Augmented Reality for HBC

I think this is very cool.

We've seen something like this in the world of Lowe's and Home Depot.  Virtual assistance on remodeling efforts or the like.

How about a personal assistant to try on beauty products, through your smart phone?

Read more:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/69016-why-beauty-brands-are-betting-on-augmented-reality/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Sephora is the latest brand to introduce AR into its app, with its ‘Virtual Artist’ feature allowing users to ‘try on’ different looks by overlaying make-up onto photos. A tutorials feature also demonstrates exactly how to achieve specific looks.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Fake News? There is a Wiki for That

Well, not exactly, but a co-founder of WikiPedia wants to make strides in this department.

One of the greatest challenges the western world faces today is "fake news" and this is mostly a technology problem.  How to solve it without stifling free speech?

Here is a bit of news:

https://www.cnet.com/news/wikipedia-jimmy-wales-wikitribune-fighting-fake-news/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Jimmy Wales is hoping the formula that made Wikipedia popular will have the same effect for battling fake news stories online.

The Wikipedia co-founder is launching "Wikitribune," an open collaboration featuring professional and community journalists as well as other contributors creating fact-checked stories for the web.

The new site seemingly is going to be different than WikiNews, the Wikimedia Foundation's free longtime crowdsourced news site. A crowdfunding campaign on Wikitribune's page Monday said enough money has already been raised to hire at least five journalists.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

**UPDATE** Google is updating its search engine to demote fake news:
https://www.recode.net/2017/4/25/15415428/google-updating-search-flagging-fake-news

United Airlines the Most Engaged Post on Facebook Last Week

In the realm of how not to do things we present ... United.

http://adage.com/article/digital/marketer-mvps-social-media/308648/

That headline pretty much tells you all you need to know, however, it is worth reviewing a few points.

After the "incident" on the plane where the 69 year old doctor was forcefully removed from the flight to make room for United employees, the CEO came out multiple times to defend the action and his employees.

Then the stock dropped nearly $500 Million dollars before recovering to only a $255 Million loss and suddenly the CEO changed his tune.

Hmmm.

So United could have offered every person on that plane an 8 figure option and they would have made out about the same as they did. I think there is a lesson in there for brands, somewhere, but I'm just not sure.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Comcast Teams with NBC to Battle Netflix

The online streaming wars are heating up.

Read more:

http://adage.com/article/media/comcast-plan-online-rival-netflix-nbc-shows/308616/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Comcast Corp. plans to introduce an online video service offering hit shows from its NBC Universal TV networks in the next 12 to 18 months, an effort to compete with rivals Netflix and CBS Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.

The new service will include programs from the NBC broadcast network, and could include shows from Comcast cable channels Bravo, Syfy and USA...

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Do Customers WANT to Engage With You?

This headline really caught my eye.  Plenty enough to get me to read it and so should you.

Newsflash From Big Nerd Ranch: ‘Customers Really Don’t Want To Engage With Your Brand’
Here is the story:

http://www.cmo.com/interviews/articles/2017/3/20/the-cmocom-interview-aaron-hillegass-big-nerd-ranch.html#gs.vV1TDPM

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Aaron Hillegass, founder and CEO of Big Nerd Ranch, was involved in one of the most important mergers of our lifetime: He was working at NeXT when it was purchased by Apple. Eventually, though, he left Apple to create Big Nerd Ranch, a training and consulting firm that specializes in creating mobile apps and other emerging technologies.

Nineteen of the top 25 most popular apps, such as Facebook and Spotify, were created by teams who got their training from Big Nerd Ranch. Based in Atlanta, Big Nerd develops native mobile apps and web apps for some of the world’s most respected brands, including Airbnb, Smithsonian Channel, and Nextdoor.

Hillegass is the author of three popular books on software development, including “iOS Development: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide."

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0249 Microsoft vs. Apple

Best Reading of the Day

The never ending war continues.  It is as if the novel "1984" was actually about computer wars struggling for the hearts and minds of customers everywhere (not to belittle the tragedy of war).

