Friday Five - Books for Leaders & Creatives

Time for another Friday Five and this time, it’s about books.  A common trait for every successful person is they read 10 - 12 nonfiction books a year or more.  So Here are 5 more you can add to your reading list.

Linchpin, by Seth Godin.  This is THE book for creatives in my opinion.  It changed everything about the way I approach my work and is one of those rare books that I gift as regularly as I re-read it.  In fact, I always have a couple of copies on-hand to give on a moment’s notice.  If your job requires you to create in any way, you absolutely need to read this.

The 4-Hour Work Week, by Tim Ferriss.  Whether you plan to quit your job and work for yourself, or continue on in the corporate world forever, this book has a brilliant approach to productivity and time management that you should read.  And it will make you re-think everything you know about success.  

Orbiting the Giant Hairball, by Gordan MacKenzie.  I read this back in high school and still use it as a basis for trainings today.  This book will teach you how to think differently and thrive in a corporate environment even if you don’t think that’s your thing.  It’s a brilliant little book.

The Dip, Seth Godin.  Godin makes the list twice (although I could do a whole list of just his work, truthfully) because this book is also essential reading for creatives.  There comes a point in every new creative endeavor when you hit the wall an have to push through.  The Dip will show you how.  It’s fantastic.

EntreLeadership, by Dave Ramsey.  If you are ever going to be leader of people, you need to read this book.  It’s the most practical, common sense approach to management I’ve ever read and the best part is- the stuff works.  You can’t ask for more than that from a business book.

There you go- fire up your Kindles, or iBooks, or head over to Audible or Oyster or heck, maybe even stop by Barnes & Nobles.  I don’t care, I’m not getting paid by any of them anyway.  Happy reading!

Take a Breath, Apple

In the wake of the most recent earrings calls and wondering what Apple could do with all that cash, I’m going to chime in with my own suggestion.

I say they do nothing.

Look, I’ve said it before- money can’t solve a lot of Apple’s problems.  But money can buy them one thing I think they should take advantage of; and that’s time.

With so much cash on hand and such incredible popularity, I think Apple could easily afford to slow down the pace of development.  Not necessarily skip a whole year, mind you, but perhaps just “stretch a few runways” as they say.

Did Apple really need to release  Music at WWDC?  Hardly.  The don’t need the money and it needs refinement.  And given all the recent hate being spewed at iTunes recently, perhaps waiting until a total re-design was ready would have been better?

Look at Photos.  It’s a ground-up redesign and it’s been quite well received.  But it didn’t launch with Yosemite as would have been expected; in fact is was pushed to the next year in a point update.  Clearly a smart move, so why did Music get the “hurry up” treatment?

I also think Apple could benefit from a re-thinking of some of the lesser loved products.  AirPort routers, the lower end of the iPod line; maybe it’s time to let go of these distractions and realize that theses days, there are enough people interested in Apple that they don’t need to spend time on the peripherals that 3rd party manufactures can handle.

Look, I get that most companies wouldn’t want to take the Wall Street hit that comes from taking your foot off the gas.  But A) Apple isn’t most companies and has never played kissy-face with investors and B) apparently there isn’t any level of growth or profit that will make investors happy anyway.

So why not use all that cash to take a breath?  Slow down, re-focus, and put a bit more polish on some of these things before they go out?

But that’s just my opinion...

The Power of an App Icon

Dear Internet, I have sinned.  It’s been 8 weeks since my last Instagram post.

I used to love Instagram.  It was a constant check-in and, what’s more, one of the few social networks I enjoyed posting to.  It was a home screen staple for many years.  Until I finally got sick of looking at that ugly, outdated icon on my home screen.

7 versions but still an ancient looking icon and no multi-acct support. @Instagram has finally lots it’s place on my #Homescreen

— Jeffrey Weaver (@JeffreyBWeaver) June 23, 2015

 

Since then, I haven’t posted a thing to Instagram and I barely check it anymore.  I did find a great alternative Instagram viewer- Grab- but it’s not the same when I’m not posting.  And so my engagement is gone and the network has become a ghost for me.  My pic sharing has moved to Snapchat primarily and Twitter occasionally.

Thing is, Instagram didn’t change a feature or institute a policy that pissed me off.  The ads weren’t intrusive and the platform didn’t radically shift.  I’m just tired of looking at that leather and textured skeuomorph on my home screen so I dumped it into a folder.

And then forgot about it.

The power of home screen apps is incredible.  It’s no wonder Apple wants to keep fitting more on there.  They are the ones we interact with the most and the ones that get our attention.  

And, for me, Instagram has lost that because of their icon.

So for what it’s worth, choose your icons carefully (*cough* Spotify *cough*) because getting booted from the home screen for being ugly might just be a real killer.

It's the Software, Stupid

Linked - Samsung Will Never Overcome Apple's Advantage in Mobile Device Profitability

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - it’s the software, stupid!  Android has a bifurcated market- the small number of dedicated hobbyists who want the most customizable platform they can get; and the vast swath of “don’t care, good enough” users who can’t/ won’t pay for iOS.  That’s it.  

