As the social web evolves, so do we. Max Gladwell will now incorporate geolocation as a fundamental part of its brand, coverage, and M.O.
The geolocation trend is simply too big to be a mere topic or category. The more we consider its implications for social media and green living—its implications on how we live—the more we realize that geolocation merits a deeper integration with the Max Gladwell brand. It is now the proverbial third leg of the Max Gladwell stool: Social Media, Geolocation, and Green Living.
Location-based technologies put everything into geographic context. This context leads to greater relevance, value, and action. After all, our first principle of social media is to Be a Beacon. Physical location adds a very literal layer to this marketing approach. Whether it’s commerce, social networking, activism, politics, entrepreneurship, or recreation, location adds an vital new dimension.
Mathew Honan of Wired Magazine describes it succinctly:
Simply put, location changes everything. This one input—our coordinates—has the potential to change all the outputs. Where we shop, who we talk to, what we read, what we search for, where we go—they all change once we merge location and the Web.
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Twitter’s latest geolocation feature, Local Trends, starts us in the direction of geospatial awareness.
How relevant or useful are Twitter’s trending topics to you?
There was a time when the Twitter ecosystem was more contained and trending topics was generally useful or at least interesting. As this screenshot shows, it’s become useless. The mainstreaming of Twitter on an international scale has had an adverse effect on this data-driven feature.
It stands to reason that the personal relevance for trending topics will be inversely proportional to the size and volume of the aggregated input, which means the value is diminished as Twitter gets more popular. As of this writing, the only real-time info we can glean from trending topics is that none of them are relevant to us.
This week, Twitter started rolling out a geographic filter for trending topics called Local Trends. We’re eagerly awaiting for it to be activated on Max Gladwell’s account. You’ll find the new feature in the sidebar with Lists and Trending Topics when it’s enabled.
It will function by manually setting your location (city) as the default. Local Trends will then list the most popular topics for all geo-tagged Tweets in that city (as we understand it). You will also be able to view Local Trends for other countries/cities. It appears that the city level will be as deep as you can go at first, but it should get more granular over time with the possibility of selecting a custom area according to a neighborhood, county, or perhaps multiple cities. This data will be incredibly valuable on a micro as well as macro level.
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The first decade of the new millennium ushered in new versions of just about everything.
Long ago the software industry established a simple versioning protocol to mark the progress and development of its products. These are expressed as versions 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 2.1, etc.
Over the past decade, the world borrowed this successive, numeric method to mark significant, often revolutionary advancements in other areas: government, communications, activism, business, and charity to name a few. More so than in decades past, the progress made in these last 10 years across so many parts of society has been so great that we were compelled to view them as fundamentally new—as versions 2.0.
Although technology served as a primary enabler of these 2.0 transitions—and Web 2.0 both coined and drove the 2.0 trend—technology did not entirely define the dawning of the 2.0 era. Rather, it was a unique mix of psychology, philosophy, and innovation together with a healthy measure of humanity that broke down the barriers to the next version of just about everything.
To be clear, the 2.0 designation is not meant to imply that versions 2.1 or 3.0 will follow any time soon. This is where the software analogy ends. The 2.0 designation simply marks a fundamental shift in thought, principles, and overall modus operandi. It deliniates the past from the present and future. Not coincidentally, it aligns with the first decade of the new millennium.
Following are a few of the 2.0 highlights from the past decade.
Dawn of the 2.0 Era
Web 2.o: We are all too familiar with the original 2.0, so we won’t go into too much detail. Quite simply, it is marked by a series of C-words (with the notable exception of one): community, collaborate, cooperate, control, connect, communicate, create, contribute, collect, content, and crowdsource. If we missed any, feel free to comment.
Environment 2.0: We’ve written before about the meaning and significance of Environment 2.0 and how it evolved quite rapidly from the first version starting around the turn of the century. In many ways the distinction is as simple as being for environmental solutions as opposed to being against environmental destruction. This has enabled politicians, corporations, and pretty much anyone to participate and support sustainability and green living simply because it’s a positive and reasonable thing to do. And while this has opened the door to greenwashing, this second version of environmentalism is still far superior to the first.
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Fox News recently did a feature story on Zumbox, the paperless postal system. The story was syndicated nationally and internationally through Fox television affiliates (TV and Web).
