IT NEWS
5 Tips for Businesses Entering Web 2.0
The Remember the good old days, when
all you needed was a phone number and maybe a street address to
get in touch with someone? Slowly, new fields were added to our
contacts lists: fax numbers, cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses,
instant messaging IDs, URLs. And on top of all that we've added
LinkedIn and Facebook accounts and connections through Twitter,
Tumblr and more.
Communication and the tools to do it are forever evolving, and at
an alarming rate. While it may feel overwhelming at times, all
these ways to connect represent a tremendous opportunity for
building communities to help us find and share information faster
and more easily.
In fact, tapping into social media to manage projects is a very
efficient and forward-thinking way to keep everyone in the loop
and come up with the best ideas for reaching goals. I favor five
smart social media practices for project managers They are:
1. Be an information seeker and sharer. One of the things I have
loved about blogging, and Twitter in particular, is how much great
information gets shared quickly. Sure, some people tweet what they
are eating or drinking, but thousands of others tweet insights and
URLs for great articles and white papers that have saved me
tremendous time and pointed me down a new road. And I find that
when I have an "a-ha" moment because of something cool and useful
that I've received, I tend to follow suit and post useful articles
and information myself. And than an interesting thing happens:
More people start following me. For me, blogging and tweeting are
like playing in a giant global sandbox where we're all learning to
share the tools we need.
2. Provide a sense of community. What are your passions and
interests as a person and a project manager? By searching
communities like LinkedIn and Facebook, you can become connected
to other project managers who share your interests. Even better,
you can ask questions about things that have you stumped or help
other people out who may be facing a challenge that you have
already mastered.
3. Be clear about what's allowed. The idea that social media and
networking can actually help advance project goals can still seem
philosophical if you haven't experienced the instant gratification
of getting an "update" or a "tweet," especially if you need to
separate "church and state," or the corporate and personal
spheres.
Personally, I believe that anything that helps people connect,
build relationships and communicate information in a quick and
accurate manner is fair game. The question becomes, How does your
employer regulate using social media for formal, business purposes
versus informal, recreational fun? Before you explore, you'll need
to check and see whether your employer has rules or standards
concerning social media. For example, some companies prohibit
employees from mentioning them in blogs.
4. Leverage social media's potentialfor cooperation and
collaboration, while using common sense. Maybe you are already a
member of a "live community" in your neighborhood or your
industry. Taking it online and creating a group page on one of the
social media sites gives your community a central place to share
photos, articles and updates, and yes, have fun too -- as long as
you use common sense. A good rule of thumb: Don't post anything
that you wouldn't want your grandmother or a prospective employer
to read.
5. Be expertise hunters. Invite your team to hunt for hot spots of
expertise everywhere on the Web, from blogs to groups within
social networks. Then compare notes and share what you've found.
As a team, you can become your own social network for filtering
information and staying on top of key trends in your industry.
Evaluate the risks and rewards
Social media are a huge opportunity. In my blog, EveryDayPM.com, I
explore topics about everything from project management to the
global economic crisis. The key word is "explore." Social media
are new terrain, so there are bumps in the road, and people will
make mistakes.
The good news is that as a project manager, you know how to assess
risk, so as you dig into the world of Web 2.0, you can look at
both the risks and rewards and move forward confidently.
.
Source: Computer World
Facebook use grows
by 700%; maintains top social networking spot
In April, Facebook users spent 13.9 billion minutes on the
site, a dramatic hike from the year-earlier total of 1.7 billion
minutes, according to a report from The Nielsen Co. The 700%
increase let Facebook easily maintain its place atop the social
networking business.
MySpace, according to Nielsen, came in a distant second place as
users spent nearly 5 billion minutes on the site during April. The
company fell far behind Facebook as its usage fell by 31% from
April 2008, according to the Nielsen report.
Source:
The Industry
Standard
Google Search
Appliance now can index billions of documents
A revamped software architecture for the Google
Search Appliance (GSA) and a new high-end model of this enterprise
search device lift its indexing capacity to billions of documents
and make it easier to scale it up.
