Is Flash dead? 14/05/2010

By Mark Wilson

The Flash vs. Steve Jobs debate has really kicked off in recent weeks, even though the issues underpinning this argument have been around for years.

No one can ignore Flash and its importance in the media ecosystem. Whether we like it or not, Flash has long had a big role to play in creating rich interactive tools and, particularly in recent years, in delivering video and ads.

However, Flash is wholly dependent on the platforms it runs on, not the other way around. If leading platforms don't or won't support it, it will die. The pace may be slower, but it will ultimately go the way of its older sister Shockwave - once the champ of interactivity on the web but really a hangover from the CD-ROM age.

Steve Jobs is correct that Adobe has under-delivered on the promise of Flash for mobile platforms for years. He's correct that it performs terribly on Macs, for no good reason other than Adobe's shoddy coding. He's also correct that Flash is in no way an open technology, although the irony of this coming from the leader of the modern Apple is lost on none of us.

The reality is that Flash is looking old and tired compared to Apple's shiny new platforms. Unfortunately for Adobe, those platforms are currently running away with the consumer market and it's unlikely that we'll see anything to change that trend any time soon.

The iPad is the vanguard for the new tablet computing category and the current poster-boy, but it's really the smaller iPhone platform format that counts right now. Tens of millions of units in the hands of extremely happy consumers, a proven commercial infrastructure supporting it, dominance of mobile web traffic, and almost unlimited growth potential still ahead of it. All this success, without Flash.

The iPad looks set to continue the trend. It's a really exciting product. It has sold its first million units at time of writing in less than a month and it's a genuinely interesting new type of experience. Rich interactivity, sophisticated applications and incredible performance - again, all without Flash.

Flash has its uses, and some of them are genuinely valuable. The ability to save a Flash app as a native iPhone OS app in CS5 was an inspired idea by Adobe, and immediately useful to us for prototyping. We can build prototypes to test on the iPad and iPhone quickly and easily: it's a great solution. It makes exploring design solutions for the iPhone OS simpler and faster.

So why have Apple outlawed it for the deployment of live apps?

Setting aside the obvious fact that Steve wants everything running on his products directly under his control, the obvious answer is that Apple can make more money by exerting more control over their platform. They're protecting their interests, albeit in their typically heavy-handed way. In their position, most of us would do the same. Apple is innovating on a scale far above everyone else, and they take risks for which they are admired and envied. While it's true that committed, platform-specific development will always lead to a better performing product, and a better experience for the consumer as a result, it probably has little to do with Apple's real motives. But let's be clear, it is their platform.

Apple is succeeding by innovating and dominating key consumer markets. Innovation is and always will be the right way to succeed. Apple has become very, very good at innovating in just the right areas.

Adobe has been a disastrous innovator. They have grown sloppy and fat on the proceeds of what is without doubt an impressive monopoly position. Nothing has offered genuine competition to Flash for a long time, and the same is true in many of their core software markets too.

Adobe desperately needs to innovate. Flash has taken an internet eternity to show its face on mobile platforms because Adobe dropped the ball. They failed to overhaul Flash's underlying architecture while the going was good, preferring to evolve the platform slowly, incrementally adding new capabilities while relying on Moore's law to prop them up. Flash got better as desktop computers got faster. The emergence of rich mobile platforms, energy-efficient processors and the need for highly optimised code to run them on, caught Adobe snoozing. Or more accurately in a deep, snoring slumber.

It's not exactly the first time this lethargy has struck Adobe; there has been an endless wait for a meaningfully accessible Flash solution.

All is not lost for Flash. HTML5 is bandied around as the cure for all ills but it does not do everything Flash can. Yet. But it does many, many things much better and it is -properly - open. Adobe could try open sourcing Flash and let the community solve its problems for it, but I just don't think the community has the will for it or the affinity with Adobe to make it happen. Everyone who could make a difference is looking to HTML5 and its sibling technologies, and they're unlikely to turn away from that to help sort out Flash.

