1. (via Tender Nuggets: Phone-Shaped Hole)A funny look at a day in this writer’s life, all told through the perspective of their smartphone. An entertaining read that’s probably relatable to an increasing number of people with smartphones as limbs. h/t @vaguity  

    (via Tender Nuggets: Phone-Shaped Hole)

    A funny look at a day in this writer’s life, all told through the perspective of their smartphone. An entertaining read that’s probably relatable to an increasing number of people with smartphones as limbs.

    h/t @vaguity  

    2. 4 months ago  Notes (0)
  2. These applications are the opposite of groomed; they practically require imperfection, a sloppiness and a grittiness that conveys a sense of realness, something I’ve been craving in my communication.

    Digital Diary: Facebook Poke and the Tedium of Success Theater - NYTimes.com

    We’ve mastered success theater, according to NYT’s Jenna Wortham, and more people may be attracted to Snapchat or Facebook Poke because they are designed for the opposite. It’s tech, it’s social media— but it’s not choreographed or polished. 

    This is a nice, quick read that touches the reality of performing online and the reality, so it seems, that we want something more real, something unfiltered.

    3. 4 months ago  Notes (0)
  3. We’ve surrendered a massive amount of mental and emotional energy without making the explicit choice to do so—it’s simply imposed on us by subscribing to the channel and checking it.

    I quit Twitter for a month and it completely changed my thinking about mostly everything.

    Adam Brault has a very honest honest assessment of how he feels compelled to check social media and what the effects are on his mental capacity. Dunbar’s number and other scientific reasoning gets some play here, but what’s perhaps most persuading is just the logic and sincerity of what he writes (also read: how he feels). 

    Great thoughts here about empathy and social media here and the idea that little things can affect you. There’s only so much mental space. Interesting to read and consider if you relate in any way.

    4. 5 months ago  Notes (2)

  4. Inside Breaking News: Mobile is about solving problems

    breakingblog:

    In the journalism world, countless mobile efforts are platform extensions.  There’s an urgency to get our branded content in front of consumers, wherever they are.  Such extensions are a competitive reality, but they’re often just a new design for a new form factor.  A growing number of mobile-first efforts, like The Daily, aim to rise above repurposed content with a fresh approach.  But many lack a real problem to solve.

    Breaking News GM Cory Bergman offers simple and smart perspective here: if you’re looking for a mobile strategy, start with how people already use mobile phones.

    This was the same idea behind my recent 10,000 Words blog post on cell phone usage data from Pew, and it’s the same mindset behind using Clay Christensen’s “job-hire” lens while looking at real-life contexts in which we look at our phone. But Bergman offers something better here: motivations for those real-life contexts.

    I’ve outlined situations in which we pull mobile devices out of pockets and even offered a Knight News Challenge idea based on “open moments” alone, but I like how Bergman is thinking here. What do the good apps do? They solve problems.

    Corki, which Bergman mentioned, is just one problem-solving app. It helps with all-things wine. IMDB is another— it helps me find out if I was right about random movie trivia with friends. Shazam identifies the artist of that catchy tune on the radio. Apps like one of the DC Metro system help me figure out where I’m going on a train. There’s obvious utility in these apps, and as a result, there’s a reason to access them.

    Is utility in news apps the filling of “open moments” based on real-life context like the solution I’d love to see and write about often? Or is there a better utility out there— maybe a way for news applications to jump on the success of problem-solving apps like Corki and Shazam? What are other real-life unsolved problems exist that using your phone can help with, and how can merge that with the news organizations are producing every day?

    Pretty fun to think about…

    5. 5 months ago  Notes (6)
  5. (via Your Cell Phone and You | Pew Internet & American Life Project) There are a lot of people who check their phone in absence of any notification (buzzing or ringing) that would prompt them to do so. It looks especially bad among young folk. FOMO, much? While 67 percent of all U.S. cell owners “find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating,” it’s a whopping 81 percent in the 18 - 24 bracket. And if you look at this chart, the distributions are a pretty even slope downward as people get older. As such, I can’t (and don’t want to) imagine the percentage of cell phone owners younger than 18 who reach for their for phones for connection without any reason to do so.Read the rest of the report about “the best and worst” of mobile connectivity among U.S. cell phone owners. 

    (via Your Cell Phone and You | Pew Internet & American Life Project)

    There are a lot of people who check their phone in absence of any notification (buzzing or ringing) that would prompt them to do so. It looks especially bad among young folk. FOMO, much?

    While 67 percent of all U.S. cell owners “find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating,” it’s a whopping 81 percent in the 18 - 24 bracket. And if you look at this chart, the distributions are a pretty even slope downward as people get older. As such, I can’t (and don’t want to) imagine the percentage of cell phone owners younger than 18 who reach for their for phones for connection without any reason to do so.

    Read the rest of the report about “the best and worst” of mobile connectivity among U.S. cell phone owners. 

    6. 5 months ago  Notes (2)