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When Steve Jobs first proposed the idea of opening Apple Stores, many were unsure whether the idea would succeed or be a colossal failure. For years, Apple had relied on traditional big-box electronics retailers to be the primary distributors of its products. Fast forward almost eleven years and 360 stores later, and the Apple Store brings in excess of $10 billion per year. It goes without saying that the idea paid off.
The Apple store was successful for several reasons. For one there is the intangible... Continue Reading
Microsoft Integrates Kinect into Windows 8
If you have an Xbox 360 but don’t have a Kinect you might be scratching your head, or even a bit ticked off, asking why Microsoft changed a perfectly good and very functional GUI to a tile-based UI like that used in Windows Phone 7 and, coming soon, with Windows 8. However, if you have an Xbox 360 with Kinect, you probably think it’s pretty cool, and might even love it.
The new Xbox 360 UI integrates Kinect so that you can “grab” the screen edges... Continue Reading
Well it’s almost Thanksgiving and so we’re almost to the end of yet another year. Next year will be 2012. According to some, the Mayan calendar sets out that some sort of major event will happen. Depending on who you believe, that means the world will end (John Cusack starred in a movie about it) or that mankind will reach some sort of major milestone.
I prefer the second option to the Cusack approach. Actually, I don’t really much believe in any of that stuff. But, if you look at how... Continue Reading
When I was a kid, my parents bought me the World Book Encyclopedia Childcraft set. If you grew up anywhere in the 70s, 80s or early 90s you could probably find some of these in your pediatrician’s waiting room. Perhaps you remember how awesome they were. One book in particular, Mathemagic, offered a mathematical proof using multiplication to show why there is no such thing as vampires. Basically, the author postulated the theory that starting with one vampire biting one person per week,... Continue Reading
In my last post I discussed Mark Schaefer’s presentation at the 2011 Social Media Masters conference. The first part of his presentation dealt with ten reasons you should have a blog, even if no one reads it. This post I will delve into Mr. Schaefer’s ten ways to keep your blog from sucking.
1) Go in With a Gameplan. From a marketing standpoint, blogging is all about SEO. Try to think about your strategy for content, keywords and linking before going in with guns blazing.
2) Make it Entertaining.... Continue Reading
A couple of weeks ago a couple of us had the opportunity to spend the day at the Social Media Masters conference in Atlanta. Lots of good ideas and insights were to be had, and I walked away with some great new ideas on implementing social media marketing into a comprehensive marketing strategy.
All of the sessions were outstanding, and I will probably revisit each of them in some of my upcoming posts, but the one I wanted to talk about first, just because I think it is of particular relevance to... Continue Reading
Not too long ago I read an article featuring a recent survey which showed that the majority of small business owners don’t use social media marketing and don’t plan on implementing it in the near future. The article states that most business owners don’t see the benefit of taking the time to use social media when traditional marketing and word of mouth is much more effective. However, the fact is that not only is social media just as effective as traditional word of mouth marketing,... Continue Reading
