Jason Rosado

Update: Could Microsoft be reading my blog? Doubt it, but check out this short article on this very topic. Microsoft is first out of the gate! How often do you get to say that?

In the news today, is the announcement that the storied New York Times will be introducing a for-pay model for their web information. Information on their new “metered model” is here and in the video below:

In my humble opinion, the metered model shouldn’t be necessary. What the New York Times should do is to finally acquiesce to the changing times. It’s 2010 and their delivery methods are still somewhat the same. Sure, they have a great looking newspaper and a great-looking web site, but how do the two platforms meet and support one another? The answer: They don’t.

Here’s my suggestion: The New York Times should implement QR or bar codes for all advertisements in their paper version such that simple micropayment transactions can be executed with mobile devices. See a good blog post here and another video below for how they’re widely used in Asia.

They can use the QR codes to integrate their online media (ex: David Pogue videos) with their paper version so that a scan of the codes in the paper version would bring up the video in iTunes (on either the iPhone or the iTablet) for purchase at a reasonable price somewhere between $0.10 – $0.25. They can do the same for other digital media like music, video, e-books, etc.

They can then take a cut on the transaction (and or just increase advertising rates, since they can argue that advertising within the Times is more conducive to revenue-enablement to the advertisers).

They should also change the dimensions of the printed version to tabloid size to reduce paper costs and or work to develop some sort of for-pay printable (and delivered) version for people who still want to read on the train/have tangible version in their hands. The for-pay printable version should also enable customer-specific advertising (based on associative recommendations, like Amazon) that also allows for quick and easy transaction execution.

In this way, they keep a cost-effective paper version of their news that will satisfy the traditionalists yet can actually be read easier, but also offer a hybrid style of media that is more executable and brings greater value to both readers and advertisers.

Perhaps they’ve explored these options, my assumption is that they haven’t. Happy to hear anyone’s comments on these ideas.

Here’s our Final group presentation for Future of the Infrastructure with Art Kleiner at ITP. Our group focused on a future scenario with a focus on the average life experiences living and leveraging ubiquitous sensor networks, namely in the form of mobile devices. We decided to avoid (as much as possible) the sinister “1984″ approach, and instead focused on “positive” perceptions of the future in 2016, as we saw it…

I’ll post the actual video when it becomes available since the presentation only tells half the story. The spoken portions add more personal experiences.

I’m focusing my research for the Future of the Infrastructure final paper on future interfaces and forms of transaction execution. This will focus on multi-touch, touch screen, and other next generation application/devices that will facilitate simple and fast transactions of multiple formats (commerce/philanthropy and communication).

This particular video illustrates a few next generation devices developed by the Microsoft Research lab.

Microsoft Research unveils five mice prototypes from Ars Technica on Vimeo.

This particular video illustrates a contrary approach to touch-based interfaces that speaks to the ergonomics of the now-traditional consensus on touch screen design, from 10/GUI

10/GUI from C. Miller on Vimeo.

Update: Only a couple of days after I posted these comments, Apple introduced their new Magic Mouse, which directly addresses the above innovations highlighted by Microsoft (talk about Cola Wars!).  Here’s a quick video on the topic.  More to come later…

Here’s another new link about research from the folks at MIT Media Lab

I will be compiling research on the future mobile infrastructure and continually adding to this particular post.

An interesting blog about Mobile Commerce:
Mobile Manifesto | Strategic insight into mobile commerce.

Interesting article in AdAge on Mobile Banking:
Digital: How Mobile Technology Is Changing Banking’s Future.

Mobile Commerce is growing rapidly in Africa:
SMS Money Transfers with Africa’s M-PESA

Here’s an interesting one that also nods to the Evil Empire (cue music):
Starbucks App Uses Your iPhone to Pay for Lattes.

An interesting future design for mobile devices. Rings you wear on your fingers that simulate the simulation of holding a phone to your head:

Assignment:
A driving force is a trend or factor, operating in the world today, which will influence the way the future evolves over the next 5-15 years.

1)    Identify a Predetermined Element: Something that, based on your reading and thinking, is certain to happen in a predictable way (or at least you would be willing to argue that it is). 1-2 paragraphs.

2)    Identify a Critical Uncertainty: Some trend or chain of events whose outcome is uncertain, but no matter what happens, it will be highly significant to the future we care about.  1-2 paragraphs.

Predetermined Elements -
Mobile Technology & Communications continues to pervade its way into the every day lives of consumers all over the world.  From the poorest backwoods to the most developed nations, its clear that the future of interpersonal communications, information distribution and financial transaction execution will occur through trusted & personalized devices that will be wearable (with the definition of “wearable” covering the breadth of fitting into the palm of one’s hand down to integrated within clothing or within the physical person) and will be popularly utilized for their perceived ease of use.  Many countries all over the world already boast 100% adoption of mobile technology, meaning that everyone in the country (no age group determined) has at least one mobile device in their possession, or that there are at least as many mobile devices sold and utilized as there are individuals in the country.

Asian and Skandinavian countries countries utilize their mobile devices in ways the rest of the world still only imagine.  Swiping their phones to pay for taxis or mass transportation, their phones are like an extension of their wallets.  Personalizing their phones with skins, ring tones, popular songs as their outgoing voicemail messages: the phone is increasing an extension of one’s self.  Many people today, express feeling “naked” or “lost” without their phones. Indeed, because the phone contains valuable information such as names and numbers of friends and family, an user can truly be helpless without their Personal device.

Over the course of the next 5 years, the US will adopt and extend into the practices already established by its peer countries in Asia and Skandinavia.  Banks and Financial Institutions will increasing explore building utilities that leverage mobile devices.  Insurance companies will create policies to further insure the individual against identity theft, thus making the consumer even more comfortable relying on the small re-chargeable device as his her identity card and wallet.  GPS, Bluetooth and Camera Sensor technology will further develop to supplement authentication methodologies confirming that the appropriate person is the holder of their rightful property (and thus are allowed to distribute information, execute financial transactions and communicate with others) without fear of criminal behavior and usage.  Person to person payment applications will gain traction in our country to allow two individuals to stand in front of each other and exchange financial values at the press of a few buttons.  Pre-existing and traditional models of currency and financial transactions will diminish (cash and checks) or be supplemented by image and web-based technology.

Critical Uncertainties –
Just as technology for interpersonal communications becomes more and more sophisticated, so will the drive to game, defraud, and attack this system.  Hackers will attempt to dismantle the systems in whatever way possible.  Their methodologies will be impossible to anticipate.  New security technology claimed as impervious to penetration will continue to be deconstructed by hackers, even younger and more sophisticated by the year.  Victims will have their entire lives and identities taken from them at the pressing of buttons (and in the blink of an eye).  How to prevent this all from occurring is virtually impossible.  Determining how a criminal will find out the weak links in the chain will for the most part only occur after they’ve accomplished their goals. As we strengthen some links in the chain, we run the risk of weakening others.  High profile victims of fraud, identity theft and violation will challenge the average consumer’s confidence in the system.

In this future scenario, the concept of value could dramatically alter. Sophisticated technology will bring greater transparency to the system and thus challenge an individual’s assumption of value (once it’s easy to learn how to make or do something one-self) especially as it relates to the service based economy.  Prices for commodities may decrease as a result, striking at the heart of revenue models and assumptions based on those models.  As it becomes cheaper and easier to produce, it becomes easier to dispose, and as it becomes easier to dispose it becomes harder to conserve.  The environment will suffer.  Disposed commodities will take up valuable space on land and at sea.  The extent of the damage will only be known and acknowledged AFTER it has occurred.

If value diminishes it could alter how individuals execute upon their desires. If things lose value, individuals could relinquish their preoccupation with assets or strive to accumulate even more.  Humans could become more isolated or less so.  Interdependence could cease to exist or flourish wildly.

If the new sophisticated systems should fail as quickly as we adopt them how will we react?