Event Profile: SXSW 2018

South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas has become a cultural mecca for music and film buffs, as well as a place for hosting interactive events that cover a range of topics from everything new in technology, to entertainment and advertising. There is always a huge amount of news coming from this week-long event, so here is a breakdown of what we’ve seen so far.

SXSW Trust Barometer

Every year, festival attendees are polled for the Trust Barometer, which measures the general feelings those attending have towards technology, business, and media. The results of this year’s poll brought up interesting discussions, as there is a very low amount of trust in emerging technology, one of SXSW’s biggest draws.

Most of the distrust comes from a shift towards a need for more human elements in technological interactions, and a distrust in blockchain technology, virtual reality, and autonomous vehicles. Discussions about smaller, more personal social media platforms were held, as well as conversations about the widespread use of bots and voice assistants and how the reactions to these technologies have become more and more personal, with users sometimes treating bots as though they were chatting with another human being. There is without a doubt a need to shift to more personal communication methods and develop an understanding of how emotional attachments can tie into interacting with these responsive communication technologies.

Experiential Exhibitions: ‘Westworld’ and ‘Ready Player One’

HBO hit-show Westworld and Steven Spielberg’s ‘Ready Player One’ both partnered with creative agency Giant Spoon to bring the worlds of the screen to life for festival attendees. These immersive exhibits allow you to step into the ‘Westworld’ town of Sweetwater and the Oasis of  ‘Ready Player One’ interacting with environments, actors in character, and becoming a character yourself. Read a review of the ‘Westworld’ exhibit on Forbes and Business Insider and see a walkthrough of Sweetwater here and the ‘Ready Player One’ exhibit here.

Speeches

SXSW is focused on cultivating the creative and entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world, and each day speakers from convergence, music, technology, and film focused paths present their take on various topics. The hope is to generate meaningful conversations about the state of the world in each of SXSW’s featured verticals. Notable speakers this year include Elon Musk, Melinda Gates, Darren Aronofsky, Sadiq Khan, and Esther Perel.

SXSW ends this Saturday, so there is bound to be more excitement in the last few days of the festival. For more SXSW news and live streams of keynotes and other events, visit sxsw.com.

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Business Podcasts to Subscribe to in 2018

Continued education doesn’t have to come in the form of classrooms and textbooks, you can glean knowledge from many sources. One of the most popular ways to continue learning is listening to podcasts. Podcasts can cover a wide range of subjects from pop culture to politics to business practices. The following podcast recommendations cover topics from entrepreneurship, marketing, and business.

School of Greatness

Host Lewis Howes has overcome his share of adversity. This podcast launched in 2013 and has grown to be one of iTunes’ top-rated Business and Self-Development podcasts. The mission on ‘School of Greatness’ is to empowerer listeners to achieve success in the face of adversity, and he shares not only his story but the stories of the guests that come on the show.

Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do

Thom Singer started this podcast hoping to enable a new generation of leaders to use his knowledge of business relationships, sales, networking and more, including fitness, trends, and entrepreneurial spirit.

Product Hunt Radio

Product Hunt is great for the B2C business person, and those interested in current product trends. It focuses on physical products and how they’re created, the marketing behind them that turns them into global brands, and guests’ takes on productivity, management and investment.

Rocketship.fm

With big-name guests, this weekly podcast covers everything about building a startup from developing a product to finding and converting a customer base. This show is great for anyone in the B2B or B2C world.

The Influencer Podcast

Julie Solomon, marketing strategist, publisher and influencer hosts this show and brings in guests to talk about their experiences in the world of influencer marketing, as well as sharing insights into how to grow, engage with and persuade an audience.

Smart Passive Income

Learn how Pat Flynn author of The Smart Passive Income Blog uses all of his online blog and business strategies, as well as marketing tips and income sources which will help you take the next steps forward with your online businesses, blogs and more.

Copyblogger FM

In a world where content is king, it never hurts to strive for an improved approach to writing and content marketing. Host Sonia Simone and a rotating panel of experts discuss news, trends, and updates in copywriting, email marketing, conversion, content marketing and more.

The Science of Social Media

Buffer has a great blog, and the podcast they produce is just as influential. The content presented covers everything from the state of social media marketing, new algorithms, and third-party tools to maximize your social media management. This is a great podcast for everyone from beginners to the well seasoned social media practitioner.

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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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Vero: The “New Instagram”?

Social media platforms come and go as we have seen with Yik Yak, Bebo, Vine, and Ello. But there is a platform making waves right now that many are calling the “new Instagram”.  Vero was launched in 2015, and the app is quickly gaining popularity, recently seeing a flood of users starting to download and use the app, as many influencers have posted about their move to the platform.

Vero has positioned itself as the “True Social” social media platform, aimed towards those looking for “a safe, genuine reflection of their real-life relationships in an online setting”.  This is what you need to know about the “Instagram Killer”.

No paid or boosted ads

Vero has no paid advertisements, which clears up users’ feeds for posts from their connections and community. “You see what has been shared with you when it’s been shared with you. You won’t have to pay to ‘boost your post’, or ‘reach your audience’,” says Vero. That doesn’t mean that there are no ads, though. Companies can link to external sites, unlike the Instagram model, and there is an integrated “Buy now” button that can be purchased. Part of Vero’s revenue will come from a portion of every sale made on the platform.

First million users- free access for life

Currently, Vero is being offered for free to the first million members, but once that threshold has been reached, anyone that joins will have to pay an annual fee. This is pretty much common knowledge, but is perhaps the fear of missing out on this opportunity driving the platform’s spike in popularity? When the free accounts are spoken for and those late to the game must pay, there will no doubt be more news to be heard about this platform.

Connection types

Vero’s commitment to an authentic social experience is based on the argument that other social media platforms leave users with a false sense of connection with followers and friends that causes more intrinsic loneliness. The app has implemented controls that allow you to segment your connections so that users can share posts and interact with one another in a way the platform calls more natural. In the app, you can segment your connections into the following groups: “close friends”, “friends”, “acquaintances”, and “followers”. Each post you make can be shared to all or to a portion of these groups.

Chronological feed

In a world of algorithmic feeds, Vero breaks the mold by showing all posts chronologically. There is nothing that will cause one post to be promoted over another. Vero says, “We don’t curate it, manipulate it, insert advertising in it, or hold back posts. You see what has been shared with you when it’s been shared with you.”

Read more opinions about Vero here and here, and the Vero manifesto, then let me know what you think of this new platform.

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Turn Your Home Into a SmartHome. Without Breaking the Bank

Turning your home into a smart home is a fun but daunting task. Many of the concerns people have when starting their smart home journey stem from how expensive it is to outfit or retrofit your home for everything from automation to voice control. But starting to venture into the land of Alexa and scheduled lighting doesn’t have to break the bank. Get started building your smart home ecosystem with these ideas for a low-budget, high-tech home.

Smart-Home Hub

The key to getting all of your smart devices to communicate is a smart-home hub. The Amazon Echo Dot ($49.99) and the Wink Connected Home Hub ($69) are great lower budget options.

Smart Plugs

Give the appliances you already own and intelligence boost with smart plugs like these from TP-Link ($29.99). These smart plugs make anything a smart device when connected to the TP-Link app, Google Home, Amazon Echo, or Echo Dot.

Smart Bulbs

Smart Bulbs can be expensive and some, like the Phillips Hue, require a hub separate from the voice control system. However, you can purchase less expensive options that also have great feature sets. GE’s C-Life Smart LED bulbs ($13 each) are controlled via Bluetooth and when paired with the C-Reach bridge ($49.99) can be controlled with WiFi and pair with Amazon Echo or Google Home, and TP-Link’s Smart LED bulbs ($19.99) are controlled via WiFi and can connect to your voice assistant without a bridge.

Smart Thermostat

At just under $250, a Nest thermostat isn’t exactly budget friendly, but if you are looking to really control every aspect of your home, there are other budget-conscious smart thermostats out there. Take for example the Ecobee 3 Lite ($169), which can pair with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Echo, and other smart services.

Smart Light Switch

For hands-free or app-controlled lighting beyond the bulbs, the Belkin WeMo light switch ($50) can respond to voice commands and schedule your lighting.

Smart Garage Door

Don’t panic about whether you left the garage door open ever again when you upgrade your garage door controller. The Chamberlain MyQ Smart Garage Hub ($99) works with many garage door opener brands, and the MyQ app allows you to control your garage door from anywhere.

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Tech Radar: The 2018 Winter Olympics

For many years, the Olympics have a venue to showcase brand new and exciting technology and the 2018 WInter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea are no different. From robotics to virtual reality, there has been a multitude of tech-based headlines coming from the games which started on February 9.

Virtual Reality

Intel has pledged more than 50 hours of live VR programming making these winter games the largest-scale virtual reality event to date. 30 total events will be shot on multiple 180-degree cameras. This, combined with  Intel’s  broadcast partnership with NBC ensures a totally new Olympic experience. Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said at CES 2018, “Intel is integrating innovative technology to ensure fans don’t just witness the moment, they experience it.”  A mix of live stream and on-demand content is available in the U.S. through the NBC Sports VR app.

Drones

Perhaps one of the most reported technology headlines in PyeongChang is the use of drones. The opening ceremonies featured a record-breaking amount of drones flying together; a whopping fleet of 1,218 lightweight, LED fitted drones created by Intel that produce a light show that can only be described as a performance. Watch the drones in action: 

There are also security drones that will inspect ground and air activity in the area, monitoring with HD and thermal imaging cameras, as well as some with radar technology to watch for unidentified aerial vehicles.

Streaming/Broadcast

Coverage of Olympic events will be provided to the U.S. by NBC in 4K HDR quality, allowing for a significantly expanded range of colors and contrast seen by viewers. Viewers can also access Olympic events by watching on the NBC Sports app, or by streaming them on platforms that include NBC in their subscriptions.

Uniforms

Team USA’s uniforms feature a heating component that will help to keep athletes warm in the cold climate of PyeongChang. You can read about how the heated uniform works here.  There are also two Dutch speed skaters that are going to be donning the Samsung SmartSuit which calculates different factors that can help increase speeds to win gold. Watch this video to see the SmartSuit in use:

Robots

Robots can be seen around the Olympics providing a wide range of services from cleaning to translating. In fact, we’ve seen robots skiing, passing the Olympic torch and serving drinks. See how innovations in robotics are moving forward at the games here.

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Essential Guide to Instagram for Business

Instagram is a valuable marketing tool for any business, which many marketers have known since the app was released. We’ve seen brands leverage the community to build their influence and brand awareness as well as increasing sales. But in early 2016, a new feature was released just for these businesses. Instagram for business allows marketers to leverage real data and account insights as well as create ads and targeted posts.These tips and tricks will help you leverage your Instagram business page today.

Get creative

Show off what your business does by creating content that isn’t expected. Focus on the solutions your products can provide for your customers, not just the products themselves. Sharing insider views of how your business functions on a day to day basis, and keeping up with what’s going on in the world and relating it back to what you’re doing is key, as well as keeping in mind that Instagram is a primarily visual platform. That means you need to keep your posts clean and well composed.  

Instagram Stories

If you aren’t already using Instagram Stories to further your content, you need to re-evaluate and work them into your marketing strategy. Stories are a great way to share things that are going on in your company that may not be worth creating a full post for but are also great for showcasing events, going more in-depth about what your posts are about.

Create consistent and authentic content

The content you create can and should be beautiful on its own, but it also needs to be consistent. Consistency means making sure you’re posting on regular basis or on a pre-set schedule, but also that each individual post fits in with the rest of your content. Paying close attention to your color palette is key to this, as well as posting content that is consistent with your brand’s image and communication style.

Respond to your followers

Customer service is a huge part of owning a business. You wouldn’t leave a customer to sit with an unanswered question in person, so making sure you’re engaging with your followers and people commenting on your posts or sending you direct messages. Communicating outside of just the posts you make is huge for projecting a good public image of your business to the outside world. Let your followers know that you are invested in them, so they feel they should invest their time caring about you.

Targeting Ads

If you’re familiar with Facebook ads and targeting through the Facebook ad management platform, you’re in luck. Instagram ads (specifically for business accounts) are managed in the same place and are set up in the same way. This includes location, demographics, and interests targeting, which ensures that your ads are being seen by exactly who you want.  

User-generated content or contests

Engage with your customers by hosting contests, giveaways or other incentive-based “events”. If you have customers post photos with your specific contest hashtags, you can easily track engagement and participation. Another great way to include your user base is to post user-generated content, either by reposting (and crediting) others’ posts or by having a channel “takeover” where an influencer or other user is able to post on your profile as themselves as sponsored by you.

Instagram is a valuable tool for marketers, and it’s easy to get started today. See how this always expanding social media platform can help you grow your business.

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