Federer Practices on Periscope…the new Netflix?

Not sure if this made any noise outside of the Tennis world, but Roger Federer posted a live-practice session via Periscope on December 22. The ‘event’ was very well produced, with multiple camera angles and a mic’d up Federer. You can catch it on-demand here.

What struck me most about this was the level of access fans were given. I follow Federer on Twitter and Instagram, but now I’m watching my favorite tennis player (and arguably the GOAT) talk me through a practice session! That’s pretty insane, no?! I, and I’m sure many others, would have paid a few dollars to watch this, either live or on-demand.

So can this become a thing?  You buy Kimojis and DurantEmojis in the App Store, so why not pay a one-time fee or even recurring subscription for access to your favorite celebrity, artist or athlete?

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Gyroscope App

About a month ago, I started using an app called Gyroscope to track both my digital and analog self. Gyroscope integrates with a host of other apps to allow you to see the complete story of your life (isn’t that a One Direction song?). For example, integrate Healthkit or FitBit to track your steps, Moves for places you’ve visited, Rescue Time for online behavior, etc. It took a while to set up b/c I also had to download some of these other apps, but it was worth it IMO.

The consolidation and display of all this tracking is where Gyroscope really shines. Here’s a Weekly Report the app generates:

Weekly Report

You can select individual categories at the bottom of the screen to get more detailed info on each one.

 

 

 

 

One minor complaint about the app is that the UI/X, while striking, can be a bit un-intuitive at times. For example, you can tap into each date in the report screen – it took me a few weeks of using the app to realize this. I also have the urge to swipe in a few places that don’t allow for swiping 🙂

Despite this, Gyroscope does have one of my favorite interactions on mobile. I love how they ask you to identify a location with Moves on this screen:

Gyroscope/MovesTap on the button at the bottom and it takes you to the Moves app where you can add the location. The button is dead simple and using the Moves logo makes it clear what will happen. And with iOS 9 app switching, it’s just one tap to get back to Gyroscope. Done and done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spotify’s Genius Integration

Spotify has an integration with Genius where, on select tracks, you can see lyrics and annotations from Genius. The concept is pretty simple, but they execute it really well on the iOS app. You’ll see the track card and then, behind that, the Genius card for that track. You do a simple swipe down on the cards to switch back and forth. It’s simple, but so satisfying. And, yes, I’m a Drake fan.

Spotify iOS App and Genius
Spotify iOS App and Genius