What Trip Hawkins and Investors had to say at the AppNation Conference

I had a chance to attend Day 1 of the AppNation Conference in San Francisco yesterday.  This is the second year for AppNation and this year’s 2-Day event is subtitled “Show Me The Money Conference“.  AppNation Chairman Drew Ianni has done a tremendous job lining up an amazing breadth of speakers for the presentations, panels and sessions.
I was just in time to catch the end of the opening keynote by Trip Hawkins, CEO of game company Digital Chocolate, but most widely known as a founder of Electronic Arts and The 3DO Company.  Hawkins’ most notable point centered on the “browser beating the app store” and the biggest challenge of app developers being consumer discovery.  These points were echoed by other panels later in the day that including investors, developers and app store ecosystem companies.  Hawkins cited a few logical facts to back up his browser argument, including:

• Most people are still discovering apps via regular web browsing, which is faster and driven by search
• Tablets are browser friendly
• Mobile and TV browsers are getting better
• Specific devices will matter less in the long run

The next big panel was made up several investors; Ianni proclaimed “We’ve got the money in the room!”  There was various shades of sentiment on whether or not the technology sector is in a bubble or mini-bubbles or no bubble at all.  Very clear.  That aside, they did agree that investors are putting money in. The other point they agreed upon is that there are more different types of financing available than ever before.  One can’t help but to spot the headlines of 2-person companies to those that have been building for years getting funding from traditional VCs, Angels, Super Angels and even crowdsourced.

When asked for final remarks, a few of the panelist had a few wise (and interesting) things to share:

• Aydin Senkut advised app developers to look for smaller categories that don’t have mobile leaders, such as health since games, news and social network already have leaders and an increasingly crowded landscape.
• Steve Eskinazi stated that he still prefers investing in small nimble teams finding that they often outperform larger lumbering teams.
• Raj Singh had a surprising statement – a feeling that the mobile [app] space has had a lot less disruption than the first internet revolution and that the opportunities are not quite as broad except for some specific categories like location.  A few of his co-panelist seemed perplexed.  Unfortunately, the panel ran out of time for further discussion.

Look out for my next post featuring App Rock Stars and the Platform Problem.

iPad 2 in the Kindergarten Classroom

Living in a technologically progressive area and being in the business, our children are no strangers to computers and gadgets at home. They also have computer lab at school where teachers guide them to educational game and activity websites.

But this story is a little different. A school district in Auburn, Maine has decided to shell out $200,000 for the purchase of 285 iPad 2 tablets for Kindergarten students and teachers. The decision was based on a video that demonstrated the progress made by Kindergarteners who were previously struggling with literacy basics. The school committee immediately saw the benefit of the new tool in the classroom.

iPads cost less and are easier to maintain than laptops. The small size is more manageable and the touchscreen interface is intuitive for younger students to use.  There is also a broad range of inexpensive educational apps.

What are your thoughts on this level of technology in the Kinder classroom?

Props to the Geekbeat.tv Podcast where I first heard this story.

#thatswhatshesaid

Thank you Ignite Social  Media.  I love all of your clever social media badges; it’s hard to pick a favorite!  I just wish I had seen you at SXSW for the stickerbook!

What happened to the Web Design Community?

If you’ve been around the Internet since the beginning, you would wholeheartedly agree with Vitaly Friedman over at Smashing Magazine. With all of the technology changes, something else has changed – the design community.  Could be the over expanding shape of the information landscape, could be that the first batches of web designers are getting older, could be that younger designers have adopted whole new means of communication – definitely all of the above and more.

Vitaly raises important issues and makes some solid recommendations about how to re-engage in the web design community.  If you care about web design, make the time to read his article.

Animatable – A Promising new CSS3 Animation Tool

A first look at Animatable from Andy Clarke on Vimeo.

Animatable is a promising new CSS3 tool to create animations deployable across Webkit browsers on any platform or device – this means web browsers and mobile devices such as Android, BlackBerry and iPhones!

The d.Fund will focus on Designer-Centric Startups

Always refreshing to hear designers get recognized! The d.Fund aims to increase the number of start-ups co-founded by people who have design experience. Read more at TechCrunch.

Reaching Generation Z – The Real Tastemakers!

Generation Z = Today’s teenagers.  They are the real Tastemakers.  Recognize that it is no longer just about brand, but about what one “likes” – and being able to share that sentiment easily.  Read Kathy’s Savitt’s insightful post at Mashable.