2013 iMedia Technology Predictions

Congratulations to Judy L., Geri B., and Eric D., winners of the iMedia 2013 Technology Predictions! We’ll be sending each of them their own adorable stress wobbler to help them work out the stress of the upcoming year as technology changes at light-speed!

It was Geri B.’s prediction that video content would continue to grow that inspired us to put everyone’s predictions into the following animated video:

Here are the predictions themselves from all of our participants:

Michelle C:  There will be increased focus on tablet GUI as more users recognize that consolidated usability standards are not yet in place.

Geri B: Video content will continue to grow and Apple stock will soar in 2013!

Lauren C: Mobile transactions in-store will continue to increase. I’ve seen coupon scanning via smartphones and I use my smartphone to make purchases at Starbucks through their app. I think secure ways to “store” credit cards in your smartphone and use them at brick and mortar locations will become the new norm.

Judith L : eReaders like Nook and Kindle will fall away while tablets absorb their viability as access points for multiple media sources.

Brian M: We’ll see marketers implement many new products that leverage aggregate, social data to deliver content and offerings to targeted slices of their audience.

Nicole M: I hope that there with be a machine created that will be able to take care of your pet while you are not home.

Chuck T: Google will encourage more mobile use of its services and products by starting to roll out free, ad supported public WiFi hotspots.

Eric D: Customer interaction with in-store locations. As more public areas get WiFi and more mobile devices add location services, I think more companies will begin offering rewards for checking into locations via Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, etc…

John S: More and more companies will be leveraging Responsive Web Design on their sites to keep up with the increase of various screen sizes and devices.

Syed M: Microsoft will bring back the classic start button/ view in Windows 9.

Jagdish N: Android will come up with an OS to read your mind (an advanced version of Google Now). Google will add realistic feature to Google Goggles which will replace your cell phone.

Who will be right and who will be wrong? We’ll let you know at the end of 2013!

Responsive Design – Pros, Cons, and Possible Approaches

With the proliferation of digital devices, especially smart phones and variously configured tablets, it’s no wonder that responsive design – the ability to instantly fit web content into a variety of formats and screen sizes – is gaining ground.

But is it always the best way to proceed? A number of industry articles have cropped up, taking a close look at the pros and cons of responsive design. Many industry experts, such as Rimma Kats, writing for Mobile Marketer, say “not all consumer behavior is the same and specific functionality should be dovetailed for individual device and user interaction mediums.”  While most experts agree that responsive design is a serious starting point, many point out that it’s not always a one-stop shop solution.

Clearly, the issue facing designers and developers is one of expediency and efficiency. With the increase in the number of tablets in particular –   NPD DisplaySearch estimates shipments of tablet will surpass 240 million units worldwide in 2013, topping 207 million notebook PC shipments – the need to serve content in a variety of configurations has suddenly grown critical. This should be “not a separate mobile website, but a single website that adapts to its ‘surroundings,’” according to Red Ant’s “The Anywhere Web.”

But is this model truly feasible? Here are some of the pro’s and con’s of responsive:

Pros:

• Write once, publish in multiple configurations. This has been the mantra of digital publishing since the old SGML days, but Cascading Style sheets have made it closer to reality than ever before.
• One design suits all. (Or does it? See Cons, below).
• Maintenance is eased because you only have to update once, using a single content management tool.  Undoubtedly true.
• Costs are reduced both in the development and maintenance phases.
• The user experience is now tied to the specific device. This is not only a boon to the user, but it can actually affect the bottom line.

Cons:

• Because all of the elements for all designs are loaded on all devices, download time can be significantly increased.
• Responsive design can take longer to design and can sacrifice a site’s visual appeal.
• Responsive markup can take longer to write, especially if this is a first effort into turning a website into a site that suits all media.  However, new tools to speed up this development are now hitting the market.
• Testing cycles will take longer, as each of the devices has to be thoroughly tested to make sure the website is adapting properly to the environment.
• The impact of serving the same content across multiple platforms on SEO is still an open question.
• The user experience is not truly served by the same content on all devices. More on this below.

