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Fashion Meets Social in the Twitter Verse

February 21st, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | mobility | smartphone | social media | Twitter - (0 Comments)

Several designers are taking advantage of social media to get their creations out there for consumers to view via their mobile devices. Burberry, a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories started this trend in 2011 and several more designers are following suit for the upcoming New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Twitter to Get First Look at Several New York Fashion Week Collections

James Gardner, founder and chief executive officer of Createthe Group, has this to say on the subject:

“The fashion show has changed. There is a frenzy of desire to be part of this industry. It has become a consumer-facing event,” Gardner told WWD in his SoHo office space. “It is now for consumers just as much as it is for editors and the industry.”

Gardner also offers:

“This is not a gimmick. It provides consumers with insider access and a deeper relationship [to the company] and the brands get knowledge about what consumers like.”

Fashion Week’s Latest Digital Moves

Adding this mobile tool is especially attractive to the luxury shopper who wants to be in the know and the first to see the latest trend. In addition, this takes shopping with mobile devices to the next level, and shows the magnitude of the impact of the online consumer audience.

Sandy McIntosh, February 21, 2012

 

Next Step in Mobile Car Shopping

February 16th, 2012 | Posted by admin in app | mobility | smartphone | social media - (0 Comments)

Edmunds.com, the go to place for just about anything related to automobile shopping, has announced a new App for iPad. Edmunds.com currently offers apps for iPhone, iPod Touch and now iPad. This new app for the iPad is free and designed to help eliminate the stress associated with buying a car. Edmunds.com Takes Next Step in Mobile Car Shopping with New iPad App -

Stephen Gandee, Vice President of Mobile Technology at Edmunds.com, states:

“A recent study found that ‘research’ is the single largest cause of stress in the car buying process — even greater than visiting the dealer.”

“When developing the new Edmunds App for iPad, we made a deliberate effort to offer a clean, intuitive approach to researching a car in order to alleviate some of that stress.”

Shopping while on the go is certainly the trend, and this new app for the iPad by Edmunds.com should be well received. Mobile technology is changing just about everything we do these days. And, when change improves a car shopping experience by making it easier and more enjoyable, it is sure to be a hit!

Sandy McIntosh, February 16, 2012

 

The Hazy Future of Facebook

February 15th, 2012 | Posted by admin in Facebook | mobility | News | social media - (0 Comments)

Details of the Facebook announcement concerning its IPO continue to be discussed in a myriad of circles. Amidst the disbelief, rampant speculation and even a growing sense of outrage over standards and practices, a careful observer can find vague indicators of the direction the company seems intent on taking. In addition to publishing the S-1 Registration Statement, Mashable.com provides a cursory breakdown in the post “Facebook IPO: The Complete Guide“.

One of the more intriguing elements of the release draws attention to advertising, the social media site’s current form of revenue production. The two hundred and thirteen page document is said to mention the word advertising, along with mobile, approximately one hundred and twenty three times a piece. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is little indication of how the latter will factor into the years ahead. The post continues:

“Facebook announced it generates a “substantial majority” of its revenue from advertising, more specifically from its partnership with Zynga. The gaming company contributed 12% of Facebook’s $3.71 billion — that’s almost $500 million.”

It will be interesting to see exactly how the relationship betwixt social media and the gaming industry develops, and if it will benefit shareholders. Many groups are already profiting from the coupling of mobile devices and various games and related software.

Still chief among the concerns for a portion of users and potential stockholders is privacy rights. Facebook continues to be a potentially destructive force in this area. It was recently named in connection with policy changes at Google, changes are being viewed as violating user’s rights.

Despite the size of the form, and the scheduled release of more information in the Spring, interested parties are left in large part to wonder what the future holds.

