According to an article from the New York Times, some venture capitalists have started making large investments into new cell phone technology that would make it easier to shop and buy online from your iPhone, Blackberry, or Pre Palm. They've invested more than $100 million already into this type of technology. If their investments are successful and these applications become mainstream for all 3G phones, they have the potential to change the way you run and design your e-commerce site. The aim of this new technology is to turn your cell phone into a virtual credit card. One of the companies that has started building this new technology, Boku, has laid out plans that you would actually use your cell phone number instead of your credit card number to make mobile purchases.  The theory behind this is that you are far more likely to know your own cell phone number over a credit card number and so will be more likely to make that purchase instead of wading through the frustration of pulling out a credit card and inputting all that information into your iPhone. The system then sends a text message asking you to authorize the transaction with a texted response. Your cell phone account would then sort of become a paypal account - any online purchases would show up on your monthly cell phone bill.  The pitfall to this scenario is that cell phone carriers currently charge a large fee for this paypal-like service, which makes it cost prohibitive for an e-commerce site to sell products on a mobile device. As of now, carriers can take up to about 50 percent of the purchase cost. This is one of the reasons this technology has failed in the past.  But venture capitalists who have made this investment see hope in the growing popularity of 3G phones.  They believe that if enough 3G buyers subscribe to this mobile service, cell phone carriers will significantly cut the cost per transaction fee for each mobile purchase. This technology has the potential to create another large revenue stream for your e-commerce site since it would make online shopping so portable.  The implications are that, when testing your website's functionality, it will become more important to design your e-commerce site to display properly on any number of 3G devices with a number of different carriers.  User interface applications, especially your shopping cart, will also have to be developed to format properly with cell phone service providers.

Apps have been able to help professionals in all kinds of industries. From traveling sales teams to law enforcement, mobile apps have been enabling all kinds of businesses become more efficient. In fact recently we investigated how mobile is helping the medical industry and took a closer look at all of the advancements there. In our next investigation, we discover how integral mobile apps have been in the construction industry. Specifically in construction management, it has been impressive to see how technology has influenced this space. Utilizing apps allows you to more easily transform the visions of clients and create the project you have in mind. Now we’re talking construction here, so let’s be honest - there are no small projects. Everything you do is a massive endeavour, but some are more colossal than others. By using software to help manage construction projects, managers are more able to handle multiple projects and coordinate the many moving parts involved in accomplishing assignments of a large scale. Communication One of the toughest parts in putting together projects in any industry is streamlining communication. Even in highly individualized work like, oh, writing, many people and processes are involved before the final words you are currently reading are set out in front of you. Much more involved is the task of construction management, and you can use all the coordinating help you can get. For example one company, PlanGrid, allows contractors and architects to collaborate with all their project plans, specs and photos. How? Users can upload PDF drawings which then automatically syncs to all teams in real time. Even further, any markups or adjustments can easily be shared with everyone on the construction project. Simplify for Accurate Calculations If there’s one thing that’s important in construction, it’s ensuring your calculations are spot on accurate. And you guessed it, there are apps available for those very purposes. Some allow for easy calculations for all kinds of measurements, such as rectangular prism volumes, volume cost and weight, and total cost and weight of volumes groups. For example, Construction Master Pro offers a wide range of calculators for Android and iOS, including feet/inch fraction math calculators, and a version that can be used to estimate materials needed for stair railing and fence projects. Offsite Monitoring Sometimes you need to travel. Other times you’re curious how things are going when you’re across town. Mobile apps now make it easy for you to track progress of workers. If you have installed fixed cameras, apps like Control Center 7 take robotic snapshots, which contractors can send to colleagues, review videos and operate cameras remotely. This particular app works with Android, iPad, and iPhone. Even Easier Being Green The demand for green building is louder than ever. From residential to commercial projects, the entire industry is affected by the call for green building. While you can spend half of your time researching new environmentally friendly options, Green Pro is an app that lets architects, engineers, and contractors understand, access and track Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credits for projects. Users can access credit requirements and find out when a particular requirement has been met. Overall, construction management requires a vast amount of talent and an acute eye for detail. While apps can never replace the human element required, they can help make your job a little bit easier and create visibility across teams. Meet and exceed client expectations and build safely, effectively and deliver aesthetic products your team can be proud of. Bear in mind that while construction companies have their similarities, each company is unique and has naturally developed its own processes over time. Given this, the best approach may be to build custom web and mobile apps to manage varied parts of the business. At Barefoot, we are experienced in understanding the needs of construction management companies, gaining insight into the needed outcomes, and able to build these powerful custom apps. The goal is to develop apps that integrate with each other to meet all of your project management needs and help you become more efficient, focused, and on track. Have an idea for a construction management app and want to get started? We can help, let us know what you have in mind.

