Textopoly Mobile Blog » Naushad

HTML5 – Making the Mobile Web Sexy!

Naushad — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:54:47 +0000

Mobile media is hot – we get it.It’ll hit $1 billion in the U.S. by 2012 – dope. HTML5 and Rich Media are the talk of the mobile town – ok cool. But how many marketers and media folks actually understand what HTML5 is?!

I asked a good friend of mine, a veteran in the mobile space (@james_monaghan http://twitter.com/james_monaghan) to tell me in how to best describe HTML5. James, being the clever Englishman that he is replies that HTML5 is a “Significant milestone in the maturation of mobile web application delivery.” One of our own top developers (Keivan!) had a similar sentiment and was kind enough to share with me an awesome presentation he found – the presentation itself is in HTML5 (!) so please view it on Firefox, Safari or Chrome – our good friends at Microsoft are a bit behind. http://slides.html5rocks.com/

Also, to see some HTML5 hotness in action check out some Textopoly work in HTML5 that will blow your mind:

http://bit.ly/iDPOQj

http://leep.me/v2

Enjoy – and give us a ring to talk about Rich Media & HTML5 – we’re on it!

9/11 Remembered via Mobile App

Naushad — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:33:01 +0000

Today as I stumbled around mashable.com in hopes of learning more about the mobile world and Apps I came across this article. After watching the video I was blown away by the impact mobile apps not only have on our economy but also on our emotions. So if you have 5 mins to spare take a look at this. It is truly a mind blowing way to remember those who died in the 9/11 attacks as we approach the 10 year anniversary.

(Post by Tyler Woodward, our crackerjack Intern: tyler[at]textopoly[dot]com, thanks buddy!)

PRESS: Santa Ana College + Mobile

Naushad — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 06:56:46 +0000

Santa Ana College Launches New Mobile Website

(Santa Ana)—Santa Ana College (SAC) has launched a new mobile website that offers easy access from any smartphone. When a student or prospective student accesses www.sac.edu from his or her smartphone, the site automatically redirects the browser to the new mobile site.

“We are excited to embrace this new technology,” said Norm Fujimoto, vice president of academic affairs at Santa Ana College. “Our students and would be students are constantly accessing information through their mobile devices and we want to satisfy their needs for quick and simply navigated information about the college.”

The SAC mobile site was developed through a partnership with Santa Ana College, Textopoly, Inc., and its higher education innovation group—Republic of Digital. The mobile site evolved through the collaborative efforts of the Republic of Digital team, student intern Andrew O’Melia and the SAC Web Committee.

Since 2007, O’Melia has been enrolled part-time in the college’s digital media program. With 12 years experience as a graphic designer, he is working on his associate degree with plans to transfer to a four-year university.

During his three-month internship, O’Melia helped design the mobile site’s user interface elements and the graphics for the header bar. Textopoly and Republic of Digital’s, internship program helped incorporate a real-world project into an invaluable experience for O’Melia. He was front and center when the final designs were presented by the Republic of Digital team to the clients—members of the SAC Web Committee.

“Since working on the SAC mobile site, I’ve really fallen in love with the process of designing and developing interactive media,” said O’Melia. “It’s not something I could have learned in the classroom and I’m now working as creative director with two application development companies.”

The mobile site features quick access to many of the most popular links on www.sac.edu,

including a campus map Google API, phone directory, class schedules, Webadvisor, library information, safety and security guidelines, continuing education information, counseling scheduling, help and frequently asked questions, plus ‘click to call’ phone numbers and links to the college’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

“It’s vital to think about a mobile site as not a simple shrunken version of the desktop site, but instead to wrap strategy and genuine insight around the build of the mobile site from the perspective of the user,” said Naushad Huda, CEO of Textopoly.

The site is compatible with mobile browsers found on a range of devices, including Android, iPhone, iPod, iPad, and BlackBerry. Since the mobile site has gone live, Android devices and iPhones top the list of devices accessing the new site.

According to Morgan Stanley, the volume of mobile users will outstrip the number of desktop Internet users by 2014. According to a report by Gomez, 52 percent of consumers are unlikely to return to a website they had trouble accessing by phone. What is even worse—40 percent said they would likely visit a competitor’s website instead.

About the Rancho Santiago Community College District

The mission of the Rancho Santiago Community College District (RSCCD) is to respond to the educational needs of an ever-changing community and to provide programs and services that reflect academic excellence. Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College are public community colleges of RSCCD, which serve the residents of Anaheim Hills, East Garden Grove, Irvine, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Villa Park. Both colleges provide education for academic transfer and careers, courses for personal and professional development, customized training for business and industry, and programs to train nurses, firefighters and law enforcement personnel.

About Republic of Digital & Textopoly, Inc.