Micheal Cory February 15, 2012

Twitter Develops Censorship Technology

February 2nd, 2012 | Posted by admin in News | Privacy | security | social media | Twitter - (0 Comments)

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

Personalize Your News with Social Media

February 1st, 2012 | Posted by admin in Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | News | social media | Twitter - (0 Comments)

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

Raising the Alarm about SOPA and PIPA

January 26th, 2012 | Posted by admin in News | Privacy | social media - (0 Comments)

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

Atlanta using TweetMyJobs

January 25th, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | jobs | marketing | mobility | social media | Twitter - (0 Comments)

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

Automakers Drive Onboard Connectivity Trend Despite Safety Concerns

January 18th, 2012 | Posted by admin in app | Facebook | guidelines | mobility | smartphone | social media - (0 Comments)

While automakers such as Toyota, Daimler, and Ford are pushing forward with in-car technology that allows drivers to remain technologically connected, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are working to release guidelines for them. The agencies’ efforts and issues are explained in Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s “Carmakers Tout Audio Facebook as Agencies Seek Texting Curb.”

“Audible Facebook updates and steering-wheel controls that let drivers buy movie tickets and check stock prices went on display at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and North American International Auto Show in Detroit.” It is estimated that in 2012, “5.8 million smartphone and embedded connectivity units will be fitted to new cars and light trucks in North America” “The so-called infotainment systems that are becoming more prevalent in vehicles require more research, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said. The agency plans to hold a forum this year to look at driver distractions.”

To counter concerns, Toyota limits the applications it includes on Entune, and Facebook is not included, Daimler is developing gesture-recognition technology to let drivers access information from the Web using their hands. Ford’s in-car technology is focused on voice recognition. Is this enough? Research will tell. It’ll be interesting to see where auto insurers weigh in on this. That’s a group keenly aware of real-world statistics about (and costs of) distracted driving.

Rita Safranek, January 18, 2012

For the Holidays, Google Takes the Wraps Off Google+ Upgrades

January 12th, 2012 | Posted by admin in Facebook | Google+ | mobility | social media | Twitter - (0 Comments)

To celebrate the holidays, Google decided to reward users of its Google+ service with a gift of upgrades. The Official Google Blog detailed the changes in “Google+: A Few Big Improvements Before the New Year.”

The company added fine-grained controls that enable the user to graphic-equalize and fine-tune the stream.

“When viewing the stream for a particular circle, you’ll now see a slider at the top that lets you adjust how posts from that circle should be blended into the main stream.” “One of the most useful and valuable features of the redesigned Google bar is the red notifications indicator.” “Viewing a photo in Lightbox has been completely redesigned with improved navigation, enhanced comment legibility and better overall utility.”

The improvements are meant to keep pace with Facebook’s Timeline feature and Twitter’s redesign. Whether or not the new functionality addresses the issues early Google+ users have had with the service remains to be seen. But look at it this way, as a present, they beat a pair of socks.

Rita Safranek, January 12, 2012

IDG Editors Ponder 2012 IT Trends

January 11th, 2012 | Posted by admin in business process | mobility | smartphone | social media - (0 Comments)

Who doesn’t like gazing into a crystal ball and pondering the future? Not publisher IDG. In InfoWorld’s “2012 Tech Predictions: From IDG’s Editor’s Worldwide,” the top stories of 2011 are reviewed and prognostications for 2012 presented.

Several editors noted the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs as the top story. Some felt

“the biggest technology story of 2011 was the use of social media to organize and report on the Arab Spring uprisings.” Other picks include “the iPhone replacing the BlackBerry as the corporate standard mobile device, in terms of new and replacement devices”; “the rise of cloud technology, both public and private”; and “the consumerization of IT – that is, using commercial mobile apps, cloud applications, and social networks for business purposes.”

The predictions for 2012 include:

“greater attention to big data and how companies can use analytics tools to mine the data for customer insights, business opportunities, or cost savings”; the development of the smart TV”; the impact of Windows 8 on the mobile market; and continuing disputes over intellectual property.

While these are pretty easy to accept, others, like the decline of Apple as the king of emerging technology, the total disappearance of optical disks and the decline of regular hard disks, and tablets replacing desktops and laptops, seem like more of a stretch.

Rita Safranek, January 11, 2012