Archives for 2010

Simple News Aggregation with Guzzle

As more businesses get used to social media and how they can utilize it for their needs, news aggregation and brand monitoring has become a key part of the puzzle.

While there are a host of premium models available, including Radian6, Meltwater Buzz and the recently released IBM model, these can often be prohibitively expensive for smaller businesses.

Then there are the free platforms, like Surchur, SocialMention and Trackur.

The problem is, while these platforms offer great information, the way this information is presented can be a little confusing to anyone not used to using the platforms. Additionally, they’re more geared to social media mentions and interactions, when all a company might be after is more news related.

Step up Guzzle, from Marca Tatem of French web developers Lemonchik. And it’s pretty damn cool.

The Guzzle Approach

Where Guzzle makes it really easy for anyone to use is in its visual approach and how you can customize it to your tastes, whether they be text, visual or a little of both.

Jump to the Guzzle homepage, and you can either start customizing your page, or watch a screencast video introduction. This video shows you the basics of how Guzzle works, and is pretty short. Then it’s just a matter of setting up your feeds.

When you select Click Here link to start building your Guzzle page, it takes you to a screen where you can either go with preselected topics like Headlines, Popular or Latest Images, or Add Your Own Topics. It’s this second option that you want to start playing with.

Keywords, Phrases, People and More

By typing in descriptive terms of the news you’re interested in, Guzzle then starts scanning feeds across the Internet to get the latest stories about that person, brand, product or more.

When you’ve entered all the terms you’re interested in and hit the I’m Done button, the results will show on the page and in the manner you prefer. So, if you just want headlines, you get that; if you want headlines and source of the story, you get that. If you want extended copy, you get that, and so on – it’s really up to you.

While the headline only option is useful enough, the extended option is really cool. This is where Guzzle begins to look like a really tidy online news site, with images and extended copy making the information really easy on the eyes. You can separate by categories as well, to make it even easier to scoot over.

Desktop and Beyond

As well as being a web application, Guzzle also lets you have a pseudo desktop version. If you sign up for an account (which is free), you can save your searches and not have to keep setting up new ones every time you open your browser – perfect for when you’re not at your own desk.

On top of that, you can also get Guzzle on your iPhone. Offering the same options as the web version, having the news you need at your hands could be a great deal breaker when talking with potential clients and why they need your services. Especially if you give them breaking news even they weren’t aware of…

Not Quite Perfect – Yet

Of course, with any new product (and especially a news monitoring platform), there are always going to be some bugs or “shortfalls”, for want of a better word.

While the search engine is pretty robust – it uses the likes of?Pubsubhubbub, Open Calais and various online resources – it still seems a little hit and miss.

For instance, being the egomaniac I am, I typed in both “danny brown” and “danny brown blog”. The results that came back had nothing to do with me, and were all tied into the U.K. government and new Prime Minister David Cameron. While I agree I’m not particularly newsworthy, on the other platforms like Surchur, etc, the relevant information comes back.

Of course, maybe if there was a news story about me at the minute, results might be different. But as a key part of the service, not having details on a search could obviously prove problematic.

Apart from that, Guzzle seems to be a pretty cool way to track the news you care about. Tie it in with a solid social media monitoring platform as well, and you’re looking good.

It’ll be interesting to see how the application grows, and if it becomes more tied to social or remains more news-led. Either way, it’s a great addition to an already-burgeoning scene.

How about you? Have you tried Guzzle yet? Or what alternatives do you use?

Why Being Obvious Can Be Original Too

Sometimes we look for the smartest ideas and the way-out-there jumping off points to tell a story. We look for the abstract to make people think that our products must be worth knowing, since they can’t be told in a simplistic manner.

And yet sometimes being obvious can be original too. Take a look at this picture of a parking lot opposite the Kansas City Library in the U.S. state of Missouri.

If you came across this building in the street, two things would be apparent – it’s a place tied into books. And it’s cool as hell.

Some other things that stand out?

