Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The New Technology Revolution

On June 29Th 2007, just a little over 4 years ago, with lots of fanfare Apple Released the I Phone to a very large & waiting mass of technological hungry people. It was introduced by Steve Jobs just 6 months earlier and described as a mobile device that would revolutionize the mobility landscape as it was known. Little did anyone know at the time that the technology behind the iPhone would spur new products like the android, I pad, and Tablets and create technological revolution unlike any other in the history of mankind. These devices can function as a video camera, a camera phone, a portable media player, and an Internet client with email and web browsing capabilities, can send texts and receive visual voicemail, and has both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.

In a relatively very short period of time these devices have embedded themselves into our culture and every aspect of our personal lives and are growing in popularity and increasingly changing our day to day patterns from shopping to socializing. When you consider that they have already replaced the need for cameras, radios, phone books, maps, portable CD players, desk top computers, laptops, printed books and magazines, even guitar tuners you start to realize the impact on a variety of manufacturers. And in the near future they will replace your car radio, home DVD players, your keys, the post office and even your plastic credit card. They have put at the fingertip of every user any and everything imaginable by bringing wireless Internet activity to a mobile device. combined with over 50 million applications that currently exist, these mobile devices are seemingly unlimited in functionality If there is something that a person wishes there mobile device could do chances are there is an app for it or somewhere someone is developing one. It has changed and will continue to change life as we know it far more then the invention of the computer or even electricity. and where it is headed no one knows yet because we are only at the beginning of this technology phenomenon

Unlike other technology advances which were primarily developed by the space program and then driven by business in the Private sector, this revolution was developed by the privet sector and is driven by the consumer and has for the most part caught the business community as a whole off guard. But that is changing quickly as smart business CEO's and owners are scrambling to tap into this monster before it’s too late. It’s clear that businesses and especially retailers who do not embrace this quasar will fall by the way side and quickly cease to have customers. This is because consumers have adopted the technology and are learning to take advantage of the simplification and immediate gratification they bring to a hectic, in motion lifestyle. They are letting their devices guide them and it is up to businesses to insure that it guides them into their doors

Retailers need to understand that the concept of marketing to consumers hasn't changed, it simply has gone digital, and become very personalized. Printed ads and junk mail are wasted expenses and should be replaced with email and text databases, customer loyalty/reward plans and custom mobile apps that can be downloaded by the consumer and guide them to your door and keep them coming back. Every business should have a budget for not only an e-commerce website but also a down loadable mobile app that will add value to the potential customer.
Businesses also need to realize that these devices in the hand of an unhappy customer can have serious consequences. they bring a whole new meaning to "the customer is always right" This was displayed recently when Actor Alec Baldwin , minutes after a nasty confrontation with a airline stewardess tweeted from his mobile device to hundred o thousands of followers a comment about the confrontation and nowonderamericanairlinesisbankrupt. This one simple text caused a media storm and a nightmare for American Airline s marketing division.

Regardless of the pros and cons, these devices are here to stay and it appears where they are headed is where ever the imagination of software developers take it.

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