The Top Christmas Gadgets for 2011

Every Christmas season, I am looking out for the latest gadgets that I think my readers might find cool as well. And, you can win one of those in a draw on 20th of December 2011. That’s cool, right…?!

The last time around Christmas, I focused on the 7 brand gadgets. This Christmas season, we will keep it more general on freaky, funny and fantastic gadgets which I think were the coolest gadgets in 2011. Yes, we are not talking about the 5 best toys for boys, women will love these gadgets as well. So, please find my 5 coolest gadgets in the second half of 2011…

Always Run! – NIKE GPS Sportwatch mit TomTom

This Nike+ Sensor enabled sports watch with GPS system from TomTom lets you find out how you can start tracking your run instantly, and how to get accurate speed and distance information, indoors or out. It tracks your time, distance, pace, heart rate and calories burned. Can you imagine it mapped route, with pace data, and changes in elevation on Nikeplus.com? And it can do so much more for your fitness…

Always Air! – Philips Fidelio SoundRing

What I like about the Philips AirPlay technology? It lets me stream my entire iTunes music collection to the Fidelio docking stations – wireless music from the iTunes program on the computer, iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to any AirPlay-enabled speaker at home. Just make sure the speakers are connected to the Wi-Fi network. And AirPlay lets you play simultaneously on every speaker in every room. So your favorite tunes will follow you into the rooms you go.

Always on! – Innergie Adapter

One of the best conversations I have seen this year: Wikipedia “I know everything!” – Google “I have everything!” – Facebook “I know everything!” – Internet “With me you all are nothing!” – Electricity “Keep talking b*itches!” This loading unit might help us in what what we need most for our modern lives: energy. Innergie’s mCubePro got a sleek design and unique features that will surely make us and our devices reload again. Get your device charged from every device everywhere you go. Reload your batteries!

Always live! – Vivitek Qumi

If you want to get a projector with 300 lumens that is weighing more or less nothing (1.1 pounds), maybe consider the Qumi by Vivitek. It is a very innovative pocket LED pocket projector that is 3D-ready via DLP Link™. And what is so freaky about it? The Qumi connectivity can be used with a variety of devices like smartphones, laptops, netbooks and tablets, digital and video cameras. The Qumi is the perfect device for sharing digital content at work and play.

Always wake up! – Logitech Clock Radio Dock S400i

Is it something special to wake up and fall asleep to your favorite songs while charging your iPod or iPhone in 2011? No! If an audio system does it with speakers that produce rich, full, stereo sound? Well, it might be! This black systems is small, smart and stereo. Not like in old times where the systems were massive and mono. Thus, this system will recharge your personal energy. I just like it. It looks cool, geeky (big silver control knob) and it had the chance to listen to it on Heathrow airport. The right push, the right music… at the right time.

Always iStereo! – Hohrizontal 51

Can a functional shelf on the wall play music, images and videos from the iPod® or iPhone®? Honestly, I could not believe the sound of the HOHRIZONTAL 51 when I listened to it in Zurich. It has got some powerful bass and room filling sound which comes from the integrated soundsystem. And the system can even be connected to your TV or plug your computer in. Remote control gives you the right flexibility and relaxing opportunities in great Hi-Fi quality. You can even choose from different designs and colours. Like it!

How to enter the competition?
Most companies have given us one product for a draw. Just write a Retweet (RT), comment, send us an email, and tell us which product you like most and why. Then you will get a ticket for the competition to win one of the products!

End of participation and date of draw: 20.12.2011. There is no right of appeal. Good luck!

Will Millenials cause a headache for IT in the future?

Just a few days ago, I have written about the challenge for IT departments that millenials will want to use their own private devices at work as employees in the future. If this is causing CIO’s and their IT managers headaches then better get some iboprofen now, as there is more to come…

An online study along with in-depth interviews of 400 “Millennials”, ages between 20 through 29, and 200 IT managers the U.S. from mid-sized to large corporations gives some interesting insights in the expectations of the Millenials when it comes to IT. The study was conducted by Isurus Market Research and Consulting with analysis by GigaOM Pro, and underwritten by Bomgar.

Millenials are growing up in an “instantaneous world” of social web conversations, mobile phones, and almost permanent WiFi access. This brings new challenges for IT departments in the future as expectations are these young people are high. Millennials expect more or less immediate answers on IT support questions and all options of multi-channel communication. However, the worst is: Ideally, they could solve their technology issues themselves.

