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Sun has recently introduced a new family of Java products which have the potential to grab developers from AJAX, Flex and Silverlight. JavaFX, which consists of a mobile platform and a new script, is meant to deliver RIA technology on any platform. As Sun’s website put it, JavaFX is, “designed to enable consistent user experiences, from desktop to mobile device to set-top box to Blu-ray disc.” The JavaFX products, which are gaining popularity, are made up of a series of development tools, scripting and runtime environments, and widgets all based on Java technology. Sun is hyping the new product line as follows:

• The JavaFX product family leverages the Java platform’s write-once-run-anywhere portability, application security model, ubiquitous distribution and enterprise connectivity
• JavaFX initially is comprised of JavaFX Script and JavaFX Mobile
• JavaFX Script is a highly productive scripting language for content developers to create rich media and interactive content
• JavaFX Mobile, Sun’s software system for mobile devices, is available via OEM license to carriers, handset manufacturers and others seeking a branded relationship with consumers

JavaFX Script is specifically geared towards RIA developers, and it was designed to allow applications to run on the desktop, in a browser, or on a web-enabled cell phone. As it moves into the mainstream, it’s expected to compete with Adobe Flash/Flex and Microsoft’s new Silverlight platform. This new script, which focuses on animated, interactive interfaces, is garnering support among top level executives at Sun, including James Gosling, widely regarded as the founding father of Java. As Gosling told InfoWorld, “You can use it for anything that you would use AJAX for. You get much more dynamic behavior. You get much more advanced APIs that you get access to.” Gosling expects JavaFX may be the key to integrating our desktop, web, and mobile environments. “There are parts of the world where a person’s desktop computer is their cell phone, and that’s the kind of end point that we’re going to get to,” he says.

To reach this goal, Sun has included a fully-functional mobile phone platform in its JavaFX product line. JavaFX Mobile will bring rich content to cell phones in a way that has not yet been possible. It will support Java ME applications as well as other standard Java APIs. This new mobile software platform is expected to compete with Adobe’s Flash, which has not yet been optimized for a mobile environment.

Flash is purported to suck so much battery life that Apple has not yet adopted it for their popular iPhone. Adobe is reportedly working on a Flash player for the iPhone, though they are cautious about it’s future. According to a recent InfoWorld article, Adobe representatives released a statement saying, “However, to bring the full capabilities of Flash to the iPhone Web-browsing experience, we do need to work with Apple beyond and above what is available through the SDK and the current license around it.” The battle between Apple and Adobe is far from over, and Sun’s JavaFX may fill the void between the two companies.

While the new script and mobile platform help Sun boost its reputation in the RIA development world and compete with Microsoft and Adobe, the real significance of these products is the move towards integrating Web 2.0-style web applications regardless of the user’s hardware. JavaFX and similar products are starting to recognize the power of mixing online and offline functionality, which gives users the most versatility and performance in any environment.

Japanese automakers are scrambling to meet the needs of a different generation of drivers. According to a recent newspaper poll, only 25% of Japanese men in their 20s even want a car, down from 48% in 2000. These young, urban drivers cite rising gas prices, the environmental impact of cars, and their modern technology-driven lifestyles as a reason to depend on Japan’s public transportation system instead of purchasing cars. Automakers are trying to fight this generational shift with state-of-the-art concept vehicles that directly appeal to the hip youth of Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood.

Domestic sales of Japanese cars has fallen 31% since 1990, even while exports are rising. Studies attribute this slide to different values, where iPods, web-enabled phones, and laptops have replaced the car as a status symbol. Nissan in particular has been reaching out to the youth market with demographic studies and a design studio in the Harajuku neighborhood. The office, called “Creative Box,” is home to Nissan’s car designers, and it has very little resemblance to a corporate headquarters. Designers are encouraged to wander the streets, take in the flamboyant fashions, and frequent local clubs to see the most popular bands.

To reach out to young drivers, Honda has introduced the Edix minivan, designed to hold three passengers in the front in a V-shape to allow more cargo room in the back. This is meant to appeal to Japan’s youthful sporty set who want to carry bicycles, surfboards, and other sports gear in the van. They’ve promoted the Edix with this video from anime studio Studio 4°C, and while I won’t pretend to understand what’s happening in the spot, it is clearly aimed at a younger audience. Since its introduction, the Edix has been selling slowly.

Nissan has taken the youth-oriented design to a new level with different concept car models for young women and young men. The Pivo 2 is meant to provide a stress free, urban driving experience for young women trying to navigate Tokyo’s crowded streets. The car sports a pivoting cabin and wheels which allows it to drive sideways (to facilitate parking in tight spots) and also features a dashboard robotic interface (complete with wide eyes reminiscent of Hello Kitty) giving directions in a relaxing voice which reduces the stress of city driving.

For young men, Nissan is offering the Round Box, another concept car with an interactive touchscreen display that can be accessed by passengers and drivers alike. For example, a passenger could look up the latest karaoke bar and send directions to the driver’s display screen. The research Nissan conducted showed that young urban men weren’t interested in a car as much for commuting as they were for hanging out with friends. The Round Box is designed to function more as a social space than an average car.

With the inevitable demographic changes in Japanese society, automakers find themselves not only marketing to the youth set, but designing specifically for their needs. This strategy goes beyond the hype and right to the heart of good product development: the user. The new models of cars, concept or in production, consider research and consumer surveys to design a product for a targeted audience. Perhaps this user-centered approach can halt the slow disappearance of Japan’s car culture.

YouTube is the most popular video-sharing community online today. Recently, YouTube officials have announced the launch of their newest marketing tool called YouTube Insight. This feature tracks the views of each video a user posts, and provides the users with potentially valuable marketing information. According to YouTube’s blog, this tool “enables anyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site. For example, uploaders can see how often their videos are viewed in different geographic regions, as well as how popular they are relative to all videos in that market over a given period of time.” The blog goes on to list other advanced feature of this service, such as tacking the life cycle of an upload (which also helps to measure the popularity of the video over time). YouTube asserts that Insight will help increase the popularity of user videos by helping them to target specific users.

The catch? Some of the more advanced data will be reserved for paid advertisers. Industry experts believe that this is part of Google’s initiative to turn a profit on its $1.76 billion purchase of YouTube back in 2006. According to an article released by CNN.com, marketers will now have access to more refined data about the geographic popularity of their advertisement campaigns. While advertisers currently get large amounts of data about the performance of their ads on YouTube, this new feature will help them to target areas where their ads are most viewed. This will also, in turn, help to generate profits from YouTube’s thriving community. As the CNN article points out, “Despite growing interest in online video ads, many marketers have stayed away from user-generated video like what’s on YouTube.” This new feature will, hopefully, draw new advertisers to invest in YouTube.

However, individual YouTube users will also be able to benefit from this new tool. According to Tracy Chan, a YouTube program manager, YouTube Insight will give ” a lot of context around the performance of video over time, where are your audience coming from and how your message is connecting to your audience.” For the average user, this has positive implications. Amateur video producers, new and upcoming bands, and fresh entertainment acts (comedians, troupes of actors, etc.) could use this new feature from everything from planning a tour schedule to targeting new and bigger audiences (at least in the U.S.; one of the few criticisms of Insight is that it does not yet provide in-depth data on viewers or video popularity outside of the United States). This could potentially be a very useful marketing tool for the next generation of entertainers.

As Mr. Chan said in a recent interview, “Effectively, YouTube has become an ad-effectiveness, or an insight-effectiveness, tool. YouTube has millions of viewers every single day, and has become the world’s largest focus group.” YouTube Insight will undoubtedly add to the already enormous popularity of the YouTube web community. By being able to specifically target areas where a certain genre of videos and ads will be most popular, users and marketers alike will have a lot to gain from the use of this service. It looks like Google can soon expect to see that profit margin it has been hoping for from this website.

One of the hottest hardware trends these days is virtualization, and the undisputed leader in this industry is VMware. They’ve been unopposed in the field for almost ten years, though a recent Microsoft announcement may challenge their position. In February Microsoft released a test version of their virtualization software called Hyper-V, which may present some real competition for VMware, and may give their customers a choice that was previously unavailable.

Virtualization, a strategy that has been kicking around the technology world since the 1960s, allows servers to run at a higher capacity than previously thought. Initially, servers could run only one application at a time, meaning that many systems could only reach 15% percent of their capacity. Virtualization utilizes a software called a “hypervisor” which allows any given server to run more than one operating system at at time, essentially fooling it into performing the work that many servers would ordinarily do. With virtualization technology in place, one server can do the work that 8 or more would have done, reducing the high cost of hardware, technical support, and even the electricity that servers suck. The economic benefits are very attractive to large companies with vast server farms, and the environmental benefits are just as obvious.

Microsoft’s Hyper-V software is expected to closely resemble VMware’s products, and Microsoft is optimistic about its chances for success. As Microsoft GM for server infrastructure Larry Orecklin told the Wall Street Journal, “We expect very broad adoption; it’s certainly priced to assure broad adoption.” Microsoft has released initial pricing information in a recent press release, which varies depending on setup and requirements. Even more promising, Hewlett-Packard, which currently supports VMware software installations for its hardware customers, have said they will support Hyper-V as well. The full version is expected out in June 2008.

VMware does not seem to be worried, however. After all, they’ve had a ten-year head start on Microsoft in terms of software development and industry connections. Vice president of research and development Steve Herrod commented to the Wall Street Journal, “Microsoft doesn’t have a product yet. We’re confident our 10 years of work will be most important.” A good point, but customers are hoping the new competition in the virtualization market will lead to lower prices and better products.

Hyper-V is the first major challenge to VMware’s domination of the virtualization market, and the competition is likely to not only increase the quality and lower the price of software, but also spark interest in the technology community as a whole for this product. This side effect could be the most important “plus” of Microsoft’s announcement, as it could lead to a greening of technology hardware across the board. Servers are huge drains on energy, and if companies like Amazon, Google, IBM, and Yahoo! were actively finding ways to reduce their electricity consumption, other smaller players would follow. No matter who takes the lead in the virtualization industry, consumers and the world at large are likely to benefit, whether from lower prices or better environmental practices.

In the realm of home entertainment, high definition (HD) is anticipated new feature. This is true of televisions and DVDs alike. As many companies that deal in consumer electronics embrace the HD fad in their products, one corporation is left behind. Toshiba executives have lost the race for high definition DVD formats and canceled their plans to move forward in the HD DVD market. Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida made this decision startling decision after Time Warner Inc. announced its support for Blu-ray. Later this year, Time Warner’s subsidiary Warner Brothers will be releasing all high definition DVDs exclusively in the Blu-ray format. According to a press release from Time Warner, they had been working very closely with Toshiba, but acknowledge that they are moving in a different direction.

So, where does this leave Toshiba? Will they be abandoning their consumer electronics market? Far from it. According to an interview with Mr. Nishida, Toshiba will be re-focusing its efforts. First and foremost, this will begin with their computer market. They are currently working on developing technology that would allow customers to wirelessly connect their PCs to their televisions. This will mean users will be able to use the DVD player on their computers to watch DVDs on their televisions. Toshiba is also working on improving the quality of the “upconverting” feature of their current DVD players. According to Mr. Nishida, this will improve the image quality to the point where “consumers won’t be able to tell the difference from HD DVD images. The players would be much cheaper than Blu-ray players too.” While there are many out there willing to pay top dollar for the latest technological advancements, those of us living on a budget always appreciate a good bargain. Comparatively speaking, this would position the new Toshiba DVD players as a major competitor in the market.

According to Rueters, Toshiba has tried to make concessions to those effected by this fallout by slashing the price of their current DVD players. However, the company is still expected to suffer a major hit, as experts predict that hundreds of millions of dollars will be lost from these happenings. As far as consumers who have already bought HD DVD players which will not be compatible with Blu-ray disks, Toshiba has yet to address if it will offer trade-ins, rebates, etc. to compensate for this loss. However, electronics retailers such as Circuit City have offered trade-ins to HD DVD player owners.

Mr. Nishida also makes a point about the failure of the HD DVD plan. Failures need to be taken in stride, and the recent experience with Time Warner is no different. He offers five very useful tips on overcoming a crisis. They are:

• Keep in mind that business without risk is business without growth.
• Work with the facts. Listen to the market, not your ego.
• Act quickly and decisively. Delay makes things worse, not better.
• Be a proactive leader and clearly communicate your decisions.
• Be resilient and continue to innovate. Success is not forever, nor is failure.

Only time will tell if Toshiba’s new development goals will be successful in such a competitive market. However, if the general outlook and attitude of the top executives is anything like Mr. Nishida, then it certainly seems as though the company is on level ground. This is an important starting point for any successful venture, and Toshiba will want to remain optimistic and grounded to overcome this setback.

DVRs are a dreaded technology for TV advertisers. After all, they’re designed to allow viewers to skip commercials, and presumably the messages and products they sell are not reaching those who record their favorite programs on a DVR. However, a recent study conducted by Innerscope Research (and paid for by NBC) suggests that some TV spots are memorable to DVR owners, even in fast forward. The study may lead some advertisers to create ads with familiar characters and longer-than-average cuts to keep their products in the spotlight while ads are being skipped.

The study was conducted last August, and 24 different ads were tested. Those which were most memorable to DVR viewers included a trailer for the The Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon and a cough medicine ad for Mucinex featuring their popular (and repulsive, in my view) character Mr. Mucus. As the Wall Street Journal wryly asks, “What do Matt Damon and an animated piece of phlegm have in common? Viewers seem to remember them especially well…”. Innerscope uses biometric signals to determine the memorability of ads, including eye movements, perspiration, and heart rate. They found that ads with familiar characters, large brand logos, and fewer scene changes (with action concentrated in the middle of the screen) were the most likely to be remembered during fast forward.

The Wall Street Journal speculates that perhaps the reason for the absorption is due to the need for fast forwarders to actually look at the screen during commercial breaks: “viewers speeding through ads are often paying more attention to the screen than live TV viewers, who listen for clues to turn back to the TV program.” For this reason, advertisers who want to reach DVR viewers are attempting to make ads that rely not on clever audio or flashy scene cuts, but on center-screen action and logo visibility.

Visa has reportedly created an ad specifically meant to reach DVR fast forwarders. They concentrated on the tagline, “Life Takes Visa,” displaying it for a few seconds longer than usual so it could still be read and absorbed in fast forward. This doesn’t mean that all advertisers are buying Innerscope’s results, however. Ad firms pay for how many viewers see the spots, and they do not count DVR viewers among their audiences. As Jason Maltby, president and co-executive director for national broadcast at MindShare told the New York Times, “Would we pay when they’re fast-forwarding? No.”

While Innerscope’s “neuromarketing” research is fascinating, it doesn’t suggest by any means that ads are still a slam dunk for DVR viewers. While 69% of real-time viewers remembered commercials the following day, only 25% of fast forwarders could say the same. Still, it’s a surprisingly high number, and advertisers may begin to incorporate some DRV viewers into their marketing efforts. One can only that doesn’t mean more stomach-turning characters like the memorable Mr. Mucus.

Imagine the following scenario: you’re browsing a new website such as RedEnvelope.com looking for new gift ideas. After browsing through their selection, you decide that you don’t like anything you see, and you leave the website without buying anything. Over the next month, you notice that you keep seeing ads for this site, each time with an increasingly better offer, discount, or featured item.

A coincidence, perhaps? Not likely. This is the new marketing strategy being offered by Fetchback, the new Phoenix-based marketing firm that caters specifically to web advertisements. Business 2.0 Magazine recently published an article about Fetchback which equated the company’s tactics with that of cyberstalking. The process involves repeatedly generating ads on your favorite websites in hopes that you’ll return and buy something from one of their clients. Is this company really getting away with a new form of cyberstalking?

Not exactly. According to Chad Little, CEO of Fetchback, this form of re-targeted advertising enables companies “to reconnect with a lost customer. You’re much more likely to convert customers if you’re consistently in front of them.” He goes on to say that the first 30 days after the initial “browsing” are crucial to customer retention, because during this time, the idea is the freshest in the customer’s mind. Therefore, a company’s best chance at gaining a new client is during this time frame. At the same time, however, he realizes that there is the possibility for overkill. After all, if you see the same ad ten times per day, you’re more likely to be annoyed with whatever is being marketed to you, and will be less likely to want to buy it. As the article goes on to say, that is exactly why the potential customer will only be exposed to a max of five ads during that 30-day period. However, each ad may offer an increasingly better deal or special to entice the customer to reconsider.

