Blogs have called it the end of the wallet but many people don't believe this is achievable by 2015. We will just have to wait and see. Personally I believe that digital currency will only gain relevance in the years to come and as we explore the topic by means of technology, scales might shift to different ways of measuring value and spending habits.
Mobile certainly pays a part here. According to the latest 2010 numbers released by CTIA, the US has over 300M Wireless Subscriber Connections and with a population of over 307M people ('09) you can bet that nearly everyone in the country has a mobile phone! And with smartphone penetration reaching 50% coupled with services like PayPass, PayPal, Google Wallet and others, digital currency will become a reality faster than most of us think.
We are entering times where mobile geolocation will change our concept of privacy. Whether we embrace it or become afraid of it and how it is regulated greatly depends on how we choose to use it or abuse it.
Privacy has become more elusive since the internet era. Personal information posted online on social sites along with information collected through webcam services, street cameras, records stored by financial companies, etc., is all susceptible to be intercepted by 3rd parties.
However privacy issues become even more critical when we consider the mobile device: it contains a chip which constantly broadcasts your whereabouts. This locator has been monitored by government agencies since 2005 (FCC's E911) and is now standard on all new mobile phone models. Some devices will emit a signal even while turned off.
NEW YORK -- Despite the overall decline in marketing budgets nationwide, companies are allocating their marketing dollars to mobile.
This was the topic of conversation at the Mobile Marketing Association's Mobile Marketing Forum in the Grand Hyatt Hotel where Peter Johnson, vice president of market intelligence and strategy, MMA, led a panel discussion titled "Marketing Industry Research: 2009." "Our main purpose is to create a model of who we are as an industry so when we make decisions we can tell clients, ‘if you do this or that, I know what will make a difference for you and consumers," Mr. Johnson said.
So much can change in a year. We have a new president, I have a new company, and the notion that a brand's main digital presence is its website is just about dead.
One year ago, I penned an article for iMedia Connection called "Learn to syndicate your brand identity." (In terms of marketing innovation, it feels like five years ago.) In this article, I explored the notion of the distributed web, which I defined as "a consistent brand presence across various social channels." I received a lot of inquiries about the article, as the concept was still new to many marketing executives. Upon reexamination of this article, my mind travelled back in time. Not too long ago, Barack Obama's presidential campaign schooled marketers about integrated marketing in the 21st century -- and the marketing world will never be the same.
NEW YORK.- The U.S. Hispanic Internet population is young, vibrant and growing -- in numbers, broadband connections and time spent online.
In 2009, there are nearly 23 million Hispanics online, about 51 percent of the U.S. Hispanic population, according to eMarketer estimates. Hispanics make up about 12.3 percent of the U.S. Internet population in 2009, and will increase to 13.9 percent in 2013.
Like its offline counterpart, this group of Internet users is young -- 63 percent are under age 35 -- and mobile. Some 81 percent of Hispanics own a mobile phone, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, and for 25 percent of these adults, their mobile device is their primary phone. Hispanics use more phone features, including Internet access, at higher rates than other mobile subscribers.
This is very cool. This scanner app for google mobile phones allows you to to check prices, reviews and product details with Android. According to Eiji Hirai, the integration of Barcode Scanner and Product Search for mobile is available in the US and UK, for Android-powered devices.
I just wish the carriers would stop looking at old models of market share gain through device placement and concentrate on core services. Markets need to be opened up to all of these new applications.
Scientists are working on making polymers that are sensitive to mechanical stress, so that they can see areas of damage before a complete malfunction occurs.
New Mintel report shows online Hispanics adopting new Internet technologies fastest
March 25, 2009
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As Internet technology spins ahead, US Hispanics are clamoring to stay on top of the latest and greatest in online communication. A new report from market research firm Mintel shows that online Hispanic adults are quickly surpassing other demographic groups in acquiring new online communication skills.
The God machine was turned on today after 14 years of building when a beam of protons was circulated one way through the 17 mile ring that makes up the Large Hedron Collider (LHC). The most anticipated scientific event of our lifetimes aims to uncover what holds us together.
Following is the third part of a series by Alan Boyle correspondent in Geneva for MSNBC who has been covering the unprecedented event. You can visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26439957/ to learn more.
For companies looking to make a move into mobile advertising, it might be good to a get a few bilingual Spanish speakers on staff. While money has already been following Hispanics online for a while, with Hispanic consumer spending expected to top $1 trillion by 2010, and use of mobile phones exploding within the Hispanic market, expect more and more mobile marketing targeted at Hispanics in the coming months [...]
Mobile phones and laptop computers are closer to merging into one single device, through advances in microchip technology and user preference. Some people shun the idea of having a multipurpose device but phone, camera, and music may soon live together in harmony in the mobile internet device (MID) as companies like ARM, Intel and Apple, search for new ways to make mobile devices more efficient and powerful.
Emilio Castellanos is Co-Founder of Avanti Interactive, LLC, a company dedicated to helping businesses grow by implementing mobile, online content, social media and marketing strategies that create new revenue streams and extend brands, products and services across the new and changing market ecosystem.
Blogs have called it the end of the wallet but many people don't believe this is achievable by 2015. We will just have to wait and see. Personally I believe that digital currency will only gain relevance in the years to come and as we explore the topic by means of technology, scales might shift to different ways of measuring value and spending habits.
By Emilio Castellanos
By Jordan Crook, 
By Adam Broitman