Some key findings what Millenials do…
- 71% state to have done a Google search for a solution finding at least once.
- 61% don’t turn to company support first to solve problems, while 71% say they have done a Google search for a solution at least once.
- 58% prefer to communicate in chat or text messaging, not the phone.
- 40% use a mobile device for work “on a weekly basis.”

So, if Millenials are responsible for their own technology, as it is their private device, IT could get away from the omnipresent IT support issue as they will have less responsibility, costs will decrease for IT, and it is a sustainable Green IT approach. Or who wants to carry around two mobile phones, two tablets, two notebooks, and so on?

The challenge for company bosses? Millennials say that their job satisfaction is “strongly affected” by the type of mobile device their employers provided. Isn’t this great? Just ask them what they want and you can increase personal productivity and work efficiency. Correct?

“Our research highlights the biggest challenges for IT departments: Millennials expect immediate responses, prefer a wider variety of communication channels and, when it comes to problem solving, often turn to Google and outside resources before contacting support,” David Card, Research Director, GigaOM Pro.

Millenials will become difficult to handle though. 60% think that good support time for a technical problem to be solved is less than 10 minutes. Compared to IT managers who think that a reasonable time frame for solving tech problems was an hour or more, this calls for problems between the work forces in the future. No wonder, 80% of IT managers see Millennials as “different or very different than their older peers in terms of technology expectations”.

Spot On!
However, these two studies might sound like a massive IT change process for companies in the future. It has to said that 75% of Millennials rate their IT departments a six or seven on a seven-point scale. Maybe IT should think about setting up IT knowledge wikis instead of letting their employees loose time surfing on Google for a solution. Millenials are not expecting something outrageous, they might just be brighter in terms of technology handling, and show us that collaboration on social networks and in communities works when they are solving their issues without the IT department. They are just another generation. The transition managers need to rate that aspect, too…

What is your view on these new challenges for it?

Majority of Irish students favor use of private devices and Facebook…

What will companies say if employees want to bring their own devices to work? How about security issues and support opportunities for companies? A real challenge for the future when we look at an Irish study that interviewed 164 students in secondary school and at third level in order to understand how this generation is communicating these days.

The study by IT distributor Data Solutions on behalf of Blue Coat Systems shows that more than 60% of young people expect their employers to allow them to use their own personal devices (i.e. smartphone, laptop, etc.) for work purposes in the future.

The argumentation behind their expectations are obvious: They know how to use our private devices, so they don’t need to learn new technology which saves the company time and money. The challenge for companies will be to establish a set of new policy and security guidelines, as well as data safety and storing options.

“More than 85% of the students surveyed own or have access to a laptop, and almost 40% own a smartphone. This facilitates the trend towards ‘bringing your own device’, and every business is going to have to learn to accommodate this trend while ensuring security (…) When today’s students enter the workforce they will be completely in tune with the new ways of communicating and collaborating online, as most are already using social networking sites, blogs, Skype or instant messaging. Employers now need to look at new ways to facilitate their needs and expectations.” Michael O’Hara, Managing Director, Data Solutions

The study also shows the bluring use of email comunication. 75% of Irish students favor social networking sites like Facebook as their main channel for communicating online these days. Just 6% prefer to use email.

Spot On!
The study findings illustrate that social media sites continue to be on the rise in popularity, and it indicates how older traditional online communication tools like email become less attractive. When 88% have a Facebook account, it is not surprising that they are not swappping to Outlook anymore when communicating with each other, not matter if business or private. And it seems that this will have the same effect on the hardware and devices they want to use. Maybe we just need a separate login on our computers in the future? What is your view on this development…?

The mobile workplace is growing (and maybe three reasons still against it)…

There are only three reasons left why we might have a small workplace or personal roll container in the future (although most UK workers seem to see no reason for having an office by 2021)…

1. Controling still store paperwork as lawyers and tax consultants recomment it (fear of data loss).
2. HR wants to take control of how much time you spend in the office (productivity check – employees check employees).
3. A boss that fears to loose control over your work productivity (better see than hope, hierarchy could change).

