The Daily

Some ways the indispendsible mobile phone is helping us with our day-to-day living.

The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition

Canada

Cell phones get in the way of intimacy

Fri Jul 28 2006

By Misty Harris
LONELY hearts hoping for a love connection are increasingly getting a busy signal thanks to a trend that finds people using their cellphones to repel potential suitors.

According to one of the largest mobile technology surveys ever conducted, one in five people admit to enlisting their cell as a "symbolic bodyguard" to deflect the advances of strangers in public, typically staging fake calls or pretending to text message to avoid chats. For adult women under 25, the number skyrockets to 55 per cent.

Those couples that do make it to the bedroom still run the chance of having a cell come between them, as only 14 per cent of people surveyed turn off their mobiles before doing the deed. Eleven per cent compromise by switching their cells to silent, while the rest wouldn't dream of breaking their link to the outside world.

"For some people, it's extremely important to stay connected," says Richard Smith, publisher of the Canadian Journal of Communication. "They don't let a little sex get in the way of that."

Market research agency YouGov, in association with the London School of Economics, conducted the survey of more than 16,500 people across the United Kingdom. Results were published this week as part of The Carphone Warehouse's Mobile Life Report 2006.

On this side of the pond, you don't have to look far to find evidence of the survey's key findings. Just two months ago, Paris Hilton's publicist issued a statement regarding his client's fondness for simulating calls to shield herself from onlookers, noting the heiress "uses her cellphone as a defensive tool."
Click here to find out more!
Accordingly, the Mobile Life Report found a whopping 82 per cent of women feel safer when toting a cellphone while "out and about." Likewise, a cellphone brings feelings of security to 49 per cent of men.

Analysts attribute a portion of this behaviour to people's penchant for using their phones as a barrier.

"A cellphone isn't a date-deflector by design, but it does the trick," says Smith, an associate professor of communication at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University.

"There's this notion that when you go into the phone, you're literally turning away from the rest of the world -- which really annoys some people. But in the unwelcome advances department, it's perfect because it seems so completely uncontrived."

In addition to stopping relationships before they start, cellphones are also being used to end relationships that have run their course.

One in five people aged 18 to 24 have sent or received a "Dear John" kiss-off via text message; the number drops to 12 per cent for those 25 to 29, and to eight per cent for the 30 to 39 crowd.

Those who aren't breaking off unsatisfying relationships might fall into a separate category of mobile deceivers.

About 28 per cent of adult men and women under 25 confess to regularly using their cellphones to text or talk to someone they don't want their partner to know about.
In the 25 to 49 demographic, 18 per cent of men and 13 per cent of women said the same. For those 60 and older, just five per cent fell into this group.

-- CanWest News Service

What The Daily Brief Says: Researching Telephony in Manitoba a bit. First phones in late 1870's were called Butterstamps after the dairy churns. Now we're digital and highly mobile with small devices. Yesterday was so old school, we're saying. What will those of the 22nd century think of our communications in the 21st century. What will be different in 2106?

MHSÂ Transactions: A History of the Telephone in Manitoba

(Actual excerpt)
"But progress was being made. A sure sign was the introduction of the telephone to Winnipeg in 1878.

This was the first glimpse of telephony in the entire west and it came in the form of two instruments which had been brought in by Horace McDougall, Manager of the Northwest Telegraph Company in Winnipeg.

McDougall, a telegraphic operator and electrician was the first person here to obtain the right to install or make use of the Bell patented phone. His territory as Telephone Agent included the three prairie provinces.

On March 1, 1878 Mr. McDougall rented the first two hand telephones for his own private use. He strung wire from his home at 152 Garry Street to the Telegraph Office located on the same property. Like all novelties he knew enough to set the value of his service at a stiff price. The rate was $60 a year and the few who could afford it obtained a new dignity in the community.

These early telephones were an awkward device. They were sometimes referred to as "Butter Stamps". They resembled the receivers of modern desk telephones, but were used for talking as well as listening. Users had to shift the instrument from mouth to ear and back again. There was no way of signalling the person at the other end of the line, a caller had to tap on the mouthpiece with a pencil to attract attention.

