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[News] Britain’s new Pound coin has 12 sides and foolproof security http://ift.tt/2nysgLK The 300-Year Quest to Make a Foolproof £1 CoinSir Isaac Newton founded modern physics but struggled to make a coin that couldn't be counterfeited. by andCan Britain’s oldest manufacturer beat modern counterfeiters? With as many as 45 million British one-pound coins suspected fake, the Royal Mint is now making 1.5 billion new ones, which will enter circulation Tuesday. Security features include a 12-sided bimetallic design, a hologram, fine lettering and even some secret tricks to beat crooks, the modern equivalent of Sir Isaac Newton’s efforts to make the currency more secure in his tenure as Master of the Royal Mint some three centuries ago. His successor, Mint chief executive Adam Lawrence, calls it “the most secure circulating coin in the world.” “We’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it in terms of security features,” research curator Chris Barker said, standing in a room filled with 80,000 coins detailing the history of British money starting around 200 B.C. “Newton’s legacy at the mint was creating a better-designed coin in terms of physical design. The more intricate it is, the harder it is to replicate.” Newton joined the mint in 1696 as an old man, setting aside physics to oversee the work that was then carried out at the Tower of London. After a brief spell replacing old silver coins, he turned to the problem of counterfeiting. His answer incorporated both science and art, with greater emphasis placed on consistency of weight and size, while more time was allowed for creating the design. The mint, which traces its history back more than a millennium, to the time when Alfred the Great had his monogram struck on coins in 880, moved to its current site at Llantrisant, Wales, in 1986. There’s reason to worry about counterfeits, with 1 in 30 pound coins in circulation estimated to be fake. U.K. authorities allege a Dutch coin maker manufactured 30 million copies over seven years. The coin includes what team leader Dean Searle calls “pixie dust,” an additive encased in the nickel-plated center that will enable authorities to spot fakes. A hologram under the Queen’s portrait shows alternately a pound sign and the numeral one. Machines are running nonstop to strike the new pounds, with around 10 presses minting around 140,000 coins per hour or 40 per second. It has 800 million already done. The Royal Mint, the world’s largest exporter of coins, hopes increased security features will spur demand from other nations. It supplies coins to 40 countries. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ March 29, 2017 at 11:07PM
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Readdle Hires Apple Mail Manager For Spark http://ift.tt/2nyJEzQ App maker Readdle has hired an Apple Mail veteran to spearhead the development of its mobile email application, Spark. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://ift.tt/IwxUQO March 29, 2017 at 11:02PM Parks Associates: 92% of U.S. Car Owners Perform Activities Requiring Mobile While Driving3/30/2017
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Parks Associates: 92% of U.S. Car Owners Perform Activities Requiring Mobile While Driving http://ift.tt/2obxRdu It’s both a staggering and scary statistic. IoT research firm Parks Associates announced new connected car research this showing that 92% of U.S. car owners perform an activity that requires a mobile or Internet connection while driving (Though if you’re driving now while reading this, keep your eyes on the road. The article can wait). The Connected Car Experience: Software, Apps, and Services report notes that in response to this consumer demand for in-car connectivity, U.S. automakers will spend $10.8 billion for in-vehicle software in 2017, increasing to $16 billion by 2022. “One way automakers are trying to meet consumer demand for connected car technology is by implementing voice technologies in their vehicles, which follows the success and popularity of this interface with Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Assistant,” said Jennifer Kent, Director of Research Quality & Product Development, Parks Associates. “Nuance Dragon Drive’s personal assistant is already deployed in more than 130 million cars from automakers such as Audi, BMW, Ford, and Toyota.” Parks Associates notes that despite increasing demand and adoption of connected cars, over 50% of U.S. car owners are concerned that connected car features will lead to distracted driving. GM, HARMAN, IBM Watson IoT, and Panasonic will join Parks Associates at the 21st-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference, May 23-25 in San Francisco, to discuss the future of the connected car industry, including the convergence of the connected car and smart home markets. “Auto Industry Transformation – Lessons and Opportunities for IoT Players,” Wednesday, May 24, 11:15 a.m., moderated by Jennifer Kent, examines the lessons learned from the first phase of the connected car rollout, including data and privacy challenges, consumer perceptions, and their expectations for a connected car experience. Speakers also discuss strategies to tie the connected lifestyle together across connected car, home, energy, and entertainment ecosystems. The post Parks Associates: 92% of U.S. Car Owners Perform Activities Requiring Mobile While Driving appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch. Mobile Marketing via Mobile Marketing Watch http://ift.tt/HGJCKG March 29, 2017 at 10:35PM
