My beloved, trusty first-generation MacBook Air finally expired after many years of valued service. It was getting pretty long in the tooth, I must say ... modern operating systems and tasks were really straining it to the limit.
I've had computers expire on me before, but this, aside from the sentimental factor, was probably the least traumatic crash ever. Why? Because a couple of years ago I abandoned productivity suites and moved to the cloud. In my case, Google Docs.
The main reason why I made the switch is because, due I suppose to my laptop's failing efforts to keep pace with the latest and greatest software (which I mercilessly insisted on installing on it), I was finding the on-board word-processing and spreadsheet software just too darn slow. I alternated between Office and the equivalent offerings from Apple.
Once I switched to the cloud, I realized just how lousy those word processors had been and had always been. Even from the earliest days of my using computers to write, and it rather shocks me to say those days reach back to the mid-80s, I, like everyone else, had just accepted that word processor crashed from time to time.
You know what? A bit of time away from Office has made me realize that a word processor that crashes even once in awhile is simply unacceptable. You're almost certain to lose work, not to mention that all-important train of thought. Would we accept a car that stalled regularly? Or a production line that randomly switched off? Of course not. Yet we as a society have accepted that instability is just part of the package.
Then there's the whole issue of slowness. Type, type, type, argh! Spinning beach ball! But why? I'm just writing? No matter, there's some superfluous background task that needs doing, and it requires all your computer's spare resources. Why on earth have these apps become so absurdly bloated over the years? Quite the opposite should be happening, they should be slimmer and faster, but no.
Two years using the cloud and not a single crash. Not a single character lost. No pauses, no hiccups and it starts up in seconds.
There is still a ways to go ... I'd love it if Google Docs were to start using Word files natively. Since pretty much all my clients use Word (poor them!), my files have to be compatible, preferably native. I'd also like a revamp of their track changes software, which still lags behind Word (and isn't fully compatible with Word's annotations).
But still, I'm glad for the cloud. In my case it meant that as I closed the lid on my Air for the very last time, I was able to fire up my desktop and continue where I had just been working. All my documents were safe and sound.
Thus ends my rant for the day. Go cloud!
Oh, and if anyone was wondering what killed my Air, the hard drive died. Possibly damaged by the battery, which I recently had to remove because it was, well, swelling up and threatening to explode.
Wednesday, 2 July 2014
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Digital Marketing: How To Craft an Effective Campaign
It's a huge industry, digital marketing -- in the tens of billions of dollars. Unfortunately, I suppose in part because it's unregulated and because ordinary people are still largely ignorant of how it works, it's rife with scammers, incompetents and, pardon my language, bullshit artists. I therefore feel the need to throw some facts out there. Facts, of course, as I see them.
Please Follow the Numbers
Digital marketing has one incredible advantage: those working in it have access to a wide range of data that can clearly illustrate the effectiveness of a campaign. Wordpress' built-in analytics tools provide a wealth of information; even this here Blogger site gives me tons of data. And of course Google Analytics provides a level of feedback that can be truly terrifying.
I say "terrifying" because it can really be scary to the amateurish brand of marketer who gets emotionally invested in their efforts and is afraid (or even unable) to admit failure.
Try something, check the numbers. If the numbers are good, keep going (or better yet tweak your efforts to boost the numbers); if the numbers are bad, change course. But you'll find that after you've been in the business awhile, you get a good sense of what will and won't work before you even start.
And in the name of all that's holy, never, ever lie about the numbers.
Don't Over-Promise
This one drives me nuts. Like seriously, if I hear one more idiot promise to get a website on the front page of a relevant Google search, I might start a fire. First of all, in most cases, that's not a promise that can be kept. Secondly, even if it is kept, it's a lousy measure of a campaign's effectiveness.
You want your campaign to increase your business. You don't just want to make it easier to find your site, you want visitors to become customers, preferably repeat customers. You want them to be happy customers. You want them to tell their friends. You want to build a reputation. How many of these things are the result of a Google ranking, the promise of which is largely illusory?
