POST DIGITAL

on: google+ games

After a two week launch frenzy, ( google+ platform blog for developers blog, adding google posts to search results on google) , Google wants people to spend even more time using G+ by giving it richer content – starting by adding a separate Games stream.

 

The initial set of games includes, the addictive, Angry Birds by, Rovio, PopCap's Bejeweled, and Zynga's Poker – and it’s attracting big developers like EA with a sweet new revenue model. Google only takes 5% of game revenues, as opposed to Facebook which takes 30%.  

But you have to ask yourself, with such a tiny slice of the social market, compared to Facebook's huge slice of the pie, what brought those big name game developers to the fledgling network? Could it be that G+ has a different audience than facebook's young social gamers? 

Have you played yet? I found it easy and fun.

If you’re a developer interested in building games for Google+, you can learn more on the new Google+ developer blog.

on: spotify

If you have not seen me in the social media high school halls its because I have a new drug. Me and my peeps are sharing music on Spotify.  This is a service I had drooled over when I saw two of my brit friends with it about a year ago.  If you are a music lover, it's kinda like when the beatles just arrived. Yes - Spotify has come to the US!

 

Right now it's in an invite-only beta phase. They are offering three great services - from absolutely free to paid subscriptions. Here is how it breaks down:

• Spotify Free – the unsurpassed free music service. With an invite, enjoy on-demand, buffer-free access to over 15 million songs on your computer and great social features. Manage your own music files through Spotify, and sync with your cellphone or iPod. Features occasional advertising.
• Spotify Unlimited – all the special features of our free service, but with uninterrupted, ad-free access to Spotify on your computer. All for only $4.99 a month.
• Spotify Premium - the top-of-the-range Spotify experience. Premium gives you access to all the music, all the time. Listen online or offline, on your computer, your cellphone and a whole heap of other devices. Enjoy enhanced sound quality and access to exclusive content, competitions and special offers. Premium costs just $9.99 a month. (That’s the equivalent of a couple of fancy coffees.)

Right now my favorite part of this is being able to subscribe to my friends lists.  I have almost abandoned my iTunes Library.

The part that makes this super interesting is that they are launching in partnership with some of the biggest brands.  Coca-Cola and Sprite, Chevrolet, Motorola, Reebok, Sonos and The Daily are the few I know about. These brands will be launching innovative campaigns in partnership with Spotify in the coming weeks and months. Imagine the possibilites!

If your looking for an invite I have a few left.  Send me your email via this blog!

on: google+'s growing audience

20 Million and growing and it's only been a month.  This is a meteoric rise for Google+ [G+] when you compare it to their past social endevours or Facebook and Twitter’s early growth as illustrated by the graph below [via Leon Håland]:

It’s only fair to consider and note that Facebook and Twitter were startups when they launched – conversely, Google is a global company with an enormous user base. [ we already use google for search and email ]

Now that G+ has its iPhone app now live, the option to bring in address books from other services seems like an easy way for G+ to expand past the early adopters.  That feature combined with the ‘celebrity acquisition plan’ designed to entice global influencers in music and movies will continue to lead to more users.

As it's audience grows businesses, marketers in particular, want to know how use Google+. G+ has continued to push out updates about their plans for businesses within the service. They have ended up back-tracking on their offer to let brands test the service, but to be fair to them, they’ve been completely transparent, with regular updates about what’s going on.

In spite of a few hiccups, this is monumental growth from a service only a month old.

I think real sign of success is when you are able to inspire champions to publish independent videos touting the quality of the service.  That is something we should all applaud. [thanks tom anderson for sharing this on g+]

For those new to G+, there are a number of hacks to get started.  People are creating videos by the hudreds on how to use the platform.  My favorite recent use is the Hangout feature.  I think this feature could be used in some fun ways by brands.  What's your fav. part of G+?

Champion Videos:

• http://youtu.be/S5qppb4A7kg
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoR0lirqRWE

on: american express and social commerce

In one of the boldest steps towards digital wallets, American Express' new social commerce products asks it's cardmembers to allow Amex to pull their data from Facebook, in exchange for offers and discounts. When a cardmember likes something on Facebook it will feedinto a secure cardmember profile that will spit out relvant offers that can be redeemed by using your american express card.  This is a great idea and superb use of the social graph.  Could this be the brand that gives facebook places life?

For many marketers, the big question is will cardmembers surrender their data for offers? Amex and their social platforms will be a brand to watch as they have alwaysed used data to enrich a cardmember's expereince through their closed network of merchants.

on: google's social search

Google has unleashed its Social Search globally, with the feature now working in 19 languages. So what does that mean to you??? If a friend has written a blog post on a particular topic – or already shared an article – then it will appear higher up in your search results. They also plan to launch the +1 feature soon.

on: pepsi's social vending system

Pepsi new vending machines encourage consumers to give the gift of Pepsi. PepsiCo's Social Vending System is a state-of-the-art networked unit that features full touch screen interactive vending technology, enabling consumers to better connect with PepsiCo brands right at the point of purchase. A prototype of the Social Vending System will debut at the National Automatic Merchandising Association's One Show in Chicago, April 27-29.

on: google's +1

Do you think +1 is better than like?

on: knicksnow.com

Not to long ago theKMco launched KnicksNow.com.  The launch is the first real social effort by an NBA team.  From original content, including video, photos and post-game interviews, to social apps like Facebook connect and Twitter the site serves as a social hub for Knicks fans. (yes, after the San Antonio Spurs, I support the Knicks!)  

I had the pleasure in participating on one of OMMA's creative round tables on the site.

Is there anything you would add to knicksnow.com?
Peña-Bickley: Video content. The more video content the better. Those of us who are writers and designers love to believe that our content is being read, but you're going to find that more people watch. The Web has changed in such a way that it's starting to become a little bit more of a lean-back activity rather than a lean-in activity, and the ability not just to have a topic covered by video but to allow people to respond via video is something that could be really interesting.

Real-time activities will be incorporated into the site. Are basketball fans like you interested in connecting with each other on a site like KnicksNow while watching a game?

Peña-Bickley: I think it's fantastic because most people watch sports today with some kind of device either on their lap or in their hands. If I'm going to a game, or I happen to be engaging in anything basketball, the first thing I do is I check in via Foursquare and see who is around me.

Read the entire review at: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=146092

 

What do you think of Knicks Now? 

on: agora

Agora is a service built on the Foursquare API, designed to match you up with likeminded folk when you check in at a location. It is a brilliantly simple idea.

Here is the user scenario: Let’s say you arrive at a bar where twenty others are checked in. Agora will work its magic in the background, using the Twitter API to analyse who you share similar interests with. The service will then send out a tweet telling you and the others similar to you that you should meet, giving them scores based on their similarity to you.

If you’re somewhere like New York or London, with a highly active Foursquare community, Agora could be a useful networking tool. Foursquare co-founder, Dennis Crowley recently  described the app as a “Hot use” for the API, and  suggested improving the app by filtering out people who you check in with on a regular basis.

Agora was built in five hours by New York-based at the first Foursquare Hackathon. Its creator, New York-based Pierre Valade is planning to build the service into a social calendar solution that simplifies scheduling in the same way that Dropbox made filesharing refreshingly easy. Valade was one of the entrepreneurs pitching UnionSquare Ventures VC Albert Wenger in elevators at SXSW last weekend. Here’s his brief, literal ‘elevator pitch’.

 

Agora at Courtyard by Marriott Austin Downtown (Convention Center) by albertwenger. Uploaded with SoundCloud iPhone

Agora is quick and easy to try. Just connect it up to your Foursquare account from its website and you’re good to go.

 

[via TNW]

on: twitter's fifth b-day

Five years ago today Jack Dorsey sent the first ever tweet. Little did he know that five years later users from across the globe, and some in outer space, would churn out a billion tweets just seven days.

To mark the fifth anniversary Twitter has made their incredible figures public:

• One year ago, an average of 50,000,000 tweets were sent a day. At present, that figure rests somewhere around 140,000,000
• 572,000 new accounts were created on the 12th of March 2011
• On March 11th 2011, 177 million tweets were sent in one day

Can you remember what your first tweet was?