The Boston Globe: Boston Scavenger Hunt

With subscriptions to newspapers falling faster than a fat man down a flight of stairs, I find the fact that The Boston Globe is using a scavenger hunt, social media and technology to hold a contest and have people learn about the City of Boston.

Know Boston like no one else? Prove it!

If you're a top scorer, you could win one of these great prizes:

• Red Sox Tickets: A pair of Green Monster tickets for a September game
• A romantic gondola ride for two on the Charles River
• 2 Showcase Cinema de Lux tickets to the movie of your choice, plus a $30 concessions voucher
• a $50 Apple iTunes gift card
• Beantown Excursion: A four-pack of tickets for the Beantown Trolley and the Pru's Skywalk Observatory this September
• a $50 gift card to treat yourself to something special!

Top overall scorers in the Boston Globe Trek are entered into a drawing to win one of the above prizes. Game closes on 9/3/10 at 11:59 p.m.. Winners will be notified via e-mail beginning on 9/7/10.

Technology: Boston's mobile application

When I heard the news that Boston City Hall was rolling out a
application for the iPhone for city residents to take pictures and
report problems, I thought it was a great use of technology. Then,
after a few minutes of deeper thought about who would use the iPhone
application, I wondered if the City of Boston researched the number of
people living in Boston that have an iPhone?

I have no idea of what that number could potentially be, but I would
guesstimate that many of the complaints that Boston City Hall and the
complaint line receive are from older citizens who don't have or care
to buy an iPhone. So, what does this say about City Hall and the
spending of $25,000 on a mobile application that targets a presumed
small portion of the demographic living in the City of Boston? The
bottom line is that Mayor Menino is running for re-election and the
two 39-year old candidates looking to dethrone Menino have and will
continue to push that Menino is antiquated. Now, Menino can stick his
tongue out at the competition as if to say,"Who's not hip and in touch
with technology?".

Time and the use of the Citizen Connect iPhone application will tell
if the response time to remedy an issue is reduced or, better yet,
where the money will come from to fix that gapping hole on Stuart
Street in the Back Bay. That 'killer app' could be just that, a
'killer' of Menino's aspirations for retaining the throne!

Read the full article on Boston.com:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/06/boston_to_debut_8216killer_app8217_for_municipal_complaints/

Technology: Does Age Matter?

According to the research done by AdMob, it does!

More Than 40 Percent of iPhone and iPod touch Users Access the Internet More Frequently From Their Mobile Device Than From a Computer.

This quote alone should tell anyone that is in the publication business or in the process of starting a business, if you're not on the Internet, you're already 20 steps behind.

Some additional data:

Highlights from this new research include:

* iPhone users are generally older. 69 percent of iPod touch users are between 13-24 years of age, while this same age segment represents just 26 percent of iPhone users. 31 percent of iPhone users are 35-49 years old, while only 12 percent of iPod touch users fall in this age segment. In total, 74 percent of iPhone users are over the age of 25, compared to 31 percent of iPod touch users.
* More than 70 percent of users on both the iPhone and iPod touch are male.
* In line with the older demographic composition of iPhone users, they also have higher incomes. 78 percent of iPhone users have an annual household income of at least $25,000, compared to only 66 percent of iPod touch users.
* iPhone users are more likely to have children than iPod touch users, most likely due to the age difference in the two groups. 46 percent of iPhone users have children, compared to only 28 percent of iPod touch users.
* In the next six months, iPhone users plan to purchase clothing (57 percent), entertainment (47 percent), and travel (45 percent), while iPod touch users plan to purchase clothing (61 percent), entertainment (53 percent), and cell phones (36 percent).

Read the entire press release at Business Wire.

Mistrial by iPhone

So it appears that Charles Quist is onto something when calling for the City Council to do away with text messaging or checking email when Councilors should be paying attention to the City's business.

iPhones and Blackberries have done in more than one case in Florida and it's something that many lawyers and judges have to contend with in this technologically-connected age.

In other news, it appears that the Boston Police Department (http://twitter.com/Boston_Police) has joined the social-media age and have decided to use Twitter as another means for getting the word out about road closings, drug busts and lost child reunitements.

I wonder if we're going to see Worcester Police Department join the Tweeters on Twitter? Hey, it wouldn't hurt to have another line of communication when the WPD is looking for someone in connection with an accident.

Amazing Technology

Even if you feel it's a waste of money to buy the new iPhone, the things you can do with it are truly amazing. Check out iHologram.


iHologram - iPhone application from David OReilly on Vimeo.

Hat tip to Gizmodo.com.

07/11/08

For all the folks that rushed out and bought an iPhone in 2007, we know that you were kicked in the gut not once by Apple, but now it's twice with the upcoming release of the 3G iPhone on July 11th.

The cost of the 8GB is $199.00.





It's amazing what waiting and not jumping at the first piece of Apple will do for you, right?

Follow JDCartee's updates on Utterz.com for more information on the 3G iPhone.