Sales for your Pixel phone aren’t great. But you already knew that. Don’t get too sad, though! The future’s bright.
The Hustle
Wed, Mar 8
Did Google blow it with the Pixel?
Despite rave reviews dating back to its October debut, Google’s Pixel phone isn’t exactly flying off the shelves — analysts estimate just 552,000 devices were sold through the end of 2016.
To put that in perspective, Apple sold 78m iPhones in roughly the same time span, and Samsung sold 2.5m Galaxy Note 7’s from its August launch to its October discontinuation alone.
Some people think we ought to give Google a pass here…
They believe the Pixel was simply a “trial run” to see how a Google-branded phone would be received, and are convinced the company’s deep pockets and impressive brand reputation afford them the luxury of waiting. Fair point.
That said, Google wasn’t exactly phoning it in. They definitely tried to sell this thing, investing serious manpower and marketing dollars to attract consumers.
Plus, considering what was going on with the competition when the Pixel launched (the iPhone 7 “wasn’t revolutionary enough,” and the Galaxy Note 7 was, um, bursting into flames), it sure feels like it could have — and should have — been more of a slam dunk.
So why wasn’t it?
According to research firm, Wave7 Research, the Pixel’s biggest problems were related to its availability:
Only one carrier, Verizon, sells it. (You can get one directly from Google for $649, but that’s just not an option most people consider.)
Google struggled to get enough parts to make the phones due to unexpected demand, causing stores to run out of stock. That showed the interest was there, but they weren’t able to capitalize on it.
In other words… while launching a new phone with just one carrier is quite common (the iPhone was originally an AT&T exclusive, remember?!), straight up running out of supply isn’t, and the combination of those two things clearly hindered sales.
None of this is to say the Pixel doesn’t have a bright future
First of all, it’s Google. Can’t sleep on ‘em. Second, the current smartphone landscape is about as exciting as that movie Pride & Prejudice (fell asleep so hard in the theater).
Heck, the most-discussed phone at last week’s Mobile World Congress was this “revived” Nokia model that looks like the phone my sister got for Christmas in 2000 — right alongside her Razor scooter and Savage Garden CD.
So yeah, when Google figures its sh*t out and reaches a point where supply meets demand, things could start looking up in a hurry.
Savage Garden!
The crockpot cult leader
Last summer, the smash hit of Amazon Prime Day wasn’t a tablet, a flat-screen, or fancy VR goggles… It was the Instant Pot, a multi-function electric pressure cooker which also doubles as a rice cooker, crockpot, saute pan, steamer, yogurt maker, and stockpot. Dang.
During the 24-hour online sale, the Instant Pot sold more than 215k units in the US alone, rising to one of the country’s top-selling items — and gaining a cult following in the process.
Seriously, 400k Facebook fans are following a kitchen appliance, leaving rave reviews like, “I can’t imagine my life without my magic pot!” and “I love this thing more than my 9-year-old son, and he’s an honors student!” (Ok we made that one up.)
So why do “Potheads” love it so much?
Because, according to its creators, Robert Wang and Yi Qin, even IP newbies can use it to cook almost anything. Bread, cheesecake, risotto, pulled-pork, soup, lasagna — you name it, the IP can do it.
Plus, it’s pretty much foolproof. Back in 2010, Wang and Qin had been stewin’ on a way to “automate cooking as much as possible,” with a product that was “safe, convenient, and dependable.” So their company Double Insight and its flagship product, the Instant Pot, were born.
And, unlike the Slap Chop, Veggetti, and pretty much every other gimmicky kitchen appliance on the market…
Their paid marketing is almost non-existent
We’re talking a no-nonsense website that just features the product’s main benefits on its homepage in a plain text numbered list. Oh, and prominent buttons to share reviews and join their user community.
Because let’s be real here — it takes more than just a great product to create a cultural phenomenon, it takes everyone telling their friends about it.
And food bloggers are awesome hype(wo)men
They’re notoriously vocal (Seriously, do we really have to scroll through a three-page description of your vacation in Tuscanny to get to the dang minestrone recipe??), which makes them perfect for word of mouth referrals.
So Double Insight leveraged them, and their audiences, to create the perfect “buzz marketing” campaign.
They sent bloggers cookers to test out, and then gave them a platform to share their reviews, with a Facebook page driven almost entirely by user-published content (including everything from recipes, to community-led IP cooking classes).
But here’s the thing: It’s a crockpot, not rocket science
Double Insight’s technology isn’t revolutionary, and companies much larger than the 25-person company, like Black & Decker and Breville, have all come out with their own takes on the OG IP.
But, if you’re going to make something that’s easily replicated, you’d better have a loyal fanbase — and the Instant Pot is better at building theirs than anyone else.
Show me the minestrone!
The “Snapchat Stories for audio” is here
When Anchor, an app for recording short-form audio snippets, launched last February, it was pretty bare-bones: It let you record “waves” of up to two minutes, and allowed listeners to record a one-minute response to that “wave.”
Basically, Anchor wanted to give radio its own “comment section” to make it interactive like most other digital mediums. “Unlike photos and videos and writing… radio and podcasts aren’t interactive. You can listen to NPR, but you can’t talk back to NPR,” said co-founder Nir Zicherman. Cool idea, right?
Well now Anchor’s back with an even better version…
According to The Verge, Anchor 2.0 is kind of like “Snapchat Stories for audio, with users encouraged to create digital radio stations where content disappears after 24 hours.”
You follow individual people or stations and simply tap to listen to each one’s “story” (like Snapchat, Anchor will automatically go to the next station once the one you’re listening to ends).
Great for listeners, even better for creators
Seriously, Anchor’s creation tools are lit:
“Clips” let you to easily insert audio from other sources.
“Music” lets you insert full songs from Apple Music or Spotify, though listeners will need to be subscribers.
“Interludes” let you insert professional-sounding bumpers like the ones you hear on the radio.
“Call-ins” let listeners record audio responses and submit them to you directly. Like what they have to say? Tap a button and add it to your station.
The case for and against Anchor “making it”
On the one hand, there’s clearly a market for this. Just look at how many Facebook Live videos or Instagram Stories are basically just a person talking into the camera. Do we really need to stare at their face?
On the other, audio clips don’t go viral like videos, text, or photos, and few people are looking for yet another social app to download and check on the reg.
Are you bullish or bearish on Anchor? Tell us…
By clicking here
WordPress collaborates on collaboration
To the joy of digital content publishers everywhere, WordPress will now be working with Google Docs, via a new extension that allows users to write and publish content directly from Google Docs, to a WordPress site.
Because, while over 25% of the web runs on WordPress (our site included), their post editing interface still doesn’t let you collaborate on drafts in real-time.
And sometimes you need a second pair of eyes
We feel that pain. As it stands, most teams write their first post drafts in separate working docs, using other platforms like Word, or Google Docs which allow multiple authors to edit a document at once.
Then, there’s the tedious job of copying and pasting finished stories back into WordPress, uploading images, and re-formatting a post before hitting “Publish.”
To put it in perspective, every day we copy and paste four stories, plus the full email from Google Docs into WordPress, and go through a checklist of about 8 formatting steps on each before publishing.
Needless to say, people are pretty jazzed about it
According to TechCrunch, the extension carries all formatting over from Google Docs, including images, headers, and links.
You can even publish updates to an article directly from Google Docs, and it’ll trigger a warning if a post has been edited in WordPress since you last opened it in Google Docs. Genius.
Less tabs, NICE
wednesday what-have-you
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