Design

Today’s Digital Consultant Links for July 1st

These are my links for July 1st from 09:06 to 22:18:

Art and the Web: Shape | Think Vitamin – Another fabulous Think Vitamin tutorial article by Carsonified, this time on the impact shape can have on digital design and creating enriching user experiences and e-commerce.
Small businesses warned of new EU cookie laws – Don't panic, Captain Mannering! The EU enforces a daft-ass law that says cookies (what you use to track users e.g. in your web analytics or shopping basket feature) are now to be used only with prior permission from the user. Currently only the Information Commission website uses this approach, which has seen officially recorded traffic drop 90%. This law is almost unenforceable, but we will keep an eye on the press next year for any news on how this is approached.
The Seven Performance Metrics that Matter Most – Summary of different types of online advertising performance metrics and which used by US marketers. Interesting that return-on-investment features lower than measure just focusing on traffic.
‘Digital-First’ Guardian Ends International Printing – 'Sunset' of print press is starting to slowly set, Guardian throw all into their digital strategy by ending print circulation of non-British titles.
Socially Awkward Google Tries Biggest Facebook Challenge Yet With Google+ – Summary of features from Google's new social refresh, trying to tackle the social content market (again, after the failed Google Wave and Buzz projects)
Broadband pledge for rural areas – Good news for rural UK web users: government will focus some 4G investment in improving web access and speeds, particularly in Scotland.
Obama presidential campaign devising digital strategy to reach new voters, mobilize supporters – Winnipeg Free Press – All eyes on the US as campaigner work on Obama election campaign part 2. Interestingly some focus is on building online apps that can improve the door-to-door campaigning, and even chances of 'winning' items that money can't buy, like dinner with the president.

Digital Consultant links for November 18th through November 28th

These are my links for November 18th through November 28th:

Understanding Bounce Rates Infographic – Lovely and helpful inforagraphics from Think Vitamin on average industry bounce rates and tips to improve the dark curve of the ‘bounce’ (website visitors who visit one page of your site then leave). Average across all sectors is 40.5%, 4.6 page views per visit and 190 seconds per session. I never knew that!
How to Make Your Website Mobile Friendly (And Keep Your Readers Happy) – Great tips for making your website work for the predicted 1.7 Billion global mobile internet users including minimising big images and flash design.
Have Click Rates Finally Stopped Declining? – Good news. Perhaps. Global online ad effectiveness have levelled their freefall decline down to 0.09% in the last year. What this pitiful statistic shows to me is that a staggering 99.91% of online adverts are ineffective: advertisers, brands and B2B need to find more effective ways of building their own audience through online engagement.
Facebook Messages – some say it’s an “email killer,” others disagree – Interesting stats on how US teens communicate: shows texting growing in popularity and landline calls declining, but just about all others communications means (including social media and email) more or less flat in the last 3 years. Although email has limited use (11%) it still has a plays in teen communications.
20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web – Nice little illustrated e-book which brings together the not very interesting topic of web browsers and how these are evolving (including security and HTML5).

Digital Consultant links for October 28th through November 1st

These are my links for October 28th through November 1st:

People that ‘like’ branded content aren’t customers- study – Yet more research into consumers interaction with brands in social media, this time funded by YouTube, shows users are motivated by different draws to share online – impressing and entertaining their friends is critical. Fans may ‘like’ products they aren’t yet customers of.
Internet worth £100bn a year to UK economy – New research shows UK is 6th most e-dependent nation, with a value of £100Bn (60% from consumption) and net exporters of E-goods, employing 250,000 in the e-commerce sector with growth predicted at 15%.
Virgin to roll out 100MB broadband from December – Superspeed broadband hits the UK in full force this Dec – Virgin’s 100Mb (though note the upload speed is only 10Mb) broadband sets the benchmark for other providers to offer faster connection at affordable prices, encouraged by a government fund of £300M for rural broadband, this could see Britain finally catching up with the rest of the world in our connectivity.
Planning and managing a digital strategy white paper – This is a really fantastic e-book from marketing consultancy Red Ant and covers all the considerations and planning processes you should be thinking about when planning an digital strategy. It is particularly focused around campaigns and using different methods to measure financial and non-financial success and return on investment. Brilliant!
How to Make Users ‘Stick’ to your site – Great article from web designer’s perspective on how to develop ‘sticky’ content on your site, one of my big soap box topics. Great content, encouraging engagement and great design all increase how often, for how long and how visitors will come back to your website.

