About Me 0073: about internet marketing

In preparation for the 2010 Mashable Awards Gala, we’ve been gathering content related to each of the awards categories to help you, the readers, along in the voting process. The final nominees, as voted by Mashable readers, were announced earlier this month, and voting closed on December 15. Leading up to the gala, which takes place on January 6, 2011 in Las Vegas, we have more great surprises in store for you.

If you’ve already checked out the full list of finalists and the infographic to accompany it, and you’re looking to learn more about each category and the finalists, the following resources will be of interest.

If you haven’t purchased your Mashable Awards Gala tickets yet, what are you waiting for? Do it!

Social Media

The 5 Nominees for “Best Social Media Customer Service” Are… [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> The Mashable Awards announces the five finalists in the “Best Social Media Customer Service” category, supported by BlackBerry.
“Best Social Media Customer Service” Finalists Discuss Their Success /> What makes for great social media customer service? We spoke to the Mashable Awards’ “Best Social Media Service” finalists for the inside scoop.
3 Examples of Stellar Social Media Customer Service [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> Social media customer service has become a combination of troubleshooting, engagement and building community. Some companies are better at it than others.
5 Captivating Personalities From Across the Social Web [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> Whether it was shaping the news, going viral or using the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet to connect with fans, several personalities stood out this year for leveraging social media in irresistible ways.
5 Big Brands That Are Rocking the Social Media Space [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> In appreciation of engagement, innovation and longevity, here are five of our top picks for must-follow brands in the social media world.
Top 7 Social Media Services for Small Business [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> While every social platform isn’t fit for all businesses, there are quite a few standout services that can be utilized throughout many industries. Here are out top picks.
5 Superior Social Media Management Tools [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> So many statuses, so little time. Here are five social media management tools that can make your life or your business engagement easier.
5 Game-Changing Social Media Marketing Campaigns [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> Every so often, you come across a marketing campaign so outrageous, it might just change everything. In light of the upcoming Mashable Awards, we’ve highlighted our favs from this year.

Startup/Company

6 Promising New Companies That Emerged in 2010 [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> It’s too early to project if any of these companies will be the next Twitter or Facebook, but as 2010 comes to a close, it’s clear that these six startups had breakout years.
5 Young Entrepreneurs to Watch [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> Here are five young entrepreneurs that are making waves in the startup world and who are poised to cause disruption in multiple markets before their careers are done.
5 Website Designs That Blew Us Away [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> A beautiful website can blow you away: Here are a few of the websites we think showcased excellent design work this year, both in terms of form and function.
Top 5 Location-Based Services [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> We’ve rounded up what we believe to be the best location-based services in a list that includes predictable names and lesser known upstarts. Check out our top five.
5 Gadgets that Broke New Ground in 2010 [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> The year hasn’t been heavily focused on creating new gadgets, but major hardware revisions has kept technology interesting in 2010.

Web

The 5 Nominees for “Best Internet Meme” Are… [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> The Mashable Awards announces the five finalists in the “Best Internet Meme” category, supported by Dynadot.
Why the 5 “Best Internet Meme” Finalists Went Viral /> What made these memes so popular in 2010? We spoke to some of their creators and other “memeologists” for the inside scoop.
5 of the Best New User Experiences of 2010/> We examine five groundbreaking new UX/UIs from 2010 and discuss how each one expands our expectations of the user experience.
5 Magnificent Memes [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> A favorite meme is a very personal thing — like a perfume, a haircut, a uniquely diagnosed neurosis.
5 Innovative Uses of an API [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> APIs make it possible for developers to use platforms like Facebook to create amazing apps. Here are five apps that are utilizing social APIs in innovative ways.
10 Memorable Viral Videos of 2010 [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> We’ve collected 10 of the most popular, most bizarre and most astounding vids of the year thus far. Which one is your favorite?
5 Experiences that Redefined Online Gaming in 2010 [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> Need to satisfy an itching trigger finger or build the next virtual empire? As part of the upcoming Mashable Awards, we’ve highlighted 5 big trends in the online gaming world.

