Words

Portable, wireless reading devices, or ebook readers, have been fast approaching main stream adoption since 2007 when Amazon introduced the Kindle to the most recent release of the Apple iPad. Dedicated devices for reading digital books are developing the future in the publication industry. Book readers no longer need to handle a big bound book to read their favorite novel, paperback, magazine, or any document for that matter.

Bing's Apple iPad

We have been doing some extensive “hands-on” research with our own Kindle and Nick’s recent acquisition of an Apple iPad. Angela has learned how to convert basic HTML with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) into ebook format. She has been formatting documents ranging from a few-hundred-page paperback books to magazine articles to white papers and PowerPoint presentations with complex content, which may consist of images, tables, and graphs.

For the consumers there are many benefits for converting or using ebook readers. Here we highlight a few below:

1. Ebooks are portable. You can carry an entire library on your device!
2. The user can get instant access to scores of ebooks just by downloading it from the internet without waiting days and days for delivery of the book.
3. The price of ebooks is much less than any of the paper books as the costs of printing, shipping and distribution is almost eliminated.
4. The feature of hyperlinks gives the user the ability to shift to any section of ebook they want.
5. The user has the ability to choose the font that they like. From adjusting the font size to margin size to line spacing.
6. Ebooks are searchable. You can quickly find anything inside the book. Ebooks are globally searchable.
7. Ebooks make reading accessible to persons with disabilities. Text can be re-sized for the visually impaired. And for the hearing impaired, ebooks are capable of a text-to-speech option.

From Angela’s perspective, there is a lot on the back end to get familiar with. Since an intuitive workflow for converting layout files into ebook format has not yet been developed, much of the process involves trial and error and researching methods from many different sources online. A working knowledge of HTML programming also goes a long way. Although a rudimentary ebook can be created without too much effort, a well-designed ebook takes quite a bit more programming know-how, time and patience.

It is having said that, ebook readers will have a larger need for a market that has seen the closing of several library branches across America. For the future of the publication industry, there will be a need for design agencies to create and optimize formats for the affluent readers.

Recently we’ve discovered a few more Bings out there – besides Microsoft’s. There are several similar, small design agencies across the country that share our name. And, upon the release of Microsoft’s search engine, some of them are changing their names.

We’re not.

Because, our “Bing” means more than just “eureka!” It’s part of our history.

Here’s some Bing trivia for your Thursday:

Our agency was established in 1979 by Bob Bingenheimer. At that time, the agency was known as Bingenheimer Design. Bob “retired” in 2000 and sold the agency to an employee, Nick Gaskins. As the new owner, Nick shortened the name to Bing.

For more information about Bing, visit our site.

Not to be overshadowed by the release of the decision engine, Bing, Google has added new functionality to its search engine. The search giant is describing this as “a new set of tools that allows you to slice and dice results in new ways.” Google is aiming to capture more understanding about its users.

Wonder Wheel

Google introduced “Wonder Wheel,” a graphical way to explore topics by clicking on related searches. Wonder Wheel gives you the ability to visually review your search results, similar to mind mapping. To try it out, do a search and find the “Show Options” link at the top of the search results page.

The other functionality introduced is Google Squared, a tool designed to chart research into columns and rows for those who are trying to track and organize information they get from the Web. Google Squared extracts data from Web pages and presents them in an online spreadsheet.

What makes this tool handy is that adding structure to the Web is one way to make sense of all that data. Check out this quick clip to see Google Squared in action.

You might be looking at the logo to the right and thinking, “Did Bing Design re-brand their logo again!?” No, we are happy with the way our logo turned out. But what you’re seeing is Microsoft’s identity for Bing, a new search engine.

To stay competitive with Google’s dominance in online searching, Microsoft has positioned Bing as a “Decision Engine”.

We have all heard when you need to look something up, to “google” it. In fact, google was added a few years ago to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as a verb. Interesting point #1: I wonder why it’s not included as a noun too – isn’t a google a one with a hundred zeros after it? Interesting point #2: I see that Microsoft is already trying to verb-ilize ‘bing’ also.

Microsoft’s marketing gurus hope that Bing will evoke the same feeling as the sound – the ringing of a bell that signals the eureka moment when a search leads to an answer. The name is meant to conjure “the sound of found” as Bing helps people solve complex tasks.

Bing (the other one) seems to be focusing on searches related to:

• Making a purchase decision
• Planning a trip
• Researching a health condition
• Finding a local business

A “cherries-to-cherries” comparison of that Bing and this Bing shows a few similarities:

• We help clients make marketing decisions that meet their needs and fit their budget.
• We assist you with team outings. Yellow Springs is great place for a trip.
• We provide communication audits that help determine the health of your marketing efforts.
• We can localize your message in the new sense of the word – through social media communities.

So there you have it. The skinny about the Bing that’s been around for years, and that new startup from Microsoft…

One thing that helps to unify a team of professionals at any business is maintaining a consistent level of understanding. When there are many subject matter experts throughout all levels of a business, it can often be difficult for every department to be keen to the terminology being used.

This is especially true of newer online media. There are often terms and technology that we float around, that many of our peers only partially understand, or don’t at all.

At Bing, we organize team building meetings to help cross-train each other in aspects of our work that can be a bit fuzzy. This past Friday, I gathered a group to discuss Web and Internet Marketing Terms. We looked at words and phrases we often use, and better defined them with real examples online.

We broke the meeting down into three parts:

1. User Experience
2. Internet Marketing
3. Search

For User Experience, we talked about a few popular topics such as:

• Above the Fold – CNN.com is a good example of how all significant content on the page is placed so that it is above the bottom of the browser.
• Content Management Systems (CMS) – WordPress sites are great for content creators to submit content without requiring technical knowledge of HTML.
• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) – CSS Zen Garden where you can see the same HTML change dramatically with CSS.
• Rich Media/Web 2.0 – as you can see on CBS’s website with episodes of CSI provides examples of Social Media; Usabillity; and Viral Marketing.

For Internet Marketing, we covered keywords related to Analytics – Conversion Rates; Cookies; Cost Per Click (CPC) – as with Google Ad Words; Cost Per Impression (CPM); Impressions; Mobile Marketing; Paid Listings; and Pay Per Click (PPC).

For Search, terms such as Algothrims – discussing the “Golden Triangle” that web analysts use to define user tendencies, Crawlers/Bots/Spiders, Ranking, Search Engine Markeing (SEM), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Being better informed helps a company to be more versatile and aware of opportunities to help clients and business partners achieve greater success. Need a consultation? We’d like to hear from you!