1. Intro
Are you a hardcore gamer who loves to unbox and explore new gaming platforms, or are you just interested in using topbox to help your family with their Christmas shopping?
We suggest that either of those categories might be at the heart of your needs.
Whatever your particular interest, it is important for you to understand how topbox works and what kind of experience you’re getting for your money.
2. How to UnBox a TopBox
Topbox is a rather interesting tool. It’s a small device which connects to your computer via USB and acts as a computer monitor. You can stream live video or audio to the device; you can use it with third-party applications, like Skype, and it runs well on Mac. Additionally, it has a webcam and microphone so you can store your webcam feed on the device (so that you can unbox it on Facebook), or use the microphone to record audio directly from the camera (for instance, if you’re taking a Skype call).
You probably won’t be using Topbox much but if you have one lying around and want to figure out how to make it do something cool, here are some things to take into account:
1. It’s cheap
2. You can change the resolution of your webcam
3. You might be able to use Topbox in conjunction with other programs (like Skype) so that they show up as a video feed from Topbox instead of from your computer monitor
4. You have a camera; there will be certain software packages or devices that don’t work with Topbox without modifying them first
I personally own one Topbox as well as an Apple HD camcorder and I particularly like how easy it is to set up the device via their website (it took me less than 10 minutes total). The price is pretty unbeatable at $60 USD ($48-$60 depending on where you shop) and the quality of video recording is great — especially considering that this was built by college students! If you do decide to get one, please let us know how it works out for you!
3. Types of Swag in TopBoxes
Topbox unboxing is a form of swag that’s aimed at showcasing the quality and functionality of a product. It’s a great way to get your name out there while also demonstrating that you are serious about the product. While it’s not strictly necessary, there are some reasons to do this, especially if you don’t have an established brand yet:
• Your product might be more expensive than other competitors, but it will probably be less expensive than others in the same category (so your customers will have low expectations).
• You can differentiate yourself from the competition by providing interesting products for different types of people — whether creating an audience for your brand or simply filling a niche that others ignore.
• You can provide a new type of service (like an insurance agent) or marketplace (like eBay).
The most common types of swag are: t-shirts. These are great because they show off your company logo and generally look good, but they aren’t as unique as other sorts of swag like bumper stickers or hats. If you want to do this right you should use something that can be applied to people wearing them, like a hat sticker with your company logo on it. The downside with t-shirts is that they tend to get “lost on sale racks;” so if you do decide to sell them on topbox unboxing day, make sure everyone knows where and when they are available because it makes getting one kind of person hard enough; but many people will actually try to get one even though they won’t remember what day they bought them (and most won’t know how much it is!). T-shirts don’t work nearly as well as other sorts of swag though if image is important (as in case 2 above), so don’t go overboard here.
Toothpicks: The debate here is pretty simple: are these gifts or part of a marketing strategy? And I think technically speaking toothpicks are marketing too – even if they aren’t quite what I would call “swag.” But there isn’t really any consensus yet on which category toothpicks fall into (at least not among the experts I talked to), which makes me think maybe toothpicks aren’t quite ready for prime time just yet: perhaps we should wait until we have more robust data on who is using
4. Best and Worst TopBoxes
This is a post from Thomas Hirn, who is a very important figure in the topbox space. He’s been studying topbox unboxing for many years and has written several books on the subject. Here are some of his best posts:
I would like to thank Thomas Hirn for making this list and I hope you find it useful!
Topics: TopBoxes, TopBoxes Unboxing
Subtopic: Top Boxes
Keywords: best, worst
Text: This post is by Brad Hill, who is also very important in topbox space. His articles are usually related to topbox unboxing and he has written tons of great posts about that topic as well…
Topics: Best TopBoxes (and links), Worst TopBoxes (and links)
Subtopic: The Bubble Economy – A Look at SaaS Companies That Have Become Big Investors in Each Other
Keywords: bubble economy, saaS companies that became big investors in each other (as well as their problems), selling shares of your startup on the public market
Text: It’s no secret that SaaS companies have become big investors in each other. It’s not news; it’s just an observation we’ve made over the last few years. Here are some of our favorites…
5. Cheat Sheet for Next Weeks Unboxings
If you’ve made it through this article, then you probably already know about our upcoming Unboxings. If not, here’s a cheat sheet for those of you who might be interested:
This week we’ll be taking a look at the topbox unboxing video we did with the company Handy.
The videos are really fun and they have introduced us to a whole new audience, so it was great to see that they got as many people as possible to watch them. And even better to see that they were able to get so many people to join us in doing it.
So thank you!
If you want to join us next week, just head on over to our YouTube channel and subscribe! Any subscriber will receive a special shout-out on the channel ?
Also, if you want your brand showcased (or are just curious about how we do things), contact us at [email protected] .
6. Conclusion
I know it’s a little late, but I had to put in a quick subtopic on the last day of the conference! I have been asked to speak about the “topbox” unboxing, which is a very simple but very effective way to bring attention to your product. It’s a great way of getting your product in front of people who may not be interested in it. If you haven’t used topbox before, there are plenty of videos out there that show you how it works and why it makes sense for your company.
The video below is from the company Unbox Therapy (a spin off from WeWork) , which does exactly this (though they are using their own brand of topbox). The producer explains the process, how topbox works and what the benefits are.
The video above is from SockoVision , one of the world’s leading socko-wearing human rights activists (his socks can be seen below). He uses topbox in his public demonstration without any socks so that people can see he wears them too (he also runs around on his feet for most of his life).
If you want to start using topbox yourself, check out https://www.topboxapp.com/ or https://www.topboxapp.com/help/ . The explanation will help you get started with your own experiment and make sure you do everything possible to maximize results!
I hope that you found this post useful and I look forward to reading more posts like these: