The On-Going Conversation

The Mobile Explosion

Mobile is expanding at a phenomenal rate and according to some predictions, mobile internet usage will overtake desktop before 2015.

International Politics in Libya

50% of the public approves of Obama's handling of Libya, while roughly 66% support the strategy against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Visa: They're Everywhere Customers Want Them to Be

Visa recently announced the ability of U.S. Visa cardholders to send and receive funds from other customers throughout the world, which may make the financial market even easier to navigate.

However, will this potentially put the market at an even more volatile state, with more financial transactions taking place between consumers. I am guessing that customers will be more than satisfied with the recent development, but could there be ramifications for such a decision?

Read the full article at Fast Company

4-Legged Motivation

Ditch the Treadmill! Studies show that dogs provide motivation for a healthy lifestyle and dog owners more likely to take regular walks. Plus, dog owners are more likely to be active than in comparison to those who don't have a four-legged friend at home. 

One study even discovered that older individuals are more likely to take frequent walks if their companion is a canine, with 60 percent reaching federal criteria for moderate to vigorous exercise, according to a recent study. This leads one to question the benefits of having a dog as a pet, which may provide motivation to the humans that they live with. Forget starting a workout routine this summer and take a trip to your local animal shelter to commence the spring.

Read the full article via the New York Times

LinkedIn Wants Users to Visit Daily

LinkedIn launched LinkedIn Today, a social news tool for business users that encourages perpetual use, similar to Facebook and Twitter.

From a consistent use standpoint, LinkedIn has a hard time competing with Facebook and Twitter. Users seem to view LinkedIn as a professional portal that doesn't require continual monitoring. Facebook and Twitter on the other hand seem to have a connected mantra that requires daily attention, and users feel out of touch if they aren't constantly engaged and interconnected.

Obviously this isn't the case, but users feel a subconscious isolation if they aren't checking their digital lives on a daily basis. Most people view LinkedIn as an environment for career networking, which doesn't consist of frequent changes and status updates. Users even have their Twitter updates linked via an external platform that appears on the LinkedIn feed, which is included on the landing page.

As a result, LinkedIn is trying to capture a degree of success with this approach to social media. They want to encourage uses to visit on a daily basis, by providing more value and the ability to directly search news online. To a certain extent, they want to be a one-stop shop for online content absorption. This may be quite challenging, although it is a great place to commence in a difficult social space.

Read the full article via Fast Company

A Late-Night Tech Breakdown

Apparently Verizon iPhones fell back an hour at midnight, instead of springing forward as expected. Hopefully if you happen to have a Verizon iPhone, you didn't wake up in utter bewilderment and potential frustration. Even worse would be having a commitment, which you didn't meet due to the digital complication. 

The issue wasn't only confined to Verizon either and AT&T customers have reported the same time lapse issue. As you may recall, this isn't the first time either. Apple iPhones experienced a same issue in January that may have caused customers to fall into a world of technological confusion.

If you have a phone that is currently experiencing this inconvenience, restart your device to resolve the problem and get your biological clock back on track. Best of luck and hopefully the iPhone can put the problems behind them moving forward.

Read the full article via Mashable

Social Law in a Digital Age

A federal judge recently granted the U.S. government access to the Twitter accounts of three of WikiLeaks's strongest supporters.

Read the full article via Mashable

The Mobile Consumer World

We Live in a Digital World! 57% of Facebook and Twitter users have scanned a mobile bar bode at least one time within the year.

Read the full article via Fast Company

A Social Deal Super Bowl

LivingSocial surged traffic by 80% with a lone discount for Amazon.com during the Super Bowl, while Groupon only managed a 3% increase.

Read the full article via Fast Company

A Digital Educational Experience

Quick Cite, a 99-cent app for iPhones and Androids helps automate bibliographies, which is motivating me to consider college round two.  However this leads me to question if technology is making college too easy for those individuals that happen to be quite technologically savvy. It may also give students an advantage over opposing students who don't have access to iPhones and Android devices.

At the same time, I realize that students are required to complete a plethora of work and in the grand scheme of concurrent requirements, bibliographies aren't the most pertinent obligation. Students could be devoting their time and energy to other tasks that seem to be more important. If this particular application helps increase the percentage of students that get through college with stellar grades, then I am in full-support.

However, it might be difficult to decipher if this truly helps college students become more organized and proficient with their studies. It may come down to a personal preference and some students will always appreciate the tangible homework experience.

I also envision certain professors supporting the initiative and others feeling as though students are cutting corners. Regardless of your opinion on the technology, it is nearly impossible to not appreciate the advancement we are experiencing with smart phones and mobile devices. It will be interesting to see where mobile technology continues to go and time will be the only indication in the near term.

I am in full support of the incorporation of technology with education, but I also see the destruction of an even playing field. College students need to be taught the value of hard work, persistence and intellectual diligence. With tools to enable more productivity, are students truly experiencing the challenge of higher education?

Regardless, I am interested in trying out the application and seeing how helpful it can be for high school, college, graduate and PhD students alike. It may even motivate me to pursue a master's degree, which could provide lasting implications in a world of perpetually expanding technological capabilities. We live in a dynamic world and technology continues to advance. We can either choose to embrace it or be left behind in the traditional world.

What will you choose?

Read the full article via Fast Company