First of all, Happy New Year to you, your family and friends!  Can you believe it’s 2012, already? Wow!

If you haven’t picked up on the vibe, yet, smartphones & tablets are taking over in a major way…

Here I am, a couple of days ago, blown away by the how awesome the “Ease into 5K” running app is on my iPhone — thanks Amy for telling me about it!

Not only did we see an exponential growth in mobile device use (i.e. smartphones & tablets) in the last quarter of 2011 with all of the web sites we host, but I’ve never seen so many people — of all different ages — using mobile devices of some sort, everywhere I’ve been!

A group at our local Apple Store are learning exactly how to use their new iPads!

It’s been said that smartphones and tablets will overtake PC’s as the primary device used online at some point in 2014…

WOW!

Conclusion?

The Future Is In Your Pants...

And NOW is the time to assure you, and your business are smartphone and tablet friendly…

Special thanks to Brad Larson, of Larson Education Services for sharing that phrase with me – I love it!

At our last ISG Way event, we summed up exactly what we’ve seen in mobile usage for the hundreds of web sites we host and market:

• A 12% increase in mobile use (going from 3% to 15%), growing exponentially in the last quarter of 2011,
• iPad users, in particular, seem to dominate the mobile user base (30%+),
• iPhone & iPad users not only make up the most mobile visitors (over 50%), but they stay on sites longer as well.

Personally, I’ve noticed:

• More people becoming savvy with their apps – Mail and Web Browsing, but also Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard, Instagram, Words with Friends to name a few!  Most smartphone users are checking email on their smartphones first….
• Rows of people using their smartphone and tablets on a flight back from Ohio on Christmas Day – over 2/3′s of the plane had people playing games, reading the paper, reading magazines, watching movies, and listening to music using their phones or tablets (iPhones were most popular),
• The 60+ age group fully adopting, and most importantly, getting excited about what they can do on their tablets.   I saw two iPad training sessions going on in Apple Stores (see photo above), and a Nook training session – filled with older generations excitedly learning of the capacities of their new device!
• The younger generation (teens & 20 year olds), especially, ignoring voice mails and phone calls, yet responding almost instantly to text messages.
• I’ve switched from taking my notebook computer into meetings to taking my iPad with wireless keyboard (I’m can type very fast, and can’t keep up with discussion on a smartphone/tablet keyboard…)

Here’s my new and improved 2012 setup:

 What does all of this mean?

• Personally, if you have a smartphone, you’re going to see it being used in more interesting ways very shortly.  Think reviewing items in a store AT THE STORE, vs the older method of reviewing just a store (Oink is doing a great job of this already)!
• In business, at this point, you need to assure your web site (and blog, if you have one) are mobile friendly, and that they work properly on all mobile devices.  Simply test your web site with a smartphone or tablet to see if you can click the buttons, and navigate through your web site. (Be sure to test your contact form-if you have one, too!)
• Simplicity rules!  The simpler the site design the better (think bigger buttons, and no more than 5, if possible!)  Keep your contact forms minimal – not only does it result in higher conversion for standard computer users, but means more mobile users will be apt to contact you as well!  Take a look at our web site with your mobile device at www.ISGFL.com for a good example of this.

With all of this in mind, what’s the most interesting way you’ve been using your mobile device(s) recently?

Happy New Year, and cheers to you, your family, friends and business associates!

Charly

If you (or someone you know) are going through, have been through, or are thinking of…

…a divorce — and you have a child, or children — it’s extremely important to consider this life change from your child’s (or children’s) perspective.

I never understood just HOW important this was, until I went through a divorce myself in 2005.

Read the rest of this entry »

I like to think of it as the description of the perfect employee…

When this photo was taken — July 3, 1998 — a beautiful Friday afternoon at ISMI in downtown Howell — I had an excellent idea of what characteristics the perfect employee would have…

I just never made the time document it.

Read the rest of this entry »

After creating our Vision Statement, it was time to create the framework for actualizing it.

Believe it or not, this was much easier than creating the Vision Statement for two reasons:

1. It dealt with ISG as it is today.
2. It didn’t have to be one sentence!

Read the rest of this entry »

It was two and a half years ago (wow, how time flies!)

and my good friends — Dale, Heather, and Paul — made it sound relatively simple:

“Concentrate on the future & think globally — now, in one inspiring sentence — tell us what you want your company to produce.”

All of these ideas came to my mind, and I started typing.

Read the rest of this entry »