The insight within

Google, at it again

Google is seriously taking things to the next level. Below is their tasty new GPS system. Garmin's share price dropped 20% upon hearing Google's lastest free development.

Like it

I like this new Sony ad a lot. I've been brought up on the brand and have interpreted it as a sign of quality ever since my first Sony Walkman. This ad is a strong take on the breadth of electronic entertainment available to the consumer, and to an extent the demand for further convergence. Slightly augumented reality-esque

A sign of things to come

The Guardian was subject to a hacker attack on its jobs website this week. This is quite worrying as thousands of prospective employees have uploaded very personal information, including CVs. It is particulaly disconcerting when it is reported that their jobs site attracts over 2 million unique users each month!

Now the UK has always had a more confident view over other european countries when it comes to online, especially when it comes to using it as a medium, uploading personal information and purchasing goods. In the recession it is also the only medium to see a increase in advertising spend, which illustrates its importance in the communications mix. A lingering issue that has always been prevalent is the concern over data and privacy. When search engines alone are storing our every moment online, and now hackers, which are becoming forever more sophisticated and will always be ahead of the protection curve, are delving in to our real life history, will confidence in online continue to thrive?

Some would say Yes, as the benefits outweight the risks. Others would disagree and argue that the potential of any very personal, regardless of whether it is tangible or intangible, risk may eventually create a model similar to peak oil. One thing is for sure and that is to expect more of this to come, and depending on the momentum and severity, it may have serious effects to both our relationship with online and utimately online communications, especially when the sleeping dragon, mobile, truely awakens.

You've changed...

Now I wouldn't go as far as to say that media is dead, but it is certainly changing.

It's definitely refreshing to see a humourous expression of media fragmentation and although it seems daunting, I believe its these sorts of challenges that keeps us all in the industry. Media and advertising is always  changing, whether it was the begining of web 2.0 or the introduction of the printing press. The difference today is speed and scale. The stakes are just now higher, which makes working in the industry even more exciting.

Keeping it real... online

Friedman’s prophesy is slowly bearing fruit. The world has certainly become very very flat, and it’s being led by incredible technological advances. This is nothing new. Planes and telephone cables enabled people to communicate across different continents, but the shear empowerment of free tools and applications that are recently becoming widely available online, is seriously adding a new dimension to the world of communications.

Swine flu is a mighty fine example of this. During the Spanish Flu, in 1918, it was largely unreported and played down. This led to millions of deaths and was one of the most disastrous events in the last century. Fast forward 91 years and Swine Flu is reported within hours. Twitter alone was receiving up to 10,000 tweets an hour!

 

 

[Map of confirmed cases of Swine Flu]

Nation press has been sensationally reporting the demise of humankind, yet the population seems largely unfazed. It’s not the staggering advancement of modern medicine that has warranted this relaxed attitude, but the shear amount of information available, and within breakneck speeds too. People can genuinely judge for themselves.

Once an opinion is drawn, this information is then passed on with greater potency, as we are very likely to pass this information on to those closest to us, and of course, those nearest and dearest are the ones we are most likely to trust. Thus, in the case of Swine Flu, chaotic hysteria is avoided.

Swine Flu is a great illustration of the lucidity of online communications, the speed in which online communications are delivered and the authenticity in which brands must behave.

Those who do it right are flying. Those who do it wrong are in all sorts of trouble.