Digital Marketing and Technological Insight

On a regular basis I am asked what online sources I use to gather news & information related to what I do.  This is a loaded question considering my personal “blog roll” changes on an almost daily basis, in fact the only thing that does not change are the topics: Digital Marketing, SEO, Search, New Media, Rich Media, Tech, etc. Once I list out my favorite blogs and websites the next question usually revolves around how do I consume so much content. The answer is simple…it depends on the content, the topic, the website and my location. Some websites I visit everyday as part of a morning / train ride ritual, some I browse through on my RSS reader while at work, some I get via email and read on my Blackberry. Like I said, it all depends.

It is my goal to stay connected to what is happening throughout the digital world at all times and I believe I accomplish this very well by truly relying on the best sources for information. Below are the where, the how and the what when it comes to how I get my daily download of digital information (in no particular order):

John Battelle’s Searchblog (Website and email) - Search, New Media

ReelSEO (Website and email) - Video SEO, Video, Rich Media

Mashable (website and email) - Social Media, Social Networking, New Media

TechCrunch (website, email and RSS) - Digital, Technology, Web 2.0, New Media, etc.

GigaOM (email) - New Media, Technology, Digital

Silicon Alley Insider (website and RSS) - Technology, Digital

Sphinn (RSS) - SEO, Search

Bruceclay.com Blog (RSS) - SEO, Search, SEM

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog (RSS and website) - Search

Official Google Blog (RSS and website) - Search

Web Analytics Blog | Occam’s Razor (Website, RSS and email) - Web Analytics

Shoemoney (Website and email) - Digital, Affiliate, SEO

SEOmoz Blog (website and RSS) - SEO, Search

Yahoo! Search Blog (RSS and website) - Search

Matt Cutts (website and RSS) - Search, SEO

MediaBytes With Shelly Palmer (Website and email) - New Media, Digital, Technology

All Things Digital (Website) - Digital, New Media

Web Analytics Demystified (Website) - Web Analytics

CrunchGear (Website) - Technology, Gadgets

TechMeMe (Website and RSS) - Technology

NewTeeVee (Website) - New Media, Digital

Digital Media Wire (Website) - New Media, Digital, Technology

MediaPost’s Search Insider (Email) - Search

Online Media Daily (Email) - Digital Marketing

Wireless Factors (Email) - Wireless

Web2List (Email) - Web 2.0, New Media, Technology

On top of the websites I utilize for my digital information, I also subscribe to numerous daily email alerts…just in case I missed something. Email alerts are great for quickly scanning topics as well as doing your own personal brand reputation management. The following are the keywords I subscribe to through Google Alerts: Viacom, Digital Marketing, Rich Media, SEO, Online Marketing, mRSS, Video SEO, SEO, search engine optimization, Khawe, Kieran Hawe, Hawe, MTV Networks, Social Media, SMO, Social Networking, Affiliate Marketing, Digital Strategy, Flux, Webtribution, Twitter, Web 2.0.

There you have it, where I go and how I get the latest news and insights into what interests me online. Have a website or information source that rocks that I didnt list? Let me know.

BTW,  this is meant as insight into my personal preferences and not a specific endorsement. But, hey if I read them they must be good.

Everyone’s favorite Social Networking destination Facebook just launched iphone.facebook.com, a website designed just for Apple’s iPhone users. Facebook for iPhone is the second mobile site for launched by Facebook, the first being m.facebook.com.

Here is what Joe Hewitt, a Facebook engineer had to say: "Facebook for iPhone not only looks wonderful on that big touch screen, it makes it easier than ever to stay connected with your friends wherever you are. If you are like me you may find yourself updating your status a bazillion time a day once you have Facebook in your pocket everywhere you go. The site lets you search for people with just a few quick taps and call your friends directly from their profile. Facebook events become even easier with your iPhone, as you can quickly look up maps and directions on the go."

Customizing websites for specific devices is something I always thought should happen more often. still waiting for treo.facebook.com to launch!

It was announced the other day that Nokia, the worldwide mobile communication conglomerate, has aquired Twango, the social media sharing service based out of  the founders (former MSFT execs) basement in Washington. The move to acquire Twango will enable Nokia to share content generated by its mobile device users in a much more streamlined and feature rich way.

“The Twango acquisition is a concrete step towards our consumer Internet services vision of providing seamless access to information, entertainment, and social networks – at any time, anywhere, from any connected device, in any way that you choose. We have the most complete suite of connected multimedia experiences including music, navigation, games, and – with the Twango acquisition – photos, videos, and a variety of document types,” said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Multimedia, Nokia. “When you combine a Nokia N-series multimedia computer that is always on, always connected, and always with you together with a rich media sharing destination like Twango, people will have exciting new ways to create and enjoy rich media experiences in real time.”

"Nokia’s unique vision for social media aligns perfectly with Twango," said Twango co-founder, Jim Laurel. "It’s really exciting to imagine what we can achieve by combining our social media experience with the resources of a company that has played such a major role in shaping the mobile landscape. Now, we will have the resources to deliver on our vision to enable people to capture and enjoy their personal media on mobile devices, desktop computers and in all the other places that are important to them."

Twango is a superior service that I have personally used for quite sometime, this acquisition by Nokia will only mean bigger and better things for not only Twango but social media as a whole. Also, keep an eye out for more deals involving major media / communication companies and Web 2.0 / Social Networking startups…it makes sense for both sides to consolidate money with innovation.

