Google - Jeff Hester

Posted on March 19, 2013October 31, 2017 by Jeff Hester — 5 Comments

Social Media Explained (with Donuts)

Social media takes on many forms, and is ever-evolving. This infographic explains the common perceptions behind some of the popular social media applications, illustrated with a use case that we can all relate to: donuts.

[jpshare]

You can quibble over the inclusion or exclusion of particular social media applications, but the intent remains much the same.

What exactly does this tasty infographic imply? Each social media application serves a unique purpose.

Twitter allows people to share brief updates and popularized the concept of #hashtags that has spread to Instagram and is now spreading to Facebook and Flickr. Of course, the real value for me is to connect with people around a subject (usually based on a hashtag), collecting and sharing ideas. Personally, this has been extremely useful to me in keeping up with the latest on #KM (knowledge management) and #hiking (my weekend passion).

#Hashtag Trivia: Chris Messina was the first to suggest the use of the hashtag in Twitter, back on August 23, 2007.

Facebook makes it really easy for people to share what they like, and in the process, collects valuable demographic information about you that they can sell to marketers. Mark Zuckerberg has promoted the concept of frictionless sharing, making it even easier for them to know what makes you tick. The benefits to you? The social graph search. This also benefits marketers. With over one billion users, is Facebook too big to fail?

Location-awareness application Foursquare gives you the opportunity to check-in at restaurants, stores, and businesses. The initial idea was that your friends in the area might see that you’re at a certain bar, and that would prompt them to join you. That never really took off (at least for me… my friends are apparently privacy-shy Luddites) but it has evolved in to a useful app for finding tips, recommending places near you, and even occasionally offering discounts and special offers for checking in. Facebook and Google have both been trying to get in on location-awareness for local marketing, but no clear winner has emerged.

Instagram isn’t the only smartphone photo-sharing application out there, but it’s one of the most popular. Instagram’s major innovation wasn’t the groovy, retro-photo filters that people either love or hate, but that it launched as a mobile-only social network. When they launched, you could only view or interact via your mobile phone. That’s since changed, but they recognized that a significant shift had occurred — we use mobile devices to connect to the Internet more than traditional computers.

YouTube has given everyone a chance to become a video star, and established itself as a black hole that bends time like nothing else. I’ve only dabbled with YouTube publishing, but some people have embraced the social network capabilities, using them to connect with others in new ways. And almost everyone I know ends up viewing a few videos on YouTube at some point during their week. For higher quality content (but lower views) check out Vimeo.

While most of the social media tools listed are primarily for personal use (and yes, I know there are businesses using all of them), LinkedIn is squarely focused on professional networking. Connecting with colleagues and clients takes precedence over grumpy cat photos and selfies. Although some people find LinkedIn boring, the focus on business is what sets it apart.

Pinterest approached the idea of sharing content from a fresh angle, letting people “pin” their favorite things to a board. With a focus on great images, it really took off, especially with women. Dozens of copycats have tried to replicate their success, but none have come close.

Many people haven’t heard of Last.fm, but this venerable social network has been capturing music listening habits for many years. Last.fm lets you autoscrobble the songs you play and–over time–knows what artists, genres and songs you like the most. Based on that, it can recommend new artists that it thinks you’ll enjoy, and can connect you with other people who share your taste in music. I’ve setup Last.fm to scrobble my plays on iTunes and Spotify, and occasionally listen to the Last.fm app on my Xbox, streaming music through my home theater system.

The punchline in the infographic is Google+. Of course, many, many more people use Google+ than just the folks employed there, but from the people I know, they are the early adopters. Google likes to tout high adoption numbers, but their figures are murky; clouded by the inclusion of users of other Google apps like Gmail. How many people really use Google+? We may never know. But they have a lot of potential users.

The Business Case for Social Media

Most people look at these social networks as primarily targeted at consumers, using them for the personal benefit. But that doesn’t mean the companies don’t have a business focus. And while all of these products are free for you to use (although some offer premium versions), you should remember this advice:

If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold. – blue_beetle

Advertisers and marketers love the rich demographic data available as a result of our living out loud through social media. This helps them deliver highly targeted advertising that you are (theoretically) more inclined to find useful. And it gives advertisers the tools to hyper-refine the targeting of their messages. Instead of merely targeting camera enthusiasts they can target female Canon DSLR enthusiasts in the Los Angeles area. Hyper-targeting.

And though they were the punchline of my infographic, Google stands to gain handsomely from all of this data. They reign supreme as King of Search. And as their other suite of applications grows, they gain further opportunities to aggregate, correlate, and repackage you to advertisers.

So WIIFM?

What’s in it for me? Why do I use these various social networks? I use them to make new connections, and strengthen existing ones. I also use them for my personal data collection, as I grapple with the concepts behind the quantified self and how to apply that data for positive change.

What about you? What do you get out of social media? What do you love (or hate) about these tools?

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Jeff Hester — 3 Comments

Translation? There’s an App for That

Translation has long been a tough thing to do with any degree of accuracy. Remember “All your base are belong to us?”

When Google Translate was introduced on the web years ago, it was an impressive and useful tool — even if it didn’t do a perfect job. Well the tools have progressed. Google Translate on the web added the ability to not only read the translation, but hear it spoken.

Of course, the missing bit in all of this is mobility. When you’re traveling abroad and speak just enough to eek by, it’s helpful to have a phrase book or dictionary. Or it was. Now Google has effectively rendered all those dedicated translator devices, phrasebooks and dictionaries obsolete. All you need now is an iPhone (or Android… I’m told) and their Google Translate app.

The new app offers several nice features. First, you don’t need to type. Just speak into the phone, select the language you want it translated to, and the app will show you the translated text. Google Translate on the iPhone supports voice input for 15 languages, translation into more than 50 languages, and you can hear the phrase spoken in 23 supported languages.

You can also hit a button to display the translated phrase full screen, to show to your taxi driver or waiter, for instance. And instead of spending a bundle of money on a dedicated translator device, you can get this app (it’s free) and use the savings on your trip!

There is one important caveat. The Google Translate requires an Internet connection. I tested it over both wifi and 3G, and it worked fine, including listening to the translated phrase in the target language. But this is becoming less and less of an issue. I’ve used my iPhone all over the world, from Chile to Abu Dhabi and throughout Europe with no problem.

Cette application va être utile quand je Voyage à Paris plus tard cette année!

Posted on January 19, 2011February 3, 2011 by Jeff Hester — 2 Comments

Flipboard: The Number 1 Must-Have iPad App

My iPad has officially replaced my trusty Moleskine notebook. Instead of paper and pen, my iPad comes to my meetings, to Starbucks, and pretty much everywhere I go. There are a lot of wonderful apps for the iPad, and I’ll get into them in good time. But one app really stands out in it’s design, beauty and function — Flipboard.

I first read about Flipboard months before I finally plunked down the cash for an iPad, and it had already captured my attention. It’s remarkable in that Flipboard really doesn’t do anything that I couldn’t do before.

What is Flipboard?

Essentially, Flipboard is a different way of reading and consuming media that I’ve already been reading and consuming via other means. What makes Flipboard remarkable is that it does it so elegantly.

Flipboard transforms Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Google Reader and RSS feeds into a beautiful, magazine-like interface that leverages all the good bits of the iPad. A Twitter stream is noisy and difficult to browse. The same stream through Flipboard is a pleasure. Links, photos and videos show up inline without requiring extra clicks, making browsing your streams not only a pleasure, but making it possible in a new way.

Here are a few screenshots to help tell the Flipboard story. Click any thumbnail to browser the larger images.

Reading a post linked from Twitter in Flipboard

I still use Twitter and Facebook, but reading the same streams via Flipboard never fails to surface new and interesting conversations that I might have otherwise overlooked.