"Social Media" isn't a magical talisman, it's just a form of communication
I can't count how often I've sat in meetings where a vaguely-described "social media campaign" has been listed as a key ask. But all too often it's described with an air of reverence, like a vampire-hunter talking about holy water.
In truth, while social media is a thing that exists, it's not guaranteed to be a useful marketing channel for everybody. The reality is that social media campaigns vary in type and scope, not to mention effectiveness. One example: it\s all too common for clients to view themselves as being in some kind of "Twitter race" to amass a huge number of followers in as short a time as possible. Oh sure, I can make that happen no problem. You want ten million followers? I can get you ten million followers. But the dirty little secret about Twitter is that it's clogged with fake users. Some celeb might have followers in the millions, but how many are actual flesh-and-blood human beings? Not many.
A huge part of my job is quelling completely unrealistic expectations about social media marketing. Yes, it can help, and yes, it can even be wildly successful. But it's far from universal and especially far from guaranteed. Unfortunately people seem all too ready to fall for the over-the-top sales pitches. As an ethical marketer, you need to be the voice of reason on this one.
Reduce Access to Your Campaign
Marketing campaigns are complicated things. They can include Google adwords, Facebook ads, a new website, a blog, even YouTube videos, among many, many efforts. The last thing you want is for people who don't know what they're doing to be monkeying with it.
Your clients will want full-on admin-level access to every single thing you do, but you have to hold the line on this one. Otherwise some manager will decide to launch his own adword campaign that doesn't get you anywhere, or post some idiotic cat video (or worse) on your home page ... believe me, I could tell you horror stories.
What's your brand?
Apple's brand isn't a grey apple, it's the placing of incredibly powerful (not to mention incredibly cool) technology into the hands of millions of people. Google's brand isn't a multicoloured font spelling out a funny math term, it's the act of allowing anyone on earth to access an incomprehensibly vast storehouse of knowledge.
A brand is an emotional thing, it's a magical thing. It sums up feelings and ideas and practical products and services. I'm quite annoying on the subject, because incredibly this often gets overlooked, even though it should serve as the cornerstone of your entire marketing campaign.
You don't even have to do a "proper" brand ... I've done my share of what I call "background branding," which is a brief, heartfelt description of what it is I'm trying to sell. It doesn't appear on a website or indeed anywhere public, it's just for myself and the other content creating staff, something to motivate us, to shape our thoughts. And it works, it really does help unify the content and create an overall brand image, even if it's a bit subtle.
Please Follow the Numbers
Digital marketing has one incredible advantage: those working in it have access to a wide range of data that can clearly illustrate the effectiveness of a campaign. Wordpress' built-in analytics tools provide a wealth of information; even this here Blogger site gives me tons of data. And of course Google Analytics provides a level of feedback that can be truly terrifying.
I say "terrifying" because it can really be scary to the amateurish brand of marketer who gets emotionally invested in their efforts and is afraid (or even unable) to admit failure.
Try something, check the numbers. If the numbers are good, keep going (or better yet tweak your efforts to boost the numbers); if the numbers are bad, change course. But you'll find that after you've been in the business awhile, you get a good sense of what will and won't work before you even start.
And in the name of all that's holy, never, ever lie about the numbers.
Don't Over-Promise
This one drives me nuts. Like seriously, if I hear one more idiot promise to get a website on the front page of a relevant Google search, I might start a fire. First of all, in most cases, that's not a promise that can be kept. Secondly, even if it is kept, it's a lousy measure of a campaign's effectiveness.
You want your campaign to increase your business. You don't just want to make it easier to find your site, you want visitors to become customers, preferably repeat customers. You want them to be happy customers. You want them to tell their friends. You want to build a reputation. How many of these things are the result of a Google ranking, the promise of which is largely illusory?
"Social Media" isn't a magical talisman, it's just a form of communication
I can't count how often I've sat in meetings where a vaguely-described "social media campaign" has been listed as a key ask. But all too often it's described with an air of reverence, like a vampire-hunter talking about holy water.
