The internet roadmap – IA Japan’s trends map for 2009 is coming soon

The internet may be amorphous machine , somewhat chaotic it breadth and depth but it also lends itself to very fast and quick generation of trends and directions in human communications and  where and what people do virtually is able to be mapped  as lines , hubs, converging rails and directional lines. 

Tokyo subway map

With 882 stations on 14 lines, Tokyo’s subway system is one of the largest — and busiest — in all the world. The system map is a twisted mass of lines and stations. Consider this : Shinjuku  one of the largest — and busiest stations  in the world  is the main hub for 12 different lines that link central Tokyo and its western suburbs. Approximately 3.6 million people pass through the station each day. It has four concourses, eight department stores, three dozen tracks and more than 200 exits.

The images I  hold in my mind have of the Tokyo subway system are nothing short of mass commuting on a grand scale with little or no respect personal space and that my idea of crowded pales as comfy . The western concept  of the having an invisible barrier that creates an magic space or outer boundary  around your body  goes out of the window when you hear of  whited gloved station attendants, called oshiya – literally, “pusher” politely but firmly shoving people into the cars or  with special human” herding sticks”  to  squeeze commuters onto already seemingly full trains. Its a remarkably efficient mass transit mover  of wave of a humanity , impersonal , raw and sprawling.

The  Tokyo Subway analogy  of where internet traffic and trends converge is  wonderful metaphor upon which to begin to put order to the sheer number of cyber commuters , the convergence points of traffic and communications , the conjecture , the posturing , the speculative and the inherent generational morphing that occurs in pockets on the net and then spreads. Information Architects Japan produced a 3rd version of the the map in 2008   ( see above ) presented as an isometric landscape with two layers: one showing the brand evaluation of the main sites, and other layer their interface or usability. The map has changed from the original two maps that looked graphically  like the current Tokyo subway map. 

 What is interesting to note is that map evolves each year and and sites can move from station to station  based  upon a subjective or even and analytical prediction of their importance, business play, style , audience  and get placed on the map  relative  to the actual physical station it surrounding real estate and it core commuter. 

The telling things in 2008 map as noted by IA Japan  were : 

Google - The Center of the Center: 

“In terms of traffic, Tokyo station is the center of Tokyo. That’s why Google (which is slowly becoming a metaphor of the Internet itself) has moved from Shinjuku to Tokyo Station. Google continues to push new modules into the main lines in an attempt to occupy the center circle.” 

Dataportability : Unknown, But… : Dataportability.org in Uguisudani

” If things turn out as they seem like they’re going to, the newcomer of the year is Dataportability.org. It has become the center of online identity practically overnight. OpenID, Google, Facebook, Flickr, and Plaxo all opened-up and joined this incredible project. Microsoft probably won’t be happy as Passport (or is it “Passport Live?”) now has no significance.” 

Facebook : Just a Hub: Facebook in Nippori

” Facebook has moved to Nippori because, from a broader perspective, Nippori is boring. But it’s still an important station (Nippori is a hub for Narita, Tokyo’s international airport).”  Just as Youtube is an important hub. 

Yahoo : Ya… who? Yahoo in Tabata

” Along with our speculation that the Yahoo brand will move increasingly into the background as an umbrella for more exciting products and brands like Flickr, we gave Yahoo an insignificant station. Flickr, in Nishi-Nippori, is closer to Facebook (also a strong picture-sharing portal) than Yahoo (Yahoo-owned Flickr is a part of Dataportability.org).” 

MSN : Moving Towards a Central Node: MSN in Shinjuku

” MSN has moved to Shinjuku. Lately it has increased its network (see: deal with Newsvine and The New York Times). MSN—unlike Microsoft Live—is doing things right.” 

I wonder where the map will shift for this coming year ? For more information on IA Japan’s forth coming trend map  for 2009 .

Tags: convergence, media, usability, user experience, user interface

SoundCloud – A new realm in music and social media

Music is at its very heart  a social media! 

