http://blog.skyrkt.com Skyrocket Discover Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:57:50 +0000 http://blog.skyrkt.com en http://blog.skyrkt.com/The-Infographic-on-Infographics http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/The-Infographic-on-Infographics Wed, 14 Nov 2012 14:57:50 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 4439060 <img src="http://payload106.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/4439060/INFOINFO.jpg" width="640" height="3630" width_o="640" height_o="3630" src_o="http://payload106.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/4439060/INFOINFO_o.jpg" data-mid="23530446" border="0" align="left"/> http://blog.skyrkt.com/User-Experience-in-the-New-Multi-Screen-World http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/User-Experience-in-the-New-Multi-Screen-World Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:39:19 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 4433919 <img src="http://payload106.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/4433919/large.jpeg" width="640" height="400" width_o="640" height_o="400" src_o="http://payload106.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/4433919/large_o.jpeg" data-mid="23499624" border="0" align="left"/> By now, you’ve probably read Google’s research report "The New Multi-Screen World". If you haven’t, you need to read the insights on how our attention is now spread across multiple platforms and how our behaviour reflects this. With people using multiple platforms throughout their day, engagement can’t be focused on just one medium – be it computer, tablet, television, or mobile. Business communications now have more paths and longer paths to travel in order to drive home any message. With 65% of online shopping beginning on mobile phones, you need to aid the consumer along the path to conversion as they switch over to their desktop, laptop, or tablet. With users spreading their time across multiple platforms there is a huge opportunity to redefine the user experience. Everything your business does online – no matter what the industry or specialization – needs to be optimized for all platforms, especially mobile. Your company will need to go the extra mile to make transitioning across all these platforms as easy as possible for the user. This may include saving shopping progress across platforms in your online store, or offering an option to “continue where you left off” that brings the customer back to the last page they were visiting in your application. There is also a growing trend of using screens simultaneously. For example, you might be looking up an actor on IMDB using your laptop, while watching a movie on your TV. With 78% of simultaneous usage involving multitasking, it’s time to start thinking of creative new ways to integrate this behaviour into your online user experience. TV broadcasters are looking to the laptop and especially tablets to be the “second screen” to their viewing experience, offering live feeds and data to augment news programming. Why not tailor different platforms of your user experience to highlight different facets of your business? How does the information you present and the experience you provide change based on the type of device being used? How does the knowledge of where certain devices are being used impact the content you present? Whether it’s sequential screen or simultaneous screen usage habits, these new behaviours are presenting a whole host of challenges to businesses with an existing web presence. We see a whole world of opportunity in this new dynamic and an opportunity to create deeper and more meaningful connections between your purpose and your audience. By now, you’ve probably read Google’s research report "The New Multi-Screen World". If you haven’t, you need to read the insights on how our attention is... http://blog.skyrkt.com/DIGITAL-CHANGING-BUSINESS http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/DIGITAL-CHANGING-BUSINESS Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:35:25 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 4303633 <img src="http://payload100.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/4303633/Blog2-Header-large.jpeg" width="640" height="525" width_o="640" height_o="525" src_o="http://payload100.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/4303633/Blog2-Header-large_o.jpeg" data-mid="22877475" border="0" align="left"/> How do you mine for news and new media? Everywhere, people are buried in their smartphones and tablets only to arrive at their destination and boot up their desktop or laptop. We are a race of consumers, we consume food, objects and a load of information. All of these things can be bought online – even food. Stores like Tesco in the UK and Safeway in Canada allow you to do your grocery shopping online and deliver it to your home. We have integrated technology into every instance of our daily lives. We no longer wait 24 hours to read the latest headlines, or wait patiently until the 9 o'clock news hits our TVs. We find what we want, when we want, and at the touch of a button. Media is online and traditional publishing is going through a very significant metamorphosis at the moment. New technology has shaped how newspapers, magazines and book publishers sell their content. Today, 90% of media interactions are screen based, leaving a meager 10% split between radio, and traditional print advertising. Most of the big players in this market have found ways to optimize their content and revenue streams by developing apps and paid online subscriptions. Not only have they created digital versions of their content but they have revolutionized how we interact and view this content. However, an astounding number of publications still sell exclusively through traditional channels. Digital has changed the world and now it’s just a question of who has caught up and who is left behind. So with that in mind ask yourself... How does digital fit into your business? Are you actively engaged online or is your presence on the web a passive one? Most importantly, do you see the difference? It’s time to look at what you are trying to achieve in business and how you can use digital to enhance and grow your revenue and audiences – whether you provide richer content, enhance the user experience or gather statistics from your website to build an invaluable profile for your target customer. Whether you are a publisher, e-commerce company, bricks and mortar company – or sell groceries – you must embrace all aspects of digital. It has already changed your business. How do you mine for news and new media? Everywhere, people are buried in their smartphones and tablets only to arrive at their destination and boot up their... http://blog.skyrkt.com/THE-RISE-OF-TABLETS http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/THE-RISE-OF-TABLETS Fri, 25 May 2012 15:01:20 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 3473282 It's rumoured that the motivation for researching and developing the iPad arose out of a dinner party where a guest kept annoying Steve Jobs with talk of their own tablet development. After several attempts at pointing out the inherent flaws in this person's design, Steve said "@$%# it! You wanna see a tablet? I'll show you a tablet." So, the tablet revolution was born and with their widespread adoption many competitors entered the market producing devices ranging in size and based on platforms such as Android and Windows. Now, the way we interact with brands, information and people has forever changed… again. It's rumoured that the motivation for researching and developing the iPad arose out of a dinner party where a guest kept annoying Steve Jobs with talk of their... http://blog.skyrkt.com/IT-S-TIME-TO-FACE-FACTS http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/IT-S-TIME-TO-FACE-FACTS Fri, 25 May 2012 14:59:37 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 3473304 Just last week, Facebook finished up its IPO which valued its stock at over $100 billion. The social media supergiant also received some news coverage in the days leading up to this, with GM announcing that it was ceasing its Facebook ad campaigns – at a time when several other consumer advertising organizations were speaking out against the effectiveness of Facebook ads. With all the ridiculous news coming out of Facebook, we thought it would be fitting to share some other equally ridiculous facts about Facebook. <img src="http://payload58.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/3473304/Skyrocket_discover_Facebook.jpg" width="640" height="3778" width_o="640" height_o="3778" src_o="http://payload58.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/3473304/Skyrocket_discover_Facebook_o.jpg" data-mid="17909513" border="0" align="left"/> Just last week, Facebook finished up its IPO which valued its stock at over $100 billion. The social media supergiant also received some news coverage in the days... http://blog.skyrkt.com/FACEBOOK-IT-S-BUSINESS-TIME http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/FACEBOOK-IT-S-BUSINESS-TIME Wed, 29 Feb 2012 17:46:48 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 2909955 <img src="http://payload30.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2909955/Screen Shot 2012-02-29 at 12.07.27 PM_640.png" width="640" height="808" width_o="1041" height_o="1314" src_o="http://payload30.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2909955/Screen Shot 2012-02-29 at 12.07.27 PM_o.png" data-mid="14802738" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload30.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2909955/Sky_Facebook_timeline-for-brands.jpg" width="640" height="434" width_o="640" height_o="434" src_o="http://payload30.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2909955/Sky_Facebook_timeline-for-brands_o.jpg" data-mid="14803975" border="0" align="left"/> Timeline is here for brands and business. It is early days, but the visual impact of a well designed timeline is already apparent. Big brands like Nike and the NY Times have already jumped on the time machine that is the "timeline" that will replace "the wall" forever. Damn, you just spent a couple of grand on a custom Facebook page/pages with some upstart digital agency! Don't worry, your custom pages will still be there, although somewhat in the background. The timeline is forefront, and the key is to have it designed to feature curated content that creates powerful messages for your business. Read More on Wired. <img src="http://payload30.