Within six months the Custom House, the Manitoba Free Press and the Railway office were proud to have interconnecting telephones in their offices.

Three years later, the city boasted of having 10 telephones on one line, which was assuredly more than any other city at that time. In addition, Winnipeg had 26 subscribers."

What the Daily Brief says:  Firefox with tabbed browsing and extensions has made me a complete convert.  Thought they wouldn't have the same security issues that Internet Explorer had but unfortunately we are starting to see the need for updates frequently as well.

Mozilla Firefox Cheat Sheet: 

worth printing or bookmarking for all Firefox users

What The DailyBrief (Bob) says.   Use Firefox, add great extensions and subscribe to RSS feeds and watch your productivity and knowledge increase.

Micro Persuasion: 35 Ways You Can Use RSS Today

35 Ways You Can Use RSS Today

Almost every day I find a completely new way to use RSS feeds that I hadn't seen before. So, with that here are 35 ways you can use RSS feeds today. in most cases, they go beyond news and blogs.

1. Track drunk athletes (RSS) and 34 more

What The Daily Brief (Bob) Says:
It’s being called the sobriety phone.  Blogs were buzzing when errant talk said it was coming soon to North America.  Not so apparently.  South Korea gets it first because LG is headquartered there.  No more drunk phoning to ex girlfriends (remember Sideways) or sending the boss pictures of body parts he doesn’t want to see. Apparently the phone blocks certain  (numbers you predetermine) calls from being made if it detects alcohol on your breath.  What about drug related checks? 

What do you think are some other nifty gadgets you can cram into a phone to make them even more indispensable.  A 2005 survey in Europe by BBDO Europe of 3,000 cellphone users found that almost 40% of users (men I’m presuming) would return home for their cellphone rather than their wallet if either was forgotten. I’m in that 40%.  Well we can start by putting all the features of the wallet into the phone.  Ability to transmit debit card info to a reader at the 7-11 and so forth.  And for the George Costanza’s of the world, maybe a money clip that you can attach to the back to put all your receipts into as well. 

We’ve got text messaging for dating and getting pick up lines from your buddies nearby, we’ve got cameraphones and cameraphones video movies.  That’s Old School already most everyone under 30 would say, but I for one know so many not even using the phone(s) for any features beyond voice to voice.  The industry has to do more at each level-the early adopters want more and the not in my life adopters need to have their hands held a lot.   Let’s start a conversation about new useful and even fun and goofy features mobile devices could have.  For something practical, what about a sensor that detects if you have fallen asleep while driving and plays a stirring version of O Canada or Morning Reveille

Hello? Am I above the legal limit? (link to Wireless Report story)

(Verbatim excerpt)

“Hello? Am I above the legal limit?

Posted Jun 28th 2006 4:30PM by Michael Sciannamea
Filed under: WiFi, Cellular, MAN - muni, Applications, Business

Courtesy of ABC NewsAs we already know, people carry their cellphones with them everywhere they go, and that includes places where alcohol is being served and consumed. In taking a step in the prevention of people indulging too much and getting behind the wheel of a car, LG of South Korea is introducing its LP4100 model handset later this year which features an embbeded Breathalyzer application.”

We also saw the story here:
LG LP4100 breath-analyzer cell phone to plug up mobile drunk dialing - Gizmowatch

Even the newspapers have got that new product excitement buzz.  A Canwest News Service story originating out of Montreal appeared on page 2 of the Winnipeg Free Press.   Headline: “Cellphones take care of drunks…Cam pix won’t go astray”

PluggedIn: Online networkers prefer computers to mobile phones - Research/Trends - www.itnews.com.au

PluggedIn: Online networkers prefer computers to mobile phones
By Sinead Carew, Reuters 30 June 2006 09:29 AEST Research/Trends

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wireless companies hoping to emulate the success of online teen hangout Web sites like MySpace.com on mobile phones are finding it hard to entice teenagers away from their computers.

