Snapchat, the little app that came out of nowhere – well, Stanford University, but launched with no media fanfare by a couple of students whose service now supports 50 million snaps a day – has been joined by a similar "ephemeral messaging" app by Facebook: Poke. But now that perishable photo-sharing (the photos disappear in 10 seconds or less) is a trend, let's look at what's really interesting, … [Read more...] about Perishable pix: First Snapchat, now Poke
mobile technology
One mom’s cellphone contract for her son
When I first read Janell Hoffman's 18-point contract for her 13-year-old son Greg's cellphone use, I was a little put off. So it really helped to watch Good Morning America's video story about it. Why? Because GMA gave it a light touch, and reporter Akiko Fujita pointed out afterwards that "a lot of this was done in jest." That helped because this was very public parenting, and – if this national … [Read more...] about One mom’s cellphone contract for her son
Snapchat: Gamified Instagram, ephemeral Pinterest?
Don't get me wrong. By blending the most popular elements of mobile technology in a new way, Snapchat is in a separate category – in fact, a category leader like Instagram or Pinterest. But it's also a little in the Instagram category – photos + text, only with a time element to it (more about Instagram here). And it's kind of a perishable Pinterest, where photos are scrapbooked or placed into … [Read more...] about Snapchat: Gamified Instagram, ephemeral Pinterest?
Texting apps taking over the world, it seems
You know that texting doesn't just happen on phones, right? Kids can (and do) download a free texting app to any wi-fi-enabled device – iPod Touches, iPads, Android tablets, etc. – and text with their friends for hours without racking up any Verizon, AT&T or other mobile carriers' charges. For the same reason that they're popular in countries where SMS, or text messaging, costs a lot, they're … [Read more...] about Texting apps taking over the world, it seems
1 billion smartphones
As of the beginning of this month, there are now a billion smartphones being used on the planet, up from 708 million a year ago, MobileBusinessBriefing.com reports, citing data from Strategy Analytics. That's 1 in 7 people on Earth, the market research firm says, and "16 years after the first smartphone [the Nokia Communicator] was launched in 1996." The iPhone arrived in the market in 2007. The … [Read more...] about 1 billion smartphones