I hope you had a wonderful New Year’s Eve, and more importantly, a truly superb 2009!

As is customary, this post is looking back at the things I remember from last year. The brands and products that have really stood, what has changed the most in my life, a look at work, and probably the biggest thing in 2009 for me, www.hulldigital.co.uk

Brands

As you know, I’m a bit of a brand snob. I love a good brand. One that most importantly delivers, but if it is nicely designed and had a great look and feel, then even better. Sometimes people think of brands as just logos or design. Maybe ten years ago, but not now.

Seth Godin has recently given his view on what a brand is:

A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.

Bang on in my book, especially the part about stories, and relationships. Why? Because you tell other people about stories and relationships. The ultimate WOM or word of mouth (every brand’s goal, as long as it is positive).

If I have a great experience with a person, product or service I tend to blog about it, recommend and tell stories. Here are the stories I was telling in 2009:

Apple

A little predictable I know, but without them I would not be able to do what I do every day, or certainly no way near as effectively.

Every day Apple items in use are the iPhone 3G (not upgrading to the 3Gs even though I am out of contract now), MacPro with dual Apple cinema screens, Snow Leopard, and the MacBookAir (SSD V2). Touch wood, I had no problems at all in 2009, and actually did not buy many new Apple items (just iPod Nano 5G and the excellent Magic Mouse).

Enigma

Cycling really captured by heart in 2009 (and also the wallet). I lost some serious weight with my efforts, and felt better than I have done for many years. I am sure that my love of cycling is helped by the beautiful technology and design that is part of most bike gear, and the Enigma frames / bikes are no exception.

Jim and Mark at Enigma were fantastic when I went to the south coast to meet them and got measured up for a bike. The picture is from their website, but mine looks similar. From the titanium frame to Thomson Masterpiece seatposts, to Campagnolo Record groupsets and Lupine lights, there are companies doing it very right. My experience with Enigma was so good, I sent my old Specialised bike to them and they transferred the wheels and groupset onto their Etape winter frame, so I actually have 2 of their wonderful creations (both with identical seatposts, stems, and saddles – the excellent Fizik Aliante).

A  couple of you have asked how I ended up with Enigma. Well I firmly lay the blame at Michael Robertson’s feet. He has a stunning Enigma Eulogy and as a pro photography, knows how to make it look amazing. His blog is superb, you should subscribe if you love cycling. He is also to blame for the other wallet buster in 2009…..

Rapha

Cycling gear CAN look pretty awful. Dayglo colours with a fraction of the design and looks it could have.

Then there’s Rapha. An upstart brand created in London a few years ago. Superb quality, great customer experience, accessible (I dropped in to see them on one trip to London), keen to engage (I was lucky to be invited to a small screening, and meet the team event in London in November) and looks excellent.

I’m actually wearing more and more Rapha off the bikes as well. It is comfy, warm and looks seriously sharp. Highly recommended.

Outlier

I like something different. I like items with a story and personality. Things created with a bit of love and soul. Outlier make lovely clothes, especially trousers, and after realising my 10 year Khakis were not really looking terribly smart, 2 pairs were quickly invested in.

So, winging there way from Brooklyn New York, they arrived and I love them. The high tech fabrics work a treat, repelling dirt and water like nothing else. Their design ethos is to wear their clothes on and off the bike, so perfect for cycling to a meeting and then not having to change. An ace idea.

Cycling

Getting on the bike and going for a decent ride was a real highlight in 2009. I managed rides from 15 miles to 50, and never felt better. A big thanks to Richard and Simon for their biking friendship and encouragement.

With the weather being very cold and pretty grim at present, I am so looking forward to the spring when I will be able to get out crank in the miles.

Travel

Skiing rocks. Kate and I had our first ski holiday together in January, and Kate took to it rather well. She was ripping up the slopes at the end of the week! We had some serious snow – the most in 33 years in Sauze, and the powder was just superb – some of the best skiing I’ve ever done.

I managed to get another week in March, snow still good, but lots of sun this time. After that, I went to Stockholm a couple of times, but that was it. Compared to some years I didn’t get away much, mostly because there was a lot going on at with theappleofmyi.

Work

Firstly a massive thanks to my clients and yes, friends. I’m very lucky to have clients who are also friends

2009 saw a wide variety of projects from email marketing, consulting, websites, training, speaking and social media, all of which I love! It’s just over 2 years since starting the company, and I’ve never looked back, not for a second. Working with clients, and other freelancers who you like, respect and can trust is just amazing.

