Twitter is slowly connecting the dots and proving its ability to monteise its platform.
But those businesses that have built their future on the social blue bird, and its API, better stay on the lookout, as the changes Twitter makes to its strategy don’t always represent an opportunity.
This week all you need to know is Twitter analytics’s impact on social media intelligence suppliers, Vodafone’s pocket that charges your phone, do’s and don’ts to achieve social media ROI and more.
Facebook Insights have been available for years and Pinterest introduced its own analytics tool early this year. Twitter, though, has been under increasing pressure to provide free analytics to its users and the day has finally arrived.
By clicking on the analytics tab in the Twitter Ads dashboard, users will now have access to in-depth data about the people and brands who follow them, the performance of their most recent tweets, as well as the number of times that someone has clicked on the link contained in a tweet.
So what does this mean for Twitter and its users?
First of all, it’s a lucrative way for Twitter to monetise its service, as analytics encourage the use of promoted tweets by allowing brands to measure the success of their advertising on the platform.
Secondly, users can now leverage the platform to track the popularity and performance of their tweets for free and without having to leave Twitter.
Users are not the only party affected. In fact, social media analytics providers, which have been charging their subscribers for Twitter analytics, have seen one of their offerings disappearing overnight, and with it a chunk of their revenue.
However, it’s too early to say that the Twitter analytics is now a dead market for social intelligence providers, as Twitter analytics doesn’t allow accounts comparison and access to more in-depth metrics yet.
While several data and insights companies are improving their Twitter analytics service with the hope to retain their clients, many, including Social Bakers, are now offering the service for free.
Will social media intelligence suppliers be able to keep charging for their insights on Twitter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Nokia and other smartphone manufacturers left the world open-mouthed in disbelief when launching their wireless chargers early this year.
But why would you need a wireless charger anymore when the pocket your phone sits in is charging it for you?
Vodafone has revealed this week the Power Pocket charger, a wearable charger that relies on thermoelectric material designed to be small and flexible enough to stitch onto clothing.
According to Daily Motion, the network provider has been testing the devices at the Isle of Wight Festival, and will bring them back during other Vodafone-sponsored festivals.
If the idea takes off, it may represent the end of those annoying times when your battery dies just when you need it the most.
But, most importantly, it could revolutionise smartphones and operating system production, as battery life may no longer represents a constraint to take into account when choosing materials and technologies.
Have you had the chance to try Power Pocket charger? Let us know what you think about it.
Companies are increasing their budgets for social media campaigns, but concerns about social media ROI are still pressing.
Econsultancy has drafted a list of don’ts to help brands achieve social media ROI - here are a few:
1.Don’t see ROI as an afterthought. ROI should be different from business, commercial and communication objectives that you set initially, and it should be established when you set other objectives.
2.Don’t measure everything - focus on what the metrics you and your client/manager have agreed to be relevant.
3.Don’t forget complexity. Every business is unique and has different needs. Make sure you take the time to understand them fully before you set your ROI and metrics.
Since RF, like many other agencies, has proved to their clients that social media ROI is indeed achievable, we’d like to complement Econsultancy’s list with a few do’s based on our experience.
1.Mange expectations from stage one and ensure you can deliver before promising something to you clients/manager.
2.Agree on an achievable ROI, especially if it’s your first campaign. It’s better to set realistic goals and overachieve them than aim too high and underperform.
3.Learn from previous mistakes. And remember that there’s always room for improvement, even when your client/manger is satisfied.
Have you got anymore? Share your do’s and don’ts to achieve social media ROI in the comments.
Mobile technology, along with faster and more reliable Internet anytime anywhere, has changed the way we work, socialise and shop.
But this has had a huge impact on the mind too, which, according to studies, is no longer able to rest as it’s overloaded with an increasingly bigger stream if notifications, email, reminders and texts.
If you too have at least once wished for a day without technology then you may find Camp Grounded interesting.
Camp Groundedis a summer camp for adults, that promises to help you rediscover yourself and a healthy relationship with technology through a digital detox.
Differently from a regular camping experience, Camp Grounded’s attendees have to follow a few rules including not talking about work, not revealing real names or ages and completely avoid using digital technologies.
To make sure you won’t fall in temptation, Camp Grounded provides you branded images to upload as your profile on all your social networks and requires you to inform your family and friends that you’ll be unreachable for a whole weekend.
