Tech Radar- Mobile World Congress 2018

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain is a huge event, and it seems as though excitement behind the tech showcase isn’t stopping anytime soon. From the Galaxy S9 to new laptops, this is what MWC attendees got to encounter this year.

Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus

The Galaxy ecosystem has stayed pretty consistent in the designs the last few years, but the new flagship phone is freshened up with new features, from AR Emojis to low light photography, there is something for everyone, both on a fun and practical wavelength.

MateBook X Pro

Huawei does not have new phones that were released at this event, but the tech company did show off the MateBook X Pro, an impossibly thin machine with an all screen display, a webcam that can be stored within the keyboard, and specs that rival those of the MacBook Pro.

5G

5G has been thrown around as a buzzword for a few years now, but this year the hype was real. It sounds like we can expect to see carriers deploying the service and devices with 5G capabilities later this year.

Nokia 8110

Feeding into 90s nostalgia HMD’s Nokia 8110 slider phone is a call back to the Matrix’s banana phones, only this time with 4G and social media. Not to worry, you can still play Snake on this classic redux.

Asus Zenfone 5

The iPhone X was a key influence for smartphone design this year, from the software to the infamous notch on the top of the screen. Asus new Zenfone iteration, the Zenfone 5, is almost an identical twin of the iPhone X on the hardware side, but at half the price. The new model boasts a Snapdragon 845 processor, and a headphone jack, making it a powerful addition to the Zen ecosystem.

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Marketing Tool: Chatbots

80% of marketers are expected to be using chatbots by 2020. Personalized marketing is becoming an expectation for consumers, and chatbots are another tool to bring personalization to your audience. It is certainly fair to say that not every company will need a chatbot, and that some customers will not utilize or like the option of using a chatbot, but for ever-evolving times, it is important to understand this trend as it is, as it can be, and to fully acknowledge the pros and cons of using chatbots within a marketing strategy.

What is a Chatbot?

NBC defines a chatbot simply as: “simple artificial intelligence systems that you interact with via text. Those interactions can be straightforward, like asking a bot to give you a weather report, or more complex, like having one troubleshoot a problem with your internet service.”

How do Chatbots work?

A chatbot responds to a message just as a customer support employee would, but is available at all times. Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa are all examples of widely used chatbots. Chatbots are programmed with specifically coded responses to questions or can be built with AI and can, therefore, expand their knowledge base with machine learning.  When your customer asks a question or interacts with your bot, the responses that it gives are modeled to act like a real human response. Sometimes, a question will be impossible for the bot to answer, either because it has no prior experience with that question or because it is phrased in a way too complicated for the bot to understand. If that is holding you back, there are ways to program your bot to have prompts that might be able to get the bot and your customers back on track.

Why use a Chatbot for marketing?

Chatbots do more than just answering questions, they can also effectively drive engagement, make sales and nurture leads. Because chatbots built to use AI can learn, they can also remember details and have a more personalized and human interaction with your customers, something that is important as “nine out of ten consumers say personalization has an impact on their buying decisions, “ says research from LeadsCon. The evolution of social media and technology has played into the need to utilize big data in order to provide a more targeted and engaging approach to customer support and marketing.  Check out Hubspot’s list of seven brands using chatbots and get inspired!

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Tech Radar: What You Need to Know About Apple’s New iPhones

via Shutterstock

Apple made headlines with the announcement of the newest generation of iPhone, the iPhone 8, but also the addition of the game changer the iPhone X.  These are some of the key things to know about these high powered smartphones before they are released.

X is 10

Apple celebrates iPhone’s ten-year anniversary with the release of the iPhone X, which is pronounced as iPhone “ten”. At the event, Apple CEO Tim Cook says this is “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone.”    

Shipping and Purchase Expectations

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will be available for pre-order today (September 15) and goes on sale on September 22. The 8 starts at $699 USD, and the 8 Plus starts at $799 USD.  The iPhone X is scheduled for a later release date, available for pre-order on October 27 with an expected sale date of November 3. The initial supply is rumored to be VERY limited, so be ready to pre-order. The iPhone X will have a starting price of $999, making it the most expensive iPhone yet released, but the specs of the phone are worth the price hike, according to this Business Insider post.

