Archive for the ‘Mobile Communication’ Category
Who’s got more time for social networking? Already I find myself spending less and less time on Facebook. It may seem like I am on FB all the time to some people but I leave the tab open on my computer and take a quick look a few times a day. Still that only has me actively on FB maybe 15 minutes a day. I (like everyone else) get FB updates right on my mobile device and like everyone I can post photos, updates and whatever else I can think of on my mobile FB app. I have a Google+ account but spend even less time on Google + than I do using Facebook.
I spend more time on Linkedin than I do on Facebook since I am working more than I do anything else. Myspace.com is on life-support but as I posted over a year ago http://wp.me/pJX7l-k3 I still doubt Myspace will make it. No news flash there.
For a long time I felt that social networking would be dominated by Facebook and Linkedin, and maybe, just maybe, Google would find a way to get in the game. Twitter is considered to be part of social networking but life streams in 140 characters are not the same.
Recently emerging is Pinterest.com – a site that’s been around for several years and has gained a passionate and dedicated following – both in the personal and professional world. Entrepreneur magazine’s Jason Falls had an interesting piece on ‘How Pinterest is Becoming the Next Big Thing in Social Media for Business’ – http://bit.ly/zkll1c. A revenue model is still being sought (Foursquare is still working on one as well) but the growth of Pinterest has been impressive.
This weekend I read in the New York Times an article on a new ‘sort-of’ social network called Cowbird.com http://nyti.ms/wN5XDk – The article noted – ‘In less than three months, people from around the world have used Cowbird to create more than 7,600 mostly personal stories about people or moments in their lives, using words, pictures and sounds. All pieces are accompanied with a single photograph and some include audio. Some include a few words of text, others more.’
An article on Forbes.com from Kirsten Bischoff the –co-founder of HATCHEDit.com http://onforb.es/yqAumj highlighted the challenges in creating a new social network, and the benefits of smaller social networks. She writes about another small social networking site called Path.com – both of them look interesting and in fact pretty cool.
The problem for me is if I were to get even more into niche social networks – and the sharing networks are interesting to me although there are times when I prefer not to share, (goes back to an old sandbox problem) and I’d most assuredly get even less work done and have less time to actually do things.
This sharing thing easily turns into over-sharing don’t you think? Are you spending more or less time on social networks these days? Got any cool new ones you’d like to share?
Mobile communications companies share the collective animosity of their customers. It does not matter if you are an AT & T subscriber, T-Mobile, Verizon or any other provider. The customers that stay with you are choosing you for one of two reasons – 1) it’s the only option they have, 2) they have not found a better option.
For those people who are unaware, Verizon decided to cancel its policy http://bit.ly/uTG2Fw of charging a $2 “convenience fee” for bill payments made over the phone and online. The policy had been intended to go into effect as of January 15, 2012. Within 24 hours of announcing the new rule, Verizon did an about-face and completely squelched the idea.
It’s score one for the little guys right? Let’s face it – it’s altogether too rare for a company to actually listen to its customers (well the customers were yelling pretty loudly) and then act by rescinding a new rule based on the collective outcry of their customers. Of course critics note that Verizon’s 4G LTE network went down last week for the third time in a month which also served to infuriate its customers.
I am wondering about the meeting that occurred at Verizon where the concept of a $2 customer “convenience fee” was not only unveiled, but voted on positively by the powers that be. Perhaps there wasn’t a meeting or a vote after all? I mean, who could sit there and listen to this plan and not think that Verizon’s customers would do a total freak-out?
What if Verizon intended on floating this idea out there with the distinct knowledge that they would pull back once the customer outcry reached fever pitch (this took less than 24 hours BTW)? I know that’s cynical but it is possible right? And if that were to have been the case Verizon would have been able to close out 2011 on a somewhat positive note as a company that listened to its customers concerns (outrage?) and acted upon it.
The alternative is that the brass at Verizon is so clueless that they put out a rule change that stands out as being one of the dumbest business moves of 2011.
I don’t think Verizon reached a market cap of more than $113 billion because they do dumb things do you?
Stuart Elliot of The New York Times writes the advertising column and periodically has 20 questions about advertising. I decided to come up with a few of my own.
1) Why are there ads in the subway with QR codes displayed when there is no internet service on the subway itself?
2) Would you turn your house into a billboard? http://www.aol.it/rpy8Na
3) How long will it be before urinals in public restrooms carry advertising?
4) Do you watch the screen when riding in the back of taxi?
5) Would you be willing to receive a steady stream of ads on your smart phone if the monthly fees were paid for by the carrier?
6) Which company do you think will last longer – Groupon or Foursquare?
7) If you’ve used a Groupon or Living Social coupon to dine in a restaurant you’ve never before visited – have you ever gone back a second time?
I don’t watch ads when I DVR a television program preferring to fast forward through them as I believe is the case with most people. What percentage of DVR watchers do you think should be counted as having actually watched an ad during the program?
