Why Entertainment Will Drive the Next Checkin Craze

via mashable.com

I can see this happening, geo-tagging where you are while out and about like Foursquare services provides is certainly a marketing and sharing tool but the idea of tracking, commenting and providing insight into viewing habits takes those little Nielson services to a whole new level.

I was surprised to see that 3 out 4 viewers are already online while watching their fave episode of Mad Men or what ever they are into. What I like about the concept is being able to not only share what you are watching but also comment or even better have a conversation with those that are doing the same.

The worry I have is do I have to build a separate network or can I just tap my existing ones? I find the Foursquare network building to be more self serving then actually something you can celebrate or build on. Perhaps the culture of entertainment as the Mashable piece http://bit.ly/aRweGA suggests will better engage the social networking environment especially with the iPad and mobile options.

It's just a matter of time before it all merges into one big melting pot - I'm just hoping my smart remote can control the new world.

- Michael Sola heads up the IT Dept at NWF. he's a blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings

No Fear, Google Wave Decision Shows Strong Innovation and Balls!

via blogs.hbr.org

I remember when I first saw the Wave promotion, the 90 min video demo'ing the product, it even showed the technical meltdown that happened during the demo which I thought was ballsy - but in the back of my head I kept saying "huh" like Tom Hanks in Big said during board room - "I don't get it" and I didn't get it and I had a few years on the "child like" approach Hanks portrayed in Big.

I tried for about a month to get into Wave but it just didn't click. Evidently I wasn't alone but I'm not commenting about that today, what I am thinking about is how Google, as discussed in this Harvard Business Review, had the gumption to pull the plug and move on.

Innovation is good, failure is part of the formula - we all trip and fall before we walk so why don't we celebrate our failures more often in the tech world? Isn't that how we learn and grow? How many of us have tried to implement or move tech in a direction that utterly failed and we tried to forget or bury it rather then celebrate the attempt and learn from it?

As the Matrix Group http://www.matrixgroup.net so eloquently said on a recent Facebook post: " . . . they ( Google ) have the courage to shut down initiatives that don't quit succeed, without punishing the project owners and learning a lot from the efforts! Impressive, indeed! Is your organization holding on to any dead horses?"

Admitting you have a lame duck software solution in place is a hard pill to swallow, stepping up or rather standing up for change that may go against the culture . . . now that takes balls!

- Michael Sola heads up the IT Dept at NWF, blogger, invited presenter and speaker - he also rarely has to show ID to walk into a pub. Follow him at http://twitter.com/michaelsola : his views and comments are his own

Posted via email from Michael's Ramblings