Mobile internet likely to outstrip the desktop February 8, 2010
Posted by kewroad in 2010 predictions, conversational PR, information technology, internet, mobile, pr.add a comment
There is almost too much to blog about this week. Business Week covered why are there not enough women at the top of IT companies, hmmm now let’s see – might it be because most need/want to juggle work and family and large IT brands just simply don’t have cultures that enable that to happen at board level? Then, of course, there was Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun’s resignation over Twitter. Given he was one of the first CEO’s to truly ‘get’ that blogging and other social media tools were a way of communicating directly with customers and sharing views about new products, a resignation over Twitter seemed very appropriate.
However, perhaps what’s most exciting just simply because it’s about future trends is a Morgan Stanley report shared by Brian Solis which suggests that the mobile internet market will eclipse destop internet…sounds crazy but then it’s backed up by lots of strong statistics. Apple provides marketeers with the ability to mine an entirely new channel to reach prospects and customers. Morgan Stanley also predicts that smartphones will out ship the global notebooks and netbook market as well as out shipping the global PC market. Morgan Stanley sees three platforms demonstrating strong momentum – facebook, mobile and the web. It’ll be interesting to see what transpires over the coming years.
SCG
Gartner predicts growth January 22, 2010
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Another hint that the worst may indeed be over as Gartner now predicts that the IT industry will see global IT spend hit $3.4 trillion in 2010 covering computing hardware, software, IT services and telecommunications in 2010. With businesses starting to feel a general improvement from economic conditions and with new credit becoming available, they will start to invest again in new technologies recognising they need to invest to grow and develop their businesses. While emerging markets will lead the expansion, Europe will also experience steady growth. Let’s hope so anyway
Old IT Newshounds Never Die but Blog On & On January 18, 2010
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A flood of memories today when we discovered some of our favorite UK IT hacks are reborn as online media tycoons (again). TechEye is the latest online media platform for the indestructible Mr Mike Magee who helped to kick off the UK online tech media revolution with The Register. He who also employs his own son plus the equally iconic Mr Tony Dennis. From the same Register primeval gene pool another new online blog-flavoured digital rag is Thinq. Good to see these guys have still got the vim and verve to scrutinise the industry and write stuff you’d want to read (and as a PR person influence or at least try to)
German IT companies expect 2010 to become a prosperous year January 11, 2010
Posted by bettinagbc in IT, information technology, internet.add a comment
One of the hardest winters ever in Europe make people think about how to avoid going out in the cold, driving a car on slippy roads or even get stuck in the snow overnight. Even though in Germany only the Northern part was really affected by the weather the German Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) revealed that these temperatures will have an impact on the building sector including the suppliers loosing up to two billion Euros of added value.
Looking at other areas like the IT industry that are not so much affected by the weather German IT companies tend to be very positive regarding the future. Four out of five say even though the crisis is not over yet 2010 will be a prosperous year. The IT industry is a problem solver especially in a crisis: it helps the companies and at the same time saves them money. The growth is expected to be driven mainly by Germany and to some part from other ccountries in Western Europe followed by Asia and Eastern Europe.
Experts say that this development could be supported by the German government allowing tax reduction to support the research in order to make the German market more attractive. IDS Scheer, one of the market leaders in Business Process Management, is considering the IT sector as one of the stabilisers of the German economy.
And, once it has survived the winter the building sector will hopefully become stable again as well.
Bettina Joedicke
GBC Germany
Technology – addressing our needs or creating them? December 23, 2009
Posted by kewroad in tv.Tags: technology
1 comment so far
Technology is a mixed blessing at the best of times. The latest developments are often billed as the answer to all our problems, even ones we didn’t know even existed, and I am sure there are few must have gadgets currently residing under the Christmas tree.
The truth is that these gadgets and technological innovations are often overhyped and by the end of Boxing Day they have been cast off or returned to the shops for store credit or socks. So why is this? Surely people do not create new technology for technologies sake, but to fulfil a need or desire in our daily lives?
There are many examples of new technology coming to market in the past 12 months that promises much and delivers little. The recycling bin that “creates” new items from your used paper, a clock powered by dead insects and the PoGo Instant Digital Camera all spring (excuse the pun) to mind. These examples are really just a bit of fun, but there does seem to be a slightly worrying trend of using technology to drive consumerism to new levels, especially when it comes to the humble television.
Over the last few years we have gone from DVD to Blu-ray, standard definition to high definition and analogue to digital. When it comes to DVDs and standard definition I never really felt there was a quality issue, the picture is clear, the sound is good and this new wave of technology is not really something I was looking for.
