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Articles by Bryan Burch on Digital Media

HTC EVO 4G from Sprint in Florida ? Some friends asked me what I thought about the HTC Evo 4G from Sprint. Well from everything that I have read about the new smart phone it is the 800lb gorilla in the room. The phone will use the Android operating system and comes with a 1ghz processor. As I have mentioned before the world of smart phones will adopt the Adobe Flash player and apparently the EVO 4g will be on that bandwagon as well. Running on the Sprint 4g network will test the limitations of the phone. Download speeds will be incredible and you will be able to capture HD video as well. Currently Florida has no cities with the 4G systems but Miami is on the list of cities slated to get 4g and although Orlando is not on the list it will benefit from the infrastructure. Remember what I said about Apple and the IPhone becoming obsolete? Things are sure shaping up to proof me right.

Social networking experts , really ? I was talking to a new client of mine about her Facebook business page. She had another company do some of work already but there was a problem. It seems that she was banned from Facebook for a few days for aggressive recruiting (a nice way of saying spam) of fans for here page. Well this is why she is with our company now. There are many social networks out there and they are a great tool for business and for networking but there are rules. Here in the Orlando and central Florida area, there has been a boom in companies that claim the title of Expert” when it comes to social networks. Unfortunately their clients find out the hard way that the “Expert” didn’t know as much as they thought they did or just didn’t care. Just like the MySpace crowd, a lot of people claimed to be developers but just look at the failure rate of most advertising campaigns. Just because you have 8 zillion subscribers doesn’t mean that they will translate into sales or traffic. Quality of the contacts is more important than the quantity.

Facebook and Custom Interactive Flash Content Well we are trying out some new techniques to jazz up our Facebook page. We have added a Porfolio Tab and an Interactive Tab . These tabs include Flash content held on our website servers and not on Facebook . The good thing about using this technique is that you can add interactive content and very rich graphics including your own videos with custom players .Alot of people have complained about the plain look of Facebook , well this is a good way to set yourself apart from the crowd . It will be interesting to see how far we can push the envelope when it comes to interactivity . We are planning some interesting concepts based on this platform that might be surprising .

A word on the state of the tech industry in Central Florida For those of us in the Orlando area including Lake County, Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Marion, the market is slim. The need of an online presence is very crucial in today’s market but all that glitters is not gold. Because of the down turn in the economy people, companies and political campaigns are looking for ways to cut cost. Be aware that when you hire inexperienced Internet staff your goals may be compromised and your costs could go even higher than you originally estimated. The old saying that “You get what you paid for” does apply to today’s tech market. Professionals are updating their education on a daily basis and understand all the latest trends and how they affect the industry. Techniques that I used 2 years ago would be almost useless today. For example: 13 years ago key words and meta tags ruled the search engine landscape and now they are almost completely obsolete. So if you are planning on hiring someone to help you with your online presence, hire a pro. It will cost a few dollars more but the ROI will be well worth it.

First Mobile (Smart) Phone with Adobe Flash Well it seems that we will have to wait a little longer for the Android to get the Flash Player (10.1) There have been a few demos of the new player on the Android and the Nexus One (Google Phone). Its sad that 3 years since the announcement of partnerships with some of the smart phone giants, we are still waiting. Much of the reasons for the wait cannot be helped. Waiting for processors to catch up to content has been a curse since the beginning of the Internet. But the other reasons are more easily controlled . The ones I speak of are the squabbling over who’s content player to use . This is not a question of who has the best player , just a question of ego and control . There are some smart phone companies at the top of the heap right now that could wake up in the coming months to find themselves in real market trouble. These companies have refused to integrate Flash Player, which runs 80% the Internets digital media. The first companies that make this content available to the public will set themselves apart and the ones that don’t , well … Just ask yourself this , How much market share does Atari have today in the gaming world ?

SEO: No such thing as free or cheap rankings With the down turn in the economy, Search Engine Optimization or SEO has entered a strange and dark time. There has been a trend to get things done cheap.We have all heard the “my nephew did my website” horror stories. But what maybe worse is the flood of companies that promise “great rankings” within a couple of weeks for a small 1-time fee. This is a lie, sort of. While it is possible to get good rankings very quickly, it does come at a price. That price could be getting banned from search engines. Many of these companies use Black Hat SEO methods. Meaning they are using techniques that Google, Yahoo and others consider Spam or illegal. Is it worth it … NO! SEO is a full time and ongoing process. Quality, legitimate search engine rankings take time. Do not use Link Farms! Quality inbound or backlinks from other sites is one of the main items that search engines use when ranking your page. Also search engines want to see updated content. If you update your content at least once a week, it tells the search engine that you are a viable site. Proper HTML tags are important. Make sure that you take the time to review the newest protocols for HTML and XHTML.

Media Design Concepts My first job interview at a radio station lasted all of 10 seconds. That’s how long it took for the Program Director to know if I was right for the station. My demo tape was the standard 3 minutes long, he listened for 10 seconds. He would later explain that in the end, it’s not about the quantity on the tape but the quality. When it comes to web design, some designers tend to over complicate things. Keeping your designs very simple and lightweight is a must for effective communication of your message. Many times I have been to a creative site with stunning programming but I couldnt tell you what product or service they were trying to sell.

The attention span of the consuming public seems to be shrinking almost on a daily basis. Just take a look at the most successful viral videos. Most are under 30 seconds and a good portion of those are under 10 seconds.

Lastly dont reinvent the wheel. If you want to see the power of simple you have to look no further than Google. One look at the landing page should give any clutter junkie pause. Remember that K.I.S.S is not just a rock band but is also a designers prime directive.

Political Digital Media In the past few years we have seen an explosion of interest in Social Networking and Digital Media. Many are still trying to adjust to this ever-changing media landscape. The adjustments by many of the old guard in the political landscape have been nothing less than brutal to watch. Gone are the days of saying things that take months or years to become public knowledge. Now when you say something on the trail, at a ballgame or in your car it will more than likely be posted somewhere like YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. On the other hand, we have seen many campaigns capitalize on the new information age. The most efficient use of internet marketing for political campaigns was evident in the 2008 campaign machine for Barack Obama. His use of the social and viral media was nothing less than stunning in its execution.

Who will own the Social Media landscape for the coming 2010 mid term elections? Many have pointed to some of the Tea Party candidates such as Ron Paul as potential heirs. One thing is for certain, we will see a flood of money thrown at this campaign but that doesnt guarantee victory. These candidates will need very skilled social media producers, which in many cases are in short supply. It will be interesting to say the least.

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