Among the most interesting of the presentations were representatives from TweedlePay and GoalSaver, whose use of pre-existing social technologies have made it possible to develop and launch useful money-oriented products in a short amount of time. TweedlePay used the structure of Twitter and the functionality of BancBox to create a Tweet-based payment system. GoalSaver utilizes s familiar social networking format to improve the saving process for a particular goal (like college or buying a home) in a public environment where friends and strangers can track a user’s progress and even make monetary contributions.

SaveUp, another uniquely mobile method for saving money is described in the article:

“We turn savings into a game,” SaveUp CEO and co-founder Priya Haji said as she went through her seven-minute pitch in front of several hundred bankers, investors and bloggers at the San Francisco conference that ended Wednesday. “You save money, you earn credits, and you use your credits to win sponsored prizes from companies like Banana Republic and Virgin Airlines.”

Some of these new products could easily improve the way we handle money electronically by simplifying and streamlining buying and investing on the web. Those that integrate existing technology may be the first to find success since they are already familiar to the public, though consumers may want to approach with caution initially. Social networking sites like Facebook have already seen major security issues concerning user data, and with the addition of more private information and connectivity, networks like this will need to prove that their data protection passes the test. Startups with similar functionality but of a smaller, tighter scope may find themselves on top in the long run if security issues emerge. That said, these and the other products point to a simpler, more connected way of managing money in the near future.

Derek Clark, May 17, 2012

Rick Oglesby, an analyst at Boston-based research firm Aite Group, has this to say:

“They are in a bit of a re-evaluation pattern right now. It’s going much slower than anticipated.”

Also, a comment from Nate Tyler, a spokesman for Google:

“We continue to work hard to develop Google Wallet and build the partner ecosystem to make it possible for everyone to pay with their phones and get great deals while shopping,”

Whether Google will meet the fierce competition and succeed with Wallet is yet to be determined, however, as doubtful as it may seem presently, you can be sure Google will not be backing down. The popularity of the smartphone and projected revenues for this industry will keep Google moving forward with development of this project.

Sandy McIntosh, March 28, 2012

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

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

No More SOPA, a free Android application … allows users to scan any product’s barcode and determine if it was made by a company that officially supports SOPA, or even a parent company or subsidiary of a SOPA supporter. The app … uses a public UPC database to find a product’s manufacturer then queries a remote server to compare the manufacturer with a list of 800 firms with lobbying ties to the bill.” “As a Senate hearing on SOPA looms later this month, hackers and engineers have been busy building tools to cripple or defeat the bill, which many see as imposing widespread censorship on the Internet as well as potentially holding back advances in security.

Lucinda Lawson, an English teacher at Hartville High School in southern Missouri says this:

Private messages give “truly supportive teachers the chance to get help for them when they’re in dangerous or compromising situations,”

Another teacher in Joplin offers this:

“I am not a pervert and don’t wish to be treated as one,”

“I am very responsible with my Facebook pages and don’t appreciate being assumed to be a danger to my students.”

 Missouri Teachers Protest Facebook Ban, Argue Limits Education And Dialogue

Unfortunately, on this sensitive subject, if there’s one bad apple in the crate – there’s a disaster waiting to happen. Social media is here to stay and has many sides. However, when it comes to teachers and students communicating on-line, it is a good thing on so many levels, but also could potentially be very dark.

Sandy McIntosh, January 5, 2012

“Discussing mobile technology security threats, Kroll said mobile technologies ‘are changing so rapidly that in some organizations the demand and pressure to deploy new technologies (e.g. tablet computers) will outstrip the organization’s existing capabilities to secure them. This unfortunate dynamic is no secret to thieves who are ready and waiting with highly targeted malware and attacks employing mobile applications.’”

Writer Judy Greenwald notes some other important points from the forecast. For example, corporate use of social media will bring small businesses under increased cyber-attack, and the growth of cloud services will bring its own risks. Also, cooperation between business and government will be crucial; other countries are expected to be more nimble than the US in their response. Furthermore, the forecast predicts that privacy concerns about geolocation tech will become more of an issue. Yes, I imagine so.

It’s true that mobile security is a big concern. Keep your social networking safe.

Cynthia Murrell, December 27, 2011

The article states:

Devices like tablets, PDAs and smartphones have become ubiquitous over the past few years as people increasingly purchase them as tools to enhance their productivity at work and at home,” said JR Regan, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP and innovation leader to Deloitte’s federal practice. “Despite the benefit of these new devices, they also present increased security threats for organizations which now must be wary of security threats originating from new channels.

A very high percentage of respondents voiced concern, when made aware of the possible security problems associated with using mobile devices in the workplace. They were aware that without the proper security policies in place, companies could fall prey to many unanticipated operational and legal problems.

Sandy McIntosh, December xx, 2011

In the hyper-competitive realm of mobile communications, security ranks at the top of the list of consumer concerns and factors heavily into, can even sway a buyer’s decision. The recent collaboration twixt 3LM and the aforementioned BoxTone has brought the Android OS to the level of its competition in terms of protections.

These two companies, each highly respected and profitable, sought to answer issues raised by the rise of what the press release describes as a “Bring Your Own Device phenomenon” associated with Android. It continues:

“… By combining 3LM’s solutions built-in at the device level and its powerful enterprise server console with BoxTone’s industry standard end-to-end EMM platform – which delivers full lifecycle mobile management from device activation, provisioning, configuration and change tasks to mobile device management and support – Android OS-based devices and applications can enjoy enhanced security on the device and over the air (OTA).”

This partnership not only achieves the clearly defined goals set, yet also opens this level of protection up to the diverse array of the products used across the consumer spectrum. It will be interesting to see if this helps to stabilize Android’s fluctuating position in the OS pack.

Micheal Cory

October 20, 2011

A new strategic partnership formed between 3LM, a subsidiary of Motorola, Inc., and BoxTone, the leader in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) is exactly what Android needed–they are now enterprise ready.

With Droid already experience huge growth in the smartphone market (reaching 43.7% market share during the three month average period ending August 2011.), this alliance is bound to give them a supercharge.

According to the article, which refers to this phenomenon of workers wanting to connect their personal smartphones to enterprise IT networks as Android BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), much of this growth drove the decision to offer enterprise ready security.

The article states:

“This consumerization of IT is driving strong demand for enterprise-safe security and management to the Android platform — to eliminate enterprise concerns associated with potential Android open source vulnerabilities.”

The next question is what new opportunities will be possible with Droid, as a company, now that they are tapping further into this market?

Megan Feil   October 12, 2011