Bluejac, Masonry and Pinterest
I recently decided to rejig my private sharing service Abelwire ( now called Bluejac). The project was shelved due to Google+ as it does private sharing via circles, which is similar to Bluejac’s approach with channels.
However, despite my reservation that family members and professional contacts would simply adopt Google+, this has not happened.
Given the current fad of Pinterest style layouts, I thought it would be fun to see whether or not that style would work on Bluejac. To do this, I used what must be the most popular plugin at the moment – JQuery Masonry.
Education, healthcare, banking and innovation
Released under a creative commons license on Flickr by dgray_xplane
It is always fun discussing new product ideas, solutions to existing problems and potential new markets. A couple of markets that consistently crop up in discussions I have had lately include: education, healthcare and banking.
Healthcare
Healthcare is an emotive subject, especially in the US, and a space ready for some new innovation.
“Don’t listen to the naysayers. The time to jump into healthcare IT is now, said Frank Moss, director of new media medicine at MIT’s Media Lab.”
This is easier said than done due to the complex nature of the market. I am interested in learning more about this space and as part of my research came across a few start ups:
Usability testing and some useful tools
Image released under a Creative Commons license by Yandle on Flickr
When conducting usability testing on websites, there are plenty of online tools available to help with the process. If I require a range of different testers, who fit a series of demographics, mirroring the various users of a site, I use a service called usertesting.com. The service is well run with responsive support and has become a staple in my tool box. For around $39 you can have someone step through your site completing predetermined tasks that you set. Watching the resultant screencast, as well as listening to the user describe their thought process while completing each task, provides real insight into what is working well and what isn’t. Other options including; Loop 11, Open Hallway, CrazyEgg and many more.
CoRetail: a possible option for empty store space?
With the continued rise of online shopping, Amazon’s recent $5 discount if you left the store and bought with them, eBay countering with a $10 offer to return, Groupon launching a buy local promotion, and considering this interview with Marc Andreessen on his predications for 2012; there can be no doubt retail is going through a phase of serious distruption.
With high street vacancy rates rising in the UK and here in Canada – at least in my neighbourhood – plenty of empty stores, combined with new retail ventures choosing to go online due to cost and reach; I am thinking through a simple idea which, for lack of a better title, I’m calling CoRetail.
Bluejac: All bread 1/2 price until closing
The idea for Bluejac came while waiting in line at a bakery in Leamington Spa – an assistant behind the counter pulled out a piece of card and wrote All bread 1/2 price until closing and put the sign in the window. When I asked him if this happened every day, he replied, ‘Each day is different depending on sales that day’.
This triggered a simple idea.
As he was not sure what would be left, if anything, towards the end of the day perhaps it would be possible to build a web service which could help get the word out to interested shoppers in the vicinity, when the sale was on?
Abelwire: private communication through dedicated channels
The concept behind Abelwire arose from a personal need to share family updates and photos, towards the end of 2010, in a completely private, very simple, service where the participating users owned their own data.
To achieve this, I wrapped a bundle of email addresses and/or mobile phone numbers in a unique access id, this access id formed a channel. There is no public on this service. Content could only be shared via a channel where it is restricted to the members of that channel. Search was restricted to channels and it was only possible to view the profiles of those people who are in the same channel(s).
Google+ Brand Pages
Google+ recently launched brand pages and so far reviews have been mixed. Google+ brand pages are similar in idea, if not execution, to Facebook pages.
Some commentators feel brands and companies should be investing time building a presence on Google+ as the network is growing, there are unique features such as Hangouts and, importantly, there is speculation they will impact search results.
On the negative side, some feel the offering is not yet ready for primetime usage. In a nutshell, you can’t use Google pages to run contests, offers, coupons or other promotions, instead they suggest linking to an external site. There are very little, if any, analytics (they don’t integrate with Google Analytics!), administration control is limited and due to Google+’s age there is concern that is doesn’t have the required traffic, yet.
Ann Summers: finding a new face for the brand
This week a colleague and I were debating the subtleties of popular culture and how it relates to brands, genres and audience (this is why strategists are so much fun to go for a beer with 
). Our focus was particular formats that work incredibly well in a certain scenario, for a particular demographic and wondering: with such success, should we assume a tactic will transcend effectively to other situations? Our catalyst for this discussion was Ann Summers.
John Lewis and this year’s crop of Christmas adverts
Each year there is plenty of discussion around the Christmas ads for some of the UK’s largest stores. This year it feels like John Lewis has sparked the most reaction. How could the John Lewis Christmas advert cost so much considers the offering bland, choosing a soundtrack by the Smiths - which not everyone is happy about – describing it as the best Christmas advert ever, critics on Twitter divided and parent’s crying as they watch it; this is all good stuff when you create a campaign or ad as it shows people engaged.
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