Larry Page & Mark Zuckerberg. (Image originally atlanticwire.com)

Every time you go online you are entering a war zone. It might not feel like it, but there is an almighty battle taking place between two superpowers and you are caught in the crossfire.

Welcome to the war for web supremacy. The super powers, if you haven’t already guessed, are the search behemoth Google and social heavyweight champion Facebook. The prize is you and your data.

Sure, there are other combatants in this war; Twitter, Apple, Bing, LinkedIn…even Yahoo!, but they are merely involved in skirmishes and are open to being co-opted into alliances with the main players. Amazon currently appears to be Switzerland (more about them another time).

The nature of systems like the web is that monopolies emerge. We have a dominant search engine in Google, a dominant online encyclopedia in Wikipedia, a dominant retailer in Amazon, a dominant auction site in eBay, and now we have a dominant social network in Facebook. That’s normal and has been happening in business for centuries.

But what happens when two different monopolies decide to battle for a middle ground? That’s where it gets interesting, and that whats happening now. Facebook and Google share common goals but differing philosophies.

Facebook is trying to create its own version of the Web, where you never really have to go anywhere else. They want everything to happen and stay on Facebook.

Google want to control the flow of information of the Web and how you access that information. They don’t mind as much that you might go elsewhere, just that you get there via one of their properties (and read their ads along the way).

Google has been the dominant force on the Web over the last decade. Search was the Web’s number one function and Google were (and still are) the King’s of search. But then Facebook exploded across the globe as the popularity of social networks grew. Now Facebook is closing in on 1 billion members and presents a serious threat to Google’s existence.

This is why we have seen Google+ launched. Its the search engine giant’s response to Facebook. Its an attempt to merge search and social in a way that will keep Google relevant and massively profitable. Many of the ideas in Google+ are good ones and designed to address some of the frustrations Facebook members express.

Google+ is already closing in on 100 million users after around 7 months of existence and is tipped to reach 400 million users within a year. Its the fastest growing social network in history. Many will argue that this is being driven by the way Google are forcing sign-up through their massive Gmail service, and the number of active users are much lower. Many are also expressing their resentment of such tactics, but all is fair in love and war and when the stakes are this high a little bit of grumbling is a small price to pay.

The latest development for Google+ is to lift the 18+ age restriction and allow teenagers to join, just like Facebook. Except the Google army are promising a “safer” experience for teens than they’ve experienced on other social networks. This move should see further growth of G+.

Google is also now blending social network data into search results. First they had an arrangement with Twitter that was heading in the right direction, but that alliance faltered last year (I suspect they will kiss and make up eventually). Now there is the hamfisted Google+ Your World which blends G+ information into search results, but as many complain, is hardly a reflection of our social “world” at this stage.

A great response to Google+ Your World was the rapid deployment of “Don’t Be Evil” by a handful of Facebook and Twitter engineers which clearly demonstrates how disingenuous Google have been.

Mind you Facebook is fighting just as hard. We have seen plenty of changes to Facebook over the last year or so including the new Ticker / Timeline. Every time Facebook makes major changes or introduces new Terms and Conditions there are groups threatening to boycott it. But we stay and we accept it and move on, and Facebook know this.

Don’t expect Facebook to take the Google+ assault laying down. I almost guarantee that they are busily building their own version of search to fire back at Google. It won’t be just another search engine, it will be a totally new take on search. That will be interesting to see unfold.

The biggest danger is a serious threat to the open and interoperable web we currently enjoy. Facebook see themselves as a platform. Google are heading steadily in the same direction. (Of course Apple has always wanted this and Amazon have been stealthily working towards this…but that’s for another post). The result could require us to move between platforms rather than a seamless web.

So who should you trust? Which side should you back in this war? Its hard to say. Most wars end with winners and losers, or in the business world, leaders and second place. With two giants fighting for the same turf despite vastly differing backgrounds its an unprecedented battle. Ideally, its best if there is no major loser here. The best outcome would be that the major players decide to accept that there’s room for all and work out how to work together. Utopian? Maybe, but its the best chance of us maintaining an open web.

One thing is certain; the future of the web will be shaped by this fight and the strategies the combatants use to win. Search and social now touch on nearly every aspect of the web and in an interconnected modern society we cannot avoid them. Putting all personal preferences and philosophical arguments aside I’d suggest its probably necessary to have a bet each way and make sure you are properly set up with both sides. Its hard to write off either Google or Facebook at the moment. They’ll both be likely to serve you well for quite a while, and if one finally crumbles (which won’t be a sudden thing), you won’t be playing catch up with the winner.