Also, I don’t know about you but I remember only having 4 channels and still managing to find something to watch. The impending digital switchover however has meant my new television comes with all the Freeview bits built-in, so although not necessarily needed it has been embraced in my household. But just as we get our heads around this the BBC and other major broadcasters are now working on a whole new IPTV based platform called Project Canvas
It all seems a bit crazy to me, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” has always been a phrase that has resonated well with me and one I feel more people should listen to. One blog post is unlikely to turn the tide of the technology business and I will no doubt sell my “state of the art” tech on eBay for £50 in a couple of years as a somewhat “obsolete” piece of kit. I can’t help thinking how mad this is, can we not concentrate on coming up with technology to address the real issues instead of pointless ones?
Do we need a fan with no blades? Do we need “an app for that”? Or should we be looking at using tech to address environmental issues? Would our time not be better spent developing some innovative bit of tech that can accurately predict the weather or manage traffic jams? Also if we could learn to develop tech at a slower pace we wouldn’t need to spend so much time recycling it.
There are plenty of real world issues that need addressing and to be honest improving my TV watching experience is not high on my list, so just take a moment over the Christmas break and really think whether your favourite TV special would be better if the colour was slightly sharper or the sound slightly crisper.
I think you will realise that there are more important things that the technology world should be looking at in 2010 and beyond…
online christmas – it’s not very sustainable December 22, 2009
Posted by kewroad in Uncategorized.add a comment
So I did a lot of my Christmas shopping online again this year…and really it’s fabulous…you’ve got everything you need at the click of a button and avoiding all those horrendous queues in the high street. So I’m a big fan and have been for a few years now. And as shopping websites get better – the online experience really is quite enjoyable.
However, once the packages start to arrive, it begins to bother me. Quite often, they arrive one package at a time…usually all wrapped up in huge volumes of plastic (non recyclable) and each one in a fresh box which is often much bigger than the contents themselves. I suppose this is not so bad because I will recycle the box but I know plenty of people who can’t be bothered.
And then there’s the issues of transport – it’s not great for the environment to have all these delivery vans delivering packages one at a time and quite often several times over. I had one van try to deliver a package 5 times (despite my best attempts to change the delivery address which is virtually impossible on an automated call centre system).
So whilst we become more concerned about the environment and at the same time, the online shopping experience becomes more of a reality, we have some issues to resolve in marrying the two up.
Sue Grant
Christmas shopping list – turkey, crackers, wine, iPhone… December 11, 2009
Posted by kewroad in O2, mobile.Tags: Apple App Store, Christmas, Gumley House Convent School, iphone, Mobile developer, Tesco
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Tesco has ignited a price war in the iPhones market over Christmas after announcing it will the launch the handset for £20-a-month on Monday.
Customers will have to fork out £222 on top of the contract for the standard 8GB model and £320 for the more popular 3GS 16GB version (think of the clubcard points).
Bargain hunters have already calculated the total cost to be £462 to own a standard phone, or £560 for the 3GS. With an “operator traditional” 18-month contract working out at £582 or £680 depending on the handset, significantly less than rival operator offerings.
This low price point combined with the retail power of Tesco both at home and abroad may propel the iPhone handset from a niche to mass market handset. Hints of this tipping point are already starting to show, with the announcement that Gumley House Convent School in Isleworth is trialling the use of the Apple phones as a teaching aid.
With developers becoming frustrated with the Apple App Store certification and categorization, could sheer numbers of users be a way for Apple to entice them back?
Zoe Worner
90% of brands will boost social media spend in 2010 December 5, 2009
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Almost 90% of brands plan to boost social media spend next year – according to Econsultancy and a recent survey they produced. However, the research reveals that the biggest obstacle is the lack of internal resources to enable it to happen. That is certainly our experience when talking to clients and prospects. While they recognise that there is plenty of opportunity in the new social media world – many are put off because they think they need to masses of time to achieve it. We think there are some simple steps to take – like the ‘create once, use many times philosophy’ as a lot of what social media provides is simply additional tools to reach your customer base.
Sue Grant
Social networks affect your personal life more than you would believe December 3, 2009
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Looking at a groom posting a twitter tweet and changing his status of relationship at Facebook during the wedding ceremony in front of the altar I was wondering how far social networks really affect people`s personal life. It must have been a bet, because I cannot believe the groom would do that just to update his friends. The fact that he is a software developer only shows that he is probably using the internet a lot, but not that Facebook is dictating his life.
This leads to a more philosophical question. Do social networks support the personal conversation or do they replace it already? Assuming that all the groom’s best friends were invited to his wedding he didn’t need to let other people know so urgently.
I think a lot of our personal conversation is about how we should communicate with each other. Everybody is different no matter how much technology is developing: some have never touched a mobile phone, some don’t ever write emails. We should accept and respect how much people are socialmediarised and deal with the new communication channels. Personally I would never let social networks or the mobile phone take over my personal life – even it was my wedding day.
Bettina
