A new report from Nielsen shows that Mobile Internet has experienced a 34% rise in the past year. Though men were early adopters women, teens and seniors have spurred this continued growth. What are women most interested in? Yep, you guest it – celebrity news, shopping, horoscopes and social neworking.

For men, its the usual suspects – gadgets, news, sports and business news.

With the smartphone market being a hot and big growth field (think Blackberry, iPhone, Android, etc), the mobile Internet usage numbers should just increase thru time.

Click here to read the Nielsen article

The story of the boy who wasn’t in the balloon is one epic disappointment.

To begin with, any high school graduate ought to know that an oversized Happy Birthday balloon could not carry an 8 pound weight let alone a 6 year old person.

Then Wolf Blitzer shows just how inept network news is at uncovering any sort of truth. When Falcon gives away the ruse in his interview Wolf asks the 6 year old to explain his reasoning. Wolf finally uncovers some kernel of truth in this absurd story and all he can think to do is cross examine a six year old – Genius! He is obviously the culprit. It is obvious by the way he is anxiously squirming and trying to get out  of his father’s grasping hands and this highly awkward exchange.

Reality TV, the news and the rapid fire spread of information are creating a new kind of lowest common denominator. From sensationalism driven media that will list to anyone crying wolf to this particular brand of cheapened fame that is available to anyone willing to play limbo, to the more pressing issues network news could be covering – the time has come for change! The epic disappointment we feel from this incident means it is time for everyone to lower their expectations.

Meet RHIC the world’s newest and biggest particle accelerator for nuclear physics. RHIC stands for Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and it is located less than 2 hours away NYC. Few would guess that behind this unsuspecting gate is a science lab that has won 6 nobel prizes already. RHIC lives at Brookhaven National Lab on Long Island. The most interesting stuff happening there is particle collision which means shooting packets of high speed ions, like gold, at each other. When protons collide at speeds near light speed (yeah, that fast) they bust open and all sorts of stuff comes out. Massive detectors layered with plates of steel and computer chips record the results of these collisions. Incredible electronics and programming gives scientists a look at what the universe was ike seconds after the big bang.

For more about RHIC check out Brookhaven’s website: http://www.bnl.gov/rhic/

Since the rise of online companies and social media companies have struggled to make sense of online feedback.  When these online opinions can make or break the success of a new product, no company is immune to the words of the people.

This has left many wondering how to interpret the onslaught of new data. And you can bet that software that attempts to translate human emotion into usable data is becoming more sophisticated each day. It has the potential to transform online business and searching.

The way it works is an algorithim is used to identify sentiments in a statement and to identify the most influential opinion holders. For instance “love” is always good and “evil” isalways bad. Translating human language into a binary code is difficult and an imprecise science. There is no accounting for nuances like irony, sarcasm, idioms or slang. For instance a word such as “sinful” would register negatively but when used with choclate it has a positive connotation.

Companies are hopeful the software keeps improving.  The results could mean  they could anticipate customer reactions to specific issues and in turn respond with appropriate PR strategies.

For more about this check out this NYtimes article. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/technology/internet/24emotion.html?_r=1&em

Collecting payments is key to being a successful small business. It is no secret that in this economy credit is limited. For small business this means collecting all debts is key to paying overhead.

Clients seem to have more plentiful and creative excuses now than ever. It seems some will say or do anything to evade paying their debts. For agencies this can make collecting what they are due a daunting task. Some resort to a collections agency which is not good for business relationships. On the contrary there are ways to nudge clients into their wallets without jeopardizing a symbiotic relationship.

The first is to be positive and to have an upbeat attitude. Never be bashful about asking for overdue payments. Getting what you are owed is just part of business. A transaction isn’t complete until payment is made for goods or services rendered.

Also be sure there is never a delay with invoicing on your end. Send out invoices promptly at the end of each element in a project rather than slamming clients at the end of a big project. Clients get sticker shock when they see huge number on their bill and this may make them resistance or denial because of it.

If payments are late usually a few email reminders are all it takes to get clients back on track. Be understanding if they are communicative. Try to work with them as best you can to work things out. Remember you want to preserve your relationship.

If clients are not responsive or hard to reach it can be a bit tougher. Don’t get frustrated or angry remember that patience is a virtue. Be patient but be persistent! 

If all else fails call the client up and shout “Show me da money!” It gets ‘em every time.

For more tips on getting paid check out this article in Entrepreneur Magazine.

So Best Buy is getting a little hipper with this new augmented reality ad they released on Sunday. Using the latest in Augmented Reality Technology (think of the 1st down lines you see on the field during a televised Football game, the lines are only viewable on TV, but not in real life). They printed an ad that can be viewed in 3D on a PC. You hold the printed page up to a webcam to view a representation of the product and you can move it around and really see it. We were a bit surprised this came from Best Buy and even more surprised at how well it worked. Being able to interact with these realistic representations is something that could really change e-commerce. Take a look at our video and to see how it works.

To do it yourself, got to the website. Pretty hot stuff.

It is being called the Holy Grail, a seemingly magical innovation; Nokia has created a phone prototype that charges itself wirelessly. It works the same way as a power pad charger or better yet the dock that charges a Sonicare toothbrush. The phone, pad and toothbrush power up using induction. This advancement is actually not so shocking when you consider that Tesla discovered it originally in 1910. For the phone this means anywhere there are EM waves it will charge. So within the next 3-5 years (unless you live in a cave) you will no longer be able to claim your battery died. It is of course exciting and important because it will eliminate the hassle of charging like wires, outlets and accidental electrocution. Check it out.