Blog
5 Tips to a Spam Free Life!
- Say no! When making a purchase on a website you will almost always be asked to receive newsletters, or promotions and sometimes it isn’t that obvious or the checkbox is already pre-selected. Make sure to uncheck “YES, I would like to receive….” to avoid signing up for unnecessary junk.
- Beat them at their own game. Have a dedicated spam account. Create an email account to utilize only when you are making online purchases or want to subscribe to enewsletters without really wanting to get bombarded with information on a daily basis.
- Block the application. On social media sites like Facebook you can block applications from which you receive spam.
- Install a filter. For most blog sites, you can install a filter that will decrease the amount of spam your comment box receives. Comment box spam usually includes a link to another website.
- Proceed with caution. Be aware of what information you allow web applications to access when creating accounts on various networks and sites.
Hope these few tips help you to be spam free… or at least spam lite!
Maryam Mehrtash
@socialmaryam
What We Can Learn from Grasshoppers
Photo Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2234
One of my favourite stories my father used to tell me when I was a girl was about a scientist and a grasshopper.
The scientist used the grasshopper to conduct an experiment.
He began by placing the insect in a metal box and telling it to jump. The grasshopper jumped.
Then the scientist picked up the grasshopper, removed one of its legs, set it back down in the metal box and asked it to jump again. It did.
The scientist then removed another leg and repeated the steps. Again, the grasshopper jumped.
The scientist removed a third leg, then a forth. Each time telling the grasshopper to jump. But each time, having to say it more than once, and with increasing volume.
Upon pulling the 5th leg off, the scientist set the grasshopper down and shouted at the top of his lungs “JUMP”. It did. Feebly.
Finally, once the 6th leg was plucked off, the scientist set the grasshopper down and said “Jump. Jump. JUMP!” until he was red in the face. The grasshopper did not jump.
Excitedly, the scientist reached for his notebook and proceeded to write his conclusion “The loss of all legs caused grasshopper to go deaf”.
I used to laugh at such a ridiculous conclusion. But now, such ridiculous conclusions are made at disturbing frequency in the land of all things Web. The reason might be attributed to too much data, not enough context. A common complaint from the wise Avinash Kaushik. Unhelpful piles of data with no one to correctly interpret them.
Or perhaps the reason is convenience. It’s convenient to conclude that no one is clicking “Buy My Book” on your website because people just aren’t interested in the book. Rather than, people aren’t clicking on it because the button is too small, or is hidden at the bottom of an internal web page. Or perhaps people ARE clicking on it, but can’t finish the purchase because no one conducted a usability test on your website – and there’s actually an error preventing people from completing a sale.
Ah… conclusions. They can be so wrong and so damaging. They can also make you deaf.
Tags: Google Analytics, Usability Testing, website
What if Social Gaming Became Real Life & Vice Versa?
Social gaming has become a part of many people’s lives. A statistic reported in January 2012, stated 81 million people in the US play every day. The line between real world and a game is also blurring as the virtual goods market, in the US alone, is anticipated to hit $2.9 billion in 2012 and as games are beginning to offer real-life rewards.
But what if a game became real life and real life became a game?
Let’s use the widely popular game, Angry Birds as an example. Let’s imagine the tasks of the game as tasks in real life. Your job, every day, is to sling shot different coloured birds at pigs protected by structures. Your wage is based on how many pigs and structures you destroy. When you think about it, this is kind of like combining the professions of demolition and butchery. This probably wouldn’t be your first choice as a profession, but luckily, it also doesn’t sound too realistic.
What if we imagined the opposite where real life became a game? For example, you still have your normal job and you live life like you already do, however, everything you do in life will earn you “game” points. For example, your job will pay you X number of points, when you take out the garbage you get X number of points, when you eat at a restaurant you get another set of points. These points, could then be used to “upgrade” yourself, for example, with new outfits or accessories. The points can also be used to get special “bonuses” like, VIP treatments or earn double the points for a certain amount of time.
