So, I bit the Apple and bought an iPhone. Now if not just for the cool factor (which is usually enough) I had to find ways to justify having a new technology in my hand. Face it, I didn’t really need another distraction in my life.

Pre-purchase needs:
1) emails on the go
2) web browsing on the go
3) scheduling on the go
4) writing on the go (blogs, book ideas, etc)
5) Overall increase client services

The iPhone quickly filled each one of those needs and more. Now I know that Blackberry does these things but for some reason I just wasn’t keen on getting one. It seemed too limited for some reason. If it was just for #1 and 3 on my list it might have been fine.

After the first day of distraction and searching through cool apps to use on the phone (uhmm… PhoneSaber?) I settled into practical use. I quickly found it to be a time-saver rather than I time-user.

Email and Web Browsing On the Go
This has been incredible. Email on the go (not new) but I can actually edit websites (content management systems) and administrate websites on the go. And no more missing emails until the end of the day because of a trip into the city to meet with clients and then playing catch up. In fact in the morning before I even turn my computer on I check them and reply so that when I get to my computer I am ready to start designing not catching up on correspondence.

It’s just nice having my scheduler, light productivity tool, communications tool, camera, music and audiobooks all in one thin package. Worth it to me… and most of all it is intuitive and fun to use.

Any of you out there finding any extra special uses from yours?

I was just browsing my Twitter feed of friends and came across a great blog post twittered by Chris Brogan. Here is the link http://gobigalways.com/10-fantastic-ways-to-fck-it-up/. Excuse the inferred language my apologies if that offends you but this is a fantastic post that follows a theme near and dear to my heart, AUTHENTICITY.

Enjoy.

It is absolutely essential to design your website from the vantage-point of your website visitors, clients, and potential clients. That takes simply taking in feedback on what your website viewers are coming to your website for most - and put that info in a very clear way to get to. Or simply putting yourself in their shoes as you visit your own website.

When people come to your website they should be able to answer within a few seconds, “Where am I?” and, “What can I do here?”

I know that there is considerably more involved but these are a quick and simple reminders that can change your viewers experience.

Jared Greenberg and Dan Zinger (from Prairie Sticks Bat Company) know the Internet has the power to change lives. They just never thought it would change theirs. Read the rest of the story…

This is another great story of  what can change you company’s existence forever. It falls into the advice given by Greg Verdino and Joseph Jaffe that I played in episode 4 of Marketing From the Cottage podcast.

I’m proud to take on these guys as a new client.

I was contracted to create the online store for a bookstore company and at the same time they were building the physical (bricks and mortar) store. Hindsight this is a bad move. The online store was tripping coming out of the gates. Instead of a store that sells it became a online window shopping space. Here are some reasons for this:

The lack of forward thinking from the head decision makers. Focus (and financial concerns) naturally gravitated towards physical, things-you-can-touch before the virtual (the same reason I print emails that are to-do’s from clients keeping them physically in front of me and is easier to prioritize). Therefore there were no risk taking incentives to getting customers to get used to buying online compared to coming into the store. Now, I agree that it would be very beneficial to get customers to the store because the tactile experience gives more opportunity for more purchases (coming from the physical browsing). But we often need to get people used to and comfortable in using things before it becomes preferred.

Case in point: Natural gas in homes. Apparently when natural gas was first introduced around these parts people were generally adverse to the idea, especially when it came to the wallet. So what  did the gas company do? Offered it for free. Get people using it, get them comfortable with the idea with no cost to them… get them dependent. Then they introduced the pricing again once people were hooked. No different with “unlimited” long distance charges for phones then pulling back into minutes rates.

Now where I think that some of this is sneaky and ethically questionable, there are some good ideas to pull that would have applied to my previous situation. Offer some exceptionally good deals, some exceptional incentives for people. Think long term, take an initial risk financially to pay off with people getting comfortable with your service.

Keep your incentives, although maybe not as exceptional at the beginning but keep enough to make you… exceptional.

In the wake of being overloaded with projects I decided to revisit an online project management tool I used a couple of years ago. Extremely useful framework in helping with personal/group task managements and client relations. I stopped using it before simply because I was able to keep up, but now I am finding that I can’t as well and have been geting lost in the loooong inbox of my email (where is that attachment).

Along with this tool the company also has another website called, Campfire .  This is a group chat framework that keeps your chats organized with uploading document during and it automatically saves your chats so you can view/review them later. I highly encourage taking the tour to see how useful it it.

But of course for personal task management I constantly use Dejumble (for mac).

You just paid without exposing your financial information.

I just bought a template piece and at the end of paying through paypal I noticed the statement that I don’t think that I had noticed before. They give you a free prize. Paying without exposing your financial info. Now, its a free prize but you didn’t  really get anything new or did it cost them anything, they just provided me with a feeling of security and that I did something right.

It’s kind of like when you are at a restaurant and you order from the menu and the waiter/waitress says,  “Oh, that’s a good choice. A lot of people have liked that!” Makes you feel good. We all like to be told that we made a good choice.

But, if this is just used soley as a tactic and you are telling someone they are making a good choice your authenticity will shine through.

We had a waitress tell my wife and myself we had made a good choice when we ordered the Mussels. We had a larger group and she had went away and came back and we overheard someone at the other end ask about the mussels and she looked at them and said, “Ya don’t order them, people complain about them all the time.” Suddenly that “good choice” doesn’t feel so… good. Nor do I have the very same inherent trust for the “that was a good choice” givers.

And she was 100% authentically right about what she said… to the other people.

The mussels sucked.

Tell me that I’ve made a good choice only when I have truly made a good choice.

Anyone else with a similar experience?

Make sure your product and/or your marketing does that very thing and you have won yourself some good word of mouth.

Just a thought…

The thought struck me today… the web is like this big digital farmers market.

Now, my apologies at arriving late at the game here with that thought but I thought of just how diverse markets can be. Have you even been to one in Europe? For me namely Sicily and Tunisia. Very noisy places. Even to the point of getting pulled into one “store” the whole time being told, “My friend, my friend, very good price for you.”

That’s how I feel often in this online world we have created. Like the markets with the diversity of products from brand names to homemade items, food to clothing, it’s all here. Even those booths selling the used items (erm ebay?).

So what makes you stand out in this online world? What can you do to make yourself stand out?

Surely we can’t all out shout our neighbors?

Your thoughts…?

The day after it’s release Dejumble hits Featured Software on Apple’s downloads. Plus it is #5 on Apple’s staff picks. In 48 it has received over 2000 downloads.

This is a great story to be able to tell of how a small software company can start to tip the charts. It’s not at the “Tipping Point” yet but not far away…