Author Archive

IBM predicts five imminent innovations

Posted on: January 5th, 2011 by Erin Butler

The future as we stereotypically imagine it is rapidly approaching. From papyrus to iPads, telephones to Facebook, what could possibly be next? As a digital strategist, I wish I could say I have the answers, but IBM beat me to it, of course.

The following are IBM’s recently released “Next Five in Five,” a list of life-changing innovations predicted to make a debut within the next few years. Looks pretty promising, although it is sans flying cars.

  • Interactive holograms and real time 3-D interface from digital devices
  • Batteries recharged by air, static electricity or kinetic energy, lasting 10 times longer than they do now.
  • Invaluable info collected from sensors in everyday devices and social media will be collected by scientists to formulate data sets for research.
  • Insightful computers feeding information to you to optimize your daily commute and soft-pedal traffic jams.
  • Systems that recycle thermal energy inadvertently emitted by computers and data centers.

It’s about time, I say. My mind is teeming with the possibilities these technologies hold. Considering the likely immensely positive impact of these innovations, let’s hope IBM is right.

Now if only teleportation were on the map.

Pay with your phone

Posted on: October 29th, 2010 by Erin Butler 2 Comments

I don’t know about you, but my chunky wallet contains 22 debit, credit, gift cards and reward cards. That’s right— A smorgasbord of plastic. Something must be done. Oh, what do you know…

Last year, Starbucks rolled out a new smartphone app allowing customers to pay for their coffee with a digital barcode. This movement began on the west coast in select cities, and then moved into the Starbucks locations inside Target stores.

Courtesy of gumption, Flickr

The application is brilliant marketing in a nutshell. With store location, hours, directions and direct calling, as well as nutritional info, customized drinks, “Invite a Friend” and of course, the Starbucks Card bar code, this digital purse of information and convenience has become a new interactive standard. Not to mention, it is free.

The most forward-thinking aspect is the payment option. With the app, customers can register Starbucks cards, check balances, and reload with a credit card. Blackberry and iPhone users scan a 2-D barcode on a countertop device, making transactions quick and easy. This saves time for the avid coffee drinkers and pastry munchers and saves money for Starbucks in the long run.

Customers responded favorably to this mobile paying option. Brady Brewer (how perfect a name), a vice president at Starbucks, made the following comment in a news release:

“Mobile technology is part of our customers’ daily routine and with the expansion of mobile payment in our test cities, we’re seeing more and more customers using their smartphones as their mobile wallets,” said Brewer. “We’ve heard from our customers on My Starbucks Idea that they want a faster, more convenient way to pay.”

This week, the coffee company expanded the mobile app use to about 300 locations in New York City and Long Island. It may not seem very meaningful or large-scale, but it does mark the progression of a new era: The digital wallet.

While some smartphone users may already be experiencing app overload, I think the market will only grow with this new scanning technology. People will just have to stop downloading so many useless Paper Toss games and make room to utilize this undeniable technology.

I hope that more store chains and companies adopt the mobile bar code. Those New Yorkers must feel like special high-tech guinea pigs. In the mean time, I’ll sit here in Florida with my 10-pound wallet.

Image from gumption on Flickr.

Google TV is Coolgle TV

Posted on: October 7th, 2010 by Erin Butler 4 Comments

It’s a TV, it’s a computer, and it’s so close I can smell it.

Google TV has been in the works for a while now, and the month of October marks the launch of the official product. Together with Logitech and Sony, the Internet giant will combine the entertainment of television with the limitless scope of the Web. You will soon be able to experience the techie-offspring in a mere couple of weeks.

Chock-full of apps, shows, music, websites, games, and anything else that you can see on a screen, the “computv” (yep, I said it) is a one-stop shop for eyes and ears alike. Some are saying that the $300 Logitech and the $1,300 to $1,900 Sony price tags have quite a few prospective consumers tripped up, but think about it: it’s a computer and a big screen TV conveniently combined. It may be a lot of money, but not completely unreasonable.

One thing I’m sure many will regret paying for, however, is the Sony remote. You’d expect such a high-tech gadget to be accompanied by a lightweight wand or voice command, but no. You evidently get something that looks like a Super Nintendo graphing calculator.

Thankfully, there is word of applications for touch screens, like the Android, that will allow the remote control function as well. The future is under our noses.

So welcome, media convergence. I think this television-Internet combo is the direction we’re heading, so best get on board! After Apple and Google, the remaining morsel of the market will have no choice. And neither will we.

Introducing Google TV

Facebook + Twitter + iTunes + Potential = Ping

Posted on: September 8th, 2010 by Erin Butler 3 Comments

Apple’s latest brainchild is the musical social network feature packed into the new iTunes 10. Serving as a music-related newsfeed and a vast suggestion source for discovering artists and tunes, Ping has captured immediate attention, good and skeptical alike. While some think it is the last nail in MySpace’s coffin, others believe it is solely a trial period, and a ploy for more iTunes business. In the spirit of avoiding a premature opinion, I will share what I have found so far, within the first week of its birth, with an open mind.

Beez Kneez
When I first heard of Ping’s concept, I geekily moo-ed, “Cooool.” The network has such potential, being directly connected to iTunes, which already has 160 million users. Talk about a populated platform to launch from!

Being able to follow all of your favorite artists in one place, from concert listings to daily updates, is super convenient. Only problem is that if you aren’t a fan of mainstream maestros, good luck finding anyone you care to follow in their database. Hopefully, the small catalog of artists is just a growing pain, and it will appeal to a wider variety of artists soon. (Like really soon, or sianara.)

But what artist wouldn’t want to take advantage of this opportunity to grow their band and brand? With the iTunes store tightly knit within the social frame, users become listeners, who become fans, who become buyers…all within a couple clicks. This one-stop system can take purchasing to a more personal level.

Ping Shming
A few aspects threw me for a loop, however. It definitely takes a little getting used to having the Ping app within a desktop app. Everything is conveniently in one window, but slowness and confusion can be issues. Besides the inevitable lack of artist profile participation, I also find it irking that you are directed toward the iTunes store rather than the profile page when searching an artist. Perhaps it’d be more convenient to have two search buttons: Store and Ping, because I’m not digging having to wait for the puny redirect tab to pop up.

Another weakness is the 30-second preview for listening. People may eventually use this network to find new music (if it expands its catalog), but to get to know a band, usually we listen to more than a couple of little baby clips of their songs. That’s the point when I’d scroll over to Grooveshark, Last.FM or even MySpace, who is now in hospice care.

What’s in Store?
Time can only tell what the future holds for Ping and its competitors. I really think it is a marketable initiative, but the network has a lot of maturing to do before users just give up. In only a couple of days, over 1 million people have registered and explored, but soon the wave of curiosity will wane, and time will shine a light on the true benefits of the model, or lack thereof.

A Shout Out From Fast Company

Posted on: May 27th, 2010 by Erin Butler

At the recent Innovation Uncensored conference in New York, hosted by Fast Company, speakers and guests from Fortune 500 companies gathered to discuss trends in digital marketing. Attendees, including actor and social media advocate Ashton Kutcher, were treated to an infographic visual display, designed by Purple, Rock, Scissors.

Our team was approached to create the video of graphic information showing how the globe has come to embrace the Web and how the world is inspired to innovate at an unprecedented rate. The video, officially presented by AT&T, features Tweets around the world, strongest internet connectivity globally, cell phone usage, and much more, all in an easy-to-chew digest.

Fast Company kindly praised Purple, Rock, Scissors’ artistic talent in their event recap. Check it out!

“Interactive firm Purple, Rock, Scissors. took that idea and ran … around the world. If you didn’t score a ticket (it was a tough one to get), here’s what you missed playing on the big screens April 21, 2010. Really, nothing goes better with saucy innovation talk and stiff cocktails than sweet infographics.”

Article: http://www.fastcompany.com/video/innovation-uncensored-infographics-uncensored