BCNick - Some thoughts on digital technology, strategy & the like ...

BC Ferries should look at Irish Ferries for inspiration …

2011-12-12T14:52:00.000-08:00

With relatives on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coastmy family and I are frequent users of BC Ferries’ ferry service. And as any ferry user who is reading thisknows, you can never get to much information about ferry schedules, schedulechanges, how full ferries are for any given run, etc.. Not to mention finding easy ways to bookpassage on ferries, pay for tickets and/or change existing tickets. Given that one is most often underway whenlooking for ferry information smartphones are a natural resource to turntowards for this type of information and functionality.

BC Ferries currently offers 2 mobile services. A basic “text mobile site” with simple textbased schedule information. And a moresophisticated “rich mobile site” with schedule information, web cam views, shiplocation tracing and alerts / announcements. This is pretty good information at a basic level for travelers using theferry service. However, if cellularconnection is weak or not available (as may be the case when travelling)neither of these mobile sites would be available. As well, BC Ferries currently offers nobooking or payment options via mobile.

Always curious to see what other similar organizations mightoffer, I did some research online and mobile. Washing State Department of Transport and Western Ferries in

England

also offer mobile sites with information for their travellers. CalMac Ferries in

Scotland

offers an iPhone app withschedule, route status and other information. And then I found the Irish Ferries iPhone app. This is the app that ferry goers dreamoff. The app allows you to book tickets,review your existing bookings, get status on sailings, plan your route to theferry terminal, find out about on-board amenities and more. The same information and functionality on theIrish Ferries mobile site as well.

Given that BC Ferries is the largest ferry operator in the world and given the adoption of mobile phones by Canadians, I hope the BCFerries team will take inspiration from the work of Irish Ferries and build atrue and full mobile BC Ferries solution for its customers in the near future.

The World in their Pocket: A Mobile Computing & Digital Mapping Revolution

2011-12-07T11:09:00.001-08:00

Short presentation on the opportunity that mobile mapping, location based services and mobile commerce represents for travel & tourism businesses. http://slidesha.re/v6oibb

Geosocial - The Perfect Storm of Mobile, Location & Social Media ...

2011-12-07T11:06:00.001-08:00

Short deck providing an overview of the geosocial opportunity for business that smartphones, GPS, mobile mapping and mobile search represent. http://slidesha.re/siwoPs

Pizza Pizza leads the way in Pizza Mobile Commerce in Canada ...

2011-12-07T05:23:00.001-08:00

I recently helped some move some furniture. Around noon our stomachs started to rumble and we decidedto order some pizza for lunch. We knew thatthere were some of the leading pizza chains in the area – Boston Pizza, FlyingWedge, Fresh Slice and Pizza Hut – and so my friend started to look for numbersto call and place an order.

Being a mobile guy, I pulled out my iPhone and started to lookfor mobile commerce apps from these chains. The only 2 Ifound for Canada were forPizza Pizza (primarly serving Ontario) and Pizza 73 (a subsidiary of Pizza Pizza that primarily serves Alberta). Apparently the Pizza Pizza app is apparently doing quite well and even was nominated for a Webby Award. Pizza Hut has what appears to be a great apps for their US stores but nothing for Canada. I then checked the mobile sites and found that Freshslicehad a basic mobile site (visit www.freshslice.com using a mobile device) which was not easy to use at all (and I am still notclear if I could order using it or not). Pizza Hut has a mobile site that I apparentlycould only use if I had setup an online account on the Pizza Hut website inadvance.

The more I thought about it, the more mobile apps and mobile web(with robust content, functionality and mobile commerce capability) make a lotof sense for pizza chains and probably for most fast food chains for thatmatter. We usuallythink of fast food when we are on the move, short of time and looking for aquick, easy food solution. Mobile appsand mobile web can fulfill against these exact needs offerings such as:

Easy to review menu options
Easy selection of specific items
Easy customization (e.g. pizza toppings) of specific items
Identification and selection of the nearest store location forpickup or delivery (using GPS)
Easy to trigger phone contact (via the mobile phone) if required
Easy to setup and use payment options (i.e. credit card, PayPal,etc.)

And ideally, when someone searches for a pizza provider (orother fast food solution) on mobile, they should be detected (as being onmobile) and either directed to a robust mobile web solution or to informationregarding available apps (e.g. visit www.pizza73.com using a mobile device to see how they have done it). In the case of iPads / Tablets, the standard websiteshould be made tablet compatible so that tablet users are able to use existingwebsites without a problem.

(US Pizza Hut Mobile services)

As I type this post out my stomach is rumbling and I am dreamingof the day when I can use either a great mobile site or mobile app to ordersome pizza from my local Boston Pizza, Flying Wedge, Freshslice or Pizza Hut …

Apple & Samsung should to build QR code readers right into their smartphone cameras

2011-12-02T09:23:00.001-08:00

I’ve been a fan of QR codes every since they first appearedin the market place. When I firstexperience the easy of triggering additional content or functionality by simplyscanning the code I thought “this could have a huge range ofapplications”. And we see them today …from out door advertisements (e.g. Victoria's Secrets), to QR codes on rooftops for Google Map viewers to see, to QR codes in parks to trigger info about the park and even in the back of soccer players’ heads!

The one, huge challenge is that you need to be able to finda QR code reader app, download it into yoursmartphone and use it to read the code in question. For tech savvy users and/or users willing tomake the effort to figure this out, this is quite achievable. But for many people this is a stretch if notout of the realm of the viable.

That said, I was interested to see a recent report that 5%of US Adults use QR codes (up from 1% in 2010). I immediatelythought “if smartphone makers shipped their devices with a pre-loaded QR codereader it would drive more QR code use”. But even then, for some (many?) it might be one of those pre-loaded appsthat you never use and many even delete out of phone.

The real solution from a usability standpoint is to build the QR code reader (and maybebarcode reader) capability right into the camera of the smartphones.

It would work something like this:

1) usersees a code

2) theystart their smartphone camera and point it at the code

3) thecamera auto detects the code and displays a popup that simple says something like “Read thecode? Yes No ”

4) ifthe user clicks “No” the popup disappears and nothing happens

5) ifthe user clicks on “Yes” the camera reads the code and triggers the appropriatefunction (mobile web, call, etc.)

This type of simple, built in code reader capability wouldmake QR and Barcode use extremely easy to adopt for most (if not all) usersregardless of their level of technical capability.

Newspaper Publishers Should Give Kindle Fires to their Subscribers …

2011-11-28T21:26:00.001-08:00

I was looking at various mobile phone packages the other dayfor iPhones and marvelled at the ability of mobile providers to offer these devices for $0-100 when a customer subscribes for a 3 year commitment (fullretail cost for the device is in the $500 range). The idea behind the offer being that the provider makes up the difference as part of the monthly fees that they charge tothe user for their mobile account.

At same time I was looking at the purchase of a Kindle Fire (retail $199) as a lite device (less bulky than my iPad) on which I could read digitalbooks, magazines and newspapers.

A thought suddenly struck me: Why don’t newspaper publishers (e.g. theVancouver Sun who wants $120 from me for a year’s digital subscription) offer me aKindle Fire for “free” if I sign up for a 2 year subscription with them for adigital version of their newspaper? Newspaperpublishers could partner with Amazon to have a special version of the KindleFire configured for their subscribers possibly including: a branded exterior cover/ case, locked branded wallpaper, locked digital edition newspaper app, etc..

Newspaper publishers who made this offer could potentially benefitfrom several digital revenue sources:

1) Interactive advertisements in the digital version of thepaper.

2) Affiliate fees for e-commerce / m-commerce purchases made asa result of references from the digital version of the paper.

3) The sale of aggregated, anonymous user behaviour datacollected from subscribers as they read and interact with the digital version ofthe newspaper over time.

A newspaper publisher could potentially also save money by reducingtheir need to purchase paper, print newspapers and physically delivernewspapers to subscribers.

From a consumer perspective, the benefit would be twofold:

1) Getting a digital version of your newspaper delivered toyour Kindle each day for reading at your leisure.

2) Getting a great digital tablet as part of your subscription for use beyond readingthe newspaper (e.g. for reading books, browsing the web, email, etc.).

It would be very interesting to see if such a model (1)attracted subscribers and (2) generated a positive ROI for a newspaperpublisher. Here’s hoping that the Vancouver Sun makes mesuch an offer sometime in the near future …

My Future Desk: All the parts are available today ...

2011-11-23T11:45:00.001-08:00

A recent article on the nature of the future desk left me thinking about whatI would want in my future desk (MFD).

Visual Output

MFD will have a large screen (150cm wide x 50 cm highscreen) at eye level. The screen will bea touch input screen and gently curved so that I can easily reach it from mysitting position at the desk. The screen should be easily adjustable so thatI can bring it forward for touch work and push it back for easier viewing. It might even make sense to have it rightaligned (for right handed people like me) so that the touch surface was withineasy reach of my right hand.

My smartphone and tablet (sitting on MFD) will be fullysynced with my large primary screen and will accept and display content fromit. As well, if it makes it easier to consume orif I need to leave MFD, my smartphone and tablet will be able to easily acceptand take away content for me to review remotely. Moving the content from one screen to anotherwill be as easy as a simple hand gesture.

Visual Input

MFD will have a HD camera built in to the top of the screen to allow for both easy still and videocapture. As well, MFD will accept visualinput from cameras in my smartphone and tablet in the proximity of the desk. Transferring existing visual content between MFDand my smartphone / tablet will be as simple as a hand gesture.

