Web 2.0 Expo: Miscellaneous sessions

New at this year's Expo were 20-minute sessions after lunch.

A talk entitled "The Mobile Browser Landscape" disappointed many because it turned out to be just a shill for Windows 7 Phone.

"What To Expect From Browsers in the Next Five Years" was a panel represented many of the major web browsers. Even though the four representatives seemed to know each other's plans and strategies, there were no representatives for Internet Explorer or Safari, which made the panel feel a little lopsided. Nevertheless their initial utterance was that IE 9 would support new standards and would be much improved over version 8, even though it could be further improved (it will not be compatible with WindowsXP). The feeling was that it is being brought out as a response to Chrome.

Firefox is working on Firefox Sync which will synchronize all usernames and passwords.

The Opera browser had a presence at the Web Expo; its representative stated that they are enhancing the implementation of javascript. Their new goal is to integrate with phone apps.

It was admitted that all browsers leak, which is a danger to privacy. Some lamented that the development of HTML5 did not attack these privacy issues.

All browsers try to go for speed, but each member of the panel pointed it that browser wars are like horse races - each one of them gets ahead for a while, only to be overtaken by another. This is the nature of the business, and no browser will ever be definitive, as they all keep on being developed.

(The unofficial buzz was that this browser session had more attendees than the live interview with Katie Couric.)

Deanna Zandt's talk "The Free-for-All Web and the Secret Tyrants We All Are" is available on her website as PowerPoint with audio track. It's a nice little talk (although I did get impatient with numerous metaphors). One of her main points was that, in speaking about control over the web, when you remove hierarchical structures, you develop implicit structures - people's biases then take over. (I've seen a number of groups where, once the leader departs, someone from the group suddenly steps in, self-annointed, and takes over.) She warned us to guard against these dangers and the danger of restructuring without a plan for equity.

Hers was a nice little talk. Had it been shorter it would have made a nice Ignite presentation.

Web 2.0 Expo: Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality for Marketers: Mapping the Future of Consumer Interactions by Lynne D. Johnson and John Havens woke me (and probably others) up to the recognition of how much augmented reality already exists in our lives and to how it will increase in the future.

Augmented Reality for Marketers - Lynne d Johnson and John C. Havens talk from Web 2.0 Expo 2010

View more presentations from johnchavens.

The speakers acknowledged that GPS (global positioning systems) was the biggest recent technological innovation because it is predictive technology. This is the basis of Augmented Reality (hereafter AR).

"If it's useful, it will be adopted by the masses."

Current new possibilities: An ad for Chase shows you can "Point. Shoot. Deposit." i.e., deposit a check by taking a picture of it. This is augmented reality. It makes people's lives simpler.

Take QR Codes. They extend the capability of barcodes, can be scanned faster, and can be made to initiate commands, such as download an app, etc. An extension is Zoo Records. Recording artists were concerned they weren't getting playtime. They refashioned the QR Codes to appear as animals, so that when takes a pic of it with one's phone, the phone plays the encoded collection of songs. Barcodes and SMS messaging are beginning to use images as shortcuts to access company information. An example is Joss Stone whose graphic logo is in fact made from code.

AR at Boeing: they developed a technology where air pilots could see added flight information (i.e. altitude, air pressure, distances, etc.) in their visors instead of having to check the dashboard.

The lesson learned so far:

Utility + Ease of use = Rapid adoption

Already there are numerous businesses that allow you to use your phone to identify their locations relative to where you are standing: Quiznos, Subway, etc.. Lynne noted how in Japan, with a cellphone the subway directions appear in English. Similarly with Yelp - it can make recommendations as you watch your phone.

More: A case study was done at IBM with Seer [?], where holding up your phone will identify locations of bathrooms, food courts, etc. As you wait for a game at Wimbledon, hold up your phone to see historical information. If you temporarily wander away from your seat, you can still see what's happening through live video feeds. Think of all the new possibilities with training: they mentioned an example of a BMW car mechanic who is shown the part to be replaced, the location of where it should go, what tools to use, etc. A boon for training situations of all kinds.

