Ian Da Silva is a Research Analyst at nGenera. Prior to joining New Paradigm, Ian worked as an award-winning Lecturer at the University of Western Ontario and he also managed student recruitment for the Richard Ivey School of Business’ HBA Program. Ian has authored and published case studies for the Richard Ivey School of Business in the fields of Entrepreneurship, Marketing and General Management. He has also worked as a consultant in the not-for-profit and restaurant industries as well as serving as an advisor to a leading international clothing retailer. Ian holds an Honors Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business.
What’s stopping you from using a mobile device, like your phone, to access your email?
Cost? Indifference? Technical Inability?
If you’re still one of the great majority not using your phone to access email (I was surprised to find that very few of us do +/- 10% according to estimates), there are any number of reasons that could be the root cause, but a new market entrant, Peek has placed a heavy bet that cost is what’s been stopping many and they have introduced a sleek new offering to do something about it.
Peek’s first device is a slim handheld that shares similar look and functionality to early Blackberry devices, which much like Peek were designed to do one thing only, and to do it well - access your email. Unlike earlier RIM offerings, though, the Peek is available without any contract at a price of $100, with a monthly access fee of $19.95.
I just recently started accessing my email from my mobile phone, when I succombed to my tech geek side and purchased the iPhone, but prior to that, I was no less attached to my work email, I just carried my laptop with me nearly everywhere. For me, the move to on-the-go email access was one of convenience - and I don’t mind blurring the lines between work and home too much - a noted characteristic of just over 40% Net Geners according to our latest research.
Our latest research also shows that cross generationally, email is considered integral to successful work completition, with 73.6% of Net Geners, 73.0% of Gen Xers and 65.4% of Boomers agreeding with the statement that “Email is a necessicity for doing your job as well as you can.” Now, we’ve all got the friend/family member who is addicted to their Blackberry/Smartphone as well as the friend/family member who swears they will never subscribe to the always-on work life enabled (read: encouraged) by ubiquitous email connectivity.
What side of the coin do you fall on? Is Peek really on to something here, or have they totally missed the boat by assuming cost, not lack of interest, is the real barrier to mass mobile email adoption?
I know that in the past I sure have, and it appears that a number of employees at enterprise software company Citrix are now also doing the same.
Instead of the typical “here’s your company laptop - enjoy!“, Citrix is one of the few companies to have gone public with a Bring Your Own Computer policy and they are experimenting with giving employees a stipend with which to purchase their own machine. With a $2,100 allowance, employees can purchase a PC or Mac of their choice, so long as it comes with a three-year service plan and carries guaranteed next day on-site service.
There are obviously a number of challenges posed by the infinite number of options that come as a result of a customized computer program, but the program brings with it at least one important reward - and one that our research has shown to be particularly attractive to the tech-savvy Net Generation - Customization.
Much more than just a machine on which to complete work (and sometimes play), laptops, like many other tech devices have become an important means of self-expression (enter the Mac marketing strategy). The option to customize also goes far beyond the Mac vs. PC debate by allowing employees to purchase a machine that best suits their desired specs i.e. screen size and port availability vs. weight, speed vs. storage capacity etc. Read More »
I am currently enjoying a holiday on Canada’s beautiful (and stereotypically conscientious) West Coast and after witnessing a debate that I would likely never have heard back home in Toronto, I’ve been turned on to a new site (www.goodguide.com) that’s shed some interesting, and troubling, light on many of the products that I use at home while going about my day to day routine.
The debate took place in the Whole Body aisle at Whole Foods and it was centred around which toothpaste was best - Tom’s of Maine or Burt’s Bees. The winner was ultimately declared to be Tom’s, and the trump card that was triumphantly played to seal the victory was “It’s definitely Tom’s - just check their enviro rating on GoodGuide.” Being the inquisitive person that I am, and also feelng a little embarassed to have been seeking the $2 toothpaste among other $6 - $10 alternatives, I had to ask what this “GoodGuide” was.
