3 ridiculous mobile design assumptions to avoid

There's no doubt that mobile as a channel and device is important, especially to brands and marketers.

But often, its a uphill task trying to educate clients and stakeholders. That the mobile is not equal to a smaller desktop. Users have sometimes very different intent when browsing the same site from their mobile devices and/or at different time of the day as well as location.

The objective of the website in relation to its mobile users must be clear. And the recommendations backed by data and insights. Assumptions like "I think my mobile users would like this" or "these are the most popular pages on my website, so they should be present on my mobile site" or "i want everything on my website to appear on mobile" should be put down with extreme prejudice.

Read more here.
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/33877.asp#singleview

Digital marketing trends 2013 - Trends in marketing with the best potential for commercial growth

What do you think would be the major digital marketing trends in 2013?

My bets? That would be mobile, data and content.

Mobile adoption and usage would continue to explode especially in Asia. This would have great impact to the way we communicate with the customers, be it B2C or B2B. Website would be design with mobile first in mind. Social campaigns that would target mobile users, with location in mind. Android would continue to increase in market share, increasing dilemma and splitting of budgets for both iOS and Android apps. PPC and search campaigns would also have to consider mobile channels.

Data should continue to be a cornerstone of any self respecting digital agency. The volume, type and sources of data that can be tapped for insights and intelligence would rise exponentially. Agencies need to be on the look out on how we could tap on these to market smarter and more efficiently. There would also be increased need to invest in developing skills in analytics and data visualisation. We also need to look out for potential pitfalls and steer our clients around data privacy issues.

Content marketing would also be a key focus area in 2013. Brands needs to generate relevant and meaningful content. Content is king and customers love it. Focus by agencies would be to determine type of content, how should it be created and managed, where should the content be published to amplify its effect as well as rigor in planned content creation and agility in reacting with unplanned content.

Read more here.
http://www.smartinsights.com/managing-digital-marketing/marketing-innovation/digital-marketing-trends-2013/

How to Get Anything You Want with Minimal Negotiation

Ahh. Something we hate (well i do), yet its so important in our day to day. We started negotiating when we are babies (try convincing a toddler not to have that candy or get on that car seat). Yet most of us suck at it. 

To most, there's only 2 methods to negotiating. By shouting and bulldozing your point across or give in to reach that middle ground that on paper is win-win but in reality its lose-lose.

There's more than that in negotiation. Here's some simple techniques. 

Read more here.

http://lifehacker.com/5974807/how-to-get-anything-you-want-with-minimal-negotiation/all 

Performance focus: What opportunities does mobile offer performance marketers and should mobile tracking be integrated more?

Good insights into performance marketing, especially with the growth in mobile marketing.

Read more here.
http://m.thedrum.com/news/2012/12/18/performance-focus-what-opportunites-does-mobile-offer-performance-marketers-and

Why we need Digital Wisdom?

This is an interesting article. But I would like to challenge it.

It conveys the idea that we need Digital Wisdom in addition to conventional wisdom.

Well, I suppose it make sense in this highly digital and fast pace world. I do not refute that. A whole generation of homo sapiens exist who do not know a world without smart phones, siri, laptops and Internet.

But take step back and hear me out. Do we control technology or does technology control us? Are we 'enhanced' by technology like what the article narrate or are we handicapped by it.

When was the last time you had a meal and did not checked your phone, for that email, that latest status update, that trivial message, that liked for the post you just made....or When was the last time you brushed aside a loved one because you were busy with your Mac, your phone, your game console....you get my drift here.

And did technology really enhanced us? How many of us followed blindly the directions given by the GPS, turn to a calculator to make a simple addition, rely on spellcheck for our proposal etc. Did we truly became smarter? The human brain is any amazing organ, a miracle of life. But like most parts of our body, it gets better the more you use it. Whether its judgement, memory or sense of direction.

I hope someone is studying this. Would the humans of the next generation be different from our parents? Where face to face conversations are replaced by digital interactions, where touch means cold smooth glass, where privacy is non existence, etc.

Maybe it should be titled "Why we need digital intelligence?"

Because we might be smarter, but maybe we are not wiser.

Read more here.
http://spark.qualcomm.com/salon/why-we-need-digital-wisdom