Mobile Devices Make Communication Much Easier While Increasing Productivity in the Business World

Mobile devices make it easier for businesses to communicate with each other and their employees:

           There is, without a doubt, a strong tie between owning a mobile device, such as a smart phone or tablet, and having an increased possible level of communication.  An article on Forbes.com revealed that 69 percent of the time someone is working on a tablet at work they are checking or using their email.  At home, tablet users spend about 74 percent of their time on email.  According to an article on smallbusiness.chron.com, the ability of today’s mobile cell phones to access the internet allows workers to stay in the field and receive information instead of going back to the office.

In the following interview with Dr. David Kirsch, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at University of Maryland, Kirsch says that he believes that managers and firms can more effectively share information because teams in various countries/places can communicate better with smart phones.  It is clear that mobile devices have a strong beneficial effect on business communication around the world with information sharing, whether the communication is countries or blocks away.

Mobile devices increase productivity through communication among businesses:

           Mobile devices are increasing productivity among workplaces by increasing communication and making communication easier.  Many firms and businesses are turning to mobile devices to increase productivity including a hospital in Sarasota, Florida.  An article on bizjournals.com reveals that Sarasota Memorial Hospital has given many of its staff iPhones with special adaptations and apps so that staff can give each other information about patients’ conditions and medical needs.  These iPhones have increased productivity because staff can take less time trying to track down information about patients because the answer is in their pocket on their phone.

Another article on Forbes.com tells the reader that farmers in India use smart phones to share information in order to maximize on sales of their goods.  This increases productivity because these farmers spent the least amount of time finding a market with short sales lines and high selling prices.  Overall, mobile devices have increased the possible level of productivity by sharing information in order to save time and making a form of communication consistently available.

Mobile devices “blur” the line between work and leisure for many business professionals:

           An article on mobiledevicemanager.com says that by the end of this year, half of all U.S. sold mobile phones will be smartphones.  This is an astounding fact that reflects that half of all cell phone buyers in the U.S. will have access to the internet at virtually all times.  Being that most companies communicate via email and phone call, that would mean that any of these smartphone users could have work in their fingertips at any time.

What does this mean for the workplace?  Well, it means that getting away from work will only become more difficult.  As much as having work at the touch of a button is a bonus for the workplace and productivity’s sake, it is seen as a negative to many who enjoy their leisure time.  An employee could get a phone call from a client, look up the clients’ information, and then send an email to a business partner before hanging up with the client… and the employee could have nothing on them but their smartphone.  Mobile devices definitely make it more difficult to escape and get away from work because they make it so easy to access work related information.

Mobile devices are becoming more prevalent and will continue to change how the business world works through new apps and capabilities:

           As previously stated, not only will half of the U.S. phones sold be smartphones by the end of 2012 but additionally, according to a PWC survey, 66 percent of organizations are currently investing in mobile technologies.  Larger sales of smartphones will lead to more profits for smartphone companies which will in turn lead to new operating systems, apps, and overall technologies.  These organizations that are investing in mobile technologies will also be creating new apps that will change the way that the business world will communicate not only with each other but within each business.

Many businesses that do not use mobile technologies currently and are not willing to change will most likely perish.  The reason for this is because organizations that neglect to develop a mobile platform will not be able to challenge competing organizations on a productivity based level.  Let’s be honest, a car goes faster than a horse and buggy in the same way that a search engine is faster than flipping through an encyclopedia.  Below is a short audio recording of an interview with a college student who explains that even him, along with other workers at his workplace, use their smartphone for work-related causes (specifically email).

listen to ‘Do you use mobile device for work’ on Audioboo

The BBC News Can Fit in Your Pocket

BBC News is a UK based news source:

           The first time the BBC, or British Broadcasting Company, made a news broadcast was on November 14^th, 1922.  It was a radio news program up until 1936 when the first BBC television broadcast was made by the BBC TV Service, this was also the world’s first regular TV service.  Then they produced the first color television program in Europe in the 1960’s.  The BBC is currently the largest broadcast news organization in the world and it has made an enormous name for itself through its television and radio programs.  The BBC has had many extremely famous broadcasts including WWII speeches and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (the first coronation ever on television).  Although the BBC has been the leading force in radio and television news, it has had to adapt to today's advanced mobile society.

The BBC has made an app for mobile devices to stay on top:

According to an infographic on Adition, 47% of US adults and 70% of young adults (18-29) in the US use a mobile device to access news.  The recent jump in mobile devices that can access the internet shows that news consumption may shift to mobile devices over any other source completely.  Naturally, the BBC decided to make an app in order to keep up with competing news organizations.  The BBC News app was launched in 2010 and has gained a lot of popularity as it is the 14^th most used app for news as of November 2012 with an estimated 17 million unique visitors per month.

The BBC News app is an easy app to use that is convenient and informative:

                Using the BBC News app is about as easy as breathing.  Once the app is opened, you are shown multiple top stories from the world, the US and Canada, technology, business, and many more categories.  You can even edit the app so that it shows you the top stories from the categories that you specifically want to see.  It is easy to scroll down and slide through stories, each category has the top nine stories ready and available and they are easy to view.  You just tap the story you want and in two seconds you are reading it.  The app also allows users to listen to live BBC radio broadcasts.  The app is also easy to refresh for the newest stories.  It is a great app if you are looking to be filled in on what is happening with the world today.

Issues with the BBC News app include the amount of information available:

                One issue that should be addressed with the BBC News app is that there are a limited amount of articles on the app at a given time.  The user is unable to search in the BBC News app so they are limited to the information that the BBC News app makes available.  This is bad because searching allows a news app for a mobile device to be even more convenient than it already is by allowing the user to search for a specific story.  Another issue is that many users experience the app crashing on them while using it.  This needs to get fixed quickly because if the app crashes often on a user, then they will stop using the app which is the worst case scenario for the BBC.

The app is still very successful users regardless of the kinks:

                Even with the kinks, the BBC News app has been hailed as one of the best news apps.  The app chooses current and relevant news stories to offer to the reader and is quick and easy to use.  It is easy to say that the BBC News really is a great form of news and it fits in your pocket.

Streaming Videos Has Created Stars in the Music Industry

Streaming Videos is a Complex Process That Brings Video to the User in Seconds

     As a society, we consume streamed videos constantly.  The song “Gangnam Style” by Psy has received almost 360 million views on YouTube since its upload date on July 15, 2012.  But how is it possible to watch this video so conveniently without having to wait minutes for it to load?  The answer is that the video is streamed to your device.  According to this article, whenever a video is streamed, the user clicks the file he/she would like to view and the web server sends a message to the media server requesting the specific file.  The media server turns the video into the correct format for your computer by encoding it.  The media server then sends the video to the device being used which then decodes the file so that the user can consume it.  The stream is sent to the device being used to watch the stream which has a decoder to display the encoded video for the user.  However, a full version of the file never exists on your device when you stream because the device gets rid of the data as it is consumed unless the data is downloaded.

Streaming Video on YouTube has Become the Go-To for the Music Industry

     According to YouTube facts, as of February in 2011, YouTube users consumed an estimated 92 billion page views each month.  These page views are translated into revenues for certain industries however music is definitely one of the industries affected most by YouTube.  Musical artists such as, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lady Gaga, and Eminem (who has two of the top ten most watched videos on YouTube) have benefitted in many ways from YouTube.  The most popular bands and artists all have very popular music videos with many views showing a definite association between the two.  Even small time bands have been gaining major popularity because of views on their streaming online videos.  The music industry cannot thrive on the views of music videos on television anymore because it is less convenient than using a mobile device.

The Music Industry Uses Streaming Video to Gain Popularity

     One of the most important uses of video streaming today is to gain as many views as possible.  In the music industry, popularity equals money.  If a band is on top of the Billboard 100 then they are getting their music involved with everything such as, commercials, movies, television shows and more.  All of these opportunities bring in a unique opportunity to gain a lot of revenue but the song or album has to get popular before it can transform from raw music to cold hard cash.  An artist is going to have to get their song out there and one of the most popular ways to do that now is through a music video.  This article states that television shows like MTV have dropped in the ratings by double digits and are relying on old shows such as “Jersey Shore” to keep up the ratings.  Music Television is not even relying on music videos to keep up their views because people are not watching MTV anymore because of the convenience of streaming them on the internet.  If an artist wants to gain popularity through music videos then the way to go is through the internet and streaming.

Major Success Stories from Music Video Streaming (Journey)

     One specific success story from a small time singer came from Arnel Pineda, the current lead singer for legendary band Journey.  In an article, it is said that Pineda was discovered by the band when they were searching YouTube.  Pineda, the Filipino singer, was unknowingly discovered and six months later he was headlining a full-fledged tour of the States and Europe.  Not only did he get the chance to tour with the classic rock super group, but they released an all new album featuring his voice.  Pineda was given the opportunity of a lifetime because someone with a camcorder decided to upload a video of him singing with his band.  This shows the power of what streaming a music video can do to anyone.

Streaming Videos is the Way for Musical Artists to Spread Music

     Overall, the music industry needs video streaming in order to keep music videos relevant.  It is often that people gain an enormous amount of popularity through a music video found on the internet, another story is about a woman who goes by Birdy and covered Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love”.  Streaming videos has become an integral part of the music industries focus on marketing artists and it also plays a large role in unsigned artists trying to gain popularity.  Streaming videos affects many different industries and the music industry is definitely one of them.