Online Roundup Friday 25th May 2012

Lots of news about Mobile this week. Oh, and a little event with Facebook. It's what all the cool kids are talking about.

Australia

Westpac celebrates reaching 1 million regular mobile customers. Well done.

• Mobile banking a big hit at Westpac - Westpac (Press Release) (via @oliverw)

A great, in-depth article on the impacts of mobility on retail and e-commerce. A must read.

• How the humble app is changing the face of shopping - and retailers - Sydney Morning Herald (via @matthewsinclair)

Some interesting information about traffic referral to Shopify from Pinterest. It already rivals Twitter but Facebook is still king. More interestingly the average order size of Pinterest referrals is the highest of all referrers.

• Infographic - How Pinterest Drives Online Sales - Power Retail

Around the world

In case you haven't heard. Facebook has had an Initial Public Offering (IPO), that is they've gone public and now have money from public investors. What they'll do with it remains to be seen.

• Great Job, Wall Street and Facebook! The IPO Was Perfectly Priced... - Business Insider

As with any large scale event, there's always someone cranky. Was there some scullduggery with the Facebook IPO?

• Lawsuits pile up over Facebook IPO - Sydney Morning Herald

What about Facebook pulling out specific functionality into standalone mobile apps? We wonder what's going on there. Not to mention the release of an app that looks surprisingly similar to one they just bought...

• Facebook Releases Instagram Clone - Mashable (via @pierre_s)

Mobile is a heavily disruptive force. There are pretty pictures to prove it.

• Mobile Marketing Set to Create Havoc and Opportunities - Read Write Web (via @matthewsinclair)

Some interesting information on the usage of mobile. In another pretty picture.

• Mobile Marketing by the Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC] - Mashable

Is reality creeping into the Big Data promise?

• ‘Big Data’ Can Be Hard to Harness - eMarketer

Rats and mice

Time to save that wasted food in bottles and jars. Watch the videos. Amazing.

• MIT's Freaky Non-Stick Coating Keeps Ketchup Flowing - FastCompany

Some very cool User Interface work for collaboration on 3D modelling. Watch the video here as well.

• A Mind-Blowing UI That Could Finally Make Group Work Intuitive | Co.Design: business + innovation + design - FastCompany

Remember Yahoo!? Well, they're back in the press. No, not for fudging a resumé but for a new internet browser. They're definitely getting press.

• Yahoo launches Axis browser - The Washington Post

• Yahoo Axis impresses on iPad, stumbles on desktop and iPhone (hands-on) - The Verge

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Thanks to those who submitted stories. If you've got a story, feedback or just wish to get in touch you can send us an email, tweet us, or leave us a message on Facebook.

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The roundup is digital, mobile, online and emerging technology news from Australia and around the world.

Remember Staff When Developing a Mobility Strategy

Mobility strategy or mobile strategy? It doesn't really matter what you call it. The rapid uptake of smartphones and other mobile computing devices (heard of the iPad?) is very difficult to ignore.

As a result it's becoming increasingly important to be able to sell to and service your customers through a mobile channel. In fact, like having a website was and is mandatory, being mobile enabled is now a must have. You need a mobile friendly site. You more than likely feel the pressure to deliver an "App" of some type. Often without thought about how that app will form part of your business, but that's another story.

They do say that the Customer is always right and when it comes to mobile initiatives, more often than not the Customer is also first. I'm sad to say, staff are often left out of the picture when it comes to new technology initiatives. Great things are done in the name of the Customer but helping staff do their job seems to be a regular afterthought.

What about mobile-focused initiatives for your staff? Opportunities to improve their productivity. Reduce operating costs. Increase satisfaction. Ensuring they have the tools to excel.

Having seen a few "enterprise" frameworks for developing mobile initiatives for staff, it's no wonder mobility for staff rarely happens. The considerations and complexity for those frameworks are out of this world and ultimately seem over engineered and technology focused.

In this light, the above is a simple model highlighting the considerations for a staff-focused mobility strategy. It's not intended to be comprehensive. It's supposed to be concise, easily understood and trigger thought about the important questions.

Let us know where you think this could be improved. Maybe there's an argument that the customer (staff are customers too!) should be in the centre?

Online Roundup Friday 18th May 2012

Aussie retailers price fixing? Allegedly. Something's got to give in the Australian retail market now that e-commerce from cheaper locales is taking front and centre stage. Enjoy your weekends!

Australia

Retailers are getting some heat, and possibly some attention from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), for activities that look suspiciously like price fixing. If you want some more background, take a look at this article

• Watchdog urged to probe local distributors blocking online sales - the Sydney Morning Herald

Interesting news about the usage (or lack thereof) of card-based contact-less payment services like PayPass and TapNGo.

• Cardholders not so keen on PayPass and TapNGo

Around the world

Mobile usage (at least in the States) continues its rise. Interesting take here about where to put the ads now that the majority of usage has moved to the real-estate poor mobile app.

• Americans Now Spend More Time On Facebook Mobile Than Its Website - Techcrunch

Visa and Mastercard enter the future of payments game with their digital wallets.

• Digital Wallet Battle Heats Up As Visa And MasterCard Enter The Game - Techcrunch (thanks @geodica)

Send money to someone close by without needing their account details? FNB is showing the way forward.

• FNB adds geo-payments to mobile app - Finextra (thanks @geodica)

Some more mobile Point of Sale services, similar to Square, hit the streets (Square is the disruptive point of sale service from the US).

• PayAnywhere is like Square, but more so - Cnet
• PayMate launches smartphone POS app

Thanks to those who submitted stories. If you've got a story, feedback or just wish to get in touch you can send us an email, tweet us, or leave us a message on Facebook.

