For the purpose of this review I am going to ignore the fact that Stereomood does not have a mobile optimised website as generally I think that user behaviour for music listening platforms occurs predominantly through apps rather than mobile site.

Things I like: 

Speed and loading time on the site

The  improved speed of loading pages on the site. The new site is incredibly faster than the previous Stereomood. This vastly improves the user experience and reliability of the site and rids the site of the previous slow loading experience.

Inspiration-like search on the site

Inspiration search is something that works well on many other sites and apps (e.g. see the Cheapflights.com app and mobile site). The inspiration search functionality on the the Stereomood site constantly changes with different “I feel…” search prompts appearing in quick succession. These quick changing search prompts provide inspiration and promote engagement with the search box

The Stereomood logo

• I really like the Steremood logo. The changing colour scheme throughout the logo mirrors the core nature of the product – the variety of moods of the music platform that match your music tastes. That is all.

Advertising to fund the damn thing

I know it seems strange that I actually like advertising on a web page. However, I am fully appreciative of the fact that such advertising, or affiliate and display advertising, funds Stereomood’s continuing existence. The current ad placement at the top of the website; the nature of the brand, music related content, and font type, all contribute to an extremely positive first impression of how this ad mixes in with the rest of the site. This is of course a fine line as an ad placement that mixes messages or doesn’t compliment the Stereomood brand and experience will have a negative impact on the site experience.

Advertising on the app cannot be said to be of the same complimentary nature. The ads on the Stereomood app, as are often found on apps, are not related to the product and do detract from the mobile user experience. Since this is a common trait I often find with apps, I will not penalise Stereomood on this occasion for this. A caveat this final point is that you do have the option to remove the ads from the app for 69p, which is a nice to have option built into the app.

Homepage and navigational UI on the app

The drifting nature of the moods, varying in size, speed, and shade, encourage browsing and discovery of music. I find this navigational method much more inviting and calming when compared to the static desktop site experience. Spicing up the desktop site with a navigation similar to the app would be a smart move, in my opinion.

Social media icons on the site

I really like that when you hover over the social media icons, they light up in their true brand colour scheme – Flickr visualised above. A small thing but again shows attention to detail and has a positive impact on impression.

Ecommerce icons for Apple and Amazon

Similar to the social media icons, I really like that when you hover over the social media icons, they light up a lime green colour – one of the primary colours used on the site (albeit not enough when compared to the app, to be discussed later). A small thing but again shows attention to detail and has a positive impact on impression.

Abstract library of music

After building up a healthy library of music added to my playlists, generally of a chilled out nature, I’ve realised that the vast majority of the music artists I’ve added were unknown to me beforehand. The library of music in Stereomood has opened me to a variety of new music artists, abstract and otherwise, that I would not have come across otherwise. One being a Vietnamese artist below as well as some acoustic version of popular songs not heard by many.

Display for a playlist for a mood on the app

The app uses touch and swipe navigational functionality to quickly bring up the playlist for a mood. This enables playlists to be hidden from view and reduce clutter on the screen, whilst also allowing it to be quickly to brought into view for scrolling through. A nice solution to hiding and quickly finding songs on a given mood.

Ecommerce  functionality in the app: attention to detail

Another feature in the app that compliments the ecommerce functionality (or linking to iTunes) in the app is Tap Anywhere To Close functionality. Again, exhibits attention to detail – easing the exit of redirecting to the iTunes and a recognition of the nuisance of pressing on an ‘X’, or exit button, on a touch screen. Again, it exhibits Stereomood’s attention to detail and having a keen eye on every aspect of user journeys including a feature like this.

Things I dislike:

Lack of consistency across site and app

There is lack of uniformity on the user experience between the site and the app; colour schemes, font, layout and structure, user journeys. Generally a consistent approach to site and app design is seen as  a best practice approach to design for digital web and app properties. A lack in consistency can lead to a degradation in user experience and confusion in user interaction with the product. In other words, people will sometimes have to think twice about clicking on a certain feature or completing a user journey, rather than it being second nature to them and intuitive by being comforted by a distinguishable design and layout. Here are some areas that need consistency:

The lack of commonality in the navigational method between the desktop site and the app discussed above.

