Tag: kids

During the announcement of Google Home at the opening of the Google I/O conference, Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, mentioned that 20% of mobile queries are now voice searches. While the market for virtual assistant slowly heats up, a MindMeld survey found that there has been a significant increase in the number of people now using voice assistant and voice search capabilities within the past 6 months. Transactional queries will become even more common as virtual assistants integrate a range of third-party services such as OpenTable, Spotify, WhatsApp, Uber and Ticketmaster. While the topic of voice and virtual assistants can be a conversation starter with tech hobbyists, it is also true that the general public is now starting to take interest in this field.

HEADLINES

•  Facebook announced updates to Pages for business, adding integrations with third-party e-commerce platforms and an enhanced Recommendations feature for people to link directly to businesses they rate highly.
• UK retailer Game has come under fire from some gamers for charging £5 to try PlayStation VR for 10 minutes. Long heralded as a watershed for VR in the mainstream, PlayStation say they had “hundreds of thousands” of pre-orders.
• Nintendo announced Switch, “one of the most revolutionary consoles ever” – a unique hybrid between a traditional console and a handheld, released Spring 2017.

INSIGHTS

• The state of mobile commerce in five charts.
• Google announce that 20% of searches (on their mobile app and Android devices) are voice.
• Flip Dive: a case study in mobile ad monetisation.

COOL

• A new series of Humans comes to the UK and with it a smart campaign featuring a Facebook Messenger bot and product recall website.
• Play “digital dress up” with this Shakespeare Magic Mirror.
• Unilever create a chatbot to create unique stories that help teach kids how to brush their teeth.

DEEP READS

• Apple wants to get in your house before you buy it.
• Google’s in-house VR filmmaker on making VR movies you’d actually want to watch.
• Two views on AI from people worth listening to, both courtesy of Wired. The first from their co-founder Kevin Kelly, and second from recent interviewee, the soon to be outgoing (sob) POTUS.

Share anything you see through the week with the hashtag #OMDFWD

Google and Levi’s have launched a new denim jacket with built-in smart fabric sensors that allow cyclists to control their music, answer a phone call or respond to a message. It is unique among clothing in that it’s going into developer beta testing this fall and unusual among consumer electronics in that it can go in the wash. The Levi’s Commuter jacket, due for consumer release next spring, will work with Google apps like maps and messaging, as well as third-party programs like Spotify and Strava. But with the average age of a child getting a smartphone now 10.3 years, should we be encouraging future cyclists to stay connected whilst peddling, rather than focussing on safety? As always, please share anything you find interesting at #OMDFWD

HEADLINES

• Learn about Google’s new voice activated home assistant ‘Google Home’, Daydream (the next evolution in their VR offering) and Instant Apps (their latest attempt to turn apps into the web) and much more.  Loads of interesting announcements from Google at Google I/O
• Facebook expands Audience Network to Video and Desktop
• You’re going to be able to buy a new Nokia phone again

 INSIGHTS

• Facebook users don’t watch video with the sound on
• The average age of a child getting their first smartphone is now 10.3 yrs old. Interesting Kids & Tech stats here
• How outdoor ads drive brand engagement on mobile

COOL

• Buy your cinema tickets on Snapchat
• The NHS using Augmented Reality Billboards to drive blood donations
• Google and Levi’s are teaming up to launch a smart jacket for cyclists

DEEP READS

• How technology hijacks People’s Minds
• How’s the sharing economy doing? View the latest stats here
• The latest round of the music industry battle with YouTube

And finally…what happened when somebody made a fake Drake Chatbot…