Tag Archives: technology

Shopping has changed a lot over the years from shopping online to wireless debit machines to credit card readers for smartphones and almost any kind of delivery that can be tracked. Did you ever wonder what would be next? Amazon designed and built a supermarket style store called Amazon Go that was created through advanced technology. The purpose of this store is to provide people a shopping experience without having to wait in check-out lines or be served by cashiers. Amazon Go was first launched for employees in December 2017 and opened up to the public in January 2018. If someone wants to shop at Amazon Go they first must have an Amazon account and the IPhone or Android app downloaded on their smartphones. This app is required to be downloaded for the customer to enter the store, as the customer enters the store they have to scan their smart phones to begin their shopping experience. Customers are provided with reusable shopping bags to use and leave with, there are no shopping carts or baskets for customers to use. The store is filled with many cameras along the ceilings that watch every move a customer makes. In addition to cameras, the shelves are equipped with weight sensors that sensor if an item has been removed from the shelf or put back. Every time a customer takes something off the shelf the item is charged to the customer’s account. The customer can always put something back on the shelf and it will be taken off their account. A customer can even return items after leaving the store. The store isn’t completely “staffless”, there are employees in the kitchen prepping fresh food, there are also employees around the store that restock and organize shelves to maintain the store. Another position that is still filled by humans in the store is checking IDs in the alcohol section. Once the customer is ready to leave all they have to do is walk out of the store. A few minutes after walking out of the store, the customer receives a digital receipt that shows the total of their bill. The Amazon Go app will also inform the customer with data on how much time they spent shopping.
IBM – Using social media from sales to guidelines

IBM has always stayed ahead of the game. As one of the world’s biggest technological companies, they were forecasting the rise of social media and immediately jumped on the opportunity. Back in 2007, they foresaw how much of an impact social media was having on the world. They launched Lotus Connections, a product that combined five social networking applications into one package. Since it was aimed at the corporate social and collaborative environment, the apps focused around tools that allowed workers to communicate with each other via blogs, profiles, and common community areas. This was the start of an enterprise-wide integration and employees would have access for more information to collaborate with. IBM LotusLive has become IBM SmartCloud for Social Business. It’s used for business grade file sharing, social networking, communities, online meetings, instant messaging, email and calendar. There is also a productivity center that employees can edit documents in real time. Keeping employees involved has helped with successful organizational strategy.
FIFA’s Social Media amazing journey

Prior to Social Media one of the earliest types of advertising was through word of mouth followed by engraving or drawing images on a cave wall, those images told a story, and promoted ideas. Early printing in the 15th (1401 to 1500) and 16th (1501 to 1600) centuries created a mark in advertising and companies were able to reach a wider audience. In the 18th (1701 to 1800) and 19th (1801 to 1900) centuries advertising was expanded to newspapers. One of the first advertising agencies was set-up in Philadelphia in 1842 by Volney Palmer, the agency acted as a broker for newspaper space and later on they became a full service by offering ad-placement services and a full production that organized advertising by a target market and population. In the 20th (1901 to 2000) century the radio was born and was part of a new era on advertising it offered a complete new way of reaching potential audiences. Followed by television which introduced a new type of advertising that was more visual than the previous advertising methods, by the end of the 20th century the internet was introduced to the masses and it became a valuable communication tool for businesses to advertise in a complete different way. According to Visually technology and the use of Social Media and Internet has accelerated the pace in which people are able to connect, be engaged and be informed. Below is a list of the time frame it took for various modes of communication to reach 50 million users. Telephone: 75 years Radio: 38 years Television : 13 years Internet: 4 years Facebook: 3.5 years IPOD: 3 years Angry Birds Space app: 35 days Many organizations still depend on word of mouth as the main form of communication mostly used in marketing and advertising initiatives. These companies are considered to be in the stone ages as compared to organizations that are using Social Media in a big way. A good example of a company that is using Social Media very well is FIFA. FIFA was taken by surprise in the last World Cup in Brazil when 1 billion people attended FIFA’s Global Stadium, according to the current Deputy Head of FIFA Digital. Senior Manager – Social Media & Video, Alex Stone they began evaluating the data collected from the 2014 World Cup in 2015. Based on the 2014… Read more »
Nike+ Fuels a Global Battle of the Sexes

Competition and teamwork is at the core of human motivation. What many of us struggle to achieve on our own, without supervision and benchmarks, can often be achieved when we are pushed beyond our comfort zone and joined by others with a common goal. Nike has repeatedly leveraged this fundamental element of human nature, and has successfully gamified the typical shopping experience through their online community: NikePlus.
What Is Not Turning Wearable?

