Blog entries from Howie2.0

Codes of the mobile future

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:23:52 +0100

QR (Quick Response) codes are 2D barcodes and one of the innovations promising immediacy in data retrieval. They work in a similar way to the barcodes used in retail – where they are used to store product quantity and prices, except QR codes can hold much more data.

You would use your camera-enabled smartphone to ‘read’ the barcode and it would take you to either a webpage or activate an SMS message, and that’s not even the half of it!

Originally created Read More...

Viral adverts: special breed of awesome

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:11:52 +0100

I’m sure everyone has seen at least one marketing campaign that has gone viral, spread like wild-fire across social networking sites and other channels by the web 2.0’s baby – sharing.

seen this? if not, watch it then continue reading...

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ6zr6kCPj8 560x345]

In a web of interconnectivity you might assume that every advertisement that hits the online river will flush through various channels at rapid speeds – buRead More...

Social Media: 6 best practices

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:54:01 +0100

Social media is like Google’s elusive Algorithm which keeps search engine marketers on their toes around the clock. It’s a constantly changing and evolving species of technology meshed with 2-way communication channels, audience scope and UGC.

Everywhere we turn, we’re told that we should have this social networking account and that micro-blogging account – but this is all very jarring lingo to some.

Most of us are used to clicking tabs and downloading information in a very mediocre way, but there is a website harbouring one of the most famous fantasy series the world has ever seen. Unveiling in October 2011, Read More...

Digital video trailers for books

Mon, 30 May 2011 14:11:17 +0100

Founded in 2008 by entrepreneur, Bradley Inman, who had a vision of combining two usually separate industries, books and videos, into one integrated story. Vook, pronounced v + ook as in book, emerged as an digital master-idea.

The website Vook is an online platform that offers you the opportunity to pick a book out of a series of categories, to read its 'blurb', read author information and book reviews, WATCH the book’s trailer, as well asRead More...

Vme? no VYou!

Tue, 24 May 2011 07:12:44 +0100

I came across an interesting video platform called VYou which does not necessarily compete with YouTube. It is wedged in a niche market that moves away from one way delivery of video content to a two way conversation with the person in the video and their viewers. This idea could take customer relations to a new level for businesses and enable simple indirect advertising Read More...

3D animation or real news presenter?

Tue, 17 May 2011 07:32:31 +0100

Human beings communicate through verbal (speech) and non-verbal (body language, facial expressions) modes. One of the barriers that limits inter-country communication in many forms is language (English, Russian etc), however, non-verbal communication is arguably a universal language understood by everyone, except of course those who are socially inapt.

Now even though I consider myself someone who pays attention, not even I can translaRead More...

Convergence: the evolutionary magnet

Mon, 09 May 2011 11:48:05 +0100

Ever woken up and thought, (sigh) “same s#*t, different day,” rolled out of bed feet first whilst your fingers tear at the duvet for an extra minute of warmth? Ever sat in traffic for ages only to be met with the same stressed faces dragging their lips at the office and booming commands shot through your brain for “to-dos” on deadline? You just smile and nod, don’t you... imagining that you had a coffee cup with a knuckle buster as a hanRead More...

Politically incorrect since 2009

Wed, 04 May 2011 07:51:00 +0100

Here are a few hints: It’s emerged from a now defunct magazine, it was launched via an announcement on Twitter a year and a half ago, and it enjoys a monthly audience of over 65 000 people. Not bad for a team of four employees.

The Daily Maverick came from the now defunct Maverick Magazine, which published every four weeks, for four or five years a while ago. The magazine was built on the premise that they wanted to look at just thRead More...

News: would you pay for it?

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:57:28 +0100

Would you pay for access to news online? Should news be free and risk the decrease in quality journalism, or should it have a payment system to support the distinction between professional journalism and user-generated content? Would you pay and for what?

What are paywalls?

Paywalls, aka “Walled Gardens” are a way of enclosing information behindRead More...

newspapers: digital revenue strategies

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 12:43:05 +0100

‘Out with the old and in with the new’ – it’s accepting change that is the most difficult thing for most, especially for print media. It’s essential for newspapers to diversify its revenue strategy on to the online sector with this evolving technology landscape. Newspapers should combine the power of mass media and online advertising ideally. There are many debated strategies for gaining revenue online, some ideas are being used and some are still under developmeRead More...

Which tablet should you choose?

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:02:34 +0100

You walk into an electronic store with the hope of picking up a tablet with the titan reputation that everyone has been talking about. Standing at the front of all the displays a twinge of frustration looms when your eyes scatter over the tablets which all look the same. Great, which one were my friends talking about? And what about that one? It looks the same...?!

For the Layman, the process of finding a tablet, like many things, is frustrating to say the least.

I, as one of thRead More...