The lack of commonality in the colour scheme between the desktop site and the app. The below image shows how a lime shade of green is a prominent colour in the app, whereas this colour does not play a prominent role on the site, indicated by the red circled area typifying this. A common colour scheme would reinforce the brand and the user experience across both platforms.

Different focus on personal profile on website and in the app.

The personal profile and bio section on the app is a strong feature, indicated by the blank profile photo silhouette. Wheres on the site, this blank profile photo navigates to the homepage. In order to find your personal profile, you click on your username on the desktop site. One approach needs to be clearly defined for what the objective of this logo should be, how you navigate to the profile, and what purpose it serves.

Search box(s) and app store links

The actual images used for the AppStore and Google play links are not of a high enough resolution quality. A quick and easy change this, and one that needs to be done as low resolution or grainy images annoy me.

The location of these images that act as links to the both app stores is located next to the search box. Although people are generally smart enough to know that these buttons do not act as the ‘go’ or ‘search’ buttons, there are in-buil cognitive  behaviours associated with completion of search with click on a button next to the search box. Thus placing these buttons in this location do have an impact on search behaviour on the site and how people will complete a search. Clicking on these buttons and in-completion of the search will lead to confusion and a negative impact on user experience.

Google, the trend-setter in search boxes, have a ‘go’ or ‘search’ completion box located beside the text area. A deviation of this layout can cause confusion for users of search boxes. The location and placement of the arrow at the end of the search box may lead users to think they click on the arrow to complete a search, which is not the case. People have ingrained expectations with search boxes from using Google and the Stereomood search box has a number of features which deviates from this.

The human silhouette located at the beginning of the search box is hyperlinked to redirect the Stereomood homepage which seems inessential. Normally clicking on a logo of this nature I would expect to be redirected to my personal profile or bio page. Overall the main search box, calls-to-action for completion of searches, and location of the images that link to external app stores need to be looked at again.

Finally, there are two search boxes located on the desktop site too is confusing. I get that main is aimed to be used as a discovery or search engine for music moods and the smaller search box to be used to search for artists or songs. However, if Stereomood is looking to expand its user-base, which I’m sure it is, it will need to simplify the search functionality – whittling down to one search box.

Ultimately, the site and app have some really great features and examples of attention to detail. However, I would like to see a more common approach to the user experience on both the site and app as user behaviour (including myself) dictates that people will use the site and app product at different times.

If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3^rd most populated

One of the key opportunities I see with a real-money gaming product in the gaming sector is to consider that Facebook has thrown it’s might behind this venture as a joint partner. With Facebook having such a large user-base for gaming firms to work with, a real-money gaming product executed correctly has massive potential for returns. Tapping into such a large user based on this platform is something that all gaming firms will be looking at and how the Bingo Friendzy product performs. With the ever-increasing recognition of the importance of social in the gaming industry and willingness for firms within this industry to embrace social (think Rank Group’s Mecca Bingo Facebook social centric kiosk in their bingo halls), such firms will be keen to enter the social gaming sector on Facebook. A massive unknown though is how Facebook will warm to other firms looking to develop real-money gaming apps on their platform.

Product differentiation in digital in the gaming sector

As typical with any industry type analysis, I can talk about the intense competition that exists in the gaming sector – the Paddy Powers, Betfairs, Rank Interactives, Bet365s, Ladbrokes’, William Hills are all jostling for position as the top dog. These companies have been recognised as being as some of the most embracing of emerging digital platforms and innovating with their products. With such competition of products in digital -on desktop, mobile, in-store apps, tablet – gaming firms are always looking to differentiate. With Bingo Friendzy’s emergence the opportunity to differentiate with social-centric products and platforms is an opportunity that gaming firms will be keen to capitalise on.

Personally speaking, I still have some concerns around the quality of products and experience with apps on Facebook. I think there is still some way to go before a Facebook app experience, on desktop and on mobile, is as rich and immersive as say a native app experience. This though is a much bigger discussion around web developing on Facebook (Javascript, CSSS and HTML5) versus native app developing on mobile platforms (e.g. Objective-C for iOS). In my opinion how such products will be differentiated will come down to use of the underlying technology, the execution of the app, and integration with Facebook’s functionality and user experience.