As it turns out, it’s a site that in its own words “provides the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of the products in your home.” Read More »
As a serious music fan who used to pride himself on being ahead of curve on the latest and greatest artists, my recent stumbling upon popcuts was music to my ears (awful pun acknowledged). The community, launched by three music afficionados, with certain haunts of pyramid-scheme-like simplicity, rewards early adopters for the purchase of up and coming artists’ tracks.
By rewarding those who are really taking a chance by purchasing cutting-edge/often unheard of music, I think popcuts is really on to something here…Each track sells for 99 cents, of which the site takes 10-20%, with the artist able to dictate how much of the remaining funds they would like to claim. The remainder of the $0.99 is earmarked for distribution to every person who has already purchased the track.
While I wouldn’t suggest liquidating your savings account to make a quick cash-grab (unless your ideal portfolio consists of music credits), the site’s value proposition capitalizes upon important principles that I think will make this going concern, if not a solid buyout target for one of the bigger music stores out there (shudder): Read More »
How do you set the techsphere ablaze with cries of foulplay?One sure-fire way is to proclaim the cutback of famed employee perks at darling Google. Whether founded or not, Silicon Valley gossip blog, Valleywag, has on a number of occasions claimed that one of Google’s most-beloved perks – free food – was to some extent, on the chopping block. (Check out the “food” pictured in hyperlink number - I’m not sure that can classify as a “perk” unless you’re an enterprising cardio surgeon.)
When the rumour again surfaced today, bolstered by the over-played (and incorrect) fault of a weakened stock price, the response was as expected, with many jumping on the bandwagon claiming Googlers are a(n overly-) pampered bunch, who’ve got nothing to complain about, even if their free dinners were to be taken away.
Whether the rumour is in fact true or not (seems to be an exaggeration of one single cafeteria being cut back) this raises a hot topic that many organizations are still struggling with, and the billion dollar management challenge of finding the right balance for employee rewards.While Google is certainly the crown jewel of “total rewards”, there are many other organizations with very progressive, company-appropriate rewards programs who seem to be getting it right, day after day (albeit not many as all-encompassing, but then again, not everyone’s sitting on seven billion or so in cash).
For me, I suppose the question with such full employee “perks” has always been: is it really a “perk”, when I don’t have to leave the office to enjoy some of the luxuries, and even the ennui, of everyday life?While it would be neat to have my dry cleaning left, and picked up, at the office, I’ve got a great place just down the street from my house, where the banter alone is sometimes worth the extra time/money spent.Read More »
I suppose it was only a matter of time before something like this came along and I have been anxiously waiting to see how this one pans out. Launched in July, on seemingly razor-thin legal ice, it appears that beta site mygazines is still alive and kicking (not to mention enjoying the spotlight gained from a widespread AP news release).
The site provides member-scanned full digital copies of magazines, which can be browsed, shared, archived and even re-assembled to create aptly-named “mygazines”. The site is hosted by Stokholm-based PRQ, “the world’s least lawyer-friendly hosting company“, which is also host to (and owned by two founders of) well-known bittorrent tracker, The Pirate Bay.
Interestingly, the site tour appears to be targeted at publishers, pitching itself as multi-faceted growth opportunity, but most industry leaders asked aren’t exactly jumping at the “opportunity”.
Why should I upload my publication to mygazines.com?
Our article-level search and archiving ability allows your audience to find the content they’re looking for faster
Increase your distribution and advertising revenue by exposing your publication to more eyes
Keep control of your publication: Mygazines will not allow for downloading or printing of your publication. Your original source file is never accessible.
Save the trees - no paper will be used in the making of your virtual publication
Late last week, newly-famed MIT students Zack Anderson, R.J. Ryan and Alessandro Chiesa were court-ordered to cancel their Sunday presentation entitled “Anatomy of a Subway Hack” at DEF CON , the world’s largest hacker conference. The banned presentation highlighted security weaknesses in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s fare system that would potentially allow enterprising individuals with the appropriate technology and process (as intricately outlined in the presentation) to add monetary value to their existing CharlieCard or CharlieTicket to receive free transportation.
The injunction has ignited a debate over the ruling’s merit, which names each of the students as well as MIT in the temporary restraining order. The MBTA has taken issue with the fact that the “students offered to show others how to use the hacks before giving the transit system a chance to fix the flaws”, while the students’ representative from the Electronics Frontier Foundation (EFF) says “the students were simply trying to share their research and planned to omit key information that would make things easier for anyone who actually wanted to hack the payment system.”
What do you think of when you think BIC?Ballpoint pens? Single-use razors? Well, if BIC’s leadership has anything to say about it, that is soon going to change.
Recently, BIC launched a mobile phone in France, seeking to extend their convenience-based brand into the telecom market.The phone, which shares the colour-scheme and appearance of the company’s razor line retails for 49€ and comes with a fully-charged battery and 60 minutes of airtime.The phone is available at grocers and retailers and is targeted at people with a short-term need for a second line such as when troubled by a battery-depleted device or selling a car/renting an apartment. (Not to mention the ability to take the prank call or movie-like “call me at this unassigned number” to a whole new level.)
If you’ve been able to get through the high traffic loads on cuil.com (pronounced “cool”, meaning “knowledge” in Gaelic) today, you’ve been one of the first to use the world’s newest search engine that is (in its own words) poised to dethrone the undisputed king of search.
Self-proclaimed to have indexed three times more pages than Google and 10 times more pages than Microsoft, Cuil is the brainchild of Tom Costello, Anna Patterson and Russell Power, formerly of IBM and Google. With some pretty direct attacks on other unnamed search engines that “rely on superficial popularity metrics,” Cuil’s philosophy is “to solve the two great problems of search: how to index the whole Internet—not just part of it—and how to analyze and sort out its pages so you get relevant results.”
While I was unable to complete many searches effectively today due to overwhelming traffic to the site, Cuil appears to have great potential and I am intrigued by the service’s promise to “guide [me] towards answers to the questions [I'm] not even sure how to ask.”
Another advertised feature that is sure to attract attention is cuil’s privacy policy that can be summed up in short by their tagline “your search history is your business, not ours.” (It should be interesting to see how long this lasts.) Read More »
In the age of always on technology, which “allows” us to be connected to the office 24/7, it is getting harder and harder to determine when a personal and private activity is actually just as it’s described - personal and private. Just ask Colin Wrightman, Lara Logan, Max Mosley or Larry Craig, each mentioned in a thought-provoking article in this morning’s Globe and Mail newspaper. Each of these individuals has been involved in highly-publicized and (morally-questionnable to some) activities, that even though carried out while “off the clock,” have had potentially marked effects on their professional careers.
A particular section of the article piqued my interest and really got me thinking:
Quoting the author: It is a strange new world for employers, who must be ready to protect their own image when embarrassing details of their employees’ lives become known.
Quoting an assistant professor from the Ivey Business School, Claus Rerup: We’re living in a more media-crazy world, where what your employees do can potentially have very bad implications for you…But people have not put two and two together that this could happen.
This brings me to a few questions: In such a time when Web 2.0 tools enable powerful mass collaboration and ever-decreasing barriers to communication and transparency, should employees’ private activities (legality assumed) be subject to review and possible reprimand at the hands of an employer? What is the employer’s role and what should be within their power when an employee’s damaging private activity suddenly becomes public? What is the role of the HR team and the boardroom when it comes time to “protect the company’s image?”
On top of the email handcuffs, has Web 2.0 helped create moral restraints as well?
A darling of the Wikinomics blog (1,2,3), Radiohead has impressed before, and with their latest video for House of Cards, they do so again. Maintaining their promise not to make any conventional music videos for their anything but conventionally released In Rainbows, the band’s latest video was made using Geometric Informatics and LIDAR (think radar, but with light) technology normally reserved for geographic mapping and catching speeding cars, among other things.
I must admit - I was caught off-guard and even found it comical when I heard that Rihanna was lauching her own line of umbrellas (or should I say, um-ber-ellas) and I found the song Air Force Ones pathetic - but the blurring of lines between “music” and “promotional piece” is seemingly here to stay.
An increasing number of artists are now signing recording deals with consumer product companies such as Nike, Red Bull and Procter & Gamble, who are acting as de facto record companies - finding, funding, promoting and in cases even distributing new music. In an effort to promote various product lines, these companies have now begun to look outside of their core businesses for a new way to get their brands “out there.” Read More »
Last week at nGenera’s Enterprise 2.0 conference, I was in the audience for Hagai and Jeff’s presentation of their research on prediction markets (PM) and their role in the enterprise. While PM present a significant opportunity for companies seeking to harness the collective intelligence of their workforce, they have yet to be deployed on a widepread enterprise basis. A few companies that have delved into the PM space with varying degrees of success include Best Buy, Electronic Arts and Arcelor Mittal.
PM harness the wisdom of crowds approach to knowledge creation and management, and I want to share a chart that Hagai and Jeff prepared to help compare and contrast variations on this approach to “none of us is as smart as all of us.” Read More »
Last Thursday, Google introduced its GOOG-411 service in Canada, the first non-U.S. country to have the free phone directory service. If you’re like me and detest being charged high fees for services that could be free, (such as ATM transactions and in this case, directory assistance) than GOOG-411 may be just the service for you.
Enabled by Google’s tremendous index of online data, mobile and landline users can now call 1-800-GOOG-411 and by following the queued prompts, receive the phone number, address and even a map of a desired business anywhere in the United States and Canada.
One of the first questions that came to mind when reading about this service when it was launched in 2007 was “What’s in it for Google?“ Despite the fact that the retrieval of such data is a natural extension using Google’s readily-available data and capabilities, it was not immediately clear why Google would provide such a service for free when local phone providers charge anywhere from $0.75 to $1.50 for similar, if not lesser services. Read More »
I finally managed to get my hands on a Wii Fit and I must say - it’s a pretty incredible game (despite the training avatar’s trashtalk and the Wii Balance Board that cries “Oww” every time I step on it).
Since its North American release a few weeks ago, the game has generated a tremendous amount of hype, both on- and offline. The latest buzz surrounding the game has been created by a YouTube video entitled “Why every guy should buy their girlfriend Wii Fit”. In the two and a half weeks since the video’s release, it has attracted nearly 3.5 million views, and while many question the authenticity of the video’s grassroots approach (the creator and his girlfriend featured in the video both work for an advertising agency), with millions of views and a number of popular spoofs .., the video has surely helped maintain a healthy buzz around the Wii and the Fit.
The real opportunity for Nintendo to help maintain its popularity, though, could come from embracing a little bit of Wikinomics through the creation of a development kit for the Fit (and potentially even the Wii in general) whereby users and developers would be able to write their own activities and games that could be downloaded (likely purchased) through the Wii’s integrated Shop Channel. The Fit’s activity-based games in particular would be a great spot for experimentation as most are fairly quick activities that platform off of the same movements, allowing gamers to refine their skills using various activities with the same end goal - improving balance, stregth or aerobic fitness. Techy prosumers can be quite a powerful, and lucrative, source of innovation - just ask Apple. Historically not known for their willingness to embrace consumer input and creation, Apple has experienced great success with the iPhone SDK since its release in March and it has become a key weapon in the iPhone’s fight against the other big mobile platform(s) available. Read More »
A focus of one of our current projects at nGenera is looking at Diversity and Inclusion in the workforce. In our globalized world, where Web 2.0 forces have diminished the limitations of previous boundaries, such as language and geography, I am very interested to see how “Diversity” itself has changed.
What is “Diversity” and to what extent is it influenced by nature vs. nurture? Have constructs such as race and ethnicity become so commonplace in our globalized world that they are diminishing as constructs of “Diversity”? Are they being replaced by constructs such as “age” and generational divides?
What is your opinion?