Heck, I’ll make a bolder statement.  I’d bet the number of people who REALLY LOVE Android are about the same number who jailbreak iOS.  Which is why they will never be the target market.    They’re simply aren’t enough to make a profit from and they will be unhappy with anything you try to sell them anyway.

The S6 Edge proved that top-of-the-line hardware matters.  And Samsung should easily have the resources to compete with Apple to produce vertically integrated, premium headsets.  But when that headset runs what a vast majority of people consider second rate software, it doesn’t matter.  You’ll sell to the die-hards while Apple sells to the masses.

iOS is Apple’s biggest advantage.  Great hardware matters, but lots of phones have great hardware. Only one has iOS and it’s winning by every measure that matters.

It’s the software, stupid.

Linked - Gold Medal Greed

Linked - http://www.businessinsider.com/olympics-entering-new-era-of-host-cities-2015-7

I have an idea...

Let’s move the Olympics (summer at least) permanently back to Athens.

Greece desperately needs the money and tourism that an even like the Olympics can bring; even if it’s only every 4 years.

And the world needs to stop spending $5 Billion a pop building infrastructure that is useless after a few weeks.

I say we build the best facilities in the world, one time, in Athens- where it all began.  And then the members of the IOC can pay dues each year to help maintain and keep them current.

Find a good spot and do the same with the winter olympics too.

All these stories of corruption that come with these occasional yet massive sporting events (Olympics, World Cup, et al) are killing the fun these events are meant to bring.

But that’s just my opinion...

The Genius of Retina

As has often been said, Apple is really good at naming things.  “Retina Display” is just one of many examples.  But the recent talk about the Moto X and OnePlus 2- along with a podcast conversation about the MacBook Pro- got me thinking about just how genius Apple was by coining the term “Retina Display” for it’s devices.

Tech types love specs.  They love numbers and they love comparing them even more.  So the OnePlus 2 is taking some heat for being “HD” but not “QuadHD” and yada, yada, yada.  All of these means, the for the average consumer, the product reviews are minimally useful and maximally boring.  

Your mom doesn’t care if a screen is “HD” or “Quad HD.”  She cares if it’s pretty.

This is why “Retina Display” is such genius marketing.  Depending on the device, there are a mass of various pixel counts that qualify as “Retina” in Apple’s marketing.  And, from the beginning, Apple has explained that- for them- “Retina” will be used when the pixels basically disappear.

It’s genius.  I don’t have to count pixels.  I don’t have to care about HD vs Quad HD or Ultra HD or whatever.

If it’s “Retina” it’s going to look great.  Just that simple.

And while techies might flood message boards with pixel count comparison and lament how Apple is lagging in display density (I mean, all it would cost them is more battery life, and it’s not like anyone is complaining about that already), the rest of the world goes on not caring.  Retina means beautiful.  And that’s just good marketing.

Apple Watch and the Cost of Attention

Jim Dalrymple had John Gruber on his podcast this week.  It’s such fun to listen to stuff like that.

While discussing the  Watch, they stumbled onto a point I think deserves more attention.  The  Watch is often panned by critics as lacking a “killer feature” or “killer app.”  But what they miss is that it’s “killer feature” is notifications.

When you check notifications on your phone, you’re doing more than just checking them.  You’re engaging with them.  And then, since you’ve already opened your phone, you’ll find yourself diving into the other parts of it.  “Might as well read my timeline since that Twitter notification got me into the app.  Oh heck, since my phone is open, I’ll check email and maybe Facebook too.  That reminds me, I have a game move I can make.  I’m already on my phone- might as well before I put it back down."

On the watch, you’re often limited in what you can do.  You’ve been notified- and maybe you can respond simply or quickly- but you’re not drawn in by it’s nature.  The limited functions mean you keep your interaction essential.

If you’ve read “The Four-Hour Work Week” you have already heard about how much time email costs you.  It’s why Tim Ferriss recommends you only check it a few times a day.  Because the cost of changing tasks, then getting sucked into others, is a productivity killer.  The watch helps me avoid that time trap.

Since I got my watch, I’ve found myself being on my phone less.  The friends and family in my life notice.  I notice.  And to me, that’s killer.

Good for Everyone But Spoiler Junkies

So much speculation on how  TV might change and what content deals are being hammered out.  But ultimately, I’m worried that, much like  Music, all we’re going to get from  TV is some terrible network-style pricing scheme for non-cable users.

I want a revolution.

Back in the day when broadcasting was done over airwaves, networks had a valuable commodity.  The tightly regulated licenses needed to beam information to your home made networks powerful as they had total control over what got beamed to who and when.  So they would go to studios and commission them to make shows, then sell advertising on top of those shows and broadcast it all right to you.

Today is different, the airwaves no longer matter and, as such, neither do the networks.  Which means, the power should be not with the networks- but with the studios.

Here’s what I want.

I want Apple (or someone) to make the deals directly with the studios and cut off this silly “network” mark-up.  I want shows available from iTunes, directly from the studio that produced it, and priced as such...

Free, with Ads.  Apple can produce and source very nice, iAd style banners that barely interrupt my program by appearing in the bottom or corner for just a moment like a notification.  Or a quick, 30 second ad at strategic breaks.  And, because it’s Apple, if I’m interested, I can use Handoff on any of my devices to quickly open more info on the ad and maybe go straight to ordering a thing.  Super quick, minimally intrusive, and highly interactive.  

Paid, Season Pass.  If I don’t want ads, I should be able to pay for a season of a show.  This is available today, mind you, and even in advance with the “Season Pass” option.  If you’re not familiar,  Season Pass means you pay up front for the whole season and get each new episode as it becomes available.  So, when Big Bang Theory starts up in September, I’ll have the option to drop $40ish bucks to get each episode the day after it airs on the network.  High-definition, no commercials, on-demand.  The problem, of course, is that you can’t get that currently with “live” current play; so you’re always a few hours behind.  Not great for “spoiler” junkies, but I’ll address them in a moment...

Paid, Subscription.  My biggest problem with Season Pass is I don’t always want to shell out $40 a season up-front because most shows start at the same time and that makes September more expensive than Christmas.  My solution, however, already exists for many other apps so it wouldn’t be tough.  Add a weekly subscription option.  I get the Season Pass discounted price if I sign up to buy the whole season, but I get billed weekly.  At an average of $2 an episode (not much considering on-demand and no ads), if I watch 10 shows a week religiously, I’m only out $20 every Friday.  That same number of shows in the Season Pass model means shelling out around $400 up front.  It’s a significant difference.

And remember, in both paid models, I get to keep the content.  I’m not just “streaming” it; I own it.

All of this can be further supplemented by the studios by product placement in their shows.  Studios could have channels in iTunes like artists have pages.  Perhaps even actors could have pages like Connect so I can follow and actor I like and see everything they’re appearing in.  Again, more ways to source content that avoid the network’s involvement. Or maybe do bundles (like app bundles) of shows with a particular actor or studio together to foster discovery and create discounts.

Bottom line, I think the studios need to wake up and look at how the world has changed.  They don’t need the networks anymore  to get their shows made- the fans could support them.  I want a radical change in how we get content.  Fingers crossed.

(A quick word on the “spoiler” junkies.  This mass psychosis that is “FOMO” or “Fear of Missing Out” is childish nonsense to me.  And yet, it’s what’s driving so much of how these things get designed and priced.  Take HBO Now for example.  People FREAKED OUT when they couldn’t watch Game of Thrones live because, god forbid, they didn’t see it happen before everyone started yammering on Twitter about it.  That’s all well and good, but understand that for that level of shared experience to exist, you need a network.  That’s what networks are made for- showing everyone the same thing at the same time-ish [less we forget about a silly little thing called time-zones].  Point is, I believe MOST and certainly rational people don’t suffer this nonsensical “FOMO” thing and actually prefer to watch shows on-demand and not have to set their lives around appointment TV.  If I’m right, my above ideas are great.  If appointment viewing is still an important thing, you need a 4th option that I frankly don’t care enough to write about.  That’s just my opinion…)

Linked- Facebook is Selling Ads like it’s 1959

Linked - Facebook Introduces Gross Ratings Points for Video Ad Buying

Oh this is hilarious...

So Facebook has caved to the marketing guys who still think “Mad Men” is aspirational and will begin selling ads based on “reach;” or how many people see it.

If you think your News Feed was junked up before, just wait until you see what it will look like now that “more eyes equals more dollars."

Advertisers are hopeless.  All the best technology in the world and they want to sell ads online using the same metrics that could claim a billboard was a success or not.  

Disappointing as this is that Facebook is caving, I’m still more disappointed that advertisers aren’t willing to embrace a new age.

Thank Jobs that Apple is bringing ad blocking to iOS 9.  We’re going to be needing it for a while...

Actually, Marvel DOESN’T have a “villain problem"

Much has been written on why the the Marvel “Cinematic Universe" supposedly has a “villain problem;” with George RR Martin now deciding to weigh in on the debate.  The basic argument is that none of Marvel’s villains are well developed or have nuanced motivations.  And they almost always get killed off in their first movie*. 

But frankly, in my view, this is all crap.

Marvel movies are about heroes.  It’s the hero’s story that matters and villains are just there to provide the antagonist for that time.  Marvel is making a choice that villain stories aren’t the focus.  And it’s proving to work; both for audiences and for this medium.

Comic books are different.  A comic book- which may have hundreds of issues in a single run- can’t afford the creative expense of having to create hundreds of foes.  In that long-running format, the time spent to develop villains as characters is paid-off largely as they can be used over and over again.  But for movies, where a single hero’s run may last 3 main movies and a couple of team-ups, choosing to fully develop a villain likely means that fans won’t get to see more than one of a hero’s most notorious rivals on screen.  Marvel knows fans want to see these comics realized on-screen and to deliver, they have to go for quantity over quality. 

It’s a choice.  And I’m good with it.  If you’re not, then that’s your side to take.  Choices always come with opinions and that’s fine.

But stop calling it a “problem” and stop acting like Marvel couldn’t fully develop a villain if they wanted to.  They could.  They’re choosing not to.  And for me and many other fans it’s working out just fine.

But that’s just my opinion...

(*only Loki and Thanos- who hasn’t even seen action yet- have multiple films to their credit.  I guess technically The Winter Soldier and the upcoming Crossbones appearance will change that.  And Hydra has kept going.  Feel free to continue the corrections in the comments).

