So, what is the difference between a mobile web app and a native app?

In its simplest form, a Mobile Web App (also known as a “web app”) runs with all or parts of its software downloaded from somewhere on the internet each time the app executes.

A native app, on the other hand, is designed to run on a specific device’s operating system and firmware. (think iPhone app) In order to run on other devices a native app will either have to be completely rebuilt or some adaptations will need to be made.

Web apps, however, don’t tend to be as popular as native apps, and there are two primary reasons why:

• Because of the “cool” factor of native apps, vendors are more interested in promoting native apps than web apps
• You can take more advantage of Native phone functions with a Native app, i.e. Push notifications, access to native functions (take a photo/choose existing photo)

Why might you use mobile apps instead of native apps?

Each type of app has its own distinct advantages.  The strengths of Mobile Web Apps mostly benefit application developers.  Here are some of the advantages they enjoy:

• Total control over distribution of the app
• Web apps are typically cheaper and faster to create
• They take advantage of existing web technologies like JavaScript and CSS (and HTML5), making the technical barriers to create a web app lower than Native.
• Skilled web app developers are easier to find than programmers who know the iPhone’s Objective-C
• Web apps are run on browsers, making device-specific customization much less difficult
• W3C is heading an effort involving browser vendors and handset manufacturers and operators to allow Web apps access to a variety of device capabilities

While web apps have many distinct advantages, they do have one drawback. The user needs to download most, if not all, of the data for the Mobile Web App. (Roaming data charges apply). With a Native App you are able to package the information into the phone for seamless access and playback.

Two Very Alluring Features of Web Apps

Not only do web apps have some of the benefits listed above, but they also have three distinct features businesses love.

The first is that, for simple applications, you can pretty easily wrap up a HTML5 web app into a native app ‘wrapper’, so you still have the ability to push it Native.

The second, and probably the most significant feature, lies in the fact web apps aren’t sold through an app store.  Apple’s app store is notorious for taking 30% of a company’s app sales and withholding important consumer data.

Thirdly, you reach a wider audience versus limiting yourself to one platform, or having to develop for multiple platforms. (i.e. iOS, Android, WP7/8)

Since web apps run through your browser, companies who would rather not lose this revenue and consumer data, such as fashion magazine Marie Claire (who optimized its site for the iPad) and London’s Financial Times paper (who launched its site as an HTML 5 web app), have found their own ways of working around the drawbacks of native apps. And the word on the street is that a Jivaldi client, Mountain Mikes Pizza, is going to release something soon here?

So, are native apps or web apps better?

While native apps are ‘sexy’ to build and promote, they still need to provide something useful for potential customers.  Many times companies will often become so wound up with the “cool” factor that they forget to make the app useful and build it for their customer. The result? Very few people actually download the app.

While there are obvious instances of why certain apps should be native (i.e. games) this article was written to highlight the potential advantages of Mobile Web Apps. The truth is that either option works well in the right set of circumstances.  If you take the time to consider the following questions, you’ll come up with the right solution to your problem:

• Who is my audience?
• Do the reasons for going native outweigh the need to reach beyond, say, iPhone users?
• What is the goal of my app?
• What is my budget?
• Will there be a need to create the app for additional platforms beyond iOS (Android and WP7)?

In the end,  the decision to go Native or not will depend on several different factors. So it’s not such a simple answer to determine which direction to move in. Keeping things simple is a good place to start.

Hopefully we’ve shed some light on why a Native app should be part of the decision making process.

In order to create a call to action that really works, it is important to follow a few basic guidelines:

• Relevance. Either inform your visitors how your product can be useful for them, or discuss their problem in detail and offer your solution. Before you actually make a call to action, it is first important for your visitors to understand why it’s important they take action.
• Be concise. Don’t offer your visitors multiple different actions to take – lead them to one specific action and show them exactly how to do it. If there is any difficulty whatsoever, your visitors know they can always find someone else to solve their problem, and that’s something you don’t want to happen.
• Be urgent. Inform your users why they need to take action now. Will there be dramatically different results in their lives as a result of their using your product or service? Does this offer expire soon? Can your users get something for free by acting fast? The answers to these questions will help you to develop a stronger sense of urgency.
• Create a Personal Connection. Simply describing the benefits of your product or service to your potential customers is a trap many companies unfortunately fall into. In order to really be effective, you have to show how your products or services can make a powerful impact on your customers. When talking about a problem your product or service can solve, your readers should think, “Oh my gosh, that’s me! I have that problem!” By developing an emotional connection, you dramatically increase the likelihood people will purchase from you.
• Position your call to action properly. The best placement for a call to action is high and in the center of your page. Additionally, keeping a fair amount of white space around your call to action makes it more noticeable. If you keep in mind the mantra, “It can never be too obvious,” then you are on the way to making your call to action unmistakable to your audience.
• Place a call to action on every page. If you don’t have a call to action on every single one of your pages, the chances a user leaves your site never to return are dramatic. You can try experimenting with different calls to action on different pages. Alternatively, you can use multiple small calls to action to lead up to a final large call to action.
• Use statistics to build your authority. People on the web are looking for precise information. Using precise numbers makes you look like you’ve done your homework. Talk about what percentage of your customers are satisfied, or describe in numbers what improvements your product or service can bring to your customers. Using precise statistics makes you an authority in the eyes of others, and other people will buy from an authoritative source.

