weThink Podcast

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RI:Lab’s expert panel wrapped up 2011 with a discussion of the year’s Winners and Losers. From Google+ and Amazon to QR Codes and Charlie Sheen, the podcast covered the brands, technology and apps that shined brightly, as well as those that simply burned out.

Seamless and Simple wins Social
Whether its the frictionless sharing of Spotify or the ease and beauty of Instagram, the panel weighed in on what’s critical in social. Discussing Google+, Facebook Mobile, Foursquare, Gowalla and Color, the team weighed in on who’s winning and who’s losing, as well as what the latter group can do to get back in the race.

iPad isn’t the Only Player in Tablets
With more than 14 percent of all online Black Friday traffic coming from mobile devices, tablets are here to stay. Unfortunately, most of the more than 100 tablets announced at CES 2011, were losers. The Apple iPad was an obvious winner. But the panel said there were at least two other winners who, like the iPad, focused on content more than specs.

Mobile Remains the Center of Everything
While QR Codes and mobile wallets have yet to reach a mass audience, smartphone payments are delivering big dividends for a major coffee company. The discussion covered Starbucks’ 26 million mobile transactions, the ongoing digital mobile education of consumers and the need for better mobile imedia experiences.

Entertainment Still about the Content
While the streaming services of Netflix, Amazon and Blockbuster all fight similar catalogue battles, the real winner may be Redbox. The panel discussed why this automated kiosk rental company that’s seemingly around every corner could win out, along with the lesson brands can learn from a Guinness World Record-setting celebrity.

One Brand Becomes a Juggernaut
Listen to the whole podcast to find out what company performed so well in 2011 that the panel granted them Juggernaut status.

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In the latest Resource Interactive weThink podcast, the RI:Lab expert panel discussed Kindle Fire, Google+ brand pages, the supposed death of Flash and more.

Adobe Abandons Flash for Mobile Browsers
Recently, Adobe announced that it was abandoning work on a Flash Player for mobile and focusing its efforts on HTML5. The weThink panel discussed how the proliferation of iOS devices may have forced Adobe’s hand, why Flash isn’t completely dead, ways rich experiences can be delivered via mobile and other matters related to an announcement some in the industry have long expected.

Kindle Fire Concentrates on Content
While most tablet manufacturers tried to win the tablet war with hardware, the success of the iPad and popularity of the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet are proving consumers care more about content. The RI:Lab experts talked about Amazon.com’s new tablet, including its price point, form factor, content delivery system and potential to become many households’ secondary tablet.

Google+ Brand Pages: Too Little, Too Late?
Less than a week ago, Google+ finally began allowing brands to have pages. The panel dug into the effects of taking so long after the network launched to give brands a place to live. They also discussed why brands might want to wait before putting a great deal of effort into another social network, the lack of a true differentiators for Google+ and the need for the network to offer significant usage data.

Picks of the Week

Kris: With his first Pick of the Week, Kris selected two envisioned future videos. Corning’s “A Day Made of Glass” and Microsoft’s “Productivity Future Vision 2011” videos imagine a world where every flat surface is an interaction point. To counter those videos, Kris also offered an article entitled “A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design”, which suggested many visions of the future aren’t visionary enough.

Dan: This week, Dan’s Pick was Amazon Flow. Using augmented reality features, this iPhone app lets consumers scan items—from book covers to standard UPC codes—to get information. When it recognizes a product, the app displays Amazon.com product details, as well as options to view multimedia content or customer reviews.

Barce: The Jawbone UP wristband made it to the top of Barce’s list this week. Built around a motion sensor, the wristband tracks users’ daily activities, including sleep, steps and exercise. It works with an iPhone app that lets the wearer review his or her sleep cycle, challenge progress and more.

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In this edition of the weThink podcast, the panel fills your ears with their previous Google+ predictions, a native app versus mobile web discussion, talk about Facebook mobile experiences, a look at the iPhone 4S and more.

Revisiting Google+
Three weeks into the Google+ public launch, the podcast panel decided to reassess their initial questions about and predictions for the social networking site. While three of the four panelists originally overestimated the number of people that would be Google+ members by now (approximately 43 million), none were surprised at the numbers. In fact, the panel members wondered if the overwhelming number of people already on Facebook and the lack of a differentiator between the two social networks could mean an end to Google+.

From Native Apps to Web Apps
The panel took on a recently written article that used the controversial headline: “Mobile Apps Must Die”. Though the team had strong opinions about the presentation and tone of the article, it agreed that the movement from native apps to web apps was a subject worthy of deep consideration. The discussion included dialogue about changing web standards, the future of ubiquitous connection opportunities and the need for a progressive shift.

Facebook’s Mobile Updates
Earlier this week, Facebook released its first iPad app, as well as updates to its smartphone app and mobile web site. The team talked about the changes and how they will help improve the user experience.

Apple iPhone 4S vs. iPhone 5
With the iPhone 4S being delivered, the team wanted to discuss why this newest version is special and why any consumer indignation was misplaced. The team talked about the one-million iPhone 4S devices pre-sold in the first 24 hours of availability and the features that drove consumers to speak with their wallets. From the improved camera to the artificial intelligence of Siri, the panel thought the world-record of “Fastest-selling Consumer Electronics Device”—held by Kinect for selling 8 million units in 60 days—could be in reach for the iPhone 4S.

Picks of the Week

Barce: For his Pick of the Week, Barce selected foursquare Radar, which helps users find places near them that they may not have know were there. Using new iOS 5 features, the foursquare app will encourage users to try new places, check in more frequently and use lists more actively.

Dan: This week, Dan’s favorite bit of technology was Tweet Speaker, which will read your list of tweets out loud. Not only does it let you focus on walking or driving while still hearing your latest tweets, it also looks at links and reads the title of said link instead of just telling you the URL.

Matthew: This time, Matt’s Pick of the Week was Disney AppMates, which uses miniature Cars 2 vehicles and an iPad to bring playtime to life digitally. When kids, or adults, place a car on an iPad, the car’s sensors let the person explore the world of Radiator Springs.

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