The Queensland Police Service (facebook.com/QueenslandPolice and @QPSmedia) this last week may have set a precedent on how the connected world can now coordinate emergency services and a subsequent response. From the onset when meteorologists informed the public what was in store for the greater Brisbane area, Facebook and Twitter were alive with mention of both #thebigwet and #qldfloods.

Before long I had seen multiple mentions of @QPSmedia being retweeted advising that they were debunking myths being thrown around (the dam failing and which areas were indeed being affected), accurately advising on rapidly changing traffic conditions (which led to us being able to get a family member out of an area that became affected just in the nick of time) as well as advising on how best to prepare for the upcoming disaster (advising on evacuation centre locations, where to get sandbags and how best to stock up for potential shortages on basic supplies).

At the peak their followers were sitting around 165,000 for Facebook and 11,000 for Twitter, in the first day the numbers had risen dramatically once it became apparent that these were the go-to spots for accurate reporting. With the help of the public, vital communiqués were shared and retweeted, while the dialogue from the ground flourished through the commentary on each new piece of information made available. People were submitting video in real time utilizing feeds like live stream and YouTube as well as Flickr and Twitpic for photos. By the time the flood waters receded and I made it to one of the affected areas to help clean up, thousands of volunteers had descended upon the ravaged suburbs and one of the things most people I talked to shared in common?

They used social media groups to register for volunteering duties and listened to people’s posts online to inform their choice of areas to devote efforts towards.

While this method of handling emergencies & events is far from being able to replace traditional lines of reporting, I believe it has proven to be viable and essential from this day forward.

Stats compiled by researchers at Queensland University of Technology provide some insight into how #qldflood(s) was trending and travelling throughout the event. Hopefully these can be used to help other response teams around the world to validate requests for extending team’s capabilities to include the management of social based dialogue in times of crisis.

How long until all emergency services will have social media managers in place and based on this experience, what ways do you think they can improve upon those established in Brisbane?

2010 has seen us deliver some amazing campaigns and sites including work with Phillips Healthcare ASEAN Pacific, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Queensland Museum, UNHCR and the Benevolent Society.

We’ve built mobile apps, worked on brand development, creative, social media engagement, user experience, projection mapping and a host of other pieces of digital wizardry.

We moved to bigger, better offices in Canberra, expanded our Sydney office and opened our Brisbane office this year.

The Australian team has more than doubled in size. It comprises people from a wide variety of places and backgrounds, all of whom embody our values of being honest, intelligent, loyal, unconventional and independent.

We also created two grants to support emerging artists through the Capital Arts Patrons Organisation and the Cairns Indigenous Arts Festival. We held a series of Digital Conversations events around Australia and we’re busy collaborating with QUT on a technology research project.

We won awards, wrote white papers, articles and blog posts and presented at industry conferences across the APAC region.

We have a core team of highly dedicated people keeping their eye on things over the break, but the rest of us will be having a well-earned rest for a few days. We’ll be back on the 4th January.

Thank you for being part of a great year!

We look forward to working with you in 2011.

So this year, to save you from tears (of boredom), we thought we’d give you something useful to put in your stocking.

Twelve genuinely useful and important trends, apps, websites and essential pieces of digital intelligence that will help you do business in 2011.

One: Facebook alternatives

Facebook recently hit the 500 million user mark, and it looks set to continue its success next year. But concerns about privacy, Facebook’s ownership and use of user data, and also a need to create more focused communities has led to the creation of what we think are two very strong contenders for the hit new social platforms of 2011.

Two: Cloud Computing

The somewhat esoteric language used about cloud computing may be why many people find a move to the cloud a little bit daunting. We’ve seen it described as “an evolutionary journey to a more dynamic and flexible IT infrastructure.”
It’s actually pretty simple stuff.

Three: Facebook Optimisation

There are three key ways you can connect with Facebook users. Using FBML, NFO and OpenGraph – on the page, in the news feed and across the web.

Four: the change from IPv4 to IPv6

The web is running out of addresses. Complete IPv4 address exhaustion looks likely in 2011 – 12 and will mean a move from IPv4 to IPv6. This will offer a unique IP address not only per user but an IP address per device, which could offer marketers some exciting new data sets about our users.  It also means organisations need to be prepared for the transition to ensure seamless reconfiguration.

Five: Google TV

In 2011 we will see wide scale adoption of internet TV services across a plethora of devices; TV, desktops, laptops, tablets, and smart phones.You will be able to watch streaming video content on your TV while controlling it with your phone/tablet, contributing live to shows with layered contextual Tweeting, voting, asking questions…and because it’s  ahead of the game in terms of its app and platform integration, we predict Google will be the clear market leader  by this time next year.

Six: Projection Mapping

Projection Mapping is going to be massive over the next 6-12 months as more brands use the technology to interact with their consumers. Cool examples we’ve seen range from education to advertising, for example, the History Channel projecting the history of a site onto the walls of the present-day building, BMW advertising their new car across Singapore’s CBD skyscrapers, and putting modesty aside, this little  installation we created for the Media Momentum awards.

Seven: location, location, location

In 2012, smart phones will eclipse PC sales, according to figures from Morgan Stanley. That means you need to be planning your mobile marketing strategy now. Location based services are maturing, and putting relevant and contextual information in your customer’s pocket is becoming an imperative.

Eight: Trends in design and UX: beyond the app

We believe the mobile experience will ultimately mean a return to the web, rather than flipping between a series of standalone apps, but meanwhile, apps will continue to be the flavour of the moment throughout 2011.  The challenge for designers and user experience professionals alike is to create interfaces that offer a unified experience regardless of what platform you access this content on. Read more, or have a look at some of our favourite apps of 2010.

Nine: Data protection and risk mitigation

Regardless of whether you thought the hit film The Social Network was sensationalist, inaccurate or plain dull, they did get one thing right: “Okay, let me tell you the difference between Facebook and everybody else – we don’t crash, ever!” says an angry Mark Zuckerberg (the character).

“If the servers are down for even a day our entire reputation is irreversibly destroyed.”

So how do you ensure that when you’re using third party sites like Facebook, Tumblr and the rest that when the site goes down, your data and community doesn’t go with it?

Ten: The Rise and Rise of Social Commerce

While sites like E-bay and Amazon have opened up a new, global marketplace to ordinary consumers, the simple fact is that simply buying online doesn’t fulfill many of the psychological quirks that makes us humans so interesting.  Social commerce goes beyond merely allowing consumers to make purchase where they happen to be already – i.e a social network.  We’re not satisfied by mere convenience: we’re social animals, and clever marketers need to use social influence heuristics to connect more deeply with consumers in a noisy marketplace.

Eleven: Geolocation – Take Two

Foursquare and Facebook Places have been much trumpeted, but we have still to see business really getting their money’s worth from using geolocation as a marketing tool. The buzz around Foursquare has certainly dropped in Australia, but 2011 is the year that will take it from buzzword to brilliance; rethinking how we use geolocation will give consumers exciting new interactions with brands that genuinely add value. Using geo-social tools for a clear purpose rather than the early race to claim pixel prizes offer a great opportunity to engage with consumers in exciting new ways.

Two different examples of how brands can use location services effectively are Find the mini, win the mini – a simple but effective geo-locational experience that combines geolocation, social networking and gaming. A less breathtaking but still solid piece of marketing using geo-social is Gap’s Foursquare and Loopt campaign. Simply by checking in to a Gap store you get a 25% discount. It’s combining word of mouth advertising (you’ve automatically told all your friends you’re getting a discount) with social proof  (my friend shopping at Gap means I’m more likely to shop at Gap)

Twelve: Integration Above All

We think the future of digital is local, social and mobile. Interact with consumers wherever they are, in a way that’s contextual and valuable to them, and that integrates with their lives, rather than disrupting them.

Marketing activity needs to be seamlessly integrated across all platforms, devices and technologies, and it needs to be flexible and agile enough to adapt quickly to changes in platforms and technology.  We don’t think a successful campaign needs to operate on all fronts just for the sake of covering the maximum possible touchpoints: thorough research will give you the insight you need to choose the right channels.

Integration means giving the customer a way of interacting with your brand in whatever way makes sense and is relevant to them. Your brand lives and dies by the consumer. Putting their experience at the heart of everything you do is critical.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year from everyone at Reading Room!

Images from Mark Rigler_UK and justj0000lie on flickr

We held a digital design workshop for groups of girls in their tweens and the skills they brought to the table would make most tech savvy individuals cringe with inadequacy! Our presence seemed like a natural step for an organization where the myth of males dominating a tech based business are debunked entirely with significant leadership positions held by a multitude of talented and very switched on members of the female web industries here in Oz and the UK markets.Our new designer Suzanne Conkas delivered some brilliant templates complete with a web browser screen grab to assemble the layout within and another page of wireframe  elements to use in the process. Worries about whether the task of copying & pasting would prove too challenging completely eroded as we were grilled with questions like “why aren’t we using Photoshop?” and “how come I can’t make this page go live?”.