Pornography - Another iOS Anomaly

Mark Bergen has an interesting (albeit weak, so no link) piece over at Re/Code today about how the x-rated market might be an advantage for Android against iOS.  His substance was light, but his premise is interesting.

Pornography has long played an important role in the shaping of the technology roadmap.  It’s why VHS beat BetaMax and Blu-Ray won over HD-DVD (Disney helped that last one quite a bit too.)  It’s how chat rooms became popular and why virtual reality has been pursued in many fashions.  Pornography has long been an early adopter to technologies that bring a profit that can sustain early tech long enough for the adoption curve to catch up.

And yet, Apple has seen tremendous success without embracing it and, in many not so subtle ways, outright rejecting it.

To be fair, when I first got my iPhone back in 2007 and marveled at it’s ability to show “the real web” from a phone, more than one friend’s first question was “can you visit porn sites on it?”  To which the answer was, of course, yes.  And while unspoken, we all know (as events such as “The Fappening” have proved) that Apple’s servers are housing a tremendous amount of homemade adult content.  Make no mistake, the iPhone has done much to advance pornography; especially of the amateur variety.

Yet, officially, Apple rejects the genre completely.  Adult-themed apps are under constant scrutiny and often pulled from the store.  Even the adult magazine of record, Playboy, cannot make an appearance in the Newsstand (although their latest app got by “just for the articles.”)  

Throughout the modern history of tech, many if not most big advancements have found their early success when they have been able to advance mankind’s insatiable demand for pornography.  But not the iPhone.  Not iOS.

It’s another instance (along with such notables as “closed vs open” and “market share”) where Apple’s success seems to defy the odds.

Only Apple.

Goodbye, Google+

Shockingly, people didn’t want to participate in a social network built by a company that harvests personal information for a living.

Amazingly, a product with MORE complexity, not less, wasn’t every really embraced by the general public (seriously?  who can keep track of what “circle” to post what in?)

Astonishingly, the die-hards (and you think Apple has a “cult”) are out attacking those of us who are giggling about this inevitable demise.

But unsurprisingly, Google is killing another product that didn’t offer enough usefulness to users to be an effective data collector.  And rightfully so.

Look, by no means am I the type to sit here and suggest that Google keep Google+ up and running. Even despite my personal laments at the loss of Google Reader, I understand that business is business.  And I’m not happy to dance on the grave of a failed product.  As someone who would LOVE a good alternative to Facebook, I have hopes that the social space isn’t too crowded for a good competitor.  But at a time when discussion about Google’s ambitions trouncing on people’s privacy, I do think reminding ourselves why Google+ flopped is important.  Google didn’t earn our trust with G+.  Too many ads, to many times when we “shared” things by accident.  To many opt-outs instead of opt-ins.  To much using our content to benefit them, not us.

So goodbye, Google+.  I’m not going to miss you, but I hope your spirit lives on to find a better implementation.

Linked- Fast Company explains the Reddit hoopla

Linked - Here's How 20,000 Reddit Volunteers Fight Trolls, Spammers, And Played-Out Memes

Best article I’ve seen on this yet.  Give it a read.

I’m a casual Reddit “lurker” (i.e., I don’t even have a user name) so I’ve been watching this all from the sidelines.  But I know the site and it’s culture enough to feel informed and it’s been frustrating to see so many people get this wrong.

This swelling trend of gender issues in tech (and in many ways, in general) is good for gender issues.  But- like most trends- is bad for every other issue because it makes it a gender issue.  Real problems get co-opt, on both sides, by people with agendas and those real problems often get left unresolved as the attention, discussion, and debate are swept away on the issue of the day.  

In this case, a site with real community problems and a real leadership challenge got co-opted by the gender issues crowd because the leader in question was apart of that movement and ultimately both sides of the gender debate managed to make the real problems a platform for their problems.

What I like about this article is that it stripped away those distractions and got to the heart of what Reddit is facing and ultimately must address.  In doing so, it inadvertently demonstrated perfectly how a trend issue can destroy a legitimate problem by painting it with the wrong brush.

I think we should talk about gender issues.  I think we should talk about every issue.  But I think to do so requires us to be critical enough in our thinking to not let ever issue turn into every other.  We have to be just as willing to say “A is not about or because of B” and not let those who would use the opportunity of A to talk about B distract us into debating the red herrings.  

But that’s just my opinion...

Beat by the Street

Only Apple.

Tim Cook likes that phrase so I’m going to co-opt it here.

Only Apple could launch a new, billion dollar product and have Wall Street decide to sell down the stock.

Only Apple could miss high-end analyst expectations (not moderate analysts, or even their own guidance; they beat that) and be called a major miss.

Only Apple could have a record sales and profit quarter- built on growth in nontraditional markets and new customers switching from other platforms- and be called “topped out."

But then again, only Apple could have done what they did this year.  Congrats.

Trolls

You’ll never get rid of the trolls.

If I was writing “rules of the internet” then that would have to be #1.  Because trolls only have one goal- to exist.

Trolls don’t have agendas.  They don’t have have an axe to grind or a point to make.  Trolls don’t have principles.  They just want to exist.  They just want to cause chaos.  They just want to “watch the world burn” as it were.  They exist to exist.  To prove they can keep existing no matter what.

Not that there aren’t activists, agenda-types, or those with axes to grind.  But they’re not trolls.  They just capitalize on the work the trolls do.

Which is why you may eventually settle down the agenda.  But you’ll never stop the trolls.

Best thing to do is just starve them of the attention they sustain on.

Podcast Powerhouse

Linked - 82% of Mobile Podcast Listening Happens on iOS

Once again, Android’s fragmentation rears it’s ugly head.

Stuff like this is what makes just about every “feature and spec” comparison between iOS and Android useless.

Apple is building software that makes their hardware better, more useful, and more loved.

Android builds software that makes data collection and web monetization easier.

It’s about priorities.  And building a great podcast client will probably never be in Google’s interests.  Heck, they didn’t even bother with RSS when they realized it couldn’t monetize like they wanted.

One other thought - clearly, there is a LOT of room for developers in the podcasts app market; with 78% of podcast listeners sticking to the free, stock option.

For my money- I’m in that ⅓ of users that DOES listen from my desktop and needs good sync.  Get me that and you can have my money.

But that’s just my opinion.

Killer Expectations

Linked - Samsung's Ultra Slim Galaxy Tab 2 is Here to take on Apple's iPad Air

You know what the saddest thing about these articles is?  They do more damage to Android than to Apple.

Honestly, this looks like a nice device.  Samsung has really been trying to step up their hardware work lately and it’s showing.  Android tablets by and large suck terrible and this one seems to have the specs and design to make it a promising offering for Android fans who would want a tablet.

But it’s DoA.  Because the narrative- every time- is that to be a success it must “kill” the iPad.  Not just beat it.  Make the iPad irrelevant.  Make Apple close up shop and stop producing the damn thing because it can’t compete.  That’s not going to happen.  Even if this thing sold great by Android, tablet, or even Apple’s standards- it fails.  Because it didn’t “kill” the iPad.

It’s an impossible measurement.  Even the iPhone hasn’t actually “killed” Blackberry.  But sure, this tablet- hampered by TouchWiz and focused on a market that isn’t much of tablet fans away- is going to kill the single most successful tablet around.

*sigh*  Sorry Samsung- your best just isn’t going to be good enough for your own fans...

Star Wars Shows Everyone How Comic-Con Should Be

And they didn’t even bring a trailer.

 But what they did bring was an incredible piece of behind-the-scenes footage, every actor they have, and then topped it off with a stunt that will surly go down in Comic-Con lore for years to come; a surprise outdoor concert for 7,000 fans.

Star Wars showed the world how you make Comic-Con a hit.  They released their footage online- officially- right after they premiered it in the hall.  They didn’t worry one bit about “exclusivity.”  Why?  Because they had something up their sleeve that could ONLY be experienced if you were there.  I’ll bet not one Star Wars fan feels shorted that the footage was released.  And the broader community of fans- the 99% who didn’t make it into Hall H- feel great too.  They’re jealous, sure, but they’re proud of their franchise and excited to have a glimpse of the fun in the form of an online video.

Star Wars nailed it.  They made it about ALL the fans; but rewarded the most loyal in the most special ways.

The opposite is what DC and Fox are doing; pulling down pirated clips and whining on Twitter about “this wasn’t our vision for how it should be seen.”  

Even Doctor Who learned that lesson a few years ago when they debuted a trailer 5 MONTHS before the public would get a look and drove their most loyal fans crazy (not that it takes much of a push with that crowd.)  This year, they debuted the trailer 15 minutes into the panel online so everyone could enjoy- and it’s very well received.

But DC and Fox are making even their most loyal fans feel excluded.  And for no good reason.  These aren’t early cuts or un-edited clips. These are polished trailers with graphics and music; ready for release.  So why hold them back?  Why chase DCMAs around video sites?  Why not do what Star Wars and the BBC did so masterfully?

Who knows?  But it’s a great way to turn well received footage into a PR disaster.

Seriously… is DC and Warner Brothers EVER going to get superheroes right?

What Snapchat Gets Right

Snapchat pushed out an update today that once again shows why it has the potential to be the best AND most profitable social network of them.  What Snapchat gets right is the user.  They show time and time again that they understand what their app is about and why we use it.

Consider the following...

Use-ability First - Snapchat is about sharing pictures.  So is Instagram.  But when you open each app, what do you get first?  In Snapchat it's the camera- quick and practically begging you to share something.  Instagram puts your feed first.  One wants you to create content- the other encourages you to consume.  Snapchat's UI does a great job of layering complex power features under the simple one.  Take a pic or video easily.  Adding filters and emoji might take more know-how; but the core experience is preserved.  

A Conversation, Not a Scrapbook - The thing that has long kept me from embracing Facebook was the permanence.  While some people may want a digital timeline of every thought, feeling, and experience captured for all of posterity, I simply don't.  Sometimes something is just funny or share-able now.  I don’t want a copy in my camera roll.  I don’t need to look back 10 years later to see what was said.  It was a moment.  And in a world where increasingly everything we do is documented forever, it’s kind of cool to have a place where you share a moment and then can move onto the next.

