At iCrossing, we recently launched a marketing thought leadership series called Real-Time Insights. The first set of videos focuses on the implications of Google Plus and Google Plus Pages for marketers. I look forward to your thoughts.
To see the full playlist, just hit the little TV button to the left of "CC".
This is an important and poignant discussion about how social and search algorithms have begun to filter our content, based on what it thinks we want. While this might be great when you're shopping on Amazon, it has dangerous implications on our awareness and understanding about what's happening in the world and our communities, outside of our most immediate or most frequented spheres. Pariser makes the point that when the Internet first launched, we had human editors; the problem with algorithmic editors is that they don't have the ethics, the moral compass to ensure that people are seeing what they NEED to see, not just what they might want to see.
I have to agree. I geek out on what tech can do for us every day, but this is exactly why I curate all of my own feeds on my social networks - it lets me choose the voices I want to hear, rather than letting a machine decide which content I should see, based on my past behaviors. Consider that if you do not curate your own filters, you're not seeing posts from a number of your connections, but you're also probably not seeing everything that the people you interact with the most are posting; you're only seeing the types of stuff you've interacted with from them before. That's a problem, in my opinion.
One of my favorite parts about the Internet has been serendipity, discovery and the expansion of my worldview. If we remove that, we might as well abandon the web and go back to insular, local communities.
Watch this TEDTalk and let me know what you think. It's only eight minutes, but it's eternally important.
Back in April, DigitalFlash NYC asked me to participate in their monthly panel series and exclusive networking events. I was honored to share my perspectives on the creative process of digital media, drawing from my experiences as a filmmaker and producer, founding member of the NBCU Digital Studio leading creative development, creative director at various advertising and marketing agencies, and digital strategist (read my full story here). It was a lively conversation, covering both the vast innovation that is happening in video, design and interactivity across digital platforms, as well as the formidable challenges that we face, both from business and technical perspectives.
The video quality is not spectacular, but it's valuable content, so I thought it was worth sharing. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Inspired by my mom getting an iPad, I put together this list of my top apps for the beloved device. It doesn't include all my apps and doesn't include any games (a whole separate project) or location-based services (Mom's not really into that), but I think this is a useful foundation for anyone looking to boost productivity and general life improvement via the iPad.
What great apps did I miss? Let me know in the comments.
The first section are the Must-Have apps. I've also inserted *** before the Must-Have apps (first on lists), then others below, by category. All links go to the iTunes App Store webpage for the app.
Must-Have Apps
Flipboard - #1 must-have app, which organizes all the content that you want in a clean, brilliant layout, like a magazine - watch videos in place, read articles without leaving, respond to Facebook posts right there, etc. You can pull in any feed from news sites (e.g. NY Times), blogs, etc. The easiest way to do this is to add them to Google Reader and add your Google Reader account to Flipboard. I also HIGHLY encourage you to add your Facebook account here, as it's a beautiful, enjoyable way to look at what your connections are posting. http://bit.ly/kfShGU
Evernote - 1 of my absolute favorite apps, which I keep in my iPad's dock so I always have it at my fingertips. Save notes, clip parts/all of webpages, make text in photos searchable, record audio notes, etc. You can email them all out to yourself or others. It's a digital notebook that is accessible through your browser, an app you can install on your computer and mobile devices, like the iPad. I couldn't live without it. http://bit.ly/l5XjoN
TripIt - forward your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. and this app organizes everything into a wonderful itinerary with weather, maps, reminders, etc. It also adds each part of your itinerary to your Google Calendar, if you let it. It has social features, too, if you want, so you can see when/where your friends are traveling and let them know about yours, but you can turn that off if you want. http://bit.ly/krc1rZ
HBO Go - watch the entire HBO library on your iPad. Oh yeah! http://bit.ly/mMjOSf
Friendly for Facebook - best way to view Facebook on the iPad (other than Flipboard, of course!) http://bit.ly/lkZmU1