In truth, while social media is a thing that exists, it's not guaranteed to be a useful marketing channel for everybody. The reality is that social media campaigns vary in type and scope, not to mention effectiveness. One example: it\s all too common for clients to view themselves as being in some kind of "Twitter race" to amass a huge number of followers in as short a time as possible. Oh sure, I can make that happen no problem. You want ten million followers? I can get you ten million followers. But the dirty little secret about Twitter is that it's clogged with fake users. Some celeb might have followers in the millions, but how many are actual flesh-and-blood human beings? Not many.
A huge part of my job is quelling completely unrealistic expectations about social media marketing. Yes, it can help, and yes, it can even be wildly successful. But it's far from universal and especially far from guaranteed. Unfortunately people seem all too ready to fall for the over-the-top sales pitches. As an ethical marketer, you need to be the voice of reason on this one.
Reduce Access to Your Campaign
Marketing campaigns are complicated things. They can include Google adwords, Facebook ads, a new website, a blog, even YouTube videos, among many, many efforts. The last thing you want is for people who don't know what they're doing to be monkeying with it.
Your clients will want full-on admin-level access to every single thing you do, but you have to hold the line on this one. Otherwise some manager will decide to launch his own adword campaign that doesn't get you anywhere, or post some idiotic cat video (or worse) on your home page ... believe me, I could tell you horror stories.
What's your brand?
Apple's brand isn't a grey apple, it's the placing of incredibly powerful (not to mention incredibly cool) technology into the hands of millions of people. Google's brand isn't a multicoloured font spelling out a funny math term, it's the act of allowing anyone on earth to access an incomprehensibly vast storehouse of knowledge.
A brand is an emotional thing, it's a magical thing. It sums up feelings and ideas and practical products and services. I'm quite annoying on the subject, because incredibly this often gets overlooked, even though it should serve as the cornerstone of your entire marketing campaign.
You don't even have to do a "proper" brand ... I've done my share of what I call "background branding," which is a brief, heartfelt description of what it is I'm trying to sell. It doesn't appear on a website or indeed anywhere public, it's just for myself and the other content creating staff, something to motivate us, to shape our thoughts. And it works, it really does help unify the content and create an overall brand image, even if it's a bit subtle.
Designing a website? Here are four useful pointers.
I've built my share of websites, either doing it all myself or as part of a team. And in a world of over-promises -- the bane of my existence as someone who works in online marketing -- I think it's important to keep it real, hype-free and reasonable.
Here, then, are some of the lessons I've learned for making a better website.
1. KISS(S) -- Keep It Simple, Stupid (Seriously)
No, seriously, keep it simple. The design should be simple; the usability should be simple; the writing should be simple; the "extras" that so many clients want, like videos, Java apps or whatever, should be absolutely dead simple.
I remember in the very early days of web design you could tell a n00b by their insistence on throwing a jumble of animated gifs onto the front page ... remember all those flashing lights and warning signs? Nowadays things have gotten more sophisticated, with full-page image sliders and funky interactive elements.
When creating any form of creative content, up to and including novels, symphonies and feature films, the creator should only every put elements that add to the story he or she is trying to tell. Is this event advancing the plot? Is this dialogue illuminating the character's motives? Does this lovely string of notes add to the overall or detract from it? If not, it's gotta go. Every author has a wastepaper basket of discarded ideas, every film editor a cutting room floor.
Fight the urge to overcomplicate things. Remember that a visitor to a website wants to get things done; make it as easy as possible to accomplish that. Most of the time that involves getting out of the way.
2. Don't Forget to Entertain
Seems like a no-brainer, right? But you'd be surprised how often this one gets forgotten. In the mad rush to include keywords, product information and branding imagery, the basic desire to entertain is frequently lost in the mad rush to get the site finished. But as a person who creates stuff for a living, entertainment is always at the front of my mind, and it should be in yours, too.