One of the (if not the first) steps toward harnessing the power of Diversity within the workplace is to identify pre-existing biases. It is also important to recognize the difference between giving lip service to Diversity and recognizing it’s potential to not only enrich the working environment, but also to improve business results; thus it is necessary for organizations to develop their own business case for Diversity. Read More »
A popular topic on the Wikinomics blog (see here, here, here and here), “the newspaper” has come under a lot of scrutiny (read: criticism) for everything from an outdated business model to an overemphasis on what many view as “pop” news, which often overlooks the real issues.
Amidst the criticism, I wanted to feature a couple points of light, hoping there are brighter times on the horizon.
First, following in the footsteps of the NYT, Canada’s largest national paper, the Globe and Mailunlocked its web content this past weekend, meaning that “Every Globe columnist, daily horoscopes, crosswords, Sudoku puzzles and a suite of news-tracking tools are now free.”The move has been met with resounding online support and will likely help the Globe meet the competition of Canada’s national network, the CBC’s increased online presence and scope.
A very interesting project garnering massive attention online is brandtags.net, set up by Noah Brier. The site features countless images of brand trademarks and asks users to input the first word or sentence that comes to mind upon viewing each logo. Answers are then compiled to create tag clouds reflecting the magnitude of each response.
With over 600,000 responses in 12 days, the site’s success has come as a huge surprise to Brier and it is a great example of mass collaboration to leverage collective “intelligence”. The project presents a great opportunity for progressive organizations to receive unfiltered feedback (and in many cases, reality checks). Check out the site yourself to see how your perceptions compare with the masses’.
Amidst much hype and fanfare, Nintendo has released its latest artificially short-stocked product today - the Wii Fit. The latest in a series of experience-based games (GH, RB), Wii Fit allows you to do yoga, aerobics, strength train, and play balance games, all using the Wii Balance Board. Coming as no surprise to anyone, really, the Wii Fit has been an immediate sellout in most places (I tried six stores and countless online stores at lunch).
The frustrating part for the idealist in me is that much like I mentioned in my tickets post, countless units have ended up in the hands of resellers, with the average price on craigslist and ebay hovering around $175 - a tidy sum considering the units sell for around $100 through most retailers.
For those enterprising folks out there, mark your calendars - June 22nd - the release date for Rock Band for Wii. Set to retail for $170, it will surely fetch $250 - $300 in first-day resales. Now I’m no math-magician, but I figure even after hiring Danny at $20 for an hour to stand in line to buy multiple units at store opening, I can surely end up ahead.
With the iPhone set for release (finally) in Canada, I wonder - are Rogers, Nintendo and others missing the boat by allowing others to play the market to capture full market value at product launch - why not embrace early-adopter, dynamic pricing? How much of a premium would you pay to be “that guy” with the IT product.
Building on my last post, I thought I would highlight a bit of commentary on the next generation up the food chain, Generation X, who are now in many cases, managers of those “dumb” Net Geners. One of the leading thinkers and authors in the area of generations in the workplace is a fellow nGenera colleague, Tammy Erickson, whom I had the pleasure of meeting, and hearing speak, at nGenera’s Talent 2.0 conference held in Toronto last week.
Tammy is in the process of completing what she creatively describes as a trilogy of “love letters” to three of the generations in the workplace right now - the Boomers, the X’ers and the Net Generation. In her most recent letter (read: book), Retire Retirement, Tammy explores the new paradigm of life beyond retirement and how “the last 30 years of your adult life are as important as the first 30.”
Next up, Tammy will be taking a look at Gen X’ers in the workplace and her recent post on Harvard’s Across the Agesblog provides a sneak peek of what may be to come - and from the X’ers’ perspective, Corporate America isn’t a very happy place to be (but hopefully this will change).
Tammy delves into the “10 Reasons Gen X’ers Are Unhappy at Work”, which are abbreviated below: Read More »
Technology and the US election I've written several times about the impact of social networks on this year's US Presidential election - see here and here. And let's be honest, the use of such networks and new web 2.0 technologies has been dominated by Obama. He’s embraced social networks like no other candidate in an attempt to connect with [...]
