21st century iPad art at your fingertips courtesy of Pops Harlow.

To commemorate the sale of the two millionth iPad, we asked some of our gadget-minded iPad owners to chime in on their first impressions of the iPad.  See below and decide whether you’ll wait for version 2.0.

Andrew Pimentel, Strategy Director
I have had an iPad for about a month now.  I produce music on the side, and the first thing that struck me is how promising some of the first music software is.  I bought a ten-dollar app that made my iPad talk to my music software over my home WiFi network, making all sorts of controls available via its touch interface and making hundreds of dollars of physical equipment obsolete.

It also replaced my Kindle, though I still use the Kindle app for the iPad.  I prefer the iPad to my laptop to ‘process’ my email inboxes—deleting things, moving things to folders, and leaving whatever remains that requires action on my part to deal with when I’m in front of my computer.  It has replaced my laptop when I travel.  It is hard to argue with the battery life and svelte size and weight.

Heather Gately, Marketing Manager
The biggest thing for me is that the iPad doesn’t get hot. Ever. It’s this little miracle, especially considering how often I have it on. And its size/structure is perfect for surfing from the couch. Beyond the general e-reader benefits—carrying a library of books in your palm and being able to download in seconds—the graphics are stunning whether it’s a picture book or photos. Videos play quickly and, again, are gorgeous. For media consumption, it’s unmatched. I didn’t expect to love the iPad, but I do.

I’d say the biggest drawback, if I had to name one, falls on the app side. They tend to be pricier than iPhone apps, and most notably there is no Facebook app. (That’s what I’m on nine times out of ten when I’m watching TV.) The iPhone app version doesn’t cut it–and the website isn’t really optimized for it. But I expect that will change.

Johannes Kleske, SIM Strategist
My biggest interest in the iPad was as a device to read. It’s very complicated to get a Kindle in Germany. So I was hoping for something with a similar form factor but with a lot more possibilities. My favorite apps are the Kindle app and Instapaper. Instapaper lets you bookmark articles on the web and read them on the iPad later on, stripped of all the clutter like design and ads, just the plain text, very easy to read. This is the main way I read articles from the web now.

It has been really interesting to me to observe the change in my behavior with this new device. My iPhone is taking a back seat and is only used on the go when I need to communicate quickly. Everything else happens on the iPad, especially e-mail, calender and to-dos. I don’t do them on my Mac anymore for most of the time.

Shiv Singh, Vice President Global Strategic Services
I find myself consuming much more media than I have in the past. The form factor lets me take the iPad to more places than I’d take a laptop.  Broadly speaking it is a marvelous way to present content. I find myself engaging with advertisements too, in ways I would have never bothered to in the past. The keyboard takes a little getting used to, but it works. The lack of interaction design standards causes confusion when I move between applications or publications within the iPad.  Otherwise, complaints about it are exaggerated in my opinion.

Joe Mele, Managing Director, Client Media
The iPad is the Google killer. Now I see why Google is so focused on Android and Chrome.  Now I see why Eric Schmidt left Apple’s board. Google is afraid for the first time, and it’s not Microsoft it’s worried about.  I reached this epiphany this weekend as I spent some quality time with my new device, spending hours consuming content, connecting with brands I like, and discovering new and wonderful things to do with my iPad.  And I never opened my browser. I didn’t need Google. Then I bought more Apple stock.

Angie Tso, Senior Information Architect
It’s amazing, and it’s the first major paradigm shift to how we interact with the internet.  I thought it would be “the iPhone but bigger”— and it is, but it’s so much more!  From a user experience perspective, there is so much more potential to the design, layout, and interactivity.  Beyond that, it offers the most instantaneous, seamless access to online content of any gadget we’ve seen yet— no waiting to turn it on, and it’s always readily available.  It’s also incredibly intuitive—a must for the mass market.  My technophobe iPhone-less boyfriend has taken to reaching for my iPad instead of his computer to check ESPN.  It’s the only one of my gadgets that he reaches for on his own, and he does consistently… that to me signals a win!

David Chang, Senior Functional Analyst
I like it more than I thought I would.  It’s definitely not just a big iPhone.  The extra screen real estate lets the apps become so much richer and easier to use.  Changes the way I surf the web at home.  It’s a nicer and more intuitive surfing experience that make you feel more connected.  It also allows you to surf in more places; I surf in bed, on the couch in all sorts of body positions that weren’t feasible with a laptop. And typing on it is actually pretty decent with the onscreen keyboard!