The best bit though is getting out of bed every single day and genuinely loving what I do, and getting excited about turning on the MacPro and seeing what the next project could be.

Web

The internet. Without it I would be not be doing what I do, and yes, I am addicted to it, in a positive way of course Day in, day out I use the web, whether from home, on the iPhone or on the Air. It is a double edged sword though. It can be hugely distracting and a very easy way to waste countless hours. On a more positive note, it enables me to do so much, personally and for my businesses.

The software and webapps that really helped me last year (and continue to do so) are:

Dropbox – nothing better for back up and syncing content between machines. Up to 100Gb and very well priced, and fast. Seriously fast. Makes Mobile Me from Apple look, well, very un-Apple.

Echosign – if you need to get proposals or contracts signed and you are still using post, fax and real signatures, you are wasting your time and money. Use Echosign and get it all done electronically in minutes. Great UI, backed up, transparent and clients love it.

Evernote – use it for notes, files, pdfs etc. Syncs with an online version, so you usually use an app on your Mac, plus their iPhone app is superb too.

Google – Gmail, Reader, Docs, Maps, Calendar and Analytics. I use them all. Every day without fail. Analytics is really impressing me at the moment and I really recommend this book to read.

Twitter – Twitter really accelerated in terms of use in 2009 with it becoming pretty mainstream. I reached the dizzy heights of 1000 followers, so I must be doing something right You should follow me here now. I do advice using a decent client, and Tweetie is my current fave – slick, not too distracting, yet powerful. A must on the iPhone.

Things – I bought this a good while ago when it first came out (beginning of 2009?) and have not really used it. However, I decided I needed to have a central dumping ground for all the things I need to do, whether errands, calls, projects etc and Things fits the bill nicely. I’m using the iPhone app too, but my one concern is duplication. I use the 37signals webapps (see below) all the time, for CRM, projects and planning. I’m concerned that I am going to be entering somethings twice, in fact, I’m certain I am…. will have to see how it goes.

37signals – a monthly expense yes, but so worthwhile. Basecamp for projects with clients, allowing 24/7 access and stopping emails from going missing (it does depend on the client sticking with it, but usually they also see the +++ points!). Highrise for CRM – making notes on conversations, automatically attaching emails to a person’s notes and logging tasks. Lastly Backpack for keeping all manner of things in useful pages.

I think that’s about it for the things I love and could not be without. All using the wonderful web. It’s such a shame the UK is so far behind some other countries and didn’t realise just how important it is to have a superfast digital infrastructure. And speaking of digital …

Hull Digital

Just over a year ago, December 27th 2008 to be precise, I made the decision to create a community. I looked at other cities and there were vibrant communities of techies, designers, geeks and developers.

In Hull? Nothing. Zip. Nada.

So I got my finger out >> The MeetUp group was setup, the fee paid for a year, the website created and the first get together scheduled.

It’s sometimes hard to start something, stick your neck out and do something new / different. It has been so worth it! The first MeetUp day came. Cafe Nero Hull.

“A few people should turn up. Perhaps a few friends and some others. I hope so anyway.”

25 people came along. Yes, it was very encouraging, and from that day on, we have got bigger, better, more organised and more fun!

The best thing about Hull Digital is the community. The people really do make it great!

A wide variety of backgrounds, locations, jobs, interests, skills all make for a wonderful mix that has really added to the enjoyment. We now have over 200 members, but would love to grow this in 2010, so please do spread the word 

Also, do contribute on the website (say hello here, let us know your website / blog, and have the chance to win a howies / HDLive T shirt!).

HDLive09 Conference

With the success of Hull Digital, there was always something else at the back of my mind…. a conference. Something that was professionally organised, had superb speakers and provided real value, excitement and benefit to the city and the attendees. After 5 months planning and hard work, October 14th came round…..

200+ delegates, radio coverage, amazing speakers, a top class AV setup and stage, positive feedback and one other amazing statistic…since launch, www.hdlive09.co.uk has had, …….

over 40,000 unique visitors from around the world!

This has provided much needed publicity for the city, the community, plus has shown that there is a vibrant digital and technology scene here!

The other bit of good news is that the speaker videos are nearly complete and we will be getting them online in the next week or so. Once again, a massive thankyou to all the speakers, partners, sponsors, AV crew, and of course the people who attended.

