With Its New Motion Ads, Adtile Is Betting Users Want To Play With Their Ads

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/27/adtile-motion-ads/

Mobile ad startup Adtile is announcing a new ad unit today that offers a bit more fun and interactivity than standard mobile ads.

Founder and CEO Nils Forsblom told me that the company’s new Motion Ads take advantage of a smartphone’s GPS, gyroscope, motion coprocessor, accelerometer and digital compass on both Android on iOS. So instead of just tapping or watching a video, consumers are asked to shake, turn, and otherwise interact in their ads.

For example, Forsblom gave me a quick demo of a coffee shop ad that required the user to shake their phone, filling up a drink cup in the process. Once the cup was full, Adtile showed a map and a list of nearby stores. (Forsblom said the ad units are drawing on location data from Yelp, thanks to a new partnership between the two companies.)

This kind of interaction is common in games and other apps (including branded apps that are arguably a form of advertising), but I haven’t seen it in many mobile ads, nor in the various flavors of native advertising that keep popping up. Forsblom said that’s because “all of the pieces have to be done on native code.”

“Let’s be straight — advertising is not that exciting,” he said. “For better or for worse, it’s still images and app installs. This is really something that I think will make people play.”

I last wrote about Adtile in May 2013, when the company was still called TenFarms. At the time, the team was developing the Adtile platform, which allows users to tap on photos and other editorial content with the Adtile icon, bringing up related, interactive ads. Now the company has rebranded under the Adtile name, and Forsblom said it’s working with hundreds of publishers, with more on the waiting list.

MIT academics design book that lets readers feel the protagonist's pain

http://www.designboom.com/technology/mit-academics-design-book-that-lets-readers-feel-the-protagonists-pain-01-31-2014/

14 Social Media Trends for 2014 [Infographic]

http://socialtimes.com/14-social-media-trends-2014-infographic_b142301

Which Coding Language Is Right For You?

http://readwrite.com/2014/02/11/coding-language-learn-to-code-ios-android-web#awesm=~ovHYrp8CBorPvH

Coding is all the rage these days. Students of all ages and adults already in the workforce are increasingly encouraged to learn programming. Even President Obama said everyone should learn to code. 

There are countless resources that offer the opportunity to learn different skills. From free online classes through services like Codecademy to multi-thousand dollar programs that promise to turn you into a bona fide software engineer in nine weeks. 

But the question remains: Does everyone really need to learn to code?

The answer is no, at least if you’re not in an industry that relies on technology. But that pool of workers is gradually shrinking.

Gregg Pollack, founder of learn-to-code service Code School, says anyone who has to communicate with a developer at any point in their career should learn the basics of programming.

“If you learn some code, you’ll have a much better appreciation for what they do,” Pollack said. “Take the time to understand what it is and how to effectively communicate with programmers.” 

If your goal is to just understand programming concepts, you can play around with a few coding languages and see which one you prefer to learn. However, if you have a goal in mind—such as building an iOS application or a responsive Web page—you need the right tool for the job. 

I’m Just Getting Started

If you have no experience with coding languages or Web development, you can start by learning basic HTML and CSS. 

HTML isn’t a programming language; it’s a mark-up language used for formatting documents. With HTML, you’re able display your words, pictures, links and video in a format that can be understood by Web browsers. Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS, help you can change the font, size, columns, and other design aspects of a Webpage. 

You may already have experience using HTML and not even realize it. People who use WYSIWYG editors like Adobe Dreamweaver might have noticed you can change your editing style by toggling from “visual” to “HTML.” 

Even minimal knowledge of HTML is helpful for people, whether they want to pursue programming or not. Having a mild understanding of how responsive websites operate, and learning how to fix your personal blog or site on your own, can help in many careers down the road. 

I Want To Make Web Apps That Look Good

JavaScript is the code makes websites look great, and there are a variety of compatible frameworks like Ember, Angular and Backbone to help you organize and structure your Web applications for multiple browsers. 

JavaScript has been around for 20 years, and it isn’t getting any less relevant. In fact, it’s on track to become the dominant enterprise language.

You can run JavaScript on just about any browser, and it is used to program both frontend and backend services. There are numerous resources for students to learn JavaScript, and Pollack told me JavaScript is Code School's most popular course offering. 

“If you’re doing anything on the Web, you have to learn JavaScript, no matter what your backend is,” Pollack said. 

I Need Fast Prototyping

If you’re a designer and want to learn backend programming to test applications, Ruby or Python are good options—both are object-oriented, dynamic languages that are fairly easy to learn. And both were among the top five most popular job skills of 2013. 

Ruby has a large ecosystem and an active, supportive community. Ruby was created in 1995, but rose to popularityafter the Rails software framework launched in 2003 and made building websites and Web applications simpler thanks to collections of pre-written code.

Python, while similar to Ruby, has a somewhat larger scientific community, so if you want to progress into machine learning and artificial intelligence, Python is the language you should learn. 

If you’re ready to get started, try Learn Python The Hard Way, or the Ruby track at Codecademy. 

I Want To Build An Android App

On Android, the open-source operating system, app development is mostly done in Java. 

You can build Android applications on Windows or Mac, and purchase relatively cheap devices to test your apps on. And as Android continues to dominate the market share, more mobile developers are choosing to get started on Android than iOS. 

The free introduction to Java programming course on Udacity is for beginners that want to learn Java concepts. Once you’re comfortable with Java, check out the official Android developer site for a comprehensive breakdown of how to create your first Android project. 

I Want To Build An iOS App

On your Mac, you can create iOS applications that run on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with Objective-C. Objective-C is Apple’s abstraction of C with influences of Smalltalk used primarily for building iOS and Mac applications. 

Because there is less fragmentation on iOS compared to Android, it’s easier to create a one-size-fits-all application for the App Store than Google Play. 

Beyond knowledge of Objective-C there are a few other requirements for creating an iOS app—a Mac running OS X 10.7 or later; Xcode, the free tool needed to build an app; and the iOS software development kit. 

To get started, check out the iOS path on Code School and the Apple Developer tutorial.

My Child Wants To Learn To Code

Students across the U.S. were exposed to coding last year. The push to teach kids to code rose in popularity through academic programs like Code.org, which brought coding concepts into the classroom.

Through gamifying the coding experience with tutorials including Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds, kids learned the basics of problem solving and introductory programming skills. Code.org features student and teacher tutorials, but there are other game-based resources as well. 

If your child or young student wants to learn programming, or continue practicing concepts and skills she learned in the classroom, start from—or rather with—Scratch.

Scratch is created specifically for students to create interactive games and stories through easy-to-follow lesson plans and collaborative work environments. Scratch is great for students just starting out, primarily designed for students ages 8 to 16.

Find What Works For You

You don't need to have a particular project in mind to start learning the concepts of programming, but it definitely makes it more fun if you have an idea that you can turn into reality. 

If you’ve heard “You should learn to code!” one too many times and you’re ready to finally begin, dive into any class that doesn’t require programming experience and get started. Once you find a class you’re comfortable with, an idea for a project will materialize, and from there, you can learn as little or as much as you want.

Summary; If you’re ready to buckle down and learn programming, here’s where you should start.

Smart TV Apps Are Completely Changing What It Means To Watch TV

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-smart-tv-app-industry-2-2014-2

Mobile And Big Data — The Intersection Of The Internet's Two Defining Trends

http://www.businessinsider.com/big-data-has-real-potential-thanks-to-mobile-2014-1

The world is awash in data. Mobile is driving the latest surge in data volume.

This is being touted as great news for every aspect of business. There's a lot that can be done with the reams of data generated by on-the-go customer activity on smartphones. Big data is seen as a way to improve productivity at every level of a company, give brands exact ad targeting capability, and help make healthcare and government more efficient.

But there's a big catch.

That data is only useful if it can be harnessed effectively. Data is important, undeniably, but picking the right data is even more important. This typically means defining a target or goal and subsequently establishing disciplined parameters for the data you want to collect or process.

In a recent report from BI Intelligence, we take stock of how big Big Data might become, where the opportunities are for Big Data to have a strong impact on a given field, and talk about how businesses might choose the most effective data sets to meet their goals. 

Here are some of the defining features of the intersection of big data and mobile: 

• First, big data needs to be defined: Big data is most commonly defined as data sets that meet three attributes, known as the three "Vs": volume, variety, and velocity. But there is something more to it. "I like to say there's a fourth V: value," says Kipp Jones, vice president of product at Skyhook. In order for data to be meaningful at all, it needs to be captured and stored efficiently. Then someone has to manage the data, analyze it, and extract value from it. Data, big or not, doesn't add up to anything worthwhile if it doesn't have value to someone.
• Mobile is particularly well-suited to a big data lens: Mobile big data isn't only a function of smartphone penetration and consumer usage patterns. The data is also created by apps or other services working in the background. Technically speaking, it's not that different from data created using the traditional Web. The difference is that consumers are just producing more of it as we shift our behavior to digital channels, leaving a trail of data documenting our movements and actions. Even when we are ostensibly not using our phones, we are still creating reams of data.
• This data can be used to optimize and personalize mobile experiences: Mobile big data can be used for a dizzying variety of purposes, but it is often used for the optimization and personalization of mobile services.  App developers, for example, might use Flurry's analytics to improve their apps. Retention is a key metric for developers. Developers can compare their user retention numbers with all other apps and apps within their own categories, to gain insight into how they stack up, and what they might have to change to improve their numbers.
• Or to help drive an explosion in mobile advertising: Location data is an essential component of mobile big data — perhaps the primary data type that differentiates mobile from Web-based big data. Location data is expected to help transform the mobile advertising industry. The ability to deliver real-time hyper-local, targeted advertising represents a potentially momentous evolution of the ad market.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/big-data-has-real-potential-thanks-to-mobile-2014-1#ixzz2sDoUCg5h

Get Fit This Year by Fleeing From Augmented Reality Zombies: Race Yourself Transforms Exercise Into a Game on Google Glass

http://press.raceyourself.com/tech.html

Race Yourself is a New Fitness Startup for Google Glass, Aiming to Turn Exercise Into a Game.  By Racing Against a Virtual Projection of Yourself, Attaining Personal Bests, and Burning Calories, You Can Unlock New Game Modes Such as Running Away from Giant Rolling Boulders. Race Yourself has Already Raised £200,000 from Investors Lead by DN Capital, and is Now Launching a Crowd-Funding Campaign Via Their Website, www.raceyourself.com, on the 8th January.