Gilt City's Cleverly Designed iPhone App

Gilt Group has rolled out their new group-buying / coupon site Gilt City to six cities (New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Chicago). With it comes the Gilt City iPhone app. There isn't much to write about about the couponing model as it is very much like others in the space (see Groupon, LivingSocial, Yelp, etc). Over time, we will tell if Gilt Group is able to win share through unique offerings, integration with Gilt Group, etc.

I did want to quickly touch on the application's design... which as you would expect with Gilt Group, is glossy and very visual. The background of each city page is themed respectively. Below, for instance, is Gilt City San Francisco - which has a vivid picture of San Francisco scenery. Big, splashy images are becoming very popular (see my post on About.me) - and, with a relatively straight-forward product offering, it is one way to stand out, localize the experience and stay on Gilt's brand.

And with the emergence of big screen devices like the iPad, it is again a reminder that design and color are play an important role in the experience:

Quora and instant Facebook Phone Q&A

Earlier today rumors / news broke of Facebook building a phone (more thoughts to come). See TechCrunch, AlleyInsider, Gizmodo, etc. Without input or verification from Facebook, these remain rumors. And because Facebook represents over 50% of iPhone app usage, it is potentially a very big deal... and the tech world is consequently very curious.

Turn to Quora... where many leading tech thinkers spend time and they too are curious. Questions and answers are in motion - and whether or not facts emerge, the input and debate from relevant people is both insightful and fun. This screenshot was taken minutes after TechCrunch's article went live:

(un)Attractive Foursquare Mayor Offers

Traveling this week, I checked into Boston's Logan Airport on Foursquare. I noticed that a special 'local offer' existed. Hoping it was discounted Dunkin Donuts coffee, I took a look and uncovered one of that strangest Foursquare Mayor Offers I have seen: The mayor of Logan Airport gets Massport 'Swag'... which no doubt means that someone working inside of Logan is wearing an "I Love Boston" sweatshirt.

More seriously: this is a lesson in crafting compelling offers... which in turn drive activity, engagement, sharing, etc. Discounts (see Gap, McDonalds) and giveaways are more attractive, appeal to larger audiences, and likely drive new users / fans / check-ins.

Mobile Accounts for 12.5% of Visits... and Other Interesting Stats From this Blog

Every so often I like to dig into this blog's traffic and see what it reveals. This time I was sparked by a Quora conversation about how bloggers use Google Analytics. I looked at traffic from the last 30 days and since January 1st.

Three things jump out:

1. 12.5% of my readership is now via mobile devices. That is up from 8% since January 1st. Considering its a content blog, 12.5% is a large amount and it represents a +50% gain.

2. Chrome has emerged as the #2 browser after a significant gain (25% from 18%). Meanwhile, Firefox and Internet Explorer both lost share (37% to 34% and 20% to 17%).

3. For Mobile usage, the iPhone and iPad are the clear #1 and #2. Amazingly, the iPad now accounts for 26% of all mobile visits. It has clearly eaten into the iPhone (which fell from 63% to 58%). Android has been relatively stable - 8% of visits over the last 30 days and 7% since Jan 1.

Of course this is biased data (from a tech blog) from a relatively small sample size (10,000+ monthly uniques).

Google Instant Thoughts

After a few days of usage, a handful of thoughts of Google Instant: 1. It's a technical feat: fast, inteliigent, and useful. 2. It's a design feat. Gorgeous, clean, simple and very Google (and Facebook to that extent).

3. It will have a significant impact on SEO and SEM... though I think we are all unclear exactly what it means yet.

My early thought is that it moves power to towards the head rather than the tail. For instance, more value will be placed on head terms and shorter queries - in other words, before the search is refined. For SEM that means that more bidding, traffic and clicks will be driven to those terms... and therefore they will cost more and CPMs will rise.

4. Today it requires you to search from Google.com. For most users, that is fine. But I am not sure that is the way we will behave in the future - and its certainly not I how use Google. My searches all occur in-browser... so Google Instant doesn't apply unless I do a secondary search / refinement.

5. That said, this has significant implications for Google Chrome. Imagine Instant applied to the browser... or to the OS, desktop, etc... Chrome and Chrome OS should utilize Instant across the browser and across other Google properties.

6. I believe this will mark a trend of companies that mimic the UI and design (which I am all for). Over time, this will be a very familiar interface and interaction.

Geo-Local Overload?

This is picture from Twitpic sums up the options that consumers and brick & mortar retailers face: choice overload. Google Places, Facebook Places and/or Fan Pages, Twitter, Yelp... and that doesn't include Groupon, LivingSocial, and other couponing options. Choice is great - and it drives deeper innovation. But choice can also be overwhelming - and drive non-committal usage.

Amidst Facebook Places, Dont Forget Google Places (Now with Coupons)

Lost among the hubbub surrounding the similarly named Facebook Places is Google's local product: Google Places. It might not include check-ins, but it is a product aimed at local businesses and search queries... and tied to Google's core competency and model. Google Places is: Yelp + AdWords + Google Analytics + Groupon. It's powerful.

Tied to Google's local search - which is integrated into core search, mobile and Google Maps - Google Places allows businesses to create profiles of themselves. These profiles supplement search results with content, pictures, etc.

For consumers or searchers, this means deeper and more actionable content. For business owners, this means that Google can provide analytics about searches / searchers... and of course get you to advertise against them. This includes:

A business dashboard (analytics) and advertising / coupon center:

A communications platform to broadcast content / events:

And a mobile / print couponing platform - of course tied to Google's mobile and maps platform:

And of course, Google is capable of promoting Places heavily through their content network (below is an example ad unit from this blog) and through Google's other popular products:

Nike Releases Nike+ GPS iPhone App - $1.99

Nike has released the Nike+ GPS iPhone application to help you track, map and analyze your runs. It is a paid $1.99 application. Without needing the shoes, wristband, and/or monitor, the Nike+ application uses GPS to track your runs. It is very well done and can run in the background using iOS4. It is noteworthy that Nike has decided to sell the application. The Nike+ gear (shoes, monitors, etc) can cost $100+. The application does everything the gear does... but $1.99 won't exactly make a dent in Nike's sales. You would think they would opt for mass distribution and view it as a way to promote the Nike Running line, community, and events. Furthermore, it is a relatively competitive space - some of the most popular applications are markedly more expensive (~$10) but there are free alternatively (despite having less functionality). Again, $1.99 is not priced for market share and some buyers will ask themselves if it is worth spending money after having already purchased a running app(s).

For past users of Nike+, it is a familiar interface. The app can track an entire run or guide you to a pre-determined distance or speed. Once you complete your run, you can sync it with NikeRunning.com, earn badges based on your historical performance and connect with friends.

But the best part is the mapping. Below is a heatmap from a walk to the grocery store. It shows speeds at different points and then charts against the fastest / slowest moments of the run / walk. Simple concept - but it is very well done and surprisingly very fun to use:

Twitter Takes Over Mobile Site to Promote Twitter for iPad (Love It)

Two weeks ago, Facebook rolled out their new Places product; and, to drive user awareness and adoption, they prominently promoted it within their mobile application and web experience. This week, Twitter rolled out Twitter for iPad. It's an exceptional product and I encourage non-Twitter users to trial it as well... the user experience is that good!

To drive awareness of the new application, Twitter is delivering an interstitial to users browsing via an iPad. It's big, highly relevant and promotes the application over the web experience (just compare the size / placement of the 'download button' vs. the mobile.twitter.com link).

It's another great example of driving usage through relevant promotion (relevance defined by placements and user targeting)... and what I refer to as getting product "in the river".