Marketer's Lab

Bummed By Bing

I was excited to see the new Microsoft Bing search platform ("Decision Engine" in MSFT vernacular).  I envisioned an army of geniuses in Redmond toiling away in their secret labs to create something that would turn the search world on its head.  As a company responsible for pioneering so many technologies I didn't think it was too much to expect something groundbreaking from the Microsoft search platform.   

When I arrived at Bing.com I was hopeful, seeing the new Google-esque interface and the nice little rollovers on the home page image.  This is the kind of thing I was hoping to see, something a little different but still simple and focused.  I plugged in my first search and sat ready to be dazzled.  When the results came back I felt my excitement drain immediately.  I did a few more searches, just to be sure the results would look the same, of course they did.  Wow, Google with a Bing header!  To be fair, the results I received on Bing from a variety of searches were solid, usually relevant, contextually appropriate and easy to find.  If Google hadn't already been delivering this same quality of experience I would probably be a lot more impressed. 

Bing just seems like a Google imitation.  I'm sure the technology under the hood is probably very impressive and if I were an engineer I might marvel more about what MIcrosoft has developed.  I fully understand the primary focus of search must be utility.  But this is Microsoft, a company known for some amazing, industry-changing technologies, staffed by some of the best and brightest in the technology world.  How on earth could they make a big deal about a search experience that for the most part looks and behaves like Google?

What would I have done differently? For starters, I would include a more interesting data visualization strategy.  Look at what they're doing at the New York Times Visualization Lab or at how applications like Grokker can organize and display information.  Data visualization is a hot area right now for a reason, Microsoft could have spiced up their results with something more visually engaging. 

How much work would it have taken to use different text or highlight colors on results pages?  Something as simple as that could have at least made it appear there was some effort to not just duplicate Google.  I do like the little rollover feature on Bing at the right of each search result, but it's hardly a marvel of modern technology or likely to skew my search behavior.  So if anyone from Microsoft is reading this, Bing is OK, but I know you can do better.

The Twitter Experiment

I've been less than wildly enthusiastic about the practical marketing applications for Twitter. In marketing circles this might come off as "unenlightened" or "old-school", I like to think of it more as appropriately skeptical.  In truth, while I've done a ton of reading and exploration on Twitter, I hadn't taken the plunge and signed up for an account.  Finally I've taken the two minutes to sign up for an account and I'm off and tweeting.

Without question, time is my most valuable resource.  I have little patience for anything that consumes time and doesn't really provide value of some sort.  Don't get me wrong, I don't have every moment of my day scheduled and aligned with a project, but I am without question stingy with my time.  My biggest concern entering into Twitterland is the amount of time I'll need to spend to realize any value.  I fully understand the social media dynamic of contributing to the collective to ultimately get something back, this is where I anticipate the greatest time commitment, even 140 characters at a time.

I like to "begin with the end in mind" on any project, I think I'll be more successful with Twitter if I stay focused on just a couple simple goals:

- Finding like-minded marketers - The work we're doing at Upshot Institute and the topics I'm focused on with Marketer's Lab, both rely on an ongoing interaction with tech-interested marketers.  I'd like to use Twitter to find other marketers interested in these same topics. 

- Learn more about marketing technology - There's an amazing universe of brilliant people out there, I'd like to tap into some of that genius and use Twitter to connect with the people shaping the marketing technology space. 

I feel compelled to say "yes, I know I must contribute to the dialogue and I know it's not just what I'll get out of it".  You're welcome Social Media militants.  I have to say I'm excited about some of the early interactions and optimistic about what might be possible.  As a close, if anyone reading has suggestions for good resources on best practices for marketing via Twitter, would love to see them.  Keep you posted, follow me if you like...

Upshot Update - Marketing SuperPlatform Summit

Upshot Institute has been a labor of love for the last year or so.  During that time I've had some fantastic interaction with marketers, marketing technology vendors and a variety of technologists and big thinkers.  The focus of all this interaction has been to shape a suite of resources that can help marketers better understand and utilize marketing technology.    

Today, I am incredibly excited to share the first set of these resources coming online with the launch of our Marketing SuperPlatform Summit. This summit is the beginning of a series that will feature industry experts covering a wide variety of significant marketing technology topics.  You can read the full press release on the Marketing SuperPlatform Summit here, and see what we have planned in terms of future summits here.  Additional summits topics include landing page optimization, mobile marketing, web video, community marketing and approximately another 10 events through the end of 2009.   

Another new Upshot Institute feature we are quietly previewing is our marketing technology resource portal.  Proper disclaimers in effect here, the resource portal is just coming online, it's in preview mode as we work with content providers to load and organize the information.  Beyond the preview period the resource portal will have hundreds of white papers and other resources.  If you're interested in publishing content to the portal, just click here and submit your content.

The Marketing SuperPlatform Summit features a great lineup of speakers and a really interesting combination of insights and practical guidance.  Worth the time to watch the presentations.  Let us know what you think and if you like what you see, tell a friend or 100.   

 

Storytelling and Technology

A friend forwarded this presentation from Nick Bilton, delivered as the keynote at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference.  Not surprisingly, the presentation has a publishing focus, but it drives home several foundational ideas which are critically important right now no matter what industry you're in.  For me the biggest idea is how much of what we do as marketers is about storytelling.  For a huge swath of marketers/communicators/journalists, our ability to craft and deliver a compelling story that can connect and move people is the heart of what we do.  I'm not so sure a lot of marketers really think about things this way.  Nick does a great job framing this idea and integrating how technology can enable a great story, a preview of how things are evolving.  

Marketing To The Sixth Sense

Sometimes I wonder about whether many of the emerging marketing technologies are really solving the real issues we have as marketers.  There are some amazing new tools out there, but there are also plenty of marketing technology "solutions" I come across that look like a technology trying to find a problem rather than a new tool to address increasingly complex marketing challenges.  I am both a big marketing technology evangelist and a huge marketing technology skeptic.  The presentation below from the TED Conference, aside from being a real jaw-dropper, gave me a new perspective on how technology and marketing really fit together. 

I have no idea who actually said this, but someone much smarter than I once said something along the  lines of "the more powerful technology becomes, the less visible it becomes".  This idea of a more seamless integration of technology to our everyday lives is already happening at an amazing speed.  What we now call "Social Media" is quickly becoming so normalized that it's already almost ceased to be something separate, but rather an extension of ourselves and one of the multitude of ways we communicate and connect on a daily basis. 

As you watch the TED presentation, think about how the experiences and capabilities Pattie Maes and her genius student Pranav Mistry showcase will alter the way we will need to communicate with the world as marketers.  If you're like me, you will come away with new resolve about the need for incredible new tools and a completely new perspective on marketing.