Where are we going - Josh Williams

WHERE ARE
GOING?
@jw * Josh Wiiams
We
The Preface
In the BEGINNING
Where did we come om?
What follows is a brief history of our
bizarre journey from a web + UI boutique
to a social networking service.
Iconfactory circa 1999
Firewhîl Design
Inspired by Iconfactory’s Pixelpalooza,
I got into pixel art, drew hundreds of icons,
and met my first two co-workers.
Blinksale
•
Frustrated with our billing solution,
we wrote our own and decided to
make it fun. And useful.
•
Thank You Notes were an
unusual selling point that resonated
with those who used the service.
Blinksale
IconBuffet
•
50,000 people came to collect
icons and trade them with friends.
•
Fewer than 15 percent of those

people actually used the icons for a
design project.
IconBuffet
IconBuffet
Causes
•
Originally known as Project Agape,
Causes was envisioned as a standalone
site to encourage social giving.
•
Ultimately Causes was re-imagined
as a Facebook application.
•
Over $25 million has been raised.
PIVOT PRESENT
to the
Where are we now?
PackRat
•
PackRat was created at a scale that
assumed most people would play
one hour a day.
•
We quickly learned our core audience
was playing 6-10 hours a day.
PackRat
Then Farmvie Haened
What now?
Viva la iPhone

The iPhone changed everything.
The Epiphany
The Totem
How do we inspire people to
connect with the real world?
Can we use real world
connections to inspire people
to discover and share
amazing places?
Landmarks
Ftba Stadiums