Day four of SXSW. Tomorrow is the last day of the interactive conference. Today, our heads are filled with old questions, new answers and exciting visions of the future. We are disappointed, pleasantly surprised and inspired at the same time.
Foursquare update: from social to utility
Dennis Crowley , CEO and founder of Foursquare, will be at SXSW to talk about the current state and future of the ever-growing social network. Foursquare, which started out as a check-in service with the famous badges, now has thirty million users worldwide, one and a half million of whom are very active. This community largely maintains the database itself with more than 50 million POIs, including more than a million active 'merchants'.
But leaderboards with points and badges are no longer the most important thing for Foursquare. It is now much more about sharing interests and getting recommendations. Dennis puts it this way: “Foursquare is software that makes cities easier to use”. They are not alone in this. Their main competitor – as for more and more companies – is Google. But what Google currently lacks is a user base for almost real-time data. More and more parties are discovering this and are using the API that Foursquare offers. The Highlight app that we discussed yesterday also uses this.
The 3 billion check-in data points that Foursquare has now collected can list to data be used for fantastic data visualizations. Like the loss of Foursquare usage during storm Sandy, which hit New York last October.
Passive tracking
The future of Foursquare, and we expect many location-based services , is passive tracking . Like the new Foursquare Radar . Passive tracking allows for automated check-ins, but also push recommendations based on your behavior and proven preferences. And that’s the latest frontier in hyperlocal services for now: the move toward an interest graph , where companies share information about your preferences. Foursquare hopes to become the market leader in that. But Google and Facebook probably won’t let that happen.
Interface Design: designing the space in between
Corey Chandler worked for eBay and Microsoft as a UX designer and now works as an independent designer. Jorge Furuya Mariche is lead UX designer at HTC. In this session, the speakers will discuss the use of transitions in an interface. In the film and music world, transitions are very common and are used to connect different scenes or parts in a piece of music. In the interactive world, this works the same way. Especially with the advent of touchscreens and the availability of better hardware and new possibilities within the software, transitions have become more relevant.
Let’s take the Apple Maps app on the iPhone as an example. When you bring up your bookmarks, it slides in from bottom to top. When you select one, a pin drops down from top to bottom on the map. When you show the same sequence without these little animations, it suddenly becomes a much more abstract process. The transitions are not only beautiful, but also very functional and help the user understand what is happening.
bookmarks apple maps
Both conclude that designing transitions is increasingly becoming a subdiscipline within the UX domain. The way in which work is currently done (from static screens, wireframes) is changing rapidly and there is more room for rapid prototyping to properly shape and test something like movement.
The session ends with some tips for designing transitions:
Make prototypes! Think Keynote and Powerpoint, because they give you a quick feel of whether it feels good.
Especially introduce a transition if there is a major change between screens that might otherwise confuse the user.
The more often a transition occurs, the more discreet (less present) it should be, otherwise it quickly becomes over the top.
Keep in mind what medium you are working for. So don't make something that can't be done on the hardware you have at your disposal, or that is not suitable for the situation in which you are using the hardware.
Transitions subconsciously improve the user experience. You don't really notice them, but they help the user enormously.
Building New Experiences with Google Glass
Contrary to expectations, there is almost nothing to be found about Google Glass at SXSW. When a talk by Timothy Jordan (Sr Developer Advocate for Google) is added to the program at the last minute, the room is packed well before it starts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1uyQZNg2vE
The man is welcomed enthusiastically and full of expectation. What are we going to get from him? Is he going to demonstrate Google Glass? The most important thing about this session is actually the feeling. The feeling in the room that we are witnessing the 'next big thing'. After all, we have been waiting for a while for the big innovation after the iPhone. The high expectations are partly met. Partly, because Glass is not finished yet. The full potential of the hardware is therefore still somewhat shrouded in mist. But that it is the next step in technology is certain.
Technology that doesn't get in the way
Google Glass is actually much more wearable computing than it is augmented reality. Wearable computing should be there when you need it and out of your sight when you're not, Jordan says. That's why Glass's glass screen isn't directly in your field of vision. You have to look up a little bit. So it's not like all those smartphone screens that are held up at a concert where people experience the concert through their phone screen. Glass isn't in your field of vision and it doesn't get in the way.
Source: www.slackpile.com
Source: www.slackpile.com
Of course, we are especially curious about the real-time demo. What does that interface look like now? Does it all work a bit? Fortunately, Timothy does not disappoint us and explains the basic principles to us while he operates Glass. We can watch along on the screen.
First, he demonstrates the physical component of the controls. To turn Glass on, you tap it on the side. To turn it off, you slide down the side of the glasses. Sliding back and forth on the temple allows you to scroll through the interface. Furthermore, Glass is aware of basic head gestures, such as looking up to turn it off.
Innovative interface
What we find really special and very innovative is the central interface concept: the timeline cards. The entire interface consists of individual screens that are in a virtual row in order of the moment you used them. You can swipe through them with your finger on the side of the glasses. For more extensive navigation questions, you use the voice control. Jordan demonstrates this “natural language” interface, which works more or less like Siri. So there is no strict form of hierarchical navigation. It is strongly focused on the “here and now” principle of Glass. They expect you not to have extensive time to look up all kinds of things. There are other, more suitable devices for that.
Source: www.theverge.com
Source: www.theverge.com
The extremely simple interface, with a minimum of graphic elements, is striking. Jordan gives an example of an application developed with the New York Times. Only the tiny logo of the New York Times betrays that it is content from the New York Times. The interface is not simple because of poor hardware, but mainly because interface elements in wearable computing quickly get in the way.
Design your service specifically for Glass. It's a unique platform, mobile, but completely unique. Simply translating an existing service to Glass won't work.
Don't get in the way of your user. People choose their moments to use Glass. You don't want to have a constant 'presence', it has to be very discreet.
Deliver your content there and then. More than a smartphone, Glass is a 'right now' device.
Avoid surprises. Because wearable computing is so close to your skin, unexpected events are highly undesirable. No pushy notifications, no unexpected visuals.
Jordan concludes by saying that we are explorers and pioneers here at SXSW. It is not yet clear where Glass is going to go or what it will mean. But it is crystal clear that this product is going to have a huge impact. We cannot wait for its launch.