However, I have stated in many interviews lately why -except for the three reasons above- I love to work mobile, in hotel lobbies, lounge bars, at the airport or in restaurants as well as coffee shops. And I have not ever thought about my past and how co-workers might have a killing impact on my lifetime. Thanks for sharing the Tel Aviv University study insights, Wired!

OK, I have to admit, I have found bars that call themselves “News Bar” and still don’t offer any WiFi connection for their guests – but hundreds of print magazines. It somehow fits my theme “Talking is Online, Silence is Print!” but business is challenging if you want to work in your mobile office.

Nevertheless, smartphones, laptops, tablets and WiFi offer us a complete new workplace freedom and leverage mobile productivity. We use those devices to finish more and more work from whereever we are.

The wrong use of the mobile workplace is exaggered and extreme mobilie efficiency. Quite often I see people in cars, using the time when commuting to and from the office efficiently (and in a very dangerous way, see the “Don’t text and drive!” Facebook page) checking emails during two red traffic-light periods.

Spot On!
I am happy that companies like Gist create infographics that put together data explaining the rise of the mobile workforce. It gives insights on device popularity and and the preference of where people love to work mobile.

Managers should start thinking about how they could make the mobile office a flexble solution for their employees, don’t you think?

The Top Summer Gadgets for 2011

Every six months, I am looking out for the latest gadgets in the world that I think my readers might like as well – and I combine them with a draw. Of all products that I present below you will be able to win one of them. Cool, right…!?

The last time around christmas, I focussed on the 7 brand gadgets. This time, I will keep it more general on holiday gadgets which have a special design or technology feature that caught my attention. And like in December, every product reminds me of one post that I have written in the last six months…

Time is the new ROI – Casio G-Shock

Our days seem to be getting shorter and shorter… Time will become the new ROI. The reason is not that our time system has changed. Our days are challenged by speed of the internet which sometimes is like on an airjet that travels on high G forces in a race to be the first to know and to spread. We want to do much more than only ten years ago. In my eyes, we need to watch out for our own personal resources as well as the environment in order not to waste more energy than necessary.

I like… It’s fresh summer colour, the tough solar power, the multi-band 6 atomic timekeeping and the centrifugal force resistance surpassing 12G. Just an eye-catching gadget…

Gamify the beach – Angry Birds (Rovio)

The success story from Angry Birds is probably comparable to the Tamagotchi hype in 1996-1998 (until 2010 over 76 Tamagotchis were sold globally). If we look at Angry Birds today, there were 300 Mio. downloads for the app, 120 Mio. active users so far according to one of the latest interviews with founder Peter Vesterbecka. And one in seven people in the world seem to be fans of the brand. So, why not win an exclusive The Strategy Web package of their coolest merchandising products?!

I like… It’s easy to play, you can jump to and fro, just the way you manage to play and you are a kid again when you are playing, immediately. Just the game of the year – and not only for kids…

Relax in 3D – Samsung HT-D7200

People think our world will become more 3D with the evolution of screen technology around us. However, although Augmented Reality and barcodes are a fantastic mobile technology as well as an extension for print and TV that connects boths world, offline and online, the technology is more 2D barcode based than 3D. Television has moved ahead in technology and companies like Samsung are heading ino a new era by transforming 2D films in stunning 3D ones.

I like… The white design and built in Wi-Fi technology that makes it easier for our “Homo Buzz” generation” to watch and share on bigger screens. Just a stylish gadget…

Colour your living room – Sitting Bull Sitzsack Candy

Lounging in a nice bean back, listening to great music and enjoying the pictures and videos you have taken throughout your holiday in… Well, how can I know where you are traveling to. ;-)

I like… The colourful Union-Jack spirit, and I think this is a fashion statement – not white and black. Just a relaxing gadget…

Capture your life – Casio Tryx EX-TR-100

Years ago, Europeans and Americans have laughed about people from Asian countries capturing every little piece of their sight-seeing trips. Today, our young generation shares their lives through cameras like the Casio Exilim Ex TR 100, upload parts of events, or even apply for jobs by using cameras like these to describe their lives. Displays will organize our future and are a great tool to describe situations at work, to illustrate products and services without perfect product orchestration. Think about how you could make use of such cameras…

I like… It’s a stylish tech product with an easy twistable 360 degree frame body. Just an innovative gadget…

Stream every song in the world – SONOS Play:3

In the past, we had black stereo systems as big as cupboards. Times are changing. Today, SONOS streams up our lives. Their latest product Play:3 gives the option to use the speaker in a horizontal and vertical position. Thus, the system will fit exactly where it needs to go. Internal motion sensors detect the speaker’s orientation, adjusting the output so that you get the ideal sound wherever you are in the room.

I like…The amazing sound and the smartphone app which allow to use the system whichout another remote control in my dining room. Just a cool sound system…

C3PO saves your data – MIMOCO

This last gadget of this series found my son. As you might imagine from the picture: He is a real Star Wars® fan. When Volkswagen produced the funny commercial video for the Super Bowl, I had to give him my iPhone every time I saw him. He just loved the video. Yesterday, some promotion flyer came into our house and guess what he found… These funny USB MIMOCO flash drives. I had to promise him to write about them. That’s what you do for your kids…

I like…USB drives in most cases are just uncool. Tese are not! Just a geek’s gadget…

How to enter the competition?
Most companies have given me one product for a draw. Just write a Retweet (RT), comment, send us an email, and tell us which product you like most and why. Then you will get a ticket for the competition to win one of the products!

End of participation and date of draw: 31.08.2011. Good luck!

News Update – Best of the Day

Although the mobile hype is massive, there are studies that question the power of smartphone mobile advertising and it’s efficiency. A new research from YouGov shows consumers accept placements as part of their day-to-day mobile experience but consider them intrusive (79%) and tend to ignore them altogether. Only 5% think mobile ads are a good idea and welcome them. However, the general apathy smartphone users have toward seems to equal ignorance: 88% ignore ads on applications and 86% have ignored placements on the mobile internet.

The security company Imperva released a study that states “web applications, on average, experience twenty seven attacks per hour, or roughly one attack every two minutes.” Imperva monitored 10 million attacks between December of last year and May of this year “targeting 30 different enterprise and government web applications.” Of the 27 attacks per hour most of them are trying to identify vulnerabilities on websites. If a vulnerability is found, attacks can increase to 25,000 per hour which would be seven attacks per second.

What is the future of Twitter? During a keynote interview at Fortune BrainstormTech in Aspen, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo gave insights in his vision of the company’s business model.

PS: Just in case you ask why Twitter is cool, Steven Winterburn has got the answer: “”Twitter is like a fridge. If you’re bored you keep opening & closing it every few minutes to see if there’s anything good in it.”

Study: CEOs say that marketers lack business credibility

It is a harsh statement. It is a statement that undermines the value of leading marketers in the world. But it comes from their bosses: CEOs.

A majority of CEO’s believe that marketers lack business credibility. And it is not only that… Marketers are not the business growth generators they should be and are not focused enough on effectiveness. This is the key findings of a recent report “2011 Global Marketing Effectiveness Porgram” by Fournaise Marketing Group. The report interviewed over 600 large corporation and SMB CEOs and decision makers in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the US.

Nearly three quarter (73%) of CEOs believe marketers are not able to demonstrate how their cross-channel marketing strategies and campaigns help to increase their organisations’ top line in terms of more customer demand, sales, prospects, conversions and market share.

However these findings sound like a slap in the face of marketers, the study makes also clear that vertical metric set-ups are still a challenge for companies. 77% of respondents admitted that they cannot connect EBIT, market valuation or revenues to marketing facts like brand equity, brand values or other marketing ROI metrics.

The study claims that 74% marketers rely too much on the creative element of their job, ‘arty’ and ‘fluffy’ thoughts and too much on their ad agencies to come up with the next big idea. I would like to add that very often publishers make up a lot of these ideas but appear to stay in second line to the client. Just a quick hint to CEO’s…

In some of my latest projects in the last five years, I have seen marketers asking for many and very detailed reportings. The interesting thing is that 70% of CEOs see marketing data marketers provide is hardly useful, or relate to or mean anything for their company’s P&L. Obviously, 69% of marketers say that their campaigns and strategies have an impact on business – but cannot precisely quantify.

“Until marketers start speaking the P&L language of their CEOs and stakeholders, and until they start tracking the business effectiveness of their strategies and campaigns to prove they generate incremental customer demand, they will continue to lack credibility in the eyes of their CEOs and will continue to be seen more as a cost centre than as an asset.”
Jerome Fontaine, CEO, Fournaise

Spot On!
For me one of the main interesting topics is that 74% of CEO’s find that marketers focus too much on the latest marketing hypes (i.e. social media 74%) without explaining the real value it brings to the business. In order to generate ROI, very often marketers are starting discussions with third parties or agencies about latest trends and then jumping on them immediately without even thinking about the ROI it might bring to the business – instead of focussing on where main revenue streams are coming from.

Now, the funny thing is that probably most of marketers won’t comment on these findings, I assume. Although it would help all marketers to start discussing now…

Speech-recognition apps – a step into the mobile future?

In an interview for Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West,” Gary Morgenthaler, a general partner at Morgenthaler Partners, speaks with Emily Chang about Apple Inc.’s potential strategy for speech-recognition applications. With the company’s purchase of Siri Inc. in 2010, Apple gained technology leadership that lets users search the Web by talking to their phones.

Sometimes I am asking myself if we are getting sucked into the opportunities of mobile (and Apple…) technology, or if people will move away from such “extreme” usage of technological progress. Or will it happen as it is Apple, or shall we better say Steve Jobs, who is in the driver’s seat saying: “It just works.”

Would be interesting to see how you, the social and mobile advanced users, if Apple is just catching up on an old trend or evolving the technology to make it market-ready…finally for the normal consumer…?!

News Update – Best of the Day

IBM just recently published their study “The State of Marketing 2011″. The study that asked 300 online and direct marketers from different companies, industry sectors and sizes gives some interesting insights.

- Marketers are not only trying to go “measurement, analysis and learning”. The next challenge will be “IT support of marketing needs”.
- Marketers see technology as the key to productivity (let’s bear in mind it is an IBM study).
- Marketers see an integrated marketing solution as the driver of future business. 87% stated interest in a marketing suite that is better integrated.
- Marketers trust in Interactive Marketing. 57% adapt inbound marketing tactics (personalized targeting/messaging) for their Web activities.
- Social Media Marketing stays a challenge. 53% use it currently for their efforts but have to justify their workload with it now.
- Marketers love web data. 92% appreciate the value and importance of Web data. Most of them don’t apply the data to their campaigns though. Just one third thinks they are effective.
- Mobile Marketing is increasing. 43% use it currently for their tactics, 23% planning to start this year.

Craig Hayman, General Manager of Industry Solutions at IBM Software Group, talks in a Forbes interview about IBM’s conclusions from those study findings.

How Social could meet POS? Just look how PepsiCo’s Social Vending System offers full touch screen interactive vending technology, “enabling consumers to better connect with PepsiCo brands right at the point of purchase”. The prototype of the Social Vending System debuted at the National Automatic Merchandising Association’s One Show in Chicago last month. The question is if people really would share their contact details with a machine (humanization of companies?) but the idea is great. Just imagine you could log in with your Twitter account and share with your network how enjoyable it is to have a “Coke” now. I am sure the brands would love you then…

The next wave of the new Passat commercials also surprises with another nice story (although not as brilliant as the Darth Vader one). If I was a surfer, I would have a closer look at those who are jumping in the sea with their boards with me…

News Update – Best of the Day

A recent Deloitte survey states that 74% of Americans believe higher prices could slow their spending in the months ahead. Deloitte’s study also revealed that mobile and social connections are helping shoppers make savvier buying decisions. Interesting is also the finding about social and mobile influence. 32% said stores are running out of merchandise faster, and shoppers appear to be turning to their mobile phones to locate product inventory and seek guidance in the shopping process. People with web-enabled smartphones (32%), more than 43% said they have used it specifically in a store to assist in their shopping. Furthermore, 40% consumers surveyed interact with retailers through social networking sites to find out about promotions, browse products, or review recommendations.

PS: If you want to see how the future of shopping online could merge sales and customer service, check out his video by 3LiveShop.

What is the future of work? Jocelyn K. Glei suggest that it is play and he finds some logic and thought-provoking explanation why. He bases his findings on “Social pressure, competition, time pressure, novelty… these mechanics are pretty powerful universally”. And an interesting article from NY Times…

It is always interesting to listen to what futurist say about the future of mobile. Dr. James Canton discusses in a one-on-one interview with One+ Editor in Chief David Basler at DigitalNow 2011 the affects of mobile on the meetings and events industry.

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