Expect to see plenty more changes and new features from Facebook and Google over the coming year. Some will be good, some will be bad, but all will be another shot in the war for web supremacy.

originally uploaded by http://www.intersectionofonlineandoffline.com

Ok, I’ll admit it….I’m a little bit addicted to social networks. Using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ is an important part of my work, but it probably fair to say that over the course of a day I am exceeding what is needed to effectively get the job done. When you add the many different blogs and websites I check daily for great content and industry news, I am beginning to consume an amazing amount of media.

And then it becomes a default habit, something that can easily fill the day and lead you down endless clickable rabbit holes.

I’m sure I’m not alone. These days we’re consuming more media than anytime in history. Its accessible 24/7 and sometimes it seems that we are too. The lines between work and play have become so blurred that we tend to suffer an inevitable burnout.

This year I am totally rethinking how I consume media with the aim to improve my productivity and put some more space between work and play. The approach I am adopting is based on dedicated devices and apps for different functions:

My laptop (which is also my workstation plugged into larger monitor) is now only to be used for client work, “productive work” and emails.

Client work is usually run through Basecamp and Highrise. Internally, my team and I use Yammer to communicate, share and collaborate. All 3 of these applications can also be accessed on iPhone or iPad if we’re on the move.

“Productive work” is predominantly writing; reports, posts for various websites, analytics and business proposals. I use WordPress, Joomla, Google Docs for writing. I only check work emails at work.

I also use the laptop to share material from our various websites to social networks via Su.Pr or Hootsuite as they have great analytics, but I am not opening my social networks on the computer.

I have decided to switch to my iPhone for social networking. Because it is a totally different device don’t find myself checking in aimlessly as much. Whereas I previously flitted between multiple tabs on my browser, I now tend to finish whatever task I am using the computer for first then, walk away and take a break from my desk when I decide to check my favourite networks. The result so far is less chatter, more concise communications and far fewer interruptions.

I have used Google Reader for years to help sort my RSS subscriptions and it has served me well, but now I have removed RSS feeds from my laptop as they also tended to distract me each day as new posts piled up in Reader demanding to be viewed. Instead, I have my most valuable feeds coming into Flipboard on my iPhone or iPad.

While I’ve been using Flipboard on the iPad since it launched, the release of the iPhone app has made it even better. Once again, it allows me to walk away from my workstation for a break or to check during idle time. The way Flipboard presents feeds and social media links is brilliant and best of all I can share to my social networks or bookmark for later at the click of a button.

Lets face it…chatting online can be fun, but its the information and links we share that is of most value and Flipboard is an excellent way to filter this. I find that I am actually discovering more information from a wider range of sources this way than going to my default lists and searches. This in turn broadens my actual engagement with my network.

Away from the office I am using my iPhone for posting my usual (non work related) Twitter, Facebook, G+, Instagram updates and chats.

So far the new arrangements seem to be for the better. I’ve been able to batch my real work, force myself to walk away for breaks (rather than be anchored to my desk all day) and differentiate more between social for work and social for play. I already feel slightly less addicted and a little more in control. (It has nothing to do with my recent decrease in caffeine consumption …really).

Are you rethinking your media consumption too? How are you going about it?

Do you still believe the digital revolution is the domain of cool young Gen-Y’s and upwardly mobile Gen-X’s? Do you still think your business is immune? Think again.

As I spend the Christmas break with my extended family I can’t help but notice how connected everyone now is. With ages from 5 to 68 filling the house, nobody here could be considered a Luddite.

My father flits between his MacBook, iPad and iPhone. He downloads his books and music, reads all his news online and buys golf gear, fishing gear, clothing and more online. The iPad is his favorite device.

Mum just received an iPad 2 and is doing puzzles and organizing photo galleries. She is also starting to shop more online.

My brother-in-law uses an iPad and Blackberry for working remotely and keeps up to date on international sport and surf conditions constantly.

My sister has a MacBook and iPhone in her armory and is quickly getting up to speed on the benefit of being connected.

There’s a 12 year old with his first iPhone who is using Instagram, Path and Skype whilst listening to music, playing games and taking pictures. The pressure for a Facebook account looms.

