• Apple has had over 50 BILLION app downloads since it’s opening date of July 10, 2008 and has 850,000+ apps available.
• Google play is close behind with over 48 BILLION downloads since October 23, 2008 with 800,000+ apps available.
• Apple is ranked the #1 App Store (not so surprising), with Microsoft following close behind at #3 due to their ranking system.
• A staggering 33% of all apps developed are games, with others landing much lower on the scale: widget apps (8%), entertainment apps (7%) and social apps (5%).
• Facebook Messenger has 700 million users (this doesn’t include their regular app users).
• Skype is way behind with only 10 million users.
• Canalys.com predicts that app sales will rise from $7.3B in 2011 to $36.7B  by 2015. Yes, the B means BILLION.
• Neilsen states that the most popular apps used are Facebook, Google Maps and The Weather Channel.
• The percentage of free downloads is predicted to rise from 90% in 2013 to 93% in 2016.

Have a look at the rest of the stats for yourself:

ARTPOP, Lady Gaga’s third studio album is set to be released on November 11, 2013. Are you as excited as we are?? Since her Born This Way album two years ago, she has been keeping a low profile. Not a lot has been said about her upcoming release, but there’s enough to get us Little Monsters on our toes anyway.

Perhaps the most anticipated part of the release is the mobile app that will accompany the album. Described as a ‘musical and visual engineering system that combines art, fashion and technology’, it will be an iPad, iPhone, and computer compatible application that includes exclusive updates, extra content, chats, games etc.

From a PR standpoint, an album app is a genius marketing strategy that is sure to reach the appropriate audience and generate buzz. It takes advantage of our generation’s addiction to social media and connectivity. The ARTPOP app promises greater interactivity between fans and Lady Gaga herself and people are drawn to that. We crave connection to our favourite artists and the sense of intimacy that comes with it.

The idea of an album app is nothing new. Icelandic songwriter-artist, Björk, was first to release her latest album, Biophilia, through a series of Apple apps. It was a collection of applications on the iPad that represented different songs on her album. More recently, Jay Z partnered with Samsung this summer for an early digital release of his Magna Carta… Holy Grail album. Fans were able to download the album before the official release date through the app but because of a server breakdown due to an overload of hits, the app never took off.

Though not entirely unique, ARTPOP will be the first of its kind to create such an immersive experience for fans. We are excited to see where this will lead to and how it will change the music scene in the near future. We can’t wait!

In the PR industry, it’s essential to be organized and on the ball. Our clients expect us to be up-to-date and relevant in a variety of industries; so there are a few apps that we have come to rely on here at the office that help us to bring our ‘A’ game every time.

1. HootSuite has many functions. It allows you to monitor multiple Twitter feeds for your different clients and you can schedule tweets ahead of time. You can also monitor mentions and you can select certain news feeds to follow (like a competitor) to stay up-to-date with the conversations surrounding your industry.

2. Zite is a useful tool for compiling top news stories in one app. You can choose the industries you would like to hear about, like social media, politics, current events, PR news, etc., so you can stay up-to-date with what’s going on in the world.

3. Google Drive allows you to store all your documents in one place. On the go a lot? This app is definitely a life saver when you need access to a document but are away on business. It’s also incredibly easy to file share with this handy app.

4. Flipboard is useful for putting all of your interests into one place. Similar to Zite, Flipboard chooses the top news stories based on your selected interests. It also displays your Twitter news feed and you can make your own magazines by saving stories and sharing them with selected friends. It’s great for sharing event ideas!

5. Trello a fancy to-do list and notepad for recording ideas. This app is useful for tracking what you need to do during the day, items that need to be picked up and projects completed. A great app for staying organized while on the go!

6. Facebook Pages is useful if you manage multiple pages on Facebook. Here, you can monitor conversation about your client/business and respond to fans. You can upload and edit photos, send private messages and create posts all from your phone!

