Science & Technology

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 10 oct 2014

Social media presence provides organizations multiple opportunities to better connect and interact with their audience and customers. Social media analytics gives them insights about what their customers think and how to serve them better. But the challenge is to process and make sense of this huge data effectively. The text is unstructured and requires use of specialized natural language processing techniques and tools for analysis and data inflow is continuous. According to Sarah Biller, president of Capital Market Exchange, 'It's a misnomer that all this data is at our fingertips now and big data has made it available. Organizations need talented individuals in-house who can normalize and structure all the data being collected so it can be run through analytics engines.' Lack of available talent in the field is further adding to the woes. Jiri Medlen, senior text analytics specialist at PayPal, says 'ROI from social media sentiment analysis can be questionable.' He adds, 'The biggest question is what to do with this kind of data. How is this going to impact the bottom line of the company? We still have to answer the question of value.' Another challenge is related to technical difficulties with social media data. According to Usama Fayyad, Chief Data Officer at Barclays PLC, the rapid streaming and unstructured nature of social data makes integrating it into analytics systems a big headache. Early tests of social media analytics applications showed promise, but dealing with the complexity of the unstructured data proved difficult. We really don't know how to deal with variety. You can enhance any data set with all this and it makes it better. But it's a monster.' Read on...

TechTarget: Social media analysis has promise -- but also pitfalls to avoid
Author: Ed Burns

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 10 oct 2014

As big data requirements of companies in finance, retail, healthcare, education etc continues to grow, there will be corresponding growth of companies providing innovative analytics tools and services to store, analyze and monetize the big data. This inturn propels the need of workers at various levels to have big data talent and skills. Business leaders with strong understanding of business, analytics, technology and communications skills would be in high demand. A 2011 report of McKinsey estimated that by 2018, about 140000 to 180000 big data jobs will remain unfilled due to lack of experience and expertise. The 2014 CDO Talent Map predicted that the number of Chief Digital Officers will double this year increasing to 1000 by the end of 2014 and the number of Chief Data Officers will be more than 200 by year end. Due to this imminent need of big data talent, both educational institutions and technology corporations are collaborating on curriculum and project-based learning opportunities for students. Large number of universities globally are incorporating new courses related to predictive analytics, machine learning, data analysis and infrastructure. These initiatives range from full degree programs and addition of new courses in existing curriculum, to short-term skill-specific certificate courses that are available online. Moreover, professional organizations are also offering free courses, training programs and hands-on learning projects to fulfill the knowledge and learning needs of their members. Read on...

Umbel Blog: Big Data Equals Big Jobs: New Educational Programs to Help You Snag the Sexiest Jobs in the Industry
Author: Thrupthi Reddy

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 09 oct 2014

The travel industry landscape is finding shifting business dynamics due to the emergence of innovative ride-sharing services like Uber, Lyft, Sidecar etc. These internet-enabled services have now got critical attention of governments and taxi unions. While economists on the other hand seem to favor these services and want them to operate freely without interference from governments and unions. Moreover they also agreed that the competition on equal footing with taxi services regarding genuine safety and insurance requirements, but without restrictions on prices of routes, raises consumer welfare (56% strongly agreed & 37% agreed). Professor Austan Goolsbee of University of Chicago when asked commented, 'Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.' A study from University of California at Berkeley found that Uber is more efficient in picking up passengers, 92% arrive within 10 minutes, compared to 10% of taxis. According to MIT study, 95% of all taxi trips in some areas of New York City could be shared. Read on...

VentureBeat: Here's why top economists unanimously agree the government should stop regulating Uber
Author: Gregory Ferenstein

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 01 oct 2014

From traditional perspective, human resources (HR) handles relationship of the employees with the organization, while marketing handles dynamics of interaction between customers and organization. But the value of brand experience for both consumers and employees, alongwith technological advancements is bridging the gap between these two critical components of any business. The notion 'happy employees can make customers happier' is becoming more real. Convergence of HR and marketing will facilitate a learning exchange between the two and create new paradigms for organization's benefit. HR can effectively pursue strategies for talent acquisition much in the same way that marketing works toward seeking customers and can develop employment value proposition (EVP). Social media is facilitating new connection between organizations and consumers. These technologies can be leveraged by HR for interaction with prospective employees and to develop effective recruitment strategies. HR should learn from marketing to embrace change and be early adopters. Read on...