Don't forget that a website is, fundamentally, a creative medium. That means visitors expect a little bit of fun when they visit your site. This can be accomplished through attractive web design or whatever creative components you're using. Writing, especially, gets overlooked as an opportunity to be fun, cause the occasional chuckle and generally pull a reader in.
3. Don't Fear the Blank Space
Non-designer clients sometimes have an all-consuming drive to shove as much information as they possibly can into a landing page. Every department, every product, every &$%(#*! staff member needs a button. But the average reader's eyes are almost guaranteed to glaze over when confronted with a website that's too jumbled and crowded. A small number of buttons, a few short passages of text, all interspaced with big blank spaces might fill an inexperienced client with fear, but it's great for many reasons -- my favourite being that it shines a spotlight on the content that is there, making it more important, more noticed, more, dare I say it, consumed.
4. Avoid Stock Photography
This isn't a major point, more a personal pet peeve. Stock photography has its attractions: it's easy to find and use, it's generic enough not to cause offense, and it's so widely used it feels like it's completely standard.
In truth, though, the common use of stock photography isn't a bonus, it's a serious problem. When you work in this field as much as I do, you start to see the same images being used all over the place. And since when is generic a good thing? And since when is the easy way the preferred way?
I myself am a competent photographer, and always make a point of offering my services for a nominal fee to my clients. Other times I encourage hiring a photographer (let's face it, there's a glut of photographers and wannabe photographers out there nowadays). Sometimes the offer is accepted, sometimes not. But I gotta try, man. I'm sick of those bloody stock images.
4. Websites Are Living Things -- Don't Let it Get Stale
Congratulations, you finished your website! Now don't let it just sit there and rot, keep it going. Update links, throw in a regularly-updated blog, tie in a social media component. Heck, it's even worth it to simple reword it from time to time. Even small actions can make a website seem like it's alive -- and therefore that it matters.
Here, then, are some of the lessons I've learned for making a better website.
1. KISS(S) -- Keep It Simple, Stupid (Seriously)
No, seriously, keep it simple. The design should be simple; the usability should be simple; the writing should be simple; the "extras" that so many clients want, like videos, Java apps or whatever, should be absolutely dead simple.
I remember in the very early days of web design you could tell a n00b by their insistence on throwing a jumble of animated gifs onto the front page ... remember all those flashing lights and warning signs? Nowadays things have gotten more sophisticated, with full-page image sliders and funky interactive elements.
When creating any form of creative content, up to and including novels, symphonies and feature films, the creator should only every put elements that add to the story he or she is trying to tell. Is this event advancing the plot? Is this dialogue illuminating the character's motives? Does this lovely string of notes add to the overall or detract from it? If not, it's gotta go. Every author has a wastepaper basket of discarded ideas, every film editor a cutting room floor.
Fight the urge to overcomplicate things. Remember that a visitor to a website wants to get things done; make it as easy as possible to accomplish that. Most of the time that involves getting out of the way.
2. Don't Forget to Entertain
Seems like a no-brainer, right? But you'd be surprised how often this one gets forgotten. In the mad rush to include keywords, product information and branding imagery, the basic desire to entertain is frequently lost in the mad rush to get the site finished. But as a person who creates stuff for a living, entertainment is always at the front of my mind, and it should be in yours, too.
Don't forget that a website is, fundamentally, a creative medium. That means visitors expect a little bit of fun when they visit your site. This can be accomplished through attractive web design or whatever creative components you're using. Writing, especially, gets overlooked as an opportunity to be fun, cause the occasional chuckle and generally pull a reader in.
3. Don't Fear the Blank Space
Non-designer clients sometimes have an all-consuming drive to shove as much information as they possibly can into a landing page. Every department, every product, every &$%(#*! staff member needs a button. But the average reader's eyes are almost guaranteed to glaze over when confronted with a website that's too jumbled and crowded. A small number of buttons, a few short passages of text, all interspaced with big blank spaces might fill an inexperienced client with fear, but it's great for many reasons -- my favourite being that it shines a spotlight on the content that is there, making it more important, more noticed, more, dare I say it, consumed.
