PardonMyFrench

Day 1 with my iPhone 4 and Loving It

Yes, I love my new iPhone.  Yes it is on AT&T's network and it works great for me.  All of the reviews I read there were a few that said Apple made some hardware changes that should help with the drop calls, but I've experienced very little of them around Long Valley.  So after a day, here's what I like....

1. Love making folders so I limit the amount of screens.
2. The design is much sturdier than previous ones.  It is like walking around with a piece of steel in your pocket (yes pun intended).
3. The screen is much brighter and easier to use.  
4. Love having the video camera; I haven't tried the video chat yet because I'm too cool for my friends and families.
5. The email interface also seems a lot smoother
6. I like the voice commands even though every time I say Play Bruce Springsteen it ends up calling someone I havent spoken with in years
7. The compass will be very helpful when I'm lost
8. The video editing app looks easy to use
9. The battery life seems longer

In my opinion, it is a winner.  Between the iPad and the iPhone my mobile life rocks.  Hopefully, you folks can see past the AT&T issues and get this awesome phone

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

All a working man needs

I took this photo of a sign on route 206 in Chester nj. This says all that a working person needs.

Pardonmyfrench

Eric

AT&T's PR Nightmare

(UPDATE FROM WALL STREET JOURNAL 6-17.  Notice again how it is AT&T's website that had the problem.  No mention of the problems with Apple's website) 

In this morning's Wall Street Journal I saw this article which in my opinion unfairly targeted AT&T. Yes I wrote unfairly targeted AT&T. Does AT&T's network have trouble? Yes. Did they have a breach in security? Yes. Did I have the most trouble with them while trying to order a new iPhone? No. 

Apple's site was the dog not AT&T's. I was able to upgrade my account and put the phone in Apple's shopping cart. Unfortunately Apple took hours to process and it was only due to my persistence did my order go through.  It reminded me of trying to order tickets to a Springsteen concert via TicketMaster (BTW - it never works).  I kept getting site errors, crashes, unable to process messages, etc.  All on Apple's site.

And that's what's so interesting about AT&T's problem. Even when it is Apple's fault AT&T gets the blame. AT&T can't win this PR battle because Apple is still cool and AT&T is still old and monolithic.   Plus, all iPhone users seems to blame AT&T's network for any problems.  However, if you dig a little deeper you'll find some people grumbling about the iPhone causing some of these problems.  However, all you read is AT&T's bad and Apple good even if Apple causes the problem. Talk about a PR nightmare for AT&T.

 Pardonmyfrench, 

 Eric

Facebook, Twitter, and Buzz - Which Tools Work Now?

(First let me state, I get the irony of this post being sent out to my Twitter account)

I used to be a religious user of Twitter.  Going back into early 2007, I Tweeted.  I even took upon myself to Tweet out McCain's daily campaign news clips in addition to my own opinion and articles that I found interesting.  Facebook for me, wasn't something I was really into and it did take a while for me to embrace their advertising platform, not because I'm stubborn, but because it took Facebook a while to come into the advertising prime time. Also, I didn't have a ton of my real life friends and family on Facebook, but that has changed and so has my use of both of them.

Nowadays Twitter has become so popular in everyday life, to me it has almost become a joke.    Not that the the platform isn't useful but people use it as a punch line it sitcoms, news programs, etc that it just doesn't seem cool anymore.  Sure, it is still the best place to get fast breaking news in addition to political news, but as a way to have interactive conversations with people, it just doesn't do it for me anymore.  I won't be disconnecting Twitter any time soon, but as a primary vehicle for communicating, it just doesn't seem right anymore.  Yes, I still Tweet but not as often.  Yes I still read Twitter for political news, but if you are a small business trying to get your own story out, I think there are better vehicles for you.

One of those is Facebook.  I do check Facebook multiple times per day and I do make a lot of posts.  It's just more personable and interactive.  Plus, a lot of friends and family are on there so it doesn't feel so alone anymore.  Also, if you are a new business and you can't figure out how to communicate in Facebook, what makes you think that Twitter will work for you?  Hone your marketing skills in Facebook and then move out to other communication tools.  However, Facebook has privacy problems and they are definitely in advertising revenue generation mode, so if you are a little nervous about them, there are alternatives.

That takes me to Google Buzz.  I was into it at the start and drifted away.  Now, I'm starting to take a look at it again.  The integration with Gmail and Google Reader is just too much to ignore.  However, you know what's holding it back?  Integration into other tools - like Typepad which doesn't have a link to share this post in Buzz or good integration into my iPad.  However, I think Google has a much better advertising model and takes privacy a little more seriously than Facebook.

My thoughts?  I think long term Twitter goes away somehow.  Facebook has too many regular people on it for it to be ignored.  They of course have a downside risk of becoming Geo Cities like MySpace.  I think Google Buzz is worthy enough to start to be taken seriously, so I'm going to be spending more time on it..I think you should too.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric

Yes It Is Google Surge Season

Last week during my online advertising panel at the Personal Democracy Forum, we spent some time discussing when and how to use a Google Surge.  This followed up another panel at the AAPC annual conference when we also spent some time discussing a Google Surge.  Since it is Google Surge season (if you haven't started running one by now, you are too late), here's what we discussed....

1. I like using Google's Ad Planner for forecasting a daily spend.   If you have a Google account manager they can also provide forecasts, but personally I've found my own personal forecasts are closer to what we spend.
2. Generally speaking, a Google Surge is not for the cheap advertiser.  You will spend a LOT of money if you do it correctly.
3. Do not expect to generate any donations from it and if you think you want to, you are running the wrong online tactic.  This is a branding, messaging, and Get Out The Vote tactic.
4. We have successfully generated email and petition signups as long the message is a current hot topic or you have a great creative; otherwise, don't expect any decent CPAs and if you think you have a good, pertinent message, test your way into it because you can blow your money quickly,
5. Speaking (really writing) about creatives, I prefer TV commercials as my creatives.  Your offline agency has spent a lot of time and money testing the message and building the creative, so why reinvent the wheel?  Google makes it super easy for you to use it - either run a click to play video or a YouTube video ad or if you have the money, use a rich media vendor like Mixpo.
6. Finally, the geo-target is your most important factor, but also take a look at the settings available in Google so you can fine tune your marketing.

PardonMyFrench,

Eric