jjprojects: our social web » iPhone

Mobile internet use set to soar [stats].

John Johnston — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 01:41:41 +0000

Here are 2 slides I think are interesting in relation to growing mobile internet use around the world.

The slides are from a recent presentation by former Morgan Stanley (now moving to Kleiner Perkins) tech analyst Mary Meeker. The full presentation can be downloaded from here. Click on the images below to see them in a larger size, in a new window.

In short, 3G subscription growth is climbing at very high rates in some countries with very large populations, such as Brazil, China, Indonesia and Russia, and is still around 25-35 percent year on year in many other countries around the world.

Additionally, it’s astonishing how steep the curve is when the Apple iPhone, iTouch and iPad are shown together, in comparison to the first 20 quarters from the launch of some other products and services. It seems clear that mobile still has a big future ahead.

The whole presentation is embedded over at Business Insider.

Have you tried Instagram iPhone app for image sharing yet?

John Johnston — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:37:27 +0000

Here’s a little iPhone app I’m now using that I think is pretty cool.

Instagr.am is a new image sharing service (currently just for iPhone) that enables you to take a photo, or use an existing photo from your iPhone photo library, and share it. There is also a decent choice of interesting filters you can quickly apply to each photo and preview before uploading.

I think the really handy things about this service are that it’s really easy to use, and that you can crosspost the images to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr if you so desire – greatly increasing the sharing aspect. You can also locate a photo using Foursquare before you share it. As Foursquare doesn’t yet have image uploads the way Gowalla does, it’s a welcome addition.

It’ll be interesting to see how this service develops, if it develops. Surely they’ll be adding platforms other than iPhone, if they have the funds to do so.

If you’ve used Instagram, what do you think of it? Good enough to keep using? If you haven’t, do check it out.

The future is already here: amazing wearable interactive technology.

John Johnston — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:33:04 +0000

One of the criticisms I often hear from people about the web (even social media) and computing in general, is that it tends to divorce us from the ‘real world’. The main criticism seems to be that as we spend more time interacting with screens, we are less present and attentive in the physical world, and with the people around us.

However, it could be argued that with the recent development and popularisation of mobile devices such as smart phones and touch screen tablets, we are increasingly able to interact with the world of data while being more ‘present’ in the physical world. We are no longer stuck in one room in front of a screen. Increasingly, the worlds of computing and digital connectivity are going mobile.

There are also many new applications being developed in response to this new digital mobility. One such development is Google Googles, which just today has been released onto the Google iPhone app, in addition to the existing Android platform. Another example is the recent proliferation of augmented reality apps for mobile platforms.

The embedded video however, shows something on a whole new level in terms of the possibilities of the physical world interacting with the world of data. It’s nothing short of amazing. In the video Pranav Mistry demos his SixthSense wearable device, which allows an incredible degree of interaction between data and the physical world. And to my mind, two of the great things about his invention are that he’s making the technology open source and surprisingly, it’s not expensive!

Are we seeing the future of popular mobile technology here?

Hat tip to David Hood

How do you use Posterous or Tumblr? Here’s how I do.

John Johnston — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:35:50 +0000

Today came the news that Posterous has grown by over 700 percent during the past year. As TechCrunch points out, Tumblr has been around for longer and is seeing around 23 million unique visitors a month, and Posterous (launched in June, 2008) is now seeing around 5.3 million a month.

The increased growth in Posterous over the past year seems to be in no small part due to its introduction of an iPhone app that allows you to post photos and thoughts. Even without the app, it’s easy enough to email content in from a mobile device, which is my preferred method if I’m mobile. It’s also easy to cross-post to other services such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and many others, even WordPress.

So, if you use either Tumblr or Posterous, how do you use them? I’ve found myself using Posterous on a increasingly regular basis lately. I’ve tried both these services over the years. Although I think it’s good, I gave up on my Tumblr account because I couldn’t really think of a decent use for it. I found that I already had more than enough to be going on with. I guess it just wasn’t the right time for me.

Having said that, later when I found out about Posterous and tried it, I found the fact that you can send images via email from a mobile device very handy. In addition to using it for posting various images and videos from my iPhone, I’ve also found myself using it for increasingly regular posts on various subjects I’m interested in that don’t fit the theme of this blog.

It’s really a way for me to discover and comment on additional themes and subjects I’m interested in, and to share them with others. Maybe some of these thoughts will turn into other more substantial projects later on, maybe not, but for now it seems an appropriate place to experiment. Also, sometimes the 140 character limit of Twitter is just not enough.

How about you? Do you use either Tumblr of Posterous, and in what way? Feel free to share your URL in comments.

Will you pay for the future of news? 10 top starter iPad news apps.

John Johnston — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:22:08 +0000

Just days after the international release of the iPad, comes the news that Apple has sold two million iPads in less than two months. Clearly, there will be many millions of iPads around before too long. And surprise, surprise, Google seems to be developing an iPad rival as we speak.

With these new digital developments as a backdrop, we have the much discussed failure of most traditional media companies to so far make adequate money from their online news content. Rupert Murdoch has famously pledged to start making readers pay for online news.

On twitter recently, Malcolm Turnbull reminded me that Murdoch has stated that “The Internet will destroy more profitable businesses than it will create.” I wonder if Murdoch really meant News Corp businesses there. In any case, Google is claiming to have helped to generate about $54 billion of economic activity for American businesses in 2009 alone, but I digress. What is clear is that the media landscape is rapidly changing, and iPads are the latest manifestation of the changes.

Most online news content is currently free and widely accessible. In addition, it’s easily searchable through services such as Google News, and through real-time search engines such as OneRiot. The question is: do devices such as the iPad offer additional hope to news organisations, in terms of making decent money from news content? Will people be prepared to pay for news delivered via these new devices, and in sufficient numbers? If so, who will be the winners – the traditional news organisations or new (media) players?

I certainly don’t have any answers but I will assert that journalism is not dying, as some are currently crying. Journalism is just going online, and these devices will most certainly be a decent part of the picture in terms of news delivery. If you own an iPad or similar device, why would you now get your favourite newspaper delivered or go to a shop and buy it, when you can now (or soon) have it delivered in digital form before you even get out of bed? Sure, the reading experience needs to be a pleasurable one. I can tell you that it is on an iPad. It stands to reason that the future is upon us.

10 current chart toppers

It’s very early days but here are the top free and paid news apps currently in the iPad App Store charts (in Australia). It’ll be interesting to see how this lineup changes over the coming months. Some of the big news organisations have certainly been giving their new apps a push through their other media, and many of the popular blogs (such as The Huffington Post) don’t yet have iPad apps available. Things could change.

Will you pay for news delivered through an app if it’s good content? Do you think the prices are about right here?

Top 5 Free iPad News Apps (In some the content is not free)

1. BBC News (3 star user rating)
“Get the latest, breaking news from the BBC and our global network of journalists.”

2. TIME Magazine (2 star user rating)
TIME Magazine on the iPad. This app allows you to purchase each week’s digital issue through iTunes, and to read and store all the issues within the app.

3. NYT Editiors’ Choice (3 star user rating)
Offers a selection of the latest news, opinion and features, automatically updated.

4. Reuters News Pro for iPad (almost a 4 star user rating)
“Professional-grade” news and market data from Thomson Reuters. On or offline access to the latest breaking news, images and video, together with financial data, corporate information and interactive financial charting.

5. Financial Times iPad Edition (3 star user rating)
Free access until the 31st July 2010. News, video, comment and analysis, optimised for iPad – the entire Financial Times edition.

Top 5 Paid iPad News Apps (In some the content is free)

1. The Australian (3 star rating)
From News Digital Media, this app is updated and edited with content throughout the day “Experience our world-class journalism in one convenient and seamless experience”. 1 31 Day subscription is ($4.99).

2.WIRED Magazine (Almost a full 5 star user rating.)
From Condé Nast, WIRED magazine, includes some exclusive iPad content ($5.99).

3. The Early Edition (4 star user rating)
“Your own personal daily newspaper. Takes the news sources that you enjoy and presents their content in a familiar newspaper format. You can import feeds from Google Reader or OPML file, discover feed URLs by entering links and categorise news feeds into sections, like a traditional newspaper ($5.99).

4. Pulse News Reader (3 star user rating)
Takes in up to 20 news sources that you follow, and creates a visual mosaic of your news. Tap on an article and you’re presented with a rendered view of the news story ($4.99).

4. NewsRack (4 star user rating)
Full featured RSS reader for iPhone and iPad (5.99).

Twitter cofounder’s new company launches easy mobile credit card sales and payments for anyone

John Johnston — Wed, 12 May 2010 02:40:50 +0000

F5F6ZVHBEHK4 (Updated Technorati claim token, sorry for this being here, but it has to be in a visible post)

It’s going to be really interesting to see how this goes. Jack Dorsey’s new startup Square has now launched (just in the US at present) the Square app (iTunes link) that allows anyone with an iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad or Android phone to make easy credit card sales.

Anyone can accept credit card payments using the app combined with a small cube that plugs into the headphone jack, enabling credit cards to be swiped. The person paying signs their name with their finger on the touch screen and enters a phone number or email. A receipt is delivered via email or SMS.

The funds are settled with merchants each night instead of at the end of the month, and both the application and swiper are free. The app includes an online dashboard and analytics for the seller. The fee charged for each transaction is 2.75% plus 15 cents.

As far as security goes, users will be notified of any unauthourised use immediately, at the time of the transaction. A photo of the cardholder can also be associated with the account onscreen, so the seller can ID the cardholder visually at the time of purchase. The card number is not kept on file with the merchant, although an email or phone number is required for the transaction.

With so many touch screen devices around, and growing by the day, I think this form of mobile payment system has huge potential if it catches on. There are other companies also attempting to get into the mobile payment space too. Dorsey certainly has a track record of being involved in launching a successful start-up, not that Twitter is a profitable company yet, but tens of millions of people are using it.

Square has managed to get quite a lot of attention so far. It’s certainly got mine. I’m keen to try it out but I don’t expect it will be available in Australia any time soon.

What do you think of this new payment system? Do you think it’s something that you would find useful and would use on a regular basis?

Obama, the iPhone and iPad information age is hurting democracy?

John Johnston — Mon, 10 May 2010 02:53:48 +0000

Image by Sister72

In the context of talking about the importance of education and Thomas Jefferson’s recognition that people must attempt to stay informed to make democracy work effectively, Obama has asserted that information is becoming a diversion and a form or entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment and emancipation.

On the state of the current information rich digital environment, Obama said:

“You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank all that high on the truth meter,”

“With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation,” Obama said.

Obama complained that “some of the craziest claims can quickly claim traction,” in the clamor of certain blogs and talk radio outlets.

“All of this is not only putting new pressures on you, it is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy.” Obama said.

I think Obama is correct in saying the fact that we are bombarded with all kinds of content is putting more pressure on us, and that it can be a distraction, but only if we let it. The flows of information have certainly increased, especially for those of use who use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, read blogs and use other forms of social media regularly.

Having said that, I now read fewer newspapers and magazines and watch less tv. My tv viewing has become much more selective, and I’m starting to be able to find the video content I want to watch on the web, rather than it being selected for me by tv stations. See my recent post 3 places to find inspiring and intelligent online video.

I am certainly not convinced that the increased flow of information puts pressure on our democracy. What is not stated, at least in this recent statement, and what is the really dramatic change in relation to democracy and the media, is that information is now flowing in multiple directions. It’s not just coming from big media organisations, it’s coming from citizens as well. This may put pressure on us in terms of managing and filtering the information, but surely this is healthy for democracy!

Like Obama, my childhood years were spent in a world without the internet, where information in the media generally flowed in one direction only, principally from large media organisations. Now we have the web and social media. Sure, this has increased the volume of information, and much of the information and arguments leave a lot to be desired, but surely this in NOT a bad thing for democracy?

There is now a plethora of opinions and information on any given subject (including the one I’m writing about now), flowing in multiple directions at any given time. Nobody said democracy was going to be easy, or tidy, did they? Surely those who learn to thrive in these new information rich environments will prosper, both financially and in terms of knowledge, education and empowerment. The digital divide between rich and poor is something that may become more and more apparent in this regard, as time goes by. This is certainly something that needs addressing by people such as Obama.

It is true that there are a lot of diversions on the web to distract our focus, but it’s up to us to filter the information available and do what we want with it. We now have the option to create our own as well.

I must say that one big downside that I can see in all this is the fact that there are now millions and millions of these new devices being produced quarterly around world. Electronic waste is a real and growing problem. The question of how we are going to live sustainably in a world with nine billion people is integral to the aims of education and empowerment that Obama speaks of. Does increased information flow have to mean increased, unsustainable consumption too? But perhaps that’s another post for another day.