One of the largest issues with using responsive design is tied to that last bullet point. Patrick Emmons, in “The pros and cons of responsive design” says: “Although responsive design may solve all of your problems quickly, it may not be the best way to create innovative user experiences across multiple platforms.” One of iMedia’s tenets of designing for different media is that the experience changes because of how these devices are used. Users have different needs when they’re sitting in front of their PC than they do when on the road with a smartphone or tablet. Our designs for mobile have always taken this consideration into account.  Certain sections of PC-based content are simply not applicable to the mobile experience. By eliminating them, the user experience is enhanced. And other content items or site applications may need to be reshuffled: some brought to the fore, others diminished in importance.

Yet there is no arguing with the attractive qualities of responsive design, and certainly it can serve as a starting part for some websites.  Kats says: “Marketers know that their ability to create and deploy engaging mobile content that’s available to their customers when they need it is becoming more important to their bottom line every day…. Although mobile is big, it’s also relatively new, and for now, responsive design is a way of throwing marketers a life line.”

Emmons is undoubtedly on the right track when he says “a hybrid is usually the best way to go.”  Responsive design is certainly a great starting point. But it can pay off, in terms of better user experience and, ultimately, the bottom line, to explore if each device truly calls for a different content strategy.

Lauren Clare Joins iMedia as Marketing and Sales Coordinator

With social media, blogs, and email marketing becoming a critical component of any organization’s marketing reach, iMedia will be increasing its offerings in this arena in the near future. To help us do so, we are welcoming Lauren Clare, iMedia’s Marketing and Sales Coordinator, to the team.

Lauren joins iMedia after working as Client Relations Manager at CrazyMouse Media, where she worked on client social platforms, creating the appropriate online conversations for her clients. Previous to that, she worked as a marketing and sales intern at Acosta Sales and Marketing.

A recent graduate of Bryant University, with a BS in Business Administration and a concentration in Marketing, Lauren plans to eventually earn her MBA. Lauren’s college career included serving as Collegiate Entrepreneurship Organization Assistant Marketing Director and Relay for Life Sponsorship Chair. She reports that she was most passionate about founding an organization known as Entrepreneurs on Campus. She and her peers worked on a social mobile application that was lacking only a developer to complete, but, as she reports, “with no capital came no app.” However, she is thrilled to be able to apply the lessons learned from that experience in a company where she is surrounded by willing and able developers.

Welcome to the iMedia team, Lauren!

Tech Predictions for 2013 – Your Turn to Look into the Magic Ball!

Every year, iMedia has posted what we think will happen in the coming year in technology. Sometimes we are absolutely correct, as in last year’s prediction that “Google will build a tablet that will surpass or at least compete with the iPad.” We only have to look at our magnificent iMedia holiday gift of a Nexus 7 (thanks, Joel, Chuck and John!) to demonstrate the truth of that prediction. And sometimes we’re totally wrong, as in “The Facebook Timeline is going to be the straw that nearly breaks Facebook’s back.”  As often happens on Facebook, there was significant grumbling about the Timeline – and then people got used to it and stayed on.

This year, we want to broaden our prediction base and invite you to join us in looking into the magic ball. All you have to do is go to our 2013 Tech Predictions Facebook Tab, like us (if you haven’t already), and include your prediction in the comments field. Add your name and email address and we’ll enter you into the drawing for one of three irresistible stress balls. We love these little guys (they’re practically the iMedia mascot) and their appeal at our latest trade shows was undeniable.

So, what do you think will happen in technology in 2013? Add your predictions to our  Facebook Tab by January 15 and we’ll include you in a blog post that lists everyone’s thoughts about our immediate future. (We’re sensitive about your privacy, so you’ll be included only as first name, last initial.) And as a thank you for taking part, three participants will be able to work out any stress they might have about the future with our friendly stress wobbler.

So think about your prediction, click here, and let us know what you think!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Announcing iMedia’s Holiday Movie Contest Winner

Congratulations to Kristen W. of Pittstown, NJ, who won a Kindle Fire in iMedia’s Holiday Movie contest! Kristen’s favorite movie? The Polar Express.

This interactive social media holiday greeting became gratifyingly popular. We raised iMedia’s Facebook likes from 172 at the start of the contest to 251. Eighty-seven people took part, choosing from among their favorite seasonal movies. And 33 people took the time to add their comments – everything from movie quotes (lots and lots of “You’ll shoot your eye out kid”) – to recollections of their childhood holidays or movies that have moved up in their personal lists over the last few years.

Want to know how the vote turned out? Here’s the final tally:

Movie	Total Votes	Percent
A Christmas Story	20	23.5%
Elf	10	11.8%
A Charlie Brown Christmas	9	10.6%
It’s a Wonderful Life	9	10.6%
National Lampoon Christmas Vacation	6	7.1%
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer	6	7.1%
Die Hard	5	5.9%
Home Alone	4	4.7%
The Polar Express	4	4.7%
A Christmas Carol	3	3.5%
Love Actually	3	3.5%
The Santa Clause	2	2.4%
A Muppet Christmas Carol	1	1.2%
Eight Crazy Nights	1	1.2%
Frosty the Snowman	1	1.2%
White Christmas	1	1.2%

We’re really delighted that so many people took part in this holiday contest! We’ll be keeping the movie clips up until the New Year, so please do visit the page to stay in the holiday mood. Seasons greetings, everyone, and here’s hoping that 2013 is a great New Year for us all!

Getting into the Holiday Spirit at iMedia

For the second year in a row, iMedia took part in Family Service of Morris County’s Hope of the Holidays by shopping for a family, helping to make their holidays bright.

Once the shopping spree was complete, iMedia staff wrapped the gifts, enjoying a pizza party while we did so.

And afterwards, to really get in the mood, we put some of the gifts under our own tree and menorah, and posed for a photo that would be holiday-card worthy!

Speaking of holiday spirit, we want to give you an update of our Facebook Holiday Movie Contest.  More than 60 people have let us know their favorite seasonal movies, and many of them have shared comments with us. The current favorites are:

• A Christmas Story – 14 votes -23.0%
• Elf – 9 votes – 14.8%
• It’s a Wonderful Life – 9 votes – 14.8%
• A Charlie Brown Christmas – 5 votes -8.2%
• National Lampoon Christmas Vacation – 5 votes -8.2%
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -5 votes -8.2%

There is still time to enter the contest and let us know which movie makes the holidays brighter for you. The contest will remain open until December 11. And don’t forget: one lucky participant will win a Kindle Fire!

Inside Ektron 8.6 – Part 3: Into the Cloud

This article is the third part of our “deep dive” into the new Ektron 8.6 features.

One of the exciting new features of Ektron 8.6 is the ability to use their Cloud Manager to develop websites “in the cloud.” As iMedia investigated cloud computing in our July blog post, “To the Cloud,” surveys indicate that more and more CIOs are warming to the idea of cloud technology, feeling that, as CIO Magazine cited, “it helps deliver better systems for less money.”

The Ektron Cloud Manager is perfectly positioned to do just that. Used in conjunction with Ektron 8.6, it  can quickly deploy new websites and marketing campaigns, utilizing the popular Microsoft, Amazon, and Rackspace cloud platforms.  According to Ektron, this reduces the need to rely on “on-premise hardware or support from busy IT resources.”  Ektron cites the Forester Report, “The Changing Cloud Agenda:”

Several years into the cloud journey now, companies are moving beyond the initial drivers for investments, which pertained to lower costs and greater operational efficiency. Companies are starting to see the broader benefits around business agility and speed, leading to investments in new cloud solutions that complement existing business processes.

CMS Wire explains how Ektron “is attempting to meet cloud users’ desire for maximum speed and flexibility,” designing Cloud Manager 8.6 “to enable faster solution deployment and provide enhanced scalability and flexibility.”

Ektron describes the key benefits of using the Ektron Cloud Manager as:

• Wizard-based cloud provisioning, enabling authoring of site content in an on-premise environment and then deploying it to the cloud-based platform
• Hybrid development, combining cloud instances with traditional Ektron on-premise installations, which is instrumental in safeguarding sensitive content locally while still benefiting from cloud delivery
• Optimal performance, allowing developers and authors to deliver sites on an unlimited scale, establishing the optimal server environment and location for their needs
• Cloud platforms, including Microsoft Windows Azure and Amazon EC2
• Ability to schedule the use of cloud instances, so that a site can be scaled when it most needs to
• Ability to use the server capacity needed, particularly during traffic spikes, when the website can use additional cloud resources and thereby reduce performance issues
• Maximum uptime for a company website

Ektron’s CEO William Rogers, in a blog post about the Ektron Cloud Manager, further specified that it “includes built-in network load balancing and fault tolerance.  Businesses can distribute high-bandwidth content around the world through CDN (content delivery network) delivery. By coupling a website managed by the Ektron CMS with cloud computing, you have a very powerful alternative to traditional hosting models.”

