Archive for February, 2010

Can social media save BBC 6 Music?

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Today Twitter and Facebook are buzzing with responses to the news that the BBC is rumoured to be closing down its 6 Music station. Although the corporation has said nothing to confirm the move, it was lead story in The Times this morning and apparently has already sparked a bidding war with Absolute Radio the frontrunner to buy the station.

The move to close 6 Music is part of a plan that has allegedly been proposed by the BBC hierarchy to rein in some of the corporation’s activities. Other potential changes include halving the size of the BBC website and introducing a cap on the amount of money the BBC can spend on sport. As The Times suggested this morning the BBC’s management is clearly hoping that buy making cuts now it can avoid what many media watchers are predicting will be much deeper cuts after the next general election.

It is however the possible mothballing of 6 Music that has sparked the greatest amount of online activity. Jon Morter, the man who masterminded the Rage Against the Machine Christmas #1 campaign, has now established a new Facebook campaign called “Save BBC 6 Music”. Inspired by recent pronouncements about the possible demise of the station it has already picked up over 56,000 vocal members. By mid afternoon another 7000 people had joined the group.

Meanwhile on Twitter #BBC6music has been trending all day with comments like these

#BBC6music threatens commercial radio?? It can only be a good thing! When has there ever been a decent commercial radio station? #save6music

BBC continue to pay Wogan, fund garbage like ‘Total Wipeout’, ‘Strictly’ & Webers free publicity shows, yet threaten to cut #bbc6music. Huh?

Some tweeters are already sporting save 6 Music badges on their profile pics

So will this new campaign have the same impact and be able to help save BBC 6 Music?

From this juncture it is very hard to tell, but with this amount of activity inspired by what really is little more than a rumour at the moment, it is clear that BBC 6 Music fans are going to fight very hard using social media tools to save their station.

From using Twitter to source opinions for Radio Five Live phone ins through to its Facebook pages and blogs the BBC has worked hard to incorporate social media into online output. It’ll be interesting to see how responsive it is to a very vocal campaign that uses the same tools it already harnesses so effectively.

Tags: bbc 6 music, facebook campaign, Jon Morter, radio, social media
Posted in Broadcast, Facebook, Social Networking | 2 Comments »

The buzz about Google Buzz and how it might impact on brands

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Google today unveiled what may become its most significant launch in several years in the shape of Google Buzz. But what is it and how might it shape the the next few years of online media?

What is it? - It is essentially the company’s attempt to build a social network. It has worked in this space before and even bought start ups that use social networking technology, but Buzz is its most realised attempt to deliver a rival to Facebook, Twitter et al

So what does it do? - At its heart Buzz is a stream of status updates, pictures, links, and videos from your friends. Imagine a rich media version of Twitter or Facebook and you are not far off. In many respects it isn’t unlike FriendFeed the social networking aggregator (which pulled together people’s online activity into one feed) which was bought by Facebook last year. If you use Flickr, Picasa, Google Reader, or Twitter you can incorporate that content into your Buzz. Interestingly, however, you can’t post an update to Twitter via Buzz, though Google says that feature is coming soon. To set Buzz up you chose who you want to follow from your Gmail contacts – it will suggest people to follow from who you email the most. The tricky party you’ll have will be weeding out your work colleagues from your friends. You can also have private or public buzzes. The plan is to also have buzzes for enterprise and educational users. In those cases, public buzzes may only be available within your company, while private would be private to other individuals in your network. Compare this with the much simpler Twitter which gives you a public account and lets anyone read your tweets.

But do we really need another social network? - In some respects no. Facebook and Twitter are hugely successful and both are still growing. Google is obviously very concerned that is missing out user’s content creation, both from a monetary point of view – the more pages it generates the more places it has for its very successful advertising – and also from as search point of view. It is hard for Google to track live updates from Twitter and impossible to search Facebook status updates. If Google Buzz is successful it will mean it has control over a huge new wave of content which will be easy to search.

Why would anyone use it though? - The genius part is that Buzz is being built into Gmail. Gmail users will in the next few days find a buzz tab underneath their inbox tab for them to explore. This means Buzz starts with a potentially huge installed base of over 176 million users. To put that in context Twitter has around 80 million users, so if over half of Gmail’s users try Buzz it will instantly have a larger base than Twitter.

Does it work on mobiles? – In some respects Buzz is as much about the mobile space as it is about the web. It works seamlessly with Google’s Android phone system, but is also compatible with the iPhone and other phone platforms. The idea is that you tag your posts to certain real life places, a little like the hot new start up Foursquare. So for example you’ll be able to see all the buzzes about a certain place like a restaurant and find out whether others think the food they sell is any good.

How will it work for publishers? - This is an interesting question. Twitter works well for publishers as it enables them to create an account for a website and then post updates about the content it has placed on the site. It works like a RSS reader. Google Buzz is more difficult for publishers in that it focuses on an individual through their Gmail account rather than a new account linked to a website. If anything it could be very democratic in that if content is good it will be shared by individuals which will of course drive traffic to the website.

Does it have any weaknesses? - Firstly while it will work well for existing Gmail customers it probably won’t attract many new customer to Gmail so its growth may be slow. Still with that huge installed base it will have access to a lot of content already. Secondly Buzz sends comments on your status update straight to your email which won’t please people who are already managing huge amounts of mail.

Any pluses or minuses for brands? - Well Buzz could definitely be a rival for Yammer and enable companies to create company-wide micro blogging systems. Most importantly though it will enable brands to track their reputation in the same way they do with Twitter. If people use Buzz to deliver Facebook style updates, if these are set to public they will be searchable (unlike Facebook) and brands may get more personal, more spontaneous views of their output than they do with Twitter.

In the long run Google Buzz could prove to be the Twitter killer. If Gmail’s many users adopt Buzz and get out of the habit of using Twitter then Twitter’s influence could seriously decline. There are already hardcore Twitter users who are becoming disenfranchised by the service as they see it increasingly becoming the preserve of brands, influentials, celebrities and spammers rather than a useful way of communicating with their friends. Buzz could work well for them. This would be bad for brands as because of the personal nature of Buzz it will be more difficult for them to get their messages out than it is via Twitter. Unoless of course Google has some interesting enterprise solutions up its sleeve.

Tags: Facebook, Google Buzz, twitter
Posted in Microblogging | No Comments »

Is Foursquare now the hottest thing in social media?

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Interesting news from online traffic researchers Hitwise about the location based games social network Foursquare. Apparently the game, which is available on the iPhone, Google Android, Blackberry and other platforms, saw a 50% growth spurt in the US in January. There is also evidence that Foursquare is attracting users in the UK – it only launched here in October.

In case you missed the hype Foursquare is a location-based social network based around going out: users upload venues and places they like and can see what their friends have uploaded. The gaming aspect comes from making you the mayor of the places you upload or visit the most, and it gives you points and badges according to how often you go out.

If you’ve never played it then check it out. It really is quite addictive. Foursquare has made some really interesting moves recently too. Firstly it has partnered with augmented reality specialists Layar and developed a version of the gamer that adds Foursquare data into images of real world buildings. Sadly Layar isn’t working on the iPhone at the moment, but there should be a relaunch of the browser in a month or so.

Foursquare has also begun to do deals with brands. At the moment this is on small scale and the most high profile has been a deal with TV station Bravo which enables Foursquare players to compete for and win special badges. However with an API out for developers to work on their own uses for the game it can only be a matter of time before someone comes up with something special.

In some respects where Foursquare is now reminds me of the early days of Twitter. There’s a real buzz about the game and there is a group of very evangelical users who are utterly addicted (just like Twitter). Whether this is enough to drive the same kind of numbers as Twitter remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Foursquare became one of the buzz words of 2010.

Tags: Foursquare, Foursquare in the UK, Hitwise, iPhone apps, location based games, traffic growth
Posted in Mobile, social media | No Comments »

How to make your iPhone app stand out

Monday, February 8th, 2010

It was perhaps inevitable that Apple App store would hit 3 billion downloads in January, as the app rollercoaster goes on with no sign of stopping. With Gartner recently predicting that the app market will be worth $29.5 billion by 2013 with an estimated 21.6 billion consumer downloads, there are obvious benefits for brands for brands to reap.

However, there are over 20 different categories of apps available on the App Store (everything from games to travel, to weather) and it’s a space in which Google Android, Samsung and Nokia will gain a bigger piece of the pie in the next few years. With over 100,000 different apps available, it’s becoming an increasingly crowded platform where there is more of a challenge for brands to make their voices heard.

So what works when developing mobile applictions? For repeat use, we’d suggest developing apps which are fun or functional, designed to solve a particular problems for a particular audience, or involve a useful application of innovative technology.

It’s also important to invest time and money to promote the app and make some noise around it. It’s no longer a case of just building it and having in on a platform being enough

What is also key is that brands think long term about apps if they want it to be used after the initial download – more gimmicky apps with limited functionality have a short shelf-life after downloading. Brands need to create apps with a long lifespan, and promote them wisely.

Here’s a selection of iPhone apps which have really stood out for the team recently:

Acrossair – a browser for genuinely useful augmented reality applications : from the Stella bar finder, to the Becks gig finger, and Google, Qype and Yelp listings for everything you’re likely to need when out and about – from restaurants to supermarkets to petrol stations

Guardian Mobile – the option to personalise content, create your own personal news stream and download to read offline are likely to change the way we consume media – with over 70,000 downloads it’s also shown people are willing to pay for the pleasure of reading

Tesco Wine Finder – out in a restaurant, love the wine you’re drinking not sure you’ll remember it the next morning? Take a photo, upalod it to the app and the handy use of recognition technology will match the label against Tesco’s wine database, tell you where it’s stocked and even allow you to order some to be delivered to your door.

Foursquare – it’s not the first location-based app, but it’s having a moment in the spotlight at the moment. As well as consumer applications, the real strengths lie in benefits for brands, which we’ll be talking about later…

Tags: Apple, augmented reality, Foursquare, Google android, mobile apps, Tesco, The Guardian
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Why old media will ensure the iPad is a hit

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Last week wasn’t an especially good one for Apple. The iPad launch never really matched its billing – it never really could – and negative press articles translated into a wobble on the NASDAQ. The week ended with CEO Steve Jobs allegedly telling a meeting of Apple employees that Adobe was “lazy” and that Google’s ‘Don’t be evil’ motto was “a load of crap”.

Yet while it is clear that Jobs and the Apple board have a few issues to deal with the company has still announced what could prove to be the most significant computing device of the decade.

So in spite of all the negative press why do I feel this way? Well firstly the iPad was never going to match its pre-launch hype. If the company had added an OLED screen, enabled multi tasking (at the moment the device can only run on application at a time which is probably unique among PCs) and added cameras and video calling, it would have delivered a device what would have excited the blogosphere. However it might have seen its shares tumble as the iPad would have retailed for twice the price it currently is.

So Apple chose to build a lower-end device with a competitive price to match and instead delivered a product that was felt by many bloggers to be a disappointment. However the iPad is just a start of a journey for Apple and its consumers. And the irony is that if previous debut product launches from Apple are anything to go by we really shouldn’t have been too surprised that the product was underwhelming.

When Apple launched the iPod back in 2001, it was hammered for producing a device that only worked with Macs, had limited storage and was cursed with terrible battery life. By the time the third generation iPod came along, to say nothing of the iPod mini, the device had got so sexy that everyone had bought one.

Even the now ubiquitous iPhone was given mixed reviews when it launched in January 2007. Sure the critics liked its touch screen interface but the phone itself was a shadow of the type of mobile being produced in Europe and the Far East. It wasn’t even 3G, but ran using an unfashionable and slow data technology called EDGE. Of course then came the 3G phone and the app store and now the iPhone is the best selling smartphone on the planet.

So maybe Apple has a habit of getting it right third time. If that’s the case we shouldn’t be writing off then iPad until we have seen Mk 3 in two years time (or indeed the iPad mini) which by then will almost certainly multitask, sport cameras etc. It will also be very wedded to the whole iTunes/app ecosphere and will surely boast a multitude of innovative and exciting iPad apps.

Finally, content companies believe strongly in Apple. In a world of indie media, blogging, and start ups Apple clearly has very strong relationships with heritage media and has a proven track record of finding new business models for those companies.

How about this idea? Big publishing houses aren’t making enough ad money from the web, while at the same time sales of periodicals, which do attract big ad spends, are declining. If those publishers can get their periodical content to look and feel like their paper versions on electronics devices they might be able to continue to attract the big ad spend of the paper editions rather than the limited ad revenue of the web versions. To do this they need to get the best device for reading their content to as many people as quickly as possible. Hearst Publishing is already thinking along these lines with its Skiff ereader. However ultimately it might make sense for all publishers to back one platform – i.e. the iPad.

It might even enough sense for the publishing companies to subsidise the price of the iPad or even give them away for free with subscriptions to their magazines both paper and digital versions. It might not happen now, but by the time we get to version three…

Posted in General, Web 2.0 | No Comments »