Category — Quick thought

A lot of the tech blogs are writing about president-elect Barack Obama, who has apparently chosen to put his weekly fireside chats on YouTube for everyone to see and comment on. Some of the blogs are really celebrating this as the most important breakthrough for social media ever, where others are more sceptical.

I remain firmly rooted in the latter camp. Because we have to remember that even if you put something on YouTube, it’s not social in any way. It’s just out there. It’s only when there is a real dialogue going on - when Obama listens and responds back - that we can really talk about a social phenomenon.

And what are the odds of that happening? Let’s suffice to say that amidst the challenges of spearheading a world super power, I don’t think Obama will be spending too much time on YouTube himself.

What is the current state of tech innovation in Europe? What are the coolest privately held tech companies? Library House just published The Mediatech 100 list, which The Next Web quotes. And looking at the list I think there are some things worth looking at from an innovation perspective.

First of all, 4 out of the top 10 companies are somehow involved in gaming, which thus remains huge. I cannot help but wonder when we’ll start to see real consolidation in that space.

Second, Finnish company Sulaki, the ones with Happo Hotel, is still among the coolest, which - depending on viewpoint - is either incredibly cool or really, really sad.

Finally, I think it’s so funny that number two on the list is MOO Print, which focuses on…print products.

Google has launched a small guide on best practices for search engine optimization. While some ask why Google would do such a thing, I think it’s clear: They are trying to create their own market. Or - in their case - extend it into new territories.

By launching a guy that’s targeted at helping small businesses get the best out of Google, the search giant is in effect at the end of the day driving up demand for their AdWords program even more. Because once you as a small company have gotten engaged with Google, the step towards spending money with them is a tiny, tiny one.

Clever thinking indeed.

Six Pixels of Separation has a great post about the transition from physical products to digital and how companies are by and large very, very poor at managing that. In the post they make one particular point, which I think is spot on:

…most companies would rather hold on to what they know with everything they have than dip some toes into the blue ocean strategy that is partly the present, but mostly the future. Marketers can shape that future. As stewards of the brands, we get an exclusive glimpse into our consumers and what makes them buy and click. We need to be better at looking at our analytics and our trends to help shape not just our companies, but the industries they serve.

Marketing has never been more meaningful - if it can transform itself to this new, super critical role.

I am fully aware that a lot of people in the tech industry think of email as rather antiquated. When Google announces that they have added video chat to GMail there is some shaking of heads around. But I seriously wonder why that is?

To me the inbox still has huge unleashed potential as a connection hub for all of our communication and online social life. Companies like Xobni have been working on some angles of it for quite some time, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

I cannot help but wonder whether the next big thing after Facebo

I absolutely love Get Satisfaction. I think what they are trying to do for customer service is absolutely stellar. And they are clever people too.

The last they have now once again shown by opening up for a new advertising program meaning that only if you come to their site from Google and are not signed in, you’ll see ads. Once you sign in, the ads will disappear. Talk about an absolutely stunning argument for signing up - and perhaps even paying - for an already great service.

(Via Stowe Boyd)