Helio announced today that they are launching a enhanced version of MySpace on Helio. The new application, which is only available on Helio’s newest device, is 5 times faster and rivals the functionality users would get on the web. Helio is taking full advantage of their business partnerships to become a leader in mobile social networking and their growth / usage growth proves it.

“Helio pioneered mobile social networking as the first operator to partner with MySpace,” said Helio CEO Sky Dayton, “Our exclusive MySpace on Helio application is the best mobile MySpace service, making it easier than ever to connect, share and communicate with friends.”

“Helio was the first to take the MySpace experience mobile, and this application represents a ground up reinvention of MySpace on Helio with a richer user interface, amazing graphics and added features,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO and co-founder of MySpace. “Helio is delivering social networking to mobile customers in new ways and letting the MySpace community share their experiences as they happen directly from their mobile like never before.”

The MySpace on Helio application offers the basic features such as mailbox, bulletin board, blogging and photos, it now lets users edit profiles and have increase media sharing capabilities. The new Helio device "Ocean" was built with MySpace and mobile social networking in mind, I played around with a prototype a few weeks ago and it definitely makes editing and adding content to MySpace fairly easy - usability of the web on mobile phones is always my biggest concern.

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Google is developing a new search service for mobile content with the goal of helping cellphone users find and buy ringtones, games and other mobile focused content. Google already offers a mobile version of its web search engine so this is the logical next step in expanding deeper into the wireless space.

The new service would allow a user to search for specific content, receive a list of providers and links to purchase the material. Google would make money selling "sponsored links" similar to what you see on Google.com. Once launched, this new service will be seen as a direct competitor to major cellular service providers like Verizon and AT &T, especially if Google uses their own payment system.

This service is nothing new, however with their power and name behind it, Google will a make huge splash that will draw even more attention to a rapidly growing marketplace. Global sales of mobile content last year toped $27 billion and is expected to grow to $59 billion by 2011.

Mobio Networks announced today that are launching new mobile social media widgets for Web 2.0 services Twitter, Digg and Kaboodle as part of their GetMobio lifestyle portal. Mobio has created 50+ mashups that help people stay connected with friends, places and information while mobile. As Mobio describes their service…”With Mobio widgets, you can find a hip new happy-hour spot to impress your co-workers, stay current with your favorite news sites, browse photos and share customized shopping lists with friends”. “When people think ‘mobile’ and ‘widgets’ they typically think RSS,” said Marcia Kadanoff, Vice President of Marketing of Mobio. “While we definitely mobilize RSS feeds, we also go way beyond this functionality. We take the best of these social media sites and make them available in a graphical and interactive format that truly allows you to stay active within your social network while you are mobile.”

Twitter via Mobio will help people stay connected via both text and images - Twitter is only text right now. Fans of Digg can now view the top stories on Mobio. With Kaboodle on Mobio you can recommend and discover new thing from other users with similar interests.  

Also along with these “web 2.0″ widgets, Mobio has also developed a series of free widgets that let users manage, search and read their favorite blogs and news sites through a “streamlined, customizable mobile interface called My RSS”. For more information, visit GetMobio.com.

In what should come as no surprise since rumors have been bouncing around for weeks, Google announced today that they have acquired GrandCentral Communications. GrandCentral provides services to manage your voice communications by integrating all of your existing phone numbers and voice mailboxes into one account - which can then be accessed via the web. Google said in their press release that they feel GrandCentral’s technology fits well into Google’s plan to "enhance the collaborative exchange of information between our users." This just shows, once again, Google is looking to expand past being a search engine and into a media conglomerate. GrandCentral was a great service and should be even better with Google behind them.

Currently Google is offering a select few Beta accounts, you can request an invite at GrandCentral.com

I am starting to see a trend happening… MyNuMo just launched their latest product Fun4iPhone.com. Fun4iPhone is bringing games, social networking, news and products to the…iPhone. The best part of this is that they just released their first game, ready? Its called iWhack and it lets the player whack Microsoft CEO and iPhone critic Steve Balmer. 

“iWhack is a fun activity that is the first in a series of casual games and useful products for the iPhone.” states William Volk, CEO of MyNuMo, LLC. “We’re excited about the iPhone, this game is just the beginning of great things for Apple’s groundbreaking device.”“Our goal was to create a fun game for the iPhone that would appeal to game players and iPhone fans.” commented MyNuMo President Sherri Cuono. “MyNuMo will be launching a series of fun casual games, social networking tools, and other products on Fun4iPhone.com as well as providing a portal for news and information about the iPhone.”

Yeah it is sort of useless and low on the "cool" level for the must have tech gear of the year (way to much rhyming), but I just had to post it since it is always interesting to see even the most low-level companies feed off a products buzz.  

Yahoo! announced the full launch of it’s Go for Mobile 2.0 this past Thursday, it had been in Beta since January. I recently downloaded the service onto my Treo and I was impressed right off the bat. First off the interface is very intuitive and the services that come with Go 2.0 are impressive - Search, News, Sports, Finance, Weather, Entertainment, Mail, Local Search and Flickr integration. Enhancements include:

• Faster browsing and operation
• Improved email functionality, including the ability to read more attachments, including PDF’s, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents.
• Enhanced maps
• Better integration with Yahoo! Address Book and Yahoo! Calendar,

Here are some screen shots of the new interface.