Version 6.0 of the GSA's software introduces a more flexible
architecture that makes it easier to link the devices to increase
the number of documents indexed.
.
Source:
The Industry Standard
TRENDS
Mobile banking
expected to soar in next few years
Rise of smartphones, user needs expected to fuel growth
The number of people actively using mobile banking in the U.S.
will grow by more than five times by the end of 2013, Tower Group
Inc. predicted in a report released yesterday.
In fact, that number is expected to double this year alone to 10
million users, up from 4.9 million users in 2008. In 2013, 53.1
million users will be banking with their smartphones and other
devices, more than five times the number likely to do so this
year, the analyst group said.
Several banks have up to 10% of their online banking customers
using the mobile banking capability, while one unnamed bank told
Tower that 25% of its online users are also doing mobile banking.
Earlier this year, Tower said, Bank of America said it had nearly
two million mobile banking customers, twice the number it had nine
months earlier.
Tower analyst Charul Vyas said that the popularity of smartphones,
particularly the Apple Inc. iPhone, has helped the growth in
mobile banking. Bank of America mobile banking was one of the very
first applications available on the first generation iPhone.
According to Vyas, the number of banks rolling out mobile banking
efforts increases by hundreds of banks each month, and now
includes small and medium-sized banks who learned from pilot
programs of larger banks.
The recession has prompted consumers to more carefully manage
their finances, and Vyas said that instant access to financial
information -- coupled with the ability to quickly move funds over
a mobile device -- can help. "Mobile is the only channel that
provides this level of immediacy," Vyas said.
Another finding of the report is that mobile phone use is high
across all demographic and socioeconomic groups, unlike desktop
Internet use. That means that mobile banking technology can draw
in new "unbanked" customers.
Source: Computer World
Movies
coming soon on mobile phones
Offering movies is the latest thing some vendors are trying to
lure users as the battle for mobile phone buyers becomes more
challenging.
On Thursday, struggling mobile phone manufacturer Sony
Ericsson said it will offer free movies as a bonus with some of
its upcoming models. It is not alone: Samsung in Europe is also
selling movies to its mobile phone users, and direct downloads of
TV shows and movies to the iPhone is a rumored feature of the
upcoming software update for that device.
"On the content side I think the whole area of TV, video and
movies is starting to generate more interest, and there is a drive
by the handset manufacturers to enable service offerings on their
devices to make them more attractive," said Paolo Pescatore,
analyst at CCS Insight.
Adding movies is a natural step after making music and games
available on mobile phones, and users are clamoring for more
content, said Sony Ericsson Nordic public-relations manager Gustaf
Brusewitz.
Using Sony's PlayNow Arena store, customers will pick from about
15 movies, and up to 60 movies can be downloaded during a 12-month
period. Approximately four titles will be added and removed from
the catalog each month to keep the content fresh, Brusewitz said.
Movies are first downloaded to a PC and then moved to the mobile
phone -- so called sideloading. They can be watched as often as
the users wants for up to 90 days. However, using DRM (digital
rights management), Sony Ericsson will prevent the movie from
being watched on more than one phone.
The reason for not getting operators and their mobile networks
involved is simplicity. Using sideloading, users won't have to
think about which data package they have, Brusewitz said.
PlayNow Arena with movies will make its debut on the W995 Walkman,
launching in Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and the U.K.
in June. Sony Ericsson will also preload the W995 with BBC's
iPlayer in the U.K.
Improved hardware will help movies on mobile phones become a
success, said Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner Inc.
Current and upcoming mobile phones, with larger and better screens
and more storage capacity, are better suited for movie viewing,
compared to phones sold a couple of years ago, Milanesi said.
For example, the Sony Ericsson Satio comes with 3.5-inch
touchscreen display. Movies can be stored on an 8GB memory card,
which is included. Sony Ericsson introduced the phone at Mobile
World Congress under the code name Idou and provided more device
details on Thursday.
