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mmahi-blog · 7 years ago

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My Life On Mobile

Day 1

Baseball is a Simple Game

So, I've embarked on my journey to be totally dependent on my mobile phone and iPad mini for the next five days. It shouldn’t be too hard since I’m constantly on my phone tweeting, posting social and checking a million notifications from news feeds to sports scores.

It will be interesting to see how reliant I am on the desktop, laptop and my 75-inch screen tv (I love that thing).

For this journey, I’ll be using my Samsung Galaxy S8 Andriod version 7.0, my trusty iPhone 6s Plus IOS11.4 and my mini iPad IOS 11.4.

I’ll be using these devices to watch TV, check my email and manage my social media campaigns at work as well as everything else I need to do digitally.

I’m a huge college baseball fan. Love my Titans and am seriously bummed that we didn’t go to Omaha this year. That’s another story. So I thought I would see how well ESPN covered the College World Series and how they keep fans connected via mobile.

I would have to say that ESPN does mobile well. They have an incredible app which pushes notifications for scores, upcoming games, and news (Does anyone think LeBron will come to LA?) UPDATE: HE IS A LAKER, WOW

ESPN is truly a global company.

ESPN uses a mix of geographic and demographic segmentation strategies to address the various factions of the sports world. They basically selectively target and focus on different sets of customer groups. Since ESPN was founded in 1979 it has emerged as a world leader in the sports media/entertainment network and broadcasting business.

I love their commercials and marketing campaigns because they appeal directly to the sports-minded viewer and they reflect the tone of the broadcast giant which is informative, entertaining and at times very funny.

ESPN, like many other media companies, is up against the emergence of online streaming sites, social media, and other digital platforms all vying for ESPN’s customers.

ESPN has a fantastic mobile presence but to view their premium content you are tied to a cable subscription or some streaming platform. They have been slow to embrace the cord-cutting features like offering a premium site that you can subscribe to and not have to be tied to a cable subscription, They recently added ESPN + but I’m not sure it is enough and that the company needs to get in the business of mobile platforms that are used by their demographic which is 10- to 45-year-old, males. They are losing revenue and laying off staff just like other media companies so I suspect this technologic disruption is top of mind in their marketing strategy. The problem is they are tied to contracts with sports leagues and cable companies.

Back to Baseball

Oregon State defeated a feisty Arkansas team that ultimately lost the series with a blown play in the bottom of the ninth inning. I know this because even though I was at a concert at the park I used my Samsung phone and the ESPN app to watch the game and listen to the smooth sounds of a Carlos Santana tribute band (I also started following the band on Facebook after they announced they had a site).

I was also able to check my emails, text messages and stay connected with friends, family and work while at a park with hundreds of music fans.

It was a great way to end a long day.

DAY 2

@CSUF is #MyTopCollege

Spending the day disconnected from a desktop computer is tricky business for a guy who makes a living doing social media and online engagement. But it has forced me to pay more attention to my mobile experience and whether I am getting everything I want and or need from it.

Today, I planned to purchase a few items on Amazon via my mobile app. I tend to do this kind of buying on my desktop because for some strange reason it feels more secure.

But Amazon’s success is because of its mobile marketing strategy. It’s as easy as picking the item and hitting the one-click option.

The beauty of Amazon is that its mobile site is truly mobile. Way too many retailers have really bad sites which lead to poor customer experiences. I went to check out Old Navy for a few items and to compare it to Amazon. The web page is mobile responsive and you have a good menu setup but what I found annoying was after a few seconds on the site a window popped up asking for my opinion about the website. I don’t have an opinion after a couple of minutes. Perhaps that comes after the purchase?

Amazon, on the other hand, does several things right including great big Calls To Action and a consistent design between mobile and the app which means either way you go it’s familiar and easy to navigate. They also highlight other items people have purchased similar to what you are picking.

I finally ended up not buying anything but my searches led me to a few things I want to get later so I’ll definitely be back.

@CSUF Social Media Campaign

Today, I also spent a significant amount of time checking on our official Twitter and Instagram sites. The ForbesEDU #MyTopCollege social media contest which we are leading in the large college division. I was waiting for the week 2 results so I needed to routinely check in as well as continue encouraging our followers to post why they love @csuf and why it is their #MyTopCollege.

If I’m in the office, I typically do this all on the desktop with several tabs open so I can bounce back and forth between platforms and the Forbes site. Being restricted to just my mobile device was a little funky but it all worked out and gave me some insights about the platforms.

Twitter

Twitter is a fantastic mobile app and it does what it supposed to do, just ask President Trump.

Twitter has been in a slump but recently there has been some growth and I believe that the strategy of increasing the number of characters from 140 to 280 is a reason for that growth. They listened to their customers and it has made a huge difference.

The big keys with Twitter are the public nature of Twitter and its advanced search features.

Twitter marketing expert Mark Schaefer illustrated this well in a recent Social Media Examiner podcast:

“To demonstrate, Mark did an experiment with a local pizza place, which had tried Facebook ads without any success. Mark suggested the owner use advanced Twitter search - Mark showed him how to set up a stream with every conversation that was within five miles of the zip code that mentioned the words “pizza,” “restaurant,” “dining out,” or anything like that.

On average, someone in the area mentioned pizza every 20 minutes. The tweets might have been silly things like, “Oh, I can’t believe how stupid I am. I just dropped my pizza face-down on the floor.” Mark suggested tweeting the person back, “We’re going to deliver you a new pizza.” It doesn’t matter if the customer didn’t buy the dropped pizza from you. You become a legend. Another person complained about slow delivery from a competitor. Mark suggested the pizza place owner respond with, “Next time, try us.”

I love Twitter for all these reasons and they need to continue developing and marketing these features that set them apart from Facebook and Instagram.

Engagement is the key to winning #MyTopCollege and our loyal Twitter followers are a reason we have won the past four years.

Forbes mobile website

My second observation from today’s check-ins with the Forbes website had some negatives.

The website is mobile friendly with a stacked theme. Great menu and pretty intuitive. So, it’s easy enough to navigate and get around.

But what was frustrating was how Forbes released the results. They have all the right elements for the contest such as a landing page which highlights the posts from schools around the country, a map showing the leaders and a results list.

They updated the list around noon which put us in first place for week 2, but they didn’t have a story up so there was nothing to verify or link to share with our followers. That came an hour later. Maybe not a big deal but it should have been done at the same time.

The other and bigger marketing fail is how they actually do the contest. #MyTopCollege is a great summer engagement contest but how they pick posts is spotty and they never spelled out when they start counting new post from week to week.

I believe this lack of transparency and detail is why participation from year-to-year has declined significantly.

The smart things ForbesEDU Twitter account does is engage by retweeting and liking the post from around the nation. A classic Twitter marketing strategy and keeps people engaged.

Lastly, they tweet reminders and challenges to specific schools to get involved. Calling out specific schools is a great way to target an audience and make it feel like they are special.

So, we ended the day finding out @csuf is still in first place. I posted on Twitter and Facebook to update our followers and also used some words from Forbes to fire up our followers to not let up because Long Beach is chasing us.

DAY 3

Weekends are for Leisure

Saturday on mobile started out like most of my days.

6 a.m. Rise and shine. Checking email, text messages and ripping through our social media notifications to see if I received any comments or questions from our followers that need to be handled.

7 a.m. At the gym watching the knock out game between France and Argentina on my iPad mini while cruising along on the treadmill. Again, ESPN’s mobile app is a lifesaver for sports junkies and their update notifications are the best.

I use a couple different mobile fitness apps. The beauty of these is that they are recording your progress in real-time. MyFitness app is the one I use and it does what it is marketed to do. Notifications to remind you to eat, walk, sleep, workout or just get off your butt. What I love about these types of apps is that they do all the work for you. I don’t have to log all my hours by hand although I do manually insert my food choices. in a fitness crazed society mobilizing health is a win-win.

8:30 a.m. Back home, checking emails and sports updates on the soccer match. Made a healthy breakfast from a recipe I found on my health app while at the gym this morning. Mobile once again making my life easier.

I’m a huge news junkie. I was in the newspaper business for 30 years so reading the morning paper and news notifications is in my DNA. Mobile makes that part of my life a lot easier but at times frustrating.

The Feel of News Print

The great part of having your news delivered via mobile is that it’s right in your hand and available wherever you are at. The worst part for my generation is that I miss the feel of newsprint in my hands and the opportunity to sit down and take a break with a good read. I get frustrated that papers still try to hold on to the legacy design of a printed newspaper in their e-editions. Millenials and Gen Z don’t care if it looks like a newspaper. They don’t have that expectation and eventually boomers will be replaced and the newspaper consumer will demand and expect a mobile, multi-media digital package.

Papers like the LA Times and OC Register have true mobile sites that are easy to navigate and give unique content like video, interactive graphics, and forums to talk about the article or issue. Papers really need to kick the newsprint model to the curb and embrace a digital look. The key is figuring how to make money at it. The industry’s failure to get in the mobile/internet/digital business years ago is why it is failing. They were disrupted by Craig’s list and citizen bloggers who they dismissed as a fad when in reality they were the future.

Got a mobile update from ESPN as well but nothing from OC Register or LAT.

CNN Breaking News: France knocks superstar Lionel Messi and Argentina out of the World Cup, beating them 4-3 in the first game of the Round of 16.

Writing on a mini iPad is fun. Right?

2 p.m. Took a trip to Costco and did some weekend shopping before heading out to friend’s house for dinner so I used my mobile devices to get around, check prices and reviews of a couple products I was buying.

Costco’s website is optimized for mobile. Not the greatest design but functional. The bummer was the mobile app. It’s the same as the website and hard to navigate as a first time user. They key in on member only savings but don’t you have to be a member to get savings anyways? That’s the point, right?

Costco Mobile Optimized Website

Costco Mobile App

A few things wrapping up Day 3.

-- Google Maps. Not sure how I ever managed before this app but I’m lost without it. I used the Waze app as well to see which worked better. I preferred Google because it’s pretty straightforward and gives you voice directions.

WAZE

Waze is unique in that it highlights traffic, accidents, road hazards etc inputted by users. It’s a little distracting and kind of a lot of work. But it has a great design and lot and lots of people love it.

HQ Addicted

Once at our friends’ home, I really didn’t engage with my mobile devices until right before 6 p.m. when our friends received a mobile alert that HQ was about to start.

Ok, I was hooked. What a blast and it’s all about mobile engagement, socializing and just having fun. The marketing strategy is pretty cool. At a certain time of day the trivia contest is on, it last 15 minutes and you ultimately have a few thousand winners at a very low payout. The key is that people are talking about the brand and that’s money. Will it last longer than Pokemon Go? We’ll see.

We wrapped up our evening with creme brûlée and a wonderful strawberry cake and most importantly conversation. (Photo shot with iPhone)

Day 4

Sunday is Funday

The one thing I have noticed through this process is that I have a routine.

Up at 6 a.m. checking emails, text messages, overnight news and sports scores all on my iPhone or Samsung Galaxy.

I read my newspapers on mobile apps and watched one of the most exciting World Cup games I’ve seen so far. Russia takes out Spain with penalty kicks.

While I was watching the games on my ESPN app I was thinking how cool it is to be connected via mobile. This week’s video points out that mobile use is growing at a rapid rate and will eventually outpace the desktop.

I listened to a lot of music on my mobile this weekend.

So are you a Spotify or Pandora person? Here are my reasons for Team Spotify

Pandora simply can’t keep up with Spotify’s versatility and usability. Pandora came first but Spotify made it better and even beats out Apple

Sure they have Pandora Premium which means users can finally listen to a massive collection of specific songs and albums at their pleasure, but Pandora is playing catch-up at this point, and it’s pretty far behind.

Spotify has better social features, better apps, and more value for your dollar.

Pandora simply fell into a trap and didn’t continue to innovate at a fast enough rate. Lesson is never get too comfortable in this new frontier.

Take a Moment

Otherwise, I didn’t do much on my phone or other mobile devices today except crank up Spotify and hang out at the pool with the grandkids, bbq and try to unplug.

UPDATE: LEBRON IS A LAKER!!

My phone went off later that evening with alerts about King James. It just kept ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping ping !!!! Mobile at its best or worst if you are a Clippers Fan!

Day 5

Mondays Always Make Me Happy

Not sure what it is about Monday but it gives me the feeling that I have a whole new fresh start on life and this time I’m going to get it right.

Today is the start of a holiday week. The Fourth of July is in the middle of the week and I have a ton of stuff to get to before heading out for what I hope will be an extended weekend. We will see.

So, back to my mobile journey.

6 a.m. Up and first thing in my hand before even a cup of coffee is my iPhone. Checking and answering emails, text messages and reviewing the news that Los Angeles is now the center of the universe or one would think with the coming of The King.

7 a.m. I’m getting ready and I get a mobile notification that Forbes #MyTopCollege third week theme is up. So, I craft a tweet and let our followers know to tweet or post on Instagram about the impact study abroad has had on their lives all the while wondering will anyone post on a holiday weekend. Will they? I sent out a distribution list email to about 75 people on campus helping with the contest and crafted a post for Facebook using my iPad mini.

8ish: Read as many of the breaking news reports in my stream and glanced at top stories in my OCR and LAT apps. By now I have been bombarded with news stimuli from several sources all via mobile. That would never have had happened 30 years ago when I was in the news business. You would check a few newspapers, listen to KNX and watch the local broadcast channels ABC, NBC, and KTLA. That’s no longer the norm. It’s all in the palm of our hand.

A quick breakfast while watching the Today Show on my iPad mini. I hate it when going into a holiday they have a segment on dieting. Really? Dude, I’m eating hot dogs, ribs, burgers and a few adult beverages. But that segment reminded that maybe I should have all that fun in moderation. Sucks getting old.

Work: Kind of the same routine. checking emails, text messages and notifications on my phone and tweeting about #MyTopCollege.

Instagram is an app I use a lot for personal pleasure and work. Today was no exception. Went out and grabbed a photo, posted and in four-plus hours I have more than 900 likes. It’s the beauty of having over 20,000 followers and knowing what types of images my audience likes and the captioning.

So why is Instagram so good?

• Instagram is easy to use, great for in-the-moment experiences, you can edit on the fly and it is highly visual. People love photos. It’s different from apps like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, mostly because of its simplicity. My student audience loves simple. It’s also not limited to one function like LinkedIn which is for professional networking. It’s kind of the people’s app.

It’s not perfect

• You can’t publish links in your Instagram posts, so it’s harder to lead people back to your site. There are ways around this which also include an app called Link Tree but it’s not ideal. The upside is limited spamming. Not meant for text and conversations are limited so no flaming Tweet wars which actually may be a good thing.

At the end of the day its simplicity and visual impact is what is important about Instagram and is the No. 1 reason it is our fastest growing platform with huge engagement numbers.

My Mobile Life Summary or Kind of Day 6

This really isn’t Day 6. It’s actually Day 5 since I started a little behind so forgive me for taking a little liberty with the assignment

This weekend was also kind of crazy. Our main sewer drain was clogged and we knew this time it was going to need a little more than a snake and some hot water.

I was on my mobile device a lot getting in touch with the plumber, texting back and forth and trying to see how much a sewer line repair would be running me. The cool thing is I was able to do all that and still go swimming with the grandkids because of mobile. All that was handled with a call, text or a quick check of local plumbers on Yelp and Angie’s List.

Reflecting on the five days using mobile.

I miss my desktop and laptop. I’m kind of old school but very tech savvy and use mobile more than most. I grew up pounding a typewriter, struggling with an old Radio Shack TRS 80s, putting change in a public phone and taking notes on a notepad. The desktop is my connection to those days and it just feels right.

That said I am extremely mobile. I noticed my routine and it centers around checking in on my email, text, social posts and Googling stuff I don’t know or need to research. It’s amazing how dependent I am on digital and mobile.

I have a million apps on my iPhone, Samsung, and mini iPad. I use email, text, camera, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, a few other social media platforms, and tools like iMovie as well as some productivity apps like Word, Google maps, and a calculator. The other zillion apps basically sit there and one or two may be used once or twice a year.

Here are a few things I learned about mobile sites.

Keep calls to action front and center.

Keep menus short and sweet but let them do some heavy lifting.

Keep getting back to the home page easy.

Keep in mind people are there for what they want so keep promotions simple and don’t let them steal the show.

Keep your search front and center. People use the search function a lot and they need to know where it is on your mobile site. Make the searches relevant to what your customer wants.

Keep customer engagement top priority. If they have a question, don’t leave them hanging. Customer service is key on mobile.

Keep the purchasing function as easy as possible. Don’t make them work too hard to check out.

For me, sites like Amazon and Home Depot (I’m a DIY kind of guy or more like take parts back until I get the right one) check off a lot of these bullet points.

So, all in all, it was an interesting week. I am now aware that I am totally addicted to my phone or in reality, it is part of who I am and what I do. I embrace the new technology and understand that eventually mobile will be how the majority of consumers do business each and every day. The same is true for education and many of the same principals can be applied to higher education websites that are too stuffy and not mobile.

But at the end of the day, I know that it’s time to take that phone and capture a moment in time that is just for me.

Aloha

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mmahi-blog · 11 years ago

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My Road Trip With Paula

You know your day is going to be interesting when you arrive at John Wayne Airport with your work colleague and she calmly asks "Did you make the rental car reservation?"

HUH?

That's how my wild 24-hour adventure began with Paula Selleck.

To the best of my knowledge, I somehow failed to make the car rental (I could have sworn I pushed the button to confirm!!!) and Paula made sure I didn't beat myself up although as she was smiling I felt that mom was not pleased.

She had me call every rental car company in San Jose and once we determined I had failed we rented a car from Thrifty.

Paula is detailed oriented and when they said to make sure you check the car for dents she took her job seriously.

She went around the entire car taking notes for each scratch. iPhone photos were taken. She was pleased with her efforts.