If you have an iPad, you must download and use Flipboard. Hell, it’s free.

If you don’t have an iPad, Flipboard might be reason enough to get one.

Posted on January 17, 2011February 3, 2011 by Jeff Hester — 1 Comment

January Reading List

One of the wonderful things about an iPad is that you can take your virtual library with you where ever you go. Spare moments become opportunities to catch up on reading. I’ve got three different e-readers: the Apple iBooks app, the Amazon Kindle App and the Google Books app.

iBooks is great for storing and reading PDFs, and I’ve ended up with a collection of user guides and work-related papers there. Google Books is interesting, and free, but I have yet to purchase anything or even seriously read anything with it. So far the Amazon Kindle app has been my favorite. The price of Kindle books tends to be a little cheaper than iBooks for some reason, and the reader works great.

Recent Reads

Over the holidays I managed to burn through three books (all consumed via the Kindle app):

UnMarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging by Scott Stratton is a great read on how to leverage social media as a way to engage and build relationships with your customers. Instead of shouting to them from a soapbox, engage them in a conversation.

Keith Ferrazzi’s Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time is a few years old, but the stories and experiences he shares still piqued my interest. Ferrazi came from humble beginnings and went on to do quite well. He chalks it up to the power of connecting to people. Not using them, but building genuine relationships that are mutually beneficial.

The 4-Hour Body was written by Timothy Ferriss, author of the New York Times bestseller The 4-Hour Workweek. It’s designed to be read in sections, picking in choosing based on your own goals and objectives. His views are provocative — he’s a big fan of pharmaceuticals — and I’m still chewing over his ideas.

One of the observations after reading these books on my iPad is that while it’s wonderful to have a selection of books with me at all times, the experience of working through a book is less satisfying. I mentioned this to my girlfriend (a Kindle fan) and she agreed. You don’t get the tactile satisfaction and immediate appreciation for where you are in the book. Yes, I know that there are visual cues like the little slider at the bottom of the screen, but it doesn’t replicate that feeling you get as the pages ahead become fewer and lighter.

My January Reading List

So this month, I’m going old school and reading physical books. Fortunately, Santa was good to me this Christmas, and my bookshelf is full. Here’s what’s up this month:

An Intimate History of Humanity by Theodore Zeldin. Published in 1994, this book looks at history from a humanistic perspective. Rather than look at history as a series of chronological events, Zeldin looks to history to discover “How some people have acquired an immunity to loneliness,” and “How respect has become more desirable that power.” Interesting premise.

Web Form Design – Filling in the Blanks by Luke Wroblewski is considered by many to be the definitive resource for usability of the all-important point of interaction between human and machine: the web form. Consider that I am using a web form to compose and submit this blog post. You may (hopefully) use the web form below to share a comment. We use web forms for email, discussion forums, chat rooms, documents, banking and shopping. They are — for now — the primary method of interaction on the web. And yet, so few websites do them well. I’m hoping to do my part to change that.

FBML Essentials by Jesse Stay is less of a read and more of a reference guide to FBML — the Facebook Markup Language. You may hear more about Facebook from me in the not-too-distant future.

Guy Kawasaki is a former Apple Fellow and noted entrepreneur and venture capitalist. His book The Art of the Start is a guide for anyone starting anything — whether that be a new product, service, company or club. Since I’m always starting up something, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to learn from a master.

What Would Google Do? is Jeff Jarvis’ treatise on how to do business in the Age of Google. The first few sentences from the book offer a telling glimpse at the premise: “It seems as if no company, executive, or institution truly understands how to survive and prosper in the internet age. Except Google. So, faced with most any challenge today, it makes sense to ask: WWGD? What would Google do?”

My book report will follow. First I have some reading to do!

Posted on January 6, 2011August 16, 2016 by Jeff Hester — Leave a comment

What is a Browser?