4. Avoid Stock Photography
This isn't a major point, more a personal pet peeve. Stock photography has its attractions: it's easy to find and use, it's generic enough not to cause offense, and it's so widely used it feels like it's completely standard.
In truth, though, the common use of stock photography isn't a bonus, it's a serious problem. When you work in this field as much as I do, you start to see the same images being used all over the place. And since when is generic a good thing? And since when is the easy way the preferred way?
I myself am a competent photographer, and always make a point of offering my services for a nominal fee to my clients. Other times I encourage hiring a photographer (let's face it, there's a glut of photographers and wannabe photographers out there nowadays). Sometimes the offer is accepted, sometimes not. But I gotta try, man. I'm sick of those bloody stock images.
4. Websites Are Living Things -- Don't Let it Get Stale
Congratulations, you finished your website! Now don't let it just sit there and rot, keep it going. Update links, throw in a regularly-updated blog, tie in a social media component. Heck, it's even worth it to simple reword it from time to time. Even small actions can make a website seem like it's alive -- and therefore that it matters.
Monday, 2 June 2014
Oh no, I'm lost, my gear isn't tops!
It's a familiar refrain: you need high-end gear to produce quality content. You need a +Nikon DSLR, the full suite of +Adobe apps (I'm talking the full suite, including the obscure ones that nobody uses) ... I can't edit audio unless I have Logic by +Apple, okay, I'm creating content for a mom-and-pop outfit and not +TBWA/Chiat/Day , but dammit I can't do a thing with this equipment!
Look, it's just not true. Okay, yes, you can shoot spectacular video with a high-end camera and a tricked-out +Mac Pro will allow you to create +Hollywood-level effects and CGI. Yes, a case full of nice glass will let you take incredible photos. And okay, a collection of clip art, stock photos, brushes, patterns and plugins will let you create layouts worthy of a design school textbook. Writers of course are screwed because you can still get the job done just as well with a 30-year-old +Commodore 64.
But the it's easy to get into a destructive obsession with gear. The Red Baron once said, "It's not the plane that matters, it's the man in the plane that counts." In the case of tech gear, it's a question of expressing your heart, your creativity, your unique voice. All that equipment is just a means for you to communicate, they're not the communication itself. It's the media, in other words, not the message.
So while it can be tempting to blow a wad on a fancy kit, I assure you it's not necessary. You can shoot video with a smart phone -- the quality has become quite spectacular these days -- and edit it on +YouTube Creators.
Don't let technology hold you back -- just go for it.
Look, it's just not true. Okay, yes, you can shoot spectacular video with a high-end camera and a tricked-out +Mac Pro will allow you to create +Hollywood-level effects and CGI. Yes, a case full of nice glass will let you take incredible photos. And okay, a collection of clip art, stock photos, brushes, patterns and plugins will let you create layouts worthy of a design school textbook. Writers of course are screwed because you can still get the job done just as well with a 30-year-old +Commodore 64.
But the it's easy to get into a destructive obsession with gear. The Red Baron once said, "It's not the plane that matters, it's the man in the plane that counts." In the case of tech gear, it's a question of expressing your heart, your creativity, your unique voice. All that equipment is just a means for you to communicate, they're not the communication itself. It's the media, in other words, not the message.
So while it can be tempting to blow a wad on a fancy kit, I assure you it's not necessary. You can shoot video with a smart phone -- the quality has become quite spectacular these days -- and edit it on +YouTube Creators.
Don't let technology hold you back -- just go for it.
Sunday, 1 June 2014
How to create for a subject about which you know nothing
In education circles, a popular notion these days is the notion that part of a teacher's job is to prepare students to learn on their own. The idea is that once equipped with the tools to learn, they will be able to adapt to any situation, overcome any challenge and excel whatever situation comes their way.
