Search and the Responsive Web
January 13, 2011
I hate the term UX, shorthand for user experience. “Responsive Web Design: What It Is and How To Use It” introduced me to a new term, “responsive Web design.” I like it. The article that explains what responsive Web design is. The passage I noted was:
We should rather start a new era today: creating websites that are future-ready right now. Understanding how to make a design responsive to the user doesn’t require too much learning, and it can definitely be a lot less stressful and more productive than learning how to design and code properly for every single device available. Responsive Web design and the techniques discussed above are not the final answer to the ever-changing mobile world. Responsive Web design is a mere concept that when implemented correctly can improve the user experience, but not completely solve it for every user, device and platform.
The article includes a number of excellent examples and some of those very useful, ready to edit code snippets that the goslings and I love.
What can search vendors learn from this write up? In my opinion, vendors can learn how to break out of the search box. Times and user needs have changed. It’s not experience. It is responsiveness.
Stephen E Arnold, January 13, 2011
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Mastering the Android OS Universe
January 10, 2011
Google’s quest for world domination of the smartphone operating systems’ universe may be thwarted says the ZDNet article, “Android’s Biggest Worry: Fragmentation,” . Despite growing market share and popular applications, the Android is fragmented by many complex issues including OEMs software, carrier applications, and multiple operating system versions.
“Android is growing, but it’s also growing complexity at the same time. Device fragmentation is not the issue, but rather the fragmentation of the ecosystem. So many different shops, so many different models. The carriers messing with the experience again. Open but not really open, a very Google-centric ecosystem,” says Peter Vesterbacka, one of Rovio’s founders and an Angry Bird developer, in a Tech N’ Marketing interview.
My money’s on Google. They’ve managed to conquer (or at least be a top contender) in the vast and complex information world, making search easy and effortless. Perhaps they can do the same for the Android? Is Google confident that Android fragmentation is a trivial problem?
Christina Sheley, January 10, 2011
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Any.Do for Voice to Device Actions Technology
January 10, 2011
When I was running around Central America a week ago, I received from one of my two or three readers a link to a story in VC Cafe with the title “Stealthy Startup Any.do Raises $1 Million Seed Round for Voice Mobile Commands. There is precious little information about the company available, but the article mentioned two individuals who have pumped some dough into the outfit. One is Google’s Eric Schmidt and the other is Joe Londsdale, a founder of Palantir. There are some other smart money investors, but I find the Schmidt and Londsdale references most interesting.
What’s Any.do do?
Based on what information I have, one talks to a mobile device and the Any.Do technology figures out what one says. With this information, Any.Do makes the instructions happen. Here’s VC Cafe’s summary:
[Any.Do is] developing technology to translate the user’s natural language voice input to the mobile device into actions, using voice recognition and semantic analysis algorithms…. AnyDo is capable of understanding subtle differences, such as the ability to purchase a product offline vs. online, pay bills on the mobile, purchase insurance, etc, using voice commands on the mobile.
The company’s Web site says, “Any.Do helps you do more of the things you love doing.” You can sign up to get information about the company at http://any.do.
I learned that Any.Do has developed an application for Android. Any.Do seems poised to release a product something this year. If it gets magnetic, maybe the Google will buy the company. I heard that at least one Googler works at the company now.
Stephen E Arnold, January 10, 2011
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A Theory of Android Stickiness
January 8, 2011
Can mathematics, specifically Metcalfe’s Law, be used to explain the assumption that mobile phone users will stick with a particular platform like Android for a lifetime? The recent Asymco.com blog post “How Sticky is the Android” makes this attempt.
After a lengthy explanation, author Horace Dediu surmises that mathematically, stickiness can be derived from the equation “value of a platform is K n log(n), where K is the stickiness of sunk costs.” He goes on to say that “in the end it’s not just about how big the user base n is (which is the only thing that is measurable), it’s how contiguous n is and how compelling the content,” making these important factors in keeping individual’s engaged with a particular platform.
A must read for those interested in more theoretical explanation of consumer behavior. There have been anecdotes about the “value” of the iPhone to AT&T. These rumors pivot on the data consumption of an iPhone user compared to a user of a BlackBerry or other mobile device. Stickiness may be partly defined by data consumption. Will a fast and efficient search service reduce stickiness or increase it? There’s more work to be done on the subject of stickiness.
Christina Sheley, January 8, 2011
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New iPhone App Takes Down Language Barrier
January 3, 2011
¿Usted quiere oír la cosa más asombrosa nunca? ¿Habla usted español? ¿No?
