It may be the most logical next step Amazon could take. At re:Invent today, they announced their newest service, Amazon WorkSpaces. In their own words on the Amazon site: Amazon WorkSpaces is a fully managed desktop computing service in the cloud. Amazon WorkSpaces allows customers to easily provision cloud-based desktops that allow end-users to access […]
Latest News
Customer loyalty is the new customer service
In a recent post, 3 Reasons Loyalty Programs Aren’t Optional, I pointed out why loyalty programs are a critical part of customer engagement. A sudden surge in tablets and smartphones, the phenomena of Big Data, and the need for customer permission to avoid creepiness were reasons every brand needs to have a loyalty program. But […]
More data scientists or less complex big data applications?
In Venture Beat yesterday, Meghan Kelly wrote up an article saying that data scientists, “…may soon become one of the most sought-after people in your industry.” with an accompanying infographic (see below). As evidence, Kelly said that data scientist job postings increased 15,000 percent between 2011 and 2012 alone. I think she has it wrong […]
Tesco begins real-time marketing using facial recognition
Last week it emerged that retail giant Tesco is to implement screens in its forecourt petrol stations which can tell a customers’ age and gender in order target advertising more effectively. The system uses facial recognition technology to make this happen. Tesco will introduce the OptimEyes screen, developed by Lord Alan Sugar’s Amscreen, to all […]
What happened to the buzz around NoSQL?
Over the past several years there has been an enormous amount of press over NoSQL, which is a way to store and retrieve data found in a less structured and less consistent form than relational databases. NoSQL was claimed to be the heir apparent to the relational database, the kind that made Oracle an enormous […]
Customer engagement requires knowing your crowd
How well do you know your customers? While most brands would say they know their ideal shopper, how many can break down their customer engagement into finely tuned segments based on analytics? Some can, but too many are still behind the curve when it comes to having the loyalty platform to gather data, visualize and discover patterns of people […]
Internet 3.0 and the rise of the gatekeepers
The Internet is in danger and if 1.0 was its dawning, 2.0 was the creation of apps, 3.0 may go down in history as the rise of the gatekeepers. What has made the Internet so amazingly innovative is its opportunity for all. Anyone, yours truly included, can create a presence, draw attention and find journalistic […]
There are two kinds of customer loyalty
There’s an enormous amount of buzz in the marketplace around loyalty. But how many of the conversations make the distinction between the two kinds: one of them that’s good for the moment and the other that’s good for the long haul? Knowing the difference has a real impact on how a brand designs, implements, and […]
CIO: take a lesson from Speedy Gonzalez
Do you remember Speedy Gonzalez, “The fastest mouse in all Mexico?” He never lost to his nemesis, Sylvester, known south of the border as El Gringo Pussygato. He was hero to his mouse compatriots because he was smarter and faster than the competition guarding the cheese factory. If Sylvester wasn’t tricked into consuming large amounts of […]
How much should we really expect privacy?
Derrick Harris wrote up a great piece for GigaOm today, Pondering Privacy, Part 2: Let’s get over ourselves already. In his article, he argues the following: While the work privacy advocates do to highlight the tactics and implications of online data collection is commendable, it’s a little misleading. No, it’s not ideal that companies and […]
One man’s trash is another man’s big data
In 2012 the Senseable City Lab, part of MIT, conducted an experiment called Trash Track to see just what happens when someone takes out the trash. By attaching transmitters to over 3,000 pieces of rubbish they were able to track where that item went, whether they went to the correct recycling facility or not, and how far […]
3 reasons loyalty programs aren’t an option
If you happened to be at TUCON 2013, TIBCO’s user conference, you heard about Turning Customers into Fans from Head of Client Technical Services Wen Miao. In Miao’s words, “It is no longer acceptable to have only a transactional relationship with customers.” He’s absolutely correct. We are in an age where we can use our loyalty platform as the […]
Leveraging Silicon Valley — from wherever you are
In business, volatility used to be more limited to the realms of finance and high tech. But as the tech wave has continued to sweep the globe, the environment for all organizations, including non-tech ones, has shifted from stability and predictability to rapid, unpredictable change. Innovations like Amazon price checks, or changes to healthcare or […]
When another 2 billion join the connected world
We’re in Peru on vacation and enjoyed Machu Picchu just today. What struck us throughout this trip is the level of connectedness, even in the more remote areas of the country. We bought local rail tickets from an iPhone, texted from the Incan ruins and made it back in time to catch the World Series (in […]
Follow us!
Subscribe to our e-mail newsletter to receive updates.
News sites
All Things D
ARS Technica
Engadget
GigaOM
Mashable
TechCrunch
The Verge
Venture Beat
WiredBlogs
Chris Brogan
Brian Solis
Chris Dixon
Clay Shirky Blog
HBR Blog
IT Redux
Jeremiah Owyang
Radar O'Reilly
Seth Godin Blog
SocialMedia Today
Solve for Interesting
The TIBCO Blog
LifehackerTwitter Profile
Successful Workplace
The world is a crazy place...we give it some measure of sanity
Southern California
368 friends
1129 followers
10330 tweets
Tweeting since January 31, 2012
