A Pixeled Point of View

A weekly collection from the inter-webs concerning culture + technology.

LINKS

A wonderfully niche tumblr about UX/UI that focuses on first time user experiences.  http://firsttimeux.tumblr.com/

Spend a few minutes and geek out on car dashboard design with this photo blog. Besides well-designed italian expresso machines, I feel car dashboards represent the vanguard of UI. Avanti!  http://car-ux.com/

This agency’s blog has a nice observation about the connection between Responsive Design and Cassette Design. For you youngsters, cassettes were a portable audio container that used 1/8” magnetic tape to hold the music. Crazy, right? Crazy, good.  Have a gander. http://needmoredesigns.com/blog/early-responsive-design/

TECH

Building on the immense popularity of manicure art — where intricate patterns and small gem-like stones are stuck on the nail — toy company Takara Tomy Arts. has developed a micro-thin LED sticker that uses NFC to communicate with your smartphone and lights up when you make a call – or use an electronic money card.  Link

Facebook has announced Nearby Friends, a new feature built into Facebook’s mobile app that allows you to see which of your friends are close by, and even share your exact location with others. The new feature uses the geolocation technology in your smart phone to determine when you are close to one of your Facebook friends. When activated, the feature will send periodic notifications alerting you to friends who are nearby. Link

MUSIC

Tearjerker is the name of the band and they have put out an EP. “After some sputters and coughs, the transfixing loop kicks in—it’s a soccer chant, something huge and relentlessly simple designed to ripple out over festival masses. Hear it once, and feel it become part of your under-the-breath murmuring for the rest of your day.” Link

Gorilla vs. Bear has the audio goodness that we need right now. Check out the mix for March 2014 and it will make you forget about all this crummy weather we’ve been having. Standout artists include: Yumi Zouma, DJ Rashad and Tei Shi.  http://www.gorillavsbear.net/2014/03/26/march-2014-mix/

680 Million Monthly Active Users

Thats a big number.  Actually, thats a huge number but as the expression goes its really not just a number, is it?  That number represents Facebook’s subset of mobile users on a monthly basis. Thier total number of monthly users is 1.06 billion, which is also, as they say up in Boston, wicked massive. What does 680 million monthly users on mobile mean? It means that for anyone building a marketing campaign if you don’t create a strategy and execution with a Facebook mobile user path, you are missing the boat about the size of a huge cruise ship. This group is a solid, engaged user base that are on smart phones and checking their Facebook accounts at least twice a day. They are female, male, gen z, gen x and they are global. Everyone from Shopper Marketing to Brand to Experiential to Social should know this number, 680 million.  This number is not really a number but an arrow and a beacon. As an arrow, it shows the path is towards mobile engagement and as a beacon it clearly showes us where we as marketers need to be steering the ship. If your next engagement doesn’t have this number factored in then, chum, your’e missing the boat.

UNIQLO / UNIQLOOKS / Contagious Magazine

via contagiousmagazine.com

In the vein of popular fashion sites such as Lookbook, UNIQLOOKS showcases global street fashion, and features UNIQLO clothing worn in different combinations. Outfits can be posted to the users’ Facebook page and looks can be Liked and commented on through the social network.

Bing is first engine to integrate Facebook ‘Likes’ | Digital Times

This is the dawning of a new ear of search, one that will no doubt provide marketers and businesses with enormous swathes of insights into consumer behaviour and an era that will change the way goods and services are marketed and sold.

via digitaltimes.ie