webqem blog

Facebook Timeline, What you need to know

Thomas T — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 07:09:09 +0000

Facebook has announced that on March 30, all Facebook pages,including any brands and business pages, will switch over to the new Timeline Layout.

What is the Timeline Layout?

The timeline change at it’s most basic is a reorganisation of all of your brand’s Facebook posts, interactions, photos and events into a single long chronological view. This stretches back to your first interaction with Facebook and further if you have added events from your past.

When you visit a brand page in Timeline Layout, the experience becomes more personal. There is now a large ‘cover image’ at the top of the page allowing for customisation of your page to a greater extent than before. Your traditional profile picture is still used; this is square now and appears over the top of your large cover image.

Likes, photos, apps and custom pages are shown prominently below the cover image together with your brand description. You should be aware that the new layout shows very few of your apps/pages by default. How you order these is very important.

How to convert to the new timeline

Obviously new images will need to be created, both a new square profile picture and the larger cover image. Many companies are using these 2 images together creatively, with a visual connection between the two. It is important to remember, however, that your portrait image is still used in any posts you make and will appear alongside these in other’s timelines so branding and consistency is important.

The cover image is a great opportunity to show how creative you are as a company, this can be changed as often as you like. Whilst it should remain on brand it’s a perfect place for updating your page with campaign specific styling.

Before actually sending your page live with the new timeline view you will be given the opportunity to see how it looks to a consumer. Take the time to scan through the costs and if absolutely necessary remove any that you do not want to appear. Remember standard social media governance rules must apply, don’t remove anything that customers or followers have contributed to or still use.

Add depth to your timeline

The timeline change is a great opportunity to add the history of your company, update the page with milestones from your business’ past and be sure to include images and interesting facts. This will mean you have a rich and interactive timeline for users to browse through.

Update your apps & pages

Finally be sure to check old apps and pages to ensure they fit within the new layout. A benefit of this new layout is that app pages now have a lot more width to play with. Re-engineer your most popular pages to take advantage of this or ensure they are at least centered on the page.

How can we help you

We’re helping many of our clients with this transition and other aspects of their social media interaction in general. Contact us to see how we can help you.

The New iPad resolution could well be a game-changer

Steve W — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:32:28 +0000

A funny thing happened on the way home

I’ve had my hands on “The New iPad” (as Apple have so imaginatively named it) for 3 days now.

As anyone who follows these things will know – the changes to the device in this third generation are incremental and few, with some reviews asking “what’s the point?”. Basically, we’re looking at a higher resolution screen and a faster processor to replace an already more-than-adequate-for-the-task chip. Even Apple’s marketing seems a little lower key than usual (still breathlessly messianic of course, but less so than usual). It’s as though they are already mumbling an apology for the lack of significant updates.

Considering I spend much of my day concerned with wrangling pixels into shape, I was keen to see just how the new screen rendered familiar sites and apps. “Very, very nicely” just about sums it up. An impressive upgrade to the iPad display, but no game-changer. Or so I thought.

On the train home that evening I stopped consciously assessing the device and started just using it, browsing a couple of familiar news sites, as is my habit. I was some way into the journey when I suddenly became aware that, for the first time, I was browsing and reading with the iPad held in portrait, not landscape view. What was interesting to me was that this happened sub-consciously. I didn’t plan to make use of the extra resolution, I’d just rotated the display without thinking. And it was a vast improvement. What previously fitted across the width of the landscape orientation was now rendering with even greater clarity across the portrait orientation, but now there was a LOT more news fitting on the screen without scrolling. It instantly felt a much more efficient way to scan an info heavy news page.

Previously, we’ve canvassed opinion on which way people use their iPads – landscape or portrait and found there’s been some correlation between level of technical experience and age. In general it’s seemed that the younger or more tech-savvy user holds the iPad landscape for most things. Maybe because they’re used to sitting in front of a screen that’s that shape. The older or less tech-savvy user has picked up the iPad and more often browsed and read on the device with it held in portrait view. It’s the shape newspapers and books have been forever, right?

I predict we’re going to see more users shift increasingly to the portrait orientation by default as high resolution displays on the iPad and other tablets become the norm.

This might not sound like much of a revolution to many. But if you’re involved in designing and developing for the web (particularly information rich sites and apps) it’s an important shift that presents both new opportunities to make a much more usable experience, and some new challenges too. Sure, worrying about the ‘page fold’ is no longer fashionable (though good luck getting a client to seriously drop their “does that action button fit on the screen without scrolling” concern). But in the case of, say, an information dense dashboard, if we can fit much, much more on the screen (and a depth of 2048 pixels is a LOT more than we’re used to designing and building for) we can create an application that is not just better or more useful incrementally, but one that is potentially transformative – providing a genuinely improved way to view and interact with data.