The Breakdown: For our first anniversary post, we invited practicing content strategists from inside and outside of Razorfish to share their thoughts on emerging trends and ideas in content strategy. Enjoy!

Jeffrey MacIntyre, Principal, Predicate, LLC
Going Mainstream
Within our field I foresee a definite turn ahead: less “why” and more “how.” The UX community has by and large taken the memo–content matters–but if the message is to stick, the next turn among our foremost practitioners should be to begin demonstrating deliverables, methodology and our measurable post launch value. Which is perfect timing for Paul Ford to inaugurate the first-ever course in content strategy at the School of Visual Arts in New York come January. No pressure, Paul!

Karen McGrane, Senior Partner, Bond Art + Science
Taking Action
For many businesses, content strategy is still in the awareness phase. They’re realizing they have a problem, and they’re considering different options for how to deal with it. Over the next two years, we’ll see more businesses decide that they need to change. Companies will take action, by improving processes to evaluate and maintain content quality, and by empowering content strategists within the organization. As a result, users will get a better experience, and companies will start to reap the business rewards of content strategy. But the first step that most need to take now is admitting they have a problem.

Ian Alexander, VP of Content, Eat Media
Converging with CMS and Web Strategy
Content management and content strategy will find greater synergies. This merging of technical and editorial will give CS broader outreach at the CMS and IT level. The complex interdependencies of content strategy will embrace search strategy at the pattern level and how a site is found will not just be about SEO. “Web strategy” will become synonymous with “content strategy” and in doing so, CS will gain broader acceptance.

Bob Maynard, Content Strategist, R/GA
Beyond the Web
If 2009 was the year content strategy broke, then maybe 2010 will be the year we fix it. I’d like to think that we’ll move beyond the web-centric content strategy hype cycle and into a more fertile period of collaboration with mobile app developers, tech architects and digital signage designers. While we’re at it, let’s kill the “content matrix” and see what happens. Who’s with me?

Laura Porto Stockwell, Senior Director, Digital Strategy at WONGDOODY
Paid Content
What is top of mind for me the past few months is the resurgence of talk about gated/paid content communities. We saw so much of this 10+ years ago, and due to the economy and the financial challenges of media we are seeing it again. While this is a business decision in many ways, there is a strong content strategy component. A content strategist can help an organization understand user needs from a content perspective and therefore help craft a plan for what types of content would be most successful in a pay-per-view situation. In addition, a content strategist can help an organization better package and deliver existing content in ways that users want to interact with it (whether paid or not).

Mary S. Butler, Senior Content Strategist, Razorfish, Editor of Headlightblog.com
Social Media Marketing
The explosion of social media has been a significant contributor to increased interest in content strategy. As smart marketers realize the benefits of connecting with and engaging consumers via social channels, as opposed to treating social as a broadcast outlet, they are more likely to experience the pain associated with not having a content strategy in place. Effectively executing a brand social strategy requires an editorial plan, dedicated resources and aligning your messaging with business objectives and meeting consumer needs and goals. As brands move more of their marketing spend to social, we are going to see content strategy become even more prominent.

Rachel Lovinger, Content Strategy Lead, Razorfish
Multiplatform Delivery
Most people who know me will probably expect me to say something about the Semantic Web. Of course I’ll be keeping an eye on what happens there, but I’ve been tracking that for years so it doesn’t seem right to call it a new trend. I think the new thing that Content Strategists should be thinking about is delivering content to different devices. How do you optimize content for a growing number of smartphones, tablets, networked TVs, etc.? Not only the format of the content, but streamlining the process of creating all the content assets. And of course you can’t just take the same content, reformat it and push it out to each type of device. Savvy Content Strategists will be thinking about how to create new content products that take advantage of the strengths of each new platform.

Colleen Jones, Principal, Content Science
Influence
Staring into my crystal ball, I foresee the rise in demand for influential content. Many have talked about possibilities for “persuasive” content and technology. Turning those possibilities into realities will be the trend. Businesses will press the interactive industry for content that resonates with people. Content strategists will deliver by weaving editorial, data-driven, and social content together into an experience that influences people’s decisions and behaviors.

