Gizmodo has called the Google I/O conference "dizzying" - in part that's because of their several product announcements. In part it is because they are taking direct aim at Apple and, as Gizmodo also says, is "leapfrogging" them. And in part is because Google's Android 2.2 release is dizzingly fast: Introducing Android 2.2 (it's fast):
Android 2.2 compared to the iPad:
Introducing Google TV:
About a month ago, I complained about the iPad's VGA Adapter only supporting a limited number of just Apple-developed applications. We are moving in the right direction:
As of yesterday, you can now stream Netflix directly to your iPad and, with the VGA dongle, have it run on your television. It's not perfect: the UI is funky, the picture doesn't always fill the entire screen, and navigation is difficult... but its a major step forward. Now if only the cable would simply mirror what is on the iPad!
In my ongoing fascination / following of Amazon's marketing for the popular Kindle device (see February, March and April campaigns) - I have another to add: Amazon's most recent Kindle advertising includes Amazon product reviews and notes that the Kindle has "more 5 star reviews than any other product on Amazon."
Impressive. And compelling. And a nice inclusion of Amazon's reviews platform (which, in my opinion, is the web's best) and a promotion of their active community (particularly Gloria from Oklahoma!):
Also interesting: how much promotion Amazon has given to Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8: "Your Amazon Browser." I am not entirely sure what that means and I am not inclined find out as I am a happy Chrome user:
As I have written numerous times before: "finding" (ie search and filtering) becomes exponentially more difficult as inventory grows. Apple's app gallery faces this problem (as do giants like eBay, Amazon, etc). For instance, it is already challenge to discover great iPad apps.... which has far fewer apps available than the iPhone.
Short of implementing Facebook Connect within iTunes and the app store (which would be the ideal solution) - Apple has started to really push the "App Store" page on Facebook. It is a partial solution at merchandising via Facebook and the fans... and, more importantly, it is a way to see which apps are being shared by your friends. Of course, this assumes two large things: 1) that Apple's merchandising on the page is sufficient; and 2) that users actively share their favorites.
While it is far from ideal, they are certainly pushing the effort (see the direct email campaign below) and hopefully thinking about a deeper integration.
Facebook has become very good at integrating revenue streams into key user flows.... effectively creating powerful upsell opportunities. For example, when you create a Facebook Page, you are promptly greeted with dynamically generated ads to drive fans.
Below is the newest upsell / integration: when page owners post to their feeds, a prompt is given to "create an ad to reach potential fans with your post. You only pay when people Like or click to your Page from the ad." The ad is customizable but is a combination of your post's content and your page's formatting. Also compelling: Facebook presents estimated reach of those ads based on the proposed basic targeting - namely users who are not already fans AND are friends of fans.
I have been preparing a blog post on what I call placing products "in the river"... more to come on this, but this is a great example of delivering simple product to the right audience / user at the right time:
I am very excited to be part of a great evening at Dogpatch Labs tomorrow evening for the Duke Global Entrepreneurship Network ("DukeGEN") Angel Pitch Night. We have eight companies backed by Duke graduates and founders who are pitching to a judges panel.... also comprised of fellow Duke alums: - Jim Scheinman ’88, Bebo - Josh Felser ’86, B ’90, Freestyle Capital - Aaron Patzer '02, Mint - and myself ’03, Polaris Ventures
The event will be held on Wednesday, May 12th from 6-8:30pm in San Francisco at Dogpatch Labs (Pier 38, The Embarcadero). RSVP for this event on LinkedIn HERE. Space is limited. Attendees will be allowed into the venue on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Numerous companies applied and eight were named as finalists:
- BizeeBee - Small business messaging and scheduling. Founder and CEO Poornima Vijayashanker E '04. - Canvert - Pay per ring lead generation. Founder and CEO Scott Thomas T '96. - CoverHound - Better way to find insurance. Founder and CEO Basil Enan T '03. - FitNet - Empowering healthy living. Founder and CEO Dr. Jason Langheier M '09. - RefYo - Referrals on the social Internet. Co-founder and CEO Ed Spiegel E '99 and co-founder and Director of Technology Kevin Lochner E '99. - Social Stir - Dating for social media interactions. Founder and CEO Allen Vance B '07. - Stinky Teddy - Search engine optimized for now. Founder and CEO David Hardtke T '94. - YouRock - Sponsorship of events and individuals. Founder and CEO Jeremy Cotter T '02.
Starts: Wednesday May 12, 2010, 06:00PM Ends: Wednesday May 12, 2010, 08:30PM Location: Dogpatch Labs 38 The Embarcadero (Pier 38) San Francisco, CA 94111 US
Website: http://www.dukegen.com/angel-pitch-event Industry: information technology and services
Intended For: Duke students, Duke alumni, Duke staff, Duke parents, founders, entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists, CEOs
Organization: The Duke Global Entrepreneurship Network ("DukeGEN")
DukeGEN is hosting an event for the entire Duke community during which Duke founders of non-enterprise Internet businesses or consumer mobile application services, platforms, or applications will present their business concepts to a distinguished panel of Duke angel investors and early stage venture capitalists. Our panelists include Jim Scheinman T ’88, Josh Felser T ’86, B ’90, Aaron Patzer T '02, and Ryan Spoon T ’03
We are excited to announce the newest Dogpatch Labs class here in San Francisco. It includes entrepreneurs and companies that have been part of the lab over the last few months and those that just recently joined (new additions: AdCru, Animoto, Burbn, FanPop, JibJab, LearnBoost, Milennial Media, Recruly, StickyBits, Task Rabbit and Wild Pockets). As always, we look for great, exciting entrepreneurs who thrive in open and collaborative environments. And we aim to have a diverse collection of individuals, companies and verticals. The current batch of residents certainly represents that! You can view the TechCrunch write up here and rosters of all three Dogpatch Labs here.
The blog has been dormant for the past couple weeks - but back from our honeymoon (pictures coming!), I have a slew of quick posts that should have been covered earlier and warrant greater depth... so my apologies!
JibJab celebrated thirty years of The Empire Strikes Back by releasing three Starring You movies for the original Star Wars trilogy. Using Facebook Connect, standard digital photos and/or your webcam, you can cast yourself and friends into three Star Wars movies. The launch was well received and got great coverage from The Washington Post, LA Times, USA Today, and several others. Two of the best pieces though?
TechCrunch Editor Michael Arrington said: “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. And I think I’m serious.”
And JibJab's Spiridellis brothers joined Adam Carolla's podcast - who has the world record for podcast downloads. (FYI: they are in the second part of the two part series).
Now cast yourself in Star Wars at http://starwars.jibjab.com and embed it in Facebook!
HP's newest commercial features Sarah Jessica Parker (which is very good)... but if you weren't familiar with the campaign, you could easily mistake it for an Apple advertisement (with its tablet references, swiping and floating applications):
