Massive Online Open Courses

Online education just won't go away, despite the frequent failure of several models and its marginalization by conventional institutions. That suggest there is a real demand out there, and that eventually a model will be found that strikes it big.

The latest trend is Massive online open courses or MOOCs. These generally are free, and can attract large numbers of students. In the attached article one university is mentioned that has had as many as 100,000 students in one class. Obviously this coverage would not be possible in a conventional physical setting.
Online education has the advantage of being affordable, something that conventional education is increasingly not. Student loans are growing to unsustainable levels, and the dearth of starting jobs means that repayment of those loans is growing more difficult if not impossible. And who really wants to start their life with $50,000 or more in debt?

MOOCs offer an alternative. They also offer certification when completed, and some employers will accept these as valid entry qualifications. The difference with MOOCs from previous online courses is that they make much better use of technology, and technology has of course improved. So students are treated with much more interactive styles of teaching – short recorded lectures, real time discussion forums, self administered exams and tests, flexible scheduling.

Despite the criticisms of online education, particularly by the more traditional conventional learning institutions, online education continues to flourish. Some say it may even revolutionize the educational system eventually, because of the cost of education and the growing power of technology.

Here’s a good article on MOOCs.

Facebook's Business Model at a Crossroads

Since the now legendary snafu of Facebook's IPO, the company has been facing a damaged image and reputation. Focus has shifted to the question of long term profitablility and sustainability, which is an open question with Facebook. Recent stats suggest that growth in traditional markets has topped out but there is still immense growth happening in markets like Brazil. Also, there appear to be opportunities in the mobile markets, as with so many online services.

So Facebook faces some serious strategic decisions over the next year. And they need to move fast. Now that the company has gone public, people are watching more closely and expecting more.

Check out this take on the current situation.

Is Cash Obsolete?

The popularity of debit cards has substantially reduced the need for cash. And credit cards are still being used, albeit at a somewhat reduced rate since the recession started. Credit cards are still the most common means of payment for online transactions. Along with Paypal. Smart phones are starting to be used for payments, and applications to enable this are becoming more common. And prepaid cards are gaining ground as well, because of fears over identity theft and other fraud.

All of these means of payment have substantially reduced the need for cash. And yet, cash remains in widespread use. Why?

For one thing, there are still transactions that require cash. A tip for a bellhop. Or payment to a neighborhood kid for mowing your lawn. Small transactions often call for cash. And one irony - means of payment like debit cards are often touted because they are convenient. However, cash is actually more convenient for smaller transactions, provided you draw some out of the bank and keep it on your person. All you have to do is pull it out of your pocket and hand it over and get your change. No entering of numbers into a machine and waiting for a response. And cash is free, while most other means cost a fee - small but a fee that can add up. Many older folk like their cash and will keep using it. Also using cash doesn't leave a trail, while other means do. So cash is popular with drug dealers and the like.

All of this means that the role of cash is diminishing. But is it disappearing? Not for a very long time to come. Maybe not in our lifetime. Here's a good article on the subject.

Big Data Preparedness

ATT points out that 85% of big business will be unable to exploit its data in coming years. That means a significant competitive disadvantage for them. Data available to business and in fact needed for competitiveness is growing exponentially. It's coming from variety of sources, but notable among them is social networking. And a prime vehicle is found in mobile devices. Social networks make available huge amounts of data about customers, competitors, suppliers, collaborators, employees, and anyone else that the company deals with. All of this information needs to be organized and placed in a form that it can be analyzed through direct M2M connections. There is just too much for people to deal with. To handle the data, companies need to changes some of their key strategies - strategies about mobility, social networking, use of important M2M protocols, like XBRL and enhanced CRM, SCM, eProcurement and HR Systems, among others. For some interesting background on this whole important area, check out the ATT pages on the topic. Time is running short to plan the appropriate strategies.

Text Marketing
Texting has a bit of a bad reputation; often seen as a trivial means of communication between teens and tweens, or a dangerous pastime while driving. However, texting is an effective means of communication and can be used for marketing quite effectively.As a current article points out, text messages are short and to the point, and are more likely to be read than email messages.They can also be used for marketing to people within a particular vicinity, and techniques like bluetooth marketing and contextual marketing. They can be targeted to particular customers or groups. Texting is often overlooked as a vehicle of advertising, but its time is overdue.