iPhone8 and iPhone 8 Plus Highlights

The iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are a beautifully designed smartphone that will host one of the most exciting releases Apple has promised, iOS 11. The 8 and 8 Plus are water and dust resistant, with an all glass design and Retina HD displays. The cameras have been improved for better color capture, as well as for image stabilization and more, so photos shot on iPhone become even more brilliant. Outstanding Augmented Reality capability and wireless charging round out some of the key features to try out if you purchase an iPhone8 or 8Plus. Learn about more features here.

iPhone X Highlights

One of the biggest draws of the iPhone X is the all new screen design. Taking away the borders of past models, the OLED screen on the X is a 5.8 inch Super Retina display that takes up the entire front of the phone, and no home button. With new features like Animoji’s (animated emoji), dust and water resistance, Face ID authentication, portrait mode selfies and added studio quality lighting effects added into the improved cameras, an efficient battery and a first for Apple: wireless charging capabilities. Learn more about the iPhone X’s features here.

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Twitter is Dying, and Other Social Media Rumors

Social media gets a bad reputation for promoting the spread of fake news, but even the sites themselves get rumors spread about them. “Twitter is dying” has been a phrase that has been tossed around for years. The social media superpower has over 300 million active users, and more than 30 offices, so it certainly doesn’t seem like it’s dead. Find out what’s true and what’s false in the list ahead.

TWITTER

Twitter boasts a huge global reach and influence, but the reason people say it’s dying is because there have been numerous problems that have come up over the last few years. From issues with abusive users to leadership that makes decisions users dislike there seems to be a large disconnect between corporate decision makers and the users on the site. From a move to an algorithmic timeline (which introduced #RIPTwitter) to the potential introduction of a 10,000 character limit from the original 140 characters, taking away the core of what Twitter started out as, there is a general agreement that there is an inherent issue with how the platform works with those using it.  Twitter isn’t dead yet, but there have definitely been moves made that could cause a decline in use and eventual exodus from the microblogging platform.

VINE

The 6 second video sharing app and twitter go hand in hand. Twitter purchased Vine in October of 2012.  The short videos matched the short text posts perfectly, and the creativity began almost instantly. But the magic couldn’t last forever. In October of 2016, Vine announced that it would be phasing out its mobile app. This decision made users not only question Vine, but the longevity of Twitter as well.

FACEBOOK

No stranger to the rumor mill, Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg are under constant scrutiny.  There have been numerous claims that the platform will start charging for having a profile (untrue, but continues to come up), or that privacy and ownership of content rules will be changing (the site released a statement in 2012 saying that their policies have been and will continue to remain the same as they have always been), and most recently the rumor that Zuckerberg will run for president in the next election (which he denies).

SNAPCHAT

Snapchat is one of the most popular photo sharing apps, and as such has been in the news for all sorts of reasons, good and bad. New features, the whispers that the introduction of Instagram Stories has hurt the quick sharing app, an IPO which many are calling a flop, and the rumor that the apartment spaces the company was using as offices in LA were not being lived in, not complying with regulations. Snapchat is known for secrecy, but when the entire world is online, no one is immune from rumors.

What social media rumors have you heard over the last year?

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Why Email Marketing Shouldn’t Be Forgotten

Since the beginning of the internet, email has been one of the top ways we communicate. Regardless of the inception of chat apps, texting, and social media, email usage consistently grows each year. Despite these statistics, email marketing isn’t the main focus of many businesses, which is a shame for many reasons. With email marketing you can grow your business easily. Not convinced? Check out these reasons why email marketing should be a part of your marketing and sales strategies.

Mobile

Email can be accessed in a number of ways, and with at least half of US cellphone users accessing their email on their phones along with the ability for email to be accessed on tablets and other mobile devices, email can reach customers on a much larger scale that incurs less cost than SMS marketing.

Coupons and Bargain Hunters

Sending special offers and coupons to customers through email can cause a hesitant buyer to go through with a purchase. Driving engagement with customers is one of the most effective ways that email drives sales. Free shipping, and “buy one, get one” offers are shown to be the most attractive to customers, and with these offers you can increase conversion even within time constraints.

Versatility

Because email marketing is such a customizable marketing tool, it is extremely easy to not only use it for multiple purposes but also to combine it with the rest of your marketing tactics. Creating an integrated marketing strategy with email is one of the easiest ways to maintain the strength of your marketing efforts.