Camp Grounded takes place outside San Francisco but let us know if you’ve been to digital detox in the UK.
Google Loon consists in floating balloons carrying solar-powered equipment that generates a wireless data signal up to the stratosphere.
These are supposed to circle the Earth following wind patterns, which would blanket countries currently lacking in Internet infrastructure with wireless networks comparable to today’s 3G networks.
It sound easy on paper, but to turn this project into reality and guarantee constant reliable internet connection, Google Loon will have to come up with solutions to extreme weather conditions and huge maintenance costs.
Moreover since the balloons go with the wind, chances are that they will leave some areas uncovered for indeterminate periods of time.
Is Google Loon the ideal infrastructure to bring reliable Internet connection to every region in the world? Or will Google end up scrapping it like it did for several other Google X’s ideas?
Send us a tweet to let us know whether you’ll be using Twitter analytics and why.
With gaming megashow E3 well underway, we’ve seen tech titans show off their latest hardware in a bid for our living rooms, but one of the biggest announcements came before then show when Microsoft revealed details of the Xbox One.
E3 attendees have had plenty of time to digest the details the software giant’s hotly anticipated next generation console, but what’s fascinating is the areas Microsoft deliberately chose to focus on at launch.
Firstly the main focus was on the media capabilities of the device - watching live TV, streaming films, cloud storage and voice control. Only after the attention shifted to games.
There’s a couple of sides to why Microsoft may want to bill the Xbox as an entertainment hub, and not just a console.
With the battle for an internet-connected living room on, the ambition is for the Xbox One to serve as the go to machine for media consumption. This also means it will control, or at least facilitate, many other contracts such as those with LOVEFiLM or Netflix.
The other side is that Microsoft was hoping to soften the blow for gamers, as, at least for now, there’s little in the way of flagship titles, except regular and yearly updated of popular games such FIFA 14, NBA 2k14 and Call of Duty.
Lastly, Microsoft may want to move the focus away from the controversial ownership issue.
As we get further into our digital age, the concept of ownership is growing blurred. I, for example, have subscriptions to both Spotify and LOVEFiLM, and understand I am only ever being given licenses to media. I don’t own those films and songs but I pay to get access to them.
But just when we were getting used to this new model, Microsoft has taken the bold decision to redefine what ownership means, at least for video games, by curbing the ability of gamers to share games, purchase second-hand titles and play without an internet connection.
Essentially, Xbox One users have to verify their games once every 24 hours via the Internet; otherwise they’ll be unable to play.
The obvious first reaction is to think that Microsoft is making a big mistake, as the million of people around the world who don’t have reliable Internet connections to verify their games won’t even consider buying an Xbox One.
To play Xbox One games, you have to verify your console and games once every 24 hours, with failure to do so leaving you unable to play the game, while a fee will be required for pre-owned copies.
It would be understandable if the games industry was a little wary of requiring gamers to connect, after Electronic Arts came in for criticism following their launch of Sim City as an online-only game.
But it makes Microsoft’s approach to Xbox One’s privacy and digital rights a bold one, as on the surface it asks a lot of consumers.
But it’s clear that the software giant see their new release as more than a gaming console, pitching it as a product that aims to become your main media hub.
It’s been ten years since the Xbox first hit the gaming market and both the console and the target audience have grown up since then
As we can see from the graph below, there’s almost as much conversation from the over 35s as there is from the under 20s, while the majority of the largest 21-35 demographic will have grown up with the Xbox or Xbox 360.
Age demographic of the online conversation around the Xbox One.
Sysomos: January 2013 – June 2013
Microsoft, then, has made a play to differentiate itself from Sony and Nintendo, and reach a slightly older demographic who are more likely to have reliable internet access, a significant disposable income to afford the higher price of the console and already have affinity with the brand.
On the other hand, Sony, the maker of the competing console the PS4, made a commitment to allow second hand ownership and didn’t miss the chance use that to poke fun at its rival:
Of course, the real test will come with sales and it’s still far from clear who has the upper hand.
A quick look at the level of search, via Google Trends (below), shows that the Xbox One (red line) was far more anticipated than the PS4 and sustained a higher volume for longer.
And although the PS4 (yellow) generated a huge spike in search after it was announced, the Xbox still managed a higher volume around the Playstation announcement than the PS4 did during the Xbox’s peak search. (I’ve also included search volumes for “Playstation 4” – the blue line – as well as PS4, to accurately represent the volume.)