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Japanese Taxi Service Made Specifically For Pregnant Women http://ift.tt/2nP04pP Japanese Taxi Service Made Specifically For Pregnant WomenKyoto taxi company Furusato Kotsu is providing specifically-trained drivers to accommodate women making trips to the hospital An Uber-like service specifically for pregnant women has launched in Tokyo. Kyoto taxi company, Furusato Kotsu is providing specifically trained drivers to accommodate pregnant women making trips to the hospital. The service, called Sankyu in Japanese, provides its drivers classes from midwives on different methods to make expectant mothers more comfortable during their car-ride. All Sankyu cars have a pregnancy kit that includes towels and waterproof sheets in case labor starts. Kyoto government is liking the new concept, saying it saves potential ambulance costs and also frees them up for other patients with different needs. Lead Image: Ed Yourdon | CC Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ March 29, 2017 at 10:31PM
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Rule the Room: 5 Tips for Facilitating Meetings that Generate Results http://ift.tt/2okyrmD The work world is simultaneously in love and hate with meetings – from congratulatory mugs for surviving ‘another meeting that could have been an email’ to the mandatory ‘check-in’ meetings that seem to plague event the tightest of calendars. It is generally accepted that meetings are necessary for effective work to be done. However, not all meetings lend themselves toward empowering productivity. What’s an organization to do? It all comes down to planning. There’s a specific formula that needs to be followed in order to push attendees toward action. The outline described below is tried and true. In fact, it has saved many of my own meetings from the pits of meeting despair. If you have a plan, focus on the actions required to carry it out and clarify tasks along the way, you’ll be on the road to great results in no time. Better yet, this framework can help you empower your team to become more effective, focused and productive. #1 – Come PreparedAlways prepare for your meetings, whether they’re internal, with a client or with a vendor. To maintain control of the room, you must be prepared to address any and all topics that may come up. First, determine what the outcome of the meeting needs to be, and assemble those items into a list of actionable talking points. Next, determine what information needs to support that list of talking points. For example, if you’re meeting to discuss next year’s marketing budget, come prepared with the results of this year’s marketing efforts, recommendations for improvement and spend allocation, and a few discussion points to keep the room engaged. This level of preparation prior to the meeting can help you gain valuable insights into next steps as well as build your credibility within the group of meeting attendees. If you put in the work ahead of time, there is much more time for discussion and decision making in session. #2 – Set Your AgendaGreat meetings begin with an agenda. Using the talking points described in step one, make a list of topics to be covered and a key to describe who will lead that particular discussion. Creating your agenda before the meeting allows you to determine the length of time needed and will set the tone for the people involved. Each agenda item should be action oriented, ‘review and approve design mock up’ vs ‘design mock up’, for example, to clarify the expected outcome of each discussion. At the beginning of the meeting, review the agenda with all attendees and ask if there is anything else to add. This ensures all necessary topics are covered prior to the meeting coming to a close. #3 – Discourage Multi-TaskingIt may seem counter-intuitive, but multi-tasking is a notorious productivity killer. The focus of all attendees is required to produce and efficient and effective meeting. Ask those attending in person to close their computers. Ask remote attendees to avoid checking email or other distractions. Ask questions that encourage interaction. The person facilitating the meeting should take notes as needed. The larger the meeting, the more opportunities for distractions, so don’t hesitate to politely rein in a wayward discussion when needed. If closing computers isn’t possible, set your expectations right out of the gate. A simple statement like ‘For the next 30 minutes, I want us all to put our full attention toward solving this problem. Let’s focus on the task at hand and avoid multi-tasking so we can really make this meeting count.’ This will give all in attendance a shared sense of purpose and set a tone of collaboration and results-oriented problem solving right away. #4 – Document Action ItemsWhen you take meeting notes, be sure to document any action items that may arise. Make sure you are clear on the action needed, and then reiterate to the team after the action is discussed. For example, in a discussion about SEO, the idea of an analytics audit may come up. When it does, document the task, ‘conduct analytics audit’, and the person assigned, ‘analytics specialist’, then repeat to the room, ‘OK – I’m taking an action for our analytics specialist to conduct an analytics audit.’ When the meeting comes to a close, always end with a summary of actions. For example, you could say something like ‘Great, thanks for your time today team. I want to take a minute to run through our post meeting actions and answer any additional questions. For my team, the actions are to conduct an analytics audit…’ This gives the attendees their final marching orders on the way out the door, clarifies expectations for all involved and inspires immediate action once the meeting wraps up. #5 – Send a Post-Meeting SummaryWhen the meeting concludes, always send a post-meeting summary to those who have attended. This email serves as a reminder of discussion topics as well as a documented assignment of tasks for the team involved. It’s often helpful to reference the same post-meeting email when preparing the agenda for your next meeting to keep progress moving forward. Following this formula helps drive meetings toward an action-oriented conclusion. Ensuring all attendees are aware of the purpose of the meeting, the desired outcome and the follow up tasks will provide a helpful framework for the meetings to follow. What are your tried and true meeting tips? Share them in the comments or Tweet to @toprank. Gain a competitive advantage by subscribing to the © Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®, 2017. | Rule the Room: 5 Tips for Facilitating Meetings that Generate Results | http://ift.tt/faSbAI The post Rule the Room: 5 Tips for Facilitating Meetings that Generate Results appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®. Mobile Marketing via Online Marketing Blog – TopRank® http://ift.tt/faSbAI March 29, 2017 at 10:30PM
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Off-Grid Flat-Packed Houses Can Be Assembled Like A Piece Of Furniture http://ift.tt/2nyxTcG Off-Grid Flat-Packed Houses Can Be Assembled Like A Piece Of FurnitureLeckie Studio has designed two different models of a cabin for those interested in constructing a home on their own Outdoor recreational structures don’t come easy. It takes a large investment to get a construction crew to head out into the wilderness to build the structure, not to mention the supplies and time spent there. Leckie Studio, an architecture and design company based in Vancouver, wants to help with that with their creation of a new series of modular cabins. Essentially, they prepare the materials of the structure in a way that allows untrained workers to put the locations together themselves, similar to how Ikea gets its customers to build furniture at home themselves. Leckie Studio created two different models, Backcountry and Frontcountry. Backcountry is designed for outdoor enthusiasts who want a cabin or those who want to get away from the daily grind. The Frontcountry model has a few more features than the former, as it was designed to fit in an urban environment with several other houses and feel more like a full-time residence than a cabin. These modular cabins fit with the Tiny House movement, with residents choosing to own smaller homes rather than paying rent to an apartment or paying off a mortgage. Both models have two floors with sleeping arrangements on top. Other amenities include a lounge, kitchen, dining area, and a bathroom. The models differ with the Backcountry design having a bunk bed area for larger groups to stay there and a simplistic downstairs area for residents to socialize at. The Frontcountry cabin can have one or two bedrooms for permanent residents with more comfortable interior designs to make it feel closer to a home. The architecture studio had the idea of owners constructing the models the same way a community would get together to help a neighbor, or friend, build a barn by asking volunteers to assist them. This forced the studio to insure the pieces were easy for anyone to work with. All of the materials used in the house can get lifted by hand or hoisted into place using a pulley and winch system. Those interest in their own prefabricated structure by Leckie Studio can email the project to receive a quote, which varies based on location. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ March 29, 2017 at 10:03PM AdColony, NinthDecimal Enter Strategic Partnership http://ift.tt/2nCXUsR NinthDecimal, a leading marketing platform powered by location data, and AdColony, one of the largest independent mobile advertising platforms in the world, have announced a deep strategic partnership that will “bolster both companies’ offerings across data, campaign planning, targeting and measurement — enhancing the full life cycle of services for marketers.” According to a statement emailed to MMW, AdColony and NinthDecimal are aligning technologies to deliver on a “massive shift in consumer attention and buying behaviors.” In an ecosystem where major brands invest heavily in television and have developed sophisticated models for driving in-store traffic, mobile presents new opportunities and challenges. The companies note that while location data has been applied to mobile display advertising for years, the opportunity to layer rich location data to high-impact mobile video formats is an untapped opportunity for marketers. “2017 is a critical inflection point for our industry, where digital spending will be larger than TV. We believe we are well positioned with the largest platform of TV-like, full screen, 100 percent viewable mobile video, and together with NinthDecimal we can provide even better targeting and results for brands,” said Will Kassoy, CEO of AdColony. “NinthDecimal is the clear market leader in harnessing physical-world data. More and more, brands want proof their paid media is moving the needle and driving real outcomes, and with this partnership, we will be able to provide our brand advertisers a full suite of location solutions, from customer insights to audience segments to attribution, all tied to our market-leading video products and aimed at delivering physical-world outcomes for our clients across the most popular mobile apps and sites in the world.” The post AdColony, NinthDecimal Enter Strategic Partnership appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch. Mobile Marketing via Mobile Marketing Watch http://ift.tt/HGJCKG March 29, 2017 at 10:02PM Retainly Releases Marketing Automation with Adaptive Machine Learning http://ift.tt/2oBv4H4 Media Announcement: Adaptive Machine learning has been in use in its crude forms for many years now. The spell-checkers are a classic example of this technology. In recent times, adaptive machine learning has grown in demand among the marketing fraternity with increasing spend over digital platforms. Also, the availability of vast amounts of data pertaining to a prospect or a customer is now more readily available. This big data when churned through a machine learning algorithm creates meaningful and proactive marketing decisions and communications pertinent to the customer’s wants. Retainly’s Marketing Automation Platform has been purpose built for Bloggers, SaaS products, Digital Media Companies, Real Estate, Internet Business, and eCommerce. It has ready integration to pull customer related data from multiple sources including Woopra, Mixpanel, WordPress, and Intercom. So if a marketer is already using any of these analytics platforms, then a single click can sync all their customer data and events into Retainly. The integration is real-time which ensures that the user need not keep revisiting. Integrations with Segment and Heap Analytics are on the way in the subsequent release. Retainly also has it’s own analytical tracking script which saves the trouble of uploading subscribers, leads or new signups on a daily basis. Retainly offers multiple channels of communication not restricting marketers to email alone. Businesses where customers are more active on mobile phones, marketing campaigns can be sent via SMS. This channel suits the Real Estate companies more. For bloggers and digital media companies, use of the email channel is more prevalent. For SaaS product companies, In-app notifications, as well as email marketing is a definite winner. Push notifications are coming in the next release which will help eCommerce companies a lot. While Retainly has features for traditional marketing agencies to bulk upload their subscriber’s information and send blast campaigns and newsletters, the actual adaptive learning starts with the advanced Behavioural Marketing module. The system configuration done once can detect events and send automatic real-time and relevant notifications to customers based on their actions and activity. The Adaptive Machine Learning has been used to create dynamic live customer segments where customers can automatically move from one segment to another based on the properties defined. Although Machine Learning is a complex science, Retainly has simplified it to the surprise of the end user. As a marketer one will never encounter any complexity in configuring the system to adapt to unique business needs. Flexibility has been the key focus area to accommodate every possible marketing scenario. Off course Retainly also has the time-delayed and sequence Drip Marketing campaign which is extremely popular with SaaS companies and organizations offering training over emails. Aside, Retainly has the world’s only email checker tool to test emails for spammy content. Retainly has opened up this innovative testing platform for free unlimited usage by the email marketing community. A unique blogger search platform has also been offered free to help bloggers get more quality traffic and visibility. The adaptive machine learning will continue to build more applications in Retainly’s subsequent releases. This article elaborates on how Retainly is using the Adaptive Learning for their Marketing Automation Platform. The platform benefits companies and people to embrace better email marketing practices by sending near accurate, very relevant, and very on-time communications to their customers. Retainly helps reduce the Inbox clutters from non-relevant promotions and assists in a better conversion of Leads and improved retention of customers. About Retainly Retainly is a Startup enabling Multi-Channel Drip Marketing Automation with Email, SMS, In-App & Push Notifications. It helps SaaS companies, Bloggers & Digital Media, e-commerce companies, tutorials, reality and others to engage customers with time-delayed and behavioural automation. The post Retainly Releases Marketing Automation with Adaptive Machine Learning appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch. Mobile Marketing via Mobile Marketing Watch http://ift.tt/HGJCKG March 29, 2017 at 09:51PM Industry Leaders Join Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) http://ift.tt/2obkKJj The Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) announced today that two new members joined the only global membership funded alliance helping to accelerate the adoption of enterprise augmented reality (AR) by creating a comprehensive ecosystem for enterprises, providers, and non-commercial institutes. PTC, provider of the ThingWorx industrial Internet of Things platform (IoT) and Vuforia® augmented reality platform and Flatirons Solutions, a global provider of technical information management solutions for knowledge-driven industries, joined AREA at the Sponsor Level and accepted Board of Directors seats. Augmented Reality (AR) is the integration of digital information with the user’s environment in real time. Unlike virtual reality, which creates a totally artificial environment, AR uses the existing environment and overlays new information on top of it. “AR projects in our industry continue to expand as businesses realize the potential of this technology,” said Mike Campbell, executive vice president, ThingWorx Product Management, PTC. “We joined AREA to help the industry define future enterprise AR best practices and to build relationships with important AR vendors, educational institutions, and other companies that are on the forefront of AR technology.” The AREA supports innovative companies, aspiring to invest in AR who need a better understanding of the tools available, application possibilities, methods of implementation and return on investment. It provides a free and open exchange of best practices, lessons learned, and technological insights which can help enterprises effectively implement AR technology, boost operational efficiency and create long term benefit. “Joining AREA allows Flatirons to contribute to the development of the enterprise AR eco-system,” said JD Sillion, chief solution officer, Flatirons Solutions. “Enterprise AR solutions are ideal platforms for making content lifecycle management even more impactful for customers. AR allows organizations to better achieve their mission by Turning Content into Knowledge® for strong productivity and asset utilization gains.” The AREA’s membership benefits include access to high-quality, vendor-neutral content and participation in various programs, a research framework to address key challenges shared by all members, discounts for fee-based events, and more. Sponsor members have a direct role in shaping the rapidly expanding AR industry and demonstrate their companies’ leadership and commitment to improving workplace performance. The post Industry Leaders Join Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance (AREA) appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch. Mobile Marketing via Mobile Marketing Watch http://ift.tt/HGJCKG March 29, 2017 at 09:20PM New Samsung Galaxy S8 Brings Smart Home Control, Bixby Voice Assistant http://ift.tt/2o9VcfA If there was any doubt about Samsung's intent to be a force within the Internet of Things, those were put to rest Wednesday. In addition to introducing its long-anticipated Galaxy S8 smartphone, Samsung articulated its intent for the S8 to become the controlling device for all smart things in a home. At the phone introduction at Lincoln Center in New York, the electronics giant also introduced Samsung Connect Home, a small, smart Wi-Fi device to more tightly link all connected devices in a home. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://ift.tt/IwxUQO March 29, 2017 at 01:26PM |
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