Without Spanish language skills or time to correctly type this into an online translator, you may not realize I just asked if you wanted to hear about the most amazing thing ever. A new post on gizmag.com entitled World Lens app turns your phone into a real-time translator details what has just incited giddiness across the tech community: the latest in translation tools. Quest Visual has brought the future into the palm of our hands with its recently introduced “World Lens” for the iPhone, an application that uses your phone’s camera to “view printed words and translate them into another language as you watch.” You can expect modest photo editing options such as cropping and zoom, and what camera would not be complete without a flash? If that was not good enough, the process is near instantaneous while still maintaining the texts original color and font.
There are noted limitations. First, Spanish is the only language currently available. Don’t be too disappointed though as the programmers are working on others, promising to continue until they “get all the way across the globe.” Also, it is only compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 3Gs and the camera-equipped iPod Touch, so other users, including Android fans, are out of luck at this time. Finally, even Quest Visual recognizes that the translation will not always be exact; they do promise you will always walk away from the situation with the right idea.
I did notice a couple of reviews on the iTunes website stating that it was lame to give the application away for free only to turn around and charge five dollars for the plug-in languages (which is in fact the pricing model). Seriously? This novel instrument is straight out of a science-fiction novel, gadgetry many never expected to see in their lifetimes. We should be so lucky it only costs five dollars to own this incredible capability.
Sarah Rogers, January 3, 2011
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Simplexo Search
January 3, 2011
Short honk: I learned about Simplexo earlier this year. The company provides “optimized search for your mobile.” The company has a product that makes it possible for a user of Simplexo to search a desktop computer from a mobile device or a Web browser. Yahoo UK reported in “Simplexo Aims to Simplify Remote Desktop Searches”:
Simplexo said that the software could find emails in Outlook and Exchange Server, as well as documents in SharePoint, spreadsheets and database records, and can scour social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
The service is to go live early in 2011. If you are interested in this type of product, navigate to this link and sign up.
Stephen E Arnold, January 3, 2011
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Bing Pressuring Google
January 1, 2011
Keep in mind that Google controls a big chunk of Web and mobile search. I am not sure what the mid-tier consulting firms report as Google’s share, but it is hefty. The number 65 percent of US searches is one that I see from time to time. Microsoft, therefore, is in catch up mode. “Can Bing Take on Google with These New Features” reported:
“Starting today, if your search results include a specific link that has also been ‘liked’ by someone in your Facebook network the link will be highlighted as ‘Liked’ within Bing,” Microsoft’s Bing team explains. “This gets especially interesting for a query like ‘Xbox’ where my friend ‘Liked’ the ‘Kinect’ site and while our algorithms didn’t feel it was relevant enough to make it the ‘answer’ we reference above, we are still able to indicate that my friend liked that link that happened to show up within the results.”
The new functions are interesting and aimed at individuals who do popular or what I call “soft” searching. There are social features with Facebook hooks, information about sports, and new local search services.
Three observations:
- Microsoft is hooking into other information providers; for example, for restaurant information, OpenTable. This interlocking is useful, and it is a model that may give Microsoft an advantage as Google races to gain ground in social functions and refine its consumerized offerings.
- Microsoft is pushing the user experience angle. Right now, Bing.com looks quite good to me, and I have a hunch that consumers will respond positively to polish and gloss.
- Google is the clear leader. With refinements to Bing.com, Google faces 2011 with the knowledge that Microsoft is not prepared to concede defeat in search and search-related services.
However, the punishing costs of delivering consumer information services are unlikely to go down in 2011. Both Google and Microsoft have the cash to keep the search arms race operational. The downside is that companies with solid Web search technology enter 2011 with foreknowledge of the costs of competing in general purpose, consumer centric search and search related applications.
It looks like a two horse race for search in 2011. Which horse has the prettier one trick revenue pony?
Stephen E Arnold, January 1, 2011
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A Metric Morning for Digital Content Marketers
December 30, 2010
Hard data about the success or failure of online initiatives is tough to locate. I routinely delete news releases from privately-held companies that assert “Record revenues” or “profits double in the last quarter.” If the news is so good, why not provide some facts and figures?
That won’t happen because the numbers are just not that impressive. So data are expressed in art history major metrics. Interesting to some but search baloney to me.
This morning (December 30, 2010) I spotted some allegedly hard numbers. Now I don’t believe that these data are rock solid. Figure plus or minus 25 percent on a good day. Nevertheless, I find the attempt at quantification encouraging.
