It's the Third Thursday of the month. David was a man of few words this month, mostly because he is knackered out by baby Max!

David auditions for Scrubs but was told they'd filled the role of cleaner

Other links referenced...

• Webcam Snapper on Dailybooth
• Sport Industry Awards
• Exchange Away
• Hoxton Hotel £1 Sale
• Jobs at Codegent!

You have probably heard about the recent social media explosion surrounding Quora. There have been some pretty grandiose claims about how it could be "bigger than Twitter" and "the future of blogging" so I thought I would give you a closer look to see what all the fuss was about.

What is Quora?

"Quora is a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organised by everyone who uses it." - their definition

• You ask a question and the community answers it. You can also subscribe to topics, answers or people that interest you.
• It utilises your existing connections via close ties with Twitter and facebook so you are more likely to start getting answers from people you're already engaged with.
• The best answers get voted up Digg style, the dross is pushed down so you iterate towards quality.
• Relevant content is collated into a facebook-like feed enabling new content to be brought to your attention (via notifications).
• It has a strong, intelligent search engine for easily finding topics and answers surrounding the question you might have.

So it's like a discussion forum then... wow!

Indeed! Plus Q&A sites are not exactly unique either so why has it carved out its space on the web and been so highly praised by the big players of Silicon Valley? The answer lies in building personal reputation. Aside from the pleasure of writing, bloggers generally publish in order to share their opinions, experiences and expertise so they can build an audience and ultimately become influential. However this can be at quite a considerable cost in terms of their time creating and marketing that content (ask me how I know!) and is rarely successful.

By engaging with Quora on topics that you have sound knowledge and opinion on you can build audience and influence much faster than before. A well constructed and timely answer will get voted up towards the top and therefore will be read (alongside links to your profile) by everyone following the topic. Invariably, you will pick up more followers and be inclined to write better quality answers to help increase your votes. It's this game mechanic that has really set Quora apart.

Ok, I'm liking this anything else cool?

Funny you should ask. The SEO benefits are actually astounding. Q&A sites are doing particularly well in natural search at the moment (as are video and real time social media content) as the space race for relevancy and fresh content continues between the major search engines. It is completely feasible that your post on Quora could top the search term for the topic whereas your own blog post would normally nestle somewhere on page 5. Now that is powerful, and it's already started happening.

The quality of the current conversations is really high, primarily because of the extremely engaged early adopter community who buys into the concept and is committed to producing good content. Additionally there is the chance of commencing discussions with the top people in each topic field. Thought leaders and CEOs such as AOL's former chairman Steve Case are talking openly with regular users on a level playing field (not from a lofty conference stage). This is your time to be seen and heard by the right people.

It is not to everyone's taste though!

It wouldn't be right if I didn't list a few faults would it?

• The site does spew out a lot of notification emails which can be a little annoying, especially during this massive growth period. Although do you remember how many invites you got to join facebook initially? However, it was enough to prompt one developer to create this spoof site.
• You are building your reputation on someone else's platform. No different to doing the same on Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace etc. but Quora is still in its infancy and anything could happen. Maybe best not to shut down that blog just yet and possibly repost what you write on Quora there as well?
• As the platform expands into the mainstream there is a danger that it will dilute and get spammed causing the big guns that are currently engaged to get bored by mediocrity from the wider community of fools. Some people feel Twitter is moving this way and it certainly is the reason Yahoo! Answers is widely derided. In this case we could see questions outstripping answers. The community must continue to police Quora for quality but will they stay engaged?
• You can edit another person's question. This is a marmite feature and does feel reminiscent of the warring editors of Wikipedia battling for supremacy. Where reputation matters, big ego also lurks.

Do you use it Mark?

I must admit I did sign up pretty early (last summer) and just clicked about, followed a few of the geek guys I take note of on Twitter and pretty much left it there until the explosion around Christmas. I am following a few topics like "Getting your startup featured on TechCrunch" and "What's the best CMS to build a corporate website?" and the quality of answers are really high! It's undoubtedly a useful resource.

However I'm not addicted to riding on the sweet high of Quora as yet. That may be because I am not really trying to build my personal brand as much as I am for our agency. Quora is currently positioned around the individual although inevitably in the future it will open up for companies in much the same way facebook did. Brands are being mentioned right now so if you represent one I would start searching straight away and getting in on the conversations early.

You can follow me here if you like and please do tell me what you think of Quora in the comments below.

When I offered to write an article for this month’s newsletter on ‘Writing for the web’ my first concern was that there wouldn’t be enough information out there. How wrong I was! The good news is that all the information I came across is easy to understand and implement and is consistent across all of the sites that you visit. However the bad news for me is that I then had to try and write an article for the web on ‘Writing for the web’ that follows these principles.

So here goes!

