to strive for.

Also, the actual concepts illustrated are as relevant to the work we produce at Twelve Horses as they would be to any other company.

tags: Diagram, User Experience, Flow Chart

Ford recently posted the worst quarterly loss in 14 years - $5.8 billion. Ouch! Much of this is attributed to the restructuring of its key North American business, but clearly it is because they are increasingly losing market share. Why?

Ford’s brand has always been aligned with America, history, and the ingenuity of man. Marketers for Ford often use words and images to convey toughness, strength and size. But what about quality?

In my opinion, the perception of quality is what has really hurt Ford. Starting in the 1950s, many people bought Chevrolet trucks because they truly believed they lasted longer than Ford. That perception still exists today, but with much more of the benefit going to Toyota.

Since its inception, Toyota has aligned itself with quality. Many people believe that Toyota invented “lean production,” know they employ Six Sigma in their manufacturing, and practice “kaizan,” which is a standards and efficiency practice that is applied to all aspects of the business.

Whether or not Toyota has just as many recalls as Ford, it doesn’t matter. Customer perception is that Toyota cares about quality. Know one wants a car that they believe is going to break down and cause them difficulties.

Today, the Chicago Tribune ran an article about a new ad that Ford is running featuring a perfectly happy couple on the beach - until the end twist reveals that Mom and Dad are divorced. “Thanks for inviting me this weekend,” he tell his ex-wife and, as the vehicle pulls away, a voice-over intones: “Bold moves: They happen every day.” The strategy of the ad is to generate buzz, which they hope will translate to new car purchases. Note the emphasis on “bold.” Is this what most car buyers want? Is this really what Ford needs to project?

In 2000, Ford implemented Six Sigma into all of their divisions. They have actively worked to improve the quality of their internal systems. But have they marketed this fact? Not that I have seen. Instead, it is always the same stuff - bold, tough, blah.

Why isn’t the marketing department grabbing the wheel and steering the company towards what is really hurting their bottom line?

tags: ford, six sigma, toyota, marketing, quality