BlackFin360 – Innovation To Reality
Tom Edwards is a professional futurist and keynote marketing technology speaker covering data, digital, artificial intelligence, marketing technology and emerging media trends
I recently provided commentary to Advertising Age discussing the recent shift in naming convention for Google’s operating system from dessert-themed names to a more traditional numbering system as well as commentary on the new Google Android branding. Tom Edwards, chief innovation officer at agency Epsilon, says that “although the dessert names and the subsequent tie-ins …
Here is a quick reaction & recap video with highlights from today’s Google I/O 2019 event. Google continues to build towards an ambient future. The most exciting announcements were tied to the consolidation of augmented reality, computer vision and 3D experiences directly into search results, the next iteration of Google Duplex for the web that …
Tom Edwards, Ad Age Marketing Technology Trailblazer and Chief Digital Officer, Agency @ Epsilon analyzes best practices and points of difference between Google Actions across the Google Assistant ecosystem as well as Amazon Alexa Voice Services. In this video, Tom compares and contrasts Amazon Alexa Skills with Google Actions and discusses feature differences, outlines best …
Continue reading “Google Assistant Actions & Amazon Alexa Best Practices”
This week I had the opportunity to attend the Google I/O conference in Mountain View, California. It was an incredibly compelling event as Google shifted their focus as a company from mobile first to AI first. This means that all products will be redefined and enhanced through various forms of AI. This includes the Google …
Coming to you live from San Francisco and Google’s I/O conference. Here is a recap of some of the key highlights. From their shift from mobile first to AI first, the launch of Google Lens, computer vision as the next form of computing, and the digitally augmented future. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
Recently the International Business Times asked me to provide commentary and analysis of Q3 2015 earnings reports for multiple digital and technology organizations. I find quarterly earnings calls to be incredibly insightful, especially towards the end of the calendar year as new product investment announcements are made. Below is my multi-article commentary about the future …
Continue reading “IBT Q3 Earnings Commentary Facebook, Twitter & Google”
I was recently asked by the International Business Times for my thoughts about Alphabet and Google’s Q3 Earnings and it’s potential impact on future advertising revenue. (IBT) Has Google finally made mobile work? Google is benefiting from consumer behavior shifts and accessibility to mobile and capitalizing by constantly refining their offerings tied to mobile search, …
Continue reading “International Business Times, Alphabet & Google”
I was recently asked by Mobile Marketer to provide commentary about the recent Google and Twitter alliance that now integrates certain Twitter updates directly into Google mobile search results. (Mobile Marketer) What have been the implications of this program for marketers, especially auto dealers ad other retailers with similar consumer-buying experiences when a customer is in-store and receives a …
Continue reading “Google and Twitter Alliance = Mobile Relevance”
I was recently a guest blogger on the Google Geo Developers blog, outlining GameStop’s use of Google Maps APIs in building an immersive experience to promote the launch of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Here is a repost of the content: If you’re going on a monster hunt, it’s a good idea to bring a …
Today is the day Google is rolling out a major update to it’s mobile search algorithm. Some are proclaiming this “Mobileggedon” others the “Mobilepocolypse”. The reality is that this is a major update that will boost the ranking of mobile-friendly pages. There are five things to know about how this update may impact your brand. …
Continue reading “Is Today Mobileggedon? 5 Things To Know about Today’s Google Update”
Google just rolled out an update to search engine result pages by incorporating brand social profiles. Previously, social channels were organized as separate results. By streamlining the profiles under the master brand result makes connecting with consumers even easier. Most notably, the update also provides the most recent Google+ post tied to the brand. This …
I first saw the Google real-time display offering with their Nike partnership during the 2014 World Cup. The partnership featured the first instance of Google testing their real-time display delivery platform at scale with 8 different real-time activations displayed in 15 different countries recreating key moments through the lens of Nike’s Risk Everything campaign. Nike …
There is a reason Google is trading over $1,000 a share and closed platforms such as Facebook & Twitter are at $55. Google owns 66% of search marketshare in the US, the #1 online video site with YouTube and Google claims 540 million monthly active Google+ users and 300 million monthly active “in-stream” users. Now …
Continue reading “Google Blurring the Line of Native, Traditional & Social”
Wearable technology, specifically head mounted displays have been a part of science fiction canon for a very long time. Fans of the 80’s anime series Dragon Ball were accustomed to seeing characters with their own version of “Google Glass” interfaces. This preexisting association can be both a positive and a negative when it comes to …
This is a repost of my iMedia Connection Cover Story. With the combination of 40 million users in a little over 88 days and a 68% share of the search market, Google is positioned to fully maximize social engagement with Google+. The initial launch strategy was primarily consumer focused and any branded solutions were put …
