A huge amount for a start up only 551 days old and with seemingly no plans for making money. I don’t understand how an app that simply provides photo filters could possibly be worth so much.
Draw Something is Spreading Like Wildfire
A few weeks ago it was reported that the multi-platform app Draw Something had hit 30 million users in just five weeks. It’s proof of a pretty interconnected world that will let ideas and crazes take off instantly if they’re right for the moment.
Also goes to show how important and powerful (and maybe even useful) Facebook is. It probably helped spread growth through channels of friends, it’s certainly made user/profile creation easier, and it’s helped OMGPOP manage users and apparently, statistics.
Paper by FiftyThree
There are a couple things that interested me about this new iPad App, Paper, by FiftyThree (I think). I say I think because of how closely (and perhaps strangely so) connected the company behind the app is.
Firstly of course was the video below. Quite a massive introduction to what appears to be some kind of writing/drawing app. It lays it on real thick that this app is can be so essential and integrated into your life. Maybe a bit too thick…
The second point I thought of when watching the video was how non-tactile, cold, and feeling-less using an iPad as a notebook seems.
It’s just doesn’t look right. I hope we never get to the day where people think that icons, symbols, simulations (like the flipping open notebook cover ),etc. are as good as the real thing.
Paper by FiftyThree
Attention to Detail
Really interesting article on perception and how people look at things.
“You only get so many shots at a problem before you lose that eye for detail, so you want to bring as much energy as possible to each attempt.”
Color App: One Year Later
I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I was first shocked by the $41m investment and I bet Color‘s creators can’t either. I’m not surprised it hasn’t taken off (30,000 daily users), it’s purpose is strange and uninspiring. Should a “What is the purpose of this app/service?” page really be this long?
I though Color’s original purpose, being able upload to public photo galleries with other people based on geographic proximity, before it pivoted was more interesting.
A Couple Changes to Gmail
For the most part I really enjoy using Gmail. I like its simple visual style, the overall user experience, and its speed and reliability. There are a few things that I would like to change though. Today I decided to mockup a solution to these little problems. I haven’t fully visualized all my ideas, nor is there a working prototype (yet). Continue reading for a rundown of the problems and solutions, or just skip to the mockups.
First, the annoyances:
I’ve always felt reading in Gmail to be a bit of a chore, especially long multi-paragraph emails. On wide screens the line length was ridiculous, the typeface just wasn’t reader friendly, and the text was cluttered with various buttons and meta information. An email app which doesn’t provide a perfect reading experience is pretty unforgivable.
I also think the direction of email threads is backwards. The oldest emails being at the bottom requires the entire conversation to be condensed (or hidden) to avoid a lot of scrolling to the most recent email. But that means the user has to click each previous message to read it.
One last thing that has always troubled me was being able to see what I was responding to while typing. I constantly find myself scrolling up and down and losing my place in my writing.
And now, some potential fixes:
My solution for readability is pretty simple. A larger [serif] typeface makes reading easier. Hiding buttons and meta information (except for the date) until the email is hovered over helps bring the content forward.
I’ve reversed the order of the thread, most recent is now at the top. The 5 newest messages are fully expanded and beyond that the messages could collapsed (but they don’t have to be, because users don’t have any reason to scroll down except to read). To make the thread feel more personable and like a conversation, I increased the prominence of the sender’s name and wrapped each email in [clichéd] speech bubbles.
And finally, just as Facebook has done with private messages, the reply box is fixed (to the top) so the conversation can still be scrolled through.
Visualized:
The conversation view
(click to expand)
The reply box active
(click to expand)
Svbtle vs Obtvse (and thoughts on copying)
A nice summary of events by Daniel Howells. Frank Chimero chimes in with some really interesting thoughts on copying.
Svbtle: The Essence of Blogging
A new blogging “platform” from Dustin Curtis’. It’s approach to publishing, and the writing portal itself, is actually quite clever. Posts simply start as ideas, they don’t have to be fully baked. You can start with basic ideas and develop them into something at any time.
I wouldn’t mind a service that strips superfluous features from existing blogging systems, turning them into something more conducive to just writing. As much as I like working with WordPress, the actual process of writing with it is pretty bad (distracting).
The idea has gained a lot of attention at Hacker News and there are a few hacks already, based on Dustin’s idea.
Free Stuff
I’ve always been opposed to collecting points of any kind through customer reward programs. It’s just a hassle keeping track of so many different memberships and cards. And on average you get about one point every $15,000 you spend. Not worth the time and effort. A recent event is changing my stance on this though.