There you have it! While this isn’t certainly every imaginable aspect of creating an effective call to action and only scratches the surface, it’s a good list for getting started and garnering initial success. Like this post? Be sure to tell your friends about the Jivaldi blog.

Our objective is to dramatically increase the quality of information in the world, via the feedback loop of crowd-sourced peer review. Think: Inverting Wikipedia and taking it out to the rest of the Internet (but with a better reputation model.)

We think this is humanity’s biggest challenge and that solving it is within our collective grasp.

The model of Hypothes.is is further explained in Dan’s intro video.

Note how Hypothes.is differentiates themselves from WikiPedia which Dan refers to as a, “Top-down editorial Bureaucracy”. Separating themselves from WikiPedia will naturally be a challenge for them – even if what they are doing is fundamentally different. Perception is still reality.

Nevertheless, Dan is an experienced Silicon Valley elite. He booked the first travel reservation in his living room – the software he built would eventually become a part of GetThere – a company that was purchased by Sabre Corporation in August of 2000, for 757 MM.  Why do I know all this you ask? Well, that’s where ‘yours truly’ had his start. In fact, GetThere is the reason that I was able to start my own business.  Do I have faith in Dan the man? Absolutely, as he – by way of fate and circumstance – allowed me to start Jivaldi.

So what does a startup do when it needs money and doesn’t want to be tied into Venture Capital right away? Well, it uses a service like Kickstarter. Kickstarter describes itself as the, “World’s largest funding platform for creative projects”.

Kickstarter allows companies to move away from investment or lending – allowing project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Sounds nice eh? I guess it then just boils down to having a good idea – one that will get family, friends and beyond to make a donation.

How can anyone argue Free money?

Good luck Dan & Team!

So what’s really cool about this video is that they feature their in-catalog products within the video and turn it into a little story. Slightly corny perhaps, but why spend tens of thousands on a in-studio shoot? The video does its job and it does it well. Turn it on full screen while your young kids are around and you’ll see what I mean. And they won’t think it’s too long.

Next up, the product pages. (see live example)

Notes:

• Simple interface with key product info.
• They don’t bombard the user with too much description.
• They cross-sell with other related products (fog liquid in this case)
• They provide audio and video examples of individual products! (see product video below)

So why go through all this effort for Halloween? Well, first the US Candy Industry is worth $20 billion. $6 billion of that comes from sales of decorations, candy, costumes, cards…etc leading up to Halloween.

The point here is that GrandinRoad just gets it. They know the market. They know their customer. And most importantly they know how to effectively blend their direct marketing (Print) efforts with their online efforts.  Though I see things that I would like to adjust that would further refine their efforts (i.e.  redesign their Halloween Haven landing page),  this website is a very good example of how to support offline efforts with relevant and engaging product info and story-telling. Oh and they also have their Twitter and Facebook accounts in support as well.

Well done GrandinRoad! Though I’m not sure if it’s me or my 3 kids who are getting more enjoyment out of this catalog and website.

For a bigger picture view of the Candy & Halloween industry in the US, check out the infographic below from CreditLoan. The only thing I question is the Candy Corn info – 20 million pounds consumed per year? How can this be given that it is the worst candy ever created!

Craig Newmark - Craigslist, Photo: PLATON (wired mag)

The memory of sitting at a small presentation from Craig Newmark stands out to me because it was not only a lesson in how to build community, but it is a lesson that pertains to all things web. For instance, there is still a very pervasive and unrealistic mindset that if you have a Facebook and Twitter account, send out and email a few times a month to your database – that you are thus executing a good digital marketing plan. There is a lot of talk about there about tactics this, strategy that.

Building community means going beyond one-way communication.

If we look around the web it’s very evident that many companies consider social media marketing as putting a post or two up on your Facebook page about something going on at your business or a special you are having. “15% off your next purchase if you mention Facebook”. It’s not that there is anything wrong with this – offering a special on Facebook is fine. But if you look closely you’ll realize that the conversation is going only 1 way. There is not a lot of effort to reach out to people on social media or other and have one on one communication. And this is exactly what Craig Newmark was talking about when he brought up this concept of building online community over a decade ago.

Find a way to create back and forth communication between you and your customer, you’ve broken a barrier. Find a way to get your customers talking to each other under your foot, you’ve created community. Golden.

But creating interaction doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of leg work. One of Mr. Newmark’s more memorable comments was that ‘he’ (meaning, him alone) physically had to stimulate conversation and force interaction. For example, one guy wants to sell stuff from his apartment because he is moving, and Craig sees others that are looking to buy such and such. Mr. Newmark described how he had to work hard initially to put these types of people in touch because most people we’re reluctant to interact. So not only was he a constant presence in the community he was building – he was playing the host!

And I think this idea holds true in all aspects of online ommunication and a company being able to reach out to its customer base. It’s not always about you talking to them, it’s also about you creating conversation among your customers. Here are some key points to consider when you consider the idea of building community.

• It will not happen overnight.
• It will take a lot of time and effort.
• It is not something you leave alone, it is a moving vehicle that you have to steer.
• You can get good at it.
• The potential benefits are great.
• There are no shortcuts

Though things have changed quite a bit with social media, people will need a reason to come back to your site and continue to interact. How do you accomplish this?

Think of it this way, if you are able to get others to interact in your arena – be it Facebook, a forum or email newsletters, Twitter, your blog…etc – you are creating connections via your brand. People will remember this if you are providing value. By giving people a reason to hang out near your company online, you may just find that your intermitten sale or product offer doesn’t fizzle out as often. And better yet, the more you get to know your customers you may be able to more effectively target them based on their interests. Word of mouth is powerful. Offer something to a small group of people – they will tell their friends.

Seth Godin, another big name in the digital space has addressed this topic on several occasions. He refers to ‘tribes’ or groups of people that help build your brand. Though leaders. (More about this concept and book here.)

Though social media is often portrayed as a place where good things happen auto-magically for all businesses – especially the ones that know how to “leverage social media” (ughh). The truth of the matter is that it’s mostly a place where people hang out and talk about themselves or share things that interest them. It takes effort and clever campaigns and posts  to get people’s attention.

So breaking into this space and making it worth it for your business is no easy task. If you’re savvy enough to create a great campaign or hire an agency to help generate ideas and execute campaigns great! Buf if you are going to go it alone without prior experience, remember that it won’t happen overnight. Asking your receptionist to post to Facebook and Twitter once in a while is not the answer.

And on the sharing site we have AddThis – which has an obscene amount of options for people to share (way too much in our opinion).

All of these tools are great, but what happens when we become sharing obsessed? See below.

The irony here is that Mashable is probably one of the most shared and followed sites in the digital industry. But this just goes to show that we can all get a little too obsessed in our quest to become a sought-after source of information.

Mashable, you are in no danger of losing readership, just simplify and make it a little easier for your readers.

Yes, I realize that in some cases the store might have to pay for certain transactions and not the other (but this begs the question, ‘why ask the question in the first place?’). There are also consumers that will freak out about typing in their pin # for their debit card and would prefer to validate their identity with the person behind the counter checking their ID. Still, this strikes me as a great example (albeit a small one) of a non-digital study in user experience.

Here’s some random thoughts that come to mind:

• My guess is that more than 50% of people don’t care (i.e. ‘ just swipe the darn card’ mentality)
• This question, to me, gets annoying after a while.
• The store would be better served by instead asking something customer service oriented. (How’s your day going?)
• People don’t like to think during a routine purchase.
• Neither do consumers like to fiddle with non-standard buttons, touch pads, little plastic pointers, finger or no finger, green button or ‘yes’ button.
• By just swiping the customer’s card and not asking, the store is simplifying the purchase.
• At the end of a Starbucks purchase, I’m relieved that it was so quick and painless.

I guess that what I’m ultimately getting at here is that little things count. And I know that Starbucks spends a LOT of time focusing on these little things. Speaking of which, have a look at Starbucks’ customer-focused idea site: mystarbucksidea.force.com. Another small customer-service gem is how they personalize the process of selling a coffee – where they call you out by first name when your drink is ready.

Anyway, I think Starbucks has it right. And I think this applies to all things online or offline. That is, if we don’t need to ask a question, don’t. If we don’t need to add that page or section, don’t. If we don’t need to add a graphic…don’t.

Just ‘swipe the card’ and instead focus on customer service.