Smart Phone
A brand new study from the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California finds that 48 percent of Internet users 16 years old and older are worried about businesses checking their identity on the Internet.
By way of comparison, the research -the “Digital Future Study”- reveals that only 38 percent are concerned about the government checking up on them online. What’s going on and why is this relevant to digital signage, you may be asking.
On the surface, the concept is quite appealing. Digital out-of-home signs enabled with the right wireless technology could give smartphone-toting shoppers a way to interact with what is displayed and even deliver special promotional messages to their handsets.
Where things get a little dicey for this technology is with the correct notion that wireless cellphone communications is two-way. Some are likely to worry that the wireless link is somehow enabling the sign to retrieve personal information. Others, probably more accurately, won’t give it a second thought. Still others may view it as a positive because the interaction via cellphone lets those responsible for the interactive digital signage content to collect information about search requests and modify what’s presented to better serve consumers.
The “Digital Future Study” seems to suggest that a large percentage – nearly half – of shoppers may look suspiciously at digital signs linked wirelessly to their smartphones. A press release announcing the release of the study June 3 quotes Jeffrey I. Cole, director of the Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism as saying many people “are worried that the Big Brother in our lives is actually Big Business.”
“Internet users have major concerns about corporate intrusion – and who can blame them?” the press release quotes Cole as saying. “Considering the recent revelations about covert surveillance of personal behavior through GPS tracking and other related issues, we believe that user concerns about the involvement – some would say encroachment – of companies into the lives of Internet users represent a significant issue.”
Indeed, it was recent revelations that Apple and Google Android smartphones were surreptitiously tracking the movements of customers that originally prompted my questioning whether or not wireless connections between digital signs and smartphones might do more harm than good.
With the public being bombarded by commercial messages pitching services to protect against identity theft, news that cellphones are keeping tabs on peoples’ movements and being asked by cashiers for their telephone numbers simply to make a purchase at a grocery or hardware store, it’s not too surprising that so many people are vary of Big Business knowing their identity. Nor would it be very surprising if many members of the public look askance at the signage-cellphone link.
No one can be certain if that will be the case. But I think findings like those of the “Digital Future Study” suggest marketers and other communicators responsible for deploying digital signage should think long and hard about the risks and the benefits of adding the ability to link with wireless smartphones before moving forward.
In other Communications Mobile Cell Phone Smart Phone news:
Bop Design Provides 6 Tips for the Design of a Mobile Website for Small BusinessSan Francisco Chronicle Bop Design, a San Diego website design agency, provides guidance on designing a mobile website for business. Smartphones have became more powerful, affordable and now are more common than regular cell phones. The touch-based nature of these phones …and more
Hold the phone: retailers eye payments via smartphoneComputerworld AustraliaIn order for contactless mobile payments to become a reality, several pieces have to come together. Consumers have to have NFC-capable phones. Retailers have to have NFC-enabled checkout terminals. Cellphone manufacturers have to install the NFC chips.and more
Preparedness Facts: Cellphone vs. landlineHanford SentinelWhile the towers were in repair, I was cut off from the cellphone world: no calls, no texts and unable to communicate with my two kids, who were in college at the time and relied solely on their cellphones for communications. What a wake-up call.
T-Mobile Expands MBTA Wireless Service to Blue and Green Lines Throughout Boston Subscribers phones, smartphones, PDAs and wireless modems communicate with the underground antennas to complete phone calls and data sessions. InSite provides the backbone infrastructure for the DAS; the carriers connect their equipment to the system …and more
Why you cant sue your wireless carrier in a class actionCNETThe couple claimed that they had received free cell phones from AT&T as part of a promotion for its service. But they were later charged sales tax on the full price of the phones and service. Because thousands of other customers also were charged full …and more
Avaya expands cloud offeringsITWorld CanadaAvaya Unified Communications Can Reduce Cell Phone Expenses – Avaya defines Unified Communications as orchestrated communication and collaboration across locations, time, and medium to accelerate business results. It is achieved through the convergence …Avaya Unveils "Collaborative Cloud" Strategy and Solutions all 24 news articles
AT&T Made Nearly $1.2 Billion in Wireless and Wireline Network Upgrades in the … During 2011, AT&T made more than 5100 wireless network upgrades in four key categories in the New York metro area. These enhancements include: Deploying faster and more reliable fiber-optic connections to more than 2250 cell sites.and more
Mobile phones control more and more of our livesTECH.BLORGE.comJWT compiled a list of ?15 ways mobile will change our lives? based on the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The list pretty well sums up the evolution of mobile technology into an indispensible component of our lives. Losing a cellphone is no …and more
New York TimesRegulators seek input on cell phone interruptionsReutersBy Jasmin Melvin | WASHINGTON – The deliberate disruption of mobile phone service last year by transit police in San Francisco has prompted federal communications regulators to consider rules for similar situations in the future.When Is It OK to Block Wireless Service? FCC Wants to KnowPC MagazineFCC seeks input on mobile interruptionsmsnbc.comFCC Opens Inquiry Into BART Mobile ShutdownAdweekWall Street Journalall 112 news articles
Pedder Rd school joins SoBo citizens movement against cellphone towersMumbai MirrorLast year, Juhi Chawla and her neighbours had put up banners against mobile phone towers outside their building at Malabar Hill, when they failed to get a response from the State government regarding electromagnetic frequency radiation from cell …
Article # c9180060d94bf15f8a3e source: Delmar Lipsett is a renowned expert on Smart Phone and he also specializes in Smart Phone details and further info is visible on his web site © March 27, 2012, 1:48 pm
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