If Adobe were smart, and had the nerve for it, they would have been putting insane amounts of resource into building new creative tools that make Flash obsolete. It should have been their agenda, their innovation driving them to stand on stage saying 'here's the future beyond Flash'. Let's hope they have.

Apple, for all its faults, has never been afraid to leave things behind, to recognise a dead end and turn around. Adobe needs to get some of the same blood in its veins and start focusing hard on innovation. They need to win by being better; by making their technology so good that everyone wants it on their platform.

If Adobe do their job properly, Steve will be inviting them to tea instead of sending them snotty letters that make it abundantly clear that they're really not welcome in this neighbourhood - and that would be good for all of us.

3 Essential Concepts In Successful Small Business Branding - An Introduction To Business Branding
By: Desmond McDermot
Home | Business | Branding


Branding any business is all about the image of your business. This image is many fold, and doesn't just include logos, style, or even emblems, but also something really vital to your customers - the perception of quality. This perception is very powerful, and can carry with it sentiments of quality, reliability and so much more. This is the goal for any business when it comes to branding.

Bearing this in mind, here are 3 key fundamentals when it comes to your business branding efforts:

Individuality

Business branding is about the business and how it is different from its competitors. The purpose of a brand is to distinguish yourself from your competitors. Once you make a distinguishing impact then an advertising campaign can be much more effective.

A company can succeed or fail through its brand. As already eluded to, there are many and varied elements to a brand which can help a company succeed. This can include how your brand is displayed through such vessels as its website, marketing campaigns, or anything that is individual to your company or brand. Corporate imagery is a very powerful thing, and there is a very strong motivating psychology behind it that imbues trust and influences purchasing decisions.

All types of businesses should consider and put into practise branding for their business - this includes brick and mortar businesses and online companies. Underestimating the importance of a brand is a mistake that many small businesses make, and fail because of it.

Professionalism

Business branding gives the feel of professionalism within a company, it can help to add the final edge to your company. Using the correct small business branding techniques, a small business can look and feel as professional as a large corporation. Good brands can have a dual effect - they can imbue confidence on yourself and your employees as well as on your customers. This confidence is the confidence that a business can deliver on its goods and promises is vital.

Consistency

Branding offers consistency with a business. It gives direction to its employees, and customers know exactly what to expect. Consistency can be performed through the use of things like business cards, T-shirts, and more. Consistency includes visibility techniques that are professional and will remain in the memory of a consumer.

Keeping these key concepts close to heart during your small business branding efforts is key to your business success. If you do, then you will have much greater results.



Read more: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/3-Essential-Concepts-In-Successful-Small-Business-Branding---An-Introduction-To-Business-Branding/1667710#ixzz1FwEBNLRY
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives

How to Meaningfully Grow Traffic to Your Site/Blog
Posted by Jane

It's a problem that every new blog or website faces in its early days—or every day (!): How to get readers (also called traffic).

There are a few well-worn pieces of advice in this area, such as:

1. Comment on other people's blogs. Virtually all comment systems ask you to leave your name and site URL. If you leave valuable comments, people may visit your site.
2. Link to other people's blogs frequently and meaningfully. If you link to someone, and you send them significant traffic, they're going to notice! They might link to you one day, or pay attention to your work if you're within the same community.
   
3. Add your URL to your e-mail signature, business card, book, etc.
4. Offer guest posts on sites/blogs with more traffic than your own.
5. Be active on relevant community sites, which can interest people in what you're doing, which can lead to visits to your site/blog.
6. Ask for a link trade, where others agree to permanently link to your site/blog in their blogroll, and you return the favor on your own site. (This is by far a less popular method nowadays; it's pushy and can damage credibility if you don't believe in the links you're sharing. Better for this to happen naturally, over time.)
7. Be active across social media and alert people when you have a new post. (And/or make sure your URL is clearly listed on every social media profile.)

Your mileage will vary on No. 7 depending on your social media presence, how savvy you are, and if you're reaching out in the right areas.

But I'm a strong believer in the breadcrumb method, where you have accounts on multiple community sites. That's because you never know how people might find you, and the more doorways you have leading to your site, the more traffic you will get over time.

Even if you're not active or devoted to a particular community site or social media channel, you can still appear to be active if you adjust the settings in your favor.

To help explain, let me show you where my site or blog traffic comes from, then explain how that traffic happens.
Here are 5 key, continuing sources of traffic for this blog (No Rules) in the past year—aside from search engines and direct traffic.
1. TWITTER



Both Writer's Digest and I have active presences on Twitter (130K and 50K followers, respectively). When a link is broadcast that a new post is up, it reaches thousands of people initially, and then thousands more through retweets and mentions.


2. FACEBOOK



New blog posts are automatically fed onto my Facebook personal page, as well as the Writer's Digest fan page (without any help from me, because it works through NetworkedBlogs). Other people also commonly post links to my blog content on their own Facebook walls.

3. WRITERSDIGEST.COM
There's a permanent link to all Writer's Digest blogs on the homepage, and it's a consistent driver of traffic to No Rules.

4. BLOGGER MENTIONS (and permanent bloggers' links)
When taken individually, one person's blog or site may send just a handful of visits per day or week. But when you multiply that effect by dozens or hundreds of bloggers, that's a huge impact. But you only get to enjoy this dynamic if you're blogging for the long haul. It rarely happens overnight.

5. STUMBLEUPON
To tell the truth, this is one site where I am not active, and only recently did I even start an account. But over time, this site has started sending MORE traffic my way as my most popular posts are tagged and catalogued. (Right now, this controversial post that's tagged is sending me a few dozen visits a day from StumbleUpon.)

Some other important sources of traffic this past year have been Writer Unboxed (where I offer guest posts) and Alltop, where this blog is catalogued as part of the writing and publishing pages.

--

Here are the top 5 sources of traffic for my personal site (JaneFriedman.com) in the past month. They constitute about 80% of my traffic.


1. THERE ARE NO RULES (this blog)
This make sense since NO RULES is where I focus most of my time and energy in producing new content. I rarely link to my personal site in my posts. Instead, it's a static link on the lefthand sidebar if people want to know more about me.


2. GOOGLE (organic search)



The No. 1 search term that brings people to my site is "Jane Friedman." I am probably attracting a considerable number of visits from people looking for The Other Jane Friedman.


3. TWITTER


Traffic from Twitter comes from 3 areas:

• from the static URL on my Twitter profile (see above)
  
• from the tweets I send with links
• from the retweets and mentions from my followers

4. DIRECT VISITS
These visits are from people who have bookmarked my page, click on direct links from e-mail notifications, or otherwise type in "JaneFriedman.com."

5. FACEBOOK
Traffic from Facebook comes from 3 areas:

• from the static URL on my profile page
  
• from the links I post to my site
• from the links other people post to my site

Some of my biggest traffic bumps happen when a major Facebook group posts a link to my series, When Mom Was My Age—which shows you the value of consistent series or features on your site/blog.

--

If you look at the long tail of my site traffic—on this blog as well as my personal site—I'm getting a significant number of visitors, over a year's span, from:

• Various Google referrals (from things like my Google Profile, Google Reader Shared Items, and so on)
• LinkedIn
• GoodReads
• PublishersMarketplace
• FriendFeed
• YouTube
• Disqus
  

Does it take me any effort to get this traffic?

No. I simply make sure that I use all settings and opportunities for auto-updating, when applicable.

Take my LinkedIn profile as an example. I don't spend time on this site. But I'm "active." See below; the top red arrow points to my Twitter updates, which are automatically fed into my profile and provide constantly refreshed information about what I'm doing. I don't lift a finger.

The bottom arrow points to a mash-up of things I've told LinkedIn to report, based on my other activity online.




On LinkedIn, I also feed in my blogs, which appear under my profile summary.



This keeps me active on the site without requiring my time. Look for these types of feeds and settings on every site you use!

This is why I give the appearance of being everywhere at once, while really just focusing my energy on a few things: my professional blog, Twitter, Facebook.

Why those 3?

Because those places give me the most return on my investment of time and energy. Everyone's results will be different, though, which is why you absolutely must find out where your site traffic comes from. (Use Google Analytics to get started.)

People will find you in a hundred different ways, and it's more important than ever to have your own site—so you can direct people to your "home," where readers and community influencers have an opportunity to find out where you're most active, and choose their preferred means of staying updated.

I can guarantee that after this post, I'll have a lot of people joining me on Facebook or LinkedIn because they didn't realize I was there!

And that's a good thing.

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time to turn our attention to another year. Another decade, actually, that will bring new challenges and new opportunities. Here are five important trends you can expect to see in 2011 and a few ideas to get you started on the right foot. Happy New Year.

Security. Consumers are worried about online security, and for good reason. Increasingly, security is an issue not just on our own websites but wherever our brands can be found on the Web. As we increase visibility across properties – mobile, Facebook and Twitter, online forums, location-based apps like Foursquare – and encourage our users to share information with us on those sites, we increase the risk of losing control over sensitive data.

McAfee reports that mobile will be a big target for cyber criminals in 2011. The increase in usage, combined with “historically fragile cellular infrastructure and slow strides toward encryption”, will put user data on mobile phones at high risk for an attack. McAfee Labs says that Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone, Foursquare, Google TV and the Mac OS X platform, are all expected to be targets in the New Year. Also reported is that URL-shortening services will be a significant target in 2011.

Take these threats seriously and make security – both for users and internally – a top priority. Also, make sure your users know that their safety is a top concern. Make privacy policies and security measures easy to locate on your website.

Mobile. I think it’s safe to say that “the year of mobile” was finally realized in 2010. And it won’t slow down in 2011. Every business must have a mobile strategy in 2011, no matter how small it might seem. That could range from a mobile-friendly website or mobile app to simply advertising on mobile devices for lead generation or SMS campaigns.

But use caution – not every mobile strategy will work for every business. Mobile apps are expensive to produce and maintain and should be developed only when research has been done and you can really bring something useful to the table.

Understand your mobile audience. For example, a recent article by Kathryn Koegel states, “Who knew that the BlackBerry Curve and Pearl are hot phones among girl teens? Kind of counterintuitive, but when you realize that their parents are on BlackBerries, BlackBerry gave them a sweet deal to add on to their own plans and those girls, they do like to text on buttons...”

Digital Couponing. One of the biggest stories of the year was Groupon turning down Google’s $6 billion buyout offer. Groupon is officially the Internet’s fastest growing company in history, but online couponing is not limited to Groupon; not in any sense. Local newspapers are in on the action and even very small websites are pairing up with local businesses to offer targeted coupons to their users. Get in.

Of course, nobody wants to give away the store. The good news is that you don’t have to. While the current environment has trained consumers to expect a deal on almost anything, that “anything” is flexible. Think about coupons as an upsell more than a discount. Offer add-ins when spending thresholds are met, for example. Whatever your strategy, these coupons are here to stay for the foreseeable future and it’s important that your customers feel they are getting in on the deal.

Search Remains Universal. Of all the headline-grabbing material in 2010, search was not one of them. However, search is still a major factor of every online business. Take a look at any website, and you’ll find a search bar – even Facebook and Twitter have prominent search bars at the top of their pages.

Google still rules search but understand that search happens everywhere and for different reasons. That means optimizing for search on different formats and for different keywords, depending on the venue. A mobile search, for example, could lean toward location (the nearest coffee shop – for which you would optimize using location keywords and parameters) while a desktop search might be for product images. Social search will increase in relevancy for users, meaning that your social graph – your connections to consumers and other businesses, and the information you share and publish on these networks – will become a form of SEO in its own right. Stay relevant.

Expanding Business Models. Finally, think beyond your current business offerings for 2011. The online business world is more competitive than ever. Very few businesses can thrive with the same model or the same product year after year – especially pure-play online businesses.

One of the great advantages of doing business on the Web is its speed and flexibility. As quickly as an idea arrives it can be placed and promoted on the Web. And just as quickly, websites can be shut down or sold. Ideally, you would like to open new opportunities related to your current business. Think value-added for your current customers. But don’t be afraid to develop something completely outside the box – that’s why microsites exist.

Posted Dec 30 2010, 01:00 PM by Mike Phillips

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time to turn our attention to another year. Another decade, actually, that will bring new challenges and new opportunities. Here are five important trends you can expect to see in 2011 and a few ideas to get you started on the right foot. Happy New Year.

Security. Consumers are worried about online security, and for good reason. Increasingly, security is an issue not just on our own websites but wherever our brands can be found on the Web. As we increase visibility across properties – mobile, Facebook and Twitter, online forums, location-based apps like Foursquare – and encourage our users to share information with us on those sites, we increase the risk of losing control over sensitive data.

McAfee reports that mobile will be a big target for cyber criminals in 2011. The increase in usage, combined with “historically fragile cellular infrastructure and slow strides toward encryption”, will put user data on mobile phones at high risk for an attack. McAfee Labs says that Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone, Foursquare, Google TV and the Mac OS X platform, are all expected to be targets in the New Year. Also reported is that URL-shortening services will be a significant target in 2011.

Take these threats seriously and make security – both for users and internally – a top priority. Also, make sure your users know that their safety is a top concern. Make privacy policies and security measures easy to locate on your website.

Mobile. I think it’s safe to say that “the year of mobile” was finally realized in 2010. And it won’t slow down in 2011. Every business must have a mobile strategy in 2011, no matter how small it might seem. That could range from a mobile-friendly website or mobile app to simply advertising on mobile devices for lead generation or SMS campaigns.

But use caution – not every mobile strategy will work for every business. Mobile apps are expensive to produce and maintain and should be developed only when research has been done and you can really bring something useful to the table.

Understand your mobile audience. For example, a recent article by Kathryn Koegel states, “Who knew that the BlackBerry Curve and Pearl are hot phones among girl teens? Kind of counterintuitive, but when you realize that their parents are on BlackBerries, BlackBerry gave them a sweet deal to add on to their own plans and those girls, they do like to text on buttons...”

Digital Couponing. One of the biggest stories of the year was Groupon turning down Google’s $6 billion buyout offer. Groupon is officially the Internet’s fastest growing company in history, but online couponing is not limited to Groupon; not in any sense. Local newspapers are in on the action and even very small websites are pairing up with local businesses to offer targeted coupons to their users. Get in.

Of course, nobody wants to give away the store. The good news is that you don’t have to. While the current environment has trained consumers to expect a deal on almost anything, that “anything” is flexible. Think about coupons as an upsell more than a discount. Offer add-ins when spending thresholds are met, for example. Whatever your strategy, these coupons are here to stay for the foreseeable future and it’s important that your customers feel they are getting in on the deal.

Search Remains Universal. Of all the headline-grabbing material in 2010, search was not one of them. However, search is still a major factor of every online business. Take a look at any website, and you’ll find a search bar – even Facebook and Twitter have prominent search bars at the top of their pages.

Google still rules search but understand that search happens everywhere and for different reasons. That means optimizing for search on different formats and for different keywords, depending on the venue. A mobile search, for example, could lean toward location (the nearest coffee shop – for which you would optimize using location keywords and parameters) while a desktop search might be for product images. Social search will increase in relevancy for users, meaning that your social graph – your connections to consumers and other businesses, and the information you share and publish on these networks – will become a form of SEO in its own right. Stay relevant.

Expanding Business Models. Finally, think beyond your current business offerings for 2011. The online business world is more competitive than ever. Very few businesses can thrive with the same model or the same product year after year – especially pure-play online businesses.

One of the great advantages of doing business on the Web is its speed and flexibility. As quickly as an idea arrives it can be placed and promoted on the Web. And just as quickly, websites can be shut down or sold. Ideally, you would like to open new opportunities related to your current business. Think value-added for your current customers. But don’t be afraid to develop something completely outside the box – that’s why microsites exist.

Posted Dec 30 2010, 01:00 PM by Mike Phillips

As 2010 draws to a close, it’s time to turn our attention to another year. Another decade, actually, that will bring new challenges and new opportunities. Here are five important trends you can expect to see in 2011 and a few ideas to get you started on the right foot. Happy New Year.

Security. Consumers are worried about online security, and for good reason. Increasingly, security is an issue not just on our own websites but wherever our brands can be found on the Web. As we increase visibility across properties – mobile, Facebook and Twitter, online forums, location-based apps like Foursquare – and encourage our users to share information with us on those sites, we increase the risk of losing control over sensitive data.

McAfee reports that mobile will be a big target for cyber criminals in 2011. The increase in usage, combined with “historically fragile cellular infrastructure and slow strides toward encryption”, will put user data on mobile phones at high risk for an attack. McAfee Labs says that Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone, Foursquare, Google TV and the Mac OS X platform, are all expected to be targets in the New Year. Also reported is that URL-shortening services will be a significant target in 2011.

Take these threats seriously and make security – both for users and internally – a top priority. Also, make sure your users know that their safety is a top concern. Make privacy policies and security measures easy to locate on your website.

Mobile. I think it’s safe to say that “the year of mobile” was finally realized in 2010. And it won’t slow down in 2011. Every business must have a mobile strategy in 2011, no matter how small it might seem. That could range from a mobile-friendly website or mobile app to simply advertising on mobile devices for lead generation or SMS campaigns.

But use caution – not every mobile strategy will work for every business. Mobile apps are expensive to produce and maintain and should be developed only when research has been done and you can really bring something useful to the table.

Understand your mobile audience. For example, a recent article by Kathryn Koegel states, “Who knew that the BlackBerry Curve and Pearl are hot phones among girl teens? Kind of counterintuitive, but when you realize that their parents are on BlackBerries, BlackBerry gave them a sweet deal to add on to their own plans and those girls, they do like to text on buttons...”

Digital Couponing. One of the biggest stories of the year was Groupon turning down Google’s $6 billion buyout offer. Groupon is officially the Internet’s fastest growing company in history, but online couponing is not limited to Groupon; not in any sense. Local newspapers are in on the action and even very small websites are pairing up with local businesses to offer targeted coupons to their users. Get in.

Of course, nobody wants to give away the store. The good news is that you don’t have to. While the current environment has trained consumers to expect a deal on almost anything, that “anything” is flexible. Think about coupons as an upsell more than a discount. Offer add-ins when spending thresholds are met, for example. Whatever your strategy, these coupons are here to stay for the foreseeable future and it’s important that your customers feel they are getting in on the deal.

Search Remains Universal. Of all the headline-grabbing material in 2010, search was not one of them. However, search is still a major factor of every online business. Take a look at any website, and you’ll find a search bar – even Facebook and Twitter have prominent search bars at the top of their pages.

Google still rules search but understand that search happens everywhere and for different reasons. That means optimizing for search on different formats and for different keywords, depending on the venue. A mobile search, for example, could lean toward location (the nearest coffee shop – for which you would optimize using location keywords and parameters) while a desktop search might be for product images. Social search will increase in relevancy for users, meaning that your social graph – your connections to consumers and other businesses, and the information you share and publish on these networks – will become a form of SEO in its own right. Stay relevant.

Expanding Business Models. Finally, think beyond your current business offerings for 2011. The online business world is more competitive than ever. Very few businesses can thrive with the same model or the same product year after year – especially pure-play online businesses.

One of the great advantages of doing business on the Web is its speed and flexibility. As quickly as an idea arrives it can be placed and promoted on the Web. And just as quickly, websites can be shut down or sold. Ideally, you would like to open new opportunities related to your current business. Think value-added for your current customers. But don’t be afraid to develop something completely outside the box – that’s why microsites exist.

Posted Dec 30 2010, 01:00 PM by Mike Phillips