Here’s a quick video that demos Type n Walk in action:

Aside from Type n Walk, there are many similar apps that provide users the ability to email, text, or tweet while still viewing their surroundings. Here are some notable apps worth reviewing:

For the iPhone User…

» Type n Walk – Type n Walk™ displays a transparent viewport of what’s directly in front of you. This combined with your peripheral vision is just enough visual information to help you avoid obstacles — like walking face-first into a pole!

» Easy Walk & Type – Easy Walk & Type is an innovative app that helps you keep an eye on the path in front of you while typing. It is the safest and most convenient way for you to write email, notes or copy/paste to all popular apps like SMS, Twitter, Facebook etc. while walking. You are able to keep an eye on the surrounds whenever you type on iPhone.

» iType2Go – is the revolutionary new way to SMS/email and update your Facebook/Twitter status while walking.

» Email n Walk – Email ‘n Walk lets you safely compose emails on the go! To send an email while on the move, just open up Email ‘n Walk, and enter the subject and message text while a transparent view shows the world around you via your iPhone’s camera.

» Text Vision – Text Vision adds a Spin on Texting, Emailing, updating Twitter Statuses, and Posting to Facebook. Users can compose emails/texts/facebook statuses/twitter updates/twitpic posts all in one application. What’s so unique about this application? You never miss a second of the world around you while composing your messages.

For the Android User…

» Road SMS – text while walking.  This app is currently only available for Samsung Galaxy S phones.

» Walk n Write – This application allows you to see where you go while you write text on phone. It uses camera to show you any obstacles on your way. Your text is displayed foreground the camera preview.

» Type n Walk – Application that allows you to type SMS and emails while keeping an eye on what’s ahead of you!

» Text Bot – Texting while driving is dangerous and illegal. With Text Bot your phone will instantly display your incoming text messages and let you auto reply or press 1 button to reply to them. Just like changing your radio station or adjusting your heat.

Final Thoughts

Most of the apps and their developers make it clear that they cannot take any responsibility for the stupidity of some users. Inevitably, there will be users who still believe they’re savvier than the rest and may even try to use these apps to text or email while driving. From the Developer’s perspective, they have conquered a major “pain point” for those who insist on texting while walking. If their apps ultimately help users avoid tripping onto curbs, walking into traffic, or even stepping into manholes, then they will have accomplished the app’s core objective.

So, enough of what I think. I would like to know your thoughts. Do you think these apps actually benefit mobile users or simply reinforce the bad behavior?

Margo’s question:

“What was the single most important take away for the #SHRM conference where you were presenting on April 26th?”

The single most important take away?  Wow, now that’s a tough one.  Margo’s question is very timely and deserves more than a simple one word response. With 91% of Americans now mobile subscribers, there’s no better time to discuss how mobile plays into HR & recruiting.

Here are FIVE TIPS for any employer considering a “mobile recruitment” solution:

Tip #1: Think Strategy before Tactics.

While we can agree having the right technology is important, an organization should first ask the all too familiar question:  What keeps you up at night?  Understanding the key “pain points” in your recruitment efforts is critical.  Next, ask WHAT do you hope to accomplish by deploying a mobile solution?  Will it help by filling a particular gap in your recruitment efforts?  As much as I like to talk about mobile, the reality is that maybe mobile is not the right solution for what you are trying to accomplish.  Clarifying the basics needs up front and having a clear goal will ultimately determine a number of other “tactical” considerations.  Avoid a cookie-cutter approach.  Like any other mass marketing effort, develop a customized solution that is in line with the needs of your organization and target audience.

Tip #2: Selecting a Mobile Platform/Provider.

Once a clear strategy & objective has been determined, it will be much easier to proceed with selecting the “right” mobile provider.  When selecting a provider to host your mobile recruitment campaign, you should take time to consider whether they offer the level of service you need in order to properly execute your desired campaign.  For example, let’s say you’re interested in deploying an SMS (text-message) campaign and also need a mobile web presence.  Your initial goal may be focused on building a network of prospect talent via the mobile channel that your company can later engage. Your company might be interested in sending SMS/text-messages related to employment surveys, job alerts, career event info, or other company related updates, etc.  To do this, you will clearly want to identify an organization with a proven track record of delivering SMS solutions. The good news is that there are many providers out there that offer SMS services with flexible two-way text-messaging capabilities.  In addition, many of these companies are typically able to help create a mobile optimized web site, which (in my opinion) is a must have for any employer.