Public impression of different gaming products and firms

The success of Bingo Friendzy, and the social gaming sector on Facebook, will be determined by the media and more so the consumers. There is something to be said around public perception around different forms gaming and gambling – bingo, poker, lottery, casinos, sports betting and how these would translate to a social gaming app on Facebook. There is also something to be said around the public perception of different gaming and gambling firms and how they would be perceived in developing an app on Facebook. For example, Ladbrokes and Zynga both have varying forms of public perception – one could be seen as a proponent of harder form of gambling whilst the other perceived as a successful online start-up story associated with the Facebook-generation. Both will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on how Bingo Friendzy will perform and how they could develop similar strong revenue producing products. How such firms will be perceived by consumers and the media and which form of gaming and gambling they choose to develop an app for on Facebook will be a key dynamic of how the social gaming sector develops.

Inndustries are looking to embrace the latest technologies with a social twist and the egaming sector is no different. It will be interesting to see how Facebook will warm to real-money gaming products. Regulation, consumer and media perception, Facebook’s stance on the matter, Facebook’s role in people’s lives, dynamics in different markets, and a gaming brands strategy for this space will all play a factor in how the opportunities and perils will unfold in this emerging digital channel.

Hearing Ben Hammersley, the UK Prime Minister’s Ambassador to TechCity; London’s Internet Sector, mock the idea of  planning a digital strategy for the future goes against everything I’ve learnt/read/preached/and have been told in my industry. Furthermore, hearing Ben Hammersley intelligently and logically explain why this is so further gripped me. Working in the mobile industry means that I am inherently involved in digital strategies on a day-to-day basis – strategically and tactically so. The idea of planning for something that will never arrive is something that made me think during his talk – ‘you never get to the future’ somebody in the audience crowed.

Technology is of an iterative nature

The idea of planning a digital strategy for a company normally involves considering a multitude of digital channels to consider – desktop, social media, personal devices, webTVs – and the different executions, solutions, engagements, and messages we can pump out via these channels for both external and internal purposes. These technologies and platforms are changing and innovating at a fast pace, so the idea that today we can plan a strategy on any of these platforms and say that in five years’ time that strategy will still fit the mould does not ring true. Consider how device improvements, underlying coding language improvements, OS platform version updates, connectivity speed, expansion of the ‘cloud’, and costs and pricing will all change and be refined over the next five years.

Due to the dynamic nature of technology the best we can do is prepare a digital strategy as best we can for the technology as it exists today and iteratively refine/re-think that strategy as the technology itself changes. The exponential growth in technology that Ben Hammersley discussed brings into focus that no one knows how technology will look and perform in five years’ time.

A tangible example: Facebook’s digital strategy

The best way to illustrate my point on the above of course is a real-life example relevant to the digital channels I focus on – personal devices. Facebook, and Mark Zuckerberg, made a huge punt with their digital strategy and the technology HTML5 for web-based apps. Due to limitations associated with this technology and Facebook’s particular use of it, Zuckerberg himself described the mistake himself as “betting too much on HTML5 as opposed to native”. I’m sure Facebook had this long-term strategy in place to push web-apps over native apps and invested a lot of money and human capital in doing so. When push came to shove Facebook realised that the technology did just not meet their needs and expectations. If one of the most successful and sought after digital start-ups can fail in their digital strategy, what hope do the rest of us have?!

To even further prove my point with the Facebook example and the iterative nature of technology: the digital strategy that Facebook are now employing post the HTML5 strategy admission fail will not fit the bill for the company in five years’ time. HTML5 will have iteratively improved by then and may have all (why not more?) the technological capabilities of a fully native app.

Human interaction with technology changes

The second most important thing to consider in supporting my statement is that human interaction with technology changes – not as fast as the technology itself – but it still changes. Again, to borrow a phrase from Ben Hammersley’s talk – people’s etiquette towards technology develops slower than the technology itself. So whilst the rate-of-change in technology is the front and centre consideration, how the people we map these strategies on interact with them is most certainly an important second consideration.

How people will react and use the iteratively improving technologies of the future is something no one can predict. However, I think we are better placed to approach this challenge as the rate-of change in people’s interactions is considerably slower and more malleable. As I am doing now in my career now, I aim to continue working with innovative applications of these technologies in the future and impact how people interact with them.

At the fourth talk I attended Matt Webb, the CEO of BERG, eloquently spoke about the interconnected nature of products, culture, technology, design, and the experiential aspect that lubricates them all. His talk focused on hardware products, and the affably named Little Printer, within the context of the above. I work within the mobile design and development agency sector, so at times my mind did drift towards software products and how the conversation applied to them and mobile apps in particular. This led me to ponder – are mobile apps under-appreciated as products?

Agency-client dynamic and mobile apps as products

A mindboggling statistic that I read this week that helps frame this topic is that there are over 700,000 apps in the AppStore – each one of them in their own right a product. Given my experience in the mobile industry, I’m well aware that my point-of-view on the question is may be tainted by experiences and agency mind-set. With this said, I’m steadfast in my opinion that yes – mobile apps are underappreciated as products.

Anyone working in the agency scene, mobile or otherwise, will understand that we are at the beck and call of a client at all times. I find that this dynamic in the relationship is often magnified and pushed to the limits when designing and developing a mobile app. To the untrained eye people will see a beautiful, rich and engaging app and be unaware of the fact that these products are incredibly complex to deliver.

Mobile app development is software development at the end of the day – something that Matt Webb himself pointed out is a hard thing to do. The shiny exterior that these apps reside on, belie the dexterity in design and complexity of coding/development that make these products. Every mobile app is a unique solution – a product with a unique DNA – where every consumer experience and layer of the product is fully thought through.

Hardware v Software: Smartphone v Application

When Sir Jonathan Ives first got his minimalistic hands on the iPhone, he undoubtedly crafted one of the most beautiful products ever made. Rightfully so, the iPhone and Ives received the recognition and appreciation due as a beautifully created product and its creator. What fascinates me to this day though is why Apple doesn’t further push the 700,000+ products that have been designed and developed off the back of this product and OS platform. Just the same way that creating the iPhone was a tour de force in technology and design by Apple, apps should be regarded the same. From the highly addictive Angry Birds to the stunningly beautiful Guardian Eyewitness app, I regard apps as technological and design feats of excellence.

Ultimately, my reasoning for mobile apps being under-appreciated and being taken for granted is due to their ubiquity in everyday human life – mobile apps are crutches we lean on for everyday life situations.

To provide a little bit more context to attending the Wall Street Journal Tech Cafes, my aim is to write a blogpost one each of the talks I attend, covering a subject matter that particularly resonated with me. Having attended the insightful Salesforce talks this morning, from both Miguel Milano and Madlen Nicolaus, the theme for this blogpost came to me quicker than the first two blogposts. I had initially intended to frame each of my blogposts within the mobile industry, the industry I’m currently working in. However, having  hands on experience working with social media monitoring tools, including Radian6, I felt it necessary to tell the story of my experiences working with social media monitoring tools.

I have written before on the advantages for a brand in shaping its personality in social media and I like to use the analogy of social media monitoring tools as holding a paper cup to a wall to listen into conversations. I had written that blogpost whilst I was the one holding the paper cup up to the wall monitoring brand conversations and I still stand by the points made. So rather than espouse the advantages of using a Radian6-like product (I had the opportunity to participate and contribute to a review and analysis culminating in releasing a Social Media Monitoring Tool Buyer’s Guide), here are my two main takeaways from that time in my career:

Refining data analysing skills and insightful analysis

Sifting through large datasets (over 10,000 mentions of a brand) exported to Excel from social media monitoring tools was my bread and butter. The most important skill I developed during this time of going over such datasets and working within such a team was the ability to glean insights, trends, and themes on a brand and relay these back to the client in a way that satiated the SMART criteria. What use does a report have to a client if the insights you provide aren’t actionable and refines their proposition to consumers in some way?

At times I did find the social media monitoring tools labour intensive. However, the intensive data analysing and burying my head in a client’s brand conversation gave me a deep understanding of that brand. This enabled me to infer insights, both philosophical and data-based, on why people have emotional connections with brands. I have no doubt that the skills I honed during this time using the social media monitoring tools have stood to me today in fueling my interest in consumer behaviour and my ability to provide insights into how people interact with brands.

