Last week Facebook announced a new home screen replacement called ‘Home’ that makes Facebook your main launching point. The new application only works for Android devices.

The main application itself was not as intriguing as the ideology behind it, interacting using your mobile device based on an individual and not an action (call, text).

Below are a couple of images from the Facebook presentation where they are explaining the idea of focusing on individuals instead of applications.

I interact with my wife a dozen times a day through text, calls or some sort of social media. What if instead of opening the phone app, or the messages app, I just click a picture of an individual and then select how I want to interact with them. You could accomplish the same actions in as few (or less) as many clicks.

Ultimately the ‘Home’ app does not go to this level because it is solely focused on interaction with one program, Facebook.

Apple would have to implement this flow on their end to have it work seamlessly on an iDevice. Not positive if a 3rd party could get that interaction to work and even if it was possible you would have to launch the app to get to the functionality and that is a bit besides the point.

Obviously it could be done on an Android but who uses those?

(photo credit: facebook)

The first innovation is a soccer ball that generates energy when you kick it call SOCCKET. With almost 2 days left in their kickstarter campaign, SOCCKET has already raised the money to fund the first round of soccer balls / lamps.

SOCCKET is powered by a patient pending pendulum-like mechanism inside the ball. Playing soccer for 30 minutes powers the LED lamp for 3 hours. The ball is airless and therefore deflation proof. SOCCKET is currently being used in rural areas of Mexico that lack energy infrastructure and economically challenged areas of the United States. The kickstarter funds will be used to scale up production, which is done in the United States, and expand the footprint of SOCCKET around the world.

The next campaign is One World Futbol Project, which is a TOMS Shoes for soccer balls. It donates a soccer ball to children in 3rd world countries for every ball that is purchased. One World Futbol built a soccer ball that is almost indestructible. The balls are made out of a rubber-like material that maintains its shape, is not sown together and does not need to be inflated.

Sting (you know, the musician) helped fund the prototype with inventor Tim Jahnigen after Tim saw a documentary about children in Africa where he saw a ball out of trash and twine. Jahnigen has delivered more than 200,000 futbol balls over the last 2 years. Chevy has stepped up and pledged to donate 1.5 million balls over the next 3 years.

I bought/donated a ball through the FUNDaFIELD campaign. FUNDaFIELD is a non-profit that works in post-conflict regions to provide soccer equipment, balls and host tournaments.

(photo credit - oneworldfutbol.com, unchartedplay.com)

The Good

As usually the speakers and sessions were interesting and motivating. The highlight for me by far was seeing Tesla and Space X CEO, Elon Musk speak in person. Running an electric car company, a privatized space program and chairman of a solar company is insane. Few times in my lifetime will I get to see someone that is pushing mankind forward.

Another great session was by Richard Clarke, the Managing Editor at Arsenal Media Group (the Premier League football club). I am a huge soccer fan and it was great to see behind the scenes of how club news finds its way to fans through the club site and social media. It was fascinating to see how the club has to deal with social media and the magnitude of rumors, especially during the transfer window, and often being the last to report.

The Bad

Every year there are a few sessions that I get locked out of because the room is too small for the number of individuals that want to view it. This year was a disaster in that aspect. One of the new mini-themes this year was sessions that focused on story-telling in the current online marketing environment. The presentations looked interesting and I’m sure they were. I have no idea because the lines were always to long to get in. The only way to see those presentations was to skip the session before it so you could wait in line.

As the conference grows and the number of sessions with it, SXSW needs more places to host them. The sprawling area that SXSW now demands means you are often going to skip sessions you want to see because you will never make it across downtown to see the next, especially with the lines (see point above). It reminds me of college at Ohio State where you had to schedule classes based on their location so you could make it to them.

Overall I think SXSW is growing faster than they are able to keep a meaningful experience.

Room and Transportation

We bought our badges and rooms about a week and a half after they went on sale. Last year that was a room downtown easy. This year that is a motel about 5 miles out in a not-so-nice part of town. Perhaps I could have done more research on the motel selected but we were trying to get as close to downtown as possible to reduce travel time each day. Oops.

Speaking of transportation, we signed up for the R&R shuttles that run from downtown to the surrounding hotels. For $60 it is a great deal as taxi’s did not want to leave the city center and were over an hour any time you called them. Unfortunately this year R&R drivers were all over the place, it took 45 minutes to get 5 miles down the road and there seem to be a lack of common sense with the fastest way to drop off and pick up.

Lesson learned. Order badges on the first day and get a hotel downtown.

At the end of the day… 

While the room and transportation did hamper my mood, that was ultimately my fault. Not being able to get into half of the sessions I was hoping to see really killed this year for me. I also thought that there was a lack of interesting sessions in total. There were time slots where there was nothing I really wanted to see. This was the first year that has happened.

At this point I think I will skip SXSW next year and just follow the couple of sessions that are online and read the blogs about the more interesting presentations.

Any recommendations on a replacement?

