Siri At My Service

My first hours with my new personal assistant had me wondering if I should do more interviews to fill the job.

Siri, through my new iPhone 4S, was spotty -- and I'm being generous. Frequently, she said she couldn't find the network. Requests in a loud envionment were a waste of time.

But synching helped the network problem and things have gotten somewhat better.

She's no All-Star. I'm still shaking my head over how she delivered Washington DC results when I specifically asked for a gym near Seattle.

But adding an appointment to my calendar couldn't be easier and sending a text to someone in my contact list is a breeze.

I'll get to know her better and report back. 

Will Siri Really Serve Us?

We all need an assistant. The more intelligent, the better.

In addition to the announcement and news around the soon-to-be-introduced in iPhone 4S, this week’s conference gave us a deeper view into how Siri – the technology Apple quietly (and cleverly) acquired last year — plays in a bigger ambition to deliver us suggestions, recommendations and assistance on our mobile devices. Apple’s Siri is marketed as the smart helper that gets things done. All we have to do is ask.

Think of Siri as an electronic concierge and virtual assistant at our call 24/7. No job interviews, hourly wages or background checks before we take Siri into our employ. Siri is trusted and smart — equipped to manage our lives as if she came right out of Harvard or Oxford. Or so we’re told.

According to Apple, Siri understands context and natural language. No need to tailor how you talk to match a machine. Imagine you ask Siri: “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” Siri understands you are really looking for a weather forecast.

Apple also tells us that Siri — like any capable and qualified assistant — is knowledgeable about using the personal information we allow it to access. For example, if you tell Siri: “Remind me to call Mom when I get home,” it can find “Mom” in your address book and carry out the task. Ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location, data communicated by the GPS capability in the device.

And the list goes on. Siri supposedly helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, and get directions. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations — all this just by asking Siri.

There are obvious benefits to having an electronic concierge to help us manage our lives and work – if the technology works, of course. However, voice recognition is not entirely suited to how we live our lives. There are times when you can’t speak out loud (in class or during a play to name two).  And let’s not forget that voice recognition has been inexact for years, especially in loud places where the technology often can’t distinguish one voice or noise from another.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s imagine that Siri does exactly what Apple says it can. There are huge implications for brands when our personal devices are equipped with personal digital assistants. Are companies going to continue to pay for an ad in a Google query if a mobile subscriber can bypass traditional keyword search altogether by just asking their new and knowledgeable pal, Siri? Will advertisers still sponsor the traffic alerts if Siri can tell their customers all they need to know?

On the positive side, the concierge concept could deliver marketers deeper demographics and more insights into what people want, prefer and demand based on what they ask Siri to do in the first place. Siri may be the next big thing, but we won’t know for sure until the devices are on sale and the service stands up to consumer road tests in the wild. The big question is: how much will people trust and rely on Siri for assistance. It’s one marketers will have to wait out. One thing is certain: marketers won’t get the answer just by asking Siri. This is where first-hand experience, knowledge and interacting with customers will give us the ability to gauge their real interest and actual participation.

(first appeared here http://www.mobilegroove.com/remebering-steve-jobs-why-siri-wont-provide-mobile-marketers-all-the-answers/)

Remembering Steve Jobs

Much like I remember where I was when I learned the tragic news that John Lennon had been shot (I was watching Monday Night Football and heard it from broadcaster Howard Cosell), I’ll now never forget where I was and what I was doing when I learned of Steve Jobs’ passing.

It’s rather fitting that I was 36,000 feet in the air connected to an in-flight Wi-Fi system working on a MacBook Air at the time. Thus, I was able to benefit from the technology advancements made possible by visionaries (like Jobs) who have brought us all advantages that generations before us would never know.

And that brings me to another connection between Lennon and Jobs. Each asked us to imagine and look beyond the ‘here and now’ to what will be – if we are open to it.

In this respect, the contributions by Lennon and Jobs are tied to imagination and what can happen when we free our minds. They reshaped our thinking about peace, technology and the world around us. And through their vision and passion they made our world a better place.

To me, this is their legacy and the biggest lesson they have taught us. Dare to dream. Strive to have impact. Rather than accept limitations that would normally convince us that “we can’t”, these two men – in their own fiercely individual ways — showed us that “we can.”

The Coolest Thing In Mobile

My friend and one of the smartest marketers I know, Mario Schulzke, asked me to be a regular contributor to his outstanding IdeaMensch site www.ideamensch.com. For those out of the know, IdeaMench is a community of people who, in Mario’s words, do ideas rather than talk about them.

I'm honored.

My first piece ran today on what I believe is the coolest thing in mobile today – a 15.4 percent lead generation rate garnered by Ford and its dealers.

