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As you probably know, both Google and Microsoft have entered into a partnership with Twitter and is now incorporating social search into their regular search engines. This is a big deal because social is a very important element of the future of search... it's not the only part though.
When it comes to searching, a search engine is supposed to do one thing very well. Find stuff, from highly relevant and trustworthy sources, in relation to you as a person.
Let me give you an example: Let's pretend that you live in Australia, and that you are looking to buy a new car. You might not know this, but the entire country of Australia is pretty much divided into three types of car owners. People who drive a Holden, people who drives a Ford, and other people who drive something else (yes I'm making a blatant generalization).
But, here is the thing, the reason people drive a Ford over a Holden (or vise versa), isn't because the car is better. It is the result of the community that they are part of. Their friends drive a Ford, their Parents drive a Ford, and the annoying neighbor drives a Holden... so you also drive a Ford.
It is the same with other types of products. If most of your friends use a Dell, then you are also very likely use one yourself. If your friends use Heinz Ketchup, then you will probably use the same brand.
As human beings we are heavily influenced by what other people use, and depending on who those people are, the more likely we will be influenced by them.
So how does this relate to search? Well, so far, Google and Microsoft have based their searches on things, instead of people. If you searched for recipes for tomato soup, they would find the ones that were most popular by other sites, or their relation to the specific search query. And we get a pretty good result, but from generalized perspective.
Twitter on the other hand is really good at people, or to be more precise, it could be good at it (it isn't really yet). But, Twitter covers what people close to you, in terms of influence, are talking about, and if you can combine that with Google's general results then you have something really spectacular.
If you combine this targeted+personal+influenced+people+content+ranked search result (need a shorter word for that), then we would suddenly get some real answers.
If you search for tomato soup, it will not just find the biggest sites, it will look at your social stream to see whether there are anyone there who are really good, and who has an opinion that matters to you. If you are following a person who is into food, then her opinion is ranked higher than just any regular website.
But more important, it will not just look at the stream, but actually analyze it over time, It will extract what it is really about. It will compare that to many other algorithms, and finally match the content with you as a person.
If you search for Ikea, not only would pages more relevant to you be ranked higher, but also, you would be able to see what people feel about the brand, the specific product, all ranked on how close that source is to you as a person.
And, it is not just search that could use this. Google could create a people-rank API, so other sites like Tweetmeme could rank their content not only based how frequently it is retweeted, but also how it relates to you, and to other people.
So far Google has been really good at things, places, sites or pages, but it lacks relevance because it doesn't know people. Twitter have the people element (although Twitter search doesn't extract any meaning from it), same with Facebook, comments on blogs, reviews on product sites (from real people), rankings, and general activity.
Combine all that and you got the future of search. It is not social, not traditional - but both + it's targeted to you. And it can be used for more than simply searching.
As you might have heard, Barnes&Noble announced the Nook a few weeks ago. And this one stands out from the crowd.
The Amazon Kindle has, so far, been the only real ebook reader in the world. Sure you got the Sony, or the Netronix, or the Hanvon, but they all lacked the one really vital element. An ebook is not a piece of hardware. It's a complete reading experience, not technology, not screen specifications, nor how much memory that it holds or how many file formats it can read. All of that is completely irrelevant. Because the best ebook is one you simply "read", everything else is a distraction.
The Amazon Kindle was the only one who understood this princible, but now we have two "real" ebook readers. The Amazon Kindle, and the B&N Nook - and the nook is actually better, at least by the looks of it.
By comparison with the Kindle, it uses the same e-ink technology, so the screen is the same. It's the same size, same contrast etc.
But then instead of a big computerish keyboard on the Kindle (which I really do not like - read my article about it), it comes with a second iPhone like color touch screen, that you use for navigating your library, and all the fancy things that are not directly related to reading. That is actually pretty good.
It definitely makes it look less like a computer, and more like a book.
*** Video (not visble in RSS - See the full content) ***
Another cool feature is that you can lend your books to your friends.
Apart from that it also sports a number of additional features that really don't matter. It comes with wi-fi, probably because it is using AT&T's network to download books. You can expand it with a memory card, but the built-in can hold 1,500 books, so that is unlikely to be used.
And Barnes&Nobles proudly say that they sell over one million titles of which 500,000 are free! That sounds amazing, until you find out that all of them are really old "out of copyright" books, that you probably wouldn't read anyway.