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2909955/Screen Shot 2012-02-29 at 12.08.30 PM_640.png" width="640" height="475" width_o="1027" height_o="763" src_o="http://payload30.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2909955/Screen Shot 2012-02-29 at 12.08.30 PM_o.png" data-mid="14802774" border="0" align="left"/> Timeline is here for brands and business. It is early days, but the visual impact of a well designed timeline is already apparent. Big brands like Nike and the... http://blog.skyrkt.com/BACK-TO-THE-DARK-AGES http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/BACK-TO-THE-DARK-AGES Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:12:15 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 2631479 <img src="http://payload16.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2631479/SOPA_wikipedia_640.jpg" width="640" height="960" width_o="800" height_o="1200" src_o="http://payload16.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2631479/SOPA_wikipedia_o.jpg" data-mid="13318776" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload16.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2631479/SOPA_wired-magazine_640.jpg" width="640" height="960" width_o="800" height_o="1200" src_o="http://payload16.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2631479/SOPA_wired-magazine_o.jpg" data-mid="13318777" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload16.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2631479/SOPA_word-press_640.jpg" width="640" height="960" width_o="800" height_o="1200" src_o="http://payload16.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2631479/SOPA_word-press_o.jpg" data-mid="13318778" border="0" align="left"/> We all remember important dates in history that changed our world, and it will be interesting to see how important the date of January 18, 2012 becomes in the history of the Internet and society. We are moving to a more open world, driven by a creative economy and our desire as a society to share information, ideas, and collaborate together in innovative ways. This is how progress is made and our human experience has moved forward during the course of history. At Skyrocket Digital we definitely understand the need for and value of copyright and intellectual property protections – after all we make our livelihood from creating designs and solutions for our customers. However, there is a balance to be found between protecting the interests of the owners of created works, media, artists and the sharing of information. Censorship is simply being lazy. It is not the solution. The Internet is the platform for a global revolution, allowing people of all countries to realize how much we have in common, and how foolish the mistakes of the past have been. This type of communication and sharing of information between all citizens of this wonderful planet is a good thing. While the intention of the proposed legislation may be to back up copyright laws which, in turn, protect artists, authors, performers, songwriters and musicians from having their works used without being paid for it, the execution is seriously flawed and shows a definite lack of creativity in developing solutions that work for today’s market realities. The distribution of content, media, and artistic works has changed and consumers have changed how they consume and experience information and content. The solution is not censorship. There will always be a certain percentage of people in society that steal and will never respect copyrights and intellectual property, but you don’t shut down the subway system in New York City just because a certain percentage of people jump the gates and ride the train without paying. The solution is to create new solutions and guidelines that enable people to share ideas and content while respecting the rights of the creators of the works. This is a much bigger challenge to solve, and will take a lot more work, and much more creativity. Only through creativity, collaboration and sharing can we arrive at new ways of doing things. It’s said that the definition of insanity is doing things the same way over and over again, but expecting a different result. Well, we have many examples throughout history that should have taught us about the results of censorship. More info: sopastrike.com We all remember important dates in history that changed our world, and it will be interesting to see how important the date of January 18, 2012 becomes in the... http://blog.skyrkt.com/WHY-BE-MOBILE-FRIENDLY http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/WHY-BE-MOBILE-FRIENDLY Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:20:37 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 