What happen when an angel fall from the sky? Well, if you’re one of the lucky people happened to be at London’s Victoria Station last week, you’ll be a part of Lynx Excite’s Augmented Reality (AR) play.
Lynx, the deodorant company (AXE in the US), set up a simple branded spot decal on the floor of the train station with the packaging of their latest scent, Lynx Excite, and a simple “look up” messaging. If you were standing on the AR marker spot and look up, you’d see an angel virtually falling down beside you on the overhead video screen. Mind you, knowing Lynx’s sexually-charged campaign, these are not your typical angels (think Victoria’s Secret angels).
Naturally, a fair amount of hopeless groping ensued as men attempted to take hold of the angelic models as they cavorted digitally on the screen.1 Lynx has the angels to blame for bringing men back to their dogged nature. 🙂
Overall, it’s a nice attempt at a crossover between augmented reality and the concept of a virtual woman, and kudos to Lynx for bringing this combination to mainstream fruition.
Big day at Squeaky HQ today: Just launched Crowdbeacon, a potential game changer/ relocation application and it got some tech blogs going.
What is Crowdbeacon? Crowdbeacon answers questions with the help of your local community, and aggregated answers from other location-based services.1As a service that’s focused around answering different sorts of questions like finding a good Mexican cantina, or getting a massage while on vacation, it links you to a specific local community and crowdsources other Crowdbeacon users and businesses in the area to get good, real answers.
Yes, businesses can sign up too. Business owners can answer questions when someone asks a question within six blocks of their business in their categories; They’ll get the question via push notification on their iPhones. Some businesses will definitely try to get “beaconers” into their store-front and turn them into customer but according to Erick Schonfeld, Co-Editor of TechCrunch, “others will realize that simply offering up their knowledge can generate goodwill and good buzz.” In addition to businesses providing answers, “Crowdbeacon will also surface related tips from FourSquare, reviews from Yelp, and shopping info from local shopping search engine Wishpond.”2
I spoke to founder Robert Boyle about this social Q&A service, how Crowdbeacon can help people, and the brand’s future goals. Oh, and for those who are itching to try their hands on start-ups, he drops a few nuggets on how to do that, too.
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What ignited the spark in you to start Crowdbeacon? How did the idea come about?
Robert Boyle (RB): The idea came about because we recognized that there was a practical vacuum in the market for a location-based service that was a utility. This isn’t in any way knocking existing LBS leaders, but my background is in solving practical problems—and we felt like combining location and communication was a way we could solve the practical problem that comes with being in a foreign place when you need to find something that is time-sensitive or location-specific.
How do you define success for Crowdbeacon?
RB: Well, it depends. For Squeaky, launching a product like Crowdbeacon is a huge success because it lets the world know the kind of talent that the Squeaky management team has been cultivating for years—so that’s a win. For me personally, I will define success by a successful exit (i.e, $) or changing the course of human history—and with Crowdbeacon $ is more likely than the latter. 🙂
What is the best way to achieve long-term success for this venture?
RB: The best way to achieve long-term success with Crowdbeacon is to grow slowly. Our job at first is to introduce the concept that communication can power location, and see how users deal with this proposition. Once we’ve done that, we’re going to raise our first round of capital and deploy “launch teams” of 10-15 people in major US markets to provide real expert/influencer feedback for users in those markets on the ground. From there, we will grow based on how effective our product and marketing is… but if we stick to the plan of listening to users and iterating, long-term success will come.
How can you prevent mistakes or do damage control?
RB: You can never fully prevent mistakes—we’re all humans—but the important thing is when you are doing damage control is to remain laser-focused on your goal; which for us at Crowdbeacon means changing the way people feel about the potential of location and how important communication can be in this paradigm. Also, I have a saying that my wife hates which is that Proper Preparation Prevents Problems… the 4P’s… so I try to be as prepared as possible to avoid damage control and mistakes, or else I look like a self-righteous dick.
Where did the funding/capital come from and how did you go about getting it?
RB: We are very proud to say that Crowdbeacon is a fully-bootstrapped startup that was funded entirely by Squeaky Wheel Media.
