Strategic Public Relations

Top Photo Apps Getting Instagram Engagement

Lately I've noticed my more heavily edited pics are getting more likes. To assume that more apps/edits equate to more attention is short-sighted. Format is no substitute for content, and likes aren't the best engagement metric.** But with that said, here are the apps I've used to create my five most-liked photos on Instagram.

1) Camera+  |  Every single picture above was run through Camera+. I use it on nearly every picture I take and Creamy Whip? Zip Dip! relies soley on Camera+. The HDR filter helps light, the sun rising and setting in particular, to really pop.

2) Slow Shutter Cam  |  Slow shutter and stop action apps are amazing niche apps. Initially, I took more with my stop action app, MogoFoto. But spend an evening at a festival or an amusement park and you'll see why Slow Shutter Cam turned Tilt-a-Hurl into my most liked picture.

3) Marble Cam  |  "Sharks with frickin' laser beams..." was taken with MarbleCam, an intersting novelty app that focuses on the center of your image in a whole new way.

4) Picfx  |  Picfx has a lot of fans. One reason is because it can distress photos, creating a whole new look. One Way is a great example of this.

5) Rays  |  Pictures with light sources in them are perfect for the Rays app, which will enhance them. It turned Cloud Porn with Inception Vibe into one of my favorites and one of my most-liked photos.

Bonus Tool  |  Statigram: Statigram makes Instagram pics easier to access, including your own photos. It serves up stats like the image above, and gives you access to several contests and other tools. This article on its various features is worth checking out if you're looking for an easier way to navigate Instagram.

Again, these results are based on content as much as format. So your experience with the above apps may vary. Now that Facebook's purchase of Instagram is final, I'm hoping posts like this one don't become humorous artifacts from " a time before Instagram was folded in to Facebook."

**Defining engagement is a lot like defining influence. The definition varies from person to person. And while I can see how likes are considered engagement, likes are passive enough that I don't think it's the strongest, standalone example of engagement. And unless you're goal is to raise awareness, likes are more of a progress metric compared to a data point measuring overall success.

Will Facebook Unveil a Mobile Device?

 
Based on Facebook's recent app store news and a string of mobile acquisitions, I'm wondering when it will launch its own device?

It's something I predicted yesterday during the weekly BraveAdWorld podcast. My colleague Taylor Wiegert and I discuss it during the weekly news items. It's probably my first prediction. That may tell you how strongly I feel about it. But it's not like I'm going out on a limb.

The prediction is based on my last post with CNET's overview of the need for digital ecosystems for certain brands to succeed in the future.

A digital ecosystem includes the device, a service, apps, as well as an operating system. Google has one. Apple has one. Verizon and Samsung have them. Amazon and Nokia do too.

All of these companies can provide its consumer with media that is in sync no matter where they use it, when they use it or even which device they use to access it. A digital ecosystem can make or break a gadget's success in the future.

The NYTimes is also trying to determine what these acquisitions might signal for the nearly-public company. Would you buy a Facephone? Whatever they call it, I will also predict it won't be Phonebook. 

The Power of Unassuming Brands (a lesson from Signal P&G)

The Signal P&G event brought together brands we see in the news almost daily -- from Twitter and Facebook to Coca-Cola and more. But the brands on Procter & Gamble's dais getting less media attention, or perhaps less positive media attention, were more interesting that day. Presentations from Amazon, AOL and Nokia taught me to reconsider the power of unassuming brands.

These companies are not startups or unknowns. But news coverage can suggest that new brands may "kill" more established brands. Stories with only one clear winner, atop a pile of competitors, make for shareable content. It's Mashable pr0n -- a syndrome of oversimplification I've ranted about before. But as these stories distract our attention, several unassuming brands have quietly become pervasive and have a much bigger story to tell. 

The Mighty Amazon
After Amazon launched in 1995, a then client suggested the site was a ponzi scheme. Not only was he wrong, he was one of the first of many Amazon naysayers. But for most of us, we've come to know Amazon as one of the only Internet mall concepts from the dot com era that came to fruition. Signal P&G reminded of some interesting Amazon facts and I've since seen more in the news.

