Category Archives: Trends

The US Constitution doesn’t say anything about an implicit “right to privacy” although the Supremes have been quite vocal since the 70′s trying to figure it out for us. As we begin to rely on our mobile devices for more and more of our everyday living, both privacy and security become more and more important. How much of your financial data is easily accessible to anyone that can hack your 4-digit unlock code? With the ubiquity of social networking, what you disclose to others is also becoming hard to control. It’s hard now not to disclose what you’re doing, photos of where you’ve been and chats with your friends. All of that info is now in the cloud, just one Anonymous hack away. Your digital past is also your digital future.

To your rescue is a series of apps and services that promise to keep everything you do under wraps — if you want. Some services like Snapchat promise to eviscerate your status updates the moment they’re viewed. If only Anthony Weiner had this app before he tweeted away his political future! With Snapchat you can take photos or short videos and then decide how long your friends can view them. After 10 seconds or less, they disappear forever (at least we think they do). Snapchat has exploded over the last year with 100 million photos and videos exchanged every day. Facebook even jumped on the bandwagon for a bit with their own app, Poke, which failed to take off.

Other apps like Gryphn, Wickr and Burn Note also promise to give you more control over what you share and for how long. They all promise deeper levels of security and privacy. Temporary social media allows users to be more spontaneous and authentic. Think of it as the hallway conversations you have with your friends, or the “in-passing” remarks you make to your neighbors… dialoge that’s important, but doesn’t need to be part of your digital record for all eternity. Now, you can potentially breathe a little easier knowing there’s a way to control some of what you’re broadcasting. Or, you could just log off, I guess.

Why does a company that started by selling books continue to disrupt so many industries they’re not first considered to be experts in? Amazon has evolved from being an online bookseller to becoming not only “the world’s marketplace” but one of the world’s largest providers of cloud services — creating an entirely new service offering that just a few years ago didn’t even exist. And, in the meantime, becoming a high-tech company that rivals the ones expected to innovate in this area.

That may be the primary reason Amazon has been able to take-off in new markets. First, its CEO, Jeff Bezos is not concerned with short-term profits. His vision is what more CEOs need to reflect on: “We like to invent and do new things, and I know for sure that long term orientation is essential for invention because you’re going to have a lot of failures along the way.” Too many American companies seek just short-term profit, and don’t focus on more than 3 or 4 quarters. If Kindle, Amazon Web Services and Amazon Prime were required to show profits in their first 3 or 4 quarters, they would have never even gone to market.

True disruption comes from those that jump into a market not worried about cost. They usually go in with the lowest cost and quality offering and build from there. Ultimately, becoming a market leader means that you have to continue to innovate and disrupt, or you become less a disruptor and just a profit-making machine. Consider the fate of Polaroid, Atari, RIM and Digital Equipment Corporation: all were once disruptors in their respective industries. Once they reached the top, they stumbled. They stumbled because they stopped innovating and disrupting. Amazon continues to discover new markets, innovate products and services, and is restless once they begin to make inroads into a new market. Apple and Google are the obvious candidates for finding it difficult to create market breakthroughs while servicing the markets they currently dominate.

Disruption is based on creating new and valuable products and services in an uncertain market. Once a company gets too comfortable in their market, they will eventually find it difficult to innovate and disrupt. The challenge is to foster a culture that values creativity and innovation and offers a process that encourages its people to ask questions, uncover new possibilities, and explore without being driven by profit only. Amazon has shown it’s willing and able to enter any market it thinks it can add value to. And then it works from within and continually innovates and disrupts. Companies like Apple, Google and even Microsoft should never forget what happened to the companies that lost their hunger for innovation. Maybe they should listen to Jeff a little more.

