Altimeter released a great report on where Mobile Retail stands right now, and reviews a few of the missteps as well as the inroads companies have made trying out mobile in retail.

Some successes include Starbucks, a mobile pay and use-tracking solution I personally use often because it works so well (though I don’t tend to use their mobile play app to animate their cups – it suffers from accuracy and lag issues).

I also liked the notes Altimeter made about how online retailers such as Amazon are causing ripples in the offline space and pushing brick and mortar retailers out of their comfort zone.

I’ve embedded the Altimeter report for you below – it has some good information you can put to use right now if you are thinking of adding a mobile strategy to your retail store.

Tune in next week (and every Wednesday in February) to ask me your questions!

• OK everyone thanks for all the questions, and thanks to Leslie Poston for answering them!
  by Kevin Clay/WMUR Staff 7:53 AM
• There is no certain way of knowing how much info sites like Facebook have about you. There are many lawsuits in effect right now all over the world where people are trying to force Facebook, in particular, to disclose that information.A safe assumption is that any info you type in (e.g. voluntarily give out) has been saved. I recommend clearing cache regularly, not using AutoFill in your browser, keeping backups of things like Google Docs, using OnePassword or Dashlane to create better passwords unique to each site, and surfing the web in incognito or masked mode wherever you can to protect yourself. 

  Remember: the exchange for your use of free services is your personal data – it’s up to you how much you give away.

  by Leslie Poston 7:50 AM
• Do we have anyway of knowing how much info google, FB, etc collect on our web activities?
  by Sean Mcdonald 7:45 AM
• How to use social media to get more customers for your business depends in part on what your business does. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach that will work well for any business.One example would be a restaurant: a good HTML5 site (not Flash!) with a great mobile version of the web site, Open Menu, an online reservation feature, a blog, share buttons so people can talk about you, and a Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook page would be great. However, that is only great if you put the manpower behind the effort – people expect regular updates and to be able to ask you questions where they are online. In the near future, Pinterest and video will be key here also. And please, put your hours, phone number and menu on page one – people on their phone or tablet don’t want to mess around trying to find that info.

  A doctor, on the other hand, has a lot of regulations to deal with like HIPPAA. Social media can help their business, but they have to be careful – same for any business that is regulated or that deals with children, health, legal issues, etc.

  Any small business needs a website (a good one – please pay someone to make you a nice one), good content, and some social outposts that fit where their customers are – this may be Google Plus and Facebook for one business and Vimeo for another – do your research or ask someone like me at Magnitude Media for help with your strategy.

  Have a schedule to make sure you update often once you get your social in place, and don’t forget to reply to the people who talk to you online. Do vanity searches and alerts for your business so you don’t miss chances to talk to people you might not follow yet.

  by Leslie Poston 7:46 AM
• How can a small business best utilize social media to get more customers?
  by Dave 7:39 AM
• Google’s new terms of service is a thorny issue for many! I look at it two ways: 1) They already had this layer of information about you (personal data is the price we pay for using services for free). They are just “consolidating” it to make your experience more universal across their platforms. In that way, they aren’t getting any “new” info about you. 

  2) This can create an issue for those that have kept their personal and professional personas separate on Google. If you are one of those people who like a clear divide and who use some Google tools for professional use and some for personal, you might look for other solutions. If you don’t mind the blurring of the lines, then you should be fine.

  Of bigger concern to me is how they have changed search. To get your old search results back (e.g. relevant search results), click the world icon at the top of the search page to turn off personal search, and then go into your Google Plus account and turn off the +1 results feature.

