Erich Stauffer

Category: Technology

  • The Gig Economy

    We went from trading mp3s with Napster to trading cash with Paypal to trading actual work for goods. Brace yourself. The barter economy is back.

    Gigwalkers, Runners, and Giggers in the Cloud

    You can now pay for anybody to do almost anything, anywhere, at any time. From gig walkers at Gigwalk, to runners at Taskrabbit, to peer to peer, realtime bartering over your mobile phone with Zaarly, the barter economy is here.

    This new peer-to-peer economy is all be part of a bigger trend, or movement towards leveraging social platforms as the new killer app: cloudsourcing.

    Cloudsourcing is when you use social network platforms to crowdsource a group of eager participants into creating something that may have been impossible for one man or woman to accomplish on their own. Call it peersourcing, a peerforce, or peersourcing, companies are reaching out to the general public to get new ideas or new inventions – or creative new ways to solve a problem they may have.

    For example, Quirky lets anyone submit, vote on, and improve an invention in order to create products that people actually want (and will buy). Kickstarter uses it’s social platform to allow people to ‘vote with their dollars’ towards a new, creative project. If enough funds are raised, the project will start – and if not, it doesn’t. Call it survival of the fittest, it’s an extremely efficient business model and we’re going to be seeing more of it soon.

    The CEO of Salesforce.com, Benioff, saw it coming and calls it “social enterprise” because he believes social platforms are the disruptive technology – on par with the development of the Internet itself. That’s why Benioff pushed to develop and rollout Chatter, a private and secure social network that allows users to follow others, information, and groups; and share files and status updates.

    Amazon’s Mechanical Turk has been crowdsourcing “requestors” since 2005, and Reckitt Benckiser uses IdeaLink to invite the public to submit ideas, products and technologies that they want to see built. Imagine what some organization like Google could do to the job hunting network if they could create or purchase a social platform that connected people wants with people’s needs and availabilities inside a massive database?

    If you’re interested in learning more about crowdsourcing, Crowdsourcing.org is the place to go if you want to check out what’s happening with crowdsourcing or if you want to join the debate on ‘all things crowdsourcing’.

  • Can You Skip the ‘As-Is’ Process Analysis Altogether?

    In a process improvement project is it best not to spend too much time on detailing an ‘as-is’ process analysis and focus on the ‘to-be’ process instead?

    One of the arguments against detailing an as-is process analysis is that it precisely hinders the involvement of the people as they may be afraid to be evaluated. Focusing on the ‘to-be’, and making a fresh start based on their suggestions (without bringing the current process in a detailed picture), would then ease participation. But the ‘as-is’ phase is very important because (1) it represents the base for us to start from in improvement process, as (to be) process should result from handling the improvement opportunities in (as is) process, and (2) it ensures the involvement of process people as they share us the information of the ‘as-is’ process and have chance to give suggestions about to-be, thereby increasing the ownership of the new to-be process.

    If you do not understand your current processes and what is and is not working then you will fail to successfully define and implement new processes. Even if management offers explicit direction on new processes, you need to know what your starting point is or was. There are several reasons for this: 1) to leverage what is already in place, 2) to socialize change and, regardless of management direction, 3) gain acceptance and support from the team that will be responsible for doing or managing the processes, and 4) identify and fix the existing problems that likely are leading to the new process needs. Otherwise, you’ll get processes that are essentially dead on arrival.

    Knowing only the current, ‘as-is’ state does not help without knowing where you want to be in the future state. The first fact is just one data point, which as we know is useless by itself. We have to know both the current and future states of a process in order to measure the gap between. It is the gap that we refer to as a problem and it’s size, the magnitude of the problem. The gap can be characterized with many varying metrics such as quality, speed, or cost, but they should all be aligned to the customer and key strategic objectives. One way to do this is to use an an analogy of a map. (more…)

  • Ever Wondered How to Start Your Own Web Design Business?

    Every business starts with an idea. That idea may come from you or from someone asking you to do their idea, but it all starts with an idea. Four years ago I had the idea to start my own web design business because friends and family kept asking me to develop web sites for them. I wasn’t really interested in it at first, but once I started getting more clients, I was hooked – especially when I saw the paychecks come in, but I had a rocky start. I wished there was someone there to help me get started when I was starting up.

    Have you ever considered starting your own web design business?

    It may seem simple at first. Setup a website, show off your portfolio, do a little marketing and boom – clients, work, and cash, but as you know it’s usually not that easy. For example, do you know whether or not you need to be incorporated or what contracts to use after you’ve made the sale? Have you outlined exactly how you are going to work, or even what you plan to do once you start working? What if there was a way that you could learn how to secure more clients, and follow a more professional and repeatable approach with each client? What if you could eliminate all the doubts and worries and stop wasting valuable time and money getting burnt by clients who dont pay or won’t convert. What if I told you I found someone who has not only gone through all of this, but bundled it up for others to learn as well? Instantly download this comprehensive kit on how to start a web design business that will not only save you time, but improve your chances of establishing a highly lucrative web-based business you can run from your home.

