Why is this big news? Because the new Boston Globe isn’t an ordinary newspaper website. For the first time, Responsive Web Design has finally got a poster child to call its own.

Responsive web design has come a long way in just 1.3 years. Back at the end of May 2010, Ethan Marcotte famously (at least to us web designers) published his seminal article on A List Apart, aptly titled ‘Responsive Web Design‘. The article introduced a new paradigm to web design – a revolutionary but not destructive or disruptive one – stating that websites should be inherently flexible to their constraints. This thinking wasn’t necessarily new, but it was so well considered and logical in both its theory and methodology that I and many others stood up and noticed. Since then, many of us have adopted it as the new norm when creating websites for clients.

However, as with any new and groundbreaking idea, it was always a working concept. Since its inception, RWD always needed a big backer. A name big enough that people beyond our small community/industry would notice and think ‘well, that’s a good idea’. A website big enough that when people viewed their other favourite websites on their multiple devices, they would notice that the Globe’s experience just ‘fit’. No pinching, no zooming, no squinting required. They could view the Globe site on their iPad, their iPhone, their Android, Android tablet, or – if they so desired – on their 13 year old Apple Newton, and for each device, the viewing/reading/browsing/subscribing experience responded and adapted to the device – not the other way around.

The point is, responsive web design, however practical and logical it is from a service provider’s perspective, needed a live and in-the-wild example to prove its real worth. The new poster child that is the Boston Globe represents in plain view just how useful, applicable and cost-effective a well-made & responsively designed website can be.

A tour of the new BostonGlobe.com from jeff moriarty on Vimeo.

I’m lucky enough to have clients who have understood the application and benefits of using responsive web design in their projects from the onset. And, judging by the fantastic output of http://mediaqueri.es, many others do too. However, the majority of companies and businesses out there are likely to need a little bit more persuading as to why designing with this approach is the best way forward. Thankfully, our jobs have just been made all the easier thanks to Ethan and that A-Team who designed and built the new http://bostonglobe.com

Using QR codes to purchase specific groceries from a subway station, which are then delivered to your door the same day? Sounds like something Ocado would/should jump on soon enough.

Reactions assume ‘something’ has already happened, and you react accordingly. Waiting for leads to come to you via your website or phone is the definition of being reactive. And it’s easy.

From a freelancer or small business’ point of view, being proactive is perhaps the single hardest thing to get right. Working alone and wearing the financing, design, sales, marketing and admin hats, it becomes harder and harder to think ahead. It requires a certain lucidity and awareness of what’s coming next, and how it might affect your business, and acting (not reacting) accordingly. Continuing to identify and act on ways to make your business grow, can help you stop being reactive and focus more on making things happen.

“Control your destiny or someone else will”
– Jack Welch

Be proactive through strategy

Your business strategy is always something you intend on doing, but it always seems to be something you’ll focus on after this month’s project. Or next weekend. Or at the end of this quarter. It rarely happens because you’re stuck being reactive. Reacting to client needs equates to income, so that gets top priority.

Fortunately, devising a strategy doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds. You wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing if you lacked any sort of strategy.. Going freelance is a strategy (working for yourself, controlling your destiny), as is employing 5, 10, or 15 new people within 2 years or growing revenue by xx% by 2012. All a strategy does is define the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ of your current and future business.

Think proactive

Considering a strategy of ‘how you’re going to get there’ is the best way to start thinking proactively. You’ll start to see things that you should and shouldn’t do, and you’ll start thinking of ways to drive your business forward that might not have been clear before. The reality is, if you run a business that services clients, you’ll always be reactive. That’s obvious. But the more you consider ‘the big picture’, the more you’ll start to focus on what gets you to where you want to be. The client services becomes the norm, and the ‘what’s next’ becomes the road in front of you. You’ll focus on elements of your business that will get you to your destination, and move away from those that become obstacles.

Thoughts for the New Year

In an ideal world, this is all very easy. In reality, it’s not – but the more you consider your business, its current situation and its future, the more likely you are to stop reacting (at the drop of a hat!) to client demands just because you have to. Couldn’t we all do with less stress and better business in 2011?

In a nutshell if any or all of the slides happen to give you goosebumps, put a smile on your face, or just simply make you go ‘wow’, it’s pretty obvious that:

• a) If you’re already in the web industry, you’re in the right industry
• b) If you’re not already in the web industry, you sure wouldn’t mind being in it
• c) Technology, innovation and the rampant growth of the web is something to get excited about, no matter how you look at it

Check out the ’87 cool things’ slideshow, you won’t be disappointed.

As humans we’re inherently 2 things: mobile and social. We like to move and we like to be gregarious.

So my answer was pretty simple – both are the way forward in web. With smartphone sales set to eclipse PC sales by 2011, we’re going mobile as a society whether we like it or not.

As for the social aspect… well, regardless of the surge in social media ‘gurus’ sweeping the web, all that was ever needed to get humans talking on teh interwebs was the technology to facilitate conversations and interaction. As a species we’re born to be wild social, and the professionals plying their trade in the social media space aren’t professional socialites per se, they’re just professionals at understanding the many vehicles and technologies – current and future - out there that enable us to be social. The current arena for social media might be our desktop/laptop and a browser, but ask any social media strategist you know about the importance of the mobile web, and I hope they stress just how important it’s going to be: very.

As mobile technology gets more sophisticated, as GPS improves, and as mobile apps and augmented reality continue to multiply and grow respectively, our mobile media use will become second-nature. Handsets will become more powerful. Our social media use is already becoming ubiquitous. We as an industry will continue to combine the two in new and innovative ways, enabling users as a collective to be more productive, more connected, and more interactive than ever before (disclaimer: one’s rate of adoption and privacy concerns notwithstanding). Web Version 3.0 isn’t about the semantic web anymore, it’s about the socimobi web with semantics and microformats already built-in for good measure.

My advice to my colleague in the end? If nothing else, keep an eye on the mobile horizon, and be social. Take some refresher classes or training in the basics, sure, but no matter what just get into it. Go social, and have fun – try a favourite social network on a data-enabled phone, and get stuck-in. Learn what value an app gives a user, visit favourite sites through a mobile browser, or try out Google Latitude. It’ll be more interesting and engaging than SEO, that’s for sure.

Having attended e-consultancy’s event on the ‘Future of Digital Marketing’ in June, if I’m being honest, it was the first time I’ve felt excited about digital marketing for a long time. Way back in February I attended the dire DMA show in Las Vegas, and subsequently wrote up a diatribe on why it and the industry as a whole seemed to be lacking in innovation. Thankfully, e-consultancy’s choice of speakers for their event seems to have gotten me back on the right track. This is part 1 of a 3 part series on the future of digital marketing and a recap of the event.

So what’s the future?

Not surprisingly, not one speaker on the day truly answered that question. All of them did however provide their thoughts and opinions on what they thought was at least coming onto the horizon – or what’s already here and hasn’t been properly utilized yet. While much of me wanted fundamentally new technologies to be unveiled (more on that later), the strongest recurring theme of the day was making the best use of the methods and tactics we digital marketers use today – just ‘better’. So the first take-away: if the basics of a digital marketing strategy at the moment include email marketing, pay-per-click, search engine optimization, referral and affiliate marketing and increasingly social media, then the digital marketing strategies of tomorrow will likely include the same. The innovation that represents the future of digital marketing is primarily in how each channel is represented, managed and utilized – focusing more on value to the end user and striving to maximize their experience beyond anything else.

Below are some choice extracts from the show that to me captured the essence of what the future of digital marketing actually will be, interspersed with my own opinions and thoughts or additions for good measure.

Get the basics right first

• Search is and will continue to act as the launch pad for most online experiences. The difference will be in the application, access and delivery of search results. With access to search increasingly varied by platform (mobile, web, API, socially-aided, etc.), search can become increasingly targeted and (as Google has shown us) will always be monetized.
• Localized search will become ubiquitous with Search. Users will increasingly use search to find local and offline results. In this respect, local search will become a microcosm of the SEM landscape we know today, with results targeted on such a granular basis that the competition between websites for conversions will take to the street.
• The consumer’s voice, since the advent of *shudder* ‘web 2′ technologies like social platforms, blogs and other dialogue enablers has been increasingly heard and will continue to lead the way marketers do business. This isn’t anything new, but recognition that as internet infrastructure grows, the need to listen to what your customers want – and don’t want – is beyond imperative. Barry Smith of SkyScanner summed it up by underlining the need to understand your landscape – get feedback, monitor, and respond accordingly.
• Social media will continue to proliferate and become increasingly synonymous with the web as a whole. Already we’re accustomed to checking our favourite social sites as part of our daily routine, but with innovations on the horizon like Google’s Wave plus socially-driven mobile apps and social search, most of the things done online by consumers and businesses alike will have a strong social component to them.
• The basic channels, and significantly email marketing, will become the foundation to a marketers kit. During a surprisingly open and telling presentation, Mark Kelleher – Head of Marketing Technology and Operations at the BBC – highlighted the BBC’s constant and continued use of email marketing as one of their primary interaction methods. 110 different newsletters totaling 30 million sent/month are delivered as timely, relevant and highly personalized communications thanks to advanced CRM techniques. It seems based on this that as a tactic, email marketing shows no signs of abating anytime soon.
• The web services we use today behind a monitor will tomorrow be integrated into more devices and channels. Integration and convergence as well as multi-platform access are indeed the next logical progression of the web, and marketers need to diversify their messages and technologies to reach the maximum number of users effectively.
• The underlining rule so far? Get the basics right before venturing into the ‘what’s upcoming’ waters. Focus on what you do already, but do it better, and always remember to maximize value to your end user, listen to them, and offer them what they want. Simple things to overlook like website conversion optimization, calls-to-action, A/B testing, platform/browser optimization, feedback user groups, localization and continual evolution need to be addressed before anything else. Build a solid foundation, and you’re setting yourself up for success.

Stay tuned for the next post: Getting to the fun stuff – the next level up in the future of digital marketing.