So it’s game on, as both consoles ramp up their marketing and PR activity ahead of their respective launches later this year, and it’ll be fascinating to see how Microsoft’s play for the entertainment market pans out. Gaming fans, let me know your thoughts below – I’d love to hear them!
Hi, my name is Jenny and I am currently studying my first year of A Levels at Sixth Form.
If not made already obvious, my first day of my two weeks at Ruder Finn was most definitely an experience. From the travelling into such a picturesque part of London to an introduction to the office environment - Ruder Finn provided me with an inspiring start to my two week placement. Even my lunch was an experience! Being in such a gorgeous area with such a wide variety of places to eat left me flustered on where to go.
Ruder Finn was my choice for my placement purely for being involved in a completely new environment to what I’m used to. PR has been one of my recent interests for the future, and from all the experience I could gain from the spectacular opportunity at this organisation, I was eager to give it a go. My ideas of the profession have been completely uplifted.
My introduction to the office involved a quick scoot around, meeting everyone individually, being introduced to my own desk, familiarising where everything was located round the place; practically the works of the Ruder Finn office. I wasn’t expecting the comfortable, friendly atmosphere I had stepped into. Everyone is approachable, the office is airy and spacious, the coffee machine is actually amazing – what wouldn’t make me look forward to the rest of my fortnight here!
Tasks were shortly assigned to me to get my teeth into and gave me a sense of the mature responsibility that anyone at my age has no knowledge of what so ever in the typical school environment. This is what stood out best for me on my first day and is what’s making this experience a memorable one indeed.
I have many aspects of not only the organisation but the profession to look forward to learning about and a nutshell into what the possibilities of that are have given me that inspiration to sponge as much experience as I possibly can.
I am definitely looking forward to the duration of the placement; it’s the perfect substitute to what would have been another couple of weeks at Sixth Form.
I will be writing a follow up blog on how everything’s gone and all the new skills I’ve achieved so make sure your here this time next week!
Much like the smartphone refusenik who spends years telling everybody they’re perfectly happy with their Nokia 6700 before finally rocking up with a brand new iPhone 5, Facebook have finally decided to stop ignoring a major part of social conversation and fully embrace hashtags.
The social network has announced plans to introduce clickable hashtags across the site, while users can search for specific hashtags and compose posts direct from the hashtag feed.
The only real surprise is this has taken so long. Plenty of users already use hashtags in their status, even if they’re somewhat redundant given you can’t do anything with them.
So why Facebook’s change of heart? And what does this mean if you’re running a page or campaign on the network? Here’s a few thoughts on how it’ll benefit Facebook and brands.
1. It allows for a truly integrated campaign
Twitter uses hashtags. Google+ uses hashtags. The Facebook-owned Instagram uses hashtags. It’s one of the few social media signs that transcends networks.
If you’re running a campaign that plays heavily around a hashtag, the temptation could be to bypass or scale back Facebook activity because it’s a bit tricky to tie to that aspect of the campaign. And for Facebook that’s a potential loss of revenue.
Now there’s the hashtag option on Facebook it adds an extra element to a campaign. And brands may be more tempted to spend money making Facebook the hub rather than Twitter.
2. It’s all about search
Facebook’s Graph Search is imminent, meaning a deeper level of search and insights around all aspects of the network. There’ll be a huge amount of conversation to sift through.
Just like Twitter, hashtags provide a way to anchor and classify seemingly disparate conversations. And just like Twitter, it makes it all that easier to sell advertising around them.
3. Better data, faster
Following on from the previous point, Twitter excels in producing data around their hashtags and knowing how conversations trend and behave on the social network is a major selling point for brands.
With Facebook, that kind of data isn’t readily obtainable. Introducing hashtags means better insights into conversation trends on the platform. And, yes, that means better data for advertisers.
4. Tapping into the general conversation.
Hashtags have become part of the conversation between brands and the public. TV shows display hashtags routinely on-screen and adverts regularly have hashtags plastered all over their assets.
Pushing the hashtag to its limits, singer Robin Thicke’s recent video for Blurred Lines (below) is plastered with giant #Thicke and #BlurredLines hashtags throughout.
It’s a huge level of cultural conversation that currently bypasses Facebook completely. Suddenly, Facebook becomes a lot more relevant and immediate, especially around second screening, as it looks to reclaim the position of global watercooler.
Hashtags are a simple move, and a logical one given how familiar the community are with using them.
But as with anything Facebook does these days, it boils down to money, and the social behemoth has just offered up another level of data and analytics that will be very attractive to brands, agencies, and marketers looking to spend money on the site.
Ask anyone I work with - this time last year there’s no chance you would have ever convinced me to run a 10K. My complimentary gym bag sat at home gathering dust, as did my well-intentioned gym kit purchase. My membership card at the gym bleeped every time I went through the gate because I *still* hadn’t had my induction, and the thought of anything more than a leisurely ten minutes on the cross trainer brought me out in hives. A gym bunny I was most definitely not.
At the start of the year I decided enough was enough. I was fed up of feeling sluggish and bloated, clothes pinching in all the wrong places… and after a particularly overindulgent Christmas, topped with the fear of my wedding in eight months, I started to make some changes…
Something must have worked because here I am - six weeks out from my first ever race and I can’t wait. I’ve spent more on trainers than on actual shoes this year - and trust me, this is very unusual behaviour - and feel fitter and healthier than ever before. I’d like to say it’s been through sheer determination alone- but there have been a few things that have helped me along the way…
Apps
As with most decisions I find myself making these days, I turned to Twitter for advice on nutrition and health apps, and got a resounding ‘yes’ for an app called MyFitnessPal.
Weight loss is a secondary function for this app; the main thing I’ve found really useful is the ability to track the nutritional value of what I’m eating. I’ve found myself making small changes to my diet based on the information this app gives, and cutting down on the things that I had no idea were so bad for me. The measurement of exercise within the app is also a real driver to get active - if I want those post work G&Ts then I’ve got to earn them with a session in the gym beforehand.
Another amazing app, especially when training for the 10K, is Nike+ Running. Nike’s current marketing, particularly aimed at its female audience, is quite frankly top-notch and I’m a huge fan of pretty much everything they do - With Nike+ Running, I find the design and ease of use of the app really appealing, as well as when Ellie Goulding gives me a virtual high-five for smashing my PB. It’s certainly helping me build towards that 10k goal.
Wearable Tech
As our MD Nick told you about earlier this year, we love a bit of wearable tech at Ruder Finn - and I’m a complete convert. My Fitbit comes everywhere with me and really motivates me to go that little bit further. If I’m on the bus on the way home, I’ll get off a few stops earlier to build up to those 10,000 steps. The fact that Fitbit syncs with MyFitnessPal is an added bonus and really helps me to make sure that I’m balancing my diet and exercise in a way that keep me healthy and energised.
Wedding
In less than twelve weeks, I shall become Mrs J; and there’s nothing like an impending wedding with a full day of photography to motivate you to run that little bit further!
I’m hoping the London 10K is just the start and, if I make it round, I’ll be planning to sign up to run for longer and further in future. Right now, I’m happy with the fact that I no longer want to barf at the thought of running for more than the bus, and my goal of finishing the 10K in under an hour is more likely than ever.
What spurs you on to exercise? Are you running your first race after a few lifestyle changes? Let me know what inspires you.
Ps – The Ruder Finn London 10K team is raising money for cancer research; if you’d like to sponsor us you can do so via our JustGiving page
As from the end of this month, all adverts on Facebook will be social, which rather begs the question of what is an advert on a social network if not social?
It’s quite possible Facebook itself doesn’t know the answer to this question. Despite selling $5 billion in advertising last year, the social network has yet again overhauled its advertising offering, streamlining the number of advertising features from the 27 it currently offers to less than half.
Out goes promoted questions and offers (otherwise known as Facebook’s coupon offering) but, more significantly, all adverts will automatically become social stories in addition to the regular advert. Previously, advertisers had the option to add or specifically opt for this feature. Now it’s default.
Facebook users can expect a subtle rise in adverts in the news feed informing you what posts and pages your friends are liking and commenting on. The aim of Facebook is to make the advertising experience more seamless and, crucially, more effective on mobile.
From a marketing and brand perspective, streamlining the ad offering makes sense. Marketers have complained in the past the myriad of options can be confusing and unhelpful.
How Facebook users react to an increase of advertising in the news feed is another matter though. Certainly existing sponsored stories are reasonably easy on the eye and don’t immediately feel intrusive.
On the other hand, having a stream full of your friend’s activities on brand pages isn’t exactly a compelling reason to log into Facebook. As ever, the social network needs to balance its commitment to shareholders with the best experience for the user.
