After iPhone 3GS Upgrade, Apple Asks me to Insure my 3G

I have criticized Apple's email marketing efforts before (here and here)... but this one takes the cake: Your iPhone 3G hardware coverage is about to expire Don't say good-bye. Extend your coverage with the AppleCare Protection Plan.

This email is laughable since I purchased the iPhone 3GS this weekend and used the same email address to pre-order it. And I activated the 3GS through iTunes - effectively replacing iPhone 3G.

I understand that Apple has these emails systematically scheduled; but, you would think they would scrub the recipient list on a weekend when 1,000,000 new iPhones were sold.

Considering I just extended my AT&T contract and upgraded my hardware, I really enjoyed the ironic "don't say goodbye" tagline.

iPhone 3GS Video & Camera Demo: Using MLB.tv

Oh how technology and digital media have advanced. Below is a video demonstration:

- capturing an HD broadcast of a live Red Sox game (streamed from MLB.tv, through my computer, and onto the television) - the video was shot on the iPhone 3GS's new video capture - and uploaded to Youtube wirelessly via the iPhone... in less than 30 seconds

On the iPhone and the computer, the video quality is far better than what is displayed on Youtube... but it is still far from HD and, despite TechCrunch's argument otherwise, products like the Flip Mino HD still have a role within the market (for now).

Also worth noting, the iPhone 3GS's camera is markedly better than the previous model's - both in focus, function and output. This photo also does a better job conveying the quality of MLB.tv's broadcast... a product I am so thoroughly impressed with that I chose to cancel my Comcast MLB Package subscription after five years:

Widgetbox Breaks 100m Monthly Uniques, Introduces Facebook Connect

Today Widgetbox reached a significant milestone in its three-year history: 100,000,000 monthly uniques (covered by TechCrunch here). Measured by Quantcast, our widgets are now seen by 100.5m unique users each month and served over 700m times - representing more than 2x growth in the last year: Those users are split evenly between men and women (51% / 49%) and have sweet spot of 35-49 and 18-34 year olds (35% and 30% respectively):

Also worth noting: only 1% of those 100m uniques are on Facebook - meaning our core audience is distributed across a long tail of 100,000s of domains.

Of course, Facebook is a current priority for Widgetbox and we are focused on also growing that audience. Widgetbox has now introduced Facebook Connect - enabling users to share / publish their widgets directly within the Facebook Feed.

Below is an example of a widget published through Facebook Connect (notice the 'play' button overlayed atop the widget's icon):

When clicked, the widget expands and is fully interactive... directly within the Facebook Feed:

iPhone 3GS Launch: Advertisers Join the Consumers

Early indications are that the iPhone 3GS launch has been a success - there were "100,000s of pre-orders" and, thanks to Apple's pre-launch reservations and purchases, the experience was clean and efficient. But just as consumers waited in line for their shiny new iPhone, advertisers prepared the launch and the marketing onslaught is everywhere. Visit any tech blog and you'll see a swarm of ads for: - iPhone 3GS-compatible accessories (ie skins and cases) - iPhone competitors (namely the Palm Pre) - Phone carriers (Sprint and T-Mobile are trying to capture attention)

My personal favorite:

This is good too... as *everything* comes off as an ad:

Starbucks' 3 Million Facebook Fans: A Lesson in Facebook Marketing, Engagement

Starbucks is approaching 3,000,000 Facebook Fans (a huge number - they have 220,000 Twitter followers) and is engaging those users to find out how to better utilize Facebook and their popularity:

Starbucks Coffee Company: About to pass 3 million fans here on Facebook. Wow! We are honored and humbled by this. Question for you all: what more or what else would you like to see us do on this site? By that I mean what type of content, discussion or offers regarding Starbucks would you like to see on this page?

Within two hours of the post, ~7,500 users "liked" the discussion and 3,500 comments. There are several takeaways:

- the ratio of comments to likes is astronomical (1:2)

- the quality if the content is fantastic... Starbucks asked for feedback and got a huge amount of relevant, valuable answers:

I would say since we took the time on FACEBOOK to be your fan then maybe you should offer coupons or a half off day at a local starbucks just for facebook users and fans. And you could use this to let us know about new products and specials. Maybe a discussions about what we like about starbucks and their products and we could learn some things from other people

Janet at 2:23pm June 19 I would say since we took the time on FACEBOOK to be your fan then maybe you should offer coupons or a half off day at a local starbucks just for facebook users and fans. And you could use this to let us know about new products and specials. Maybe a discussions about what we like about starbucks and their products and we could learn some things from other people.

