Some Impressive Apple Stats

"...According to Apple, more than 315 million iOS devices have sold as of Jan. 24. Apple's cloud-based music service iCloud with iTunes Match launched in November, and has garnered 85 million users. There are now 225 million active iTunes users and 20 million songs on iTunes. Users have downloaded 16 billion songs from iTunes, and Christmas Day 2011 alone saw more than 140 million downloads from iTunes. (Source: Billboard)..."

I wonder if these numbers are US only though....?

Do We Really Need a Next-Gen Audio Standard...?

Apparently, Neil Young is looking for a wealthy sponsor to help invent/promote a new hi-fi digital format that lets listeners experience more of a studio playback experience

So....while I'm waiting to win the lottery to help him with this commendable quest...are there any takers out there?

Seriously though , while vinyl is still very cool, and I agree mp3 is outdated, how many average people complain about the fidelity of CD/DVD's or quality rips made from them?

While philosophically I agree with the concept of pursuing the most realistic preservation and dissemination of the "realness" and magic in the bits,  the sad truth (and reality that we live in) is that today/tomorrow's generations consider the fidelity of download stores and streaming options "good enough."

What say you....?

CES 2012 Musings

I recently attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), held January 10-12th in Las Vegas. Although attendance has waned in the last few years, this year was a strong showing with over 150,000 attendees and ~20,000 new products that were introduced.

On Day 1, against my better judgement, I took a meeting away from the Convention Center, and even though I left the show floor reasonably early at 3pm (show closes at 6pm), taking the monorail was probably not the best idea, although the cab line was even longer.  Lesson learned for next year - either stay on the show floor OR stay on the strip.  Otherwise, there's too much wasted time going back & forth.

This year I didn't walk the floor very much, as I had back to back meetings every day, but I did get a sense of what was buzzing from my social media feeds and the blogs, etc. (My iPhone was the most important item besides my wallet).  Besides this being the last year for Microsoft to Keynote, one couldn't help to notice how touch is out now and gestures are in (i.e., wave & voice). Two other predominant trends this year we're the proliferation of wireless automotive infotainment and connected healthcare & wellness products.  The low cost sensors that are now available make the collecting and monitoring of bio-metric data - not only affordable - but seamless with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC and 3G/4G.

The last meeting of the last day of the show, was actually my favorite.  We met with an innovative software company who hired legendary, world-renowned music producer/mixer/engineer Jack Joseph Puig to be their Director of Creative Innovation, which sounds like a really cool gig.  Anyway, when we walked into the suite, I immediately recognized him and was stoked to not only have the opportunity to meet with him and his colleagues to discuss business, but posing with him was the cherry on top!  That memorable highlight will be hard to beat next year...but I'm already looking forward to the next one!

Todd Beals and Jack Joseph Puig

What Are The Next Form Factors in CE Products?

According to Sarah Rotman Epps, Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, there are some cool new form factors we should be watching for to get commercialized/productized in the next couple years.

1. Wearables
2. Embedded Devices
3. Surfaces
4. Flexible Display
5. Miniprojectors

Personally, I think Health & Fitness products are beginning to drive real demand for "wearables".  What do you think?   Do people really want to track their bio-metric data and monitor lifestyle behavior?  And based on what's hitting the market now, are the manufacturing suppliers and R&D labs in tune with what consumers really want out of their wireless gadgets?

The Social Media Probook

Looking for some cool new social media resources? Then look no further than The Social Media Probook (#Probook), launched a few months ago from Eloqua and JESS3. It’s a 42-page free eBook collaboratively written by a cross-section of social marketers from brands and agencies, analysts, and social support professionals across both business-to-business and business-to-consumer industries.  (Thanks to Sarah Evans for the tip!)

The #Probook was developed to respond to issues organizations are dealing with right now. A few of the topics covered include:

·         Social operational models for businesses

·         Critical elements for scaling social globally

·         Practical uses for geo (location-based apps)

·         10 “rules” for social advertising

Web version: http://media.eloqua.com/documents/ProBook.pdf

Print version: http://media.eloqua.com/documents/ProBook-Print.pdf

The Grass Is Always Greener...

I know that a lot of my Hoosier friends & colleagues often wonder why I moved from sunny Florida to Indianapolis 5 years ago, especially since I’m such a water person, but after 30 years in the Sunshine state, it seemed like the time was right for ‘change.’  And as much as I like the seasons here, the reduced traffic and the slower, simpler life, I’ve often found myself daydreaming about moving again…to get near the ocean again…to be near more culture.  So you can imagine my surprise when I recently read that CNN Money Magazine just named the City of Westfield one of the best places to live in America.  In fact, Westfield was ranked #48 out of 100 – and #1 among all other Indiana cities!

 

I’ve always said that, “It’s a great place to raise a family and enjoy a bigger house for less money”, but I had no idea that all the other variables in the equation caused it to rank so high.  So, the next time you hear me complain about being landlocked or “stuck” in Indiana, please remind me about the Blessings of making so many wonderful new friends, being able to afford a finished basement to entertain guests & family, the great schools, the upcoming Grand Park Sports Complex, the World-class jazz clubs and all the friendly neighbors/residents in our awesome neighborhood at Maple Knoll…

 

Just sayin’……

A Principal of Good Design

Here’s a great quote I saw recently  in the NY Times w/r/t Apple’s chief designer Jonathan Ive’s successful approach…."Good design is as little design as possible - less but better - because it concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity." -Dieter Rams, 10 Principles of Good Design

Habla Espanol?

Apparently, "new 2010 census data shows that Hispanics are the second largest group in the US, at more than 50 million and 16.3% of the population.  It's grown 43% since the 2000 survey and is the fastest growing sector of the population."  (thanks Audio4cast!)

I Lost 50 lbs in 6 months !!

OK, today is pretty exciting for me as I hit my goal weight of "175" after losing 50 pounds in 6 months and I feel great!! Many of you are asking how I did it and the answer is simple. Go to: MySecretToWellness.com and opt-in to find out how easy it is to control your weight and improve your health. (Praises to God for giving me the willpower, thanks to Stefany for being such a great coach - and a special Shout Out to Dr. Wayne Scott Andersen!!)

TechCrunch Disrupt: Interactive Sheet Music for iPads

San Francisco’s annual technology conference TechCrunch Disrupt recently ended and one of the coolest companies I read about in attendance was Tonara, who makes  sheet music available for iPads.  As musicians played on stage, an interactive bar moved along to show their exact place in the sheet music – AND - the pages turned automatically.  Very cool!  According to the NY Times Blog, “Musicians brought on stage showed how the technology coped with multiple people playing different instruments simultaneously. Banging in the background did not seem to confuse the software.  The judges, however, dismissed sheet music as a small market and questioned whether the company could get rights to contemporary music. A show of hands by the musically inclined in the audience, however, showed that there was at least some potential market.”

 

My Notes from Today's AMA Webcast on Mobile Marketing

(First off, thanks to American Marketing Association (www.ama.org), HubSpot and Readytalk Web Conferencing Platform for sponsoring the webinar - #GoMobile)

• iPhone growth is 10x faster than the original growth rate of AOL
• Mobile coupons generate 10x the redemption rate of traditional coupons
• Search is twice as prevalent on mobile web than on a PC (and focus is on "local")
• Not just for teens: The average age of a person who is sending text messages is 35
• Top 3 uses of smartphones are: email (82%), directions(63%) and Social Media (62%)
• It only takes 1 line of code to determine the type of devices visiting your site (helps render the right version of your site)
• Popular banner ad platforms are iAd (Apple), Millennial Media (independent), and AdMob (Google)
• Potential banner uses: GPS determines the user's location, share coupon codes & promotions, share contact info
• Sendza is a good solution for SMS: www.sendza.net
• Mobile paid search has less competition that regular search
• Games and weather are the top 2 apps used on smartphones
• www.MobileCommerceDaily.com is a good resource to learn more about mobile media
• Claim your business on top Location Based Services (LBS)
• What your website looks like on mobile devices: www.mobilemoxie.com
• Free mobile tool from HubSpot: www.websitegrader.com

Does Social Media Ruin Your Current SEO Strategies?

Here's a great primer on SEO and how it's being affected by Social Media written by Neil Patel.  The truth is, the primary Search Engine algorithms are constantly being tweaked, so what worked last year (or last quarter) may no longer be relevant.

"In SEOMoz's 2011 Search Engine Factors Ranking report, almost 132 SEO and social media experts predicted that social signals at the page level and domain level would have a greater impact on search engine rankings than traditional SEO factors."

The bottom line is that marketers now more than ever need to understand how search engines are ingesting and using this plethora of behavioral data so they can quickly react and adapt their marketing plans to achieve a competitive advantage in this (as Neil put it) socially-optimized  world that we live in.

Also, according to the post, "Social media is impacting search engine results and if you want to get more traffic from search engines, you need to do 3 things:

• Build an active, engaged presence on social networking sites
• Optimize your sites for social media sharing
• Encourage your readers to share your content

However, to maximize your coverage, it's still highly recommended to maintain your traditional SEO strategies while the market quickly shifts....

Quickening Trojan & Malware Growth On Smartphones

I don't know about you, but I've always thought that MACS were generally safer than Windows machines, based on personal experience with the blue screen of death.  That is not so true anymore, as Apple machines gain market share in the home and corporate environment.  Fast forward a few years and I feel pretty safe on my iPhone too...but the truth is that mobile users have a 30 percent likelihood of clicking on a malicious link too.  The explosive growth of smart phones (especially Android) has apparently inspired bored hackers to invent new forms of entertainment for themselves.

"Web-based threats such as phishing attacks do not discriminate based on platform, while others, such as Websites containing browser exploits, are targeted at a specific operating system."  In other words, when you click on on a dangerous link in an email or a Social Network post, you can land on web pages that can be harmful to your phone's OS and your personal information !!

According to this CNET article, there are new techniques to distribute the malware, including "malvertising" in which mobile ads direct users to a malicious site that automatically downloads malware when visited.

Even worse, there are approved Apps out there that seem safe upon initial installation, but then when upgrading later, you are then infected.

BE WARNED: To stay safe, mobile users should only download apps from trusted sources, pay attention to the address of URLs they click on, and be on alert for unusual phone behavior that could signal an infection.

Cool Infographic Creation Tool = WORDLE

I discovered a cool site today called www.Wordle.net

You can quickly and easily create a creative keyword infographic to embed or link to - for free!

Enjoy :-)

STAT-Of-The-Day:

"A new report from Informa Telecoms & Media predicted that the worldwide sales of Internet-connected TVs this year would outstrip game consoles for the first time.  Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are slated to sell 37 million game consoles this year, but consumers will buy 52 million connected TVs from companies such as Samsung, Sony and LG ." Folks, this is a major shift in consumer behavior and will require lots of useful apps - free and paid!  Smart TV's are a new touchpoint to bring content, services and messaging to consumers with minimal development and no investment in hardware...