2010

So it is nearing the end of New Year’s Day. I’m sitting in the “command bunker” writing this and thinking about what 2010 is going to bring. Hull Digital is growing and I have a lot of plans for this year. Bigger, better, more fun and more useful to the community and the city. I’m lucky to be involved in some amazing projects already this year and really looking forward to working with my existing clients, and the new ones.

2010 technology? Well my tips, thoughts and looking forward to items are:

• Yep, the Apple device which is coming soon, whatever it may be!
• A new iPhone – 4G anyone? (not in this country) July I’m thinking, possibly October here (with RFID and a payment system)
• Backup and storage system from Google (a possibility?)
• Location, location, location – Google or Apple doing it right
• Next generation web access becomes a priority for the public but not the government
• Video chat on mobiles (I think Apple will do this first once again)
• Backlash against “web noise” where people just cannot do anything else
• Twitter gets one or two new killer features…

It’s going to be an exciting year, and right now, Apple and Google are looking like they will be continuing to kick ass!

And lastly thanks

Phew, I made it – it’s 23.52pm on 1/1/10 !

2009 was an amazing year. I am so thankful for all the great work I did with clients. I’m so thankful for the support from people with Hull Digital and HDLive.

Most importantly though, I am thankful for the people close to me. My partner Kate, who puts up with my incorrigible neatness and order and love for all things shiny, beautifully designed and techy. My Mum and Dad, who have been so supportive and are always there for me, and lastly my friends, whether here in the UK, in Oz, in the US or right here in Hull. You all know who you are and I am so thankful to have mates like you

Right then, 23.57pm, I had better hit the post button!

Goodbye 2009, you rocked!

>>> Hello 2010, you’re going to be even better!!!  <<<

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Transform Your Marketing, originally uploaded by JonnyMoss.

With the wonderful design skills of Andreas, @nofont, www.transformyourmarketing.co.uk is now looking a whole lot better! Just sign up and you get 10 emails taking you through a host on online marketing info and top tips.

Once you sign up you will receive a confirmation email asking you to confirm your subscription and then you will receive your introductory email and the rest of the course will follow over the next 10 days. You can unsubscribe at any time too. Hope it is of use!

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2008 will be gone, and we will even start thinking towards 2010. Doesn’t time just fly? Time seems to fly even faster when you’re having fun, when you wish that every day had a few more hours as you are excited about what you’re doing and even better, you love the work you are doing for clients and businesses.

This time last year, I posted this on the blog, and I was feeling great, knowing what I had to do and where I was going. I had put a whole load of negativity behind me an managed to leave behind professional relationships that were crushing my creativity,  fun and inspiration. It really was onwards and upwards

2008 Life and Work

I’m happy to report that 2008 was everything that I could have wished for. I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful fiancee who is the only person to really understand me, and puts up with my little foibles She is a star, hugely undervalued at her workplace, and deserves so much more. Thanks for believing in me, and bearing with me on quite a few things!

I’m also lucky to have the best sis and parents in the whole world! It is fun to see how much I am like them in a lot of ways. They have been so supportive this year, and quite frankly, I could not have done what I have without them. I owe them so much, and so a very public thanks is in order – you guys are just the best!

Having been in corporate [shackles] employment for 11 years, it was a big question mark whether the working for myself role would work. There were many questions to answer, not least, will there be people who would find me valuable?

With theappleofmyi now being established for over 12 months, I’m delighted to say that I have a regular roster of clients, from global pharma companies, to private schools to high end diamond and watch dealers, all I owe a huge thanks to, for believing in me and giving me a chance. jonmossphotography has also been success with motorsports clients and shooting a fair few weddings as well as being published for a calendar and newsletter series. 2008 has also been a year where the global economy has had a wake up call, and there is a huge amount of uncertainty for many people, brands and businesses.

The good news is that if you have a truly superb product, a remarkable company, or a brand that really means something and is relevant to consumers, you have a great opportunity to GROW your business, through establishing stronger relationships with your existing customers, and engaging with new prospects. Remember, get them to know you, like you, trust you, use you and talk about you.

The Online World – a way of life and work

I’ve always been a huge fan of the web, and it has been a real focus for me for the past 5+ years. What has been so amazing this year is using the web every day for my work, levaraging its power to help me with my businesses and with my clients. From blogging, to social media, to email marketing, to project management and RSS feeds, these are all the online activities I do each and every day.

I get a huge amount of enjoyment from using web applications – they are available from anywhere you have web-access, often via a mobile client, and can make every day work SO much easier. The web apps and websites which have really stood out for me this year, the ones I have used extensively and would recommend to you are:

• Anything by 37signals – I’m using Basecamp, Backpack and Highrise
• Echosign – for proposal signing and agreements – a sweet UI and works perfectly
• Google Reader - the best RSS reader bar none
• Meetup – superb service for organising events and meetups
• Spotify - free music! Awesome streaming music to your desktop
• Dropbox - 2Gb of free storage with superb syncing
• Remember the Milk – keep track of your tasks with ease, and with a top iPhone app
• dopplr - share your travel – so well designed and starting to become very useful with their traveller’s tips
• twitter – microblogging and great fun! Follow me below!

These are just a few of my faves, and I am really looking forward to seeing what is launched in 09!

New Ventures

Standing still is not an option for businesses anymore, and that also includes me. I’ve recently launched www.hulldigital.co.uk and also www.onlinepharmamarketing.com, two niche sites to help expand my web presence.

www.hulldigital.co.uk - is a community-orientated site for the Hull area, focused on talking about everything online and digital in the region, so looking at companies embracing the web, reporting on the local online news, watching what is happening with Karoo and speaking with people making a difference in the digital world.

www.onlinepharmamarketing.com – is a something I’m very excited about. Online Pharma Marketing is really in its infancy, and there is a massive amount of scope for pharmaceutical companies, as well as Medical Device and Healthcare companies to embrace the web and use it correctly. I’m going to be writing about what can be done, what is being done in this area and how companies can start in the right direction and differentiate themselves from the competition.

Lastly, there is the Hull Digital / Hull Open Coffee Meetup! It’s about time Hull had a regular monthly meetup for people who love the web, online design and technology – anyone who loves the digital age! If you would like to come along, then click on the badge top right!

Blogging

www.theappleofmyi.com/blog has been updated a fair bit this year, and I would like to thank you all for visiting and contributing. The statistics make amazing reading!

• 25,000 unique visitors!
• IE and Firefox vying for top browser position, with Safari a little off the pace
• Visitors from 145 countries (!)
• Over 400 regular readers

What I aim to do this year, is try and elicit a few more comments from you all, so that means writing better content on topics that you find important!

Brands

Ok, I admit it, I like nice things, and I like brands that are well designed, do what they are supposed to and make you feel good about using them. A few of my 2008 brand faves are:

• Apple - the iPhone 3G is superb, a real device that enables me to do a whole lot more than a regular phone. The MacBook Air is also a revelation, but the MacBookPro was a real dent in the Apple karma, showing that a big company must never slack on quality control
• Haglofs – a recent discovery – amazing quality and design for skiing
• howies – a huge thanks to them for inviting me to the do lectures, and they continue to resonate with me, with simple, cools clothes
• Icebreaker – lovely merino stuff period, and a superb website
• Rude Health – their muesli is yum!
• Hard Graft – seriously nice stuff for laptops and iPods

It’s a Wrap

So, 2008 is nearly over. 2009 is nearly here. I know it is going to be an amazing year. Thanks again to Kate, my folks, my friends, my clients and anyone else who feels like they need a thank you! I’m sure I have left out many things I wanted to mention, so they will bound to pop into my mind shortly, and I’ll either update this post, or write a new one.

All that remins is to say, Happy New Year and I want to leave you with a little story about Seth Godin’s book Triiibes. There is a little story he writes about in the book:

‘It’s 4am and I can’t sleep. So I’m sitting in a lobby in a hotel in Jamaica, checking my e-mail. A couple walks by, obviously on their way to bed, having pushed their idea of a vacation a little too hard. The woman looks over to me and , in a harsh whisper, a little quieter than a yell, says to her friend, “Isn’t that sad? That guy comes here on vacation and he’s stick checking his email. He can’t even enjoy his two weeks off”.

I think the real question – the one they probably wouldn’t want to answer – was, “Isn’t it sad that we have a job where we send two weeks avoiding the stuff we have to do fifty weeks a year”.

It took me a long time to figure out why I was so happy to be checking my email in the middle of the night. It had to do with passion. Other than sleeping, there was nothing I’d rather be doing in that moment…’.

This sums up 2008 perfectly for me – I’m doing something I love and am hugely passionate about for a job. That rocks.

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Hull is not the first place you think of when you imagine a vibrant, innovative online, digital community. However, there are web-lovers, online evangelists, deisgners, developers and gamers, so I thought it was about time we embraced this, and more importantly encourage this community.