Once we assured them that the next time they’d get to do actual web design our Australian CEO, Sarah Vick, introduced each group to our organization; the roles that women lead in and the types of jobs that are needed for this industry. Afterwards we had them choose a favourite topic for their websites, develop a user group, establish the user’s needs and finally sketch up some wireframes prior to launching into the design work. Unfortunately our example slides showed what we thought were typical topics of interest for this demographic and as soon as they saw the Bieber’s lack of a hairline all bets were off for sites about cute animals, families and world peace.

Providing them with the creative commons shared flickr search engine compfight.com they went to town downloading, copying & pasting and generally getting their geek on over topics ranging from strange girlish sounding boy singers with no visible foreheads to the love of the great Aussie pie. The results were surprising and more surprising was the after lunch group who almost needed the riot squad to disperse them once the bribery lollies were brought out for the Q & A session – close call but we all survived finger tips intact! All in all it was truly eye opening to see how dialled in the kids of today are regarding all things tech and great to see that the future of this industry will never be a boys club again.

(Flickr photo: P i c t u r e Y o u t h)

When I was a kid, my parents owned a coffee shop in Adelaide and every morning before school, I would put out the papers while they were still warm.  I miss the tactile sensation of the paper beneath my fingers as I once flicked through pages. I miss the typography, I miss the columns and I miss the mastheads next to each other on the news stand like flags asking you to pick a team.

I haven’t purchased a newspaper in some time now. There doesn’t seem much point, I read my breaking news on my phone as I ride the bus in the morning and browse news sites through the day. It seems I’m not the only one to have shifted mediums.

I heard The Australian would be the first Aussie masthead to launch an app for the iPad and I was very eager to try it out.

I had some joy in staking out the overly busy Apple store in Sydney. Since I had already hooked up an appointment with an iPad benefactor I was mostly there to hear what Apple had to say. Perhaps there was something about my manner (perhaps Apple just has pathologically attentive customer service) because I was whisked upstairs by staff member who talked me through some of the apps. Sadly The Australian app isn’t part of their showcase, however the Times online is – so we had a look through that instead. Since this was a showcase app I’m told it didn’t have full features for me to play with.

Dropdown menus to select sections and the touch screen means navigating digital news in a traditional format. Breaking news sweeps in just as it might on your PC browser or your iPhone. The ‘Front page’ looks much more like the digital edition than the hard copy – however the transition is in the functionality. The contents fall from drop down menus and a single tap brings up the new section.

While looking at world news, a tap on the lead picture enlarges a high resolution image. I can imagine photojournalism taking on a whole new element as suddenly I have an enhanced tactile experience with the images of the day.

I was disappointed to find Letters to the Editor has yet to include (what I thought was) an obvious functionality. I had hoped the application would plug into my email automatically. At this stage it seems you still need to exit, open your email, enter the editor’s email address, write your letter and send – exactly as you do now. This seems a missed opportunity for the Fourth Estate, I had hoped writing in to the Letters section to be streamlined, and (although I anticipate comments on articles will function much as they do on my current online edition).

Later that night I had a play with the iPad and ‘The Australian’ app. The Front Page matched the digital edition, but not the hardcopy.  A quick look through Business – I found it frustrating to not be able to enlarge tables or polls. I can appreciate the feeds for stock indices and markets being a hit – but not so different from the data we already receive on a mobile device.

My benefactor was even kind enough to allow me to stay up to see if news changed with the overnight editions. It seems the browser will ‘check’ for breaking news, however it seems it is still up to the newsroom to file at their discretion. For now, overnight news still follows the traditional deadlines and the page updates at around 6 am.

I was concerned about rumours that full page ads blocking readers from accessing articles. When I accessed the International section a ‘full page’ ad appeared – however a single tap turned the page. If this had been hard copy I’d still simply turn the page. Certainly less invasive than animations which jump around while I’m trying to navigate from my PC.

I’m hoping to reclaim my newspapers, the format I first fell in love with. I hope the iPad will restore the tactile sensation of discovering the day’s events.  With the ability to interact with the actual text and content – the iPad holds a lot of promise for the user experience.

I guess now it’s up to the publishers and their developers to deliver on that promise.

Donna Hogan is an intern with Reading Room. You can find her on twitter, or send her an email.

And we wouldn’t be us if we missed the chance to add an element of competition.

Best caption for the image on the left wins a gold star…

And if you think you can do a better job of Photoshopping Tom than Reading Room designer Michael, we’re ready and willing to doff our caps to you.

Happy birthday Tony and Tom!

