Image courtesy TED Conference
As we all know, the mobile, entertainment, and telecommunications industries have their fair share of conferences. Every once in a while, though, it’s good to take a break from what’s going on within the industry to gain a perspective on some of the unique, inspiring things that others are doing within different fields. This is what I did recently when I attended a TED conference.
For years the TED Conference was shrouded in mystery. Few people had heard of it, and even fewer could attend. TED is an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, and Design and these words describe the focus of the influencers who were the first invitees to the conference.
Over the years, the popularity of the TED conference has grown significantly, and it’s now one of the most prominent series of its kind. The TED conference is dedicated to spreading ideas and encouraging discussion, and speakers are given 18 minutes to share their Idea Worth Spreading. It's in the spirit of these ideals that the TEDx program was launched, allowing communities around the world to hold their own conferences in the TED format.
The TEDxUSC conference became the first such conference when it debuted in 2009, and the program has gotten stronger every year. I was fortunate enough to be at this year’s event, which focused on "spheres of influence" and featured a mix of speakers and performers including professors, comedians, musicians, and scientists.
One of the most engaging elements of a conference like TED is the ability to hear people talk about their passion; what gets them going in the morning and what really inspires them. Highlights of this year's conference included a medical student who was heavily influenced by the dregs of Skid Row, a doctor devoted to survival in the most extreme conditions, and a professor discussing how our education system is becoming increasingly outmoded as compared with earlier generations.
Ali Arastu was a med student who also loved hiking. He was in the middle of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail when he took an impromptu detour to meet a friend at LAX and found himself being questioned by Homeland Security over his suspicious appearance. Ali hadn't showered or shaved in over a month and had subsisted only with the food he packed with him on the trail. That night he spent his first night on Skid Row in Los Angeles, and connected with a man who began to open Ali’s eyes to the real stories and struggles of those who call the street their home. What he found was not the stereotypes that are portrayed, but a wide variety of people from many walks of life. Those stories inspired his research, and he continues to engage with the Skid Row community today.
The dedication of Dr. Jonathan Clark should never be denied. A NASA flight crew surgeon, he took the lives of astronauts into his hands before tragically losing his own wife in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. Since then he has been focusing his efforts at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and since 2009 has been part of the "Stratos" team responsible for the safety of Felix Baumgartner, who will attempt a free fall to Earth from 120,000 feet in the air. More than just knowledge, the skills required to perform Clark's duties require relentless focus and trust of many risk factors whose outcomes are unpredictable.
Doug Thomas is a communication professor at USC who studies the role of technology in education. While it's expected that teaching professionals have a passion for their students' engagement, Doug's goes beyond that since the evolution of technology has not only helped teachers in the classroom, but also their students. He recognized that part of the problem with students' seeming mistrust of authority and worship of Wikipedia lies in the confluence of expectations and data availability. Students are taught to "figure out the answers" and are evaluated on their correctness, while the abundance of information means that every source-be it Wikipedia or the professor's own mouth-are mere data points that help define what they believe. By recognizing this, Dr. Thomas is able to create an environment where his students embrace learning as an exploration rather than a memorization task.
These and other stories of inspiration, challenge, and influence characterize the atmosphere of TED. It's easily the most exciting conference I've been to, if only for the excitement and enthusiasm shared by all the participants as well as the speakers. It's a place where you can truly free your mind and open up to new possibilities. Don't miss it if you have a chance to attend.
- Josh Schoenwald
Image courtesy Facebook
By now we’re all familiar with the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of mobile apps available across the iOS, Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry platforms. More and more, though, it seems as if there are not only hundreds of thousands of apps, but hundreds of thousands of stores through which to get those apps.
This is an exaggeration, of course, but think about it: only a few years ago users had iTunes, we now have Google Play, Windows Phone Marketplace, BlackBerry App World, Amazon App Store, and more. And I haven’t even mentioned the app stores found on connected TVs, cable boxes, game consoles or PCs.
This past week another little company you may have heard of – Facebook – announced the new Facebook App Center, which will not only be available through Facebook.com but also on iOS and Android devices. Like other stores it will, presumably, feature thousands of highly-rated applications from top-tier developers like Spotify, Zynga and more.