If you're enjoying the Roundup, you can get it shrink-wrapped and delivered automatically to your favourite rss/news reader by subscribing.

Digital, mobile, online and emerging technology news from Australia and around the world.

Don't Put Digital Lipstick On A Pig

Did you ever wake up on your birthday as a kid with that sense of excitement about getting the latest and greatest toy that all the kids were playing with? Cabbage Patch Doll? Transformer? My Little Pony? He-man figurine? (Guess my generation)

It's a pretty safe bet that it wasn't long before the sheen and new toy smell wore off. More than likely it wore off about the same time the the next big thing came along. Or maybe you found yourself returning to the tried and tested toys and activities. Those that gave endless enjoyment?

Fast forward to the present and digital technologies are the new toys for businesses. Driving sales and engagement. Delivering a better experience. Helping drive down costs. What's not to like?

Well, there is a hidden danger here. Digital and emerging technology initiatives are often developed without enough thought for the bigger picture. Does having a mobile app actually improve your customer's experience?

Let's do a pop quiz. If you're a bank (sorry Mr Bank) and customers are expecting mortgage pre-approvals to be close to instantaneous. Do you:

A) Build a shiny new mobile app so you can apply for a mortgage when you're out looking at houses. Leave the mortgage approval process as it stands with 3 week pre-approvals?

B) Look at improving the mortgage approval process to reduce the approval timeframes and customer experience, then consider adding a mobile experience to this?

C) Na na na na nahh (hands over ears)

Obviously this is a simple, contrived example but it highlights one important point. Don't put lipstick on a pig. Digital and emerging technologies are commonly rolled out at the point of customer interaction without enough consideration of the whole picture. What's most important to the customer here? The pre-approval timeframe or the fact that they can apply for pre-approval while out and about?

So you might ask why we'd talk down digital and emerging technology. Don't get us wrong, it's still important to play with and explore emerging technology. It's also prudent to think about the bigger picture and how these technologies can contribute to real and sustainable business improvement. We're just trying to avoid the shiny new thing syndrome and make sure digital and emerging technology initiatives give long lasting benefits (and enjoyment).

Are you putting lipstick on any pigs at the moment? What needs to change?

Online Roundup Friday 11th May 2012

Well, it's Mother's day weekend here in Australia (isn't it at different times to spare postal services around the world?). We hope you've remembered to get Mum something nice. If not, why not try the world of online vouchers/coupons. A gift for mum straight from the printer.

On a completely different note, it seems it's digital wallet week again.

Digital, mobile, online and emerging technology news from Australia and around the world.

Mother's Day

According to someone, Mother's Day is second to only Christmas in eGifts.

• Mother’s Day Goes Digital with Personalized eGift Cards - PYMTS.com

Actually, someone else thinks it's big business as well.

• Online Vouchers are Top of the List for Mother’s Day Gifts

Digital Wallets

Digital wallets are nothing like the paperless office. Wallets are smaller. That said, something has to stick soon.

Interestingly CBA thinks "smartphone payments were safer than credit card payments because a PIN was required to access the phone and Wallet service and the phone could wiped of information remotely is it was lost or stolen". We wonder if that will translate into cheaper merchant fees?

• MasterCard PayPass Wallet trials with CBA & Westpac - Banking Review

This digital wallet approach includes a case for your iPhone with a fingerprint scanner. We're sure the Apple designers are wringing their hands about this one.

• iCache’s Geode – Secure Digital Wallet for iPhone – Wins 1st Place in Two Categories at CTIA E-Tech Awards - PYMTS.com

American Express is in on the mobile wallet action as well.

• Amex cards to work with Isis mobile wallet - Computerworld

Australia

Some things to consider about how, and how not, to service your customers online here. You can get it right and wrong irrespective if you're big or small.

• Miss Terry Shopper and the Smashed Art Deco Vase - PowerRetail

David Jones is really trying to get their e-commerce capability up to scratch.

• David Jones’ Digital Metamorphosis is No Small Task - PowerRetail

Anecdotally, we'd have to agree that most businesses aren't ready for the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN). It's a little hard to commit when it's so far off and political games keep moving the goalposts.

• Online Retailers Aren’t Prepared for the NBN - PowerRetail

Around the world

Social media? A waste of money without a plan?

• Gartner says half of enterprises are wasting money on social media

Online social stats in coat hangers. What will they think of next?

• Brazil retailer using Facebook likes… on its clothing hangers - Venture Beat

Brazil's growing middle class is getting online. As is India's middle class. And they all want something nice.

• Power Up Case Profile: Curated Online Retail in India with fabulloso! - PowerRetail

Apparently the affluent in the US are an easy target for Luxury brands using mobile commerce (depending on your definition).

• Luxury Brand Apps Can Open the Mcommerce Door - eMarketer

Big data. Big data. Apparently people with cash know what it is. They're investing in it. The realities of most companies is that they're so parochial, how is it going to work?

• Investors are pouring funds into big data - Computerworld

More crowdfunding news. Another report with big numbers (but not that big).

• Crowdfunding raised $1.5 billion in 2011, says report - Computerworld

Rats and mice

We've previously mentioned the phenomena of online retailers getting into the bricks and mortar space. Well, what about an iphone game creator getting into theme parks?

• Angry Birds maker Rovio plans for amusement parks in China - Computerworld

Hello self-driving cars. Parked just around the corner with flying cars.

• Google gets first license for self-driving cars - Computerworld

Thanks to those who submitted stories. If you've got a story, feedback or just wish to get in touch you can send us an email, tweet us, or leave us a message on Facebook.

If you're enjoying the Roundup, you can get it shrink-wrapped and delivered automatically to your favourite rss/news reader by subscribing.