(1) Notifications & Pushing The Limits Of Mobile
Recall, when the first iPhone was launched, there was no location awareness or bandwidth/support for real-time video. But now, with the future of mobile services being centered around connecting in real-time or taking action based on where you are or what you’re doing, the app-centric model breaks.
Since the major operating systems (iOS and Android) are all about your “apps,” notifications are the critical hack to bring activity and actions out of your apps and to the surface. Unfortunately, the fact that notifications are an unsustainable “hack” is becoming increasingly clear. The most effective mobile notifications are finance related, fear related, or have some degree of FOMO (fear of missing out) in them. As such, companies are playing games to get us to pay attention. Notifications are a classic “tragedy of the commons situation,” a few bad actors ruin it for everyone.
So, what’s the solution? For companies that make apps: taking the time and care to get notifications right can become a powerful moat. Live video companies (whether you’re Periscope, Houseparty, or a premium live content broadcaster like Cheddar) must innovate on when and how they notify users of events. A simple logic model will not suffice. Case in point, Slack’s logic map for whether or not to send a customer a notification (see below). Damn impressive.