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Wikipedia Bias

May 27, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

I was a bit surprised when I read this recent wikipedia article on the 2012 quebec student protests as it comes across as exceptionally biased.

I’ve mostly used wikipedia as a reference for lists, definitions and statistics, so I was a bit surprised when this article popped up in my google news feed along with reputable news sources on a current event.

I did a little research and quickly came across numerous articles published that call out issues with wikipedia bias, including:

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but as a source of information for anything that has even a small amount of controversy, wikipedia articles are highly suspect and in fact a source of mis-information.

bias, News, wikipedia

facebook, fads, klout, social media, social media consultants, Statistics, twitter

Three Funny Knock-Knock Jokes

May 16, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Cows go
Cows go who?
No, Cows go Moo!

—

Will you remember me in an hour?
Yes.
Will you remember me in a day?
Yes.
Will you remember me in a week?
Yes.
Will you remember me in a month?
Yes.
Will you remember me in a year?
Yes.
I think you won’t.
Yes, I will.
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
See? You’ve forgotten me already!

—

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Boo.
Boo who?
Don’t cry; it’s only a knock-knock joke.

humour, jokes, knock-knock

A Giraffe Joke

May 16, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

A man and his pet giraffe walk into a bar. It’s about 5pm, but they’re ready for a good night of drinking. They start off slowly, watching TV, drinking beer, eating peanuts. As the night goes on they move to mixed drinks, and then shooters, one after the other. Finally, the bartender says: “Last call.” So, the man says, “One more for me… and one more for my giraffe.” The bartender sets them up and they shoot them back. Suddenly, the giraffe falls over dead. The man throws some money on the bar, puts on his coat and starts to leave. The bartender, yells: “Hey buddy, you can’t just leave that lyin’ there.” To which the man replies: “That’s not a lion, that’s a giraffe.”

The Fastest Way to Tomorrow

May 16, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

future, humour, Trends

Marketing Your App

May 15, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The following tools will be of use to mobile app developers in creating a professional app demo video:

App demo video creation tool – http://soundstageapp.com/
Audio loops for demo video - http://audiojungle.net/
Inexpensive and professional background graphics for demo video - http://glyphish.com/backgrounds/

For static app shots - http://fabian-kreiser.com/screentaker/

To showcase your app, this Wordpress theme is exceptionally flexible and well-done - http://appifywp.com/

apple, apps, demo, iphone, Marketing

Big Data Fetish

May 11, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

There was an interesting article published yesterday “Is There Big Money in Big Data?” that talks skeptically about the Big Data “fetish” that has blossomed over the last few years.

Big Data focuses on collecting loads of data on user transactions and behaviours and making a lot of valuable predictions.

I like this quote from the article, which rings true:

Even with infinite knowledge of past behavior, we often won’t have enough information to make meaningful predictions about the future. In fact, the more data we have, the more false confidence we will have. Not only won’t our hit rate be perfect, it will be surprisingly low. The important part, as both scientists and businesspeople, is to understand what our limits are and to use the best possible science to fill in the gaps. All the data in the world will never achieve that goal for us.

analytics, big data, mobile, monitoring, Statistics

Freshbooks is great…

May 10, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

I recommend it – great tool.

entrepreneurs, freshbooks, invoicing

Purple Forge at CTIA – Pics

May 9, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

android, apple, blackberry, CTIA 2012, html5, john craig, mobile apps, Ontario, rim

Mobile Application for iPhone Allows Canadian Tulip Festival Visitors to Personalize and Share Their Experience, and Automatically Find Clues to Treasure

May 8, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

The Canadian Tulip Festival (http://www.tulipfestival.ca) announced today that it has partnered with Purple Forge to create a mobile application for iPhones that allows users to create postcards on-the-fly by selecting their own stamps, themes and photographs of the festival that can be shared with their friends using email, Twitter or Facebook. Combined with event schedules, video, QR code scanner and weather information, the application is the go-to mobile electronic guide for The Canadian Tulip Festival and The Great Canadian Tulip Treasure Hunt.

Canadian Tulip Festival iPhone App

Canadian Tulip Festival iPhone App

Enhancing the quality of visitor experience is a key goal of the Festival, and this innovative mobile application for iPhones from Purple Forge allows the experience to be personalized and shared

“Enhancing the quality of visitor experience is a key goal of the Festival, and this innovative mobile application for iPhones from Purple Forge allows the experience to be personalized and shared,” said Najwa Farhat, Program Coordinator at The Canadian Tulip Festival. “iPhone users will certainly enjoy the feature that automatically locates and registers clues in this year’s Great Canadian Treasure Hunt.”

There are 60 prizes to be won in the treasure hunt at this year’s 60th anniversary edition of The Canadian Tulip Festival. To qualify to win, anyone over 18–with or without an iPhone– just has to visit any six of the many designated treasure hunt locations where they will be given a clue, and then submit the six different clues they collect to the Festival’s web site. For contestants with iPhones, it’s now even easier: by downloading the location-based app from Purple Forge they can register at the touch of a button from any designated clue location and automatically get credited with having successfully found a “clue.” Complete information and rules for the treasure hunt are at http://www.tulipfestival.ca

“We are very pleased to be partnering with The Canadian Tulip Festival on this innovative mobile application,” said John Craig, VP Sales and Marketing at Purple Forge. “This is a bold technological step forward in festival marketing and attendee engagement, allowing visitors to become ambassadors of the festival and share the experience with their friends.”

About Purple Forge
Purple Forge, headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, is the leading global provider of mobile apps to politicians, event organizers and associations. Its applications are developed around the principle of mobile community engagement, empowering organizations to broadcast information to their target audience, who in turn share it and act on it for the benefit of all.

For more information about Purple Forge, please visit http://www.purpleforge.com

Link to Tulip Festival Mobile Application: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/canadian-tulip-festival/id523233429?mt=8

For more information on The Canadian Tulip Festival and The Great Canadian Tulip Treasure Hunt please visithttp://www.tulipfestival.ca or call 613-567-5757 or 1-800-866TULIP

Media inquiries only
.
For Purple Forge, please contact
John Craig
John.Craig(at)purpleforge(dot)com
613-863-2673

For The Canadian Tulip Festival, please contact
Bernadette Sarazin, Media Relations
613-298-4708
or
Martine Dion, Media Relations
613-447-5195

For The Great Canadian Treasure Hunt, please contact
Najwa Farhat
sponsorships(at)tulipfestival(dot)ca
613-567-5757

apple, Canada, ios, iphone, mobile app, Ottawa, tulip festival

Purple Forge @ CTIA in New Orleans

May 7, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

We are in the Ontario Pavilion

Purple Forge @ CTIA in New Orleans This Week

May 7, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Purple Forge Launches Mobile Application Development and Lifecycle Management Platform for Carriers at CTIA 2012

Purple Forge (http://www.purpleforge.com) is announcing the launch of our proven mobile application development platform to allow carriers to rapidly deploy robust, proven mobile applications for marketing, m-commerce and community engagement. With features targeted for government, municipal and enterprise organizations, Purple Forge can help increase revenues and build customer retention, all while maintaining and updating applications as necessary to handle the churn in mobile application platforms, operating systems and 3rd party APIs.

Mobile Application Development and Lifecycle Management Platform for Carriers

Our exhibitors represent some of the best innovators in the future of mobile technology in the U.S. and around the world. We are proud to have companies, such as Purple Forge, showcase at the show.

New Orleans, LA (PRWEB) May 07, 2012

Purple Forge, the leading provider of mobile applications for governments, municipalities and politicians, is announcing the launch of our mobile application development platform for carriers this week at International CTIA WIRELESS 2012 taking place at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on May 8-10, 2012 in New Orleans.

Representing one of the fastest-growing segments in wireless, Purple Forge will exhibit its mobile application development platform in Hall E, Booth #4723 on the International CTIA WIRELESS 2012 show floor.

Purple Forge is hosting two product launch sessions entitled Mobile Application Development & Lifecycle Management Platform For Carriers:
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 from 1:40 PM to 2:00 PM (CT)
Thursday, May 10, 2012 from 12:00 PM to 12:20 PM (CT)

“International CTIA WIRELESS is the premier show to see the remarkable innovation and technology in wireless, telecom and broadband from the best brands around the world,” said Robert Mesirow, vice president and show director for CTIA. “Our exhibitors represent some of the best innovators in the future of mobile technology in the U.S. and around the world. We are proud to have companies, such as Purple Forge, showcase at the show.”

“Purple Forge is excited to be attending CTIA for the first time, and launching our carrier mobile application development and management platform,” said John Craig, VP Sales & Marketing for Purple Forge. “We believe CTIA is the best place to launch our product into the wireless market space.”

