This presentation\'s focus was on identifying best practices for the design and development of applications for different platforms, explaining how to generate opportunities for public awareness in each, while exploring the relationship with social media to help generate ideas for participants.

1. Alex Nelson | Consultant
Aon Consulting | New Media &
Creative Strategy
A.L.I. – Social Media for Government
September 23, 2010

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About NMCS
Alex Nelson
1.917.715.6344 | Alexander.Nelson@aon.com

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Agenda
PART 1
 Applications, Social Media, & the State of the Market
PART 2
 Examining Applications
PART 3
 Mad Apps

4. Applications, Social Media, & the State of the Market

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What is an App(lication)?
Application
A program or group of programs designed for end
users. The term “app” has become popular parlance
for software applications designed to run on mobile
phone operating systems yet an industry-wide
definition of what is and is not an “app” does not
exist.
 Different meanings in different environments
– Web
– Mobile
– Social network
– Desktop
 Different programming technologies
– XML
– CSS/HTML5
– Flash
– Ruby
– JavaScript
– Java
– C++
-Productivity -News/Weather
-Social Networking -Gaming
-Shopping/Retail -Sports
-Music -Entertainment/Food
-Lifestyle/Travel -Banking Finance
What Apps Can Do….
…and the list goes on

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The Application Effect – Customization, Personalization, & Location
 Apps allow for more personal customization and
content filtering
– The explosion of application-delivery devices is
creating a more catered Web experience
 Data democratization is widespread
– The rise of open-source APIs have let
developers create a range of applications
across platforms
• Facebook’s Social Graph
• Twitter clients
• FCC
 Online/offline connections are on the rise with
geolocation
– Foursquare
 They won’t replace the Internet

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Applications By the Numbers

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Connecting Applications & Social Media
 Applications connect to social media
in multiple ways:
– Platforms
– Clients
– Add-ons
– Time on site
– Integrated model
 Facebook has over 100 million
mobile users
 Twitter clients make up over 80% of
the social network’s traffic

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How an Application Can Generate Social Engagement
 Start a conversation
 Serve as a message platform
 Facilitate a conversation and enable
users to reach a social media
platform
– Online video sharing
– Social network
– Instant message

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Facebook Applications: Not Just Farmville
 Games are the most popular applications on
Facebook
– Farmville has over 80 million annual monthly
users
 Facebook’s audience makes it imperative that
organizations attempt to conduct direct outreach
– Are games the best communications delivery
mechanism for you?
 Facebook applications go beyond games
– YouTube
– Blogs/RSS feeds
– FBML
– Maps
 Some of the most successful Facebook Pages use
just a few applications in a compelling manner
– Custom landing page
– Sign-up for more information form

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Basic Applications to Make Your Page Work
 FBML
 Blog RSS Feeder
 Flash Player
 Twitter App
 Posted Items Pro
 YouTube Video Box

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Mobile Applications – Going Beyond the iPhone

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Mobile Application Best Practices
 Develop across platforms
– Consider your choice of technology
 If the application is not social in nature,
make it social
– The importance of the social graph
 Make the application relevant, simple
and intuitive
 Ensure your app is more than a portal to
your website

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Location-Based Service Applications: The Social Offline/Online Connection
 Location-based services allow users to
broadcast where they are to their social
network or the general public using the
service
 The major LBS players
– Gowalla
– Foursquare
– MyTown
– Facebook Places
 LBS applications are unique in that the
application is essentially the only way to
access the service
– Marriage of offline/online interaction
through an application
– Real-time broadcasting of your location to
your social network

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How to Use LBS Within Your Organization
 LBS is currently dominated by retailers
and corporations promoting deals to
users who check in at or by their location
– Starbucks
 LBS has practical internal & external
uses for organizations
– Tips
– Scavenger hunts
– Timesheets
– Finding services
 Location-based services are still
relatively new in the marketplace
– Niche customer base

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How Applications Reach Employees
 HR is the new marketing
– Treating employees as customers
 The demographics for app use match up with
almost any company or organization
– If your employees are not regularly using
apps, they will be
 The new focus on communications enables
organizations to approach applications as an
innovative way to connect
– Communications preferences surveys
– Acting on those results
 Using the intranet as a social meeting place
– Collaboration through social applications

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Content is Still King
 Applications are a new delivery system
that enhance and amplify messaging
 Applications cannot replace
communications as a whole just as
social media cannot replace marketing
 The application is only as compelling as
the content
 Avoid the bright, shiny widget
conundrum

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Successful Application Principles
 Compelling design
 Original functionality
 Work within the platform
 Communicate a message
 Speed, speed, speed
 Less is more
 Personalize the experience
 Discoverability
 Usability
 Free is best
BONUS: Popularity matters

19. Examining Applications

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Toxic Ash Locator

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Roomster

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Picnik

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Whopper Sacrifice

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Spot the Difference

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Hootsuite

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Foursquare

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Wayfinder

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Pop Food

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Food Find

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Ebay – Internal Communications App

31. Mad Apps

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Thinking About an App for Your Organization
Questions to Ask
 Does your organization need an application?
 Who are your internal & external audiences?
 What platform(s) should you be using?
 What communications challenge(s) are you trying to address?
 What have you tried in the past both offline and online? What has worked,
what has not?
 Are there existing applications out there you can use?

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An Example – Aon Connections
 How do you connect a group of widely
dispersed employees who are frequently
on the road and rarely see co-workers in
person?
 Aon Connections
– Connect through showing data
visualizations
 Reasons it works
– All employees have Blackberries or
iPhones with access to Foursquare
– Heavy online usage
– Experimentation through
implementation waves

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Your App???
Application Name:
Platform:
Purpose:
Functionality:

35. Share Your App & Questions