12seconds Launches 12cast, An iPhone 3GS App To Post Video To Twitter

John Johnston — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:30:57 +0000

12seconds has launched a new iPhone 3GS app called 12cast. To use the app, you just log in with your Twitter account details, record a video by tilting the phone sideways, or you can add a video from your iPhone library. The video with title can then be posted to 12seconds and Twitter. Like 12seconds.tv itself, it’s pretty simple.

The 12cast app comes hot on the heels of the Twitvid iPhone 3GS app I wrote about a few days ago. Both are easy to use, but as well as leveraging the existing Twitter community like Twitvid, 12seconds has built up its own community over the past year.

I was an alpha user of 12seconds when they first started and I’m continuing to use it fairly regularly. I’ve found it’s particularly good for sending quick, fun on-the-go videos from a mobile phone, which can also be sent via email.

The 12cast app is a welcome addition to the existing 12seconds iPhone app, which allowed the creation and posting of 12 second slideshows comprised of three iPhone images and twelve seconds of audio. This was never ideal, but an okay workaround in the absence of (non-jailbroken) iPhone video.

Here’s Sol Lipman from 12seconds with a quick demo of how the 12casst app works:

Twitvid Launches iPhone 3GS App To Catch The Mobile Video Wave

John Johnston — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:15:34 +0000

No doubt Twitvid is hoping to catch the wave of Twitter users buying the new video enabled iPhone 3GS, as well as other video enabled mobile phones. Twitvid has just launched an easy to use iPhone application in which you can record a video and upload it to the site, or upload a previously recorded video. Alternatively, you can email a video to the site using a unique email address the site assigns to your profile.

Stephen Fry on Twitvid

The Twitvid web interface allows you to upload a video file from your computer or capture a video via webcam. As far as recording and uploading a video goes, it seems like all bases are covered. Twitvid also has a substantial 1GB or 20min video upload limit. Given that it’s a service for sharing videos on twitter, I assume most people will keep their videos pretty short and small in file size, but I could be wrong there.

It’s very easy to get going on Twitvid. You don’t even have to go through a sign up process, you just sign in using your usual Twitter username and password. In addition to Twitter, there are settings to cross-post your videos to Facebook, MySpace and YouTube if desired.

Many of the social features we’ve become accustomed to seeing are there. Once you’ve posted a video, people are able to make comments which, just like Twitpic, are posted on twitter with a link to your video. There are also a ‘Re-tweet’, ‘Like’ and ‘Follow’ buttons and an embeddable Meebo chatroom to “Chat about this TwitVid”. When you visit the video maker’s profile you can also view “Buzz” (tweets) related to all their TwitVids.

In terms of attempting to get a lot of users to use the service in a short time, it’s a smart move to leverage a large (and getting larger every month), existing community rather than building one from scratch. It remains to be seen how many people will use Twitvid and, perhaps more importantly, continue to use it once the initial novelty has worn off. If it catches on like Twitpic has, it should do well. According to compete.com, Twitpic now has over 4 million unique visitors a month.

Graph of Twitpic unique visitors: under 1 mill, Dec 2008 to 4 270 400, June 2009

jjprojects: our social web » iPhone

Mobile internet use set to soar [stats].

Related Posts:

Have you tried Instagram iPhone app for image sharing yet?

Related Posts:

The future is already here: amazing wearable interactive technology.

Related Posts:

How do you use Posterous or Tumblr? Here’s how I do.

Related Posts:

Will you pay for the future of news? 10 top starter iPad news apps.

10 current chart toppers

Top 5 Free iPad News Apps (In some the content is not free)

Top 5 Paid iPad News Apps (In some the content is free)

Related Posts:

Twitter cofounder’s new company launches easy mobile credit card sales and payments for anyone

Related Posts:

Obama, the iPhone and iPad information age is hurting democracy?

Related Posts:

12seconds Launches 12cast, An iPhone 3GS App To Post Video To Twitter

Related Posts:

Top Ten Fastest Rising Google Oz Searches For 09, Swine Flu, Twitter, Bing, Masterchef Included

Related Posts:

Twitvid Launches iPhone 3GS App To Catch The Mobile Video Wave

Related Posts: