Neural Prosthetics

Good piece on neural prosthetics, prompted by military injuries, considerable progress is being made.

The Hubble and Enterprise Planning

I have been reading Eric J Chaisson's Book: The Hubble Wars, a detailed view of the launch and operation of the Hubble Space Telescope. My background is in astrophysics, so the details of goals and scheduling ring true. My later career dealt with optimizing the large scale enterprise so some of Chaisson's descriptions of the Hubbell team using AI techniques to direct performance remind me of those heady intelligence times in the late 80s and early 90s. The shuttle is over now, but the Hubble is still there and there is still much need for doing things quickly and well in the enterprise. He writes about an environment written for the Hubble: . "Science Planning Intelligent Knowledge Environment. (SPIKE) a neural net, Lisp language based algorithm that includes the latest and sundry kind of smart software, expert systems and artificial intelligence techniques..... " We could use more of that kind of advanced help today. I am now taking closer look at what Spike did.

Google Maps Changing the Look of Data

in GigaOm. Good example of using Google maps based mashups to visualize data. I have seen a number of good examples of this. Simple representations, using the well known Google map UI. Of course many things are not possible to do easily this way.

Whats the Value of a Facebook Fan?

How many friends they have. Obvious answer but the piece makes a reasonable justification.

Gartner's Value Chain Transformation Imperatives

A very good piece in the Informs Analytics Magazine.  I agree.  Have been recently involved in looking analytically at the transformation of major supply chain operations.   Lots of interesting opportunities always exist and can be quantitatively modeled.

" ... Organizations seeking to make the transition from supply chain to a demand-driven value network (DDVN) must look beyond traditional projects and the adoption of functional best practices, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner analysts have identified four imperatives that supply chain leaders must address to make the change successfully.

“The case for value chain transformation has never been greater,” says Steve Steutermann, research vice president at Gartner. “Competing in today’s global markets requires companies to abandon internally focused supply chains and reorganize resources, processes and systems to support networks aligned for joint value creation.” ... "

Google Maps and the London Underground

I have navigated London by the Underground with the usual paper in hand and surveying the overhead route maps.  This new development gives you mobile direction finding I would love to try.  Now if they would only update some of the quaint people moving systems in the Underground.

Sands Neuromarketing Alliance in China

Just received, an impressive partnership and direction:

Sands Research and Brain Intelligence Establish Neuromarketing Alliance in China and Globally

Partnership to assist clients in fast growing consumer market

  El Paso, Texas and Beijing, China - Sands Research Inc. (SRI), a leading provider of neuroscientific market research services and technology headquartered in the USA, and Brain Intelligence Neuro-Consultancy Ltd. (BI), the first Chinese neuromarketing firm, announced today that they have joined together in providing their specialized services to the top brands and companies in China and on a global basis.

"We are pleased to announce this alliance with the Beijing based research agency, Brain Intelligence and offer our clients local expertise in a market of tremendous consumer growth" stated Ron Wright, President / CEO of Sands Research Inc.

"BI, which was founded by Ms. Ruihong Tang and is advised by leading academics from Beijing Normal University, will be a great partner. Our two companies will work together to provide the latest in market research technology and applications in China and Hong Kong. The neuromarketing services offered include the evaluation of communications (TV advertising, print, web), innovation (product, concepts, packaging) and the shopper experience (both in-store and virtual). Measuring Web usability for increasing conversion rates and online advertising for increasing media ROI is one of BI's real fortes." commented Wright.

"In turn, Sands Research will provide the same services to BI's client base of fast growing Chinese companies who are looking to expand their brands beyond China to the United States, Europe and other key markets."  Wright added ..... "

Vision for Digital Public Library

The DPLA:   Taking some of the Google scanning work further and non profit:

  " ... Last year, Robert Darnton, a cultural historian and director of Harvard University’s library system, began to raise the prospect of creating a public digital library. This library would include the digitized collections of the country’s great research institutions, but it would also bring in other media - video, music, film - as well as the collection of Web pages maintained by the Internet Archive.

Like Google Books, it would have as its goal the eventual digitization of human culture, preserving the works of the world’s authors, scholars, artists, and entertainers and making them widely available. Unlike Google Books, however, this library would not be operated by a for-profit company. It would be accessible to any person, in any place, at any time, at no cost .... "

P&G Minimizes Management Meddling

By Michael Schrage in HBR Blogs:

Was somewhat both proud of and  surprised by this revelation.    I saw some of both behaviors.  And still think more could have been done with even less meddling.  Yes, though to innovative analytics, which we always pushed:

" ... With not a little pride, Procter & Gamble CEO Bob McDonald and Filippo Passerini, his CIO, told Fortune Brainstorm conference attendees that digital investment had successfully transformed their company's transparency and agility. New networks and innovative analytics gave top management greater visibility into Procter's people, processes, and anticipated profits. These technologies were making the world's biggest consumer products firm quicker, nimbler, and more responsive.   ...  "

A good article overall about micro management, read it all.

Children Play Like Scientists

In Wired, the results of a study.  They appear to isolate variables in play.  But is the scientific method all that influences scientists?  Or Children?

Unilever and Groupon Work with Retail

In Progressive Grocer:

" ... Supervalu, Inc.’s Jewel-Osco division is teaming up with Unilever and Groupon, Inc. to bring social buying to grocery shopping in Groupon’s home city of Chicago while at the same time making Unilever the first global CPG company to allow consumers to buy its products through Groupon and pick up their deal at their neighborhood grocery store ... "

Also discussed in AdAge.

Wal-Mart Shares Data with Nielsen

After being out of the process for a long time, it is reported that Wal-Mart will start sharing data with Nielsen again. We were always told that Wal-Mart did not feel that it was of value to them to share data.  Has a deal been struck?

Social Bubble?

Is social media also a bubble?   See here for the graph. I do want just one simple social thing to deal with.

Another Smart Cart

SK Telecom delivers another grocery smart cart prototype. This one can sync from a smartphone. That by itself is a very good idea, decreasing the cost and complexity for the retailer. I have now followed and tested a half dozen of these similar ideas over a decade. None really successful.

Inclusion of location based marketing ideas and self check out are positive inclusions, while the emergence of the smartphone itself  is a negative to those that hope that every cart will have it's display. This addresses one of these by letting a shopper include their own smartphone.  Will follow this where it goes.

Being piloted in Shanghai.
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Using Mind-Mapping to Write Blogs and Articles

I am a big proponent of mind mapping.  Have used it for years.  It is a great discipline,  I use it on my laptop, tablet and smartphone. I can build maps and then synchronise them from anywhere. It helps me get my thoughts in order and then readily convey them to others.   In particular the emergence of the tablet/pad  hardware format makes them even easier to utilize.   I love to promote the technique that was often used in our enterprise.

See this upcoming free Mindjet webinar on the topic:  Wednesday, August 10, 2011, 10:00AM Pacific,  Register here.    I intend to participate.

Much more about the webinar here:

" ... Mapping Your Way to Thought Leadership - Using Information Maps for Writing Articles and Blog Posts

Whether you're a business professional writing articles or blog posts about your industry, or a student writing a paper, MindManager information maps help you research, brainstorm and write more efficiently.

Join us for this live 30-minute webinar, where Jim Lauria, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Amiad Filtration Systems, shares the tools he's used for writing articles that have established both Jim and Amiad as thought leaders in the water industry, such as:

Information maps that quickly summarize each book and article he reads about water technology - making it easy to access information when he's writing an editorial or presentation

Map templates for each piece he's working on - allowing him to map out the purpose, general principles, expected outcomes, brainstorm and next steps ....  " 

Location Based Analytics Market

To exceed $ 9 Billion by 2016.  Says this study, by MR agency ABI Research.

Enhanced EBooks

Have been looking at how HTML5 will ultimately influence publishing online.  A friend sent me this O'Reilly piece on EPUB3, which is worth looking at.  We need to have better multiple platform standards from the very beginning.   I was new to this and see that EPUB3 now natively includes audio and video, a good move. 

Restaurants Using Google Places

An interesting example of how location based systems like Google Places can be used for franchise restaurants.

On the Experience of Learning

From Experientia.  A review of what learning is all about. " ... Learning is a complex process with distinct stages, each with corresponding tasks and emotions. Understanding how users learn can help us design experiences that support the user throughout the entire process.... ".  Agree that processes for learning are usually poorly understood or set up..  We usually do not utilize the naturally engaging aspects of how people enjoy new things to encourage learning.

Customer Loyalty Programs

HBS Working Knowledge on Customer Loyalty Programs that Work. " ... The customer rewards cards that clutter wallets and clog key chains of many a shopper may soon be no more, as retailers move from physical to digital (read: mobile apps) forms of loyalty program member identification. It's a smart decision. Unfortunately, it's one of the only smart decisions retailers are making when it comes to customer loyalty schemes.... ".  Some excellent examples of companies that do it well.

Wal-Mart Movie Streams

After a considerable delay Wal-Mart is integrating its purchased movie streaming service Vudu into Walmart.com.  Reported in some detail in e-Commerce Times.  " ... The service lets customers buy or rent movies to be streamed directly from Walmart.com or Vudu.com or from one of 300 Vudu-enabled devices including select HDTVs, Blu-ray players and the PlayStation 3. Walmart.com shoppers will have the option to select movies on discs or in digital formats on the same page.... "

Robot Film Festival

IEEE Spectrum presents: A Robot Film Festival.   Nice selection that gives some hint at the future of robotics.

On the Rise of Self Checkouts

A non technical article from Today.  About the rise of self checkouts in retail.  Also discusses the surprising removal of them from Albertsons stores, which I mentioned here previously.

" ....  Albertson’s LLC, which operates 217 stores in Florida, Texas and five other states, said this month it would eliminate self-checkouts from all its locations to promote more customer interaction. The decision generated enormous reaction among msnbc.com readers, who expressed strong opinions about the merits of the technology.

But love it or hate it, the self-checkout phenomenon is not disappearing from the retail scene anytime soon.

Self-checkout suppliers raked in $524.1 million worldwide in 2010, a 46 percent increase from 2007, according to technology research firm VDC Research Group, which projects growth of 84 percent over the next five years. As technology improves, self-checkout likely will migrate into store aisles as customers armed with smart phones use new apps to scan and pay for items on the spot.
While Albertsons and many shoppers may find self-checkout technology dehumanizing, it can reduce wait times, save on labor costs and make maximum use of limited retail floor space, said analyst Richa Gupta of technology research firm VDC Research Group ... "

HTML5 is Coming Fast

Most interesting, will it make Adobe's Flash irrelevant?

" ,,, The tech industry’s movers and shakers have been saying for months now that the HTML5 is very important. New data released Friday indicates that HTML5 is not just going to be big, it’s going to be huge — and it’s coming fast.  More than 2.1 billion mobile devices will have HTML5 browsers by 2016, up from just 109 million in 2010, according to a new report by ABI Research. Much of this growth will be thanks to Apple’s massive support for the HTML5 platform, according to the study. And Apple is also likely to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the technology’s wide scale adoption. Because Apple has so much control over its software and devices, it will be most poised to take full advantage of HTML features as they emerge in the coming years.... "

Best in Class: Cincinnati Consulting Consortium

Dick Bruder, of the CCC sends the following. I know a number of the executives who work for the CCC,  impressive group:

Did You Know?

→ P&G is consistently ranked as one of the Best in Class in all key business areas and functions?

→ The list of P&G awards earned in recent years is staggering?

→ CCC has 45 former P&G Executives on our staff who were leaders in all functions, so CCC can help your Company incorporate Best in Class key principles and processes?

→ CCC consultants have been formally recognized at some point in time during their careers  ...  "


Much more here.
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Grapheur

Just taking  a look at this relatively new data mining tool:  Grapheur

"   ...  The flexible and powerful Data Mining and Interactive Visualization tool. Import your data and explore, guided by your preferences and insight. Build and debug predictive models, cluster similar cases together, map your data in creative ways for decision making. Analyze both entities and relationships (graph and network analytics).... "

Examples of Wearable Video

Here some examples of wearable video technology in Amazon. We looked at this for applications in retail.

