Kids Code!: The smell of pizza and the sounds of coding in Austin Texas!
Early education is so important! That's why I blogged recently about teaching binary code to toddlers (see my video blog post at http://socialbusinesssandy.com/2014/12/08/video-blog-teaching-binary-to-toddlers-is-it-important-for-all-to-code/). And I believe we should be encouraging kids of all ages to learn how to code and create software that serves a purpose.
What we learned recently is that if you combine pizza with Bluemix, what you get is a room full of students who are ready to create and deploy mobile apps!
At the IBM Innovation Center in Austin, we had 24 middle school and high school students, plus their parents, attend a Kids Code! event. The room was filled with eager students excited about creating their own web-based mobile apps! As they worked on their projects, hands would eagerly go up whenever the students had a question. Everyone was working patiently and diligently! And their parents were engaged, too, as they assisted and worked closely with their students to finish the coding task.
Every now and then, you could hear sounds of delight as students one by one were deploying their first mobile app! It was such a great learning atmosphere!
One of the more fascinating things was the tools each student would use to code with Bluemix. Some were using laptops, some using tablets, while others were using smartphones! I think that is so wonderful because these are the tools of today!
IBM will host more events like this around the globe. However, if you are interested in getting your student involved in coding now, there are great resources online to help you get started. Coderdojo, Code.org and Hour of Code are all great resources you can use to expose your student to the fun and creativity of coding! It might start a lifetime of software creation!
Helpful links:
Coderdojo -> https://coderdojo.com/
Code.org -> http://code.org/
Hour of Code -> http://hourofcode.com/us
3 Thoughts on Internet of Things
Now, I’m no Einstein, but I do want to offer you three thoughts in the spirit of this quote. Three key ideas to keep in mind when developing or optimizing your strategy for the Internet of Things.
First, the IOT is both like, and unlike, the Internet. Based on our experience across a diverse set of industries and clients, …
… there is an approximately 70 percent overlap between the two. So there is no question that if you have a highly effective Internet strategy, you’re far ahead of those who don’t. Because that Internet strategy proves that you’re already well equipped for the majority of what the IoT will throw at you.
But it also means there is a 30 percent piece that is unique.
And like most things, the devil of the IoT is in the details. In other words, to be successful moving forward, we must focus on the unique aspects of the IoT. And the truth is that if we don’t respect those differences, failure is inevitable.
OK, then what are the aspects of the IoT that make it unique from the Internet? For simplicity, we’ve categorized those things into four primary areas.
1. Different devices. And more of them. And new ones being invented virtually every day. It is within those devices that the potential to create this common language of the IoT begins; that is the genesis point for unity.
2. Different protocols. Different rules for data exchange between different systems. Again, if we think about the Tower of Babel analogy, the potential exists with the IoT, but if we aren’t speaking the same language, or at least using protocols that are compatible, what good is it to us?
3. Different types of analysis. And of course, different types of data that are all growing at an exponential rate. And then there’s all the historical data, ripe with value, that has yet to be tapped. How will it be analyzed? How can you refine your focus and make this now seemingly unmanageable task manageable once again?
4. And different partners. Yes, of course it is good to be strong in business processes and operations. But achieving IoT success means having the skills and capabilities that neither IT organizations nor industrial organizations have alone. It will require the right kind of partnerships, the right teams coming and working together to achieve a common goal.
So that’s the first key idea, the importance of focusing on that which differentiates the IoT from the Internet and refining your expertise, skills and partnerships to capitalize on those differences. To transform those technical challenges into business opportunities.
We'll see the other 2 ideas tomorrow!!!
Video Blog: Teaching binary to Toddlers! Is it important for all to Code?
Why are fewer people graduating with a technical degree (12% today vs 37% in 1984)? Why should you care?
Listen to this video blog to see how people are starting to train their kids earlier on how to code because of the upcoming importance to ALL on the power of coding!
I'd love to hear your thoughts!!!
As a social tool, LinkedIn is growing in Influence
I love the research from the Global Web Index and today's aha moment was around LinkedIn. As outlined in our GWI Social report, LinkedIn’s active user figure has increased by 50% in the las6 months.
Did you know that 30% of online 16-64s have an account on LinkedIn? And 1 in 8 have said they have actively used LinkedIn within the last month.
In fact, 1 in 10 online 45-64s are active on LinkedIn – making it the second oldest network in terms of its age profile and giving it a user base which is similar to Facebook’s.
What’s more, a quarter of LinkedIn’s active users are in the top income quartile, while almost half say they tend to buy brands they see advertised. In both cases, this puts LinkedIn ahead of Facebook – giving some indication as to why the social networking giant is after a bigger slice of this premium audience.
Easier mobile app development tools take over SmartCamp Europe Regionals
Our final SmartCamp Regional event for the year was held last week in London. We had 9 startup finalists; that's the largest SmartCamp Regional we've ever had! Eight countries across Europe, including Israel, were represented. It was a truly amazing event!
Watch this short video about the SmartCamp Europe Regional!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI7csH3_hbg&w=560&h=315]
The results produced two winners who will be going on to the SmartCamp Global Finals: Kinetise and WakingApp. Congratulations to these two startups for winning what proved to be one of the most competitive SmartCamps ever!
There is a common thread between these two startups. Both are native digital app companies with mobile solutions that allow anyone to create a mobile app, even if they don't have hardcore programming skills. Drag and drop features are evident in both solutions, making it much easier and faster to deploy the features you want and need into your mobile app.
But why make mobile app development easier for non-developers? According to Piotr Pawlak, CEO of Kinetise, it is "because of the developer shortage. There is simply not enough engineers in the market" to keep up with demand.
Kinetise and WakingApp have tapped into the future of mobile app development, and I couldn't be more excited to have them compete at our Global Finals! You can follow them on Twitter @Kinetise and @WakingApp.
The People's Choice Award went to Magick, winner of SmartCamp Nordics. It's clear to see why they are so popular since their mobile, browser-based financial trading solution makes it so much easier to perform financial trades, especially in the foreign currency exchange trade. Something tells me you'll be hearing more about Magick, like in financial magazines! You can follow them on Twitter @MAGICKnu.
And I'm so thrilled that Andiamo, one of my favorite startups, received a Special Mention during the event. Andiamo, our SmartCamp London winner, has a solution that uses 3D scanning and printing technology to create orthotics for children in a fraction of the time it took with previous methods... and cheaper, too! They are literally improving the lives of so many children and their families with this innovative solution. Congratulations to Andiamo and continued success! Follow them on Twitter @AndiamoHQ.
Follow my blog post for more on the upcoming SmartCamp Global Finals for 2014!
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Great Black Friday Retail Analytics - compliments of IBM!
Our mega Black Friday wrap report is now out and it's chalked full of data goodness. So grab a cup of coffee, fire up the analystics machine, and start the day off right with our Benchmark.
The headline: Black Friday drove a 9.5% sales increase from last year!
While Thanksgiving is starting to eat into sales, Black Friday continues to pay dividend for online retailers with a 9.5% sales jump vs. last year according to IBM’s real-time analytics.
Mobile shopping makes its mark on Black Friday as nearly half of online retail traffic came from mobile devices after beating the 50% mobile traffic mark on Thanksgiving. Black Friday mobile sales reached nearly 27.9% of all online sales, an increase of 28.2% last year.
New York City shoppers topped all online shoppers in Black Friday sales, according to the IBM data. New York was followed by Washington DC, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Chicago.
In the battle of mobile devices, smartphone users were driving the most traffic on Black Friday, but it was tablet users who converted more sales.
Health & Beauty and Home Good online outlets were among the big winners on Black Friday according to IBM data analytics reports. Health & Beauty sales surged 56.9% while Home Goods built a 43.2% increase.
Facebook users coverted orders at nearly four times as many sales than Pinterest on Black Friday. Facebook also drove a higher average order value ($109.94) compared to Pinterest ($100.24)
Summarized -- Here's other Top 8 Factoids:
- Mobile drives over 49.6% of all online retail traffic on BlackFriday
- Mobile drives more than 1/2 of all online retail traffic for 1st time on Thanksgiving
- NYC is the #1 shopping city! Top cities for online retail sales on BlackFriday: NYC, DC, Atlanta, Los Angelos, Chicago
- Smartphones drive clicks but tablets drive cha-chings on #BlackFriday
- Retailers get more targeted with the #BlackFriday email promotions sending 11% fewer messages
- Apple iOS takes nearly 4x bigger bite of #BlackFriday mobile shopping sales vs. Android
- Apple devices drive more than 2x traffic to online retailers than Android and Apple iOS shoppers spend $121.86 per order vs. $98.07 for Androd – a 24% difference!!
- Facebook users convert sales at more than 2x rate of Pinterest on #BlackFriday
