Thursday, May 21, 2009

What Are You Doing With Mobile?

Many of you might say… my web site is trash, why do I need to think about mobile? I would suggest you pay attention to mobile now so that two years from now you are not saying… my mobile plan is trash why do I need to worry about (insert new technology here)?

Planning for mobile is not really very hard. Start small and give it a try. What is the one thing that makes your business or magazine unique? Perhaps it is restaurant reviews or listings of summer camps. Start with that one idea. There are two main things to look into. First, how can I get that information into a data-base. BAM! Did your brain just swell? Thus, the name of my company; Brain Swell Media. Start with a simple Excel spread sheet. Second, look to make that data available through an iPhone app to start. There are many app building companies, including mine, that can help you for less than $1,000. Google: iPhone app providers.

The key is this, start playing today so that you have some practice for tomorrow.

Ryan
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Concerned that you are not doing enough to get your site noticed online? Ask for help from the internet experts at Brain Swell Media. Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.

Twitter This...

In honor of the web site Twitter, I am going to save myself some time and make my blog shorter. Also, based on the what I read from Ad Ages Abbey Klaassen, I have reason to express my concern over the recent trend by publishers to "hop on board" the "Twitter express".
Ms Klaasseen wrote, "Over the past few weeks we've seen countless stories about the "Oprah effect" on Twitter -- TechCrunch suggested more than one million people signed up and many a blog linked to Hitwise data that suggested the talk-show doyenne's endorsement of the service led to a 43% spike in Twitter traffic. While those numbers are important, the breathless reports have not accounted for what people do after they sign up for a Twitter account. Creating a Twitter account doesn't equal becoming an uber-user, or even a casual user, of the micro-blogging site. Nielsen Online data released today suggest more than 60% of people who sign up for Twitter abandon the service." I would suggest that this research is right and that unless you have a purpose to "tweet", you may want to use the extra "tweeting" time to give your wife a kiss, donate to charity or do your job. There is a real reason to use Twitter as a magazine editor or to assign a writer to "tweet" on a regular basis. The service is an excellent way to keep your followers informed on a topic close to your magazine. For example, you are a writer that covers rock and roll. There is a national band in town. You announce the upcoming concert, share your experiences at the show and then report on the show. This is a great way to use the service. But, please spare us the details of your latest disaster at Subway or that you fell down a flight of stairs due to the rain. We'll, on second thought, the fall down the stairs might be good for a laugh.

Ryan
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Concerned that you are not doing enough to get your site noticed online? Ask for help from the internet experts at Brain Swell Media. Need some help with your online strategy? Want to make money from your Web site? Contact Ryan and the Brain Swell Media team today. ryan@brainswellmedia.com or 803-634-3886.