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Thoughts and Lessons from the Apple Vision Pro Presentation at WWDC

Let me start by saying before the WWDC Keynote, I wasn’t even remotely excited about Apple VR product.

The Meta Quest doesn’t excite me, and when I had Google Glass, I liked it, but I didn’t love it.

Suffice to say, Apple blew me away with their approach to the Apple Vision Pro. And the early reviews do not disappoint.

From a business/technology/create approach, here were my initial thoughts:

Apple shows you can go cheap, or you can go impressive. Meta announced a $500 version of the Quest mere days before WWDC. Part of the reason I wasn’t excited for Apple’s version is I’m not even remotely interested in the Quest or the Metaverse.

But Apple went high end, making the Vision Pro a full $3000 more than the cheaper version of the quest.

Not everyone will be on board, but there’s no denying that their product is impressive in such a way that Meta is getting dragged on Twitter. Meta basically owned this space for the past 5-7 years and Apple just kinda blew them up.

The lesson: Don’t just race to the bottom. You can create a high-end service and charge a premium if you impress.

They are reusing Aux tech created in VR for other apps. Earlier in the keynote, they showed an iPad feature where they tell you if you’re holding the screen too close.

I can’t help but think this was tech they developed for eye tracking on the Vision Pro, that made its way into other parts of the OS already.

The lesson: use your sawdust. When you create, look at each part of your process and see how you can use it.

They are smartly taking familiar experiences and moving them to a new medium first. One of the problems with the Meta Quest, that Sara Dietschy points out, is the interface and experience is unintuitive because it’s unfamiliar.

But Apple took several things into account when they design the UX for the Vision Pro:

  1. We know how to use our eyes and hands
  2. We know how to use the apps they demoed
  3. The ideas behind the UX are familiar (make a call, send a text, browse a website, etc)

All of these combined means everything comes very naturally to us.

The lesson: Lower your learning curve, lower your barrier to entry, and you’ll create better, happier experiences for your customers.

They are never first to market, but they are much better when they enter. There’s a reason that post-1997 Apple is never first to market on a product.

They do a ton of research on real-world use. During the presentation, they used the term “cheek width” to point out they’ve studied faces.

But with the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods, they took care to truly understand how people use the current crop of products, and improved upon them.

The VR/AR space is so controversial already; even though it’s been around for 10+ years, there’s still a lot of mainstream pushback.

Creating a whole other world is weird, uncanny valley, dystopian nonsense to a lot of people.

But Apple focused on how their product augments your current experience. You can still see your environment. You can still see real people in the real space. And they can see your eyes.

The lesson: There’s a lot of weight put on being first to market so you can make a name for yourself. But you could just be better. If you impress, reuse lessons you’ve learned, and create better experiences, you can blow up the competition.

Since the Last Time I Saw Blink-182 (2023 Edition)

I’ve seen Blink-182 with my brother Phil in 2001 (our first time, and first concert), and in 2009.

When they broke up / replaced Tom with Matt Skiba in 2015, we weren’t sure if we’d be seeing the original lineup ever again. So we were both elated when they got back together. We purchased tickets ASAP.

It’s been 14 years since the last time I saw them, and a lot has changed. I:

  • Became a college professor
  • Got a job at my alma mater, The University of Scranton
  • Left that job for a WordPress agency
  • Started dating, proposed to, and married my wife, Erin
  • Started my podcast, How I Built It
  • Became a father of 3 kids
  • Left the agency job to start my own business
  • Bought a house
  • Pivoted completely from web development to podcast coaching
  • Published 5 books
  • Created dozens of online courses for colleges and online learning memberships

I was basically still a college student the last time I saw them, so I was wondering if seeing them live would hit differently.

It was like I was a kid again, and it was incredible.

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Thinking About Webinar Software

About a month ago I went in a quest to find the perfect webinar software. I create a spreadsheet and everything1.

But at CEX, I had a great conversation with Luria Petrucci of Live Stream Pros and I asked her, “What do you think is the best way to run a webinar?”

Now before I tell you what she said2, I want to tell you how I’ve been doing it:

  1. Create a new landing page in ConvertKit associated with the webinar
  2. Create the calendar invite, Thank You page, and reminder/follow-up emails manually.
  3. Create a new Live Stream on YouTube for the “webinar” link
  4. Use eCamm Live to run the webinar.

Now the things I like about this process:

  1. eCamm Live
  2. The fact that YouTube is free

I don’t like anything else, really. That’s why I was looking at other solutions.

OK OK but what did Luria say?

She said she likes Zoom.

Just plain old Zoom meetings, not even the “webinar” plan.

Why?

Because she likes the interaction. She likes that you can unmute people and have them participate. That you can see everyone.

It forms a better connection.

And you know what? Everyone knows Zoom.

Zoom creates a calendar invite.

You don’t need to set up a bunch of things.

So I’m in.

For my next few webinars, I’m using Zoom.

…it won’t be that simple though. I still want to use ConvertKit. Which means I need to automate.

I’m covering that for members, and adding it to my Automations Library soon.

  1. You can get it by becoming a member. ?
  2. In true YouTube fashion ?

I’m Back on Twitter

I know.

In some ways, I knew when I wrote the On Leaving Twitter post back in January. Part of me figured I’d be writing this post.

So after 3+ months of being completely off Twitter, I’m back on.

Not entirely because I missed it1, but because at CEX I was convinced it’s somewhere I need to be.

My friend Justin Mooretold me that as a coach, Twitter is where I need to be because that’s where people ask questions.

In my own experience, that rings true. LinkedIn feels like a place to expound ideas rather that participate in discussion…at least at the moment.

Twitter feels much more conversational.

It’s also the place I feel most comfortable posting multiple times a day, and therefore the place where I feel like I can promote things the best.

So I’m back there. I’ve taken some steps to make it less frustrating, which I’ve outlined for members in an upcoming newsletter, and in a recent episode of How I Built It PRO.

If you’re still there, you can follow me @jcasabona.

  1. Though there were some aspect I did miss. ?

I don’t think my notes situation is working for me.

I made a decision last year that Craft would be my one and only notes app.

I don’t think that’s working out for me. Mostly because I have 3 kinds of notes:

  1. Big planning notes
  2. Random thoughts
  3. Research notes

Craft has been great for the random thoughts and research but I think is best suited for Big Planning.

So I’m going to switch back to Bear Notes for random thoughts to see how that works out.

I envision Bear Notes working as a scratch pad most of the time and then moving research and project notes to Craft.

We’ll see how it goes!