Haiku Deck

When I tweeted, "Yet another pres app..." I got called out by the makers of the latest presentation app, Haiku Deck. But instead of a lame, "You should really give it a try," they replied by almost instantly creating a Haiku Deck presentation from one of my blog posts. Here it is: "Make Your Presentation Like a Twinkie."

Well played, sirs. Well played.

So, I took the new iPad app for a spin, creating my own presentation. Learning the app and creating the presentation took less than 15 minutes, which I thought appropriate for the subject matter. Here's my Haiku Deck: 15 Minutes.

So, What's the Verdict?

I like it. With each new presentation alternative to Keynote & PowerPoint, I always question the business model, target audience and usage scenario. I'm currently playing with StoryPlanet, and I've previously written about PresentationLink and SlideShark. I still think the iPad is in its crying infancy when it comes to creating and delivering presentations on the iPad, but we might be getting there slowly but surely.

Haiku Deck is a very basic app that allows you to pull in a single image onto a slide (creative commons, your own pic or photos direct from your iPad), choose a template design and then add in very minimal text. There are no charts, bullet points, multiple images or animation: 1 image and 1-2 lines of text. In setting these restrictions, Haiku Deck actually forces you to think simply and visually in telling a story. How could I not like it? One of my colleagues remarked that it would be good as a training tool. Even I found it forcing me to simplify in the few slides I created.

I like Haiku Deck with one big caveat. Treat is as you would treat a haiku. If you aim to write poetry, know the differences between free form verse, iambic pentameter, sonnets, epics, ballads and...haikus. If you're the kind of person who can present haiku-like, consider Haiku Deck.