Apple iPhone 2.0 Download Problems? Cut Steve Jobs some slack!

I, just like 6 million others, tried to download the new 2.0 iPhone software on Friday. The result? I just about bricked my iPhone. Luckily I had Googled a bunch of articles as my download was churning away and I was able to stop it and roll everything back to my original state before things got ugly.

To quote my wife, "You know better than that! Always give it a couple of days when a new release comes out."

So, today (Sunday) I tried again. and voila! It worked seamlessly. Everything went just as Steve Jobs planned -- just 48 hours too late. But I'm happy.

Why should we assume everything will work out OK. Think about what Apple was trying to do. I commend them for doing things that are different than the rest of the digital world. I mean, how many of you tried recently to update new software on a 6 million revolutionary hardware devices? So there were a couple of bugs and you weren't able to call your office for a few hours. Big deal. Think about what Apple has done to improve your life up to this point. I think they deserve a big break on this one -- even though I'm sure we'll hear about it in the press for weeks and months to come (primarily from non-iPhone using luddites).

I find it interesting that on Friday there were about 3,000 hundreds of articles written about the disaster that Apple was having. But when I Google how great the new tool is I only get a couple hundred articles.

The moral of the story is this: if you want to have cutting edge technology that does cutting edge tasks, cut the inventors some slack. No one's ever done this before.

Pre-packaged or from scratch?

Lately we've been perplexed with something at the office. Is it better to find a vendor with a web-product that is close to what we need or develop the code from scratch and have it be exactly what we need.

There are strong opinions that could fight for either side of the argument. Here are a few:

PRO - USE A PRE-PACKAGED SOLUTION:
They already have some core competencies in the arena.
They probably have some sort of support structure.
You can leverage future dot-revisions.
They've already overcome a lot of the obstacles.

CON - USE A PRE-PACKAGED SOLUTION:
Sometimes you can't get exactly what you want.
If you want customization you'll pay handsomely for it.
Your competitors have access to it and you may lose your competitive advantage.

PRO - BUILD FROM SCRATCH:
You get what you design.
You can keep your competitive advantage.
You can own the code and make modifications whenever you want.
In the long run you'll probably save money.

CON - BUILD FROM SCRATCH:
You get what you design. (You sometimes don't have the wisdom of others who have crossed this bridge before you.)
You have to maintain it and support it.
You have to wait for it to be developed. If you need it fast, this isn't the best option.

I've had good experiences on both sides. It really depends on your personal willingness to design and manage the process of building something from scratch, plus the timeliness of your project needs.

I'm in the process right now of creating a webinar tool that is custom built for my needs. In the short term it's been a lot of work. But once it's done, it will be built precisely for the vision that requires it. (I'll blog about it another time.) Plus, over time as we make dot-revisions and add functionality, it should be an amazing tool.

Websites for Web Development

I just stumbled upon this great site on Digg: Websites for Web Development. It's a fantastic list of web resources that Jacob Grube follows. His goal is to read something new everyday to keep fresh on web development. Excellent idea!

Creative Juicer

At the office lately we've been debating the question of "what is creative?" We're in the midst of a major transformation of our organization and we have an opportunity to launch a refresh of our brand on our website. So, I've been researching a lot of creative sites and seeing who's really pushing the envelope.

I found this site quite appealing. I found it on Digg. It's a conglomeration of the simplest thing on your site: Web buttons. These designers have taken this often overlooked item on websites and and really done some amazing things with them. I especially like the illustrative look of the Asian-esque buttons. The time creating these must have been quite a commitment.



Another great site that I've been lost on lately is deviantart.com. Type "web designs" in the search bar and you'll get some impressive, cutting-edge design work. Some of the best I've seen. It will get your mind thinking differently about what your site should look like and how it should function. Here are some that I found appealing (click on them to enlarge):

My Mac

For years I did graphic design work. Every day I sat down at a Macintosh computer. Since then I found that my PC would run most of the same programs (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc.) and I was happy. At least I thought I was.

At work I recently purchased an iMac so I can do some high-end video and audio editing. I fell in love again. I retained my PC laptop to do everything else.

You've seen the commercials -- the ones where there are two guys standing there (one representing a PC and one representing a Mac):


You can view them here.
They are so right on the money!

I'm now on the verge of giving my PC laptop the boot! I can now get my e-mail on my Mac; I have all of my Microsoft Office programs on my Mac; I don't have any of the problems of virus' and malware like that on my Mac.

My only regret is not getting the 17" MacBook Pro so I can travel with it. I just didn't know how much I was going to enjoy it! So, if you're looking for a new computer, take it from me, go with a Mac. You will NOT regret it.

Technorati

So, I've heard a lot about Technorati. In my quest to deeply understand blogging and SEO, I've signed up with them (it's free) to see if my ranking jumps at all.

Here's a bit about Technorati:

"Currently tracking 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media.
Technorati is the recognized authority on what's happening on the World Live Web, right now. The Live Web is the dynamic and always-updating portion of the Web. We search, surface, and organize blogs and the other forms of independent, user-generated content (photos, videos, voting, etc.) increasingly referred to as citizen media."

Technorati Profile

SEO Resources

SEO is tinged with mystery, intrigue, and an air of impossibility. At least that's what every web marketing firm wants you to think.

I'm embarking on an SEO journey and recently found this blog listing a bunch of great resources.

I'll report frequently on my findings and if all of those web firms I've talked to are just a bunch of liers.

Podcasts 101 (part 1)

At my current job I have to be quite creative with my marketing budgets and resources. I don't have a broadcast or print budget. I mainly help drive leads to our sales force through webcasts and in-person events. Relatively low-cost or break-even activities.

Lately I've been thinking about getting into the podcast business. I figured they probably couldn't cost a lot to produce, as long as I did the production work. So I've jumped feet first into this fun medium hoping I can drive more leads to our sales force. At a minimum I'm having fun doing it.

Because I've had so many people ask me how to do I've decided to share a step-by-step guide to creating an audio podcast. I'll cover how to post them to iTunes and other engines in another post.

Basically all you need is 1) a computer and software, 2) a microphone, 3) a host, and 4) a topic.

1) The computer and software:
I use a Mac for this but you can do this on a PC just as easily. Don't get sucked into the argument that a Mac is better. Granted, there are some shortcuts by using a Mac. I also use Garage Band, which comes free with Macs. On PC you can use Audible which is a free download and a great piece of software.

When you start up Garage Band, just select the Podcast option and you'll be on your way.

2) The microphone:

For a microphone I purchased a Blue Snowball ($99). It's a fantastic USB mic that is essentially plug and play. It produced great sound quality, plus it looks cool sitting on it's neato stand.

After I purchased it I realized that I needed to be able to do telephone interviews for these podcasts. I purchased a little device from Radio Shack that plugs into the headset of your telephone and then into the microphone jack of your system. But, it wasn't until this time that I realized I had a problem. To get it to work you have to have a mixer where you can plug in the microphone and the telephone device. So I had to give the Snowball mic to a co-worker and run to the local guitar shop for some extra hardware. Remember, if you don't need to do any telephone interviews, you can just use the Snowball.

I walked out with an M-Audio Firewire 410 recording interface ($299). A Sterling Audio ST55 Condenser Microphone with shockmount ($130). A mini-boom stand ($59). And a pop-filter ($69). I also picked up a couple of 1/4" male adapters for the Radio Shack device to plug into the recording interface.

The plug-and-play of the Snowball mic was sorely missed.

NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER BEFORE YOU PLUG IN THE M-AUDIO DEVICE OR YOU MAY FRY YOUR SYSTEM!

If you're using a 6-pin firewire cable, you won't need to use the M-Audio power source. Your computer will power it. Once youit's plugged in, plug the mic into input 1 and plug the telephone device into input 2 on the back. You're set to go.

3) The host:

Here's what I know so far. The better the production of the podcast, the more people will listen. I realized early on that I needed to find the best host possible. I have a good friend at FranklinCovey (Jennifer Colosimo) who I've used in the past to interview some big name people, like Jack Welch, she's really intelligent, and very personable. I contacted her to see if she would be willing to do this. Luckily she agreed and she's been fantastic. So my advice is if you're not a natural in front of the mic, find someone who is, or learn to do it well.

I've heard some podcasts that are so tired and boring that I will never listen to another one. Make sure your podcast has some life!

4) The topic:

If you can find a narrow topic to address, that's best. My podcasts are called "Greatness on the Go" where we help people improve their personal and professional lives through short tips of effectiveness. I have my host interview other subject matter experts on a specific topic (i.e. leadership, time management, building trust, etc...). When you save your podcast, make sure the topic is represented clearly in the title. That way when people are subscribed to your podcasts and they are uploaded on their iPod, they can see which topics interest them quickly.

I've tried to keep my podcasts under 30 minutes. They average about 20 minutes each. I'm able to get a short message about FranklinCovey (2 minutes), cover the interview (15 minutes), and have the host provide her "tip of the day" (3 minutes). I figure most people can easily listen for 20 minutes during a commute.

In my next post I'll cover how I'm getting these posted to podcasting services such as iTunes.

Tons 'O Design Resources

I just found this great blog post at crestock.com. It's a jam-packed toolbox for all things design. I've been looking for a great aggregation site for this type of info. It covers everything from basic design, to color, to graphics, to photos, to CSS, to fonts, to layouts, to a ton of other great links. Enjoy.

Disruption

So, the word of the year was "w00t". Merriam-Webster has officially declared it. The company that owns woot.com has got to be loving the quick, unpaid for PR blitz around their name.



I was introduced to woot.com many months ago by my friend Brian Christensen, CEO of Simple Product Corp.. He's always on the lookout for cutting-edge concepts -- and woot.com fits that bill.

The concept behind woot.com is almost insane. They sell one product a day from their site. That's it. One product. When they sell out of the product, it's over. The lights are turned out and the door is locked. Well, sort of.

You see, they have created an amazing following of groupies. Woot is like e-commerce rock stars. They've harnessed several Web 2.0 components that are feeding their community with cleverly written morsels of edutainment. They have a robust community, podcasts about their products, a blog, Google Adsense (to bring in some extra cash), and they leverage RSS feeds to let users know about the next deals they're about to miss if they don't act now.

In an e-commerce world where everything is secretive, Woot actually tells you everything about their sales: How much they made on each product (the Woot Wage), the Order Pace, when they sold out, and the percentage of sales per hour. For instance, on December 23 their product was a Creative Zen Micro Photo 8GB Media Player for $49.99.
The "First sucker" (the first person to buy) was: kgutah.
The first unit was sold in 29.327 seconds after it was launched.
The "Wooter to blame for sellout" was: red300m.
The order pace was 37.271 seconds. (WOW!)
The "Woot Wage" was $4,829.48.
The total units sold, or "Total Woots" was: 900.

Talk about disruption of the old way of doing business. The typical retailer tries to stock as much product as possible and then hope like crazy they've got what you're looking for. Woot is the exact opposite. One product and they don't care if it's what you want. They know that if you're not going to buy what they have to offer someone else will.

Ingenious!

E-mail Marketing Trends

With e-mail marketing there is so much out there to explore and test... The problem is that there is so much out there to explore and test!

I recently read an article by Karen Bannan, "Looking Ahead: E-mail marketing in 2008" at www.btobonline.com (see full article here). To summarize, she spelled out four main points:

1. E-mail campaigns will have more CRM integration. I definately see this as a trend in my own work. However, integrating leads is just one part of the equation. I'm sure all marketers everywhere have been plagued with the fact that we can deliver premium leads to our sales force, but once they are sent, we have no control over whether or not the sales force actually calls on them. This can be exceptionally frustrating because so much work goes into generating the leads and then, more often than not, it seems sales people can't get around to them, or the are too busy doing something else. Granted, this is a blanket generalization, but throughout my 15 years in marketing, this is a typical scenario.

2. Automated e-mail tools are going to be used more. In my current organization, I have relied predominately on our tech team to ensure the messages look OK over various platforms. I've always known that I should never rely solely on the tech group to ensure this and I'm going to look for some tools to really help perform these operations.