Well it’s Friday yet again, and we’ve got a special 8 second video with a HUGE tip for all you PR pros out there! Check out a member of our very own EDPR team, Danica Forshner, as she shares some helpful advice above!

The scanner we’re using while carrying out this task is the hipstreet Swipe (available on Shop.ca for $127.49). This small piece of machinery packs a big punch, allowing you to portably scan and store anything and everything you’d ever want to! The portability is especially useful when scanning magazines, as you don’t need to rip any pages out – or fold them unnecessarily. Plus, if you don’t own a copy of a magazine or newspaper piece, you can always scan another person’s copy – without ever needing to borrow it!

An added bonus: this scanner comes with a tablet/iPhone app that makes portable scanning even simpler! Check out the app demo video below:

Quite honestly, this scanner has helped make this rather mundane and tedious job a little more fun!

What’s the one task that professionals haven’t been able to do on their iPhones until now? Edit and create Microsoft Office documents, of course. The once annoying quirk has been fixed at long last, with a ‘free’ version of Microsoft Office appearing in the iTunes App Store.

This version of Office will mean that iPhone users will be able to open and edit existing Word, Excel and Power Point documents; perfect for any last minute tweaks before a big presentation or handing in a report. Not only will people using the iPhone app be able to edit existing documents, they’ll be able to create new Word and Excel documents as well and send them to their peers.

Now this app sounds like the big answer to our Microsoft Office-less smart phone void but if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The iPhone app, although free, will only work for those who subscribed to Microsoft Office 365 service; this service has a price tag of approximately $100/year. An advantage of having the app linked with the Microsoft Office 365 service is cloud storage. All documents opened/created/edited using the app will be saved the 365 Cloud, ensuring there is only one central version of the document with all up-to-date changes.

Another not so favourable feature of Microsoft Office for iPhone is its incompatibility with iPad. Now from strictly a user-friendly standpoint, making Microsoft Office available on the iPad (and iPad mini) seems like a much more logical choice. With an iPad, the screen is bigger making everything easier to see, work with (for spacing of a Power Point) and type on. Additionally, iPads can be used with wireless keyboards making them like lightweight laptops.

But as Jill Duffy from PC Mag pointed out, Microsoft Office has been around forever and probably could have convinced more iPhone users to adopt Office for iPhone had they introduced the app a few years ago. Now users have found different word-processing suites that are smart phone compatible to use (such as Google Drive) or even ‘work around’ app suites that they are used to using.

Download the app here.

Sources:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2420509,00.asp

http://gulfnews.com/business/technology/microsoft-office-for-iphones-1.1198470

http://mashable.com/2013/06/15/hands-on-with-office-for-ios/

One tech-savvy musician that’s using Vine to promote his new single is Jason Derulo. Known for tagging all his singles with his name, the R&B singer was one of the early adopters of Vine and now he wants to use the app to promote his new single, “The Other Side” which dropped last week. Essentially, he had the song broken up into 6 second increments that can be chosen to ‘score’ your Vine video as you post it. The singer is asking fans to tag the Vines with ‘#TheOtherSide’, then Derulo and his team are going to choose a bunch of them to edit together to create a full-length ‘fan video’ to be posted on YouTube.

Ayal Kleinman, Warner Bros Records VP of Marketing says Vine is “the emerging social media platform” for artists. Also commenting, “The high-energy feel of the song really lent itself well to the platform, and so all the elements came together to create this really engaging promotion.”

Vine seems like the perfect opportunity to not only allow singers/bands to put their music out to a wider audience, but also to have a more personal relationship with their fans by ‘Vine’-ing backstage or sharing behind-the-scenes clips!

Over the years, medicine has come so far that sometimes we wonder if all those fancy scanners and simple shots from the world of Star Trek are not that far off. News released over the weekend is just another example of how the world of technology is helping victims/patients have even better quality of life.