, via Wikimedia Commons”]

By Glogger (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL

In just a short time, wearable computing has taken off. Several devices are now flooding the market. The first phase seems to be health-related with Nike’s Fuel Band, Jawbone’s Up and Fit Bit all competing for the fitness geeks. What’s driving the craze? Well, it’s a quick convergence of three things:

– Affordable sensors

– Innovation in manufacturing

– “Always-on” connectivity with smartphones

Although it seems like wearable computing is an overnight sensation, it has actually taken a long time for this technology to come to fruition. Over the last five years, patents, manufacturing, and design have evolved so affordable devices could come to market. There’s a lot of high-tech in these devices — they are full-blown computers that are waterproof, hypoallergenic, and built to take the hits that come from being worn on active bodies.

These devices are indeed complete systems as well: the wearable sensors, the software app for your smartphone, and the data stored in the cloud all combine to provide you information you’re most interested in: calories burned, miles walked/ran, hours slept, etc.

Who’s buying these devices? It seems interest cuts across gender and socioeconomic lines. Everyone is interested in their health, and knowing they can get relevant data on their activity is a major ROI on why people are jumping on the bandwagon. It helps to have the devices priced at less than $200 too.

Face it, wearable computing will go far beyond tracking your treadmill runs… soon, you’ll be wearing devices that offer you what that little computer you hold in your hand all day does… can anyone say Google Glass?

Years ago, I got suckered by a Wine Spectator April Fool’s Joke, where they announced Paris Hilton as the new spokesperson for a high-end French wine. Oops. Ever since then, I’ve been especially wary of the web on April 1. Here are some of the April Fool’s web items I’ve come across today:

Procter & Gamble announced – on Friday – that they’re going to sell bacon-flavored Scope mouthwash. Ewww.

Google, as usual, has gone over the top with Google Nose (a new scentsation in search), Google Maps Treasure Maps, and Google SCHMICK (Simple Complete House Makeover Internet Conversion Kit), which allows you to give your house a lick of fresh paint for free on Street View. Then there is Gmail Blue, which is a blatant knock at Microsoft’s upcoming Blue update and Windows 8.

Microsoft isn’t just sitting back and taking Google’s jabs though. If you go to Bing.com and type Google into the search field, a Google-style Bing page appears. Small boxes on the page take further playful (sort of) pokes at Google and the I’m confused button takes you to the Bing blog.

Bing April Fool's Prank

YouTube, owned by Google and therefore pranksters themselves, has announced that the last 7 years were just a big contest for “best video” and as of tomorrow, they’re shutting down any new video submissions to the site.

Richard Branson has announced, via the Virgin blog, that Virgin Atlantic is introducing a glass-bottomed plane. While I know it’s a joke, the concept scares me a little.

Sony has introduced Animalia products, which include Cans for Cats (headphones) and home entertainment systems for your hamster.

Toshiba is proud to announce the Toshiba TubeTop - an inflatable innertube + laptop that comes in an array of colors.

But perhaps my absolute favorite is from BMW, who announces the PRAM (Post Natal Royal Automobile). With the coming royal baby, BMW just thought they’d get into strollers.

BMW PRAM for April Fool's Day

If you come across any other April Fool’s jokes on the web, be sure to share them in the comments.

Ikea announced today that they will partner with Marriott to create a new budget “hotel brand” based on their prefabricated furniture model. The hotels won’t include Ikea furniture, but instead will be built based on new construction methods that stress lower-cost materials. Prefabricated hotel rooms will be built in a central location and placed wherever needs arise. This is a similar model to what some retailers are doing with popup stores in areas that swarm with large groups of people for specific events. Kind of like what Apple did at SXSW during its iPad launch — quickly create a popup store to sell items where people are gathered, and then take the store down after the event is over.

Popup hotels could be quickly assembled in areas where events bring large amounts of people together. Even here in Austin right now, it’s virtually impossible to get a hotel room, and if you do, it’s easily $400 a night. Popup hotels could offer some relief to the need for rooms, and will attract a younger, more budget-conscious traveler.

Ikea and Marriott will launch their first popup hotel in Milan this year.