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Potential Applications of Facebook Connect in E-Commerce

Posted on December 15, 2008 by jessestay

I’m way too late on this, since it’s been mentioned several times already, but I thought I’d share a little presentation Jesse Pickard and the Razorfish guys did that I had the opportunity to help out on. Jesse asked me several questions about Facebook Connect a few months ago, and he turned it into this excellent presentation on potential uses of the platform for E-Commerce. In it, he uses iTunes, the iPhone (I still predict that’s coming – I always have, as has Facebook), and Amazon all as examples of potential integration points for Facebook Connect. These types of services have tremendous potential to see maximum success from integrating social networking into their own e-commerce platforms. They do risk some privacy, but that’s the advantage of Facebook – they are one of the few services out there which allow for privacy controls of their users, and they are only getting better at it.

I’d really like to see more e-commerce organizations embrace Facebook Connect. If I can be of help in doing so, please contact me! You can read more about it via the presentation Jesse Pickard made:

Portable Social Graphs – Imagining their Potential[swfobj style=”margin:0px” width=”425″ height=”355″ src=”http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=fbconnectrazorfish-1228360493956517-8&stripped_title=portable-social-graphs-imagining-their-potential-presentation” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”]

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: retail marketing)

What’s On Removed From the iTunes App Store

Posted on October 24, 2008 by jessestay

Zdnet is reporting that apparently, i.TV‘s competition, What’s On, has been removed from the Apple iTunes App store. Searching for the iPhone App returns a listing, but clicking on the listing returns an error saying the App couldn’t be found. There is no word from What’s On, and it’s unclear the reason for the dead links.

This news of What’s On, having recently pushed their 1.5 version to the iTunes App store, comes on the Heels of the number one Free App in the iTunes App store, i.TV. Both applications provide TV Listings and customizable TV lists for users, i.TV with much more content. i.TV also provides a movie listings and Theater search service which What’s On does not provide.

i.TV is a client of mine, so I have to admit I have a bias, but I’m very curious to know what’s “going” on here. I have no inside knowledge on this one unfortunately. I can only wonder if Apple discovered something that was in disagreement with their Terms of Use policies.

i.TV Hits #1 in 72 Hours

Posted on October 10, 2008 by jessestay

I’m trying to post a few more inspiring posts with the state of the economy and the sad state of the elections currently. I really believe much of the state of the stock market is being caused by negative reactions in the media. Hopefully I can help stop that. I started with my last post and a little perspective. I’d now like to share a little good news.

Today, at the company I work for, i.TV, we’ve announced that we’re now the number one Application in the iTunes App store! It took us only 3 days to get there. With 443 reviews in the short time we launched and almost all of them raving we’re really excited about it! We’re madly at work on our next features now.

As you can read on our blog, we’ve got some very exciting announcements coming soon, so stay tuned there to hear more. You can also read some of our favorite reviews on our blog. In the meantime, check out our Facebook, and Twitter profiles – be sure to follow and add yourself as a fan! Lastly, if you have any fan photos of your favorite shows or parts of the app, go ahead and share those in the “fan photos” section of our Facebook Page.

Here’s a little video of our launch and celebration music – you can buy the song on . We think it’s pretty inspirational. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4WMGZHewoQ&hl=en&fs=1]

Looking for iPhone and Facebook Development and Consulting Shops

Posted on October 9, 2008 by jessestay

With my new work at i.TV (go visit the iTunes Store Home Page if you want to try us out – lower right-hand corner), I have started phasing out my consulting (which used to be my full-time job) and am putting my focus towards building (with a top-notch team and great CEO, of course!) one of the top Entertainment App companies out there. In the process, I am still getting 5-10 people a week contacting me asking if I know anyone that does iPhone or Facebook Development. Quite frankly, finding someone to refer to is not an easy task! That is what I used to do, so it wasn’t something I was looking for (and I know there just aren’t many out there, as well, even with the high demand).

So, if you or someone you know does either iPhone or Facebook development, or work for a company that does, I want to make a deal with you or your company. I’ll send you these referrals for a commission on the deal you make with them. This is a win-win for all – I now have someone to send referrals to. You get the referrals and regular business, and the Clients now have someone they can get help from. Having written books on Facebook, and working for a company that does iPhone App development, along with this blog growing considerably and guest blogging on some of the top blogs on the internet, I get these requests regularly – I’d really like someone to send them to.

If you’re a developer, perhaps you’re starting to see the demand of Facebook and iPhone development. This is an excellent area to have knowledge in, in particular in a down economy. If you’d like to learn I do recommend you look at my book, FBML Essentials, and at the end of this month I’ll be doing a free webinar for O’Reilly in which I’ll cover beginning Facebook development. Stay tuned to this blog and I’ll reveal more details soon.

Know a Facebook or iPhone development company or developer? Shoot me an e-mail (or comment below): jesse at staynalive dot com or call me at (801) 853-8339. Also, if your business is in need of such work, give me a ring and I’ll point you in the right direction!

i.TV Launches Live in the Apple App Store

Posted on October 7, 2008 by jessestay

I’m proud to announce that our previously announced Entertainment, TV, and Movies application for the iPhone, i.TV is now available for all to download in the Apple App store. We’re proud to say that we’ve been able to even add in a few social components since we last announced it.

Our slogan at i.TV is “Media. My way.” We truly intend to change the way you watch television by truly socializing the experience, making it personalized to the individual. We’re starting that with a personalized TV and Movies guide on your iPhone. From our CEO, Brad Pelo, “i.TV makes it easy to discover television and movie programming options, share entertainment information with friends, and access media anywhere you can take an iPhone or iPod touch.”

With our Guide you can see what’s on, where you are, review the shows you are watching, see what others think of the shows you watch, search for what you want, or even filter by Genre, sort by most popular, and even more. In addition, you can add parental controls, send yourself a reminder by e-mail when a show is on, preview movies right on your iPhone, or share your favorite shows with a friend! Not just that but you can see theaters in your area, and preview the movies at those theaters before you watch them. If you’re a TV or Movie buff like me you’ll really like this app.

I covered this before when we thought we were close to going live, and you can see screenshots there – stay tuned for some even more impressive features to come. Again, I mentioned earlier my position is Chief Community Officer. I’m in charge of building community into our products – stay tuned to the i.TV blog later on today and I’ll share with you some of the efforts we’re starting out with to make it a more social experience.

You can download the App here. Also, you can read more about it on our blog, and Louis Gray and TUAW both have great posts.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4WMGZHewoQ&hl=en&fs=1]

Stay N’ Alive Now on Your iPhone!

Posted on October 4, 2008 by jessestay

This morning I installed the WPTouch plugin by Dale Mugford & Duane Storey onto this blog, enabling all mobile viewers to have a nice, very fast loading version of this blog on your iPhone. Loading http://staynalive.com in Safari on the iPhone gives you a nice, iPhone-formatted version of the blog that you can easily click through articles, read them in a very plain and simple format, share with friends, and more.

In addition, I also created a nicely formatted icon with my “Social” Geek logo which you can add to your Home Screen. Just click on the “+” sign in Safari, select “Add to Home Screen”, and it will add it to your home page. If you want the full version of the site, scroll down to the bottom and there will be a link to get the original formatting back.

This should be the beginning of a long line of changes for this site. As you can see, I’ve gone naked and listed my Reader count on the right of the blog, showing we’re quickly approaching 500 readers and growing. Because of that I want to do some things that will make this much more professional looking, while at the same time maintains the personal and open nature you have always gotten from me. Stay tuned, and you can follow redesign progress at http://new.staynalive.com.

If anyone has any connections to help get me the “StayinAlive.com” with the “i” before the “n”, it would make a really nice Christmas present!

i.TV Announces TV & Movies App for the iPhone

Posted on September 10, 2008 by jessestay

Today my new employer, i.TV, an up-and-coming startup with headquarters in Palo Alto, announced our first release of the “TV & Movies” App for the iPhone. The TV & Movies App we feel will change the way you watch TV and Movies. We intend to revolutionize entertainment so that you see what you want to see on TV and in the Movies, and that starts with your iPhone.

When you open up the TV & Movies App for the iPhone it starts by asking you your location, and, based on GPS coordinates, it finds your location, and recommends your local TV providers in the area (I’m using Louis Gray’s screenshots for this – he did such a great job on them!). It then downloads listings from your area, right to your iPhone, along with Movie Theater listings around your area.

From the TV listings, you can click through, choose your favorites, rate each TV show, view actors and upcoming episodes, choose star ratings for each, along with post reviews about each show and see what others have shared. You can rate reviews even and share how helpful they were to you.

Beyond just TV listings, we let you look up what movies are playing in your area. We’ll display the theaters closest to you and let you choose from the list and see all movies showing from those theaters at given times. From each movie listing you can do the same things you can do from TV shows – write reviews, rate your favorite movies, and more!

Within each movie or TV show you have the capability to also view pictures from the show, from movies you can watch the preview for the movie right on your iPhone (something that will keep you surfing for quite awhile!). You can also recommend movies and TV shows to your friends via e-mail.

There is an entire section devoted to search. So, for instance, I can type in “football” and see everything playing related to football at a given time. Or I can type in “computers”, or “fishing”, or you name it and find out what’s playing related to that term at the given time. You can also add any show or movie to your favorites (when you give it a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”, it also adds it to your “My Media” page.

What attracted me to this company is what is coming soon after our launch though. Above each listing is a button that says, “watch”. In the near future you’ll soon be able to save to a Tivo, stream your favorite episodes, and more, all right on your iPhone!

I have been hired onto i.TV as their Chief Community Officer – my responsibilities include Social Product Strategies for the company, and I’m currently working on a social application that I think will blow your socks off if you’re a TV or Movie junkie like myself. Stay tuned to our blog for much more news to come – this is only the beginning of Media, My Way.

We are simply awaiting iTunes to post the App to the iTunes store (we were expecting it to appear today, but due to the iTunes 8 launch it may be in the next day or two). We will update you via our blog and Twitter (we’ll update Twitter first!) when it’s available. You can read the official announcement here: http://mediamyway.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/itv-not-in-app-store-yetcoming-soon/. Check out our video here (YouTube Channel coming soon!): http://i.tv.