John’s research and conclusions are pretty solid. A bunch of data from sources like Compete, BuildWith and iCrossing. The one point that didn’t really resonate was the iCrossing graphic.

Visiting a website directly? That is what we did before we had RSS to consolidate it all in one, easy to manage location. I do agree with John that users are starting to follow individuals or entities. I have started to use twitter to follow individual that I enjoy reading. Facebook is still a bit of a cluster for content sorting and I use it more for personal use where twitter is (more) professionally targeted.

John also post data showing the decline in traffic from RSS feeds and the reduced CTR. I completely agree with this and it is a challenge. You want to pull people from RSS readers to your site which you can do with the “continue reading” link, but I hate only getting a snippet of the article. If the article is good there is a solid chance I am clicking over to your site, but I may be unique in that regard.

John ultimately ends with the question “Are we moving away from being loyal to sites and instead becoming loyal to individuals and brands, even outside of their websites?” I have to say yes, people are moving toward personal brands. I am yet to find a good solution to replace RSS. The closest I can find is Twitter, but unlike RSS, the content does not get drowned out in 1,000 new tweets in a day. The RSS entries are there till I mark it as read (micro-managing?).

The comments to the original post were mixed. Some have moved on and others are still avid RSS users. I do believe RSS will die off as the current “younger” generation are not using RSS like we did in college and in our early professional lives. It is time to find the next content, or even social, aggregator that can pull specific individuals and brands regardless where they post. Perhaps a RSS for authors (or brands), that collects where they post public content, whether it be on twitter, facebook, google+ or multiple blog and online magazines. Flipboard and other social magazines are on that path but you still can’t consolidate all the content avenues for individuals. The space is young and I look forward to watching how it plays out.

Best of all, the magazine is fantastic. The early word was that the design and esthetics were amazing, and they are. The biggest fear I had was how dated the content would be. The writing, much like the design, was great. But how interesting could be a quarterly magazine be when we get soccer news and stories within minutes or hours of an event? Apparently very interesting. The stories were timely and written in a timeless manner…what? The first magazine had a profile on Stuart Holden, a historic timeline of Manchester United and a look behind the quick 3-day life of the MLS All-Star team plus a ton more. I couldn’t put it down.

I enjoyed it so much I ran to the Howler site and threw down $50 for a year subscription. And with reviews like the one below how can you not?

really hope this is not Apples answer to a larger screen on the new iphone – goo.gl/fUbrn -looks like a lazy solution #iphone5

— tyler ransburgh (@ransburgh) June 1, 2012

When Apple officially announced the new iPhone I was a little let down. I was really hoping for a noticeably different design. Regardless, I was up for an upgrade and I was getting one.

Black or White?

The first decision was what color to get and it had to be decided before I saw it in person (pre-order). I traditionally alternate between the two colors and my iPhone 4 was black. What I didn’t expect was that Apple was going to use black anodized aluminum on the device. I loved the blacked-out iPhone and broke my cycle of colors.

Weight and Feel

Putting a case on an iPhone is lame. Apple spends millions of dollars on R&D to get the size and materials just right. Every time I buy a case it lasts for about 2 hours till I can’t handle it anymore.

The weight is a bit crazy. When you pick up an object you have certain assumptions on the mass based on size and materials. The new iPhone defies those assumptions. It is oddly light and even those that prefer Android devices have been surprised by the weight and how it feels in their hand.

Doesn’t it Scratch?

So far, no scratches (remember, no case). I was lucky and did not have any of the factory blemishes. I throw it in my pocket, it sits on my desk, night stand at home, and even my toddlers have got a hold of it. Still scratch-free. I had a fear when I first got it but it has held up better than expected. And you know that a scratch on the black will be more visible than the silver aluminum on the white version.

The Screen

Getting to the furthest corners of the screen can be a stretch but can be done with the same hand holding the device. I have no clue how those with screens larger than 4″ or that have a larger width can reach the opposite corner of the screen. I now understand why Apple kept the device at 4″ and built it in the dimensions that it did.

New Apps

The light redesign of most of the native apps are hit and miss. I don’t like the new design of the App Store where you have to swipe right to left to view a list of apps, specifically on the “Featured” and “Charts” pages. I would prefer the lists be vertical.

I have not had any issues when using the Maps App as others have. I am only a light user and don’t need it to get around a tight urban setting or use public transportation.

In the End…

I was expecting disappointment even after I ordered the device but was surprised by how the whole package was put together. As usual, Apple took the entire experience into consideration and nailed it from top to bottom with the physical design. There were some slips in app usability but those are much easier to correct after launch.

(image credit: apple.com)

Another cool part of the site is where they ask for potential teams names and logos. Here are a couple of the submissions. Love the cow with sneakers.

In the end I think it would be great to have an NBA team in Columbus. I would go to a game or two each year. Central Ohio already has two professional sports teams (NHL and MLS) but both still live under the shadow of Ohio State Football.

(image credits: nbatocolumbus.com)