So this looks awesome… a fireworks display filmed among the fireworks:
Of course… it may not be the smartest move.
The U.N.’s play on Internet control
The UN may be poised to take over Internet regulation.
Much of the success of the Internet can be attributed to it’s open nature. No single government controls it. Since it’s inception, the Internet has been self regulated, with some of the earliest engineers still involved in setting standards.
At it’s purest, it can cross geographic and idealogical boundaries. That can cause a problem if you run a nation that tries to set some pretty strict idealogical boundaries (or even tax boundaries).
A number of UN nations would love to see that change.
From the Wall Street Journal:
For more than a year, these countries have lobbied an agency called the International Telecommunications Union to take over the rules and workings of the Internet. Created in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, the ITU last drafted a treaty on communications in 1988, before the commercial Internet, when telecommunications meant voice telephone calls via national telephone monopolies.
Having the Internet rewired by bureaucrats would be like handing a Stradivarius to a gorilla.
via: Crovitz: The U.N.’s Internet Sneak Attack – WSJ.
Supreme Court rules on software patent eligibility.
You can’t patent an abstract idea… but can you patent the processing of that idea through a computer?
In a 9-0 ruling today, the Supreme Court says “not entirely” (here in PDF form)
In the case “Alice Corporation vs CLS Bank”, Alice Corporation maintains a series of patents on processes used to mitigate the risk of a settlement in a transaction. Essentially (if I’m reading this right) a process for making sure both parties in a transaction meet their obligation.
The court determined that the concepts behind the process were not patent eligible (affirming lower court rulings along the same lines), and that simply processing them through a computer did not add to that eligibility.
From the court decision:
We hold that the claims at issue are drawn to the abstract idea of intermediated settlement, and that merely requiring generic computer implementation fails to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.
What this means:
This seems to open the floodgate to challenges on hundreds of thousands of software patents, according to some.
More via:
Facebook launches Slingshot
UPDATE: Wow… this is a frustratingly addicting app. It isn’t that I have to reply with an image… I have to provide an image, to view the “locked” image that was sent to me.
That just opens up an endless loop of image sharing!
The app also allows me to “Reply” to an image in an unlocked format. I’ve had a little fun with the form-function on that feature…
(ORIGINAL POST)
Facebook is set to roll out a new “disposable message” app “Slingshot” today.
Similar to other apps like Snapchat, and the recently shuttered Facebook Poke, Slingshot allows the user to share a photo or video moment with a friend, or a group.
The next step, however, is where the app differentiates itself a little. In order to reply, you also have to include an image or short video. If you want to participate, you have to do more than just comment.
With Slingshot, we saw an opportunity to create something new and different: a space where you can share everyday moments with lots of people at once.
Comcast testing data caps
Comcast is apparently testing a 300 GB bandwidth cap (with add on packages at $10 per 50 GB beyond that). It’s a pricing model very similar to mobile data plans.
It is being tested in some areas of the country.
From a Comcast spokesman:
What we found was that having a static limit was not what our customers wanted. We looked for a more flexible plan so we looked at raising the data plan to 300 gigabytes a month.
via: timesleader.com
If you’re curious as to how much data you actually use, Comcast has an online tool that can show you:
http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/internet/data-usage-trials-usage-history
I’m rocking about 160 GB per month.
Netflix vs Verizon
In response to a cease and desist from Verizon, David Hyman (general counsel at Netflix) offered a letter in response.
Along with a description of Netflix “ongoing transparency efforts”, Hyman offers this picture:
To try to shift blame to us for performance issues arising from interconnection congestion is like blaming drivers on a bridge for traffic jams when you’re the one who decided to leave three lanes closed during rush hour.
Via: Netflix vs Verizon Internet streaming speed squable | BGR.
Why you shouldn’t let your kids use Netflix
One of the last video stores in this town sums up the value of an old fashioned video rental place.
State of the Internet – Death of the Swiss Army App
Another takeaway from the 2014 “Internet Trends” report – http://www.kpcb.com/internet-trends
Apps are going away from multi-function… to single purpose
Early apps (especially brand apps) took a web concept, and applied it to our apps. (Think of the Facebook app). These are multi-purpose apps that do a number of different “brand tasks”.
Increasingly, apps are becoming “single purpose”. We are looking for simple apps that do one thing… not a “Swiss Army Knife” approach.
We are seeing massive acquisitions or development of these stand-alone apps (Facebook messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp)
Implications:
As we talk app-development in the future let’s continue to think through the best approach. Are we better off creating the “swiss-army” app with a number of different functions? Or is that best left to the mobile web? Should we be thinking more of developing our apps around specific tasks our users want do accomplish?
State of the Internet – Social
Here’s another takeaway from this year’s “Internet Trends” report (http://www.kpcb.com/internet-trends)
Social Networking is moving from “Broadcast” to “Private Share”
As individuals, we are migrating from sharing with our entire ecosystem of contacts (The Facebook status update?), and more with a smaller group of friends (Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp).
Or rather:… Increasingly, our social interactions happen with smaller groups.
Implications:
- While this may not be the time to start a Snapchat account for your brand… we need to realize the changing expectation in user experience.
- The user will increasingly be expecting targeted, personal messaging on all of our channels.
- How can targeted messages help us cultivate our most valuable relationships?
State of the Internet – Mobile
Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends report from KPCB has become an annual event for the connected world.
You can check it out all 164 slides of goodness here.
Like so many others (much smarter than I) I started putting together a post with my key observations and takeaways, but it started to get pretty long. So, I did thought what any good blogger would think… “Hey… a series!”
So, over the next week or two, I’m planning to trickle out some fairly digestible takeaways, observations and implications.
Today… it’s all mobile.
Mobile continues to grow… a lot.
I think we’ve been here before… but the numbers continue to astound.
Tablet usage is up 52% in the last year, and mobile now makes up 25% of Internet traffic (up from 14% last year).
What this means…
This means we need continue to assess our experiences in the mobile space. I need to keep an eye on my entire engagement platform
Some key communication mechanisms like email and social could even be considered “Mobile First” (They should look good on mobile, even if it’s at the expense of Desktop).
With every digital initiative, we should be asking “how will this experience be on a phone or tablet?”
