How consumers are using mobile to shop IRL (In Real Life) is of paramount interest now that mobile has finally arrived. A few figures to run through. The first, below, describes what consumers report they want from mobile phone applications, for the holidays, in August 2011. A common behavior, well known to clicks-and-bricks retailers, is that consumers will research products before coming in store to buy them. This is especially true of electronics goods, but I suppose it’s conceivable they do it for home appliances, automotive purchases, and anything else that is generally of high consideration. Mobile offers the capability of researching while you’re physically in the store. And, since most stores are now ghost towns, it enables the consumer[…]

Web Analytics Wednesday is tonight at The Wellington, in downtown Toronto’s analytics alley. It’s generously supported by AT Internet. There are some 40 people – representing among the best of the best, who will be in attendance. It’s a great opportunity for web analysts, social analysts, marketing scientists, data scientists, hackers, developers, and usability professionals to come out and talk about the great ideas and opportunities we have going on in Toronto. It’s also the first get together after eMetrics New York, which was a major, and had big time Canadian attendance. These tend to be among the more interesting evenings. It has also been some three months since the last WAWTO event, so there should be quite a few[…]

19. iReddit: Good usability with in-browser support. Sit back on the couch and watch the world burn. 18. BBC News App: Excellent usability and good content refresh rate. No paywalls and full access. An excellent experience all around. 17. Exoplanet: Continuously updated with the latest exoplanet discoveries. Excellent data visualization and navigability. 16. Twitter: The official app is usable and more convenient than the web. 15. Wikipanion: Of all the Wikipedia apps, the most basic one is the most usable and detailed. I used to use Discover for the longest time, but ultimately stopped because of a lack in detail. 14. Kindle: All my amazon books in one place. Convenient and a huge depth. I tried Kobo, but couldn’t get[…]

Al Franken has asked nine very important questions to Apple, in light of the recent discovery that Apple iphones and iPads record your location and store the information in an unencrypted format. “These developments raise several questions: Why does Apple collect and compile this location data? Why did Apple choose to initiate tracking this data in its iOS 4 operating system? Does Apple collect and compile this location data for laptops? How is this data generated? (GPS, cell tower triangulation, WiFi triangulation, etc.) How frequently is a user’s location recorded? What triggers the creation of a record of someone’s location? How precise is this location data? Can it track a user’s location to 50 meters, 100 meter, etc.? Why is[…]

I cut the cable tomorrow. For specific firm, I will go from being worth a stable $170/month subscriber, complete with PVR, to being worth nothing. I’m switching my Internet to a non-UBB restricted wholesaler. I will continue to spend $10/month for Netflix. I will get my live TV with the “free”, Over-The-Air broadcast signal from CN tower, which I have a clear view from. Dedicated ad impressions will take a pretty big hit, as the number of must-see, full attention shows are less than 5. I can’t anticipate myself suffering through TV without a PVR. I can’t imagine deliberately exposing myself to an abusive medium any longer. That attitude ought to concern broadcasters and marketers alike. I’m not alone in[…]

A few very good discussions were had at Bar Wellington last night. It was really great to see Sascha back from London, even if it was only for an evening. We got into mobile analytics and I praised the recent of efforts of our Mia Umanos for working so hard with the Web Analytics Associations’ Research Committee and the mobile analytics project. Mobile analytics is not easy, but there are very large opportunities to demonstrate the value of the channel using the method. I ‘d like to see the ETL process for mobile analytics get better. I’d hope that those vendors would pick up where traditional web analytics companies have left off – and who knows, there might be a[…]

This posting is a continuation of themes found in the first mobile analytics post, and the second. Namely – mobile analytics is coming and it’s going to be really important before we really see it coming. The relatively light attendance at the mobile analytics sessions at eMetrics is fairly indicative of this. There are a number of mobile analytics providers out there, including Bango and Admob (Thanks Sarah!) Mobislim has a very good blog on the topic. One article in particular caught my eye. 79 people completed the survey And here are the results: 1) Is mobile advertising an important part of your marketing strategy? 73.4% said YES3.8% said NO22.8% said NOT AT THE MOMENT, BUT WILL BE IN THE[…]