I work with many professionals and they often ask me - what is the strategic advantage for me to adopt social media ? Many, but not all, see social media as a waste of time - STILL ! Social Media is Business Media. Christina "CK" Kerlev's presentation below outlines the 10 Key Benefits that social media provides for B2B development. Read it and the next time you are confronting senior leadership questioning the benefits for social media for business development -
If Apple's recent patent application tells you anything, its that the giant technology firm is working on further entry into the fitness space. That's something the fitness industry better pay close attention to. As the patent illustration shows on the left, the application includes an extensive interface running on the iPhone. The black and white images show the iPhone interface controlling and monitoring all details, from starting a treadmill to managing the number of curls you perform as part of a workout.
While details are still vague, compatible gym equipment would use a similar 30-pin connector that Apple sell to display video from your iPhone to your TV, and contain a new 'authentication' chip that Apple would provide to licensed third-party developers.
Apple is about to take this concept to the nextlevel by announcing partnerships with various fitness equipmentproducers including TechnoGym and LifeFitness.
In fact another article outlines a patent request by Nike for sensors that will monitor factors including EKG, heart rate, body temperature and hydration, all integrated into future iPhone compatible products.
While there's been no official announcement from Apple on gym compatibility an announcement should be out soon, with an app available via the App Store this summer.
Its not that the price of the newly announced Kindle 3 will be ONLY $139 for the Wi-Fi version, the screen is vastly improved as is the speed.
Writing in Fast Company, Dan Noscowitz says that Kindle 3's most impressive new feature is the screen which is, "bar none, the best e-ink screen I've ever seen. It's fantastically sharp, with excellent contrast (Amazon claims 50% better contrast than any other e-ink display on the market), and it refreshes noticeably faster (Amazon says 20% faster) than the previous generation."
The WiFi-only version will sell for $139 as "Amazon's Anti-iPad," as the Forbes headline has it. Amazon has no intention of trying to compete with the iPad's bright and colorful multi-touch display, according to Russ Grandinetti, vp of Kindle content. "We're not really focused on that," he says. "We're really focused on building a purpose-built e-reader ... on making this device better."
More than anything, what the new Kindle does is continue to demonstrate that the distribution model for content is finally evolving to where it should be - out of print and into the cloud with highly mobile, functional and CHEAP devices enabling users to consume when and how they want to.
The publishing industry is just the beginning. The quick adoption of these devices will start to impact industries in a variety of ways, some obvious and others not. Afterall Amazon reports that e-books now outsell hardcover books by 80%, and that it sold three times as many e-books in the last quarter as it sold in the same quarter last year. Few would have believed that possible 2 years ago, but it is. Watch the WSJ report on the new device below.
My partner and I consult with a variety of firms on the topic of cloud adoption. It is surprising how few really understand the strategic and ROI benefits of its application. Total Cost of Ownership is an important number to use when evaluating IT and in particular when comparing extant systems to cloud solutions. Often the thinking is that what an organization is using now is a better place than making a change - and the primary driver in most people's minds is cost. Utilizing TCO is the only way managers can evaluate apples to apples. Often there are apples to oranges comparisons and this is why more organizations aren't jumping into the cloud faster. They simply aren't doing the proper math to realize the savings.
My friend and partner Clint S. Lee recently shared this post on a new tool to help you evaluate TCO.
I've got an iPad and have enjoyed it - particularly when it comes to reading the WSJ, NYT or the various books I am reading. However, last night after a suggestion from my friend Clint Lee I got the Flipboard app (watch video below), a free "social magazine" that debuted to great reviews, resulting in a digital traffic jam at Apple's App Store that made it hard to download the program.
Wow. Now when I’ve referred to new business models that incorporate fresh ways of delivering content - this is what I was talking about.
So what is Flipboard? Imagine the huge list of updates and links served up on your Facebook or Twitter feeds transformed into a handsome, clean magazine format that is easy to peruse. Imagine that this "magazine" includes Web content of your favorite newspapers or magazines. Your tablet is now a personal, virtual newsstand.
"We thought the idea of a social magazine would be an incredible thing," said McCue, who sold his previous startup, TellMe Networks, to Microsoft for a reported $800 million. The iPad emerged as the ideal format. And it certainly helped that Doll was a prominent Apple engineer who had taught a popular Stanford class on iPhone app development.
The Flipboard app includes a contents page that enables you to dive into your favorite Web features with a touch. Pulling up the keypad lets you comment on articles.
Flipboard relies on an editing process that uses algorithms to update the news. Their recent acquisition of Ellerdale gives Flipboard a team of engineers focused on analyzing large, real-time data streams. Ellerdale co-founder Arthur van Hoff, now Flipboard's chief of technology, said his team provides a "back-end" complement to Flipboard's consumer-facing technology, playing a key role in providing users with the news that is most relevant to them.
Today an ad in Men's Health might look pretty. Now imagine that ad on Flipboard inspiring you to make a tweet or tap a "like" button. Now imagine an alert about a sale at a store near you. You get the idea.
I work with many professionals and they often ask me - what is the strategic advantage for me to adopt social media ? Many, but not all, see social media as a waste of time - STILL ! Social Media is Business Media. Christina "CK" Kerlev's presentation below outlines the 10 Key Benefits that social media provides for B2B development. Read it and the next time you are confronting senior leadership questioning the benefits for social media for business development -