But for all the complaints on Facebook advertising, sponsored stories generally seem effective – certainly the results have been worthwhile for campaigns we’ve run at RF. The amount of likes and engagement generated often make the initial spend worthwhile.
And it’s a frustrating, yet an increasing inevitability, that if you want to ensure your key messages on Facebook get to your fanbase and beyond, advertising is generally a necessity.
The emphasis has shifted a little – as Peter Kafta says, previously marketers could amplify their results by buying more reach. Now you’re buying adverts and relying on Facebook users to spread the reach.
This isn’t to say advertising is the answer every time. I’ve seen fantastic results from content on Facebook that have required no advertising spend whatsoever. These are often visual posts with a clear call to action (and a purpose. I’m not talking about the updates you regularly see highlighted on the Condescending Corporate Brand Page).
Ultimately, as with any social campaign, it really depends what you – or your client – wants. If it’s just likes, then you can spend your way there, although just watching the numbers rise isn’t exactly the most cost effective or smartest way to spend your advertising budget.
If you’re looking to go deeper whether it’s engagement, conversion, or some other form of ROI, then the tactics will naturally be tweaked even if the principal is the same as ever: keep testing, analysing and adjusting and make sure you consider other social networks as well.
Ultimately, your strategy is only as good as the social network and the tools it provides. And if occasionally Facebook seems like it’s not entirely sure how best to deliver value with its advertising offering, then it’s often left to the brands themselves to figure out the best way to interpret these changes.
To like or not to like, this is the question. Or rather, this used to be the question.
In the last three years social media adspend has increased by 383% reaching £328.4 million, which means brands are seriously investing time and efforts to encourage users to find and like them on social media.
This week, Ruder Finn’s digital roundup shows you Pepsi’s latest social investment, Zynga’s workforce slash, Facebook’s bet on file sharing and more.
Once upon a time, brands used to invest only in huge marketing campaigns.
Now they do social media too, and they do it big.
Pepsi has launched is latest social marketing tool known as the Like Machine, which dispenses a free can to fans who Like the brand on Facebook.
Location settings on the smartphone and on the machine itself, confirms that users are near the vending machine when liking the page. If more than one person likes Pepsi’s page at the same time, users are placed in a virtual queue.
Coca-Cola, who early this year said “social doesn’t have an impact sales”, also launched machines in India and Pakistan that let citizens of the two states send beverages to each other, despite rising tensions between the countries.
But soft drinks makers aren’t the only ones who are giving away free products for social engagement. In Sweden, Kellogg’s is offering a free box of Special K to anyone who snaps an Instagram picture and tags it with #nyaspecialk.
Opinions on the like machine seem to be rather divided and saw Pepsi and Coke’s fans battling to defend their favourite fizzy drink.
Pepsi’s Like Machine has caught the attention of the media and online communities. However, what’s not clear yet, is how Pepsi will try to monetise the thousands of new likes.
Have a look at the Like Machine and let us know what you think.
Mashable has compiled a list of ten young social platforms with huge potential, including Mediuma new blogging platform, which is still in its beta phase, from Evan Williams (co-founder of Blogger and Twitter); Viddy a platform that allows users to shoot videos of 15 seconds or less and edit their footage with special effects, color filters and music soundtracks; Pose, a mobile and online community where users can snap pics of their outfits or beauty accessories to share with other users; and many more.
Since we’ve recently launched a new digital health offering at Ruder Finn, we’d like to complement Mashable’s list with a few must-have mHealth apps.
Here are our suggestions:
Endomondo, a free multi-sport tracker that turns your mobile phone into a personal trainer by keeping track of almost any type of exercise-related activity.
Ucheck, an app that tests users’ urine and keeps track of the results, giving people an inexpensive way to check for a range of medical conditions.
Sleep by MotionX, an iPhone/iPad app that measures and correlates resting heart rate with sleep quality to help you sleep better at night and move more when you’re awake.
Does your health and fitness rely on any other another technologies? Share them with us in the comments.
Are photos really the most engaging content on social media?
What about photos with a little music?
A new platform called Song for Pic randomly matches songs to your Instagram pictures and lets you and your friends vote on which works best.
Despite still having some limitations - for instance you can’t send the link with the photo and chosen song to your friends - and being based on a really basic concept, the app is fun and has the potential to build a huge user base.