• 80% better Amazon app store monetization for developers compared to iOS (TechCrunch)
• 54% of tablets run Amazon's version of Android to Google's 46% (All Things D)
• 10% of Amazon’s 2011 sales were Kindle readers, Kindle books; Kindle book sales outnumber hardback book sales (All Things D/NYTimes)
• 1% of ALL Internet traffic taps into Amazon’s Cloud (WIRED)

With more than 170 million active customers, keep in mind that's users actually spending money, Amzaon has the scale and ability to personalize the shopping experience. The end result gets users to spend and brands to advertise. Amazon taps into more than its fair share of the daily deals phenomenon that's estimated to generate $7 million every day. In addition to AmazonLocal, it owns LivingSocial. Amazon also leverages its personalization technology to create MyHabit.com. This “private sale” site and mobile app offers brand-specific promotions – tailored to each user.

Amazon Drives Offline Sales for Crest
It's not surprising P&G has experienced great success selling its consumer packaged goods (CPG) through Amazon. CPG is Amazon's fastest growing category -- making up four percent of Amazon’s 2011 sales. A Crest White Strips campaign gave the brand a 26 percent lift in its Amazon sales and even had an impact on offline sales. P&G's Amazon-based campaign increased offline sales an additional eight percent, or $1 million according to Lisa Utzschneider, Amazon's Global VP of Ad Sales .

And if the above all seem like random facts, consider this quote from Forrester Research's Sucharita Mulpuru "Amazon is beating Walmart in price." That six-word metric is reason enough why this brand should not be underestimated.

UPDATE: The New York Times has an article since this was published about how Amazon's moving into Fashion as well. And I forgot that Amazon also owns Zappos. Wow.

AOL’s Content Marketing Play
As the internet expands, consumers are actually using fewer brands, according to AOL CEO Tim Armstrong. This gives brands a new significance as AOL builds out what it feels will be the premier information brand.

"It’s unlikely a consumer will make a purchase decision, large or small, that is not influenced somehow by content," said Armstrong. "Consider the impact of always-on, mobile sites like Yelp. AOL’s ability to be a constant like Yelp gives it significant influence in helping consumers and brands through content."

Several of its recent aquisitions have made for dramatic news  between Huffington Post, Techcrunch and Endgadget alone. But these acquisitions are helping them build out their offering and fuels their mission to help more brands publish.

AOL gets local and personal
Successful or not, Patch and About.me are two other AOL projects that may be more telling of its future. Patch has been lambasted by old and new media. But Armstrong notes it is established in more than 850 towns nationwide. And each location costs about $150,ooo to run annually -- a cost unheard of for traditional news outlets. This local play could prove successful in the long term.

About.Me is elegant in its simplicity. This free splash page serves up your most relevant content, with free analytics. It's become a big people-watching site. And its new mobile app will allow you to be notified when your About.me friends are nearby offline. This might sound like stalking. But the bigger point to be made is AOL's wading into geo-location.

Armstrong is oft-mentioned in the media for all of the above AOL business moves. He is very focused, noting that AOL is focused on building things that help people live better lives. He warns others of the danger behind simply chasing the shiny new. "Cool is a disease. Utility is the antidote."

This focus is one reason I think AOL's story has yet to be written. As it completes its transition from access to content, there are a lot of interesting opportunities across paid, owned and earned media.

Nokia Life & Emerging Markets
While some are noting that "mobile is the most pervasive technology ever invented," there are 3.2 billion people on Earth without a mobile phone. Nokia's senior vp of mobile services, Dieter May, discussed how the brand is connecting and engaging "the next billion."

You'd never confuse Nokia for TOMS Shoes, but as Nokia enters emerging markets in China, India and Indonesia, it's partnering with Unicef to extend access to healthcare and other basic life needs through its $20-$100 handsets. Through Nokia Life the brand is bringing these customers a platform to address the gaps in critical, hyperlocal information.

Think Ecosystem
CNET's Brian Cooley kicked the day off discussing "the next big thing." When looking at various gadgets out there, CNET is always asked to predict the next big thing, but also who will win the race for gadget supremacy. CNET looks first for a product's digital ecosystem to determine how successful it might be in the future.