First, item: “Some iPad Magazines Seeing Steep Sales Declines.” No big surprise to soap and shampoo marketers. “New” and “improved” compete with weird discounts to lure grocery shoppers in Harrod’s Creek. The write up makes clear that some online publications for the trendy iPad gizmo are declining. The juicy part of the write up are the alleged data. Here’s one example:
According to WWD.com, a fashion-oriented news site, reported figures for sales the iPad edition of Wired fell from a stunning 100,000 copies of its debut issue in June to just 22,000 and 23,000 copies in October and November. Other publications reporting numbers to the Audit Bureau of Circulation saw less-dramatic drops, but drops all the same:Vanity Fair held steady at 10,500 iPad editions in August, September, and October then dropped to 8,700 copies in November.Glamour moved 4,300 copies on the iPad in September, but fell steadily to 2,775 in November, and has seen sales drop from a steady 13,000 to 11,000 in November.
My take? Making money online is just as tough with the iPad as it is with more traditional services. What’s easier is that non technology people can get excited about a product or service that is colorful, easy to use, and on the nifty new gadgets. Will these products or services repay their development costs and generate the type of revenue from the good old days of ink on paper publishing? A few will. Most will tank because software is different from making content. Read the original write up for more data.
Second item: “How Much Did Those AOL CDs Cost? A Lot.” The nugget in this post was this metric:
in the early 1990s our target was to spend 10% of lifetime revenue to get a new subscriber. At that time I believe the average subscriber life was about 25 months and revenue was about $350 so we spent about $35 to acquire subscribers. As we were able to lower the cost of disks/trial/etc we were able to ramp up marketing. (Plus, we knew Microsoft was coming and it was never going to be easier or cheaper to get market share.) When we went public in 1992 we had less than 200,000 subscribers; a decade later the number was in the 25 million range. …”
For search vendors, calculating revenue per deal is a dark art. In my experience, AOL style marketing spends are the exception, not the rule. And AOL style metrics? Better to hunt for gold nuggets in Harrod’s Creek.
Third item: “Facebook dominates Hitwise list of Top Searches.” The good part is not the top ranking of “Facebook” as a term. Nope. The tasty morsel is the list for 2010 that does not include Google. In 2009, the Google hit number 6. These fuzzy data drop the GOOG out of the Top 10. Good news. YouTube.com pegged number 3 in 2010 searches behind the Facebook log in and Facebook key word. What’s ahead for Google in this list for 2011? Probably more Facebook clicks. Worth watching even if the Hitwise data give me a headache.
Implications for search marketers? iPad apps may disappoint. Spending for marketing is a big deal. The Google’s pulse jet may be sputtering which might open wider the Facebook Web search opportunity.
Stephen E Arnold, December 30, 2010
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Win 7 Phone: Mobile Search Handicap for Microsoft?
December 27, 2010
The Windows 7 phone does not seem to be the sales barn burned some hoped it would be. If the sales estimates are on target, one wonder why. The Mobilesplease blog recently had a post about this specific issue titled: “Why Aren’t Windows 7 Phones Selling?” From the onset the article declares that the Windows 7 phone is a nifty gadget and purchasers are happy with it.
“So what’s the problem? Why aren’t these phones selling? To reiterate, there’s nothing wrong with them, but apart from Xbox 360 compatibility there’s really nothing that you haven’t been able to get on an iPhone, Blackberry or Android phone for the last year.”
The Windows 7 phone only offers a generic handset, which doesn’t impress buyers. The biggest factor, however, is that Windows just isn’t cool anymore. It’s true they have a niche in the videogame market with the Xbox 360, but their marketing of the Windows 7 phone has been the exact opposite of what they’re doing for the videogame console. Microsoft will find some way to market their phone, though. Windows Mobile has been on the market for years, though that wasn’t much of a success either. Microsoft just needs to figure out how it can become cool in a market controlled by the iPhone and Droid. The article suggests renaming the Windows 7 phone, the XPhone.
Whitney Grace, December 27, 2010
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Google and Agility
December 26, 2010
Short honk: I read in Apple Insider this article: “22 Months after Announcement, Google Latitude App Comes to Apple’s iPhone”. Well, the title covers it.
My question: “Is this an example of Google’s agility?” or “Is this an example of Apple’s bureaucracy?”
The delay reflects poorly on both of these tech giants.
Stephen E Arnold, December 26, 2010
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