Now that CES is behind us for another year, we look beyond the Vegas Strip at tech news and developments from around the globe. First up, China’s leading messaging app ‘WeChat’ has released ‘mini programs’, embedded apps which require no download or install. By removing this step in the consumer experience, could this be the “app store” as we know it? We’ll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, Facebook and Instagram’s Stories are increasing their ad usage. Whilst we’re seeing more and more ads, recent research has found the majority of Instagram users find their presence to be a seamless integration into the experience. Instagram demonstrates that branded content can work if done with thought and purpose. And finally, with a turbulent year behind us, check out this visual roundup of 2016 to change your perception. Go on…you might be surprised.
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
COOL
- BMW have developed an AR ‘Product Visualiser’ – interestingly powered by Google’s Tango technology – that enables customers to get close to and customise selected BMWi models that appear before their eyes.
- Beautifully put together and mightily impressive: Kickstarter’s 2016.
- Uber Movement aims to help cities ‘grow in a way that works for everyone’.
DEEP READS
As ever, please read, learn and share away, #OMDFWD
Now that CES is behind us for another year, we look beyond the Vegas Strip at tech news and developments from around the globe. First up, China’s leading messaging app ‘WeChat’ has released ‘mini programs’, embedded apps which require no download or install. By removing this step in the consumer experience, could this be the “app store” as we know it? We’ll just have to wait and see.
In the meantime, Facebook and Instagram’s Stories are increasing their ad usage. Whilst we’re seeing more and more ads, recent research has found the majority of Instagram users find their presence to be a seamless integration into the experience. Instagram demonstrates that branded content can work if done with thought and purpose. And finally, with a turbulent year behind us, check out this visual roundup of 2016 to change your perception. Go on…you might be surprised.
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
COOL
- BMW have developed an AR ‘Product Visualiser’ – interestingly powered by Google’s Tango technology – that enables customers to get close to and customise selected BMWi models that appear before their eyes.
- Beautifully put together and mightily impressive: Kickstarter’s 2016.
- Uber Movement aims to help cities ‘grow in a way that works for everyone’.
DEEP READS
As ever, please read, learn and share away, #OMDFWD
Technology is affecting in dramatic fashion how we live, work, eat, socialise and play. 2016 saw the rise and rise of virtual reality, with virtual assistants moving out of our phones and into our homes and smart home technologies finally breaking into the mainstream. Undoubtedly 2017 will see a plethora of new technological breakthroughs and the Digital Trends piece below details five of the most revolutionary – including the Internet of Things based on interoperability, artificial intelligence, the rise of synthetic food, augmented reality and 3D printing for all. Will Christmas 2017 see us eating man-made turkey and asking our artificial assistants to wrap the latest 3D printer to go under the tree?
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
COOL
DEEP READS
As ever, please read, learn and share away, #OMDFWD. Happy new year to all!
What if you could ‘like’ a Facebook post by smiling? This scenario just got a little more realistic with Facebook acquiring the emotion detection start-up, FacioMetric. Fernando De la Torre, the start-up’s founder, wrote that the company started as a response to the increasing interest and demand for facial image analysis. FacioMetric has already developed an app that detects seven different emotions in people’s faces and is currently researching additional applications, such as augmented/virtual reality, animation and audience reaction measurement. The acquisition has potentially greater implications for Facebook including the possibility of making life-like avatars that convey emotions for their Oculus division. We will just have to wait and see how Facebook rolls out this new AI technology.
HEADLINES
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DEEP READS
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Black Friday is fast approaching. As people get ready to hit the online sales, reports are predicting that shoppers will return over £1 billion worth of goods purchased. UK shoppers will spend £5bn in a four-day internet shopping frenzy from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. Yet, these huge returns will result in tying stock up for three to four weeks in the supply chain returns loop. As a result, on any one day, there is roughly £978m worth of e-commerce stock tied up in the returns cycle in the UK alone. E-commerce returns are costing the industry £25.5bn each year. It is clear there is a problem that needs tackling. One such problem is that products aren’t as expected from their online descriptions and images. Using the data that is already collected, there could be simple fixes to reduce the number of returns and money lost.
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
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DEEP READS
Share anything you see through the week with the hashtag #OMDFWD
Unusual things are happening this week, from people freezing for the mannequin challenge and UFO emoji’s, to futuristic vending machines appearing in towns to sell spectacles (but after the result of the recent US election, we should be prepared to no longer be surprised). If you are lucky enough to be strolling down the road and catch sight of one of these unusual-looking vending machines, you could be forgiven for thinking that you have walked onto the set of Despicable Me 3, but draw a little closer and you discover that this vending machine is in fact a very cool bit of tech. Left unattended the machine is just “sleeping”, but motion sensors wake it up as you approach. You are met by a big digital eye that interacts with you…it’s not a Minion, it’s a vending machine and it wants to sell you a device for $130 – The Snapchat Spectacle. Whether this new product will become more popular than the Google Glass is still to be decided; however, there are certainly some interesting opportunities for brands wanting to reach an audience of Snapchat loving millennials.
HEADLINES
INSIGHTS
COOL
- You will never have seen a vending machine quite like the Snapchat Spectacle offering
- OMG! Here is the latest set of planned emojis to be rolled out
- Pinterest has a mighty useful ‘tried’ button to share when you have sampled or experienced previously
DEEP READS
- Not the deepest of reads, but here are best Mannequin Challenges to date
- While you can’t get much more ‘native’ Google search ads, Google has partnered with native content ad partner to shift landscape and expand native offering
- A look at how Buzzfeed and Twitter used the existing strength of their platform to showcase election content
Share anything you see through the week with the hashtag #OMDFWD