Is social media monitoring an invasive practice?

One of the questions asked at Madlen Nicolaus’s talk on Radian6 was around data privacy issues. Madlen rightly pointed out that all social media monitoring tools only pull in data that is publicly available. So for example, there is no access to Facebook conversation with secure privacy settings. From my personal experience using such tools, I was initially taken aback at how openly frank people are in posting personal thoughts online. Sifting through reams of Twitter conversation felt like I was leering into someone’s front sitting room window with no blinds whilst they casually chatted amongst themselves. In my head I started rationalising what I was doing with monitoring Twitter (I’m just one of many drinking from the firehose – read an excellent article here on The Economist on this behaviour) whilst unable to locate my conscience over monitoring forums that were of a delicate subject matter at times. It just felt like I had turned up at someone’s public party, who I didn’t know, and sat in on their conversations.

With this all said though, I reminded myself that all this data I was analysing was publicly available and ‘fair game’ so to speak. I choose to work in this industry, warts and all, and find it thoroughly rewarding to work with brands and apply my interest in consumer behaviour. On whether the practice is invasive, ultimately people should be conscious about what they post online, contribute to what is now considered ‘social media’, and be aware of the privacy settings they have command over. The tools that monitor our conversations are only going to get more powerful and intelligent (e.g. more accurate sentiment analysis). And with this, further blurring the line between digital and real-life interactions we have with the brands we consume.

At the beginning of the second VC talk at WSJ Tech Café, Ben Rooney asked the three VCs what are they most interested in right now. The thread running through the answers was that mobile technology is where it’s at in terms of the ‘next big thing’, innovating, and making serious hard cash. Rather than talk about billion dollar industries, trillion dollar industries are what VCs are looking at – education, health care, energy and food, transportation, and communications. The commonality between them all is that mobile technology dissects them all and is innovating how we approach these industries. Come to think of it, this is what first drove me towards working in the mobile agency sector – the opportunity to work across a number of industries and innovate with the latest technologies.

Mobile is inherently ‘disruptive’

Barry Maloney of Balderton mentioned the term ‘disruptive’ ideas are what excites him – the Betfairs, Wongas, Hailos, and MySQLs are all tangible examples the VCs repeatedly referred to when discussing in light of disruptive ideas. Disruptive ideas are ones that bring a new approach and a new solution.  The mobile industry lives up this need for disruptive and innovative thinking in its agile and dynamic nature. Due to the iterative nature of the many of the leading products in mobile – think the iPhone, OS platforms, mobile apps – new releases with updated features and functionality are inherently innovating and disrupting how consumers and developers approach these products. In turn, these products are impacting every industry that VCs have their hand in, forcing the mobile issue so to speak.

Innovation is the thread of every conversation in mobile

To provide an anecdote, I luckily have the opportunity to consult and pitch to a cross-section of industries on mobile technology on a regular basis – ranging from egaming to automotive and everything in between. A regular line of questions asked is what have you done that is innovative in mobile? How can we innovate what we do in mobile? What are my competitors doing that is innovative? What are the latest features and functionality in the latest iPhone 5 or Android OS release that we can use to innovate our existing mobile product? The people who are working in the mobile and emerging technologies space are bread into this mode of thinking of how we can approach mobile products differently on a continuous basis. It is this approach to products that mirror Barry Maloney’s sentiment of wanting to see ‘disruptive’ ideas that he can invest in.

What I see as the next frontier in mobile attracting VCs

Having just left Miguel Milano (President EMEA at Salesforce) talk at WSJ Tech Café this morning I am reminded of how ‘enterprise-grade solutions’ permeates the mobile industry I work in. It is apparent to me that everyone is striving to achieve that enterprise-grade level status that attracts the VCs in droves. So whilst enterprise is not really the next frontier in mobile – it is already here – it is an area where opportunities are abound for start-ups in the mobile industry. Coming up with an enterprise-grade idea/product in mobile that has a solid revenue model, short sales cycle, and applicability to a number of industries is something that every VC would listen to. Easier said than done.