Online vs Physical Store Shopping

A recent Neilsen survey shows that online shopping is now the favourite (59%) shopping method for consumers. This has been trending upwards for several years. Generally, the approach favoured by shoppers has been using the online sites for research and then buying at the store. There is some indication in this survey that this is now changing. It indicates that shoppers are checking goods out in the store and then buying online in order to get a better price. An interesting development that retailers have noticed. No doubt they will watch their online pricing more closely to minimize the cannibalization of their store sales by online shoppers. On the other hand, the pricing differences may be viable because online selling carries less overhead with it - less need for staffing costs, for example. So there are issues for the retailers to consider before making drastic changes. In any event, it's an area of policy that warrants close attention. Here is a write-up on the Neilsen survey.

Advertising for Mobile Unit Users

Smartphones and tablets have become major forces in the use of internet based technology. And yet, advertisers are still struggling to adapt their ads to the unique needs and orientation of mobile unit users. Many of those ads are still offshoots of the old PC platforms, but the mobile users expect touch sensitivity. When they touch a mobile ad on their tablet and nothing happens, there is a let-down.

Also, those users are often in a different frame of mind when they are browsing. That's because, so far at least, mobile users are more likely to be off work and on leisure time. That;s the reality, despite the fact that mobile units' usage in the workplace is growing. So the ads are more likely to be watched or read and more likely to lead to a purchase.

These are just a couple of the changes that are needed in advertising because of the advent of mobile units. For more, check out this reference.

Facebook Needs a Better Business Model

After all the hype of recent weeks around the Facebook offering, the actual day was a disappointment for investors. Fixed at a release price of $38 per share, it fell substantially below that on the next day. Estimates were that Mark Zuckerberg lost $2.2 Billion that day. But then, he can afford it.

One cannot guage an investment in the rush of its first couple of days on the market. There is just too much speculation going on and it will take some time for the investors to settle down to a more normal frame of mind. Then they will look more closely at two things - earnings and cash flow, and decide whether they will be able to get a reasonable return on investment, through dividends and growth. That's the investors, not the speculators and gamblers.

To gain earnings and cash flow, a company needs a good business model At this point, Facebook has a business model, but it is almost entirely based on advertising, which has gotten to be a tough market on the internet. It's difficult to get the attention of people, and ads have been expensive. One can expect internet ads to drop in price as the number of players continues to grow. Simple economics.

In order to excel in the earnings game, Facebook probably needs a stronger and more diverse business model. Something unique and maybe completely different than what it has done so far. Amazon and Google faced similar issues, when they started out. Both had to change their original business model in order to survive. Both succeeded quite well. Both got into products and services that were very different and unique compared to their original concept.

There seems little doubt that Facebook will make some changes. All that wealth can draw in a lot of creative resources and talent to design and implement those changes. So analyses like this recent article, which argue that the Facebook model is so bad it will fail and also bring down the rest of the Web are one-sided extrapolations of existing weaknesses, which surely will be addressed in some fashion. And others seeking out comparative metrics to support the value of Facebook also fail to take innovation into account.

For investors with a taste for risk, or for speculators, Facebook offers up a lot of potential. For more conservative, long term investors, it's a good time to wait it out and see what innovation takes place - what kind of business model Facebook builds for the long term.

It's a Mobile, Social, Cloudy, Collaborative World

SAPs Sapphire Now annual conference took place this week in Orlando. While the conference is of course product specific, it nevertheless always offers an up-to-date snapshot of the state of IT in business and society. This year, the emphasis is on mobility, social media, the cloud and collaboration. Of particular interest, since SAP has its roots in large ERP systems, is the emphasis on big data. Big data is the recognition that data are being made available from a variety of sources, including social media, in vast quantities and there is a real need to be able to analyze it for strategic and management purposes. So the big vendors are moving into this space. SAPs entry is a product called Hanna and that is drawing a lot of interest at this conference. Products like Hanna must be able to work in the cloud and on handhelds, maximizing data mobility and data analytics. It's where we are these days. Here's one article on Sapphire Now.

