Well worth a re-blog. Along the same lines as my post earlier today about what mobile is all about. These are no longer phones – they’re very powerful computers, that we can use anywhere we want due to their size and do anything we want to do. And oh yeah, you can still call someone if you want to…
The future is mobile!
Lots of people are still referring mobile like it’s a different channel these days – be it for computing, retail, consumption, gaming, distribution or anything. A few years back maybe that was valid but since the birth of the iPhone back in 2007, things have changed and changed radically. Mobile phones are now everywhere and yes pretty much ubiquitous. Not just mobile phones but smartphones with technology and computing power in them that we couldn’t have dreamt of back when mobiles first came out.
The slide below says so much. Think about it. There’s more – and that’s a lot more – computing power in a mobile phone today (2011/2012) than was needed to send a man to the moon back in 1969. That’s in my lifetime. What about the next 40 years? It’s the first time in a long time, that it’s virtually impossible to say where the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years or longer is going to take us. Technology is changing so fast and is having a massive impact on our lives!
A nice video showing the evolution of mobile phones up to today…
So what do we do with all this computing power in our hands (quite literally) 24×7? A lot yes, but no where near as much as we could do. We listen to music, take photos and videos (and edit them and view and play and distribute them); play games, read books (and magazines and newspapers – if you’re so inclined yet – we’re well and truly getting there now; “It’s official the 6 year olds verdict is that digital magazines are better”), find out where you are and get directions to where you want to go (visual or verbal ones); track a run (or bike ride or swim or any physical activity for that matter) and improve your training times and distances; communicate with friends, family and pretty much anyone else (not just by calling them – yes you can do that as well on smartphones); buy and sell shares; take notes; give and write presentations; write (and publish and sell) a book; buy and sell just about anything to anyone anywhere; send cards (and postcards), control your TV; listen to the news of the hour in any country; make music (with drums, pianos and guitars and lots more); find your away around the tube; figure out which London 2012 Olympic events you want to go to and more! The list is huge and it’s growing and it’s fast moving away from just consuming content.
Breakthroughs – and they are breakthroughs in how simple (that word again – “How simple should it be? Insanely simple”) the technology works – like Siri are changing how we use them and what we use them for. Equally impressive is Microsoft’s Kinect. Voice control and gesture control are the future!
Apple’s strap line for Siri – above – says it all. Imagine all technology with this level of intuitive control – it’s coming and soon.
I digress slightly – back to mobile…
Another slide (this one and the one above are from the McKinsey June 2012 web presentation on “Understanding consumer behaviour” – well worth a read) that illustrates the growth of traffic (lets call it data or usage) for mobile and desktop computing over the last 4 years. So during the time since the iPhone’s been around – and look at the trend, mobile is growing…
Now this is my point – mobile is growing but it’s becoming the normal way we (as consumers and more and more as businesses) interact with content (that word again – and there is a risk that we could over consume it – “Content over consumption coming soon”). It’s no longer another or a different channel. More and more of our time with technology and content is spent on our smartphones and yes while mobile – and by that I mean when not at a desk. We need to think differently about how we embrace a mobile world – both in the workplace and at home – and how we interact with it.
Business strategies need to change and make sure mobile it’s part of the core business – both for your teams and your customers. Along with mobile comes digital – another word that means so many different things to different people. But it’s the same – it’s another channel and distribution method that’s fast becoming the norm – and it’s not just marketing. One for another blog post.
On a similar thread see this post from The Guardian this week…
It asks, why mobile for business and has some good points. But I think it misses a critical point – mobile is not an option. This is happening now. It’s more what strategy should you take to get on-board with mobile and how to best make it an integral part of what you do.
And another post this week by Rene Ritchie…
This one I really like. Apple brought the computer and the power that brings with it, to the phone. They fundamentally changed what phones were and how people – consumers (pretty much everyone I know – any age) use their mobiles (and what they now expect from them). Rene’s last line is poignant and carries a very simple message…
All back to Apple’s drive for simplicity. Yes I am an Apple fan and love what they’ve done with technology generally, but for mobile they changed the way phones were perceived and used and now everything is becoming about mobile.
The Orange T-Mobile strap line from their merger last year fits very well and this is what mobile is now and the key is understanding consumer behaviour…
Apple have done it again. A nice post from Cult of Mac on plans by Apple to improve their Genius Bar services… 
Very simple really – change the tables to get more customers in. I don’t doubt they’ll also bring in more Genius staff to help. Bigger tables with more customers and the same number of staff won’t work – and Apple know that. See my earlier blog post – “How simply should it be?” – that talks about keeping things simple at Apple and it’s part of the culture there and it works. Great services, great technology, great products and the rest.
