WWDC 2017

This weeks marks the start of WWDC 2017, which is Apples developer conference. As with past developers conferences Apple holds a keynote laying out the plans for their major platforms and even releasing product information.

For a rundown on the announcements this check out the article in Wired or the the NY Times,which provide an overview of the announcements.

I found the presentation the most interesting during the hardware sections: iMac Pro, iPad Pro and the HomePod. The iMac Pro shows the continued attempt by Apple to woo the professional community, which had felt abandoned with the dwindling support for the Mac Pro. I think this is a great move as “Pro” users needs vary and an iMac Pro could fit that niche between a regular iMac and Mac Pro. I had heard the Mac Pro was going thru a complete redesign, which was needed so we shall see how the two systems compare once the Mac Pro is complete. Apple may be largely a consumer phone company these days thru mindshare it is the Pro community that I think really pushes at they have their hearts set on the bleeding edge.

The iPad Pro is not a device that I have a use for in my workflow. Though I have seen it used to great affect in doctors offices, which I think is a perfect environment. The iPad Pro provides a laptop-light product for users need a screen and acccess to information though not necessarily a full laptop. It may be the largest maket though it is important for Apple to be in the market.

With the Google Home and Amazon Echo Apple needed to release a product like the Homepod though at the current price and the focus placed largely on music I wonder if it is too little too late.

What did y’all think about the keynote?

Falling Sales

On one of the more recent episodes of ATP they were discussing the report from Apples latest earnings that iPad sales are continuing to fall. They are not the the only ones to mention it either as Recode and Business Insider as well as other news sites have mentines the decline in Apples tablet.

There is much speculation across the punditry on why this is happening (lack of ability for a tablet to do real work, bigger phones have more portability than a tablet with a big enough screen for movies, reading etc).

From peronal experience, I can say that my tablet is several years old and still runs great so I have intention of upgrading in the near future. It is a complementary device to my Mac and iPhone that I use it for consuming media while reading or watching a video. The tablet could not replace my laptop in terms of power or computing flexibility nor my phone in terms of mobilty (and camera). I enjoy my tablet greatly though I can understand greatly while sales have slumped (though by no means are the sales bad; it is just compared to the rarefied sales of the iPhone it is hard to not see the differential.

The Old is New Again with Newsletters

Email has been having a renaissance lately via the newsletter. As social media becomes more fragmented and noisier users are turning more toward newsletters for curated topic specific content. Among knowledge peddlers like writers, artists, pundits and industry leaders it allows creators to aggregate their content for diehard fans as well as provide new content to readers in a curated form. Social media is often about the moment while a newletter allows for long form, indepth content delivered in an easily read format without any platform requirements. (Email is fairly ubiqitous as enough compnies provide free email services that there is no barrier to get an address.)

In the early 2000s, email was a marketing tool though the new wave of email newsletters have moved beyond simply selling. Most email newsletters are looking to establish a rapport with their readers thru adding value. The newletter may be selling someting to their readers though funding for newsletters is also accomplished thru donation, patronage, and sponsorship. I have shifted some of my readership away from RSS feed to newsletters and I have enjoyed getting the regular emails in my inbox.

In MPOW we leverage email campaigns for communication so I have been investigating the different tools that are availiable in the market. There are tools aimed at every level of complexity with those aimed enterprise customers with analyticas and reports and also those aimed for more hobbyist users.

Newsletter Platforms
Revue (https://www.getrevue.co) - Revue is s start up based in the Netherlands that focuses on making rich personal newsletters with embedded links and full feature text.

MailChimp(https://mailchimp.com) - MailChimp is the industry leader in terms of mindshare in the email marketing space. They are integrated into platforms (IFTT), which is great if you want get your contacts into your CRM.

TinyLetter(https://tinyletter.com) - Tiny Letter is campaign tool from Mail Chimp (acquired through acquisition focused on non-business users who want to create a letter along the lines of a paper zine or family newsletter.

Zoho Campaigns - A tool from the ubiquitous cloud computing service provider that provides SAS services across a large product line and verticals (CRM, Email, Invoices).

Newsletters in the News

O’Hare, Steve (2016-Dec–13) Revue makes email newsletters personal again Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/13/revue/ on 2017-Jan–27

Wayne, Teddy (2016-Nov–12) What is a TinyLetter? Like Ye Olde Blog though Less Public Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/fashion/tinyletter-newsletters-the-new-blog.html on 2017-Jan–27.

Nelson, Jess (2016-Dec–28) Newsletters Most Common Email Marketing Tactic Of 2016 Retrieved from http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/291955/newsletters-most-common-email-marketing-tactic-of.html on 2017-Jan–27

Rupp, Shannon(2017-Jan–2) Subscription Newsletters, Booming Like It’s the 18th Century Retrieved from https://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2017/01/02/Subscription-Newsletters/ on 2017-Jan–27

Finley, Klint(2015-Sep–25) Sorry Ello, the Real Anti-Facebook Is Good Old Email Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/2015/09/sorry-ello-real-anti-facebook-good-old-email/ on 2017-Jan–27