Social media is spider-webbing into so many nooks and crannies of our everyday lives, it is a challenge to truly answer the question of “where is social media going in the future?” in a simplistic form. On one hand, the easy answer is, social media is going everywhere. For example, think of a recent time when you came across a product or app that you never thought of yourself and you say “ah…yes, that is a really good idea”…how many times has that included an accompanying app or tracking application? Social media is everywhere! There is nothing truer to that just described, to the wearables sector. From keeping a light eye on wearables through personal interest, I thought where Fit Bit and similar product is going was interesting; I also found Bellabeat, a women’s focused wearable of smart jewellery. I knew there was innovation and development, and I also knew there are apps that are built around integration with these devices. I thought looking at the future of social media through wearables would be interesting, but I had no idea how huge this space was. It was predicted (in 2016) that by 2020 that the wearables market will be worth $34 billion (Lamkin, 2016). This is up from a forecast in 2015 for the wearables market to be worth $25 billion in 2019 (CCS Insight, 2015).
Telecommuting and the future of social media

Eight years ago, when my Dad told me that he had joined Facebook, I groaned. Being in my early adulthood at the time, when my social status meant a lot more to me, I was worried about what my friends would think. While I adored my father (and still do!), Facebook was a space for Millennials with Bieber haircuts and skinny jeans, not for Dads who wore Velcro sandals. In fact, prior to the public launch in 2006, Facebook was only available to users who were enrolled in a university or college. Fast-forward to 2017, and Facebook is a place everyone—Dads included! Most of us have grown so accustomed to social media being a part of our lives that it seems strange to think about it as a “new” phenomenon — but it is. In less than 10 years, a handful of niche sites catering to small populations have turned into thousands of apps and platforms that connect the majority of the world’s population. But where is social media and technology headed in the future?
GoPro: Socializing with their Media

Marketing strategies have shifted, grown, and developed greatly over the course of history. From DeBeer’s age old “Diamonds are Forever” campaign in the early 1900’s and the Lucky Strike ads which had everyone picking up a bad habit in the 60’s, to the modern day “Just Do It” Slogan that defines Nike, we’ve seen a lot over the years. The channels of communication for marketers has changed over time as well. The game changed for marketers again and again, challenging them to come up with new and innovative ways to promote their products and services as the technologies and trends changed over time. In today’s world the internet reigns supreme, and marketers have quickly adopted web advertising as a part of any self-respecting ad campaign. Social Media is the most important aspect of this. A campaign that doesn’t have a #hashtag, YouTube video, or searchable Facebook content, may as well not exist at all. The companies that are realizing, embracing, and integrating social media into their campaigns are the ones who are seeing the most success. Many modern brands are doing a great job of combining social media with their marketing strategies, but one in particular really stands out.
How VFHT takes care of Liberty Village’s peoples health

Organization: Village Family Health Team Industry: Health and Medical Contact: Diana Noel, Executive Director. Web References: VFHT, WellX, GoogleX, MobiHealthNews, Accenture, Klick Liberty Village is a masterfully planned community that blends residential, commercial and retail space in one enclosed neighbourhood. The village has a mixed crowd of young professionals who work in media, high-tech and design businesses. It is also the perfect place… Read more »
Deloitte #TMTpredictions
Sephora Merges In-Store & Online Shopping Through Digital Innovation

Organization Name: Sephora Industry: Health and Beauty Name of Contact: N/A Web References: Forbes, Venture Beat, Fast Company, Mobile Commerce Daily, Digiday Description of How Social Media is Used for Business Performance: With over 1,900 locations worldwide, global beauty chain Sephora is a leader in digital innovation, providing shoppers with a custom brand experience which transitions seamlessly between online and in-store environments. Sephora is a… Read more »
Customer Engagement ‘is’ Kickstarter

Customer Engagement ‘is’ Kickstarter Organization Name: Kickstarter Industry: Crowdfunding Services Name of contact: Perry Chen, Founder, Kickstarter Yancey Strickler, Founder, Kickstarter Charles Adler, Founder, Kickstarter Web references: Kickstarter Formlabs Company Overview: Born in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, New York – Kickstarter officially launched on April 28th, 2009 by founders Perry Chen, Yancey Strickler and Charles Adler with the artist world in… Read more »
Warp Speed – the Future of Social Media
Title: Warp Speed – the Future of Social Media Organization: Multiple – General Industry: Medical, Automobile, Mobile, Optical Author: Terry-Lynn Conway Star Trek and the Jetsons, futuristic shows ahead of their time. Technology we used to dream and laugh about, may not be so far in the future as we think. In the Jetsons, flying vehicles that drove themselves and tuned into… Read more »
Taco Bell “Thinking Outside of the Bun” by Using Snapchat to Interact with their Consumers
Organization Name: Taco Bell Industry: Food Name of Contact: Tressie Lieberman, Director-Social and Digital Marketing for Taco Bell Taco Bell has found out the best new and innovated way to introduce new items to their menu as well as interacting with their consumers, and that is; through the use of the very popular app Snapchat. In May 2013, Taco Bell… Read more »
IdeaStorm at Dell
The relationship between business and consumers is in the midst of drastic change. The traditional business model of pushing products out to the public, is quickly being replaced by a new model that involves consumers pulling their desired products from companies. Consumers no longer want to sit by quietly waiting for companies to tell them which products to purchase and… Read more »
Going Mobile – The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Not so many years ago my daily work routine consisted of turning on my computer, doing some project work, checking email, making calls, getting out into the world and networking the old fashioned way. Face to face. Fast forward to present day and my work day starts the minute I wake up. A quick glance at the calendar and email… Read more »