I’ve been to my first Wall Street Journal Tech Café this week and decided rather than post the typical noise and contribute to the echo chamber on Twitter by attendees at the event, I’d write a blog post on a particular topic from the first two talks that resonated with me. I’m working in the mobile and emerging technologies industry and working with an agile mobile agency has given me insight and a first-hand experience of the competitiveness of the agency scene – and the mobile sector in particular. However, I’ve never fully put thought into how mobile start-ups originate and gain a foothold in the market.

Admittedly, my knowledge on what a venture capitalist (VC) is looking for in a start-up is limited. Due to this I did find myself hanging on every word that Jonathan Goodwin (first talk), Adam Valkin, Saul Klein, and Barry Maloney (the later three in the second talk) spoke on, in what came across as almost the Confessions of a VC. The second talk opened with an open question – what excited them as VCs and the next big thing? A wry smile crossed my face as they mentioned that the mobile industry is something that excited them. With this said, the thought that kept crossing my mind was – how is this applicable to my industry; the mobile sector? Marrying the VC’s insights with my experience in the mobile industry here is what I see as one of the biggest considerations for an entrepreneur/start-up in the mobile industry:

Choosing your VC: ‘a bigger decision than choosing your wife’

From what I gleaned, one of the biggest things that occurs when a VC comes on board for a start-up is how that VC will impact your strategy. The message drilled home by all VCs is that any start-up, no matter what industry, should strive to get the right people and right capital on board. The cut-throat nature of VC-ing (if that is a term?) is that VCs will typically look at your start-up as one of ten they will be investing in as part of a ‘bigger picture’ investment fund. Therefore, you want to seek out the VCs that will add the most value to you and really buy into your idea. The more research and better matched your VC is the more likely that person/institute will benefit you when they provide capital, advice and guidance. Consider what relevancy the VC has towards experience and business acumen, reputation, industry contacts, opportunities to leverage existing relationships they have, and chemistry you have with them.

How can you target these VCs? Attend events such as the WSJ Tech Café, research the VC you need to be in front of on LinkedIn, attend other relevant network events and social activity, speak up at these networking events make your voice heard, get advice from the VCs, ask the companies the VCs have invested on their experiences, attend hackathons such as those run by seedcamp, and – in general, do some solid business development.

What does this all mean for a start-up in the mobile industry?

The mobile industry is ultra-competitive and gaining breakthrough in this scene is difficult. The mobile and emerging technologies space is inherently a technical environment that requires someone with an idea and/or technical acumen that has the breakthrough and disruptive (to borrow Barry Maloney’s phrase) potential. If you really have an idea that has the potential to make an impact, then target the right VCs that you see will add most value and maybe not push you down the quickest monetisation/revenue generating strategy that may not provide longevity.

A question was asked at the second VC talk that I thought was particularly applicable to a start-up considering approaching VCs: ‘what if I don’t have the tech person required to get my great idea off the ground?’ The simple answer given was that ‘you’re falling at the first hurdle’. It is blatantly apparent that you need that tech person to attract the VCs and get your idea into a working prototype or beta mode where it can be tried, tested, and is agile enough to iteratively be improved on (just look at the app.net story).

The mobile industry is full of successful examples where the business head comes together with the tech person that ultimately proves a much more attractive proposition to the VC (I write this as Tim Cook gives his presentation at the Apple WWDC 2012 event and can’t help but think of how Wozniak and Jobs (along with Wayne) mirrored this set up). With this solid foundation and partnership existing – coupled with idea worth shouting about – only then VCs will be interested in talking to you.

The shift in strategy for Delicious from a purely bookmarking site to a social bookmarking site and the new UI to accompany this quickly led me to search and find Pinboard.in. What makes Pinboard.in attractive in its usability and user interface (UI), is its stripped down layout and service:

Pinboard’s strategy

“Pinboard is a bookmarking website for introverted people in a hurry.

The focus of the site is less on socializing, and more on speed and utility. Pinboard tries to offer useful features without getting in your way.

My highest priority is keeping your data safe over the long term.”

My Pinboard: A snapshot

1,472 Sites Bookmarked

Since moving my bookmarks from Delicious to Pinboard.in and continuing to bookmark everyday, I’ve now realised that I have bookmarked 1,472 articles — yes, 1,472 unique articles that I’ve read, skim-read and thought worthy of future use for research.

