Following on from the highly-acclaimed 2020 Vision “Future of TV” documentary series, Think TV presents a brand new series which explores “The New TV Landscape” and the opportunities it presents for advertisers. Watch Episode 2 featuring Dan Wieden from Wieden+Kennedy now. For more information, visit thinktv.com.au/2020vision
Category Archives: Tech
#FDXXX
In honor of the 30th anniversary of Wieden+Kennedy, a Toast to the Gods.
What if Twitter were to acquire Instagram?
With so many folks complaining about what was wrong about their social network of choice, I thought to myself how I would make my favorite improve.
In the last year, Twitter has overhauled its experience. They acquired the best respective mobile and desktop clients to make their feeds more seamless across platforms and cut off encroachment from external influences to their user interface. They finally relaunched the browser-based network with updated personal profiles and all-new brand pages as well as adding browsable personal photos.
So, what could they be doing better?
It really comes down to what they want as a company. If they want to simply continue to be a hub for conversation and news gathering, they can continue on the path they’re on but if they want to take down facebook as the broader Internet’s social network of choice, they need to position themselves as not only the center of digital conversation but also the pre-eminent window in which users are able to browse each other’s lives.
Tweets used to be more personal and revealing. As Twitter has grown, it’s become more of a glorified RSS feed. Tweets are more often cultural observations or opinions than they are indicative of what the person is actually doing at the moment. This is where Instagram could be so instrumental–as the saying may be revised, “an Instagram picture is worth a thousand Twitter characters.”
If Twitter were able to acquire Instagram, it could be a seamless merging. It would be a simple toggle between browsing tweets or browsing photos. Adding a photo feed as opposed to merely having profile photos would add an element of personality that Twitter is currently lacking. Some are good with words, but many are not.
The simple addition of seeing an actual photo instead of a link to a twitpic would completely change the way people use the service and I think, would make Twitter a stronger competitor in the long run.
Apple is going nowhere but up.
This is a fantastic article from my favorite newspaper in the world (The Guardian) about Mountain Lion, Apple’s new operating system. $AAPL recently hit $500 for the first time and investors are lining up on both sides of the gauntlet placing bets on Apple’s future. The main takeaway here is that no one at Apple including Mr. Jobs foresaw the success of the iPhone and its operating system, iOS. The iPod was always seen as a strategy for increasing Mac conversions but mobile has become Apple’s chief revenue stream both in terms hardware and from the iTunes and App Store.
Take a look at this chart to understand the impact mobile has had on Apple’s business. It’s staggering.
Apple’s profit margins are probably higher with their Mac products but the sheer mass of their mobile business means that it’s not just about converting iPod and iPhone users into Mac users, it’s about supplementing the mobile experience.
So, with Apple’s new OSX product, Mountain Lion, it’s all about creating a seamless experience for iOS users. The lines between AIM, e-mail, text messaging, MMS messaging will continue to blur as people become comfortable with the instantaneous nature of mobile communication. You can see this with Mountain Lion’s Messages app. Apple is also poised to challenge Google’s dominance in cloud products with Google docs, Gmail, etc. If they can leverage iWork, iLife, and iCloud correctly, it could easily become the common solution for media management for all consumers. Google has never been easy to use. They’ve just always been first to market.
Something few are talking about in relation to Mountain Lion is how the impending Apple TV will affect the operating system. Rumors are flying about a revamped content-creating AppleTV and even a stand alone Apple TV display. Merging this with iMacs and iOS could be a homerun.
I’ve owned Apple stock since 2006 and I have no doubt it will continue to reap massive dividends for years to come. The loss of Steve Jobs doesn’t seem to have had an effect on Apple’s role as a future-creator.
In Honor Of The NBA Season: A Christmas Obituary
The NBA won’t be the same this year. A shortened season due to corporate greed. The retirement of Brandon Roy. New faces in new places that have permanently changed the league’s balance include Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler, and Lamar Odom.
One part of my NBA experience that will be sorely missed is Free Darko–otherwise known as, “a collective of like-minded NBA writers and artists whose blog has become a staple of basketball fandom on the Internet.” Continue reading