Textopoly is a multi-award winning mobile marketing and advertising agency that concepts and executes customized campaigns for brands and agencies. Whether it is through SMS, the mobile Internet, Mobile Media or Apps, they bring the brand straight to the users. Textopoly has worked with brands including Yamaha, Google/Admob, Microsoft Advertising, Paramount Studios, Bluefly, Rutgers University, Kikkoman, NBC, Sports Club of LA and many more.

Republic of Digital is a higher education focused innovation group within Textopoly whose focus is to partner with educational institutions and bring next generation mobile strategies & solutions to better interact and communicate with their constituents. Visit ROD at www.republicofdigital.com.

Santa Ana College Mobile Site

Angry Bird Phenomena

Naushad — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 05:47:27 +0000

Not sure if you all know, but the amount of time spent playing the very popular mobile game Angry Birds (globally) is about 200 million minutes a day! Anyhow, the phoenomna is getting absurd with plush toys, a movie deal and now this:

http://www.tuaw.com/2011/08/02/no-comment-angry-birds-in-convenient-bra-form/

So if a man sees this item in an intimate moment does that mean a ‘red light’!?

Eons Beyond Text

Naushad — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 19:50:47 +0000

While getting coffee I began chatting with some folks in the same building. As social norm dictate, we respectively inquired about what the other did. When I said “mobile marketing and engagement,” the immediate response was, “So you send out mass texts to everyone?” … Not exactly buddy.

Mobile marketing is still relatively new, and while people in the industry are talking about its evolution and how HTML5 and iAds allow for even more interaction with mobile users the rest of the world is still trying to get a grasp on what mobile marketing is at the most basic levels.

In a visual format, Google’s Mobile Marketing campaign for AdMob shows it best. Mobile marketing is much more a part of people’s lives than most realize. Every time an ad pops up when you’re playing Angry Birds, or when a redirect link appears in a text message, browser that pops up after you scan a QR code, or when you use a mobile site, you are using something created by a mobile marketing agencies like Textopoly. So what’s next?

Before I go on, I have a disclaimer: this blog is NOT about predictions, there are plenty of those out there. Nor will you hear me utter the now banal phrase “the year of mobile”. Instead, I’m just going to give a perspective on where I see a key area within the sphere of “mobile” going – the key area I speak of is mobile advertising.

Just the other week Google/AdMob released some staggering numbers. Google/AdMob is now receiving 2 billion ad requests per day, a data point which has quadrupled over the past year. With mobile impression numbers staggering to Everest heights, there has to be a way to stand out from the masses. And, there is.

Mobile sites and Mobile ad experiences are getting their sexy on. The graphics are top-tier, the information requested from the user is minimal and to the point, and the content is becoming more and more evolved. With platforms like iAd “you get access to the Apple audience, the world’s most engaged, passionate, and loyal consumer” who “engages with iAd ads for an average of 60 seconds per visit.” 60 seconds is a long time to capture someone’s attention. With technology like HTML5 it is easy to fill 60 seconds with multimedia and graphical content allowing for more advanced advertising on mobile devices including tablets all within a browser environment.

So where is mobile advertising going? To a world where the companies and customers can have a conversation through technology. A world where customers can directly give feedback through how far they are willing to engage in a company’s mobile advertisement. A world that’s eons beyond a text message.

Mobile Storefronts for All?

Naushad — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:19:55 +0000

Just read an article in Entrepreneur magazine Dec 2010 issue about a small N.C. based retailer specializing in handcrafted iron and wood furniture taking a deep dive into mobile and building their mobile storefront. At first glance you might wonder why a online retailer with a niche product would want to develop a mobile storefront? Who is buying iron fences on mobile?! Sure, Amazon made $1 billion in sales through mobile in 2009 so why can’t hyper local retailers harness the power of the mobile web and follow the trends that manifest that more people will browse the internet on a wireless device than a desk or laptop by 2013?

What do you think?

Mobile Browsers over Mobile Apps?

Naushad — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 07:30:34 +0000

Wait wait wait. . .you’re telling me that mobile users prefer to digest content via a browser rather than an app? While Apple coined the word “apps” and made it part of very brand marketers vocabulary and checklist, it seems as though consumers prefer using their mobile browser for certain content such as Product Reviews, Blogs, Sports Feeds and News. Though, the same survey, conducted by Keynote Systems for Adobe, shows that users prefer Games, Music and Social Media experiences via an application. I can relate to this. I use my Facebook app when needing to catch up on worldly matters (!) or check-in to social media while I browse my bookmarked ESPN NBA site to catch up on the Lakers & Clippers.

While consumers want to absorb content through a mobile browser, many (more than 80%) of the more popular consumer & media sites are not optimized for mobile. Being optimized for mobile does not mean that the content is ’shrunk’ to fit a mobile screen, nor does it mean that brand identity is lost with templated layouts and obscure URLs. Take for example a mobile site I use often, Southwest Airlines. They have an okay design, but the user experience is well thought out, the features are relevant to users on the go and the URL is still “www.iflyswa.com” which automatically redirects me to their mobile site recognizing that I’m requesting the site from a mobile device. Another favorite site on mobile is ESPN; they have great design, functioanlity and their brand identity is not lost. Conversly there are mobile sites that simply need some upgrading – such as Fairmont Hotels and Crate & Barrel. It’s refreshing that these brands have taken to mobile, but brand identity, limited design and less than friendly experiences make me want to download their app (if they have one) rather than browse their mobile site!

Do you agree with the survey, or are you in agreement with Steve Jobs who is betting that people on mobile will want to find information via apps and not mobile sties?

QR Codes: Post & Rebuttal

Naushad — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:12:04 +0000

The sexiest mobile technology on the minds of marketers and brands recently is QR Codes (Quick Response Codes). If you haven’t seen them, they are those square boxes filled with black dots that look like the evolutionary next step in barcodes that have been appearing in print (such as Esquire magazine & billboards) or even on T.V. commercials (last week on BravoTV by the online retailer Bluefly). An agency partner of ours recently sent us a blog post by Lisa Fritts at http://crunchymarketingnuggets.wordpress.com that talked about and even criticized QR Codes. Fritts brought up some interesting points that were worthy of a discussion – and wouldn’t you know it, a discussion was born! We have the privilege of a rebuttal by David Javitch, VP of Marketing for Scanbuy (www.scanbuy.com)- a prominent player in the QR Code technology space posted below.

We’ve included a link to the original article at Crunchymarketingnuggets below and have added in David’s reply right after it. We feel that these types of discussion are needed in mobile. This industry can only grow with with open discussions on how mobile technology works best for everyone involved. We thank both Lisa Fritts and David for making their thoughts public.

Original post by Lisa:

http://leep.it/qk

David’s reply:

“Thanks for covering this space, and you are right to point out incomplete execution! Most brands are not only learning how to use QR Codes, but mobile in general. You mentioned that codes are FREE, and while there is that option, you sort of get what you pay for. When you create a free code, the data is stuck in that code. So, you can never edit it once published, and more importantly, you can’t get metrics from the scans. We power the BlueFly campaign mentioned above, and we can give them data like number of scans, users, representative demographics (from our app), type of phone, and even location. For marketers, it’s all about ROI and data, so this is really valuable. We always recommend using mobile formatted content because the experience after the scan is the most important piece. The BlueFly campaign links right to a really nice site with mobile video and sharing options. This is really just the beginning, and now it’s about using the technology (and mobile) in smart, strategic ways.”

What do you think?

Still too slow

Naushad — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:29:59 +0000

I see conflicting research about the uptake on mobile marketing. Some reports tend to make me feel that it truly is the year for mobile! Not only reports, but also an influx of the projects we’ve been working on this year lead me to conclude a brighter mobile future. Add to that a bubbling sense that brands when concepting projects are including mobile tactics such as SMS, mobile sites, mobile apps, IVR, social media apps and more! It’s an exciting time people!

Then I see other research – the research that stats that over 68% of brand marketers either are not sure about mobile, haven’t worked in it and there is even a small percentage feel it’s not important (!). It’s amazing to me that some brand marketers still feel that mobile is not important. What gives?

Parents & Mobile

Naushad — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 08:45:31 +0000

I’m at that age where many of my friends are in the process of having kids (hopefully not while reading this!), or just had their first child. Many conversations I have these days revolve around the newly created relationships between young, recently married couples and their first child. Memories and perhaps regrets of how they behaved as children creep into discussion followed by pleads to God that they’re new addition doesn’t ‘act like I did’.

While the child is young these virgin parents are scheming on how to use technology to be better, or at least better informed, parents. The simplest technology asset they have is their mobile phone. A recent study conducted by Harris Interactive found that parents, especially those with children under 6 years of age eagerly want text messaging alerts from their favorite brands/entities to make their parenting life easier.

Grocery coupons and promotions were the most popular among all parents, including among the subgroups with older children and teens.Don’t think that parents’ activities on mobile stops with texts. Parents considered several mobile activities at least somewhat important at higher rates than mobile users without children, including searching for retail locations (57% vs. 42%), making purchases (40% vs. 26%) and accessing the internet in general (63% vs. 48%).

The instantaneousness of mobile, with texts, mobile sites or apps is a valuable asset for any parent. Being able to find local information such as the nearest pharmacy, where to buy certain products, get nutritional information, get alerts on consumer product recalls, or even a video on how to change a diaper are useful tools for any parent. Today my lifeblood is my mobile device; I use it for everything – I can only imagine how useful it will be the day I end a conversation with “. . God please don’t let my kid do that.”