Human Resources: When HR meets marketing
Author: Anthony J. James

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 30 sep 2014

Whether you are a big global brand, a B2B enterprise, or a small business, in today's technology powered business world, an effective digital strategy is required to stay ahead and succeed. Aaron Kahlow, CEO of Online Marketing Institute, provides a list with in-depth analysis of essential digital planning ideas that should be kept in mind for the coming year 2015 - (1) Go Big on One Content Idea (2) Use Big Data in Little Ways (3) Make Time for Technology (4) Get Real: Re-Learn Best Practices (5) Target or Die an Irrelevant Death (6) Advertise More, Hope Less (7) Invest in Yourself, Invest in Your People. Read on...

Business 2 Community: The 7 Essential Digital Planning Ideas for Breakthrough Results in 2015
Author: Aaron Kahlow

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 29 sep 2014

The next-generation of social media analytics is moving beyond static engagements like followers & likes. Both digital marketing and customer care are converging on the social media platforms and the marketing strategy need to be based on accuracy and speed by using advanced real-time analytics tools. Futuristic social analytics should be able to highlight who, what and why of the brand's consumer engagement dynamics. This will provide real value to marketers as they are able to measure the campaign effectiveness based on data and ROI. Pernille Bruun-Jensen, Chief Marketing Officer at Netbase, provide examples of what next-generation of social analytics can do for brands - (1) Boost campaign performance in real-time (2) Discover what influences your customers purchases (3) Get an edge on the competition (4) Fix problems before they escalate (5) Learn about customers' interests outside your brand. Read on...

ADWEEK: Next-Gen Social Analytics Are Transforming Digital Marketing
Author: Pernille Bruun-Jensen

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 27 sep 2014

Market research, empowered by technology, is now within the reach of even small companies and startups as cost has come down considerably. There are numerous tools and services that are considerably within the budget to do essential marketing research to test ideas, collect data & perform analytics. Customer-centric approach helps companies provide better products & services. Use of right information assists to structure business model, shape marketing campaigns, design products and markets, in a way that efficiently serves customers and grows the business. Here are some of the ways in which market research helps businesses - How market research intersects with content & SEO: In the online world, analytics & traditional market research are converging to provide data-driven business decision making; Launching a market research initiative to support your digital marketing campaign: Two main focus (Decoding your audience's most urgent concern. Focusing your content). Important information gathering techniques (Keyword Research. Website analytics. PPC-based research. Auditing existing buyer data. A/B testing); What's the role of competitor research: Understand competition's positioning and unique selling proposition. In SEO, it is about understanding competitor's online presence, content strategy, target keywords, link porfolio, social media presence etc; Market research impacts your product or service mix: Concept testing the product ideas with public before investing in it. Determine purchase intent and market potential; Optimal use of data collection and analysis: Take a lean approach to data collection advocated by Eric Ries in 'The Lean Startup' to perform the right amount of data analytics based on the requirement. Read on...

Forbes: Why Knowing Your Audience Is The Key To Success
Author: Jayson DeMers

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 23 sep 2014

Technology's potential to transform healthcare is accepted by all the stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem. Stanford MedX is one of the conference where thought leaders, physicians, academics and entrepreneurs participate to discuss this technology facilitated transformation and the related issues and challenges. Dr. Robert Pearl, the CEO of The Permanente Medical Group & a Stanford University professor, shares his views on slow adoption of some healthcare technologies in American healthcare system - (1) Many New Technologies Don't Address The Real Problem: Entrepreneurs & innovators should focus on goals of the end-users; Few of the currently available wearable devices & apps have demonstrated that they solve major health problems (2) No One Wants To Pay For New Technologies: Financial difficulties are inherent in the currently used fee-for-service payment model. Doctors & hospitals will resist the adoption of technologies that lowers costs or reduce patient visits as they are rewarded for volume & cost of provided services; Pay-for-value model would be more conducive for faster technology adoption (3) Physicians Are Reluctant to Show Patients Their Medical Information: In past most doctors believed that sharing information with patients could be harmful. But this is changing with EHR (Electronic Health Records) and information technology. But most exam-rooms still don't have user-friendly computers to easily share information with patients; The solution could be tablet computers with fast data entry & mobility alongwith providing easy access to sharing data with patients (4) Technology Slows Down Many Physicians: Data entry in structured format of EHR is helpful in the long run as it prevents medical errors but at present it is adding to physician's time; Effective approach would be to reduce physician's data entry time by creating software applications that include macros & smart lists and medical errors can by reduced through apps with alerts (5) Many Physicians See Technology As Impersonal: Baby boomer physicians still consider 'human-touch' & 'personalized-care' as synonymous; Personalized-care' from a patient's perspective is about being able to decide how, when and where they obtain information and treatment and today's busy and working people seek healthcare through technology enabled alternatives that saves both time & money. Read on...

Forbes: 5 Things Preventing Technology Adoption In Health Care
Author: Robert Pearl

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 16 sep 2014

Majority of the emails that users receive in their inbox are spam emails. Service providers use technologies to filter and restrict these unwanted and annoying emails and internet security is still struggling to effectively tackle the menace of spam. Professor Andrew B. Whinston of University of Texas at Austin, pioneer in the field of ecommerce and consumer behaviors, and his team has been tracking from where spam originates since 2011 and reporting the results on their spam-shaming website SpamRankings.net. According to Professor Whinston, 'Most spam is sent from computers compromised by botnets or phishing. The same security problems that let those problems in could be used for worse things, ranging from denial of service attacks to identity theft to blackmail to alteration of financial records.' The approach that SpamRanking.net applies is that of putting reputational pressure on those companies that are source of spam and affect their economic activities because most customers don't want to do business with spammers. This forces these organizations to enhance their internet security technologies and practices. Read on...

The University of Texas at Austin: He Fights Spam So You Don't Have To
Author: Chad Schneider

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 15 sep 2014

In the constantly changing, technology connected and globally competitive business environment, it is imperative for businesses and organizations to create an environment of open communication and transparency, and acquire and effectively manage a knowledgeable and empowered talent pool. Organizations have to incorporate a continuous learning and skill updating mechanism to enhance their competitiveness and profitability. Learning through social networking is one such mechanism that can be utilized to harness more organizational knowledge, nurture and facilitate collaborative communities and finally improve employee performance leading to increased business value. Social network technologies have evolved from 1990s corporate intranets and extranets to now public-facing online networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and many more. Enterprise social networks are currently build on similar technologies in the form of private internal software platforms to engage employees for better collaboration, communication, knowledge sharing and informal learning. According to IDC, the worldwide enterprise social software applications markets' revenue was valued at US$ 1 billion in 2012, and the market revenue is expected to grow to US$ 2.7 billion by 2017. Some of the basic functions of ESN (Enterprise Social Networks) include activity streams, discussion forums, user groups, private messaging, subject matter expert identification, searchable knowledge base, file-sharing, tagging and bookmarking. Organizations can develop ESN platforms in-house or can obtain them from software vendors according to their specific needs and requirements. The benefits of implementing ESN platforms include cost reductions, employee engagement, open collaboration, increased innovation, bridging the gap between formal and informal learning, increased business performance and enhanced competitive advantage. Valerie Goodwin-Adams of Abaxis Inc, a medical device manufacturer, points out, 'In addition to knowledge-sharing, some of the key drivers for implementing ESN technology are also reduced travel expenses and increased sales revenues. The greatest challenge to overcome when implementing an enterprise social networking platform is adoption, then it's training and measurement. I believe that if you cannot measure it in terms of sales, then it's not relevant.' Read on...

Chief Learning Officer: Is Social Networking Good for Learning?
Author: Susan Distasio, Donna Lord

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