#SwifferEffect

Everyone has seen the Swiffer commercials with that cute old couple Morty and Lee who are both in their 90’s and have been married for 44 years. Much like the Wheat Thin commercial, Swiffer has taken ‘regular’ consumers and left them a present on their doorstep. Their prize, Swiffer dusters to help Lee reach those hard to reach places.

Swiffer was genius to use these two consumers for their commercial! After this commercial aired last summer, Morty and Lee have been on several talk shows and interview talking about their marriage and not to mention, Swiffer gets named dropped (free publicity) during their interviews. These two were even on Ellen and the Today Show! Swiffer’s hashtag at the end of the commercial was great placement! #SwifferEffect campaign started to generate some serious hashtags after Morty and Lee first appeared in their first TV commercial. In fact, they were such a hit for Swiffer, Morty and Lee have done several commercials.

I have Swiffer products in my house. It is not because of Morty and Lee, although I think they’re absolutely adorable! I would say that if consumers didn’t know about Swiffer or didn’t care for it, I think with so much publicity that Morty and Lee generated, it would be hard not to go buy a Swiffer duster for yourself. By having a sweet old couple, who show affection for one another, while using a cleaning product, we as the consumer connect because of the emotion aspect. So then by being at the store, you might walk by the Swiffer aile and remember the sweet commercial of Morty and Lee, and decide why not, and in the cart it goes. #SwifferEffect has generated and continues to generate brand recognition for Swiffer to many consumers on Twitter. All and all I think that they were PR geniuses! 

Coin

Have too many credit cards, gift cards still to use from the Holidays, membership cards to the gym and stores? Is your wallet too bulky because of them? Well then, Coin is the perfect solution for you! Coin is an all-inclusive card that can store multiple cards into one! In fact, you can store as many cards as you want! Sound too good to be true, but the creators and brains behind this new technology are experts in the electronics and engineering.

Coin is a card that allows consumers to store multiple cards onto it. It works just like your credit card would, or how your gift card or membership card would. The great thing about this technology is that you can manage of this from their mobile app. Their mobile app is how you sync all of your cards onto the Coin card.  According their website, consumers can add a card simply by using their mobile app and taking a picture and swiping your Coin card through a small deceive that they provide for you. The small device is like a magnetic reader that plugs into your mobile phone. Since the Coin card is sync’d with your mobile phone through Bluetooth, your phone can detect if you left your card behind somewhere. So if you’re a forgetful person and leave your credit card at the bar, soon with this Coin card, your phone will alter you about it. This future is also handy if someone steals your Coin card, because you will be altered once the phone can’t detect your card and you then can go into the app to disable all of your cards. Check out this video on the company's website to get the demo: https://onlycoin.com/

This will be great for businesses that have loyalty cards or memberships and their members have cards. The Coin card will allow all those consumers/members use their reward cards more frequently and often. Let’s face it, how many times have you gone a last minute shopping trip, and forgot your credit card or reward cards? Now with Coin we can have them all on one card! I have already pre-ordered mine and the company is anticipating release this summer! Pre-order cards are only $55! I can’t wait to put all my ‘bulk’ onto one simple card! 

Nike Store

Early on in the 90s Nike came on to the scene by signing Michael Jordan to a shoe contract. Ever since that day Nike became a powerhouse in the shoe industry. Shoe collectors loved their unique designs and top quality. Nike really caught the public's attention by releasing commercials that made people want to buy their shoes. This was due to their brilliant marketing team. People felt a connection with the players they watched on tv by wearing their shoes. With the use of social media Nike effectively uses Twitter to reach out to fans and notifies them when a new release of a shoe is coming out. 

By posting pictures of future releases on Twitter, Nike really engages customers to see when the latest shoes will come out. For example just a few days ago Nike did a surprise release on Twitter of the most anticipated shoe of the year which was the Air Yeezy 2 "Red October." Priced at $245 the sneakers were sold out in 10 minutes. So the people that closely followed Nike's Twitter page were the lucky ones to actually get a pair. Of course there were many upset people because they didn't even have a chance to purchase them. One customer states that he had it in his cart ready to check out when it gave him the message that it was no longer available. Nike will continue to hype up customers when it comes to new releases because of how well they interact with their fans. 

StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is described as a discovery engine that finds sites and makes recommendations of sites and content based on users personalized input and tastes. StumbleUpon has been around since 2002. In September 2012, StumbleUpon released an update for its iOS app that brought the new feature "StumbleDNA," which aggregates content that is recommended for you, trending content as well as a section where you can view the activity of your StumbleUpon connections. Its has a toolbar available for all the major browsers (Google, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera), as well as, mobile app access on Windows phones, Android phones, i-phones and Amazon Appstore.

Rating Web sites update a personal profile and generate peer networks of Web surfers linked by common interest. These social networks coordinate the distribution of Web content, so that users "stumble upon" pages explicitly recommended by friends and peers. Giving a site a thumbs up results in the site being placed under the user's "favorites". Furthermore, users have the ability to stumble their personal interests like "History" or "Games". The social content discovery approach automates the "word-of-mouth" referral of peer-approved Web sites and simplifies Web navigation.

Paid Discovery is StumbleUpon’s ad system. StumbleUpon’s platform lets users surf the web by Stumbling to sites that match their interests, simply by hitting a button on their browser or mobile device. With Paid Discovery, an advertiser’s URL (website, video, etc.) becomes part of that stream. Up to 5% of all stumbles are reserved for Paid Discovery where the advertisers directly insert their web page into the user experience. This means the audience lands directly on their web pages, videos, and photos. Users can also provide feedback (thumbs up / thumbs down) on this content. Since Paid Discovery sends visitors directly to the advertiser’s page, there’s no need to create an ad; the advertiser’s entire web page is the ad. When an ad is delivered a user, a green icon or “Sponsored” will appear in the toolbar or mobile app, denoting a paid stumble. StumbleUpon doesn’t serve typical display ad formats, such as pop-ups/interstitials, banners, etc.

I can see this as a great tool for companies wanting to market via the web or social media and since its peer to peer based in nature, when one person lands on and then thumbs up an advertiser's page, their peers will have those sites recommended too. Its another tool in the belt in addition to Facebook or Twitter or any other social media site. For users its like what Kayak is to travel sites, but for their personal interests.

Don't Judge a Post By Its Title

Ok so I know that google has been around since what seems like forever, but since multiple people have claimed they would give GrubHub a chance because of my last blog post, I decided to give one of my other favorite web 2.0 technologies Google Drive a little plug. Some of you may have heard of Google Drive but may not have realized its full potential. Google Drive allows to you to store files, documents, photos, videos, etc. and choose if/who you want to share them with. Without downloading any sort of program (unless you are adding the app to your phone) you can create, edit and share documents, spreadsheets, power points, etc. from any computer, tablet, or smart phone.

I first started using Google drive in May of 2012, just about a month after it had launched. I had just became the Power of Attorney for my diabetic, double amputee, grandma (who also had dementia) and wanted a way to log daily activity with doctors and her 24 hour caregivers. Caregivers were asked to create a daily log and post it on Google Drive at the end of their shift. This allowed the next caregiver to log in and see any important information logged in the previous shift(s) before them. This also allowed me and my family to check in on my grandma by reading the messages via Google Drive. The more I used Google Drive, the more helpful I realized it could be. I began storing important paperwork, photos (I was in a battle with the dr.'s over my grandma's 3rd amputation), and recordings between me and the doctors. I could go on and on.

I also have been using google drive to create a budget for me and my wife. I used a template already created in excel and just filled in our numbers. The thing I love about this is that I can use it on my phone. Edit then whenever and wherever I want. She can also make adjustments, as I have shared the document with her. Someone in one of my other classes mentioned writing a paper and then losing it all in a second because his computer crashed. This is one of the best things about Google Drive, just like Blogger is currently doing as I type, it saves the document that is being worked on about every 10 seconds! This really could be a lifesaver. As much as I use Google Drive, I think it could be even more beneficial to small businesses. It is a great way to store, share, access, and create ideas.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/introducing-google-drive-yes-really.html
Check it out, google says it better ;)

Belkin NetCam HD

My new favorite toy is the Belkin NetCam HD. I've had this NetCam for about 7 months now and could definitely use more in every room of the house! The NetCam works as a video camera that connects to your wifi, you can then view the camera and activity inside your house when you are away. I use this mainly for my dogs. I have two older dogs and one new puppy and it's nice to be able to "check in" on them when we are not home. This device is also ideal for babies. You can set up the camera just as you would a baby monitor - the camera allows you to view and listen to activity in the room. What I like about this instead of a baby monitor is, if you leave your husband home with the baby to run to the grocery store, you can still check on your baby to make sure all is safe and sound. In addition to using these at home, the Belkin NetCam comes in handy for business, as well. The doggie daycare I use for puppy has recently installed these, as well. We take our Cece, our new puppy to daycare twice a week so she can run around and play since our dogs here are older and want nothing of the sort. These are nice because I am able to download an app on my phone and check in on Cece during the day. It's fun to watch her having so much fun with the other dogs during the day. Also, it helps to know she's in good care while we are away. The set up and use of the Belkin NetCam HD is so simple to use and it only takes a second or two to pop on and "check in" making me feel secure and confident that all is well at home or at daycare. I don't know how I lived without this before!

Manage tasks and project work of any kind with Smart Q.

Smart Q  http://www.getsmartq.com/ is an application in the Web 2.0 technologies and used for managing tasks.   It is a product of the Agile and Kan Ban methodology used in many companies.  Agile and Kan Ban are also used to track tasks and enhance communication.

Smart Q is great for teamwork, a small business owner tracking work for it’s employee’s, and/or just everyday people, maybe with kids handling chores at home.  This application is divided into a few columns that can be designed, for example there is the first column which is needed to establish a “To Do”  a parent may enter “dishes” and another task for “garbage”.   These would begin as To Do and then be assigned to the person who will execute the tasks. 

Once a task is assigned to someone, the next step would be for that person to move the task to in progress, which are another columns that follows To Do.   Once the tasks is finished it can be moved to the completed columns.  This can be setup by preference as for columns.  There is never going to be a one size fits all when using this type of task tracker.  This does allow the family to be in sync with the work at home that was completed as well as what is pending.  I bet it makes home and dinner a lot more peaceful as well. 

Smart Q serves as a project management tool in a way, a reminder as well with the tasks you assigned to.   This is an electronic centralized location for all tasks needed to accomplish projects of any kind.  Everyone has the task of logging in daily to ensure his or her own tasks.  We have moved far away from the erase boards in households for sure. 

Cari

KickOffLabs

KickOffLabs is a landing page and e-mail marketing site.  It can be used to generate leads and then do e-mail marketing or run contests, etc.  A landing page is a webpage that is used to gather visitor information and use it for various marketing campaigns. The webpage is set up for whatever marketing need the company has (generating sales, recruitment, contests, etc.)

I think this is a great technology with many uses in the business community.  An immediate use I see for this technology is staff recruitment.  A company could set up their job application on the site and allow candidates to upload their resume and/or other required documentation.  They would then enter the link to the webpage address on all outgoing correspondence/marketing materials including letters, memos, e-mails, receipts, signage, flyers, website, Facebook page, etc. and say something like 'Now Hiring.  Apply at www.oursite.com. Candidates would goto the website and complete the application and upload their documentation.

A 'thank you for applying' type e-mail would automatically be generated and sent to the applicant.  The company would not only have full candidate information for scheduling interviews (and future marketing), but would also be able to see reports to access the effectiveness of their recruitment efforts. They could see how many total people applied and of that number how many were qualified, how many were called for interviews, how many were hired, how many will be called later for different positions, etc.

For this particular application of the technology, I think a company would have a good recruitment tracking system and could save a great deal of money in HR recruitment advertising.

Carolyn

Mobile Credit Card Readers increase sales

With the proliferation of 'smart' phones that can access the internet anywhere, developers are creating applications for mobile credit card readers that give small business owners a way to expand payment options for their customers.
In the past, if a business wanted to accept credit cards, they had to establish a merchant account with a bank. This is a costly service for a small business owner who does not do a huge volume of transactions. If you've ever seen a sign at the cash register indicating a minimum purchase requirement for credit card payment, this is why. A business pays a fee to the bank to process the transaction in the form of a percentage of the total transaction and a fee per swipe in addition to a monthly guaranteed minimum that is paid regardless of your volume (or lack) of sales. The actual percentage and swipe rate varies based on volume. The higher your volume, the lower your fee. The small local business owner is usually paying a higher fee than a big chain store and the cost of running your credit card cuts into his profits.
When you think about the types of businesses that accept credit cards, you would naturally think of brick-and-mortar locations - actual storefronts - but you probably wouldn't think of going to a garage sale or a flea market and paying with a credit card. Those are typically cash-only transactions for a variety of reasons, primarily because the seller isn't a registered business. Home-based crafters who sell at small fairs and markets have similar issues. Imagine you are at a craft fair and find the perfect gift, only to discover that the seller accepts only cash and you don't have enough. When you walk away from that transaction, both you and the seller are disappointed. This is the gap that is being served by mobile credit card readers. There is a direct correlation between accepting credit cards and increased sales. The seller accepting cash only will find he is losing sales to the merchant at the next booth who has one of these readers.
There are a number of widgets in this genre - Square, PayAnywhere, GoPayment, PaypalHere to name a few. These devices connect to a smart phone and enable a seller to accept credit cards anywhere they have a cellphone or wi-fi signal. The initial investment is small - most of these sell for about $10 and offer a $10 credit after the first transaction - and there is no contract required. While the specifics of each application vary slightly, all of them offer the capability of calculating sales tax and emailing a receipt to the buyer. I've seen these in use at the admission gate at festivals that charge an entry fee and at outdoor fairs where sellers don't have electricity or a phone line for a typical sales register. As a consumer who pays for nearly everything with a debit card and rarely carries cash, I love that these devices are becoming more popular.

TeamViewer- Remote Access

Did you ever want to access your files and applications from your home PC while you were out? Well now you can with a great software called TeamViewer. This software is the All-In-One for Remote Support and Online Meetings. You can have remote access to your home PC from anywhere. There is a smartphone application which allows you to control your computer from your phone and access any files or application. Also if any friends have any computer problems you can easily help them by accessing their computer through TeamViewer with their permission.

This is a very powerful application in terms of business meetings and online presentations. Companies can take advantage of this and host online presentations to display products and services that they are offering. Designated people can be invited to join these meetings to discuss business plans and also collaborate on different projects.

In terms of a marketing there is a lot of potential for businesses to setup a meeting through TeamViewer to explain their service or products that they offer remotely. Instead of taking time to travel to a meeting people can now log on to this application and join a meeting/interview and have networking opportunities. Businesses can also cut costs by conducting training online.

TeamViewer can make your life easier by allowing 24/7 access to remote computers and servers and also being able to access your office computer from home or vice versa. Being able to access your information at any location is very important in this fast paced world this application will save time and headache.  


Download here: http://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows.aspx

Available for Windows/Mac

Google Glass: Good, bad, or ugly?

Hi All. Today I found an article about VSP (a vision insurance provider) partnering with Google Glass to provide prescription Google Glasses for folks. (http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/insurance-companies-could-help-push-google-glass-mainstream-2D12006535) Google Glass has also been in the news recently when a woman was ticketing for driving while wearing a pair, but a judge determined there was no way to prove she was operating the device at the time. (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/17/us-usa-googleglass-trial-dismissal-idUSBREA0F1XR20140117) I think this new technology has interesting implications for the future of Web 2.0 technology by surpassing the availability of folks even via their smartphones into something that is within their vision range at all times. Since I am not a developer by a long shot, I didn’t even try to get approved for the pilot program, but I can see how many folks might find this convenient and/or “fun”.

Especially if an app is GPS enabled, a business could trigger an ad when you are nearby that you would instantly see. Today in a major communications meeting, we discussed that perhaps claims adjusters could wear these glasses while inspecting a damaged home or auto and feed the data from their vision into back end analytic engines and other apps that would then spit out the quote for repairs – greatly minimizing time spent on an individual claim while also improving accuracy.

On the other hand, especially with all the “big brother / big data” privacy concerns in the news lately, the thought of being *that* wired in and connected gets a little creepy. (Not that I am ever doing anything felonious or threatening national security, mind you!) I am also concerned about users of the device not attending to other tasks at hand – especially driving. Studies have show that drinking coffee, eating, or even changing a radio station contribute to distracted driving – and our society has still not overcome handling texting, phone calls, and other dangerous distracted driving that occurs with devices that aren’t attached to your head and in your line of vision! In some ways, technology advances remind me of issues in Biomedical Ethics – humanity and laws can’t keep up with technology advances leaving loop holes and conundrums abound.

