I’m sort of over this whole social media thing. Not to the tools mind you but more the notion – less the doing and more the obnoxious selling (whoring) of the idea. For the last few years I’ve watched social media explode globally and people who initially sneered at the idea of posting your whereabouts or activities, now happily share links and post photos via Twitpic.

But the one thing that hasn’t progressed in that time is the marketing of social media. I’m still seeing the same examples used in the same presentations. The same “edgy” PR and Marketing companies are still going through the same needlessly salacious powerpoints talking about how you NEED to be a part of the social media landscape.

I’m not saying it isn’t effective, but it’s effective in all the wrong ways. Now everyone wants a Facebook page regardless of whether they have a community to build around or even a message to impart.

Twitter is overrun with accounts that only push out the most disingenuous content (we’ve update our app, we’re playing at this club, etc) and it’s tough to distinguish the spammers from the lazy and ill-informed.

Marketers – we’re the ones out there pushing its virtues, therefore it’s up to us to police its use.

There’s of course the other side other coin, where companies know they should participate in social media, but are like an overly cautious child staring down at the water from the high-diving board. They’ve seen all these horror stories about companies being pilloried on Twitter and had their reputations blogged into the ground and now they’re terrified that one false step will crush their brand forever.

They don’t want to take chances and that falls on us as well.

Can we get past the “how sexy is social media” thing and treat it as another effective and powerful communication tool? Some people are already doing this, or more accurately have been doing this from the start. But way too many are out there flogging this in all the wrong ways. Splashy statistics are great. So are in your face graphics, but let’s try and make sure these companies know what the hell it is they’re doing.

And while we're at it, can we move past the cash-grab that is the Social Media boot camp? Seriously?

(originally posted May 2010)

As you have may have read, Google’s Android has now officially outsold Apple’s iPhone in the US and how they did it is no secret – volume. They licensed their software across a bunch of platforms enabling them to appear on brands as varied as LG, Samsung, Motorola and HTC. No magic, just good business.

De ja vu all over again.

But didn't Apple go through this once already? When companies like IBM and Apple were hung up on hardware, some tiny company called Microsoft snuck through the backdoor on a different model entirely – software.

This is the way Apple has always done things. They create the content – like an operating system – and then insist the only way to deliver it is from one of their machines (fair enough). And when you create such a smooth interface people will clearly flock to it. But you’re only ever going to hit a certain percentage of the market. And while counting the giant piles of iPod generated money, Apple seems to be okay with this.

Control = total user experience

There’s no doubt that for most people, Apple produces a seamless experience from start to finish on the iPhone. I buy apps from their store, I load songs via their software and surf the web on their browser.

There will always be people who want the simple one-stop shopping experience where everything is right in front of them.  But it's safe to say people are becoming more and more comfortable with technology every day. There is an ever-growing sect of people craving something more expandable, more open and customizable (for proof just look at the thriving jailbreaking community).

Apple even recognized that with the iPad launch (and iPhone 4.0 software) allowing users the ability to customize their background. I doubt this means we'll start seeing lot's of customization for any of their products, it's no secret that the one thing Apple insists on is total and utter control.

What do you think? Is Apple's business style an outmoded one or is Android simply flooding the market on the backs of generic carriers?



As long as there have been blogs there have been people crying for them to be taken seriously and looked upon with respect. The line between “established” news agency sites and blogs has long been blurred (especially when I see blogs credited in movie trailers for their reviews).

The long and short of it being that bloggers feel like they should be mentioned in the same breath any other mainstream media organization. Well, this week that happened.

Gizmodo broke the “story” about how some apparently drunk Apple employee left the new iPhone 4G at a bar and it somehow managed to end up in the hands of Gizmodo bloggers. You can go there to read the full story.

But breaking a news story isn’t what makes Gizmodo like the big news agencies. No, what makes them carbon copies of the age-old news cycle is their constant flogging and  repeated overkill of the story.

They covered everything and from every angle. 2 or 3 times a day Gizmodo is updating their site with new and (not at all) fresh takes on the “iPhone story,” including an entire article dedicated to their TV coverage!! What the Fuck! You’ve now started covering yourself, being covered for covering the story. I can only imagine this much ego and self-congratulation will cause the Internet to collapse in on itself, and thus start some sort of black-hole of douchery.

My first reaction was – wow, you guys have clearly NEVER broken anything of import before and are sure it will never happen again, so you’re riding it for all it’s worth. But frankly, they (Gizmodo) are simply emulating the same capital N news organizations - like CNN and FOX News - that they probably make fun of.

No matter what they reason one thing is clear – ease off the iPhone 4G coverage for a day or two. We get it, you’re awesome and news-worthy and just like every other news coverage I’ve ever seen. Happy now?

Maybe everyone's seen this already - maybe not? I sure hadn't until this link appeared in my inbox this morning.

There are a lot of really exciting, interesting things happening with technology right now, but watching this feels like the future. Once you understand how it works it's pretty straight forward, but none-the-less, this is fantastic and it's safe to say a company like GE is clearly embracing new technology.

Just because I'm so excited about this, here are a few more examples.