Google Glass App Store

Google will launch the Google Glass App Store at the same time as Google Glass is launched, that is, sometime in 2014. However, it is not clear whether the new addition will be a separate, stand alone business, or if it will tie in to Google Play.

The most logical would be if both businesses are connected, given that the apps from several different developers will be launched for the glasses. Among other things, developer Sean McCracken recently showed posted a video of their upcoming games Psyclops to Google Glass, in which the player must destroy objects in the old "Space Invaders"-spirit.

What are you most excited about concerning Google Glass? How will you use them? Comment below!

Serving the Hive-mind

Always had a feeling that individualism really doesn't matter? Have you always strived for the greater good of the colony? Want to live life mindlessly serving the almighty hive? Want to be an drone?

The new game Swarm!, currently under development for Google Glass, may soon fulfill all your dreams! Created by Daniel Estrada of the University of Illinois and Jonathan Lawhead of Columbia University, the game will connect Google Glass wearers to a virtual ant colony vying for prizes by solving real-world problems that vex traditional crowdsourcing efforts.

Similar to the pheromone trails laid down by ants, players leave virtual trails on a map as they move about. These behave like real ant trails, fading away with time unless reinforced by other people travelling the same route. Players will also be encouraged to seek out virtual resources to benefit their colony, such as food, and must avoid crossing the trails of other colony members. They can also monopolize a resource pool by taking photos of its real-world location. The photos and location data recorded by Google Glass could then be used to generate a map that anyone could use.

At a larger scale game data collected from Swarm!, and similar crowdsourcing applications, could help city planners optimize a transport system by having fine-grained data about where and when people tend to travel. For example, if the developers wanted to create a map of the locations of every power outlet in an airport, they could reward players with virtual food for every photo of a socket they took.

The team is currently seeking donations for Swarm! to get the project moving. Please check out their video below:

Conversation Prism

This is for all you Brian Solis-fans out there. Those who may not have heard of Brian, he coined the words “PR 2.0” and was regarded in the early years of web 2.0 evolution as “a founding father of PR 2.0 concept".

A few years back Solis created what today is know as the Conversation Prism, which is a display of channels, platforms and websites that fall under Social Media. Thankfully it is also the subject to regular updates, the latest one now in 2013. The prism describes all forms of social media with the most important websites and channels covered. It clearly shows how diverse and large the world of online conversation is. Enjoy!

Facebook vs Samsung

You don’t stay in business since the late 1930s by being reckless and backing a losing prospect. This is certainly the case with Samsung who has been around for decades and has no designs on failing now. A couple of years ago if Facebook had come to the company offering to collaborate on an FB centric mobile handset perhaps Samsung would have given it serious thought. However, when Mark Zuckerberg suggested such a project to Samsung big wigs at a recent meeting he was met with a resounding and deafening NO.

Oh, and how wise Samsung is to say no so clearly because it is very evident that cell phone consumers do not want an FB cell. I mean, the HTC One, which was Facebook’s first attempt at making their own cell phone was a massive, unmistakable failure. This was just a few months ago and Zuckerberg is looking to try again so soon? The batteries are barely cold on those HTC failures and they are approaching a tech giant like Samsung to try again.

The honest truth, and Zuckerberg needs to realize this, is that it wasn’t that the first phones were bad. In fact, many reviewers were impressed with the HTC Ones as phones. The problem was that they were just too Facebook focused and no one really wants that much FB. If your life revolves around Facebook so much that you would want it displayed so prominently on your cell phone you probably never leave the house so why do you need a mobile device? The answer is you don’t, and that is why a Facebook centric phone will not work. Bullet dodged, Samsung.

Change 2013

The only constant is change, and that’s all the more evident in the social media landscape.

Only recently, all that chatter was about Pinterest and Instagram; today it’s moved on to WeChat and Vine. Tomorrow it will probably be something we yet haven´t heard about (it is tomorrow's news after all).

We Are Social recently summarized new trends for 2013. Have a look and see if you are up to speed with the changes forthcoming. I have summarized the key trends below, but please take your to read the entire deck.

Simultaneous Social Transmedia Experiences

Ability to multitask across devices simultaneously present an opportunity for brands to create interconnected experiences, where a brand’s story is told across various mediums.

Communities vs. Platforms

They came, they left, and they’re trickling in again. Brands should create communities around their audiences’ shared passions, not around platforms.

Mobile Life vs. Mobile Phone

Our cellphones are no longer just a device, its life. Your are expected to always stay connected, and you expect the same from brands around you.

Content Tapas

Creating ‘content snacks’ – bite-sized, easily digestible, unknowingly addictive – this will make your costumers return for more!

Commitments, not Campaigns

Like with any relationship, it could have started off with a pick up line, and sweetened with one-off celebrations throughout the year, but there is also the everyday conversations that allow you to understand each other better.

Socially Interactive Customer Service

People demand for and expect customer service whenever they want it. Brands need to adjust to account for this.

Social Buying

Social recommendations will become the key driver of referrals that brands have to facilitate, in order to leverage word-of-mouth, and peer-to-peer recommendations.

Social Sharing as Currency

Through social sharing, the brand gets a social stamp of approval from the consumers, which is a more credible form of endorsement.

Social Inside

Rather than just being a brand that does social, be a brand that IS social.

Crisis and Opportunity Management

Events and news spread like wildfire through social media. This is a great way for brands to spread awareness and help reinforce the brand’s mission or association.

We Are Social - Future Factors 2013 from We Are Social Singapore