Clearly, determining the tactical part will be much easier if you first understand what you want and hope to accomplish. Avoid the temptation of trying to run before you walk. For now, stay away from trying to integrate trendy technologies such as QR codes, Bluecasting, GPS, etc. While I fully expect providers of such services to disagree with me, my advice is keep it simple and consider your broader audience. When building your talent network, you don’t want to inadvertently isolate your audience based on the technology you select. Start with the end in mind before spending countless hours trying to figure out which is the “sexiest” mobile technology to deploy, or who is the best provider to manage your campaign.

Tip # 3. Develop a Mobile Web Presence

Creating a mobile web presence is important.  Based on your “call to action” (i.e., what you are asking your audience to do during your mobile campaign) – you will ideally want to redirect users to a final landing page.  That landing page could be a mobile version of a company’s site (or a mobile app) that might include a brief “how to engage us” form, a specific job to view, a “click to call” number, or other relevant information a company wishes to display.  While this may sound a bit complicated, just remember, you do not (and should not) have to go it alone.  Keep in mind, there are companies that can help you build and launch your SMS campaign.  Some companies, such as Jobing, are equipped to create a fully functional mobile web version of your career portal.  If you prefer the mobile app route, you should consider AllTheTopBannanas (a company founded by Dave Martin).  Dave’s company is based out of the UK and has a strong track record of rapidly building out “a fully branded iPhone application for your business“.  In addition, they are scheduled to be on Android by the end of May then Blackberry by the end of June.  Definitely keep your eye on this company as you will likely hear more of them soon.

Tip #4: Time, Place, & Relevancy

My friend Mike Galyen said it best:  Time, Place, Relevancy is key with mobile.  And, you know what? He is spot on.  I could write an entire blog on this topic alone; however, suffice to say it’s important that we keep the audience in mind when developing a mobile  campaign.  If we fail to deliver information to our target audience with the proper context of time, place, and relevancy in mind, we will not likely see the level of return (or engagement) we expect.  Why is that?  Well, if you are running a mobile campaign targeted at attracting sales professionals, you clearly would not want to send text-alerts related to software development, project management jobs, etc. Keep it relevant and you’ll keep them engaged.

Oh, and remember this…

There are no short-cuts in mobile marketing. Everybody starts at ground zero when building a mobile network.  With mobile marketing, the success can often be attributed to the fact that it is 100% permission-based.  Mobile phone spam is illegal. Shally Steckerl (at Arbita), produced a very easy to understand post for recruiters on the topic of SMS-spam. There are strict regulations that govern the practice of mobile marketing and the fines for sending commercial text spam are often very severe. A single violation can potentially set you back $11K! So what’s the point? There are no quick fixes or short-cuts when deploying an SMS campaign. It requires planning, patience, and hard work. We all start from scratch and build our mobile network one “opt-in” at a time. If a prospect candidate is opting into your mobile “talent” network it’s because they want to engage with your organization.  We all know that the mobile is a personal device so it’s important we don’t abuse this channel.  Candidates want to engage with your organization and are waiting for you to communicate with them. By keeping the delivery of your content relevant, you are far more likely to engage the candidates successfully and retain their interest long-term.

Tip #5: Remember to Integrate

Mix it up!  Although mobile SMS is the most widely used DATA application on the planet, mobile as a standalone solution will not work. Consider fully integrating your mobile campaign across a wide variety of media channels (e.g., print, radio, tv, internet, etc).

Need real examples?

American Idol

Back in 2005, American Idol gave viewers the option to SMS (text) in their vote when selecting a favorite singer.  Amazingly, 41.5 million responded to this “call-to-action” and voted via SMS.  In 2006, the number of votes via text-messaging totaled 120 million.  The integration of SMS (text-messaging) with live TV was a success and certainly a history-making event.  They nailed the time, place, and relevancy concepts – hence the amazing results.

Obama Campaign

The Obama camp experienced great success in their use of SMS to communicate and engage their opt-in followers.  This was especially evident when Obama announced his VP selection via SMS. An estimated 2.9 million text messages were sent, which is the single largest mobile marketing event in history.

Although both examples above are above the norm, you don’t need to have a large budget to advertise your mobile campaign.  Think viral.  Start by advertising across the standard online channels such as a company careers site, a Linkedin page or group, a Facebook fan page, your company Twitter site or Youtube channel, podcast, etc.  Of course, don’t forget to rally the recruiting team and educate them on the mobile campaign.  Each Recruiter can also serve as an ambassador by advertising the mobile campaign on their signature, Linkedin/Facebook profile, personal tweets, etc.  If you are attending a professional conference as a speaker, make sure to add your SMS campaign to your presentation signature (front or last page).  Include the URL to your mobile site, or point them to where they can download your company’s mobile (careers) app.  Bottom line, advertise and promote wherever possible.  The idea here is to be creative and don’t allow budget to be a constraint.

Final thoughts…

I realize this is way more detail than Margo had requested; however, I provided the deep-dive to help others who did not have an opportunity to review “Recruiting on the Run” or sit in on the SHRM-Mobile Recruiting presentation.  There’s so much more that could be said on each of the topics presented above.  However, I hope the high level provides a starting point for those who are considering a mobile option as a compliment to their recruitment efforts.

Let’s face it, our mobile device is with us 24×7, always within arms reach, and rarely ever shared. Regardless of what device you favor, one thing is certain:  the mobile device connects us all and is the one piece of technology that we never seem to be without.  With all the buzz around mobile apps, it’s important we don’t forget one of the most basic (yet powerful functions) of the mobile device – SMS (text-messaging).

Let’s first define SMS (text messaging)…

According to the CTIA:

SMS (Short Message Service) is a text-only message delivery system on mobile phone networks. As a compliment to voice calls, text messages travel through the wireless service provider’s network, routed and delivered much like a voice call. The messaging server for SMS or text messaging routes all messages to the appropriate mobile phone or application based on the number in the destination address.

SMS:  Some amazing SMS stats…

- On July 23rd 2010, SMS will celebrate its 18th birthday.

- SMS (text message) user base in 2009:  3.6 Billion

- By the end of 2010, it is estimated that we will finally reach 4B active users of SMS text messaging.

- Worldwide, 4.5 Trillion SMS text messages were sent in 2009.

- SMS usage is expected to grow by 22% in 2010, to – 5.5 Trillion total SMS text messages sent globally.

- The big driver in the SMS traffic now is North America, as Americans finally joined the SMS texting bandwagon along with the rest of the world.

- 94% read rate for SMS (75% read immediately), 15-20% response rate vs 1% for traditional media

And, did you know…

-4.6 Billion actual mobile phones are expected to be in use by the end of 2010

-60 countries have already reached 100% mobile phone penetration rates (incl. Brazil, France, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey)

- Italy, Israel, Hong Kong, Russia etc are all at 150% mobile phone penetration

- Europe has surpassed 125% mobile phone penetration rate

- Worldwide email user base: 1.4 Billion

- Worldwide Internet user base: 1.7 Billion  (including those who access at internet cafe’s and those who use the internet on their mobile phones).

- Worldwide PC user base: 1.2 Billion

Stat Source: Tomi Ahonen, Communities-Dominate

So what’s the point?

With the amazing apps being produced for the Android, and iPhone, it’s very easy to be enamored by all the slick new mobile applications flooding the market.  However, let’s not forgot that SMS is still the most widely used DATA application on the planet and an extremely powerful channel for connecting and engaging our target audience.  While many mobile users may not yet have a smart phone, or even mobile internet access, virtually every mobile device has SMS (text-messaging) capability.  If you are a company planning on integrating mobile as part your overall interactive marketing strategy (and have a limited budget/resources), consider creating an SMS campaign and tie that into your mobile web site.  Most importantly, remember that it doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.

As a side note, on April 26th, I will be co-presenting at SHRM in Orlando-FL to further elaborate on this topic (along with my good friend Chris Hoyt-AKA @TheRecruiterGuy).  If you have plans to attend SHRM this month, please make sure to look me up and say hello.



