Well, I didn't think how much I would appreciate being connected to the outside world after our region was devastated by hurricane Ike. Having access to the internet has been a life saver. Not only can I keep up with safety alerts via the internet, I have been in ready contact with my extended family. Forget about "land lines". The cell sites withstood the 110 mile per hour winds. The devastation is awesome. One hundred year old oak and pine trees were uprooted and strewn about like kindling. Houston, our beautiful city looks like a war-zone. But even with the devastation we experienced, it is nothing of what happened along the coast. This area has literally been razed. Many once thriving communities are no more. With the start of the mountains of degree, the projections are that there will be a number of bodies recovered.
The one thing that really stands out is the basic human compassion of neighbors helping neighbors. With God's help and the perseverance of our citizens, this great city will recover. May God continue to bless our great country.
As national governments increasingly are developing policies to curb and manage greenhouse gas emissions, mobile innovators are deploying sophisticated mobile-based software platforms to help industries, states, municipalities and the federal government to track, manage, report and analyze their greenhouse gas footprints, and comply with policy mandates.
Such is the assessment of one mobile innovator, Larry Goldenhersh, CEO of the California-based company Enviance, whose company, along with other companies like ESS, have been developing and deploying mobile applications for their core software platforms to allow industries, governments, and organizations to gather, enter and share data, facilitate bar coding and data logging in order to efficiently comply with new energy efficiency reporting requirement, taxation mandates, and trading regimes.
I met with Larry recently to learn more about the emerging field of "green" applications for mobile. Now, he said, engineers and project managers in the field, equipped with mobile devices, can gather and analyze complex data sets for their companies, organizations, or governments to facilitate compliance with voluntary greenhouse gas reduction programs, populate GHG registries, facilitate participation in "cap and trade" programs, and collaborate in sectoral, scientific, and governmental GHG programs and initiatives.
The use of mobile and wireless technologies as a core component in measuring and managing the environmental footprint of companies and governmental assets is more than merely a moral or a PR posture; Larry said, it is a bottom-line best practice. Indeed, one market research firm , in its recent survey "Communicating Green", has modeled future economic benefits of using mobile and wireless, along with other communications platforms, in designing and deploying mobile communications and data services for environmental management, and concludes that the future marketplace for green mobile innovation is highly attractive globally.
That is one of the reasons that an increasing number of innovators, including companies like Enviance, and others are pioneering this path to a greener future, and an increasingly mobile future.
Last night we attended Showstoppers at CTIA. Showstoppers provides a unique opportunity for a few companies to showcase their apps before the main event on Wednesday.
In any case, it was a pleasure interviewing Candice Malmstrom of Newber. Newber is an application that utilizes location-based technology to sync you with your strongest connection - at work, home and play!
Mobile Future will be attending and exhibiting at the CTIA Wireless IT and Entertainment Show in San Francisco from September 10 to September 12.. Our booth is located on the first floor on the east part of the hall (side closest to Minna St entrance). The booth is near the Motorola and deCarta booths. Our number is 837. We will be exhibiting everyday and handing out Mobile Future brochures and Mobile Future-branded bottled water, as well as playing our member video featuring the Flash Animation on wireless innovation.
In addition to our booth, Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter and Chris Parandian, our mobile blogger, will be attending the CTIA show. Chris will also be mobile blogging from the show so be sure to check back for updates!
In an ideal world, public safety personnel would control all the variables in an emergency situation. But in reality, this just isn't possible. However, new mobile technology is drastically improving their efforts by transforming the way emergency responders communicate in times of crisis.
In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans , it became clear - to say the least - that our nation was ill-prepared to deal with such a disaster. Failed networks and communications problems only added to the many problems that plagued the region.
Now, three years after Katrina, another hurricane has plowed through the Gulf region, but this time, COWs (Cells on wheels) and COLTs (Cells on Light Trucks) beat Gustav to the region, ensuring that first responders would not have to deal with communication challenges caused by network failures and power outages.
The tremendous impact this mobile equipment has had cannot be overstated. Not only does it provide real time information to strategically move personnel to critical locations, but most importantly, it has also dramatically enhanced the safety of emergency personnel by keeping them abreast of any possible changing dynamics.
This equipment also is used for major public events including Super Bowl XXXVIII in my hometown of Houston , and most recently in Denver and Minneapolis as thousands of convention-goers flocked to the Democratic and Republican conventions.
Unfortunately, with the end of hurricane season still months away and two more storms headed our way, the COWs and COLTs will likely be in high demand this year.
Change has been a big theme this year. It helped propel Obama to the Democratic nomination... However, there is something bigger happening here that will spill beyond the 2008 campaign and into the policy arena.
