Google

17
Apr
2014

The convergence of The Big Four tech giants continues

With leaked reports this week suggesting that Amazon are readying a smartphone to launch in the Autumn, it marked yet another example in the recent trend of the big four tech companies, Google, Apple, Facebook & Amazon, continuing to move in on each other’s turf. It seems that Amazon want a piece of the smartphone pie and feel like they have something to offer in this space in the hope of emulating Apple’s model of users being able to use an Apple device to buy Apple products via an Apple payment system (iTunes). This isn’t a new trend but definitely one that seems to have sped up over the last few months with Computer World highlighting the number of recent moves that have made these companies “a lot less like themselves and a lot more like their competitors”.

Even Twitter are getting in on the action. Just last week the company rolled out a new profile page to some users, giving images more prominence, displaying posts based on their level of interaction and generally continuing the ‘Facebook-ification’ of the platform. All this in addition to reports last month that the company was preparing to get rid of the hashtag and @reply features that have been such symbols of the platform up to this point.

In a similar vein, it seems that Facebook is hoping to diversify from social like Google has managed to diversify from search with the company recently engaged in some very Google-like ‘moonshot’ ventures like investing in virtual reality and drone hardware manufacturers that have nothing from the outside to do with their core business. It has also been reported this week that the company is currently testing out an e-money system in Ireland which, if it were to prove a success, could possibly muscle in on Amazon’s online retail business or the potential of Apple’s iTunes in the micro-payments space.

So it looks as though these companies will continue to diversify from their original core business and borrow elements from each other, all with the aim of trying to expand their customer base and keep users within their ecosystem. But are all these measures diluting the elements that made users love them in the first place, and what are the implications for us, the users, of having our lives and our habits influenced and monitored by such a small group of companies?

Amazon Smartphone

Image courtesy of Mashable

Posted by Rob in Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter
14
Feb
2013

SEO vs. CMO: The Growing Importance of Content Marketing Optimisation

Ah, Search Engine Optimisation. Once, the be-all and end-all of success on the web, making sure your site had an audience and your business a customer base. But with page-rank gaming a constant problem and more companies now producing regular online content such as blog posts, search engines are now seemingly taking the richness and quantity of content into the equation more and more when determining page rank. They want ‘Content Angels’ not ‘SEO Devils’.

With content marketing becoming an increasingly popular way of engaging with customers and getting your brand out there, it is becoming more and more important to make sure that this content is effectively optimised for search. Just in Time Financial PR agency demonstrate how simple it can be to achieve a surprisingly high page rank just by having optimised blog posts. In 10 days, with a number of posts focusing on related key-phrases, the company was the #1 ranked site for the ‘Financial PR agency’ search term.

Now more than ever, content is king. Kaiser the Sage provides some helpful CMO tips including making sure your content is easily shareable on social media (via share buttons), encouraging user interaction (i.e. comments), making it visual using images and videos etc. (Infographics are extremely popular at the moment) and internally linking to other relevant content on your site. Ultimately, the more value your content is to your target market, the more likely you are to engage your customers regardless of page rank.

ContentCreation

Image courtesy of Simply Zesty

Posted by Rob in Advertising, Google, SEO
28
Jan
2013

Introducing Google Now

Google Now is a new Google smartphone application that is set to further revolutionise the way in which our smartphones are integrated into our lives. The application is currently only available on devices running Android Jelly Bean which is why not many people are familiar with it despite launching over six months ago. Google Now incorporates many different Google features into a single interface, combining voice search and a system of ‘cards’ that automatically bubble up relevant information to the phone’s home screen on a contextual basis. The application provides the user with all the real time personalised information they could possibly need, presenting it automatically, even before the user asks for it.

It tells you today’s weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform, or your favorite team’s score while they’re playing. And the best part? All of this happens automatically. Cards appear throughout the day at the moment you need them.

Like Siri for the iPhone, Google Now is another example of how the smartphone is becoming more of a personal assistant to users, anticipating what you need before you ask for it. The video below shows the application in action highlighting how smartphone functionality is becoming more intuitive and is a good indication of how users will further integrate their mobile into their lives in the near future.

Posted by Rob in Android, Apps, Google