The Paradox of Common Sense

Another inspiration from SFI, Duncan Watts, who led us indirectly to things like Tremor. Here a new article leading to his forthcoming book on the connections between human common sense and science. Links well with the common sense in the realm of the consumer as well.

Swarm Intelligence

We were introduced to the concept of swarm intelligence by the Santa Fe Institute. Here they link to a video using the common example of ants. Individually simple but very intelligent as a group. We experimented with the use of this problem solving metaphor in a supply chain context, but in my opinion were unsuccessful. It does deserve understanding this idea.

Skin as an Interactive Canvas

In CACM:    Had seen some related examples of this.  An on-skin body input and display system.   Very clever thought.   Skin as an interactive canvas.  Abstract. Video below. " ... Skinput is a technology that appropriates the skin as an input surface by analyzing mechanical vibrations that propagate through the body. Specifically, we resolve the location of finger taps on the arm and hand using a novel sensor array worn as an armband ... "

Changing the Rules of Education

In Wired.   With the Kahn Academy.  At first  I thought of this as a sort of home schooling for motivated people of any age.   But based on this article it seems to be much richer than I thought. And I still wonder about the motivation required.   With a structured game?   Worth reading.

Packaging and Neuromarketing

Roger Dooley on packaging and the use of neuromarketing techniques, with some useful examples.

Apple Prospers for US While Assembly Happens Overseas

Good article in Mike Perry's blog on the value of overseas assembly for a US company like Apple.  Making the case that globalization has real benefits.  They comments provide some contrary views.

Seeking Smartphone Moms

Important demographic.   In my own observations it appears that more women are using smartphones now  and the understanding of this is key.   Manufacturers are responding.  See my recent post on the Beauty Advisor App offered by P&G. Not for mom's alone, of course.


" ... Smartphone-packing moms who are constantly on the go are a prime target for marketers, who are aware that many of the high-spending young women they recently pursued now have different interests and increasingly depend on their mobile devices. Mobility is the key element. "We've known about the opportunity of online moms for a while now, but then mobile technology came along and blew everything up," said Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at research firm NPD Group ...

iPad University

USC tries to set up a complete University interface based on a tablet.  I just saw  the movie 'The Social Network',  and apparently the players there just not think broadly enough.

Games for Training

In a continuing project that looks at training using game dynamics, I was reminded of the MS effort called Ribbon Hero, which aims to provide incentive to learn the complexity of Microsoft Office tasks. See also their FAQ here.   A very simple and clever means of attending to all complexity of a package like a modern word processing package.  In had in a previous with the much maligned Clippy, that suggested methods and training as it watched your work.  Despite all the ridiculing of that effort, it did work.  What it did not take enough advantage of was gaming dynamics.  Very simple ideas, that well implemented can and do work.  Studies have shown that even simple point accumulation and display can increase interaction multifold.

Social Computing and Cultural Modeling

In the July /August 2011  IEEE Intelligent Systems.  Emphasises Social Computing and Cultural Modeling.  Just reviewing.  Not all of the content of this publication is  available to non subscribers.  Also unrelated in this issue an AI Hall of fame, which gives a bio of a number influential luminaries in artificial intelligence, and asks the question: Does AI Need a Reboot?   I say yes.  Soon to be posted there.

P&G North American Planning Service Center

P&G Opens a new North American Planning Service Center in the Cincinnati area today.   "The work involves planning the on-time delivery of millions of P&G products  from  factories to distributors to retailers, as well as forecasting demand for its products.  The consolidation is part of a plan to streamline P&G's product supply chain in North America.  "  (Cincinnati Enquirer 7/22/11).   I was involved in this area of expertise for years, and recently aided in a related project.  Great move forward.

An Overview of Business Intelligence (BI) Technology

In CACM:  A very good definition and technical overview of BI.  In my own conversations with executives and other decision makers, I have seen considerable confusion in this space.   This article paints the picture well. I have linked it as a permanent resource.

What Does G+ Mean for Search Marketing?

Very detailed and interesting look at the apparent behind the scene motives for Google's jumping into Social.  And this point, apparently successfully so ... " ...  the way the launch of Google+ could end up enhancing the competitive positioning and value of Google's search business, giving it an unprecedented view of consumer interest, social graph, intent data and conversion data. .... "

Kyield and In Memory Databases

Mark Montgomery of KYield writes about HANA and KYield for better outcomes. 

(HANA is a high performance in-memory database product from SAP. )" ... Data Speed combined with Data Quality and Human Intelligence ...  By partnering with Kyield, an excellent opportunity exists to establish a “killer app” anticipated by CSFB and others across the entire enterprise, providing important added value for customers that have pre-existing investments in SAP, as well as help drive new investment in SAP products, particularly with HANA ... "

Computable Document Format

Wolfram Research announces a new document called the CDF.  In an intriguing development the new document, is computable.   I like the general idea.  There were many times I would have liked to be able to automatically compute results from a document without additional work.  Who will use the standard?  Wolfram I am sure.  Will others?

Free P&G Virtual Beauty App

This was something we explored a number of times, starting with CD Rom based delivery, then from the Web, then including in-mall camera kiosks.   Has the time of virtual beauty applications finally become interesting with the Smartphone App? None were very successful, due to a combination of technical, user interest and value-measures.  Here is another try: P&G Offers Virtual Beauty.  " ... P&G Beauty & Grooming brands Clairol, COVERGIRL, Olay and Pantene have joined forces to create a comprehensive, multi-faceted beauty application that provides consumers with an exclusive virtual beauty experience... "   More detail and press release.  For iPhone and Android.

Exploring Game Dynamics Talk

Gave a talk at Cincinnati Continuousweb last night to about 50 people.  Sponsored and supported by Joshua Johnson of Mindbox Studios. Thanks to all that attended.  Nice assortment of startup and corporate types were there.  The topic was Exploring Game Dynamics.  I reviewed a dozen game style applications that I have been involved in since the 1980s, and my thoughts about how this layer has been evolving in the last few years.  Scott Frondorf showed off his impressive virtual reality training system. Also saw strong interest in the better integration between game dynamics and business intelligence, and thus the ability to readily mine results for quick insights.  Seeking to develop that further. Need to know more about these topics?  Collaborate?  Contact me,  information is in the left column.