A U.S. bionics firm, Touch Bionics has announced that they have developed the first upper prosthetic limb controlled by an iOS application. The aptly named ‘i-limb Ultra Revolution’ has 24 different grip options, device training and problem diagnoses that can all be controlled by your smart phone.

Aside from these features, movement of the i-limb ultra revolution is controlled by a body’s electric signals sent from the arm’s nerves when the muscles are contracted. The arm also features a rotating thumb and individually powered fingers along with a fully moving wrist. With so many advancements in technology associated with the prosthetic, anyone wishing to use the arm will have to undergo extensive training but it sounds like it is definitely worth it. CEO of Touch Bionics, Ian Stevens, has said the arm offers, “unparalleled dexterity and control, enabling wearers to more easily perform activities of daily living and this increase their quality of life.”

Losing a limb, no matter the reason, has to be tough on a person but with research and advancements like this one, we are getting closer to recreating the human experience. Check out the video below of the i-limb in action!

 (Source)

• The expandable banner ad is the most popular format.
• iOS is still in the lead, but Android is closing in quickly.
• Video and direct response are the most popular, and widely used ad features.
• Consider context when creating your ad, as each vertical has an additional standout feature.
• Social media makes your ads MUCH more effective (obviously).
• Users love to share branded content — we’re skeptical about this one…

See all these insights and more in the INFOGRAPHIC below:

• Take your phone out of the toilet immediately (hand washing can wait).
• Dry it off with some toilet paper (or equivalent – super absorbent is best)
• If it’s an iPhone, but it in a ziplock with rice ASAP.
• If it’s a different model, take out the battery/etc and place all pieces individually into a ziplock with rice.
• Be sure to check the white indicator strip (in the headphone jack of iPhones/in the battery section of other models) and see if it’s turned red. If it has, cut and paste a new piece of white paper overtop and take it to your service provider for repair (fingers crossed for a new phone!).

Watch the video to learn more:

Have you ever dropped your phone in water? Were you able to save it?

Today’s (brief) post/INFOGRAPHIC is outlining some of the best apps geared to help you run your business from the palm of your hand (via SalesForce).

In a world where interconnection is quickly becoming the norm, CrossMedia Toronto is here to showcase how to make the most out of crossover in platforms to build the best business and outreach possible. The showcase will present 26 of the most innovative firms from gaming to marketing, television to mobile. The event, which takes place tomorrow, February 21^st from 8am-6:30pm at the Bram &  Bluma Salon, will feature speakers, demos, case studies and networking opportunities for attendees.

The speakers for CrossMedia Toronto represent leaders in their fields and include:

• Roel Vertegaal, Director of the Human Media Lab, Queen’s University
• Erik Martin, General Manager, reddit.com
• Veronika Sonsev, CEO and Founder,inSparq.com
• Jamie King, Founder, VODO
• Veronica Holmes, President, Digital, ZenithOptimedia Canada
• Andrew Macdonald, General Manager, Uber Canada
• Mark Ghuneim, CEO/Founder of Wiredsetand Trendrr
• Rhonda McEwen, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
• Brian Eoff, Data Scientist, Bitly
• Jeffrey Remedios, President and Co-Founder, Arts & Crafts
• Peter Vessenes,  Chairman & Executive Director, Bitcoin Foundation
• Rob Segal, Co-Founder, Get Set Games
• Deborah Hall, Head of Mobile, Torstar Digital
• Paul Kontonis, GM, Magnet Media Originalsand Chairman of the Board of Directors,International Academy of Web Television
• Ipsa Desai, Strategic Partnerships, Google
• Adam Clarkson, User Experience Lead,Chartbeat
• Corey Vidal, Founder and President, ApprenticeA Productions
• Hany Rashwan is the co-founder & CEO of Ribbon
• Asif R Khan, Founder & President,TheLBMA.com
• Tony Walsh, Founder, Exec. Producer & Creative Director, Phantom Compass
• Paul Sparkes, Executive Vice-Chairman and Co-Founder, Difference Capital
• Laurie Mirsky, President, 3DPhacktory
• Jeff Brenner, Co-Founder and CEO, Pressly
• Minnow Hamilton , Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder, SavvyMom Media
• Ross Davies, Director of Member Engagement, BBM
• Gavin McGarry, Co-Founder, Jumpwire Media

While this may seem like an impossibly long list for a single day event; CrossMedia Toronto is using a ‘quick fire’ method of presentation. Most of the speakers will have only 7 minutes to present their material to the audience. We’ll be posting a full run-down of the event on Friday, so keep your eyes peeled.

