Mobile to become leading access point for connecting to the internet by 2020

November 22, 2009 by Michael Marlatt · 3 Comments 

Keys, money, and mobile device - these are the three most common things people never leave home without. While we may occasionally run out of the house without our wallet or keys, we almost never leave the house without our mobile device. Why is that? Well, if you really stop and think about it, our mobile device is more than just a phone; it’s our lifeline to the world. Let’s face it, mobile is our second shadow, always-on, and rarely does it ever leave our side. It fills a void. It provides us the ultimate sense of security, comfort, and most importantly it keeps us connected to the people who matter most.

According to a survey on The Future of the Internet III by Pew Research, the following were predictions about technology and its roles in the year 2020:


- The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.


- The transparency of people and organizations will increase, but that will not necessarily yield more personal integrity, social tolerance, or forgiveness.


- Voice recognition and touch user-interfaces with the internet will be more prevalent and accepted by 2020.


- Those working to enforce intellectual property law and copyright protection will remain in a continuing arms race, with the crackers who will find ways to copy and share content without payment.


- The divisions between personal time and work time and between physical and virtual reality will be further erased for everyone who is connected, and the results will be mixed in their impact on basic social relations.


- Next-generation engineering of the network to improve the current internet architecture is more likely than an effort to rebuild the architecture from scratch.



Today, we see a lot discussion around topics such as mobile marketing, mobile advertising, mobile search, SMS services, barcode technology, mobile video, augmented reality, touch screen technology, location based services (LBS), and the list goes on. However, I believe we are still only scratching the surface of what mobile has to offer. Who knows what the next 10+ years of mobile innovation will bring us. I am not sure about you but I’m certainly excited.

Isn’t it time to rethink our perspective on mobile? Still need inspiration? Watch this video…



Filed under: Blog Posts, Emerging Trends, Mobile 2.0, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Recruiting, Mobile Trends, On the Radar, Social Media, Surveys and Data, Video, Virtual Work, Web 2.0
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Augmented ID, a new mobile app and the ultimate ice-breaker?

July 11, 2009 by Michael Marlatt · Leave a Comment 





Augmented Reality (AR) is generating buzz as the “next killer mobile app” and for good reason. Take a look at Layar, Wikitude, IBM’s Seer app, TwittARound, Wildlife Fate Campagin, and the cool AR + 3-D campaigns by Hyperfactory, etc. and you will quickly understand why there’s so much hype around this new technology.

TAT creates Augmented ID

TAT, a Swedish software and design company, recently developed a new concept called Augmented ID. Augmented ID uses facial recognition technology and offers a convenient method for viewing the digital identities of the people around you. This could prove to be an interesting way to “break the ice” and get to know people. Imagine having instant access to information about a conference speaker, trainer, new client, co-worker, or a person you just met at a Starbucks. Regardless of how it is used, the possibilities are quite exciting. However, at the moment, Augmented ID is not yet ready for prime-time. For now, see below for a brief video intro…


Want more AR videos from TAT? Check out their showroom for a peek at other cool apps.

Filed under: Blog Posts, Cloud Computing, Emerging Trends, Mobile 2.0, Mobile Apps, Mobile Recruiting, Mobile Trends, On the Radar, Web 2.0
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Layar: The world’s first mobile augmented reality browser

June 30, 2009 by Michael Marlatt · Leave a Comment 

Introducing the Mobile Reality Browser…

Augmented reality browsing seems to be hitting the mobile scene in the a big way. Aside from Wikitude (which focuses on delivering travel-related info), the most talked-about player in the augmented reality browsing space is Layar. Layar has recently created and released an application that takes mobile browsing to the next level. Their mobile application essentially turns the mobile phone camera viewer into a real-time information portal. Layar shows what is around you by displaying digital information on top of the reality you are viewing through your phone’s camera.

At the moment, Layar’s mobile reality browser only runs on Android. If you are an Android user, you can download the app here. For the rest of the world, see video below…





Filed under: Blog Posts, Mobile Apps, Mobile Trends, On the Radar
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Pinger: Broadcast Voice Messages to a Group of People with One Call

May 13, 2009 by Michael Marlatt · 1 Comment 




Voice message broadcasting, when you need it, wherever you need it

At some point in our careers as recruiting professionals, it is highly likely we have been in the situation of supporting difficult clients, hard-to-fill needs, with next to impossible hiring deadlines. We all know that connecting with candidates is the most critical function of recruiting, yet on-going distractions throughout the day make it difficult to satisfy this fundamental aspect of what we do.

While some things remain outside of our control, the good news is that innovation in mobile technology has opened up a new channel for connecting with prospective candidates. Today, it is still a time-consuming process to call candidates individually in order to notify them of new career opportunities. However, thanks to a relatively new service called Pinger that has all changed. A key advantage of Pinger is that it provides users the ability to send a broadcast voice message to thousands of mobile recipients. Let’s say you are a recruiter with a well established candidate pipeline and all you need is a communication vehicle for pushing career updates. Whether it is a small or large audience, Pinger offers a quick method for disseminating a voice broadcast to a target candidate pool.

So, what are the benefits of using Pinger?

* Pinger can broadcast free voice messages to any mobile phone.
* PingerCast: Broadcast rich voice messages directly to thousands of mobile phones!
* Send free text messages to any US mobile phone with Textfree
* Send a picture to any US mobile phone via MMS or even to an email using Picfree
* Voice-Messaging Apps: Last 10 message previews, 1-button listen and more.
* Anyone with a text message-enabled mobile phone can use Pinger Voice Messaging.
* Access and Manage your messages, contacts and Pinger settings online.
* Import contacts from: Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, Palm Desktop, Outlook, or any mobile phone.
* Works with almost all carriers and mobile phones.
* Custom Pinger clients available for the iPhone, iPod, Palm Treo and Balckberry devices.

Getting started with Pinger

Pinger Voicemail is available only in the US. It’s very easy to setup a free account. Using your MOBILE phone, simply call 408-916-5008 and Pinger takes care of the heavy lifting.

To cancel the Pinger service, login to your Pinger Social account at http://m.pinger.com and select Options. On this screen select “cancel my account” and closely follow the instructions.

Pinger demo…




Pinger for everyday use…



* Explore Pinger’s FAQ section to learn more.


Filed under: Blog Posts, Mobile 2.0, Mobile Apps, Mobile Recruiting, Mobile Trends, On the Radar, Video
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Instant Mobilizer: A fast and inexpensive way to turn your website into a mobile website.

February 9, 2009 by Michael Marlatt · Leave a Comment 

Looking for a quick and inexpensive way to turn your website into a mobile-ready site? If so, here’s something that might interest you…

Instant Mobilizer, from dotMobi, delivers the mobile Web in seconds! dotMobi now offers a convenient and cost-efficient service to adapt an existing Web site into a mobile-friendly version.


Instant Mobilizer resizes images, reformats text and inserts other mobile-friendly features to ensure your Web site works on any phone. Now that more than 60% of consumers have Web-enabled phones, Instant Mobilizer is perfect for small businesses!

Visit Instant Mobilizer for more details.

Filed under: Blog Posts, Mobile 2.0, Mobile Trends, Web 2.0
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