Winning the Microblogging Wars
Having spent the last months deeply immersed in all things microblogging... I am astounded by how far ahead of the competition competition competition Posterous yet, how far behind at the same time. Let me explain.
Go and spend some time using Tumblr, Blogger, Pinterest, et al and it's blatantly obvious that Posterous functionally rock solid. The fit and finish of the admin dashboard is unmatched. However, Posterous is missing three vital features... and without them, will never go viral like Tumblr did previously and Pinterest is doing now.
1. Custom Post Types: Even though the post editor (don't even get me started on Tumblr's woefully bad browser bookmarklet editor) is clunky and temperamental in Chrome, the conceptual model of categorizing content by type and thus, having distinct post types is non-negotiable. It is so fundamental to microblogging as to be beyond debate. If Posterous is going to remain a microblogging service... it must add post types to both its web editor and browser bookmarklet editor. (Note that it's critical to solve the issue/limitation that Tumblr has with creating photo albums from photos generating through image links (versus manual upload from desktop))
You should also note that if/when Blogger, with their new Dynamic Templates (which totally absolutely kick ass rock!), adds custom post types... everyone else is going to be neck deep is mud. The race is actually really between Blogger (don't laugh folks) and Posterous... although it looks to the world as if Tumblr and Pinterest are winning. they're not. Tumblr is structurally flawed while Pinterest is just a toy until it gives users the ability to use custom domains for their various boards. Blogger has G+ which could give it the advantage to become the category killer. Take a look at the dynamic template over on one of the blogs there: http://newswire.digitalsochi.com
2. Grid Templates/Themes: The legacy single file vertical scroll/loop from the days of long-form blogging is not well suited for microblogging, where people want to graze large amounts of content visually and quickly. The themes from StyleHatch are the best-in-class over at Tumblr and the infinite scrolling is a key feature. For perhaps the best example of a grid layout done right, look at a full board over on Pinterest. The visual appeal of Pinterest's grid layout is one fo its competitive advantages. Fortunately, this advantage is fleeting and not defensible. I would add that Pinterest should add the option of various widths for individual posts... so that people can post items with more text. Also, check out the various layouts Blogger offers in their dynamic templates. While the customization options for each are non-existant at the moment, this is sure to change and when it does, Blogger will gain market share. Note that this grid layout must be built on HTML5 standards.
Lastly, the grid layout (with its sub-pages/grids (boars in Pinterest)) is critical for the emotional and attractive task of curation (i.e. the fundamental principle of microblogging).
3. Dead Simple Reblog: Just as the original long-form blogging genre required an RSS feed by definition... so to does microblogging require a reblog function. If there is a single reason why Tumblr is where it is today, it's because people can reblog other users' posts. The like feature in Posterous is a weak substitute. Without a reblog (call it "repost" in Posterous to play up the POSTerous aspect of the name) functionality, Posterous will continue to limp along with a personality disorder.... "am I a blog like Wordpress or a microblogging platform like Tumblr?" Don't f*ck around with this function. Add it ASAP. Want proof? Look no further than Pinterest, which is now eating all the micro-kids' lunches. Pinterest has 20% of the functionality of Posterous but 100x the virality. This feature is so obvious that I can only believe that its absence is based on the founder having some kind of "religious" objection... a la Steve Jobs and the mouse's single/double button debate. Get over it... Posterous needs a repost button.
I want my Posterous spaces to serve as my home bases for various weblogs I maintain. I will give the Posterous space the primary domain for each, use Posterous to create/share content, and then share it through Posterous to all the other channels (FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Blogger, etc.). Most importantly... I will monetize my Posterous pages with ads/sponsors and drive traffic back. However, without the above-listed features/functionality.... Posterous just remains a confused microblogging service with a gorgeous userinterface but with a underpowered toolset.
Winning the Microblogging Wars
Having spent the last months deeply immersed in all things microblogging... I am astounded by how far ahead of the competition Posterous is yet, how far behind it is, at the same time. Let me explain.
Go and spend some time using Tumblr, Blogger, Pinterest, et al and it's blatantly obvious that Posterous is functionally rock solid. The fit and finish of the admin dashboard is unmatched. However, Posterous is also missing three vital features... and without them, will never go viral like Tumblr did over the past couple of years and as Pinterest is right now.
1. Custom Post Types: Even though Tumblr post editor (don't even get me started on Tumblr's woefully bad browser bookmarklet editor), itself, is clunky and temperamental in Chrome, the conceptual model of categorizing content by type and thus, having distinct post types is non-negotiable and the single most important reason why Tumblr is now winning. Custom post types are so fundamental to microblogging as to be beyond debate. If Posterous is going to remain a microblogging service... it must add custom media types to both its web editor and its browser bookmarklet editor. (Note: it will be critical for Poterous to solve the issue/limitation that Tumblr has with the inability of users to create photo albums from photos generating through image links (versus manual upload from desktop))
It should be noted that if/when Blogger, with its new Dynamic Templates (which totally absolutely rock!), adds custom post types... everyone else is going to be neck deep in mud. The race is actually really between Blogger (don't laugh folks) and Posterous... although it looks to the world as if Tumblr and Pinterest are winning... they're not. Tumblr is structurally flawed (ask its independant premium theme developers), while Pinterest is just a "toy" until it gives users the ability to use custom domains for their various boards. Blogger has G+ which could give it the advantage to become the category killer. Take a look at the dynamic templates over on one of the blogs there: http://newswire.digitalsochi.com
2. Grid Templates/Themes: The legacy single-file vertical scroll/loop from the days of long-form blogging is not well suited for microblogging, where people want to graze large amounts of content visually and quickly. The grid themes from StyleHatch are the best-in-class over at Tumblr and infinite scrolling is one of their key features. For perhaps the best example of a grid layout done right, look at the boards over on Pinterest. The visual appeal of Pinterest's grid layout is one of its competitive advantages. Fortunately, this advantage is fleeting and not defensible. I would add that Pinterest should add the option of enabling various widths for individual posts... so that people can post items with more text (the small one become too long vertical when text is added beyond a sentence). Also, check out the various grid layouts Blogger offers in their dynamic templates. While the customization options for each grid layout in Blogger are non-existant at the moment, this is sure to change as the Blogger team iterates further. Note that any futrue Posterous grid layout must be built on HTML5 standards.
Lastly, the grid layout (with its sub-pages/grids (boards in Pinterest)) is critical for the task of curation (i.e. the fundamental principle of microblogging), which users seem to love so much.
3. Dead Simple Reblog: Just as the original long-form blog needed, by definition, an RSS feed to be classified as a weblog... so too does a microblog need to possess the reblog function. If there is a single reason why Tumblr is where it is today, it's because people can reblog other users' posts. The "Like" feature in Posterous is a weak substitute. Without a reblog (call it "repost" in Posterous to play up the POSTerous aspect of the name) functionality, Posterous will continue to limp along with a personality disorder.... "am I a blog like Wordpress or a microblog like Tumblr?" Don't screw around with this function. Add it ASAP. Want proof? Look no further than Pinterest, which is now eating all the micro-kids' lunches. Pinterest has 20% of the functionality of Posterous but 100x the viral activity This reblog feature is so obvious that I can only believe that its absence is based on the founder having some kind of "religious" objection... a la Steve Jobs and the mouse's single/double button debate. Get over it... Posterous needs a repost button.
I want my Posterous space to serve as my ultimate home base on the web. I will link my Posterous space to a primary domain; then use Posterous to create/share content; and then share it through Posterous to all the other channels (FB, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Blogger, etc.). Most importantly... I will monetize my Posterous pages with ads/sponsors and drive traffic back. However, without the above-listed features/functionality.... Posterous just remains a confused microblogging service with a gorgeous userinterface but with a underpowered toolset.
RT @DChernyshenko Here we go- "Fisht" #Sochi2014 Olympic Stadium
The Canadian Olympic Team... Rebranded
[text from http://brand.olympic.ca/]
The Canadian Olympic Team began competing in the modern Olympic Games in the early 1900's. Over a century of stories, themes, and iconography, influenced this comprehensive rebrand which included brand strategy, brand architecture, marks, typography, colour, graphics, photography style, writing style, brand guidelines and launch video.
The brand strategy was repositioned to focus on the team rather than the committee, and our goal was to deliver a classic sports brand with fresh appeal. In everything we did, we attempted to balance classic versus current aesthetics and themes. In communications, we looked to balance imagery and stories of today's Olympic heroes with legends from decades past.From creative brief to research, sketches to final art, writing to production, strategy to guidelines, our small design team delivered on every aspect — Ben Hulse, Greg Durrell, Adam Bognar, and Andrew Simpson. The rebrand video was developed in collaboration with videographer/editor Benjamin Taft, audio production and post-production by Toby Hulse, additional b-roll and editing by Cory Ransom, and was produced and directed by Ben Hulse.
The new brand was unveiled on June 6th, 2011. Over the coming months the new strategy and aesthetic will begin to appear on web, in print, and on merch.
****
It's not too early for TEAM USA and TEAM Rossiya to begin thinking about their Olympic brand and to follow the great example of Canada.
As Little Design as Possible: The Work of Dieter Rams | Brain Pickings
10 JUNE, 2011As Little Design as Possible: The Work of Dieter Rams
by Maria PopovaWhat vintage radio appliances have to do with Apple and our civilization’s responsibility.
Dieter Rams is commonly considered the greatest industrial designer of all time, a living legend whose principles of good design prevail as a timeless manifesto for the cultural, aesthetic and social function of the discipline. As Little Design As Possible: The Work of Dieter Rams is a fantastic new book by British design historian Sophie Lovell, titled after his tenth principle, “Good design is as little design as possible,” and exploring with unprecedented intimacy both his designs and his ethos, the creative process and the cultural legacy of his elegant, timeless work.
Indifference towards people and the reality in which they live is actually the one and only cardinal sin in design.” ~ Dieter Rams
From the foreword by Apple design mastermind Jonathan Ive (whom Rams recently acknowledged for having accomplished something he himself never did), to the detailed sketches, prototypes and technical drawings of products, to the marketing for those products, to Rams’ legacy and impact on contemporary designers like Naoto Fukasawa, Jonathan Ive, Sam Hecht and Konstantin Grcic, the book spans an incredible range of thought behind the umbrella-concept we call “design” and invites a deeper contemplation of what it means to design better and live better, both as individuals and as a civilization that holds Earth’s future in its hands.
And lest we forget, a refresher on Dieter Rams’ “ten commandments” of good design:
Good design is innovative
Good design makes a product useful
Good design is aesthetic
Good design helps us to understand a product
Good design is unobtrusive
Good design is honest
Good design is durable
Good design is consequent to the last detail
Good design is concerned with the environment
Good design is as little design as possible
Design with the kind of thought and beauty necessary to honor its subject, As Little Design As Possible is as much a treat for Dieter Rams fans and design geeks as it is an illuminating piece of cultural history for “ordinary” people whose everyday lives his designs have touched in more ways than we realize.
I just stumbled upon this fantastic blog, Brain Pickings, written by Maria Popova. Can't wait to go back and read through the archives. Great stuff!!