  by Leslie Poston 7:32 AM
• If you’re a business that relies on google docs for meeting notes and storing other info, how worried should you be about googles new terms of service?
  by question 7:30 AM
• Reciprocal linking is a bit of an old school tactic where sites would link to each other to help get more SEO traction. The issue there is that you could be linking to a site that you don’t endorse – a link implies endorsement. Better is to link to sites you really believe in and create good content around your business – then get it talked about on social channels, Links back to your site will come naturally without having to endorse sites that aren’t relevant to you.
  by Leslie Poston 7:28 AM
• Jane from Facebook: Recently I was asked to link my web page to others (unknown ) in return they will link mine to theirs and I’d I did it for 5 pages, iget the same plus deep links it was called 3 way linking. And it was free?
  by Kevin Clay/WMUR Staff 7:26 AM
• Pinterest and Gentlemint are two hot sites right now that are changing how we view the web. By making the web a more visual, curated experience. Currently, Pinterest is driving more traffic than Google Plus to product pages, which is a fascinating statistic considering Pinterest is still in invite only beta. At the moment I’d advise everyone to include not only mobile marketing and mobile active sites designed for tablets to their marketing plans, but to include a heavy emphasis on good photos and video.
  by Leslie Poston 7:25 AM
• We hear a lot about Facebook, Twitter and Google+, what are some of the other up and coming social media websites?
  by Dave 7:23 AM
• Skype is an excellent tool for customer service, especially if you utilize the video chat feature – it gives that personal touch to those customers that want to see who they talk to – but it’s not required, you can just text chat or call. There are plugins available to record Skype calls, Skype texts and entire conversations, but you need to install those before you embark on customer service via Skype. I wouldn’t use Skype without the recording tools – you need a record of your conversations for your business! The limit for a Skype video chat is small for the free version (I believe it is three right now – they recently changed it when Microsoft bought them) but you can have a paid account that allows you to have more people in video chat. You can have as many as you’d like in a text chat. The conference call feature is also three right now. Paid accounts can also choose their Skype number, their ring back number and other features.
  by Leslie Poston 7:17 AM
• I’m in Customer Service and I noticed some of our customers have a Skype ID. What are your thoughts on using Skype as a communication tool instead of email and how many customers could you Skype with at a time? Is there a pause button? : )
  by Kelly Crowley 7:16 AM
• There are stats out there on how advertisers used social media, particularly Shazam and QR codes. It’s a little long to post here, but if you check back on MagnitudeMedia.net Blog later today I’ll post several options for that for you that tell more about the metrics of the Super Bowl Ads
  by Leslie Poston 7:14 AM
• Renee on Facebook asks: Do you know if there are stats on whether Shazam or QR Codes are more effective driving traffic (likes) to a facebook page? Twitter account? Website? I’m particularly interested in demographics of who uses Shazam and who uses QR codes. Thank You.
  by Kevin Clay/WMUR Staff 7:13 AM
• No you can not see if people look at your Facebook page – that is a well known phishing scam on Facebook. If you see someone with that link on their wall it means they need to do two things 1) go into their privacy settings and revoke permission for that app and 2) change their password – they’ve been phished, most likely by clicking a similar link.
  by Leslie Poston 7:10 AM
• can people see if you’re looking at their facebook page?
  by Sean 7:09 AM
• I’m not sure why FB decided not to turn an edit feature on in their main updates, but you can edit two types of posts : a shared link (you can edit the description area in the link – the excerpt – by clicking on it once) and the comments you make (clicking the x once quickly after making a comment now opens an edit window). Both features only work for a few seconds after posting though! – I agree – I’d love to have a do over on my updates. I’m a typo queen.
  by Leslie Poston 7:07 AM
• why doesn’t facebook allow you to edit your posts?
  by Sean 7:04 AM
• That depends on how you use twitter for your business. You don’t have to, but following allows them to DM you and may lead to reservations/customer service questions online that you’ll need to be prepared to handle by monitoring your account or setting notifications to email or phone.
  by Leslie Poston 7:03 AM
• Hi Leslie, if a customer compliments or contacts us via twitter and follows us should we also follow them?
  by KancamagusLodge 7:01 AM

Questions I will answer: social media, marketing and general business tips and questions about social media and emerging media issues and tools. Wondering what the heck Pinterest is or have questions about Google Plus? Want to know about tools to help filter the noise or what a good blogging platform is for SEO? Those are great questions.

