History in the Making and in More Ways than One

Well, today we officially welcome the next U.S. president elect to the fold. Barack Obama will certainly have his hands full with the number of issues America faces. This blog is not political in nature however one cannot deny the significance of this moment. As a side note however, this point in American history is being captured and read in ways never imagined and that is what is catching my interest today.

To be more succinct, I just finished watching a news clip from the American news outlet ABC and how the Obama campaign won the young voters. They turned out in huge numbers to support his campaign. This group certainly played an instrumental role in him capturing the presidency. Why did the younger generations suddenly come alive and present themselves at the polls? Traditionally that vote has always been difficult for any candidate to capture. One could certainly point to the issues of the day truly impacting the American people and an utter dissatisfaction with the last administration. The mounting frustration and emotional strains caused by the current government’s policies such as the Iraq war. These policies were potentially hitting home in ways that haven’t been felt in a long time. I believe that these are but a few of the reasons for this young voter presence. One that I would like to look at today however is from the mobile technology side of things.

With today’s sources of news--traditional print, television, radio and word of mouth--playing their usual roles in influencing people’s thoughts, actions and beliefs, I am struck by just how fast the mediums of communication are changing. Today, as we can see, the young in particular are gravitating towards new sources such as the internet and even mobile web to fulfill their needs for the latest news. They may find this info from trusted news sources or they simply read an unfiltered blog.

To say this technology and the associated trends are not having an impact would be an understatement. Just look at what the company Twitter has been doing as of late and what role it has been playing in the election. For those of you not familiar with Twitter this company allows users to send short messages of up to 140 characters from a mobile phone or computer to other ‘followers’. The significance of this is that it has taken off in the States with news and opinions being shared by millions at any given time. It has become so huge that while Obama was campaigning against both Clinton and McCain he actually had an account set up and used it as a tool to connect with voters. He continued to use this service for the duration of his campaign and even sent a message upon winning the Presidency. Do not get me wrong, I am not suggesting that this particular service or technology itself was a decisive factor in this win. However, one cannot discount the affects that mobile related services such as Twitter may have had in uniting young people, challenging ideals and potentially swaying hearts and minds to a certain extent.

Another site created by Twitter tracked the current sentiment of the American people in a way that has never been done before. Basically this site tracks all the political messages on the service. Twitter regularly determines a set of 'Hot Election Topics' and displays every tweet that fits into these categories in an automatically updating stream. This type of technology certainly has the potential to galvanize voters, the younger ones in particular, as the way this information is presented is so new, hip and up to date.

The key to tech based info sharing services such as Twitter is this notion of always on and always available. Of course you can use a home based computer to log messages, however what really runs this engine is the mobile, with most users firing off these messages using their ketai’s.
As you can see here, the power of the mobile is there in a way which allows businesses to build powerful CRM tools to collect information, track sentiment and in some cases alter courses of action or even history. I hope you enjoyed today’s post and as always comments are welcome.

Canadian Chris

"The Times They Are a Changin..."

Exciting times we are living within I say. It sometimes takes a moment, thought or experience for that powerful realization to kick in though. I had one of those conscience awakening flashes this past week. I was thinking about this mobile revolution we are living through these days and just how quickly the technology is evolving. It really doesn’t seem all that long ago, when we were all gaga over the internet and what it potentially had to offer. Now, I know the internet is still developing and has much more to offer, however, one would be missing something if he or she didn’t realize that there has been a distinct shift in focus for a lot of companies—Google, Microsoft, Apple—towards mobile technology and development and this little device, which nearly all of carry on a daily basis.

The ubiquitous or ‘always on’ nature of this tool has had people drooling over possibilities for years. Since the keitai’s (Japanese word meaning mobile) inception the possibilities and discussions of developing a universal ‘life remote control’ have been thrown about more times than one can count. However, ten years back or even five years ago those were all just possibilities. Well, fast forward to the present and look around! My, oh my, have we come a long ways from those dreams.

To add some perspective, I picked up Rick Matheson’s book entitled Branding Unbound which basically covers the ‘future’ of advertising, sales and brand experience in the wireless age. This book was first published in 2005, which just under four years ago. Not that long ago right? Wrong! Especially if you are thinking in terms of keitai development, mobile CRM systems and the like! I found a passage in his book—which is an excellent read, or rather was excellent in 2005, but now somewhat dated and most useful to geeks like myself, who blog about the historical evolution of mobile developments. Yes, I am a techno. nerd. However, this book really allows one to see just how far we’ve come. Read, reflect and enjoy a quote lifted from Branding Unbound and an individual called Kenny Hirschorn, the director of strategy, Imagineering, and futurology for U.K.-based mobile carrier Orange:

“A few years from now, the phone call is going to be the lowest piece on the food chain. Of course, we will still facilitate voice communication. But on a daily basis, we will also awaken you in the morning. We will read you your email. We will start the oven. We will arrange transportation to and wherever you want to go. At the office, we will provide you with information and news.”

Check, check and check so far, in terms of what we are currently doing.

“We will translate information into foreign languages, or translate information into your language for you. We will track your health. We will track your family member’s location, if that’s what you want. We’ll be your bank, we’ll provide you with customized news and entertainment and we’ll even monitor your housing security as you sleep at night.”

Sound exciting? Not really eh. Why? Well, we have that technology right now, at least within Japan. That is all pretty much basic and wouldn’t raise an eyebrow to most within this country. That however, is my point you see, This device is rapidly altering the way most of us live and this change is happening now!

Companies or individuals willing to put the time in are leading the charge now, but as we all know, the old adage about today’s leader not always equaling tomorrow’s is something to keep in mind. Especially, for those of us who are big or small movers and shakers in this world of mobile technology and development. Just as Bob Dylan had it right in the sixties with his album about change and revolution, I too would like to join the chorus and hum away to these changin times.

As always, I invite comments about this post and others. In addition, I invite comments on how to introduce more readers to our blog.

Canadian Chris