It is difficult to deny the effect the proliferation of mobile technological advancements, especially in the rapidly expanding field of application development, are having on the commercial sector. As the slow economic recovery continues, businesses of all makes and models search for innovative and immediate methods to remain viable. In spite of the downturn, app development houses continue to enjoy successes and are increasingly turning their attention to existing and emerging small and medium sized businesses, or SMBs. Seizing upon the popularity of both mobile devices and social media, these companies are taking chances which could arguably strengthen the core of a flagging commercial infrastructure. This trend is lightly investigated in a recent post on ZDNet.com titled, “Mobility is Central to Hottest Small-business Technology Trends.”

Social media and cloud computing in particular have changed the way commercial entities of all sizes interact with customers. From publishing firms to local bakeries, the virtues of innumerable products are marketed and judged in real time. SMBs looking to employ the newest tech trends are poised to reap the most tangible benefits from the explosion of applications allowing customers to engage with companies, their products and each other.

The post poses a few questions as well as potential answers that the author feels reflect the reasoning behind this shift in attention, notably:

“A primary benefit of cloud-delivered software applications or services? Their ability to secure information and data centrally, while enabling SMBs to free up their employees to work from remote and branch locations while allowing collaboration within teams.”

The coming years will no doubt see the abandonment of certain trends and the embracing of others. Technology it seems remains poised to be the most exciting and profitable piece of tomorrow’s commercial puzzle.

Micheal Cory   February 9, 2012

It appears that grocery store chains are attempting to create their own iPhone device apps, and Pushpins, a company in the app building business exclusively, is vying for this business. This discussion, plus its pros and cons are discussed in great length in an article – Pushpins Founder Explains Why Grocery Stores Should Avoid Building Their Own Apps.

The article also features a question and answer platform between Appolicious, a mobile device app directory, and Pushpins CEO Jason Gurwin – Gurwin has this to say:

“Would you continue to stock a product if no-one purchased it? I use the same example with mobile apps. Everyone feels the need to have apps, but they build something no one wants. If you are a large chain, you will without a doubt get downloads, but they are vanity metrics. Before you invest in building one yourself, ask are your shoppers really going to USE your app?

Most retailers have decided to invest in “cookie cutter” apps that quickly give them a mobile presence. They include a basic shopping list, information about nearby stores, and a way to view the store circular.”

Pushpins argues some strong points in their favor and feels that retailers should stick to the task at hand and leave the app building to the experts. In fact, Pushpins offers a much broader product that will benefit both the grocery store chain and the consumer. Also, today’s busy consumers will embrace a more in-depth product that saves time and money, more readily.

Sandy McIntosh, February 08, 2012

Mobile device technology is fast and furious implementing check-in capabilities for air travel. According to an article, Airlines Move Closer to NFC Tech for Passengers – this new technology will enable passengers to create their own boarding passes, and open boarding gates and secure lounges, via their mobile devices.

Jim Peters, a SITA (Specialists in air transport communications and IT solutions) chief technology officer, said:

“Mobile NFC is still a maturing technology with multiple implementation models. We chose to implement a solution that takes full advantage of the secure element on the SIM card and over-the-air deployment from a trusted service manager (TSM) to the device.”

The airlines are spending lots of money to get this technology right, so it is definitely a sure thing we can look forward to. Passengers will soon be enjoying shorter waiting times that will enhance their traveling enjoyment! And, anything that will shorten our time at the airport will be a welcome perk for not just the weekly business travelers, but also the occasional vacationers as well.

Sandy McIntosh, February 07, 2012

Reporting from Beijing, The Wall Street Journal announces, “Twitter Can Censor by Country.” The news must please censorship proponents the world over, perhaps even a few in the US Congress.

Journalists Loretta Chao and Amir Efrati inform us:

“Twitter Inc. says it can now make content selectively available to users based on geography, and plans to use that ability to enter countries with ‘different ideas’ about freedom of expression as a human right—reflecting the difficult ethical questions facing Internet companies.

