The Lunch Pail, and Knotice, are 100 percent focused on the application and evolution of direct digital marketing in order to advance the business-to-customer relationship in a more relevant, accountable way. To that end, the wide adoption of certain technologies pertaining to direct digital marketing is also an interest of ours because it is beneficial for our customers, the general "consumer" and society as a whole. Providing access to information is extremely important, and the primary direct digital marketing channels - email, Web, mobile - best facilitate access for all.The Connect Akron project is designed to provide free wireless Internet access to anyone within a projected 10 square mile radius of the network right in our own downtown of Akron, Ohio. From time to time here on the Lunch Pail I will take a moment to provide updates on this important project.
The project is currently in a time of leadership transition that will no doubt make it stronger and better aligned to meet objectives. The goals remain the same with the project having a target completion date by the summer of 2010. Akron’s ambition is to be an example to the entire country for the successful implementation and adoption of a free wireless network in a metropolitan area. While the project is a boon for businesses and workers in the downtown area, that segment does not represent the project’s only beneficiaries.
One of the more important ambitions of the project is to provide Internet access to folks that do not normally have it… closing the digital divide. The reasons for creating the wireless corridor on a downtown area are self-evident. But the opportunity to grant access to information for all is important not just for the continued success of business and economic development, but for society as a whole.
As the number of wireless access points increases each week, the project has also adopted the ambition of providing local citizens with free computers to access the free network. Training is already underway for citizens in every demographic and walk of life.
As Akron becomes an even better city to work in – with the ability for workers to be connected and plugged in anywhere within the city’s burgeoning network – the efforts to educate and provide access for all are pivotal for continued growth.
Cities all over the country are finding new and exciting ways to incorporate new technology. From Manor, Texas’ use of QR codes for citizens to get instant information about government sites around the city to Akron’s free wireless network, access is improving for all.
Mobile tagging is a category term for the creation and rendering of a two-dimensional bar code that is link to an online experience, accessed through a mobile device. There are two basic types of mobile tagging solutions. I will go into greater depth in a forthcoming column for the MMA, but here is a quick overview of the types of mobile tagging solutions.
I have an iPhone. Therefore, I am an AT&T customer. As a result AT&T has added me to their email distribution list, and I now am on the receiving end of several email tactics. My favorite (and not for a good reason) are the acquisition tactics.
I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to usability. I really get excited about the idea of tweaking a page to get just the right response… and learning why it works. When I overheard someone here at Knotice talking about an eye track study and heat maps, my ears perked up. Turns out this was an older study and specific to news media websites, but it got me thinking about how customers view the creative that is worked so diligently to perfect.
One of the newest additions to the growing Knotice family of customers, 