What has been your most satisfying moment in realizing Crowdbeacon?
RB: I would say the moment we realized that we could incorporate the Twilio API to get “notifications” to local businesses was the most satisfying moment for me personally. Specifically, our product is focused very heavily on driving consumers to local businesses based on what they need – in exchange for these businesses helping users find what they are looking for – but we knew that most local/small businesses are not as tech savvy as our internal team of nerds… which was a giant problem. The moment I realized we could connect with Twilio to call the businesses, and that we could automate the entire process, was the most satisfying moment because it ended with a huge problem being solved. Also, launching. Ha.
What makes you happy?
RB: Family, friends, food and money. Also, I like working.
Well, amen to that! Stay tuned for updates because Android is coming—hopefully very—soon.
Breaking the layout “gray area” in online news streams world.
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In graphic design classes, you are taught to be friends with the white space, ensure your design has clear entry points, and—my personal favorite—break the gray area. Yes, this is from print design classes I took circa 1995 since interactive design (aka “multimedia”) had yet become a field of study.
Your challenge is a white spread of paper, figuratively and literally, and you have to put all that content in there. Usually that means flowing copy in odd-numbered columns (or now you kids call it “grids”) to create a visually appealing layout. All that crammed up copy becomes “gray areas” and your eyes don’t want to stay on them. It creates what’s called “reading fatigue”—you don’t want to read a long article on The New York Times unless you’re really into it—and that’s why god created focal points, white space and pagination to fight gray areas.
The gray area challenge stays true today with most social media interfaces like Facebook and Twitter. What also is true is the fact that web users don’t read, or more accurately, don’t read most of the copy in front of them. They skim the content, waiting for some words or visuals to grab them.
That’s why content visualization is key in my book. The good kind, of course, and here are some products out there that makes my eyes happy and my visual browsing experience better:
PostPost
PostPost offers an alternate content visualization method for your Facebook. It takes your Facebook news feeds, i.e. links your friends and Pages shared, and lays them out as stories in a newspaper-like display. The design feels familiar—yup, it’s very much like the current trend of displaying feeds in boxes with large image or video and some copy blurb (e.g. The Huffington Post or Times Skimmer from The New York Times, below).
Each “news” bucket is more user-friendly and social-friendly: You can delete news you don’t want via the standard “X” button, videos play in-line and, as quickly, share / like / comment on it. The interface is simple and the user experience is conducive to the ever-impatient social media consumption.
PostPost creator, Peter Yared, sees it as the natural evolution of content consumption. “Instead of displaying what an algorithm on Google, strangers on Digg, or an editor on The Huffington Post surface, we show what your friends think is interesting.”1 And hopefully triggers social conversations between friends.
And back to the point of this post, it is definitely a better layout, nice visuals acting as clear entry points broken by enough “white space” to actively engage your eyes.
For a look into PostPost, its features, technology and future, read Inside Facebook‘s review.
Paper.li
Paper.li is a news aggregation service for your Twitter. It visualizes the feeds from either the people you follow on Twitter, a Twitter search, or a Twitter list and puts them together like a newspaper. The interface is straight-forward and clean.
Unlike PostPost which requires you to log into your Facebook account to pull your feed, you don’t have to create an account to use Paper.li if you want to read other-created papers. You can search available papers by name, categories, interests and more. Checkout Netflix’s Paper.li using hashtag: http://paper.li/tag/netflix
I like the novelty of it and I appreciate any content visualization method created to improve content absorption. Yes, they can improve the refresh rate, which is limited to daily update instead of PostPost’s real-time update. Yes, there are things to improve upon (read Jason Keath’s hate letter) and yes, there are a lot of nice things that can potentially make Twitter news stream visualization better (read Boost All’s love letter)
For a thorough review of Paper.li, read PC Magazine‘s write-up.
It definitely beats reading rows and rows of 140-character tweets without any discerning way to distinguish content. Looking at the Twitter avatar doesn’t help me in figuring out what the tweet is about.
