Interesting article over at Mashable about some new trends happening in the online news arena. There appears to be a paradigm shift from ‘global to local’ as far as some news-based sites go, with journalistic responsibilities shifting to members of local communities. No surprises that this trend coincides with increased uptake of smartphones offering location-based services.
Recently when working on a project when I notice my the text looks really poor on some Linux distros.
A few years ago I wouldn’t have necessarily cared but because of the growth of Ubuntu, Fedora and OpenSuse as well as the fact that Linux is now pre-installed on many netbooks, I have decided it is something I will care about.
The reason for the font issues is because Linux does not necessarily have Arial or Helvetica pre-installed hence the users see system text instead. So I did a bit of research on Linux pre-installed equivalents and found FreeSans or San-Serif to be the most common equivalents installed. I now use “font-family:Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,FreeSans,sans-serif;” as my font stack. This seems to give the best results on every platform.
From http://mashable.com/ comes a nice little insight into how big brands are using twitter and more importantly the individuals in those corps who are doing the tweeting..
http://mashable.com/2009/01/21/best-twitter-brands/
There’s a mix of product plugging, customer service and general announcements, but most seem to be developing strategies and are recognising that they have to converse rather than simply broadcast.
We’re in the process of designing and building an iPhone app for one of our lovely clients. Top secret I’m afraid but keep an eye on the blog if you want it first.
Pinch Media have done a really great report on the App Store which gives a really good insight into usage patterns..
Usage over time stats are quite interesting and they certainly show that Apps have a quiet significant honeymoon period beyond which usage drops right off.
That reinforces the challenge we know we’ve got to overcome, and that’s to make an app that is super fun and draws lots of initial attention but also that it has life beyond the first few usages.
D&AD New Blood began yesterday. Some very interesting and thoughtful pieces of design work from this years university graduates, it looks like a good year for new talent!
With the Apple WWDC keynote pegged for today the rumor mill is buzzing with predictions for what it’s going to deliver. According to the rumor mill daring firball has emerged as one of the more accurate sources.
http://daringfireball.net/2009/06/wwdc_2009_predictions
What’s for sure is that the iPhone has changed the mobile landscape for good and there’s no going back for users and vendors alike. What Apple has done is to create a lifestyle choice out of a technology and it’s heading for a cultural status similar to that of the iPod. If what’s supposed to happen happens and Apple releases a $99 iPhone we’re going to see a fresh wave of users who’ve been put off by the inital price of previous generations. And if O2’s exclusivity contract comes to an end we’re going to see some quite interesting things happening in mobile stores across the UK very very soon.
A friend of mine over at Tamar has written a neat piece on how brands can use twitter better.
http://econsultancy.com/blog/3852-tips-for-brands-starting-out-on-twitter-2
The long and short of it is that brands should be socialising rather than broadcasting which is the challenge they face across all media, not just social media and Twitter.
Bud Caddell, a digital strategist, sum’s up what he does as:
I think it explains quite nicely the challenge brands are facing online at the moment.
If you read only one round up of 2008, read the Most Contagious 2008, a free PDF from the bright people over at Contagious Magazine. It’s far more likely to help you with life in 2009 than ‘Top 100 Celebrity Frock Moments 2008′ or any one of those endlessly repeated listings shows we’re subjected to when the Beeb staff are on holiday.
Habbo is one of those brands that really interests me in terms of longevity. It’s probably one of the oldest social networks, but few people really know much about it. OK, it’s a niche product but it’s done amazing well at engaging and teenage audience and is due a health dose of acknowledgement for that alone.
One thing they are able to do, given their user base, is provide quite interesting insight into trends and attitudes for the teenage market and do so globally.