GetGlue - It's a fun social network, completely centered around entertainment (film, TV, music, books, topics, etc.). You can "check-in" to, "like" and review the content that you're consuming, chat with other people passionate about it, earn virtual rewards (stickers), real world rewards (discounts) and get recommendations for other related content. There's also a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome, which allows you to perform all these actions around the web and see what your friends from Facebook and GetGlue have liked. You can also post your activity to Facebook and Twitter, which does the work of including information about the TV show/film/etc. for you. http://bit.ly/j1YW2j
PerfectBrowser - full-featured browser, like you would have on your computer. The default, Safari, is fine for most things, but this is well worth the price when you want a deeper browsing experience. http://bit.ly/kvVSmG
Yelp - has never failed me when searching for restaurants, even when in strange cities. http://bit.ly/iH3HN2
Pandora - stream music that learns your preferences from the brilliant Music Genome Project. http://bit.ly/k0DEny
Dropbox - it's a hard drive on a server, meaning you can access your files from any computer or mobile device that you authorize. You can share folders with people also, if you wish. It's a lifesaver. http://bit.ly/ldHGrC
Fring - allows you to chat with AIM, Google Chat, etc. friends all in one place. You can also video and audio chat if you have wifi. http://bit.ly/ihLYre
Skype - excellent way to chat and video chat with people around the world, for free. You can also get unlimited domestic voice calling for about $30/year through your computer and it's amazing. I use it almost every day to make phone calls. http://bit.ly/ma5j8
DragonSearch - amazing. Just speak into it and it'll search Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and your iTunes library, all at once. It's so good. http://bit.ly/jjOrvF
Dragon Dictation - who wants to type? This app does an incredible job of transcribing your voice to text. You can them email, post to social networks, etc. http://bit.ly/kmhvLM
FlightCaster - predicts flight delays 6 hours before the airlines, based on historical data and monitoring of traffic info. Pulls your flight info in from TripIt. (They're going to start charging soon, so just download it, even if you're not sure you want it.) http://bit.ly/ifE8vd
GateGuru - info on which gate flights are leaving/arriving, security wait times, services, food, maps, reviews and more. Pulls in info from TripIt. http://bit.ly/jmMd4c
Appzilla - every other function you might need on your iPad. http://bit.ly/iHla0W
Instagram - simple, lovely app that lets you apply filters to photos and post to social networks. http://bit.ly/jSX5E9
Pano - helps you take several photos to stitch into a panoramic shot. Works really well - created some beautiful ones in Thailand. http://bit.ly/jK9Tza
Adobe Photoshop Express - Photoshop's app, which lets you easily make edits and improve your photos. http://bit.ly/lQnH3b
Goodreader - great way to view and organize PDF, Word and other docs. http://bit.ly/jXzPE5
Simplenote - basic text app that syncs with a server so you can access them anywhere. http://bit.ly/j3CxX8
News
***Flipboard - #1 must-have app, which organizes all the content that you want in a clean, brilliant layout, like a magazine - watch videos in place, read articles without leaving, respond to Facebook posts right there, etc. You can pull in any feed from news sites (e.g. NY Times), blogs, etc. The easiest way to do this is to add them to Google Reader and add your Google Reader account to Flipboard. I also HIGHLY encourage you to add your Facebook account here, as it's a beautiful, enjoyable way to look at what your connections are posting. http://bit.ly/kfShGU
*Guardian Eyewitness - gorgeous, daily, visual representation of the news from the Guardian (UK). http://bit.ly/loXE1h
*NPR - read news, watch videos, listen to podcasts or any of their stations, etc. http://bit.ly/mB8tRP
Slate - read, watch, listen to news from the great, liberal & culturally rich news service, Slate.com. http://bit.ly/mhrOSO
This American Life - one of my favorite radio shows of all time, hosted by Ira Glass, which I think you'd love. It's a paid app, but has every episode ever. Otherwise, you can always go to iTunes and download the episodes they have available there for free. http://bit.ly/kful0N
Pulse - visual way to look at news headlines before digging deeper: http://bit.ly/kD7eA9
Blancspot - visual way to look at news headlines before digging deeper: http://bit.ly/lwSq1b
Social Media & Chat
***Friendly for Facebook - best way to view Facebook on the iPad (other than Flipboard, of course!). http://bit.ly/lkZmU1
**GetGlue - It's a fun social network, completely centered around entertainment (film, TV, music, books, topics, etc.). You can "check-in" to, "like" and review the content that you're consuming, chat with other people passionate about it, earn virtual rewards (stickers), real world rewards (discounts) and get recommendations for other related content. There's also a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome, which allows you to perform all these actions around the web and see what your friends from Facebook and GetGlue have liked. You can also post your activity to Facebook and Twitter, which does the work of including information about the TV show/film/etc. for you. http://bit.ly/j1YW2j
**Fring - allows you to chat with AIM, Google Chat, etc. friends all in one place. You can also video and audio chat if you have wifi. http://bit.ly/ihLYre
*Skype - excellent way to chat and video chat with people around the world, for free. You can also get unlimited domestic voice calling for about $30/year through your computer and it's amazing. I use it almost every day to make phone calls. http://bit.ly/ma5j8f
Twitter - dive in, it's very useful if you learn how to filter all the noise. http://bit.ly/kceQlP
Search/Browsing
***PerfectBrowser - full-featured browser, like you would have on your computer. The default, Safari, is fine for most things, but this is well worth the price when you want a deeper browsing experience. http://bit.ly/kvVSmG
***DragonSearch - amazing. Just speak into it and it'll search Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Twitter and your iTunes library, all at once. It's so good. http://bit.ly/jjOrvF
Discover - beautiful, visual way to browse Wikipedia like a magazine. http://bit.ly/lT6KFE
Entertainment, Music & Video
***HBO Go - watch the entire HBO library on your iPad (must be a subscriber). Oh yeah! http://bit.ly/mMjOSf
Movies by Flixster - another great movie app, which pulls in reviews from Rotten Tomatoes (my favorite) and your Facebook friends. http://bit.ly/m3UiMX
Going Out, Food, Reviews
***Yelp - has never failed me when searching for restaurants, even when in strange cities. http://bit.ly/iH3HN2
Seafood Watch - info on ocean-friendly seafood at restaurants. http://bit.ly/ipFCS4
Travel
***TripIt - forward your confirmation emails for flights, hotels, car rentals, etc. and this app organizes everything into a wonderful itinerary with weather, maps, reminders, etc. It also adds each part of your itinerary to your Google Calendar, if you let it. It has social features, too, if you want, so you can see when/where your friends are traveling and let them know about yours, but you can turn that off if you want. http://bit.ly/krc1rZ
*FlighCaster - predicts flight delays 6 hours before the airlines, based on historical data and monitoring of traffic info. Pulls your flight info in from TripIt. (They're going to start charging soon, so just download it, even if you're not sure you want it.) http://bit.ly/ifE8vd
*GateGuru - info on which gate flights are leaving/arriving, security wait times, services, food, maps, reviews and more. Pulls in info from TripIt. http://bit.ly/jmMd4c
Photos
*Instagram - simple, lovely app that lets you apply filters to photos and post to social networks http://bit.ly/jSX5E9
*Pano - helps you take several photos to stitch into a panoramic shot. Works really well - created some beautiful ones in Thailand. http://bit.ly/jK9Tza
*Adobe Photoshop Express - Photoshop's app, which lets you easily make edits and improve your photos. http://bit.ly/lQnH3b
Precorder - starts recording video a few seconds before you press the record button, so you don't miss what you actually wanted. http://bit.ly/jwXINc
Documents & Utilities
***Evernote - 1 of my absolute favorite apps, which I keep in my iPad's dock so I always have it at my fingertips. Save notes, clip parts/all of webpages, make text in photos searchable, record audio notes, etc. You can email them all out to yourself or others. It's a digital notebook that is accessible through your browser, an app you can install on your computer and mobile devices, like the iPad. I couldn't live without it. http://bit.ly/l5XjoN
***Dropbox - it's a hard drive on a server, meaning you can access your files from any computer or mobile device that you authorize. You can share folders with people also, if you wish. It's a lifesaver. http://bit.ly/ldHGrC
***Dragon Dictation - who wants to type? This app does an incredible job of transcribing your voice to text. You can them email, post to social networks, etc. http://bit.ly/kmhvLM
**Appzilla - every other function you might need on your iPad. http://bit.ly/iHla0W
*Goodreader - great way to view and organize PDF, Word and other docs. http://bit.ly/jXzPE5
*Simplenote - basic text app that syncs with a server so you can access them anywhere. http://bit.ly/j3CxX8
As you might know, I spent two weeks in March down in Austin, TX, immersed in the chaos and glory of SXSW 2011. This was a truly intense, educational and inspiring experience, which allowed me to completely geek out with peers that both shared and challenged my existing views on digital, social, tech and marketing. I met many entrepreneurs & innovators, some of whom have become real friends and business partners. I tried out myriad new apps, behaviors and approaches to various parts of life and business, coming away with some valuable new tools and insights. My own entrepreneurial spirit was re-energized and I have transferred this experience into the work I am doing every day, here at Anthem Worldwide - Digital, bringing the new relationships, knowledge and clarity to clients and our own practice on a regular basis.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on our recap, in the presentation below, which includes several videos shot on the iPad 2 by my colleague, Mark Silva, SVP Emerging Platforms. Some highlights of the presentation are listed below.
Let's continue this conversation - I'd love to hear what trends you think will prosper and what apps/technologies are getting you excited these days.
Reviews, thoughts, images, articles and other content about digital media, real-time content, apps, advertising & technology that resonate with me.