Google Killing Labs?

I have been impressed with what has come out of Google Labs.  True that only 10% is useful to the average user, but that is not a bad percentage.  And I am sure there are things we have not seen that actually have an ROI.  This was much commented on yesterday and it seems that the lab is being refocused rather than killed.  That is good.

A Replacement for Paper

Technology Review reports on a true replacement for paper.  Very cheap and disposable too?

Practical Game Design

An overview of practical game design teaching at Drexel University.  Not the kind of game I am particularly interested in, which is not so much the view ... but the useful process of the game,  but it still makes some useful points.

Food Private Label Continues Rise

Inevitable I think:  From Food Processing:

" ... The writing is on the wall … or the cash register tape. Sales of branded food and beverage products were up less than 1 percent last year. In contrast, sales of store brands (aka private label, house brand, own brand, retailer brand or the passé moniker generic) products grew about 1.7 percent in the year ended May 14. Unit market share for private label in U.S. supermarkets is now 23.5 percent, according to The Nielsen Co.... "

Affective Senses Emotion

We have followed some of the work on measuring emotion from facial expression,  here from MIT spin off Affectiva.  We tested their methods pioneered at the Media Lab in the early days to determine reaction to product packaging.  Their method is a kind of neuromarketing which uses electrodermal testing and face expression recognition.   Non conscious interactions.    I see they have now increased funding.

Social Media for Customer Service. Infographic Impression

ReadwriteWeb on the topic via an Infographic.  The topic itself is interesting.

The infographic use is confusing.  At first I thought it was an ad.  Then noticed that they were trying to jazz up some information.   Very little additional information that could not be put in a simple, easily scanned table. So it seems to be about attracting your attention along.  I am concerned that in a new tablet world it will be all about that.     Please keep it as simple as possible, not as though they are paying you by the number of colors you are using. 

Model Based Recommendation Agent

I became interested in a new recommendation smartphone App called Alfred,  which recommends restaurants, etc,  It is glowingly described and reviewed in ReadwriteWeb,  The description says it uses Model based learning as opposed to simple collaborative filtering, which is used by most every other recommendation system out there.   As well as a strong semantic analysis component.  We used this learning technique for some internal systems. How well it works further deserves a test.

Wal-Mart

Excellent post by MJ Perry about Wal-Mart as the most successful retailer in history. Some fascinating stats on the retailer and its operation.

Renting Textbooks

Now you can rent textbooks from Amazon via Kindle and Kindle Apps.   ReadwriteWeb reports that is not  cheaper than buying a used textbook.  The market will likely adjust prices.   In relates news Borders has no buyers, and the well known bookstore disappears. Spent many an enjoyable hour in them.

Games Talk: Serious Play

I will be giving a talk this Wednesday July 20, at 6:30 PM in the Cincinnati area on the use of serious game mechanics.    Providing details of a number of examples we experimented with in the enterprise that used interal and external facing approaches. 

Here is the invite from Joshua Johnson of Mindbox Studios,  Join us.

Founders & Tech Professionals,

We're not taking any breaks in the momentum experienced from the 2011 CW Startup Showcase. This month we hear from a " Gamification " aficionado and mathematician,  Franz Dill, to talk to us about the emerging gaming or "Serious Play" methods used by the best gaming companies–inspiring some ideas for our community as many of our startups consider gaming as a primary tool for user engagement.

We will also showcase a few companies in our community that have used gaming to attract and engage users. If you have a project or startup using gaming as a core or ancillary feature of your product, come! As always, there will be a time to share ideas and experiences that hopefully lead to better gamification ideas for web startups in Cincinnati.

This month we're meeting at the Cock & Bull in Hyde Park Square. There Mindbox Studios is sponsoring a few pitchers of beer and some appetizers. Bring your appetite, eat some food, buy some drinks, and enjoy another great night at Continuous Web.

RSVP HERE >

eLearning and Serious Games

Heather Thomas at the Trivantis blog has posted a good article on the use of game mechanics  for eLearning.  Making learning immediately rewarding and inspiring and motivating continued development is a powerful idea.    Post has some useful links.  A favorite topic of mine that I am continuing to research.   In the enterprise we developed a number of 'serious game' examples that sought to drive learning.  Trivantis makes the well known eLearning tool Lectora.

In Analytics Magazine

Some good examples from the latest issue of this excellent magazine.  About solving real business problems in business.  Check out the magazine and the underlying organization: Informs.

Analytical evidence vs. practical belief

While our ability to organize and analyze enterprise data grows, the ensuing organizational insights can be game-changing. Sometimes, however, these insights directly contradict gut feelings and sacred cows, putting analytics initiatives at risk of losing important executive support. Read more

Standardized analytical solutions

So the mainstream media have picked up on this analytics thing big time. The latest “hit” is a recent article in the New York Times that cites a recent study by the McKinsey Global Institute entitled, “Big data: the next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity.” The McKinsey report is full of Saganesque prose (“billions and billions of dollars in savings possible as a result of harnessing the information embedded in the big data sets of today and tomorrow”), highlighting several industries and functional areas that its authors believe are ripe for large-scale application of... Read more

Smartphone Forensics

It is remarkable what can be determined from information that is stored on your smartphone.  Not only where you are but lots of information about what you are doing.  A study of why the police want this information, and the cautions to consider. Predictive analytics are getting closer to determining what you may do in the future based on what you have done in the past, so that formerly SciFi scenario is also troubling. 

More on Google and the Brain

A good post in Mind Hacks commenting on the Google and the brain study I also noted recently.  Knowing you have something at your fingertips does not mean than you will not increase the store of your knowledge.  Books, computers and scratches in the dirt are all knowledge tools we rapidly added to our bag of techniques.  There will be others.

Counting the Internet of Things

We continue to look at how things, in addition to people, now reside identified on the network.  Trackable, queriable and countable.  GigaOM Infographic says among other things, that the things on the net exceeded people on the earth starting in 2008.  Not unexpected. There is much to get from this observation in time and analytics.