Investment

A recent study found that 85% of US retailers consider email marketing one of the most effective ways to reach customers. With the ability to reach gigantic numbers of customers for a very low price, matched with the effectiveness of this tactic, it’s no wonder that businesses feel that email marketing is worth so much. If doing email blitzes on your own sounds daunting, there are many tools that you can use to develop a highly effective email campaign. These are some of the top resources on the market.

1. MailChimp
2. Constant Contact
3. HubSpot

How have you used email marketing to grow your business? Do you have tools to make it easier? Let me know in comments!

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2017 Tech Roundup

Nintendo Switch

Gaming giant Nintendo’s newest console the Nintendo Switch is a system that adapts to almost any type of play. Designed for both portable use and home use, the Switch was launched in March 2016, along with the highly anticipated game “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”. The Switch comes with what is called “Joy-Con” for flexible gameplay. See this adaptable console in action in this video. After the Switch’s launch, there have been 2.74 million units sold worldwide.

Samsung Galaxy S8 (and Galaxy S8+)

After the fiery demise of the Note 7, Samsung needed to release a phone that will make consumers forget the past and focus on the future. The Galaxy S8 does exactly that. With an aptly named “Infinity Screen” the display on these phones is huge, clear and refined. Available for around $750 for the S8 and $850 for the S8+, these phones are pricey, but there is enough excitement surrounding them, that many are calling it one of the best on the market. Boasting a great battery life, camera and build, it’s no wonder people are excited for this highly anticipated smartphone.

Microsoft Surface Laptop

Launched May 2, the Surface Laptop is the newest product in Microsoft’s Surface product line. However, rather than the past Surface devices, this is a laptop, pure and simple. No detachable keyboard and tablet construction. But the best parts of Surface devices past are still around. The responsive touchscreen, a fabric alcantara keyboard, and Surface Pen compatibility. Running on the all new Windows 10S operating system, this new laptop is a high powered and beautiful device.  

Apple Rumors

Apple will be releasing multiple new items this year, including new iMacs, iPads, Apple Watches, MacBooks, Apple TV, and maybe most anticipated the iPhone 8. There are currently no set dates for release, but there is a great deal of speculation over what each of these products will do, look like, and even more. Check out Macworld’s full list of update speculations.

Keep checking in for more tech news and updates.

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7 Hacks To Becoming Instagram Famous

Instagram is undeniably one of the largest social media platforms in the world. With some of the highest returns on engagement and reach,  having a strong Instagram page can be a game changer for brands and businesses. Here are a few hacks on how to get an influential account.

Develop A Unique Instagram Style

One of the biggest difficulties is being to find your specific niche. Standing out on in a sea of Starbucks unicorn frappuccinos and scenic sunsets isn’t the easiest, but try. Be fresh, be fun, be you!

Descriptive Captions

Long detailed and well written captions highly increase engagement. Storytelling is an art, and coupled with great photos it has given brands like @NatGeo and @HumansOfNY a cutting edge. This won’t work for all brands but for those with a strong and definitive voice this could be the added boost.

Creative Hashtagging

Twitter might have popularized hashtags but Instagram has taken it to the next level. Each picture should have a mix of both broad and specific hashtags to generate the most reach. Take those specific hashtags created for you or your business and promote them as you would your tagline. Have hashtags on your website, social media bio etc, make them a part of your brand.

Bio URL

Instagram has only ONE coveted direct link on its entire page and it can be found in the bio. Where do you want your followers and potential customers to go? What do you want them to do? Feel free to change the link often to see what works best and to add variety.

Participate in Relevant Conversations

You don’t have to keep up with all the new dance moves and new unicorn trends, but keeping up with industry specific news is important. Keeping up with trends can get a bit exhausting, but a little extra snooping can lead to free PR by riding the coattails of a viral new trend!

Get Local

Making a big splash is easiest in small ponds. Reach out to local businesses, creatives, and markets. Networking with local industry professionals is great for marketing, making connections and gaining clout!

Influencer Marketing

Last but not least let’s not forget the latest and biggest marketing trend, influencer marketing. It’s one of the easiest and most targeted ways to reach your audience. Find Instagramers that have influence in specific demographics you’re looking to reach and let them do the work for you!

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Everything You Need To Know About India’s Smartphone Market

India’s population currently stands at around 1.3 billion people. That number alone puts them in the perfect position to be one of the most sought-after markets, regardless of what the product or service in question may be. Now known as being a huge target audience for technology products, India has reached new levels of smartphone use over the last year, leading the country to become the second largest smartphone market in the world. This growing segment of smartphone users is being heavily documented, especially this year, as there have been many changes that have caused this market to expand. These are the essential facts for getting to know India’s smartphone market.

Rate of growth

In a slow moving global smartphone market, with shipments growing only 3% last year, India is blazing forward with an 18% shipment growth. India’s smartphone market slowed in growth in November when the country moved to change currency to prevent counterfeiters and slow corruption. Because of shortages at ATMs and large notes being taken out of service, spending large amounts of money on a smartphone is not convenient for many, so it is expected that growth will continue to be slow during early 2017.

Device Types

With over 300 million phones shipped in 2016, there is a wide distribution of device types. Android phones are favored, but Apple had a huge win in 2016, shipping 2.5 million iPhones, a staggering number that was enough to put the device giant in 10th place in the country. Indian smartphone companies had a less impressive year. Their devices are still popular, but for the first time ever, the final top five brands featured no domestic companies. Instead, the top brands for the end of 2016 were Samsung and multiple Chinese brands. iPhones continue to rise in popularity, and the iPhone 7 is a favorite in the premium space. The best selling iPhone however, isn’t the most recent model, but older models (iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus), sold  to give customers a wide range of prices to choose from. This is not surprising, given the fact that in India, 70% of phones used by the general population cost less than $150, and the iPhone 7 base model retails at $649.

Rise of Chinese Brands’ Popularity

There are over 65 smartphone brands that are used in India. In 2016,  Samsung remained the most popular brand used. With that being said, the saturation of the market with Chinese phones can’t be ignored. The end of the quarter showed total shipment numbers of 28.1 million phones from these four Chinese companies: Vivo, Xiaomi, Lenovo, and Oppo Electronics. Combined with other brands in the country, Chinese devices make up 51% of the Indian smartphone market.

For those that are trying to introduce products into India’s enormously saturated and competitive market remember that there is a huge market, and with that an untapped growth potential; meaning that many will try to navigate it and seek to establish themselves as the leader in a market that has a tremendous amount of sway over global statistics. Keeping watch on this smartphone market’s trends will be key to major growth in the technology field.

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Best Marketing Apps for Small Business

Larger enterprises have the luxury of having several hands on deck helping with different aspects like marketing or sales. However, we all know that small business owners wear different hats, sometimes all of the hats. In order to streamline processes for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners here is a list of free easy to use apps to help with online marketing.

Asana

Asana is a platform designed to help businesses track work from projects, to conversations, to diversified notification types. The app is a dream for all the multitasking entrepreneurs that delegate or need to delegate work with their team. Streamlined processes and transparent work flow are some favorite features.

Google (Docs/Messenger)

Google Docs is a one of the most efficient ways for teams to share content. From slides, spreadsheets, documents, email and messenger Google is the one stop shop. Business partners and employees can collaborate and chat all in real time.

Facebook Pages Manager

Facebook is currently one of the biggest and cheapest ways to market your business online. Having a business page that is active and engaged is imperative for your business. The Facebook app is a simple and convenient way for keeping on top of scheduled posts, and answering direct messages from customers in a timely manner.

Twitter

Twitter has been having a pretty tumultuous time in the social media realm but don’t let that deter you. One of the fastest ways to go viral, easiest ways to be engaged with your audience, and staying in touch with current events is still Twitter. The app is one of the easiest to use with great UI/UX and a small learning curve.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the place to be especially if you run a B2B business. Although it can be difficult to reach an outside market, and despite ads being a bit pricey, LinkedIn is one of the most reputable social media platforms. It brings a large sense of legitimacy, and can help you find targeted leads. The app can have a bit of a learning curve but is manageable after a few uses.

Instagram

Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms right now. In the past few years they have added features that include business pages, live video sharing, and simple searchability. It’s a great place to showcase company branding and culture all in a sleek and clean app that’s extremely user friendly.

Fiverr

Fiverr is for all the entrepreneurs that sometimes need to outsource some duties. It’s an amazing marketplace to find nearly every kind of serve for your business for literally any price range. The website and app can be a little confusing to maneuver at first, as there are quite a few moving parts, but it’s well worth it.

Canva

Canva is made to help all the design challenged entrepreneurs create practical, aesthetically pleasing and professional looking images for social content, print material or email blasts. Canva has created templates for beginners and opened up a platform with enough artistic freedoms to those with a better understanding of design, or those who want to to learn.

MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the world’s largest email marketing services. Email marketing is still considered one of the top tools in the marketing world, and MailChimp makes the process of sending out those campaigns easier than ever. With an easy to navigate website and app, Email marketing is made accessible even for beginners.

Mashable

Mashable is one of my favorite websites for keeping your ear to the ground as it relates to all things business, tech, social media, popular culture and where they all collide. Keeping up with the times is a great way to stay ahead of popular trends, find curated content and stay engaged with your customers.

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Marketing Trends To Notice In 2017

Every year it is important to take an inventory of your marketing strategy and see what you can be doing more of, doing better at, or even try out some new trends that may surprise you. This list is a compilation of strategies that may be familiar and some that may be new additions to your marketing toolbelt, but each will prove its importance in the coming year.

Mobile Marketing 

The major transition to mobile continues this year with an estimated amount of 4.77 billion mobile phone users in 2017; a number that increases substantially every year.  Mobile video, mobile optimized content, and complete mobile lifestyle integration is going to be the key to being on the top of your customers minds. With an increasing amount of abilities in every new wave of mobile releases, the opportunities to personalize, get immersive and expand your reach are there and waiting to be utilized.

Live Streaming

If you’re on Facebook or Instagram you have probably seen the notification that someone you know, or a brand you follow is doing a live video. The growth in popularity of live video is a great thing to take advantage of especially if you have the ability to use live content to showcase products, services, or even just to organically connect to your followers.

Virtual Reality/ Immersive Marketing

Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR, 360 campaigns. These are all becoming more and more synonymous with marketing. Companies are showcasing their abilities in ways that were never before possible. Movie advertisements are allowing audiences to become one with the film, and gaming is on a new level of interaction. If you feel this could be useful and you haven’t yet tried to see the payoff, 2017 could be the year to do so.

Content Marketing

Once again this year, content is key. Find the most relevant and useful information for your followers and run with it. The face of your content will be ever changing however, so don’t mistake this for a one and done strategy. Plan to come back and evaluate your strategies, plan new content and customize it to the platform you are using, whether it is social media, VR, live content or content on your site, email blasts or print marketing.

Chatbots

Customer service question? Try implementing a chatbot right on your site to answer any questions that your customers may have when visiting your site. Increase engagement with what ends up being a 24/7 customer service representative. Chatbots are still in the very beginnings of their development, so don’t expect them to be the most knowledgeable resources or even have the ability to answer everything thrown their way.

Native Ads

Using native ads is a great way to integrate content and advertising. An organic approach to marketing,  generally ads look exactly like your content, are extremely targeted and exist to be informative, useful and bring attention to your business without breaking up what the user is seeing with obvious ads spread out within your content. This is sure to become one of the major ways to market this year.

Are you looking to update your marketing strategy? Share what changes you are making or how these trends have worked for you in the comments below.

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The Secret to Building Your First 100 Twitter Followers

I regularly speak to clients, business contacts and people at our conferences who want to use Twitter more, or who have struggled with getting past the initial stages of using the site. If you are an experienced Twitter user, then hopefully you’ll still be able to share this post with friends or clients who are just starting out in building their brand or their own profile on the site. 

Getting Started

There are plenty of guides and blog posts that cover the basics of signing up for Twitter account and advice about how to use the site in general. Twitter has released their own Twitter for Business minisite, and Mashable have compiled a number of blog posts into a Guide Book.

I think it’s valuable to think in terms of building an early base of followers, since the flywheel effect comes into play beyond a certain threshold. I would pick the number 100 as a target where anybody can say that they’re beyond the ‘beginner’ stage, and where all the advice from the other guides becomes much more applicable.

Preparing for Promotion

If this is a brand new Twitter account, the first few tweets will demonstrate that you’re actually using the service and lets potential followers know what to expect. This makes gaining followers a little easier.

After creating the account, you should immediately try to publish a few interesting tweets. If there are things on your mind about your industry or area of expertise, then make a comment or two. You could make insightful remarks about your niche or publish links to useful or interesting content (though avoid promoting your own content at this stage.) You could even supplement these tweets with less formal comments, such as something funny, a comment about something that’s been bothering you, or just mention when the weather is going to change.

You can also share images and photos. When photos are shared through certain prefered services (such as Twitter’s mobile apps, yFrog, TwitPic and Instagram), they will be added to your own photo gallery. Thumbnails of these pictures will be displayed on your profile page, which will make your profile look more interesting and can encourage people to follow you. 

First 100 Followers

Depending on the existing influence of you or your company, your first 100 followers might be stunningly simple to find, or particularly difficult. I’ve suggested some straightforward ways to build this solid base of followers.

Your Friends & Contacts

The first batch of people you engage with could be coworkers, friends, clients or partners. Aim for people with whom you have a close relationship, so that you can simply email or ask them directly; friends won’t mind you asking, and you could easily pick up your first couple of dozen followers this way.

Your Blog

You can promote the account on your blog, by writing about it and explicitly asking people to follow you. (These readers can visit your Twitter profile to see the types of thing you’ve published already, and make a decision about whether to follow you.) Your blog should be a great source of followers, since the readers are already a self-selected group that trust you enough to subscribe and are interested in what you have to say: this translates well to having an interest in following you.

Email Lists

If you have an email newsletter that gets sent to certain people, you could use that list to promote the account as well. If you have separate lists for different audiences, it’s worth trying to tailor your description to each of them.

For example, a recruitment company with an email list of HR Managers could tell them something like “We’ll be sharing new advice from our recruitment agents about finding and retaining the very best employees.”

Meanwhile, the same company’s email to job-seekers might say “I’ll be publishing the best new job listings on Twitter, so you could find out about the hottest opportunites before anyone else.”

Promoting your Twitter handle

You should also begin using your Twitter username on and off the web, so that people can find and follow you without you explicitly asking them to. There are many easy ways to do this such as:

• Include a link in your email signature
• Add your Twitter URL / Name on print media such as business cards and flyers
• Consider including it on any advertising
• Include a link to your Twitter account anywhere you participate online, such as in forums or when blogging.

Finding People to Follow

Through your regular use of Twitter, you’ll discover interesting and relevant people to follow. However, it will be important to find some relevant people to follow early on.

The focus should be on accounts who you are legitimately interested in following or talking to. For example, suitable accounts might include:

• Interesting or well connected people from your region
• Local companies, restaurants, events, etc.
• Other accounts focused on your business niche
• People with similar interests to you, etc.

Three particular methods for finding these people are listed below:

1. Twitter Search

Twitter’s advanced keyword search tool (more details below) will let you find people who are tweeting about particular topics. It also allows you to restrict your search to a geographic area. For example, I might look for “seattle mariners” or “520 bridge” to find people have an affiliation with or live in my area.

2. Twitter Lists

The official ‘Lists’ feature allows you to view user-generated lists of account. Finding lists created around a particular topic may give you a selection of people worth following. (TheNextWeb has more information about Twitter lists.)

You can find the lists that a particular user has created by following the ‘Lists’ link on their Twitter page.

3. Third Party Services

There are numerous third-party sites to help discover users on Twitter. We also recommend third party services such as Listorious, WeFollow and Twellow to search for relevant groups of people.

One of the most useful services, FollowerWonk allows you to search the profile bio text of Twitter users, which can help to find users in particular niches or local regions.

Sharing Content

There will be two distinct types of tweet that you publish. The first type is one which you decided to write, independent of others. The second are is reactive to what else is happening on Twitter. Early on, I recommended that you post tweets of the former at least once or twice a day. These updates could include:

• A comment from you that demonstrates expertise of thought leadership in some aspect of your niche
• A link to news or blog content that your followers might find interesting
• Photos that are either taken yourself or found online

In addition to creating content, it is important to engage with users more directly. At minimum, this should include checking and responding directly to direct messages (DMs) and @ mentions from other users. (The @Connect link on the site lets you see people who have mentioned or responded to you. In addition, various smartphone apps will alert you when someone mentions you in a tweet.)

We recommend checking relatively frequently and responding to these messages quickly. Whether people are asking you a question or just mentioning you, a quick response will be well received by the other person.

Other Conversations

In addition to seeing things that people have said explicitly to you, scan through the content posted by the people you follow. Are there interesting posts that you would like to comment on, or conversations that you’d like to join? Go ahead and respond to anything that people have posted.

Remember that people on Twitter don’t mind receiving responses or comments from people they’ve not talked to or met before. Don’t feel you have to stick to any off-line social conventions about butting in to a conversation: this is Twitter, and people have only posted content looking for a reaction or response.

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Google’s Tango Goes Beyond Augmented Reality

Google is well-known for working on highly exploratory products and services. From internet-carrying balloons to cars that drive themselves, and everything in between. One such innovation is Tango, developed by a team led by computer scientist Johnny Lee, a core contributor to Microsoft‘s Kinect, which is part of the same ATAP division that’s currently working on bringing us the first truly modular smartphone.

With the recent announcement from Lenovo that its first Tango-equipped phone is finally on the market, you’re probably curious as to exactly what it is.

To explain Tango in its most basic form: it’s giving devices the ability to see and understand their surroundings in a similar way to how we do. That means building a custom set of sensors and a processor that can connect the various sources of information, and understand it all.

There are three main parts to the Tango technology. First is the motion tracking technology. Using a motion tracking camera, 3D depth sensor, accelerometer, barometer, gyroscope and GPS, a Project Tango-compatible device can tell where it is, and how it’s moving within a specific space or area and which way it’s pointing.

When combined with the second and third features, depth perception and area learning, it can understand the space you’re moving with great accuracy. So if you’re holding it while walking through a narrow corridor and turn a corner, it remembers where you’ve come from and tracks where you’re going. It can even tell where the walls are, and how close you are to specific objects.

Perhaps more impressive within the depth perception is that it can tell whether an object is small and close, or far away and large. It calculates both distance between you and the object, the object’s size, and where it sits in relation to other items in the area

Together, these generate data about the device in “six degrees of freedom” (3 axes of orientation plus 3 axes of motion) and detailed three-dimensional information about the environment.

How To Use Tango

There are a couple of key uses for this kind of technology that Google has listed so far. For the average consumer, augmented realityis going to be one of the biggest draws for this technology. Because its sensors are so advanced, it can use the cameras to detect the surroundings, and then place virtual items in the scene in relation to the real life physical objects. So, you could see, virtually, how a desk or coffee table in a room to see how it would look, or more interactive gamified items.

There are a few games already developed for Project Tango, one of which is called Bullseye’s Playground which essentially builds an entirely virtual 3D world modelled on a building’s physical layout. Users can then interact with characters or throw snowballs and find various surprises on the way. Google partnered with Target in the States to offer an in-store experience to its walk-in customers using this app.

Project Tango will also let users measure objects accurately. You could measure a table, as an example, using augmented reality to draw a joining line between one end and the other. And, because of its motion tracking and area learning technology, you don’t have to hold the device completely still. It can recognize and measure an object regardless of how far away it is, or even if you move during measuring.

What’s more, because it can detect surfaces and knows and measure angles etc. it knows how, and what angle, to place the virtual objects. As a basic example, it knows how to orientate a virtual object to lie on a horizontal surface, like the floor, and it can place items on a vertical surface, like a wall or a chair leg. You can also move your device any which way because it remembers where those surfaces were and where you placed the virtual items.

Tango can also be used to accurately map indoor locations, potentially expanding Google Maps’ knowledge to reach inside buildings. So if you’re in a particularly huge shopping centre and it’s been mapped using Google’s Tango, you can easily find your way using your smartphone.

From a business and enterprise standpoint, Tango could be incredibly useful for estate agents, building surveyors, architects or interior designers who want a more visual way to measure buildings.

Supported Devices

As of right now, there are two devices available to buy with Tango support, and that’s the tablet development kit and the Lenovo Phab2 Pro smartphone. The tablet isn’t the most impressive device spec-wise, but it’s been made primarily so that developers can build apps and programs that make the most of the project’s capabilities.

With the Phab 2 Pro, which is now selling for $499, Lenovo and Google are trying to prove that AR can and should become an integral component of modern smartphones. Lee thinks of Tango’s technology much like GPS, which transformed the utility of mobile phones and, years later, helped give birth to services like Uber. If augmented reality is equally transformative in letting our devices understand physical spaces and “see” the world, it could help reshape entire industries, from gaming to retail to real estate.

Until there’s more devices out there with Tango tech, and that’s not happening until next year, at least, this all feels very much like an experimental test phase for AR. But developers don’t seem too discouraged. That’s both because Pokémon Go proved there’s an appetite for these type of mobile experiences, and Google is convinced it’s only a matter of time before every phone makes the jump to 3D mapping.

“This is something that is not going to go away,” says Legacy Games CEO Ariella Lehrer, whose company is making a kid-friendly zombie game called Crayola Color Blaster. “This ability to understand space is coming, and I think the market is going to be very large.”