It's a skill that's especially necessary nowadays for anyone who produces content. Because no one has staff producers, you're expected to freelance; and as a freelancer you're expected to be ale to work for anyone, whatever their product, whatever their marketing plan. You have to jump in, become an instant expert (probably on your own), then create fluent, original content that not only engages the consumer but makes it seem like you know what in the world you're talking about.
So how do you accomplish this feat? How do you become an instant expert? The answer might not be what you expect: don't. Don't become an expert, don't become 100% conversant in your product. The truth is, you don't need to. If anything, it's better not to know too much.
So:
1. Don't be intimidated by what you don't know, think about your audience. That is to say, if you're creating marketing copy for a software package, chances are you're doing it for consumers and not software engineers. Your market, in other words, probably aren't experts, so you don't need to be one either.
2. You're selling a product, you're not disassembling it. The talented people who work for Apple's many ad agencies wouldn't know their way around the mach kernel or BIOS settings, nor do they need to. They're selling what consumers can do with those technologies.
3. The same holds true whether you're promoting dish soap or advanced technology: you're selling a feeling. You want to engage people, get them interested in what you're saying, click on it, think about it, talk about it, repost it. You're connecting with the hearts and minds of human beings. That has been true since our ancestors created cave paintings
4. Boil it down. What does the product do? How can it make a difference? I'm not talking about features or a spec sheet, I'm talking about the essence of the product and what it offers. For instance an upscale car brand offers freedom; a beauty product offers youth. The ads for these products rarely get into technical detail -- they boil it down to something basic, something meaningful.
5. Too much knowledge can hurt you. Trust me, you really don't want to get bogged down in technical mumbo-jumbo. You need the consumer to relate to your content, to connect with it. Who drools over a spec sheet? Don't focus on how the product works -- forget all that. Instead, focus on what it can do, how it can make a difference in people's lives.
These ideas are in the background, they should be in your head while writing a blog or shooting a video or whatever it is you're doing. Once you get into the habit of it, you'll find it's pretty easy. You'll be able to pump out your content, focusing on your keywords, your images, your links and so on.
It's a skill that's especially necessary nowadays for anyone who produces content. Because no one has staff producers, you're expected to freelance; and as a freelancer you're expected to be ale to work for anyone, whatever their product, whatever their marketing plan. You have to jump in, become an instant expert (probably on your own), then create fluent, original content that not only engages the consumer but makes it seem like you know what in the world you're talking about.
So how do you accomplish this feat? How do you become an instant expert? The answer might not be what you expect: don't. Don't become an expert, don't become 100% conversant in your product. The truth is, you don't need to. If anything, it's better not to know too much.
So:
1. Don't be intimidated by what you don't know, think about your audience. That is to say, if you're creating marketing copy for a software package, chances are you're doing it for consumers and not software engineers. Your market, in other words, probably aren't experts, so you don't need to be one either.
2. You're selling a product, you're not disassembling it. The talented people who work for Apple's many ad agencies wouldn't know their way around the mach kernel or BIOS settings, nor do they need to. They're selling what consumers can do with those technologies.
3. The same holds true whether you're promoting dish soap or advanced technology: you're selling a feeling. You want to engage people, get them interested in what you're saying, click on it, think about it, talk about it, repost it. You're connecting with the hearts and minds of human beings. That has been true since our ancestors created cave paintings
4. Boil it down. What does the product do? How can it make a difference? I'm not talking about features or a spec sheet, I'm talking about the essence of the product and what it offers. For instance an upscale car brand offers freedom; a beauty product offers youth. The ads for these products rarely get into technical detail -- they boil it down to something basic, something meaningful.
5. Too much knowledge can hurt you. Trust me, you really don't want to get bogged down in technical mumbo-jumbo. You need the consumer to relate to your content, to connect with it. Who drools over a spec sheet? Don't focus on how the product works -- forget all that. Instead, focus on what it can do, how it can make a difference in people's lives.
These ideas are in the background, they should be in your head while writing a blog or shooting a video or whatever it is you're doing. Once you get into the habit of it, you'll find it's pretty easy. You'll be able to pump out your content, focusing on your keywords, your images, your links and so on.
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