This table layout change is another great example of this approach. It’s easy to do, very simple and won’t cost much, but the impact on the customers will be huge and very positive – more great service. The Apple Store at the Bentalls Centre in Kingston has done something similar recently but expanded their store at the same time – clearly not always an option. But they’ve now got more tables, with quite a few of these new long ones, lots more staff and the kids’ tables. These stores where they’re testing the new layouts minus the kids’ tables, should think again. The kids love them and they work. Kids are kept quiet, so parents can browse and interact with the Genius staff more (and yes ultimately buy more Apple goodies) and the kids are playing with great apps on the iPads so very quickly learn to love iPads and Apple and become little fan people in their own right. Genius! Getting the next generation into good service from Apple – now that’s long term investment planning at its best.
The challenge – as the Cult of Mac post rightly points out – is providing this improved great service when space is a premium. How do they do it? I’ll tell you how – as they’ve done in Kingston here, have less space geared to selling products, as bizarre as that sounds and more geared towards service. It works. People coming into Apple shops have a good idea what the products are and want to see and play with them – the big ones (like iPads and iPhones and iMac and MacBookAirs). Not so much the accessories that take up lots of space.
Does this approach work for you? Is it about service for retailers like Apple or do you prefer the PC World, Curry’s type approach of products, products, products everywhere and hardly any staff who’ll stop and listen?
On a side note, what do you call more than one (Apple) Genius? Genius’s? Geni-i? Guru’s? One to Google…
Having been an iPhone fan (user) since 2008 with O2 I’ve been used to the great technology that is visual voicemail. It makes far more sense than the 15+ year old normal voicemail technology. It’s visual and you can easily see who’s called, when and then listen to which message you want to, when you want to. Nice.
I moved to Vodafone through work on another iPhone and they didn’t have it but I was happy with my own set up on O2. When I then moved from O2 to Vodafone on my personal one, I’d assumed I’d get the same great voicemail service from Vodafone – I mean they provide the best network coverage in the UK, surely they must have the same basic technology services as their competitors – but no, it was back to old fashioned e-mail. But I put up with it for a few months before moving mobile networks again.
This time to Three – they’re offering an amazingly priced deal for iPhones (me providing the phone and them the service) and these guys invented 3G didn’t they? Well sort of, I mean it’s in their name and they were the original 3G network providers in UK.
Signal strength from Three not great – particularly when indoors but their service around data must be the best, surely? And that must include visual voicemail – or so I naively thought. Their voicemail service isn’t even close to Vodafone’s non-visual one. You either have a text message from Three telling you you’ve received a voicemail or no notifications. The text messages I find annoying so don’t want to use them. But the alternative is nothing. Rubbish. And by nothing I mean nothing. The phone might register a missed call but there’s not even a counter on the voicemail icon to say there’s a message. Something’s not right there.
I know, I’ll speak to Three and see what they say. A message to their support team and a phone call back from their very outsourced support team, who try to point me in some direction but end up saying I need to speak to their iPhone experts who then ask me to explain everything from the start again – that sort of service really gets me. They’ve not listened or they have and chosen to ignore me and their processes – yes that word again – mean they can’t link things up properly. Rubbish again. The guy tries to help but eventually just says they don’t support visual voicemail as their customers don’t want it. Really? Aren’t I a customer? I want it and others do as well. How many have you asked?
A quick Tweet to the Three Twitter account and pretty much the same response – but delayed (which is also a little surprising)…
If the new benchmark has been set by Apple and O2 5 years ago when the iPhone was released why on earth aren’t all the mobile networks keeping up with the technology that consumers (yes that’s us) want? It’s all down to money and the commercials – which I guess isn’t surprising. Why aren’t these guys trying to be more innovative and give people useful services that they want?
See a post on Mobile Industry Review by Ewan MacLeod, that very nicely says it like it is…
If you’re interested here’s a very nice how-to guide for how to use visual voicemail on your iPhone – obviously if (and it’s a big if) you’re network supports it…
If not try one of the 3rd party services like HulloMail – that I’ve just downloaded and will be testing – or wait (for how long though we have no idea).
What do you think? Am I expecting too much?
Without any prompting from me, this morning over breakfast, when I was browsing the Metro app on the iPad, little Miss Noble tell us that magazines and newspapers are better on the iPad than the paper ones. And the Focus magazine from the BBC is right up there as well – we had a quick look at that as well over breakfast.
This is only week 2 or 3 into our digital newspaper experiment but it’s going well and the Metro is without a doubt the clear winner here and leading the way in how newspapers can go digital and do it well.
For my 6 year old daughter to decide in her own mind that the digital versions are better says a lot. Here’s her thinking as well (she told us why it was better)…
All key points and she’s right. For us, it’s a much more interactive family newspaper experience now and it’s so easy for me to show everyone else cool photos and stories. Even 3 year old Mr. Noble needs to see them!
