Neal's Notes

A buddy of mine who was traveling on business last week knew he was going to miss his annual Passover Seder. Not to worry – while he couldn’t be there in real-time, he simply logged on to OurJewishCommunity.org via his iPad and participated with other Jews worldwide in a virtual Seder.

That got me to wonderin’ – how do some of the world’s most popular religions, in effect, ‘market’ themselves? What are some of the digital tools available online and does going the virtual route somewhat detract from physically being in a place of worship or complement someone’s spirituality?

So I spent a bit of time wandering in the digital desert and came across a number of interesting sites and apps. Here’s a snapshot (alphabetized — not listed in any particular order of preference):

Buddhism

Sumi Loundon Kim, the Buddhist chaplain at Duke University and minister for the Buddhist families of Durham, NC, summed up the dilemma of teaching Buddhism to a new generation that uses texting, Facebook, Twitter and other online social media.

“These other worlds exist only through the eyes and mind; there is no touch, no taste, no smell, and very little hearing. As such, virtual worlds present us Buddhist teachers with students who live not just one step removed from reality, but two,” said Kim.

Kim added that Buddhist teachers can’t afford to underestimate the impact of social media on young people today since they have become ‘neurologically adapted’ to this lifestyle.

“The next generation of dharma teachers must not shy away from understanding the force of technology,” she said.

And one of these entities is The Buddhist Channel (www.buddhistchannel.tv). The site’s home page has a pithy slogan on its landing page – ‘Bringing Buddha Dharma Home.’ The Buddhist Channel offers a welter of information and tools – global news related to Buddhism, features on archaeology, arts & culture, healing, travel, various podcasts from Buddhist scholars, even e-cards and games.

Another site, Unfettered Mind was established in 2001 by a Buddhist teacher, Ken McLeod. It provides scores of hours of iTunes podcasts, Buddhist text translations, sutra sessions, and more.

In South Korea, where smartphones are more ubiquitous than in the U.S., there are numerous Buddhist apps ranging from a mobile version of Buddhist prayer beads to a location search program that uses GPS to find the nearest temple. Another app, ‘Hello Dharma School,’ features pop-up animations of the Buddha’s life and uses simple vocabulary to explain basic Buddhist philosophies.

“Modern day people are too busy and don’t have time to visit temples,” said Jung Ho, director of missionary research at the Jogye Order, the biggest Buddhist sect in the country. “With mobile apps, people can keep in touch with Buddhism – smartphones can serve as mobile temples.”

Christianity

Even the pope’s gone digital. The Vatican is using technology to help Pope Benedict XVI reach out to his flock of more than one billion Catholics worldwide. The site has its own multimedia player called Vatican Player that aggregates content from Vatican media (managed by Vatican Radio). On the site you can access the pope’s encyclicals, homilies, read apostolic letters, download info on basilicas and papal chapels, etc.

But in one of his messages, the pope offered a caveat. New media and social networks offer a ‘great opportunity’ but he warned of the risks of having more virtual friends than real ones.

“It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives,” said the pope.

Another thriving Christian online site is GodTube.com, which is now drawing over two million monthly users. CEO Chris Wyatt recently said “we apply web technology to the Gospel in a way that appeals to young people – we call it Jesus 2.0.”

Chris Ford, a social media expert with the Southern Baptist Convention, said social media is a big plus for Christianity and has had an overall positive impact in three areas – evangelism, ministry outreach, and educational communications.

“It should be no surprise that, for spreading the Gospel and globally mobilizing people for missions, social media also can have significant, positive implications,” said Ford.

Brandon Vogt, a Catholic writer/speaker who also blogs at ThinVeil.net, said that at its core, the church is ‘one giant social network.’ Church fellowship, noted Vogt, shouldn’t be exclusive and closed in on itself – it should always be outward-focused and mission-oriented.

“Fellowship in the past was constrained to times when people gathered at churches or in homes, but now conversations about Sunday sermons can linger throughout the week,” said Vogt.

Vogt added that social media also opens the doors of Christian fellowship, inviting millions of outsiders to join the community.

“Young secularists who would never darken the doors of a church find themselves dialoguing with Christian bloggers, and an atheist YouTube viewer stumbles across a religious debate and becomes intrigued by the idea of God…when used prudently, social media tightens the bonds among Christians and also connects them with millions outside the faith,” said Vogt.

Hinduism

Hinduism, the world’s third largest religion after Christianity and Islam, has about 950 million followers. It’s the dominant religion in India, Nepal and among the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Hindu Online purports to be the world’s largest portal on Hindu religion, culture, shastras, and more. There’s a vast array of information available on the site – scores of articles, sections devoted to religion, culture, community, a digital library featuring manuscripts (e.g., Veda, Upanishads, Ayurveda), even a Learn Online area where you can get up to speed on everything from Sanskrit to Vedic mathematics.

Two more interesting examples:

Kauai’s Hindu Monastery, located in Kapaa, HI, is a monastery-temple complex with 21 monks. Established in 1949, the monastery has a very popular Facebook page – at last count almost 4,200 had ‘Liked’ it. The Facebook page features photos and videos of the temple, and site visitors share their thoughts and experiences on the monastery’s Wall. Lastly, the site provides links to other Hindu organizations such as the Hindu Students Association, Hinduism Today Magazine and Hindu American Foundation.

Twitter is also being used more frequently for major religious holidays.

Diwali, India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year, is celebrated in October or November each year and is also known as the Festival of Light. Run a search that time of year and you’ll find that #HappyDiwali will be trending.

One popular Tweet last year came from Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor:

“A very happy Diwali to all of our followers! Spend some quality time with family and friends and be safe!”

Popular Hindu leaders have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon to reach out to their followers. Devotees of Mata Amritanandamayi, a spiritual leader and guru who is sometimes referred to as ‘The Hugging Saint,’ regularly tweets (@amritapuri) in order to provide real-time updates of her activities.

Islam

It has been well documented how social media helped usher in last year’s ‘Arab Spring.’ But technology is also playing an important role in reaching out to Muslims worldwide on religious matters/issues.

For starters, there have been a suite of apps developed for smartphones that have become popular during Ramadan, the ninth month on the Islamic calendar. Ramadan generally lasts about 30 days; participating Muslims refrain from drinking, eating, smoking and sex during daylight hours. Other apps help find the nearest mosque or halal (food that’s permissible per Islamic law) restaurants in various cities.

Some examples:

iQuran, an Android app on Google Play, enables viewers to read the Holy Quran in Arabic alongside its translation. It provides verse-by-verse audio playbacks, repeat functions and unlimited bookmarks.

The Essentials of Ramadan, available on iTunes, provides in-depth info on the rules and laws of Ramadan.

Find Mecca, also on iTunes, uses GPS to locate the Qibla (the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays; it’s fixed as the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca) anywhere worldwide using an iPhone or iPad. Users can see Mecca with the camera in augmented reality mode; the app also can set an automatic countdown to the next required prayer and adjusts to various time zones.

Nidhal Guessoum, reporting in The Huffington Post, said Twitter is now being used frequently to send Quranic verses and religious injunctions; YouTube and Facebook to disseminate sermons.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamanei, even issued a fatwa (a juristic ruling issued by an Islamic scholar) on using Facebook:

“In general if it requires engaging in immorality and evil acts such as spreading corruption, lies and false materials, or if there is concern that it is sinful, or it strengthens the enemies of Islam and Muslims, it is not permissible. Otherwise it’s fine.”

Judaism

There are about 13.4 million Jews worldwide, about 0.2% of the world’s population, with about half in Israel, half in the United States. The rest are scattered widely.

One rabbi in the U.S. has taken proactive steps to bridge this diaspora.

Rabbi Laura Baum founded OurJewishCommunity.org – catchphrase under the Welcome sign on the landing page reads ‘Bringing Judaism to People Where They Are.’

The site’s chief objective is ‘to provide the same services of a brick-and-mortar congregation, such as access to rabbis, sermons, educational materials, social networking, discussions, and more.’

OurJewishCommunity.org uses a variety of tools to generate live content – live stream, blogs, video casts on YouTube, audio podcasts on iTunes, a Facebook Fan Page (currently more than 5,200 fans from 18 countries) and a Twitter feed.

Baum recently presided over an online Passover Seder, which attracted over 400 people – but no Orthodox Jews, who are not allowed to use electronic devices during the Seder or Sabbath (Friday night through Saturday sunset).

“Sitting in a room is a powerful way to have community; but the fact you can do Passover with people all over the world, that is not any less of a community,” said Baum.

There are also a number of interesting mobile apps being used by Jews around the world.

The Orthodox Union recently released a new mobile app that provides information on what food products are kosher for Passover.

Crowded Road, a software firm, rolled out iTorah-iPad Edition, which even includes vowels for Hebrew text to make it easier to read.

Davka Corporation, which bills itself as ‘First in Judaic Software,’ offers the Tanach Bible, a Study Tool for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. It includes the Hebrew text and English translation of the Torah and other important works, and can be downloaded on iTunes for $1.99.

Can social media glean modern day solutions to the challenges that first arose during biblical times and are still with us thousands of years later?

Jury’s still out.

But these digital tools are having a significant impact on the social and religious lives of people of all faiths and denominations.

To paraphrase that famous cartoon philosopher, H. Simpson: “Mmmmmm. Chocolate.”

I’m sure my hypothalamus is hardwired for chocolate – that old adage, “out of sight, out of mind” may work for some folks – not me. If there’s chocolate in the upper reaches of the pantry or it’s buried two-feet deep behind various foodstuffs in the fridge, my brain immediately sends out tracking signals – a cranial GPS (Godiva Positioning System), I reckon.

So not surprisingly, as a self-confessed ‘chocoholic’, I was thrilled a few years ago when I started reading reports about how dark chocolate – eaten in moderation (inhaled is more accurate for me) – may be good for the heart.

Some dark chocolate confections even contain various vitamins, nutrients and probiotics. Some research has shown that flavonoids – antioxidants found in cocoa beans – may help lower blood pressure and LDL (think ‘Lousy’ – it’s the bad acronym) cholesterol, and also improve blood vessel function.

In fact, noted Joy Dubost, a nutritionist and spokesperson for the Washington, DC-based Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, “the higher the percentage of cocoa, the higher the flavanol content, the higher the antioxidant content and thus we believe the greater positive health benefit.”

All of the aforementioned now fully justifies my quarterly trips to Ghirardelli’s in San Francisco – I now order guilt-free the hot fudge sundaes with dark chocolate sauce.

This then got me wondering about innovative marketing campaigns various companies have rolled out to drum up sales for their dark chocolate products, and in some cases if interesting enough, plain old milk chocolate.

Cadbury

One campaign that Cadbury would probably like to recall/reboot was to promote Bliss, a chocolate product. The august British company (established 1824 and now owned by Kraft Foods) ran an ad for the product with the heading, “Move over Naomi, there’s a new diva in town.”

Supermodel Naomi Campbell wasn’t thrilled about being compared to a chocolate bar and even her mum, Valerie Morris, chimed in, saying “I’m deeply upset by this racist advert. Do these people think they can insult black people and we just take it? This is the 21st century, not the 1950s. Shame on Cadbury.”

Cadbury, it should be noted, did do the right thing – the company pulled the ads and issued an apology to Campbell.

On the flip side, another campaign rolled out by Cadbury India fared much better. To publicize its premium dark chocolate brand, Bournville and further promote the catchphrase, “You don’t just buy a Bournville, you earn it.”

Cadbury launched a blog called The Dark Truth and introduced a virtual character – Old Hound. In one story, another virtual character, Mark, a friend of Old Hound, disappeared. While trying to find Mark, Old Hound got a clue that if he collected 100 stories about people receiving something after they have earned it, he would discover the whereabouts of his friend. The posts generated more than 2,000 daily readers.

Haagen-Dazs

A few years ago Haagen-Dazs rolled out its Dark Chocolate Orange flavor at 14 outlets in Singapore and Malaysia. A campaign slugged ‘Slow Melting in Progress’ was aimed at female professionals in their 20s and 30s who are “engrossed with their profession and family and tend to forget themselves in the process, neglecting to pamper themselves.”

That verbiage seems a bit askew but the radio/print/web campaign apparently worked as Dark Chocolate Orange became a popular flavor in that corner of Southeast Asia.

Cocoa Metro

Cocoa Metro, located in Auburndale, MA, markets various dark chocolate drinks. Their catchphrase on their home page immediately grabs your attention: ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark.’

The sweet maker recently rolled a multi-media ad campaign. One image depicts how Cocoa Metro’s decadent chocolate can be consumed – via juice boxes, pop cans and flasks, for example. Another series of ads relies more on clever verbiage and fonts to capture your attention (having a refrigerated backyard bunker full of chocolate seems like a very sound idea).

Rom

While not a dark chocolate, this campaign merits a brief mention. Rom is a hugely popular Romanian chocolate bar, first introduced in 1964. It features the Romanian flag on the wrapper and probably everyone from Bucharest to Brasov to Baia Mare has gobbled one down.

To fuel international sales and branding, the company rolled out a week-long hoax – the American flag was used on the packaging and various YouTube videos explained that due to a poor economy and a frustrated youth culture, Rom was ditching its Romanian heritage. Literally tens of thousands of angry Romanians vented their outrage on Facebook, YouTube and countless blogs.

The campaign was a stunning success – it reached almost 70 percent of all Romanians. Rom’s Facebook page fan total increased by over 300 percent and it’s estimated the company generated about $500,000 worth of free media. McCann Erickson’s Bucharest office also garnered two Grand Prix Cannes Lions awards in the ‘Promo/Activation’ category (for advertising programs that bring on immediate responses/engagements), and the ‘Direct’ category for direct marketing.

There are scores of other examples but quite frankly, I’ve written enough – time for some chocolate.
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With the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco just looming over the horizon, what’s on tap for the industry? Any integral trends/issues that might be game changers?

For starters, what you don’t readily see is vitally important. UK-based, publicly-held Imagination Technologies creates and licenses multimedia IP cores for graphics, video, and display processing; licensees include many leading semiconductor and consumer electronics companies.

According to VP-Marketing Tony King-Smith, a key issue is improving texture compression in order to get the best quality game with the fastest download times.

“Increasingly in software downloads the total file size is dominated by texture data – indeed, up to 70% or more of a top game title may be textures,” says King-Smith. “This has had a massive impact on everything from app store download and update times through to device main memory usage.”

The most notable trend we’ll see this year is the shift to mobile games – from independent developers to traditional publishers, most companies are now directing their efforts around mobile strategies (smartphones, according to IndustryGamers, already comprise the majority of handheld gaming revenue).

Wanda Meloni, who heads up Encinitas, CA-based market research firm M2 Research, projects the mobile games market will exceed $6 billion this year.

“With mobile comes more social games and more companies are starting to target core gamers,” said Meloni. “This in turn will lead to higher quality graphics in mobile and social games which we believe will start to play a defining factor with consumers.”

Ultimately, noted Meloni, as competition heats up in the mobile games space, more companies will be looking to differentiate around feature sets such as enhanced graphics quality, deeper game play, and engaging storytelling.

“We are still just at the beginning of the growth curve for mobile games,” said Meloni.

Games on the iOS and Android ecosystems will continue to grow in terms of development support, user base and revenue. And the industry is clearly developing different ways of playing and interacting with games and media.

“Smartphones and tablets are offering ways for smaller and indie developers to get noticed and sell their game to potentially millions without needing a huge budget or marketing campaign,” said Kristina Kozlova, a marketing manager at Altabel Group, a Vilnius, Lithuania-based software development/consulting company.

