By coincidence that evening I went to a pre-event meetup at the Grafton Arms for the NHS Hack Day to meet some of the people involved. And I decided after half a pint of Speckled Hen it was time to give up on the idea and give back my ticket for the weekend. My medical tech project to give it a grand title has been an interesting but not very successful ride including:

• 4.5 years at the Health Development Programme, including work on complex systems to inform our national healthy schools programme; I got an award for making tea when I left:-)
• A few months at the GMC before moving swiftly on to pastures new..
• Working with Patient Opinion but for a v.brief while, at Headshift
• Putting together a proposal for a shift handover system and submitting it to the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement - which was rejected
• Helping launch medical imaging portal MedicExchange, which didn’t live up to it’s anti-monopolistic OEM busting potential

Anyway you get the picture. But it’s time to move on, funnily enough just when I feel more organised and more commercial in my outlook. In fact instead of going to the hack day I am planning to attend City Index’s free seminar. It won’t change the world, but it could help pay the bills.

The way people consume and share information is rapidly changing. Consumers now trust their peers and opinions posted online for advice about brands and their products or services. Consider these recent statistics that show the dramatic change in consumer behavior:

• 92% of consumers trust earned media, such as recommendations from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising
• 70% of global consumers trust consumer opinions posted online

What this means for marketers is an opportunity to tap into the power of your consumers to launch effective social media initiatives that can enhance your bottom line.

At Extole, we have powered over 200 successful social referral programs for leading brands and agencies. Download this exclusive white paper – the 101 Guide to Social Referral Programs, to learn more about how Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) Social Marketing can drive high value new sales for your business as well as boost your traffic and awareness.

To download your copy of the 101 Guide to Social Referral Programs, please click HERE.

[Hmm, this looks interesting, don't you think? See the Related Posts link below to get the full Amazon web services presentation given at the BCS..]

Dear Amazon Web Services Customer,

Amazon Web Services is pleased to announce AWS Marketplace, an online store where customers can find, buy, and quickly deploy software that runs on AWS.

You can select software from well-known vendors including CA, Canonical, Couchbase, Check Point, IBM, Microsoft,SUSE, Red Hat, SAP, and Zend as well as many widely used open source offerings, including WordPress, Drupal, and MediaWiki.

AWS Marketplace includes pay-as-you-go products, free software (AWS infrastructure fees still apply), and hosted software with varied pricing models.

When you find the software you’d like to purchase, you can use AWS Marketplace’s 1-Click deployment to quickly launch pre-configured server images, or deploy with familiar tools like the AWS Console. You’ll be charged for what you use, by the hour or month, and software charges will appear on the same bill as your other AWS services.

Here’s how to get started:

• Go to http://aws.amazon.com/marketplace and search for software.
• Learn about products, including pricing, support information, and customer reviews.
• Launch the product in your EC2 account with 1-Click or, for hosted SaaS software, visit the vendor’s website to sign up.

If you are a software vendor interested in selling your product on the AWS Marketplace, please visit our Seller Portal and participate in a webcast on May 29th.

Sincerely,
The AWS Marketplace Team

The rise in the use of m-commerce apps has been significant in recent years as more and more consumers pick up smartphone devices and the idea of shopping from your portable device is better understood.

If you have a smartphone or a tablet then you will doubtlessly have explored the app download service which it supports and perhaps tinkered with a few games. However, if you have yet to take the plunge and actually use an app to make a purchase then it will probably be sensible to discuss how this works, what the risks are and why you might start shopping from your gadget more often.

The best shopping apps are typically those developed by established retailers, because they have the expertise and funding available to make the experience as good as possible.

This is particularly good news for existing customers who have already carried out online shopping with a retailer that offers a smartphone app. The reason for this is that you will often be able to log into the equivalent app with your existing account details, which makes ordering and payment far easier.

A solid shopping app should be able to offer all of the same features that you would find on the full site, which includes searchable catalogues of products across various categories. Not every app will necessarily live up to expectations, but you can use your smartphone`s app download platform to read user reviews and find out which are the best.

If all else fails you could decide to simply use your phone`s browser to visit the retailer`s site, although if it lacks optimisation for touchscreen devices then you could have a tough time completing transactions.

Some people have concerns about using shopping apps or smartphones in general to make payments, because there are concerns over the security of this type of feature. As a general rule, if you trust a retailer to handle your details with care when shopping from a laptop or PC then you can also be confident that their systems will keep you safe when using an official mobile app which they have developed.

Using mobile shopping apps you can buy everything from the weekly food shop to the latest video games and movies. You can even order takeaway food to be delivered to your door and a whole host of other services that do not require you to jump on a dedicated PC to access.

With the best mobile phone deals making smartphone ownership even more affordable, it makes sense to take advantage of the various shopping apps as soon as possible. You can organise your groceries during the morning commute or pre-order a Blu Ray before it hits the shops when you are sitting in a cafe or bar. If you want more flexibility to your life as a consumer then shopping apps will give it to you!

“In November 2009, Lands’ End launched a new line called “Lands’ End Canvas,” which offers a more fashion-oriented selection of casual clothing for men and women. The line is doing very well, both in terms of sales and its social media mojo.

“In fact, Canvas’ social media successes have had a significant impact on Lands’ End as a whole. Social media is making everything about Lands’ End’s approach to business is tighter and leaner.

“Lands’ End is actively listening to its customers, which is creating tighter feedback loops between its customers and product development team, thereby enabling the company to move towards monthly product introductions versus the seasonal cadence that has dominated the fashion industry since its earliest days.”

Quote taken from Harry Joiner at EcommerceJobs.com’s online JD, for the position of VP of Digital Marketing at Lands’ End.

Business trivia: Lands’ End UK’s factory shop in rural Rutland is a stone’s throw from Rutland Electric Fencing; owned by Woodstream, the US company that sells the famous Victor mousetrap!

To be honest I have been involved in dashboard design once before at least, in the NHS the remote IT consultant came up with a nice task dashboard to manage issues and bugs. And I even won an award for a community management dashboard designed for the SiftGroups Drupal ‘backend’, though again the design was more the work of the IT developer than a result of my input.

In that case what was interesting was ensuring the dashboard gave the community manager data which helped them to do their job. Now that sounds obvious (see note below on the ‘obvious’) but with so much data available, and with a techie doing the designing, half the challenge is making sure you get something that’s going to help you do your job. Such issues are commonplace though; for example I recall recently a community manager complaining that Yammer does not come with an automatic notification facility, so you need to keep returning to the dashboard to check if there’s been any activity, relevant or not.

But what I am talking about here is specifically data around social media analytics, to pull both external (eg Radian6) and internal (multiple office sites) into one place to help guide the business. So here goes:

• Keep it simple stupid – different people have different levels of understanding, so design for maximum effect by keeping it simple.
• Blinkety, blink – dashboard designed so we can tell the difference between a metric that can sometimes be ignored and when it is alerting us to a critical opportunity or threat.
• Master of the Universe – data should put social media performance in wider marklet context, to provide competitor comparison for example.
• Overall the dashboard should help us improve our ‘field sense‘ – how to play the game, no just describe activity.

• And from data guru Dr Michael Wu: Good Data Science Practice: Know the Limit of Your Data -  “After all, what good is analytics if all it does is give you the “illusion” of confidence?” – including checking for systematic bias.
• Plus my special bonus point – don’t forget the obvious. Sometimes looking for valuable social media data means missing what’s starting you in the face. Just like helping a friend who calls you with a defunct computer, it’s usually due to a loose power cable…

Neat infographic from ‘Frugal Dad‘ on how to moderate your children’s use of video games. And adding to the intriguing list of education games, there’s the plus-billion correct answer maths free gaming site sumdog.com to have a go at in between shoot-up style gaming too:-)

“My kids can’t seem to get enough of their video games. I can take away the Xbox 360’s power cord or tell the kids to go outside and play, but at the end of the day, they simply want to keep on playing. Fortunately, more and more research is coming out that distinguishes healthy, responsible gaming from the excessive, zoned out variety.

“Our latest infographic goes over some really great things video games are responsible for. It’s pretty surprising to find that genre to genre, games can do some remarkable things for your brain and body. While I’m not thrilled to find my kids three hours in to a Halo session, I’m certainly relieved to learn that some real good can come out of their gaming.

“The other useful thing I took away is that moderation is crucial to healthy gaming. It makes sense. Video games have very real benefits but too much of the same thing, day in, day out, actually ends up hurting you. As a dad, it’s a relief to hear that if I have to, I can still yank the plug and point to the door. Check out the inforgraphic and see what good gaming can do for you.”

Source: Frugal Dad

It’s often said that the single most important feature that distinguishes a social network
from a community is how people are held together on these sites:

• Why people join networks vs communities: old/new relationships vs sharing common interest with strangers.
• What grows networks vs communities: social activity (offline = drink with mates) vs cmty: relationships/recognition/reward around common interest.

But what isn’t always explored is how the power of social networks vs communities varies from a participant point of view. So here I go in just two paragraphs:

1. To put it simply the power of community is that of influence with strangers, especially of top contributors/superfans for branded communities.

2. In social networks the impact is viral, that is the so-called network effect, where like
online dating its power is the ability online to connect with networks of networks – also known as ‘degrees of separation’ – that makes online networks especially powerful. Likewise a participant in a social network can have a disproportionate effect when an idea or call to action ‘goes viral’ when it gets picked up and acted on by complete strangers.

So business strategists therefore have to approach them differently. What makes it confusing is that your market may contain both a community and a network, for example at Lego there is a community of enthusiasts which create a lot of content but contribute little relative to the business bottom line. And then there is a large consumer mass market for the Lego product which can be found online through social networks like Facebook. Of course this is an artificial distinction too, as in a real sense which takes time to value for both businesses and participants: “Everyone in the community is a customer.”

At KLM they are harnessing power of social networks to allow people to join up with other travellers and book a seat next to someone with a shared interest – creating a mini-community for the duration of the flight?

So the real objective to create value may not simply be to understand the difference between networks and communities, but in knowing how and when they complement each other when approached from an individual participant viewpoint, and how individuals can create value through their actions in your online community or social network, and how they overlap based on a participant perspective. Make sense?

I’ve jotted down the differences faced with the same challenge to better show what I mean, using the example of a new gaming device, as outlined below:

Background notes

Branded community builders Lithium comes to online community via games which are a natural community where people did not know each other, but have acquired a shared interest!

For definition source see the Lithium post from Dr Michael Wu, who goes into greater detail on the difference between networks and community (wide but shallow vs narrow but deep) in his post ‘Still Fishing Where the Fish Are?’:

Social networks
i. Everyone has their own social network (whether online or offline). Everyone has friends, families, and people they are acquainted with.
ii. In a social network, people are held together by pre-established interpersonal relationships, such as kinship, friendship, classmates, colleagues, business partners, etc.
iii. The primary reason that people join a social networking site is to maintain old relationships and establish new ones to expand their network.
iv. Primary ‘enabler’ are a [common activity] in a social network.

Communities
i. Communities are held together by common interest or specific objective in a business setting. It maybe a hobby, something the community members are passionate about, a common goal, a common project, or merely the preference for a similar lifestyle, geographical location, or profession.
ii. Clearly people join the community because they care about this common interest that glues the community members together.
iii. Some stay because they felt the urge to contribute to the cause; others come because they can benefit from being part of the community.
iv. Primary enabler in community is [relationships], as these develop as a result of shared interests.

Yes, I was in the audience wearing an orange hoodie. No, that's not me!

Having been on a lean start-up weekend for budding entrepreneurs, I know how tough it can be to get a great business idea off the ground. I’ve also gained some good experience working with entrepreneurs as a consultant, from online gaming start-up ‘Name That Place’ to a China-based surgical planning software company, to know it’s easier said than done. In thinking through the many issues around getting an idea to product stage and then into the marketplace – from validating the idea with customers, through to seeking investment, each stage requires time and effort. So it’s welcome news that mobile company Orange has launched the Win Your Business competition to give you the chance to follow in their footsteps.

Of course, the business-savvy folks at Orange aren’t just handing out investment cash, (but then money isn’t the key to start-up success). What they are doing is making sure you have the necessary support, advice and investment to get you started on the road to success – and change your life forever!