Flickr image at top by Rob Brooks

This exciting and challenging new role with Reading Room also requires experience in managing teams and multiple parallel projects, excellent organisational and communications skills and a passion and enthusiasm for getting the job done. Attention to detail and a client focused attitude are a must.  Skills in foosball may also be of value.

The successful applicant will have an awareness of online marketing and campaign development techniques combined with a deep understanding of and passion for emerging technologies. Experience in the preparation of proposals and tender documents would be an advantage as would working knowledge of HTML, browsers, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Project and Visio.

A competitive salary is available, negotiable dependent on qualifications and experience.  Click here to tell us why you’re the (wo)man for the job.

The rules are simple: take a boring photograph, then use your design wizardry to create something extraordinary.  Ordinarily, of course, designers are accustomed to making images look better (see below for an example) but on Photoshop Friday, the gloves are off and you have free reign to be creative and go a little crazy.

Of course, you don’t have to use Photoshop – even the humble MS Paint can sometimes work wonders.

To get you started, we’ve attached the Reading Room press photo to the bottom of this post, but don’t feel that we are your only muses – your own boss, family or friends make perfectly acceptable subjects too.  When you’ve finished, upload your before and after images to Flickr or your preferred photo sharing site and post the link in the comments below.  There’s a prize for the best work. Good luck!

“A lot of people have asked whether there was any retouching done on the press release photo for the Reading Room re-launch. Well in the spirit of openness and transparency I can reveal that like most media these days there was a little bit of retouching. I’ve put the original (on the left) next to the final product on the right. See if you can spot the 7 subtle differences” – Andrew Richardson, Creative Director of Reading Room Australia shows us how it’s done….

The piece left a vacancy open for the Rolling Stones.

Here’s why we think we own that role.

Gather no moss

The Stones have been around since triceratops were roaming the hills. Reading Room is 13 years old – almost mediæval in digital terms. Both the Stones and RR have been in a process of continual evolution and reinvention for the duration, rolling with the punches, responding to changes in technology, industry trends, and what gets people excited. Adapt or die holds true for music as it does on the web.

Multi-instrumentalism is just a sixties hepcat way of saying “platform agnostic”

From the mournful resonance of Brian Jones’ Appalachian dulcimer, the unexpected timbre of the oboe, Jagger’s plaintive harmonica to Richard’s raucous blues guitar, the Stones took the best of the tools available to them and made something truly unique and innovative. We use the best possible resources to get the job done, and we don’t care whether that means open source or a massively complex bespoke CMS. What matters is the result.

Global influences

We take inspiration from wherever it comes, mixing it up with home grown flavour. The Stones combined the unique sounds of swinging sixties London with blues and gospel. Reading Room has over a decade’s experience in Europe which brings depth to our knowledge of doing digital on the ground in Australia.

It’s all about the people

From having the smartest, the brightest and the best (looking) people in the band to appreciating the value and the power of your fans, it’s the people that make the difference. The Stones’ manager arguably created one of the very first flashmobs by getting fans to buy copies of their first single at the record shops that were polled by the chart compilers.   Reading Room’s social media practitioners excel in listening to people and using that information to make magical things happen. We can’t be certain that it’s as thrilling as being part of the recording of “Paint it Black” but we’re sure it’s not far off…

Sometimes, the more things change, the more they stay the same
The Stones’ line-up has been through several changes, but the essential vibe of the band hasn’t. Over their four decade spanning career, their 29 albums have a ineffable quality that clearly marks them as contiguous. ‘Mother’s Little Helper” is a very different sound to ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ but it’s still clearly recognisable as the Stones. Reading Room Australia has been through some changes over the past few years, but the brand values of honesty, transparency, intelligence and know-how have remained constant.

How Reading Room isn’t like the Stones

We almost never leave people stranded and penniless in a Marrakech hotel.

Our ideas are fuelled by passion and creativity, not mountains of Columbian marching powder and hallucinogens from the Himalayas.

No ego, no politics. We’re a team, not a front man with a support act. We put the audience and the client at the forefront of the performance. We stay humble, we’re our own severest critics and we test everything to within an inch of its life. That means no leopard-skin lycra, no posturing, and no bullshit.

Time is on our side. Unlike certain leathery-faced members of rock royalty, we’re still fresh, ahead of the game and only getting better with age.

We create exceptional websites and tell compelling stories using new technologies. It’s a pretty good life, and we’re proud of what we do, but we’re not rockstars.

\m/ >.< \m/

Looking for digital dexterity? Can’t get no satisfaction? Give us a shout.