Mobile

The 5 Nominees for “Best Mobile App” Are… [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> The Mashable Awards announces the five finalists in the “Best Mobile App” category, supported by Mobile Future.
“Best Mobile App” Finalists Discuss Inspiration and the Future /> What makes for a great mobile app? We spoke to the Mashable Awards’ “Best Mobile App” finalists for the inside scoop.
3 Magnificent Mobile Apps That Ruled 2010 [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> We use and review hundreds of mobile apps here at class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable, but these three really blew us away. See why they changed the game this year.
5 Mobile User Experiences That Wowed Us in 2010 [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> In the past 12 months, the line between native apps and web applications for mobile devices has started to blur. Here is our list of five mobile user experiences we loved using in 2010.
5 Groundbreaking Mobile Games That Debuted This Year [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> Each of these games made a noteworthy contribution to the exploding mobile entertainment scene. We recommend giving them all a whirl.
5 Marvelous Mobile Apps for Music Discovery [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> When you’re spending about 65% of your time crammed into someone’s armpit on the subway, it’s all about the mobile music apps that will get you through. Here are our top picks.

Social Good

The 5 Nominees for “Most Influential Social Good Champion” Are… [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> The Mashable Awards announces the five finalists in the “Most Influential Social Good Champion” category, supported by Yahoo!.
What Makes the “Most Influential Social Good Champions” Tick? /> Social good may be an ambiguous term, but one thing is very clear – online giving needs champions to help promote, galvanize, and inspire people to join in the cause.
3 Incredible Social Good Champions [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> These three individuals and their organizations are changing the way that we think of activism.
5 Must-Follow Non-Profits Making a Difference With Social Media [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> From raising money to spreading awareness to connecting with people, social media is a boon for non-profit organizations. Here are five must-follow groups that stood out in 2010.
9 Creative Social Good Campaigns Worth Recognizing [MASHABLE AWARDS]/> Many causes have leveraged the power of social media in some incredibly creative ways. In connection with the Mashable Awards nominations, we’ve highlighted the standouts.

Let us know which categories and finalists you’re most excited about in the comments below.

The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (Vegas)

In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event will bring together the winners and nominees, the Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics and technology brands, and attendees from the 2011 International CES Convention to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Together, we will celebrate the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event will be hosted by comedian Baratunde Thurston, The Onion’s Director of Digital, and the remix masters, Eclectic Method, will get the crowd in a party mood. The Awards Gala will also include acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity.

Date: Thursday, January 6, 2011 (during International CES Convention week)/> Time: 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. PT/> Location: Cirque du Soleil Zumanity, New York New York Hotel, Las Vegas/> Agenda: Networking, Open Bars, Acts, Surprises and the Mashable Awards Gala presentations/> Socialize: Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook, Foursquareclass="blippr-nobr">Foursquare, Meetup, Plancast, Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter (Hashtag: #MashableAwards)

Thanks to Our Sponsors

Mashable Awards Gala Partner:

From a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is now a global entertainment organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has over 5,000 employees, including more than 1,200 artists from close to 50 different countries.

Cirque du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to nearly 100 million spectators in 300 cities on five continents. In 2010 Cirque du Soleil, will present 21 shows simultaneously throughout the world, including seven in Las Vegas.

For more information about Cirque du Soleil, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com.

Mashable Awards Online Partner:

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Mashable Awards Gala Premier Partner:

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 163,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands includeFord, Lincoln and Mercury, production of which has been announced by the company to be ending in the fourth quarter of 2010. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford, please visit

Over the course of 2010, Mashable has offered quite a few small business resources, ranging from tips on social media and marketing to resources for web design and development.

As this year wraps up, we’d like to look back at the technological advancements that small businesses have benefited from and predict how those technologies will affect entrepreneurs in 2011.

Here are my five predictions about how small businesses will continue to adapt to changing technologies as we move into the new year.