Making Money Without Interrupting - Perhaps what Snapchat is getting most right for users (and today’s update shows just how much so) is their ability to monetize by enhancing their experience; not by profiting from their contributions.  Promoted stories and discovery brands are good; dare I say great.  Because A) they aren’t forced, but instead made convenient B) actually have good content I am willing to spend time looking at and C) don’t turn me into the product.  

In short, I consider Snapchat to be the “anti-Facebook” and I hope they keep going that way.  I hope it’s what makes them a success.  Because it’s surely what’s got me using them along side Twitter as my social apps of choice.

Your goals are not my goals

It’s a common mistake that many poor leaders make.

Consider this- if your goal as the leader is to be the top producing team for the month that’s great.  But if the only reward is you being recognized by your peers and such for being great- what does that get your team?  What’s the reward for their efforts?  If the prize isn’t shareable or doesn’t matter to them, why would they follow?

Goals must matter to the people working for them.  And if they don’t, then find one that will.  YOU might care about being #1, but what does the team care about?

Good leaders find ways to set many goals that end in the same place so everyone is motivated to come along.

Friday Five - My Essential Apps for iPhone

Following up on today’s earlier post, here are the 5 apps that have a permanent place on my home screen...

Twitterrific -  For a long while, I was loving Tweetbot.  Frankly, I still do.  But until Tweetbot gets it’s act together on iPad, I needed something that can handle my constant switching between devices.  Twitterrific’s stream sync has done a fantastic job.  The  Watch app is great too.  I’m a Twitter junkie and right now, Twitterrific is my go-to.  It has “dock” status.

Deliveries - Incredibly useful for someone like me who has lots of stuff in transit for both work and personal.  Easy to use, iCloud syncing to my iPad, and beautiful.  It’s quickly become a favorite app.

Feedworthy - My favorite new Reddit client by far.  Beautiful, flowing design.  In-line gif previews.  Easy to navigate.  This is a killer app for Reddit.

Feedly - My RSS reader of choice.  

Podcasts - So here’s my astonishing admission; I really like the Apple Podcasts app. While it may not be the most “full featured” it does a few key things I really need it to do.  See, I listen to a lot of podcasts- mostly when I drive but often at home when I want to finish what I’ve started.  My home set-up is a series of AirPlay speakers that sync the whole house; controlled by my Mac.  So my biggest need is a Podcast client that syncs them both so I can pick up on my Mac right where my iPhone left off AND then control multiple AirPlay speakers.  Podcasts gets it done.  Even as much as I’d love to try others, no others I’ve found can handle my “podcast flow” so to speak.  So the Apple Podcast app is my essential podcast app- “dock” status and all.

An Early Samsung Note?

What's the point?

Samsung has been getting it's clock-cleaned already by Apple.  Does it really think that's because people have "already spent their upgrade money?"

This is a loss for Samsung in every way possible.

At this point, the press coverage is so hyped that if they don't ship, it's going to look like they missed an (imaginary) deadline. [on that note- hey Samsung, you want to be Apple so bad? How do you like getting bad press for a late release on a product you didn't even announce? ha!]  If they do release early everyone expected it and if they don't, it'll be panned as "late."  Lose.

If they rush it out and it’s buggy, laggy, or otherwise janky (and let’s face it- TouchWiz- so probably) it will be railed for being under-cooked.  Lose.

No matter how well it sells, it won't outsell the iPhone as a whole.  Samsung flagship devices never have.  But especially since Apple doesn't break out 6 versus 6 Plus sales, there won't be any way to really tell how it did.  And Apple will still own the high-end.  Lose.

Being “first to market” hasn’t ever helped Samsung much either.  Certainly Android Wear didn’t gain a damn thing from a 2 year head-start.  And this is a mature product category.  PLUS, time and time again studies suggest that people switch from Android to Apple more than the other way around.  If they release first and the device has issues (no SD card or removable battery anyone?) then many might decide to hold out for forthcoming iPhone rather than wait on the iPhone on hopes that the Note is good.  Lose.

And finally, there is SO MUCH hope invested in this device from the Fan-droid community to have features it may not.  If this thing doesn't have a removable battery and SD card slot, it's going to get panned in reviews.  Potential lose. OR, if it does have those features, it will pick-up a lot from hold-outs on the S6 series; which won’t be enough sales to make it a run-away hit, but will be enough to further sink S6 numbers.  Lose.

Bottom line, the ONLY way Samsung wins would be if they release the device, EVERYONE loves it, and it not only sells, but sells so well that ALL iPhones everywhere drop off in sales too.

Never.  Going.  To. Happen.

No matter what Samsung does or doesn’t do, Apple will sell more iPhones then ever.  Again.  Which is why every phone that is set-up to be an “iPhone killer” is itself already a loser.  The game is rigged because the stakes can’t be made.

But Samsung set those rules themselves, so I don’t have any sympathy...

Replacing the Basics - My Favorite Non-Stock Apps (A “Friday Five” Extra)

As I started writing today’s “Friday Five” (check back later) I realized that there was enough to say to justify two posts instead of just one.  So for this one, I wanted to share a few of the Apps I rely on most to replace “stock” apps on my iPhone.

Spark - by Readdle.  Spark is new and unfortunately right now iPhone only, but it has COMPLETELY replaced my email app on iOS for personal accounts.  (I have Outlook for work and it’s great as well).  While Spark barrows heavily from many modern email apps (pinning, swipe gestures, unified, prioritized inbox etc.) the real magic of Spark is the way it automatically filters notifications.  Spark intelligently decides which emails to send me a notification and icon badge for- and which ones to just let wait in the inbox.  And so far- it’s never been wrong.  I used to keep all my email notifications off.  Now I happily leave it on and marvel at the fact that the only time I get “dinged” is when I really care to be.  It’s amazingly good.

Paper - by Facebook.  Okay, so Facebook isn’t “technically” a stock app- but it might as well be.  And as someone who has a low tolerance for Facebook, this is the ONLY way I can tolerate Facebook anymore.  Paper is a radically different design but I love it.  ZERO notifications; yet Messenger is built right in so I don’t need the separate app.  No promoted anything on the timeline- just posts that my friends made or liked.  Big, beautiful photos.  And not one singe Candy Crush Request.  If you’re light on Facebook like I am- Paper is the BEST way to go by far!

Calendars 5 - Also by Readdle this is my favorite calendar app.  Honestly because it’s my favorite graphical design for a calendar and the sync is good.  Gives me what I want, then stays out of my way.  Perfect productivity.

WeatherUnderground - As a Floridian, my driver’s license doubles as a membership card to the American Meteorological Association.  We’re weather junkies here since it’s known for being fast, furious, and always on the move.  So good weather apps are important.  I use Dark Sky for notifications and a separate Hurricane Tracker for storm activity, but WeatherUnderground has become my daily go-to.  Mostly because the Widgets are fantastic, but also because it does a great job of putting what I want most (radar) right up front for me.  Reliable and accurate.  It’s great.

Grab - my Instagram replacement.  Again, not technically “stock” but pretty much is. Grab has a great flow, allows me to download posts (which I do often for my work account) and allows for multi-account management.  (Seriously- how is that not in the native app by now??)  It’s a pain that you can’t post otherwise, but oh well.  For all but one task, Grab makes Instagram better so it’s my go-to choice.

Hands-on with iOS 9 and El Capitan- First Impressions

Being the good nerd I am, have dutifully installed the public betas of iOS 9 and El Capitan.

Being the sensible nerd I am, neither are on my primary devices.

I'm running iOS 9 on my iPad Air 2; which I use for work, but isn't near as essential as my iPhone that I use daily.  El Capitan will be running on my MacBook Pro 13" w/ Retina Display.  I don't keep anything on stored on my laptop (I used it for work/ personal almost like a cloud machine) so in both cases if anything bad happens it's easy to wipe and restore.  If you're not living by the same rules, you're living too close to the edge for me.

It's as early as can be (I'm literally still accepting user agreements on the MacBook) but here are my first impressions.

iOS 9 on iPad Air 2

I really like the new system font, San Francisco.  Having seen it only in snippets so far, I didn't fully understand the impact it would have.  But immediately it's noticablle and quite pleasent; albeit in a hard to discribe why kind of way.

The multi-tasking is FANTASITC!  Super easy, super intuitive.  It's great.  I really hope developers work to take advantage of it quickly because I already love how it works so much.

The keyboard change is a bit jarring at first.  I like the lowercase versus caps, but having lived with this from iOS 7, it's a noticeable and jarring change.

I'm not sure how much I like the new app switcher yet.  I feel like it's taking longer to get to apps that I used longer ago.  We'll see...

Spotlight is kinda cool.  I found that both the swipe over from homescreen AND swipe down on any page work to activate which I like.  Very convenient.  But with only Apple apps taking advantage of the search API it's hard to judge yet.

I already dig the News app.  Easy set-up, nice layout.  I think this will be a great app- especially for iPad users.

El Capitan on MacBook Pro w/ Retina Display

I feel like the features here are must less obvious and intuitive.

The mouse shake is really cool.  That’s one of those magical “Apple” moments when you just go- “duh."

Pinned tabs are going to be great.  I know it’s nothing new to Chrome users, but as someone who cares about his battery, I’ve always been happy to stick with Safari.  And the way pinned tabs works is just like you want it to.  I’m a fan.

LOVE the 4x4 for app folders.  And LOVE the Selfies and Screenshots in Photos!!

The new Mission Control view and side-by-side apps are not easy to work.  I had to look up how to use them.  Might be my “Windows bias” of how snapping works, but having it be specific to the green button wasn’t intuitive for me.  Also, it apparently needs some API work on the developer end as some applications can’t take full advantage yet.  (Could be a bug as well so we’ll see).  For the Apple apps, it works quite well and shows promise, but it’s clearly Beta under-baked.

Since I don’t use Apple Mail or Photos yet, I can’t go much deeper on El Capitan.  I am hoping to see the better battery life though; so stay tuned on that.

More to come as I test it out over the next few days/ weeks. 

Shameless

Speaks for itself....

The Trouble With iTunes

By no means am I the first to write on this subject, but in the wake of the launch of  Music, I think it’s time to re-visit this topic again.

iTunes is a mess.  A Bloated, confusing, mess.  And it’s unfortunate- because I’m sure Apple doesn’t want it that way.

