Firebrand Media Blog http://firebrand-media.com/index.php Firebrand Media Blog en gbrad@firebrand-media.com Copyright 2013 2013-05-22T21:32:35+00:00 Developer Diary: ITP Day 6 http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/developer_diary_itp_day_6 http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/developer_diary_itp_day_6#When:21:32:35Z After a marathon of coding, debugging and pulling my hair out - I don’t have hair on my head so take a guess at where it came from - today, my main focus is to fix the issue of extra padding that is presenting itself on the mobile layout. It looks like 20 or so pixels on the right. You don’t see it when you first come to the page, but it’s there - especially when you enter a search term which causes the entire page to shift left - and I’d like to squash all of the bugs that I can before moving to the next phase of development.

]]> Blogging, 2013-05-22T21:32:35+00:00 Developer Diary: ITP Day 5 http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/developer_diary_itp_day_51 http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/developer_diary_itp_day_51#When:13:46:18Z Six months later and I’ve finally cleared the decks enough to get back into the ITP redesign. Now, where to begin? Where I left off, I guess. Back to the event calendar! It took a while to get back up to speed. Thankfully, I decided to keep this diary. It was actually helpful to look back at the first four days to find where I left off.

]]> Blogging, 2013-05-22T13:46:18+00:00 The Sports Tightrope: Balancing Your Content http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_sports_tightrope_balancing_your_content http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_sports_tightrope_balancing_your_content#When:15:49:25Z Official websites are now a major player in the sporting landscape. Sports teams now see themselves as media organizations – offering news that competes with more traditional outlets such as print and television. (And they both have enough problems as it is.) I am the Managing Editor for one of the world’s most famous soccer clubs. Arsenal Football Club pride themselves on history, tradition and integrity as much as on-field success.

We have also developed highly-successful digital and social media strategies. Our numbers stack up alongside the most successful sporting franchises in the world. We certainly engage with our fans. But, in the modern world, what form should that engagement take?

Is the ‘homer’ now transparent and irrelevant? Or, in a digital world in which Twitter has lifted speculation, snap-judgment and bar-room debate (forever the currency of the sports fan) on to a higher plane, is it more important than ever? That is the question I will explore.

]]> Events, 2013-03-11T15:49:25+00:00 Zombies, Run! Transforming Fitness, Games & Story http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/zombies_run_transforming_fitness_games_story http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/zombies_run_transforming_fitness_games_story#When:01:09:54Z Everyone wants to be fitter. The trouble is making yourself exercise.

Some systems use ‘gamification’ to turn exercise into points, and set targets and ‘win’ conditions. Zombies, Run! takes a different approach. We combine gameplay and storytelling to make an audio adventure with one way to escape from the zombies: run.

The game is out on iPhone, Android and Windows Phone. It’s one of the highest grossing and most successful smartphone fitness apps ever. We spent nothing on marketing or advertising, the IP is brand new, and we raised our funding Kickstarter.

In this talk, we’ll explain why we think it works so well, thanks to: the motivational power of immersive storytelling where you can’t wait to hear the next instalment; our focus on hands-free gameplay; ensuring playability by all ability levels; the high quality story by an award-winning novelist; and excellent sound design and engineering.

We think this might be the future of fitness gaming.

]]> Events, 2013-03-11T01:09:54+00:00 Industrial Revolution 3.0 & Future of 3D Printing http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/industrial_revolution_3.0_future_of_3d_printing http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/industrial_revolution_3.0_future_of_3d_printing#When:00:53:03Z What is the future of manufacturing, design, and creativity? How are 3D printing and the maker movement shifting the global economy?

Mike Senese, Senior Editor at Wired, and Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO and Co-Founder of 3D printing marketplace Shapeways, will discuss how 3D printing is revolutionizing manufacturing and democratizing creation for everyone.

Sharing their perspectives from the front lines, Mike and Peter will outline the key trends of Industrial Revolution 3.0: collaborative design, open access, creative commerce, green production, and a DIY ethos. They will discuss the limitations of mass manufacturing and explain why digital fabrication enables individuals to find and make products that truly meet their unique needs.

What open source did for software, 3D printing can do for physical things. Turning bits into atoms has never been easier.