5 Features You’ll Like in the New Facebook Design

Posted on September 9, 2008 by jessestay

I track the Facebook Forums pretty regularly to make sure I’m getting all the info I need, and that I’m able to help on particular issues as I have time to help. One common thread I’ve seen throughout the last week is the continued complaints about the new Facebook design and how people don’t want to be forced into change. I was among the complainers myself at one point, but as Facebook has improved the site since they first allowed people to opt into the new design, I have really grown to like the new features Facebook provides. Here are 5 of my favorite features:

1. The Live Feed

Just about a week ago, Facebook launched a completely live Feed, that automatically refreshes with every update of every friend in your friends list. As new updates come through, you can comment and interact with the items that post to the feed, encouraging much more interactivity between friends. Facebook could definitely improve this more by opening up the Feed to third parties as Twitter, Identi.ca, or FriendFeed do, but it’s a step in the right direction, and Facebook allows you to peek into the lives of those you associate with much better than Twitter or FriendFeed do.

2. Feed Filtering

Also a recent update to the new design, users can display only the top stories, only the status updates, only the photos, or only the posted items of their friends. In addition, users can filter by only posts from applications they have added. This also includes Pages, Groups, and Events. Or, you can pick a specific Friends List (You are organizing your friends into Friends lists, right?) and filter by only those friends within a particular list. This makes sorting through all the information much better to only find the information you are looking for. Me, I like the firehose and I generally turn to the live feed.

3. Facebook for the iPhone

One thing the new design has enabled is a better architecture for handling better design on mobile devices such as the iPhone. The new Facebook iPhone app enables you to very easily set your status, browse what your friends are up to, post and browse through photos, look up a friend’s cell phone number, and more. Better yet, there’s an even better version in the works that is said to do things like allow tagging of individuals in photos right on the iPhone.

4. Application Tabs

If the developers of your favorite apps are savvy, they can enable their application to be added as a tab to your Facebook profile. This enables your friends to have an additional, even more expanded view of you when they browse your profile. For instance, if someone visits my profile, they can view all the songs I like via the iLike tab on my profile, or look at which of my friends are also family members of mine. This could also be a useful area for a resume, or any other useful information you want to share about yourself. Check with the developers of your favorite apps to learn if they provide this functionality or not.

5. Pages are no longer cluttered with Applications

Perhaps my favorite part of the new design is that it is much cleaner than the previous design. There is much more order and structure to it all. Now, the majority of your application boxes are saved to the “Boxes” tab, with the exception of a few that have adopted to the new design. You can always move an application out of the Boxes tab by clicking on the edit pencil icon and selecting “move to wall tab”. However, it appears Facebook is trying to give users more choice in this – now you can choose much easier and better ways of organizing your profile so others can learn what you want them to know about you.

The new design is definitely a big change, but I think as people spend some time in it they will find that it is actually an improvement, and will allow for even greater control and flexibility than it used to be. I suggest you give it a chance, play around with it and respond below with your own favorite features!

I’m Changing Gears

Posted on September 2, 2008 by jessestay

I mentioned earlier I was going to announce a big change this week. I’m “on the move“, as Jeremiah Owyang would put it. Today was my first day working full time at a new Silicon Valley startup with offices here in Utah, where I will be leading their Social Product strategy moving forward. I am phasing off my regular consulting, and moving to this new Entrepreneurial effort in helping them grow.

At the moment, I can’t reveal much more, other than the fact that we’re building the next era in Interactive Entertainment on the iPhone. The company I’m working with right now started out as a client of mine, and I liked their product so much I decided it would be worth helping them out full time. I believe fully that we are going to change much of the way you watch TV today. We will be launching most likely next week, and you can follow the Twitter account @MediaMyWay to catch our launch announcement and follow our updates (I’ll also point you there from my Twitter account when we launch – we’ll announce it there first!). Other Twitter accounts you can follow for updates and “clues” are @JustintheWhitt, @Romay, and our CEO, @BradPelo.

How will this affect the other stuff I do? In reality, not much is changing, other than what I do full time. I have received permission to keep SocialToo.com going part-time, as it has, unless it takes off. Expect some very cool things to come from SocialToo in the near future – we’re working on a completely new design and a really cool new feature that will be released in the next couple weeks.

As far as my blogging and book-writing is concerned, I see nothing changing, and I intend fully to continue blogging regular, unbiased articles that I feel inspire and educate. I will disclose where necessary if I feel my current employment has any influence in what I am writing. I still hope to continue writing in other capacities as well, as long as speak as I’m asked to do (I’m speaking in Dallas next week to the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, in fact – come see me speak!).

So, keep watching the @MediaMyWay Twitter account, and you can also follow this blog and I’ll be sure you’re aware of the latest of our happenings (we’ll have a company blog here shortly, which I’ll let you know about). In the meantime I’ll keep posting regular, educational, and original content as I always have and always will. “Stay” Tuned!