Cloud Computing's Impact on Digital Marketing - Trends to Watch

Photo credit: King Cloud by akakumo.

The following is my column in next week's AdAge...

One of the biggest trends shaping technology today is called "cloud computing." Consumers and business are moving more of their data off their computers and into rich Internet applications that are available everywhere - e.g. "the cloud." You can experience this for yourself on sites like Yahoo Mail, Google Docs, Salesforce.com and Mint.com.

While geeks have been gushing over web-based software for years now, the average consumer has been slower in adopting them. That said, given the already huge popularity of webmail services, it's only a matter of time before they do for more complex tasks.

Here are three things for marketers to watch...

LESS IS MORE: How much did you spend on your last computer? If you're like most you probably plunked down anywhere from $1,000 to $2,000. However, your next computer could be a sub-$500 netbook.

Netbooks are light, low-powered, cheap laptops with small screens. They rely on the Internet for most tasks and are growing in popularity. According to Google Trends, netbook searches are up 4x this year and IDC sees sales topping nine million in 2012.

As netbooks rise, thin will be in. Since these computers are underpowered by design, consumers who use these devices will eschew complicated, 3D or processor-intense experiences in favor of interfaces that are easy and formatted for a 10" screen.

WEB APP ADS: Many online applications like Google Reader are free. Others, like Mindmeister - a mind mapping tool - operate under a fremium model where the basics are free but advanced features carry a premium. To date most are devoid of ads.

Webmail has displayed ads since its earliest days. Others like Meebo, a universal IM service, or the online radio site Pandora are taking this a step further by creating immersive brand experiences. However this is just the beginning.

As web applications rise, it will unleash innovation. For example, online photo editors like Adobe Photoshop Express (note - Adobe is an Edelman client) or Picnik could serve ads for how-to photography books to consumers that spend an extensive amount of time tinkering.

MOBILE FIRST, NOT LAST: Too often today, mobile is an afterthought rather than the focal point when it comes to digital marketing.

Cloud computing is liberating people from their computers. Some executives I know leave their laptops at home when traveling on business since their smartphones carry the load. In 10 years time this will be the norm as mobile devices, powered by cloud computing, wirelessly connect to keyboards, mice and monitors and offer as rich experience as today's computers. This trend toward one device that does it all will be a catalyst for mobile marketing.

UPDATE:: One thing I did not cover in this column is reliability. Om's got a great post on this today.

Moderating Comments at the New York Times

Ever wonder how a big web site like the New York Times moderates comments? Look no further. Marci Alboher, one of the paper's bloggers, explains her responsibility in the process and points to the Times' official policy on the matter.

In Alboher's case, what's notable is that she doesn't stand for anything self-promotional. She bounces comments that she says are "pandering to me (like visiting the blog to tell me that I’m
brilliant and have my finger on the pulse of something) or blatantly
self-promotional."

Read

The Risk in Using Twitter as a Public Utility

Despite all of its recent up-time troubles, Twitter's growth has been on a tear lately. According to Google Ad Planner data, time spent is off the charts at a staggering 550 seconds per user in the US and 560 seconds globally. Compare those figures to 480 seconds per user for CNN - a site that's at least 10 years older. In addition, as you can see from the chart below, daily unique users are skyrocketing as well.

As Twitter's audience grows more companies are starting using it to engage its user base. In essence this turns the site into a service and fosters innovation. For example, I love how the Los Angeles County Fire Department is using Twitter for news distribution.

Some have wisely suggested that utility computing is a potential business model for the micro-blogging service. This is already happening perhaps more than meets the eye. For example, Mindmeister, the online mindmapping tool, uses the Twitter API to power it's SMS alerting capabilities. Therein lies the issue. If Twitter makes a change to the API, which it did yesterday, then it impacts anyone who uses it. As a result, Mindmeister was forced to make changes to the way it handles notifications.

The takeaway here for me is that as fantastic as web services are, many of them are controlled by one party and are thus a single point of failure. If they go down or the particular site makes a change to the web service call, it can potentially ripple through the Internet economy if the API is popular.

So, mashup, develop and go nuts with APIs - but always proceed with caution becuase the rug can be pulled out from under you as it was for Mindmeister.

Does the Thrill of the Chase Make PR Obsolete?

As a relatively high-profile blogger, I get to see things that others in PR, even those who blog, don't experience. One of those is my Gmail inbox. It's my barometer for how the public relations is adapting in this era of change. The forecast? We're smack dab in a cat five hurricane.

Every day I am deluged with hundreds of PR pitches. They come from everywhere: startups, big companies, competing PR firms and, occasionally, from people inside Edelman where I work. I read all the emails but delete 99.99% of them. I don't even respond. I feel bad about it, but they're so off base I can't even begin to tell you how bad they are.

To be sure, there are a few companies that get it right all the time - mostly those with content like ABC News, the New York Times, Pew, Hitwise, Forrester, IDC and others. The rest simply don't. However, I can't fault these PR pros. They're doing their job. They are doing what has always worked for them and I guess continues: sending out lots of email pitches in hopes that some stick. But those days are coming to an end.

It's my view that increasingly, bloggers (and maybe journos too) simply don't want our help. Many bloggers - particularly those who cover tech - love to discover new things and experience them on their own, unaided by PR. Exhibit A: Robert Scoble. Note the joy of serendipity in his post. However he's not alone by any means.

I know that when I write about news (which is not as often as I used to), I mostly do so if I discovered it on my own - as I did twice over the weekend. If I didn't find it on my own or stumble upon it early myself, I don't bother. I actually like the thrill of the chase and serendipity. I want to be first. This is something that has fueled the egos of reporters for years - partly because it sells. Heck, count me in.

So what then for PR? If this is a universal truth - and I am not sure that it is - does it make us obsolete? If we don't adapt, yessir. PR Week Publishing Director Julia Hood and I recently discussed about this during our New Media Summit in Chicago. She said, and I agree, that pitching is broken.

We have to stop spamming people and make sure that companies and products are easy and a joy to discover. That's no easy feat. Further, it means giving up control. However, in a Google age where self-discovery rules, it's becoming a must.

New York Times Flags Print Edition Stories

The New York Times recently made a small, but important change to stories they post on their web site. If the story made it into print, at the bottom they include a tiny footnote that says where it ran and when. For example, the footer on this piece on video games notes: "A version of this article appeared in print on August 10, 2008, on page AR1 of the New York edition."

This kind of context is helpful not only for readers, but PR pros as well. The major monitoring services like Factiva tell you where a story ran, but Google News does not. Now it's easier to tell.

Most publications don't offer feeds for their print edition content. I wish they would. It provides context. The Economist is one of the few that does. However, at least for the Times, you can now you easily use Google News to build a feed for stories that they ran in print. Simply search for the phrase appeared in print. Then you can subscribe to the the RSS feed Google generates.

If you want, you can even get more specific - creating a feed for all stories that ran in print that are on a particular subject. For example, here's a search for stories about the Olympics that ran in the print edition of the Times. You can subscribe to the feed here.