There’s a 9 year old who is making stop-motion movies on a MacBook and uploading them to YouTube. He also makes his own games on Sploder and manages his own Posterous websites in between playing Minecraft with his friends, listening to music on his iPod or playing assorted games on his Wii.

The two youngest kids, 8 and 6, have received a Nintendo DS for Christmas and know how to get online with them. They’re also Minecraft fans.

The digital revolution is no longer a generational thing, it’s all pervasive. The transfer of information, products and money is increasing online daily. Even your oldest, most loyal customers cannot be relied upon when planning for the future.

The question is: what is your organization doing to address this?

Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman in Sydney

Popular US-based user recommendation website Yelp launched today in Australia. First launched in San Francisco in 2004 by founders Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, Yelp has grown to 14 countries and more than 61 million monthly unique visitors.

Aussies are now able to create accounts on Yelp to share their opinions about local businesses and services in their neighborhoods. Yelp’s free iPhone and Android mobile applications are available, as is Yelp for Business Owners, the company’s free suite of business owner tools.

Stoppelman was in Sydney today talking to a handful of bloggers about how Yelp was created to replace Yellow Pages, who he considered a dead tree business crying out for reinvention. Initially the Yelp founders didn’t believe user reviews would be key to the site but were surprised when they took off and became the main focus of Yelp and a major point of differentiation. Remember, this was back in the days before Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and even newcomers Oink and Roamz.

For millions of US users, Yelp has become an invaluable search resource to discover what’s nearby and how its rated.

It’ll be interesting to see how Yelp does launching in a new market 7 years later with many other location and recommendation contenders on the scene. Stoppelman is confident that the site can get good traction in Australia via their (rather ironic) partnership with Sensis (publisher of Yellow Pages) who provide the initial database of businesses and the sales force for future ad sales. Certainly the Yelp model of engaging community manager in each territory will go a long way to determining the public take-up of the service.

Yelp will be available throughout Australia; however, the company will focus its initial community-growth efforts in Melbourne and Sydney. This city-by-city expansion strategy has proven to be an effective one for the company in other markets.

The great thing about inbound marketing is that there is no shortage of excellent tools to help you go about your job of attracting qualified traffic and converting it into something more meaningful like leads, inquiries or sales.

Here are the 16 top tools I use regularly for inbound marketing;

WordPress website. Sure there are other excellent open source content management systems available but for inbound marketing its hard to go past WordPress. Its easy to use, very search engine friendly, extremely optimisable and has thousands of great plugins to address just about any requirement. There’s a reason over 60 million people have chosen WordPress for their websites.

WordPress mobile app. Inbound marketers like to post content. Lots of content. From almost anywhere. That’s where the WordPress mobile apps come in. You can create and publish content directly from your iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry or Nokia to your website.

Google Analytics. It constantly amazes me how many businesses I encounter that don’t have Analytics on their website. Its FREE and its very powerful. Effective inbound marketing requires understanding what is happening on your websites, traffic sources and conversion results. Google Analytics should be your first stop for this.

Analytics Pro for iPhone. I’m sure that this app is also available for Android and other mobile platforms, but I really love the iPhone app. Just add your Google Analytics accounts and check results wherever you are.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus – surely it goes without saying that if you are doing inbound marketing you are using the big social networks….aren’t you? And you’ve got them all on your mobile device….haven’t you?

Hootsuite. There are plenty of “decks” available for checking and publishing to your social networks but I’ve become a big fan of Hootsuite. It currently allows me to publish simultaneously to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from one place and has a built in URL shortener. I’m hoping Google Plus is added soon. Hootsuite has its own analytics, allowing you to monitor clicks and links and there are mobile versions for when you’re on the run.

Su.Pr. This is another social network publishing tool by the people at StumbleUpon. It allows you to publish to Facebook and Twitter profiles, shorten links, schedule messages and monitor the number of clicks. But the best aspect of Su.Pr is that it allows you to automatically post to StumbleUpon which can be a very good source of additional traffic. I tend to publish important messages here first and am happy to report that StumbleUpon is a seriously strong source of traffic for my sites.

Google Reader. There are dozens of RSS readers available but I’ve stuck with Google’s for ease of use and ubiquity. Inbound marketers are always on the lookout for great content and ideas and tend to visit a lot of websites. Subscribing to them all via RSS is the easiest way to keep track of your favourite information sources. Google Reader is one of the first things I check daily.