Audio Output

MFD main screen will have build in speakers that can providegreat “public” audio into the area around MFD. As well MFD will be fully compatible with awide range of wireless headphones (full headsets to earbud style devices) tolisten to audio privately. MFD will enable me to easily select betweenand/or combine audio output options.

Audio Input

MFD will have microphones built into primary screen and willbe able to capture high quality audio. As well, MFD will accept audio inputs fromwireless headsets that are synced to MFD and that have a microphone capability. MFD will also recognize and accept audioinput from microphones on my smartphone and tablet in the proximity of the deskif I choose this option. Audio inputinto MFD will be available for immediate streaming (e.g. a phone call), captureand sharing for later playback) or to be used as part of a smart voice commandsystem http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/siri.html.

Tactile Output

MFD will provide vibrations (if I enable this option) to indicatea variety of successful actions that I have taken … e.g. typing, gesture input,actions within applications, alerts, etc..

Tactical Input

MFD will allow direct typing input via the desk surface. MFD will also recognize and accepttyping input from more physical keyboards that can sit on the desk surface .Both in-surface and on-surface keyboards will be movable to allow the area infront of the primary screen to be used for a variety of activities. MFD will also accept audio input from me viaa microphone as a method of inputting text.

MFD will allow gesture input directly into the desk surface viafinger or stylus. MFD will also sync with and accept inputsfrom existing gesture input devices (e.g. Bamboo Tablet, mouse, trackball, etc.)that I may prefer. If enabled, MFD willalso accept tactile inputs from my smarthphone / tablet devices if that is themost usable experience for me for a given situation.

MFD main and secondary screens will also allow touch input(finger or stylus) if that is the most intuitive, usable approach for me tomake tactile inputs.

Physical Output

Although physical outputs (print out on paper, data on DVD,data on USB stick) will probably not be as common in the “data in the cloud”future of MFD, there may be instances where this type of output is stilldesired. MFD will automatically reachout over wireless to connect with and make available printers and other physicaloutput devices for me to use and send content to. As well, MFD will have standard USB ports toallow me to connect a variety of large and small data drives.

Physical Input

MFD will be able to input scans of documents and information either byusing the built in camera or using cameras in my smartphone and tablet. The input will either be in the form of astatic image or interpreted into characters which I can then edit and/orotherwise work with.

The more I think about it the more it would seem that mostof the component parts of MFD are available today. Now the question (the challenge?) is whetherone company has the vision, skill and ability to put it altogether and deliver MyFuture Desk for me? Apple, Samsung,Microsoft, Google … any takers?

Canadian Parks have not yet realized the mobile opportunity …

2011-11-21T12:05:00.001-08:00

My family and I love to go camping. One of things we have noticed over the lastcouple of years is the increasing presence of smartphones and tablets beingused by fellow campers to search for information & services, to connectwith friends and to share their camping experiences. As well, these devices perform an admirableduty as mobile entertainment centres … e.g. picture 5 kids grouped around aniPad at the campsite for “Movie Night”.

Sadly, Parks Canada and Canadian Provincial Parks have not yetrealized this mobile opportunity toservice, support and engage with campers / hikers / visitors (their customers). Theonly app I could find for Parks Canada was one called “HeritageGourmet” and was focused on historical recipes (http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/parks-canada-heritage-gourmet/id451612819).

If you look South of the border however, there a numerousexamples of robust “Park Apps” to support the information, location &transaction needs of US State and National Parks customers. Some great examples include:

Zion National Park App by GeoQuest - http://itunes.apple.com/app/geoquest-zion-national-park/id312743122 / http://www.geoquesttech.com/
Delware State Park App by StateParkApps - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-official-de-state-parks/id433959573 / http://www.stateparkapps.com/
YellowStone App by GeoRoamer - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/georoamer/id352712112 / http://georoameryellowstone.com/cms/
National Parks Map HD App by National Geographic - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/national-park-maps-hd/id407317095 / http://www.nationalgeographic.com
Washington D.C. National Mall App by National Parks Service - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nps-national-mall/id447866739 / http://www.nps.gov/index.htm
Grand Canyon NP App by Chimani - http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/id422907236?s=143455 / http://www.chimani.com/

Aside from core park, trail and location information and maps, some of the most interesting features I found on some ofthese apps included:

Sunrise & Sunset Information – Information about when you will have natural light at your campsite to make meals or when to get to a spot to see the sunset.
Location Relevant Triggered Audio Clips – As you walk along a trail audio clips play with information about your current location.
Campsite / Car Marker – A way to mark the location of your campsite or car on a map so that you can always find it again.
Rich Online and Offline Maps – Both online maps (when you have connection) and offline maps with rich content.
Emergency Contact Information – Information about the correct emergency contacts for your specific location.

I am looking forward to seeing Canadian Parks “step up tothe plate” and deliver similar, useful, effective and engaging mobile servicesfor me and my family (and other campers) to use!