Make no mistake – this is a potential game changer. For once, Apple’s marketing may actually have less hyperbole than required.

AdWords Express

Chris R — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 05:19:05 +0000

With AdWords Express rolling out across Australia, webqem received an invitation to try it out with a free $75 voucher this week.

It’s a bit superfluous – we already have an AdWords account, and as an Adwords Certified Partner manage client accounts through AdWords’ MCC (My Client Centre).

However we received the invitation as part of our Google Places account – Google’s local business listings.

This means that you could be receiving an invitation soon, assuming your local business is listed at Google Places.

If you haven’t setup a Google Places page, please see our guide at http://blog.webqem.com.au/2011/02/07/google-places-local-business-listings

With the names so similar, there will be confusion about the differences between AdWords, AdWords Express and Google Places.

The following table from Google’s help pages provides a good summary of what the products offer:

Google Place pages

Google Place pages are Google’s free local business listings.
Google Place pages are intended for local businesses with a physical business address. They require verification, typically a phone number or a postcard to your business address.
Google Place pages appear in organic search results for the category+location, appearing on maps with a red pin, and should contain your exact business name.

AdWords Express

AdWords Express is a paid promotion system associated with your Google Place page, promoting the Place page (or your website if you prefer).
AdWords Express text ads appear in the paid/sponsored search results and on Google maps with a blue pin for the category+location, and can contain custom descriptions.
AdWords Express is intended for local businesses that do not already use AdWords, providing a simple low maintenance solution. A monthly budget is simply assigned to each business category on your Place page. They can help when your Place page is not ranking highly, and you want to stand out with a blue pin.
AdWords Express Ads will include additional address and phone information.

AdWords

AdWords is a paid promotion system with much greater reach and control.
Adwords allows broader advertising over a larger area, unrestricted by geography or category.
Ads can appear in sponsored results on the search and display networks, can be text, image or video ads and can be controlled with daily budgets, times, devices and many other settings.
AdWords text ads may also include additional address and phone information from your Google Places page, if AdWords location extensions have been enabled.

The official video from the Google AdWords Express Produce Manager is shown below:

Google has provided additional instructions on setting up AdWords Express accounts.

Although webqem can’t use the free voucher – the small print on the back says it’s only for new self-managed AdWords customers – it is possible to run both Adwords Express and AdWords campaigns at the same time. The ads would potentially be competing against each other in the same ad auction if they were bidding on the same locality-based keywords/categories, however the simplicity of the AdWords Express setup, and the stand-out blue pins could make it an attractive option for many local businesses.

The Australian Open: online with Ooyala

Thomas T — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 06:04:19 +0000

The 2012 Australian Open Tennis is on again in Melbourne – with the world’s best tennis players in action, including Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and local Aussie hero’s such as Stosur, Tomic and Hewitt.

Tennis Australia has enhanced the multimedia capability of its website by partnering with IBM and Ooyala. Ooyala is the platform delivering video highlights and the engine behind the scenes managing, tracking and reporting on all the video content. Seamless optimisation for desktops, mobile devices and, of course, the iPad, makes sure visitors get the very best user experience every time, wherever they are and whatever they’re using.

The Australian Open website uses a customised Ooyala video player that allows for videos to be tagged and filtered by different categories. They’re also utilising a logo watermark over the video feed, maximizing their brand positioning. Users can share their favorite videos with friends using Facebook, Twitter or email. The Backlot administration system behind Ooyala will allow their webmaster to track, measure and evaluate the most popular videos how well their content has been consumed and shared across the globe.

Pre-roll and hyper linking capabilities within Ooyala are used to allow key sponsors access to the pre roll spots before playing the video content. For example, McDonalds have leveraged this sponsorship opportunity to link through to their McDonalds Facebook page.

The Australian Open has leveraged the Ooyala Live streaming capability and provides live streams around the globe. By applying Geo-blocking functionality they are able to stream live feeds to markets that do not conflict with other contractual arrangements (So, if you’re viewing in Australia, you will be blocked from the live stream).

This is a great example of how Ooyala is supporting sporting bodies and corporations in leveraging the power of video and the Internet.

Find out more about how Ooyala can aid your video content management.

45 Million Visits in 2011

Patrick B — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:22:15 +0000

The numbers for 2011 are out and they’re pretty impressive! More than 45 million people visited a website created or managed by webqem this year.

This is the same as the number of:

Tourists who visited New York city
People who bought iPads
Registered users on Dropbox

Our biggest single site averaged 10,000 visitors per day.

webqem.com was lower down the list at 200 visits per day.

A few interesting stats:

The 45 Million visits came from over 100 Google Analytics

Rebuilt from the ground up – OzForex

Steve W — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:45:03 +0000

The last calendar quarter of 2011 has proven to be ‘really big projects go live’ quarter… and amongst that number we’re proud to see OzForex’s new website up and running.

With over 80 wireframes, 60 page templates and 4 videos delivered, this was no standard front-end design project. Our team essentially reverse engineered the OzForex site in scalable format – for 4 international sites – Australia, Canada, UK and NZ – as well as a standalone mobile version. The scale of functional improvements include a new currency calculator, very cool FX Dashboard, set of 3rd party partner tools and full deals application – in both website and mobile format.

Over a year in the making, it’s wonderful to see the end result live – and we’re looking forward to the feedback from users as they move to the new system.

oneworld’s fresh new face

Steve W — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:44:47 +0000

2 years in the making, we’re proud to have just launched a completely redesigned and rebuilt website for the world’s best airline alliance – oneworld.

From initial concepts in late 2009, through new information architecture, wireframes and workshops at oneworld’s headquarters in Vancouver, to the application of new branding and a completely rebuilt content management system – it’s been epic.

The launch went without a hitch and the results have already been very enthusiastically received – no mean feat given the number of entities involved in approval and sign off.

We’re already looking forward to a number of incremental improvements in the coming months and ever closer integration between the websites of oneworld and the airlines that make up the alliance.

New webqem Adobe training initiative – ready2teach

Mark S — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:48:31 +0000

Webqem is pleased to announce the launch of a brand new Adobe software training initiative for educators – ready2teach.

ready2teach offers educators an informal, just-in-time approach that will help make the most of the Adobe licenses you have. Being able to interact with the trainers in a “virtual classroom” means you can tap into a mine of information. And if you can’t make the live sessions you can view them later anywhere, anytime. The topics cover all the key aspects of Adobe’s Creative Suite so there’s bound to be something to suit every educator – in teaching, administration or research.

This is an excellent opportunity for all teachers to improve their knowledge and skills, while experiencing the virtual classroom environment.

For educational institutions it offers a cost-effective solution – to provide training opportunities for all staff – while maximising the investment in ICT.

Find out more at: ready2teach.com.au

Host meetings anytime and anywhere

Thomas T — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:42:41 +0000

We are excited to see there is a significant update to the Adobe Connect Mobile web conferencing app for tablets ( iOS, android, blackberry playbook) and smartphones (iOS and android). Previously you were only able to participate but can now host meetings allowing you to control meeting access, permissions and activities from your mobile device. Also updated is the video quality, the user interface and navigation all up making the app much cleaner and easier to use.

For more details you can read the Adobe article or call us.

2011 Mobile Web Trends

Roger G — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:45:14 +0000

As we find ourselves designing for more and more mobile devices these days, we’ve been keeping a very keen eye on industry leading mobile sites recently. Designing for mobile is not always straight forward, as you are working with a much smaller screen real estate, reduced functionality (no flash for Apple devices) and needing to make buttons much bigger (as finger are often fatter than the mouse cursor). It makes for quite a challenge – and it’s interesting to see most of the industry resorting to similar techniques to make sites work well and look good on mobile.

Here’s a few mobile specific trends we’ve been noticing.

Sliding Galleries

Allows to easily navigate between multiple slides and frequently offers some fancy transition effects. This is especially useful in mobile layout because on a limited space you can display multiple pictures.

Photo Backgrounds
Large photo as website’s background creates stunning visual effect. Having an overlay of content the photograph faster conveys the story and brings a really great sense of contrast.

Dual Column Navigation

The style is remarkable for having a skeleton οf navigation menu split into two columns. Such layout perfectly serves many mobile sites as all menus are housed within the scope of a mobile screen.

Horizontal Navigational PanelsThe big trend around menus is the use of large horizontal panels, which are sure to be a mainstay in mobile design. They’re space effective and can considerably facilitate fingertip content browsing as the clickable area is larger. And they just seem to mimic the UI of iOS and Android, which makes for a comfortable and familiar interface for users.

Three uniquely designed HTML5 sites

Roger G — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:47:02 +0000

Hanging Up the Moon is a beautifully executed website which promotes a self-released, home-recorded music album by Sean Lam. While the music might not be to everyones tastes, it’s worth seeing just for it’s unique design – and well thought-out navigation and usability. We love the subtle bits of animation which really bring the site to life – all tastefully done in HTML5. Site design by Singapore based Plate Interactive (who have a pretty cool site themselves, albeit Flash).

