It’s a good time to give a small update towards a recently purchased iPad, and also what I feel is something that I think we miss in respect to the many devices and user interfaces that we have to deal with.
First, iPad Thoughts
Let me just say off the top that I like the iPad not because of applications or screen size, but because the battery life is absolutely amazing. My impressions really begin and end with the fact that the device can last all day (in a coffeehouse setting). And for my uses, I’m just using the web browser. Tons of windows open at a time mind you – and an occasional blog posting such as this one – but really, its Wi-Fi all the time. Amazing really.
Lot’s of questions have come from folks asking if it has a USB port. And then I ask them why it needs one. Usually the answer is “to put files on there.” Then I ask them, what kind of files and the conversations get silent. We’ve become used to managing files on portable media, but not really understanding of why we do that (obvious answer: because you need a non-online ability to read or edit something). Thing is, for many of these folks, these are files (documents, multimedia, etc.) which they usually access next to an Internet connection. So why not use something like email, or fancier like GDocs instead? For them, its a different way of thinking and acting, but one to consider with the iPad.
Which Leads to User Interfaces
User interfaces – or UIs – are interesting. On many computers, because we are used to the keyboard and mouse methodology, we are accustomed to controls and behaviors that take advantage of these items. For example, we look for keyboard shortcuts just about everytime we have a keyboard. With the iPad, that line of thinking needs to go out of the window – even mores than some other mobile devices which have touch screens.
The iPad doesn’t make any concessions to ways of interacting with content/media that act as if they first need a mouse and/or keyboard. Everything is designed with the idea of touch and go. And its actually to the point that there are some actions that could use a gesture or better touch-style control, but those don’t exist – such as managing browser windows. The device, and its software, don’t rely on former methods in order to make the point that you can interact with content. It’s designed so that you don’t have to assume much of anything.
Hence this really interesting paradigm of use and behavior that develops with the iPad and similar-sized devices. You have this device that’s the size of a book, that’s simpler than many books, and that allows you to forget that there’s a such thing as a power supply nearby – and you simply just use it. If not careful, the simplicity of the UI and the functionality around it takes what was previously a chore in terms of engaging content, and makes it into “the way it always was.”
When designing for a touch-based UI, this is the kind of thinking that needs to be cultivated into function. The fact that we physically touch digital planes means that we can (and sometimes do) ascribe a deeper sensory connection to it. It’s not just a Bible reader, but I’m touching and manipulating the very lines that make up the Bible so that I better understand it. This is similar to the student who has a pack of highlighters and the resultant multi-color textbooks. The colors and actions of highlighting allows for a kind of interaction with the content that makes it easier to recall and reuse the content. In the same way, touching allows for a newer (or older, depending on your perspective), relationship to content.
When a site is well designed for the size and ability of modern-day touchscreen devices, its not just another site – it becomes another type of experience. If done really well, and then control mechanisms are contextual, you don’t miss the former methods at all, but do wonder why it took so long for things to get this simple.
In relation to the iPad, this is how using it makes me feel. I look forward to digging into the various unique applications that have been designed for this platform – and don’t just want to display content, but want to present ways of engaging it that are deeper, wider, and altogether more engrossing than other types of media. With mobile, mobile w/touch, this is very much the bar to be reached, and the bar to be explored.
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Mobile Ministry is More Than Devices (Part 2)
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011This is continued from Part 1, posted previously.
But what if you want to focus on the device layer? What are you in for? Let’s just look at a few device platforms that you could support:
And that’s just what I could name off the top of my head.
You can’t focus on the “mobile = devices” meme. You can’t even let that maintain more than 1/3 of your thoughts on mobile. When you do, what happens is that you start to make smaller the addressable persons who would be able to successfully utilize produced content, or even enable them to produce content for themselves.
Let’s say that you want to focus on the services layer. What are you in for here? A small list again:
Again, just a few pieces. But you can’t just say “go SMS” and not also be cognizant of the fact that SMS broadcasting rules are different in various countries/carriers. You also need to be able to scope carefully what your entire workflow will be for that communication from the creation of the message, to what happens with the data about that consumer, to expectations for them and your organization.
I’d go into experiences, but you might be getting it now – you can’t just think about mobile as some isolated channel. It isn’t isolated, and the entire mobile definition is predicated on the synergy of devices, services, and experiences.
The potential of mobile is that there are 5.3 billion accessible persons who can be touched in some way by a carrier of the Gospel. The realistic assessment is a lot smaller, and requires more than just a passion for the theological command. Our passions also have to account for the ability to get to the message in an accessible manner. That’s more than a device. And ultimately, it requires us getting on a deeper level than the channel itself.
Tags: analytics, definition of mobile, definition of mobile ministry, developers, devices, experiences, plaforms, services
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