Cx3: London calling

London's spectacular 2011 New Year firework fantasia demonstrated to the world the vibrance and confidence of a city commanding contemporary modernity, integrating seamlessly with its solid heritage foundation. A powerful and explosive message (excuse all the puns) against a backdrop of austerity, political coalition and global economic uncertainty...but a necessary one.

Digital communication turned a transitional corner in 2010. Economic escapism embraced 'Club Apple' and 'Club Google' feeding an uncontrollable behavioural craving enabling us to dance with the seductive iPhone, iPad, Android, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Foursquare brands...the hedonisitic 1980's revival relived for a new generation as they indulged - ordering another bottle of digital Veuve, posting their Facebook status, Tweeting when the Champagne was corked and uploading a brand reputation damaging video of complaint to the world on YouTube.

Joking aside, 2011 does have a more serious corporate tone - Relationships; Partnership; Performance; Delivery. 2010 was also a transitionary cornerstone for businesses as they too played with new ways of communicating through emerging digital channels, however, it's now time for the maturity of digital to be realised and strategic long-term commitment to enable the returns of nurtured stakeholder relationships and sustained growth to be fulfilled.

The complexities of corporate communications are such that traditional communication channels will not disappear from the mix, however, the focus of reaching and fulfilling stakeholder audience demands will be key. Maximising performance will result in appropriate targeting to reach 'the right' stakeholders using their preferred communication 'channel of choice' - even if that is now a 140 character dialogue on Twitter.

So the prospect for digital corporate communications in 2011 is positively coming of age. A solid strategic communication tradition is the foundation for confidently commanding new channels (including digital) to realise sustained performance and nurture ongoing stakeholder relationships and reputational brand loyalty.

London's New Year fireworks chimed positive sentiment for London to be sustained throughout 2011 as the world's eyes become focussed on the city as the stage (and worldwide tourist destination) for the marriage of Britain's future King and Queen, and on the upcoming London Olympics in 2012...oh my, I've embedded a YouTube video of the fireworks into my blog post - Let the digital games begin ;-)

RELATED LINKS
Cx3 blog entry: Connected devices from Nielsen

Cx3: Visualizing Facebook friendships

This was posted a couple of weeks ago and passed me by, but better late than never as it is a pretty impressive bit of work (you could almost call it art), representing global Facebook connections.

It has been created by Facebook engineering intern Paul Butler and visualises the geographic friendship connections from available data. Paul writes in his article Visualizing Friendships that what emerged was

"a surprisingly detailed map of the world. Not only were continents visible, certain international borders were apparent as well. What really struck me, though, was knowing that the lines didn't represent coasts or rivers or political borders, but real human relationships. Each line might represent a friendship made while travelling, a family member abroad, or an old college friend pulled away by the various forces of life".

Quite noticeabley China is missing from the map (but then Facebook does not have a presence there), and parts of central Africa.

RELATED LINKS
Cx3 blog entry: 2010 Facebook and Twitter demographics
Cx3 blog entry: 2010 Social networking map stats
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Cx3 blog entry: Facebook, the influential social networking book face

Cx3: 2010 Facebook and Twitter demographics

Source: Digital Surgeons

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Cx3 blog entry: 2010 Social networking map stats
Cx3 blog entry: If Facebook was a country
Cx3 blog entry: Facebook, the influential social networking book face

Cx3: Connected devices from Nielsen

Nielsen's study on 'The Increasingly Connected Consumer: Connected Devices' provides interesting insight on smartphone, tablet, e-book user behaviour.

'The Increasingly Connected Consumer' is a study intended to get a better understanding of the consumers purchasing Apple iPads, Amazon Kindles and other similar gadgets and how they are using them. The study takes a look at demographics, changes in behaviour, the content that people engage with and thier responsiveness to advertising.

Key statistics:

- Tablets is still a nascent market favoured by early adopters. In the US, 25% own a smartphone, 8% have netbooks, 6% have e-readers and 4% have tablets. Early adopters of technology favour tablets, and tablet owners own more connected devices

- Tablets are passed around more than smartphones or e-readers. 46% of people allow others to use their tablet, compared to 34% of smartphone owners and 33% of e-reader users

- 63% of iPad owners are under 35 years old, and nearly two-thirds of iPad owners are male. 47% of owners of Amazon's Kindle e-book reader are under 35, and 52% are male



- 91% of iPad owners have downloaded an app. The study revealed the most popular categories of paid apps downloaded include: Games (62%); Books (54%); Music (50%); Shopping (45%); News & Headlines (45%). For a full list, click on the chart to the left.


- iPad owners spend a longer amount of time engaged with content. The study compared iPad and iPhone devices and it was identified that a greater percent of weekday length of time per session across content categories was spent by iPad owners.

- Connected devices owners as a group are comfortable with mobile advertising, however, iPad users are much more receptive and are more likely to make a purchase



RELATED LINKS:
Connected Devices: iPads, Kindles, Smartphones and the Connected Consumer
Connected Devices: Does the iPad Change Everything?
Cx3 blog entry: Interact with your iPad
Cx3 blog entry: One million Apple iPads sold
Cx3 blog entry: Apple iPad overview

Cx3: Virgin Atlantic advert

My favourite advert on TV at the moment from Virgin Atlantic: 'Your airline's either got it or it hasn't' - Bondesque camp to the hilt.

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Cx3: About Radley Yeldar

Radley Yeldar communicating effectively...finding the right answers to ever more complex questions.

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Cx3: Foursquare times square equals...

...a massive great Foursquare tower in the middle of New York's Times Square!

The Foursquare advertisement has been erected over American Eagle’s Times Square store. It is reported that Foursquare has a deal with American Eagle opening it to multiple location brands, even though it’s already one of the retailers using Shopkick, a location-based rewards app for iPhone (see video below).



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Cx3: Ofcom communications report 2010

The average Briton spends almost half of their waking life using media and communications, data suggests.

The statistics from regulator Ofcom suggest people in the UK spend seven hours a day watching TV, surfing the net and using their mobile phones.

However, the average person actually squeezes in the equivalent of nearly nine hours of media and communications by multi-tasking on several devices.

The statistics come from industry sources and a survey of 1,138 adults.

The report also suggests that traditional media is holding its own.

Television still dominates people's media habits, with the average person spending around 3.8 hours watching television every day, it says.

"For the first time we have mapped the totality of communications use over one day," said Peter Philips of Ofcom.

The annual Communications Market Report says that the average person spends around 15 hours 45 minutes every day awake. Of this time, it says, the average person spends seven hours and five minutes "engaging in media and communications activities".

However, it found that most people are able to cram in even more by multi-tasking. For example, the report found that adults aged between 16 and 24 appeared to consume the least, spending just six hours and 35 minutes a day on the phone, laptop, radio or television.

But by multitasking - effectively using two or more devices at once - the survey found that young adults were able to squeeze the equivalent of nine hours 32 minutes worth of consumption into that time.

"They are taking up more and more communications activities but fitting them into the same amount of time," said James Thickett, director of market research and market intelligence at Ofcom.

He said this was largely due to the rise in the mobile internet and the use of smartphones.

"It has untethered people from being in one particular place."

The report says that the number of people using their phone to surf the web currently stands at 13.5m people. This has almost tripled since 2008, when the figure stood at 5.7m.

Concurrently, the use of mobile data has exploded, the report said, increasing by 240% between 2007 and 2009.

It suggested that, in part, much of this increase had been driven by one site - Facebook - which accounts for 45% of all mobile web use in the UK, followed by Google at 8%.

"All of the others have less than 4% market share," said Mr Philips.

Radio star

Facebook also dominates fixed line broadband use. The report says that social networking now accounts for nearly one-quarter of all time spent online, with Facebook accounting for the majority of traffic.

The majority of users of the site - and other networks - are between 16 and 34, although Ofcom said that there was a growing trend for older people to also sign up to the services.

The report also mapped the current state of broadband in the UK.

It suggests that internet take-up has now reached 73% in the UK, the majority of which is fixed broadband.

But despite the rise in new ways of accessing content, the report says that traditional media, such as TV and radio still dominate people's media habits,.

"TV still plays a central role in people's lives," said Mr Thickett. "We are watching more than at any time in the last five years."

Yet, despite the growth in online TV services and devices that allow people to record television, most shows were watched via traditional live broadcasts.

Radio also held its own, the survey said.

Although listening has gone down slightly, the number of people able to access radio services was at an all time high, at 91%.

"It is still a very important medium for people," said Mr Thickett.

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BBC new story: Ofcom report highlights 'multi-tasking media users'
Cx3 blog entry. Ofcom communication report 2008

Cx3: Alice for the iPad

This 'Alice for the iPad' video has been around a while, but just found it again - and still love it! It not just demonstrates how a classic book can get a new digital lease of life, but it also provides plentiful interactive inspiration for other iPad communication solutions.

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Cx3 blog entry: Interact with your iPad
Cx3 blog entry: One million Apple iPads sold
Cx3 blog entry: Apple iPad overview

Cx3: 2010 Social Networking Map - stats

Another map to communicate the social networking landscape (click on the map to enlarge), but I rather like this one - maybe it is the Tolkeinesque 'Middle Earth' expanses, just begging to be explored.

Last month, Cx3 blog posted 'If Facebook was a country'. The 2010 Social Networking Map adds 'populations' to a few more 'countries' - The estimated number of users per designated network as detailed on the map are as follows:

- Facebook: 500 million
- Habbo: 178 million
- Myspace: 125 million
- Bebo: 117 million
- Friendster: 115 million
- Twitter: 114 million
- Orkut: 100 million
- Hi5: 70 million

OK, Frodo Baggins is now eating second breakfast and all set for a quest.

RELATED LINKS:
Cx3 blog entry: If Facebook was a country
Cx3 blog entry: Facebook, the influential social networking book face