Numerous examples: Tissot - issued an ad in magazines: cut out the (paper) watch and wear it to see what it would look like. Acer 3D campaign, Dabs.com. For Hotels.com, their virtual vacation led to a 36% increase in bookings.

For IBM, this can lead to increased ROI and brand awareness.

The key to all of these examples is that it's fun and engaging for the consumer - even if it is a little gimmicky. It gives people a new experience that is fun.

AR already exists as a social network: "Tagwhat is a free network where you can create-and-share location based messages and content on-line or in mobile augmented reality."

User-created tags are building up the Outernet - the word for people are tagging nearly everything in the world around them. Examples: Locamoda brings FourSquare to Las Vegas. Miso puts people's video viewing habits into social media context. Also Thrilllist - which rolls in FourSquare. Similarly with HBO and GetGlue (social networking for entertainment).

Now, with many stores, you can check into a product, take a pic of the barcode and you gain points - just like a game - in real life. MyTown - people can check into a store, "own" it, and then have others "pay rent." Placecast: "location-based digital advertising company that provides ShopAlerts" via cellphones. The virtual dressing room is part of Seventeen.com and J.C. Penny (jcpteen.com): See how you look in the clothes before purchasing them.

The latest is that you can now check into people, thanks to facial recognition technology. With AR glasses you can see all sorts of information. Someday you might be able to see who's home and who's not - a danger. Clearly the AR industry has lots of privacy issues to deal with.

This humorous iScreener cartoon shows the dangers:

What about virtual advertising rights? Advertisers will post virtual ads when you view a scene through various phone apps. Already Bings' AR maps charges advertises to pay for virtual advertising rights.

Think of the advantages: a AR windshield will be able to tell you the location of parking spots, or where there is congestion. Already with RFID tags, there "smart parking." The future holds an Internet of things: Machines talking to machines, such as EZ Pass. [This is a prediction for what Web 3.0 is to be.]

Thus the lesson becomes:

Utility + Ease of use + Privacy/Marketing awareness = Transformation

This talk provided a very good introduction to the world of augmented reality. It was well-delivered, and I'm not the only one who thought it was one of the better presentations of the Web 2.0 Expo.

Web 2.0 Expo: Transforming Your Company To Embrace Empowered Employees and Customers

My first session on Tuesday: Transforming Your Company To Embrace Empowered Employees and Customers - by Josh Bernhoff and Ted Schadler (both of Forrester Research).

Much of the talk could probably be found in their book Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business.

They are into empowering individuals through technology. They showed a diagram of the "ladder of participation" - from passive web watchers to activist participants:

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/ross/470424239/)

There are 4 technologies that empower consumers:

1. Mobile devices
2. Social technology
3. Pervasive video
4. Cloud computing services

The authors took us through a brief history of the web illustrating the change in business-to-personal relationships. Empowerment is the next part of the story.

Social computing is the new customer service. This is all where's it at for the future. In this new environment, the company can NOT lock you out! Instead, companies need to respond holistically to the era of the empowered customer. How to achieve it? It's very hard.

Existence of empowered customers make it took easy to spread negative images about your company through viral techniques such as Twitter, Youtube, etc.

Instead, a company should cultivate HEROs: Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operatives. These are the people who will like your product so much they will function as goodwill ambassadors, and spread recommendations, nice stories, and other good words about your product and company. Clearly, a customer transaction no longer concludes with the purchase of an item. Now, it's ideal if the customer develops an ongoing relationship to the product and company. (Raises the participation and stake of the company.)

How to get there? There are 4 steps to build customer influence:

1. Identify the mass influencers
2. Deliver excellent customer service
3. Empowerment through mobile devices
4. Amplify your fans

(This ties up with previous Web 2.0 talks which spoke about how word-of-mouth from fans is probably among the best advertising you can receive.) No. 1: Who are these consumer influencers? In the US alone, people create circa 500 billion impressions of things. According to Nielson, the number is just under two trillion!!! People really want to let others what they think of things. Peer influence is highly concentrated: only 6.3% of adults create 80% of the influence impressions. (Reminds me of email paradigm: 10% of participants make 90% of the content.)

No. 2. It is these groups on which you need to focus. Deliver a groundswell of customer service. Good example: Best Buy.

No. 3. Empowering people using their cellphones. Example: AutoTrader.co.uk. They allow you to take a pic of a car and the software will automatically identify it for you!

No. 4. Amplify your fan activity. Good example: Marty Collins. Also: Microsot had a video conference of what do you do with your pc. It was a big success and enabled Microsoft to aggregate fan activity.

But here's the challenge for companies: Only empowered workers can serve empowered customers. Increasingly, customers are assuming the duties once owned by IT specialists. Companies should regard the consumerization of IT as not a problem but an opportunity. To know what's happening "out there," to remain engaged with the world of the customers, you need to empower the employees.

IT staff is accustomed to having sole responsibility for software. But now we're seeing that employees are using applications not sanctioned by IT - why? To get the job done better. If the employer throws up barriers, the workers will still find ways to get around them. So employers need to approach things differently.

Companies need a new contract - a new way of letting works increase their work productivity by any means they can, any software they can. Some examples: A worker within Black & Decker created instructional videos using YouTube. Black & Decker then created their own YouTube channel to support these efforts. At IBM, Gina Poole made collaborations possible using their Intranet.

How does the employwer support the empowered employee? With a HERO contract. Employees can create, but must know the company's mission, and the boundaries must be carefully spelled out. Bosses need to think differently about technology: Works need mobile apps, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc. Business manager need to recognize that technology is now part of the landscape that they can't ignore. IT has to stop being a barrier and let workers create and flourish in the work environment.

Not surprisingly, all these ideas were anticipated in The ClueTrain Manifesto some 15 years ago. Examples: Thesis #12: The networked market knows more than companies about their products.

There are 3 models for efficient groundswell among customers:

1. Build a service team
2. Integrate service and marketing
3. Make service a core value

Also ClueTrain Thesis #42: People talk to each other directly inside the company. This results in 5 ways to maximize collaboration:

1. Extend existing tools
2. Create value
3. Dedicate people to project
4. [lost the rest, but it's in the book]

It was a very nice talk. Unlike previous talks I've seen, this one really tried to wrestle with the notion that employees must be up to the energy of the consumers. They must be "on call" to explore whatever software, sites that consumers are using which could add value to the product.

Closer to the library world, the only place I've really seen this work is at the Smithsonian, where they have their own social network. Of course, most community libraries probably don't have the staff or resources to create and maintain these networks. There's no reason to think they'll be static, or will stay on one platform or one site. So being an empowered employee will require a great deal of committment and work. It's not going to be a job "extra responsibility" but will soon be an essential responsibility of every job.

For me it was one of the best talks on Tuesday, well presented. It elaborated on themes presented in the earlier Web 2.0 Expos - namely that there is so much more one can do if one harnesses the energy of customers - letting them create, and giving them a space (e.g. a company social network) in which to create.

Preparing for Web 2.0 Expo NY

I've had a fairly busy summer working extra hours voluntarily to get things done. But I've still been observing various aspects about Library 2.0, Web 2.0, and similar issues.

The biggest issue has been the economic downturn and its effect. To my eyes, this has resulted in the abandonment of the sense of experimentation and discovery. So many of the ideas of just a few years ago - experimentation, trial and error (no inhibitions at being wrong), and thinking of new possibilities - seem to be replaced with a focused effort to use several tools as extensions of existing modes of communication. All the bigger ideas suggested and articulated by people such as Michael Casey and Michael Stephens - all the implications for flattening management, of blurring the boundaries of work hierarchy, of empowering people from various parts of the organization - appear to be forgotten, with organizations sometimes resorting to management methods that should have been extinct in the 1950s.

It will be interesting to see if there is still the air of spontaneity, discovery and of fun at tomorrow night's Ignite. And it will be interesting to see who shows up for the Web 2.0 Expo. The first year in New York it appeared to be comprised of a combination of business types, geek types, and people just wanting to learn. Last year I believe there were fewer people and most seemed to be specifically into marketing, programming, web development, and similar areas. To be sure the high price assures limited variety of those in attendance. Note to O'Reilly: Thanks for non-profit discounts.

Time prevented me from a full write up of blog posts (I still have the notes from last year). Hopefully I'll do better this year, as I attempt to commit most of my notes to Twitter.