Great read though:

http://www.cio.com/article/3188853/it-industry/microsoft-vs-apple-strategies-change-but-the-battle-continues.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

The Microsoft vs. Apple argument is getting old. At this point, it's safe to say there's enough room in the enterprise for both tech giants. Still, it's difficult to ignore when one starts to surpass the other in either enterprise or consumer popularity.

Earlier this month, Apple revealed to TechCrunch that Windows 10 is four times as popular as macOS or OS X, with 400 million estimated devices running Microsoft's OS. And earlier in 2016, Microsoft claimed that disappointment over the MacBook Pro drove sales of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.

Although the numbers suggest Windows 10 is more popular, it's also important to note that Windows 10 is available on more tablets and laptops than macOS or iOS, with greater options for entry-level and budget models. It's easier to own multiple Windows 10 devices on a budget, compared to Apple's smartphones, tablets and notebooks.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Chase Acquires MCX

Bye, bye MCX.

After the Chase deal to purchase the tech resources of MCX in mid-March it should come as no surprise MCX is, realistically, closing its doors.

Here is the news:

http://www.csnews.com/industry-news-and-trends/technology/chase-acquires-mobile-payment-consortium-mcx

Quick blurb:

JP Morgan Chase is acquiring mobile payment consortium Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), agreeing to absorb the company's resources into Chase Pay.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

CPG Strategy in the Digital Age - Plus Amazon?

I wrote about Digital Strategy for retailers a while back and in that white paper I pointed out the opportunity for the manufacturer brands, CPGs and others, to create direct to customer models.

Amazon wants to help out with that.

I'm guessing their play is to be more like a payment rail model of retail taking a very small sliver of every transaction.  The play eliminates the need for big retailers like WalMart.

Interesting, and they are serious about it.

Hear more from Bloomberg by watching the brief video:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2017-03-30/why-amazon-wants-brands-to-bypass-wal-mart-video

Basically Amazon is extending an invitation to CPG companies to listen and begin to work towards a new model that eliminates traditional retailers.

That should have quite a few folks shaking in their boots.

Happy Viewing,

J.W. Gant

Russian Hacking WAY Beyond Merely the 2016 Election

Where are we headed with this?

Whatever you think politically this is ugly, ugly, ugly and only getting worse from the perspective merely of technology in the world.  When you also consider the larger picture ... wow.

Here is CIO.com on this subject:

http://www.cio.com/article/3186776/hacking/russian-hacking-goes-far-beyond-2016-pro-trump-effort.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

As the Senate Intelligence Committee held its first public hearings examining Russian hacking yesterday, lawmakers received a stark warning that the intrusions have been far broader in scope than the intelligence community's finding that Russian hackers meddled in the 2016 presidential election to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) seemed to confirm as much when he announced that former aides to his presidential campaign, had been targeted by an apparent cyberattack emanating from a Russian IP address last July and again just this Wednesday.

Here is a chilling account from Clint Watts, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, in his testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyjVT1BywAw

Notice he points out that ALL are targets of these cyber-attacks stating "they play all sides".

Do I close this blog post with "Happy Reading"?

Hard to be happy about any of this.

J.W. Gant

Smart Phone One-Handed Mode

Ever since Apple decided to make their flagship iPhone larger I've enjoyed the larger screen while missing the usability of the days when one hand was enough to do everything on my phone.

To help with this Apple introduced what their marketing geniuses called "Reachability" where you double-tap the home button to pull down all of the icons on your phone.

I never use that function.  Never.

But what about this?

https://thenextweb.com/mobile/2017/04/03/every-smartphone-phone-come-one-handed-mode/#.tnw_nasSC5wC

Check out that screenshot.  The entire screen shrunk down, on command, to make it simulate a smaller device.  Now that is cool.  All of the advantages of a larger screen with few of the drawbacks.

Awesome.

This is now my must-have feature for iOS.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant