What would happen if we woke up to a world where all of our data and applications lived in the cloud instead of our desktops?  A world where we would leave behind our fixation on physically possessing our data and trusted a third party, like Google, for example, to store all of our precious information?

Earlier this year, Google sent out more than 60,000 pilot CR-48 Chrome Notebooks via a random lottery to early-adopters who, in return for receiving a free laptop, promised to submit all of their user data back to Google for analysis.

So what makes the CR-48 different? The anonymous-looking notebook is designed to work a lot like a smartphone with a much larger screen and keyboard, and there are no function keys. There is no desktop to exit to, as there is in more traditional operating systems. The browser is there when you boot up, and it’s gone when you shut down. So are all your files, everything you’ve been working on, saved in a separate cloud platform ready and waiting for you to log back on to the cloud.

Are you ready for the cloud, or at least the cloud as Google sees it? Here’s some things to consider if you’re thinking about trusting your everything to Google’s cloud with the CR-48:

Simple set up

Only your Gmail email address is needed to get this laptop up and running. All of your settings such as bookmarks, saved passwords and browser preferences will be transferred.

Incredible speed

Chrome notebooks go from power off to full speed in about 10 seconds, and resume from sleep instantly.

Internet access at all times

Wi-Fi and 3G internet connection at your fingertips – Verizon is also promising 100 megabytes of free connection per month for two years for every Chrome notebook.

Same experience everywhere

All your apps, documents, and settings are stored in the cloud so you will be able access them from any computer, anywhere, anytime

But what about security (who watches the watchers)? And is Chrome really a suitable substitute for a full-blown OS like Windows or OS X? And don’t even get me started on compatibility – as of right now, there are many programs that can only run on your desktops. It will take years before they convert into full blown web apps, so what to do in the meantime?

And can your business (or your clients) switch to the cloud? Popular B2B staples like CRM salesforce.com are powering a move away from traditional hard-copy license-based software to cloud-based functionality and monthly subscriptions, which begs the question – are you an early-adopter or will you be dragged, kicking and screaming to the cloud? How much of what you do is already on the cloud, and you may not even realize it?

If you are curious to see how this could potentially work for you (or if you’re ready), you can take this Google quiz just download Google’s Chrome browser, and head over to the Web app store where you can download apps such as TweetDeck, Amazon Windowshop, Dropbox, Gravity, WebApp Note and Cloud9. What are your thoughts? Would you be willing to switch to the cloud?

There is a reason the term app has become a popular term; in January 2011, app was named “Word of the Year” by the American Dialect Society. In the 20th Century the World Wide Web was a marketing professional’s BFF, and now here in the 21st Century, the app could  become our new-BFF.

But why? Apps have become so easily accessible and allows millions of customers instantaneous and easy access to information, entertainment, work, networking and almost anything else you can think of, all via a mobile device.

In the B2B world, smarketers (smart marketers) have taken advantage of this new web craze. Marketers in the B2B space are now using apps as a vehicle to not only communicate market, advertise and influence customers, but enable customers to better market their services/products to the end user.

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about – at Canyon Communications we have just developed an app as a marketing tool for our clients’ customers and the end user.

Enablement programs are exactly what they sound like – they enable the client/customer to better market their products/services to the end user by providing a strategic combination of training, certification, demand generation, access education materials, etc. Our team creatively came up with a strategically sound enablement program, which included the development of an app to further enhance the marketability and success of the program for their customers.

The app piece we developed for our program became a very strong marketing tool for our clients’ customers to connect with the end user, offering access to on-demand educational materials at any point during the sales cycle while also offering direct access to support when they needed it.

We created the app to be utilized in pre-sales engagement, sales engagement (presentations), post-sales engagement and closing deals, but as an added bonus, after successfully completing the enablement program, graduates of the program were given an Apple® iPad® 2, which would give them direct access to the app developed for this program. Not only did our clients’ customers have access to this powerful marketing tool, but they had an iPad they could easily carry with them for sales meetings to access this app on-demand.

So here’s the bottom line – the app icon on your mobile device might only be 57 x 57 pixels in size, but inside this app are endless possibilities that exsist to make one mighty marketing tool for your B2B marketing initiatives!

Contact Canyon for more information on how we can incorporate an app into your next marketing/enablement program!

At Canyon, we like to utilize as many platforms as we can to help our clients reach their customers and prospects in the most efficient way possible. Through my transition to the marketing department at Canyon, one of the platforms that I have learned a great deal about is Brainshark—thanks to my team member, Brad Whitford (aka the Brainshark guru).

Brainshark, an online presentation software tool for business communications, allows you to easily create on-demand, voice-enhanced presentations with slides, images and videos. Not only have I learned how to create a Brainshark, I’ve learned that it is one of the best practices for improving your sales and marketing because it allows you to communicate faster and more cost-effectively than ever before, and most importantly, you can measure the results.

With Brainshark, our B2B clients now have another way to deliver a valuable, customized message to their customers and prospects with the added value of tracking activity. With the ability to track activity, our B2B clients receive resourceful insight into the effectiveness of the communications they deliver, giving them an idea of how much or how little their customers and prospects are engaging with the content.

Since learning about Brainshark, I’ve become familiar with Brainshark Mobile. Smart phones have become so critical for today’s workforce and on-the-go users, I was eager to learn how we could utilize this platform further beyond the on-demand presentation. With Brainshark Mobile, companies can mobile-enable their presentations, meaning they can reach their customers and prospects anytime, anywhere.  However, the tracking/reporting capability is not being offered at this time.  

But don’t worry, I did some research and Brainshark will incorporate advanced mobile reporting capabilities in June 2011. With these new capabilities, companies will be able to connect even more with their customers and prospects because they will allow them to gather insight from their mobile audience. And, companies who want to incorporate a test and/or quiz in their presentation can now track the mobile-user’s score. I can’t wait to incorporate these advanced mobile reporting capabilities for our clients because they will enable our clients to reach out to their customers and prospects in the mobile realm which is crucial in the technology world we live in today.

Do you think Brainshark is a smart B2B marketing communications tool? Why or why not?

Did you know that the first online, clickable display ad appeared in 1993 for a now-defunct Silicon Valley law firm? Now, in 2011 display ads are on almost every site we visit and have evolved from a clickable image to formats including video and rich-media. These ads are critical to the success of the internet and have become a cost efficient way to engage your target audiences. Businesses continue to realize the importance of online and the proof lies in the increase of 2010 internet revenue growth to second, only behind TV.  

In B2B, display ads play a critical role in brand awareness and can be used to promote lead nurturing activities. Display ads drive traffic to webinars, support promotions and encourage prospects to download whitepapers and case studies. Like any marketing tactic, success of your display campaign relies on identifying and reaching your target audience with content that connects with them.

Thanks to a fellow Canyonite, I recently discovered Bizo. For those of you who haven’t heard of Bizo, it is a company that specializes in targeting business audiences through display advertising and offers an analytic platform called Bizographics. They analytics provide detailed insight into who is visiting your site by industry, company size, title and more. Bizo allows you to target a specific business audience through display advertising based on the segments you choose to target. Combining display with search will increase reach of your target audience and can increase your search conversion by up to 31% (salesforce.com).

If you have a success story with display ads, share it with us! If you have a favorite display ad, we would love to see it. If you are looking for a way to put display to work for your organization, contact Canyon.