KTM Advance - Games and e-Learning

Newly discovered, KTM-Advance,   E-Learning and serious games. Have been examining that aspect of games recently. In particular regarding sales training.   Appears to be an interesting solution to examine.  One of their client studies starts: 

" ...E-LEARNING - Product Knowledge/ Sales for LVMH
Estates & Wines, a Moët Hennessy society, is the international subsidiary of the LVMH Group tasked with marketing high-end still and sparkling wines. E&W accounts for 7 different brands throughout the world and more than 40 wines. The sales representatives of E&W are recruited from the most prestigious schools, but have often little experience or comfort in the high-end wine market with merchants, sommeliers and restorers. Thus, E&W needed a specific formation of its sales force ... "

G+ Complete Guide

Mashable has what they call a complete Guide to G+.    Can't be completely true since what G+ is continues to evolve.  Yet it is a good introduction to the parts that can get you started.   What they have done is an excellent, minimal user interface.    Too minimal at times to do everything you need to do.  But this is an excellent way to start.

T Commerce Interfaces

Thought about this while slipping through Flipboard on an iPad.   A completely configurable magazine and Reader that emphasizes images.  Very addictive.   I have added this blog to it, so I can see everything in a new enhanced magazine like light.   Just a few ads now, but I can see this changing very rapidly.    But as E-Commerce Times points out: " ... The interface of a tablet is different than that of a desktop site. On a tablet, one doesn't track clicks and mouse trails, but instead must focus on "smudges and swipes." Multitouch functionality should be integrated into the site in appropriate areas, including 360-degree product photography spins and swiping through long product lists ... ".    So a changed UI data gathering method will be required, and I think it can be used very soon. 

Do We Need to be More Social?

Is Microsoft working on a social networking project.  Do we need more social?  I guess we can see these efforts  as competition for our social connections and someone will win, but the time is just not there to connect and try them all.  I am getting many invites to circle with G+ every day, some interesting and some not.  No.

Caricatures and Facial Recognition

The brain is a powerful facial recognition machine.   It is only recently we have figured out how to systematize to a degree this kind of analysis using image recognition with computers.   This article shows how caricatures can help us understand this.

Google and the Brain

Much this week about how Google and web may be changing the way the brain operates.   Here an article in Rough Type, with a good view of the debate, with an expected direction.  Probably discussed even in Gutenberg's day. Books as crippling crutches.  Nick Carr describes the research and writes:

" ... The researchers seem fairly sanguine about the results of their study. "We are becoming symbiotic with our computer tools," they conclude, "growing into interconnected systems that remember less by knowing information than by knowing where the information can be found." Although we don't yet understand the possible "disadvantages of being constantly 'wired,'" we have nevertheless "become dependent" on our gadgets. "We must remain plugged in to know what Google knows." But as memory shifts from the individual mind to the machine's shared database, what happens to that unique "cohesion" that is the self? ... "

Social Media Stats

A large list of social media stats to Kickstart your slidedeck.   Intriguing, though I always worry about the context of such a large and varied assortment. 

Albertsons Removes Self Checkouts

  In Progressive Grocer.  A combination of concern about service levels and new regulations seems to be driving self-service out.  Longer term, though, I believe that self service will prevail.  See self checkout start to occur in the aisle as well, with smart phone apps like Aislebuyer.

Visualizing Wikipedia

Hard to imagine, but the Wikipedia  is only ten years old.  Have we not beeing using it for much longer than that? Now there is a challenge to visualize its impact.

Perception is Everything

In Fastcompany:  Increasing the size of your fork will make you eat less.  An interesting study in psychological perception.

Free Mentions Here!

Want an idea, software, book or direction reviewed here?   Send it to me.  Send books in pre-release PDF if you like.   My address is in the left hand column.   This blog is seen by many in enterprises large and small.  Read this blog, put it on your feed to get an idea of the kinds of topics I usually cover.  Cannot guarantee I will mention everything positively, or at all, but I am omnivorously curious, and I often will.  

Google+ and Psych of Group Membership

This Harvard blog post reminded me of both the psych of George Simmel and my favorite quote from Groucho Marx.  I had forgotten Simmel's  work but remembered Groucho's very well.  Good thoughts about how this all relates to membership in new things like Google+.  Useful links too.   Am I now already ready to move on to something new?

Biocompatible Electronics

From NCSU, what appears to be a considerable advance for in-body sensor and computing devices.  Add nano miniaturization and remote control and wireless interaction, this could lead to considerable diagnostic and actuation devices.   Is the brain next?

 " ... “We’ve created a memory device with the physical properties of Jell-O,” says Dr. Michael Dickey, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research.  Researchers have created a memory device with the physical properties of Jell-O and that functions well in wet environments.

Conventional electronics are typically made of rigid, brittle materials and don’t function well in a wet environment. “Our memory device is soft and pliable, and functions extremely well in wet environments – similar to the human brain,” Dickey says ... "

Twitter and Health Trends

via Stan Dyck an item on the use of Twitter to determine health trends.   I mentioned before we delivered a related effort using over the counter drug sales to mine for epidemic and bioterror trends.

Dark Side of the Ad Universe

My former colleague Ted McConnell, now with the ARF, very asute in digital advertising, writes on  The Dark Matter of the Online Ad Universe:  What Happens When Media Weight Does the Opposite of What We Expect?   How do Ads hurt brands?  And is this different between online and  old media  advertising?

Trends in the Mobile Gaming Industry and Serious Games

In Mashable:  These trends are mostly about mobile gaming for entertainment, but I watch these trends for their potential applications beyond the 'angry avians' places.    I am struck by the increasing ability to do serious things in contexts like tablets, where there will be enough real estate to clearly mark out say a process that has real choices in a corporate decision making palette.  That for internally facing games.   Or for mapping  consumer choices,  in externally facing games.   Smart phones are just too small to provide more than trivial choices-spaces.  Making a decision process into a game requires that the designer differentiate the choices.  That was made clear to me as I started to explore the use of mobile devices for mind-mapping.  Looking further on that now.   Thoughts?

Accidental Creative

Heard Todd Henry talk a few weeks ago about creativity and noted that his book The Accidental Creative was being launched.   It's out now and here is a book launch update.  In the midst of reading it, and it matches well with his talk.