What do you folks think? Do you think you would ever be interesting in wearing a Google Glass device? Do you imagine a way that these devices could be leveraged by your business?

-Wendy

Bing & Jay-Z Case Study

Microsoft search engine, Bing, was looking to introduce consumers to its map services and gain a younger audience. They were aware that Jay-Z's autobiography, Decode, was coming out soon. The two joined forces and created one of the most creative campaigns to date.

Marketers started out by posting every single page of Decode out in the world. They were on billboards, bus stations, even at the bottom of pools. They did this every day for the entire month prior to the release of the book. What made the campaign even more innovative was the places the pages were placed. Each chosen location was inspired by the words on the page. In a sense, fans could walk through Jay-Z's life, right where it happened.

As the pages were unveiled, Bing tied every piece of the campaign together. Through an online game, fans were able to read every page on the streets. Bing also released clues to the page locations daily through social media. Fans were able to get involved too, and post from their social media sites. They joined together to "decode" the clues to determine the locations. Bing was able to showcase their maps when this part of the campaign took place.

By the end of the month, when all pages had been posted and fans had pieced them together online, the book was on Bing before it even hit shelves.

What made the campaign so successful was that it gave millions of consumers a reason to use Bing. In just one month, Bing was able to join the list of the top 10 most visited sites for the first time.

This campaign was truly innovative. This is the kind of social media integration that should excite those of us who are looking to make a career in gaining business through social media and marketing.

If you would like to watch the campaign video, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNic4wf8AYg

Enjoy!

EveryBlock

EveryBlock Chicago is hyperlocal website that had closed down 2 years ago and has just relaunched on January 23, 2014. The have a blog, as well as, Facebook and Twitter presence.

 

The term hyperlocal is online news or content services pertaining to a to a very small, geographically defined community.

Their goal is to provide a platform for specific neighborhoods and the people who live there to share news specific to their neighborhood and to communicate with each other. It can also be used to promote events in your neighborhood. They also provide almost real-time information from local government such as crime reports, fire reports, restaurant inspections, road work, sanitation, any news, basically anything that the city government is doing to or for that particular neighborhood.

Users can create an account and follow their neighborhood and can also follow as many other neighborhoods that they have interest in. Users can contribute by listing an event or just giving a heads-up on something they think their neighbors should know about.

EveryBlock is a combination of many different types of local information — from public records to neighbor discussions, to photos people have taken in your neighborhood. It also you send out messages every time your neighborhood is mentioned in the media, whether its from the news or blogs. It also utilizes Flickr, Yelp and Craigslist to alert to things that are relevant to that neighborhood.

I can see this for promoting very targeted audiences if you have a company that has an event in a particular neighborhood. It is about relevance to where people are and its new information which adds to the relevance.

Everyblock can be found at: http://www.everyblock.com/

SkyDrive

Our high-tech world is constantly reminding us that anything is possible.  Gone are the days when you had to carry around flash drives containing important documents that you needed to work on later -- at home after work or perhaps to use for a presentation.  We all know what it's like to be working on something at home only to discover that you forgot to copy a needed document to the flash drive or you forgot to e-mail it to yourself before leaving work and its due first thing in the morning.

SkyDrive, is a web-based file storage space product and Microsoft's answer to those dilemmas.  With SkyDrive, you can save, share and later retrieve your Windows Office documents and pictures as long as you have an internet connection.  Your files are stored in the 'clouds' and can be retrieved when you need them -- no matter where you are and no matter which of your devices you want to use.

You need a Microsoft account to use SkyDrive.  I got mine when I purchased a new laptop about 6 months ago.  You set up your SkyDrive account through your Microsoft account.  Then, you can save directly from your PC to SkyDrive.  You can install the SkyDrive app on your devices and also log in using your Microsoft account information.

SkyDrive saves a lot of time and money at work and improves efficiency because you only need to save documents once and you can access from any of your devices anywhere.  It also eliminates the need to purchase more hard drive space. Since you can access files using your cell phone, it eliminates carrying bulky/heavy laptops and tablets.  A wonderful product!

GrubHub

GrubHub is not a new technology; it started in 2004, although I was unaware of its existence until just a few years ago. For those of you who do not know, GrubHub.com is a website that allows you to search for restaurants that pick up and deliver in your area. You can search by type of food, Italian, Indian, Mexican, or by food item. You also have the option to eliminate restaurants based on if they are open now offer deliver, or pick up. You can sort the restaurants by the distance, cost, or best reviewed.

Each restaurant has it’s menu listed online, which personally has greatly improved the condition of my kitchen junk drawer. No need to keep paper menus because everything is listed online. You can even place your order online with most of the restaurants, although some do require phone orders. My favorite part is that not only do the restaurants have grubhub users reviews, but they also list the restaurant’s Yelp reviews and ratings.

GrubHub is completely free for the consumer and offers two options of how to order food, besides phone orders of course. You can create an account or you can order as a guest. However creating an account not only allows you to view all of your previous orders but it also offers one click repeat ordering, the ability to save your credit card, and allows you to save different addresses under different names. Plus, every three or four times you place an order there is a game called “Yummy Rummy” in which you are allowed to choose one of four cards to win a prize. I have gotten a free drink (in which I scored a free 6-pack of coke), free desert, and $10 off.) Grubhub also has an app for iPhone and Android. And after you order you are prompted with a “share with facebook” option.

Jawbone Up

It's a new year and with that comes new year's resolutions. One of the top new year's resolutions is to focus more on health, whether that means to lose weight, eat better, get more exercise, go to yoga, or get more sleep, most of you set a goal for the new year that you hope to reach. But, how do you know what you are doing is really work? How do you hold yourself accountable?

Last year, I purchased a Jawbone Up, which is a band you wear around your wrist that is used to track your steps.  The Jawbone up links to an app or website that you can use to track your success. By wearing the band daily, you can see how many steps you walk per day. For me, this helped to push me to get up every hour and take a brief walk around the office and get moving a bit.

What's great about the Jawbone Up is that it does more than just track your steps. By utilizing the app on my smartphone, I can put in all my meals/snacks for the day and use this to track what I eat and how many calories or grams of fat I am eating each day. Let's be honest, I could run 3 miles a day, but if I come home and eat pizza and ice cream each day,  I'm not sure that's the track I want to be on for 2014.  In addition to tracking what you put in your body, the Jawbone up will also track your sleep cycle. I personally function much better on 8 hours of sleep than 6 and by using my Jawbone Up I was able to track how long it takes me to fall asleep (record time was 4 minutes) and when and how long I'm in a deep sleep for. I don't know what it is, but there's something about waking up to see you had a solid nights sleep that gets me excited and ready to go for the day.

Not only does the Jawbone just track everything you do, but you can also set goals for yourself and you can join with others to track each other's goals and motivate each other. My husband and two of my aunts each starting wearing the Jawbone Up around the same time and we would send messages to each other to "Get Moving!" if we weren't showing enough progress. I had a goal of 10k steps each day and I didn't realize how hard it was for me to get there each day, unless I ran my 3 miles.

What's great about the Jawbone Up is that it's simple to use and at the end of the day you know how successful you were with the goals you have set for yourself. The Jawbone Up helps you be accountable for each day and it makes eating healthy and working out fun when you are tracking your progress and setting goals.

Website " Find the Best" makes a one stop shop for locating hotels, cars, etc.

This website ' Find the Best" is new to me and I found it while researching 2.0 web technologies.  This website allows you find the best of the best in so many categories from cars to hospitals to banks and many more.

I used this website to make comparison of the some best hospitals that are out there.  This reminded me a little bit of Angie's list in a way with a little different approach.  I felt for a non technical user it was easy to understand and choose a category and Find the Best for your preference.  It was interesting to learn about the non profit hospitals as well. 

It was great that while doing research for the best car, the website is aiming for the user to think like an expert and locate the best vehicle for you.  You start by selecting the type of car rather than just the Make of the car, this allowed for me to see all the car Makes that fell under my type of car , for example, an SUV.   I was able to learn all of the details of the cars from price to gas mileage, and many more.  Great site for a one stop shop and lots of really good results. 

