Steve Jobs Retires, What Next?

Just today morning i read the news about the resignation of Apple's iconic CEO Steve Jobs. I have never purchased any Apple product so far, probably will go for them in future. In fact the itch to get one has actually increased :) But anyway nothing is permanent in this world and everyone has to move on from one place to the another, from one position to the another.

Here's the copy of Steve's resignation letter which many people are terming as "iQuit" referring to the highly popular i-series of Apple products.

CUPERTINO, Calif.–August 24, 2011–To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know.

Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Everyone is unique in this world and so is Steve Jobs. Hope Tim Cook brings his own aura and freshness to the Apple world and keep on bringing great products in the future too. Goodbye Steve!

Is Twitter Advertising Really Valuable for Marketers?

Twitter has been quite aggressive in the past few months to prove that it is worth the valuation it has got in the recent times. Its valuation has soared to $8 billion recently which has made it many a critic’s target as it is still to come with any profitable business. According to an article published in Ad Age, by June 2011, it has partnered with more than 600 companies for their advertising campaigns.

The  article also shares a summary of advertising campaigns of four different brands: Unilever’s Magnum ice cream, CMT Music Awards, Zuji  Australia and RadioShack. All these brands have definitely got the results but if you see closely, the results are in terms of just Twitter metrics. These brands have got lot of followers, retweets and mentions of hashtags but when it comes to the earning call, there are no results in terms of direct impact on increase in sales.

According to me, Twitter advertising in its present form is not compatible with the business goals of companies. Twitter advertising will ultimately be of worth to marketers or businesses only if they can incorporate some elements which lead to increase in sales and which can be tracked through some dedicated dashboard.

What do you think Twitter needs to incorporate to enhance its advertising solution?

What is More Important: Social Media Tool or the Idea?

Social media has caught a fancy of brand managers and marketers all across the world and India is no exception. But what has been seen by various agencies is that their clients rush to them with their own solutions rather than sharing their problems. Clients are more interested in creating an iPad app or a Facebook page or a YouTube video and so on and so forth, i.e. They are having their own perceptions that a YouTube video or an iPad app  will help them promote their brand or to meet their brand’s objective.

The reality is that they are not aware of the problems they are facing. Rather than asking the agency to this or that they should identify their problem areas and then share it with their agency. After going through your problem areas, your agency may suggest you to start an online community or a Facebook page or a blog or combination of different social media channels.

So the point is Idea is more important than the social media tools. According to your Ideas or solutions, you should choose the appropriate social media tools to implement those ideas. Again just by starting a Facebook page, a twitter profile or any other social networking presence is not going to serve you as there is no backing of any constructive objectives or ideas.

Start with objectives, define your problem areas and then implement the ideas you have on appropriate social media tools.

How Social Media is Adding Value as an Educational Tool

Social media is a great way to be aware about what's happening in the world around us. It is also a fantastic way to learn new things from our peers and online friends. It is no surprise then that social media can play a crucial role in the education in schools, colleges or universities. There are many advocates but more detractors to the role of social media in education. But i am of the positive view regarding the role of social media in education.

Image - swilmarth (via Flickr)

I had done a post earlier where i discussed 2 ways social media is contributing to the imparting of education. I would like to carry forward that discussion in this post. I was looking for some Indian examples where social media is being used actively for education but couldn't find it on Google. Probably an offline search is needed to find out. You are welcome to share any examples, Indian or Non-Indian in the comment box below.

Although i did find out one facebook page the purpose of which is to encourage fans to use their knowledge and skills to create and design products. The focus of page is on using electronics for bringing  joy and freedom to persons with disability and their families. On the way they also learn electronics. This is a noble cause indeed. If you to this page you can see members helping each other on various aspects of electronics.


Similarly i came across a very interesting collaborative online wiki maintained by the Singapore Management University (SMU) which mainly exists for the purpose of education of students. This is a very ambitious project which is updated regularly and shares the information on digital media in various countries around the world.

The best part of social media as an educational medium is that it encourages openness, sharing, collaboration & updating of information in the real time. The children in the modern age are growing with gadgets and modern technology all around them.

Companies like Educomp are encouraging audio-visual techniques along with educational softwares to 26,000 schools and 15 millionlearners and educators across the world! In that scenario it would be great to introduce social media for the learning purpose too.

I was reading about a school in New Jersey (USA) whose principal has nearly 12,300 Twitter followers and he is openly advocating the usage of social media for educational purpose in his school. To him social media is an enabler. We have to enable young students to use this medium in a productive way otherwise just by banning them, they may turn wayward and waste a lot of their time off school in unproductive activities.

What are your views on social media as an educational tool? Please share your thoughts or any examples you know of in the comment box below.

4 Social Media Tips From My Friends

Today i asked a question on twitter that what is the one tip you would like to give some one regarding social media marketing? I received replies from 4 of my friends on twitter. Here are they in the order i received them:

Image: respres (via Flickr)

#1. Anshuman

He suggested Patience as the key. And i agree with him. To be successful in any form of art, patience is required. And certainly social media marketing is an art which is being refined with every passing day.

#2. Gaurav

He laid stress on the need of your audience. According to him instead of talking what you 'want to', start talking about what your audience wants to listen. This is indeed a very valid point. Understanding your audience and communicating with them in their voice is the essence of marketing.

#3. Gagan

He had a suggestion more on a philosophical note but very much valid. He suggested to stay a social media marketing 'learner' rather than portray yourself as a social media marketing 'Guru'. Looking at the number of social media 'Gurus' gushing out from all sides, his suggestion only seems to be valid to me.

#4. Patrick

He had a very nice point to make that a social media marketer needs to be honest and transparent in his dealings with his audience as there's nothing worse as a customer or client than being purposely misinformed.  Adding to that i feel dishonesty can also bring a doom or bad PR for the brand, especially in the age of social media where news spread faster than you can think.

There are tons of tips related to social media, which can be shared. Do you have any? Please share in the comment box below.