Technology you shouldn’t ignore

in 2012Prescriptions from Ken Colburn‘The Data Doctor’

Four Main Technologies:

»Mobile»Social»The Cloud»Crowdsourcing

Mobile & Social

A Mobile Revolution &

A Social Revolution

We are all currently experiencing a dual REVOLUTION…

Mobile Statistics:•In 2011, more than 50% of ‘local’ searches were done from a mobile device

• 91% of mobile Internet use is social related

•Women aged 35-54 are THE MOST ACTIVE group in mobile social

Prescription #1View all of your web properties on a

mobile device to see if you are

“Mobile Friendly”

(if not, make it so!)

Social Statistics:•There are over 800 Million Facebook users (200 Million joined in 2011)• The average Facebook user

has130 friends

•Virtually every major event that occurs in the world is reported on Twitter first

Every consumer of content can now be a producer of content…

…everyone now has a voice, every minute of the day.

Your customer’s communication protocols are changing….

Are yours?

Pre-Internet (one to many)

Customer

Internet Revolution (one to one)

Customer

The Social Revolution (one to one to many)

Customer

The Threat

Customer

The Old Paradigm The New Paradigm

Your business was the center of the buying decision

Your business is one small factor in the buying decision

Today, what others say

about YOU is much more

important than what YOU say

about YOU…

More ways to use Social Media in Business:

•Feedback•Market Research•Customer Service & Support•New Product Development•Become the Expert•Marketing Offers•Public Relations•Recruiting

REALLY GOOD NEWS:It’s Word of Mouth on Steroids!

Prescription #2Get Social

You can’t build a strategy for something you don’t use or

don’t understand

The 3 Steps to Getting Social:•Observe what others are doing•Engage with your customers

•Measure your results

A bit of perspective• Bill Gates initially ignored the Internet Revolution until his

e-mail Inbox was flooded• Xerox invented the mouse, the GUI & Ethernet but never

profited from them because they were a paper company• Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment - “There is no

reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.”

• Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer - “I’d shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders” speaking of Apple

• IBM President Thomas J. Watson - “I think there is a worldwide market for maybe 5 computers”

• Steve Ballmer of Microsoft - “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance!”

Proper perspective• You’d never have a single person using e-mail or

the telephone for the entire organization, nor should SM be addressed in this manner

• SM is not a tactic, it is THE emerging communication method that will have the greatest impact on how we do business in the very near future (it’s the new telephone)

• If you don’t require clear ROI for your Blackberry, e-mail or your phone system, why would you demand ROI for Social Media?

Demystifying ”The Cloud”It’s simply a metaphor for the Internet… AOL was likely

your first ‘Cloud’ experience – When any data is stored on the Internet, it’s ‘in the cloud’.

Some popular ‘Cloud’ services:•Gmail, Google Docs, Calendars, etc.•SalesForce.com•Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn•WordPress, Tumblr•Quickbooks & TurboTax Online•Apple’s iCloud & PhotoStream•Microsoft’s Windows Live Skydrive•DropBox•Carbonite & Backupify

Pros & Cons of ”The Cloud”Pros:

•Your data is no longer tethered to a single device•Backup is handled by the provider•No expensive software updates, they just happen•Pay-as-you-go with no huge up-front costs•Much easier to collaborate

Cons:•No Internet connection, No data•Performance is tied to your Internet bandwidth•Once you commit, it’s difficult to switch•Security & Privacy is in the hands of a third party

Prescription #3Get Your Head In The Cloud

Explore areas that can improve productivity (file syncing, calendars, etc.)

Research how the cloud is being used by others in your

industry(trade shows, publications, networking

groups, LinkedIn)

CrowdSourcingThe act of sourcing tasks traditionally performed by specific individuals to a group of people or community

Can be a Threat or Opportunity to your business

Examples of CrowdSourcing:•Wikipedia•99Designs – Logo & Web design•Re:Captcha – Fight robot spam & digitize books•eYeka – Co-creation community•TopCoder – Software & Digital creation•IdeaBounty – Get paid for your ideas•InnoCentive – $5K to $1M for solving complex problems•Etsy - the world’s handmade marketplace•Ponoko – Personal Factory for businesses that make things

Prescription #4Research Global OpportunitiesJust because you live in Northern Arizona,

doesn’t mean you can’t be global

Providing Products & Services via the Web isn’t for everyone, but you don’t know what you don’t know!

Connect with me!

Ken@DataDoctors.com

DataDoctors.com

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