Google Play Store vs. Apple's iTunes: The Little Things

I have been splitting time between my iOS and Android (iPhone and Samsung Galaxy III; iPad and Google Nexus 7). Having built up years of habits with the iPhone, it is a really fascinating experience to: 1) force myself to learn a new platform: chalk that up to laziness + 'switching costs'

2) uncover the intricacies of the different platforms & brands: very noticable in some cases, very minor in others

3) figure out what I particularly like about each (device and platform). There are absolutely things that each does better than the other

Really small example of an intricate difference between the two platforms and strategies. Within iTunes (iOS and desktop), the focus on movie and television content is purchase. Makes sense as it's a higher price point and promotes cross device usage (phone, tablet, Apple TV, desktop). Finding rentals is much harder - and in some cases available weeks after the release.

Within the Google Play Store, it is the opposite. Everything defaults to rentals ($1.99 - $3.99 usually). Very different approach which seems to focus on lowering cost and sharing strategy with YouTube and other Google properties.

So many of these little things which are seemingly obvious and/or unimportant... but fascinating both individually and when you combine them all. More to come...

Introducing ESPN's SportsCenter Feed

I am very excited to announce a new, beta product from ESPN: The SportsCenter Feed. It is all of your sports news personalized, real-time, and presented in a feed format. On a daily basis, there are 1,000s of pieces of ESPN content - articles, scores,videos, podcasts, Facebook & Twitter posts, etc. The SC Feed is a new way to deliver and consume that. I know it's powerful because - even as someone inside of ESPN - the Feed has introduced me to great, unique content I otherwise would have missed. Please give it a spin at http://espn.com/scfeed and send your feedback. Much more is coming... but this is a great, exciting first step!

Coverage: - GigaOM: ESPN builds a Twitter-style firehose for sports news - PandoDaily: ESPN Launches Personalized SportsCenter Feed Web App, Proves It Just Gets Digital - AllThingsD: ESPN Takes a Design Page From Twitter’s Playbook

You can find a link to the feed on beneath the headlines module on the right side of the homepage:

And here is the SC Feed itself. It is designed to work responsively for mobile and tablet view as well. And don't forget to Add to Homescreen!

Pinterest's Clear Friendship Emails

I am sure other companies do this as well... but since the email arrived from Pinterest and caught my attention, I will credit Pinterest here and realize other examples will be forwarded my way! Many socially-enabled sites (ie Facebook Connect, Twitter Oauth) send notifications when friends join the service. Sometimes those friends are not connected with you on the new service - but the notification is done to spark the connection. And in other cases, the connection is automatically forged (ie Quora - which was helpful with early virality). Depending on the relationship, language, etc - both can be confusing to new users. I give Pinterest credit with the below example because it very clearly defines a relationship: a "Facebook Friend" has joined Pinterest. That may seem like a minor point - but it is much clearer than directly creating an on-Pinterest friendship and/or only using his name.

I get daily emails from services alerting me of new friends, followers, etc. This is a very minor way to add context and clarity.

ESPN on Xbox

I wanted to share Xbox's Facebook post from this weekend (see here). If you have an Xbox, checkout ESPN on Xbox (more here). It's a phenomenal experience and merges our scores, alerts, ESPN3, kinect, etc. Terrific experience and excited and Xbox is equally excited & proud of it: "College football is Back! ESPN on Xbox has an all-new look, giving you the best college football has to offer. Check out Washington State at UNLV tonight at 6pm PT, and games all day Saturday, including Idaho at LSU at 5pm PT. http://po.st/CPW996"

Expanded Facebook Ads: Like + Related Posts

Below are two screenshots from Facebook ad units that I think are noteworthy. The screenshots combine two ordinary components: - friend X likes page / brand Y - a popular or most recent post from brand Y The interesting part is that these actions are combined into a single unit: "Ryan likes Bing" sits atop of Bing's most recent post. This of course makes the action more relevant - but it also makes the unit far more prominent... particularly for certain content types (like Bing's photo).

iPhone 5

Two excellent pieces to read on yesterday's Apple event:Wired's "The iPhone 5 Is Completely Amazing and Utterly Boring" and MG Siegler's "Apple's Magic Is In The Turn, Not The Prestige" Similar themes. Different styles and routes to get the the takeaways. Both full of technical admiration.

Also, I encourage you to watch Apple's iPhone 5 video - if you haven't already. It's beautifully produced, rather simple, encapsulates the above articles / view points, and leaves you asking, "when can I preorder?"

Kimpton's Wifi Network: Pay or Register

I have written before about business' clever usage of free wifi networks (example of Philz Coffee who lands users on their Facebook Page). Here is another good one. I am in the lobby of a NYC Kimpton Hotel (early for a breakfast). To access the wifi network, I can either pay for a 24-hour access OR register for their rewards program and access for free. Which do you think I chose? And what's in it for Kimpton? A new loyalty member and all that comes with it: information, offers, etc.

A Few to Follow on Twitter

I am frequently asked to recommend a handful of ESPN personalities and brands to follow on Twitter. So that I could have something to point to - below is a far-from-comprehensive list that includes a variety of sports, opinions and types. Additionally, I am excited to announce an integration with Twitter using their new Twitter List widget. ESPN is one of two publishers (London Fashion Week) to be part of the widget launch. You can see them in action here (College Football Nation Blog) and here (Tennis & US Open). @ESPNStatsInfo - really awesome nuggets of timely, relevant sports data

@Buster_ESPN - Buster Olney's baseball knowledge is extraordinary. You'll be smarter by following

@SportsCenter - Breaking news and integration with ESPN's hallmark show, SportsCenter

@SportsGuy33 - Bill Simmons, with frequent content from Grantland

@BillBarnwell - Bill Barnwell is a great NFL writer for Grantland

@AdamSchefter - If you are a football fan, Adam Schefter has the pulse of the NFL and is a must-follow

@DarrenRovell - Sports + Business (and lots of food mixed in). Darren is smart, fun and prolific

@MatthewBerryTMR - a must follow for fantasy sports fans

@ChadMillman - Chad is Editor in Chief of ESPN the Magazine and ESPN's "gambling/sports betting guy"

@ErikRydholm - executive producer for PTI, Around the Horn and DLHQ. Super smart. Co-founder of MotleyFool too.

@wrightthompson. Just terrific, terrific writer

@ESPN_RobKing - oversees editorial for print and digital media. Master of insightful writing in 140 characters. And great at sharing interesting, breaking, unique pieces across ESPN

@ClaytonESPN - No, I'm not adding him because of his fantastic This is SportsCenter commercial. Clayton has the best news around the NFL - all the time.

@ESPNCFB And since it's a Saturday... the official home of College Football on Twitter: breaking news, game updates, trending reports and highlights

Facebook's Inline Comment Alerts

Facebook's redesigned iPhone App (which is outstanding!) features in-line alerts for new content in the newsfeed. The treatment and interface are well done: simple, nonintrusive, yet obvious. Furthermore, it has become a familiar behavior (Twitter.com, Facebook.com and others). I had not noticed, however, that a similar treatment was provided for comments. When viewing a post, comment alerts appear in real-time via the below treatment. Again: it is a simple yet powerful visual. And because it

1) appears in real-time, and 2) is directly related to the piece of content you are reading

It drives users to read the comment, interact and spend more time. Small enhancement that is contextual and powerful: