Check Please...

The greatest disservice that we can do to those that we work with or for is to allow technology to take the place of common sense. I spent the evening with MBA pals at Serrano's this week. Some arrived earlier than others, famished from a long day of work, and began eating. As others arrived, the table began to fill until we had a group of about 12 people...all ordering at different times with different tickets.

The waiter, who had clearly outsourced his common sense skills elsewhere, became so flustered by the number of orders and different orders. Unfortunately, his errors in common sense (and his bad attitude) made it impossible for the restaurant's POS system to help him. Ah yes, that's where technology fits in. Let me explain.

Basically, the crowd came in two waves. The first wave, ordered, ate, paid, then commenced to buying drinks and other things a la carte (if you will) from the bar. Instead of creating a separate table and allowing the POS system to do all of the work, he got flustered. Hence, he kept everyone on the same table, even though he had basically closed it out.

The following ensued: 45 minutes before chips and salsa were ever brought to the table...after we had to ask a manager. 1 Hour before our drinks ever made it to the table...after we had to ask a manager. 1 hour and 30 minutes before our food made it to the table...after we had to ask a manager, who let us know that as our waiter did not use his POS system correctly, our order was never placed. Oh yeah, my food was not correct. In fact, I think I ate someone else's food from the other end of the table. My B.

The moral of this story...Technology is here to help us. This whole issue could've been quickly resolved by using the technology appropriately and by doing a quick organization of the table's needs and status of each individual...A.K.A. The common sense. The technology is there, but if you do not know how to use it properly, then it becomes useless.

It's the Little Things in Life...

So I updated my phone recently and also updated the Facebook app. I found myself so mad at iPhone users because they had a places function that I didn't have. I wanted to be able to check in from different places, but to no avail.

So when I updated my app, places showed up on my front page. I was so excited that I decided I just had to check in. But to no avail. I couldn't figure out why it wasn't working and had to leave. When I finally turned on the GPS Satellites, my horizons were broadened and I was able to post my location for the world to see...Hopefully minus creepy stalkers and clingy girls.

All this to say, it is definitely the little things with technology that make it special. It's always those little moments where you enjoy something that you've never done before, or a special text from someone, or pics on your phone from the Vegas trip...sure, I love that movie. It was great!

Anyway, do something technologically savvy to either amuse yourself or a loved one today. It doesn't have to be a new Macbook Pro. However, if I am your loved one and you wish to amuse me today, that's a good way to do it. Send a cute text, post a pic on facebook, check yourself in on a date. After all, it's the little things that matter.

Can I Have This Particular Ad With My TV Show Please?

Hulu exec, Jason Kilar, recently talked about how Hulu is working hard to make ads bearable. In an interview, Kilar explained that Hulu was allowing viewers to take an interactive role in the ad selection process.

For instance, say you are watching an episode of Glee. Where commercial breaks are typically taken, Hulu inserts one or maybe two ads that run about a minute total. If you don't like the ad, you can select another one to view. This is so much more valuable to advertisers, since you personally selected it. Not only means that it helps them target your interests better, but you get to watch an ad that is more enjoyable to you.

Kilar said of this method, "Sure we want to make it a better experience for consumers, but it would be missing the whole picture if you didn't make it better for advertisers and content publishers."

Allowing consumers to watch exactly what they want with the ads that they want, will allow Hulu to continually take market share and remain an industry leader in the way we view television today.

Outsourcing IT in Business - When to and when not to

My dad owns a small grocery business in Plaquemine, LA. He like many other independent retailers, are part of a larger conglomeration of retailers that purchase product through a distributor, essentially. Until now, my father has relied on old school methods of business...simple adding machine, paper charge accounts, etc to get him through. I have been trying to convince him to shift to a POS system that tracks sales, credits and inventory.

His distributor provides such a service. It syncs his store system to the warehouse system, allowing him to search for trends and do automatic reorders, track inventory and look up many items and price changes at the drop of a hat. It is an integration of supply chain management, a system that he can outsource to his distributor, and the IT department will make sure that it runs efficiently and smoothly.

This Cadillac system with the bells and whistles comes at a steep price. For my father's purposes, it may be beneficial to input a system that is much simpler and does not come with the fancy add-ons that the distribution system provides. He can essentially put the same system in at a fraction of the cost, and it all runs on equipment that is user-friendly, which means that I could be his IT department.

Not sure which way he will turn, but sometimes as we learned in class, outsourcing for the bigger options is not always the right idea.

Yes, I am a prisoner...I take cash, check or credit, thank you!

I spent the day with good friends at the Angola State Prison Rodeo. For those who are unaware, the rodeo is at the penitentiary in the middle of nowhere. You aren't allowed to bring electronics into the facility supposedly (I saw alot of contraband) and it wouldn't help anyway. You don't actually get substantial cell service until you get to the main highway...almost ten miles away.

Now where does technology fit into all of this? I have to admit that I was a skeptic when I was asking myself...cash or credit? I typically don't carry cash ever. Usually, at events that come and go such as this one, cash is the only form of payment taken. So I left a few minutes early and hit up an ATM before I met up with my group.

Yet to my surprise, when I got through the gates, I could pay for everything with a card. I was shocked! Food you could purchase with cards. Crafts, made and sold by the prisoners, could be purchased with credit cards. I took my claim check (because they still don't find it smart to give a prisoner a CC number) to the payment station and to my surprise, the clerk was inputting data into a computer with a terminal hooked to it for running cards. Clearly, the service had to have some form of phone connection or wireless service.

All of this to say that if you ever find yourself as a prisoner making crafts for the general public at large, rest assured you can and will get your money. Because Angola State Prison rodeo is forward thinking when it comes to IT. You, oh convicted one, can get your money via cash, check, or the coveted plastic payment method!

Yeehaw!

Transforming Change

After listening to several panelists discuss the changes that IT has made to their organizations, one of the biggest things that has stood out to me is being able to share information. Some want to share information with employees. Others want to be able to share information with the public.

But the key theme here is that with information to be managed, what do you do with it and how does IT help you to distribute it? In the case of Healing Place Church, they have turned to an online campus to spread their information to the public. Church is no longer just church as normal.

In the case of Our Lady of the Lake and healthcare, the sharing of information has insured that healthcare can be administered quickly and efficiently. Healthcare officials no longer have to worry that patients are getting the right medication or things aren't being documented and stored.

This sharing of information is what I picked up on as essential to the spreading of IT as a network based strategy in the future of businesses.

Keeping up with the Jones'

Change affects everyone. Change in technology is always a scary thing. The more it changes the more we must change. I think that the biggest factor to a fear of technology is not only becoming obsolete, but a change in comfort level.

First let's talk about being obsolete. This is a factor for going with the changes. Everyone fears never being needed anymore. Jobs change as technology changes. People feel like they must change with the job so that they don't become obsolete because they do not know the knew technology.

The new technology is always replaced by the newest trends. New becomes old really fast. It is only when we change that we ourselves do not become obsolete.

However, this change always brings a fear of a change in comfort level. For instance, I heard someone once say that as a loyal Blackberry user, he or she was not fond of the idea (at first) of switching to an iPhone because of the changes that he or she would have to undertake. It takes more time, learning, skill and patience.

People resist change because the technology does not fit within their comfort level.

Could Android Eventually Take a Bite Out of Apple?

Android smartphone' OS has blown by Windows to take over the third spot in phone operating systems behind RIM and Apple respectively.

Click Here for the article.

I was recently sitting with some friends the other day. At a table of about 6 people, I had the only Android phone. It was new too, only about 48 hours old. The other 5 people were dedicated iPhone users. Some had the old 3G version while one or two had the new iPhone 4.

Like any new toy, they started passing my phone around talking about the pros and cons and how much better some things were than Apple's iPhone. My phone has its shortcomings, but I was surprised to hear it being compared so highly next to the iPhone.

I began to ask questions and the response that I got was that Apple has small details that they are refusing to fix which annoy users. There are certain functions that come standard on Android OS systems that you would have to jailbreak an iPhone to get. What I was told is that people like their iPhones, but that Apple isn't doing enough to compete with the changing market. When they were producing the only smartphone of its kind, the kinks in the system were okay.

Now that RIM and Android are all competing with Apple for the latest and greatest technology, different systems are pushing Apple to need to become faster in creating fixes for problems in their OS.

In fact, as the article suggests, Nielsen numbers show that Android devices outsold the iPhone for the first time ever last quarter?

Apple is steadily starting to lose market share in this changing economy. Will they rise to the challenge of creating a smartphone to compete with Android, or will they fade away as Google takes the Number 2 spot, and sets its eyes on RIM's marketshare.

Instant Gratification vs. The Cheaper Price

Society is getting faster! We want things on our own timetables. Usually at the click of a mouse. No longer do we shop based on what is on the store shelves, we can customize our shopping desires to meet our individual needs...and we can usually get them quick. But what happens when online and instant grat don't mix.

Sure, we understand what it's like to stream a video or purchase a song on iTunes, but what about those tangible items that have to be shipped when purchased. School books that take a week or two to get in. Concert tickets being mailed from Ticketmaster...or my favorite, a new cell phone. Forgive me for ranting, but this hits close to home.

I recently purchased a cell phone from my carrier's online store. I did this because there are built-in cost benefits to buying online. Rebates are usually automatically added instead of mail-in, as with a store. The problem was not with my price however. The price was exceptional. The problem was when my phone will actually ship to me. I purchased the phone on September 4, 2010. According to my carrier's web site, my phone (due to high volume) will not ship until September 17. I could drive down the street, walk in to the store (where they are in stock) and pay full price for my phone and fight the mail-in rebate. Instant Grat!

Instead, for choosing to purchase my phone online and save the money, and probably some overhead costs including the commission of the sales rep, the cost of operating the store that i was in, and the time spent shopping, I must now wait because an overwhelming volume of orders has delayed my order by two weeks.

Point: I am a byproduct of this fast-paced culture. You probably guessed it. My new phone is a smartphone. Just adding to the stereotype aren't I? We have become so permeated with the idea of instant grat that we just forget about waiting even one moment for something that we desire. Even now, I still check my email in the chance that they might send it early. How has this desire for instant grat affected us as a culture, and can we expect it to only get worse as technology progresses?

Facebook on iTunes?

Social networking has struck again...this time as part of Apple's iTunes program. iTunes 10 will include a new function called Ping, which will allow users to follow artists, and in turn be followed by other users.

http://www.cio.com/article/608772/Apple_Announces_ITunes_10?source=rss_news

Apparently, you can "create a "circle of friends," view what your friends are buying and listening to or watching, post your thoughts and opinions on artist and album pages, keep track of more than 17,000 concert listings, and mark which ones you're going to."


Because obviously EVERYONE needs to know that you bought an entire edition of Sesame Street Live for your kid...or was it for you?


The Point: Haven't we gotten so immersed in this transparent culture where we have to know where everyone is and what everyone does, that we have nothing better to do than follow the music purchases of others on iTunes? Sure, it might be another way for artists to connect with their fans, but I'm thinking that if you have lots of fans,the connection is going to be limited anyway. And really, who needs to know about 17,000 concerts?


Just another way that we can let our entire network of "friends" know every detail of our lives.