O+A Sessions: Paul Adams on the Social Web

My notes from the 2012 O+A Sessions

In his talk about Facebook and the future of the social web, Facebook’s Paul Adams explained the power of the Social Graph API and how it will change not only the way that we interact with brands, but the way that we use the Internet. He also made the argument that once a user uses a site that correctly users the Social Graph, they will never go back to sites without it. Read More…

Recent Nielson Study Proves You Can’t Ignore Mobile Users

My job at VistaComm affords me the ability to talk to quite a few of our clients about their mobile device strategy. Often we find during those discussions that they haven’t given any thought to it, and if they have, they feel that there isn’t any need at this time. Although I understand their reasoning, it couldn’t be further from the truth. Read More…

The Fallacy of the “Mobile Web” & “Native Apps” (or How to Fracture Your Users Without Trying)

“As of this writing, there’s no contest: ship mobile apps if you can afford it.” – Jakob Nielsen

When I woke up this morning, I was overwhelmed by the number of times friends were Tweeting, Facebooking, and emailing me the newest post by Jakob Nielsen, “Mobile Sites vs. Apps: The Coming Strategy Shift.” Ninety-nine times out of 100, I agree with every word he says. This article is the one exception.

While I agree with his basic premise, that if given the option between equally well-developed native apps and web pages, the apps often are superior, there are some serious caveats that need to be pointed out before such a blanket statement is made. Read More…

Ten Simple Rules to Secure Your Online Life with a Secure Password

Best Practices for a secure password

A week doesn’t go by without someone asking me about internet security. They tell me stories of their kids installing software that also installs malware, lament about Facebook changing privacy settings so all their personal information is public, or express concern over the latest internet security breach (e.g. Epsilon).

I know that for every one of us, online security is important. We spend so much time installing anti-virus software and tweaking our Facebook security settings that we forget one of the most important way we can secure our online lives. Secure passwords. Security doesn’t need to be about 16-digit alphanumeric random codes that make no sense in real life. I’ve written here my Ten Simple Rules To Secure Your Online Life with a Secure Password. Read More…

An Open Letter to Verizon Wireless Management

EDIT: Since this was written, Verizon has confirmed and released the Galaxy Nexus. I bought it. It’s a 10.

Dear Verizon Wireless Management,

Hello! My name is Josh Broton. You don’t know me. I’ve been a customer of Verizon on and off for almost 10 years. It goes as far back as the Cellular One days. In the past three years, I’ve been a loyal owner of multiple smartphones. I’ve gone from Palm, to Blackberry, then to Android. I bought the OG Droid (what my friends and I affectionately refer to the Motorola Droid as), an Incredible, a Droid X and a Thunderbolt (which I HATED so I gave to my wife). I bought all four Android phones on the day they were released (except for the Thunderbolt), the last three at full retail. I purchased a Motorola Xoom for full price on the day it was released as well. As you can see, I am a loyal Android fan and Verizon customer. I’ve stuck with you even though prices have gone up, voice and data service has gotten worse, customer service quality has gone down, you’ve made it more difficult to get warranty service, and I’ve been deceived multiple times (the latest of which was the MASSIVE delay of the Xoom 4G upgrade). Despite all that, here I am. Still a customer and an advocate of Verizon Wireless. Read More…