Facebook is the latest example within this trend, which seems to be picking up significant steam. Soon we’ll likely see companies like Nokia begin to further develop their own Windows Phone app stores in an attempt to get customers rolled into their particular ecosystem. More will likely follow.
This growing app store ecosystem can be great, especially for the big name publishers like those mentioned above. But it can create challenges for smaller developers, as well as media companies and cable operators who are beginning to invest heavily in mobile and need their applications to be noticed.
Companies like TELUS are very large organizations, with high-quality applications that bring a great deal of value. Unlike a developer like Rovio, however, their legacy is not in the mobile space, but in the more traditional telco and cable arenas. But they need to be in the mobile space, albeit in such a way that their applications get found. The growing proliferation of choices open to consumers – from sheer number of apps to options on where to download them – makes this more challenging.
This is why I would argue that the need for app discovery portals – which are, in a way, a more targeted variation on the app store concept – is becoming increasingly important. As I’ve written before, these portals provide organizations like TELUS with a way to promote their applications and, by extension, their brand, not only on mobile devices but across “over-the-top” cable boxes as well. These companies need app discovery mechanisms that serve as a portal to their services via phones, tablets and cable boxes. It’s the same thing for media and content providers that want to play on Apple’s devices; they need portals to help get that content discovered.
These portals are not only beneficial for companies but consumers as well. They provide a curated, very specific and targeted series of options for recommended applications. This speaks directly to consumers’ needs, but also helps companies rise above the sea of other offerings that appear within various app stores.
App discovery portals are like app stores in the way that they can create a bond – a lock-in effect, if you will – between the organization that provides them and the consumer. The fundamental difference is that an app store like the one Facebook will soon launch is huge and sprawling whereas a discovery portal is small and targeted. It’s like going to a sporting goods store rather than Super Walmart; one offers something very specific, the other everything under the sun. And sometimes you just need a few items.
-- D.P.
mPortal has been around for 12 years and in that time we have seen the industry go through some dramatic changes. The single biggest revolution was when Apple launched the iPhone. Apple turned a mobile handset from a mere voice and data enabled device to a “super-cool gizmo.” So far Apple has reigned as the
king of mobile. But Google’s Android has launched a volley of successful attacks on its rival, questioning the dominance of iOS. On the other hand, the newest of the three entrants, the Windows Phone
, is still working on building up adoption. Some might even say it is now a
three-system world, but each OS has its own benefits and challenges.
Apple’s Edge
Apple completely revolutionized the user interface of the mobile phone with its touch screen interface and set a new standard for the mobile phone experience.
Apple continues to grow as one of market leaders in handset sales. In addition to the iPhone’s sales growth, there is an army of third party developers constantly feeding the App Store. There are over 500,000 apps available and an estimated 80+ applications being pushed to the App Store every day.
Apple’s Challenges
Apple’s success is dependent on having quality applications that run on its operating system. One of Apple’s challenges is to maintain quality without alienating the developers. At times this has been difficult. Apple has often been criticized for its application submission methods and its strict acceptance policies. Developers spend countless hours and resources to develop iOS apps and rejection is not taken lightly. In addition, as a proprietary software OS, developers are often restricted in their ability to innovate.
The Rise of Android
Google’s open source approach to its Android operating system was well received by the market and is currently the main contender to iOS. Android has performed admirably since its launch and has been accepted by the masses worldwide. While these may seem obvious, the main reasons for the success of Android include:
- Availability on more carriers
- Installable on different hardware
- Phones available at lower price points
- Backed by Google which has deep pockets and a large operational support system
- Offers an “open” alternative to Apple’s “closed-door” approach
Nightmares of Being Open
There is a fear that third-party Android phone manufactures will transform themselves from a symbol of openness and transparency to one of restriction and control. When this happens it jeopardizes the consumer’s right to install what they want, when they want, and how they want. Unfortunately, these controls have already begun. For example, my Micromax A70 with Andriod version 2.2.1 (Froyo) does not allow me to update the OS. How frustrating! In a way, Android openness has been compromised with these “self-imposed” restrictions.