The most recent and glaring example is the continuing conversation regarding Obama's decision to text folks his choice for VP. As Seth Godin taught us, when you build something remarkable, people will talk about it. This was remarkable and people are still talking about the decision to utilize SMS to inform the citizenry of this important decision.
As Brian McConnell (GigaOm) discussed, the functionality of the text effort may not have been perfect but the marketing was brilliant. In addition, he went on to discuss the numerous ways that the Obama campaign can leverage those contacts in the final months of the campaign.
One area he did not mention was the potential impact beyond the campaign. Win or lose, the Obama campaign is building a powerful database that he can use next cycle. Can you image the result of an Obama-led initiative from the White House (or even a cause if he loses in November)? He's got a lot of power...
The Triple O threat has already changed marketing forever and we are excited to be working with companies that are a part of this multi-pronged digital strategy. It will be exciting to see who can use these tools beyond the campaigns and in the policy battles in Washington.
In an election where one-fifth of eligible voters are
younger than 30, getting this demographic to vote could be the deciding factor in
the November election.
In 2004, the youth came out in
record numbers, defying the stereotype that “The young don’t care. They’re
disengaged. They’re too wrapped up in their music, their favorite sports and
their parties to take an interest in politics.”
However, these historic numbers are still lower than other
demographics – something that Rock
the Vote hopes to change as they strive to register 2 million young voters
in time for this year’s election.
In order to meet this goal, which is double last year’s
numbers, Rock the Vote has teamed up with AT&T to reach Generation Text
–technology savvy young voters.
To join Rock the Vote
Mobile, text ‘VOTE’ to RTVOTE (788683) to receive the latest election
updates and giveaways.
Executive director of Rock the Vote, Heather Smith, says,
"We know the best way to engage this increasingly active generation is
through personal outreach, and wireless phones are intensely personal for young
people. For that reason, our mobile partnership with AT&T will be critical
to Rock the Vote's efforts to register 2 million young voters in 2008 and get
them to the polls on Election Day."
AT&T wireless president and CEO, Ralph de la Vega, says,
“The AT&T and Rock the Vote campaign will engage young people where they
are through a device that nearly never leaves their hands and encourage them to
actively participate in the democratic process.”
Mobile technology is clearly playing a large role in this
year’s election, as millions waited to receive Obama’s much anticipated VP
pick via text message. And, it will likely bring about a record-breaking
number of youths casting ballots in November.
And P.S. - it’s not too late to register – visit Rock the Vote.
Kevin Roberts, ACU's chief information officer says, "We also are committed to continuing research about how technology can benefit learning and better prepare our students for the future. For their sake, it's not good enough just to keep up; we want to lead." See press release.
How will they use them in the classroom? At ACU's new mobile launch page, students have access to practical information and a host of learning tools, which students and professors will tap into.
English professor Dr. Kyle Dickson, says, "I've got the ability to drag and drop files I need my students to have access to, that can be an image file I want them to analyze in class, or an electronic handout, a PDF (file)," adding that it takes only 30 minutes to prepare.
Read more about this great educational initiative here.
It must have been revolutionary when grocery stores started using barcodes- not only did they automate the check-out process, but they also helped keep track of inventory.
This thought crossed my mind after I read an article about Polo Ralph Lauren adopting mobile tagging, which seems even more revolutionary than grocery store bar-coding.
Polo will be placing barcodes in magazines and store windows, giving consumers real world hyperlinks to its mobile commerce shop. The mobile tag - barcode - is scanned in by a camera phone and decoded by reading software which will direct consumers to the shop.
Although Polo Ralph Lauren is the first fashion retailer in the United States to implement mobile tagging, the technology has flourished in Japan since its inception five years ago.
Japanese motorists can scan large barcodes on movie advertisement billboards to view the trailer on their cell phone. Airline passengers can save their boarding ticket information in barcode form and check-in by flashing their cell phone screen, and McDonald's consumers can scan their hamburger wrapper to get nutrition information.
Most U.S. phones aren't programmed with the reader application yet, but once phones are equipped with it, I think we're on our way to a bar-coded world.
Imagine a world full of real object hyperlinks, connecting the material and digital worlds. Already making its debut in the commercial sector, mobile tagging will likely enter the public and private sectors as well.
Jonathan Bulkeley, chief executive officer of Scanbuy, who develops ScanLife bar codes and is a member of Mobile Future, gives some insight: "You'll be able to walk past fruit at the supermarket, scan an apple, and see when it was picked and where it came from. While buying hair dye, you'll be able to scan the code on the signage and see instructions. You can create your own code, put it on a T-shirt, and then let people scan your shirt and link directly to your MySpace page."
But, who knows, maybe someday the novelty of mobile tagging will be just as mundane as grocery store bar-coding as we come to expect more and more of our technology. But for now, it's one more really cool opportunity to help consumers get what they want, when and how they choose.
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