  • White Roofs, Cool Savings

    Did you know that painting a roof white can save money on cooling costs? We’ll explain how this process works and which paints are most effective. And as legislators and architects embrace
    the idea that building design has a huge impact on energy consumption and sustainability, white roof coatings will become more and more mainstream. However, building owners sometimes do not appreciate the immediate benefits of white roof coatings and convincing them of their value is part of what we will be covering. One of the best approaches is to combine two arguments: energy savings and the extension of roof life cycle. In the latter case, white coatings protect membranes with a chemical barrier and reflect sunlight, both of which contribute to a longer roof life cycle. The primary benefit, of course, is that the reflection of solar radiation significantly lowers air-conditioning costs, especially during hot summers in temperate climates and year-round in warmer climates.

    In roof design, a cool roof is a roofing system that can deliver high solar reflectance (the ability to reflect the visible, infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths of the sun, reducing heat transfer to the building) and high thermal emittance (the ability to radiate absorbed, or non-reflected solar energy). Most cool roofs are white or other light colors, which naturally reflect light. Silver-colored zinc-galvanized sheeting does not reflect heat as well as the color of white because metallic surfaces fail to emit infrared back to the sky. The opposite is also true. Dark colors like black naturally absorb the most heat, which is why black roofs and asphalt drives get so hot in the summer. Cool white roofs enhance roof durability and reduce both building cooling loads and the urban heat island effect.

    Cool white roofs are not only great for urban environments in America, but are an effective alternative to bulk attic insulation under roofs in humid tropical and subtropical climates. Bulk insulation, in these situations, can be entirely replaced by roofing systems that both reflect solar radiation and provide emission to the sky. This dual function is crucial, and relies on the performance of cool roof materials in both the visible spectrum (which needs to be reflected) and far infra-red which needs to be emitted.

    Cool roof can also be used as a geoengineering technique to tackle global warming based on the principle of solar radiation management, provided that the materials used not only reflect solar energy, but also emit infra-red radiation to cool the planet. This technique can give between 0.01-0.19 W/m2 of globally averaged negative forcing, depending on whether cities or all settlements are so treated. This is generally small when compared to the 3.7 W/m2 of positive forcing from a doubling of CO2. However, in many cases it can be achieved at little or no cost by simply selecting different materials. Further, it can reduce the need for air conditioning, which causes CO2 emissions which studies have shown worsen global warming. For this reason alone it is still demonstrably worth pursuing as a geoengineering technique.

  • Google Tools for Business

    Google Maps

    If your website is for a local business, you might want to consider integrating it with Google Maps. Google Maps uses query string parameters to pass information to the servers to change the information you see on the webpage. For example, you could have a map show directions to your business from wherever the browser is located, by gathering the information and passing it on to Google.

    Google Apps

    It’s out of beta and you need not be scared of the cloud anymore. While you still may want to have local backups, Google Apps is a great alternative to Microsoft Exchange and Outlook. But for those who still want to use Outlook, the beauty of it all is that you still can because Google Apps has POP access.  It even has IMAP access for use with Blackberrys.  Google Docs is a great feature too, but is not as robust as Microsoft Office.

    Google AdWords

    If you are tired of waiting for SEO to kick in, Google AdWords is a great way to get your website to the top of the pile nearly instantly. You’ll pay money up front, but the goal is to get more visitors – which you will do – so be prepared by having a website that is optimized for conversions, gets to the point right away, and clearly directs the user to the action you want them to take. Once that is in place, AdWords can only help.

  • GPS Devices at Pilot vs. Amazon vs. Waze

    GPS devices at Pilot range from $299 to $449 with two models for $349. They also have the new Monster Rehab, which is Iced Tea, Lemonade, and Energy in a can with a black-top lid. It’s delicious. Another thing I saw there was a new type of Dorito-type chip called Tias, which looked delicious, but I didn’t buy any. I did buy two Monster Rehabs though because they are so delicious. It’s probably better than all energy drinks combined.

    gps-devicesThese GPS devices are mostly for navigation – for truckers and other travelers. Most of them are dash-mountable, but that’s because they don’t have birthing bays to lay in. The GPS navigators sold at Pilot include Garmin, Cobra, and Rand McNally. Compare these prices to the ones found at Amazon.com:  a Garmin nüvi 1450LMT 5-Inch Portable GPS Navigator with Lifetime Map & Traffic Updates is $179, a Cobra NAV One 5000 5-inch Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator is $425, and a Rand McNally 528881469 7-inch Intelliroute TND 700 Truck GPS is $499.

    In most cases it makes more sense to get your energy drinks from Pilot and your GPS devices from Amazon, but if you have a smart phone, check out Waze.

    Waze: Free GPS Navigation App for Android

    Waze GPS is a free turn-by-turn GPS navigation app with user-generated, real-time traffic updates and social networking elements. It’s the first dynamic traffic platform which combines GPS, open-source software, and a community of drivers.