Why all the hype around Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is generating buzz as the “next killer mobile app” and for good reason. The trend in augmented reality is gaining greater momentum, which is evident by the many new vendors entering this space. Take a look at Wikitude, IBM’s Seer app, TwittARound, Wildlife Fate Campagin, or the cool AR + 3-D campaigns by Hyperfactory, etc. and you will quickly understand why there’s so much hype around this new technology. Whether you are shopping, searching for the nearest restaurant, gas station, or job-hunting on-the-go, AR has the potential to offer a little something for everyone.

Want to see more of what the future holds? Check out the latest video by Layar…

My advice? If you are truly passionate about mobile in general (e.g., iPhones, Androids, Palm Pres, Window Mobiles, Blackberries, design, mobile gaming, coding, mobile media, etc), this event was intended for YOU. The doors will open at 8:00am on Saturday, July 18th but feel free to get there early. I will actually be helping to process many of the incoming attendees so make sure to look me up at the entry point and say hello!

Want a jump start? Grab your mobile, TXT ‘MARLATT‘ to 41411 to get my contact details.

Hope to see you at the event! Oh, and of course, don’t forget to follow @MobileCampATL on Twitter. To register for the FREE unconference event, Click here.

Image source: iPhone Camp Atlanta

Expect more AR apps for mobile devices in the future.

1. JobCompass

JobCompass, is a free iPhone app that offers job-seekers the ability to easily view jobs within their immediate proximity. The app is completely intuitive. To start, users simply enter the job search keywords, then specify radius. The app does all the heavy lifting. See video below…

2. Layar

Layar, is the world’s first mobile augmented reality (AR) browser. In layman terms, Layar enables users to view the general surroundings (via a camera phone) and instantly retrieve “real-time” data based on a user’s geolocation and where the camera is being pointed.

Unlike JobCompass, Layar was not specifically designed with the job-seeker in mind. However, it only takes a brief review to understand the value this application offers to job-seekers, as well as recruiters. Imagine the ability to scan your physical surroundings, target key companies within your local proximity, and then view a list of real-time job openings for your target client. Layar is just that slick and it would offer an advantage for account managers working out in the field, or job-seekers looking for new employment.

Two Examples of Layar’s Location-Based Job Search feature:

1. Click here to watch the video below at the 6:00 minute mark for more on this topic.

2. Mightbe.me – Augmented Reality Job Search prototype developed by Bonnier R&D showing how you can find jobs in your surroundings through augmented reality. It’s built in Layar and uses data from Workey.se and Eniro.se. Created by Fredrik Davidsson, Paulina Modlitba Söderlund and Björn Jeffery during the Swedish Entrepreneur Event 24 Hour Business Camp 2009.

Layar is a free app that is available for the iPhone, T-Mobile G1, HTC Magic and other Android phones in Android Market. iPhone Mobile users may now download the Layar app here.

Do you believe location based services will change the way candidates look for work in the future? What do you think?

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.

The latest release of Evernote for iPhone, version 1.4, introduces our most (MOST) requested feature: offline notes. We call them Favorites, and here’s how they work.

When viewing a note on the iPhone or iPod Touch, you’ll see a little gray star in left corner of the note title. Once the note is fully loaded, tap the star and that note instantly becomes a favorite. It’s now quickly accessible any time, even offline. To view your favorites, click on “Favorites” in the tab bar along the bottom of the application.

Great for the iPod Touch

This feature is particularly useful for iPod Touch users. Now you will be able to view selected notes even when outside WiFi range.

Planes, trains, and automobiles

With Favorites, you can access selected notes any time you like, no matter where you find yourself. So, whether you’re heading to the corner deli or to New Delhi, the information you need is always close at hand.

Evernote Blog.

OLO Computer is showing off an iPhone powered notebook/netbook, where the brains of the computer appears to be the iPhone itself.

As you can see from the image below, the screen of the OLO appears to be running a desktop version of Mac OS X, which isn’t the interface the iPhone uses, so it’s not clear just how accurate a representation this image is of the OLO in operation.

iTWire – A Netbook-style clamshell for the iPhone is coming!.