9) Will people continue to patronize online companies that don’t offer a free shipping option?
10) In 2012 will you use Ebay’s Redlaser.com bar scanner or Amazon.com’s bar code scanner to check pricing on in-store items?
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Joyous Kwanzaa. Oh and a healthy and Happy 2012 too!
On Monday December 12, New York Times’ writer David Streitfeld quasi-reviewed the hot-selling Amazon Kindle Fire http://nyti.ms/ruVyId. Skewered might be a better description. I have had my own Amazon Kindle Fire for two and a half weeks and have not been disappointed but not completely thrilled either.
The reviews I have read invariably start with what’s wrong with the Kindle Fire. So I will do my best to first focus on the positive attributes before casting any stones. Bob Sacks of Precision Media Group has more of an even-keel view of the Kindle Fire that I share in large part.
‘It is not an iPad, nor does it pretend to be one. Most of the reviewers are making a mistake to compare them . . . The first and obvious attraction to the Fire is the price. At $199.00 it is half the cost of an iPad, so no comparison is necessary there. And most of those who buy a Fire will not have held an iPad and will therefore not be able to make a comparison . . . Is it a perfect device? No. Is it a fair compromise of price and services? Absolutely yes.’
What first attracted me to the Kindle was that it served as an e-reader with true web connectivity. Yes it is a mini-tablet and for me eminently more portable than an iPad. The back lighting on the Kindle Fire is very good and the book and periodical reading experience is also excellent – better than the original Kindle by far. Oh and did I mention it was $199.00? Price is a huge driver here and I think it is also true that many people who will try the Kindle Fire have not used an iPad so they do not have that experience to compare one versus the other.
The Kindle color tablet screen is vivid and for me not too small as some have suggested. There are some issues with content not being optimized for the Kindle size but those will be worked out in subsequent versions. Book and publication downloads are fast and easy. The battery life is more than adequate particularly if you are careful about turning off the Wi-Fi when it is not being used. The touch screen and navigation are intuitive and work well.
When it comes to things I don’t like about the Kindle Fire there are a number of those as well. The thing that first bothered me is that there is no way to get web access other than Wi-Fi. At present Amazon is not offering consumers a way to purchase 3G or 4G connectivity under subscription. The lack of a front and back facing camera is something that will be added later I suspect but again keep in mind that an iPad costs more than double the price of a Kindle Fire.
Over the air updates are slated to come in spring 2012 for the Kindle Fire. So I expect some improvements in the user experience. And when Amazon releases the Kindle Fire 2.0 (sometime) I expect many of the issues to be resolved – perhaps not at the $199 price however. I can see Amazon creating a vertical market for the Kindle Fire with different levels of features and services.
Amazon needed to get version 1.0 of the Kindle Fire on the market or it might have been too far behind to ever catch up. If you are a book lover the Kindle Fire offers a great reading experience and a so-so web browsing experience in a convenient and portable size. You can wait for the next version but it might be a while.
Amazon’s Kindle Fire is not an iPad – and that’s ok isn’t it?
My wife reminded me that not everyone has a GPS phone or a navigation system in their car. Despite that observation, it is a rare occasion that someone will ask me for directions when they are coming to visit me at my office or home. I know that I don’t ask for directions when arranging an appointment either professional or personal. Then I started wondering if not asking for directions, is a good thing. I came up with a few reasons it makes sense to ask the person you are visiting for directions.
Those of us that use Mapquest, Yahoo or Google Maps for example have found those platforms to be useful although frustrating at times. Since I have a smart phone complete with a Google Maps application I frequently rely on it to get me where I am going – anywhere in the world. It works most of the time but I have encountered situations where the application failed to locate me via GPS – particularly when I travel to China. That’s not exactly the place you’d want to be with no idea on how to get from point A to point B – so there’s one reason to ask for or at least print-out directions ahead of time.
Another reason it makes sense to ask for directions or at least confirm the directions you have is to avoid any unknown detours, road closures etc. It’s true that most of the GPS enabled applications and navigation systems will eventually get there but wouldn’t it be nice to know about road closures or detours ahead of time?
And don’t forget about the human engagement element that occurs while asking for directions. When you go to a place for the first time and rely on an application to get you there you miss out on connecting with someone regarding the place where they live or work. For example you could mention in conversation with the appointment about the route you are likely to take and if there are any better ways or things (i.e. landmarks) to look for. By doing that you make things just a little more personal by receiving information that is likely to be both timely and relevant and along the way you might learn a few things about the person and the area in which they live and work. People like talking about the area in which they spend their time – either for work, home or leisure.
While it’s true that GPS navigation systems are good and only getting better I am going to change my method of never asking for directions to connect a little more with the people I am going to visit. Obviously it is not always practical to ask for directions when visiting a public place like a stadium or movie theater, but those post directions on their websites that you can use as a guideline.
How about you? Are you like me in that you never ask for directions? Have I made you think about it even a little?