Mobile Devices Meet Bricks and Mortar

A recent WSJ report Venture Capitalist's New Frontier, Where Cellphones Meet Retailing points to Reid Hoffman, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who put money early into hot start-ups like Facebook Inc. and online gaming company Zynga Game Network Inc., who now has his eye on the intersection of mobile phones and bricks-and-mortar retailing.

As well he should. The explosion of mobile devices, adoption of social media and new business models that blend online and bricks and mortar components around the customer will contribute to new ways to engage shoppers.While the technology is emerging in traditional retail, I fully expect it to increasingly enter the bricks and mortar fitness and wellness space soon. Members should be able to purchase and interact with facilities using mobile devices wether outside or inside of the four walls. Solutions that bridge the mobile and facility worlds will flourish.

Hoffman's latest bet as a partner at venture capital firm Greylock Partners is on Shopkick Inc., one of a number of young firms hoping to turn cellphones into tools for spurring sales. Mr. Hoffman, who joined Greylock last November, is leading its $15 million investment in the company and taking a seat on its board on behalf of his firm.

Founded in June 2009, Shopkick is building applications for the iPhone and devices powered by Google Inc. software that will offer product information or coupons when users check into a store with their cellphones.

The company plans to launch the application this summer and has signed up a number of partners, including Best Buy Co., Macy's Inc. and Procter & Gamb le Co. Sonny Jandial, brand manager with P&G, said the company is trying to learn how to take advantage of consumers' obsession with their cellphones.

The enhancement "of the retail experience through your mobile phone is guaranteed to be part of the future," Mr. Hoffman said. Watch the interview with ShopKick's CEO.

Wireless Technology Meets Assisted Living - BeClose

I had the chance to visit with Dr. Mark Hanson late last week. He was part of the team that founded BeClose; their tag line is "Where Distance Disappears". I love that and you'll soon understand why. Mark received his doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Virginia (U.Va.) where he researched wireless health technology with John Lach in the Integrated Networked Embedded Real-Time Technologies In Applications (INERTIA) group. He's an evangelist, along with his BeClose associates, for the coming wireless revolution.

BeClose is a breakthrough remote home monitoring system that allows you to be closely connected to your parents and loved ones as they age in the comfort of their own home. The solution is yet another example of how practical wireless applications are entering the marketplace: applications that solve real and pressing problems.

Increasingly we will see these mobile monitoring devices impact our world, and BeClose is an example of the beginning of that trend. The Internet is evolving to the embedded space. Intel Vice President Doug Davis cites the IDC prediction of 15 billion intelligent, connected devices by the year 2015, that is how big its going to get. Leveraging the power of Internet connectivity to a limitless variety of embedded devices, many communicating machine-to-machine without human intervention, has more far-reaching implications than most can imagine.

Health care, including wellness and fitness, will increasingly be affected by these technology trends. Check out BeClose CEO Liddy Manson, as she shares the details behind BeClose on this video.

Test For Longevity Genes Coming Soon

By analyzing the DNA of the world's oldest people, Boston University scientists said Thursday they have discovered a genetic signature of longevity. 

The researchers, who studied more than 1,000 people over the age of 100, identified a set of 150 unique genetic markers that, taken together, are linked to extreme longevity.

The researchers said they had no plans to patent the technique nor profit from it. Instead, they expect to make a free test kit available on the Internet later this month to foster longevity research.

The test might reveal more than some people would like to know, the BU scientists warned. Genetic testing often reveals tantalizing but incomplete information, and it's sometimes difficult to know how to respond. People with genes for extreme longevity could face a series of difficult decisions about their careers, retirement savings, insurance coverage, medical treatments and marriages in old age.

"I don't think people are ready for this from a social point of view," said BU geriatrician Thomas Perls, the other lead researcher. "But I don't think that will stop companies from trying to market this."

See this video from the Wall Street Journal as Stefanie Ilgenfritz discusses the discovery of a new genetic signature for human longevity which could lead to a test that reveals who is likely to live to a ripe old age.

Will Apple Stock Sour ?

Barron's minute asks wether Apple's stock will become less attractive. Now that the company is the largest technology firm by market cap questions are being raised as to whether Apple can continue to perform.

Artificial Intelligence - It Isn't Science Fiction Anymore

Computer scientists have been pursuing artificial intelligence, using computers to simulate human thinking, for sometime and with little success. Recently, however, great progress has been made to create devices that can listen, speak, see, reason and learn. According to scientists the result is not only that artificial intelligence will transform the way humans and machines communicate and work together, but also that it will  eliminate millions of jobs, create many others and change the nature of work and daily routines.

Steve Lohr and John Markoff wrote a recent article in the NYT titled, "Smarter Than You Think" to learn how "AI" is progressing very rapidly and being experimented in the mainstream businesses today. Here is one of their observations:

The artificial intelligence technology that has moved furthest into the mainstream is computer understanding of what humans are saying. People increasingly talk to their cellphones to find things, instead of typing. Both Google’s and Microsoft’s search services now respond to voice commands. More drivers are asking their cars to do things like find directions or play music.

The number of American doctors using speech software to record and transcribe accounts of patient visits and treatments has more than tripled in the past three years to 150,000. The progress is striking. A few years ago, supraspinatus (a rotator cuff muscle) got translated as “fish banana.” Today, the software transcribes all kinds of medical terminology letter perfect, doctors say. It has more trouble with other words and grammar, requiring wording changes in about one of every four sentences, doctors say.

Watch this video from KQED on the latest in Artificial Intelligence to learn more. The tool will increasingly impact our lives more than we realize.