Tag Archives: mobile

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Should BlackBerry ditch their physical keyboard?

The following video was previously published on itbusiness.ca.

The way some BlackBerry fans reacted to the possibility that Research in Motion would ditch its physical QWERTY keyboard last week, you’d think it was blasphemy.

But with the most successful smartphones on the market offering larger touch screens and virtual keyboards, isn’t it time that BlackBerry got with it?

[brightcove vid=1628410915001&exp3=96976228001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=1815854478&pk=AQ~~,AAAAAGw7vY4~,MT1x6TzuB4-6gtolhFTaM4bruMSIwgr6&w=300&h=225]

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i enjoy using Path and you will too

There’s a new social network amongst us. Path.  To find out more about Path take some time to read this Forbes article.  

Path was started by former Facebook-er Dave Morin.  He was recently on Jason Calacanis’ show This Week in Startups.  I suggest you give it a watch/listen for some amazing insights into Path as well entrepreneurship in general.

I could go into detail about what Path is and what makes it unique but I won’t.  What I will say is that at the moment, it’s a mobile social network (Path calls itself the Smart Journal) which limits its users to a maximum of 150 friends.

This blog post is why I enjoy Path.

I remember joining Path sometime last summer. And I was not impressed. At the time it seemed as a limited social network.  And I was also very hot on Google Plus. But this past Christmas I was re-introduced to Path when it seemed everyone at a party I was at was using the newly released Path 2.0 on their iPhones and Androids.  So I did what anyone else in my shoes would have done:  I crapped all over Path and then proceeded to download the new version.

And I have been impressed ever since.

Beautiful User Experience

From the simplicity of the product to the unique “posting” system, there is no social network quite as easy on the eyes as Path.  Path is very intuitive with very few steps in order to use it.

Replacement for BBM?

I own a BlackBerry Torch and also use an HTC Android smartphone.  The Torch is the phone I primarily use as it has the number I’ve been using for 15+ years.  And BBM is an app that I really like to use.  But using Path on my HTC makes me question whether I really need to use BBM anymore?  I just need to convince/wait for my brother and sister to get an iPhone, Android or other device that Path supports.  (We use BBM to “chat”. No other messenger service has appealed to us yet.) Then I won’t really have an excuse for using BBM/BlackBerry.

Everything that I use BBM for I can use Path instead.  And Path offers so much more!

Music sharing and discovery

One of my favourite things about Path is the music sharing and discovery feature. On Path you can share thoughts, location, photos (and video on iOS), when you wake up and go to sleep, and music.  (Now, remember, I’m a longtime BlackBerry user so excuse me if this sort of feature has been around on other devices and products.)

As many of my friends will tell you, I love my music.  And my music consists of U2, Neil Young (including his stuff with Buffalo Springfield, CSNY and Crazy Horse), Aerosmith (their old stuff mostly), Colin James, Black Dub, Led Zeppelin, Broken Social Scene, Rush, etc…

So I love sharing what I listen to.  And I can also see what my other friends (up to 150 only. It’s another great feature of Path that you should learn more about) are listening to. Or at least that’s what I thought I could do.  Until I clicked on a song icon a few days ago.

Baaam! I proceeded to have about 15 seconds of a song I’ve never heard play on my phone. Path actually allows us to “share” what we’re listening to like nothing I’ve ever seen/heard before.

Anyways, that’s my take on Path.  Do you use Path?  I would love to read your comments below.

(If you liked this blog post feel free to share it by clicking one of the share buttons below.  You can also get my blog posts delivered to your email’s inbox by clicking the follow button under “sign me up” to the right of this blog post.  Thanks!)

blog, digital media, social media, twitter

UFC uses Social and Digital to rule Sporting Universe

Earlier today an article I wrote was published on the website Web Not War.

On the weekend of December 10th Dana White’s UFC settled in Toronto with Sunday’s UFC 140 anchoring their activities. Over the past 10 years, Dana White, his partners the Ferenzzo brothers and their MMA athletes have created one of the most popular and fastest growing sporting and entertainment brands in the world. The reasons are manifold: the demise of the boxing industry and the need for fresh and new programming for this 200+ channel universe being just two of them.

To read the rest please visit http://www.webnotwar.ca/ufc-uses-social-and-digital-to-rule-sporting-universe/

digital media, social media

5 Questions with Sonia Ryan

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In honour of Canada’s Vancouver Canucks making it into the Stanley Cup Finals, I thought we’d take the opportunity to highlight one of Vancouver’s stars: Sonia Ryan. Sonia Ryan is the Troublemaker at A Thinking Ape. Her vision for ATA is to be THE company recognized by developers as the place to work.  Often described as the “Social Glue” she is dedicated to creating an inspiring experience through creative and experimental initiatives. Prior to ATA, Sonia worked at Bootup and was responsible for organizing monthly mentor visits and workshop, Demo Days, Democamps and Launch Party for the Vancouver startup scene. Sonia can always be found with her iPhone and a smile that doesn’t quit.

What motivates you to do what you do on a daily basis?

My team. I am working at A Thinking Ape and my teams dedication and drive to complete tasks is impeccable. We are all working together to create a solid technology company here in Vancouver and it’s really exciting.

If you had 30 seconds to impart your wisdom on a classroom of soon-to-be graduates, what would you say?

Work at a startup. If you are intrinsically motivated this experience is invaluable because you have an opportunity to understand all aspects of the business.

In your opinion, what has been one of the most important technological developments over the past 12 months?

The tablet was one of the most anticipated gadgets of the year, whether it be the android tablet or highly covetable iPad. We saw these tablets turn into e-readers for our digital books, newspapers, and magazines, and Web TV. Geolocation was also huge and I’m talking beyond Foursquare and Gowalla. The creation of Geo APIs from companies such as Facebook and Simple Geo changed the game by adding rich layers of geo-related data to all sorts of apps.

If you had a crystal ball, what would you say will be the most important technological development over the next 12 months?

Mobile Social Photo apps continue to increase in popularity and I don’t see this slowing down. We have Path, Instagram, Color, Twitpic and I’m excited to see what other innovations occur in this space over the next year. Also, with Amazon and Google’s recent foray into streaming music it should be interesting to see how Apple and the major record labels will respond.

Who is one of Canada’s tech stars and why?

It’s hard for me to pinpoint one person in particular. Being in Vancouver, I will name a few key people I admire: Maura Rodgers, Danny Robinson, my Founders at A Thinking Ape – Kenshi Arasaki, Wilkins Chung, Eric Diep, Ryan Holmes and Boris Mann. I named these individuals because they have been an integral part of my life after joining a startup. I look to them for mentorship, feedback and know that they will always be there for me.