A number of key themes are emerging in the reaction to the launch.

1. Privacy – this feature, and its perceived privacy issues add to the continued discussion and concern around Facebook and its handling of privacy
2. Local – local is big, its a growing source of discussion, technologies and investment. Facebook with its massive audience, is the 500lb gorilla in the room in many digital arenas, local is no different. Its entry is going to help bring Gowalla & Foursquare type functionality and usefulness to a much broader audience. How other players sit alongside Facebook will be interesting to watch.* Importantly for marketers this will bring this exciting space to maturity faster.

*Gowalla & Foursquare where present at Facebook HQ for the announcement and are partnering with Facebook in the Places product.

Features Include:

1. Check into a location
2. Tag a friend at a location
3. See people who are at the same location (people are displayed for a limited time period)
4. Read comments from friends who have been to a location before

As both RIM and Microsoft prepare (and hope) to dazzle consumers with their platforms new features and interfaces, we observe examples of two completely different strategies.  Although both companies ideally wish to deliver a superior product and increase their market share in the smartphone space, their current position is the key to their differing approaches. RIM’s early lead in the space puts them in the unique position of having to watch their back.  It’s all about what the other guys are doing.  On the flipside, Microsoft’s fourth place position in the smartphone sales race (after RIM, Android, and Apple) forces the platform to differentiate itself from the pack.  In either case, it’s imitation versus innovation.

RIM may be the current frontrunner in the smartphone market, but its Goliath status in the space has slowly diminished as competing OS platforms have snatched up chunks of Blackberry’s once-held market share.  In fact, recent numbers published by the NPD Group show Android (33%) beating out RIM (28%) in Q2 smartphone sales.  A Nielsen report published earlier this week contradicted NPD’s figures (reporting that RIM accounted for 33% versus Android’s 27%); either way, the numbers are getting too close for comfort at RIM.  However, their established presence limits their mobility as a platform.  RIM must walk a thin line – don’t let the other players completely outdo you in regards to innovation, while staying true to the form and utility that originally attracted your established user base.

For a while, RIM stuck to their guns and remained true to form, while Android and Apple’s platforms made strides in the mobile OS space.  This stagnation on RIM’s part did cost them dearly; before they knew it, the other cool kids were stepping all over their turf.  RIM evenly lost some of its executive-exclusive appeal.  Five to ten years ago, having a Blackberry was a status symbol – it meant you were somebody.  As the smartphone space evolved (smartphone plans became more consumer friendly, unlimited plans came into play, and the price point of handsets dropped), smartphones weren’t exclusive to c-level execs anymore.  Now, any teenager that can convince mom and dad that BBM saves them money on texting has one.  This shift has been a double-edged sword for RIM.  So what now?  Does Blackberry target the smartphone mass market or try to zero-in on the niche that got them their business-focused reputation.

From the looks of the upcoming Blackberry OS 6 platform, RIM has decided to appeal to the mass market by playing the “me too” game.  Universal search, “enhanced” media interface (think coverflow), richer web browser, and multitouch would all be innovative if the cool kids haven’t already been doing all of that for a year or two now.  They also incorporate social feeds into the package – yeah, there’s an app for that (like 500 of them)!

On the other hand, we have Microsoft, who is also geared to release a new mobile OS this year – Windows Phone 7.  Sure, it’s not the sexiest name on the market, but it may very well be the sexiest interface and user experience combination to hit the space in years.  This platform has already made quite the splash, and I feel that as an industry, we’ve only touched the surface.  Up until this point, it has been a game of “we can do that too/we can do that better” among the major platforms.  Microsoft is, in essence, rewriting the smartphone experience through their upcoming OS.

Windows Phone 7 is changing the way we navigate through our smartphone devices with the introduction of Hubs.  On Windows Phone 7, our entire user experience revolves around what we use our smartphones for most.  Windows has identified these factors and created hubs around each one, these are: people, pictures, music + video, games, marketplace, and office.  By regrouping in this manner, Microsoft has managed to recreate the smartphone experience in a minimalist fashion.  All of a sudden, we do not need to speak geek to understand our way around smartphone devices.  Microsoft simplifies the experience and interface, without compromising utility.  Let’s not forget that Microsoft is a major player in the smartphone space with huge offerings across plenty of other channels.  Beyond simplifying and recreating the smartphone experience, Microsoft is stepping it up with brand synergy – essentially bringing many of its services (Bing, X-Box Live, Zune, etc.) into one cohesive package.  This synergy goes further when you consider the wireless syncing capabilities of Windows Phone 7.  It syncs wirelessly to Zune software and the upcoming Windows Phone Live website.