The Birth of Windows Phone 7
In 2010, Microsoft announced the launch of Windows Phone, successor of Windows Mobile, for devices made by HTC, Dell, Samsung and LG. It was met with plenty of skepticism, but was quickly followed by a major partnership started in 2011, when Microsoft announced its partnership with Nokia making Windows Phone the primary smartphone operating system for Nokia. This is where Microsoft declared “it is now a three horse race”, suggesting competition with Android and iOS. Subsequently, Nokia launched the Lumia series of phones which, at least initially, has not done as well as expected, but indications are that it is gaining in popularity.
Windows Phone does come with some slick features –
- Slick, touch-friendly user interface – Large, colorful and live tiles serve as shortcuts to your most-used or favorite apps or websites.
- The People and Office Hubs – Aggregates your friends from all social networking sites letting you check status or profile updates of your friends. The Office Hub also lets you sync your documents between your phone and your PC.
- Zune Player and Xbox Live right on Windows Phone
Challenges for Windows Phone
While Microsoft has declared themselves as the “third player” in the current mobile OS domain, it is far from being accepted by the masses. It still lacks third-party support, which is the key to pouring out apps. Windows Phone needs more apps in every genre. Microsoft needs to give developers a reason to move things over to Windows Phone.
While Apple, Android, and Windows Phone are ahead of the pack, Research in Motion still has relevancy, particularly in the enterprise. It’ll be interesting to see if the company can bounce back with the issuance of BlackBerry 10 later this year. Also keep an eye on HTML5 as a serious contender, as more developers continue to explore the benefits of web-based applications over native apps.
To be continued...
- Manjit Singh
Times change. As a result, a lot of companies in a lot of industries these days seem to be defending business models that worked well for many, many years. Books, yellow pages, music – all of these industries have either gone through or are undergoing massive evolutionary shifts that have been caused by new technologies and consumer preferences.
Traditional media companies typically fear the advancement of technology. When Amazon introduced the first Kindle, publishing houses balked, fearing digital sales would cut into revenue. When Apple first unveiled iTunes, the music industry – still stung from illegal downloads – was reticent, thinking that an inexpensive download service would take away profits.
In both of these examples, the industry tried to fight the advancement of technology and consumer preference. We all know what happened; they eventually embraced both, and they are better for it.
Now cable companies are feeling their own seismic shifts. After all, with the proliferation of mobile apps, consumers have more options to turn to rather than the traditional set-top box. Hence, cable operators need to find new ways to keep their customers – or, in industry parlance, “defend the core.”
The good news is they can use this consumer shift toward mobile apps to their advantage. In fact, mobile apps can be a key component in the defense of the core.
I wrote recently about how telecommunications companies can use app discovery portals as a means of extending their brand and create customer “stickiness.” Cable companies can do the same through the development of mobile applications that provide consumers with a new, enhanced way of interacting with their cable content or their operator’s customer service center.
Time Warner Cable’s myTWC app is a great example. Available in Apple’s App Store and via Google Play, it provides the user with a means of programming their DVR remotely, paying bills through their smartphone or tablet, and more.
Time Warner Cable is not shunning the mobile user, but embracing them – bringing their services directly to people via the devices they love to use. After all, people love their smartphones, Xbox game consoles, Apple TVs and iPads. Cable boxes are many things, and can deliver great content, but it’s hard to find someone who actually loves using them. Time Warner Cable is delivering an application that is both powerful and enjoyable to use, and it’s services like these that can help cable companies avoid the dreaded cutting of the cord.
Now is the time for cable operators to embrace the world’s love affair with mobile applications. It’s not going away; in fact, it will only get stronger. Cable providers must be sure to seek out the advantages that mobile apps have to offer. They are many, and can play a key role in creating customer loyalty.
To learn more about how cable companies and television programmers can utilize mobile devices to defend the core, check out our TV Everywhere whitepaper.
D.P.
Most developers probably recognize that databases are key components in mobile app development. Traditionally, databases have been “relational,” meaning they contain “entities” (read: tables) that include a group of “tuples” (read: rows). For example, a "person" entity would contain many tuples and each tuple may share the same attribute (or "column") like name, ID or age. SQL (structured query language) is a mechanism to manipulate these relational databases and includes simple instructions like select, insert and update, among others.
