Wimbledon Turns Digital With Twitter

It’s that time of the year again when we can watch the world’s best tennis players appear at Wimbledon, one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments.

Unfortunately, the defending champion, Andy Murray is already out of the tournament after getting knocked out earlier in the week. Although this isn’t the only major talking point of the tournament, in fact, this year is set to be the most social Wimbledon ever.

Organisers of Wimbledon are turning to Twitter to help bring fans closer to the action than ever before. Last year social media went into overdrive, especially during the final which saw Andy Murray win the tournament, but this year there is a huge focus on user-generated content.

Members of the public can tweet updates, photographs and votes which will appear on the big screens at Henman Hill (or Murray Mound). There will be a whole host of match-based questions posted throughout the tournament which will prompt the public to get involved.

That’s not all – the organisers are also working with video player Grabyo which will provide video replays of different moments in the games on Twitter. We are likely to see highlights from Centre Court as well as players celebrations, impressive rallies and crowd reactions.

Wimbledon’s adoption of Twitter started on June 23rd when Andy Murray first stepped out onto Centre Court in an attempt to retain his title and the social hashtag to use was #WelcomeBackAndy. Those who got involved were in with a chance of winning one of five digital images of Andy when he won Wimbledon last year, signed and inscribed with a message from him personally.

There is an ongoing competition people can still get involved with too, which gets people to take their best ‘selfies’ and post them to Twitter on a daily basis for a chance to win some prizes and goodies from the official Wimbledon shop.

Although Andy Murray is out, Wimbledon organisers are still optimistic this will be the most social tournament to date. So, if you want to get involved, make sure you tweet the handle @Wimbledon and use a relevant hashtag, or even send in your selfie from Henman Hill.

The Rise And Fall Of Flappy Bird

It’s simple, it’s frantically annoying to play and everyone has been talking about it; it’s Flappy Bird.

The most successful game of 2014 so far came, it conquered and now it’s gone again, because its creator couldn’t handle the popularity.

The short-lived success of Flappy Bird was clearly underestimated by Vietnamese creator, Dong Nguyen, after making him around £30,000 a day through advertising. During its short life span it managed to collect over 50 million downloads which all became a bit too much for Dong, who said via his Twitter page: “I can’t take it anymore!”

This deceptively difficult app that involved trying to manoeuvre a small pixelated bird through pipes using a retro style, one-button tap control exploded out of app stores similar to Temple Run, Candy Crush Saga and Doodle Jump thanks to social media spreading it around like wildfire. In fact, #FlappyBird was trending on Twitter with people sharing images of how far they managed to travel and there were hundreds of YouTuber’s venting their anger at how difficult it was to get past a certain level.

Although this app was taken down by its creator there have been some rumours about another version hitting the app stores, which we’re sure is music to many Flappy Bird-addicts’ ears. The original version is no longer available to download from any app store but if you really want to get your hands on a copy, there are hundreds of listings on eBay that are selling for thousands of pounds because they are fitted with the game.

With apps like this one being such a short-lived success and with similar success from Candy Crush, Temple Run and so on, it seems that apps are no longer built for longevity but purely for a quick craze. What does this mean for future gaming apps?

Who knows which app will explode onto our smartphones and tablets next but hopefully its life will last longer than a quick flap of Flappy Bird’s wings. Our bet is the next phenomenon will be something simple, easy to use and highly addictive, what about you?

Instagram Introduces Video

Vine has already established itself as the top dog of video-sharing with friends, but with Instagram introducing video it seems Vine may have to rethink its strategy.

Instagram is hoping for a share of the spoils and has added a 15 second video share feature to its already impressive photography-sharing social network.  Compare this to Vine’s 6 second snippets, and Instagram might just be one step ahead.

They may have this in common, but there are a number of features they aren’t so similar on. Instagram has a more mass market type appeal, whereas Vine is very much channelled towards a niche, creative-focused market.

Instagram was acquired last year for a deal worth $1 billion and it was none other than Facebook who managed the scoop.  Originally starting as purely photo-sharing, this app has now advanced into video, which could see it becoming the next big thing in the social networking realm.

This newly provoked competition should get plenty of people excited though, as it does mean we could have a lot to look forward to.  With the two fighting against one another, we can expect a lot more to happen over the coming months and many more features to be announced.

The competition could be even deeper than just Vine and Instagram though as this move for Instagram could well mean an even fiercer fight between Facebook and Twitter.  What is for sure though, the introduction of video on Instagram will slow the growth of Vine to a certain extent, as many people considering joining it, will reconsider staying with Instagram for the same feature.

It is very unlikely that people will have an account with every single social network especially when they can get the same features all in one app.  It is common for people to become fond of just one social network and to devote most of their time to that app, instead of using four or more.

Another certainty is that time will tell.  We will see a conclusion over the coming months as to which app will be at the top of the chain.  Although, until that time comes, there is plenty of video’s, both on Vine and Instagram, to wade through in order to make up our own mind.

The Birds Are In Full Song - Twitter #music

We’re not on about a real bird in this instance, we are on about social networking website, Twitter, who has launched its new music app.

Twitter has exploded in popularity over the last seven years and has now turned an ear to music by creating a ‘music-discovery’ app. This app is called ‘Twitter #music’, which is a fairly ordinary name but there is not much ordinary about its intentions.

Twitter #music claims to ‘change the way that people find their music’. Although this may seem like a very bold statement on the outset, they may have just done exactly that. The app, unlike many other music streaming websites, has narrowed their focus in order to create a simple and accessible platform.

The app allows the user to collect music from nowhere other than Twitter, which means that there are lists for more ‘Popular’ music as well as ‘Emerging Tracks’. This is not all; Twitter #music also allows you to see what other people are listening to with the #NowPlaying chart of songs that get tweeted by the user. And just like the normal platform of Twitter, where it suggests friends you might know, it also suggests artists that you may enjoy too.

The reason this app is destined for success is because Twitter acquired a company called We Are Hunted, who are known for their helping hands in other music sites like MySpace Music and, more recently, Spotify. So it has a good pedigree!

This means that this app was not just quickly thrown together over a couple of months, instead they have built a team of people that know exactly what they are doing and have created something quite exciting.

App’s are extremely convenient and this app is no different. By simply clicking on an artists’ profile you can easily follow them as well as be able to see exactly who they are following too, which means it has a great exploration aspect too.

Although, it may be worth knowing that as it has only recently been released, it is only available in selected countries. Thankfully, the UK, US, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand are all part of this list.

What does "Second Screen" mean?

Imagine your regular night in front of the TV, your wife wants to catch up on the soaps but you want to know what’s going on in the football as you placed a bet on the score, you’re not a big fan and you don’t need to watch every second of the match but it would be good to know, as the match takes place, just how much you are in with a chance of winning. Your wife has kindly allowed you to channel hop during the breaks of her soap, but this is not a guarantee you will see the goals as (oddly enough) the footballers don’t wait until soap advert breaks to score, so you may or may not see the up to date scores.

This is where a second screen could help – you can fire up your iPad, iPhone or any other tablet or smartphone (or even laptop). You can then use dedicated sites or apps that will show lists of football matches with up to date results and scores and chances for you to see re-runs of the goals that may have won you lots of money with your bet!

The real power of second screens is to allow you to be interactive with the TV Program you are watching, there are very few programs that do not have their Twitter name or hashtag showing during the opening credits. This means that you, as a viewer, can discuss what is going on in the show, if you agree with something, if you are shocked by something or if you have something to share with other viewers of this program.

You will also find with some programs that you can go to their website and learn more about the characters in the program or more about the topic they have touched on, this can all be done on your second screen without you having to miss out on the program itself.

Basically a second screen is any device you can use to complement rather than replace your viewing – so pretty much any smartphone, laptop or tablet. A second screen not only allows you to interact with the TV programs you love, but it allows you to engage with this TV program and personalise your entire experience.

How having an App can help your business

First of all, what is an App? An App (short for Application) is a program that runs on a smartphone in the same way as installed software runs on your computer. It allows the user to carry out tasks they want or need to do whilst on the move using their smartphone.

We’ve all heard the huge success stories of Apps like Angry Birds and used common Apps such as Ebay or Twitter but how can an App help your business, no matter what size it is? There are three main ways a smartphone App can be used to help:

1. Marketing
As part of your marketing effort Apps can be very powerful. As Apps are only just becoming mainstream then the first companies to have an App in their sector can generate a lot of PR around this. A client of ours (www.wetherbyortho.co.uk) has done exactly that by being the first orthodontist in the UK to have an App. Also, in the same way as your website gets found by Google, then with the right setup, people will find your App (and of course your business) through the various App stores.

2. Customer Service
We all want to serve our customers better in whichever field we work. Have you thought how you could help yours without them needing to be in the office sat in front of a computer? Mobile Apps allow you to do this! We practice what we preach at Appware so as well as using web based project management software in the office we also use the associated iPhone App for this. This means that if I’m sat with a client I can give an update of exactly where we are with their project in real time. I can also make notes or add new tasks as they are requested so my team can get to work on them before I’m even back in the office!

3. Direct Revenue Generation
The types of Apps above are usually given away for free. There is of course the option to actually generate direct revenue from an App. This can be done in a few ways; you could simply charge a flat fee for an App, give a limited version of an App for free but allow customers to pay to upgrade and unlock any limitations, or support the App through sponsorship or adverts. The cost of Apps to the end user is relatively small (starting at just 69 pence) but the worldwide market is huge. With a great idea and good marketing then the potential is massive. For example, the original version of Angry Birds has sold over 12 million copies!

I hope this gives you an insight into the world of Apps. Feel free to ask any questions by getting in touch at www.appware.co.uk

Does social media really work?

At Appware we're increasing asked about social media and how it can work for a business. Is it a waste of time or does it really work? We've been using social media extensively for the last couple of years mainly via LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook to a lesser extent (as we believe it's more a business to consumer platform).

We don't claim to be "social media gurus" (an annoying self proclaimation we see all the time!) or talk about ROI (Return On Investment) and develop huge strategy documents and detailed plans around social media. We just get on with what we think may be useful and use it because we enjoy it. After all, when did you last calculate the ROI or analyse your strategy for talking to your friends who just happen to tell their friends and colleagues about your business? This is what we believe is the crux of social media, it's just another form of communication not an exact science!

We're often asked for our top tip for social media (especially Twitter) so here it is:

"Engage don't broadcast"
Would you walk into a room full of people you don't know, stand on a table, and then shout "hey everyone, come and buy my stuff!"? No, I didn't think so! So why do so many people do so with social media? Inevitably they broadcast sales message for a couple of weeks (usually via auto Tweets), get no interest, and then declare social media as useless. Rather than broadcasting, try to engage with people. Follow people of interest, strike up casual conversations, keep things interesting, be helpful, and use the plaform regularly (don't just Tweet once a month!). Eventually you'll build rapport with people just as you do in real life and they'll remember what you do and who knows, they may even send some business your way!

So you're probably thinking that all this is well and good but where's the evidence that this really does work? Ok, here's a real life example of how it worked for us recently...

We recently changed our office phone number and I was running low on my old boring standard business cards so I started coming up with some ideas for something a little different. I wanted to try and create a card that would stand out from the crowd, get across what we do, include my photo to help with the offline networking events I attend, and include a QR code so smartphone users could easily save off my details. I eventually came up with the idea of making the business card look like a smartphone with the front looking like a screen with me calling, and the back of the card including my details and QR code. I then discussed the concept with my design team who came up with the final graphics as follows.



I had previous been recommended Moo.com by a couple of people but something that really helps make the card look much more realistic was the ability of Moo.com to produce round cornered business cards (as a standard option).

Once my shiny new cards had arrived I'd posted up some photo's on Flickr and Twitter and the reaction to the card was fantastic. Almost immediately it gained us new business purely from people remembering the cards, what we do, and passing on our details. What happened next was the most amazing thing though. Moo.com picked up on the buzz around the card on social media and contacted me directly as they loved the idea and wanted to feature it in their newsletter. A few days later they sent this out to over 350,000 subscribers worldwide and over the next week we got over 25 sales leads generated from this! And some people still say social media doesn't work...

Thanks

Richard