Jim: at 2:23pm June 19 Have Pike Place Blend Decaf brewed all day, not just in the morning. Many of us drink decaf or half-caffs.

Marianne at 2:23pm June 19 Bring back the almond flavoring please.

- Users want coupons and exclusive offers... the theme among the comments is that discounts through Facebook would be welcome. While this is unsurprising, the marketers at Starbucks must be thinking about ways to engage 3m fans via time-sensitive coupons (Dunkin Donuts has done this wonderfully). Furthermore, it's proof that mobile / social ads can be powerful and welcomed by users.

- Finally, coffee companies get social media! When asked who does social marketing best, I always encourage people to look at Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks (in that order) on Facebook and Twitter. Their marketing teams are innovative, responsive and in tune with the web.

For 40% of Users, Mobile Web has Replaced the Regular Web

It is time to start thinking of mobile devices as netbooks or, for that matter, laptops. Data from AdMob suggests that users of the iPhone and iPod Touch are highly captive consumers of content and entertainment. The most remarkable statistic: 43% of iPhone and iPod Touch users spend more time on the mobile web than on a computer or laptop.

More than 40% of users of both devices reported using the Internet on their mobile device more often than using the Web from their computers or listening to the radio.

10% of TechCrunch's Traffic Comes from Twitter

Want to know the value of being a "Suggested User" on Twitter? Jason Calacanis offered $250,000 to lock in that slot for two years. Twitter rejected the overture.

But TechCrunch has one of those coveted spots and now has 725,000+ followers - making @Techcrunch one of the largest Twitter users. What does that mean for TechCrunch's traffic? About 10% of TechCrunch's visits now come from Twitter - a staggering number and proof that Calacanis's bid was far from crazy.

Considering that Facebook has become the top referrer for sites like HuffingtonPost, it is interesting that Facebook isn't even in TechCrunch's top five referrals. It is also an indication of both the power of being a top Twitter user and the benefit brands can realize from building their Twitter reputations.

Of course this is also bad news for Google - who is losing share and focus from consumers, brands and marketers to social sources like Twitter and Facebook. Just as companies focused heavily on SEO and internet marketing over the last few years - marketers will be expanding that focus to the distributed web:

Top Sources of Traffic To TechCrunch 1. Google: 32.7% 2. Direct: 22.7% 3. Twitter: 9.7% 4. Digg: 7.4% 5. Techmeme: 2.4% 6. Other: 25.1%

"For us, and I’d argue increasingly for other large Websites as well, Twitter is not just about micro-media. The most powerful Tweets are those which point elsewhere. Or to put it another way, the shortened link may just be the most powerful type of micro-media there is. Those retweeted links are turning Twitter into a social broadcast media that rivals any other on the Web."

Facebook Vanity URLs are Immediate SEO Boost

Before Facebook's vanity URL land grab, I speculated that it would be a major SEO boost and could result in an additional 275m monthly visits. Just three days after Facebook's URL release (9:01pm pst on Friday), the SEO benefits are clear (and immediate).

I secured the URL facebook.com/ryanspoon. Before Friday, my Facebook profile ranked 7th on Google for "ryan spoon". Now, Facebook has moved into the 5th result. Not only is this just three days after the URL launch, but Google is still showing the old, unoptimized URL in the search results (see below)... so there is much room to improve:

Relatedly, I received a Google alert for my domain ("ryanspoon") this evening and two things are of note:

1. The alert is of my Facebook profile... suggesting that Google is actively and intelligently crawling Facebook (and Facebook is delivering data feeds) 2. The alert links to the vanity URL (unlike the SEO results)

Also interesting, Google has a special treatment for Facebook listings - including my network and the names of a few of my friends. Google could go further and link to those friends directly, reveal recent activity (ie status updates) and so forth:

The Market Responds to Palm Pre and iPhone 3GS, Differently

On a day when data was released surrounding the Palm Pre's launch and Apple announced the iPhone 3GS, the clear loser was the Palm Pre and its carrier.

Palm: -6.5% Sprint: -2.9% Apple: -0.6% (rebounded from -3% after WWDC) AT&T: -0.3%

You will notice in the below chart that the market's reaction occurred before Apple's keynote (which was relatively expected materials) and actually rebounded as the day progressed... suggesting that the movement was rather a reaction to the Pre's weekend sales: