Saturday, May 31, 2008

Cameras are a feature of the digital age that are bound to increase in their presence and create new controversy. London in particular has experienced a wave of discussion about their extensive use of security cameras on the streets and in other places. New York has done something the same, watching for terrorists. It is easy to plant cameras and they can be very small. The latest is the embedding of cameras in billboards. If you stop to look at a billboard, it can take a measure of your age, gender and the length of time you looked and send the data back to a database. The manufacturers say it doesn't invade privacy because it doesn't take your picture. Not everyone agrees. In any event they could take your picture with a few minor modifications. We will see more of this. Computer monitors and televisions could easily have built in cameras. Some monitors do and TVs and monitors are converging. Lamps? Furniture? It's an issue that won't go away anytime soon. Billboards That Look Back - NYTimes.com

Friday, May 30, 2008

Smartphone Security: How To Manage Rogue Mobile Devices -- smartphone security -- InformationWeek

Smartphones are a booming product but they represent a potential security risk if they're not properly managed. This article sets out some ideas for approaching this issue. It's something that companies need to consider in developing their policies around network access. Smartphone Security: How To Manage Rogue Mobile Devices -- smartphone security -- InformationWeek

Thursday, May 29, 2008

The (Virtual) Global Office

Virtual worlds are having a big effect on the real world. Companies like IBM and Xerox are using Second Life and their own customized virtual worlds to bring together people of different cultures in their far-flung global enterprises. They are using virtual meetings to plan strategy, learn about corporate policies and benefits and rehearse presentations. Generally virtual worlds provide an environment where people can get together and interact where they can feel comfortable and make a contribution. The (Virtual) Global Office

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Advertisers to Consumers: We'll Text You - WSJ.com

Text message advertising seems to be catching on. One big advantage to them is that they are requested by the recipient, which makes them pull rather than push. So they are likely to be less offensive than unsolicited ads. It seems to be working. Advertisers to Consumers: We'll Text You - WSJ.com

Monday, May 26, 2008

globeandmail.com: Internet registry moves to protect privacy

Maintaining privacy is an ongoing issue on the internet. One of the sources often used by spammers and others has been whois, a site that records for public view the name, address and email of everyone who owns a website in Canada. The Canadian Internet Registration authority has announced changes to its rules that will remove some of this private information from public view. it will take effect on June 10. While the impact for established site owners will be slow, because the information is already out there, nevertheless it will be a step towards increased privacy for all who own or will own domain names in Canada. globeandmail.com: Internet registry moves to protect privacy

Friday, May 23, 2008

Second Life Marketing: Still Strong

Marketing in virtual worlds like Second Life has been going on for a couple of years now, and observers have been alternately lauding it as a wave of the future and questioning its usefulness. The fact is it has yielded little in the way of concrete results so far. However, virtual world marketing continues, largely because there are a lot of virtual world customers out there and if companies can find an effective way to reach them it could be very fruitful indeed. Second Life Marketing: Still Strong
XBRL US recently issued a document supporting and explaining the implications of the proposed new rules of the SEC requiring certain companies to file using XBRL. The document can be found at: http://xbrl.us/documents/rulingimpact.pdf

Monday, May 12, 2008

Technology Review: The Future of Business Technology

Everyone engaged in eBusiness or managing an IT system needs to be aware of new technologies that might help in addressing challenges that come along. Technology review has published a special report on several new technologies that will do just that. It merits a careful reading. Technology Review: The Future of Business Technology