Here is an incredibly minimal, but lovely and colourful portfolio site by Russian web designer, Alexander Zhestkov. One big long expanding page, which renders identically on mobile devices – is a incredibly simple but very effective approach. The tasteful colour palette and the small type are what make it work aesthetically, putting the viewers focus on the portfolio of work. If you dig the design, give the guy some support with some FB likes and Google +1′s.

Website for media companies usually fit into two categories – overly shiny and uninformative, or over informative and dull. We like how Diablo Media have rode a careful between the two. They’ve managed to put together a site that isn’t light on the content, but dressed up well enough that it is anything but dull. The single long page layout, crossed with a traditional horizontal navigation works well with the striking big images. The icing on the cake is the clean and modern typography.

TV is social again, with Ooyala Social

Roger G — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 02:22:00 +0000

These days social networks like facebook have brought people together to connect, share and discover new things and ideas. And since the beginning film and tv have captivated and brought audiences together. Now Ooyala Social is bringing these worlds together, allowing publishers to harness the power of social to grow their audiences.

Powered by the same core technology that runs Ooyala Everywhere, Ooyala Social enables publishers to grow audiences, boost engagement and drive revenue on the world’s biggest social network.

Built-in social features promote sharing and content discovery. And Facebook Connect-based authentication ensures viewers enjoy seamless viewing, whenever and however they connect. With Ooyala Social, users can:

• Share videos with friends and family, and chat while viewing
• Discover what their friends like and recommend
• Watch on nearly every kind of screen and device
• Rent or buy videos easily with Facebook credits

Facebook is just one piece to the growing social TV phenomenon. Ooyala envisions a future where video viewing, content discovery and engagement all have a connected social dimension—a future that’s enabled by Ooyala’s backend social API integration. Social meets big data, meets HD-quality video on all devices.

One of the first publishers to take the plunge with Ooyala Social, is one of our favorite movie studios – Miramax. The guys that brought you classic films such as Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Good Will Hunting and Clerks – are now available to rent right within Facebook. You can even view them on any other device like a smartphone, tablet or connected TV.

Google Wallet – might be time to ditch the plastic soon

Roger G — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:57:54 +0000

We’ve just checked out this video previewing Google Wallet, and we’re convinced that this kind of this is most definitely the future. NFC chip’s in phones have been standard in Japan and Korea for some time, but they were locked into your mobile provider – generally only being able to make payments from a single account (like your Mobile credit). Google Wallet wants to open this up, so you can carry multiple accounts, credit, debit, gift and loyalty cards – all in the one system.

You can imagine it won’t be very long before you will be able to leave the house with nothing but your phone, gone will be the days of fat wallets filled with prehistoric bits of plastic. This is obviously going to have a huge impact on traditional retail – but we suspect that Google have some interesting things in-store for online retail (ala Paypal).

We’re keeping a very close eye on this, interesting things happening.

Ooyala and Austereo

Chris R — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:18:00 +0000

Ooyala has a high profile implementation in Australia with the Austereo Group, one of Australia’s most progressive and exciting entertainment based media companies headquartered in Sydney.

Ross Forgione, CIO at Austereo Group Ltd, said, “We’re delighted with how Ooyala has made online video a real and simple success for us. And now Ooyala is an even better option, given it’s always better to do business with a company that’s investing in the local market.”

The Hamish and Andy Farewell Tour is available as an on demand recording at 2DayFM. The boys got the surprise of their life when U2 dropped by their last Thank You tour show. Check out the quality of the recording.

Ooyala and Arsenal

Chris R — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:40:41 +0000

The popularity of online video has surged in the last 12 months as more people have access to faster internet connections.

Arsenal is a digital brand, delivering multiplatform content, wanting to drive audience engagement and transactions, and to develop new insights into Arsenal’s fan base. They were looking for a comprehensive solution for delivering video on demand.

Arsenal recently relaunched their subscription-based services, which includes a major online video user experience overhaul in preparation for global expansion of their membership services.

Arsenal opened up a previously UK-only offering to their worldwide fan base, which saw their subscribers overnight going from approximately 20,000 to almost a quarter of a million.

The subscription service included both a £1.50 day-pass and a £36 annual membership. While Ooyala had previously powered the free content on arsenal.tv, it is now behind all the live and video-on-demand (VOD) content delivery on their redesigned Arsenal player.

The new player features an intermediate size player view which mimics a popular BBC iPlayer option.

See it in action at player.arsenal.com

Ooyala and ESPN

Chris R — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:20:12 +0000

webqem recently announced that it had chosen Ooyala as the preferred solution for delivery of high quality online video for customers.

To demonstrate the innovative and exciting ways that Ooyala is being used, we’ll be posting regular articles about companies and sites that are deploying video with Ooyala.

The most high profile example has been the partnership with ESPN.

Over the past few weeks, Ooyala has begun integrating its video technology into ESPN’s website and is now officially powering all of the streamed video content. The launch covers all of their sport specific site sections within the ESPN domain (MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, College Basketball, College Football, Soccer, and Nascar). In addition to those sport specific sites are their local sites (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, LA, and NY).

ESPN wanted to standardise their approach to multi-device delivery, centrally manage custom video players to comply with different business rules for different sites, and increase video impressions and viewer engagement with the faster loading times.

ESPN, powered by Ooyala.

Let the Games begin – OPSM Competition launched

Thomas T — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 06:33:17 +0000

For all you footy fans out there, we are excited to announce the launch the OPSM AFL and NRL Sponsorship Facebook game application ‘Team Colours Countdown’!

Off the back of an incredibly successful ‘Colour Match Countdown’ application, the game was repurposed to provide a competition mechanic around the OPSM sponsorship of AFL and NRL umpires and referees.

Players have the chance to win Grand Finals packages including tickets, flights and accommodation, priority seating and after parties.

Ooyala Partnership

Thomas T — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 07:56:38 +0000

webqem, Australia’s leading web solutions company, today announced it has chosen Ooyala to provide high quality online video for its customers. webqem will standardize on Ooyala to help its clients publish, analyze and drive revenue through video. Through this partnership, webqem’s 300+ customers around the world will have access to Ooyala’s video technology and analytics.

webqem will use Ooyala to provide leading companies in the IT, HR and marketing industries with compelling online experiences. With Ooyala’s technology, webqem is offering companies with unprecedented control over online video experiences and valuable insight into analytics in order to increase viewer engagement and generate more revenue. Ooyala’s analytics deliver real-time reports on 500 different metrics, giving webqem insights into user viewing behavior, content reach, and global distribution and sharing. With Ooyala, webqem will be able to extend their reach internationally through engaging online video experiences.

“We have always been committed to delivering cutting edge web experiences that drive our clients’ businesses and set them apart from competitors,” said Larry Adler, Operations Director, webqem. “With Ooyala we’re now able to provide the industry-leading online video platform to our clients so that they can create rich viewing experiences for their customers across all screens, including desktops, smartphones, and tablets.”

Online video is being rapidly adopted by global organizations as they look to maximize consumer interaction and engagement. According to Generator Research, the global online video market is expected to grow by 225 percent to US $14 billion in 2014.

“As online video is increasingly adopted by every kind of global organization, webqem is ahead of the pack in offering premium video solutions,” said John Treloar, Managing Director of Ooyala ANZ. “We’re proud to work with them to make it possible for their clients to monetize content assets and make better business decisions regarding their video audiences.”

About webqem

webqem was born in 1999 to meet the demand for a professional, highly skilled web solutions company. With unrivalled experience in IT, online marketing and training, the webqem team provides leading edge, one-stop web solutions. We take the time to get to know what our customers really need, bringing with us a passion for the possibilities that the web offers. Servicing IT, HR and Marketing departments within leading corporations such as MLC, Allianz, CommSec and oneworld, we also work with many highly successful small businesses online.

About Ooyala

Ooyala is the leading online video technology and services company. Ooyala provides online video publishing, analytics and monetization to leading global companies to help increase revenue and engagement. With Ooyala’s comprehensive online video solution, content owners gain viewer insights that enable strategic business decisions. Ooyala has over 500 customers including global media companies and brands including ESPN, Dell, REI, Sephora, Bloomberg, Endemol, Fremantle Media, Telegraph Media, Vans, and Vice Magazine. Visit Ooyala on Facebook and follow @Ooyala on Twitter.

The eLearning dream team

Thomas T — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:04:18 +0000

Our friends over at Adobe have just released the eLearning 2.5. The eLearning suite provides you with everything you need to create online learning, from Photoshop to Dreamweaver.

Watch his video to see all the new features:

Get the right message across

Lachy G — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:19:55 +0000

Understanding what you want to achieve from a website is critical, and it’s one of the key pieces of information that we ask our clients to define in our very first meeting. It’s fundamental to a project’s success for all stakeholders in the project to agree on what is to be achieved before the project starts. Do you want to increase traffic or sales? Or do you want to convey a clear message? The answers to these questions will inform the solutions suggested for the website, and the best way to communicate with your target audience.

Have a look at this article on smh.com.au that covers this from a small business perspective, and discusses the importance of being clear about what you want to achieve, so that you can communicate clearly with your target audience.