You can read it here http://ideamensch.com/the-coolest-trend-in-mobile-marketing/.

More Access To Mobile Than Clean Drinking Water

Sadly it wasn’t news to me when Nielsen reported recently that more in Africa have access to a mobile device than clean drinking water.

We pray that technology advances will improve the water situation soon.

Other data points from Nielsen were new and fascinating:

South Africa ranks fifth in the world for mobile data usage, ahead of the United States, which ranks seventh.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform, used by 85 percent of mobile subscribers. Half of all users of Facebook in South Africa access the site via their mobiles.

Text messaging is used by almost 4.2 times more people than e-mail. More than two-thirds (69%) of consumers prefer sending texts to calling, in large part because it is less expensive, and 10 percent believe texting to be a faster way of communicating.

The majority (60%) of South African mobile users said they are aware of mobile banking services offered by banks, but only 21 percent say they use such services. A much larger number of those aware of the services said they would never use them, suggesting banks might need to invest in communicating the benefits and security of mobile banking.

Nielsen’s blog post on the study is here http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/mobile-phones-dominate-in-south-africa/.

For Travelers, Mobile Is As Commonplace as Toothpaste

Mobile devices have become nearly as commonplace as toothpaste for travelers in North America and Europe. Like the true road warriors we are, we take our wireless gear with us wherever we go — and our use of them is unprecedented.

According to new data from Boingo Wireless, a leading provider of software and services worldwide, smartphones and tablets passed laptops as the most widely carried Wi-Fi device in airports, reaching 58.9 percent of all devices in June. Mobile devices topped the 50 percent mark for the first time in February of this year. The study draws from data across Boingo’s managed network of 60 airports and aggregated network of hundreds of thousands of hotspots worldwide.

There are ample opportunities for marketers to reach these folks. In my latest MobileGroove column, I discuss Blue Moon’s efforts and more. http://www.mobilegroove.com/mobile-marketers-should-sync-offers-with-our-transit-routine/

Roundtable on Coolest Things In Mobile

One of my favorite books in recent years is The On-Demand Brand: 10 Rules for Digital Marketing Success in an Anytime, Everywhere World http://www.amazon.com/Demand-Brand-Digital-Marketing-Everywhere/dp/081441572.

Rick Mathieson is as savvy as they come about how brands need to evolve.

Rick invited me recently to speak on a mobile roundtable with Julie Fajgenbaum, vice president of brand marketing and social media for American Express, and Adam Broitman, CEO of digital ad agency Circ.us.

There are several installments posted on Rick’s site including this one where I discuss the “coolest” thing in mobile these days – Ford’s 15.4 percent lead generation program that adds mobile to the automakers’ ample marketing spend.

 

Are Group Messaging Apps A Good Choice For Marketers?

Mobile Marketer asked me whether group messaging apps are an effective tool for brands.  Here’s what I told Chantal Tode:

“Savvy marketers like Macy’s, MillerCoors and others use text messaging for both reach and to build a one-to-one relationship that has valuable remarketing opportunities.

“The mere idea of a group app eliminates the means to personalize communication and offers. Marketers are succeeding through relevant exchanges, not group messages that can feel like impersonal blasts of information.

“I see these apps as niche at best.”

For more of my comments and the entire story, please see http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/messaging/10880.html.

Did Mobile Missteps Lead To Yahoo CEO's Exit?

This week Yahoo’s board fired CEO Carol Bartz, news that rocked the industry and has some debating if the company’s inability to choose between being a media company or a technology provider is to blame. I think we need to look elsewhere and ask: Would Yahoo’s shakeup at the top have happened if the company had been innovating in mobile instead of slipping further behind?

We’ll likely never know the answer. But it’s safe to say that Yahoo’s disjointed mobile strategy was largely responsible for the board’s decision to oust Bartz.

What were the missteps in mobile that cost Yahoo, a company once so close to expanding its prowess in search, social and technology to mobile, its competitive edge? News site mocoNews provides some worthwhile insights and analysis.

It argues that Yahoo made a series of bad moves:

  • Yahoo has not committed efforts and investments in the vital area of research and development, and has a lousy track record of starting and stopping initiatives.
  • Livestand, the company’s digital newsstand for tablets, is late to market. It was expected to be delivered in the first half of the year.
  • Yahoo has failed to grab a significant slice of the search advertising pie, and research firm IDC reports that Yahoo is losing share in mobile advertising.
  • There has been frequent and disruptive change at the top of Yahoo’s mobile units.

Ironically, Bartz – who didn’t steer Yahoo back on the mobile course  when the company lost the plot– sent her farewell email to employees via an iPad.

