Alberta Business Marketing

Everything you need to know in mobile, cable and other telecommunications news

Tags: apple, blackberry, Industry Reports - Information Technology and Telecommunications, Mobile, RIM, Telecommunications
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With a new release of products, Canadian tech giant Research in Motion tries to recapture its place at the top of the mobile market. But is it too little, too late?

Tags: blackberry, Bold, RIM, Tech Essentials
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It looks like my predictions about Blockbuster and RIM are coming true. In this alberta@noon column on CBC Radio One with host Donna McElligott I discuss what options are available to Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, in the shadow of a massive stock price drop. We talk about what this means for the Canadian tech sector, national pride, and Kitchener-Waterloo tech startups by looking at Critical Mass and the oil and gas industry in Calgary. We also look at how they might be able to get back on track by examining comparisons to Google and Apple’s work.

albertaatnoon June 20 2011

This is our last Tech and Trends column before we take a summer hiatus. Time to start dreaming up some new ideas for topics for the fall…

Tags: apple, blackberry, Blockbuster, CBC Radio Column, Critical Mass, google, Research in Motion, RIM, technology
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In this alberta@noon column on CBC Radio One with guest host Holly Preston and I talk about the BlackBerry Playbook, calling it a cross between a tablet and a smart phone, while highlighting it’s touch border, lack of apps, user interface, and it’s need to tether to a BlackBerry. We also discuss the GSlate and other Android tablets. Yes, they play flash and it’s powerful and less expensive. We also talk about how the tablet market has taken off – we’ve realized we didn’t want bells and whistles and buttons on our computers, we just wanted functionality – and third party developers are being leveraged to customize every device. What’s next? The restaurant industry.

albertaatnoon April 20 2011

 

Tags: android, blackberry, BlackBerry Playbook, CBC Radio Column, GSlate, tablets, technology
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Facebook is pursuing a trademark on the word “Face” and has filed litigation against a Website that includes the name “book” in their URL.  Some in the accommodation industry may consider that Facebooks new “Check in” service, that has found its way into the mobile version of the website and the Facebook App (accessible to iPhone, iPod, Blackberry and Android devices), might some day pose a threat to the industry standard for guests announcing their arrival at the front desk.

In the meantime, Facebook Places provides a simple, handheld way for your guests to tell all their friends that they are at your location.

Why Facebook’s Places app matters?

• over 50% of web users have an account at Facebook.
• over 90% of people who earn at least $30 000 per year own a cell phone.
• over 35% of cell phones are Internet enabled devices.

It’s a fair guess that 2 of every 10 guests you are serving today has a handheld device and are capable of checking in on Facebook.

Whether an accommodation, food service, beverage service or attraction ask yourself this question.

“Would you like your clients to tell their friends that they are enjoying themselves at your location?”

Go ahead, I’ll give you a second to think about that.

OF COURSE YOU WOULD!!!!  Perhaps friends will come along to join the party, look you up online . . . at the bare minimum, you are going to score credibility points with all the friends of your guests who decide to check-in at your location.

So what do you need to do to encourage your guests to “Check in” on their mobile device?  Ask your guests to check in.

Call your guests to Action.

Give your guests a clear call to action.

Consider posting a sticker on your door, a sign in your waiting area, a rack card at your dining table that invites your guests to “Check in” on their handheld.  Consider offering an incentive to folks who check in – like a coupon for a free coffee on their next visit.

Of course there are a myriad of location-based games and associated apps – Gowalla, Foursquare, etc…. but the granddaddy of “Social” is Facebook.

What do you need to do to get started?

Go to your lobby or guest waiting area, turn on your handheld and point it to Facebook app or mobile website.  Click on the places tab and fill in your location.  If you are the first one to check in, you’ll be able to give your place a title and description.  All others who check in, will announce their arrival with the information you post as well as their own personal note.

Tags: android, app, blackberry, check-in, Facebook, handheld, iphone, ipod, Mobile
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