It doesn’t have artsy pretensions, although it’s definitely a work of art.
It doesn’t shout, “Look at me!” but it does grab your attention.
By going with the classic titles it lends itself to timeless quality.

Sometimes we look for the smartest ideas and the way-out-there jumping off points to tell a story. But as this image shows, being obvious can grab someone’s attention in the simplest of ways.

Something more businesses could learn from. No?

photo credit: jonathan_moreau

System Failure

Companies have systems that they need to adhere to.

Without systems, the natives will run amok and sense and sensibility will come crashing down.

Without systems, nothing will be done because we’ll all be headless chickens and the wolves will be circling the coop.

And yet…

Systems saw Wall Street come crashing down. Systems saw auto manufacturers on the brink of destruction. Systems saw oil companies put profits over people.

Systems don’t always work.?

Four Seasons Hotels and the Art of Social Media

A lot’s been written about the Roger Smith Hotel in New York, and how it’s “doing social media right.”

But that’s just one hotel in one city, and as much as they’re doing a great job, it’s the adoption of social media by the “big boys” of any industry that really show how well social media uptake there is.

Enter Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group.

What’s cool about their entry into social media is not that they’ve done so, but how they’re doing it.

Four Seasons, Four Outposts

While a lot of companies dabble with a Twitter account or a Facebook fan page when it comes to their social media outlets, Four Seasons takes that and adds it to the power of many.

If you check their Social Media At A Glance page, you’ll see that not only does Four Seasons have a presence on Twitter and Facebook, but also YouTube and mobile/web applications. Yet, again, it doesn’t stop there, as you’ll see if you click on each social outlet.

Four Seasons on Twitter. Instead of just having a corporate Twitter account (which they do, and use it as an information hub), Four Seasons has individual Twitter accounts for each resort. Fun and friendly, they’re a mix of updates, offers and conversations with guests and offer a great outlet for customers old and new.
Four Seasons on Facebook. Just like Twitter, there are a host of individual Facebook pages, as opposed to the singular corporate one. And they’re also much more than your usual Facebook page, with polls, booking forms, special offers and much more.
Four Seasons on YouTube. A collection of short snippets about what summer means, the Four Seasons YouTube channel is currently pretty minimal for content, but they’ve got some great ideas about what makes for short and enticing.
Four Seasons Apps and Widgets. This is where the group gets pretty funky. Since Four Seasons caters to travelers, what smarter way to reach them than with an iPhone app? Sure, it leaves out other smartphone users, but the demographic for Four Seasons fits perfectly with the iPhone crowd, so they’ve obviously done their homework. They also have a Facebook app and an embeddable widget for your website or blog.

So, all in all, a pretty comprehensive social media presence. And that’s just for now – imagine where they could take it.

Social and Mobile Media Opportunities

While it’s great to see a large company like Four Seasons adopt social media and adopt it so well, they’ve got a great opportunity to really stand out from the pack in their industry.

They already have the iPhone app, but why not transfer that success to Android or BlackBerry? Both of these platforms have great app stores and a healthy slice of the demographic that Four Seasons attracts.

Taking that up a notch, they could also introduce a loyalty card that could be tied into both their Facebook app and their mobile app(s). Pre-book your stay either via Facebook or your iPhone, and you immediately get points added to your loyalty card to use at the resort. Or check-in via GoWalla or Foursquare and become the Mayor of a certain area to receive extra spa treats or facility use while at the resort in question.

I’d also like to see the YouTube channel being used more. Have guests make their own holiday videos to upload and share, to give a personal view of the Four Seasons approach. And use it as an educational channel as well – what shots you need for what countries, local characters, cultural differences to respect, etc.

These are just some ideas that Four Seasons (or any hotel or resort group) could add to enhance any social media experience from both their point of view and that of their guests. Some might be better suited than others to different companies, but it’d be great to see the buttons being pushed on how social media (and mobile) is being used.

In the meantime, hats off to Four Seasons for their current social media approach. Nice to see larger companies get on board so well.

How about you – any hotel or leisure groups stand out for you? And how would you like to see them using social media?

photo credit: four seasons