Mobile-related technologies for the past week, in 3 (or almost) words: Back to the Past, Advertisement, Local Social

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THE WEEK IN 3 WORDS

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WEEK #33

3. BACK TO THE PAST
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Some leaks have given a preview of what Windows 9, which is expected in 2015, may
look like. And it actually looks like Microsoft travels back to its past.
The past in question in Windows 7, which is rather a good
memory, but which goes back in 2009. At that time, the world was
not as mobile and tactile as today, and an interface focusing on
desktop seemed still necessary.
Then Microsoft launched Windows 8, with many pitfalls, but with a
real will to disrupt the user experience and make it tactile.
Microsoft was ahead of its time with Windows 8, maybe for the
first time ever. Even if Windows 8 was not going far enough (more
continuity between devices, making all applications looking like
native apps, removing the unnecessary “desktop” view, etc.),
Microsoft made a clear statement: tactile and mobile devices is
now, desktop is past.
Did Microsoft get afraid of reactionary users or of its sudden boldness? (Certainly not
from its desktop competitors, though…) It looks certain that they are stepping back, but is
it really for their good?

5. ADVERTISEMENT
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A French startup, Motionlead, is willing to make mobile ad banners more
attractive, by making them interactive and animated. Their ad banners look like
desktop WEB banners, to the extent that they can expend over an application
or mobile WEB site content.
Will such advertisements really feel more attractive to end-users? Or will they
just be so annoying that users will simply drop the application?
Mobile advertising is a huge market (it accounts for 62% of Facebook revenues
as of July 2014, for example) and advertisers are surely thrilled to use the best
formats possible to fully capitalize on it. But it is key to think about the user
experience first: an application is supposed to deliver added-value services.
Interfering ad banners may become really counter-productive for related app
makers and advertisers.
Advertisements should fully integrate into the application service, contributing
to its added-value. They should not be disturbing the experience. Users won’t
mind uninstalling an application to download another one more dedicated to its
achievement.

7. LOCAL SOCIAL
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Having good relationships with your neighbors? Well, some companies
are trying to digitalize such relationships to extend them to any
neighborhood, depending on your current location.
Spiral is one of such initiatives: this application aims to create
discussions related on position. You can see live discussion going
around in your current neighborhood and participate to them. Another
application, called Drop, has the same idea of leveraging the immediate
surrounding of your device: drop a message to a specific location and
friends of yours passing by (and running the same application…) will
get notified of your message.
Those are mostly tries to come up with a new messaging app that
would succeed like WhatsApp did. But they could also lead the path to
new kind of social networks, based on what’s around you.