YouTube. Good inbound marketing websites use video and YouTube is the best place to host any videos you create. Its also the second biggest search engine in the world. From YouTube its a cinch to grab the code for a video and drop it onto your WordPress (or Joomla, or Drupal) site.

Flickr. Its like YouTube for photos.

NLYZR. The world’s easiest and fastest website optimization system. (Disclosure: Yes, we created it). If you want to optimize your website for search this is the tool for you, and you don’t need to be an SEO geek to use  it. Most NLYZR members (who are all ranking very high on Google) are small business owners.

iMovie for the iPhone or iPad. Capture, edit and publish video quickly and easily straight from your phone. A great tool for inbound marketing.

Instagram. This little iPhone app has really taken off in 2011. Its a fantastic way to quickly edit, improve and publish photos to your various social networks as well as having a community of its own. Instagram can make average pics look much much nicer with its range of filters and vignettes.

Those are the 16 tools and apps I use and rely on the most. I’d use the bulk of them at least daily, the rest weekly.

Do you have any you’d like to add to the list?

A new global study of Chief Marketing Officers by IBM has revealed that Australian and New Zealand marketers are lagging behind their international counterparts when it comes to technology savviness and social media expertise.

From Stretched to Strengthened – Insights from the Global Chief Marketing Officer Study, was presented to a round-table of marketers yesterday in Sydney and some of the findings were concerning in this age of global competition.

The major insight appears to be that Australian and New Zealand marketers still rely heavily on traditional forms of promotion and research and are yet to embrace the more modern techniques of their global counterparts.

Especially concerning was the belief that Aussie and Kiwi CMOs rated technology savviness, social media expertise and finance skills as low priority capabilities crucial to their success in the next 3 to 5 years. in fact, IBM revealed that our ranking of 12% for social media expertise was HALF that of the global average.

This is despite CMOs acknowledging that ROI will become the primary measure of success.

Australian and New Zealand CMOs feel less prepared to deal with issues such as Growth in Channel and Device Choices and Customer Collaboration and Influence, a direct correlation to their lack of tech savviness and social media expertise.

Finally, our CMOs are still relying more on old research and focus groups than they are on real-time customer feedback. Once again this reflects a lack of understanding of the potential for social media and technology to inform businesses. The study made it clear that Australian and New Zealand CMOs need to source customer insights that reflect present trends, not what was captured 6 months ago.

Time to cross the digital divide

The IBM study highlighted what many marketers working around web and social media probably appreciate; how much more education and information is required for CMOs around sophisticated, measurable online marketing and customer engagement. When pressed for examples of Australian businesses doing this well the round table group struggled to identify many.

It also highlights a significant disconnect between consumers and the businesses that are marketing to them. Australia leads the world in time spent online, on mobile devices and on social networks yet our leading businesses are rarely engaging with consumers effectively in these spaces.

To compete more effectively in a global economy it seems clear that marketers must join consumers on the other side of the digital divide.

“The ten year free trial is over” say the executives at News Ltd referring to plans to commence charging for digital subscriptions to The Australian.

The much anticipated move to paid digital subscriptions will take place in the next few weeks Richard Freudenstein, CEO of News Digital Media and The Australian, told a selection of bloggers last night.

Freudenstein was candid in his acknowledgement that this is a very necessary move for the organisation as the current model of free websites with display advertising is not enough to support quality journalism. When asked if this was a big risk they’re were taking, the general consensus at News was that it was a bigger risk not to try subscription. The current model just didn’t add up economically.

News will begin their subscription experiment with The Australian newspaper, the more “premium” of their daily news journals. Following the lead from The Times in England and the New York Times, The Australian will be serving up news content on a new website that leads to walled content. Headlines and the first two paragraphs will be viewable on the website but payment would be required to go further.

The key to success, News believe, will be the bundling of offerings. Pricing is anticipated to be:

• Digital pass of $2.95/wk accessible across multiple platforms.

• $4.50/wk for a digital pass & the Saturday Australian newspaper.

• $7.95/wk for a digital pass & 6 day a week Australian newspaper.

At this stage News do not expect that this will be something to lure new readers to The Australian, but will appeal to a percentage of existing subscribers who they hope to migrate to the digital products.

They cite the experience of the music industry that moved from a pirated free period back to a paid digital product as evidence that people will favour convenience and reliability over free in the long run.

News also draw on their experience in another subscription model, Pay TV, where Foxtel took year to grow and become profitable but is now the most profitable TV model in Australia.

One suspects that if this gambit is to succeed that bundling of all of the News products will come into play. Foxtel, news press and niche publications could all be bundled for a larger, but more cost effective combined spend. Tellingly, News acknowledge that they now consider The Australian a “media franchise” rather than merely a newspaper and they are exploring how it will be utilised on “bigger screens”.

Of course there are plenty of cynics who believe that digital subscription will not succeed. One respected pundit I had breakfast with this morning scoffed at the plans to charge for The Australian online, adamant it would fail.

However News have done plenty of homework on this and feel they have no choice but to launch subscription models. They admit that they don’t have all the answers and the experiment will continually evolve. They have deep pockets and seem prepared to patiently see the industry follow suit and join them on the other side of the paywall.

News Ltd has launched a new website to take the discussion further. Read more and have your say at Future of Journalism

Other coverage of the #newsdigsub briefing at:

Servantofchaos

Ross Dawson

Mumbrella

Digital Tip

Personalize Media

Laurel Papworth

Characteristics of new digital media and music environment:

Agile – able to move quickly to develop, produce & release

Independent – no longer controlled by traditional owners

Interruptive – whole industries being radically reinvented or fragmented. Rather than be protectionist we must embrace this otherwise we will be left behind.

Collaborative – clusters, crowd sourcing, geographically diverse

Fresh content – amazing amount of new, fresh content every day which can be organized and curated.

Fluid transactions – push button downloads for apps, music, books, TV shows & movies. New commerce models ie Facebook credits for content.

Issues and Needs for Australia

- Hi speed broadband required to keep pace with rest of world

- Better fostering of innovation – funding, tech VC market (tax incentives?)

- Digital Education – both business and students. Greater emphasis on modern digital practices. (NLYZR study). Strongly question whether current tertiary education is preparing people for the digital economy.

- Celebration of success – plenty of talent and up & coming media & music stories that need to be told. We’ve been proposing a leading event…like sxsw. But needs support and funding.

- Intellectual Property laws and processes are archaic and barely viable for current fast moving digital environment. We require a very different approach to licensing, IP, property “rights” and other elements of the underlying framework.

- Retaining talent in Australia – Oz mafia in Silicon Valley, moving where things happen.

- Overall need to decrease friction and roadblocks to enable rapid delivery of content and transactions.

Rather than laws to protect old establishment industries, new laws to enable creation of new business & industries.

Tomorrow I am speaking at the Digital Culture Public Sphere consultation run by Senator Kate Lundy and Minister Simon Crean in order to form a collaborative submission on digital culture in Australia to the National Cultural Policy consultation.

I NEED YOUR HELP.

I’m covering “The future of media culture creation in a digital world” but the Public Sphere wiki hasn’t had many contributions. Here’s you chance to contribute to a 10 year strategy for Australian digital culture, and the broader national cultural agenda.

There’s plenty of ways you can get involved via the Wiki, but for expediency and to help me easily deliver your ideas could you please either write a comment here or via Twitter using the hashtag #publicspheremedia so I can collate.

This is fairly urgent. I will be presenting the collated ideas at about 12.30pm tomorrow (6 Oct 2011).

Ideas to address include:

• How do you imagine the sector could look in the future? How could Australia excel? What would a 10 year plan look like?

• What are some tangible ways we could measure progress in this area?

• Ideas to achieve the vision for Australia.

• Add your thoughts and references for where this sector is going, emerging business models, opportunities for commercialisation

• Any additional information you think might be useful, including case studies, success stories, research papers.

• Leading case studies from the sector to help contextualise Australian innovation in this area

GO FOR IT.

The Internet is changing fast and impacting our lives in more ways than we ever imagined. Yet many industries are ignoring the need for change and suffering as their sector experiences massive interruption.

Imagine if you could gaze into a  crystal ball and see a few year into the future to understand what the Internet will look like. Perhaps you can.

This presentation “Digital Life: Today and Tomorrow” was created by NeoLabels, with a script by Inés Leopoldo of Mitsue Venture. Its really worth a look.

Digital Life: Today & Tomorrow from Neo Labels on Vimeo.