Watching sports and other competitive spectacles is as old as brain cells. The act of play is what we do to grow, socialize and otherwise participate with others in, and even out, of our own species. While playing games is naturally a part of the human experience, it is wildly popular in the US to spend free-time watching games, cheering as loudly as possible for teams of choice. There’s a camaraderie built with others who enjoy games that you do, no matter if you are physically involved in the win or loss. Just think about it - when a team wins, we tend to say to fellow fans, “we looked good out there today!,” or “we totally deserved that loss.” After all, how much more fun is it to play a game in front of people cheering for you, or watch a game cheering with others? Twitch took this concept to a 21st century level. Founded in San Francisco in 2011 with the intention of connecting video gamers online, Twitch has now become a dominant force in live streaming. The site commands 55 million people and counting to the site with one main purpose - to watch other people play video games. Today Twitch accounts for more than 40% of overall video streaming internet traffic, connecting like-minded people in yet another way online. The viral success was financially proven this year as Amazon finalized a deal to acquire Twitch for $970 million, marking the biggest purchase of the Seattle-based giant.   There’s a lot we can learn about the plucky startup gone massive internet competitor. How did Twitch tap into the human need for connectivity, love for competition, and the ever popular video gaming culture - and what can we learn for our businesses? Be Different and Listen The original site Twitch founders launched was Justin.tv, a live streaming site starring Justin Kan. In 2005 the live streaming phenomenon was still fairly advanced, giving the site an innovative boost the less-technologically inclined could command. Justin’s site certainly wasn’t the only one streaming the life of a young 20-something, but what made it different was the encouraged interaction between and with audience members. This was made possible via live chat feed, 24/7. However Justin used another one of our primary principles in growing his business - he listened to his audience. Not only that he made the most popularly demanded changes. As the price of webcam hardware/software plummeted, visitors to his site wanted to stream their own live video as well. So Justin.tv expanded to allow exactly that. Focus While Justin.tv gained some traffic, it didn’t attain the explosive growth Kan and his team were looking for. In response they pivoted their focus and went back to the drawing board, keeping the idea of live streaming and interaction, but became more deliberate with finding a niche. The next idea for the group was to maintain a social video streaming environment, but to totally nail it with one community. The gaming community became the target, and Twitch launched in 2011. The formula worked and Twitch quickly took off. Why? It answered a problem in the market - there was no one go-to place for gamers at a massive scale. From Disney to Diablo, Twitch facilitates a social environment for people who were already online, already enjoyed video games, and allowed options to encourage participation from all walks of gaming life. Offer Economic Opportunity The appeal to Twitch is two pronged - one is for social interaction by watching others play games. Yet a second appeal is to be the player of the games and make money from the service. Players who gain a sustained following on their channels can earn subsequent or even full-time income from the site. The most popular players can make as much as six-figure incomes. The way to make money? Twitch calls popular players “partners,” and allows partners to share with Twitch the revenue earned from their live streams. One way is by running advertisements on their channels, which can be controlled by the partner themselves. Another means is by activating a subscription program that enables a viewer to subscribe to the partner’s channel for $4.99 a month. Yet a third avenue for revenue is if fans are feeling particularly generous, they can pay partners they connect with donations via PayPal. Stay True to the Core - Keep the Clothes On It’s happened to the best of us. You’re online and fire up the webcam, but for some reason the idea of putting on a normal t-shirt slipped your mind. While everyone is permitted to make the mistake here and there, Twitch has recently cracked down on live streaming dress code. In an addendum to Twitch’s terms and conditions released this week, Twitch is requiring gamers to “Dress...appropriately. Nerds are sexy, and you're all magnificent, beautiful creatures, but let's try and keep this about the games, shall we?...You may have a great six-pack, but that's better shared on the beach during a 2-on-2 volleyball game blasting "Playing with the Boys.” What this does is keeps the core of what Twitch started as - a platform for all gamers. Enforcing the dress code can put parents and other Internet users at ease. Amazon Acquisition As you can see, Twitch is a big deal and corporate giants have noticed. The popularity of the platform climbed with explosive growth, which originally caused Google to make a play for the platform. Eventually Amazon won the battle with a $970 million dollar deal, and Twitch is a startup success story. What the rest of us can learn is that ideas, no matter how strange, can take off. Founders need to listen, not be afraid to make strategic changes, but still maintain the core of principles of the original idea. Take it from Justin Kan, who in his interview at TechCrunch last week offered some metered encouragement. “If you look at all startup stories, it’s not a straight line… to success,” Kan said. “If Justin.tv could work and be successful, then no one has any excuse. That was a terrible idea.”