Tocquigny

I recently had the privilege to work on an iPad version of Yvonne’s cookbook, How We Love Food, and enjoyed every minute of it. Since it was an internal project, we had the flexibility to try some new technologies. We chose to write the cookbook app using Titanium Appcelerator. The platform is nice, especially for someone like me who comes from a strong web programming background. Appcelerator uses JavaScript as the high-level coding language, and then compiles into an Apple xCode project in Objective-C that can be run on the iOS simulator and ultimately submitted to the iTunes App Store. The documentation was a bit weak, but with a little experimentation, I was on my way.

Appcelerator also has another perk that we have yet to use: Compiling to Android from the same base code. There is a significant amount of work to be done on designing the front end to work on differing screen sizes of Android devices, but the core functionality can simply be recompiled into a native Android Java application. One of the most interesting accomplishmentsof this project was an Appcelerator code hack — kudos to Tocquigny team member Jake Riesterer — that allowed us to save very detailed analytics in real time to our database server. We are able to track every user session in detail, including the user’s location and each interaction with the App all the way down to the specific recipe on which they used the illustration zooming feature. And in the end, the beauty and simplicity of the design landed us in Apple’s “New and Noteworthy” section for its category.

Check it out here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/how-we-love-food/id445071073?mt=8.

Last Monday Tocquigny’s own Craig Saper tweeted something that has been on my mind ever since:

“iOS 5’s location-based reminder platform is brilliant. The second I stepped out of my office, I was reminded to pick up a dinner ingredient.”

iOS 5 - Apple’s new operating system for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch - will include location-aware notifications as part of the API when it launches to the public this fall. Beta users like Craig are already seeing the value of creating custom location-aware reminders through Apple’s own Reminders app, which is designed to alert users of a to-do when arriving or leaving a location.

To what level an app can use location-aware notifications is not yet clear to me (opt-in vs. opt-out, available only when an app is active, always on in the background and so on). But it’s safe to assume that this new level of location integration will change how marketers and product developers think about location-based services going forward. After all, the mobile screen, unlike the computer screen or the TV screen, is always with you and always on- perfect for streamlined, real-time personal engagement.

There are countless opportunities to light-up location-aware notifications in meaningful ways. For example:

• Out for a run at Lady Bird Lake with MapMyRun? In 0.25 miles, you’ll find free water provided by the Trail Foundation.
• At Waterloo Records? Get a coupon for Amy’s Ice Cream.
• Passing Whole Foods? Salmon is on sale.
• Friends checked-in at a nearby happy hour? Stop in for a deal on appetizers.

With location-aware notifications, companies can start communicating with a specific person, with her varied interests and sensibilities, in a specific location. This isn’t simply reconfiguring current communications; this is a new way to engage with customers. It should be designed to be relevant and actionable while on-the-go. After all, connecting with a customer through her mobile device is intensely personal, and if we want to achieve that level of engagement, we must be prepared to add meaning.

Managing privacy is the trick here. There is a fine line between relevant opted-in communication and unwanted promotions. As marketers, our role is to understand how the consumer wants to engage and help her manage her preferences.

Have you thought about how you can take advantage of this new level of location-integration for your business?

Just when the market was trumpeting Google’s loss of innovative aptitude, Google Mobile has begun to unveil what could be the future for mobile optimization.  And (with any luck) has sounded the bell for the end of app mania. Let’s face it, there are too many apps. From Fortune 100 corporations to garage-based ambitions, everyone has an app. But when you get right down to it, most of the apps that get released offer slightly more than mobile optimized data recall with functionality that could have been accomplished on a mobile browser. 

Now I’m not suggesting that apps don’t have a place in our smart phone world, but Google’s recent unveiling of its own mobile optimized site, and Google Docs for mobile, are welcome reminders of what can be done within the framework of a mobile browser.  Remember, before the internet, computers ran on apps. Then the Internet came about and the tech world opened up, connected, revolted and became a better place. Through app mania though we’ve taken our innovative focus away from our desire to push the limits of the open online platform and returned to building functionality for a closed-platform personal processing device. So thank you Google, for reawakening us to the browser’s offer of an open platform whereupon technology innovators can showcase their unbridled ambitions.

Interesting development on the mobile advertising front, as a startup named Kiip (pronounced “keep”) is giving brands a chance to offer users coupons and freebies tied to achievements in mobile games.

I see some real potential in this idea, especially if the offers can be made relevant to the player’s interests. There’s a little emotional kick that a gamer gets from defeating a boss, or unlocking a new level. Will putting your brand in front of the user at that exact moment give it a little halo effect of goodwill, or will it just be an annoying interruption? Depends on how relevant the offer is to the user, I suspect. The rewards are targeted based on game demographics, so the potential for success is there. As Simon Mainwaring noted, “…the reward feels less like an ad and more like a gift, giving you a better chance of capturing that player’s attention and turning he or she into a brand advocate.”

Check out this video for more info.

Yesterday…
I got the chance to build a real-world project with jQueryMobile alpha 3 earlier this year, and I’m quite excited about the future of this product. jQueryMobile framework allows you to quickly create a single web application that will work on all popular smart phones and tablet devices using very simple HTML5, CSS3 and jQuery code. The project wasn’t completely without frustration. Our initial design called for static headers and footers, and while version A3 did have this feature, it was too buggy to use. The other frustration was trying to deviate from the jQueryMobile default styling. We wanted to create a unique design and style of our own, so the first obstacle for me was to craft a CSS reset that would allow me to have more of a blank slate to implement our design. What I’d really like to see is a CSS separation into functional styling and visual styling to make it easy to get creative with the design. Frustrations aside, jQueryMobile was very simple to implement and integrate with our content management system, Expression Engine. It was incredibly easy to add swipe navigations, custom content on device rotation and sliding page transitions. See the project at http://m.tocquigny.com

Today…
This week, version A4 is out. There were many fixes, but a couple of key updates included greatly improved floating headers and footers and Windows Phone 7 support. Upgrading for us was a simple case of swapping out JS and CSS files, but I would recommend reading the documentation to see if the features you use have been changed in this release.

Tomorrow…
If you aren’t following @jquerymobile on Twitter, then take the time to add them. Following them on Twitter will give you a better idea where they are currently in their coding process and where they are headed. jQueryMobile beta will be bringing us a much more stable and constant interaction between mobile platforms and an even broader set of supported mobile devices. I’m really looking forward to where the jQueryMobile team will bring us by the time version 1.0 is released. My wish list would contain simple hooks for premium device features such as location, gyroscope and multi-touch, and easy device targeting.

Conclusion…
jQueryMobile is already a great product today and has a lot of potential for tomorrow and in the future. Check it out http://www.jquerymobile.com