The piece focuses on municipal adoption of Zumbox in San Francisco, which was spearheaded by the City’s forward-thinking Mayor, Gavin Newsom, and its Department of the Environment. The objective is to save taxpayer dollars on printing and postage costs while reducing waste and communicating more efficiently with residents.
Max Gladwell founder Rob Reed is interviewed for the story, serving in his capacity as VP of Marketing and Government Relations as well as designated spokesperson.
“The potential for Zumbox is to build and strengthen communities by enabling electronic communication that didn’t exist before,” said Reed.
The biofuel industry went through a boom and bust not unlike the dot-com era. Can Biofuels 2.0 revitalize the broken industry in the twenty-teens?
The previous decade will be remembered for giving birth to the clean tech movement and more specifically the business opportunity in green technology. When we look back, the 2000s will be credited for launching countless companies in solar, wind, geothermal, electric vehicles, smart grid, and biofuels. The latter is unique in that the biofuels industry experienced a roller coaster ride much like the dot-com era of the ’90s. We rode the wave from 2005 to 2007 and have been keen observers ever since. There is definitely a book to be written about the great biofuel boom and bust of the 2000s. This was our first-hand experience.
In early 2005, we were engaged as consultants for Earth Biofuels, a biodiesel startup based in Dallas, Texas. As you can imagine, building a vertically integrated energy company is highly capital intensive given the tremendous infrastructure involved. Fortunately, the economy appeared to be quite healthy at the time, and the investment environment for such things was quite favorable. By the fall of that year, the company was in a position to complete a reverse merger and go public. Concurrently, Earth Biofuels acquired Willie Nelson’s small biodiesel distribution company, complete with the BioWillie brand, and both Willie Nelson and actor Morgan Freeman joined the company’s board of directors.
Earth Biofuels entered 2006 with multiple biodiesel refineries either under construction or in the planning/acquisition stages. The BioWillie B20 biodiesel brand was being distributed at a handful of independent truck stops around the country. The press couldn’t do a story on biodiesel without referencing BioWillie, and the company was quickly expanding into the corn ethanol business. Goldman Sachs had already forecast $100 oil (though it wouldn’t be realized until 2008), which made a clear business case for biofuels.
Indeed, the case for biofuels was compelling across the political spectrum. Renewable, domestically produced fuels supported local and rural economies while reducing our dependence on foreign energy, and they were good for the environment by reducing both toxic and greenhouse gas emissions. Having personally conducted the market research and written the business plan for Earth Biofuels, we also realized the inherent limitations of soy-based biodiesel and corn-based ethanol. We didn’t believe these fuels represented a long-term solution but rather one of many ways to transition away from petroleum. We knew that second-generation biofuels such as algae-based biodiesel and cellulosic ethanol would be necessary for biofuels to be truly scalable, viable, and sustainable as fuel alternatives. We weren’t alone, however, in backing the first generation.
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Is your company (or client) positioned to take advantage of geolocation as a business strategy? We look at seven that just might be.
The geolocation trend is bigger than most of us realize. Granted, it’s premature as a broad business opportunity. But make no mistake. Geolocation will become as broadly relevant and valuable as social media itself in the coming year(s).
Consumers will benefit by gaining better access to information based on geographic relevance i.e. geospatial awareness. This means that anyone running a consumer business, whether online or off, will be able to participate and ultimately benefit from a geolocation strategy using Twitter, Google, and other geo-based services. A few will be able to integrate geolocation to the very DNA of their business models.
In the following, we look at seven companies that are uniquely positioned to explore this next great frontier.
1. General Motors
This applies to all car makers. GM just happens to have the OnStar system, which gives it a slight advantage. As soon as cars become fully web enabled, it will be quite easy to integrate geolocation apps with the navigation systems. In addition to the static info you get about restaurants, airports, and points of interest, you’ll get real-time info about everything going on around you—restaurant wait times, available parking spaces, live video, and where your friends are located. You’ll also be able to program the system to push select types of notifications, such as if an accident has occurred on your current route or if a friend has come into range. This might also be available in a head-up display. In an ideal world, Audi teams up with Apple to offer the first tablet-like device integrated with the dashboard that will offer this feature package in the 45-mpg A3 TDI. It’s only a matter of time before Apple expands into the automotive market, just as Microsoft has with SYNC, and Audi seems like a great fit.
