PENDOLARE DIGITALE DIARY (12th Mar 2010) - Austin SXSW Interactive Conference

SXSW Interactive workshop
Cennydd Bowles (Clearleft)
#beautyinwebdesign

"Beauty increases usability" but it is not always true that a usable web site is beautiful.

We could identify 3 types of beauty

1) Universal beauty (globally accepted), based on symmetry and armory.

2) Social cultural beauty… related to fashion and style of life

3) Subjective beauty… based on individual feelings

Starting from these types of beauty we could define 3 types of design approach.

1) Visceral design: it causes an instinctive quick reaction. It is focused on shape color and form. [http://www.bellyshades.de/]

2) Behavioral design. In this approach designers looking for usability. But usability is not enough to make web beautiful. [Ex Facebook]
3) Reflective design . Visceral + usability: this is what every design should achieve.

Here a step by step process to fulfill this goal.
1) get emotional.
2) think bigger, consider web and society as a unique environment
3) lead: have a clear vision and a clear management
4) think long term
5) broaden horizons
6) be brave

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SXSW Interactive panel
Josh Williams (gowalla)
#chasingvirtualgood

Josh Williams is the CEO of Gowalla.

WE (mankind) are collectors.
WE are motivated by social status and desire to be recognized for our achievements.

" Where there's a number, there is a game! "
" Where there's a number, it wants to go up! "

Could you imagine most of social network as social game?

IPhone and other smartphone help Internet social game to enter in the real world.

The idea is using virtual goods as real goods to form in-kind partnerships & motivate target audience to act.

A great and fashionable example: Gowalla!
Even in this case the game was born online and it founds its real extension through an Iphone app.

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SXSW Interactive panel
Mark Cuban (HD net, Dallas Mavericks), Avner Ronen (Boxee)
#battleforyourtv

Cuban is a business man and his point of view represents traditional TV model.

Some of Mark Cuban statements in his "match" VS Boxee CEO:

-) Cable/satellite TV rise money… people pay to see… cable TV is profitable!!!

-) Most of video online are viewed during work-time… and this generate wrong stats on Internet Video consume.

-) People succeed from the Internet to TV, they fail for TV to the Internet.

-) When you have unlimited number of choices people expect you to market and people want to get paid.

-) Internet is not a real open platform, because most of the platform are closed and managed by someone.

-) Internet now is a complementary market and right now the only business model sustainable is the pay TV; so " is TV the future of TV ?"

-) It could be interesting calculate the revenue per bit. To stream in full quality over Internet you need more bandwidth… and you have to pay for it.

-) Internet is a huge market made by a lot of community. A marketing strategy (customized for all of them) is impossible and the risk to invest money to reach only a couple of people is concrete.


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*** Have a look to these ***

PackRat Facebook game application by Josh Williams (the same of Gowalla).