One of the perks of fourth place is that you can go beyond imitation because innovation has been force upon you.  Not necessarily a bad thing, as Microsoft proves.  Fourth place gives you the freedom to veer off the path, and try the new and exciting things that might be too risky for first or second.  Windows Phone 7 is already receiving support from a wide array handset manufacturers eager to develop devices for the platform, including: Asus, Dell, HTC, Samsung, and LG.

Imitation versus innovation is the name of the development game.  We’ll have to wait and see which pans out in the long run.

This Try Before You Buy section houses current free versions of paid applications, no new apps here.

So why the section?

You can argue, that this is a semantic challenge to some developers frustration with the lack of trial ability when deploying applications to the iPhone OS. It remains to be seen if in a later version of the iPhone OS SDK, that trial ability will be included.  And that this Semantic step, was a small, first step towards that.

Where are the app trials? (ZDNET Article discussion)

Below is walk-through of getting to this section, through the app store on an iPod Touch.

One of the most interesting aspects of Shopkick’s value proposition is the mechanism through which a users location is validated. This mechanism also allows for greater granularity for location detection once inside the store.

The steps are:

1. A physical device installed in the doorway of the store emits inaudible noise.
2. The noise is receive by the consumers iPhone running the shopkick application.
3. The consumer is then checked-in and can receive points, discounts etc. from that store
4. These offers can also be targeted to specific areas within the store (via additional radio devices)

The model implies a number of things:

1. The current systems of using GPS and manual check in, are, in certain cases, not effective enough
2. Brick and mortar retailers are willing to make the investment in the hardware and logistics of installation of the radio devices to negate point 1

Stores that are partnering with Shopkick include BestBuy and Macy’s.

For more visit:

Shop Kick site

Techcrunch Article (with demo video)

Some key features of the Torch:

• Blackerry 6 OS
• First RIM device with Webkit Based Browser
• Touchscreen with QWERTY keyboard

Check out this video for more on the Blackberry 6 OS:

• Nielsen predicts that smartphones will overtake feature phones in the U.S. by the end of 2011.
• In the Q2, 2010 – 27% of new smartphone sales where for the Android OS, followed by 23% of iPhone OS based devices – ANDROID HAS SURPASSED IPHONE IN SALES
• iPhone users like their devices the most
• Android like their devices a lot
• Relative to iPhone & Android, Blackberry users have mixed feelings

[Source: Nielsen Wire]

Social Platforms

Meebo’s Enhanced Social Play
“Meebo — which facilitates the integration of multiple services like Facebook and AOL Instant Messenger in one interface — has launched XAuth (Extended Authentication), which automatically recognizes active social platforms and lets users connect with ease on participating publishers’ sites.”

The idea is to increase engagement while diminishing user confusion.

Facebook Makes Major Announcements at F8
The “Become a Fan” button has become a “Like” button. Based on Facebook’s research, they found that users are two times more likely to press a “Like” button than a “Become a Fan” button, increasing engagement with brands.

Facebook also announced the development of the Open Graph API that will allow the “Like” button to be implemented almost anywhere on the web, increasing the reach of Facebook. The Open Graph API also allows people and brands to pull fans from Facebook to other web properties.

Facebook F8: One graph to rule them all

How Big is Twitter
Twitter announced this week for the first time, the actual size of its registered members. According to Twitter they have over 105 million worldwide registered users with 180 million unique visitors every month.

Twitter Stays Strong as Growth Slows
Traffic on Twitter has begun to plateau according to Comscore, Nielsen, and Compete. However, engagement on the platform continues to grow.

Mobile Technologies

Use of cell phone for pictures and video popular across age groups
Here is a great visualization of the rise of the use of mobile technologies across the “Teen” demographic for multimedia (photos and videos).

Foursquare vs. Gowalla: Who’s Winning the Geolocation War? [INFOGRAPHIC]
A great infographic of the battle between Foursquare and Gowalla, both geolocation platforms for mobile technologies. Users “check in” to locations they visit to score points and update their friends.

Decreased Media Usage Hurts Ad Market
Ad spending was down in 2009 as was the amount of time users spent with media (12 hours/day down from 14 hours/day). Every media witnessed a decrease in activities except one; mobile, which was up 39%.

Talk time on mobile was up 12%, while average daily mobile Web use rose 36% to 11 minutes. Texting was also up, by 55%, to take up 27 minutes a day in 2009.

As mentioned in my previous post I believe the future of marketing is being driven by the connection of the physical and the digital world.

One of the services driving this, and getting a lot of attention during this year’s SXSW (after launching during SXSW last year) is Foursquare.

Foursquare is a location based social network that includes a gaming element.

Offering native mobile applications, SMS (text to 50500) or a mobile browser experience, Foursquare works by letting you “check in” as to where you are and sharing with your friends. You can also publish your location updates to your Twitter status and on Facebook.

The game element allows users to earn points and badges as they check-in. The more users check-in the more Foursquare features they can unlock.

The success of the service is beginning to drive some critical mass in adoption.

• Number of users: 500k+
• Over 1.2 million check ins per week
• Growth Rate: 60 – 70% monthly
• Global Distribution: 60% US
• Demographics: 21 – 35 (mobile / social)
• Mobile platform distribution:
  • 67% iPhone
  • 13% Android
  • 11%. Blackberry
  • 7% Mobile Web
  • 1.5% Palm
  • 1% SMS

What does this mean for marketers and others looking to take advantage of this trend?  Currently there are two primary opportunities to leverage Foursquare:

API use: (see: http://foursquare.com/developers/)
The Foursquare API enables developers to build applications that interact with the Foursquare platform. You can use the API to create new ways to check-in to foursquare or visualize the data generated by the Foursquare community. The API is still a work in progress and they allow for feedback and suggestions.

Custom Badges:
Provide the ability to deliver custom, branded applications for users to earn.

Examples include:

• Foursquare and Starbucks Team Up to Offer Customer Rewards
  
• Twitter and Foursquare Become the New Loyalty Program at Tasti D-Lite

After talking about Twitter, Facebook, and all of the other buzz worthy services, we are often asked by our clients, “so what’s next?” While there are a lot of possible candidates as to the next big thing, the real answer is in talking about the larger trend.

For the first 15 years of the Internet we have mostly lived in a world divided between being online and offline. Those of us working in advertising know this all to well as we work to create “integrated” campaigns. Inevitably this is limited to delivering a consistent message and using similar visual elements across traditional and digital channels.

We are now seeing this invisible barrier starting to erode and make way for people to connect across channels in relevant and valuable ways. For clients asking what they should be focused on moving forward, the answer may be in how they lean into this trend and help connect to their customers between the physical and digital experiences.

Some areas to watch:

The Emergence of Mobile Computing:
With out a doubt the biggest factor in driving this evolution is in the fact that people can now connect to the larger digital world from their mobile device. No longer limited to being just a phone, we are seeing how people stay connected to each other and to information from anywhere and not just while in front of a computer.

Location Aware Social Networks:
While Foursquare is likely the most well known, there are a variety of location based social networks (see: BrightKite and Loopt) that allow users to share their location with friends in the digital space by “checking in” to physical locations. Assume that Facebook and others will either develop or purchase their way into this space soon.

Image Scanning:
Be it QR codes, bar codes, or images of everyday objects, we are starting to see a wide variety of services that allow users to scan a physical item with their mobile device’s camera and drive to a digital experience.

Augmented Reality:
Allowing the ability to begin to treat the physical world in ways that had previously only been reserved for digital. Two popular examples: subway map and baseball cards.

Interactive Displays:
While not exactly a new concept, there continues to be a lot of great examples (see: Microsoft’s Surface, IconNicholson’s Social Retailing, and Schematic’s Touchwall) Almost all of them are looking to meet the expectation set in the Minority Report.

Physical Platform Gaming:
From Nintendo’s Wii to Guitar Hero, we are seeing a shift in gaming from a solitary activity on the couch to a much more physical and engaging experience open to a broader audience. Microsoft is planning to push this to the next level with the launch of Xbox Natal.

Google’s mobile platform, Android, is starting to gain some real momentum. This comes on the heels of the launch of the Google phone, the Nexus One, and the fact that all of the major US carriers have or plan to have supported devices.

We see this impacting the numbers related to access of the internet through mobile devices; whereas, Android represents 27% of the Q4’09 AdMob traffic, up from 4% in Q1’09. Compare that to the fact that the iPhone share has stayed pretty much flat over the same period at just above 50%.

Given this we suspect that the development community will start to pay attention and that this will represent the first real platform to give the iPhone some true competition when it comes to mobile applications.

For those who want to get a start on designing and developing for the Android there are some great resources.

First, Google provides a set of best practices for User Interface development at the Android Developer website.

Second, Smashing Magazine has provided an Android GUI PSD.