The Wall Street Journal reports that Google will tomorrow announce more “social” features to Gmail, such as status updates and sharing content. Considering that Gmail is a primary, free email service, this is a really great innovation for consumers. It also threatens dominant, dedicated social networks like Facebook and Twitter unless they too can be integrated into the Gmail social streams. Hopefully they will be.

What about mobile? Currently, Gmail can be accessed by every major mobile platform through IMAP setting, but I think that a social Gmail would require an entirely new application to utilize more rich functionality. This provides Google an opportunity to differentiate Android with a best-in-class social Gmail experience and extend its presence on other phones like Blackberry and iPhone with must-have social Gmail applications — like it has with Google Maps.

At risk will be those computer and mobile applications like TweetDeck and Tweetie that already aggregate social feeds like a social Gmail would, but don’t provide that core email service to complement. Also at risk are mobile check-in applications like Foursquare, which would have a hard time competing with a social Gmail mobile application that has the same GPS functionality and services (maybe without the gaming/novelty component).

Speaking of services, this is where a social Gmail mobile application could really excel. With its recent acquisition of AdMob, Google is ramping up the mobile advertisement services. By drawing from a pool of data drawn from a connected social network, email and search, the ad services could be incredibly targeted and sink the competition.

Social Gmail may be an evolutionary step for the email platform, but it could be revolutionary for Google’s mobile strategy.

At this point most people are pretty tired of hearing about the iPad.  Those that love it keep raving about it, and those that are dissapointed just want people to stop talking about it.  However, I think it’s good to explore exactly why the iPad won’t revolutionize the computer market – and never really had a chance to (even if it had all of features most people expected).

The iPad won’t revolutionize the market simply because it doesn’t solve a problem or fulfill a need that wasn’t being fulfilled before.  Apple has certainly released revolutionary products in the past.  The iPod brought the ability to listen to digital files on the go.  iTunes allowed people to download music legally and safely.  The iPhone created a market for mobile applications that wasn’t there before.  These products all created a market because they were actually useful.  The iPad, however cool it may be, simply doesn’t do anything new.  Anything I can do on an iPad I can do with one of my other computers.

If you are interested in video or music, Archos, a little known brand in the United States, has been making similar media devices for years.  If you want the iPad for the e-reader aspect, the Kindle is much cheaper (costs half the price, you don’t have to pay extra for 3G, and books are cheaper as well).  If you want mobile apps, the iPhone and iPod touch provide what you need.  All the iPad does is combine a few features from scattered devices.  It doesn’t actually do anything new.

Price is huge factor here as well.  $500 for the base model is a lot of money for what you are getting.  People have become so used to Apple products being expensive that they think this price point is cheap.  It’s not.  iPods and iTunes media sell at accessible price points, which is another reason they were able to create a new market.  This product isn’t accessible to the general public at this price point, especially because it doesn’t actually provide you with a function that your other devices can’t do.

The reality is we don’t need a new way to consume media right now.  I’m happy with my iPhone, laptop, and 46″ HDTV.  Carrying around yet another device isn’t appealing to me – especially since it doesn’t replace my iPhone.  If the iPad had a camera, GPS, supported Flash, and cost $100 less, I might say it is worth purchasing (but still wouldn’t call it revolutionary).  As it is, it’s a neat gadget for rich people.  Nothing more.

In the MCDM program, we study many positive examples of digital media. Now I would like to share information about the shutdown of Cyworld, a negative example of brand management and customer service in social media.

As the largest social networking site in South Korea, Cyworld started reaching an overseas market in 2006. Local offices were launched in the U.S., Taiwan, Japan and China. However, Cyworld’s big dream of globalization crashed in 2008. Most local offices were closed, but those services were still maintained by Cyworld headquarters in South Korea. Then in early November this year, an announcement of the closure of the Cyworld U.S. service was posted on its U.S. website and mailed to its American members. The content was poorly written and full of grammatical errors, as reported by TechCrunch. The same embarrassing thing also happened with the closure notice for Cyworld Taiwan: inappropriate phrases, grammar errors and bad layout. For loyal Cyworld users, the shutdown notices were rough and thoughtless.

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The digital revolution has brought about the age of the DIY musician, or as Sonicbids.com founder Panos Panay calls it, the “artistic middle class.” With technology, artists are able to produce and distribute their work easily while maintaining creative control. But big record labels, despite their floundering, still appear to be the way for an artist to go from anonymity to platinum-selling success. So how is this middle-class musician Panay speaks of making money and supporting his or her craft? Read more…

The recession may be hurting the pocketbooks of people and businesses, but a new study shows that few companies that currently spend money on social media plan to cut back next year. The 2009 Tribalization of Business Study by Deloitte, Beeline Labs and the Society for New Communications Research reveals that 94 percent of the 400 companies surveyed intend to maintain or increase investment in their communities.

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“No information is more valuable than experiencing an epiphany” – Epipheo Studios

Have you ever watched an online video that immediately compelled you to find the share tool? Thus born the viral video, a visual experience shared by millions within days.

Last month an entrepreneur, internet marketer and videographer, with a bond formed by shared childhood summers on Whidbey Island, Wash., banned together to introduce a new noun to the global network of shared online multimedia: epipheo (formed from the words “epiphany” and “video”).

Epipheo Studios (ES) launched a beta website epipheo.com to aggregate such works that are not only viral, but “turn a light on” and transform the way people think and live.

“It’s likely that a day will come when creating an epipheo for a new campaign will be as common as writing a press release,” said Jeremy Pryor, ES cofounder.

Pryor dropped out of graduate school in 2001 and put down $1000 to start his first ecommerce business TolkienTown (“store for the Lord of the Rings and other collectibles”), which reached more than $3 million in sales by 2003. In 2004 Pryor cofounded Marketplace Earth, search engine marketing Read more…