A digital ecosystem includes the device, a service, apps, as well as an operating system. Google has one. Apple has one. Verizon and Samsung have them. Amazon and Nokia do too.

All of these companies can provide its consumer with media that is in sync no matter where they use it, when they use it or even which device they use to access it. A digital ecosystem can make or break a gadget's success in the future. All that said, Cooley notes that even in a post-pc era, the PC will not go away. It simply won't be the center of attention. Cooley points to the connected car as the next frontier for the next big thing as we look to our cars' digital technology to communiicate, navigate, inform and entertain. 

"That's no moon."
Star Wars indirectly provides two examples of how we can make assumptions and by revisting these assumptions we can learn much more. When Yoda was first introduced, no one thought he could possibly be a Jedi warrior. As the story progresses, Yoda makes it clear that size doesn't matter. Even earlier in the saga, what was first assumed to be a small moon was actually the Death Star.

Sci-Fi aside, we should always remember t0 "shake the disease" and look for the bigger story.

 

 

Instagram's Android Launch Complete's the Picture for Brands

With 1 million downloads made in the first 24 hours of its release, Instagram's long-awaited Android app has clearly been well-received.

The Android release was a bit of a tidal wave as you can only access the platform via its mobile app or using your app login to use web-based options that tap into the Instagram API.

More users mean more potential for your audience being on the platform. So here's a quick recap of Instacontent, from here and elsewhere, to help users get their sea legs with an app that's gotten a serious second-wind. 

Watch How Brands Do: There are a variety of brands with an established Instagram presence. Luxury and beverage brands have quickly taken to the platform, having found a user base. But the media are also using it to give you backstory access around events like the upcoming U.S. Presidential election.

But before you follow everyone's well-documented lead, ask how this fits into your larger social > online > marketing > business strategy. If it doesn't roll all the way up, it's not worth investing time and resources.

Manage Your Feed: Statigr.am, by far, looks to be the best way to manage your feed, track statistics and even organize your photos and the people you follow into lists. It even allows you to message each other users through the site,  gives you promotional tools and promotes contests from other brands and users.

Use Supporting Apps: If you're taking pics with your phone, you can access a handful of apps to make your images stand out and better represent what you're trying to communicate. And there's a lot of Instatips too to help you optimize your use of Instagram.

Back that Pic Up: You'll want to have a backup copy of your photos, right? Well Google+ app users have it easiest as Google+ can automatically backup your phone's pics. But there's also options for Dropbox users and everyone else.

Take It Elsewhere: Some brands are tapping into the API-provided portability of Instgram content. Starbucks streams relevant user pics into its online Coffeehouse. And any user can easily stream their pics into a Tumblr or onto Facebook for non-Instafans to check out their work. And don't forget sites like Animoto make it easy to turn your pics into a video.

Go Offline: Photowalks are a great way to get a handle on the app and its potential. I've organized two of them and they're fairly simple to execute. If you're not about socializing in real time, you can still use any number of sites to print your pics in a number of ways. I've used CanvasPop forexample and highly recommend it.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again
With apologies to Yogi Bera, I'm already seeing a lot of Twitter "how-to" content becoming relevant again. From filling out your profile and using an avatar to posting content before following a ton of people -- many of those basics apply here (and to Pinterest!). You can even project an Instafeed by user or hashtag, to create a visual back channel at events.

How's that for a link-laden, to-do list? It's not even taking into account Instagram-related content I've curated on Pinterest and Scoop.It. There's a lot of opportunity and creativity in this site. If your audience is not on it, you can still use it for your own personal reward.

Follow me on Instagram
Cross-posted to my work blog.
Infographic via Visual.ly 

QR Codes: Marketing Hero or Zero?

ComScore's latest piece of share pr0n** focuses on QR Codes, serving up the headline: "14 Million Americans Scanned QR or Bar Codes on their Mobile Phones in June 2011."

