Google Glass: What I’d do #IfIHadGlass

Google has unveiled new details about their highly anticipated Glass project, inviting all ‘creative’ tech fanatics to a contest that could win them their own pair of the ‘wearable computer’ headset.

If you’ve got $1,500 to spare and a brilliantly original idea (in 50 words or less) for what you’d do with a pair of the glasses, then tweet your compelling Glass purpose under the #IfIHadGlass hash-tag for your chance to become a ‘Glass-Explorer’!

The 8,000 lucky individuals that will be chosen will get to test out their very own prototype of the exciting new voice-controlled technology, which lets you browse the internet, take photos and videos, and essentially hold the power of all information within your eyesight.

The project has been under intense development for years and with the release of new information, Google has put out a video showcasing the various mind-boggling ways in which the glasses could be potentially used. While the wearable technology might not appeal to everyone for now, Google is certain that by the time of their planned 2014 market release, they will have attracted quite an eager following. As part of the campaign to involve potential clients, Google co-founder Sergey Brin spent some time testing out the glasses around the New York subway.

The Glass technology is still under development, but the handsfree device (running on the Google Android operating system) will offer all the benefits of a smartphone, and much more. The technology first began its evolution in 2012 under a secret division of the company, known as Google X.

I definitely love the way they’ve decided to put the project out there. It’s always great to involve social media in launch campaigns, and this 50-words-or-less technique is sure to get some enthused minds churning!

The competition is open solely to US residents over 18 years of age, and closes on February 27th. So if you’ve got an idea that could catch the eye of a Google judge, you’ve only got a week left to tweet it.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization for Multimedia Content

The importance of making digital content SEO friendly has been systematically drilled into most blogger and marketing corporate heads by now. The value of ranking well with search engines in order to bring in more readers has never been clearer. While the use of keywords and tags is vital, understanding SEO tactics for multimedia-rich content can prove to be very valuable, as the internet is becoming more expressive and illustrative with each passing day. But how can we keep pulling in readers through search engines if we decide to make use of the growing number of multimedia options?

Images

An image truly can speak a thousand words (or shares). Just ask the guys over at Oreo how easy it is to dunk in the dark.

1. The most important aspect of making images SEO friendly is the file name. Choose a descriptive file name that incorporates keywords which Google can index. Avoid non-specific or generic titles such as image1.jpg.

2. Captions, descriptions. Google can’t know the content your image contains (face recognition is still a work in deep progress), so make sure you surround your image with as much information as possible.

3. Make use of the ALT tag text in your image HTML embedding. This is another chance to include rich content that describes your image for search engines.

4. Syndicating through different image hosting sites can be crucial if you’re using original or highly significant images. Flickr can be very useful in this sense. Remember to link back to your site and contextualize, contextualize, contextualize!

Videos

With videos having the tendency of spreading like cyber wildfire, it’s important to make use of them whenever you can.

1. Again, since Google won’t be able to know the content of your video, so it is important to surround your video clips with as much information as possible and rich descriptions. With Youtube, you can add a title, description with keywords and tags. Make use of these meta data elements so that you can give Google something to crawl through. Remember to keep it short, sweet, and user-friendly. A transcript is also a good idea if it suits the video.

2. Research other videos that use similar/related keywords to yours. Figure out their different strengths and weaknesses and apply what you have learned to your use of video.

3. Syndicating works even better with videos. While Youtube might be huge, think of different alternatives. As many as possible, actually, as your videos are more likely to be found through their video hosting sites than through your own site. Dailymotion enables geotagging, Vimeo has no limit on uploads, and Metacafe limits duplicate videos. All of these can be very useful.

4. Last but not least, remember one simple (but sometimes forgotten) key idea: use “video” as one of your keywords. What do you think the most common word used to search for any specific video on Google is? Yeah, you guessed it.

Audio/Podcasts

Making use of audio tools or podcasts can help engage your audience, whatever the purpose of your content might be.

1. Just like with images and videos, file names and descriptions are of the essence. Use keywords that represent your audio content, whether you’re writing relevant text or transcripts.

2. ID3 Tags can help add detailed information to your mp3 format audio, such as title, artist, album, etc.

3. Syndicating to audio hosting sites such as SoundCloud or Itunes can help put your content out there while also giving you the benefit of social tools for sharing and rating.

And Remember…

1. Make your content of value. You might have to keep search engines in mind, but always remember that you’re writing for humans, not machines. Write naturally. Keywords might be important, but don’t let them get the best of you…or your content. Be interesting and the readers will come. This also applies to your multimedia content.

2. Share, share share! With the vast number of social networking sites around these days, it would be a pity to not share your content. Sharing is the best way to attract readers. If you’re going to be syndicating your images or videos, take advantage of media tools such as commenting and rating (likes/dislikes). Get your audience engaged in your content and they will keep coming back, or at least passing it on.