Continue reading “10 Strategic Benefits of Google+ Brand Pages”
This morning my new article 10 Strategic Benefits of Google+ Brand Pages was the cover story for iMedia Connection. The article reviews Google+ from launch through the recent roll-out of Brand pages as well as 10 strategic benefits of using Google+ Brand pages both short & long term. Follow Tom Edwards @BlackFin360
At long last Google has finally launched Google+ brand pages. There has been a lot of speculation on what would be included and the potential benefits to brands. Now that they are finally here it will be interesting to see what is fact vs. fiction and more importantly how best to optimize the experience and …
Today, Google rolled out new features for Google+. The update includes popular posts, visualization of share data, photo editing & Google Apps to name a few. Popular Posts – Similar to what Linkedin does with it’s Linkedin Today Top Headlines, “What’s Hot” is now a part of your stream. As you work through your stream, …
For those of us that work closely with brands, the initial beta for Google+ was exciting but not quite fulfilling for brands. Granted it is a Beta and is not intended for brand or non-human entities at this time. The recent announcement of Pages or Entities for brands on the 2011 platform roadmap means it …
This week saw the launch of Google+ which is Googles answer to Facebook. Google has definitely had setbacks when it comes to Social solutions. Google Wave anyone? So what do they decide to do this time around? Basically mirror Facebook. Comic via xkcd There is even a CSS overlay that now converts your Google+ experience …
I was recently asked for my thoughts about a number of the recent Apple Event announcements. From Apple’s original content strategy, monetization, advertising and more. Here is the published article. Here was my full commentary on the topic: (Ad Exchanger) Is what Apple planning a Netflix killer? (TOM) Apple wants to be the Sherpa and …
This BlackFin360 page tracks the adventures and travels of my Funko Pop #Tompop. See where he goes next! You can follow the adventures here or via Instagram. Follow Tom @BlackFin360
Sunday night April 22nd at 6 EDT, my previous interview with Jeffrey Hayzlett and C-Suite TV aired on the BizTV television network. Here is a recap of the discussion. I previously had the pleasure of joining the C-Suite TV team at their San Francisco event and was interviewed by Jeffrey Hayzlett. It was a fun …
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As the experiences for SXSW 2018 begin to kickoff, one of the first stops was at the Bose Augmented Reality Audio experience. The experience starts with a video outlining various use cases tied to voice based Augmented Reality. The trick here though is that there is not a visual aspect to the experience. It’s all …
I recently had the privilege to be interviewed by the SMU Temerlin Advertising Institute team for the TAI blog. This is a repost of the interview discussing various topics tied to teaching, career advice, and how the advertising industry has shifted over the years. Professor Tom Edwards is teaching capstone course ADV 4399 Advertising Campaigns for …
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I had an opportunity to discuss the upcoming release of the iPhone 8 & X with AdExchanger. From machine learning to augmented reality, here is the full commentary. Is Apple becoming more data-driven with the growing focus on Siri and personalization? Machine Learning was one of the most prominent topics during the keynote event. Apple …
Continue reading “In The News: iPhone X & Augmented Reality”
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I had the privilege to speak and host Epsilon Symposium 2017. With hundreds of clients in attendance, I was tasked with discussing the role of artificial intelligence across Epsilon and Conversant as well as tease examples of emerging technology that my team and I are working on. Here are the key highlights I discussed during …
2017 has seen a rapid acceleration of technology trends. Of the 50+ trends observed from CES, MWC, SXSW, F8, Google I/O and more, here are the top 5 midyear trends that I am closely monitoring heading into 2018. 1) MOBILE FIRST TO AI FIRST For the past few years, Facebook, Google and other industry heavy weights …
For the past 12 months, my Epsilon team and I have focused on multiple facets of artificial intelligence (AI) with data as the primary fuel that powers key insights. We have leveraged machine learning, natural language processing, predictive APIs, and neural networks to uncover consumer truths that previously would have taken weeks or months to …
This week I had the pleasure of joining the C-Suite TV team at their San Francisco event and was interviewed by Jeffrey Hayzlett. It was a fun discussion as he asked me about the shift from social media to social messaging, strategies to make the shift, voice based experiences, disruption, galactic cannibalism, trends and the …
Continue reading “C-Suite TV Discussion – Disruption, UX, The Future”
On March 17th Facebook rolled out a simple update to Messenger just in time for March Madness. By simply using the basketball emoji in Messenger a user can play a simple swipe and shoot mini game directly within the Messenger app experience. This very simple integration could very well show the future for how brand …
Continue reading “An Emoji Basketball Could Be The Future of Marketing”
I was recently asked by Adweek to provide commentary about how Twitter’s increase to 10,000 characters can add value for brand marketers. “The biggest reason they are making the shift is not just for user behavior—to me, it is to increase the platform’s capabilities in search,” said Tom Edwards, chief digital officer of agency business …