Moreover, Song for Pic has managed to do something that none of the social giants have done so far: boosting photos engagement through music and gaming.
Have you tried Song for Pic yet? Let us know what you think about it.
Remember the couple of weeks you spent playing Draw Something or Song Pop on your morning commute? The company behind these two hits – OMGPOP – essentially “no longer exists,” according to Techcrunch, after parent company Zynga announced sweeping cuts through their whole gaming business.
Zynga, which owns Farmville and other popular Facebook games, only acquired OMGPOP a year ago for $200m. But despite their rapid expansion over the past couple of years, Zynga has been caught out by the boom in mobile gaming and has struggled to reduce its dependency for its games on Facebook.
Farmville is still the best performer in their portfolio, but other games have underperformed on Zynga’s daily active users fell to 52m in the first quarter of this year, down from 65m at the same time in 2012.
Many analysts are sceptical if the company can turn things around, but all are agreed that it has to get a grip on mobile.
Zynga began overhauling its business last year to improve its presence on mobileThe growth of its mobile business (21%) hasn’t been enough to offset its troubles on the desktop (web bookings fell by 37%).
In light of this, the company it plans to dismiss about 18% of its staff, around 520 people. This isn’t the first cut of its kind but it’s hard to tell whether it will be the last.
Pipe, a Berlin startup’s new app, has launched after a year of testing and will be the only file transfer utility on Facebook.
The app allows two friends to send files of up to one gigabyte, 40 times the maximum attachment size on Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Hotmail, by simply dragging and dropping them into Pipe. Pipe can also keep the file in an online locker if the receiver is offline.
However, as many other free apps, Pipe is not exactly cost-free. It comes at the standard price in the digital world: your privacy. Despite the sharer remaining in control of their files, these will be stored on company’s servers and may leave a digital footprint even when they’re deleted offline.
Moreover, its download capability has been critised due to the fact that you need to refresh the page every time the download stops, which is very common for 4G modems that have very intermittent connections.
Despite Facebook’s huge bet on file sharing, the role of Pipe is still unclear and there are still several uncertainties around the service.
Will the startup mange to find its role, and a place for profit, somewhere between email attachments and web publishing?
On opposite of Pepsi’s Like Machine, All You Need’s rule is: sampling first, liking after.
So, if you’ve enjoyed this fizzy roundup show it on the Ruder Finn’s Facebook page and share it with your friends.
Things are moving apace in the Ruder Finn Digital Health team. Hot on the heels of the arrival of Stephen Davies we are delighted to introduce a new client – one that combines digital and healthcare to make a real difference to the lives of young people across the UK.
Creative Skills for Life (CSL) is an organisation set up by entrepreneur Ian Spero, the man behind Rock Couture which brought design together with the glamourous world of rock’ and roll to the benefit of charities including Amnesty International, CLIC Sargent and Haven.
CSL is a cross-media arts therapy programme that leverages digital innovation to enable young people with life-threatening conditions to improve the quality of their lives.
This is the kind of client that we love to work with - an organisation that harnesses innovation to deliver real change. Digital technology is not just about gadgets and cool tools. It has the power to make a huge impact on the way we live.
Right now healthcare is on the edge of a digital revolution that will change not just the way healthcare is delivered, but our ability as individuals to control and manage our own health. Organisations like CSL are right at the heart of this and we are delighted to be working with them.
In conjunction with Creative England, Creative Skills for Life is running a competition for start-ups to find innovative new tools that can help young people with life threatening conditions to explore their creativity. To find out more about this head to http://creativeskillsforlife.com/getinvolved/.
Gym bags under desks, energy gels in lockers and early morning discussions about favourite classes at the gym – a health craze has officially taken over the Ruder Finn office.
Some say it started with the distribution of Fitbits to all employees, others blame the marathon feats of our very own Annabel Gillett (below) and Nick Leonard. Regardless of what started it, the trend looks like it’s here to stay - and we’re ready to embrace it.
On 14 July, a group of six very brave Ruder Finners will be running the British 10K London Run. The race route takes runners through the heart of Central London, passing some of the city’s most famous landmarks and through its most picturesque streets. While our runners all vary in experience, motivation and expectations, the one thing they all have in common is their secret hope to cross the finish line first…
With just under two months until the big day, training is in full swing and energy levels are buzzing. We’ll be posting regular updates from the runners on their training highlights, progress and general running chat. In the meantime, and without further ado, I present to you the 2013 Ruder Finn 10K team:
As Facebook proved when it went public, shareholders are everything but friendly when social media fails to deliver financial value.
