By Jamie Fernandez

Google launched a new program in January 2011 aimed at helping digital agencies, webmasters, web designers, SEO experts, and marketing consultants maximize their returns on Google AdWords.  This resource–rich program is named Google Engage. Google has always been proactive about providing training on how to use their various web applications and products through online tutorials, web forums, and webinars. Now Google Engage takes these efforts offline, bringing a rare human element to the world of Google platforms and digital advertising.

Always a step ahead of the curve, the Blue Water Media Marketing team was able to grab passes to a Google Engage Master Class held in New York City.

By Jamie Fernandez

Money and its progression has always shaped our consumer-based world.  First there was barter, then coins, paper, plastic, PayPal, and now, phones? NFC, or Near Field Communication, is the new revolution in mobile, and ultimately, offline commerce. Devices with NFC chips completely replace your credit cards and lighten your wallet. These NFC devices have a sensor that only activates within 4 centimeters, so we’ll be waving our magic mobiles at something to buy groceries by year’s end.

Google Wallet is a mobile payment system that was released on September 19, 2011, which will make use of NFC to make payments at stores, and is sure to be a game-changer. Simply put, Google Wallet uses Near Field Communication to “make secure payments fast and convenient by simply tapping the phone on any PayPass-enabled terminal at checkout.” Inside the app are virtual replicas of your physical credit cards, so the card information will be stored in the app and will be used to make the transactions.

By: Jitter Garcia

We are past the point where social media and technology are used for solely keeping in touch and sharing pictures with friends and family. We have seen it used to announce the birth of a child from inside a hospital room. We have seen it used to boost a business’ customer relations. We have even seen social media used as a medium to overthrow dictators. These are good things—great things, even. But as we all know, good cannot exist without the alternative. Social media is not just a little outlet where teenagers post their feelings in less than 140 characters. It is a powerful tool that can build or destroy relationships, reputations, and lives.

By: Jitter Garcia

The success of your social media community can not only be measured in numbers, but also in the interaction and reactions that you get from the community. Drew Neisser’s recent case study of thriving B2B web hub, The SAP Community Network, offers useful examples of how to go about using the resources at hand to measure the success of a digital community. Below are the ones that can be applied more broadly to any blog or site that seeks customer/user engagement and success.