I agree with Om Malik ’s view that an acquisition would help Yahoo get back in the mobile game. Malik names Foursquare and Flipboard as possible candidates. As for Flipboard, the social magazine for the iPad has been the leader of the pack since its launch in summer 2010, when it immediately could not keep up with demand. I still use Yahoo, but it is more about personal habit than a conscious choice to be with an innovator. Like everything else in mobile, the story has yet to be written. But this latest shakeup signals that Yahoo is running out of time to be included in the narrative.

(Item first appeared here - http://www.mobilegroove.com/has-yahoo-missed-the-mobile-boat/)

Checking In On The Check-Ins

The most interesting check-in of the summer was done by the Pew Research Center.

According to the highly-respected organization http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Location.aspx, 28% of mobile owners use phones to get directions or recommendations based on their current location— 23% of all adults.

A much smaller number (5% of cell owners, equaling 4% of all adults) use their phones to check in to locations using geosocial services such as Foursquare or Gowalla. Smartphone owners are especially likely to use these services on their phones.

My take?

Despite the hype, the check-in numbers call into question the short and long-term value of Foursquare and the like.

I have the Foursquare iPhone app and twice have told myself to get committed to the activity. But there just hasn’t been enough of a pull for me either time.

As you know, I’m all for deals and believe relevant offers delivered via mobile is only going to get more important for brands.

But I’m like most who can’t – or won’t – do everything. Foursquare hasn’t made my cut.

Nor has it made the cut for most of the more than 300 million mobile users in the U.S.

You Need Both Disruption and Adoption

As mentioned in a previous post, there hasn’t been a bigger or better disrupter in this century than the now former Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

iPod. iPhone. iPad.

Game-changers.

In my weekly column on mobilegroove.com, I asked what should marketers make of disruption and how should they react?

As always, the key is to time your participation so that your brand is out of the gates once the disruptive activity settles and it’s clear which technology or tool is winning the race. Jumping the gun doesn’t guarantee a head start in the right direction. There are graveyards full of innovative technologies and devices that failed from the get-go and never gained the traction we expected. Remember Digital Audio Tape and Betamax videotapes?

In mobile marketing and advertising, just because something can be done, doesn’t mean you should blindly spend against it before its time. (An example is Augmented Reality, a technology packed with ‘wow’ effect but lacking in mainstream take up.)

Jobs’ iAd is in that same category.

Apple’s closed mobile advertising network (closed because you can reach only those people on the iOS platform) has been a large disappointment for many advertisers and others (like me) who looked at Apple’s move into mobile advertising as a milestone and a much needed push to move the industry along.

But don’t close the chapter on iAd just yet. Despite his resignation, there are indications that Jobs may not be done tinkering with iAd.

You can read more of my thinking as well as my take on BlackBerry’s newest devices here http://www.mobilegroove.com/steve-jobs-steps-down-at-apple-whats-next-for-mobile-marketers/

Steve Jobs' Influence Over Mobile Marketing and Advertising

I was among those asked by Mobile Marketer to assess Steve Jobs’ influence on mobile marketing and advertising.  Here is what I told the Rimma Kats:

Steve Jobs’ biggest influence on mobile marketing and advertising is in the way the iPhone and iPad changed behavior.

Never before had we had such pleasing user experiences and access to content on our terms via the real Web and the revolutionary App Store.

For years, I’ve been waiting for a Web page to load properly on my BlackBerry.

[Mr.] Jobs’ contributions in those areas will be remembered more fondly than in Apple’s iAd efforts.

IAd will go down as a milestone because of the reported $300 million that Apple paid for Quattro Wireless to build out the iAd network.

While iAd has been short on return for brands, Apple’s dollars and efforts have validated the mobile advertising business models pursued by many others.

You can read the whole article here http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/manufacturers/10807.html

How Should We View The Latest Mobile Stats?

Atop my list of mobile best practices is the need to stay current on consumer behavior and interests. This summer has brought fresh data that has ramifications for all of us conceiving and executing mobile programs.

Here are a few numbers and their importance to us:

Stats: The average Android consumer in the U.S. spends 56 minutes per day actively interacting with the web and apps on his or her phone. Of that time, two-thirds is spent on mobile apps while one-third is spent on the mobile web (Nielsen).

Meaning What? You’ve likely heard notable analyst Mary Meeker’s prediction that more will access the web via mobile than via PC by 2015 http://mashable.com/2010/04/13/mobile-web-stats/. But this is 2011 and it would be foolish to spend exclusively on the web on Android devices. Instead, consider a mix of app and Internet. You have time to worry about 2015.

I look at many others in my latest imediaconnection.com post http://blogs.imediaconnection.com/blog/2011/08/22/the-latest-plethora-of-mobile-data-means-what/