Questions I won’t answer: questions about your specific company’s needs (one question doesn’t give me enough info to tell you what kind of strategy to use for your next marketing campaign, for example). You really need to consult me (or someone else) as a consultant for an in depth question or marketing strategy needs.

I can’t wait to help you!

You can get to Tech Talk each Wednesday in February 2012 at this link.

I did want to take a minute to mention the Social Metrics plug in for you. It’s not a tool for deep metrics analysis but it is a great tool for quick content analysis – seeing what’s working for you as a social network, as well as what’s emerging as sharable topics on your blog. For example, you can see that Digg, as a whole, is not a social network where we see a lot of shares here at M2. You can also quickly see that our readers are very interested in changing the face of education right now (as they should be).

I haven’t tried the Social Metrics Pro version yet but it gives you some nice Excel like features that the free version doesn’t. However, the free version is adequate for Magnitude’s needs right now since we have such deep analytics running elsewhere.

What’s your favorite metrics tool for your blog?

Video inspired by this post on Facebook today and this post on Google Plus

When I started working for myself in the 90s I just wanted to work on something I loved doing and am great at. As my business grew I found my time increasingly divided between maker and manager and the budget strained (I talked about starting my business with no cash flow here).

But I also found success for my clients, for me and an ever-growing love of what we do at Magnitude Media. I found that I never tire of my job – a blessing. I found that we can make our clients money, build their brands, teach them what they need to know to grow and help them be better at being a business in an emerging media driven marketplace. I get to work with clients of all sizes, from mom and pop stores to huge brands. I get the privilege of writing books, articles and other content. I am a lucky, lucky lady.

The past two months have been a real challenge, however. We had reached a certain level of rapid growth after years of hard work and happy clients, and had also accumulated certain financial reserves. I had a chance to grow the business again, which meant making some big decisions and taking a few calculated risks. I brought more staff on board, spent significant financial resources ramping up for a product launch, and then – one bad apple syndrome struck.

What is one bad apple syndrom? It’s my name for that one instance of non-payment of such a significant level that it can create a ripple effect of problems for a small business. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how much you prepare, that one bad apple can still cause challenges. The bulk of my clients are amazing people that pay right on time and who feel like family. Then I had two jobs back to back that payed slowly (one is still out for collections 100+ days later). This meant downsizing some staff, slowing down some plans, and awkward conversations with vendors about payment schedules.

How can this scenario be prevented for you so that you don’t have to enact plan B and drain financial reserves to right your business ship? What can you do when a carefully calculated risk doesn’t pan out? Do a few things that I usually do but didn’t in the last 6 months, at great cost:

1) Have a ready-cash reserve three times larger than you think you need for your business.
This is a huge one for me. Underestimating business reserves needed means having to make cuts I shouldn’t have to be making at this stage of business ownership. One of these cuts was to not be able to go forward with the additional staff on board. Will I make this mistake again? Heck no. Failure is one path to success. I learned to treat my own reserves with the same care and caution I give to my clients.

2) Qualify your clients better.
I let the desire to work with a certain client because the large job sounded fun (it was) cloud my judgement on my normal qualification and deposit process. By skirting the process, I have no one to blame but myself for the fact that this client has yet to pay me after 100+ days (which is causing interesting financial times over here, let me tell you).

3) Qualify your project partners from outside of your business better.
This one has now come back to bite me in the ass twice. One of my weaknesses is a desire to trust people. For the second time that tendency has caused me financial pain in business. I’m not sure how I’m going to change my process here yet, because I don’t want to become an untrusting person, but this is an internal tendency I need to change – and fast. Choosing the wrong people to partner up on a project with can cause so many issues, whether the person doesn’t carry their weight on the project or is a slow payer or whatever the issue or combination thereof is.

4) Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Asking for help is incredibly hard for a lot of us, especially those that have the temperament it takes to start a business or launch a product. It feels like weakness. That’s another personal trait I need to work on in 2012, because I am finding it is essential to overcoming challenges like these. Instead of the relentless ‘act-as-if’ cheer often seen in social media maybe we should all be more real. Life is amazing and my business is something I love, but sometimes it’s challenging. It helps no one to avoid discussing that part of life and business also.

Have you been in a similar situation where one bad apple spoiled your bunch? How did you overcome it?

I’ve given a few presentations to universities and high schools on using social media in the classroom and in the organizational structure of the school itself, but those presentations largely focused on the mechanics of “school” and “tactics”. It is my opinion that we need to move beyond the institutional thinking and institutional process to really ride this sea change in education. While most are focused on the process, people in their infinite thirst to learn are building a new global process for eternal, immersive, self directed, multi-faceted learning and knowledge that will leave the traditional school system far behind.

Take a look at Twitter, for example. This super simple service has been making its way into the classroom a little at a time since 2007. Twitter has a long history of varied use at the administrative and classroom level (here are 60 quick examples out of thousands), and still makes headlines each time a new school like Wise High School finds a new way to adopt the service. Twitter makes learning accessible in a school environment, and is part of the overall change in the face of education itself. Access to knowledge in your pocket can break the institution of “school” out of the concrete, rigid shell it lives in and turn it into organic knowledge that students yearn for.

Everyone wants to learn something. It’s human nature, this quest to know. Some folks want to learn a new language (the BBC is one of many places offering free immersion language courses), some want to know more about Snooki’s life beyond the Jersey Shore sitcom and some want to learn how to fix a car or quantum physics, but we all yearn for more information and deeper understanding of something beyond ourselves. Innovative schools like MIT, with it’s new free online education program, are beginning to deliver a future that takes knowledge and sets it apart from “school”, putting us in control of what and how we learn, and what quality of learning it is.

Even our search tools are starting to cater to this quest for knowledge – for good, vetted knowledge. Take a look at MentorMob (“Learn what you want, teach what you love”), for example – bringing you knowledge from around the web that is then sorted by trusted sources and people who have demonstrated topical savvy. Will it work? That’s not clear yet, but it definitely stands as one result of this new thirst to know everything, anywhere.

My takeaways from obsessing about education are several:

1) Education will become multi-media (and richly cross platform, moving fluidly from PC to phone to tablet to augmented reality and more not yet imagined)
2) Education will become portable (leaving the rigid institutional “school” structure far behind)
3) Education will become free (eventually)
4) Education will become completely student driven (gone are the days of the rigid, semi-applicable “core curriculum” concept)
5) Education will have two clear and more divergent paths: immediate ROI (job training, trade training) or life enhancing (broad knowledge based)
6) Teachers will become more like mentors or knowledge sherpas than the current system of educational drones chained to the ideas of a school district far removed from the needs of its students

7) Education becomes game-ified

Just think, education is going to be changing so much that the days when you can plug in to the Matrix and learn like Neo are nearly here. Are you as excited as I am for where this is going and how we can teach and learn from each other?

What did I miss? What other cool things are being cooked up in education that aren’t mentioned here? How did I do on my predictions? What are yours?

Updated to add this video from RSA, a unique look at the education system:

I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments. It’s such a vague phrase so casually bandied about, and so open to a variety of interpretations by everyone.

We have openings in 2012 but they are filling up fast. We really want to work with you, so we decided to give you a little present for the holidays: HALF OFF our retainer if you become a client in December 2011. Just mention that you read this blog post!

We have worked hard to make working with us as easy as 1-2-3. If you want to work with us in 2012 contact us by clicking on the brightly colored button that suits you best on the right of the page and filling out a short form, or call our founder Leslie’s direct office line (603) 766-1970 this week, any time. We’ll chat by phone and discuss your options. We want you to feel comfortable with the team and make sure our vision is in line with yours so we can help you reach your dreams and goals.

After that it only takes a simple, small retainer to become a client (and remember: it’s even smaller until December 31, 2011!)

So contact us now and be part of our client family.

Tell me your thoughts below!