Digital Consultant links for July 12th through July 14th

These are my links for July 12th through July 14th:

What makes the perfect Transmedia Producer? – In-depth discussion on the types of skills and approaches which are working in transmedia. It's heavily led to the Alternative Reality Game (ARG) producers rather than wider producer of entertainment media for new platforms.
Social media monitoring: time to say ‘sod it’? – Thought piece on why moderating – and interrupting – Joe Public's conversations in social media may not be a great idea. I think it depends on what you do – people often Tweet about brands because they want help/ response, and certainly being responsive on your own profiles is critical. Joining in wider conversations (e.g. forums or general discussion) will depend on how useful a contribution you can make to the discussion. This may favour technology/product suppliers more than consumer goods and services.
UK online video stats: Youngsters favour C4 and ITV over BBC – Blimey: how online video has grown. 2010 sees 5.5 Billion online vdieo viewed each month in the UK, with BBC, ITV and BlinkX as fastest growing properties. Interestingly, the desirable youn 'uns (16-24 year olds) are preferring ITV and Channel to BBC properities.
Concept Feedback | Free Concept Reviews for Marketers, Designers and Developers – Here's an interesting 'concept' – this website is a community of designers which lets you upload your concepts for design, websites and print and get feedback from other community members. Offer enough feedback and it's free, or pay a small fee. A great way to get feedback within a community wider than your own organisation, but in a closed setting.
Cultivated Play: Farmville – Intelligent article by A. J Patrick Liszkiewicz on why Farmville defines many of the rules of being a good game, but creates social capital through effectively a peer pressure to be kind to your friends (& Farmville neighbours). I'm wondering in anyone in the gaming/digital industry actually like Farmville – no evidence yet, but no denying simple, formulaic social gaming is a major global phenomena. (hat tip: Pete Ashton).

Digital Consultant links for April 30th through May 3rd

These are my links for April 30th through May 3rd:

Wooshii – the new place to buy, sell and view rich media and online video – Another 'marketplace' service where you can specifically buy video, animation, music and rich media services for web. Looks like there's a good spread of international producers active here – couild be useful if you're producing rich media product on a tight timescale and budget.
Emotional Interface Design: The Gateway to Passionate Users – Another super articles from the web development gurus over at Carsonified (a rare example of an international, outward facing UK digital co) looking at how personal branding and positive emotional connection can be made through good design, including examples like 'Feathers', the tweeting bird that changes colour as your reach your character limit. Relating online user needs to Maslow's Hierachy of Needs, we need to be reaching not just functional but pleasurable services for users.
Audio Hosting Sites for Web Series Producers – Audio doesn't have that one stop 'destination' feel like video has with the mighty YouTube, which makes it hard for audio producers to know where is the best place for them to host (or podcast) their audio. Storygas gives their view on the benefits of several audio hosting services with demo videos (the irony!). It seems far more nowadays that audio producer have to create their own audiences, although there is still demand on YouTube for audio only streaming (or 'radio with pictures' as I heard one radio producer call it).
What can TV’s Embarrassing Bodies teach the healthcare industry? – Here's an article I wrote for the Healthcare Engagement Strategy e-journal about the Channel 4 TV show and website Embarrassing Bodies, which was extremely successful at engaging TV and web audiences in important medical issues. I interviewed Channel 4 Commissioner Adam Gee and Maverick Television's Jonnie Turpie.

Today’s Digital Consultant Links for July 1st

Digital Consultant links for November 18th through November 28th

Digital Consultant links for October 28th through November 1st

Digital Consultant links for July 12th through July 14th

Digital Consultant links for April 30th through May 3rd

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