“The effort underscores thorny issues for Internet companies as their websites become more global and interconnected among different countries, and as they must cooperate with diverse views on Internet content control. For websites like Twitter as well as social-networking site Facebook, this has meant being blocked in countries like China where controls are more aggressive.”

To be fair to Twitter, the issue of censorship in other countries is indeed a tricky one. Refuse to play ball at all, and you’re banned completely. Will that really help the end users, the citizens who struggle to obtain information? Perhaps a little censorship is a small price to pay for allowing them even limited access to the information superhighway. At least, that seems to be the tack Twitter has embraced.

The company is not caving completely, however. They have been blocked in China for over two years, and are unlikely to be allowed back in as a result of this announcement. Why? Because that government doesn’t even want its people to know that content has been blocked; Twitter insists on giving them at least that courtesy. It is interesting to note that the company is working with Chilling Effects, an Internet freedom advocacy group, to draft its take-down notices.

You’d have to live in a cave to not realize that right now, in our famously freedom-loving country, we are in the middle of our own Internet censorship battle. Here, money is at the center of the fight. Specifically, corporations want to stop the sale of pirated goods. Corporations are people too, don’t you know?

These companies do have a valid concern, but I don’t have to tell you that the wildly unpopular SOPA and PIPA Acts propose enforcement through ham-fisted tactics that leave no room for due process. (If you didn’t know that, do some research. Right now. I’ll wait.)

The article notes that Twitter has been a crucial facilitator of political protest and revolutionary action around the world. The company also has a history of supporting transparency and free expression. However, it must do what it has to do if it wants to keep expanding. At the least, it must protect its employees from prosecution for breaking the rules in foreign lands. Yes, that would be important.

Cynthia Murrell, February 02, 2012

For news junkies, having preferred sources served in a tailor-made format may be the height of convenience. NEOtropolis discusses “How to Customize Social Media for Your Personal News Consumption.” Build-your-own news feed options have been popping up all over the social media landscape. Just last week Twitter bought Summify, whose proprietary algorithm combines users’ interests with links popular among folks they follow on Twitter.

Writer Katheleen Colan has tips for getting the most out of each platform. In Facebook, she recommends using the new groups feature to corral interests. That feature, of course, was a response to the circles in Google+, which she suggests using in a similar fashion. Ditto for the analogous functions in LinkedIn and YouTube. Colan seems most impressed, though, with Twitter’s efforts:

“Twitter is made for fast and efficient news aggregation and again, it’s all in the lists you create. Twitter’s ‘List’ function allows you to populate lists of like-minded Tweeps to quickly scan up-to-the-moment news on any topic under the sun. I probably keep too many lists and often construct temporary lists during large, important events.”

Colan goes on to recommend the HootSuite dashboard for some serious media aggregation. The application monitors social networks, performs custom analytics, and provides a space for collaboration. The basic version is free, so it might be worth checking out.

Cynthia Murrell, February 1, 2012

Constant Contact ® Inc. a marketing advisor to a half million small businesses worldwide has acquired CardStar Inc. a privately held software company that develops mobile applications that perpetuate the use of loyalty cards on smartphones, enabling merchants to tailor mobile deals and information to their customers. Details of the acquisition are explained in an article – Constant Contact Acquires CardStar, Inc.; Adds Mobile Loyalty Technology to its Suite of Online Marketing Tools to Help Small Businesses Grow

Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact states:

“For small businesses, it’s all about finding and connecting with their next customer, whether that customer is returning or brand new,” said Goodman. “Today’s consumers don’t just want — but expect — to access information and make decisions on the go, and they want to be rewarded for their support and loyalty. The CardStar mobile loyalty application lives at the intersection of these needs, letting consumers engage with businesses on the go and providing businesses with expanded opportunities for the kind of customer engagement that drives business results.”

How cool is this – hearing about discounts and rewards from your favorite shop while on the go? I know when I hear a beep, my curiosity gets the best of me, and I just have to check it out. Most people are loyal to specific stores and getting this information instantly will most certainly enhance sales.

