tech

Blog Post: A Big Spoonful Of #Mobile Nostalgia

Surely I’m not the only one who scoffs at movies trotting out the same old intellectual property. Instead of giving examples and drawing the ire of fans, let’s just say we all know what I’m talking about. After all, I watched every one of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies and will be doing the same for the new Man of Steel offering this summer.

In the old days, movie studios would just release a movie and hope people vote with their dollars on what they like. Now, that’s not enough. With every blockbuster, there is merchandising to be printed, video games to code, even tie-in comic books.

The same IPs get translated to new forms of media with the hope of similar popularity.

Today’s article by Venture Beat thinks that approach could save the video game industry. If you are a fan of Mega Man, it just so happens the 25th anniversary of it’s initial launch. Instead of putting the kind of capital into revamping the game for new console systems, why not release to iOS and Android?

Development costs would be down, possible profit could be higher and customers would get a big spoonful of nostalgia.

There are ups and downs on this road. You could pick the one game people don’t remember as fondly as they thoughts. The price for the IP could be so high that app store prices would have to be higher than people are willing to pay. The upside is you could have the hidden gem people were waiting to port to their phone or tablet, and downloads would rack up faster than you thought possible.

I’m not hugely invested in the health of the video game industry, but there are a lot of jobs at stake. Big companies are laying off staff left and right, so mobile could be their saving grace.

Chances are if the price is right, I would replay all the old Mega Man titles on my phone. I’ve already done that with others from my childhood. I’m just not sure how long that can last. 

Blog Post: A Big Spoonful Of #Mobile Nostalgia

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Blog Post: Technology Is Driving The Ever-Evolving Social Contract – SXSW Interactive

For many of you, hearing about South By Southwest happened in the last 10 years. It’s understandable, regional festivals (other than say Woodstock or Lollapalooza) were just reasons to get college students together to smoke weed and rock out. For me, to be honest, we kind of snickered at the event yearly. Of course, I […]

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Blog Post: This Is How We Innovate?

So let me get this straight: when you and your biggest competitor are working on updates to the same product, the idea is to wait until they release and then try to beat it? Not only did Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai decide this would be the approach for his company’s pending release of the PS4, he announced it for all to hear!

Granted, I work on product development of smaller pieces in the grand scheme of the technology industry. After the longevity the Play Station has demonstrated in the gaming industry, it’s hard to look at what you are doing in terms of a minimum viable product (I dare you to find a product manager who doesn’t know what MVP stands for). I still find it hard to believe that this is in any way a smart decision in terms of product development.

I can only imagine that blogs and tech journalists are going to lambaste Hirai for publicly admitting this, as will some rationalize the statement. Regardless, this is a statement made from a position of weakness instead of power.

So many people aren’t willing to stick their necks out there when it comes to big decision making. Smaller, safer decisions don’t get you fired by themselves. As a result, we go with the safer call. It happens if you are building a product, a company, even a professional sports team. 

Don’t let yourself make decisions from a place of weakness. Do your homework, inform your decisions, then put it out there.

Blog Post: This Is How We Innovate?

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Blog Post: The Year of the Wearable Platform

One of the greatest parts of my job is to read report after report from analysts on current and future trends. There are some whose opinions I holder higher than others (Thomas Husson at Forrester being one of the best), and for the most part you have to take a lot of research with a grain of salt. Trends are in the eye of the beholder, just like in the stock market.

One of the trends I have been reading over the past few months is that now is the time to launch your own platform. Of course, it’s impossible to do that without a killer app. This GigaOm article provides a very important twist on the need for a platform: a wearable, data-gathering, Bluetooth-linked platform.

Remember the days when our mobile phones kept getting smaller and thinner? Apple still thinks it’s an important feature. I am starting to think our mobile phone needs to just be small enough to fit in our pockets so that it can be connected to my wearable devices.

The days where we are scared about the data our devices gather are basically over. The more I can learn what is happening with my body, the weather, the food I eat, and countless other data points, the better. Add in messaging, GPS, social media, and call alerts, and the platform is complete.

Applications may not be enough to compete in the mobile sphere alone anymore. With app stores still in their infancy, that is a scary idea to float out there. I will be keeping track of the wearable device market with great interest this year. This may be the year of the wearable platform.

Blog Post: The Year of the Wearable Platform

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Blog Post: Software Driven Clothing – I couldn’t help but share this fascinating vignette into the fashion industry and how the software and innovation surrounding 3-D Printing is making a huge impact. It’s hard to imagine, but my kids could grow up in a world where you can walk into a store and print out your own custom clothing.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)
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