As it goes, I’d say I’m pretty good at the friends malarkey. I remember key dates, backstories and whereabouts, am always there for an obligatory shoulder to cry on or a drink to celebrate; for dinner, dancing or directions. So after a day with Siri, I thought we’d be getting on like a house on fire – but I was wrong.
Thanks to the startling statistic that 1.08 million of the world’s 4 billion mobile phones is now a smartphone, more and more customers around the world have the power in their pocket to shop from anywhere, 24/7. Currently 10% of visits to websites are from mobile devices but figures show that mobile commerce, or m-commerce, will overtake desktop browsing by 2014.
Last week we were invited to speak at the Chinwag Insight: Facebook Marketing conference on 6th October 2011. We shared our predictions with delegates from around the country, explaining what Facebook’s latest and most radical changes to date (first announced at the f8 conference on 23rd September) mean for marketers and business. Other panelists that supported our talk included senior members from We Are Social, Wieden+Kennedy and 1000 Heads. Have look at some of the insight we shared at the conference looking at the opportunities and potential threats that face your brand when Facebook’s developments are rolled out to all users this month.
Yesterday, the Neoco team headed down to a live broadcast of the Facebook F8 conference as part of the Facebook Developer Garage monthly event. Usually packed with insider info on the latest Facebook happenings, we were excited to see what’s in store for the future.
After a very American sketch-show introduction involving Andy Samberg impersonating Mark Zuckerberg (at thinking it was Steve Ballmer shouting at a Microsoft Developer Keynote), the Facebook founder himself was invited on stage to discuss the new features. Presenting the keynote as if he’d been up all night taking pointers from Steve Jobs’, he explained what’s in store for the future of Facebook.
QR codes are popping up everywhere. From estate agents offering virtual tours of properties to magazine recruitment adverts seeking tech-savvy applicants. Whilst sceptics doubt the longevity and adoption of these little squares, some brands are using QR codes very cleverly indeed.
Yesterday I had breakfast at the newly refurbished Savoy hotel on the Strand. Not something I do everyday, however I was invited to a seminar hosted by Adobe and Valtech on “Managing Brand Perception on a Global Stage”.
I’m sure you’ve heard about ‘Facebook Messages’ by now. On Monday Mr. Zuckerberg introduced a new addition to the Facebook experience aiming to converge more traditional ways of communicating such as IM, SMS and emails, breaking down dependency (on Google?) and making life just a bit easier for us all.
It’s amazing to see how the launch of Facebook Places in the UK has taken the wind out of Foursquare’s sails within a matter of weeks. At this stage it seems as if the majority of British people who might possibly be interested in using the features offered by Foursquare are just waiting for Places to develop new functionality.