In the Metro today there’s a great story about a cable car in the Swiss Alps where you can sit on the roof for an outside view – see the picture below. This was a great breakfast table topic as daddy (me) took a trip last night on the newly opened (yesterday) Emirates Air Line cable car across the Thames (London). And the photos in the app really added to the conversation. It looks a bit high though (the Swiss Alps one), not sure I’d be jumping to go on it, but maybe – it does look like fun…
Check out the web-site for the Emirates Air Line, it’s a very cool way to cross the Thames – 50m above the river and with some awesome views over London…
And some cool snaps from my first trip across the Thames in a cable car – the perfect evening for it, clear blue skies and the sun just about to set (a bit windy 50m up though).
A topic that I’ve been thinking about for sometime now and with my own children growing up immersed in technology, have been wondering if content over consumption is or will be a problem. Is anyone else thinking about this?
Content is everywhere and so accessible and at lower and lower prices, and everybody is creating and publishing their own content. Blogs, videos, photos, apps, web-sites, Facebook pages and more. When we access and consume all this content are as focused as we should be? Are we spending the time the content deserves or needs to understand it properly?
I’m a big fan of digital media and technology and yes I buy into the anywhere, anyhow and anytime philosophy. I like to be able to decide when and where and how I access the content and what content I’m accessing.
Mrs. Noble’s not convinced about my 2 screen policy in the living room – i.e. watching TV and using the iPad or iPhone at the same time (be it for browsing, Twitter, e-mails or anything). Her argument goes that I’m not focused on the one activity – one content consumption activity – so I can’t be getting the most out of it. She has a point and a good one. Yes it does take a lot for a TV programme to grab my attention fully but unless I consume the content and focus on it and nothing else, am I off to a bad start?
What got me really thinking about this was a BBC programme that’s on now, called “The Men Who Made Us Fat“, with Jacques Peretti. The title of this grabbed me and I thought I’ve got to watch it, as it’s surely all about self control so I was dying to see what they had to say and how it can be possibly be someone else’s fault. But I stand corrected – it’s an eye opener to say the least. Some critics of the programme disagree – quite harshly – but it makes some very very good points and there were a number of pivotal points over the last 40 or so years that have contributed to over consumption of food, that you can’t argue with.
Keep with me, this is relevant to the subject of content over consumption as you’ll see…
These pivotal points include:
And these have all contributed to a growing over consumption of food and yes the related health issues – particularly in the Western world.
Now back to content – let’s look at the similarities…
Content over consumption is coming and for some it’s already here. Is it a problem though? That’s the million dollar question. I don’t think so if we manage the consumption properly – and this is down to individuals and parents. Moderation is the key word and content is good in the right amounts and when appropriately filtered for the little guys. We don’t want to stop the trends we’ve got now, with everyone being able to create their own high quality content – and build up those associated creative (and technology) skills. But at the same time we don’t want to create a bottomless content pit where you can’t sort out the good from the bad easily and become overwhelmed by the volume.
Yes content is king but it’s about quality not quantity.
And some thoughts from the Dalai Lama to finish on…
Following my post last week on cloud computing and reference to Kevin Fielder’s blog post about BYOD and the consumerisation of IT (2 other hot topics), there’s another great post that Kevin’s done specifically on cloud computing and what it is. It’s well worth a read…
It’s a simple but comprehensive introduction and covers key points including:
Keep an eye out for future posts here and on Kevin’s blog for more on cloud computing. It is changing the way we use computers – both at home and at work and now you know a bit more about what it is and where it’s going…
Following on from my earlier post on going digital and what content we’ve gone digital with , I want to go back to the thorny subject of ownership. Do you ever own content? Do you need to own content? What does it matter?
Over the last few years I’ve been reading a series of books called “50 xxx Ideas You Really Need To Know.” – where the “xxx” is not something pornographic but a specific topic or area. Like Digital, Economics, World History, Physics, Maths, Genetics, Management, Philosophy and more. They’re all great books, at a bargain price and very very readable. A little plug here to where you can get them on Amazon – do take a look…
One of these books is aptly titled, “50 Digital Ideas You Really Need To Know”, written by Tom Chatfield (British author, writer and commentator) and is well worth a read. It covers all digital and technology topics in this space, including:
Quite an extensive list and all in nice chunks of a few pages long. Under the section on Digital Distribution, Tom talks about the end of ownership and covers many of the points I wrote about before…
Why are we worried about ownership? Does physical ownership matter? No it doesn’t. The content never really was ours and we’ve simply been granted rights to use it – through payment (by whatever means that was agreed etc). What does physical ownership give us? Something to put on the shelf and look pretty? It’s more from an technical era gone by where physical media was the only way to consume the content – that’s it. Very simple. We’re now in the digital age and we’re making the – sometimes painful – transition from physical to digital.