]]> Events, 2013-03-11T00:53:03+00:00 Forget Native: Learn to Write HTML5 Mobile Apps http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/forget_native_learn_to_write_html5_mobile_apps http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/forget_native_learn_to_write_html5_mobile_apps#When:20:02:53Z You want to write a bunch of mobile applications, but you dread learning the Objective-C of iOS, the flavors of “bastardized Java” for Android and BlackBerry, or the C#/Visual Basic of Windows Phone. Never fear—armed with your existing knowledge of HTML and CSS, you too can write some killer, device agnostic, mobile applications and even learn the required steps for taking part in each device’s hardware functionality.

Native development can be great for games and those needing hardcore CPU or graphics processing power. But most of the non-gaming applications you use everyday can be (or already are) written in HTML5 offering you one code-base to serve a diverse hardware market.

In addition to training and creating their first, basic HTML5 mobile application, attendees will also learn about marketing and delivery options for non-native applications.

]]> Events, 2013-03-10T20:02:53+00:00 What’s so funny about innovation? http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/whats_so_funny_about_innovation http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/whats_so_funny_about_innovation#When:14:37:20Z Anything compelling has to have a human element to it, but humans are inherently complex, and therefore unpredictable. The most successful innovations often seem counter-intuitive when they are introduced, but that’s what can make them so valuable. So, if logic so often fails, how do you innovate and create brands, products, and services that people will connect with, care about, and value? In this talk, we take a cue from stand-up comedians: like brands, they have to consistently deliver fresh, innovative thinking that their audiences relate with. What lessons can designers and brands learn from the deliberately counter-intuitive comedy industry? Join Paul Valerio, Principal at experience design firm, Method, and Baratunde Thurston, comedian and best-selling author, for a Q&A on comedy and how it can be used for brand, product, and service innovation.

]]> Events, 2013-03-10T14:37:20+00:00 The Grocery Store: Going “Tech” Fresh to Survive http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_grocery_store_going_tech_fresh_to_survive http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_grocery_store_going_tech_fresh_to_survive#When:14:08:26Z With high quality internet access rising, cell phones and tablets more ubiquitous than ever and heightened multitasking among “millenials,” grocery shopping is not what it used to be. Only 41% of millenials buy food at traditional grocery store, and focus on convenience over store loyalty (via “Trouble in Aisle 5” report, June 2012, from Jefferies & Co/AlixPartners http://www.jefco.com). Once considered to be near the forefront of retail innovation to appease customers (and keep them coming back for more), grocery stores are seeking various ways to stay relevant across shopper generations. Technology is a key asset, with stores considering interactive and 3D signage that tailors to shoppers, dynamic shelf labels and displays, “smart” carts that help pick items, instant near field communication purchases and more. In this session, learn about what’s new and what’s next to help make going to the grocery store exciting again, and place it ahead of the innovation curve, rather than behind it.

]]> Events, 2013-03-10T14:08:26+00:00 The $100bn Mobile Bullet Train Called Africa http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_100bn_mobile_bullet_train_called_africa http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_100bn_mobile_bullet_train_called_africa#When:01:59:56Z Innovation in Africa is the purest form: innovation out of necessity.

Not Angry Birds, the innovations emerging from Africa allow farmers to check where they can get the best price for their produce, fishermen to be warned about storms, people to check whether medicines they are buying have expired, and rural cellphone users to send mobile money to each other using text messages. Even the pay-as-you-go payment system was pioneered in Africa.

Mobile phones are one of the great success stories of the world, and nowhere is this more evident than in Africa. They are the 21st century equivalent of the railroad. Except it’s a bullet train.

Africa is the world’s fastest growing telecoms market, second in size only to Asia. More people in Africa have a mobile phone than electricity. Africa is a mobile-first continent, but it really is a mobile-only continent.

]]> Events, 2013-03-10T01:59:56+00:00 The Comfy Chair! Are We Sitting Too Much? http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_comfy_chair_are_we_sitting_too_much http://firebrand-media.com/blog/article/the_comfy_chair_are_we_sitting_too_much#When:01:28:30Z I’ll bet you’re sitting in a chair while reading this. In fact, the time spent sitting in chairs (office desks, cars, trains, planes, movie theaters, eating) has increased substantially over the past 30 years. And related health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and musculoskeletal disorders (back, knee, and hip pain) are also on the rise. This is an area of concern for all who sit in chairs a lot, especially those in the computer and media industries. Medical research has only seriously focused on this area for the past 15 years but already some commonly-held perceptions about fitness and wellness are changing. In this session, we’ll discuss some of the recent research and tools available. Bring your ideas, experiences, and concerns.

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