NYC iSchool
A new educational movement in New York City transforms the educational system from the Gutenberg era to the age of the Internet. It engages the students much more effectively and may be the way of the future. Watch this video.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Social Marketing
by Gerald Trites
Social networking, such as Facebook, is entering into mainstream business with some interesting twists. One of these is the idea of social marketing, where social networks are utilized to monitor and channel group opinions and views towards a particular product. It's a major change from the classic approach to advertising. Arguably it isn't advertising at all, but a new way to utilize online communities to make others aware of your product in a way that is more credible than using your own voice. In other words, let others speak for you.
Combine this approach with social mapping tools, such as Loomia, that enable sophisticated trend mapping, and you have a powerful marketing tool.
A good article on social marketing can be found in Businessweek.
by Gerald Trites
Social networking, such as Facebook, is entering into mainstream business with some interesting twists. One of these is the idea of social marketing, where social networks are utilized to monitor and channel group opinions and views towards a particular product. It's a major change from the classic approach to advertising. Arguably it isn't advertising at all, but a new way to utilize online communities to make others aware of your product in a way that is more credible than using your own voice. In other words, let others speak for you.
Combine this approach with social mapping tools, such as Loomia, that enable sophisticated trend mapping, and you have a powerful marketing tool.
A good article on social marketing can be found in Businessweek.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Speedsourcing
It was expected that the current recession would lead to an increase in outsourcing. Sure enough, it's happening. And there's even a name for it - speedsourcing. The idea is that outsourcing agreements are nailed down within a three month period by working out the major issues up front and tying down the details afterwards. Of course, deciding what needs to be done up front and what can be done later is a critical decision, and one wonders how well it is being made.
One of the issues that often gets shortchanged in approaches like speedsourcing is that of proper internal control. It's often not seen as on a critical path and, anyway, the auditors will look at it later.
Mistake.
Poor controls can undermine the whole process and cost heavily in the longer term. Companies had better make sure they cover it off well, preferably by having controls experts involved at the outset. A summary of Speedsourcing is found at the CIO.com site.
It was expected that the current recession would lead to an increase in outsourcing. Sure enough, it's happening. And there's even a name for it - speedsourcing. The idea is that outsourcing agreements are nailed down within a three month period by working out the major issues up front and tying down the details afterwards. Of course, deciding what needs to be done up front and what can be done later is a critical decision, and one wonders how well it is being made.
One of the issues that often gets shortchanged in approaches like speedsourcing is that of proper internal control. It's often not seen as on a critical path and, anyway, the auditors will look at it later.
Mistake.
Poor controls can undermine the whole process and cost heavily in the longer term. Companies had better make sure they cover it off well, preferably by having controls experts involved at the outset. A summary of Speedsourcing is found at the CIO.com site.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Google and Information Control
Google is famous for collecting data. The more of their products you use, the more information they have about you. They say they will not use that personal information, but then they are also famous for making innovative use of masses of data. No company in history has gathered so much information about people and the world in general. This in an age when information is at the core of economic and social activity. It gives google a lot of power - unprecedented power because they are in the drivers seat as to what they gather, how long they keep it, what they do with it. Of course, Google, like everyone else, must acknowledge privacy legislation. Well, maybe not quite like everyone else. There is an excellent and in depth article on this in the current Computerworld. Very much worth a read.
Google is famous for collecting data. The more of their products you use, the more information they have about you. They say they will not use that personal information, but then they are also famous for making innovative use of masses of data. No company in history has gathered so much information about people and the world in general. This in an age when information is at the core of economic and social activity. It gives google a lot of power - unprecedented power because they are in the drivers seat as to what they gather, how long they keep it, what they do with it. Of course, Google, like everyone else, must acknowledge privacy legislation. Well, maybe not quite like everyone else. There is an excellent and in depth article on this in the current Computerworld. Very much worth a read.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Cloud Computing and Moving Data
by Gerald Trites
There continues to be progress in the Cloud Computing arena, with a new application recently out, called Cloudkick, which enables the movement of data between Cloud applications run by different vendors, such as Amazon and Google. This will address one of the big concerns that many companies have, that is having their data tied up with one company. This means there can be a stronger element of competition in the Cloud, which is presently dominated by Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
The other side of the coin, however, is that the easy movement of data may complicate the control issues that have dominated IT management with regard to the movement of data across organizations, between applications and between companies. Also, data has moved on different platforms, notably small mobile devices, amaking it very difficult to avoid occasional data loss and the resultant privacy concerns.
