A deep dive into digital marketing

Apple and Flash – the saga continues

Posted by Chris under Adobe, Apple, Browsers, Flash, Microsoft, Mobile, Technology, iPhone

Apple hasn’t supported Flash in the past for what seems to be a couple of reasons, depending on which “side” you are on.

1. Take away the closed app ecosystem – Since Flash has evolved from just being a animation player into a full on platform that can run its own Apps, allowing flash would let application developers to get their software onto the iPhone/iPad. Just build them in flash, put in to a webpage and it’s all go. This would take business away from the App Store and possibly let publishers distribute other content such as music, video’s and movies.
2. It’s a resource hog – flash, even coded well can use a large about of CPU resources (see above). This can affect battery life and speed two key things on a mobile device.
3. Cost to Apple – Apple would need to license flash from Adobe (as Microsoft did)  with Flash lite and reader.

All in all I believe it’s about control, Steve Jobs has proven that time and time again that we wants to control the ecosystem and you have to play within his rules. Flash doesn’t do that.

So what does that mean to development. Flash isn’t going away from Mac’s. It’s too entrenched on the Mac platform for it to disappear but in the controlled environment of the iTunes store it’s different.

But let’s first look at the penetration of iPhones, which is still small. Of all mobile phones in the US, 11% are smart phones and of that 21% are iPhones.  Sure when we add iTouch in there it goes up but it’s still small.

When we talk about mobile we have three things that we (Draftfcb) think mobile should do:

Bite Sized: Mobile offerings need to be conceived as small.

Relevant: Mobile offerings need to address an immediate need.

Disposable: Mobile offerings need to be easy to leave behind.

This helps form the strategy and creative thinking and you don’t need flash to do these things. However it also means that what you create for your web (read that computer or larger screen) experience should probably be different from what you do for mobile. It means that we should create experience specific platforms so while flash could be appropriate technology to use on the web it may not be needed on mobile. And you probably want to create a different experience in mobile anyway.

Look at some of the great mobile apps. UrbanSpoon for example, the website and iPhone app are reflective of “where” you are when you access their content. The website giving you deep and rich content while the app asks you a couple of easy “questions” and then suggest what restaurant to go to.

So in summary a couple of key things:

1. Flash won’t disappear from the Mac
2. Flash may come to the iPad if users revolt as it’s built for web surfing but doesn’t support Flash  -
3. This may bring it to the iPhone/iTouch
4. When we develop for users that may access our experience (site) from multiple-devices we should think about what that unique experience should be.

Gates, better than Seinfeld?

Posted by Chris under Advertising, Microsoft, Technology

Just a quick note and then you’ll have to click through to Venture Beat, for their take, on the latest and uncut or long form version of the second spot.

More thoughts on it later but hmm, to quote the old Wendy’s stuff, where’s the beef.

But hey, for the (third) richest man on the planet he can sure carry his acting weight along with Seinfeld. And you can’t buy that with microsoft stock!

or stick around and watch it here.