While young people happily use cellphones to send each other text messages and download ringtones, getting them to send video clips or post bulletins from their phone is proving difficult partly due to small screens and slow data speeds.

A plethora of mobile social network sites, such as Rabble, SMS.AC, Airg.com, Mixxer and JuiceCaster, have cropped up with an aim to cash in on the MySpace trend. Top US mobile phone service providers offer some of these services in the hope of boosting use of their wireless data networks.

Women dominate mobile phone gaming market - Telco/ISP - www.itnews.com.au

Women dominate mobile phone gaming market
By Laurie Sullivan 4 July 2006 09:53 AEST Telco/ISP

Women like to play games on mobile phones more than men, according to an analyst firm that has studied the gender gaming habits.

Apparently, Women represent 59 percent of US mobile gamers, says the study released by market research and consulting firm Parks Associates.

Wireless firms agree on rules for mobile websites - Convergence - www.itnews.com.au

Wireless firms agree on rules for mobile websites
By Staff Writers, Reuters 28 June 2006 10:07 AEST Convergence

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some of the world's top wireless and internet companies, including Nokia, Vodafone Group and Google, have agreed on a set of web site development guidelines aimed at making it easier to surf the internet on mobile phones.

The majority of mobile phones today have web browsers as wireless providers hope to expand beyond voice services, but only about 19 percent of US mobile phone users regularly use the web on their phones, according to researcher M:Metrics.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a group backed by representatives of 30 industry players for the project, hopes to improve on this percentage by creating 60 guidelines for developers to design sites that are easy to use on mobile phones, which have much smaller screens and tiny keypads.

The Daily Brief says:   Can business create and harness the collaborative wisdom?  Collaborative wisdom, it's a cut above the collective wisdom!   I believe we  used to call these the synergistic effects.   Can it be done online?   Enterprise 2.0, from Web 2.0 or my terms 21Web and Enterprise Evolved.  Article mentions Dabble DB (spreadsheets), Salesforce, Google Spreadsheet,  Writely, ThinkFree Office, Jotspot and Zoho Writer.  Last four are document sharing enablers online. 

The diffusion of knowledge and corporate direction throughout the company and it's various units, regions and locations was the major challenge I saw when active inside.  Will these collaborative approaches help?  I think so but we need widespread diffusion.  We also need to extend them beyond the simple sharing of documents, spreadsheets, calendars to the development and monitoring of the corporate strategic plan, yearly business plan and current targets and goals.


GlobeAdvisor.com   (story link non subscription)

(excerpt from original story
Harvard Business School professor Andrew McAfee calls it "Enterprise 2.0" -- a set of interactive, Web-based applications that companies can use to help employees work together and get the jump on rivals, without the cost of buying and hosting expensive software.

 "There is something about these new tools that enable new practices of collaboration," former Xerox chief scientist John Seely Brown told a recent technology conference. Michael Rhodin, general manager of IBM's Lotus division, said the Web 2.0 method of "capturing collaborative wisdom . . . is a different take on knowledge management, which was fundamentally flawed."

One of the latest entrants in this field is Vancouver-based Dabble DB, which came out of private "beta" mode this week and launched the public version of its service: An interactive database management tool that will spread joy to corporate project managers everywhere.

"This is Web 2.0 for the enterprise," the company's two 20-something co-founders, Andrew Catton and Avi Bryant, said in a recent phone interview. "It is absolutely for businesses, not for the average consumer user. What we've done is take all the principles of Web 2.0 and apply them to the enterprise."

by Winnipeg lawyer Brian Bowman

The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition
(excerpt)

Most blogs are quite harmless. In fact, progressive businesses are embracing blogs as an effective means to communicate in an innovative and interactive way to targeted audiences.

It can be an inexpensive way to generate positive online chatter about a business.

This makes sense considering that people are reading blogs. Last year, Ipsos-Reid reported that four in 10 Canadians (42 per cent) have read a blog at least once.

Other blogs, however, can have deeply damaging impacts on affected individuals and businesses. That’s because some bloggers use the online platform as a launching pad for virtual assaults against others.