Is that a lot? Well, It depends on whether your glass is half-empty or half-full perhaps. For context, I'll note there are approximately 312 million people in the U.S., so that translates to four percent of Americans.

But if you look at the 78.5 million smart phone users in the U.S., this percentage climbs to about 18 percent.

Ben Kunz, breaks down ComScore's math on his blog. He notes "the odds of any individual holding a smart phone actually scanning your code on a given day are 1 in 244. 

Hero or Zero: It's Usually Somewhere In Between
It doesn't matter if 14 people or 14 million people scanned a QR Code in June 2011. The question to ask is: "did MY customer scan a QR Code in June 2011?"

To ComScore's credit, they speak to this question, noting the 14 million are: "more likely to be male, young to middle-age and upper income. Men were 25 percent more likely (index of 125) than the average mobile user to scan QR codes, representing 60.5 percent of the scanning audience."

Pragmatic QR Code Conversations
I've written about QR Codes before and for every smart use of a QR Code, you can probably find at least three bad examples. We'll always see good and bad uses of the shiny new as we test and learn (which can turn into crash and burn).

But I'm not saying don't use QR Codes. There are a variety of applications where an element of utility, instant gratification or discovery makes perfect sense and a QR Code can be the best path to that goal -- assuming your audience falls into the smart phone user/scanner profile. Don't forget to track and analyze how the codes are being used.

Stop, Breathe, Think
Via Google+ Kunz nails the point in all the ComScore-fueled discussion. "Stats are good, but they need context and critical thinking."

And that sums up where I'm at with QR Codes, most any shiny new marketing technology and even sites like Klout. But that's another blog post entirely.

**To be clear: ComScore, its practices and its published work are all good stuff. I'm taking issue with the  knee jerk sharing that takes place when people see a stat that supports their assumption. It's that behavior that also makes me skeptical about the wisdom of the crowds.

Cross-Posted at my work blog. 

Google+ First Impressions

Less than 48 hours of field testing Google+ and I’ve got more questions than answers. But here are my first thoughts.

DESIGN: The interface resembles a clean version of Facebook. And, while there’s more breathing room now, you can assume the extra space has been reserved for paid advertising. The home page makes sure you can easily access your profile, circles (contact groups) and photos by displaying these options prominently.

INTEGRATION: One thing Google Buzz did well was integrate with your existing Gmail account. They’ve built on that with Google+ and Gmail power users will enjoy how well they work together. In fact you can access your Google account from Google+ to see what services you’re using and your overall preferences.

PRIVACY: While Google Buzz had its moments, it’s initial privacy issues stopped it from gaining much traction beyond Google’s user base. Google clearly learned from this and it not only makes privacy settings obvious, you can dial them up and down based on your personal preferences. It’s also made a big deal about its Data Liberation capabilities. This section allows users to back up the data they have on the site by downloading Picasa Photo Albums, Profile Data, Stream Data, Buzz and Contact Data as well. You can also easily determine which accounts are connected to your Google+ account.

CIRCLES, SPARKS & HANGOUTS: Circles are simply easy to create groups of users. This allows you to compartmentalize content you share across your network. So if you only want your family to see pictures of the newest addition to your family, you can use Google+ to do this. Similarly, if you only want your colleagues to know you won an award for filing the most TPS Reports, you can do that too. This addresses Facebook user concerns about the difficulty in compartmentalizing your professional and personal lives on the site. But when it comes to the Internet and Privacy remember there are no guarantees.

Sparks is a curation feature that taps into its search capabilities to deliver you content of your choosing. Google+ notes it’s “a feed of just the stuff you’re really into. So when you’re free there’s always something to watch, read or share. The only thing I’m curious about is where it is pulling the content from. It’s unclear if it comes from search, other users’ content streams, Google News or a variation of the three.

Hangouts takes Google’s video chat options and pulls them directly into Google+. This makes it seemingly simple to conduct video chats. Unfortunately, as a field tester, I’ve been unable to align my schedule with my contacts that also have Google+ access. But it appears to be a point of differentiation for Google+. I can imagine it opens an impressive amount of ad opportunities for Google via YouTube alone.

MOBILE: The mobile app is also being touted. Unfortunately for me, it’s only available on Android right now. It’s a refreshing change of pace for iPhone users that are used to have first access. I’m sure Google is enjoying the ability to roll out in this fashion. And while some would argue this is a bad move. Turnabout is fair play, in my opinion. And they score big points with loyal Android users.

So with all of the above positives, there were some issues or questions that came up based on my experience. Google assumed this would be the case. Upon accepting my invitation, I was greeted with a welcome message that included this: “It's very early, so there may be some bumps along the way, but you'll be one of the first to test drive Circles, Hangouts, Sparks, mobile, and more!”

Google+ and -
So with the above in mind, I’m here to offer feedback and not to pick Google+ apart (as the blogosphere is inclined to do with a healthy dose of keyboard courage). As a field tester, the rollout seemed a bit mysterious. And learning the network is a bit self-serve with 11 different videos available to explain the how to and the why behind some of its features.

How many men are known for reading directions? Hopefully video will get more views than a set of instructions. I’m told that making the experience more discovery for the field testers was done on purpose. More features will be rolled out and some might even be rolled back based on our feedback.

As I noted earlier, I like the integration with your Google account. But there could be too much integration. It initially served up all of my Google account’s contacts. I assumed the contacts were all other Google+ users as well. I was wrong. You can still share with these individuals through Google+ and add them to circles. It simply sends your non-field testing friends an email instead. And I can tell you it’s interpreted as less helpful and more “nyah, nyah!” as these contacts cannot comment or engage with you based on what you’re sharing.

It’s obviously similar to Facebook. You can argue whether or not this is a plus or a minus. But keep in mind, all social networks will share common traits. Is it similar to Orkut too? Some may wonder if it’s also similar to Google’s social network launched ahead of its time. Orkut is still wildly popular in Brazil and India and is still actively used today in these countries. But Google+ is more nuanced and less about a walled community and more about sharing across the web – through your Google account of course.

If Google’s Finally Nailed Social, Will It Matter?
Never say never. But the deck is stacked against Google. Any new social networking entrant immediately becomes “yet another social networking service” YASNS. It’s tough to break web users habits and get them to start using a new social network exclusively – even if it is integrated into their Google account.

In fact, Google integration could create a branding issue. Taylor Wiegert, a fellow Word of Mouth team member at Empower MediaMarketing, is quick to point out that Google is known for its utility. It’s more of a tool you use when you need email or search or another of its services. But it’s not known as an engagement platform that you spend an extended period of time using to find and share content with friends.

Time will tell if it breaks its streak of having successful product launches – for everything but its social media products. But Google+ clearly has the best chance of competing with sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. If you extend the paid media opportunities it could bring, it’s worth waiting to see what happens.

The Candy Everybody Wants?
While Google is offering limited access during the launch to finalize the product and improve it, they are also hoping it will create more curiosity and desire to access Google+. Don’t take the bait. While the platform is a clear improvement over Orkut and Buzz, Google+ is essentially a new flavor of Facebook. It’s a worthy opponent because of the sites foundation – an enormous user base using a well-established portfolio of services/products and the potential for paid media. And as of launch, these assets are invisible to the user experience. If you don't have access to Google+ you’re not missing anything. Not yet.

Related Articles from: Wired, Searchengineland, AdAge, Mashable and NYTimes

Cross-posted at my work blog.

5 Things You Can Learn On A Photowalk

Over the weekend, Cincinnati Social Media held a photowalk within downtown Cincinnati. We had amazing weather for it and, in two hours, I took 120 pics and walked a little over a mile with more than a dozen #cincysm members and Instagram fans.

While I've planned a ton of events over the years, every one is different and you can still learn something new each time. So here are five things I learned on the #cincysm #instameet.

1) Cameras Are Not Required: While I was inspired to organize this event by Instagram, it didn't matter if you had the app, or an iPhone -- all forms of capture were welcome. Others had Androids or their SLRs in hand. But a high point of the day was when I realized two children were using their Nintendo DS' to take pictures. The kids were accompanying their parents on the walk. 

