Archive for category Web 2.0

I joined Brizzly and loved their sign up process

If you haven’t heard of Brizzly it is a very slick web based Twitter client.  They do some really cool stuff with Groups and Twitter trends, but what really surprised me was their sign up process.

One of the hardest parts in my opinion when doing a web app or plugin is getting your users not only through the install process, but using the application.  A great install/sign up process can be the difference later on when a user either falls in love with your service or goes lapse because of the features you educated them on initially.  All it takes is one great feature to get somebody hooked and have them forget about short comings.

Upon registering for my account with Brizzly I was presented with a very slick introduction video and given the option to skip it if I so choose.

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I loved it for a few reasons.

1.  It played immediately

Encouraging users to click something is hard, just have it auto play so I’m forced to consume it.

2.  It presented features right away

Within seconds I was informed about their cool groups feature that would allow me to put Twitter accounts into a group for example Musicians.

3.  I could skip it if I so chose

Some people want to explore your service right away without being forced to watch.  The skip button is large and visible to the human eye.

I’m really excited about Brizzly, the registration process was slick and I love the service in the first 10 minutes of using it.

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Facebook’s Events tool is disappointing

Just this week I was instant messaged about an event on Facebook that I had not replied to.  I had totally forgotten about the event and was not given a reminder of it.  Facebook why do you do such a great job about creating a rich social stream around my friends and colleagues but drop the ball when it comes to Events.

Currently in Facebook I have two quick links to events.

1.  Requests

In the upper right hand corner of the screen next to the 50 million invites to Mafia Wars and Updates from Fan Pages.

events

2.  Bottom Toolbar

I am given a shortcut to chat, photos, events, birthdays etc on the bottom of the facebook page

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What bothers me is why doesn’t Facebook leverage my News Feed to keep me updated on Events.  Wether I have RSVP’d or if they are Private I want to be aware that the event is either coming up or to remind me that I have not RSVPD.  Flow the invite into my NewsFeed with a message such as you have not RSVPD for the event and it’s in two days and give me YES, NO and MAYBE buttons.

Another issue I have with Facebook Events.  I spend the great majority of my time when browsing the web on my phone and the Facebook Mobile Application does not support displaying Highlights which occasionally will display an event if a few of your friends are also going to the event.  So I either need to actively search out Events in the Facebook Application or I have no way of being reminded I have an event coming up.  I hate EVITE, when I get an invitation from them I cringe so Facebook please add Event reminders to my News Feed.

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Is Major League Baseball purposely crippling their website?

I love Major League Baseball.  I love checking how my favorite teams are doing from my mobile phone…except on MLB.com.  Their mobile site is terrible.

It lacks information about the status of each game beyond the score and inning and does not even advertise their iPhone application.  My only hunch for this is because they want to be compatible with every single mobile browser available by offering the bare minimum or assuming you are an iPhone user you will download their Free Application or the $9.99 app with audio streaming.

Enter ESPN.  ESPN has truly embraced mobile browsing especially of their site.  They have a great mobile homepage, full podcast support and I’m able to see how every Major League Baseball team is doing with their full featured scoreboard.

I’m able to tap whichever game I want to see more detail of, it periodically refreshes with updates and loads extremely quickly.  ESPN may have upset some people with their sitewide remodel, but I think we can all agree that their mobile commitment has been outstanding.

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Apture launches their Media Hub 2.0 product

Apture today announced the launched of their 2.0 product.  Congrats to them, but for those who haven’t heard of Apture its a pretty neat technology.  I like to think of it as the one product that single handly makes reading on the web not only more fun, but also makes things a lot easier to digest.

Take for example if you were writing about Pete Carroll’s Twitter Page.  Apture makes a link not just a link, but instead when the user rolls over or clicks the link a windows pops out into your browser showing you an interactive twitter page.

Pete Carroll Twitter using Apture

In addition you’ll notice that you can put related content in the gutter below the pop up.  Some featured content can be from Wikipedia or YouTube.

Imagine wanting to put a YouTube video into your article, but not wanting it to be instantly playable because it takes up screen space and interrupts the reader from digesting your content.  Well here is a video on Pete Carroll that I am even able to customize its start and stop time and allow it to be playable without having to embed it.  Genius.

Congrats to Apture on the 2.0 launch, it compartmentalizes the reading of stories allowing them to not only be easier to read but a heck of lot more content can be consumed.

Great work Apture.

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