But there are new databases gaining strength today termed "document" oriented databases. These databases, such as the popular MongoDB, include entities that can omit or include any number of these attributes. In the example above an entry in the "person" table may include email address, favorite movie or Twitter handle and so on as additional attributes that were not defined upfront during the process of specifying the data structure. These databases do NOT use SQL to manipulate the data and are, as a result, referred to as NoSQL databases. Instead, these databases use JavaScript as an interface because JavaScript inherently includes data representation constructs and manipulation constructs that are easier to use and work with.
Getting started with MongoDB is easy, particularly if you are familiar with using a JavaScript console or command line and running Unix commands. There are no schemas as such and organizationally it work similar to how system folders work. Think about how you could have book and music collections on your machine with nothing to prevent you from dropping a music file in your books folder. The freedom to that is fine, but it can start to get messy if you’re not careful about organization. MongoDB is pretty much the same. You can create collections and manage simple documents via operations in JavaScript syntax to create, read, update, manipulate and find documents and attributes. It’s pretty simple.
One of the most important functions in any database is querying, and there are two ways to do this with MongoDB. One method is "find,”,the other "MapReduce.” To grasp the difference, think about the first as being simple and the second as being a more complex, procedural way to map searches into collections and then filter them down to find what you are really looking for.
Object oriented programmers (OOPs) tend to argue that mapping constructs in modern languages to a relational data set (a la SQL) can be rather clumsy and they prefer that constructs be more object or document oriented as it is when using MongoDB. The problems caused by this object relation impedance mismatch has made MongoDB a better choice for many programmers due to its technical differences as well as its conceptual differences that reduce this mismatch.
In any case, for those interested in playing with the technology, there are 64 bit versions of MongoDB available for most operating systems. It’s worth checking out if you are looking for a highly-available, schema-less document oriented database that allows for easy replication.
- Rajesh Rao
Photo courtesy Jon Lim
What’s one of the first things a new smartphone owner asks when powering up their device? My guess is it’s probably something like “I wonder what kind of cool apps I can download?”
So the user goes into the respective app store and finds hundreds of thousands of choices to select from. And after all that, they usually come away with downloading Facebook and maybe a few others.
Much of the reason for this is because it’s simply too much work to sift through everything that’s available. Apple and Google both tout hundreds of thousands of apps in their respective markets. Given that sheer volume, it’s hard for developers to get their apps noticed, and challenging for consumers to discover new things.
That’s one reason why dedicated app discovery portals are so important – they serve as an easy-to-use gateway to a collection of highly-rated, best-in-class applications that can provide real value to the smartphone experience. I’ve written about them before, but here I want to focus mainly on mobile app discovery portals from the carrier perspective. Because these portals are not just great for the user; they can also be a powerful solution for carriers who should be and are increasingly seeking ways to promote their own unique services across different mobile operating systems and devices.
App discovery portals allow carriers to provide an easy way for consumers to find useful applications – your KAYAK for travel, your YP.com for local search -- but they also provide an outlet for carriers to unobtrusively provide access to their own applications. Here’s an example: new Windows Phone devices like the Nokia Lumia 900 actually feature three app stores: the Windows Phone Marketplace, of course, but within that, app discovery portals called “AT&T Featured” and “Nokia Collection.” The “AT&T Featured” section includes not only mainstream apps like Slacker Radio, but AT&T-specific applications like AT&T Navigator and more.
There are many other examples of this strategy. For instance, we recently developed an app discovery portal for Canadian carrier TELUS, TELUS App House, which provides access to both general and TELUS-branded apps.
App discovery portals are becoming increasingly important, too, especially as carriers attempt to gain as much control over the user experience as possible. Companies like Apple, RIM and Microsoft, with their closed ecosystems and tight specifications, make it challenging for carriers to put their mark on new devices. One way to do that is through the provisioning of app discovery portals, which allow carriers to provide unique, differentiating services to smartphone customers.
App discovery portals are great for consumers, but they also supply carriers with really excellent opportunities to reinforce their brands through their own apps. This, in turn, can help increase loyalty to a particular carrier, because, as we all know, once consumers become invested in an app ecosystem, most are hesitant to make a change. Discovery of these apps can also help increase revenue – through paid apps, subscription models, and more.