2) Back Stories Make Big Stories: It was great to meet some folks for the first time that day as well as others I'd known online, but had not met in person. One attendee had not been downtown for about five years. So it was great to get his perspective on how much the city has changed and improved. Everyone seemed to contribute a lesser known fact about buildings as we walked. This gave a great back story to the pictures we took and we got to know each other better in the process.

3) New Perspectives Will Find You: I've spent a lot of time downtown over the years and knew the path we took has plenty of photo opportunities. But there were still certain spaces, perspectives and details I saw for the first time. Photowalks are great when you're out of town, but they can also reconnect you with a space so familiar that you don't pay attention to it.

4) Promotion Before Makes For Difficult Follow-Up After: Events are shared  and overshared via social media. This one made it to LinkedIn (which serves as CincySM's web page), Facebook (not everyone targeted were CincySM members), on Instagram and all of these pushed to a MeetUp site to keep it organized. This is fine -- even without the context. But it makes it tough to track everyone down post-event. All 12 attendees have different online preferences and a different point of reference for the event online. In addition to Flickr and Instagram, we're using DropEvent for a spot to aggregate images (h/t Christiaan). But even if everyone agrees to a single hashtag and rallying point post-event, you still find yourself repopulating the same sites you used to promote the event with this update.

5)  Organizing For Flexibility Is Critical: With a lot of events -- from weddings to conferences -- your attendance can change at the last minute. So I had multiple routes in mind in case we needed to split up into smaller groups. And as we walked our route, we tried to tweet/instagram a few pics so folks could catch up to us. This worked out well. But for the next photowalk, I'll also designate a single way for late comers to communicate with us so they can catch up more easily during the event.


The event was great and it was a blast taking a ton of pictures with Cawood, FranToh, Stuku56, Castlepoint, JustThinkChris, TorenCastle, GlennaVonHenna, Kathy Jo love blue, Tattooprincess and Pezhunter. Stay tuned for the next one. We'll definitely be doing more.

Mobile Photo Apps Get Serious

Smart phone photography offers users a set of near professional grade tools thanks to the continual "bigger/better/faster/more power at less cost" evolution of technology. In this post, I'm singling out iPhone apps as that's my mobile device (don't be a h8r). And I'm not even touching on Instagram as it merits its own post.

A slew of low- to no-cost apps to help your pics look their best are introduced on a near daily basis. While there are a ton of novelty apps, most offer multiple options allowing you to take pictures, edit and share within the app. This seemingly basic capability has helped photo sharing become as common as placing calls on many mobile devices.

Here are just three mobile photo apps that have made the biggest impact on my picture taking:

• Camera+   A colleague introduced me to Camera+ after I'd been using CamerBag (which is a fine filter app). But if I had only one app, it would be Camera+. It allows you to easily edit and apply a ton of filters to your pictures. And combined with iPhone's HDR capabilities, it's made my Instagram pics look better than amatuer at times.
• Diptic   Diptic lets you combine images. Think of "before and after" shots or a series of shots that tell a story. It's flexible and dead simple to use. There's also a Flickr group dedicated to this app.
• PhotoShop Express   It's a basic version of Photoshop that lets you shoot/edit and share. It's the only free app in my top three. But it's connected to Photoshop's online tools and makes for a very handy companion if you're using those tools.

There are a ton of niche apps I use from time to time that complement the above apps.

• Halftone   A fun app that turns your pics into comic strip panels.
• Panorama 360   The simplest, most social panorama app I've ever used.
• Labelbox   Scrapbook-inspired, it lets you put captions on your images.
• ToonPAINT   Turn your pics into somewhat abstract drawings. You can paint them afterwards as well.
• Slow Shutter Cam   For anyone that's been dying to create streaming light pics, this is your app.
• mogophoto   From slow shutter to fast, mogophoto takes 20 pictures in 1-2 seconds for stop-motion photography. It's great for sporting events and live action shots.

All off these apps are good at what they do. But they're just the tip of the app store. I've also played with picfx, Picture Effect Magic, Color Splash, Photo Mess, myPhotoBooth, LEGO Photo and even The Threadless Threadcam.

These apps have impacted the quality of my pictures and even how I use sites like Flickr and most recently Instagram. They're fun to use and have inspired my creativity. What are your favorite photo apps?

The Anti-Social Media Trend

A group of new social media applications are focused on letting you share -- but with a closed circle of friends.

Apps like Path, GroupMe, Fast Society and ChattrSpace are focused on letting you share and communicate quickly and easily to a predefined group of people.

Surely one reason for the influx of these sites is practical in nature. It's tough to impossible to target across sites like Twitter and Facebook. But until these apps launched, "walled gardens" were considered a negative. Lightweight user actions like OAuth have evolved to make it simple for users to register at a site or risk not building a user base.

Private, I
But I think privacy is the bigger driving factor. Facebook is messy when it comes to professional and personal boundaries. Some folks are ok with these two worlds mixing. Others, understandably, are not.

I often tell people the best, if not only, way to keep something private is to keep it offline all together. Terms of service change. Privacy settings change. Users need to take personal accountability for their privacy. How many of us do? And even if someone rethinks something they've put online and pulls it down before Google sees it, sites like Lamebook are examples of the power and permanence of the screen grab.

Selective Sharing
These apps offer a helpful option for keeping parts of your online life compartmentalized. And they may signal a new trend of more selective sharing. Even niche geo-location apps offer selective sharing capabilities.

Face2Face differentiates itself by only sharing your information and location with friends in the general proximity you're in as opposed to all of your friends. And it won't pinpoint your location to these friends, noting you're on 5th and Vine instead of at Tazza Mia. Selective sharing gives you an added layer of targeting and choice that is achievable to a lesser degree on sites like Twitter and Facebook, these features are opposite of their primary goal.

These apps may seem anti-social in comparison to the sites we focus on today. But they're a necessary response to privacy concerns and they will surely help more users migrate to social media.

Internet vs Privacy - A Helpful Venn Diagram uploaded by Dave Makes

Cross-Posted to my work blog, Social Study

QR Codes -- Marketing's Scan-gasm

The marketing industry seems to be shifting its attention from going geo-loco to going QRazy over the latest shiny new object: QR Codes.

QR Codes are being scattered across marketing efforts like rice at a wedding. They're being used in ads, on billboards, as avatars, magazine art and t-shirts to name just a few applications.

There are some very practical uses for QR Codes, including museum docents, real estate assistants and cause marketing advocates. It offers consumers instant gratification, the opportunity to connect with a brand and the entertainment of discovery.

Utility vs. Trendy
My issue is with the large number of QR Codes pushed out by marketers that are technology for technology's sake. For example, if a brand is using a QR code just to push consumers to their web site, I'm told  UR Locaters do that just as easily.

And if a marketer is considering QR codes, why not barcodes? London's Gatwick Airport asked this question and decided to use barcodes and Stickybits to implement an awareness campaign around an ongoing construction project.

Gatwick Airport's agency explained their choice as follows: "There is extensive use of QR codes, but we thought at this point in time consumers would be more receptive to the type of codes they are familiar with and see in stores day in and day out. Stickybits also provided us with a ready-made solution, that was easy to manage and works."

QR codes are getting the buzz worthy of a shiny new object, but the consumer's awareness of barcodes is a great point. There is education required regardless of which you choose, but Stickybits offers the marketer a bit more flexibility and a level of engagement that QR codes seemingly cannot. Disclaimer: I've written a post on StickyBits in the past and I'm rooting for this service to get more traction along with QR codes.

There is a level of visual aesthetic you can achieve with barcodes. And using Stickybits you do not run into compatibility issues across phones and different types of QR codes.

QR Codes are to VHS What Barcodes are to Beta?
Are QR codes and Barcodes the same as VHS and Beta? Hardly. Barcodes are simply the hard-working step child and QR codes are the sibling attending the hot parties, dressed up and getting their pic snapped on the red carpet. Look past the shiny new aura to see if QR codes, barcodes or something else might be the best tactic to support your next marketing strategy. 

North Terminal Interchange uploaded by London Gatwick Airport