Social Media Use in Online Retailing is Growing

While many Canadian companies have been slow to adopt social media in their marketing activities, some of the majors are coming around to a new and more embracing view. Social media can be an extremely effective way to get the message out and to interact with customers. Both are important in today's world. it may be that social media has become an essential element of any marketing strategy. That includes Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and any other more specialized communities that might be useful for reaching the intended audience. This G&M article sets out the experience of some companies and the media they are using. Very informative.

E-Payments - A Changing Field

The banking industry in Canada is finally acting on the idea of using mobile units like smartphones to make payments. Canada has been lagging in this area for several years now. Details are expected to be announced very soon, possibly even today. This new initiative, having the backing of the banks and telecom companies, is likely to take off quickly. This article summarizes the initiative, which will change the business model of the telecom companies into pseudo banking operations. Rogers has already applied for a banking licence.

Traditional credit cards are still the most common form of payment for e-commerce transactions, although Paypal is running a close second, at least in North America. Worldwide, the payment systems vary, and that needs to be taken into account when venturing into foreign markets. Recently, BMO introduced a new payment system for smartphones and perhaps tablets. Just touch your phone to a cash register add-on device and the payment will be made. It's been slow to develop, but chances are it will be popular. Also, some organizations, including some of the banks, are developing mobile wallets, which will be useful for payments.

This referenced article provides a summary of the forms of payment used in some key foreign markets, It's worth some research if that's where your business is going.

ERP in the Cloud

One of the major issues with ERP systems since they came in has been the fact that many large companies have numerous ERP systems in place. The whole point of ERP systems in the first place was to give the company a common platform for its major business functions and therefore have all its users working on the same page. However., ERP systems are very large and complex applications, and their implementation is famously expensive and rife with downside risk. So companies have been hesitant to implement ERP systems just to replace one ERP system with another, in order to get their companies all on the same system.

Of course, the existence of various ERP systems within a single company poses operational challenges for companies. Many of them are going to ERP systems in the cloud. This enables them to gain the benefits of ERP while snot having to go through the treacherous process of in-house implementation. Then the company can be on a single platform, and users can get used to having similar processes across the company.

"The latest BriefingsDirect podcast, from the 2012 Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA) LIVE Conference in Las Vegas, explores the latest in cloud-based collaborative commerce with Cox Enterprises, a US$15 billion communications, media, and automotive services company." This article summarizes some of the key points made about the Cox implementation and shows clearly the advantages of cloud based ERP implementation. Check it out.

Let's Integrate These Devices

One clear result of the proliferation of portable devices in the past couple of years has been that people end up with more devices to carry around and to store their files on. Many people now have a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop and sometimes a PC at home. All for good reasons. A smartphone is good for quick access on the move. A tablet for easy acccess and partial functionality, a laptop for generally full functionality and a PC for premium functionality and storage, where such is needed.

In many cases, if not most, these are not completely coordinated. Apple owners have a better chance than most, as long as they stick to apple products and only buy a iPhone, and iPad and a big Mac. But the rest of the world is in trouble. There are some techniques for synchronizing. Most of the portable products have synch capabilities, but they often are crude and cumbersome. Then there is the cloud, where files could be stored and accessed by some if not all of the products, but then working in the cloud can be slow and difficult, and in some cases costly, when you don't have a high end data plan.

The bottom line is that there is a real need for more user friendly and effective means of establishing synchronization between these different devices. For one rumination on this general topic, check this article.

Digital Wallets Are Coming -But Slowly

They are something most people seem to want. Surveys support that. Also a majority of people own smartphones, which can handle payments easily, but they just haven't taken off yet. The main reason appears to be the lack of coordination between the various parties who can make it work. That includes mainly the banks, terminal providers and retailers. When using your smartphones to pay for things you buy becomes common, it will likely happen quickly. All the elements are there. They just haven't come together very well. Here's one take on it.

Social Marketing a Social Force

The use of social media for marketing purposes has become a standard part of many companies' marketing strategies. This goes well beyond simply using social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and the others into a scene where sales automation software is incorporating social media characteristics and linkages. It has also extended into the incorporation of social media into CRM systems. So the whole corporate interface with customers and potential customers is taking on social media-like characteristics and methods. It's a massive change under way and one that will have an enduring impact on the whole field. For an article showing how specific recent mergers and acquisitions have revealed the nature of this movement, check out this link.

