by: Robert Wang Internet behemoth Google recently released an expansion to the Google toolbar, designed to give the online community the opportunity to submit unmoderated commentary in a collapsible side dock. Google calls its new creation the Sidewiki. It's going to rock your world. Probably. Users will be able to comment however they want, on whatever site they wish once they install the add-on. For example, a user wishing to leave his 2-cents on a CNN web article could simply type up his assessment, hit submit, and provided his comment met Google regulations, have his words immediately published. Similarly, comments can only be viewed if the add-on has been installed and the viewer is on a page where comments have been left. While statistics show that the toolbar has been downloaded at least 2 million times from CNET alone, it is difficult to estimate just how many individuals actually know about, and moreover utilize the Sidewiki service provided by Google. However, if it ever reaches the mainstream---and there is a good chance of that, given the successful history of Google's other product offerings---the potential for promotion, testimonials, and hidden goodies will probably prove too much for any good marketing business to ignore. Ideally, this new add-on would grant individuals another medium through which it could provide invaluable third-party insight on hitherto unregulated e-businesses. Whether to sound the alarm on an attack page, to trumpet accolades to a well designed site, or give forum to a particularly thought provoking concept, the direction of the entire process would be determined by the masses. And yet, therein lies the problem. The freedom it fosters will forever be its defining redemption, its potential for abuse will forever be it's Achilles' heel. It's far too early in the game to tell whether or not the service will function as it was designed or become, like so many of its predecessors, a cesspool of virtual graffiti. (However, if the early, tentative test runs of the Side Wiki are any indication, the tone will be civil, constructive, and uncharacteristically reserved.) Google claims that comments will be filtered and regulated in much the same way that search results are ranked for relevance. The more pertinent the topic, the higher it will be ranked by fellow users, thereby allowing it to float above the chaff, trash talk, and pointless spamming that tends to plague similar services. Irrespective, if you own a site, its probably a good idea to comment on your own page first so that you can set in motion a more positive precedent and block the potential hard-to-remove negativity spiral. Understandably, a good number of businesses have already begun to raise protest at the thought of having the gateway to a torrential downpour of virtual anarchy unleashed upon their websites without permission. Never before has the public realm been granted such immediacy in its ability to deliver feedback. Users no longer need to navigate away from the page to read reviews, rather any evaluation, good or bad, is now literally a click away. However, this isn't to say this is a bad thing. People prefer to reference like-minded individuals before making a big decision--so in some senses the SideWiki is poised to become a sort of proxy for quality control like the BBB or veriSign Security button. There's potential for something great. Whether that manifests as another layer of detritus or as an invaluable tool hinges on how Google chooses to develop its brainchild. Fingers crossed.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – EVERYONE is on their mobile. Over the past 2 years smartphone adoption has grown from 36% - 61%. Of those users, mobile apps dominate over three-quarters of phonetime. Sure, many kids are goofing with games but businesses have much to gain by entering the mobile app market. Seattle-based jewelry giant Blue Nile realized the importance of mobile commerce the first time the site made a $40,000 diamond sale via mobile device. “This is the future of shopping,” pointed out then CEO Diane Irvine. Many things will move the needle for your business. Today one of the most important is the mobile app – and here’s why.   More Sales Opportunities People are addicted to their phones. Standing in line, sitting on the bus, or waiting for change from the teller – these are all small pockets of time your customers are on their phones. While they could be checking former colleagues’ LinkedIn profiles, they should be checking out that shopping cart they put together on your app and place that order with you already. They could be browsing the newest and greatest you have to offer - but you need to make it easy for them with an app.   Simplicity Given the small screen necessity of big buttons and clean design, you can focus your audience on exactly what you want them to see. Not only that, but providing your clients with on demand access to your service is not only imperative, but gives them the easiest way to reach you better. Think of an app as a bookmark taking stable residence on a user’s phone screen. It’s familiar, always there, and easily accessible as a part of your customer’s everyday phone life. Now THAT’S simple.   Geo-targeting Knowing where your customers are can sound a little creepy. Even worse, knowing that your competition is already utilizing your customer’s location and sending them offers...while you sit idly by. Think of geo-targeting as helping your customer right where they are. A young couple is strolling by a movie theater and the fair lady receives a 10% off push notification to a movie showing starting in 30 minutes. They happen to be a 5 minute walk from the theater and decide to head on in. Thank you mobile app! Geo-targeted advertising is not only helpful for your customer, but can be profitable for you. Use the information everyone else already has - and capitalize on it.   Reward Your Customers Who doesn’t love earning rewards? Or getting free stuff? Providing a rewards program for your customers is easy via mobile app, and a fine way to encourage user engagement. Rewards programs can efficiently be tracked and redeemed via mobile app, while the instant gratification of this method makes for a fun and satisfying game your customers. Then you can be the fun company with a loyalty program that engages your customers and encourages them to interact with your brand.   Boost Team Productivity You want to be the boss who gives your team the right tools to do their jobs well. Mobile apps are a great way to simplify complicated programs to get your team the data they need quickly.  For example CRM mobile apps are a great way to assist sales teams while they are on the road closing deals. What could be more important to a sales professional than the ability to quickly find the information they need, without the complications some of the most robust CRM software programs can provide? Additionally sales tracking apps are a great way to manage deals while running around meeting clients. Mobile apps are a great way to make every trade show, convention, and off site meeting simple and well documented.   Brand Building Much of traditional marketing has died with oversized 90’s desktops, but the importance of boosting brand recognition will never change. The mobile app is a great place to do it. I wasn’t kidding about phone addiction - the average consumer spends 127 minutes a day on mobile apps. Now remember how your app could be a bookmark on their everyday mobile home screen? Yeah, that’s cementing your logo right into their everyday life - making your brand memorable, friendly and familiar. The added joy? It’s fun to get creative with your branding. For example, Volkswagon’s SmileDrive Android app allows users to share fun moments with their friends via virtual travelogue. They connect via Bluetooth (safety first fellas) and record their adventure whilst traversing the road. They can earn badges and points for passing other SmileDrive users, and at the end of the trip can share experiences with friends and family. All the while, Volkswagon gets the attention - and business.   Mobile apps are one of the best new ways to grow your business - hands down. Don’t know where to start? Just ask us here.  

The dizzy heights and plunging lows of the finance world have taken their toll on some of its star players over the last few months. One victim in the recent rash of ten deaths - all labeled suicides - was Autumn Radtke, 28, the American CEO of the finance firm, First Meta. Her company acts as an exchange for the Bitcoin digital currency. Radtke’s death is part of the tower of bad news piling up around the Bitcoin currency. The Japanese-based Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange crashed after the disappearance of $400 million and then there was the closing of Canada’s Flexcoin bank after hackers robbed it of $600,000. There is no doubt that the mysterious world of Bitcoin is twisted around the story of Autumn Radtke’s death, but its exact role is very hard to untangle. Officials called the death “unnatural”, as Radtke was found dead on the roof of a ground-floor trash collection point at the base of her apartment building. Everyone agrees that Ms. Radtke’s death was a suicide but they disagree about whether or not the suicide was connected to the current tribulations of the Bitcoin. According to Singapore News, one of Radtke’s associates, Wayne Soh (business development manager at a Singapore firm that invested $500,000 with the National Research Foundation in First Meta in 2012), said Ms Radtke seemed increasingly stressed about her firm's business. "We've always told her business is business and she shouldn't take it personally," he said. First Meta's revenue grew 20 to 30 per cent from 2012 to last year, he added. "She was saying she missed home. She's been in Singapore for the past two years." Another associate, Steve Beauregard, had lunch with Radtke the day before her death. Beauregard founded the Singapore Bitcoin payment platform GoCoin, used by First Meta. Beauregard said, "She was clearly stressed. She talked about... challenges with her business.” What can’t be ignored or misconstrued is the fact that Bitcoin has suffered a number of setbacks in Asia, where Radtke both lived and did business. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced a short while ago that it will soon regulate brokers for virtual currencies such as Bitcoin to prevent them from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing. This makes Singapore only the second country to bring in such rules, after the US. MAS deputy managing director Ong Chong Tee stated, "Consumers and businesses should take note of the broader risks that dealing in virtual currencies entails and should exercise the necessary caution.” The Bitcoin, still really in its toddlerhood, is rife with controversy, misconceptions, and murky investment returns. Warren Buffett called Bitcoin a "mirage." Even the identity of Bitcoin’s ‘father’ is shrouded in mystery and mistaken identity. But it is a very persistent mirage. It does seem like it’s here to stay - at least in some form. Google’s Bitcoin Wallet app is striding forward with barely a blip after all the current shaky news. And the firm Robocoin is planning to debut its new Bitcoin ATM at an upcoming industry conference and then move it down the street to its permanent home. The company already has some Bitcoin ATMs in Canada, in Texas and has just shipped several overseas. So was Autumn Radtke crumbling under the pressure of this unsteady virtual currency, not able to see it’s long term outcome? Maybe. On February 10, Radtke posted a link to an essay entitled 'The Psychological Price of Entrepreneurship' and commented obliquely that 'Everything has it's price'. Sources: http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/ceo%E2%80%99s-death-%E2%80%98not-linked-bitcoin-plunge%E2%80%99 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2573863/Bitcoin-exchange-CEO-dead-home-suspected-suicide-age-28.html#ixzz2wQhS9yGv http://business.asiaone.com/news/singapore-regulate-bitcoin-exchanges#sthash.aHg8AH5P.dpuf http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2573863/Bitcoin-exchange-CEO-dead-home-suspected-suicide-age-28.html#ixzz2wR7LUh2E