Andy  Cato - “Sharing music has always gone on. It’s giving music away that’s the problem. We wanted to come up with a 21st century version of what we used to do with cassette tapes. When you give music away for free it’s disposable. When you share it, it’s done with love.” 

There is an inherent need for music publishers to create buzz around tracks and artists but also to work in their spheres of fellow producers, musicians and their fans or audience.  So in the artist self publishing  and artist self promotional days , that have the music labels traditional A&R business scrambling, what could be more relevant than a social network of music “taste makers” , musicians, labels and publishers? The emergent answer is ; SoundCloud !!  

In the burgeoning world of social media applications  there is a  launch  of new business concept  everyday, redefining the working practices of many social and professional scenes across all types of businesses.  Music, while being at the forefront of consumer media consumption changes, is no different.  While in its nascent days SoundCloud offers a full social network for the  thriving  music scene based on the simple sharing and following concept. SoundCloud makes it easy for people to send & receive music. Simple as that. What it isn’t is one of those illegal peer to peer file sharing platform that have  all but hijacked the music industry and elevated music piracy to the epidemic level. The promise of music uploading and sharing in this community is that you cannot share music without the consent of the proper right holders and any user sharing music illegally runs the risk of having their account deleted and being reported to the relevant authorities.  You can make your music private or public and shareable. What could be more easy than uploading your latest mixed  track, to your known group of promoters and tastemakers or giving it a limited  public preview or limited public download that could be shared across the social media websites across the world?

What I also find appealing is easy to use interface, a simple but effective and non nonsense way of getting at what you are there for , listening to music . This is not a Rhapsody or Pandora like website either , but a more socially driven sharing platform minus any overbearing commercialism . 

The Angel 60 Channels

But lets not kid ourselves , not every budding or aspirant  musician or DJ is bound to be a radio star or a pioneer in digital music business model such as The Angel , Radiohead, Prince or Groove Armada. What is clear in this application is that realm of music PR belongs in the hands of its fans and promoters.  ”Social Media”  places the audience at the forefront of PR or word of mouth promotion, playing into the hands of the real evangelists; the buzz creators.  SoundCloud will only grow and mature over time from its early underground days. What interesting to me is that the  age of mix tape or mix CD   is a fading long gone distant memory.

Music and its digital portability has placed it upon the crest  of  the wave of change in traditional medias,  creating an urgent need for the major Records Labels and Publishers to review there very model of business. The new wave of artists and their producers are clearly taking control of their own livelihoods and their media.  

http://soundcloud.comjohnhorniblow

Tags: buzz, Design, media, music, promotion, social media, social networks, user experience, word of mouth

Widgets and the future of CRM

Recently OgilvyOne  Paris released a widget for Croquons la Vie , Nestle France’s  revamped online Consumer Relationship Marketing Program . Aided by what appears to be a concerted digital PR campaign targeting blogs and digital influencers and using  its inherent  widget -portability or share-ability  , it appears to be making some traction. Readily downloadable from the  main site  Croquons la vie  its easily  transferable to Netvibes  or iGoogle where you can make a number of choices on where and how you want to display the widget.

When it comes to looking at CRM practices this widget doesn’t disappoint from the marketer’s,  and more importantly, the consumer’s standpoint. Loaded with a rich content offering of  monthly recipe videos, recipe links , and  coupons , this widget provides the “value add”  that consumers expect from relationship marketing programs.   As well, it also adds the  possible concept of social marketing and content distribution into the CRM mix  as it extends the digital marketing ecosystem beyond  websites into the desktop world and potentially into mobile phones overtime. 

What is clear about using widgets  is that  you can extend the CRM based  services and value added content , personalize it , and use them as your own private  brand driven media channel  , pushing content or marketing communications to the widgets, where ever they may be. By simply adding the widget the consumer has actively subscribed to the brand communications , placing  themselves very clearly in control of the content they will  view as it changes over time. The relationship is nurtured through a constant evolution of  digital content offerings and the promise of discounts via coupons that can be claimed directly through the site.  What  will become apparent over time   is that  as  the install base for the widget  expands dramatically,  so does its propensity to become a media conduit for other brand communications . Content could even extend to  retail partnerships  as a  way of  subtly  extending the shopper  communications that may link consumers back to instore promotions or e commerce applications.    

What is also clear  is that in the coming year through consumer uptake of  iPhone an or smartphones and the development of  Google’s Android ( Open Handset Alliance Project)  in 2009/2010, is that the mobile phones will become “widget compatible” . The consumers use of smartphone or  Androïd platform, will not be bound to simple static applications but open to a diverse range of content services  that can be streamed onto the phone , although for the time being the support of Adobe’s Flash file format  seems hard to accomplish on phones.  

As Bruno Walther  , CEO of OgilvyOne Paris  says “The more time passes, the more I am certain that the widget is the future of the client relationship (CRM). ” , and  on this note I can only agree  with him wholeheartedly. Pick the widget up from Netvibes 

Tags: CRM, digital ecosystem, digital marketing, Digital PR, e commerce, social media

Hi5- the other social network to watch

You may not know it but Hi5 is the third largest social network in the world  polling into position behind Facebook and MySpace.  What make its different from the other two is clearly its audience. It has around 60 million  unique visitors  per month , 40% of whom come from Spanish speaking countries. This makes it the largest Latin American or Hispanic social network . While virtually unheard of in the United States the UK or some of Europe  there are reasons to believe that this could change.  The key information to be aware of  is that more and more people in the U.S. are discovering the site, a trend line that will likely keep bending upward in the next 12 months. What would be interesting to track is whether this  new US  based  audience is  ethnically and demographically  the young Hispanic and creates a parallel spanish speaking social network the covers the Americas and Spain . As of mid-2007 the Hispanic community  in the US, the largest  minority group , accounted for 15.1% of the total U.S. population and also since 2000  have accounted for more than half (50.5%) of the overall population growth in the United States 

Hi5′ s music and video applications rival those of other, more popular social networks, and Hi5′s mobile app is first rate.

Hi5 won’t be bigger than Facebook  by the end of the year, but it will have grown significantly, and it will have given many people  an attractive alternative to try out

What will be interesting to observe in the near future is whether the identities of one social network can or will be able cross register with the other using the concept of Open ID.

Tags: consumer engagement, consumer trends, content, hispanic, latin america, mobile, Social Media Marketing, social networks, SSM

Email performance

 As a tactic inside  the digital marketing mix,  Email’s low cost and effective reach  still makes it core component in B2C communications. Given its low cost,  email service providers are expecting an increase reliance on this highly measurable and engaging method of consumer interaction. Today Email remains a staple of nearly every digital marketing campaign,   while its low cost puts it behind other tactics in terms of spending, its effectiveness should never be under estimated. 

Epsilon , a leader in enterprise email services,  has just released a study on E-mail marketing metrics that indicates  that deliverability rates were almost exactly the same in Q3 2008 as they were in Q3 2006. Open rates and click-through rates dipped during the same period, but only slightly. 

 This still indicates its viability as a dependable media channel. The optomisim surrounding the industry indicates projections that email , as a media channel continues to enjoy steady and unfaltering growth despite concerns about the declining effectiveness of advertising and the challenging economy  Online benchmark and research group eMarketer, estimates spending on e-mail will rise to $488 million in 2009, up from $472 million in 2008. While a small growth in overall terms , it is none the less a growth in a time  when other types of media spend are in decline.

 Email’s low cost and high ROI shouldn’t make a marketer lazy or complacent, consumer segmentation and personalization add  significantly higher increases to the effectiveness of this media and directly impact response rates.

Tags: consumer engagement, email marketing, media