Social CRM - The Unstructured Data Problem

Customer Relationship Management has taken a new turn with the advent of social Media. There has been an increased awareness of the value of the extensive data being made available through Social Media in Managing Customer Relationships. The issue is that there needs to be a means of analyzing the data. Traditional CRM systems have been developed to enable the analysis of structured data. Tools for analyzing unstructured data have been scarce. But they are coming on to the market.

The firm Customer Relationship Metrics recently announced a new tool Text BI, which is designed to enable the advanced analysis of unstructured data. Essentially it incorporates a method for adding a structure to the data and then feeding it into its analytics tools. Analytics of this type are increasingly important for CRM and BI systems and we can expect to see more of them coming out. For a brief rundown on Text BI, check out this article.

Mobility and Corporate Internet Strategy

The advent of mobile units like tablets and smartphones is obvious to most people and widely heralded. Many companies, however, still don't get the full implications of this massive wave of innovation. The fact is, mobility is changing everything. While internet use has historically been primarily restricted to access through browsers, access through mobile units has been growing rapidly. Business has been aware of this and many have developed websites that can be adapted to the small screens of those mobile units. However, the mobility phenomenon goes a lot further than just the size and type of browser. The difference is in the apps.

Users love their apps, and seek them out for many things they do. Smart companies are developing apps that their customers can use to interact with their brand. Travel companies are making travel planning apps, gas companies are creating gas station finder apps, retail stores are creating product discount apps. There are apps for almost everything, and the list is growing.

Companies need to include in their internet strategy the idea of which apps they are going to have to help customers interact with their brand. The competition is doing it and eventually it will be a competitive necessity - eventually being not too far into the future.

To develop the strategy, the company needs to think of the ways they want their customers to interact with them and their product. This means stepping back and considering the whole situation with objectivity and creativity. Then a range of apps need to be developed and put into the hands of the customers, through web sites, blogs and social media. It's a diffferent approach, but one in tune with the times. Here's a good article on the subject.

Bringing Social Media into Online Education

When you think about it, most traditional online education is modeled after the old classroom lecture style of learning, a style that has been largely abandoned inmost progressive educational institutions for some time. They do employ discussion boards, but again, that is modeled after the old classroom style.

We also know that most learning takes place outside of the classroom, usually when the students collaborate with friends, classmates and others. People learn best by studying on their own, clearing up their weak points  and pursuing the areas of particular interest through collaboration.

It's a prime situation for the use of social media, so educators have been experimenting with this type of tool. Strangely, the online courses that are offered most often tend to stress the old classroom style of learning, which is something of an irony.

Not all, however. Telus is a case in point where social media, including blogs, social networking tools and YouTube videos are used in its training programs. They have constructed an approach that should be looked at by everyone interested in online learning. Check out this article.

Big Data Analytics

Many businesses have twigged to the fact that a vast amount of data about their markets and potential markets is available on the internet (in the cloud) and have started to incorporate it into their business systems. The problem is they have been having trouble analyzing it so as to be able to make best use of it. The vast quantities of sometimes disparate data just makes analysis difficult.

It's true there are tools out there, but they haven't always been what was needed.

Google has announced its entry into big data analytics - called Big Query. It has the advantage that it is a Google product, which should mean it can take advantage of Google's impressive data analytics capability. Also, Google is one of the largest providers of big cloud data, and therefore close to the source.

Big Query should be a big success. but we shall see. Check out this summary of the tool.

Cloud Computing is Bigger Than IT

Going into a cloud environment, which is happening very quickly, involves a lot more than It issues. IT is often a very large outsourcing exercise, one that requires a lot of thought about compatibility, scalability, privacy, data protection, legal responsibilities, management responsibilities, and so on. For a larger company, moving to the cloud can be a major initiative.For that reason, the federal CIO Council and the federal Chief Acquisitions Officers Council (CAO) recently released a guide to cloud contracting dealing basically with the kinds of issues that should be included in a Cloud outsourcing agreement.. It's worth a look.