It’s been a while since my last Shamess PromoTion, where i highlight projects created by friends, mostly from Portugal. The project i’ll be describing today was developed by SAPO, where some good friends managed to deliver one of the most solid web applications i’ve seen lately, specially considering that Lisbon isn’t exactly Silicon Valley.
So, what’s Pond ? It’s an aggregator and publishing tool for social media services, that allows anyone to manage their social graph on a single place. You can import your friend list from social web services, merge friend contacts and update your social web status on the web, mobile or desktop.
The wide range of platform support is certainly the highlighted feature: Besides the web, Android, and Symbian mobile apps are available (iPhone soon) and desktop software (Mac, Windows and Linux) will also be released.
Currently Pond supports Twitter, Flickr, SAPO Fotos, YouTube, SAPO Vídeos, Facebook and SAPO Blogs, as well any RSS or Atom feed. It will surely be a great way to introduce the power of social web to a wider portuguese audience, since the application is sponsored by TMN the largest mobile carrier in Portugal (disclaimer: TMN is a Fulllsix client) PT Comunicações and Meo (it will be interesting to see a social app on a IPTV service: social TV).
With smartphones becoming more affordable, growth on the social web will be fueled by mobile web with centralizing services like Pond or Vodafone 360 taking full advantage our digital identities. I only wish i could add more metadata to my friends info, like birthdays, tags or events. Give me that, and i’ll be a happy ? Ponder ?
These days we had our share of new social web services, with Mashable or Techcrunch feeding us daily with some new shiny object. Nonetheless, some brands venture into this competitive territory and create their own experiences, particular when there’s one dedicated set of consumers who share a common passion.
There’s also a free mobile app to track drives, trails and racetracks and automatically upload them to one’s profile, with support for geo-tagged photos.
I’m a sucker for branded content and applications, and though suspicious of branded social networks (it’s like having a private talk on a crowded bar), this one from BFG really impressed me. Shame it’s only for North America.
Somehow related to last post’s theme of progressive enhancement, i found out via Johnny Holland a simple but effective video on “Designing for Mobiles: Users & Context”. The student work is based on the first chapters of Barbara Ballard’s book Designing the Mobile User Experience, depicting the increasing importance of understanding the newer platforms, where and how are they used, and how it relates to designing the user experience.
Last week was really busy, with tight project schedules and a 24h coding marathon at Codebits. Nonetheless, there’s always time to share the latest fresh inspirations:
First, another great idea by FarFar, with Nokia presenting the next step in workload management. Just upload that boring document you have on your Documents folder and be surprised.
Speaking of mobile, and for not accusing me of a Nokia bias, there’s Samsung Omnia, a video exploration on what a mobile device has to offer, at 42goodthings.com. Also created by a Swedish agency, Projector.
Having a great time? Then grab a Heineken beer, and take a good look around the bar to know the signs.
It could be easier to understand, so i wouldn’t had to put up with the annoying voice off. The Oddcast custom video is nice though. Work by Unit9.
After the digital inspiration, a few more video bytes on creativity, starting with Lit Studio‘s Interactive Mirror (not sure how it would work out on a Monday morning)
GPS Mission is a location-based game for mobile phones. Using the Mission Designer application, you’re invited to create your own mission using GPS coordinates.
Anyone with a GPS enabled phone can go through mission tasks, control checkpoints or complete their photo assignments, on a new kind of personal ARG.
, depicting the increasing importance of understanding the newer platforms, where and how are they used, and how it relates to designing the user experience.