What is a browser? Ask the typical man (or woman) on the street that question and you’ll get some surprising answers.

Back in April 2009, some folks at Google did just that. They took a video camera to the streets of New York City to ask people “What is a browser?” Watch…

Clearly there is a disconnect between the tech-saavy and the rest of the world. So what does this mean? In my world, it means that those of us who create programs, web apps or devices need to do a much better job of simplifying, demystifying and educating. Certainly it means we use far too much “lingo” that is meaningless to most people. And it might not matter. After all, most people are getting around the Internet just fine even if they don’t know the proper answer to the question “What is a browser?” Should we care?

Simplicity in Style

Well, I don’t we need to care that people use whatever new words we introduce (i.e. browser) but it does matter that people understand the basics. How do I get around and find the stuff that’s important to me? How do I avoid getting “tricked” by the bad guys on the web who want to steal my credit card number or my identity? And how do I make my computer, my mobile phone, and all my other connected devices serve me, and not the other way around?

Simplification

Keeping it simple has been one of the big reasons for the success of Apple. The iPod Shuffle doesn’t even have a screen. You just load it and play. The iPad is enjoying popularity with older people as well as toddlers precisely because it is so damn accessible. Not a lot of bells and whistles — it just works, and does it well.

In the world of the web, we don’t do so well. The web is littered with sites with dozens of choices all shouting for our attention. Steve Krug’s seminal book on web usability — Don’t Make Me Think (affiliate link) — addresses this problem head-on and largely on target. If you create websites or apps for any connected device, get his book and read it. If you’ve already got it, pull it out and read it again. The bottom line is that we creators and curators make things unnecessarily difficult for folks. Make it — and keep it — simple.

Communication

Some techies sneer at the newbies and their lack of what they consider basic web know-how. In their mind, the average Joe needs an education. Do they? Or do they just need someone to explain it to them? Both are close, but even better, why don’t we simply communicate better?

I’ve always believed strongly that communication is the responsibility of the communicator. In other words, if I want to communicate a message to you, it’s my job to do it in such a way that you comprehend and fully understand my message and it’s intent. We need to become better communicators.

Circling back to the video, Google thought a bit about this problem and figured there were some basics about how the Internet works that everyone should understand. They put together an online book titled Twenty Things I Learned About Browsing and the Web. The reading experience is very similar to using a Kindle or iPad, but just works in your browser. And the format of the book looks very much like a children’s book, which some people find charming and others condescending. But they get an “A” for effort.

As for me, I have my work cut out for me. My very field — knowledge management — draws blank stares from most people (who quickly regret having asked what I do). And many of the practitioners in the field have been raised on a steady diet of acronyms, obscure lingo and academic theory. It’s become part of their DNA, and they perpetuate this knowledge management geek-speak as a way to make themselves feel somehow a little smarter.

This reality is not unique to my field. The web makes it easy for almost anyone to become a creator, and we all have a long way to go. If we really want to reach people, we need to work on simplification and communication.

Posted on September 8, 2008 by Jeff Hester — 2 Comments

Google Chrome: After One Week

Last week, Google launched their own web browser: Google Chrome. It’s lean and very fast, and it’s now my default browser at home. When I first heard about Chrome, I was curious, but not expecting much. A browser is a browser, right?

Click for full-size version

After using it for a week now, I can say I’m sold. It’s got some great features for users of all types. Best of all, it’s simple, clean and uncluttered. It mostly stays out the way and lets you make the most of your browsing experience.

I won’t go into the details, since you can get a great overview from Google’s Chrome site, but I was surprised to see Chrome take off at BigBlueBall, where today’s stats show that over 4% of the visitors to the site used Chrome. Pretty amazing for a browser that’s still in beta and barely a week old.

Currently Chrome is only available for Windows XP and Vista, but word is that every day Sergey asks the Chrome team when the OS X version will be ready.

Google Chrome website