Here’s some more deets incase you’re interested in joining us there! 

What: CROSSMEDIA TO

Who: 26 top Digital Media & Tech Companies

When: Thursday February 21^st, 2013 8am – 6:30pm

Where: Bram & Bluma Salon, 789 Yonge St.

Why: Showcasing innovation & the future of crossover advertising and promotion

GetGlue is an entertainment-based social media tool that lets users ‘check-in’ to the shows, movies, music, books and sports they’re watching/listening to. In return, the user can earn virtual stickers to mark their check-ins. These stickers can include limited editions for premiere episodes or opening weekends, along with achievement stickers for using GetGlue often or checking into a particular show on a consistent basis. In the spirit of sharing, users can also connect their social media accounts and choose to share their GetGlue check-ins via Facebook, Twitter and/or Tumblr. The more media you check into, the better the recommendations GetGlue can give you when you’re in a bind. User information is compiled to provide expert recommendations on fellow user media consumption patterns.

Movies ‘cling’ to Top-of-Mind thanks to GetGlue

The nature of GetGlue lends itself very well to being used as a marketing tool for individual shows, as well as to networks and studios. Movie distributors have invited fans of upcoming releases to check-in to their movie before the release date to receive exclusive stickers or sneak-peeks. What a great way to create buzz for your movie, and garner organic virality on user’s social media feeds!  Television networks have a bit of a different tactic. I noticed when I checked into the show ‘White Collar’ last night,  there was a 15% merchandise discount being offered to those checking in.  Clever, no?

Currently GetGlue has a variety of partners including 20th Century Fox, The CW, AMC, ABC Family, Disney Theatrical, Discovery, ESPN, FOX, Food Network, Hachette, HBO, HGTV, MTV, MSNBC, Showtime, Penguin, PBS, WWE, Random House, Simon and Schuster, Syfy, Sony Pictures, Travel Channel, USA Network, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. theatrical.

Direct TV is also a GetGlue partner. They offer viewers the opportunity to check in to shows on their television screen; doesn’t get much simpler than that, increasing the chances that people will actually use GetGlue.

The GetGlue system of ‘checking in’ to a movie or television program is also a good way to gauge the size of an audience watching at any given time. Users can monitor comments related to their check-ins, in order to get a feel for what other viewers like or dislike about the show.

The ‘stickers’ are definitely the MVP that makes GetGlue unique. Gamification remains a strong incentive for consumers, the act of collecting appeals to the competitive aspect of human nature.

GetGlue is a great combination of entertainment and marketing activation  – a format they should definitely “stick” to. Get it?

2013 will be the year of content

Content marketing remains top priority for both companies and agencies alike, followed closely by conversion rate optimization. In fact, 52% of marketers say the ability to target and personalize content is fundamental to their online strategy.

Boldly, 84% of marketers say their work will be more measurable in 2013 – no doubt due to more emphasis put in the digital areas (and shrinking budgets).

Mobile remains a close focus

However, marketers say they need to understand more on how users research and purchase products. Have a look at the INFOGRAPHIC below for all these stats and more (points if you can correctly identify the number of spelling errors within Adobe’s image).

I  thrive on jumping from task to task and coming back to things throughout the day. The important thing is to always ensure that each project gets completed to the 100% mark. How about you, would you say you’re an expert multitasker?

Check out some other eye-opening facts in this INFOGRAPHIC: