What's Next For Apple?

There's no question that Apple are innovators. The iPod revolutionised portable music players. iTunes instantly became a firm favourite for organising your music and creating playlists. The iPhone has jumped ahead of every other mobile phone manufacturer as a leading mobile device. And on the horizon the iPad looks set to become just as popular. So what's next? What's Apple's next big innovation?

Well, if a new Apple patent is anything to go by, it may be the sun-backlit Macbook!



The idea would appear to hinge (pardon the pun) on a mirror magnetically attached to the the top lid that would illuminate the screen of your macbook by reflecting the sun. The benefits would be a huge saving on power consumption and, most likely, a greater ability to use the device in direct sunlight i.e. no screen glare. At the moment it's difficult to imagine how this would be carried off and still look awesome (as Apple products always do), but I have no doubt if anyone can do it, Apple can.

The Last Agency On Earth

I was sent a link to this video on the Ogilvy Blog (Blogilvy) by Brendan. Brilliant stuff, well worth a watch...

Social Media Roles

It seems that almost every week a new Social Media Expert or Guru springs up to offer us their superior knowledge and ability. They selflessly put themselves forward to fix all our Social Media woes, and ask for nothing in return except a giant fee. Thankfully these charlatans and would be hucksters are invariably easy to spot and quickly outed as what they truly are. The most annoying thing about these "Twitter Kings" and "Dr.s of Social Media" is that they tear down the good work being done by people across the digital landscape.

So what of the folk out there that aren't pushing themselves as an Expert or Guru? What of the people who offer their advice or genuine expertise to those who want it. These people do exist, and they can help your business, but the difficulty is realising who they are and what they can do for you. I started considering some of the people that I know personally and what they are great at, what they can offer businesses. I realised quickly that there are several different distinct roles that exist within the Social Media Sphere, and while a person may cross over several of these roles, there is ultimately no such thing as a single Social Media Expert who can single handedly tick all boxes and requirements. So here's an initial list of Social Media Roles:

Social Media Instructor
This is the person who has the ability to sit down with anyone; explain what Social Media is, why they should be using it, how to best use it and what the benefits are. This person knows how to use the various different Social Media tools on the market and keeps abreast of all the latest developments in the Social Media Sphere. As with any teacher or lecturer, however, this is the role that is the hardest to learn - teaching comes naturally and the best instructors have an ability that can't be learned or faked.

Conference Speaker
In my opinion the Conference Speaker is essentially the same as the Instructor but where the Instructor may not have the ability to stand up and speak in front of large crowds, the Conference Speaker does. Similarly, the Conference Speaker may find themselves unable to sit down and create meaningful one-to-one communications. Beyond this though, both roles are almost identical with the Conference Speaker being just as versed in the cutting edge of Social Media as their counterpart. They know what Social Media can do and how to use it best. Most importantly they can also put this into captivating and engaging presentations.

Content Manager
At the heart of all Social Media is content. Fresh, engaging and unique content. The Content Manager both creates and curates, and ultimately drives Social Media. They may have the most important social media role of all, and with an ever escalating amount of new data and content being created everyday, their role will become ever more important. They will be the people who streamline online content into manageable categories for user consumption. They will be essential to the prevention of data overload.

Event Organiser
Summits, Seminars, Streetups, Tweetups and Conferences; the Event Organiser provides the key role of facilitating the offline interactions that create the content for our various Social Media channels.

Community Manager
In the last 12 months every major Social Media Platform has created Community Manager roles. These are the people who drive conversation and interaction between brands/businesses and the public. They provide the voice of these organisations and will most likely be a natural networker and "people person". They understand how to communicate personally with their users and facilitate the organic development of brand ambassadors - users who will promote the brand/business on their own.

Marketing Consultant
Finally there's the Marketing Consultant. This is the person who understands what Social Media can do for an integrated marketing programme, and how to use it effectively to achieve strategic marketing objectives. A Marketing Consultant will understand how to use Social Media in coordination with the full modern digital marketing mix; driving heighten interaction and engagement rates with online display advertising, Social Media advertising, Search Engine Optimisation, Digital PR and Pay Per Click Advertising.

These are the 6 Social Media roles that I see in the Social Media Sphere, but it is very much an initial list and I would envision it changing and possibly growing as Social Media matures and develops. If there are any glaring absences here please feel free to let me know. I'd be very interested to know what roles other people see.

A Tribute to Merton

Last Thursday I wrote about the internet's latest fad, Chat Roulette. I posted the awesome video of self taught piano player Merton with his improv piano sessions with random chatters. Just two days later in front of a live audience at Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ben Folds Five performed a tribute to Merton...

Whose View 6 Months On

Back in September I wrote about WhoseView.ie. 6 months on I thought it would be nice to take another look at the site and see exactly what has happened in the last 180 or so days.

WhoseView.ie are now averaging 60k unique visitors a month and have reached 2,600 site members. The site has also surpassed 6,300 reviews with an average of 60 to 100 reviews posted every day. The guys have also been working tirelessly to optimise the site and have fixed over 300 different bugs and implement a host of new functionality driven directly by user experience feedback. Finally, WhoseView.ie has also been striving to increase its all Ireland offering with Galway and Cork now representing almost 25% of all reviews being posted.

An overview of site traffic

Recent Site Landmarks

• On Sept 25th we were shortlisted in 3 categories at the 2009 Irish Web Awards.
• On Oct 27th, we were shortlisted in 3 categories at the 2009 Golden Spider Awards.
• On Nov 1st, we rolled out our service to Galway, adding 4,000 businesses to the the existing 38,000 Dublin businesses listed on whoseview.ie
• On Nov 10th, we surpassed the 100,000 visitor since opening the site to the public on July 17th 2009.
• On Nov 19th, we won the Best Indigenous Website at the 2009 Golden Spider Awards.
• On Nov 20th, we signed a content partnership with Google to launch in Jan 2010.
• On Dec 18th, we signed up our 1000th member.
• On Dec 21st, our members have posted close to 2,500 category reviews and comments.
• On Dec 23rd, we launched our iPhone V1 app, allowing our members search and browse local businesses in Dublin and Galway while on the move.

To quickly recap, for those who aren't familiar with the site, WhoseView.ie is a review site based entirely on user generated review. You review whatever you want to review and you review it exactly as you want to. The most important thing is that WhoseView assures unedited reviews just as the member intended. This, coupled with the functionality of the site itself, makes it a real winner. The site is driven by a principle of user facilitation and user functionality. Members can use the site more like a social network. Add friends, comment on reviews and engage with people who have similar tastes/likes. In my mind this makes perfect sense. You actually get to communicate with other members and get can share your opinion - essential for a review service, and yet this is the first time someone has really done it.