Times Skimmer
Before the iPadization of web design, The New York Times came out with Times Skimmer in February. This browser-based application offers online readers a new way to read paper. The interface now looks very familiar, with the fluidity of spreading out the content according to your browser window size just like spreading a newspaper as well as paging through it.
Clean, simple and to-the-point, it’s a better way to “skim” the news. Apparently, it is a precursor to the Times’ Chrome app, which became available two weeks ago.
If all these skimming techniques work well, who knew? We may not even want to read the real paper anymore.
We’ll have to look up Google images to find a screenshot of the Times’ paper and say, “Remember this?” to the future generation.
In the age of curated consumption, does what your friends know make it valuable? That’s for you to decide. This Facebook vs. Twitter 2010 stats from ZDnet may help you.
I have to admit, these are some starting points to better content visualization for your news feed. Some may call them curated content although I consider them simply as news aggregators. What I like most about PostPost is its real-time updates, which is the main complaint people have on other visual news aggregators such as Paper.li and iPad’s Flipboard.
Well, you have to start somewhere, right? And I like the way this is going for the sake of better design and better user experience.
Apple iPad hit the US stores in April 2010 and the landscape of digital experience shifted. The expectation definitely shifted in a big way: It’s not enough to have a website and a mobile application anymore for a brand to be cool, hip or technologically superior, especially if you are a brand that prides itself on technological advancement, such as an automotive brand.
Since I try to diligently keep up with digital trends for myself, my company—Squeaky Wheel Media—and my clients, I keep a lookout on the general trends in industries my clients are in, including the automotive industry for Lexus. Here’s my roundup on what iPad apps are out there in the automotive industry, starting with luxury automotive brands:
Audi — A8 Experience & Car Magazine
The Audi A8 Experience iPad app is an interactive brochure with built-in virtual tour of the exterior and interior. The app allows you to build and price your own custom A8 and read the latest news & reviews. You can also take the iPad to your local Audi dealer to unlock even more content.
Don’t forget Audi Magazine iPad app, which TheNextWeb gushes about (see Audi Unleashes A 500-Horsepower iPad Magazine). The app is Flipboard-like, allowing you to drag, enlarge, slide… basically slosh the content around however you want.
No wonder it was gushed over even by non-car enthusiasts.
BMW Magazine
The BMW Magazine iPad app is glossy magazine with interactive features that pack a pretty powerful punch. Yes, it lets you read the articles and does it with ease and fluidity. Yes, it has full-screen videos that lets you hear the engine purrs along. But it goes beyond simple magazine reading; it lets you play. User can play with some of the cars and even finger paint one of BMW’s famous Art Cars.1
BMW doesn’t forget that its car and drivers who love them are part of a certain lifestyle. The app lets you utilize the car navigation feature, guiding you to a restaurant featured in the app’s travel article. Now that’s neat.
These three iPad apps are just brochures or lifestyle magazines but boy, do they know how to make you look with: Beautiful photography, attractive layout & typography… anything to make the product truly shines.
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Now I’m rounding up signature brands in general automotive arena who I still believe always push for better and smarter:
VW — Volkswagen Das
True to its DNA, Volkswagen Das iPad app is an interactive magazine with “zing!” It makes full use of iPad’s native ‘swipe’, ‘tap’ and ‘touch’ interface so users can browse the 360-degree car views, videos and articles, as well as utilize certain interactive features created to highlight a VW model featured in the issue (e.g. a feature to test the ascent angle of the new Touareg in the Summer 2010 issue).
“DAS. is an important building block in Volkswagen’s digital marketing strategy and gives us the opportunity for an interactive dialog with our customers. Our goal is to transmit the fascination of the brand and its products in a new digital dimension, creating a global experience,” Luca de Meo, Head of Marketing at the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, said at the launch of the iPad app.2
I know VW lovers are fanatical about their VW and I hope they’re happy with the app. I personally love the different design styles between different magazine issues but hey, I don’t own a VW.
Jeep — 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee iPad app is basically a touch-based brochure for the latest Jeep Grand Cherokee mode. Continuing with its “The things we make, make us” campaign, the app houses designer interviews, product spec sheets, photo gallery and the story of how the things we make, make us. It also integrates the Jeep brand website, dealer locator, Facebook pages, YouTube channel, etc.