Fetchback’s website also features a short video demonstrating how the process works. Always up for an adventure, I decided to test the validity of this process. I went to the website in the video (the aforementioned RedEnvelope.com) and browsed through their selections. Having spent a few minutes looking through the available merchandise, I left the website without making a purchase. I waited a few minutes, and then navigated to the MySpace home page (just as the girl in the video did). I logged into my account, and…nothing. No ads from that particular website popped up. Over the next half hour, I navigated to a bunch of different websites listed by Fetchback, but still no ads popped up. Does this mean the ads will never show up? Probably not, as it could simply be that the process takes longer than half an hour. I will most likely see one in the next few days. But the fact that I was not bombarded with ads leads me to believe that this process is most likely a valid means of web marketing and not simply a new form of cyberstalking.

While it may be unconventional, Fetchback’s approach to marketing to the online community has proven very successful, both to the company itself and to their clients. Despite the controversy surrounding this strategy, it is easy to understand why this process would have success with truly interested buyers.

When the iPhone was released last year, it was slammed on all sides by analysts and CIOs for its lack of enterprise functionality. Gartner’s analysts pointed out security weaknesses, a lack of compatibility and support for Microsoft synchronization program ActiveSync, and the inability to run third party applications on the iPhone as the major barriers between it and the business world. However, announcements earlier this month indicate that Apple is ready to break into the enterprise mobile market and try to steal some addicts away from their Blackberries.

iPhone will now support Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and corporate security standards which will allow IT departments to integrate the device into their systems. New features announced on Apple’s website include:

• Push email
• Push contacts
• Push calendar
• Global Address List
• Certificates and Identities
• WPA2/802.1x
• Enforced security policies
• More VPN protocols
• Device configuration
• Remote wipe

In addition, Apple has started an iPhone Enterprise Beta Program, allowing businesses to test out 5 iPhones complete with the new features and the 2.0 software in exchange for feedback. The application page suggest that Apple is looking for businesses of all sizes with a variety of IT systems and email clients to put the new features to the test. The program is a brilliant way to not only market the product but also to iron out all the kinks in the new software before it hits the desks of Gartner analysts again (something tells me they won’t be on the Beta list). As the folks at Engadget put it, “If you get into the program, you’ll get to test out all those new enterprise features announced today, and provide Apple with feedback on how awesome everything is.” Seems expectations are high.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the iPhone 2.0, though, is the opening up of Apple’s APIs and tools for third-party developers. This will allow outside developers and IT departments to create internal customized applications. This will open up the market for enterprise users and expand the appeal of the iPhone. The new apps will be developed using Apple’s Xcode Cocoa tools. As AppleInsider says, “Those tools will be very familiar to existing Mac OS X developers, and conversely, Enterprise developers building new apps for the iPhone will also become familiar with deploying desktop applications for the Mac.” Initially, the developer pool will be limited, and Apple will be charging $99 to developers who want to deploy free, commercial apps and $299 to those who create in-house enterprise apps. A small price to pay, by any standards.

As the beta testing reaches more businesses, I’m hopeful we’ll see reviews and critiques of iPhone 2.0 that give a better indication of the enterprise uses for this device. If Apple’s ambitious plans come to fruition, we’ll be seeing corporate execs pinching and tapping their screens instead of typing on miniature keyboards.

Online social networking and blogging sites seem to be the latest incarnation of “word of mouth” advertising. And, not surprisingly, this type of marketing strategy seems to be working well for some small businesses. Recently, the Wall Street Journal published an article about Etsy.com, an internet marketplace that caters to buyers and sellers of handmade goods. The site provides for a lot of user interaction through profiles, blogs, and forums, as well as rating-and-feedback system. The site boasts nearly 800,000 registered users, many of whom are artists seeking to sell their goods to others. For a minimal fee (20 cents for up to four photos of your product, and 3.5% commission on all products you sell), an average of 15,000 daily transactions take place, which has generated millions of dollars in profit for the site.

And to what does founder Rob Kalin attribute his success? Because the site has embraced so many social networking features, Etsy.com has not had to worry about marketing costs. It is all done by satisfied users online. This ranges from everything from user-generated YouTube videos to additional websites created by Etsy.com fans. One of the most noteworthy of these sites is We Love Etsy, created by Lis Kidder, a glass-jewelry designer and an Etsy.com fan. The site, which has nearly 2,800 members, allows subscribers to interact and trade tips in different ways than is possible on the official site. According to Kalin, all of this buzz being generated online about his site means “we don’t have to spend anywhere as much on marketing because there are all of these avenues for people to spread the word and talk about what we do.” From a strictly business standpoint, being able to generate this magnitude of free publicity is certainly a lucrative prospect for the website.

There is certainly a lot of activity the site’s forum pages. Users discuss everything from current hot items to shipping liabilities to other user profiles. One thread was even dedicated to the negative aspects of blogs (though this did not stop some users from posting links to their Etsy-related blogs!). It is also possible to navigate to some of the other user-generated sites (such as the aforementioned “We Love Etsy”). This extremely active web community has helped Etsy grow and improve the site.

Of course, Etsy.com is not the only website to use this kind of marketing tactic. Ebay.com, for example, has been using this kind of forum and feedback system for a while. Though they may now advertise in more traditional venues (television commercials, etc.), they were once completely reliant on the same viral marketing strategy that Etsy.com currently utilizes. Another good example of this is Facebook.com. This online community already has a very well established pool of registered users, and the site has recently begun supporting forums for the purposes of selling goods, advertising rooms for rent, etc. In addition to this, the site is now open to any and all users (whereas before it was strictly a community for college students). In both of these cases, like Etsy.com, this type of marketing plan was successful.

The marketing plan for Etsy.com basically relies on the fact that if a company can bring a group of people together who all share a common interest and give them sufficient means to communicate and interact with one another, then the results will be mutually beneficial. It certainly has proven true in several cases, and other web businesses are now scrambling to use social networking as a marketing opportunity.

Customization is king in the web world, and traditional consumer product companies have struggled to compete in a world where user-generated content is the rage. The auto industry, in particular, has lagged behind in creating a culture of individualism, and owners with a creative streak would visit specialized shops for the paint jobs, exhaust systems, and audio systems they wanted in their cars. Toyota is reaching out to these users, specifically devoted Scion drivers, who want to add an element of creativity to their cars.

Scion is a line of vehicles under Toyota’s umbrella aimed specifically at young, hip drivers. Their website is full of street racing imagery and slang, and even features music videos of upcoming artists and short documentaries by street artists. The branding is unique, strong, and varied, but it appeals to a very specific customer base, one that values creativity over conformity. For this reason, Scion has reached out to marketing firm StrawberryFrog, which has worked with clients such as Old Navy and Morgan Stanley, as well as SmartCar, another compact car brand under Mercedes.

StrawberryFrog has created a campaign known as Scion Speak, which allows users to create customized “coat of arms” online through an interactive website. They hired graffiti artist Tristan Eaton to design the graphics for the site. Eaton met with Scion owners to get an idea of what they have in common and how to reach them through art. His conclusion was that Scion owners form their own unique culture, and they have a deep desire to customize and set themselves apart. Many of them have tricked out their cars with added features and special paint jobs, which shows not only their tendency to be creative, but their willingness to spend money on cars.

Eaton’s designs are edgy, interesting, and modern. They include everything from mythical creatures (Phoenix, Dirty Rat, Hackoon, etc.) to tiny icons of spray paint bottles, cameras, crayons, sports equipment, tanks, and even a stethoscope, meant to represent the user’s interests, jobs, and skills. While the site allows you to create your own coat of arms for free, they have to go elsewhere to have their symbols made into window decals or custom paint jobs, which could cost thousands of dollars. You can also browse other user’s designs to get ideas for your own. Here’s the crest I created:

Toyota has taken a key step towards organic growth with Web 2.0 skills. While many companies have tried to create web-based buzz around a product or brand, Toyota is harnessing the buzz that is already surrounding the Scion brand. This type of interest and customer investment in a product is something that cannot be created with a marketing campaign or social networking site. StrawberryFrog’s campaign is aimed at current users, not future customers, and that is why is has the potential to succeed and generate real excitement for a brand. As a representative told the New York Times, Scion Speak aims “to reduce Scion’s investment on conquering new customers and increasing the passion for the brand among its core fan base.” While it seems counter-productive, the customers who will be thrilled with this campaign are going to be attracted to Scion’s brand for life. Sometimes the best customers are the most loyal ones, and Toyota has converted their loyalty into a Web 2.0 art gallery that will appeal to others like them.

Online surveys have long been used by marketing teams to gather feedback on consumer products or customer satisfaction, but now the trend is starting to enter the workplace. Many employers struggle to accurately gauge employee moral. It’s a taboo subject in the workplace, and employees are not comfortable sharing their impressions and suggestions with managers or HR representatives. Web-based surveys are a great way to assure confidentiality and gather constructive feedback while enhancing employee engagement.

Surveys can be beneficial in a number of ways. You might discover a shortcoming that was not obvious to management, such as a technology gap or a customer service failing. You also might find that employees are not being utilized to the height of their abilities. Employee satisfaction surveys can alert you to problems and opportunities you didn’t even know existed. Acting on the results of employee surveys can reduce turnover, improvement management techniques, identify cost-saving opportunities, fill gaps in training, and reduce communication problems. Without gathering this information, you have no way to solve the unidentified problems in your workplace.

Surveys conducted online give employees the chance to express their concerns in a controlled, self-directed, and anonymous way. Many companies offer web-based applications for building and administering surveys, and they all aim to help you measure the impact of your employees on your business goals. One of the benefits of using an outside survey firm is that it assures employees that their direct managers will not be responsible for gathering or analyzing their responses. Many companies in this industry will host the survey on an outside website, issue passwords to employees, and assure that no one at your company has access to identifying information.

Perhaps the best-known service is offered through Gallup, which is a market leader in statistics and polling across industries. Gallup can help an organization not only collect data, but also organize and interpret the results. In addition to measuring employee engagement, Gallup offers consulting services that can help companies determine a course of action after the data is analyzed.

Another provider of employee satisfaction surveys is HR Solutions, which offers support to businesses during every step of the survey process. Their service is aimed to help you design, write, and code an online survey, and they can collect feedback, provide analysis, and develop an action plan based on the results. Their website’s press release section also offers helpful articles and advice for those who wish to conduct employee surveys on their own. Many other companies also offer online employee surveys, and some let you craft your own questions.

While many businesses understand the benefits of measuring employee satisfaction, it’s difficult to know what kinds of questions will yield the best results. Many surveys use a rating system (1 for strongly agree, 5 for strongly disagree, etc.) to gauge a number of opinions. Consider the following questions as a starting point:

• What is the best thing about working at Company ABC?
• What is the worst thing?
• Does your position challenge you Why or why not?
• Do you enjoy coming to work? Why or why not?
• How would you describe the collaboration within your team?
• What would you do differently if you were managing your team?
• How do you think Company ABC’s customers view them?
• What would be your advice to a new colleague?
• If you could change anything about Company ABC, what would it be?

Many survey firms report that open-ended questions (rather than yes/no questions) which encourage detailed answers yield the best results. Not only will you find surprising responses from your employees, but you will be prepared to act on their advice. Though it’s a cliché, the most important resource of any organization is its employees, and if you engage them in improving your workplace, their dedication to their jobs will be reflected in their interactions with customers.

Usability testing for websites has gone from a nice option for big companies to a necessity for everyone. Real-world users are more demanding than ever before, and web-based companies are putting practices in place that ensure the best experience for users of all descriptions. However, a good user experience is made up of several different key factors, some of which are based in psychology and some of which are purely technical. In order to ensure the best customer experience, you should consider not only your user’s gut reaction to your site, but also their computer’s gut reaction.

Conducting user testing on a website is generally designed to measure the psychological aspects of usability. The goal is to see how a sample user will find the information or product they need, if they’re able to intuitively navigate the site, and their first impressions of your company or product based on the site. A good example of this can be found in the testing done by the usability team at Bungie and Microsoft prior to the release of Halo 3. They carefully tested all the aspects of game play to ensure that players were having fun, that the tasks were not too difficult, and that the game flowed smoothly from one scene to the next.

This can also be accomplished when building a website for public use. You can recruit participants at a coffee shop, from employees, or from friends and family to explore your site and critique the design. To get the most detailed responses, consider asking the following questions:

• How did you find out ….?
• What did you expect to see when you …?
• Was it clear what steps you were supposed to take?
• What do you think would happen if you…?
• What features did you find particularly useful/useless?
• Did you find that text/photo/video helpful or distracting?
• How does this experience compare to our competitors?
• What questions would you like to see in our FAQ?

Answering these questions will give you a complete picture of how users react to your site’s design and architecture. This psychology-based approach can help you push out new features or pare down existing features based on your customer’s expectations.

Another aspect of usability, however, is the actual nuts and bolts of your site. How long does it take to load? How fast is your user’s connection? Can your site handle a huge spike in traffic? These are the hidden aspects of usability, and they’re often overlooked since much of the testing is done internally. Here are some important metrics to test your website’s technical performance:

• Connection speed
• Browser used
• Objects loaded
• Time to load
• Video playback
• User location
• Peak usage times

Making a list of checkpoints like the one above can help you conduct comprehensive performance evaluations. This will remind you to test your website on a dial-up connection using Internet Explorer 6, or on an office broadband using Safari.

Internet users are becoming less and less patient, and a slow load time or incomplete experience can make the difference between making a sale and losing a customer. Even if your design is beautiful and your architecture is intuitive, you still could be turning away customers because of technical shortcomings. There are plenty of tools out there to help test website performance, and one of the leaders in this industry is Gomez. They have web-based products to implement website monitoring on all levels, as well as white papers to help you educate yourself about optimization techniques.

Remember, today’s internet audience is sophisticated, demanding, and fickle. They can, and will, go to a competing website if they cannot quickly and easily find what they need on yours. Usability practices, both technical and psychological, can make the difference between retaining or driving away customers.

Online video continues to rise in popularity, and advertisers are still scratching their heads about how to make money from the YouTube phenomenon. According to a recent press release from Comscore, “More than three-quarters of the total U.S. Internet audience (75.7 percent) viewed online video [in January].” And that’s only U.S. internet users. Despite this growing trend, online advertising giant Google has yet to make money on web video ventures, despite owning the largest and most popular site, YouTube.

One reason advertisers haven’t jumped at the online video market may be the nature of user-generated content. They’re afraid their message might be associated with unflattering videos. As a recent article in the Globe and Mail explains, “Many advertisers, for now, are staying away for fear their ads could inadvertently appear with clips that have nudity, foul language or perhaps criticism of their brand.” After spending $1.76 billion dollars to acquire YouTube, though, Google is determined to soothe these fears.

One new strategy is to place advertising in the form of banners or clickable text within a larger video. This will allows advertisers to partner with appropriate videos for their products. For example, a banner for iTunes might be placed on a video for the latest band to hit it big in the viral world. The service also allows advertisers to target ads based on a number of criteria. Their ads can be direct by demographic factors like age, gender, geographic location, or even time of day, eliminating the risk of placement solely based on content.

The other strategy which Google is pushing is for clickable video ads to appear on sites that are a part of their content network and as a sideline on Google search pages. The ads will play with a click, not automatically upon navigating to a page. A good example of this can be seen with this Adobe ad featured on AppleInsider. This also allows clear, directed targeting to eliminate some of the guess work in online video advertising. For example, a Google user who searches for “flower arranging” might be greeted not only with websites on the topic, but also with a 1-800-FLOWERS video about their latest promotion.

In addition to the promise of targeted ads, Google is trying to lure advertisers with the promise of measuring user interest, something which traditional advertising venues cannot provide. As their AdWords page on clickable video ads explains, “We’ll report a clickthrough whenever a user clicks the display URL and visits the advertiser’s site, rather than when a user clicks the play button or image.” This is a more accurate count of interest in a product, as it can measure how many users take action, not just how many users view the video. The pricing for AdWords video is also prorated based on clicks, making it more accessible to companies of all sizes.

While these new services do not guarantee that online videos will start making money for Google, they do pose a significant threat to television and print advertising. It is much cheaper to advertise online than on a television broadcast, and the ROI of any given campaign can be measured immediately and accurately. These benefits could lure companies away from traditional advertising venues to take advantage of the popularity, low cost, and targeted nature of online video. If Google’s plans are successful, we’ll be seeing a marriage between sponsored and user-generated content on our favorite web video sites.

While convenient, laptop computers with wireless network connections have always had one major problem: back up. It is more complicated to back up a wireless computer than a desktop computer; most existing methods require cumbersome components that impede the mobility of your wireless machine (and really, isn’t that the point of a wireless laptop in the first place?). Apple has come up with a solution for this problem, the Apple Time Capsule. This device was designed to work with Time Machine, an automatic back up that was built into the Mac OS X Leopard. According to Apple, Time Capsule can boast the following features:

• A wireless hard drive (available in two sizes: 500GB or 1TB)
• Multi-machine back up capabilities, allowing multiple computers to back up to one single device
• Uses the 802.11n draft 2.0 specification, and is compatible with Macs and PCs that use 802.11a, b, or g technologies
• Is compatible with other Apple technologies, such as the iPhone

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about the Apple Time Capsule. Writer Walter S. Mossberg put the product through its paces to test how effective it was. In addition to working with the Mac OS X Leopard, he tested the claims that Time Capsule can also be used as a wireless Internet connection and/or a remote hard drive for storing/retrieving files not only for Macs, but also for PCs running Windows platforms. As he reports, “In my tests over the past week, Time Capsule worked well in all of these scenarios…[It] was easily recognized by several of my Windows machines running Vista and Windows XP.” The article goes on to say that Time Capsule also allows for easy storing/retrieval of files between Macs and PCs running Windows applications, which is an additional advantage of the product.

There are, however, several drawbacks that consumers should bear in mind. Unlike similar products, Time Capsule does not support any form of media streaming. Also, Apple cannot guarantee that Time Capsule will work with all back up systems (subsequent testing revealed this was especially true of customers currently using the Vista platform). Also, as one blogger discovered, you are unable to upgrade the hard disk. While this may not pose a problem for most end users, it may dissuade the more technologically savvy customers from purchasing this product.

Still, the list of drawbacks is minimal, and early customer reviews of this product all seem positive. Consumers are also happy with the competitive price tag ($299 for the 500GB, $499 for the 1TB). Overall, it seems as though this product will be a great success for Apple. And who knows, maybe there will even be a second release that will address some of the aforementioned concerns. With Apple’s customer feedback history, this wouldn’t be surprising.

The technology world is full of bright ideas, promising startups, and spectacular disappointments. You never know which brand new company is going to break through to the mainstream, and which is going to fade into obscurity. BookLamp.org is aiming to be one of those great ideas that becomes a mainstay in the lives of internet users the world over. The self-described “Pandora.com for books” is a new beta project which attempts to match readers with books that will appeal to their personality, style, and preferences.

The brand new site uses a graphing system to determine key points, which they call “bookmarks,” about any given work. After scanning a book, their proprietary software determines the pacing, density, action, description, and dialogue levels of the title. Users can rate the books they enjoy and receive recommendations for other works that closely match the bookmarks of their favorite reads. Pandora.com uses a similar approach to recommend music that users will like, though they employed human musical analysts to discover the details within a song that make it appeal to any given person.

BookLamp.org features an informative video about their process and goals in scanning and analyzing books. While they acknowledge that readers reviews can help determine if a book would appeal to each individual, they argue that reviews can only consider the characters and storyline as appealing, not the overall writing style of the author. BookLamp’s system can analyzes books based on the parts of speech used, tracking the language of each scene. This gives their reviews a consistency across styles and authors that the average human reviewer cannot achieve (i.e. you might like books about seafaring, but you might despise Melville’s writing style).

The site is in early beta at the moment (even the FAQ section is not complete), so it’s difficult to give the idea an informed thumbs up or down. I did register and check out the graphs for the two books in their system that I’d read (they’ve analyzed just 179 books at present, most of which are science fiction). They hope to work with publishers and significantly expand the database to appeal to a wider audience. The idea itself is quite innovative, and if they get the interface right and grow their catalogue, I can easily see this idea taking off, particularly if they reach out to social networking users. A Facebook app which allows you to search, review, and recommend books to friends based on BookLamp data could be tremendously successful.

Some might say that a software analysis is not a very good way to interact with literature, and on a wider level, I would tend to agree. After all, your reaction to any given book might be very different depending on your mood or your circumstances when you read it. For example, you might like to read Alexander McCall-Smith during a quiet afternoon at the beach, but you prefer Dan Brown’s novels during air travel to pass the time. These two author’s work have very little in common in terms of action, dialogue, and themes, but it’s certainly possible to enjoy them both. As BookLamp’s database and services expand, users will want a way to search by genre and theme so their recommendations are not only accurate, but also varied.

BookLamp is likely to get plenty of attention from avid readers and techies alike. Here’s hoping they can break through the initial hype and build a lasting success in the online world.

Since its introduction into the market in 2006, user reviews of Microsoft Windows Vista have generally been bad. If this blog is any indication, all it takes is one user to lament over their troubles with the OS, and pretty soon, hundreds more are ready to jump on board with the negative argument. Furthermore, the list of grievances seems pretty hefty. According to Vista users, the OS monopolizes system resources, has an unacceptable lag time, user account control (or lack thereof), and some experts claim that Vista is an imitation platform of the Mac OS X Tiger (a “copycat,” if you will). One article even published several ways to hack the Vista in an attempt to improve its performance to end users. Across the board, it seems as though Vista has failed to impress.

It seems that Microsoft has picked up on this vibe from Vista users. In a recent eWeek article, the question was asked, has Microsoft given up on its own OS? As author Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols puts it, when it comes to the perceived failure of Vista, “I know it. You know it. Even Microsoft’s most devoted yes-men know it…and perhaps Microsoft knows it as well. What else can explain why there’s so much talk about Windows 7?” For those who haven’t been keeping up with their technology gossip, Windows 7 is the current title of the next supposed big Microsoft release, and many industry insiders expect that it will far surpass Vista. The industry buzz on this topic, as well as the expedited fashion in which Microsoft seems to be developing this next operating system, has lead many to believe that Vista is being pushed wayside.

But just how much of this buzz is coming from Microsoft? As this article points out, much of the supposed “leaked information” may be coming from Microsoft insiders who are trying to counteract the negative feedback that has been generated from the release of Vista. In that same article, Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry relayed his opinion that some of the allegations being waged against Vista may have been trumped up by Microsoft, claiming, “I don’t think Vista is as bad as Microsoft has convinced people it is.”

Could it be, perhaps, that in light of the disappointments with the initial release of Vista (which had many users and businesses running back to Windows XP), Microsoft is now helping to sabotage its own OS in hopes of generating even greater sales with Microsoft Windows 7? Though I am neither an industry expert nor a marketing guru, it does make sense if you think about it. If Microsoft perpetuates the negative image of Vista, their next release will then by comparison seem infinitely better, which will more than likely beef up sales. It’s a likely explanation for Microsoft’s lack of support for Vista.

In any case, one thing seems clear - users are ready for an alternative to Vista. With more and more users and corporations opting to stay with their current OS (Windows XP), it makes sense that the buzz for the next big Microsoft release would be growing. Expectations are certainly high for Windows 7. Let’s just hope Microsoft can deliver!

Project management is one aspect of business communication that has not changed much with the advent of Web 2.0 technology. Collaborative teams still set firm deadlines, use email to communicate requirements and send documents, and if they’re lucky, use some form of project management software such as Microsoft Project. With the continued growth and popularity of Software As A Service (SAAS) tools, it was only a matter of time before innovative companies emerged with web-based models for collaboration. Two of these tools were recently profiled in eWeek, and they aim to attract users by modeling the way in which projects are actually completed.

LiquidPlanner was launched in a beta form in February, and the creative team behind this tool is led by two former Expedia.com managers. Their project management application is designed to respond to the uncertainty and flexibility that most business projects require. As eWeek points out, “Everything [in project management] has a due date, and, when a team doesn’t meet that date, members feel as if they failed…The funny thing is, almost nothing else in the world works that way.” Due dates are great for goal setting and retaining customers, but they don’t take into account the unexpected speed bumps that every team will encounter.

LiquidPlanner attempts to build this flexibility into their application by allowing users to set a range of projected due dates for each task. Users can easily switch between viewing the project in a timeline or by function. It also helps teams stay on track by providing vivid visuals that alert teams to upcoming requirements. It also features a collaborative space which is modeled on WIKI technology to facilitate clear communication and document sharing without versioning issues. And, as any good Web 2.0 application does, LiquidPlanner features a customizable dashboard which allows users to approach their projects on their own terms.

The other new tool which eWeek profiled is called Lunarr, and it acts as a virtual brainstorming scratch pad. The idea is simple: allow teams to collaborate not only on official documentation (like meeting handouts or presentations), but also on informal notes and ideas (like the notes you write on the back of meeting handouts or presentations). Lunarr calls this space a “back page”, and ideally it includes all forms of documentation for a given project, including emails, discussions, notes, and official documents. Their web-based tool gives teams a way to access all of this intelligence in one location.

eWeek has high praise for Lunarr’s potential: “Lunarr makes it possible to collaborate on pretty much anything, and, whether the service itself proves successful, points to true next-generation Web applications, where deeper functionality such as collaboration can be layered onto any other Web application.” The functionality resembles a rich WIKI page, and it allows users to access templates for ease of reading a variety of document types. Each team member can choose to keep their “back page” private or shared, while the front page reflects changes and keeps the latest version fresh. The application is current in free, invite-only beta, and pricing structures are yet to be decided for future releases.

The unique thing about these two Web 2.0 tools is how they attempt to reflect, instead of influence, the reality of project management. Their features are designed to compliment the changing nature of business projects, and help teams to make the most of organization applications.

The lives of doctors, and the experiences of patients, may get a lot smoother thanks to technology pioneer Dr. Matt Burton. Dr. Burton’s new company Holutions, Inc. is working to integrate clinical data systems within hospitals and clinics to facilitate communication, training, and patient care for health care workers. Based in Indianapolis, Holutions is poised to make an impact on everything from patient records to medical school curricula.

Dr. Burton has a strong background in process engineering and product development, and at United Technologies he became interested in applying lean/kaizen activities beyond the manufacturing floor. His expertise in IT led him to create the first online course at the University of Michigan Medical School as he was earning his M.D. “I was always interested in academic medicine and surgery, and I came to realize how inefficient and ineffective some of their tools were.” He begun looking for solutions to these inefficiencies, which led him to Patientkeeper.

Patientkeeper, based in Newton, MA, is the leading provider of physician information systems. The company employs physicians like Burton to create systems that can be used across their daily clinical activities. “We offer the industry’s only suite of applications that support physicians throughout their entire day — enabling them to review electronic patient records…write prescriptions…enter charges…dictate notes…document encounters…place orders…even consult with other caregivers — wherever they are” (Patientkeeper website). Dr. Burton’s initiative takes the goals one step further, towards a seamless integration of computer technology and medical care.

Holutions aims to translate manufacturing processes like lean/kaizen into different settings. Dr. Burton describes a “half-art, half-science research approach,” and he works with everyone from industrial engineers, cognitive scientists, clinical staff, and even game designers to define and enhance clinical workflows. His company supported a team of graduate students at Indiana University in their quest to create a video game aimed at tweens which promotes wellness, nutrition, and exercise. The game, which would run on Nintendo’s Wii platform, won a national award for design, and could provide Holutions with models for other applications that can be used in a clinical context.

Dr. Burton aims to use gaming environments like the one developed at IU for clinical training and observation. Doctors and nurses could test new applications during their daily clinical activities to determine their usefulness and integration. Administrative hospital staff would also be involved in testing applications developed in game-like environments. The information gathered from these usability tests could then be used to facilitate communication between hospitals and IT systems vendors, who would provide medical facilities with the systems they need.

Dr. Burton attributes his success to his unique insight into the daily activities of busy hospitals and clinics. “The fundamental usability challenge [of clinical systems] is that designers don’t understand clinical workflow,” he laments. Holutions would fill this need by conducting the testing that IT vendors need to develop systems that meet the direct needs of hospital staff. Through more active and integrating testing, he believes hospitals can be convinced to use the same systems in their workflow that they use for everyday training. Nursing staff could use the same software that he uses to understand clinical workflow to train new staff to handle various scenarios. This would dramatically reduce inefficiencies within the systems and enable hospital staff to concentrate on patient care.

So what does Dr. Burton’s vision of integrated systems mean for patients, the ultimate end-users? He wants to see hospitals “track ‘patient flow’ the same way they track clinical workflow and assure their time is maximized too.” For example, radiology would be able to communicate with in-patient nurses to ensure that patients aren’t taken for X-rays when family and friends are visiting. Patients might be able to use an interface which allows them to order lunch or ask for assistance that would send their request directly to the nurse best able to help them. Every provider, from surgeons to nurses to family doctors, would have access to the same quality information, reducing medical mistakes and missing records. Burton’s company proposes a revolution that stands to benefit everyone in the health care industry, and his ability to synthesize technology and clinical practices is bound to spread to other industries and disciplines.

Spanish telecom giant Abertis is aiming to bring broadcast television to cell phone users. As the largest network of radio and television signal broadcasting and distribution sites in Spain, the company has been developing a Digital Video Broadcasting Handheld network (DVB-H). This network would enable phones with DVB-H receivers to read regular broadcast television signals. Users would be able to watch digital TV from their cell phones with no downloads, no streaming, and no internet connection. This breakthrough has the potential to change the way mobile users watch television and the way service companies bill for video services.

According to a February press release, Abertis “has also carried out six pilot programmes throughout Spain with the country’s leading radio broadcasters and mobile operators.” They also reportedly tested the mobile TV network during the Mobile World Congress, which was held in Barcelona in mid-February. Other companies have also started testing the new technology throughout Europe. Japan, perhaps the most advanced country in terms of mobile technology, has already deployed a similar network which is available for free. According to the Wall Street Journal, this service has already attracted 17 million users in the 18 months since it was introduced. If Abertis’s network is made available on a similar model, this could mean a huge jump in the number of users who access television through their mobile phones, particularly if service providers are willing to drop prices for data packages.

One promising development is Nokia’s announcement that the will put DVB-H technology in their new N96 phone model, as well as in current phones which already have TV capabilities. The N96 is getting great reviews from industry experts, due to its optimization for web video, TV, and multimedia files. It even features a “kick stand” so one could watch videos hands free. Nokia revealed the new phone at the Mobile World Congress, and it is expected to reach store shelves in Europe in late 2008, with U.S. distribution to follow.

The DVB-H network has been tested on very small scales in the U.S., and the success of mobile TV services largely depend on the willingness of mobile networks to provide free access to programming, since users are accustomed to watching TV free-of-charge. This debate is ongoing in Spain, where top television networks support advertising-based revenue through DVB-H, but mobile networks are hesitant to give up their large data fees. A spokesperson for Spain’s popular Antena 3 network told the Wall Street Journal, “The key for mobile TV is to offer free programming that is attractive and familiar in order to build a critical mass of viewers.”

If TV networks and mobile providers can come to terms about where their profits will be made, lucky commuters will be able to catch the morning weather report, or see highlights from last night’s game. Here’s hoping this innovative technology jumps the Atlantic sometime soon.

Would you put a price on the security of your personal data? One company did, and now they are paying for it in a big way. For over two years, TJX, Inc. (the Massachusetts-based parent company of popular retail stores such as T.J. Maxx, A.J. Wright, and Bob’s Stores) was unknowingly a victim of continuous data theft. By the time the problem was discovered at the end of 2006, an estimated 94 million credit card reports had been stolen by hackers, making this case, as Baseline Magazine puts it, “the worst security breach in the history of the Internet to date.” The company spent much of last year dealing with the fallout and trying to reach settlements with the affected clients and banks. Industry experts harshly criticize TJX for not previously adhering to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI). As part of the reached settlement, TJX must act as a promoter of PCI, which, according to published reports, means having to endorse “the standard that they willfully ignored by not upgrading the company’s wireless network security.” The company expects to feel the fiscal hit of this catastrophe well into 2010.

Ironically, money was the reason behind TJX’s lack of up-to-date security features in the first place. As Baseline reports, the security measures had been measured against a “check-box” compliance with PCI, meaning that as long as the company was technically following PCI’s twelve security requirements, they were in the clear. This was a way for the company to cut corners and save money. This also illustrates the biggest weakness of PCI: though companies may be forced into this type of compliance, the “check-box” method leaves the door open for free interpretation and manipulation of minimum requirements. Perhaps in light of what happened at TJX, more businesses will think twice before cutting these corners. Saving a few thousand dollars during an audit does not compensate for the potential millions lost with a severe security breach.

While there is still some resistance to PCI in some venues, more businesses are adopting this method of security, mainly due to the pressure being put on them from the credit card industry. It has been reported that major credit card companies such as Visa will begin imposing hefty fines for businesses that do not adhere to the PCI model. And even though there is some resistance for a variety of reasons (initial cost of upgrading older systems, complexity of technology, the potential of impeding productivity, etc.), definite headway has been made in this area.

But what can consumers do to help themselves? Instances like this are a strong reminder to be extremely careful with personal information and data. As one blogger reminds us, “As severe as the data breach has been for TJX, the company is hardly the only organization that has suffered from an embarrassing loss of its customers’ personal information. And these types of data thefts are hardly limited to retail companies.” It is important to realize that the possibility of identity theft is very real in our technology-driven world. However, as this blogger points out, there are several steps one can take in order to protect your personal information. These include thoroughly reading all correspondence from your financial institutions (bank, money lender, credit card company, etc.) and checking your credit report at least three times per year. Simple steps such as these can go a long way in helping to protect yourself against identity theft.

New technology may also provide a way for consumers to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft. Nokia has developed a cell phone model which contains “Near Field Communications” (NFC) technology that enables consumers to pay by touching their phone to a payment device, similar to some systems used at gas station pumps. According to The Star Online, the technology is being tested in Malaysia, and consumers are reportedly responding well. This payment method could allow stores to check user identity by comparing the unique serial numbers on phones with the purchaser’s records.

Until new technology enables better security practices across the board, it is up to the individual company to weigh the potential benefits of a costly security upgrade against the potential ramifications of a multi-million dollar lawsuit when customer information is breached. If TJX has taught us anything, it’s that cutting corners can have devastating repercussions. A PCI-approved security system, one that has the customers’ best interests in mind and does not simply follow a “check-box” model to meet required standards, could be a wise investment for the future.

A new type of benefit has emerged in businesses across the country, and it’s aimed at helping workers minimize their impact on the environment. Employers, particularly those in the green sector, are offering incentives to employees to live greener lives, both inside and outside the office. While many businesses have worked to improve their energy efficiency at the office, dedicated companies have extended their reach to include the homes and vehicles of their employees, helping their work forces to live carbon-neutral lives.

One company who has helped their employees reduce their carbon footprint is Clif Bar & Co., a Berkeley, CA based organic energy bar company. In the fall of 2006, Clif Bar started a program called Cool Commute aimed at reducing the amount of fuel their employees consumed in getting to work each day. The estimate that before the program, employees consumed approximately 29,500 gallons of fuel a year with 25 miles per gallon fuel economy. To reduce the amount of pollution and carbon dioxide produced by these vehicles, Clif Bar decided to offer incentives to employees who carpooled, used alternative transportation, or purchased a more fuel-efficient vehicle.

Clif Bar employees who walk, bicycle, or carpool to work can earn as much as $700 a year in rewards, tax free. They also offer a forgivable loan program of up to $5000 to help employees purchase a hybrid or biodiesel car. Those who stay with the company for a certain period of time do not have to pay back the loan. Clif Bar also plans to add two more energy-saving incentives for employees. They will now offer loans for energy-saving home improvements and commuter bicycle retrofitting. One of Clif Bar’s five aspirations is, “Sustaining our Planet: Keep our impact on the environment small, even as we grow.” Their employee incentives are great way to ensure that their impact is as small as possible.

Offering green incentives to employees is not just a great way to reduce a company’s carbon footprint. As a representative from the American Solar Energy Society told Renewable Energy World, “offering green benefits can make a difference in a candidate’s decision to join a firm.” More and more people are trying to minimize their environmental impact, and employers who support their efforts will attract top talent. Also, as the Wall Street Journal points out, “more young workers are seeking out employers with a socially responsible mission.” As the work force becomes saturated with younger employees, businesses will find more ways to support their environmental efforts, including commuting incentives, gift matching to green charities, and carbon offsets.

While Clif Bar is exactly the kind of company you would expect to support employees with green incentives, some experts predict that this trend will spread beyond “green collar” jobs. As Joel Makower, executive editor of GreenBiz.com, told the Wall Street Journal, “I think employers are just beginning to understand that, to have an environmentally conscious work force, you need to help them in their every day lives.” Makower expects green incentives to spread into mainstream industries not only because it helps attract employees, but also because of the good publicity it creates for businesses. As these incentives expand throughout the business landscape, workers will have no excuses for failing to do their part to protect the environment.

This has been an historic election year in the United States (and not just in regards to the Democratic nominee). With the introduction of Web 2.0 strategy to political campaigns, the candidates have reached voters from previously apathetic or uninformed groups. Campaigns have hired CIOs, launched creative websites, and set up donation systems and volunteer opportunities online. We’ll explore the Web 2.0 efforts, both fun and informative, of each of the remaining candidates in the race for the 2008 presidency.

Barack Obama’s website also allows voters to learn about the candidate issue by issue; visitors to his website can find his views on health care, education, the environment, immigration, Iraq, homeland security, etc. In addition to sharing their candidate’s plans and views, Obama’s website invites visitors to sound off on the issues of the day with a “MyPolicy” function on each issue page. This appeals directly to the increasing atmosphere of participation on the web. People want to influence content and have their voices heard. It’s a subtle way for the Obama campaign to say to voters, “We listen to you.”

In addition to his main website, Obama’s campaign has created a my.barackobama.com portal which allows strong supporters to create their own profiles, organize events, meet like-minded voters, blog about their activities, and help with fund raising efforts. This social networking approach to gathering support has increased Obama’s presence among young voters.

In another attempt to reach grassroots voters, Obama’s website also hosts downloads of widgets (like news feeds for Google Gadgets and a video widget for MySpace). Another great feature was created by Substance, Inc. as a social experiment, and is not officially connected with Obama’s campaign. Their website, Logobama, lets supporters create customized images using the candidate’s logo. The site allows you to upload a photo, position it in the logo, and customize the color scheme. You can then save it in a number of sizes and send it to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Digg, MySpace, LinkedIn, and a number of other Web 2.0 sites. I used a photo from Obama’s Flickr page to create this image.

Hillary Clinton’s campaign has also been successful in reaching out to voters online. Her website, which is available in Spanish and English, features many of the same Web 2.0 tools as Obama’s, including an Issues section where voters can share their thoughts with the candidate. Clinton’s main site links to a news feed site called HillaryHub, which pulls the latest stories about her campaign from sources across the web.

Another way in which Clinton’s campaign reached out to wired voters is through the Hillary TV section of her website. It features videos from campaign rallies, speeches, and media appearances. This not only makes the best use of TV advertising dollars, but it also reaches out to the YouTube generation, who tend to get their news and entertainment online. The site is home to the now famous (or infamous, depending on your politics) 3 a.m. advertisement.

Last but not least, Republican nominee-to-be John McCain has maximized his reach on the internet through high-quality videos featuring historical footage. This spot, called Man in the Arena, uses speeches, news footage, and photos from Winston Churchill interspersed with McCain’s own experience as a prisoner of war during Vietnam. One particularly poignant moment shows McCain being released from prison while his voice over declares, “I owe America more than she has ever owed me.” The message is crafted less to the YouTube generation and more to the “Greatest generation”, which is likely to make up McCain’s patriotic support base.

McCain’s website does not feature widgets or logo customization tools like Obama’s. It’s clearly geared at an audience who seeks information, not entertainment, on the internet. However, his blog has won acclaim from the political technology watchdogs at techPresident, a forum which examines the role of technology in campaigns. In this article, techPresident explains how they posted numerous comments on blogs, YouTube accounts, and candidate websites to see if negative commentary would be filtered out. McCain’s blog allowed every comment, positive and negative, to be posted on the site.

While all the candidates have had success reaching voters online, it’s clear which campaigns are trying to attract which demographic of voters. If politics keeps you entertained, the candidates have obliged with all the widgets, videos, photos, and customization tools that Web 2.0 voters want. If you follow politics online to educate yourself about the issues of the day, you’re also in luck. Through blogs, informative websites, and user comments/forums, this year’s candidates invite you not only to explore their plans but also to add your own two cents to the debate.

A beta version of Internet Explorer 8 was released for download last week, and it seems to make major concessions to the development community that are unprecedented. Microsoft’s latest browser, though still working out kinks, has reportedly passed the Acid2 test, a major standards compliance test which most browser releases strive to render correctly. Other features are also specifically geared towards developers, and this version of IE introduces several new tools that are likely to please. As the IEBlog says, “While supporting the features tested in Acid2 is important for many reasons, it is just one of several milestones for the interoperability, standards compliance, and backwards compatibility that we’re committed to for this release.” These goals are a welcome sign for web developers who struggle to optimize their pages for multiple browsers.

One of the most anticipated new features being tested in this beta release is called “WebSlices”, which is a means by which users can get updates from other sites directly through the browser. This means that users can “subscribe” to portions of outside web pages which update frequently, similar to an RSS feed. This will allow IE 8 users to receive information about their EBay auctions, Facebook friends’ activities, etc.

“Activities” is another Microsoft IE8 feature that has been highly anticipated. It allows users to highlight text on a page and use a proprietary button to find information about that text on other web pages. For example, one could read an article about the Nintendo Wii, highlight the product name, and find retailers who have it in stock. Users could also visit the website of a local restaurant, use Activities to find their location on LiveMaps, and email the information to a friend through Hotmail.

On the developer side of the table, though, IE8 promises better support for AJAX web pages and the ability to “run” both IE8 and IE7 on the same machine. Developers who develop websites and applications for large audiences are constantly struggling to make them work in a myriad of browsers, and Microsoft’s IE updates were an annoyance. Some even turned to less-than-stable setups to allow them access to different releases of IE on the same machine. IE8 features a handy “Emulate IE7″ button in the browser which will display a project as it will appear to IE7 users.

Never easily satisfied, the developer community has a lot to say about the “Emulate IE7″ feature. While some appreciate the option, they have strong opinions about how the feature was executed. One of the most common complains is that it forces you to end your browsing session and restart, possibly losing your footing in your project. One user comment on IEBlog regarding the “Emulate IE7″ function, says it nicely: “With all respect, Microsoft seems to be still putting bandaids on bandaids.” Another commenter jokes, “An ‘Emulate Firefox 3.0′ would be cooler.” Microsoft is undoubtedly listening to this harsh criticism, and developers are being cruel to be kind. IE8 is a beta release aimed mostly at developers, and many of these kinks will be taken into account for the 1.0 version.

Though I’m no developer, I downloaded IE8 and explored the new features. I found it incredibly slow to respond and load content in the feeds, though I did appreciate being able to import bookmarks and favorites from other browsers and drag-and-drop them within the toolbar. It has much of the same look at IE7, so there won’t be a steep learning curve for current users. It did crash on me when I tried to access WebSlices for the first time, and it seems to attempt a “restore session” feature, though it crashed again when I tried to take advantage of it. Some webpages displayed badly, with photos overlapping type, etc. Another user testing out the new browser says, “Unfortunately, I experienced plenty of browser crashes and hanging in my use of the IE8 beta, as installed on Windows XP with Service Pack 2 with Google and Yahoo Toolbars installed.” So it wasn’t just me, a poor Vista user.

As blogger Sarah Perez, who was at the MIX08 conference, put it, “this launch shows that Microsoft is not taking Firefox’s creep into browser market share lightly.” Many of IE8’s new bag of tricks are aimed at mimicking the Firefox features that users and developers love. Now let’s hope that this beta launch is just the tip of the iceberg that Microsoft has planned for IE8.

We are all familiar with the multitude of social networking applications that are popular today. Facebook, MySpace, Xanga, LinkedIn…the list goes on and on. In a time when the online world is so easily accessible to the mainstream, it’s no wonder that these types of social networks have grown in popularity. However, while the aforementioned sites are predominantly aimed at teenagers and college students, a new phenomenon is taking place. As a recent eWeek article points out, social networking is becoming more and more compelling for businesses. This begs the question: will corporate social networks be the next big thing?

Professional social networking websites are becoming more and more common. A few months ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article about a social network for licensed physicians. This site, Sermo.com, serves as a way for physicians to share information, keep each other up to date with daily happenings, and even to help one another make the correct diagnosis of a patient. The article describes how a network of doctors were able to correctly diagnose a 21-year-old patient without ever having physically met. Other such professional websites, such as LinkedIn and SelectMinds, provide professionals with a means of staying in contact with others in their field as well as with their colleagues and friends, which bears a striking resemblance to the MO of the websites aimed at the younger demographic.

But what if a small or medium size company wants to have a bit more control over its company’s social network? As the eWeek article points out, there really aren’t specific vendors for this kind of venture: “The big names in social networking don’t really provide tools for enterprises (there’s no Facebook Business Edition, for example).” However, as the article goes on to discuss, this is not as big a problem as some IT professionals may think. The article offers up three potential systems that will work with a company’s enterprise portals and Web 2.0 applications:

• Microsoft SharePoint Server - an enterprise portal system originally intended as a way of offering data flow control. Integration with the Microsoft suite makes building a social network with SharePoint easy and practical. The downside to this system is limited functionality of many popular social network features, like blogging. It could easily be integrated with an open source blogging tool though.
• Plone - open-source web platform which, according to eWeek, has been used “for everything from enterprise portal systems to project management to Web 2.0 deployments. Every feature needed to run a social network site is available within Plone.” The main drawback here is that the platform is based on the Python language, which is less commonly known and therefore would require a certain skill set among a company’s hired IT professionals.
• WordPress - a highly popular open source blogging platform, with recent add-ons that make it a great fit for low-demand usage. If it can be made more suitable for enterprise use, this platform will be a major competitor in the world of professional social networking.

The Human Capital Institute asserts that corporate social networking is the new frontier in making up to date information readily available to the global community, and also serves as a way to bring professionals together. However, as the popularity of these networks grows, there are several legitimate concerns, the most pressing of which is the need to protect intellectual property. While this has always been a priority of competitive businesses, the advent of these new social networks will add a new level of difficulty in protecting one’s own work and ideas. Heightened security features, which need to operate internally and externally within any enterprise, will no doubt have to be implemented as these social networks gain a foothold in the business world.

Still, even with the added risks, corporate social networking seems to be the latest application to be introduced in the trendy work place. Professionals have finally learned what teenagers and college students have known all along, that social networks are a great way of staying in touch and sharing information with friends, colleagues, and contacts from all walks of life. And while I don’t expect that professionals will be fully assimilating to that culture (although, the thought of reading a corporate budget proposal inundated with terms such as “lol! j/k” does bring a smile to my face), it is clear that social networking has entered the workplace in a big way.

Adobe is no stranger to RIA developers, and their recent release is another move in the right direction. Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) has sparked discussions among developers and at Microsoft, which has been courting Adobe devotees with Silverlight, a tool to compete with Flash technology. AIR was tested throughout 2007 under the codename Apollo, and the 1.0 version was announced in late February along with a new release of Flex. So how will Microsoft’s forays into RIA technology stack up with AIR?

AIR is a cross-operating system runtime which can integrate with existing HTML/AJAX, Flex, or Flash apps that can be deployed not only to the web, but also to a desktop environment. AIR applications are meant to be versatile, reaching users who rely on desktop technology and those who have tasted the proverbial web-based “Kool-Aid”. As Adobe’s website points out, “You can use your existing web development resources to create engaging, branded applications that run on all major desktop operating systems.” Indeed, while AIR runs on Windows and Mac, Adobe is planning to work on Linux support for those users, with a projected availability in the second half of 2008. Best of all, like Flex, AIR is free.

Reviews are positive thus far, and it seems as though AIR will give Adobe a boost against rival Silverlight. As Forrester Research analyst Jeffrey Hammond told eWeek, “They’ve done a lot of thinking about security in particular. That’s critical when you start to break down the barriers between the browser and the desktop…I think AIR and Flex 3.0 get the edge over Silverlight 1.0 when it comes to depth of programming model and developer capability.” Other users are just as excited. One blogger writes, “Some of my favorite words to hear these days from startups are ‘we’re working on/have an AIR app.’”

AIR is a step towards integrating desktop applications and rich internet applications. This will benefit users in several ways: not only will AIR allow RIA developers to add some beauty and cross-platform meat to their products, but it will also bring some of the power of the web cloud to desktops. It bypasses the limitations of web browsers, allowing offline functionality while still maintaining the speed and data processing skills of purely web-based applications. A good example of this can be found in eBay Desktop, a glorified widget of sorts that allows users to monitor auctions in real time (without refreshing), list their items in an offline environment, and upload directly to eBay. Adobe has also made other AIR applications available for test spins on their website.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about both Silverlight and AIR is the attempt both products making to reach out to developers and designers alike. While Microsoft products typically appeal more to developers and Adobe tends to attract the designer pool, both AIR and Silverlight are trying to marry the two communities. As RedMonk analyst Michael Coté pointed out to eWeek, “There’s this idea of a designer/developer out there that we’ve been chasing forever: a person who can not only write clean code but make the result look good and be usable.” Microsoft, Adobe, and others who produce tools for RIA companies are trying to reach this mythical persona.

Perhaps the combined designer/developer persona does exists, but I suspect that releases like AIR and Silverlight are more likely to create this community than to find it lurking somewhere. With the integration of technologies like Flex, Flash, and AIR on the Adobe end and Silverlight, Visual Studio, and Expression on the Microsoft side, developers are becoming designers and designers are becoming developers. In order to compete with the thousands of applications out there, companies are having to use all the tools in the bag, and bag keeps getting bigger and bigger. The winner of this competition between Adobe and Microsoft is not really the developers or designers, but the end user, who is treated to a functional, usable, and beautiful produc