Follow Purple Forge at CTIA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PurpleForgeCorp
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/purpleforge

About CTIA Shows
CTIA Shows bring together all industries advanced by wireless technology for intense business, learning and networking. International CTIA WIRELESS® takes place May 8-10, 2012 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, La. CTIA ENTERPRISE & APPLICATIONS™ takes place October 9-11, 2012 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif. Visit http://www.ctiashows.com.

Amy Storey
CTIA–The Wireless Association
Office: (202) 736-3207
E-mail: astorey(at)ctia(dot)org

Traci Hoch
Waggener Edstrom for CTIA Shows
Mobile: (631) 942-7549
E-mail: thoch(at)waggeneredstrom(dot)com

android, blackberry, CTIA 2012, iphone, mobile apps, New Orleans, purple forge

Smartphones are Changing the Way We Communicate

May 7, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

A new study from PEW Internet, “Just-in-time Information through Mobile Connections” highlights that the rapid adoption of cell phones and, especially, the spread of internet-connected smartphones are changing people’s communications with others and their relationships with information. Users’ ability to access data immediately through apps and web browsers and through contact with their social networks is creating a new culture of real-time information seekers and problem solvers.

Some 70% of all cell phone owners and 86% of smartphone owners have used their phones in the previous 30 days to perform at least one of the following activities:

Coordinate a meeting or get-together – 41% of cell phone owners have done this in the past 30 days.
Solve an unexpected problem that they or someone else had encountered – 35% have used their phones to do this in the past 30 days.
Decide whether to visit a business, such as a restaurant – 30% have used their phone to do this in the past 30 days.
Find information to help settle an argument they were having – 27% have used their phone to get information for that reason in the past 30 days.
Look up a score of a sporting event – 23% have used their phone to do that in the past 30 days.
Get up-to-the-minute traffic or public transit information to find the fastest way to get somewhere – 20% have used their phone to get that kind of information in the past 30 days.
Get help in an emergency situation – 19% have used their phone to do that in the past 30 days.

android, blackberry, iphone, mobile apps, PEW Internet, Smartphones, solomo

‘I’ve Got Nothing to Hide’ and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy

May 1, 2012 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

An interesting examination of privacy is presented in the paper “‘I’ve Got Nothing to Hide’ and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy“. The essay provides extensive review of the elements of privacy and asserts as part of it’s conclusion:

The nothing to hide argument speaks to some problems, but not to others. It represents a singular and narrow way of conceiving of privacy, and it wins by excluding consideration of the other problems often raised in government surveillance and data mining programs. When engaged with directly, the nothing to hide argument can ensnare, for it forces the debate to focus on its narrow understanding of privacy. But when confronted with the plurality of privacy problems implicated by government data collection and use beyond surveillance and disclosure, the nothing to hide argument, in the end, has nothing to say.

There is a lot more to privacy then what appears on the surface!

datamining, free speech, law, nsa, privacy, surveillance

Siri is “Off”

April 30, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

I tried Siri with great anticipation when it first came out, but like many others I ended up turning it off once the entertainment of the built-in Siri eggs passed (which was pretty quickly).

Siri comes no-where close to the promise of the advertising and hype – it is not surprising that some class action suits against Apple have emerged in the last few months related to Siri.

A Generation of Software Patents

April 30, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

This is an interesting paper that is worth reading - A Generation of Software Patents .

Some highlights from the paper: most software firms do not patent; most software patents are obtained by a few large firms (mainly for defensive purposes rather then to promote innovation); and software patents are more likely than other patents to be involved in litigation (and number of lawsuits have more than tripled since 1999).

Some other sites related to software patents:

http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/projects/lpf/Patents/patents.html

patents, software, Trends

Google Trends for Mobile and Smartphone

April 29, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Blackberry, Android, iPhone

Indochino

April 28, 2012 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

I ordered a suit from Indochino today. I originally came across their website through a news article on their company.

I visited their website and their prices for a custom made suit were very reasonable. They also provided for virtually every customization or mix and match of style elements you could want.

The Indochino website provides instructions on how to make the measurements necessary for a suit. However, after looking at what was involved I was certain I would mess up one or more of the measurements. At this point I decided I wouldn’t order from the website.

By chance, I noticed on their website that they had a local “Traveling Tailor” store coming to Ottawa for a few days in April where they would do all the measurements. I took advantage of that service today and it took about an hour to walk through the style selection, measurements and payment.

The Traveling Tailor operation had a very strong customer processing workflow in place, the store was well laid-out and they were well-staffed. It was a very pleasant and efficient shopping experience.

Indochino is a well-funded VC-backed start-up based in Vancouver. The Indochino business model relies heavily on automated machine cutting of fabrics and China-based labour for assembly. The finished suit is shipped by FedEx within 21 days. They offer every guarantee of satisfaction one could expect.

In three weeks I will see how well Indochino works. Some survey results from other Indochino customers is available in this blog posting from January 2012.

We’ll see!

indochino, offshore, startup

Webmeeting Services – Gotomeeting still #1 in my books

April 25, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

I’ve tried many webmeeting services over the years and have been consistently using gotomeeting (http://gotomeeting.com).

I regularly try new services where I am looking for more frictionless “adhoc” or on-demand meetings (gotomeeting has delays installing client software and launching the viewer for the participants), multi-meeting managers services (one master account, multiple authorized meeting managers), and overall lower costs. Things that are must haves: low cost, 100% reliable operation, high fidelity screen sharing and audio.

I recently tried “http://join.me” and would not recommend it. My experiences:

The audio bridge quality is absolutely horrible – echo, and poor quality sound.
The screen sharing response is very laggy for the conference participants and can be pixellated.

At best, the join.me service may be suitable as a free service for internal team use perhaps but certainly not as a paid service, and certainly not for use for a customer presentation or demo.

gotomeeting, join.me, webconferencing, webmeeting

Purple Forge Wins Major Awards for the American Petroleum Institute’s Mobile Advocacy Campaign

April 14, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Mobile communications is the new frontier of government and public relations. New changes to congressional rules have allowed organizations such as the American Petroleum Institute (API) to get critical information out to the public and legislators using mobile technology. Purple Forge is powering organizations such as the API to mobilize this information in a fast and cost effective manner.

Purple Forge and the American Petroleum Institute were honored with two Pollies™ for the mobile applications (http://myappsinfo.com/api/) developed for advocacy of the petroleum industry at the annual American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) awards held in Austin, TX on Friday, March 30. The Pollies™, considered the Oscars of political consulting, are scored and awarded by a blind panel of industry judges chosen from inside the association.

“America’s energy future is our top priority and we take great pride in educating the public on what this industry can do and mobile applications have become a powerful communications tool in our outreach,” said Marty Durbin, Executive Vice President of the American Petroleum Institute. “ We are now able to reach thousands of Americans every day with apps on their mobile devices – people who care about creating new jobs and securing more of the energy we need. These awards serve as further proof that U.S. energy security matters and that the public is paying attention.”

The API mobile applications were developed to engage both the public and legislators with critical information about the oil and gas industry in the U.S. New rules in Congress have allowed legislators to carry mobile devices into the house, and with energy policy taking center stage in the 2012 election campaign the API apps allow the public and decision makers to carry production and employment data at all times.

“The American Petroleum Institute was able to recognize the opportunity with the new house rules and put what would have been binders filled with paper into an application that is readily accessible to any legislator,” said John Craig, VP Sales and Marketing. “By placing an Economist-like ‘Book of Numbers’ on the oil and gas industry into the hands of legislators, they are helping to create fact-based debate that will lead to better overall legislation for the public.”
The mobile applications are available for download on the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android devices.

Ref: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/4/prweb9377233.htm

american petroleum institute, android, blackberry, iphone, mobile apps, pollie awards

Purple Forge Wins Four Major Political Awards for Green Party of Canada Mobile Application Developed for 2011 Election Campaign

April 14, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Mobile applications have become table stakes in political campaigns. Purple Forge (http://www.purpleforge.com) worked closely with the Green Party of Canada to develop the most innovative mobile application used to date in a national political campaign. The four AAPC Pollie(TM) wins help underscore that importance for the 2012 election campaign season.

Purple Forge and the Green Party of Canada were awarded four Pollies™ at the annual American Association of Political Consultants (http://www.theaapc.org/) awards held in Austin, TX on Friday, March 30 for their mobile application developed for the 2011 Canadian federal election campaign. The Pollies™, considered the Oscars of political consulting, are scored and awarded by a blind panel of industry judges chosen from inside the association.

The mobile application was developed to allow volunteers, supporters and donors to find out who their local Green Party candidate was based on their postal code and make donations to the party from their iPhone device. However, the most innovative aspect of the application was the gamification of political tasks. Users could earn points for volunteering, getting friends to pledge to vote or requesting a lawn sign. These points were run on a national scoreboard, allowing Green supporters to internally compete to be the parties’ greatest advocate.

“Mobile applications dovetailed directly into our party’s campaign strategy of engaging Canada’s youth and instilling in them a competitive spirit to help get the first Green Party MP elected to Parliament,” said Craig Cantin, former Deputy Campaign Manager. “In an era when young people are becoming even more disenchanted with politics, the Party wants to use every new technology to reach out to our youth voter.”

“We are extremely proud of the recognition the AAPC provided to this innovative campaign application,” said John Craig, VP Sales and Marketing. “This was the most innovative application that has ever been deployed in a federal election, and we look forward to providing this technology to campaigns in the US and around the world in 2012.”

Ref: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/4/prweb9402238.htm

aapc, iphone, mobile apps, pollie awards, purple forge

social networking, tweetsheet, twitter

Cool Ideas – Smartphone Hardware Accessories/Appliances

February 22, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Looking for ideas for accessories for mobile devices/apps – these sites may provide some prototype platforms and ideas:

Maker Shed Store

CY8CKIT-023 PSoC® Expansion Board Kit For iPhone & iPod Accessories

Entrepreneurism, hardware development, ideas, ipad, iphone, smartphone

Vinod’s 12 “Unhyped” New Areas in Internet and Mobile

February 22, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Data Reduction or Filters: “Reducing, filtering and processing data streams to deliver the information or action that is relevant to you.”
Big data or Analytics: “Analyzing massive amounts of structured and unstructured data to deliver unique services or analysis.”
Emotion: “Services that evoke strong emotions in users.”
Education 2.0 : “Education models that dramatically reduce the cost and increase the availability of quality learning.”
TV 2.0 : “TV as an interactive and social experience both on the primary and the second screen.”
Social Next : “Social as a useful and productive part of lives—enabling collaboration and deep community building around the world in specific areas.”
Interest-based networks: “User driven content that maps to people’s interests both for a better user experience and better targeting.”
Health 2.0 : “Exponentially growing data will yield personalized lifestyle suggestions, improved outcomes, predictive diagnostics and applications we can’t imagine.”
Internet of Things/Universal ID/NFC/Smart sensors: “Sensors and authentication technologies which will interconnect everything and remake our interaction with the world around us.”
Personal Collaborative Publishing : “Truly free press with no barriers to entry and personalized interest-based curation.”
Utility Apps: “Leverage device ubiquity and context to deliver valuable services.”
Marketplaces & Disintermediation : “Remove the middle man, increase market efficiency and produce better results, faster.“

Ref: http://techcrunch.com/2012/02/19/unhyped-internet-and-mobile/

Entrepreneurism, internet, mobile, techcrunch, Venture Capital, vinod

History of RIM Devices

February 22, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

history, mobile, rim, Smartphones

Schwartz’s Deli – Montreal

February 20, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

After more then 20 years of hearing Montreal friends and associates tell me of the greatness that is “Schwartz’s Deli” - I finally visited it today. It was a trip that should have taken 5 hours but ended up taking almost 8 after waiting in line to get into Schwartz’s and Montreal traffic.

It was a long way to drive for a smoked meat sandwich… but I have to admit it was the best smoked meat sandwich I have had!

If you are ever in Montreal and you like smoked meat, make the time to stop by - 3895 Saint-Laurent Boulevard · Montreal, Quebec

View Larger Map

montreal, schwartz's deli, smoked meat

Mobile App Companies in the Ottawa Region

February 17, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

Reblogged from Brian Hurley's Blog:

There has been a lot of interest in the mobile app development cluster in Ottawa. I recently took an inventory of companies in Ottawa who were developing mobile apps or mobile related software. The current list of companies I found is below:

Purple Forge – Community Engagement Solutions – iPhone
~~Zeebu Mobile – Children’s Games – RIM, iPhone~~ - inactive…

Read more… 299 more words

Updated Feb 17, 2012

TIM Presentation: The Business of Mobile Apps

February 9, 2012 by Brian Hurley 1 Comment

Purple Forge – The Business of Mobile Apps V7

android, apple, blackberry, carleton university, Entrepreneurism

Star Wars Uncut

January 22, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

crowdsourced, starwars

Restored Mercury and Gemini Images

January 12, 2012 by Brian Hurley 0 Comments

An interesting collection of restored photos and movies from Mercury and Gemini programs from Arizona State University.

history, media, space

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