Read on and let us know what you’d add to the list in the comments below.

1. Increased Spending on Websites

Small businesses are predicted to increase online marketing spending, with websites taking the front seat, according to a recent survey. The survey found that 54% of respondents indicated that their businesses currently have websites. Unfortunately, most of those websites contain nothing more than general information, and less than half of them incorporate customer service features.

The importance of being easily findable on the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet has still not been fully recognized by small businesses, but increasingly, smart entrepreneurs are taking notice. Next year will be marked with increased spending on website development, lifting small business sites from their current iterations as online brochures to more prominent positions as useful resources for customers.

Those making valuable upgrades to their online presences will increase functionalities revolving around e-commerce, reservation systems, corporate blogs and social media integration. Furthermore, we may see increased attention on better web design.

2. Smartphone Revolution

A whopping 49% of small business owners use smartphones, outpacing the rest of America in smartphone adoption, according to a recent Forrester study.

As more small business owners are exposed to smartphones on a daily basis, it’s inevitable that they will begin to innovate with mobile technologies. In 2010, business owners were tweeting on the go, using location-based services and investing in mobile advertising.

In 2011, the smartphone revolution will continue to ensue, with ever increasing smartphone adoption. Mobile devices will continue to change the way that companies of all sizes do business. With most business needs at the tips of their fingers, small business owners will experience more flexibility than ever before.

3. Social Shopping and E-Commerce Advancements

While a number of small businesses benefited from social shopping in 2010, others were left wondering if group buying was really worth the risk.

Regardless, it’s evident that e-commerce is a huge advantage for small businesses taking part in it. Offering their products online, businesses have widened their customer bases beyond their local markets.

While only 30% of small business websites currently incorporate e-commerce abilities, the increased buzz around online and social shopping will probably push more small business owners to experiment with the medium in 2011.

4. More Focused Social Media Efforts

This year was a time of social media experimentation for many small business owners. Testing many social media services in the past year, small businesses are becoming more knowledgeable about which platforms their customers use most and how their companies can benefit from staying connected on each platform.

It isn’t uncommon to visit a small business’s website to find a mass of social icons pointing to less-than-utilized profiles all across the web. It seems that anxious entrepreneurs have spread themselves thin in the social media realm this year, trying out every platform that got buzzed up.

The simple truth is that not every platform is right for every business — it’s all about where your customers are.

Having answered quite a few social media questions from small business owners this year, I have a feeling that next year is really going to be about paring down to the essentials based on proven successes and strong metrics.

5. Increased Adoption of Cloud Computing

Earlier this year, a group of Internet and tech experts and social analysts predicted that Internet users will “live mostly in the cloud” by 2020. While I don’t have the expertise to analyze that prediction, I can point to the fact that I and many of my friends and co-workers already do live and work mostly from web-based and mobile apps, relying less on software installed on our desktops.

Cloud services have already simplified many processes for businesses. Google Apps and class='blippr-nobr'>Google Docsclass="blippr-nobr">Google Docs, for example, make hosting and collaborating on spreadsheets, presentations, forms and word processors much simpler. Box.netclass="blippr-nobr">Box.net and Dropboxclass="blippr-nobr">Dropbox have also made online file sharing and collaboration much easier. Meanwhile, 37signals supports a full line of business tools for project management, CRM, internal communications and group chat.

In 2011, businesses will be increasingly exposed to cloud services as tech companies introduce more and more products geared toward moving our digital lives into the cloud.

More Small Business Resources from Mashable:

- 5 Essential Web Apps for the Lean Small Business/> - 5 New Online Services Perfect for Small Businesses/> - What Does Web Design Say About Your Small Business?/> - 10 Customizable Holiday Gifts for Your Tech-Savvy Office/> - 10 Ways Business Leaders Can Turn Ideas Into Execution

Images courtesy of Flickrclass="blippr-nobr">Flickr: Horia Varlan, quinnanya, rishibando, turtlemom4bacon, laurajo

For more Business coverage:

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

about internet marketing