Cari

Exciting new technology may make the QR code obsolete

At the consumer electronics show this year (CES is held every January in LasVegas), a new mobile app called "Clickable Paper" was introduced to the American public.  This technology has been available in Japan for a couple years and now it's making its debut in the United States.  In reading more about how it works, I'm boggling at the magic of it all.  As companies get on board with the technology, this app (free on the consumer side) is poised to make the QR code obsolete.

For those who don't know, QR stands for "Quick Response".  The code is a white square full of little black squares arranged in a seemingly random pattern.  The pattern of those squares is read by an app on your smartphone and is typically used to direct you to a webpage.  I have set up QR codes for my small business and have different ones based on the type of interaction I'm seeking from my potential customers.  It might be a link to my Facebook page or my web store or an info page on my products.

One exciting thing about the Clickable Paper application is that you aren't limited to a single link.  I don't have to give my potential customers the option of going to my Facebook page, or my webstore or my info page.  I can give them ALL of those options at the same time with a single snapshot.  What I find more exciting is it can be used with ANY printed material, no matter WHEN it was printed.  If you have old brochures in circulation and you still have one on hand, you can scan it in and make it clickable.  Another related upside is you don't have to make space on your new printed materials for an unsightly code box or create a new QR code every time you have a new page you want to feature.  The user can share the information on Facebook or Twitter from within the app - another feature not available with a static QR code.

This new imaging technology is offered by Ricoh, presumably with a cost to the companies who participate since Ricoh embeds the hotspots and hosts the images. If the cost for the service is reasonable (thereby enabling small businesses to compete along side the big boys) we could see widespread use of this technology over the next few years, ultimately replacing the ubiquitous and somewhat limited QR code.

~Louise

Wendy's Week 2 Post

I am choosing to write about the announcement by Google last week that they will be allowing anyone to email a Google+ members or gmail account holder, even if they don’t know the email address. I think this is already an established Web 2.0 technology and that Google is trying to introduce an innovative technique. (Here is a link to the NY Times blog posting on the subject: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/gmail-plans-to-allow-google-plus-users-to-send-anyone-an-email/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0.) Google has stated that this feature allows you to email someone you know, without first having to ask them what their email address is. It seems the general populace and media, however, has had a knee jerk reaction of “spam alert”!

I personally believe that Google is grasping at straws to build up it’s social network. A quick survey around the office this morning showed that while many of us have Google+ accounts, we don’t use them. We all said that we really only have time and inclination for just one site (the consensus was Facebook). I think that for a business to have access to all those valid email addresses without having to purchase them from a list could be a large boom for them – but it could also be a double edged sword if they choose to send messages that are just more ads as well as messages that smell “spammy”. They could send out emails to join conversations existing on Google+ or other social media sites. They could also email out mass marketing notices. However, since the future of the Internet has always been difficult if not impossible to see, it is entirely feasible that this feature could generate an idea for use that would spur great interactive communication between a business and it’s consumers. I think a business would be wise to offer freebies and coupons along with an “opt-out” if they were going to attempt to leverage this new feature, rather than run the risk of everyone and his cousin quickly disabling the feature. The NY Times blog post I read also mentioned that Google has had issues similar to this in the past (Buzz was mentioned) and was fined by the FCC.

That all said, I (along with many others) have concerns regarding privacy. I don’t like the idea of anyone and everyone being able to have access to my email address. I get enough spam as it is. If it’s someone that actually does know me, they can already find me on Facebook or LinkedIn, frankly. Google has addressed this by saying that gmail account holders can turn the feature off in their settings – although I have yet to see when that feature will appear in order for me to do so. I also wonder how many users won’t be aware of the change, or will not understand or be able to change their settings so that strangers cannot email them. -

Wendy

The Assignment...

The Assignment

Examples of Web 2.0 technology being used for social and business application are all around us. New technologies are appearing all the time.Everyone in this course is responsible for writing 2 blog posts, with each being about 3-4 paragraphs long. Dates will be communicated to you and will be randomly assigned.

Your post should introduce the class to a new technology as well as its potential business application OR summarize and reflect upon an innovative technique using an already established Web 2.0 technology (like the Wheat Thins campaign.)

Be sure to read your classmates blog posts and comment as well!