2. Greenopia
Geolocation is fundamental to the Greenopia model. The company started with printed, Michelin-style guides to green businesses and services for Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. It also provides that same info for more than 50 cities through its website. Starting in January of 2010, you’ll gain access to that same info using the Greenopia iPhone app, which is powered by Geodelic. Now you can dynamically locate green businesses across all categories from wherever you happen to be. The app features the addition of Yelp reviews as well as one-click directions. The missing piece is a social component ala Foursquare to make finding and supporting local green businesses more…social. It’s also worth noting Greenopia’s recent partnership with American Express, the undisputed king of geo-commerce data.
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A series that reflects on the big topics and trends from the first decade of the 21st Century.
We’re big fans of history, as there is so much to learn from it. This is the first in a series of posts that will look back on the past decade from 2000 – 2010. Each may not have specific relevance for social media or sustainability, but the big topics of the housing bubble, the Bush Era, the dotcom bust and the rise of the Millennial Generation provided the broader context from which social media was born and the new era of sustainability emerged.
The Housing Bubble
There was so much wrong with the housing market we hardly know where to begin. First, you had a flood of a cheap money thanks to China’s cash surplus, the securitization of mortgages, and the Fed’s unprecedented interest-rate cuts. Investors were seeking new opportunities following the dotcom bust, and real estate was considered safe if not sexy. Mortgage lending got creative with no-money-down loans and low teaser rates. Plus, you could cheapen your payments by opting for interest-only or negative amortization, where you pay less than the interest and the balance is added to the principle. On top of that, lending standards were non-existent.
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Give back by checking into the real-world places you go each day. It’s good Karma.
Just days after we posted our trend piece on geolocation, inspired by the “clear implications for entrepreneurship, sustainability, and green business,” we witness the launch of CauseWorld, a mobile geolocation iPhone/Android app that enables users to earn points (Karma) by checking into various locations and convert them into charitable donations and other social goods. It’s essentially SocialVibe meets Foursquare. Given that it’s backed by legendary VC Kleiner Perkins, this is one to take seriously.
The CauseWorld model follows a recent trend wherein consumers become an integral part of a company’s philanthropic or CSR efforts. The reasoning goes something like this: If we’re already giving to charity, why not get some extra credit and exposure by involving our customers and potential customers in the process? Web 2.0 technologies and mobile apps make this quite easy to execute and manage. CauseWorld’s novel approach leverages geolocation and commerce (geo-commerce) in forming a business model with clear social value.
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Looking to the year ahead through the lens of social media, computing, mobile, and web technology.
Max Gladwell keeps its own calendar, which ends on April 1st each year. We offer a different 12-month period through which to reflect and look forward based on the Max Gladwell launch date.
For the standard calendar year, we look to predictions being made by others and offer our own perspective. This year, we look at ReadWriteWeb’s 2010 Predictions and cherry pick the best ones.
1. Marshall Kirkpatrick: A new social network will rise to join the big ones. It may offer the privacy that Facebook is moving away from, it may be mobile and location-centric, it may focus on personal content recommendations.
MG: This is just as much hope as prediction, specifically the location part. There is huge potential and value in networking local communities. This platform will demand unparalleled privacy and security because you’ll be dealing with people’s locations and potentially home addresses (which are already publicly available, but this will makes them more accessible and revealing). Nevertheless, the social value of being more connected and aware of our neighbors will be worth it.
2. Alex Williams: A new breed of social networks will emerge that act as one-stop shops for applications and services. These will look more like marketplaces than social hubs for conversations around the proverbial virtual water cooler. SaaS leaders will face off for this growing market.
Max Gladwell (MG): Expanding on the above, we’ll see more browser-based applications, thanks in part to HTML5, that are cross-compatible with laptops and smartphones. Developers will more easily be able to repurpose their iPhone apps for the web.
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Twitter’s sudden profitability is a lesson in priorities and value creation.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek broke the news today that Twitter became profitable. (Just as surprising, Bloomberg BusinessWeek broke this story before the tech blogs.) Twitter achieved this feat through big search deals with Google and Microsoft (Bing) totaling $25 million. Though it remains to be seen whether Twitter continues to be profitable in 2010, the company has come to this point by staying true to the value principle. In other words, it prioritized long-term value over short-term revenue, and it’s paying off.
As early as 2007, analysts questioned the Twitter revenue model. As the company grew, so did the skepticism about how Twitter would monetize its millions of users. Meanwhile, the founders of Twitter focused on providing value for its users, fully aware of the fact that value is what ultimately yields sustainable revenue models.
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