One good thing is that it can load and read PDF's, which could prove to be most useful, but on the other hand it doesn't support reading blogs as the Kindle does (you can read baekdal.com on the Kindle).
From an international perspective, it is not available outside the US. I asked Laura Russo from B&N about it, and she told me:
"We haven't made any announcements as it relates to international plans. We service tens of millions of customers who come through our stores in 50 states today. That's a huge market, by any measure, so we're focused on the U.S. market first. That's not to say we won't look at international in the future."
That that sounds really nice to people in the US, but since I live in Europe it doesn't really change anything for me. I do understand why it wouldn't work via AT&T's network in Europe, but it has wi-fi, so the international version could simply work without it.
*** Video (not visble in RSS - See the full content) ***
Anyway, from a design and reading perspective, the Nook looks to be a better ebook reader then the Kindle, and it is thus also better than any other ebook ereaders on the market. But, I am currently waiting until February to see if Apple is coming out with a tablet, and if not then I will buy the Nook... except I can't, so I will get the Kindle instead.
But, I am definitely going to buy some tablet/ebook device in early 2010.
(via Barnes&Noble Nook)
There is a whole generation of people who need to change how they communicate with the world. Just this week, Michelin hired TBWA to create a Facebook campaign around their slogan "The right rite changes everything," in an attempt to rebrand the Michelin Man.
Companies like Michelin just don't get it. That kind of thinking will get you nowhere on the social web. The world doesn't work that way anymore. We don't want to connect with a slogan. We don't follow a logo. We don't care about your message.
Traditional marketing is not compatible with the social world. The social web is not just a different format; it is a completely different form of communication.
To illustrate just how drastically the world has changed; I created this short story (which you can also download as a PowerPoint or Keynote presentation below).
Traditional Marketing - 20 years ago
Twenty years ago, marketing was a one way street. A company created something that they thought they could sell, and then spent an enormous amount of money on ads in newspapers, magazine, billboards, and on TV.
Because this was the only way to get mass information, it kind of worked. We were impressed by fancy full page ads with cute images, or huge billboards.
But, the problem was that there was no communication. You could see the ads, but you could not respond to them. You couldn't provide feedback. It was like watching a (often) really boring art show.
Then came the internet. And it brought with it the ability to interact with people. You could create a campaign that people could respond to. Create surveys or interactive experiences.
It was every marketers dream. To be able to fully immerse people in your campaign were like having a virtual amusement park at your finger tips. Can we all say interactive bonanza? Weeeeeee!
Except, the advertising industry completely missed what the internet was really about. If people could interact with your ad, Then maybe they could also interact with other parts of the company? Maybe they could complain about a product? Maybe they could demand that you solved their problems? Maybe people could ask the bad questions?
Companies suddenly faced the power of the crowd. In the past, all the difficult questions could be handled without anyone knowing it. And the marketers could focus on what people should see and how they should see it.
Now they had to handle it in public, and that was incredibly scary. So they created moderated forums, where people could ask questions, and you could delete the bad press. They added comments to their website, but only showed the ones that they approved of.
The Start of the Revolution
Of course, this wasn't what the crowd was thinking, so they decided to take it to the next step. There was no point in interacting with a company, who made it hard to have a real conversation, when you could interact with other people instead.
Instead of asking a company what their products was like, they would ask their friends. They would read blogs made by other people, write comments on other blogs.
This was the first of two major turning points. In the past companies could decide what to tell, and when to tell it. And when people had a question, the marketers were the one who answered it.
Life was easy. Life was safe!
The internet changed that. Because when people realized that they could use it to connect with other people, then the companies suddenly had to be just as good as their ads. If your product weren't as fast, or as solid, or as impressive as you made it out to be, then everyone would know about it.
Mediocrity wrapped in a shiny package, was no longer an impressive product. It was simply a boring thing, that you tried to look better than it really was.
On the internet, your biggest competitor is not other companies. But, the quality of your own products, and the authenticity of your message. Ads are no longer the way to sell more products. Making better products, and changing who you are as a person, is!
It's not about how you market your products; it's about why you created it.
Stage 2 of the revolution - The Social Web
The shift in marketing, caused by the internet, is only the very first step of the social revolution. The second step is happening right now all around us.
Shortly after people realized that they could use the internet to discuss topics with other people, they also realize that they didn't really need the companies at all.
Here, we have the most impressive communication tool of all time, the internet. So why not use it to do things that really matters to us? Like being with friends, connecting with people that we admire, sharing what we like, being part of something, use it to tell the world who I am, what I can do, what I think, and get instant feedback.
Maybe even do something together, no matter where or when.
The internet changed how people experienced communication. In the past it was one way, or controlled via external points (like a company websites). The social web is about multi-faceted communication. Where you follow people, and people follow you. And you sit in the middle of this incredible network of people and ideas that matters to you.
The reason people went online in the past was so that they could see things, experience things, and search for things. The reason people go online today is to be a part of other people's communication. To be connected, to be there, to be available, and to be in it.
This is an incredibly shift in mass communication. In the past it was about the message, the format, and the product. Now it's not about that at all. Who cares?
Marketing is no longer about things. It's about people, and how it brings people together. People have taken over completely. Companies, and their products, don't have a place in it. We went from companies being in control of the message, to not even be a part of the message itself.
It gets worse!
This second shift, is so disruptive to traditional marketing that the entire industry is in a panic. Every marketing departments and advertising agencies in a wild frenzy to come up with ideas of how to get the regain the power to impress people.
And almost all of them don't get it. It's not coming back. Going on Facebook isn't solving the problem. Creating a Twitter account isn't the way to make your products look prettier. Putting your ads on YouTube won't change things.
Just look at Michelin. They hired an exceptionally expensive advertising bureau, and uploaded this ad to YouTube. After 10 days it has an insignificant 6,780 views, which for a company this size is pathetic (they have 177,500 employees).
*** Video (not visble in RSS - See the full content) ***
That is not all, because there is no way that people will go back to not being in control.
People will fight you if you interrupt them. People will fight you when you force them to see your product, try to control what they can do with it, try to tell them what to think, or try to hide those who dislike you.
...and that's not a good thing. Definitely not a good marketing strategy.
How to become a part of the social world?
While traditional marketing is a disaster in the social world, the social web itself is actually the best thing that has ever happened. If you forget about traditional and do it right, then it becomes the most powerful and influential tool you ever had.
The social web is cheaper, faster, much bigger, more powerful, direct, up-close, and far quicker than anything in the past. The social web is filled with people talking about companies and products. 20% of all discussions are brand related.
The big question is then, how do you do it right? How do you become a part of people stream. How do you connect?
And the answer is very simple... You get invited!
That means...
You are not a company that sells a product, but a group of talented individuals. Who are creating something remarkable! Because the world need something better, more stylish, and more affordable.
Something that makes you happy, and gives you that really good feeling inside your stomach.
You do not market your products... You share them!
And you share what people are doing with them. You make your fans remarkable!
You help them do things better, provide tips and ideas. You tell them about what inspired you, and continues to inspire you!
You ask your fans what they need. So that you, with their help, can continue to be remarkable.
This way, people want to follow you, because you are worth following.
You get invited into people's life, because you give them something they need. You give them something to talk about, you make them feel better, make the quality of their connections more valuable.
If you do it really well, then people will return the favor and turn into fans. And instead of a guest, you become a friend. Someone that they will tell their other friends about.
Download this article as a ready to go presentation:
- Keynote (original)
- PowerPoint (exported)
- via Slideshare
- High-res slides
Copyright: Share it, use it, copy it, shred it, jump on it, tweet it, print it, remake it, translate it, republish it - but don't sell it!
Wouldn't you like to mix wild hand gestures, cute birds flying around your screen, Twitter, tweeting bird sounds, and your web camera? Well, now you can with Flyar.
It's an augmented reality app (for Windows) that lets you read tweets by moving little tweety birds by using nothing but hand gestures.
It is a fun little app, but I wouldn't want to read the 1,500 tweets the gets my way everyday this way. On the other hand, if I did, I would probably never need to exercise again.
Watch the video to see how
(via Flyar)
Remember the stunningly designed yachts by Schöpfer? Today I came across another pretty amazing one. It's called the Why. It has a more conventional shape, but the shear size of this thing is unbelievable. It would be better defined as a house that just happens to float on water.
It has a whooping 3,400 square meters of living space (36,000 square feet), can accommodate 12 guests (I guess each guest needs a lot of room), got a promenade deck that is 130 meters long (425 feet), and a 25 meter long swimming pool (and an even larger one outside... called the entire Atlantic Ocean').
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It is supposedly green' and very energy efficient due to its 900 square meter solar panels (9,700 square feet).
It does seem to be missing the all important helicopter deck. But hey, anyone buying this, is probably towing their very own floating airport.
At any account I want one, or possibly two.
(via Why Yachts)