This has brought me to launch Hull Digital, a site which is dedicated to Kingston Upon Hull’s Digital Community. The site is going to focus on a number of key areas in the Hull area:

• Local news, events and happenings in the online world
• Online Web Applications
• Broadband
• Home and business computing
• Gadgets
• GPS and Geo Location
• And many more great topics!

If you are from the local area in East Yorkshire, and would like to contribute, then please do head on over to HullDigital.co.uk and get in touch, or at the very least, comment and contribute!

We’re currently planning our first meet up in January, so please spread the word!

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The online markerting space is developing at a rapid pace and there are many traditional agencies who, frankly do not have a clue. A good example of this was when I was working in the corprate space and an agency came to see me to pitch their services. A couple of quick questions involving feeds, twitter and blogging soon established them to be pretenders. The final straw came when I pointed out their news section on their homepage featured one item from 2005 (it was 2007 at the time).

Now I am not writing this to be arrogant or clever. It is to make a simple point. If you are using an agency or marketing consultant, they MUST understand the digital space.

This leads me nicely onto a very interesting report from one of my favourite companies, Sapient. If you have a few £100,000 for an online campaign, then these guys would be good to talk to

They have recently published a survey -

national online digital marketing survey of more than 200 chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior marketers responsible for managing digital budgets (among other things).

Top 10 Wish List for Agencies of the Future

1. Greater knowledge of the digital space. With more than a third of marketers surveyed revealing that they are not confident that their current agency is well-positioned to take their brand through the unchartered waters of online digital marketing and interactive advertising, it’s clear that agencies need to have a greater knowledge of the digital space in order to thrive. In fact, nearly half (45 percent) of the respondents have switched agencies (or plan to switch in the next 12 months) for one with greater digital knowledge or have hired an additional digital specialist to handle their interactive campaigns. Further, when it comes to an agency’s area of expertise, 79% of respondents rated “interactive/digital” functions as ‘important/very important.’

2. More use of “pull interactions.” When trying to engage consumers with their brand, 90 percent of respondents agree that it is becoming increasingly important that their agency uses ‘pull interactions’ such as social media and online communities rather than traditional ‘push’ campaigns.

3. Leverage virtual communities. An overwhelming 94 percent of respondents expressed interest in leveraging virtual communities (public and private) to understand more about their target audience.

4. Agency executives using the technology they are recommending. Ninety-two percent of respondents said it was ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important that agency employees use the technologies that they are recommending. For example, it is important that agency executives regularly use Facebook, Flickr, wikis, blogs, etc. in their personal social media mix.

5. Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing. Forty-three percent of marketers surveyed said that agencies with chief digital officers are more appealing than those without.

6. Web 2.0 and social media savvy. Sixty three percent of marketers surveyed said that an agency’s Web 2.0 and social media capabilities are ‘important/very important’ when it comes to agency selection.

7. Agencies that understand consumer behavior. Seventy-six percent of respondents deemed this as an ‘important/very important’ aspect of their agency’s online digital marketing and interactive advertising area of expertise.

8. Demonstrate strategic thinking. Seventy-seven percent of marketers surveyed ranked strategy/brain trust capabilities at the top of their agency wish list.

9. Branding and creative capabilities. Sixty-seven percent of respondents ranked branding at the top of their agency wish list while seventy-six percent ranked creative capabilities as ‘important/very important.’

10. Ability to measure success. It’s no surprise that marketers want an agency that can report on where campaigns succeeded, fell short and where they should be fine-tuned. Sixty-five percent ranked analytics at the top of their agency wish list.

Jon’s Thoughts

These results do not surprise me in the least. The online or digital channel is becoming more and more important. The clients that I am working with are starting to realise this and we have been having some real successes, for example:

A YouTube channel which has attracted 25,000 + views
An email campaign with consistent 40%+ open rates on a list of around 1000
A mini 10 day course, all online, which is getting superb sign ups and amazing feedback

These are just small examples of what can be done. Your imagination is the only thing holding you back! Companies do however, need to get the simple stuff right first, and then start doing bigger projects. Unfortnately, most companies have still got those simple things to do. Just do them quickly.

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A quick end of weekend post to say a HUGE thankyou to everyone from around the world visting the blog!

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Pretty cool eh? They also do smaller badges for blog sidebars, so if you look over here in my sidebar, you should see mine. Anyway, big thumbs up from me on a cool service!

UPDATE – the blog sidebar badge is way better than I originally thought – click it, and it shows the widget above, which is extremely dynamic – you can contact me via email (even with it’s own captcha form), links to all my social sites, shows the latest blog posts … the list goes on. IMPRESSIVE!

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