3. Aligning e-mail closer with all marketing elements. It's true. It's time that we start looking at e-mail as a strategic marketing element rather than a purely tactical one. In my current ogranization I don't have a big marketing budget. But I do have access to a programmer and a massive database (although it needs quite a bit of segmentation work.) The article mentions the strategy of creating search-engine friendly landing pages that then direct people to opt in for more information. This could also be a great strategy to get people directed immediately to other areas of your site.

4. Using video with e-mails. Ahem. Read my post below. 'Nuff said.

One-to-One Marketing Microsites

Recently I was stumped by a one-to-one marketing problem. I'm leading the marketing and managment of a new product at FranklinCovey, and needed a way to cut through the clutter of traditional e-mail, and make my target markets WANT to learn about what I had to say.

My target market was clear: Learning and HR professionals in 63 major corporations in the US, Mexico and the UK.
My message had been established.
My media was the big question...

The Project:
Because my budgets were limited, I was forced to think very resourcefully on this project, and handle the bulk of the work myself.

To be able to hit my market with a high-impact marketing piece, I created custom microsites with the target client's logo and several video clips. The main clip, which auto-loads, was done with individual custom video clips of Dr. Stephen R. Covey saying, "Hello my friends at XYZ Corp. I'm Stephen Covey and I hope you are all doing well." He then tactfully pitched the product (The 7 Habits Interactive) and presented the value proposition.

Because I needed to have these sites truly educate and entertain the prospect, I also included seven additional clips of Dr. Covey talking about different aspects of the product. There was also a link to an upbeat, promotional Flash piece as well as a PDF brochure of the product. To top it off, each site is customized with the sales person's name, phone number and e-mail address.

Click here to see one of the final microsites.

The Results:

So far the microsites have been working exceptionally well. The salesforce has been sending out the links to their prospects and the clients have been responding to the message. In one instance I was at one of the target companies (a Global 50 Corporation) on a sales call and played one of these custom clips in the meeting. Everyone in the room did a double take and wanted to watch it again because they were so impressed that there was a custom video mentioning their organziation by name. In fact I keep getting requests from other sales people to create them for their clients.

How To Make Your Own Marketing Microsite:

Step 1> To create these sites I first hired a professional video company to shoot the clips with Dr. Covey. Note: I don't think you necessarily need to use a "celebrity" for these marketing campaigns. I think you'll get a good reaction regardless of the spokesperson. Of course it will probably have more meaning if it's someone of import from the client (President, VP, etc.) We shot the video on a green screen and then digitally created a nice white background. Even if you have the video gear, I recommend using a professional because the difference in video quality is just so much better. (I had a teleprompter worker, a cameraman, audio guy, makeup artist and production manager/lighting guy for these clips. I know it sounds like a lot, but you can find video companies that don't cost a lot.)

Step 2> I also used this video company to do the first round of edits and touchups to the clips. They delivered to me a final set of clips that I then could edit in Final Cut Pro. (Cost= about $8,000; well worth it!!!)

Step 3> I then took the clips and did the bulk of the work myself in Final Cut Pro. By so doing I saved tens-of-thousands of dollars. However, the trade off was big. I spent a couple hundred hours doing the editing to make sure the clips were in the right aspect ratio (16:9), and the compression was adequate. I then used Sorenson Squeeze to smash these clips into Flash files. (Cost=$0; I already had access to the computer and software.) Sorenson Squeeze is an amazing tool...but pricey!

Step 4> I hired another agency to create a 60 second promotional Flash piece to also go on the site (Cost=about $4,000 including voice-over talent and studio time).

Step 5> I then hired a web programmer to finish out the project by creating individual microsites for each of the clients. (Cost= about $8,000)

Because I knew my target corporations upfront, I was able to "mass-produce" these microsites saving buckets of money and getting the results I wanted.

So, for $20,000 (and a lot of late nights and early mornings) I created a campaign that would have otherwise cost well over six figures.

Good luck and I hope this helps you explore this great medium!

In the Beginning

I can't let my wife have all of the fun. She's been blogging for quite a while now and I really enjoy reading her blogs. This blog is going to be about insights, musings and just plain great marketing info that I come across. I hope you enjoy it! If you have any comments, please submit them!