Another newcomer in the Sony Ericsson line-up is the Aino. It has
a 3-inch screen, and comes with an 8GB memory card.
Both phones will include the PlayNow Arena with movies and ship in
the beginning of the fourth quarter. Pricing, and where they will
be available, weren't announced.
Another movie-friendly phone is the Samsung Omnia HD, which goes
on sale in Europe in a few weeks. It has a 3.7-inch touchscreen
display and can store up to 32GB using built-in storage and the
memory slot.
As is always the case in mobile, when one vendor jumps the other
follow, said Pescatore. Consumers will get to pick from not just a
range of cool devices, but also more movie and TV services.
Source: Computer World
STUDIES
Can Technology Help You Get Fit?
While IT managers are looking to cut costs during the
recession, most aren't looking for savings in Web content
management, according to a recent Forrester Research study.
A new research project is hopes to discover whether technology
such as Facebook and mobile phones can actually encourage
consumers to lead healthier lives.
The three year Charm Project, which will study 800 people and
starts in September, will expand upon research by academics
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein that says how information about
lifestyles is presented affects the choices people make.
Head of the project Dr Ruth Rettie told the BBC: "It's about
influencing behavior by telling people what other people do."
"There's quite a lot of evidence that we can influence, not just
by nudging, but by informing them about social norms."
The research will be split into three separate trials, one of
which features mobile phones that are loaded with software to
measure how active the handset's owner is. The software will
utilise the handset's accelerometer and GPS to identify how active
the users are. (iPhone Apps include a number of fitness-oriented
programs, including iFitness, Fit Now's Lose It, Aqua Eagle's
Absolute Fitness and a selection of programs on the NikeWomen
Training Club.
"We're looking at how often people take exercise, or do they
prefer to walk to work, or their office, or do they prefer
driving?" said Dr Eslambolchilar who is developing the software.
The participants will also be given feedback regarding how they
compare to others in the study, although it has not been specified
yet whether participants will be given the feedback in the form of
a text message, website or letter.
The other two trials look at the use of energy in the home and how
friends on social networking site Facebook influence each other's
behavior.
Source: PC World
Prep for recession's end now, Gartner
tells tech companies
Leading IT companies and CIOs should start preparing for business
growth immediately if they want to avoid falling behind
competitors once the recession ends, says Gartner Research.
Although Gartner acknowledges that it can't make any solid
projections about when the recession will end, it says that
companies that wait until the economy starts growing again will be
left scrambling to catch up with their competition. In particular,
Gartner says that many companies already have their staff "working
at near- or full-capacity levels" and that "this demand level will
almost certainly increase" once leading economic indicators start
picking up.
Citing economists' predictions that the United States could start
to see economic recovery in late 2009 or early 2010, Gartner
analyst Mark Raskino says that business leaders will likely be
facing "a better, known future" within the next year where they'll
"begin to understand what the new 'normal' will look like."
Raskino says that because it's unlikely that the economy will
revert to its old model fueled by cheap credit after its recovery,
business leaders will look to the IT industry for ideas on how to
reshape their companies to meet new economic realities.
"The CIO must step forward and offer longer-range, bigger ideas
for the way in which information technology can support the future
of the firm," he explains. "That window is now and you will regret
it if you miss it."
Gartner thinks that companies expecting modest business growth
should set a deadline of this July 1 to complete preparations for
the economic recovery, which it says should inevitably include
resolving "key preliminary cost optimization and
government-related issues before the era of business growth
returns."
The global recession has hit the IT industry hard, as Gartner
projected earlier this year that it would result in more losses
than during the 2001 dot-com implosion. The firm projects that
global IT spending will total $3.2 trillion in 2009, a decline of
roughly 4% from the $3.3 trillion spent on IT in 2008. Hardware
will be the hardest hit and will experience a 15% decline in
spending this year, Gartner says.
Source:
The Industry
Standard
