Josh Kimber

thisistheverge: Dropbox acquires email app Mailbox Dropbox has...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:09:51 -0500

Dropbox acquires email app Mailbox

Dropbox has announced that it has acquired email app Mailbox after the app hit the market nearly one month ago to critical acclaim. “Rather than grow Mailbox on our own, we’ve decided to join forces with Dropbox and build it out together,” Mailbox CEO Gentry Underwood wrote in a blog post. “To be clear, Mailbox is not going away. The product needs to grow fast, and we believe that joining Dropbox is the best way to make that happen.”

Wow. Awesome move.

I’ve been using Mailbox app for a little over a week now...

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 10:15:12 -0600

I’ve been using Mailbox app for a little over a week now and absolutely love it. The app runs on top of Google with iOS and allows you to re-sort and remind you emails meaning getting your inbox to zero is possible all the time. Learn more about the app here - http://vimeo.com/54553882

If you have not jumped in line to get the app, I suggest you do soon. Get the app here - http://j.mp/W5O2Rh

Finally, email has a purpose again.

Data visual of the words Bush and Obama say in SOUs

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:09:07 -0600

Data visual of the words Bush and Obama say in SOUs: A very cool visual showing the various topics mentioned in the last 13 State of the Union addresses by Obama and Bush.

fastcodesign:

Hashtag fail of the year by Susan Boyle’s PR team. Read...

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 13:02:28 -0600

Hashtag fail of the year by Susan Boyle’s PR team. Read more here http://j.mp/X2D3eI.

Why doesn’t Vine allow posts to go straight to Tumblr? ...

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:18:00 -0600

Why doesn’t Vine allow posts to go straight to Tumblr? Isn’t it the GIF capital of the world?

It looks like everyone is getting more mature with their content...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:19:23 -0600

It looks like everyone is getting more mature with their content this week. First it was the 500px Camera app, then Vine and now Tumblr prompts mobile users that it may contain age-restricted material in their latest update.

Call Friends for Free With Facebook's Messenger App

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:10:13 -0600

Here’s the second thing people were hoping to hear about earlier this week at the Facebook announcment - Facebook Messanger Calls.

About the App, users can make calls via Wi-Fi or through their data plan and it works much like a standard web call since its powered by Skype. To place a call, go into the Facebook Messenger app, click on a user, then in the upper right hand corner there is a little “i” icon at the top. When you tap this icon users are given the option to call that user or view their Timeline. Note, only users with the standalone Messenger app can receive calls.

How big of a deal is this to Facebook? Well, they announced it via a Press Release and updating the app in the app store. Translation, not a big deal at all.

Next stop? Video calling. But lets see if this works first.

There’s a lot of buzz this morning regarding the Facebook...

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 10:26:00 -0600

There’s a lot of buzz this morning regarding the Facebook announcement happening at 12pm CST. Most tech sites are predicting the announcement is a new phone or search feature. My money leans towards search and not a phone. Why is that? Apple finally integrated Facebook into iOS after it being years in the making. Ok, maybe not years in the making but it was something users wanted for a long time. If Facebook releases a phone that’s going to put Apple on the defensive and potentially remove that integration.

Now, search on the other hand is a lot more intriguing to me. Remember, Facebook stores everything you post including your links, captions on photos, location from photos, check-ins, interaction with apps, etc. so they have a ton of information about you and your friends. Since this information is available to your friends, they could release a product that searches your network of friends for recommendations, interactions or activity for nearly any topic.

Releasing a feature like this is a win-win for Facebook. For users, they get what they are looking for with friend recommendations and endorsements. This also follows Facebook’s mission “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” Search does this. Hopefully users start using Facebook’s search product for content within their network and not on Google. Which is another win for Facebook - Revenue. Google is making money hand over fist with search so with a new search in Facebook its likely they would expand their ad model to mimic Google’s Adwords making investors very happy.

Google dominates search right now holding 65% market share and its been growing since Yahoo and Bing have had little innovation over the years. I think Facebook has identified this opportunity, knows they have rich data on their users and will be making a run at Google’s market share.

As you can see, my hopes are pretty high their announcement is a search feature. What else could it be? Lowering the bar for myself, it could be something small like the announcement for their next F8 conference or a new area on their campus focused on connecting their users. Only time will tell.

brit: Ready for the next battery revolution? Tethercell lets...

Sat, 12 Jan 2013 09:35:29 -0600

brit:

Ready for the next battery revolution? Tethercell lets you control battery-operated gadgets with your phone.

Another one of the cool gadgets at #ces this year.

LA Times Tech: Tumblr more popular than Facebook?

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:07:00 -0600

As much as I would like to believe this survey, I don’t. This afternoon the LA Times released a story that Tumblr and is more popular than Facebook for people aged 13-25. Complete image below:

Don’t get me wrong, I like Tumblr. Not only is it very entertaining, but its a very easy platform for blogging with their easy posting options for quotes, photos, video, etc.

With all that, I don’t buy for one second that its the #1 site for people aged 13-25. There are only 1,000 people surveyed here so I’m thinking they sat out in the parking lot of a high school 2 blocks away from Tumblr’s headquarters. Popular, yes. But not the absolute top.

thenextweb: The revamped Timeline has gone live for users in...