My top tag in assigned to articles I’ve read is ‘mobile’ –  no surprise there since I work in the mobile industry.

Using Pinboard.in and Google Search for research

So how is that Pinboard.in is competing with a powerful search engine in my day-to-day research in work? Working in the mobile and emerging technologies sector means that I am aware of every new technology, shifts in technological limitations, and strategy from the major technology OEMs I work on/with. The dynamic nature of this industry dictates to me that I must stay ahead of the technological curve to stay relevant in the industry and with my clients.

Due to the fact that every article within Pinboard.in has been selectively inserted by another account/user means that the content I am searching is of a high quality content I find. Articles related to any of the below I find are written by individual blogs that carry more value and unique insights that the major sites may not present. This is the reason why Pinboard.in has become a valued research and news aggregator tool for me — knowing that the content is selectively input by other users and often has a much more unique flavour in insights presented. I know find that I am combining Pinboard.in and Google Search:

• In my research for work;
• Keeping abreast of the latest technology news;
• More generally, looking at random content on the web related to user experience design and best practices, opinions on technology OEMs strategy, usability analysis for websites and mobile apps and sites, mobile development technical limitations and any content related to my industry;
• Being a data junkie, consuming and archiving all content on the web.

It also reflects my capabilities in understanding the different platforms for development in mobile and how I strive to create engaging and compelling user experiences on these platforms. Click here to read my updated professional experience. Here is a snapshot of the page:

• Uses a billboard HD projection to engage by racing BMW vehicles with your tablet
• Great interaction with users, tablets and outdoor display ad
• Posts your time to Facebook

Article name: Gadgets: New connected devices put smartphones in the middle
Article link: Click here
Future Technologies Insights

• Some of the coolest gadgets from CES
• Here’s my favourite: Click here to watch video (Orbotix Sphero)

Article name: Google launching TED-style Think Tank with ‘Solve for X’
Article link: Click here
Future Technologies Insights

• Solve for X website here
• Described as a forum to encourage and create new technological solutions for existing problems through crowd sourcing
• YouTube promo video: click here

Article name: NASCAR & Turner Sports extend digital partnership through 2016
Article link: Click here
Sports Industry Insights

• Under new partnership NASCAR will assume operational control in 2013 of all its interactive, digital and social media rights

Article name: Coke Superbowl campaign blends tv, tablets and smartphones
Article link: Click here
Superbowl Insights

• Engages people to go to cokesuperbowl.com on their tablets or smartphones
• Coke is trying to take advantage of second screen media consumption
• On the site — iconic Coke polar bears will be reacting in real-time to the action, thanks to live animation technology

Article name: New videos at developer.apple.com
Article link: Click here
iOS / Apple Development Insights

• New videos uploaded — you need iOS developer login credentials
• Videos are to do with iOS5

Article name: Kinect for Windows Now Available
Article link: Click here
Kinect Insights

• Kinect available on Windows Hardware
• One cool feature: Near Mode — enables the depth camera to see objects very close (40cm) in front of the device

Video: A swarm of nano quadrotors
Article link: Click here for video
Future Technologies Insights

• US Federal Aviation Administration’s new directive to figure out how to integrate the US drone fleet into national airspace
• Small drones coordinate flight path off each other for a choreographed pattern
• Not exactly applicable to personal media, but still part of future technologies

Article name: Unofficial Apple iConcepts
Article link: Click here
Apple / Design Insights

• Designer Antonio de Rosa fancies himself as an Apple designer
• He’s generated several slick credible concept designs
• Here are some: iCam, iWatch2, iPhone SJ

Website:  http://acko.net/
HTLML5 Insights

• Unique use of HTML5 on a desktop website
• Engaging navigation, layout and design

Article name: Facebook hires first CMO
Article link: Click here
Facebook Insights

• Facebook has hired Rebecca Van Dyck (SVP & CMO at Levi Strauss) as its first CMO

Article name: Report: Apple ‘iTV’ prototypes at TV makers’ lab

Article link: Click here
Apple Insights

• Reports that it will be integrated with Siri, hand gestures and on-screen keyboards
• Reports it may be made by a Canadian TV maker
• Could be integrated with mobile devices as a gaming system