Word On The Street » Technology

Social Media to Ease the Commuter Blues

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:45:46 +0000

Ahh the morning commute. Always the best way to start your work day isn't it? If you live in one of the top 10 traffic cities chances are you need quite the head start just to make it to work on time. Well, there is a new social network built with you in mind. It's called Waze and it currently has a network of 7 million drivers across the globe.

You need a smartphone to get started, but once you download the app you are all set to go. The social navigation app gets smarter with each new driver who passively or actively reports data from the road in real time. Waze has evolved to become an essential everyday utility for millions of drivers, CEO Naom Bardin says. But can Waze replace the traffic report as we know it? Bardin says yes — eventually. “It will take a while to replace … but what we’re providing is much more granular.”

Apple iPhone 5…oh wait…4s?

admin — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:18:44 +0000

Well the day has finally arrived. Apple has announced the long hyped successor to the iPhone 4! The rumored iPhone Fi..FourS! Wait, what?

Did Apple allow the rumor mills to churn out iPhone 5 specs for this long and really just update the software and a few of the innards? Why yes, yes they did.

Apple's stock fell by 5% after the announcement, most likely due to the lack of an iPhone 5 / One More Thing announcement. Don't get us wrong, the new specs and the updated software for iOS5 looks great and we cannot wait to get our hands on some of the features. But this isn't so much a new product that's a must have, which is what Apple has been known for.

What do you think? Is the iPhone 4s on your purchase list?

Google+ v. Facebook

Ryan Johnson — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:24:57 +0000

The gloves are off and the fight has started. Google+ is the newcomer but already is taking the internet by storm. While it is still in field testing mode, Google+ offers a breath of fresh air from the same old thing with Facebook. We here at Digital Street have been tinkering around in Google+, checking the ins and outs and we must say, we are excited. It has a very nice user interface and is very intuitive. How this will be used in terms of business use is still yet to be seen. Google+ doesn't offer "business pages" but they have some things in the works to answer that question for us too. (See this Mashable article for more)

Facebook isn't going to let this all go on and not retaliate though. So they roll out their new video chat feature supported by their new partnership with Skype. This ads a whole new layer to Facebook's "chat" feature. (Click here to see how to set it up for yourself).

This competition will hopefully push the two powerhouses into a very interesting game of innovation for their respective platforms. And in that case, we all will end up being the winners.

Using Technology to Stand Out

Ryan Johnson — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:44:44 +0000

In today's economy, jobs are slim and candidates are plenty. So how can you use social media/technology to help give you an edge in finding your dream job? Check out this video and see!

Also! This is a great way to use QR codes, not just for finding a job but for interactive advertising. The only limit to what you can do is your own creativity.

The Evolution of the Check-In

Ryan Johnson — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 18:54:50 +0000

Location-based services have been popping up everywhere over the last few years. And while it all started as a way to find your friends, it has evolved into much, much more than that.

When Twitter first arrived on the scene, the status box was empty, with a grayed out question asking, "What are you doing?". Now, we have services like Gowalla and Foursquare asking, "Where are you?" and "Who are you with?" While GetGlue and ShopKick ask "What are you watching/reading?" or "What are you buying?"

While some might say that the age of overshare is upon us, I feel that this is a perfect way for brands to connect with their consumers. I don't necessarily mean checking in to everything we do, but a more subtle approach where programs and services integrate with one another, and then give feedback to the company. Allowing them to build a better product, or deliver a better service. Or even making new product recommendations based on the way a consumer interacts with their service.

I might be getting ahead of myself, since location-based tech has yet to be adopted by the masses. But if/when it does, look for a more integrated relationship between consumer and brand.

Digital Street Featured in Nike Women Video

Michael Herman — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:18:06 +0000

Stephanie, our Director of Social Media, was one of 20 women chosen to participate in the Nike Women Make Yourself Movement. As her first assignment, she was asked to post a blog on "What Makes Me" - and with typical "Stephanie fashion", she chose to do a video instead! Check it out below! More videos will be coming, so be sure to check out the Nike Women Facebook page as well as our own!

New Google WebP Images

Michael Herman — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 14:22:29 +0000

One thing we consider when optimizing your website is the loading speed of your page. For a long time, the SEO industry theorized that page speed was one of the factors that SERPs considered. Now, especially since Google released it's Google Instant, we are certain that speed does matter!

Google has now introduced WebP ("weppy") images. This allows search spiders to see the size adjustments to your images in the coding so that they will know you aren't making searchers wait to load your full size image. It allows you to download the WebP install and convert your JPEG image codes to be WebP friendly.

Read more about how it helps your page speed here:

Google's New "Weppy" Image Standard

What is a QR Code?

Michael Herman — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:56:30 +0000

I am still hoping for the day that QR codes, "Quick Response Codes", become a regular on the advertising scene. QR codes put an end to the "I hope you remember the website in our magazine ad so you will go home later and type it in off the top of your head" issue. These codes create a direct channel to your website right then and there. Let me paint a picture...

You are waiting at a bus stop. Nothing is around you but strangers and a giant advertisement wrap around the bus stop station. The advertisement is a poster for a new movie out with, *gasp*, your favorite actor! Well, hopefully you remember the name of the movie so you can go home and look it up. BUT WAIT! You have the QR Reader App on your smart phone. You hold your phone up to the little digital square and your phone immediately opens up your browser and takes you to the movie's website. BUT WAIT! Not only does it take you to the website, but a video pops up. It's the trailer to the movie! Now you scroll below and enter your zip code to see when the movie is playing in your area and can directly buy tickets from your phone! BAM. Conversion goal met.

Here is an example of how Blockbuster used QR codes:

The great thing about a QR Code is that you can make one for ANY landing page. It is entirely too simple. All you have to do is go to Kaywa.com and enter your URL. Once you get your QR code, you can pretty much place it on anything. I even had one on my resume that led to my own personal website. I've seen people add them to business cards as well.

What's the catch? In order for the camera on your smart phone to read these little digital squares, QR codes, you need to download the application for it. Just do a search for QR in your app store and download the QR app.

If you are a fan of the popular HBO show, "True Blood", you would be happy to know they've actually designed a very branded QR code. From what I've researched, this is the first designer QR code to appear on TV. Imagine what you can do with this. Since QR codes can go pretty much anywhere, they can use this image in a magazine ad, a giant poster, or even in their commercials (which they did, and you can read about it and watch the commercial here):

TRUE BLOOD DESIGNS A QR CODE

True Blood QR Code

Keeping you updated and downloaded - Megan @ Digital Street, Inc.

Big Things Happening At Google – “Instantly!”

Michael Herman — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:03:56 +0000

You know big things are happening over at Google when their CEO, Eric Schmidt, tweets the following message:

“I predict big things happening today at Google. We’re already fast… fast is about to get faster.”

Now that tweet and all the fun logo changes are coming together! Google has just release real-time live results that change as the user types their query! It’s called Google Instant. Just what is Google Instant?

Videos are always more fun than reading, right? Check out the video from Google

Google Instant is rolling out over several days to users signed in to a Google Account. We have been testing it out and have been amazed! Here is a quick shot of the screen:

This is a major change. It should help users find what they want faster—heck, you don’t even need to click the “search” button anymore if you don’t want too. And like Schmidt’s Tweet from this morning suggests… it’s all about the speed with Google Instant (and I can’t stress enough how remarkably fast it is). Remember, Google only broke through in the search industry and rose to prominence because their results were so much faster (and more accurate) than the competition—speed has always been important to Google. It seems they’re bound and determined to do whatever they can to ensure that they’re results are quicker and more accurate, so that we have less reason to look elsewhere.

Foursquare Gets Down To Business

Michael Herman — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 17:51:25 +0000

I've been convinced over the last few months that location based services like Foursquare are going to be huge this year. Foursquare's latest move may be the just the catalyst needed for this technology to catch fire.

Foursquare is now making itself much more business friendly by offering a suite of tools for business owners to use in conjunction with the service.

Now every unclaimed business venue has a link asking, “Are you the manager of this business?” The link takes managers to a page asking them for proof that they are indeed the manager so that Foursquare’s sales team can call them to set them up with tools for claiming their venue and managing offers. There is also a new Businesses page explaining the different tools available to local merchants.

Businesses who claim their venues on Foursquare get a dashboard with realtime stats on number of check-ins, times of day people check in, most recent visitors, and most frequent visitors. They can also manage the offers and badges people get when they check in. These include Mayor specials, specials for people who check in a certain number of times, or wildcard specials which can be customized. A special can be anything from a free drink to 20 percent off a purchase.

This is pretty exciting stuff. I can imagine this being very popular with businesses. The marketing potential of this technology is impossible to calculate at this point because it's just too new. Mobile technology in all its forms is getting more popular by the second largely due to the iPhone. Local businesses need a way to cash-in on this technology and integrate their brands with it. Foursquare is undoubtedly the first of what will be many companies developing ways to do that.

Businesses should take advantage of this and give it a try. There's no downside to registering your venue on Foursquare and creating a couple of promotions.