Employers should be highly concerned about the blogging activities of employees. That’s because employees who use blogs can, among other things, engage in copyright infringement and defamation.

Employees who write blogs in the course of their employment activities are easier to manage with company policies and procedures. Employees that write their own personal blogs, outside of work, can raise more challenging issues for employers.

Conclusion it seems to me-a professional blogger (I’m leaning to calling the role commentator or colour guy (a la sports) :  Employees from the ceo on downward should be encouraged to blog on behalf of the company so corporate standards can be imposed.  The company should also be active with various theme or lines of business blogs written by professional bloggers on contract or full time.

The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition  (subscription)

1,400 summer jobs unfilled
Students are turning up noses at menial jobs, employers say.  Menial jobs examples are carpet cleaning and dish washing.  

Upstarts spur Dell to polish sales model

Upstarts spur Dell to polish sales model

space Advertisement
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SIMON AVERY
Globe and Mail Update

The orders keep coming in from around the world at a furious pace. Every two hours, computers at Dell Inc. automatically contact suppliers and order more parts to feed the company's hungry assembly lines.

The orders arrive through numerous channels: by phone, over the Internet or through sales staff in the field who sign contracts with businesses, governments and other organizations.

The world's largest PC manufacturer revealed for the first time last week just how big a force it has become in the e-commerce world since selling its first computer at Dell.com 10 years ago.

Dell's website is generating about $16-billion (U.S.) of sales every 12 months, John Hamlin, senior vice-president of global on-line business, told reporters last week at the company's headquarters in Texas.

That figure is almost twice as much as Amazon.com Inc., one of the world's most popular e-commerce companies, reported last year.

It also represents a healthy 29 per cent of Dell's total revenue of $55.9-billion for the fiscal year ended Feb. 3. And Mr. Hamlin estimates that the website touches as much as 80 per cent of the company's business in some way, as customers click through it for information.

Despite the amount of money Dell.com pulls in, the company has spent the last nine months overhauling the web operation, rolling out a redesign in May and promising further changes this year.

The move comes as the company faces more competition from Hewlett-Packard Co. and China's Lenovo Group Ltd., and as it deals with weakening sales to individual consumers, who account for about 15 per cent of business. For the first time in years, Dell has been growing more slowly than the rest of the PC industry in the United States, its biggest market.

Profit fell 18 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, to $762-million, and revenue grew by a slim 6 per cent to $14.2-billion. However, sales of desktop PCs actually declined by 3 per cent.

Dell executives are looking to website improvements to help the company return to double-digit growth. One of the new things on Dell.com is bigger promotions of actual products. Large images of PCs, servers, flat panel televisions and printers are splashed across the site, replacing discount promotions that used to dominate many of the pages.

The MARA organization created a list of 10 vulnerabilities that we should all be aware of and make sure we have covered. The areas of concern include WiFi, Bluetooth, VoIP, and loss.

Originally by Matthew Miller from The Mobile Gadgeteer on July 3, 2006, 4:27am

 Worth thinking about for present and future online communities

High and Low (or "How to love members... shall I count the ways?") - The Jason Calacanis Weblog

How do you show love in our world? Let me count the ways:

1. More disk space
2. Better screen real estate
3. Faster servers
4. Better editorial
5. More features
6. More support
7. Better design
8. Less ads
9. Less annoying ads
10. Less obnoxious ads
11. More targeted ads
12. Take that which is paid and make it free
13. Anticipate members needs and fill them
14. Surprise members with fun, new experiences
15. Communicate with members open and freely
16. Listen to members--then listen to them some more
17. Treat members how you would like to be treated
18. Be honest with members--always
19. Don't do anything sneaky because a) members are smart and will bust you, b) life is so short--why would you want to be a sneak?, and c) this is a long-term business, the short term is meaningless.
20. Respect your members wishes above all else. If they don't love you any more that is their choice, and it's an opportunity for you to reflect on why they don't love you (consider it a free focus group)
21. Let people consume your product on their terms with their software, browser, device, hardware or operating system (this is also known as the "don't be Microsoft rule").