The mobile arms race is getting more competitive every day. And as app stores continue to add thousands of apps by the week, app discovery portals are only going to become more and more relevant to carriers.
- D.P.
Recently I had the misfortune of having to rush my 5-year-old son to the emergency room. Because this was a last-minute decision and an emergency situation I didn’t think about the battery level on my phone before we left the house. Also, I was hoping they would just administer some IV for him and we would be back home within a couple of hours. However, after realizing he would be admitted and my only method of communication with my wife (home with our younger son) would be my iPhone I had to think about the different ways I could modify my settings to conserve as much battery as possible until I had the opportunity to recharge.
Here are some changes I made that gave my phone a bit more battery life:
Brightness: Under “Settings” I turned off “Auto-brightness” and decreased the brightness of the device.
Wi-Fi: As Wi-Fi uses less battery for data usage than a carrier’s network I try to make sure I’m connected to a Wi-Fi network whenever one’s available. However, there was no Wi-Fi network available at the hospital, so I turned off the Wi-Fi settings on my phone so that it was not constantly searching for networks, which can eat away at battery life.
Notifications: I turned off notifications to the applications that were not important. The only notifications I left on were for Phone and Messages. Given the situation nothing else really mattered.
Bluetooth: I typically have Bluetooth turned on because I use it in the car. However, this can drain the battery, so I turned it off as I had no need to connect to a Bluetooth device within the hospital.
GPS: I had no need for this either so I turned it off to make sure there were no apps running in the background using this feature.
LED flash for alerts: Even though in an earlier posting I had mentioned how useful this feature could be, I turned it off as battery saving was more important at this time than noticing alerts in mute mode.
Running applications: Lastly, I removed all applications that I had recently ran on my phone from the memory just to make sure nothing is running in the background that could be using battery, specifically GPS-based applications.
I hope you never have to be in the same situation as I was recently. But if you are ever in a situation where conserving even a little bit of battery could be of use, I hope some of these suggestions will come in handy.
- Ali Eftekhari
Phil McKinney, retired CTO of Hewlett-Packard and author of a new book on innovation titled Beyond the Obvious: Killer Questions That Spark Game Changing Innovation, shares his thoughts on what mobile companies, cable operators and television content providers can do to break outside the box and succeed in a world that is becoming increasingly connected.
Can you tell us a little bit about what the term "beyond the obvious" means?
I picked the title Beyond the Obvious because it is simple, straightforward, and cuts to the heart of a problem that many businesspeople, entrepreneurs, and would-be innovators suffer from. Simply put, we are all shaped by our past experiences, whether good or bad. We look at the end results of these experiences—“this idea worked," “this idea failed”— and consciously or unconsciously turn these results into the rules by which we operate in the present. Sometimes these rules, or assumptions, are smart and valuable. However, the problems begin when we forget that these rules are a snapshot of an old paradigm or set of circumstances. In many cases, the world has moved on, but we are still clinging to the “obvious” ideas that were once true in the rapidly receding past. In order to progress, we need to learn to identify and ignore these “obvious” rules, ideas, or beliefs, and make room for the current conditions our companies operate in.
Media and video programming have been around for decades, but the way they are being consumed right now is changing. What type of mindset must organizations like cable operators and television content providers adopt in order to help them adjust to this change and continue to be successful?
Organizations need to foster an innovation culture that allows them to challenge approaches that have long ago become the default “obvious” correct way to operate. In this kind of situation, you can’t simply count on your own insight to recognize that you are relying on an old answer. You need tools to ask, “What is beyond the obvious?”
Sometimes it can take extreme situations to push us past our natural tendency to stick with “what works.” However, we all possess the ability to rapidly innovate when we are threatened with a serious situation; the trick is to learn how to access that energy and focus to create a continuous funnel of innovations even when we aren’t threatened.
Companies within this industry seem to be at a crossroads, facing potential challenges from many different areas. What do these companies need to do in order to not only survive in this environment, but thrive?
Some people in the industry may ask “What’s wrong with staying on the current course and speed within our organization?” Well, for one thing, the world is changing around them. Without a change in the way they see their customers, product, and organization, they will fall into the assumptions and rules that define their industry.
The core to my approach to “see differently" is to ask questions. I’ve been fascinated by the power of questions, either good or bad, for my entire professional life. The more I thought about them, the more I began to notice how people used them. I started to see how some people had the innate ability to formulate and pose questions that propelled others to make investigations and discoveries of their own.
I believe that a good question is one that causes people to really think before they answer it, and one that reveals answers that had previously eluded them.
Your book is, to a great extent, about innovation and how organizations can embrace creativity and out of the box thinking to become innovators. There's been a lot of innovation in the mobile industry lately, to the point where it's sometimes hard to keep up. What do organizations within an industry like ours need to do in order to not only feel comfortable in this fast-moving environment but actually stay ahead of the curve?
One of the challenges in an “idea rich environment” is bringing some order to what can feel like a very chaotic process. Idea generation can often feel disorganized; there are multiple sources of ideas, and so many possibilities that generating, sorting, and organizing them can start to feel overwhelming. Everyone has an idea, and these ideas can sometimes seem to be in direct conflict with one another.
Organizations need a framework to bring order to the chaos. The framework I use and share in my book is FIRE. The FIRE acronym stands for Focus, Ideation, Ranking, and Execution. It is a four- part system that uses questions to give structure to the process of choosing where to focus your ideation efforts, improving the quantity and quality of ideas, ranking the ideas so that you know which ones to work on, and then executing them.
In today’s world of apps, it’s hard to know where to start. Now that smart phones are everywhere, most of us have had the experience of sitting with friends around the dinner table talking about which apps we all use. Since we live and breathe mobile on a daily basis, our employees often get asked, “What are the best apps out there?” Because we are also passionate about good design -- and with the MoDevUX conference starting today -- we thought now would be a good time for us to share a few iOS apps that we think have great design:
Squiggle – Recommended by Senior Creative Designer James Griggs, this app is “music simplified.” Squiggle allows you to waste time in such an enjoyable way, and it's one of the most uncluttered designs James has seen. With just a few strokes and touches you first create your own "stringed" instrument. Then, after a little arranging, you can create your own song. You can even use it to create your own musical brain-teaser by challenging yourself to create a familiar or new popular song. Totally unique thinking. Love it.
Draw Something – If you haven’t given into the craze, be warned that you might get sucked in. The beauty of this app design is the simplicity of it. The team at OMGPOP took a classic game, Pictionary, and made it easy and fun for you to play with your friends on your own time. The clean design makes it easy for anyone to pick it up and start playing. In fact, they have over 50 million downloads and boast that over 6 billion drawings have been shared between friends.
JetSetter – Love to travel or dream about traveling? This app is full of beautiful imagery that helps take you away to far-away places. It’s best enjoyed on the big screen of an iPad to fully escape into your vacation dreams.
Keep an eye out for more of our favorites.
Enjoy!
-Azadeh Hardiman
Screenshot of Squiggle courtesy pill & pillow Limited
Screenshot of Draw Something courtesy OMGPOP
Screenshot of JetSetter courtesty Jetsetter
Here at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2012 Show, one thing is clear: content is still king, but it’s also found in a lot more places than ever before.
As you can see from the NAB Show daily’s front page above, discussions about multi-platform content are dominating this year’s conference. In fact, this year’s theme is entitled “The Great Content Shift.” That’s a nod to the fact that consumers are no longer relying exclusively on the traditional “lean-back” TV medium; rather, more and more they are turning to devices like smartphones, tablets, game consoles, and other delivery methods to get their television fix.
This is not necessarily new – it’s actually been part of the conversation for the past few years – but it is picking up steam, particularly as greater numbers of people purchase iPads and similar products. Content providers are beginning to seriously explore ways to monetize content streams across these devices. They’re seeing them as ways to get their wares out to more people. They’re also seeing the value in mobile branding and advertising across different platforms.
The question is not whether this is happening, but to what extent television broadcasters can take advantage and how quickly they can do so. We live in an on-demand, TV everywhere world. People want to be able to access content when it’s convenient for them, not when a television network says it should be via a schedule. This on-demand attitude is not going to change anytime soon. It behooves television programmers to attempt to make their content available on as many devices as possible quickly, so as not to be left behind during this seismic shift within the industry.
- D.P.