Kevin Smith on Prince
How did I never see this before? “Chaka mad.” Amaze.
Glyn Britton // Strategy Director with digitally-minded integrated advertising agency Albion. Check us out at www.albionlondon.com.
How did I never see this before? “Chaka mad.” Amaze.
Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.
I trial a lot of iPhone apps, it's kind of part of my job (and I'm kind of a geek).
But only a very few make it beyond a first try out. Even fewer make it to active usage. And only the elite make it to my homescreen.
But the homescreen only feeds my active usage because it's easy to get there - no swipes required. So getting onto that piece of screen real estate is critical.
Some apps (like Simplenote or Instapaper) have worked there way onto there gradually, through sheer utility. Some are on there (like Path or Dialvetica) becasue I'm curious about them and want to force myself to use them more. Some get straight on there, demoting something else, because they've already been super-useful and fun on another platform (like Flipboard or Kindle).
It would be interesting if Apple would report the metric of homescreen presence for apps. I'm certain they won't.
Clever, simple and beautiful type. Via @hollybrocks
Since I switched my iPhone from giffgaff to O2 , I kept falling foul of O2’s 1Gb per month data cap on my iPhone tariff. So I’m trying data-shrinking app Onavo, and so far it’s making a real difference. No discernible slowing down, but the app shows its saving me on average a third on my data usage, and in some cases as much as 80%.
I’ve got a slight nagging feeling about funnelling all my data through an unknown startup, but the utility they provide (plus some smart answers to that question online from their founder) mean I can easily get over that.
From this week’s MobileFix newsletter: http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=80025f160be434835759d292b&id=446bc09dd8&e=ff696b8a43
Mobile payments solving the wrong problem?
Being in startup bootstrapping mode we don’t get taxis that often, but the other day we found ourselves in one of the Vodafone enabled Black cabs where you can pay with your mobile. But when we asked the driver if anyone had paid with their mobile he said no.
Paying for taxis isn’t a problem. But often finding a cab is. Why doesn’t Vodafone solve the real problem by launching a version of Uber or Hailo? Knowing that your operator can help you get a cab would be a great service and could perhaps drive loyalty better than the chance to win tickets to events. This type of service provides a context for mobile payments by solving a real problem.
And the news that Brits can now pay for coffee with the Starbucks app prompts a similar thought. The problem with getting a coffee at Starbucks isn’t paying for it – it’s ordering the coffee and waiting for it. In New York Starbucks employ people to work the queue asking what you want and shouting the order to the barista. Of course it doesn’t quite work and it's really annoying.
So why doesn’t mobile solve the real problem – recognize you’ve entered the store, asking whether you want your usual and transmitting that to the counter. Quick, efficient and pretty easy to do.
Solving the real problem creates the context for the mobile payment. And is much more likely to drive usage.
