The Official Google Blog

This is a great source for everything Google, but more importantly everything that Google touches–and it’s a lot. As a leader in just about all things digital, from stats on mobile adoption and use to articles on how price comparison search is influencing e-commerce, this blog has cutting edge, highly credible information that deserves a quick search for almost any project. Also, don’t forget Google Commerce and Google Mobile.

Media Post

What don’t they cover? Their mission is to provide a complete array of resources for media, marketing and advertising professionals — and they succeed at this with flying colors. I always find something pertinent to projects I’m working on here.

Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is it’s own search engine that works using its own fixed data sets, rather than crawling the web like Google. If you’re looking for stats, or better yet, to compare stats (like GDP vs wages over time) this should be your first stop.

More to come…

Yesterday was my first day at Communispace Corporation as an Assistant Consultant for the Idea Group. I’m very excited to join such a great company, and everyone on my team is awesome! I am also lucky to count myself as one of the first new hires in our new space; right downtown on Atlantic Warf in Boston’s very first LEED certified skyscraper.

What does Communispace do? Short answer: qualitative market research via customized online communities (sort of like an online focus group). Better answer: We help brands engage in an ongoing, personal conversation with their customers to gain insights, get feedback and explore consumer mindsets.

Communispace communities offer a place where customers get real, where the information they share can actually make a difference.

What is the Idea Group? We do a lot, but mainly we help maintain best practices throughout the company, we educate client service teams about our client’s business, support new business pitches, existing client accounts, and a lot more (I still have a lot to learn).

We’re on the 6th and 7th floors of the building, and there are no offices — it’s a totally open seating plan. Even our CEO, Diane Hessan, sits in a cubicle with the rest of us.

The whole company is “Boston themed.” Our main lunch room is called Fenway, and it’s modeled after the look of Fenway Park: red brick, green I beams, and we’ve even got a score board and seats designated “The Green Monster.” All the conference rooms are named after landmarks and towns surrounding Boston. Near me I’ve got the Hatch Shell and Boston Garden.

I graduated college with the goal of becoming an account planner at an advertising agency. Communispace is essentially an entire company of planners and I couldn’t be more excited about that. We work with more clients than you can shake a stick at. We’re growing at more than 20% a year and attacking global markets. Most importantly, the peole are great and I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of fun here.

Super sweet smells and funky music that wafted through the air, now and then a marshmallow whizzed by my head. Large crowds with sticky hands filled the streets of Union Square on Saturday for the sixth annual What the Fluff? Fluff Festival, which pays tribute to Somerville native Archibald Query, who invented the gooey, sticky spread in 1917.

This year’s festival drew an estimated 10,000 people, noshing on Fluff-themed treats, from Mama Gina’s Fluff S’more Pizza and Fluff-inspired cupcakes from Kickass Cupcakes to fresh s’mores at S’mores Code and Fluffernutter sandwiches, courtesy of the Somerville High School Music Department.

Equally as popular were the outdoor patios serving one-day-only Fluff-inspired cocktails. Among these drinks were the Fluffjito, a reworking of the classic mojito by bartender Sean Farrell, a big hit at The Independent (recipe below). The drink’s magic ingredient, Fluff infused rum, was also a key ingredient of the Fluff shots they served up, equal parts Fluff rum and peanut liquor. Precinct featured three beers donated by the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, based in Somerville Massachusetts, topped with a choice of hops or malt infused Fluff.

The absence of the Burlesque dancing Fluffettes that that preformed in years past was sorely noted.

Fluffjito, by Sean Farrell of The Independent

2oz Fluff Infused Rum*
1oz Simple Syrup
1oz Fresh Lime Juice
5/6 Mint leaves

Place ice in beverage shaker then add in the rum, broken up mint sprigs, lime juice and syrup. Shake well and serve over ice in a high ball glass. Top off each glass with a splash of club soda. Garnish with a slice of lime and a sprig of mint.

*Add fluff to your rum a few days in advance and filter before using.

Check out my coverage of the event on Boston.com!

Originally published on TNGG/Boston.com.

The Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art is a turning point for the Museum, which now proudly boasts a truly encyclopedic collection of art. “Fundamental to our vision for the new collection of galleries is an emphasis on how contemporary art develops new meaning in our current moment and continues to be in a dialogue with the art that came before,” said Jen Mergel, the Museum’s senior curator of contemporary art.

The MFA has also re-tooled how they speak about art to make the new collection more accessible and create a dialogue with younger audiences. Contemporary art by nature is often nebulous and obscure, and in a refreshing change of pace, the Museum has made strong efforts to explain what all the Campbell’s Soup is really about. However, they’ve fallen a bit short by, as the Globe’s Sebastian Smee aptly put it, “patting people on the head” in a way that’s almost patronizing.

The Opening Party

Christian Marclay’s “The Clock” is the centerpiece — and arguably the most anticipated part — of the new wing, and its debut in Boston did not disappoint. All night long, until about 4 a.m., when these reporters sat down in the theater, the line was out the door for the 24-hour collection of clips ranging from the 1920s to the present. The work is possibly the greatest use of cinema and storytelling of the human experience the MFA has seen in years, and even in the middle of the night, when sleep threatens eyelids and droops chins to chests, it’s impossible to look away. “The Clock” was also better served by having a continuously full theater, forcing everyone present to involve each other in the experience.

Downstairs, in an effort to be “cool” (or something) was what looked like the adult side of a dance floor at your average bar mitzvah, where uncoordinated middle-agers swayed to Top 40 songs by artists like Cee-Lo Green and Beyonce. Yet the rest of the space was well utilized, with bars set up in two places and Amanda Coogan performing her piece “The Passing,” in which she walks up and down stairs for 24 hours. Students from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts perched themselves on the stairs and observed her, whispering to themselves.

Ellsworth Kelly: “Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red"

The Ellsworth Kelly piece “Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red,” which has been the focal point for most promotional materials for the new wing, didn’t disappoint either, and groups of party-goers wearing colors that corresponded with the piece posed for photos in front of it, an inventive way to really incorporate the viewer into the art itself.

It was shocking, however, that by the wee hours of the morning, so few young people were present. The adrenaline rush from the possibilities of wandering one of the world’s best museums in the middle of the night should have been enough of a draw for the college set, let alone the wing’s great collection — but it was a depressing turnout, especially considering the amount of effort put into promotion via social media (see below). The price ($50) was simply too high for a 3 a.m. party. If tickets has been $25 or less, there would have been a real bash to celebrate the art. (Keep your audience in mind, MFA.)

Gallery Themes

It’s refreshing to see 21st century up-and-comers like Cecily Brown and Mark Bradfordincluded with 20th century masters Picasso and Warhol, and hopefully this trend will continue as the MFA gets its hands on more young work. The Museum does an incredible job of shaking things up by organizing the new galleries thematically, to revolve around concepts and ideas, rather than in chronological order.

Gallery Wall Text: "Quote? Copy? Update?"

Arranging the works in these clusters makes engaging with them much easier and a lot more fun, yet there are some hiccups, specifically in “Quote? Copy? Update?,” a space in which artists pay homage to other artists. Sherry Levine’s “After Walker Evans,” a photograph of Evans’ famous Depression-era photograph is perplexing and a little insulting (a TNGG photographer wanted to “throw his camera at it”), as is a mini version of Warhol’s famous soup can. Louise Lawler’s photograph of Monet’s “La Japoinaise,” with the words “Is She Ours?” stuck to the wall is trite, and having the original Monet in the same room overshadows Lawler’s piece. That said, with the exception of these two works, the space is marvelously arranged and thought-provoking, specifically on the issues of reproductions and copyright.

The dedicated gallery for video and new media is a welcome addition to the MFA. Sigalit Landau’s Standing on a Watermelon in the Dead Sea is beautiful and captivating, but Carlson/Strom’s Sloss, Kerr, Rosenberg, & Moore, lawyers dancing about being lawyers, brings to mind Christopher Walken dancing in a similar setting (although that’s better). There are works on YouTube more deserving of a featured spot in this gallery, such as Rick Mereki’s Move, Learn, Eat, a fantastic piece that takes full advantage of the possibilities of film in the digital age.

Finally, and a welcome change from the stuffier plaques in other wings, wall texts and labels placed throughout the new galleries provide stimulating statements and questions about art. In addition, conversation cards, available at the entrance, ask questions and encourage visitors to look more closely and interact with the works. However, it’s a shame that no one thought to include QR codes linking to more in-depth analysis.

Jason Potteiger: “Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, Delicious"

Social Media and Art

The Museum really is engaging with people across social media and developing their digital presence. Still, their efforts are somewhat green and unfocused. An hour’s worth of tweets from Malcolm Rogers does not inspire a dash to Twitter, though his “Malcolm Minute” video was well done. And Boston.com’s stream of live tweets with the #mfaclock hashtag was nowhere to be found in the actual gallery, which would have encouraged attendees to comment and see other reactions.

The Ellsworth Kelly crowdsourcing project is interesting but lacks direction and a point. Visitors were “encouraged to make their own bold statement using the painting as inspiration and [post] pictures to Facebook,” but this didn’t really happen, despite our best efforts.

Most noteworthy is the Museum’s “Ask Us Anything” project, where curators post written and video responses to questions posed on Facebook and Twitter. This idea is fantastic and could prove to be an interesting resource for both students and casual appreciators of art alike. Unfortunately, it lacks a dedicated space on their Facebook and no explanation, or even acknowledgment of its existence, on their main website. Thus, this project will likely fail to gain attention or traction it deserves.

Co-written with Alex Pearlman. Jellybean art by Jason Potteiger.

Last night Mullen’s cafeteria hummed with near-frantic three-minute conversations between 20 somethings and CEOs, CMOs. The Start Something event hosted by TNGG for FutureM this year was essentially a speed dating event for young people and C level executives.

I had the good fortune to sit down with Dianne Hessen (Communispace), Lisa Hickey (Good Men Project), Rob Weisberg (Zipcar), Sean Belka (TEDx Boston), Jeff Janer (SpringPad), and Damien Smith (Yelp). Not to polish the apple, but even by the third round each and every one of them were attentive, interested and engaging.

The main questions I had for each of them were: (1) Is it possible to be too young to be an entrepreneur (that is, is their value in cutting your teeth in an industry before setting out on your own); (2) Is an MBA worth it/ necessary to do well? The answers to both of these questions were a near unanimous no and no. The latter was not shot down entirely, but those with and without were at best lukewarm on the value of an MBA.

Thanks to all the companies that came out to support the young people in Boston and TNGG, and thanks to TNGG’s Christine Peterson, Alex Pearlman, Celia Nissen and Edward Boches for organizing this event!

Photos via TNGG

“I learned early on, no sale, no commission.  No commission, no eat.”  

- David Ogilvy

My full-time job at present is freelance account planner. I find the majority of my work consulting for political campaigns, however, the summer of an odd year is the slowest time in this two year business cycle.

Some 45 minutes north of Boston I began working part-time for Test America (a division of CRG), a company that specializes in survey research via consumer intercepts.

It’s difficult work stopping people in the midst of shopping or leaving a movie, especially as the standard lanyard and clipboard scream: “I’m about to sell you a credit card and/or time share!” Harder still, getting people to give your their time is far more challenging than getting their money.

Ogilvy cut his teeth in door-to-door sales, and from experience we have Ogilvy & Mather’s motto: “We sell — or else.” I’ve found the first 5 seconds I spend with someone are the most crucial, my pitch must be disarming and interesting or I won’t get another 5 seconds. It’s sink or swim.

Then, equally as difficult, the actual selling begins. That is, persuading the individual this is something they actually want. A casual stance, a big smile and the ability to speak clearly and crack a joke helps, but really it’s about connecting with wants and needs.

For example, most people laugh at the $2 compensation we offer for our 20 minute survies on new movie trailers. Selling this survey requires a different angle. Sometimes I sell it as a fun activity to do with friends. Other times people like being the first to see something new. And for some it’s about having their voice heard by marketers and even the movie makers themselves.

So maybe it’s not entirely like Ogilvy, but it’s that type of thinking that gets me through the more difficult days, along with the knowledge that I’m learning a difficult lesson about the reality of making sales and human nature — literally on the front lines.

In addition to writing for TNGG, I also help with special projects. One of these is putting together graphics for our monthly theme weeks with my modest design skills.

Searching through CreativeCommons.org is the longest part of the process by far. I really feel for art directors searching through Getty Images for the right shot, it’s not easy and you need to get creative not just with the image you want but also with finding it. It’s not like they title and tag pictures with things like: “a visual metaphor depicting variety and eclectic interests.”

I’m self taught with PhotoShop and InDesign, which means I know just enough to get by when it comes to putting together a decent looking banner. Thankfully that’s typically all I’m asked to do. These are a few examples of things I’ve whipped up for TNGG.

Here goes.

Mr. Priebatsch, as a student of consumer behavior I offer the following observations regarding how SCVNGR might better appeal to new users and more actively engage its current user base.

The game layer can be better.

Points for checking in and leveling up, these features mimic the characteristics of video games in a cool way, but the SCVNGR platform doesn’t fully speak to why people play games in the first place.

I didn’t play Mario on NES for the coins and neither did you. My friends don’t play World of Warcraft to level up. There are deeper reasons we love playing games, especially virtual ones, and SCVNGR’s robust platform is well positioned to start tapping into these motivations.

Specifically, these motivations include: experiencing a narrative, overcoming difficult challenges, and direct competition. Tapping into these motivations could help broaden and deepen the appeal of SCVNGR.

Here’s an example of what I mean. After overcoming any obstacle, how good you feel is inversely proportional to the likelihood of success. The harder the challenge, the bigger the rush when you finally achieve success. This emotional core is absent from SCVNGR’s game dynamic. Tap into this, and you’ll be giving people a compelling reason to play (read more).

The game layer can be useful.

In terms of marketing to marketers, the term “game layer” sounds great. Framing SCVNGR as a game works very well in this space, after all Farmville is all the rage and gamification is what marketers want. However, as you know, from the consumer’s POV this framing can be problematic.

Many people engage with SCVNGR primarily as digital rewards cards, i.e. buy 9 coffees get the 10th free. This is decidedly less-sexy than gaming, nonetheless it’s a concept that people easily understand. They connect with the utility of the concept.

Consider the day-to-day problems people face and how SCVNGR could help solve these problems.

For example, it’s tough to keep track of all the cool spots around town that I like, and especially tough to remember when friends come to visit. If, at check in, I could tag places into favorites lists, soon I’d have my very own Best of Boston list with me all plotted out on Google maps. That’s real value in the form of utility (read more).

SCVNGR is a great company with a lot of potential. Keep up the great work, you’re changing the world. If you’d like to chance to discuss these ideas more I’ve just moved to Inman Square, the 1369 Coffee House there is a great spot.

Thank you,

Jason Potteiger

Originally published right here.

In days of yore location based apps were really cool, and it was enough for users to simply rack up meaningless points and win virtual badges. But as the novelty wore off many people were left wondering: why am I “checking in” again?

FourSquare and SCVNGR frame their apps as social, casual games, with SCVNGR describing itself as “the game layer on top of the world.” Users score points and level up by checking in and completing challenges. Cool.

Further, many people I’ve spoken with engage with these platforms primarily as digital rewards cards, i.e. buy 9 coffees get the 10^th free. This combination of gaming for rewards is good, but there is still much untapped potential.

Big idea: beyond deals and virtual points there are other compelling reasons for people play location based games. People like fun, but they like utility, too.

Let’s consider some problems people face in their day-to-day lives and how location based apps might pick up more users by offering innovative solutions.

Consumer Problem 1: Where are we going tonight?

Thinking about the user/customer, what benefits might compel them to “check in” beyond a free drink or racking up points? Consider the benefit of giving people the chance to build something useful for themselves. Perhaps it’s their own, personalized “Best of Boston” list.

• Dramatization: Saturday night at 5pm, a visiting friend asks where we’re headed tonight. My mind goes blank. Fortunately, on SCVNGR I’ve been tagging my favorite spots and new places I’ve discovered in passing every time I check in. Pulling out my personalized map/list I remember the new bar a few T stops down.

Take-away: It’s not all about rewards and points. Giving users a quick and easy way to build and maintain lists of their favorite spots around town provides a real benefit (utility) and it gives them another reason to play.

Consumer Problem 2: What was that new restaurant I read about?

Magazines like Stuff, The Improper Bostonian, Boston Magazine etc. are filled with reviews of restaurants, clubs, barber shops etc., but these spots are often tough for the average person to remember. Imagine the potential of placing branded QR codes at the end of these reviews. Scan these codes with X location based app to add the spot in question to a list of “places to try later.”

• Dramatization: It’s 8:30am on Tuesday, flipping through the latest Best of Boston I spot a new sushi place I’d love to try. I spot the SCVNGR QR code beside the review and scan it. Come Friday afternoon I pull up my list of places to try, remember this spot and make a plan.

Take-away: Yes it’s all game, but how can you make it easier for people to play? Think about the whole process, not just what happens with the user checks in: get involved with users during the decision making process and make that process easier.

Consumer Problem 3: Where are the best (dive, posh, affordable…) bars in my city?

We know that consumers are passionate about their favorite brands and they like getting involved (in fact it’s an expectation). Well, then why not let the sharing begin, as well as the competition. Opening up user-generated favorites lists (discussed above) to all users makes for more reasons to play.

• Dramatization: Thursday night, checking in at my favorite bar I see this message – “This bar is ranked the 3^rd best dive bar in Boston, do you think it deserves this ranking or not? Vote up or down.” Are you kidding, it’s the best. Hey David, get your phone!

Take-away: Location based platforms are (in part) social media, but are they really that social? Right now they offer little more than virtual guest books for users. Instead try facilitating more interactions between users, be it cooperative or competition based, they are waiting for the chance.

Conclusion: As an account planner, it’s my job to give the consumer a voice. Gaming is fun and rewards are great, but with the early adopters all adopted it’s time to think about normal consumers. Get them playing by offering as much value as possible, and beyond rewards you can offer value with utility. Start providing solutions to their day-to-day problems and you’ll be on your way.

Photo credit

Originally published right here.

SCVNGR has worked hard to frame itself as a game, i.e. users gather points for checking in and completing challenges (snapping a picture or answering a simple question). And, their new “level up” program allows repeat customers to earn more rewards the more they shop, er “play.”

But, these features are just mimicking the characteristics of games. The SCVNGR platform doesn’t fully speak to why people play games. As an account planner I work to see this from the consumer point of view and the game paradigm is missing something here.

Let me put it another way, I don’t play Mario to get the coins. I don’t play World of Warcraft to level up. There are deeper reasons that people love playing games, especially virtual, and SCVNGR’s robust platform is well positioned to start tapping into these motivations. In short these motivations include: experiencing a narrative, creating challenges that are tough to beat, and facilitating more direct competition.

Motivation 1: Experiencing a story

When people play video games they immerse themselves in a story. There is a character and a plot, and overcoming challenges such as solving puzzles, killing zombies, beating time trials etc. moves the story forward (more on this later).

SCVNGR applies no narrative to their game. And while neither does Sudoku, there is potential here for grabbing new users if we consider the power of putting people in the drivers seat of a really good story.

• Example: Zip Car runs a promotion for people to rent a mini and re-create Paul Revere’s famous ride. With a list of locations to visit and challenges to complete along the way, guide people through the winding streets of Boston’s North End to the small monument in Concord, MA where the British finally captured the famous silversmith.

Take-away: Good advertising is good storytelling. Games allow people to experience stories in a whole new way, the first person, and with SCVNGR this is literally possible.

Motivation 2: Hard challenges are fun

Beating Super Mario isn’t easy (at least not for me). Neither is the New York Times crossword puzzle. These games present a real challenge and overcoming it feels good. In fact, how good you feel is inversely proportional to the likelihood of success. Overcoming a really tough challenge = hell yeah, I’m awesome!

SCVNGR does not offer users this experience of accomplishment (even Soduku does that!). There is potential for motivating people to play SCVNGR by giving people the feeling they have truly earned their rewards.

• Example: City Sports runs a promotion rewarding those those who check in at their local Gym, and do so at a specific time designated by the user. Thus, it’s no longer about counting ceiling fans at checkout time, it’s about sticking to your workout routine. Further, it gets users are thinking about City Sports every day, not just when they shop.

Take-away: Games that are easy to beat aren’t any fun. People want challenges and they feel good when they overcome them. SCVNGR will appeal to more users when it can offer this experience.

Motivation 3: Competition is fun

Scrabulous is fun because you can challenge your friends to a game and play with them throughout the day or week in semi-realtime (the topic of my senior thesis). It’s casual, it’s fun, and it’s great for trash talk on Friday night.

SCVNGR does not facilitate this type of direct competition. I can see what badges my friends have and their recent activity, but that’s not competition. Building in clearly defined head-to-head competitions though, now that could inspire some participation.

• Example: “Jason has challenged you to Spot a Yankee! For the next 2 days on your commute and out at the bars snap a picture of every Yankee’s fan you see. Caps are 1 point, Jerseys 3 points. Winner gets bragging rights, and the coveted “Yankee Safari” badge.” 

Take-away: Competition can happen in many different ways, and it should be challenging, too. Some groups of friends actually build their relationships based around this dynamic (see Fantast Football).

Conclusion: It’s not my intension to speak poorly of SCVNGR, just the opposite. They have created an amazing platform that provides a lot of value to both businesses and users alike. What’s more impressive is the huge amount of potential that still lies within the basic concept of SCVNGR.

Photo credit