Sandy McIntosh

January 31, 2012

Web piracy and copyright infringement, and opinions concerning their cure, were posted in an article, Raising the Alarm: Proposed Cure to Halt Web Piracy Hurts entire Social Media Revolution – that has resulted in quite a lot of conflict. One of the concerns is there is just no clear-cut way to halt web piracy and copyright infringement. Actually, this article states that halting the piracy is far worse than the cure, affecting the freedom to speak freely.

In another article, a spokeswoman for NetCoalition states: SOPA and PIPA: What Went Wrong?

Everyone underestimated the Web, “which is sort of the beauty of it,” said Maura Corbett, president of the Glen Echo Group and spokeswoman for NetCoalition, a tech trade group opposed to the bills.

“This was Outside the Beltway descending on Inside the Beltway, and we all just bore witness to it,” she said. “People are fed up. Washington is broken, and now Washington wants to subject the Internet to it? The Internet said no.”

It appears that laws to stop web piracy, which is a very big problem, would do more harm than good, at least in ways that are being proposed currently. And, the good out way the bad, such as freedom of expression orally, in wiring or in print, which is a human right.

Sandy McIntosh

January 26, 2012

The City of Atlanta and TweetMyJobs are working together in a partnership that will enable employers to streamline the process of recruiting and expedite delivery of available job notices to individuals seeking employment. City of Atlanta Launches Local Job Matching Platform Powered by TweetMyJobs – This online jobs platform sends the information to job seekers via the social networks, email or mobile.

The article states:

“We’re proud to be working with a forward-thinking leader like Mayor Reed who understands that mobile is a critical element in the communication and distribution of job opportunities because there are entire segments of the population who do not own a computer but do own a mobile phone.”

It sounds like this new online jobs platform will reach more people and in so doing should help our current economy. Not only does it reach more people it is specific to the types of employment people are qualified for. In addition, the service provides analytical data that will provide insight to decision-making leaders that will aid them in potential job growth for the city. It is all good – or at least it sounds that way to me.

Sandy McIntosh

January 25, 2012

Usually, nothing quickens the pulse like mobile highlights from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). But this year – not so much. InformationWeek’s “5 Mobile Trends from CES 2012” highlights the show’s mobile offerings.

“Dozens of new LTE 4G smartphones and tablets were announced by manufacturers and carriers. LTE will become a mainstream technology this year.” “Some of the week’s most exciting handsets boast screens ranging between 4.7 and 5.3 inches. It won’t be much longer before phone screens reach tablet proportions — if they haven’t already.” “There were hardly any feature phones announced at CES 2012.” “The vast bulk of devices announced at the show lack near-field communications (NFC), and lack the ability to make mobile payments. This all but assures that NFC and mobile payments won’t start to take off until nearly halfway through 2012.” “The mobile industry continues to thrive on innovation and competition”

None of this is exactly news to those of us following the mobile industry, and there was a decided lack of headline-grabbing demos at this year’s CES. With all the bad economic news from other industries, maybe for the mobile sector the best news is old news.

Rita Safranek, January 24, 2012

Maybe it is the slow economy, but the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) definitely lacked the sizzle of previous years. There were some notable introductions, as detailed in BostonHerald.com’s “Cool Gadgets Make Splash.”

In Microsoft’s final CES, the company showed the Windows Phone 7 operating system, which

“sports a striking design of flat, colorful squares containing information from different apps. Nokia demonstrated the Lumia 800 and 900 smartphones running the OS.” “Intel made a big push with its Ultrabook concept — a category of slim laptops, similar to the MacBook Air, powered by Intel chips, and made by several manufacturers.”

Microsoft’s late to the smartphone party, and it doesn’t sport features that provide an overwhelming reason for existing iPhone and Android users (often locked into multi-year contracts) to switch. The thin Ultrabook will appeal to users needing the functionality of a laptop and the totability of a tablet. Wilocity demoed WiFi technology that could help drive the trend to slimmer devices. Samsung also unveiled a technology to watch – the Galaxy Note, a 5.3-inch mobile device dubbed a “phablet.” Combining functionality so that users only need one device is a trend that has left pagers and two-way messaging in its wake. This could be the next wave.

Rita Safranek, January 19, 2012