It is a transition and as I said before, we’re not talking a big bang approach here where one day everything becomes digital. No, we need to make a controlled change that suits us, when the technology is right, at the right price and when it works well (with a nice user experience to it). Some areas aren’t ready yet (e.g. newspapers) and some have been ready for a while (e.g. music).
My on-going experiment with digital newspapers is interesting and the current front runner is the Metro (the free London morning newspaper). It’s available in the Apple Newstand and is fantastic. It’s not just a digital scanned version of the paper (as some other digital newspapers are) but a fully interactive version with great ads that are fun, videos, hi-res photos that you can zoom in on and scan around and lots more. And it’s free every weekday. Interestingly I’m not alone in my high ratings for this app – it actually won the Newspaper App of the Year Award (at the 2012 Newspaper Industry Awards).
The subject of content ownership is one that’s being actively debated and discussed online and elsewhere. Here’s a link to an interesting article by PCMag.com from mid-2011. A few changes since mid-2011 but still relevant…
The Future of Entertainment Summit 2012 was held this week in London, with some great speakers from across the content, entertainment, digital and broadcast space and some great discussions. I wasn’t able to attend this year but was watching Twitter closely for the updates on what was being said. See a few of the Tweets from the day below all around content and consumption…
It isn’t about ownership anymore and it doesn’t need to be. It’s now about consumption and access to content, and yes now the digital consumer! The next challenge is guaranteeing that access – keeping your internet connection (as it is now) up and running and what happens when it goes down.
A great post here that talks very nicely about building a culture of service excellence in IT. Written by Glenn Remoreras – another fellow IT professional – and his blog is well worth a read.
Service excellence in technology is what I’m all about and it brings my passions of great service and the latest technology together. There are sadly only a few organisations that provide great great service, in or with technology but Glenn’s post nicely gives some ideas as to what it takes to build a culture that can deliver.
Glenn highlights 5 key points, as values or behaviours, that you need to nurture and develop in your organisation to deliver service excellence:
Great points and they all make a lot of sense. I’d go even further and say that it’s not just technology services where these are relevant – but any business or organisation who wants to deliver the best service. And today delivering the best service is what your customers are demanding. Are you delivering?
A very topical topic for this post – cloud computing. It’s everywhere and growing exponentially. I love the photo below – taken down our road of the telegraph pole (is that still the right term for it?) that pretty much every telephone (and therefore broadband connection) down this part of the road comes from…
Cloud technology is now and it’s about using computing as a utility service – i.e. you use and pay for what you need, when you need it and even where you need it. Versus the more traditional approach of doing everything locally where you are and investing in your own (quite often expensive) hardware and software. It’s not a new approach as such, and has similarities with the mainframe services from way back.
A great example of cloud computing, is in the consumer world with smartphones. I expect to be able to access my e-mails, music, photos, videos, documents and more, wherever and whenever I want and in the way I want. I don’t want to have to sit down at a designated computer (yes even my lovely iMac) and only be able to access things then. What if I’m away and need something urgently? Cloud computing means I can use services that store my data for me and that I can access through the “cloud” – i.e. with an internet connection. Not just my data but tools and utilities and applications that I want to use as well. My smartphone is my access portal to the cloud.
Here’s a link to a great blog post from Kevin Fielder – a fellow IT professional (specialising in security) – that talks about this more and also 2 other current trends we’re seeing in technology, that all link together:
Both phrases I’m sure most people have heard of as well. But what are they?
In short BYOD is the cultural change over recent years where businesses are allowing their employees to bring in and use their own technology equipment at work and accessing their work technology resources (e.g. e-mail) through that device. Yes there are security and support implications but these need to be and are being resolved. Gone are the days when my work technology equipment is by default the latest and greatest, it’s me the consumer driving this (with the latest smartphone or tablet) and I want all my data – work and personal – accessible in one place, and yes I can be more productive like that.
The consumerisation of IT fits neatly in here as well. As Kevin rightly says, it’s about the blurring of the differences between technology at businesses and for consumers. I want to be able to do everything from one device, whenever and wherever I want. And hey if it’s my device, I’ve paid for it and I’m more than likely paying for any monthly charges! Think about that.
The image above shows cloud computing more from a business standpoint, showing what type of services I (as a business) can access through the cloud. Creating technology as a true utility service – much like businesses use electricity (without their own generators to create their own) – means that businesses can focus on what they do best and still deliver services using the best technology without massive investments that have to be depreciated after a few years and yes then upgraded.
Another great definition of cloud computing is below…
And going back to my first photo to finish. Although I’m now using the cloud for my technology, I’m still reliant on this older technology (through the telegraph pole) to get my access. If that’s not there I’m stuffed quite frankly – not internet connection. Where’s the redundancy here? What have my (my road’s) telco provider done to ensure continuity of service if a storm blows this down? Are consumers thinking about this? Not really. What about businesses? As part of any move to the cloud, businesses need to look at considerations like this urgently.