    Waze users share real-time information on quickly changing, dynamic road conditions such as slow traffic, road-blocking accidents, police speed traps, and construction. Waze collects this information, analyzes it, and gives Waze drivers the most optimal routes to their destinations, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

    Waze is a Not Just an Android App, It’s a Smart App

    Commuters normally can drive more than one route to arrive at their destinations, but without information, they don’t really know which route is best at any given moment? With Waze, you just enter your beginning and destination addresses, drive three to four times along different routes, and Waze creates the most time-efficient route for that moment in time – saving you time and money.

    How Waze Uses Social Networking

    Drivers using Waze can easily join or create groups, allowing members to view each other on the map and communicate with each another while on the road. Use Twitter to tweet your activities to your followers on Waze, and connect to Facebook to see all of your Waze-using Facebook friends around you on the map.

    Waze Free GPS NavigationYou will need A GPS-enabled Android smartphone and a data plan to receive and deliver real-time road information for your preferred route.

    Here’s what one reviewer said, “My commute is rather long, so this app is very helpful. It learns your preferred routes. It tells you about problems, even on roads that aren’t monitored by fixed systems. It lets you report problems you encounter. Map corrections are completed within a day or two of being reported, and you get an email when a problem you reported has been corrected. I run it any time I’m driving, even when I don’t need directions,” while another said, “This is the only app I can’t go a day without. I love being able to see a user’s report on an accident/hazard ahead and now understand why traffic is not moving. Routes are sometimes off a bit, but as more people use this the better they will get.”

  • iPhone App Builders

    iOS apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad are in strong demand right now, but not everyone knows how to make one, or even how to find someone to make one for them.

    A friend of mine pointed me towards Mobile Roadie, which has made apps for “the world’s top publishers and brands,” like Taylor Swift and the Miami Dolphins. Their main selling point is that they make making an iOS app easy using templates. The trade-off is that you may end up getting an app that looks like a template – or worse, just like someone else’s app. But this is how web design got started once it became more accessible and popular to make your own web sites. Not everyone could code their own web sites and not everyone can code their own iOS apps, so then, like now, template businesses are helping users create things that they couldn’t otherwise do.

    Other sites like Appiction will make an app for you using their designers and coders, but the price is higher. Expect to pay in the thousands for a custom-developed web app, much like you would for a custom-designed web site. Remember, the app is going to be used by hundreds, if not thousands of people – and if you’re lucky – millions. So you want your app to work well, be pleasing to the eye, and have a good interface – basic rules of design there. To compare different iPhone app developers and get a quote, visit iphoneappquotes.com.

    If you’re interested in developing your own iOS app, The Daleisphere has an article about how to start. He goes over the hardware, software, and knowledge you’ll need to get started. Basically, it takes a Mac (you can’t write iOS apps on a PC*), an Objective-C (Cocoa) writer, and an iOS app compiler. He references several books and guides to help you get started and has several key links you’ll need like where to get signed up to become a developer. The most popular iPhone development book on Amazon.com is Beginning iPhone 4 Development: Exploring the iOS SDK so that is something to get you started.

    *You can write iOS apps on a PC, but it violates the EULA with Apple (because you have to jailbreak an iPhone), however for those willing to accept that risk, there are programs like DragonFireSDK that will help you write iOS apps on a PC as long as you know C/C++.

  • Stay Connected with USB Backup Power

    Never miss a client’s call again when you carry along a simple, yet powerful USB battery device.

    USB charging has been around for a while, but devices that both store and charge other mobile devices are just starting to come into their own. These USB battery packs are small, affordable, and can keep you from losing a call or the last level on Angry Birds. Almost any device that can power itself off of a USB port can use one of these devices. The one exception is the iPad, which requires a lot more watts, but there are even USB battery packs for that if you need it.

    Think about it, you protect your PC with a UPC battery backup, why not your mobile phone, which is usually equal to or more important than your PC when it comes to the day-to-day operations of your business. How much would you be lost without power to your cell phone? Just keep it charged and keep a backup charged. Think business continuity and be prepared with a USB battery pack extender. It’s the right thing to do. It just makes sense for your business.

  • Indianapolis Android Apps

    Did you know there are Android apps made just for the city of Indianapolis and it’s attractions?

    Visit Indy

    The Indianapolis Convention & Visitor Association’s official handheld travel guide to the city. Discover where to eat, drink, sleep and be entertained, and with the help of your device’s GPS, you’ll see how easy it is to get around. Here’s what you can do with it once you’ve downloaded and installed:

    • Search hotels, restaurants, attractions and events based on your location and interests You can also search using Augmented Reality for a street view of what’s close by.
    • Plan your travels by adding preferred destinations to your favorites and generating customized maps.
    • Redeem cost-saving coupons directly from your phone at top Indianapolis restaurants and attractions.

    Whether you live in Indianapolis or are just visiting, the city offers something for everyone – and this Android app can help you find it.  From awesome hotels to delicious dining, the city that has is home to the NCAA and the Indianapolis 500 welcomes you to discover something more. (more…)