Whether you are having a new website built or managing one on a day-to-day basis, it can take up a lot of your time, especially when you start factoring in tasks such as managing enquiries and payments. As a result, creating the copy is often left to the last minute or isn’t refreshed or reviewed on a regular basis. It is essential that your site looks and functions correctly but it is also imperative that you are giving your users the information they need in the correct format.

Nobody will know your business as well as you do but when writing copy it is important to consider whether you have the necessary skills in-house. If not, I would always recommend using a copywriter and, providing you give a good, clear brief, they should have no problems in conveying the right information to your audience.

It’s web, not print

Writing for the web and writing for print are very different as the user interacts with the mediums in very different ways. Never try to take what you have and what works offline and apply it online. Users read online text a lot slower than they do printed material. Also copy on the web tends to be a lower resolution and therefore isn’t as much of an enjoyable experience, so it should be short and precise.

‘As a guide copy on the web should be 50% less than the paper equivalent.’
Cornell Information Technologies, Cornell University.

The reader’s attention span is also reduced online. They will scan a web page to get the information they need and will quite often be doing this whilst undertaking other tasks or flicking between other sites. They can also be distracted with flashing banners or other things on their screen. So again short, concise copy is essential to get information across.

Target audience

You will have specific audiences and geographic locations that you are targeting. However a website, as a general rule, will be available to anyone in the world so it is suggested that you should always write for an audience of all ages, locations and languages. And always write your copy on the basis that the reader has English as their second language.

Structure and content

Here are a few pointers that you should bear in mind when thinking about your copy

• With the web, users will scan the page to find the information they want. It is therefore important that your copy follows a consistent structure throughout.
• Before you start you should list the key objectives for the page first - what do you need to say and why. This will help you to keep the copy concise and informative.
• Headings should be explanatory and informative as users will make a decision there and then as to whether they are going to get the information they need from that page and your site.
• Following the pyramid rule – give the conclusion first and then expand this out further down the page with more information – the who, what, when, why, where, how.
• Restrict your ideas to one per paragraph so as not to over load the user or run the risk of them missing a key point.
• Use calls to action at all relevant points and make sure that they clearly highlight what the user needs to do and why.
• Use bold and italics sparingly so as not to confuse or overwhelm the user. Bold the words that summarise the information on the page and make sure that when combined they make sense.
• Ensure that linked text stands out on a page but again make sure that on scanning the page the user can see what they are clicking through to. ‘Click here’ doesn’t tell the user what they would click there for – this is especially important when you audience might be using screen readers.
• Capital letters are also a big no-no as it gives the impression of SHOUTING!!
• Break up big blocks of text with smaller paragraphs, bullet points and quotes.
• Keep sentences short and to the point.
• Don’t use unnecessarily complicated words and avoid slang, abbreviations and acroynyms.

Tone of voice

Keeping it simple and to the point shouldn’t mean that your branding message and tone of voice online isn’t consistent with the rest of your branding communications – but do remember to keep it informative rather than ‘fluffy’.

SEO

It is essential that your website is optimised for search engines particularly through the use of keywords within the copy. Keywords should fit naturally into the copy you are writing, but if not make sure that they are not in there at the cost of making a sentence sound unnatural or forced. Users will notice! As a general rule a keyword shouldn’t appear in a paragraph more than twice.

Translation

If you are looking to translate versions of your site then the points I have mentioned above are still just as important. Ensuring that you retain the correct tone of voice in a different language and that the copy is appropriate to that culture is essential and should always be done by a native speaker.

Testing

There is no reason to expect that your copy will be perfect first time. So don’t be afraid to test different copy, headlines and calls to action where possible. User testing will enable you to get an insight into what works well. When trialling different versions track page visits and users subsequent actions such as clicking on a specific link to assess what works and what doesn’t. There are various tools available to let you run A/B and multivariate tests, from Google Webmaster tools to specialist software such as http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/.

Make it about you

Finally, your website is the window through which the world can view your organisation. It is how they will judge you and get to know you so above all, let your copy portray your brand personality.

It doesn’t look like we are going to be bowled over by a flood of new digital trends in 2011. All the trends that have been predicted to dominate the digital world this year are those that we are already familiar with, but improved, innovated and expanded.

We are already “social” and “connected” and we go online to fulfil great deal of our personal and professional needs. We will clearly continue spending more time online as more and more aspects of our everyday life becomes dependent on technology. Now we can access internet on the go and anytime we like through smart phones, tablets and the like. As a result, digital trends are becoming an integrated part of cultural trends as they seem to shape and alter the way we interact, exchange information and live our everyday lives. I have therefore picked a few digital trends that I believe will have a significant impact on the way I do things and also those that will be fun to watch evolving.

To start with, there will be shift from ecommerce to social commerce, which has been coming for a while now. Since we can make our buying decisions based on advice from those we trust, why should we rely on the advertising? As a result, we will be more likely to make a purchase online and we will increasingly do so with our smartphone. In addition, our online shopping activity will be facilitated by the relevant app that will make our shopping experience easier and more enjoyable. Mobile apps such as scoutmob.com and shopkick will improve accessibility, help us to get all the product information we need and make transactions fast and painless. Moreover, the use of geo-localised apps will help us save as we benefit from discounts and special offers that come with collective buying. Apart from being kind to your pockets, using apps such Gowalla, Foursquare, Brightkite or Loop will also be social as they let us check where our friends are and what they are up to.

As the digital world is enters all areas of our personal and public lives there will be more and more issues around privacy. This debate has become a driver for innovations and improvements i.e. Facebook groups etc. and it will heat up in 2011 shaping the digital world further.

Let’s look further at these 5 top digital trends of 2011:

1. Apps, apps everywhere

Apps will continue the move beyond mobile, invading other platforms such as desktops, tablets, TV etc. As user expectations grow apps will continue to innovate and 2011 will see the improvements in the relevance of Apps as users look for a more personal, tailored experience

2. Digital convergence

2011 will see multiple devices coming closer together. Experts are predicting that in the future we will have only one device to do everything. The most exciting thing here is the potential of “web-enabled TV”. We have already seen this happening with Google TV and Apple TV. As this trend continues to grow it won’t be long before our tablets become our computers, TV’s, phones and anything else we might need. Expect to see the first “connected TV”, right on cue for the Olympics.

3. Geo-location, Geo-location , Geo-location

We are already used to Google,Yahoo and Bing displaying our search results according to the location we are in but prepare for things to get even more localised and personalised as Google plans to add contextual discovery to search.

This will mean that Google will work out your location, conduct a search and choose the best results for the particular user. Google’s aim is to push search results to users based on their location and their preferences - Google Places and Hotpot will be the means of gathering these preferences.

We will also go local when “checking into” places via our smartphones. We’re all familiar with Foursquare, Gowalla, Brightkite, Loop, Google Latitude and Facebook Places. Geo-location combined with social media will be huge in 2011 we can expect numerous Groupon and LivingSocial copycats to spring up. You should also expect Google to dominate location (primarily via mobile) with embedded social elements to it.

4. Ecommerce is over - Long live social commerce

“If I had to guess, social commerce is the next area to really blow up” Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder) Social commerce involves the use of social media, in the context of e-commerce, to assist with buying and selling products and services online. In the last few years users are increasingly reliant on collaborative ecommerce tools that enable them "to get advice from trusted individuals, find goods and services and then purchase them."

This Social Commerce includes customer ratings and reviews, user recommendations and referrals, shared online shopping, advice forums and so on. Facebook’s virtual currency, “Facebook credits”, will initially allow users to pay for virtual goods such as games, but will eventually let them buy anything, with the network expected to take a 30% cut of all transactions… Procter & Gamble has started selling its Max Factor brand cosmetics through Facebook as part of what the FMCG giant calls ‘small-scale direct-to-consumer’ initiatives. The ability for users to buy products without leaving the site could have major implications for retailers.

"Major brands will create social transactional applications and it will become commonplace for users to be able to make transactions on social media platforms rather than simply using social media to influence their purchasing behaviour," predicts Justin Cooke, chair of the British Interactive Media Association.

5. Internet privacy

The concerns regarding data protection and safety will continue to be a subject of numerous discussions. The debate will heat up this year as the privacy issues have to be regulated and there will need to be consensus between regulators and the industry about the scope of personal information which forms an online identity.

We can expect online activities such as Cookies, digital fingerprinting and behavioural targeting to come under strict surveillance in order to get them regulated and safe. In addition, online marketers will have to work harder to provide transparency and build credibility as consumers are becoming increasingly more scepitcal. They will have to be clearer about their data models and enable users to manage their own profiles.

With the coming changes and developments in digital technology expect to be given even greater ability to engage with all the messages coming at us as we are constantly encouraged to have our say, express our “likes”, comment and make recommendations to our friends.

You can read more about the digital trends here:

http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/7014-digital-marketing-trends-2011-by-econsultancy-ceo-ashley-friedlein

http://trends2011.clickhere.com/ 

http://www.briansolis.com/2010/09/the-decline-of-asocial-shopping-and-the-rise-of-social-commerce/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/dec/30/facebook-2011-sophy-silver

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/disciplines/digital/forget-e-commerce-social-commerce-is-where-its-at/3016388.article

http://socialcommercetoday.com/speed-summary-wired-feb-2011-cover-story-on-social-commerce/

http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/content/11-digital-trends-2011

http://www.slideshare.net/eMarketerInc/emarketer-webinar-key-digital-trends-for-2011?from=ss_embed

http://www.mediabizbloggers.com/media-biz-bloggers/113093094.html

http://www.pcworld.com/article/192803/geolocation_101_how_it_works_the_apps_and_your_privacy.html

What really grinds my gears #1