MINI TV
I have to admit, I was really excited when I heard about MINI TV iPad app. Well, I was pretty disappointed. No Flipboard-y swipe, no cool doodats.
I understand it is called MINI TV app so it’s more like a YouTube channel. But MINI never “just” does something; all the stuff it did was always above expectation, so when this app delivers exactly what it said, über disappointed.
Sorry, MINI. You need to do Version 2.0.
Honda — The Honda CR-Z Experience for iPad
The Honda CR-Z Experience is basically an interactive brochure of the all-new CR-Z Sport Hybrid from Honda. The app comes with multi-dimensional views, hot spots, customizable colors and an interface optimized for touching, tapping and swiping. The CR-Z fans seem very happy and the app lets them learn more about their vehicle than they would on the website.
Ford — 2011 Ford Fiesta
The latest newcomer into the iPad app for automotive brands, the 2011 Ford Fiesta iPad app is pretty standard: Exterior and interior 360, videos, locate dealership, etc. One nifty little feature I like is the body graphic, aka tattoo for your car skin.
UPDATE (1.11.2011):
Hyundai — Equus iPad Owner Experience
The latest addition in the automotive iPad race is this beautifully done iPad Equus app by Hyundai, which 16GB WiFi iPad comes standard with every Hyundai Equus as a complete Owner’s Manual, providing its owner with “everything you need to know about this exceptional vehicle is literally at your fingertips.”
The app is beautifully done, with user interactivity that takes full advantage of iPad’s native touch feature to showcase the Equus model. The iPad app offers many features that other auto-maker should take note of: 3D vehicle walk-around, videos of various interior configurations (e.g. reclining “First Class” rear seats with leg-rests) and interactive demonstrations of vehicle safety features (e.g. directional headlights). It even offers what looks to be something of a driving game.
Packaged in a bespoke leather case with an embossed logo, suede interior, and even kickstand, now that’s what I call a proper iPad app!
Conclusion:
That sums it up for now. There are more out there but we’re just starting, the apps mostly are still version 1.0, so I’ll keep my eyes open and catch cool ones for the next industry roundup. And with the iPad 2 looming in the horizon, it will be interesting to see how any of apps will take advantage of its 3-axis gyroscope.
Of course we’re not leaving out our client, Lexus. Something is definitely in the works. (Wink!)
I haven’t gone on vacation in what seems like forever (Wait! It’s been more than 2 years, so it has been forever!) so when I saw Wanderfly via CoolHunting, I went ooh.
A simple interface greets you when you land, that makes it feels less of travel-planning, more of “show me what’s out there” based on your interests. The pretty vacation spot photo in the background also helps push the right “I want to be there right now” spot in my brain.
You choose your departing city, time frame and budget, and pick your heart’s desire. Mine: Five days in November, on a beach with food, spa and culture. From 1,200+ destinations in their database, Wanderfly told me that there are 22 spots I’d like best, including Fes, Morocco and Half Moon Bay, California. To narrow down the results, you can click on the ones you’re interested in and then compare them in a simple next-n-previous-arrows browsing mode.
Wanderfly also offers rich, personalized content for each location, utilizing its partnership with the likes of Lonely Planet, Expedia, FourSquare, Not For Tourists, etc. to provide brief city guides with suggestion for accommodations and flights. Connect to Facebook and it scans Facebook to show you which of your friends are in each city you’re exploring. There are News via Twitter, Weather and coming soon, Destination Reviews, Travel Tips and Currency Conversion. And, for each of the activities you selected, there are recommendations from Yelp, Eventful and, just recently, Find. Eat. Drink.
Seems like this newbie—officially launched yesterday—is doing things right. Everything seems so simple and intuitive. Wanderfly motto is to help you discover new experiences. It wants to Spark Your Journey and I believe it did.
“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
—Miriam Beard
So go ahead. Be adventurous. I’m so ready!
p.s. I found that quote at Wanderfly, while it was searching for my fabulous journey. How appropriate.