“We’ll also continue to see voice integration as well as motion controls make a big push in 2012,” said Kozlova.

Ted Pollak, a senior gaming analyst with Jon Peddie Research, a Tiburon, CA firm that provides consulting/market forecasting services, added that the handheld market may lose some casual consumers to smartphones and tablets, but the 3DS and PSVita control dynamics “blow away the competition in most cases, and playing handhelds doesn’t decimate your smartphone battery. Gamers get this – build them and they will buy them – tens of millions of them.”

A few more trends worth mentioning.

Denuo, a digital marketing shop, predicts that this year we’ll see a game come close to breaking the $1 billion sales mark in its first week.

“We’ll also see huge growth in the approachable games category as well. A social game will break the 250 million player mark thanks to being available on multiple platforms in addition to Facebook. Across all categories of games, our minds will be blown by the number of gamers these big titles are able to acquire.”

Denuo also thinks we’ll see more downloadable content releases to keep gamers engaged.

“There will be more collaborative development of game play and associated assets. Developers will work alongside consumers to produce game titles and create a vested sense of commitment with their players.”

Streaming games will make an impact in 2012 too. Last month at CES, it was announced that Gaikai is being built into new LG televisions and OnLive is being built into Google TV.

Steve Peterson reported in IndustryGamers that every big TV set manufacturer will include some degree of connectivity in most new sets.

“This means significant numbers of people will be exposed to a wider variety of gaming, with a variety of business models making it easy to try out games,” said Peterson. “More games getting to more people means good news for the gaming industry.”

I could prattle on as all of the aforementioned is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, but you get the gist. There will be some upheaval, of course, but the industry should continue to post healthy double-digit growth rates for the foreseeable future.

That now hoary ad campaign, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile…This is the new generation of Olds,” captured our imagination many moons ago. It has now become a popular culture catch phrase that has spawned endless variations used for countless products and services.

But catch phrases don’t sell cars. The Oldsmobile didn’t evolve with the times and was phased out in 2004.

Oldsmobile executives probably didn’t bother to attend CES. If they did, they would have picked up valuable market intel on where the automotive industry’s heading.

At last week’s CES, there was a lot of buzz about how cars are connecting with the cloud, and talk about exciting new apps either on the market or destined for your vehicle in the near future.

One part of your car that is already being dramatically transformed is the dashboard.

Tony King-Smith serves as vice president-marketing for UK-based Imagination Technologies, a leading multimedia and communications technologies company. As reported in EE Catalog, King-Smith said manufacturers have now recognized that a global chassis approach in car manufacturing will result in cost reductions if adopted in high volume.

“Being able to configure more customer options at the dealer rather than custom fit on a production line has major benefits to the retail channel,” he said. “That’s good news for everyone in the car supply chain.”

King-Smith said we’ll see more and more car models utilizing software-configurable dashboards using flat panels.

By combining a high-performance graphics processor with video, King-Smith said engineers are now developing apps like augmented reality for head-up displays and navigation point-of-interest recognition.

Imagination Technologies, for instance, is working with companies like Navteq in developing next-gen navigation solutions and with leading car manufacturers.

King-Smith added that utilizing low-power graphics processors (GPUs) will increase dashboard usability, as GPUs provide an increase in performance/quality and reduce power consumption/heat build-up.

And the synergies between the automotive and consumer technology markets are poised for explosive growth. The Consumer Electronics Association predicts total shipment revenues of total automotive technology will top $9.3 billion in 2012, up from $9 billion in 2011.

Harry McCracken, editor of Technologizer, said the automobile industry is finally seeing cars as consumer electronic devices.

“Today, young people live for the day when they can have their own smartphone. Car companies now understand this – while safety is paramount, they also want to build things that are cool,” said McCracken.

And there was a lot of cool automotive software bling at CES, all playing up the connectivity angles.

“Connectivity has gone from being a unique feature that makes some brands stand out for having it to being a must-have feature that makes some brands stand out for not having it,” noted IHS Analyst Aaron Bragman.

Ford, for instance, announced five new apps for its Sync hands-free entertainment systems. One of these was a partnership with National Public Radio (NPR). Ford’s Sync AppLink, via an NPR app, will enable Ford customers to listen gratis to any public radio content on demand – via voice command. Another is Roximity, a daily-deals app providing real-time discounts relevant to a driver’s location.

AppRadio2, a car radio interface from Pioneer Electronics USA Inc.’s Car Electronics Division, now works with various Android platforms that have HDMI or MHL connectivity. It’s also iPhone-compatible.

Korean car manufacturer Kia showed off its Uvo eServices infotainment and telematics system. As reported by CNN, Kia is also testing a system that would recognize whether a driver’s eyes are opened or closed – it would employ an infra-red LED and camera to monitor a driver’s face for alertness.  Bottom line objective is to prevent accidents caused by drivers falling asleep.

But Mercedes-Benz really captured the spotlight at CES. The company unveiled the second generation of cloud-based Mbrace, which connects drivers online with customized apps controlled by voice commands or on a dashboard.

Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, delivered a keynote address covering a wide array of cloud computing-related advancements being developed by the German car company. Mercedes, for instance, will be using smartphones as links between electric-drive vehicles and the infrastructure needed to charge them.

“You’ll be able to use the Internet to plan your route, check your car’s battery status and find nearby charging stations,” said Zetsche.

“Through connectivity, cars might eventually become smart grids on wheels, efficiently storing electricity from renewable sources.”

Mercedes also plans to roll out Car2gether, a peer-to-peer ride share for mobile users wanting to offer rides to strangers.

“This new generation of vehicles will serve as digital companions,” said Zetsche. “They learn your habits, adapt to your choices, predict your moves and interact with your social network. The connected car is the proactive car.”

Odds are you’re using Facebook, Twitter, other social media tools to communicate with your kids, nieces, nephews, etc., that are away at college. I suspect there are quite a few first-year students who might be flabbergasted to discover that they can actually make and receive calls from their cell phone.

Not a major headliner these days, but colleges and universities have been tapping social media for a number of years now to not only reach students, but alumni as well as working adults 30+ who only attend online and/or evening classes.

According to a recent study by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 100% of universities surveyed used social media to communicate with students, up from 61% in 2007-2008. The study also revealed that 98% of the responding colleges have a Facebook page; 84% have a Twitter account.

“Social media is past the fad phase,” said Nora Barnes, director of the center. “The numbers speak for themselves. Many students can’t afford to visit the campus, so they are depending on podcasts and blogs to get answers.”

One San Francisco-based company, Inigral, has created a Facebook app that helps colleges create centralized Facebook sites. Arizona State University (ASU) used Inigral’s The Schools App that enables students to interact with faculty and staff without becoming Facebook friends – it allows all parties to keep their personal lives personal, while benefitting from school-specific communication that the app fosters.

A number of other higher education institutions are also doing some really interesting stuff as of late:

A few examples:

• Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton is using Foursquare to let students check in via SMS or a smart phone app and share their location with friends while also collecting virtual badges and points.

• The University of New Mexico has an active group on Flickr – more than 350 members, 900 items available that highlight events, campus activities, art projects, and work done by students.

• The chairman of the math department at Berry College developed a calculus music video with his students, who sang about derivatives in a YouTube video (The Derivative Rag).

• The University of Kentucky created a campaign around the school’s blue and white colors and a site, SeeBlue.com, which includes videos from students and staff.

• Kaplan University in Fort Lauderdale uses LinkedIn to support career endeavors for its 53,000+ students and alumni. Sophie Vlessing, the university’s VP-strategic marketing and student experience, said the school has posted webinars and 80 videos from Visionary Voices, a recurring series of discussions with thought leaders.

• Highbury College Portsmouth (United Kingdom) uses QR codes on posters to drive potential students to find the college on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, encouraging them to enroll.

• Pace University established a Facebook question and answer interaction board where potential students discuss issues/concerns/questions with students who’ve previously attended the institution.

The examples are endless but you get the gist – this ain’t your parents’ university.

Dean Tsouvalas, editor of StudentAdvisor.com, summed it quite nicely.

“A successful social media campaign is when students are able to have a one-to-one connection, speak directly to the school and get interesting information that they never knew before,” he said.

The Who’s seminal 1971 song, ‘Going Mobile,’ was really more a celebration of wheels and the joy of cruising down highways and byways. But two lines of the song, “Going mobile; keep me movin,” is – more than a generation later, a spot on description of how billions of folks around the globe will be using the mobile web in 2012.

So with only 36 days left until 2012, what’s gonna be hot? What are some key trends to look for?

A few bullet points to further elucidate:

• The CTIA Wireless Association recently said more than 250 million Americans now have mobile phones. Four out of five teenagers carry a mobile phone, with 57% of them believing their device is the center of their social universe. More than 10 trillion (yes, that’s a ‘t’) text messages will also be sent/received next year. Your 14-year-old daughter will generate half of these.

• Biz Report predicts text messaging programs will account for about $14 billion of the more than $19 billion they say will be spent on mobile campaigns in 2012.

• Market research firm Gartner predicts mobile e-mail users worldwide will increase from 354 million in 2009 to 713 million in 2014. Gartner also expects mobile instant messaging (MIM) to attract consumers to new types of unified communications (UC) clients provided by over the top (OTT) service providers – Skype’s one example.

• More than five billion people worldwide have mobile phones, and mobile data traffic is trebling every year.

• More consumers are planning to use their mobile device to make a purchase this holiday season, according to a joint national survey conducted by Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase Inc., which provides mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), a global trade association for the mobile industry. The survey of 1,000 consumers found that 62% would be willing to make a purchase on their mobile device this holiday season if prompted by coupons, discount offers, text alerts, gift cards or loyalty points. A year ago, Sybase 365 reported that only 32% of respondents would purchase anything on their mobile device, even when laden with incentives.

• Mobile barcodes will continue to evolve rapidly worldwide. “Mobile barcodes offer unmatched opportunity to increase brand value by adding measurable interactive functionality and richer consumer engagement,” said Nicole Skogg, CEO of SpyderLynk and co-chair of the MMA’s Mobile Barcode Task Force. “Mobile barcodes make static media – like packaging, print ads, broadcast TV and billboards – interactive.”

In a report from market research firm Juniper Research, “Mobile Retail Marketing, Advertising, Coupons and NFC Shopping, 2011-2016,” co-author David Snow predicts the value of mobile retail marketing will hit $15 billion next year, a 50% jump from 2011. While this is a drop in the bucket when compared to other retail marketing methodologies/avenues, it’s important to remember that mobile retail marketing is still in its infancy — and traditional advertising outlets will continue to lose market share – these include newspapers, magazines and various regional/national Yellow Pages.

“Mobile retailing is undergoing rapid change,” said Snow. “We’re starting to see an ‘arms race’ as the power of the mobile channel equips both shoppers and retailers with capabilities they never had before. Each side has to keep up with the other and gain an advantage in order to clinch the purchase transaction in their favor.”

Snow added that mobile Point-of-Sale (POS) technology and Near Field Communications (NFC; this technology allows an enabled mobile phone to be swiped past a merchant’s reader to pay for goods/services) are two areas that we’ll see accelerated growth and innovation. Most analysts, however, don’t think NFC will become main stream until 2015 because payment solution providers still need to address ease-of-use for users and ease-of-implementation for customers without compromising security.

As for what’s hot, there are scores of companies that are rolling out innovative mobile services/products. One area – services built on tags – will continue to grow in popularity.

And one of these, Pinterest, was recently recognized as one of the 50 best websites of 2011 by Time. Pinterest is a virtual pinboard – you can organize/share things on the web via a ‘Pin It’ button. Pinterest says “browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.”

Another area to watch is social fashion. The mobile world is rapidly changing the shopping experience. One company, New York City-based Go Try It On  has an iPhone app allowing users to share photos of themselves in various outfits and get real-time feedback.

So get ready for the mobile tsunami in 2012 – should be quite a ride.

Cops in your neighborhood are still chasing down the bad guys and bringing them to justice, and firefighters continue to risk their lives to save people. In addition to protecting the community/putting out fires, odds are you’ll now find both frequently tweeting, texting and posting to provide valuable information. In short, social media’s fast becoming an indispensable communications tool for your local police and fire department.

To rip part of a line from a poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “let me count the ways.”

Last September, an elderly Colorado Springs, CO man went missing. The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) posted a photo and information on its Facebook page. Less than a day later, he was found safe as a result of someone seeing the photo online and spotting the man in the community.

Also in Colorado Springs, a fire broke out in an apartment complex. The first images appeared not on TV or the local newspaper’s web site, but were posted to the Colorado Springs Fire Department’s (CSFD) Twitter page, then utilized by traditional media.

In Oregon, OH, Detective Sgt. Tim Zale posted online surveillance video and photos of a couple who allegedly stole purses from employees at a hospital and elementary school. The next day, the culprits were caught thanks to some Facebook friends.

While Zale welcomes the tips, he’s asked that residents call these in and not reply directly to a Facebook posting “only because you might be wrong and we’ve had that happen, or you’re subjecting yourself to becoming a witness in court. If you call me and you have information, you will remain anonymous.” Zale added that on Twitter, users can send a direct message that’s delivered privately and can’t be seen by anyone other than the recipient.

A few other Ohio police departments are making good use of various social media tools. The Geauga County Sheriff’s Office posts arrest warrants on its Facebook page. On a number of occasions, people have either turned themselves in or someone who saw the information on a particular suspect tipped off deputies leading to arrests. In nearby Lake County, the sheriff’s office uses Facebook to post crime prevention tips along with links to press releases and relevant topics in the media.

“It gives us a way to manage the news a little bit ourselves,” said Sheriff Daniel Dunlap.

Residents in the unincorporated town of Newcastle, CA, near Auburn in Northern California’s gold country, are using social media to help the Newcastle Fire Department raise about $1.5 million for a new fire station. The department was operating out of a now condemned building and has since moved into a 1990 camping trailer. A series of Tweetups have been organized to complement more traditional fundraising methods. The seven Tweetups have helped, but the fire department hasn’t yet raised enough money to get design/construction underway for the fire station.

In Mesa, AZ, just outside Phoenix, Marrisa Ramirez-Ramos, fire and life safety education specialist, utilizes Twitter and Facebook to send out prevention tips, especially during monsoon season, when 911 calls can easily triple with people trapped in their cars from flooding. She also uses it to publicize events including immunization clinics and car-seat inspections.

“If I can get the media to pick up a story because of Twitter, then I know it’s reaching a wider audience and could very well boost event attendance,” she said. “In addition, many of our followers retweet our events and promotions which further increases our reach.”

Larger cities, not surprisingly, are using social media to personalize community outreach efforts. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has two Twitter feeds: @LAFD for news alerts; @LAFDtalk for direct communications between citizens and the department. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) posts alerts and other information on its Facebook page, through its Twitter feed (@LASDNews) and via a YouTube channel.

“You’re talking about direct delivery,” said LASD Captain Mike Parker. “Text, Twitter, Facebook – along with phone calls — this provides the transparency the public really wants.”

Cross country in Boston, Facebook has become a popular venue for the Boston Fire Department (BFD) to post updates on hiring information, testing dates, links to news articles about the department, apparatus purchases, community outreach programs and photos.

“Reaching so many people in such a short time frame is something we couldn’t have done without creative use of this media,” said BFD Commissioner Roderick Fraser.

While social media is an invaluable tool to increase community participation, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) offered a few caveats that also hold true for police departments. The model policy issued by the IAFC sums it well – as public servants, members represent their organizations to their communities and as such, are held to a higher standard of conduct to ensure public trust and confidence.

“We need to think before we hit the button,” advises the IAFC. “If you have a concern about what you want to post, don’t post it. Your gut instinct is usually correct.’”

Two years ago, a McKinsey Quarterly report on e-government wasn’t exactly a glowing testimonial:

“Three obstacles have limited the impact of e-government efforts: ineffective governance, lack of Web-related capabilities, and reluctance to allow user participation in the creation of applications and content,” the report stated.

But 24 months in tech years probably equates to something like 500 dog years – in other words, advances in e-government technologies/processes have been remarkable.

These software solutions are now being implemented by various public agencies and municipalities both stateside and overseas.

Some capsule snapshots:

• The Newnan, GA Police Department is using an integrated software program called SunGard ONESolution, created by SunGard, a privately held Fortune 500 (ranked #434) software/technology services company. Once fully implemented, the city will team up with the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office to share important information as part of a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement strategy. SunGard says the interagency approach will enable emergency dispatchers to push info into the field faster and also help officers access data remotely via wireless-enabled mobile technology. The software suite is also being used for the City of Johns Creek, GA (tenth largest in the state; incorporated in 2006) for local government, including apps for finance, human resources and community development.

• The Tauranga City Council (TCC) in New Zealand is using e-government software from Accela to manage more than US $2 billion of city assets and infrastructure. Tauranga is New Zealand’s sixth-largest urban area with about 120,000 residents. TCC also plans to use Accela Mobile Office, a mobile solution that will allow workers and contractors in the field to receive/transmit from-the-job work orders, inspection data, GIS data, and occupational health and safety information.

• GovPartner’s online permitting portal, known as CommunityDevelopmentPartner, has been a big hit with the Municipality of Abu Dhabi (pop. 1.6 million). The portal, accessed via the Abu Dhabi municipal website, issues more than a thousand monthly permits and handles electronic plan reviews. Here in the U.S., National City, CA (just south of downtown San Diego) is using the company’s software to centralize and streamline the city’s Community Development processes – it has also automated multiple departments, including Building, Business Licensing, Code Enforcement, Engineering and Planning.

“The old paradigm of residents having to go to City Hall to conduct business is shifting significantly for two reasons – technological innovation, and the ubiquity of Internet-ready devices,” said National City IT Manager Ron Williams.

Look for e-government to be a big part of so-called ‘smart cities’ in the next few years. ABI Research recently reported that $8.1 billion was spent on smart city technologies last year (including what they called ‘smart government’ services). The market research firm expects this to increase to $39.5 billion by 2016. ABI Research said there are currently 102 smart city projects worldwide – Europe has 38, North America at 35, Asia Pacific at 21, the Middle East and Africa at six; Latin America with two.

Writing in Public Management, GovPartner President Mike Daniel said that the most relevant e-government trends “will have as much to do with management principles as with technology, including integration, self-customization, and shared services and outsourcing.”

Palo Alto (CA) Mayor Sid Espinosa best summed it up:

“Technology providers are often seen as the delivery mechanism for these shapeless, faceless advancements that government leaders will then contend with. But the truth is that the simple daily use of a system coupled with a permit technician who thinks outside of the box, or a municipal staffer who envisions a new way of using that software, is what truly drives e-government.”

Unless you’ve been living in that proverbial cave, been mummified or have been cast adrift on some remote South Pacific island, you already know that Facebook is the world’s most popular social media platform for sharing info/interacting with people.

Cities and counties are fast discovering that Facebook can also help local/regional governments keep in touch with their varied constituents.

But there are some caveats to consider before cities/counties take the social media plunge. A 2010 National Association of Counties survey of member counties revealed that 36% had a Facebook page and 41% said they used Twitter. But almost 80% said they had no social media policies in place.

Obviously this can be a significant problem – who’s responsible for managing Facebook – the city council? The county? The mayor’s office? A paid employee from one of the aforementioned? Many local governments may find themselves in a bit of a quandary about how to best proceed.

In fact, last year, the Redondo Beach, CA city council voted to scrap its Facebook page after the city attorney outlined a number of concerns about First Amendment and state legal requirements.

Some of these included:

• May city officials remove vulgar posts and misinformation, or are the comments protected by the First Amendment?

• If a quorum of city council members comment on a Facebook post, is it a violation of the open meetings law? Such laws often require advance notice of meetings and an opportunity to attend.

• Is the city obligated to retain user comments under the state’s public records law?

• Could the city face liability for employee comments deemed offensive in the workplace?

In California, for instance, it’s also important to note that just as emails can be subject to the state’s Public Records Act (CPRA), Facebook status updates (and tweets and blog posts) can be too.

To wit, according to a CPRA overview, “governmental records shall be disclosed to the public, upon request, unless there’s a specific reason not to do so. Most of the reasons for withholding disclosure of a record are set forth in specific exemptions contained in the CPRA. However, some confidentiality provisions are incorporated by reference to other laws. Also, the CPRA provides for a general balancing test by which an agency may withhold records from disclosure, if it can establish that the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure.”

Oy vey.  Despite all the legalese to consider, Facebook can be a phenomenal digital tool to help with a city or county’s branding/marketing/new business development endeavors.

A few brief examples:

• The Columbus City Council uses Facebook’s Events Tab to announce upcoming council meetings.

• The City Council of New York posts news and discussion items on its Wall and lets citizens comment/react.

• Panama City Beach, FL uses Facebook’s Discussion Board to not only solicit public feedback on key issues, but to clarify administrative policies.

• Back in May 2007, Greensburg, KS was just about wiped out by an EF-5 tornado. Facebook’s been used to solicit ideas from residents on rebuilding the town.

• Orlando, FL’s Facebook page includes posts for a free workshop for people facing home foreclosures.

Michael Riedyk, who blogs for GovLoop, an online community of more than 50,000 local/state/federal government employees and consultants, encapsulated nine ways city councils can use Facebook (and these are also germane for counties too):

• Announce council meetings and events

• Publish documents

• Talk to the people

• Use multimedia

• Provide elections information

• Offer more info

• Collect ideas and feedback

• Discuss issues

• Use a thematic approach

Bottom line? Facebook – and for that matter – other available social media tools and platforms – can significantly enhance a city and/or county’s image and provide valuable information to constituents. Just make sure you have a social media policy in place before going full tilt with a Facebook page(s). It may take a bit of bandwidth to develop this, but you’ll give yourself a digital high five afterwards for doing so.

Municipalities nationwide continue to lose millions of dollars in sales tax receipts due to slower retail sales. The City of Vallejo, CA filed for bankruptcy in 2008, a victim of the real estate crash.

Four hundred miles south in Orange County, CA, municipalities are getting whacked by having considerably less revenue and the growing realization that they can’t afford public pension liabilities. The California Independent Voter Network recently reported that in 2009-2010, 23 Orange County cities outspent their general fund reserves. Translation: Most of these cities have not only slashed their budgets, but may also have to go into reserves, perhaps even borrow and cut services.

It’s enough to make a city manager’s hair go prematurely gray – or experience some sleepless nights before the weekly city council meeting – or both.

But a solution may be just a few clicks away. More and more cities around the U.S. are jumping on board the social media bandwagon and utilizing various tools/programs to not only be able to provide time-sensitive material as quickly as possible (e.g., emergency info, usually via Twitter), but to market/promote their fair city to the widest possible audience.

NetProspex, a B2B sales/marketing contact database company, rolled out last month its 2011 Summer Social Business Report. One section of the report focused on ranking the top 25 U.S. cities for social media usage by businesspeople. The report was developed by analyzing what NetProspex said were “verified business contacts in its crowd-sourced database; 12 million employees at U.S.-based businesses were analyzed for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn activity.”

Not going to list all 25 but here’s their Top 10 list: San Francisco; San Jose; New York; Ventura, CA and Austin (tied for 4th); Stamford, CT; Seattle, Dallas-Ft. Worth; Boston; and Denver and Oakland (tied for 10th).

So how are some cities using social media? Not surprisingly, even small-to-medium sized municipalities are finding that a properly orchestrated campaign can yield significant rewards:

The City of Tomball, TX, 28 miles northwest of Houston, was founded in 1907 by Texas State Senator Thomas Henry Ball (hence ‘Tomball’). The town was initially established as a railroad center for transporting agricultural products.

The city recently hired its first marketing director, Mike Baxter, who worked in the tourism industry for 30+ years. Baxter created a Tomball, TX page on Facebook that provides updates on things to see/do in the city and in nearby communities. Daily updates include food dishes offered by area restaurants, even where to shop for gifts for guys. A Flickr account was also launched, enabling visitors to see digital pictures of Tomball. Baxter has also posted videos that feature slide photos from city shops and events held — all posted under the ‘Tomball1907’ account name with the city’s slogan, “Tomball…Texan for Fun!”

The social media programs are generating buzz and revenue, notes Baxter.

“Tourism dollars don’t just affect a festival,” said Baxter. “Money is spent in town at hotels and at restaurants and even further down the line at the gas station and tourists may stop at a convenience store or the local grocery store.”

Quite a few metro Atlanta cities are now using social media – everything from tweeting to webcasting. Two of them are Decatur and Suwanee. Decatur established a blog way back in 2008; that morphed to include Twitter and Facebook pages. Decatur today regularly partners with the Georgia Municipal Association to conduct social media workshops on the city’s site, and last year added an online component for the city’s 10-year strategic plan.

“We wanted a component for people who wanted to attend meetings but couldn’t,” said Linda Harris, assistant director for community and economic development.

Suwanee started a Facebook page in 2009 and uses it to promote/announce open houses, public meetings, even art shows. Last year, the Atlanta Regional Commission gave the city an award for technology innovation.

Two more examples – Boston has a number of iPhone apps to streamline government bureaucracy. Citizens can use them to report potholes, graffiti, downed power lines, and more, to City Hall. After filing the complaint, users get a tracking number so they can monitor if the job’s getting done.

Mashable reported that in 2010 the City of Orlando, FL was trying to get a New York City-based company to relocate. The Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission launched a microsite that also included YouTube and Flickr links. Facebook and Twitter city pages included testimonials and stories about why residents and businesses loved living/working in Orlando. An e-newsletter waxed eloquent about Orlando’s attributes.

Unfortunately, the company never moved south but the campaign helped in rebranding efforts and many of the social media elements continue to be used for recruiting purposes.

Social media isn’t designed to be a complete economic panacea for municipalities. But implementing targeted campaigns and utilizing available tools and programs germane for your city can be an important first step.