Among the spectacular-ness of gestural is a way of navigating data (as seen in Minority Report). Here you can take tabular data and apply it to geo-spacial information so the data can be understood and made meaningful. The collaborative design work demonstrated is also amazing.

To paraphrase Underkoffler regarding his inspiration: We create and our technology is a combination of design and efficacy that allows us to do that.

HTML5 proposes to replace the need for proprietary plug-in based rich media software. No need for the user to download Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight and the like to see and interact with rich media. Rich experiences can be created and displayed to the user in HTML5!

Once adopted by all the browser clients such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and the like, you’ll be able to have a Flash like experience without downloading Flash.  Wow! on very many different levels. Some believe HTML5 could kill off Flash and Silverlight.

In terms of MOBILE, currently Apple, BlackBerry Windows and Symbian don’t support plug-in based rich media software – and that includes Flash. [However, it is worth noting that many iPhone applications are mainly built in Flash.] So while Internet Explorer “won” the browser war on the PC, MOBILE browsing standards are up for grabs!

See for your self what HTML5 can do! See: Sketchpad in HTML5 http://mugtug.com/sketchpad/ and YouTube serves video in HTML5 http://youtube.com/html5/

What does Apple have to do with this? Apple has been a big supporter of HTML5 as a web standard and in so doing has banned Adobe’s Flash from all its devices.  Fewer than two months ago, Apple revealed the iPad to the world. And while the company’s highly anticipated device included a lot of features, Flash wasn’t one of them. A war of words soon erupted over the multimedia plug-in, with Flash responding to Apple and Steve Jobs ranting about Flash saying “the world is moving to HTML5.”

If you’re building your websites exclusively in Flash – stop.

While HTML5 updates a lot of things, its main focus is support for web applications. The idea is that no longer will you need to write long, horribly complex scripts or Flash plug-ins to animate your pages. Support for things like image processing, progress bars, canvases an even Ruby scripts are built in. The multimedia tags are the most compelling. No longer do you care about clients having the right plug-in installed. You use a video or audio tag and add to that a list of different formats – MP4/Theora/Flash/etc and the client will use the first one it supports. No more placeholders for “install Flashlight” and best of all, no more being held hostage to proprietary formats.

For more info on the HTML5 revolution, I recommend exploring these articles:

Behind the Adobe-Apple cold war http://bit.ly/98iHqK

Flash versus HTML5: Virgin America breaks up with Flash http://bit.ly/did8vJ

Adobe Opens Up About Apple, HTML5 and Flash [VIDEO] http://bit.ly/c339dO

Comments are open!

We’ve come a long way in mobile technology since Nokia introduced it’s first mobile phone in 1982. Today, we know every business needs a mobile application but not many marketers know how to make it work for them. Yes, Mobile will opened radical new business opportunities and transform our economy in a way unimaginable in an earlier age, but how? Marketing and technology consultant Marina Mann will demonstrate how companies are successfully leveraging mobile to their advantage and show you how these apps are influencing the mobile supply-chain of carriers, developers, advertisers, publishers and users in today’s mobile economy.

Presented by Marina Mann, Consultant, Digital Marketing, eCommerce & Mobile; in Partnership with nextMEDIA and the Mobile Entertainment Forum.

[slideshare id=1574813&doc=mobileappsthatwork-090612121800-phpapp01]

The game-changing news is that Apple has done away with copy protection technology known as digital-rights management or DRM. “DRM-free” means music can be copied an unlimited number of times, to any device. It remains to be seen if this change in business model drives net new paying customers to iTunes (or those previously known as the pirates).

Well, ongoing research is demonstrating that brands that ignor iPhone application strategy for their products are, and will be,  leaving money on the table. In market research terms, iPhone users have now become their own “segment”.

Not only is the device a ‘game changer’ changing the way human beings percieve content, the iPhone is now its own marketplace. The App Store, controlled by Apple enables anyone to either distribute their own iPhone application for free, or collect fees for each download. Whilst Apple takes 30% of the sales revenues, the 70% revenue to the developer is appealing and previously unheard of in the mobile applications business.

If it’s time for your company to start thinking about your mobile application strategy, check this out. The Amazing iPhone is a free report developed by Kinsey Netmedia, a UK social media and mobile consultancy. It’s full of useful insight for iPhone developers and business owners. Most of the info is obvious for those living in the iPhone and mobile world for some time. Get it here.

“The reports starts off with an overview of the iPhone and the opportunities available on the App Store. A lot of it will be apparent to anyone who’s been in the iPhone world for a while, but it could make a great report to pass on to your bosses, clients, investors, or other people who need to get up to speed fast. It also goes into how mobile development was before the iPhone and contrasts it to the newer techniques.” As reviewed by TechCrunch

In terms of Web Strategy, if we plan ahead our vulnerability to variables is greatly reduced.

After the dot-bomb in 2001, many Fortune 1000 C level exec’s believed the Internet was a fad (I know because at Organic, we pitched all of them:).

Wait-and-see companies had communications websites. The leaders invested well, but handed over leadership to IT teams which created it’s own complications.

Now organizations are maturing their Web Channel by looking at it from a business perspective. As a result, strategic planning is critical to increasing productivity, creating value for your customers, retaining talent, generating more revenues and cutting costs.

Unfortunately, because many exec’s see themselves as non-technical – small, medium & large corporations seem to be approaching Web Channel Marketing from a tactical perspective. For example:

• The Board of Directors wants management to reduce costs and increase revenue by growing eCommerce sales/or reducing costs, but are not willing to make a significant investment due to lack of ROI

• Our website is confusing and hard to navigate – we’re not sure if our website is a communications tool or a sales/transactional tool – our BRAND is suffering as a result

• We have a channel conflict in terms of pricing and our Web supply chain is separate from our Retail supply-chain

• Management doesn’t understand the technology in place or realize how underlying Web infrastructure will impact the overall business

• We have too much content, too much demand for publishing content all over the place – our website reflects how our organization is structured, not what our customer wants

• Business teams complain that IT can’t get it done

• The Call-Centre CRM is separate from our website Customer Care and “My Account” support systems

• Sales and Product Marketing teams are focused on off-line product launches & marketing – there’s little common vision between the website and what’s being communicated on the street

• Processes are a mystery and things get done by a small group of people with next to no documentation

• We don’t understand the online customer experience – we’re lacking customer insights

• I’m sure I’ve missed a few…

If your company’s had a website for a few years, you know your website has become the confluence of your organization. If you’re going to WIN, teams must work cross-functionally because you’re talking to every type of customer you have, directly, one-on-one, every day via your website and you have everything to loose.

Often, in our haste to fix these problem we miss the opportunity to look at solutions in the context of a long term plan of action designed to WIN aka: Strategy. Here are a few tips:

• Start thinking about your website as a “Web Channel” and build it out with the same strategic thinking and investment you would for a new channel

• Integrate your Web Channel Strategy into your overall corporate strategy – don’t use the website simply an execution of your corporate strategy

• Set realistic short term and stretch targets – then measure everything!

• Plan to hire a VP or GM with Digital Marketing and IT experience – without a senior exec at the helm making change and WINNING takes much longer

• Organize your Web related IT staff under your new VP – otherwise, you’ll spend too much time and money on territorial wars and bad infrastructure decisions that cut deep into the bottom line

• Appoint a cross-functional Web steering committee and an operations evangelist who’s job is to facilitate processes across the organization – don’t let your VP get sucked into this job, keep her focused on strategy and driving Web Channel ROI

• Hire one or more Interactive Agencies – by keeping your Web team focused on the BRAND and managing Agency partnerships – you’ll reduce costs and get to market faster

• Invest in User Experience expertise, do User Testing and make everyone in your organization a Quality Assurance agent

If you’d like some research on how companies like Target and Macy’s have organized their Web Channel Strategy and Operations, email me marina at marinamann dot com and I’d be happy to share data.

How do you think a mature organization should handle the split between Interactive Marketing & IT?

The response has been quite varied and informative. Please see the replies so far.