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I was recently asked by Venture Beat to provide insight into 5 potential technologies that I would be excited to see at CES 2016. The 2016 Consumer Electronics Show kicks off in just a few weeks, and we marketers will get a glimpse of new technologies that will impact how we talk to our audiences. …
Continue reading “VB: 5 Technologies You Should Watch For at CES 2016”
I recently had the privilege of delivering a keynote presentation during Social Media Week Chicago. The topic was the evolution of connection. Evolution of connection explored the past, present and future state of social media. The initial section highlighted the transformational innovation that forever changed digital marketing by enabling accessibility to create content and how consumer …
I was recently asked by Mashable to provide commentary about the pros and cons of Apple News and the rest of the publisher news ecosystem such as Facebook’s Instant Articles, Snapchat’s Discover, etc… Mashable: How do you see Apple News (and by extension iAds) competing with Facebook Instant Articles or Snapchat Discover? What does it …
I had the opportunity to speak on a MediaPost panel this morning discussing end-to-end beacon solutions and how to leverage the data gathered to create authentic and relevant connections with consumers. It was a lively discussion touching on a number topics. The panel kicked off with a discussion about what the low hanging fruit is …
Today my recap of 10 Learnings from Facebook F8 is the lead cover story for iMedia. Here is a link to the full article and below is a repost of the content. I recently attended the 2015 Facebook F8 conference. Below is a recap of my top ten takeaways from the annual developer conference. The …
Another year, another SXSW Interactive is in the books. Each year I look to get inspired, reconnect with publishers and 3rd party partners and look for new or incremental innovation that can add value for my clients. This year, one of the areas that caught my attention was the advancement of 3rd party integration and …
Maybe it’s the fact that I recently watched Interstellar, or my fascination with physics and space in general, but when I began writing about Dark Social I could not help comparing Dark Social to another dark entity, a Black Hole. With Black Holes, we understand how they are formed, we debate the existence of a …
Continue reading “2015 Will See The Exponential Growth of Dark Social”
Since the day Destiny hints were first discovered in HALO 3: ODST years ago, then sprinkled throughout numerous Bungie presentations, to the first public leaks in late 2012 I was hooked. The concept of a persistent open-world shooter by the makers of Halo was a dream come true. Having played both the Alpha & Beta …
For my family summer brings cookouts, movies & travel. This past weekend I was one of the thousands to see the latest entry in the Transformers movie franchise. I have been a fan of the series since it’s debut in 1984. Seeing the dinobot Grimlock on the big screen was something I was VERY excited …
This morning my new article “what advertising will look like in 2020” is the cover story for iMedia Connection. The article is a forward looking piece that focuses on integrated mobile, converged media and mass customization, connected life and the role Google will play. A quick follow-up… I wanted to thank everyone for the great …
In 2013 one platform created more requests for POVs and testing from our Fortune 500 clients than any other. That platform… Tumblr. What makes Tumblr unique? The platform is a hybrid of social & the web. Tumblr provides a massive (225m monthly uniques) and highly engaged audience as well as complete creative control over the …
With the recent rollout of Facebook’s new mobile news reader app Paper we see the next step in their single purpose app strategy. This post does dive into what Paper is, but more importantly, it focuses how brands can potentially capitalize on Paper now, and into the future. The launch of Paper is directly targeting …
Continue reading “5 Ways The Facebook Paper App Could Change the Future”
One of the questions I receive a lot is the relation between Google+ and search. I commonly hear “of course Google+ impacts search”, but when pressed most don’t fully understand to what extent. Google+ is one of the more misunderstood properties when it comes to mapping it’s value for a social strategy. The key is …
Everywhere I look whether it is working on my desktop or browsing via mobile I am beginning to see recurring digital design patterns. This includes the use a lot of white space, simple and sometimes transparent backgrounds, symmetrical boxes and minimalist styling for user interfaces. This trend actually has a name… Flat design. You may …
I recently attended the first ever Pinterest Partner Marketing Summit in NYC. This invite only event unveiled their emphasis on developing a strong partner program and also served as an opportunity to introduce new staff to the Pinterest partner team, new resources for brands and agencies and best practices to maximize the platform. There were …
Recently Facebook announced one of the biggest changes to their search feature to date with the limited beta release of Graph Search. Mark Zuckerberg stated Graph Search would become the third pillar of the Facebook experience in addition to the News Feed and Timeline. This post will review the features of Graph Search while also …
Today featured a rather large announcement from Twitter regarding the future of their advertising product. According to multiple sources the announcements hit the wire today. I was at Twitter HQ in San Francisco just a few days ago and the Twitter Interest Graph was a featured topic of discussion. I just received the green light …