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 07:01:00 -0600

thenextweb:

The revamped Timeline has gone live for users in New Zealand, which is regularly Facebook’s first port of call for new rollouts. As screenshots from TNW contributor Owen Williams show, all communication from friends and status updates placed in the left-hand side column only. This left side column has been made larger to place greater emphasis on messages, with the right hand side now made smaller as a result. For example, the Friends box is now 3×3 instead of 2×4. Update: A Facebook spokesperson tells TNW that the company has “no other details to share right now”. That means that New Zealanders will be the only ones to enjoy it, for now, but we’ll keep tabs on future developments. (via Facebook begins rolling out new single-column Timeline with greater emphasis on messages [Updated] - The Next Web)

Minor updates to improve Facebook’s Timeline are coming. Currently live in New Zealand.

Filtering coming to Facebook

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:18:00 -0600

When I found this article on The Verge today I got really excited. I thought, FINALLY filtering is coming to Facebook News Feed. But, no. It’s only coming to messages and allows you to restrict messages coming from strangers. Bummer.

I hope at the next F8 (Facebook’s version of Apple’s product announcements) they allow filtering on the News Feed. What is this? I’m sure we’ve all been stung by a spoiler alert in your news feed. At least I have. I wish they would allow the option to remove posts that contain certain keywords or phrases.

Take The Voice finale for example. NBC changed the timeslot of the finale to 8pm-10pm and we missed the beginning of the show. We said, oh well, we’ll just view it On Demand when available and avoid the news. Sure enough, 9:58pm my News Feed filled up with the winner. It would have been nice to hide all mentions that contain “The Voice” in Facebook.

Another great example would be around the elections. I’m everyone had at least one friend who you wanted to stick in the corner until voting was over. Maybe some the entire week. How nice would it have been to filter out a topic without having to unfriend them?

I’m sure brand pages and advertisers would disagree with this because people could filter out their messages but I don’t care. This would be a great addition.

I mean seriously, who gets a new car for Christmas? Lexus LFA:...

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:27:45 -0600

I mean seriously, who gets a new car for Christmas?

Lexus LFA: Christmas Carol of the Lights Extended Fast & Furious Car Version (by lexus23235)

parislemon: Back in August, I wrote a post teasing Mailbox, the...

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 14:05:02 -0600

parislemon:

Back in August, I wrote a post teasing Mailbox, the new app from the team behind Orchestra. Today, they’re ready to reveal a bit more. The video above offers a taste, but I’ll have more thoughts to share later on.

Put simply: this is the most excited I’ve been about an app in a long time. I’ve been testing it out for a few weeks now and it’s already the app I use most often. I say this, of course, as a happy investor, but I shit you not: if you hate email, you’re going to love this app when it comes out in a few weeks. It’s fucking amazing.

Instagram Blog: Announcing Instagram Profiles on the Web!

Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:34:58 -0600

Instagram Blog: Announcing Instagram Profiles on the Web!:

instagram:

You’ve asked for Instagram on the web and we’ve listened. Over the next few days, we’ll be rolling out Instagram profiles on the web!

Your web profile features a selection of your recently shared photographs just above your profile photo and bio, giving others a snapshot of the photos you share…

"One of my favs - “If I had one hour to save the world, I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem..."

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:18:00 -0500

“One of my favs - “If I had one hour to save the world, I would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and only 5 minutes finding the solution.” - Albert Einstein”

CEOs Afraid Of Going Social Are Doing Shareholders A Massive Disservice - Forbes

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:53:00 -0500

CEOs Afraid Of Going Social Are Doing Shareholders A Massive Disservice - Forbes:

I am absolutely floored by some of these numbers. A great article.

“More than half the U.S. population has eagerly embraced sites like Facebook and more than a third are using Twitter, yet only 7.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs have bothered to jump on Facebook, and just 4% have opened Twitter accounts. All in, 70% of big company CEOs have no presence on social networks. ”

My two year daughter is a pro at Netflix. We have a routine in...

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 11:24:54 -0500

My two year daughter is a pro at Netflix. We have a routine in the morning where we let her watch one of her kids shows for 10-15 minutes while we get ready. She’s become a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine and Blues Clues but she often explores new videos based on the image displayed by Netflix. It has only happened a couple of times but she has come across a show we do not approve but since the image appeared to be a cartoon she tapped it (Ren and Stimpy). We do our best to listen and watch what she’s doing but she’s so proficient, its hard to watch every tap. This new Just for Kids section announced by Netflix is a great addition and I give it two thumbs up!

I’m anxious to play with the new interface to see how it filters out the good from the bad but this got me thinking…Netflix beat YouTube to this? Congrats to Netflix for beating the master keyword company (Google) to the pitch. I do not let my kids play within the YouTube app because I’ve been burned too many times by their recommended area. I mean, isn’t there a way to suggest other kid-friendly content off to the right? I understand that there thousands of hours worth of video uploaded every minute but with the YouTube app being added standard on all iPhones (pre 5) and all Androids, I think its time YouTube starts working toward a family friendly section.

Again, great addition Netflix.

At Magnet 360

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:45:08 -0500

A new week, month and quarter. – at Magnet 360 – See on Path.

SmartThings: Make Your World Smarter by SmartThings — Kickstarter

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:39:46 -0500

SmartThings: Make Your World Smarter by SmartThings — Kickstarter:

Such a great story out of Minneapolis! SmartThings raises over $1.2 Million on Kickstarter.