CMS Wire concludes that, with its rich feature set,  the Ektron Cloud Manager is “targeting cloud computing users who are seeking to transform their organizations and create new revenues, rather than cloud computing users who simply want a cheaper way to store more data.”

Holiday Greetings from iMedia!

We know, it’s really early to be sending out our holiday greetings to our clients, friends and well-wishers. But we were considering what to include in our usual holiday eCard this year, and decided it was time to have a little fun – while spreading some festive cheer.

We’ve devised a quick and easy way to put everyone in the spirit: a holiday movie contest that takes just a few minutes – unless you decide to watch all of the movie clips, which would take considerably longer! Just go to our special Facebook Holiday Page. If you’ve already liked iMedia on Facebook, you’ll navigate directly to the contest page. If you haven’t, please do so now.

Once there, the contest is quite simple – fill in your contact information and select your favorite holiday movie. You can also add a comment or two to help spread the joy of the season.

One lucky participant will win a Kindle Fire, which we will announce on December 11 and ship to you in time for the holidays. That’s really why our holiday greetings are coming to you early this year – we need time for you to vote for your favorite film, for us to select the winner (via random selection), and for us then to ship the prize to the winner.

Do make sure you include a valid email, as that’s how we’ll contact the winner to ask for shipping instructions!

We would like to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season – starting with Thanksgiving. We’re grateful to all of our clients and friends for helping to make 2012 a terrific year at iMedia – and we’re hoping that 2013 is even better for us all!

iMedia an Ektron Featured Implementation Partner

Our Ektron accolades just keep coming.  We just returned from a great 2012 Ektron Synergy conference – where iMedia’s team shared the exciting news about the Ektron Facebook Connector to a great many enthusiastic Ektron clients, and were also singled out for our work on the Houston Grand Opera website, which was one of five finalists for Ektron site of the year. And we recently learned of yet another acknowledgement of our extensive expertise as an Ektron Elite Partner: iMedia was named one of two featured Ektron Implementation Partners.

Len Gilsenberg, VP, Partners, had this to say about the work iMedia does with Ektron: “iMedia has always been a long-standing partner of Ektron for 13 years.  They not only possess the deep knowledge of Ektron capabilities, but also know how to easily and efficiently implement Ektron, with over 30 successful projects including Houston Grand Opera, Carnegie Hall, Radware, Tradeweb, Sparta Systems, and many more.  iMedia’s track record of client satisfaction makes Ektron proud to have them on board.”

iMedia’s Ektron capabilities include:

• Implementation & Design
• Upgrades to Latest Version
• Ektron e-commerce
• Social Media
• Mobile
• SEO
• Pagebuilder
• eSync and Load Balancing
• Multi-lingual websites
• Third party applications, including:
  • Tessitura Box office
  • Video AMS, CRM, ERP
  • DxH Connectors
• Ektron Hosting & Maintenance

In addition, we have the expertise to help clients migrate to Ektron 8.6, taking advantage of this version’s exciting new features, including the easier-to-use content editor, expanded search support, and URL Alias Redirects, among others. Check out iMedia’s Ektron 8.6 launch page for more details.

Want to work with one of the Ektron’s Elite Implementation Partners? Email John Swanson or give him a call at 973-539-5255, x. 310, and he’ll be happy to explore your needs further and let you know how we can help.

iMedia to Sponsor Ektron Synergy 2012

We’ll be heading to Ektron Synergy 2012, taking place on November 7-9, in Washington DC.  The tradeshow will include more than 20 individual break-out sessions on three separate tracks, tailored for developers, marketers, and innovators.

In addition, the Ektron 8.6 upgrade will be a major focus, with sessions focused on the v8.6 editor, new search capabilities, Ektron development in the cloud, and Ektron’s Digital Experience Hub (DxH).

Here at iMedia, we’re excited because our website, Houston Grand Opera, is one of five finalists for the 2012 Ektron Site of the Year. Our work on that site will be showcased during the awards ceremony that takes place during the conference, and the winner will be announced then.

So, if you’re at Ektron Synergy 2012, visit the iMedia kiosk at Booth 8. You’ll want to hear about our expertise in migrating current Ektron clients to v8.6. In addition, we’ll be unveiling our Ektron Facebook Connector – the seamless way to migrate content managed content to Facebook.