Tag Archives: Mobile Technology

Shopping Goes Mobile During the Holidays

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More and more, people are embracing mobile technology. So it’s no surprise holiday shopping is now done largely on mobile devices. According to a study by Price Grabber published on Mashable.com, many plan to do their holiday shopping online. “The study polled 2,500 smarthphone users across the country. Of them, 32 percent said they planned to use shopping apps to use for the holidays; 42 percent said they planned to buy small- and big-ticket items through smartphones. Seventy-five percent agreed they would do some form of shopping online.”

premasagar / Foter / CC BY-NC

Thanksgiving/Cyber Monday
Mobile technology is changing the way people shop and Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday were not exceptions this year. According to PR Daily, Cyber Monday sales have gone up 41 percent overall since 2010. According to Easy2 Technologies, “The 5-day Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend saw a 125 percent increase in mobile shopping vs. average daily traffic, including a 155 percent increase on Black Friday” (via PRWeb).

Playing it Safe Online
While mobile shopping is especially convenient, it’s important to remember safety should be the number one priority.

Here are some tips to stay safe while shopping via mobile devices:

• Make sure you browse safely. Make sure there is an “s” after http.
• Make sure your Internet connection is secure.
• Always use a credit card and not a debit card.
• Shop on trusted sites you know and normally shop on.

Best Holiday Apps for Shopping
U.S News and World Report put together a list of the 5 best apps. Check them out below:

• Decide
• Gift Plan
• Redlaser
• ShopKick
• FastMall

Read about the apps in detail here. Do you have a favorite app for holiday shopping?

What’s your reason for shopping virtually? Comment to let us know.

Photo credit: premasagar / Foter / CC BY-NC

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The 2012 Election: The Most Social and Mobile Friendly Election?

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In elections gone-by, people learned about candidates through TV, radio and more recently a campaign website. Today, social media and mobile technology have drastically changed how the public interacts with political campaigns. People can now learn about the election and candidates through social media outlets and apps, live blog and tweet the debates as they happen, share their opinions and ensure their thinking and opinions reach the candidates directly – or at least their campaign staffs. Social and mobile technologies have changed political elections by empowering the electorate to stay up-to-the-minute … every second of the election!

Socially Friendly
On Facebook, people are sharing opinions on the presidential candidates by updating their Facebook statuses throughout the debates, and sharing their opinion on key issues and more. Facebook is also a great way to learn about the candidates through their pages. In fact, both President Obama and Governor Romney are encouraging voters to get on Facebook. Read about it here: http://on.mash.to/Y6QRoh.

Instead of watching the debates on TV, websites like YouTube allows others to watch the debates – even from their smartphones – and share their opinions and color commentary. Twitter is another great place to follow candidates and related conversations via hashtags. Voters can engage in conversation with others about the election, retweet their favorite candidates tweets, check-in to the polls and much more.

There’s an App for that…
Today, there is an app for everything and elections are no exception. Need help finding your way to the poll on election day? The VoterHub App can easily help you find your way to the polls. Want to donate to a campaign? There’s an App for that too. Looking for live election night updates on your iPhone or Android … that’s right, there is an app that can help.

VoterHub also provides information on everything you need to know about the election. According to Mashable, “VoterHub, a new app from AT&T, the Pew Center on the States and Politics-360, is designed to be a non-partisan one-stop-shop for everything voters need to know on Election Day.”

If you find donating to your favorite campaign to be a chore, check out the The Rise of Mobile in Election 2012 to learn more about political mobile apps and how to donate with ease.

The New York Times – and others, we’re sure – is offering moment-by-moment election news coverage direct to your phone.

Just how mobile is this election? Mashable created an awesome infographic to explain.

Final Thoughts…
This election is most interesting because of the prominent role social and mobile technologies are playing. All of us can share our thoughts and opinions with hundreds of friends, who in turn broadcast those messages to hundreds more. It has made the election extremely interactive. I think the 2012 election will be remembered for many things, most especially for its use of social and mobile technologies to engage with voters.

Tell us what social platforms or mobile apps you prefer to keep up with the campaigns.