It's nice to be able to move data around, for sure, but IT security administrators have to be cognizaant of the risks involved, and deal with them.
by Gerald Trites
There continues to be progress in the Cloud Computing arena, with a new application recently out, called Cloudkick, which enables the movement of data between Cloud applications run by different vendors, such as Amazon and Google. This will address one of the big concerns that many companies have, that is having their data tied up with one company. This means there can be a stronger element of competition in the Cloud, which is presently dominated by Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
The other side of the coin, however, is that the easy movement of data may complicate the control issues that have dominated IT management with regard to the movement of data across organizations, between applications and between companies. Also, data has moved on different platforms, notably small mobile devices, amaking it very difficult to avoid occasional data loss and the resultant privacy concerns.
It's nice to be able to move data around, for sure, but IT security administrators have to be cognizaant of the risks involved, and deal with them.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
eBooks on Cell Phones
We hear a lot about the Kindle and the inroads it is making into the book publishing industry. However, we hear less about the software that makes it possible to read eBooks on cell phones, especially smart phones with their larger screens.
Nevertheless, smart phones, like the Blackberry, are gaining in popularity, expecially, it seems, among higher income women. The beauty of using phones to read on is that there is nothing extra to carry around. You're going to have your phone with you anyway. And even though the screen is smaller and not as geared to reading as the Kindle, the convenience factor is obviously an important one to many. Not to mention the cost factor - not having to spend $300 plus on a new gadget. There's a rundown on this trend in Computerworld this week.
We hear a lot about the Kindle and the inroads it is making into the book publishing industry. However, we hear less about the software that makes it possible to read eBooks on cell phones, especially smart phones with their larger screens.
Nevertheless, smart phones, like the Blackberry, are gaining in popularity, expecially, it seems, among higher income women. The beauty of using phones to read on is that there is nothing extra to carry around. You're going to have your phone with you anyway. And even though the screen is smaller and not as geared to reading as the Kindle, the convenience factor is obviously an important one to many. Not to mention the cost factor - not having to spend $300 plus on a new gadget. There's a rundown on this trend in Computerworld this week.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Cloud Computing and Cell Phones
by Gerald Trites, FCA
The idea of cloud computing and cell phones working together makes a lot of intuitive sense. Cell phones are becoming much more powerful and therefore are relied on by users for more complex tasks. However, compared to portable computing options like laptops, the computing power of cell phones fades to insignificance. The hardware and software is just to limited for serious work. So people are using them more for computing functions, but running into the barrier of size and power.
At the same time, the cloud is becoming much more prominent as a way to offload processing to applications on the internet, and therefore use the more powerful capabilities that can be invoked there. The cloud is almost unlimited in its potential.
Bringing the two - cell phones and the cloud - together would enable people to get the best of both worlds. The trouble is there has not yet been an effective way to do that. Cloud computing is geared for conventional computer networks, and cell phones are, well, cell phones.
All of this might change if a new proposal put forward by Byung-Gon Chun, a research scientist at Intel Research Berkeley, gains traction. Chun suggestion: "create a supercharged clone of your smart phone that lives in 'the cloud' and let it do all the computational heavy lifting that your phone is too wimpy to handle." A simple idea that could work.
The idea is that the interface you hold in your hand is duplicated in the cloud. However, the difference is that the cloud duplicate is , unlike your cell, able to interact effectively with applications in the cloud, giving it the power of a full sized computer.
That still would leave issues related to input and output display, however, the idea is a start, and while there would still be limitations to cell/cloud computing, at least initially, there would also be a considerable increase in those capabilities, which would likely grow as the technology improves.
by Gerald Trites, FCA
The idea of cloud computing and cell phones working together makes a lot of intuitive sense. Cell phones are becoming much more powerful and therefore are relied on by users for more complex tasks. However, compared to portable computing options like laptops, the computing power of cell phones fades to insignificance. The hardware and software is just to limited for serious work. So people are using them more for computing functions, but running into the barrier of size and power.
At the same time, the cloud is becoming much more prominent as a way to offload processing to applications on the internet, and therefore use the more powerful capabilities that can be invoked there. The cloud is almost unlimited in its potential.
Bringing the two - cell phones and the cloud - together would enable people to get the best of both worlds. The trouble is there has not yet been an effective way to do that. Cloud computing is geared for conventional computer networks, and cell phones are, well, cell phones.
All of this might change if a new proposal put forward by Byung-Gon Chun, a research scientist at Intel Research Berkeley, gains traction. Chun suggestion: "create a supercharged clone of your smart phone that lives in 'the cloud' and let it do all the computational heavy lifting that your phone is too wimpy to handle." A simple idea that could work.
The idea is that the interface you hold in your hand is duplicated in the cloud. However, the difference is that the cloud duplicate is , unlike your cell, able to interact effectively with applications in the cloud, giving it the power of a full sized computer.
That still would leave issues related to input and output display, however, the idea is a start, and while there would still be limitations to cell/cloud computing, at least initially, there would also be a considerable increase in those capabilities, which would likely grow as the technology improves.
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