The competition panel of judges includes some of the UK’s most successful business leaders - Spencer McHugh and Martin Stiven of Everything Everywhere, the name of the combined Orange and T-Mobile business. Nigel Jones, head of one of the UK’s biggest integrated advertising agencies, Publicis Group UK. And Steve Neal, Partner at One of the UK’s top 20 firms of accountants Kingston Smith LLP. So why not tell them about your innovative new idea and you could become the UK’s next different business? They’re looking for a different idea, different approaches, clear strategies – something that is worth funding. The prize is worth up to £200,000 and includes not just investment capital, but legal advice, business planning advice, mentoring, and marketing consultancy.

To speed things up I’ve added the entry guide for you below, or access it online here (pdf). Then once you’ve registered and completed the application using the guide, you need to submit it by 31 March.

idea

What is your different business idea? As a guide, describe your idea in 100 words:

• What is it that you propose to do?
• What is your vision?
• Is your idea innovative? How does it differ from what has been done before?

Sponsored Post

It doesn’t take a genius to know that winning at roulette takes ’something special’. Either you have a system based on some maths (especially relevant to those who celebrate today, as ‘happy Pi day‘), or a mobile feed to a remote computer to crunch the numbers, or you have intutition of some form or another. What’s your take on this? Before you make your mind up consider these examples borrowed from Wikipedia which nicely inspire the idea that it takes something special to win at Roulette:

Real-life roulette exploits

• In 1873, Briton Joseph Jaggers made the first famous biased roulette wheel exploit. By taking advantage of this flaw they managed to win over $325,000, an astronomical sum in 1873.^[19]
• In the summer of 1891 at the Monte Carlo casino, a part-time swindler and petty crook from London named Charles Wellsbroke the bank at each table he played over a period of several days. Breaking the bank meant he won all the available money in the table bank that day, and a black cloth would be placed over the table until the bank was replenished. In song and life, he was celebrated as “The Man That Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo”.
• In 2004, Ashley Revell of London sold all of his possessions, clothing included, and placed his entire net worth of US$135,300 on red at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas. The ball landed on “Red 7″ and Revell walked away with $270,600. [a neat example of the power of intuition?]
• On 2 October 2009, Derren Brown (as part of his controversial “The Events” series) bet £5000 of a member of the public’s money on a single number of a roulette wheel somewhere in Europe. This was shown live across the UK using a camera hidden in Brown’s sleeve. His plan was to use the laws of physics to predict where the ball would end up, based upon the speed of the wheel and the ball. Brown took approximately three seconds after the wheel started spinning to place his £5000 bet on the number 8, only to see it land on 30 – just one number out. [is this educated intuition or based on a system?]

In film

• In the 1942 film Casablanca, Rick’s Café Americain has a trick roulette wheel. Rick (played by Humphrey Bogart) uncharacteristically takes pity on a young Bulgarian refugee couple. The husband has lost most of his money at roulette, trying to win enough to bribe police captain Renault. Rick suggests the man bet on 22. After the number comes up, Rick tells him to let it all ride. He does, and wins again. Rick tells him to cash in his winnings … and never come back.
• In the 1971 Western comedy Support Your Local Gunfighter, James Garner‘s character has a gambling addiction – he cannot stop betting everything he has on a single roulette spin. He loses several times, but finally wins at the very end.
• Near the beginning of the 1973 film The Sting, Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) takes his share of the money conned from a numbers runner and loses nearly all of it on a single bet against a rigged roulette wheel.
• In the third part of the 1998 film Run, Lola, Run, Lola (Franka Potente) uses all her money to buy a 100-mark chip. (She is actually just short of 100 marks, but gains the sympathy of a casino employee who gives her the chip for what money she has.) She bets her single chip on 20 and wins. She lets her winnings ride on 20 and wins again, making her total winnings 129,600 marks (29,600 more than her smuggler boyfriend owed his boss, Ronnie). The odds of two consecutive wins on a European roulette wheel are exactly 1368-to-1 against. [and one of my favourite films of all time, btw]
• In the 2011 film Fast Five, Don Omar and Tego Calderon play roulette and each bet their millions on red or black. The ball lands on green.

So where do you stand on this? Maybe you have a favourite online casino site you use to play – does this mean you have a different set of strategies than in the traditional casino gaming environment where different factors come into play? Certainly online casinos don’t face the kind of issues that real world casino owners faced in the past, as the randomness of the spin is 100% true. So what do you use to beat the house, when you play online, maybe just some plain old fashioned lady luck?