Thursday, December 22, 2011

Ireland tells Facebook to boost privacy - FT.com

In line with the thought that companies sometimes arrive at a point where they can exercise more power and control than appropriate government entities, Ireland tells Facebook to boost privacy - FT.com. It is what happens to our freedoms during technological change: trembles and shakes a bit in wait of regulatory frameworks and laws, making it a price of progress we all pay, hopefully temporarily.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Communities Dominate Brands: Smartphone Penetration Rates by Country! We Have Good Data (finally)

Read industry specialist Tomi T Ahonen data on smartphone penetration rates by country and other cool stats based on raw data from Google/Ipsos and Netsize Guide/Inforama.

Amongst interesting bites you will find current average smartphone replacement cycle (only 11.5months!) as well as what are the best countries to lunch your new smartphone app at the moment.

Communities Dominate Brands: Smartphone Penetration Rates by Country! We Have Good Data (finally):

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Innovation Needs To Lead Events

Today`s and , most probably, this week`s favourite quote comes from Paul Saffo`s article about ways to rescue Yahoo, published in The New York Times, and it goes like this:


"Ultimately, innovations need to lead events. Trouble begins the moment a company is forced to respond to events, and the greater the lag, the greater the potential for disaster." 

Paul is a forecaster who explores change and I stumbled upon him through twitter (he was tweeting about Nasa`s discovery of the first planet in the habitable zone of a solar system similar to ours, which was pretty interesting to further investigate).

Back to the quote: the fact that innovations need to lead events is proving ever more true today, when technological progress,  interconnectivity over networks and the growing influence of communities have raised the bar high, making competition fearsome, bloody and unforgiven. Paul is talking about Yahoo, but also look at RIM, the manufacture of Blackberry, the hit phone and the competitor to the iPhone only a couple of months ago. The innovation it brought to market, its USP, is quickly fading. No "new, cool stuff", no honey. Their tablet business looks to me as an example of following the events rather than dictating them, and the results are showing: the reality failing to match their growth and revenue forecasts. RIM needs to fix its organizational structure and sit down at the design table/screen and think about the next great thing it can bring in mobile.

This is an interesting time as well: you can not hide behind past laurels any more. The digital plus the crisis have thrown all of us out of our comfort zones: starting with the job market and how you approach your career to the rise and advance of the open, shared and increasingly participatory business models and non-traditional ways of leading and managing companies. Take the newspaper industry: the past years have witness the decline in advertising revenues in the Western world by approximately half! Old players that have been around for decades where thrown into a downward swirl reversed only by those who caught up rapidly with today`s change/consumer habits.

Some went digital or partly digital, some re-enforced their quality and usefulness while others went against market trends and forecasts proving that given the right formula, digital is by now means a threat. Still, most are following trends trying to respond, but few are setting them and we all know which one is better.

Innovations need to lead events. Today, we have all the tools, ever more than a couple of years ago, to break rules, create and  redefine conventions. In this aspect, it becomes quite simple.







Monday, December 5, 2011

Google Opens the Door to Mobile Maps Inside Buildings

Google will now provide navigation indoors. The reaction on the web is ranging from enthusiastic to worried, with lots of pros and cons in between such as avoiding any "Minotaur" of confusion and sense of being lost to the easy finding of the restrooms. Like with any other new service or product, it is the public/consumer who validates its usefulness or, on the contrary, the quickness of its demise. For mall fans and shopping addicts it might yet be the "it" map.


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Startup Ideas: 6 Gadgets to Invent Now | Inc.com

If you were thinking what could be the next big hit product, check this link for an early insight and for inspiration:
Startup Ideas: 6 Gadgets to Invent Now | Inc.com:

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Thursday, December 1, 2011

What’s in a Tweet? #Social Media, #Free Speech and #Schools :: Entertainment Law Blog

A little diversion from Moboline`s evangelization of all things mobile in favour of some Twitter vs Law teachings on one of my favourite blogs, LAW LAW LAND. In this post, Rachel W. Barchie reviews the legal implications of stating your opinion vs a fact on Twitter or else How to get 15000 Twitter followers in no time. Enjoy:

What’s in a Tweet? #Social Media, #Free Speech and #Schools :: Entertainment Law Blog:

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