it's wilder

Check in. Fast.

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:14:13 -0500

Do you like checking in on foursquare but think it’s a bit of a hassle? Checkie might be for you.

The screen at right is literally all there is to the app. It shows you places nearby. Tap one and you’re checked in.

Done.

Sure, it doesn’t let you find cool places around you, keep up with your friends, see Tips, or follow Lists, but if you just want to share your location with your foursquare friends, this is the quickest way to do it.

Slate (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:12:49 -0500

Slate (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Flickr Is Getting a Major Makeover

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:00:05 -0500

Flickr Is Getting a Major Makeover:

February 28th

Let it begin! (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:31:24 -0500

Let it begin! (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Epic (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:05:30 -0500

Epic (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Lunch! (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:03:36 -0500

Lunch! (Taken with Instagram at Interface Media Group)

Wow. Someone put Steve’s life on a Facebook timeline.

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:00:05 -0500

Wow. Someone put Steve’s life on a Facebook timeline.

Second Screen Experiences

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:16:00 -0500

There’s been some talk lately about ‘Second Screen Experiences’ which seems to be a growing trend. What exactly is it and what can we learn from it?

The Definition

I would define ‘Second Screen Experiences’ (SSE) exactly as it sounds - any experience with a secondary device while watching a primary device. The primary device typically is a TV but could be your computer, mobile device, or even a movie theater screen. The secondary device is typically a mobile device of some kind (phone, tablet, laptop, etc.) but in the future could expand to any number of devices (watches, interactive displays, etc.). What the primary and secondary devices are, greatly determines what the SSE becomes for the user. The central idea behind an SSE is to “propose content related to the main program, such as unseen moments, alternative information, soundtrack, and characters.”1

Example Apps

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about some examples. Because this type of experience is so new, content providers are still experimenting with how to deliver additional content to the user and just exactly what that information should be. Because a user watching sports is going to want a completely different set of information than someone watching a sitcom which is going to be completely different than someone watching their local news, the provider has to tailor the information based on the content they’re providing. “…interactive video experiences vary dramatically between genres, audience, screens, whether it’s live, whether it’s on demand. An NFL fan requires a totally different experience than someone who’s watching Days of Our Lives.” 2

Fast Company provided a nice write up on 5 different startups that are trailblazing this experience: Miso, GetGlue, IntoNow, Shazaam, and Zeebox. PBS has worked with Miso on promotions in the past and we currently are working with GetGlue on many projects. I even wrote a post about my experience with IntoNow when they partnered with ABC on some of the Republican Debates which was very interesting. Each one of these apps interacts with the user on different levels. Some require you to manually select the show/movie you’re watching, others can automatically detect through your device’s microphone what you’re watching, and still others are partnering with cable & satellite providers to auto-sync what you’re watching so the experience is seamless.

And it’s not just TV companies that are getting into the game. This weekend I watched The Smurfs on blu-ray which has a companion second screen app that you can wireless sync with your player. It provides some fun content on both your secondary device AND your primary device. I hope we see more things like this from the studios in the future.

Content Providers

One of the big questions moving forward will be who delivers the secondary content? With apps such as Miso, the content is mostly user generated through their experience called SlideShows. With GetGlue, the experience is mostly about conversations with other users around a central show or movie. With IntoNow, it’s mostly being driven by IntoNow’s parent company Yahoo! and their data sets. i.e. sports scores & stats while watching a sporting event. Even networks themselves are getting into the game and cutting out the middleman. AMC has an online experience called StorySync and USA has Character Chatter. But these are centralized around the networks themselves. The big players, the cable companies (Comcast, Time Warner, etc.), have yet to enter the game - but they will. And the game will change again. Currently, their apps only have a few elements such as an electronic program guide or the ability to record your shows when you’re away from your TV. But when your app for the cable company becomes your remote AND your SSE, with links into social media such as Twitter and/or Facebook, it’ll create a seamless experience for the user no matter what channel he/she is watching.

PBS (aka: the good stuff)

If you haven’t figured it out by now, let me throw some examples your way of how PBS could benefit from this type of experience. PBS is all about content. One of the main issues I hear from people is that they never knew PBS had such a wealth of content, and online, and FREE - well…not ‘free’ but you know what I mean.

Let’s say a user is ‘checked-in’ to a PBS show through one of the many apps or services I mentioned above and they’re watching a show about Lions on NATURE. A graphic on the screen appears (aka: ‘webtag’ for those in the know) telling viewers about Africa and that more content is available at PBS.org. If the user is using a content-synced SSE, an option would appear on their device letting them instantly watch a video about Africa from the PBS archives, or the ability to save that link for watching later - maybe with their kids, or to share that link on Facebook or Twitter.

Let’s say a user is watching NEWSHOUR with a content-synced SSE and a complicated issue is being discussed. Links, videos, personal stories from many other sources about this topic could be provided via the second screen experience. The user could pause the TV - the app knows it’s paused because it’s synced via the cable provider - read all about the different viewpoints regarding this topic, watch some video on YouTube, and read a personal blog post from someone with intimate knowledge of the situation; and then return to the TV with a better understanding of the conversation.

Currently, we tweet or take questions via Facebook which a host or moderator might read aloud. But this is a bit disingenuous and has the potential to be so much more. What if PBS created a new show with direct user interaction? Again, using a content-synced SSE on a device, the viewer could influence the show with discussion & comments, steering the conversations and creating a whole new experience. An experience which is no longer one-way. A new wave of web connected television sets, even with cameras in them for video interaction, are in production which could push the idea way beyond what we now call ‘TV’.

PBS KIDS Buttons (Taken with Instagram at PBS Headquarters)

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:17:47 -0500

PBS KIDS Buttons (Taken with Instagram at PBS Headquarters)

"You can’t put a gun rack in a [Chevy] Volt"

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:48:47 -0500

“You can’t put a gun rack in a [Chevy] Volt”

- Newt Gingrich speaking to Oral Roberts University about environmental issues.

"Colonial House and [2002’s] Frontier House are different types of reality. They’re..."

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:04:00 -0500

“Colonial House and [2002’s] Frontier House are different types of reality. They’re experiential history programs. Moving forward, we’ll look at those types of things. To get younger people engaged in history, you have to really look closely at the formats. And since reality has taken over, I think there are some aspects of it that we can do.”

- Paula Kerger, CEO of PBS

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I just hope when she says ‘some aspects’ she means none.

I Tried To Watch Game Of Thrones...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:21:00 -0500

I Tried To Watch Game Of Thrones...:

parislemon:

Hollywood’s core piracy “problem” is perfectly captured in this one cartoon by The Oatmeal.

In fact, I’ve had this exact debate with myself. I really want to watch Game of Thrones. But I’m not an HBO subscriber because I’m not a cable subscriber and unfortunately, the two go hand-in-hand, no matter what I’m willing to pay.

Speaking of “willing to pay”, okay fine, I can’t get Game of Thrones on HBO, but I’m willing to pay a quite a bit of money to get it via iTunes. Wait. Nope. Can’t do that either. At least not for a few more months — well over a year after the first season wrapped.

Netflix? Nope. Not streaming or DVD/Blu-ray. Amazon? Nope. HBO.com? Not unless I’m a cable subscriber.

So my options are…

…

…well, I only have one option. Thanks Hollywood!

On this, Parislemon probably doesn’t have all the facts. There are many reasons that a show hasn’t become available outside it’s regularly subscribed user base. A lot does indeed come down to greed and poor planning as he suggests. But sometimes, it has to do with ego, or old business practices, or one of many other reasons.

Sometimes, the legalities of the situation behind the scenes - whether that’s a Producer who hates downloading therefore wouldn’t sign away the rights or a deal that was put in place 10 yrs ago and still has 5 yrs to go - prohibit anyone from doing what everyone knows to be the ‘right thing’. It happens all the time.

So until HBO issues a written statement on exactly why it’s pursuing this coarse of action, Parislemon should do his job as a reporter and investigate the situation instead of just bitching about it - just bitching is my job.

Paperweights

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:59:00 -0500

Paperweights

I thought this was pretty interesting. A visual side by side of...

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:58:37 -0500

I thought this was pretty interesting. A visual side by side of Echofon, Twitter’s own app, Twitterrific, and Osfoora. I need a bigger screen to add Itsy in there.

Apple's Mountain Lion Reveal

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:25:38 -0500

Apple's Mountain Lion Reveal:

Yes, Apple dropped a bomb yesterday with it’s pre-release of it’s new OS called Mountain Lion - which several people pointed out on twitter is a category or description, not a real breed. In fact, a Mountain Lion is the same thing as a Puma, which is the same thing as a Cougar.

Anyway. I don’t have much to say yet that Apple’s own website hasn’t already said. In fact, most people don’t. Unless you’ve paid the $99 yearly developer fee to download Apple’s beta updates they have no more clue than you or I what this new OS is like. So, I’ll just be quiet for now until I can get my hands on it. In the mean time, they’ll be plenty of others who’ll have their opinions.

staff: Mayor Bloomberg came by to launch the new citywide...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:17:58 -0500

staff:

Mayor Bloomberg came by to launch the new citywide Facebook page, Foursquare badge, Twitter feed, and Tumblr blog!

Cool trick: Their blog changes style based on the NYC’s weather and time-of-day!

Dean Huttenlocher also brought some exciting updates on the upcoming NYC Cornell/Technion campus.

I wonder if Pres Obama could launch an official USA page?!

How social media helped make ‘Downton Abbey’ a hit PBS show

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:06:00 -0500

How social media helped make ‘Downton Abbey’ a hit PBS show:

Kevin Dando?! Hey, I know that guy!

The most challenging aspect of shooting store panels for...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:00:00 -0500

The most challenging aspect of shooting store panels for Apple is the balance between the size of the file and the depth of field. Often the products [are] small enough that our depth of field is very narrow. In order for the product to appear entirely in focus, we have to shoot a number of focus zones, which are stitched together in post. This video is a stop motion video made from all of the focus zones that were shot for this iPod Touch. The number in the corner is the number of the focus zone. In the video you can see the progression of the focus march from front to back. For this left iPod Touch, it took 54 frames just to get the product to appear completely in focus.

(via Dwight Eschliman Photography)

Take note: The composited shot doesn’t include a few elements from the original photographs - such as the earbuds or the screen + glare.

UPDATE: Looks like the company completely deleted the blog post & accompany video off VIMEO. I guess Apple or someone didn’t like them sharing this much information.

Things beta Just got accepted into the beta testing for cloud...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:59:14 -0500

Things beta

Just got accepted into the beta testing for cloud sync of Things - so happy!

Check out this brand new infographic “10 Facts About Downton...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:43:14 -0500

Check out this brand new infographic “10 Facts About Downton Abbey.”