In light of this, the blue social bird has been flying from new security features to keyword targeting to integrated apps, as it looks to prove its ability to monetise on its users before potentially going public in 2014.
This week, Ruder Finn’s digital roundup shows you Twitter’s latest money-making feature, Microsoft’s Siri-baiting advert, the efficiency of flat design and more.
Twitter has introduced a new advertising product known as Twitter Amplify, which allows media brands and their advertising partners to promote television clips, accompanied by ads, on Twitter.
Here’s an example from ESPN and the NBA, which last week streamed clips from an NBA game accompanied by commercials for the upcoming blockbuster After Earth.
Twitter Amplify will help advertisers extend their messages beyond broadcasters’ TV audiences in order to reach their Twitter followers as well.
Moreover, the follow button in the bottom right corner of the advert gives advertisers much greater visibility and makes it easier for users to follow them without having to leave their timeline.
Since Twitter is rumored to go public next year, Amplify plays an important role in showing the world Twitter’s efforts, and ability, to monetise on video content within the platform.
The competition is heating up between tablet rivals in one of the most amusing advert we’ve seen this week, as Microsoft poke fun at Apple’s Siri.
The video compares the the Surface tablet with the iPad on different parameters, such as business apps and price, highlighting the difference between the two using responses from Siri, before leaving the voice app to conclude “Let’s play Chopsticks,”
Will Apple play to Microsoft’s tune though? Both are powerful machines but Microsoft is clearly going after the business market by highlighting the multitasking nature of the surface.
On the other hand, it’s worth noting that Microsoft has left its flagship Surface Pro out of this comparison, perhaps because, pricewise, the iPad would have had an easy win.
Will Apple respond to Microsoft latest tease? Do you think it’s an affective strategy? Let us know you opinion in the comments below.
After several security breaches over the past year, Twitter has announced it will introduce login verification to improve security for its users.
The new feature is similar to other two-factor authentication services across the Web. When a user tries to log in to his or her profile, they’re asked to provide a cellphone number. Twitter sends an SMS message to that phone, and the user will be asked to enter the code into his browser to continue the login.
For months, many have called for Twitter to introduce this new security feature to remedy the ongoing hacks of high-profile feeds, including The Guardian, The Financial Times and BBC Weather.
The reasons why Twitter has been holding back might be that higher security measures could potentially make it harder for brands and agencies to access their Twitter accounts, if these are managed by multiple people in different places.
Although the login verification feature is optional, and can be turned on and off anytime from the settings, shared Twitter accounts will struggle to use this new feature and may find themselves just as vulnerable to hacking as they were before.
Could an admin structure similar to that of Facebook pages solve the problem?
Flat seems to be new design trend in User Interface (UI) that’s recently appeared on several pieces of software such as Facebook and Windows 8.
This type of design doesn’t rely on shadowing, shines, textures, and 3D effects. Instead, it takes a minimalist approach using simple shapes, colors, and iconography to create designs that are instantly informative.
In a time when instant usability is starting to outweigh the need for visual cues, design needs to be, not just esthetically pleasing, but also efficient.
Since it doesn’t have all the noise that comes with visual effects, flat design is lean with information and maximises usability.
However, flat design also assumes some level of knowledge. So far, users’ experience was controlled by an eye catchy fancy tables and buttons that instantly captured the attention. Now that this kind of embellishment is gone, some users may feel a bit lost at first.
What’s your take on flat design? Let us know in the comment if you’ve embraced it and why.
The appetite for art online is constantly growing and online galleries and art communities on social media are thriving.
This week we’ve taken a look at the Google Art Project’s Google+ page that posts daily about paintings, artists and events and is highly engaged with its five million plus followers.
What’s important isn’t how many followers Google Art Project has, but the fact that it’s using digital to help art overcome its often physical constrains and be appreciated by anyone, anywhere in the world.
Google Art Project is just one of the several art communities blossoming online, which are a successful example of high quality content, high number of fans/users and great engagement.
What’s your favorite online art gallery? Share it with us and let us know why.
Whether Twitter will go public in 2014 is still to be confirmed. But its latest money-making features, seem to suggest so.
Do you agree? Leave a comment below and join the conversation.