2146597 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2146597/skyrkt.com_Why-Mobile_INFOGRAPHIC.jpg" width="640" height="1998" width_o="640" height_o="1998" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2146597/skyrkt.com_Why-Mobile_INFOGRAPHIC_o.jpg" data-mid="10710553" border="0" align="left"/> http://blog.skyrkt.com/10-TIPS-FOR-MAKING-YOUR-WEBSITE-MOBILE-FRIENDLY http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/10-TIPS-FOR-MAKING-YOUR-WEBSITE-MOBILE-FRIENDLY Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:53:36 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 2161697 <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2161697/sky_discover_EZ.jpg" width="620" height="693" width_o="620" height_o="693" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2161697/sky_discover_EZ_o.jpg" data-mid="10795178" border="0" align="left"/> 1. Create a Mobile specific site Give consumers a great mobile experience when they visit your site on their mobile phone. 2. Style for Mobile Minimize scrolling and page transitions in order to reduce time spent looking for content. 3. Automatically Detect Mobile Devices Typing is a pain on even the best mobile devices, and many users avoid it when browsing. A mobile version is not complete until it’s automatically triggered for every mobile user! 4. Rethink your website navigation Your website might have a couple of dozen footer, header and sidebar links — but do they matter to your mobile visitors? Consider adding or prioritizing mobile-specific items. Contact Info can be a great top-line header item for the mobile version, simply because many users will come looking for a phone number or your office address. 5. Write Clear Content Now more than ever, you need to grab reader attention instantly. Concise clear content with easy to understand “calls-to-action” assures readers can digest your material on their mobile devices, even while they’re distracted and busy. 6. Think Local After looking up a local business on their smart phone, 61% of users have called the business and 59% have visited . 7. Provide a clear path to the full version of your website Occasionally a piece of information that a user is looking for is not included in the mobile version. One very easy solution is to display a link to your “Full Site” on every page. Make sure that this link takes the user to the full version of the exact page that they’re currently browsing. 8. Iterate and Keep your Mobile Site Strategy Up to Date The tactics and strategies that work today may be very different from what works months, or even weeks, from now. Make sure to iterate regularly on your site, your mobile apps, and campaigns. Test to see what works and learn from actual usage. 9. Don’t use too many images Images are a great way to get a point across or break up text, but try to imagine someone reading your content on smaller screens. 10. Measure your Mobile Audience Measuring the mobile audience is important for several reasons. After looking at your mobile stats, you may see that mobile and desktop users prefer different content. This makes it possible to create an outstanding mobile presence and successfully monetize it. 1. Create a Mobile specific site Give consumers a great mobile experience when they visit your site on their mobile phone. 2. Style for Mobile Minimize... http://blog.skyrkt.com/5-BRANDS-ENGAGING-MOBILE http://blog.skyrkt.com/following/blog.skyrkt.com/5-BRANDS-ENGAGING-MOBILE Mon, 31 Oct 2011 17:28:08 +0000 Skyrocket Discover 2232633 BURTON The biggest brand in snowboarding, have created a beautiful, super simple mobile site, that introduces you to the team, shows you the latest gear, and more importantly, where to buy it. ASOS Expanding across the world, ASOS are quickly becoming one of the biggest players in online fashion, a slick, easy mobile commerce site to boot, helps explain why. <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2232633/skyrkt.com_mobile-optimised-sites.jpg" width="640" height="629" width_o="640" height_o="629" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2232633/skyrkt.com_mobile-optimised-sites_o.jpg" data-mid="11171925" border="0" align="left"/> RED BULL The energy drink brand is so engrained into the action sport world, it's blog style mobile site, supplies your daily fill of action sports, news, events and culture. PARAMOUNT The movie industry lends itself extremely well to micro sites, which in turn translate to mobile relatively easily. Paramount has created some sweet graphic heavy mobile sites. TUMBLR Blog templates that automatically adapt to mobile, what more do you want? <img src="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2232633/skyrkt.com_mobile-optimised-sites2.jpg" width="640" height="629" width_o="640" height_o="629" src_o="http://payload.cargocollective.com/1/4/139297/2232633/skyrkt.com_mobile-optimised-sites2_o.jpg" data-mid="11172363" border="0" align="left"/> BURTON The biggest brand in snowboarding, have created a beautiful, super simple mobile site, that introduces you to the team, shows you the latest gear, and more...