Some worries come with opening any new tech channel — that bad guys might be able to use it to access your data, steal customer identities, pass an employee some malicious software, etc. — but the casual and explosive nature of conversations in Web 2.0 may expose retailers to a new world of risks, some more commonly associated with media companies.
Thorin McGee
That comes from Paul Madden, a presenter on the "Automating Twitter" panel at Search Engine Strategies New York, held last month, and owner of Crea8 New Media. Madden "specializes in the darker arts of black hat SEO," and "actively explores as many methods for automating and benefiting from social media as possible," according to his speaker bio.
In publishing, they're calling it "the Moses Tablet." Such is the potential seen in Apple's recently released iPad, the bigger version of the iPhone — sans phone. But that potential extends to retailers too, and with its big, shiny, multitouch, high-definition screen, the iPad may be the best visual selling space since catalogs.
Spend $3 million on a Super Bowl ad and it better drive viewers to more efficient marketing channels. Dockers' "Wear the Pants" Super Bowl blitz drove consumers into every communication channel available.
It's not "The Matrix," but augmented reality is a way to create greater connections between what's on the web and what's in front of users' eyes, helping bridge that gap between a visit and a sale.