" ... how to establish effective practices that unleash your creative potential. Born out of his consultancy and his popular podcast, Henry has created a practical method for discovering your personal creative rhythm. He focuses on five key elements:

* Focus: Begin with your end goal in mind.

* Relationships: Build stimulating relationships and ideas will follow.

* Energy: Manage it as your most valuable resource.
* Stimuli: Structure the right "inputs" to maximize creative output.
* Hours: Focus on effectiveness, not efficiency.

This is a guide for staying inspired and experiencing greater creative productivity than you ever imagined possible ...  "

Tube Free TP Tested

This has been tested before.  And I recall there were cost, shipping and quality issues, and a decrease in total paper waste was not necessarily there.  Yet it is well worth another look:

" ... Kimberly-Clark is testing its new Scott Naturals Tube-Free toilet paper, which, as the name suggests, does not have a cardboard tube. According to Kimberly-Clark, U.S. households use about 17 billion tubes annually, creating 160 million pounds of waste. Chicago Tribune/McClatchy-Tribune News Service(7/12)

Visually Does Infographics

ReadWriteWeb on a new startup called Visual.ly  Which makes it easy to create data representations  and infographics.  Also share designs socially in a community.   As I have mentioned here previously I am suspicious of infographics.  The clever and cool graphics can entice you to look at the graphics, but often hide any accuracy and spin the results being shown.   Making it easy will make us see more misrepresentation.  At the right, a collection of attractive and interesting data, dismally done as a collection of pies.   Still, this is worth taking a look at and deciding if it is for you.  On the retail side this could be used to quickly construct displays in the aisle that could attract shopper attention.

Examples of Text Analytics

Good piece in SASCom blog.   Three good examples of text analytics in an upcoming Webinar.  We practiced related goals since the 70s, when the data was loaded from mag tape reels.  Unstructured data remains very important to the enterprise.

Gmail Provides Contact information

I have many contacts, and it is particularly difficult to remember all of their information, especially when we have not connected for a while.   This always led me to do a time consuming followup search.  Now Gmail has added a new right hand column that provides their key information as I highlight a message.   Something I have thought would be particularly useful for some time.  Nicely done.  Saves time.   Of course there are also contextual ads below this information. 

Domain-Specific Language (DSL)

Admit I had not heard of this concept, nicely outlined and detailed in the CACM.    Mistaking it for the phone line communication protocol.  But it means something different here:

" ... One of the main reasons why software projects fail is the lack of communication between the business users, who actually know the problem domain, and the developers who design and implement the software model. Business users understand the domain terminology, and they speak a vocabulary that may be quite alien to the software people; it's no wonder that the communication model can break down right at the beginning of the project life cycle.  A domain-specific language (DSL)^1,3 bridges the semantic gap between business users and developers by encouraging better collaboration through shared vocabulary.... "

A good idea, which leads to having experts in a domain being able to 'program' the logic required to deliver their expertise. We examined this in expert systems, seeking to have the experts themselves build and maintain their own knowledge bases. It is difficult to make work except in the most simple cases.  But I can see it encouraging better communications between domain experts and systems experts.

Other Things People are Doing

ReadwriteWeb reports on studies about other things people are doing at the same time they are using mobile devices.  Beyond just driving. The sometimes danger of course.  But further some interesting implications for an increasingly complex and interconnected world.  Where are we headed?

Pepsi and FourSquare

Pepsi makes the first attempt at taking Foursquare global.  Good case study of generalizing the idea, which has been largely North America.  " .... In what appears to be a first, Pepsi is employing a Foursquare badge on a global basis as a key component of its "Summer Time is Pepsi Time" campaign. ... "

SearchTeam Emerges

I have seen some fascinating early versions of SearchTeam, the real-time collaborative search engine from Zakta..  A great idea, think of it for collaborative use in a number of situations.   Say you are researching a new innovation, a technology detail, a competitive intelligence problem.  With an eye to later curating and understanding your results.  And of course you are always collaborating with users as you find, check and  document search results. We often saw that need in the enterprise.  It reminds me of the functionality in Vannevar Bush's proposed Memex system.  Nicely done.

Now it is here.   I have been testing it for some time in early forms, and it is very useful to do searches, share the results, and deliver value in ways it was cumbersome to do before.
See their concept video and a guided tour.


SearchTeam, in a nutshell:

SearchTeam enables trusted people to search the Web together, curating their search results, their thoughts and opinions, as well as relevant documents on a given topic, in one place (a SearchSpace).

Other Related Resources:

SearchTeam blog: http://blog.searchteam.com/
SearchTeam on Twitter: @SearchTeamNews / http://twitter.com/SearchTeamNews
SearchTeam on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/SearchTeam/174952665849873

Contact information:

Via Sundar Kadayam, Founder and CEO, Zakta
Email: skadayam@zaktallc.com          
Personal Blog: The Sharer - http://kadayam.com/
LinkedIn Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sundarkadayam

Google Plus and Social Ads

After some playing around with Google+,  what I have seen is that it looks much like Facebook.  With a few nice, easily copy-able features. Hard to see Google+ taking away Facebook's fast number of general customers.   But Google has the ad traffic and deep analytical and targeting experience.  Do sheer numbers trump accuracy?   Where is the money here?   More in eCommerce Times.

Reintroduction of TagWhat

I see that TagWhat, an artificial reality vendor has just reintroduced their product.  Here is their press release   It is delivered via a smart phone and can provide 'stories' linked to any smart phone detected locations.   Get the history, background information and richness of any location on your phone.  An exciting idea, but like many similar AR ideas, requires considerable work to get to a critical mass that will deliver the goods to the average user.   Does make sense at popular travel spots, initially implemented in New York, San Francisco, LA, and Washington, DC.    Take a look at their web site, which has a good video and let me know what you think.  I have it on my iPhone.

Top Digital Marketer

I was just reminded by a communication that Ilonka Laviz was appointed top digital marketer at P&G.

Telework in the US

Steve King in Small Biz Labs collects new data on the state of telework in the US.  Good summary.