Michael Barnwell, Content Strategy Lead, Razorfish
Relevance and Filtering
An arms race has been building within content strategy. As powerful aggregation tools proliferate so too do tools meant to segregate content. The Cloud, feeds, and social sharing tools are delivering more and more content, while semantic tools and sentiment analysis mining are arrayed to counter that expansionist threat. The net effect, of course, shouldn¹t aim at zero sum. Content Strategists will be called upon to become expert in the diplomatic act of negotiating both of these tool sets so that a useful set of relevant content remains.

Kristina Halvorson, CEO/Founder, Brain Traffic
Ubiquitous and in High Demand
2010 is the year every agency will be racing around trying to figure out what the hell content strategy is and why their clients are suddenly demanding it. By the end of the year, it won’t be an optional service on web projects: it will be the most-requested service. 2011 will see content strategy tools and methodologies working their way into other areas of our organizations. New alignments will emerge between previously-siloed departments and functions, focusing on the creation, delivery, and governance of content enterprise-wide. Also, Conan O’Brien will be running for president.

Matthew Geraghty, Content Strategist, Razorfish
The CS Buzz
2010 and 2011 is going to be all about how we communicate as a content strategy community. It’s important to discuss trends and what the next big thing is, but let us not forget that it ultimately comes down to the community — the talent and vision of people like the ones who are submitting to this post. Creative collaboration, idea sharing, new methods of fostering talent, celebrating successes, and spreading the CS word individually and collectively. Let’s look for new and innovative ways to creatively connect, collaborate and communicate to fuel the CS buzz.

Sometimes it takes a tip to navigate the blurring landscape of iPhone apps. (image courtesy of Steven Rhodes)

The Breakdown: Everyone is talking about the iPad, and we’re interested in seeing what develops, but in the meantime we still love our iPhones. That’s why we asked a handful of Razorfish iPhone users to tell us about iPhone apps they like and why.  Explore their recommendations and tell us what your favorite is too.

Nicholas Heasman, Information Architect
StationStops is an awesome iPhone app that helps me figure out what trains I can catch out of Grand Central Terminal (GCT) each night without having to carry a folded paper Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) train schedule. After I enter where I want to go, StationStops displays the entire schedule for my stop, highlights the next train, and tells me how long it will take. The most useful feature is the fact that the entire train timetable is stored locally, so it’s always available, regardless of cell phone reception, which can be key when shuttling around underground by subway. With reception, the app becomes more powerful by displaying the posted track numbers for soon-to-depart trains. When you’re commuting every day, not having to stop to look at the departure board is a huge win, helping save time and reduce the need to do battle with the crowds. If I could improve the app, I’d allow users to enter both origin and destination stops, instead of being required to always either depart or arrive GCT. Overall, it is a very useful iPhone app that is innovative because it encourages the MTA to open up and share more of its public transportation data.

Shiv Singh, VP & Global Social Media Lead
My favorite iPhone application is Baby flash cards. It lets me expose my son (who’s not yet a year) to new words and sounds. Why is it special – because it’s an application that can be used to help someone who is far too young to have an iPhone himself. There’s nothing strictly social about it and nor is it probably the most sophisticated application but it serves a distinct, discrete and important need without cluttering up my apartment. Is it truly pushing the boundaries of the iPhone experience? Maybe not in the traditional sense but it’s another way that I’m being brought closer to my son and that makes all the difference. The best apps are the ones that connect people to each other even if its parents connecting with their children in different ways and helping them learn.

Andrea Harrison, VP Strategy
I’ve enjoyed playing with Where the Wild Things Are app.  It was designed for the movie launch and has the standard movie info, but for me the real fun is playing with the animated Carol Wild Thing.  He interacts with you and even breaks your screen if you throw too many rocks at him.  The app lets you select pictures and contacts from your phone and insert them into the animation where Carol eats them, laughs at them and stomps on them.  You can also select music from your iPod and he’ll dance to it. All in all a great free app showing what you can do outside of straight brand promotion when you use all the parts of the phone.

John Pettengill, Information Architect
It’s hard to pick one app to be my favorite (because, really, I love them all equally), but I’ve been seriously impressed by Pocket God. A playful, discovery oriented environment combined with regular updates lead to a playful environment that isn’t technically a game. There are no rules, there are just activities to explore. The faceted game play (through clever gestures and the sheer number of things to discover) makes me come back to this app again and again whether I have 1 minute to kill or 15.

Matt Geraghty, Content Strategist
One app that has caught my eye is GQ Magazine — Conde Nast’s first shot at publishing a monthly issue through the iPhone.  It has the feel of a mini-magazine in the palm of your hand as you quickly flip, zoom, and explore content and features. Two alternate elegant viewing options are enabled by switching between the horizontal and vertical view and there’s a cool navigation bar that lets you leap instantly from page to page.  Most of all I like the simple idea of having an entire issue of your favorite magazine in your pocket . To be honest, I’m also very interested to see how the new digital possibilities play out for magazines with the iPad.  Word has it,  GQ is first in line.

Kyle Outlaw, Experience Lead
I’ve been interested in augmented reality applications lately. Augmented Reality is loosely defined as a live view of a physical real-world environment merged with virtual imagery resulting in a “mixed reality” experience (according to Wikipedia). Recent examples of augmented reality for mobile include Mobilizy’s Wikitude and Layar augmented reality browsers for the iPhone and Android platforms. I’d argue that one of the more ground breaking (and lesser known) examples of AR is ARGH (Augmented Reality Ghost Hunter). The point of ARGH is to capture “ghosts” that have been superimposed on the users’ environment using “Ghost Goggles”. It will be interesting to see how agencies and their clients will utilize augmented reality combined with social networking, geolocation services, and other mobile-based technologies to transform the physical world into something more gamelike.

Is your brand losing its fizzle online?  (image via FFFFOUND)

The breakdown: What is social media’s impact on the brand? Where is the line between a positive vs. negative influencer?  Do Twitter and Facebook really have a tangible benefit to the corporation’s bottom line? We asked a panel of some of our content and social experts their thoughts on leveraging social media to connect with the consumer.

Robert Stribley, Senior Information Architect

Companies who take social media seriously are reaping tremendous benefits for their brand. Coca-Cola, for instance, recently featured a prominent call to action on their homepage to direct visitors to their Facebook page.  Now, they have almost 3.7 million fans on Facebook.  So instead of relying on users’ infrequent visits to Cocacola.com to communicate their brand message, now they can expose a huge audience to it with whatever frequency they like.

Michael Barnwell, Content Strategy Lead

Social Media has the tendency to inspire brands to launch an arms race with their consumers. In the event of negative commentary, brands will feel the need to offset that commentary with ever more charm and assurance. Brands secure in their products and services will resist the urge to rapidly fire back and trust the balance of commentary to work in their favor over time.

David Deal, VP of Marketing

It’s a myth that social media puts “consumers in control.”  Consumers don’t control anything, and we don’t want to, either.  We still want two-way relationships with brands, which means both the consumer and enterprise exert influence.  Social media strengthens that relationship by empowering consumers.  Smart companies are figuring out that by using social, the brand can be empowered, too.

Abbreviated version of this blog post here.

Shiv Singh, VP & Global Social Media Lead

Brands do not have a place on social platforms. People do.

Matt Geraghty, Content Strategist

Opening social media to help build your brand or reinforce corporate goals is not without its risks.  Yet if used in a thoughtful way, there can be enormous benefit to the overall brand impression that traditional marketing could never achieve.  Take a recent post by a new Ford customer where he details the experience of reaching out to Ford via Twitter which in turn would lead to a phone call to him from Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally. How many companies are really looking for this type of transparency?  Hard to say—but now more than ever is the time for bold experimentation.

Dawn Bovasso, Content Strategist

It’s not social media that creates strong relationships with customers — it’s consistent and direct customer service. Look at Zappos, who was known for their exceptional customer service long before social media came along. Social media has only enhanced the reputation they already had, not created or repaired it. Same for someone like Time Warner Cable, who is notorious here in NYC for terrible customer service; I don’t care how much they Twitter if I have to stay at home all day waiting for them and they don’t show up. Having quick and thoughtful responses to social media is great, but it’s secondary to direct customer service.

Rachel Lovinger, Content Strategy Lead

I hardly ever use social media to connect with brands. On Twitter and Facebook, I mostly follow friends, colleagues, celebrities and organizers of events I like to go to. I don’t really even like getting email from companies I’ve bought stuff from. I guess I’m not the kind of person that likes to be poked by brands online. If I want to know about them, I’ll go to their website.

Follow Rachel on Twitter