Then we got to the gate and this very nice man charged with recording damage before the car left the lot.

Paula exited the car and waited until the attendant was ready. He explained that 99 percent of what she was pointing out was not an issue. She said, "I have notes and photos just in case buster!"

Once on the road, we were tuned in to XM radio, listening to 60s music "Please Mike no talk radio!" So we grooved to the Beatles.

GPS Silenced An interesting thing happens when one person talks for an hour and a half you tend to lose track of exactly where you are going.

We were traveling from the San Jose Airport to Cal State Monterey Bay and Paula was doing her usual jibber jabber when I asked her if the exit for the campus was coming up soon. She kept singing “Here Comes the Sun” so I drove on. About a half hour later I asked again and she said “perhaps.” Indeed we had passed it about 10 or so miles.

I flipped a U-turn and we were back on track listening to the Rolling Stones and squawking away about the scenery.

The rest of the trip was filled with great memories including a lovely dinner the night before the professional development sessions on campus.

Dining With Paula

I learned that Paula likes her lemon-drop martinis. Her drinking problem aside, she was sought after by many at that table to chat, catch up and just bask in Paulaisms.

We chatted and consumed adult beverages into the wee hours, well 10:30 p.m. or so, and then we strolled downtown to cap off a delightful evening.

Quick Break

While Paula was still snoozing in her room, I snuck away for a quick cup of coffee and a stroll to some of these famous landmarks. It was early and the sea air refreshed me for the day ahead.

Is That Cereal?

I decided not to jump off the end of the pier and made my way back to our quaint seaside cottage where I grabbed Paula who was grazing on what I believe was some kind of breakfast cereal. I didn’t ask.

"I Love College Campuses”

At these functions, you are asked if you would like to take a tour and I looked over at Paula and she had this look like “please, please, please can we go on the tour?” So, we did.

Paula really likes college campuses. She asked a zillion questions and even filled in a few blanks for the nice lady that was giving the tour. Many were amazed at her CSU knowledge but I just chalked it up to her being part of the CSU since 1960 when the Master Plan was established. Paula’s longevity is testament to what really matters and that’s her passion for her job and the mission.

Paula is Professional Development

Paula was a hit at the sessions where she once again captivated the audience with her attention to detail and her gift of gab as she was elected to represent her group in many of our discussions. You just couldn’t put baby in the corner.

The Road Back Home

Paula and I said our goodbyes to the group and took a couple of selfies. Now filled with more professional team bonding information than we would ever use in a lifetime, we headed back out on the road toward San Jose.

Again, the radio was blaring Beatles tunes and miss jibber jabber’s head was on a swivel looking at all the pretty flowers, trees and wilderness.

She had me take several detours off the main highway to inspect the local culture. “Paula, I’m not sure we should be off-roading in a rental paid for by the state,” I said.

Paula shot back: “You only live once, bucko!”

Do You Know The Way to San Jose?

Back on the highway, we sped toward the airport because by now we are cutting it close.

“Oh dear,” Paula says. “We need gas.”

Yes, we certainly did need to refuel before we turned in our all white, classy compact that strangely resembled a state-issued vehicle.

So, after about 20 minutes of more rubbernecking, we found a gas station and fueled up.

I looked over at my traveling companion and noticed she was fascinated by a fast-food stand.

“Oh that brings back memories,” she said wistfully.

Do I dare ask? I turned the radio louder.

The Airport, Almost Heaven

We get the car back safely, Paula did a quick inspection to make sure it was dent free and once satisfied all was good we made our way back to the terminal.

I always hate waiting in line and we didn’t have the Golden TSA hall pass but we had an alternative.

That Paula knows all the angles. We skip past all the youngsters and make our way to the Southwest gate and have a bite to eat before we board.

“You must eat,” Paula said.

I agreed.

Who would have thought that this diminutive elf-like firecracker could consume 10,000 calories in less than 15 minutes!

Once we blasted through a huge bag of fries, two gigantic hamburgers and a soda, we settled in and waited for the nice Southwest people to call us up and find our places in the cattle lineup.

All Aboard on the Peace Train

Southwest is actually one of my favorite airlines to fly. There is no b.s and you get what you pay for. The flight wasn’t too crowded and I got to get a little shut-eye (Don’t tell Paula because I think she was talking the whole time.)

At the end of the day, my trip with Paula was memorable and very enjoyable. We talked about the news biz, our families, music and a host of other great stories that will be just for us two.

Thanks, Paula Selleck for a swell time and Aloha.

Bonus Fun

When I got back to the office, my colleagues left me a little something.

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