Hmm…Does that sound familiar?
Victor
Digital Strategist
Photo Credit: Ethan Hein
- – - – - – - – -
What If …Series (5 most recent posts)
What if Marketing Stopped Evolving
What if You Had No Control of Your Brand? Oh Right. You Don’t!
What If All You Needed Was One Device?
What if You Described Your Digital Strategy as a Volleyball Team?
Tags: gamification, real life, social gaming, stats
Think Differently
What if you turned right when you should have turned left?
You might drive into oncoming traffic, which would be bad. Or maybe you’ll end up somewhere you never expected. Sometimes doing the unusual, unnatural or unexpected thing will help you see something new and possibly inspire an idea for your next digital strategy.
Some of the most popular social media networks were built with an intended purpose. They have features and functions that allow users to perform intended tasks. For example, you’re suppose to post 140 character messages on Twitter. You’re suppose to upload videos to YouTube. You’re suppose to upload photos to Flickr. You’re suppose to pin images on Pinterest. You’re suppose to create a Facebook Timeline Business Page.
But what if we re-imagined how we used these networks?
What if you used Twitter solely for taking customer food purchase orders?
- Users would send an @reply to your account saying, Combo A, Combo B, etc.
What if you used Twitter to publish a collection of photos?
- Publish links to photos hosted on Instagram, TwitPic or YFrog.
YouTube
What if you used YouTube to conduct focus groups?
- Publish 3 videos, each with a different idea. Ask participants to like the video/idea they like best.
What if you used YouTube to as a customer service tool?
- Publish a video of the customer service representative describing himself/herself and his/her responsibilities. Ask customers to post inquires in the comments section. Monitor and respond to the comments.
Flickr
What if you used Flickr to publish a comic strip or a picture story?
- Each photo will act as one box in a comic strip. Different photos sets and photo galleries can be created for each story.
What if you used Pinterest to create a instructional manual?
- The step by step manual will have a picture and written instructions. Users can even comment on a specific step if they need clarification.
What if you used the new Facebook Page Timeline to post a fictional story?
- The story will be display chronologically along the timeline. Status updates with text can be added and photos can be added.
Victor Chan
Digital Strategist
Photo Credit: nestor galina
- – - – - – - – -
What If …Series (5 most recent posts)
What if Marketing Stopped Evolving
What if You Had No Control of Your Brand? Oh Right. You Don’t!
What If All You Needed Was One Device?
What if You Described Your Digital Strategy as a Volleyball Team?
What if the Marketing Rule of 7 Became the Rule of 1?
Tags: facebook, flickr, pinterest, Twitter, youtube
Couch Potatoes Unite!
Your remote is ringing. Oh no wait.. it’s a text. My bad.
You don’t need to be told that the way you watch TV is changing. We can see the change coming in so many ways. Some of us embracing it more firmly than others. But this week is a good time to start thinking about this impending revolution, in Canada anyway. As we tweeted earlier this week, Shaw Media is now partnering with GetGlue for some of its shows.
GetGlue is a social network specifically designed for entertainment. You can “check-in” to shows, films or music you’re listening to, to obtain stickers and ultimately, rewards. You will also see who else is a fan of your favorite shows or bands. GetGlue has been around for a few years, but less accessible to Canadians.
As of January 2012, the network reached 2-million members and a cool 100-million check-ins in 2011. Largely it’s American fans that have led the charge, but this recent move by Shaw could now make GetGlue more relevant for Canadian fans.
Now would be an excellent time to give GetGlue a test drive…especially given that this year we’ve broken all sorts of records for social media engagement with and/or about TV events, such as the SuperBowl and the Grammy’s. It’s clear people want to socialize, virtually, around their favorite content. Maybe it’s time to see what all the fuss is about.
The social television trend is going strong and getting stronger, as evidenced by the recent SXSW conference in Austin, TX. The question now is will you come along for the ride?
Erin
Tags: GetGlue, Social TV, SXSW, TV