Competitive Intel as a Natural Extension to Business Intelligence

This is what I did for some years in the enterprise.   To understand the competition you also need to know your own company.  Rarely done well though, and not with the same tools.  This article discusses it further.  " ... For many companies, competitive intelligence (CI) is vital in order to improve their visibility in the market and to increase their market share. Competitive intelligence is “the systematic, ongoing, legal collection and analysis of Information about competitors, similar products, market trends, branches, new patents and technologies and new customer expectations....“

Computing the Brain's Secrets

In Kurzweil AI:   Some visual images that give some evidence we may someday understand the brain as a computational problem, but also in their very complexity show how very hard that may be to do.  The suggestion is that we understand the infrastructure of the neocortical column.  At the right a simulation. 

" ... Henry Markram, Director of the École Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne (EPFL) Blue Brain Project, says the mysteries of the mind can be solved — soon. Mental illness, memory, perception — they’re made of neurons and electric signals, and he plans to find them with a supercomputer that models the neocortex.
“The brain builds a version of the Universe, and projects this version the version of the Universe like a bubble, all around us,” says Markram. “For the first time, we can actually address this with brain simulation, and ask very systematic and rigorous questions when this theory could possibly be true….

Exceptional Book: Zero Moment of Truth

ZMOT was a concept we often discussed in the enterprise. Google also uses the concept, borrowed from P&G.   See more in a post in their consumer package goods blog. The post also contains a link to a short free eBook on the topic that is illuminating.  Also available on Amazon.  Winning the Zero Moment of Truth - ZMOT  by Jim Lecinski.  Note the connection to FMOT - The first moment of truth, about choice in the retail store.    Just completed this book on an extended flight.   First time I had read a full book on a pad.  Excellent book, easy read,  a real must for those seeking to understand the 'moment of truth' description of the new retail.  A systems understanding approach that can be used to drill down into what works in today's marketing.


" ... The way we shop is changing and marketing strategies are simply not keeping pace. Whether we're shopping for corn flakes, concert tickets or a honeymoon in Paris, the Internet has changed how we decide what to buy. Today we're all digital explorers, seeking out online ratings, social media-based peer reviews, videos, and in-depth product details as we move down the path to purchase. Marketing has evolved and modern marketing strategies have to evolve with the changing shape of shopping. At Google, we call this online decision-making moment the Zero Moment of Truth -- or simply ZMOT ... "

Play and Learning

In the CACM:   Thinking about games and learning in play.  Mary Flanagan was mentioned recently in the tagging images.  She also directs the Tiltfactor Lab , a game research group that she founded in 2003 and that works to design and investigate games for social change.

3D Printing and US Manufacturing

In Forbes:  Will the ability to print in 3D revive manufacturing?  I much like the idea of remote delivery of digital instructions for manufacturing.  We discovered some of the limitations of this as well.

Last Shuttle

I had the pleasure of seeing the last shuttle launch live this week from the Canaveral seashore.  Ironic since I have been in Florida for long periods, saw many satellite launches,  but missed the shuttle live.  Even from a distance it was impressive both visually and in its deep booming sound.  It is deeply disappointing that we cannot keep up this effort.  Check out all the images from the Hubble as evidence.  We can re start it, but will lose so much experience now.  Can it be replaced with remote operated drones and private enterprise?  Yes, and probably more efficiently, but this is an area where we really need to have science leadership, and have chosen to abandon while chasing politically correct rainbows.   Re starting that leadership will be expensive and time consuming.  A shame.

On Boring Resumes

Good thoughts on sprucing up a boring resume.   At very least this approach can get you noticed, and show that you are thinking intelligently and creatively.

Google+ is Growing and I Join in

Reports this morning that there are now millions of Google+ users and it continues to grow rapidly.  I received an invite a few days ago and started to play with the system.  Shortly afterward I saw a link in the Google Mobile App and joined in from the iPhone. .  Not super impressed yet, but it is early.  I much like the idea of easily implemented circles to divide up different kinds of friends and colleagues.  Quite skeptical that the average Facebook fanatic will switch.  If and when you get on connect with me and we will continue to learn. 

Complex Technologies Improve More Slowly

From the Santa Fe Institute

A new study by several SFI-affiliated researchers demonstrates a way to measure the interconnectedness of a technology's components and predict which technologies are likeliest to advance rapidly and which, due to their complexity, are likely to improve more slowly.
Knowing this can help policy makers make better investment decisions between, for example, two renewable energy technologies, or help engineers create designs with better prospects for improvement....

Giving Robot Vacuums a Personality

In IEEE Spectrum:

It's surprisingly easy for humans to endow robots with personalities. We've seen it happen most poignantly with EOD robots, but it's a common occurrence for people with domestic robots as well. However, these robots were never designed to have personalities. They're designed to do a job, and they're designed to be able to interact with people to the extent that it facilitates their ability to do that job, but service robots are really not programmed to be your pet, your best friend, or a member of your family.


Whether it's in their programming or not is, to some extent, beside the point, since it happens anyway. And when it happens, it dramatically changes the way that people interact with what on a primary level is intended to be little more than a tool. Realizing this, a team from Delft University of Technology and Philips Research in the Netherlands decided to take a look at how people actually want their robot vacuums to behave, and what kinds of personalities they'd like them to display.

Simplifying Human Machine Interaction

HP Labs India design work . Key directions to improve how computers communicate with humans.

Google New Search Stuff

Several interesting things in Google,  a search by image with should give some hints about how well this can be done today.  Similar to Google Googles on mobile. Also a voice search on the laptop, which I would rarely use.   And, what they are calling 'instant search' in Chrome, which can usefully bring up pages instantly that Google predicts you will choose among a group of results.  Not exactly reading your mind, but does show that we are creatures of repeated search. 

Printer Produces Chocolate

Long time interest in remote manufacturing and the remote transmission of foods.  Here is  a simple example.  What other foods might be assembled remotely via digital connections?

Alan Haberman of Barcode Fame Dies

Alan Haberman, Who usered in the Bar Code, Dies at 81

On a summer morning in 1974, a man in Ohio bought a package of chewing gum and the whole world changed.

Alan Haberman was one of a handful of people responsible for adoption of the U.P.C. bar code, now ubiquitous.    At 8:01 a.m. on June 26 of that year, a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum slid down a conveyor belt and past an optical scanner. The scanner beeped, and the cash register understood, faithfully ringing up 67 cents ... "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8580577/Alan-Haberman.html
http://ww.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14017120
http://www.google.com/search?q=Alan+Haberman

Gamification Examples

Game mechanics in action. Good examples.

Business Intelligence for Small Companies

Agree that today there are many options for using BI tools and applying them to the needs of enterprises large and small.

The Azore Garage

 About helping the inside Entrepreneur.  I thought of myself as this kind of operator for years and here is a startup devoted to them. " ... The azore garage was established in 2011 as a community to catalyze inside entrepreneurship within organizations. We exist to share knowledge, to incite and encourage change agents and innovators and to develop the entrepreneurial leaders who will drive growth well into the future ... "

Inside AR 2011

Junaio reports from the Augmented Reality 2011 Conference.  A useful update of what is going on in augmented reality.   Includes a new linkage to the Google Places API, greatly extending AR resources,  many new AR channels, couponing using AR and the use of tablets.  I note the competition seen between AR approaches and QR codes for location based knowledge delivery.

First Annual Neuromarketing Awards

The IPG Media Lab and Affectiva Announce Winners of First Annual Neuromarketing Awards

CANNES, France, June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mediabrands' IPG Media Lab and Affectiva today announced, at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the results of the first annual Neuromarketing Awards. Utilizing technology derived by MIT, Affectiva is able to record and measure viewers' tacit, non-verbal response to content. Feature points, correlating to an individual's facial features are established and are then measured and analyzed. The following categories were tested in the study: Promotion and Activation, Media and Cyber. The content was ranked based upon three facial actions that indicate emotional states.

Coworking vs Working from a Coffee Shop

Working locations for startups and consulting, after the Wifi is established.

Virtual Shopping

Imteresting case use of virtual displays to shop in the Korean subways More here.

Business Intelligence and Analytics Survey

Computerworld's Business Intelligence and Analytics Survey
https://web.questback.com/idg/bi2011/
        Computerworld is preparing a special report on business intelligence and analytics and would like to know the state of BI activity in your organization
        Please take our survey on Business Intelligence.
        Click here to take the survey. https://web.questback.com/idg/bi2011/
        Look for the Spotlight Feature online and in the September 12, 2011 issue of Computerworld.

Data is the New Platform

The new view from the Accenture technology vision.  Data is a platform in the enterprise.  Quite clear, it has always been that.

Never Failed a Test so Guilty?

From Numbers Rule the World: Good piece on false negatives.  Using the case of bicycler Lance Armstrong having never failed a steroid test, and as a result was 'obviously cheating'.  Or is it?  I remember reading of this recently and thinking 'huh'? How is that reasonable evidence?

Computational Thinking in Music

In Communications of the ACM

Algorithmic  Composition: Computational Thinking in Music The composer still composes but also gets to take a programming-enabled journey of musical discovery.

Michael Edwards

Retail Print Circulars

Steve Frenda on the beginning of the end of retail print circulars.  Many millions are still printed, but is this the end of an era?  Like books, I think they will survive for some time.

Mindjet on the iPhone

I see that the Mindjet App is now available.  Portable mind managers can be very useful. Although useful on the iPhone, it would be most practical if it were available on the iPad as well.   Also useful would be a means for direct accessibility on a syncing system like DropBox.  Waiting for that.

An Encyclopedia of User Interaction and Design

Don Norman and others contribute to this new effort.  A free contributed book from a number of invited practitioners and experts in the space.  I appreciate  that this is not a public wiki, but do hope it will have a well designed stub on the Wikipedia to make sure people like myself, who don't deal with this important topic every day, can find it when they need it.  Just now exploring.

The Interaction Design Encyclopedia   is all about making research accessible. We deal with human-centered aspects of technology: Interaction Design, User Experience (UX), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Information Architecture (IA), Human Factors, Usability, and related fields...

Welcome to a new type of encyclopedia! It's free, it includes videos, commentaries, and lots more. All chapters are written by leading figures within each subject. As such, it's different from the Wikipedia.

Seven chapters – Action Research, Bifocal Display, Data Visualization for Human Perception, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), Interaction Design,User Experience and Experience Design, and Visual Representation – are already online (all with highly qualified authorities as authors) and 49 more are to come soon.

Featured Chapter this Month:

Marc Hassenzahl explains the fascinating concept of User Experience and Experience Design. Commentaries by Don Norman, Eric Reiss, Mark Blythe, and Whitney Hess ...

PARC Wants to Reinvent the Internet

Is this a really novel approach?   Always respected  PARC's views, in the early days of enterprise innovation we met with them many times.

Multiple Person Interaction for Design

Images Changing your Behavior.  It has been done in the form of advertising for a long time. How does this work when there are multiple people interacting?  We explored this issue in the realm of retail store design and adaptation, using a 'kiosk' that permitted visitors to touch and change a layout.   That approach was more popular than a digital screen.   Also experimented with multiple shoppers interacting. That worked as entertainment and getting people to a given place, but did not increase purchase of promoted good.  Can games be integrated?  Or is that further diversion?

... The Jennie Lee Research Laboratories at the Open University's (OU) Milton Keynes campus is home to a number of research projects exploring how a variety of technologies can be used to shape and change human behaviour. .... a PhD project utilising Microsoft's Surface touchscreen table PC to run a collaborative tour guide application, enabling up to four people to stand around the table together and build an itinerary for tourists visiting the city of Cambridge. Its creator, PhD student Richard Morris, wanted to build an interface that allows multiple people to interact with the application at once ...

Anonymizing Data Protecting Privacy

Does Anonymizing Data Help Protect Customers' Privacy?    When we looked at this we also suspected not, so were even often more careful by statistically generating samples using monte carlo techniques.

Infographical Data Journalism

Data is the new journalism?  I am always skeptical of the term infographics.   Information should be precise, clear, objective and of value.   Anything that emphasises just certain aspects of data implies spin and misdirection.  It is good to give journalists tools that help them deliver information, not infographics.

" ...  Google Helps Journalists Make Data More Informative, And Beautiful  ...

Millions in new grants will help journalist hackers create visually striking graphics that will both inform the public and help reporters find patterns they didn't know were there.    ... "