Technology & Business
Consumers slow to adopt mobile payments
Gartner released some interesting statistics and predictions related to the mobile payment market. They estimate that 141.1 million people (around the world) will make some type of mobile payment this year. This would be a 38.2% increase over last year. Gartner estimates that this will account for $86.1 billion in transactions. Although the growth is very respectable, Gartner does say that growth has been slower than expected because of slower than expected uptake in developing countries. Possible causes to the slower than expected adoption may be: the complexity of the NFC (Near Field Communication) service model this model requires a shift in consumer behavior from using cash and cards to using your phone to make payments.
Twitter for marketing and Public Relations (PR)
When I first discovered Twitter, I thought it was the stupidest thing in the world. After all, how can you effectively communicate in 140 characters. Would it be worthwhile to follow others? I just did not understand it. Then after playing with it for a while, I finally understood it s value and power. It has started revolutions and has helped companies build direct relationships with their customers. Twitter uses related to Marketing and Public Relations (PR) Executive proof I have worked with dozens of large multinational companies whose CEOs started blogs [to communicate directly with their customers and employees] but gave up after a handful of posts.
Pittsburgh Pattern Recognition has been acquired by Google
Google has quietly acquired a Pittsburgh company that has technology related to facial recognition. The company, PittPatt, was founded and run by 3 Carnegie Mellon University PhDs. No one really know why Google made the purchase or where/when it will be used but it is safe to assume it will be one more tool in their anti-Facebook crusade. We will be anxiously waiting to see how this “computer vision technology” will be implemented and deployed while adhering to Google’s mantra “Do no evil”.
Could Apple make a bid for HULU?
Bloomberg reported [on Thursday] that Apple is considering a bid for video streaming site extraordinaire – HULU. HULU announced that they have retained the services or Morgan Stanley and Guggenheim partners to assist with the potential sale of the company. About 2 years ago, the interwebs were buzzing about Apple starting a new streaming Television service. Obviously that never got off the ground. Could this be the missing piece to the puzzle? This new rumor is in addition to the others we have already read about other potential suitors, mainly Yahoo,Google and Microsoft.
Review of the free scan to cloud software - ScanDrop
I am a big fan of Evernote and use it to store all of my reference material (as explained in the GTD methodology). One of the key requirements to my online storage strategy is converting paper into PDF and getting it into Evernote as simply and quickly as possible. A while back I found a free software called ScanDrop which did exactly that. I use it to scan paper directly from my Brother multifunction device and then upload it straight into my Evernote [For Google Docs users, it supports that service too] inbox ready for processing.
1 Million downloads of Mac OS Lion on its first day
We all expected LION to do well at $29.99 but few people could have foreseen the incredible volume of downloads in the first 24 hours. Apple claimed this was the "best OS we've ever made" and the numbers seem to back their claim. As you may be aware, LION is a download only product from Apple's Mac AppStore. For those that have slow or capped internet service, you can download it at any Apple store by simply bringing your device in using their free WIFI.
The wacky world of Google+ (aka Google Plus)
I was finally able to get into Google Plus about a week ago and my overall rating is that it is interesting but.... For those of us that played with other ill-fated Google products (such as Buzz), it is refreshing to see that they learned their lessons. The Interface As you can see, Google has used a clean and easy to understand interface however it will take some getting used to. Dozens of prominent tech bloggers complained that Google Plus is simply a different looking Facebook.
GHSA determines road risk of using a mobile phone while driving
An American association called the Governor’s Highway Safety Association recently released a report that use of a mobile phone correlates with increased risk of accidents in the United States of America (USA). To arrive at their conclusion, the association reviewed 350 scientific papers, published between 2000 and 2010, related to highway safety. Their review clearly showed that distracted driving accounts for 15-25% of all crashes (ranging from small fender benders to accidents with fatalities). Nothing here should be surprising as it based on common sense.
Some Interesting Twitter Statistics for 2011
Here are some interesting twitter stats I wanted to share We can then take a look at some interesting site statistics provided by Compete : Twitter.com had: 28,741,503 Unique Visitors in May 2011 148,742,825 Total Visits in May 2011 1 year graph comparing unique visits to total visits: Click on the above thumbnail to see a full size image. Pingdom has created a nice graphic showing the growth in tweets per month. This includes all tweets (including those made with 3rd party apps):
Facebook has identity and your attention
Facebook has become the premium identity management company on the web with 500 million+ users. Just think of how many apps allow you to log-in using your facebook ID (aka Facebook Connect). In late 2010, Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO) stated that 10,000 websites integrate with Facebook everyday (that is over 3.6 million new sites every year). Facebook knows who you are, what you like, who your friends are, where you have been (Places) and what you are thinking about (status updates).