So much for powerpoints… this is way cooler.

Neat example: http://www.commoncraft.com/blogs

Despite the ever-growing workload I have here at business school, I have found a new way to keep in touch with people….Yes, I have finally gotten on the twitter bandwagon.

Whether you’re on twitter or not, you can keep up with regular musings about social media, marketing and business school via my twitter page at http://twitter.com/marketingdiner. It’s an exciting prospect to be able to get that much more engaged with people through mini-bloging but I think it will make a nice compliment for those of you who may miss my regular shows here at 20-Something Marketing.

If you haven’t already discovered twitter, it’s a neat little tool that connects people, 140 letters/charachters at a time. Definitely worth the time to check it out.

Catch you on the twitter-side, marketing fans!

Technorati Tags: Marketing Diner, social media, twitter

After about two years of stagnant growth, podcast audiences are now expected to grow 251% to 65 million by 2012, according to a new eMarketer article.

This news is not that surprising since podcast growth has been on the rise since many mainstream media outlets like CNN, NBC and the BBC have adopted the technology.

What’s really interesting about this is that it’s not the big media guys that are benefiting, financially. It’s the smaller businesses and content producers that are getting the majority of the new dollars being spent on podcast advertising, which is also expected to grow to $435 Million by 2012 (it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of $143 Million right now).

What this means for businesses is that podcasting has reasserted itself as a way to target niche audiences and demonstrate product-area expertise. As a veteran podcaster - and you know I had to mention it at some point - this is a welcome validation of many hours spent convincing executives that the medium was worth it.

Ultimately, I think you’ll see a lot of businesses flock to podcasting as a way to create content in and around their products. I also think that consumers, as the digital music player market grows and becomes even more mobile with the advent of 3G phones, will continue the trend of seeking out more targeted and personal alternatives to traditional radio.

Technorati Tags: emarketer, OwenBloggers, podcast, podcasters, podcasting, podcast growth, strategy

Though I am certainly not a wireless industry expert; based on my experiences as a marketing blogger, a self-confessed Mac-head and most importantly a 20-something, I believe that these predictions are fairly solid.

The Launch

The iPhone launch will be as big as expected. Look for Apple to hit or exceed its 10 Million handset goal before the close of 2008. Why? The fact is that the phone is a great piece of technology and probably more importantly, a great fashion accessory. Basic consumers will go insane over the iPhone, giving Apple a foothold with consumers that are willing to pay more for a cooler version of their iPod but who may have been reticent to purchase an actual Mac computer.

The only potential killjoy for the iPhone may be with its integration with PC’s. Look for reports of sporadic but annoying syncing issues forcing some consumers to give up on the phone, and some to break down and buy a Mac. This could be a fantastic thing in the long-term, but it is the one thing that may be a momentum killer for Apple in the first year.

Long-Term

The one segment that Apple many not be able to win over with the iPhone, may just be with their most loyal and active users. These guys don’t play around with technology. Their current smartphones are used for e-mail more than voice calls, most likely, and I just can’t see a blackberry user (for instance) becoming really comfortable with a virtual keyboard.

Keep in mind; the Apple brand was built off of a core following of users that respect the technology for its ability to speed process and help them work better. Graphic Designers, IT Professionals, Internet Gurus – all of these people want a device that is first and foremost a workhorse. Honestly, I see the iPhone as more of a consumer-oriented product than appealing to these guys. Unless Apple steps up with more features or accessories that appeals to this group – it could be in for a bumpy ride.

Once the smoke clears and consumers get their fill, its going to be this core group that makes or breaks the long-term viability for the iPhone.

Will I Buy One?

In the words of my friend who works retail for Apple, “not this version.” In the second iteration, depending on how many bugs Apple has to fight in its first 6-9 months, possibly.

I consider myself to be loosely affiliated with the a-fore mentioned core Apple user group and for that reason, I am not feeling the love quite yet. In 6-9 months though, my Treo contract expires and that is an awful lot of time for another smartphone to emerge that panders to my needs. Till then, it’s a horserace but I will say this; as go the geeks, so goes the business world for they are the tech support.

One thing is for certain, not since the Furby was invented will we have seen the consumer insanity that this product will inspire. All I have to say is let the iPhone games begin!

Courtesy: Apple Inc.

The two reasons for this unabashed strangeness were:

1. It’s a great strategic move for Apple and
2. I love Safari/hate Windows/think Firefox is overrated. You do the math…

To the point that its a great strategic move; web browsers have always been a beachhead for software developers. This move allows Apple to advance its agenda of convincing people that the Mac OS is superior to anything else out there. And let me tell you, it is!

With the exception of the first time I opened the window (it automatically ported my settings) this thing is like lightning! Its faster than Firefox, sleeker in design than IE 8 and its Mac!

Now, I am not a tech blogger nor am I an it nerd but this program really is fantastic and you should try it, if only for the fact it gives you another browser option.

On this show, contributors have agreed that the single most important development that could benefit marketing technology to 20-somethings is the abolishment of Digital Rights Management (DRM) software. Yesterday, Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Inc.) openly called for this as the next big step in the evolution of online music sales.

DRM software, in a nutshell, is a protection added onto most music sold online that prevents the user from doing things that would supposedly violate the copyrights of the music producers. The problem with DRM is that is that it also restricts a user to only buy music from those online stores that support that users’ hardware (i.e. Apple iTunes-iPod, Microsoft Zune Store-Zune Player, etc.).

What Jobs is proposing is to eliminate DRM completely, thereby hedging his bets that users of products like the new Microsoft Zune – which can only increase given Apple’s 70% player market share – will generate a net gain by buying their music off of iTunes.

I’d say that this is a good move for Jobs, given the current long-term market conditions he’s facing and his vision for Apple to become a lifestyle company rather than just a computer manufacturer (they even dropped the word Computer from their name).

The one thing I would point out is that this DRM has to be dropped for everything if Apple is to successfully establish sustainable revenue lines beyond its hardware. DRM restrictions have to be dropped on music and TV/movies in order for Apple to win big on this.

My money is on that this is exactly what Jobs is aiming for. He wants to get the music companies to agree to this now and then look for an expanded call for DRM repeals on movies and TV rights just around the time that Wal-Mart goes full force on its online movie sales.

Show Notes: How the iPhone appeals to 20-somethings and fits into Apple’s overall marketing lineage The potential impact an iPhone flop would have on Apple’s strategy MBA Spin: The Announcement (fast forward to 00:20:10 if you want to skip the blabber and hear where I got into business school)

Podcast:

Download audio file (20SMF57.mp3)

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