Rob Olague
Notes from TEDxUSC – Ideas Worth Sharing in Health Robotics
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and the tagline of the annual TED conference is “Ideas Worth Sharing.” The TED event has grown in popularity worldwide thanks to keynote speakers such as Bill Gates. TEDx events are local TED events where the X stands for “independently organized events.” Recently, I attended the second annual TEDxUSC [...]
Location-based Services: Current and Future Trends
The increasing connectivity to the internet via smart phones has given rise to another always-on technology: location-based services. Juniper Research’s newest report on mobile services estimates that mobile location-based services may reach revenues of $12.7 billion by 2014. The most popular location-based services of the future will be timely, rewarding and useful. In a study [...]
Study On Social Media And Mainstream News
How much does traditional news media still matter? A recent report from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism found that more than 99% news stories in blogs linked to outlets such as broadcast networks and newspapers. BBC, CNN, the New York Times, and the Washington Post were responsible for 80% of all [...]
Students Shift From Facebook
As Facebook’s numbers continue to grow, a huge shift in the site’s demographics is underway. According to StrategyLabs, who have archived data provided by Facebook through it’s self-serve ad system since 2007, the six months from January 2009 to June 2009 saw the addition of almost 5 million new users aged 55 and over. The [...]
Diesel’s Social Strategy – Not Stupid
It’s a picture that has become a staple of online social networking. The self-portrait-in-a-mirror cell phone camera picture adorns Facebook and Myspace pages of young people almost everywhere. Recognizing the opportunity that the ubiquitous “mirror shot” presented, Diesel Spain installed booths in their dressing room areas. The touchscreen boxes let shoppers take pictures of themselves [...]
Stand Against SB 1070!
Arizona has recently passed a new law titled “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” or SB 1070 (PDF). The text of the bill is complicated, but I invite you to read a summary from the LA Times. I contend that this law will neither support law enforcement nor make neighborhoods safer. It is also likely [...]
Hearing Aid “Plug” Design
Ran across this concept for a hearing aid “plug”. This is very interesting, it’s too bad it doesn’t exist.. yet. Might see me with a plug someday after all. It’s nice to see the concept of hearing aids being ‘stretched’. Learn more about the design concept at designaffairs STUDIO.
Promoted Tweets Take Off
Twitter’s “Promoted Tweets” ad platform has launched with a high-profile partner in Virgin Airlines. Twitter selected a few partners and approached them about advertising opportunities during the first phase of rollout for the new promotion platform. Among them, Virgin Airlines has a reputation for social-media and internet savvy that made them a good prospect as [...]
WebMD Bets on Better Health Through Social Networking
Last month, WebMD, one of the most trusted health portals online launched a social networking platform, WebMD Health Exchange. The social network’s purpose is to provide a new way to connect consumers to WebMD’s health experts as well as provide an outlet for online communities by encouraging users to share their personal experiences online. In [...]
Mobile Ad Showdown
A showdown in mobile ads is brewing. At this morning’s iPhone 4.0 developer preview, Apple announced their new mobile ad platform, iAd. Since buying Quattro Wireless earlier this year, a mobile advertising product was expected from Apple. The features of this platform include HTML5 rendering, closer OS integration, and the ability to keep the ads [...]