Making matters worse is that the software has become a key crutch for so many things that untangling that mess is no short feat.  So rather than re-hash the many problems iTunes has, I’m going to offer up a vision of the future that could be a solution.

1) Let the cloud be the cloud and cut the cord.  The factor that most limits iTunes today is it’s use as the interface for iOS devices on Windows machines.  Much of the need to keep things like “Movies” and “Podcasts” and such in iTunes is really because Windows users need an interface.  I say it’s time to let the cloud be the cloud.  Apple typically doesn’t shy away from killing dead tech to advance newer methods- so why not here too?  Let Windows users use iOS through the cloud for movies, tv, podcasts, etc, and take all that crap out of iTunes.  Conversely, create Mac apps for all those separate genres just like it is on iOS.  One more way to say “if you want the BEST experience, get a Mac.”  Bottom line, there are plenty of ways to get content onto an iOS device now that doesn’t require iTunes anyway.  Cut the cord once and for all.

2) Focus on search & discovery.  iTunes on the desktop (now free from doing anything but being a music player) should act like the ultimate jukebox.  Make it easy to find what I want and easy to find new stuff.  Make adding to “up next” or creating a playlist super simple.  And get more social- let me see what my friends are playing.  Make “party lists” a thing again with home sharing so if I have friends over, they can browse my library and add to the mix.  Bottom line make getting to the song I want now (and next) as easy as it can be.

3) Tailor the experience.  Time to take Bitcode out for a spin (maybe… honestly I’m not sure if Bitcode is the right tool for this problem… just trying to hop on the hype) and make iTunes adjust for the services I’m subscribing to.  Why do I need the “store” view if I’m subscribed to  Music?  Sure, there might be some stuff I want to listen to that’s not in the service, but you can tell me that when I search for it.  Right now, the “Store” homepage looks almost identical to the “New” tab.  I don’t need both.  Also, “My Music” is ALL music when I’m subscribed, so I don’t need the confusion of what’s “mine” and what’s “theirs” until I go to unsubscribe.  There are too many layers to accommodate too many configurations.  Find a way to serve up just what I need based on how I’m paying for it.  That would be a huge leap forward.

I’m sure there’s more, but this would make leaps forward and make  Music front and center. Bottom line, it’s time for Apple to cut back Windows support through iTunes.  Either let the cloud do the work and make the best features part of the ecosystem, or develop a new iOS device management software separate from iTunes.  Because for  Music to succeed in the long run, it can’t continue to be weighed down by the bloat of legacy features for non-platform users.

But that’s just my opinion...

Why Developers Are Calling Safari the New IE

Simple. Money. 

Let's wind the clock back to 2007. Apple unveils the iPhone and tells the world "if you want to make apps, build them on the web."

But developers complained. "We want native apps!" came the cry. And for several good reasons. Web apps were limited and the first iPhone had a lagging data protocol making often painfully slow. We all saw that and so the chorus continued- "native apps for iOS!"

So Apple caved and by 2008 we got the App Store. But Apple decided that for their trouble in building and running that platform they wanted 30%. A fair deal in my book and while a few might have squeaked at the time most were happy to give up 30% to join the digital gold rush that ensued. And for the next few years everyone seemed happy. 

But now, 8 years on, the App Store has become more competitive and that 30% cut has become- in many devs eyes- an unfair tax on their shrinking revenues. 

Add to that the fact that Android development is a shit show and many developers have started looking back to the web as a way to develop once and reach everyone. So they began doing what Apple had suggested they do 8 years ago- they started making web apps work better. More features, more capable, faster etc. Their goal is to eliminate the multi-platform support issues as well as bypass the App Store cut by making web apps that can satisfy users just as well as native apps; while at the same time allowing for more and easier monetization strategies. Makes sense. 

But a funny thing happened on the way to a "more capable web."  Apple decided to spend their resources not on better mobile web but on better native app support. More APIs. More platforms for native apps (watchOS anyone?). Why?  Because it's working. They're making money and maintaining more control. It's better for Apple and it's better (or at least no worse) for their customers. From Apple's perspective it's working great. 

So all these developers complaining about mobile Safari's limitations or the lack of other browsers ability to add these features sound to me a lot like sour grapes. 

The "Safari is the new IE" argument is total bunk. Apple has one version of Safari always being pushed to update. IE was and still is a fragmented mess. Safari is built on WebKit, an open source framework. IE was notorious for forcing developers to update for all sorts of custom junk. The fact that my (and many other companies) keep old versions of it running side by side with new ones just to interact with some sites show what a mess it was. And worse- IE was the juggernaut that everyone HAD to deal with. Not supporting Safari (optimally) isn't keeping anyone from succeeding on the web. Hell, Safari isn't even available on a majority of web capable devices (by market share). So what's driving this gripe?  

Money. The people spending money use Apple products and developers want Apple to make that lucrative market available to them in the easiest way possible (for the developers that is). 

That ship has sailed. Apple worked hard to build a lucrative platform and they did it by giving users the best, most secure experience they can. I have no doubt Apple will continue to support advances in web tech. But they're not going to do it with a priority over or at the expense of their users. 

Expecting anything less is just sour grapes.