Texting and email deliver random re-enforcement. Sometimes you get a reward of a pleasant message, sometimes you get something unpleasant, neutral, or nothing at all. Psychologists show that random reenforcement is the most powerful of all for building habits.
Cell phone popularity, texting and email, it can be argued are a result of creating a craving in consumers minds for getting a "reward" of a message instantly available.
I hadn't realized until your post, kq4ym, that the habit of checking messages in the hope of receiving one or the tingle from mint toothpaste is driven by the hope of a reward. Blatant or strategic use of reward to encourage habit can be a form of manipulation or exploitation to buy more, use more, do more.
As a recent book "Power of Habit" points out, companies can create a craving for it's products, making everyone then believe it's necessary to buy and use that product. That would provide evidence that it's the technology that then creates a "demand."
Toothpaste, for example, a century ago was not a product in wide use until Pepsodent added ingredients to create a "tingle" to the mouth, creating a "reward" for daily use. Cell phone popularity, texting and email, it can be argued are a result of creating a craving in consumers minds for getting a "reward" of a message instantly available. It may not be reasonable to assume folks really want or needed an instant message device, but the invention of a machine to do so, created a habit that's hard to kick. How many times do you check your messages a day? How many time would you rationally need to do that?
Yeah, two-factor authentication adds a layer of complication. Now the user isn't just having to track password, he or she also has to track the hardware authentication device.
Also, it seems to me that if the user's phone is stolen, the user might lose access to valuable accounts, or might have those accounts more likely to be compromised.
Reliable authentication of identities is a great goal. So many security and commercial benefits would flow from it. Still no light at the end of the tunnel, though.
Universal broadband is great, but I'd rather not wish for uniform access for fear that we'd all be reduced to the lowest common denominator. The Arabian Nights tells us that we should use wishes wisely!
As for the universal writing device, how about the iPad or Nexus 7?
We badly need a substitute for login/password authentication. We're all drowning in hundreds of passwords, spend far too much time managing them, and they still don't protect us.
Great thoughts, Mary, and you definitely get my vote for those innovations. Those would further the effectuve use of technology.
Mary J, I totally agree with your view and Mary. With technology, people like it when they see it, but don't necessarily have a clear picture of what they want.
I think that's what Steve Jobs recognized and used masterfully.
Multi-tenant clouds assure security for clients, but not necessarily for their ideas. Here's one thing you should discuss with your cloud provider before you sign on.
Project management and marketing don't generally work well together, but now the cloud delivers PM software that is more compatible with marketing's creative and spontaneous nature.
Now apparently the mobile platform of choice, the Apple iPhone has benefited from its sound understanding of human factors and ergonomics – but is this reputation threatened by a looming avalanche of advertising?
The bring-your-own-device approach isn’t suited to monitoring of enterprise equipment and processes. In these cases, it is up to IT to come forward with gear suited to the task.
Enterprises are discovering that using social networking within the secure setting of a SaaS provider's network gives them an unusual opportunity to freely collaborate with partners, suppliers, and even competitors.
Recently, Amazon was recognized for its customer satisfaction excellence. It has made no secret that being customer-centric is a primary goal. This should be the goal of every e-tailer that wants to build market share.
Tongji University in China has teamed with local businesses in the development of a "real world" banking system that now enables students to master technical skills that are immediately transferrable to enterprises.
Many enterprises view high-speed broadband connections as ubiquitous. Yet in about 20 percent of the country, businesses and their employees do not have access to even DSL connections. This shortcoming diminishes enterprises' ability to support their employees.
Comparing Internet services is tough because service providers price and market their services based on a best-case scenario connection that most consumers will never enjoy.
That's what Larry Page said on Google's earnings call, referring to the conjunction of mobile and the cloud. Well, let's chart it then! We need to be thinking about an Internet where 90% of our traffic goes to 70 destinations within 40 miles of us.
EU operators are considering joining up to create a pan-European network to reduce competitive overbuild and cost. This might lower costs and focus operators on higher-level, more interesting services.
Congress is considering a bill to extend a moratorium on Internet regulation changes for two years. But with issues like service quality, cloud performance, and privacy looming, we risk contaminating the Internet with fraud.
The risk of the ITU taking over the Internet is overblown. First, it's almost certain its goals are simply to create orderly interconnect and settlement. Second, how good a job has ICANN done anyway? If we don't like international control we should clean up our own processes in both governance and interconnect!
A survey by JD Powers found that customer interest in product features is lessening as phones evolve. Rather than features, price is driving purchases, and that change could have a dramatic impact on how IT departments secure these devices.
Businesses helped neighbors with Internet access and mobile device charge-ups during Sandra. Following that example, enterprises should consider preparing Internet disaster plans to help the public during disasters.
The IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Monaco kicked into high gear today, and we've already begun to see news emerging from that lovely city-state by the sea.
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