Q. "Who are they talking to?" A. "No one.... and everyone!"
Not in the Twittersphere yet? Let Current explain how it works and give you etiquette tips:
Feeling Ripped Off? Kodak AND Microsoft Attack
Microsoft made headlines with their "Lauren" commercials ("I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person"):
Considering the economy, Microsoft hit Apple at a very sore, powerful point: pricing. Critics argued that the machine "Lauren" purchased (a $699 HP) doesn't compare to Apple's - and without mention of functionality, the commercial is neither accurate nor fair.
But in this economy, Microsoft got it right: the only thing that matters is price. Last night Kodak began airing their new ad campaign ("Feeling Ripped Off?") suggesting that Americans over-paid $5 Billion for ink in 2008. No mention of Kodak's quality. No mention of anything but pricing. The commercial's simplicity, the enormous numbers, and strong visuals make it powerful... in the same way that Lauren makes Microsoft seem like a smart buy:
IRS.gov: The Web's Hottest Property
Nearly 30 million monthly uniques according to Quantcast - placing IRS.gov as the 26th biggest website. The 30m uniques represents 10x growth since January 1st:
Those are very big numbers. But more interesting (and obvious!), if you extend the above chart to twelve months, you have the perfect (and most exaggerated) definition of seasonality. Not so obvious: IRS.gov continued to grow through April and peaked in June.
The Next Step in iPhone Gaming: Nintendo NES
At the break of the new year, I listed 20 predictions for Digital Media in 2009. The third prediction was: iPhone Gaming Will Progress Beyond Novelty
At the time of that article, the biggest application was iFart which, while not a traditional game, represented what one of three game types to successfully hit the iPhone:
1. Accelerometer based games (SGN is the king here) 2. Role playing games / storyline games (such as iMob and SGN's Agency Wars) 3. Novelty games (iFart, Beer Pong)
I find games like iMob and Agency Wars fascinating because they are perfect for the iPhone: always connected, progressing storylines and ideal for several short play sessions.
I also think that what SGN has built for with their accelerometer-based sports games is terrific - bringing together the Wii's form-factor with the connectivity of mobile (and now Facebook Connect).
But I want more. I find the current gaming offers interesting.... but mostly ephemeral. Nothing, for instance, I would shell out $9.99 or $29.99 for... after all, Playstation 3 games now run $59.99 - and I spend a lot more time with my iPhone.
The next generation of iPhone gaming needs to look back to the original Nintendo. Place the original track pad and A/B buttons on the iPod's touch screen... and use traditional gameplay navigations that have been a staple of controllers for ages:
Even though it is less sexy than developing against the iPhone's accelerometer, gameplay would be richer and longer-lasting. Super Monkey Ball is fun... but the novelty wears off soon there after - particularly when the controls aren't terrific.
Imagine connected, online equivalents of Super Mario 3 or Zelda that play on the iPhone and tap into Facebook Connect... it might not be sexy (and I might be dating myself) but it would be powerful. And with the creativity and horsepower developing against the iPhone - why can't the next Mario, Zelda and Metroid emerge?
Update: To be clear, I am not suggesting that the iPhone bring back Nintendo games (see comments); rather, the point was that Nintendo-inspired controls would introduce more compelling games on the iPhone.
Economic Woes Impacting MLB Season Tickets
Wait until the trade deadline approaches during the summer... as teams have battled through poor attendance, dwindling jersey sales, and so forth. Teams like the Detroit Tigers (payroll of $138m in 2008 - third behind the Yankees and Mets) will have fire sales to cope with the economic struggles.
In the last two days, local papers have covered struggling ticket sales for two high budget teams:
Detroit Tigers - 2008 Payroll of $138m, 3rd highest payroll in MLB - Season ticket woes (Free Press):
Last year, the Tigers had sold some 27,000 season tickets at this time. This year, that number has dropped to roughly 15,000. Ron Colangelo, the Tigers' vice president of communications, would not confirm or deny the 15,000 figure, saying: "We're going to let our sales and marketing efforts continue through Opening Day."
San Francisco Giants - 2008 Payroll of $76m, 16th highest payroll in MLB - Season ticket woes (Mercury News):
The Giants say they have sold fewer than 20,000 season-ticket plans, off nearly 25 percent from their All-Star Game season in 2007. But club officials believe they will avoid the catastrophic projections that are haunting other major league cities, and through walk-up sales and promotions, they are hopeful their season attendance will come close to matching the 2.8 million fans they drew last season.
"We're hanging tough," said Staci Slaughter, the club's vice president of communications. "We're in a much better position than a lot of teams."
My Starbucks Via Review (Video)
My Starbucks Via samples arrived and that gave me a chance to do an instant coffee tasting / review. The video review is below (shot using my new Flip Mino HD... awesome). Even as a Starbucks fan and supporter, I found the Via coffee quite disappointing - tasting more like coffee-flavored water than coffee.
The background noise is my dog, Manny.
Amazon Experiments with Customer Reviews, Also Launches Amazon Vine
I buy everything on Amazon and rely on their customer reviews more-so than their product descriptions, recommendations, etc. My Amazon experience is normally something like this: - visit Amazon.com with some intent / need, usually using the search box to begin - after sorting by bestselling and filtering for "Amazon Prime Only", I arrive at my product set - I then open up all potential products in individual tabs ... and compare based on customer reviews and pricing ... .... usually spending more time reading the negative reviews
Today, I noticed something strange though: Amazon has hid the reviews one click away. In their normal place, Amazon has a "Buy This Product and Related Accessories" module and the standard "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed..." module. Not only did I find the navigation painful, I found it presumptuous to replace necessary product information with accessories (for a product that I do not yet know enough about):
I shop on Amazon because it is a better experience than anything else available - online or offline. Efficiency and content / information are a big part of that. Amazon has been known to routinely test page layouts and modules - my feedback on this one: I hope it is just that... a test.
Also relevant (in ironic timing), Amazon has launched a new customer reviewer program called "Amazon Vine". Note to Amazon: how do I become a part of this?!
What is Amazon Vine™? Amazon Vine™ is a program that enables a select group of Amazon customers to post opinions about new and pre-release items to help their fellow customers make educated purchase decisions. Customers are invited to become Amazon Vine™ Voices based on the trust they have earned in the Amazon community for writing accurate and insightful reviews. Amazon provides Amazon Vine™ members with free copies of products that have been submitted to the program by vendors. Amazon does not influence the opinions of Amazon Vine™ members, nor do we modify or edit their reviews.
InGameNow Adds Real Time Box Scores
On the heals of the new live scoreboard integration within our iPhone Apps, InGameNow has added real-time boxs cores. The box scores appear on game pages - they update for live games and are chronicled for past games. The box scores are available on www.ingamenow.com (which renders nicely for the iPhone) and will come to the iPhone Apps shortly. Stay tuned:
Starbucks Takes to London Streets to Promote Starbucks Via
A little more than a month ago, I wrote about Starbucks new instant coffee: the Starbucks Via. My free samples have since arrived and I plan to do a review once I prepare and taste Starbuck's newest product. Though I haven't yet tasted the Via - the packaging is terrific. They are essentially single serve pouches of coffee that you can stuff in your briefcase, purse or pocket... or more likely, that hotels can lay out for morning in-room brews. Of course the taste is equally important. More to come.
But Starbucks has now Twittered (@Starbucks) that there are free samples being given away on the streets of London. So if you see this guy moving about the city, be sure to stop staring and grab some samples:
