As we know, mobile device usage is continues to grow- fast. According to estimates from Juniper Research, global tablet shipments will reach 81 million by 2015, and in July IMS Research announced expected smartphone sales to exceed one billion by 2016. What does this really mean? The mobile landscape right now is at the edge of a perfect storm driven by the duel business / consumer mix.  The low cost combination of marketplace availability of smart devices, universal access to internet services everywhere, anytime and the standard feature sets– including social, media and geo-location– continues to support a growing influence in everyone’s daily lives. As a result, the appetite for more mobile features and analytics to pro-actively react to mobile behavior so mobile experiences become even more rewarding and personalized must be critical to an organizations mobile strategy.

Businesses are trying to solve the problem of keeping up with consumer demand while navigating the myriad of devices, on-going maintenance of apps, new enhancements, application certification and distribution.  Supporting a native app requires a specialized knowledge of the unique framework, device features and style guidelines; all need to be replicated per each native platform often with no re-usability. I liken this to a popular novel that must be translated into multiple languages and distributed to each country.  Same story but different dialect, grammar and languages are necessary to write each book.

HTML5 allows for standardized and faster development, along with multi-platform support, with more flexibility at a decreased cost. Since device feature sets such as geolocation, local storage, camera, video and audio are accessible via HTML5, the need for native development diminishes. This is a huge value proposition, not only in terms of cross-device scalability, but also in the post-deployment maintenance and support required for all successful apps.

Big brands are taking notice. Facebook statistics reported that the more than 350 million active users who access Facebook through their mobile devices are twice as active as non-mobile users. As a result Facebook announced the launch of the HTML5 Resource Center, giving developers tools to build, test and deploy Facebook applications using HTML5.

Everyday, news about the adoption and advancement of HTML5 within large software companies emerges. Recently appMobi open sourced a number of their HTML5 development technologies, and by now you’ve heard that Adobe announced it will discontinue development of Flash for mobile devices, putting its efforts instead towards HTML5; using HTML5, iPhone supports video without the need for Adobe Flash. Danny Winokur, VP and GM of Interactive Development at Adobe said recently: “HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices…in some cases exclusively. This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms…These changes will allow us to increase investment in HTML5…”

While this all sounds great, there are still hurdles, specifically in B2B market adoption. HTML5 requires a browser capable of supporting its framework.  Older browsers may support some but not all the capabilities leaving organizations in a form of purgatory in terms of their ability to fully develop, and implement HTML5 apps.  All of that said, most agree it is a forgone conclusion that HMTL5 will be fully embraced as a universal solution, with the reality pointing to 2012 as when the tipping point occurs.

One way we stay on top of available talent is by visiting college campuses. In early December, along with Kevin Schreiner, r2i’s Chief Software Architect, I went to Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), a top university for social analytics research and technical computer science curriculum. Their social analytics center has worked with a number of companies, including Tom’s of Maine, Microsoft and Yahoo, to develop a repository of unique data sets pertaining to user behavior in social information sharing.

This visit was a follow up to our participation in CMU’s Capstone project, a highly selective program that teams CMU’s Masters in IS, Marketing and Business Management students with outside organizations. As part of their graduation requirements and to give them “real world” experience, students complete a complex IS project for one of the partner corporate organizations. We were one of only six companies selected to take part in the fall 2011 event.

Our particular group of students –five wickedly smart and diverse engineers, marketers and business analysts — worked to develop Proof of Concepts for R2i Seemor & R2iSMASH™. Seemor is a social conversation aggregator and analytics engine aimed at the enterprise marketing team. R2iSMASH is a social media platform that drives brand engagement by aggregating conversations across social networking sites into one, highly interactive presentation window.

The objective for the Capstone project, as defined by r2i, was to have the students provide more insight and advanced analysis of social conversations focusing on the subject titles within a large data sample of online conversation source streams such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, forums and user generated comments (UGC). Results would aid users by recommending better ways to identify the conversations organizations should participate in as well as the authors with the greatest influences.

The task was challenging and the students worked all semester under r2i guidance. The culmination of their efforts was showcased to a packed room of fellow students, professors and advisors. We were led through a very technical and enlightening presentation and subsequent Q&A. In the end, the students, working with very large database sets and advanced language parsing algorithms, gained greater insight into the world of social analytics. R2i received a set of artifacts that included the data model, research results, an in depth analysis and recommendations for implementation.

R2i mixed recruitment with the Capstone project review, by leading a lunch session later that day with more than 30 graduate students from the Heinz School at CMU. We have hired CMU graduates in the past and on this trip we were looking for candidates for several full time and internship positions as well as talking with students about new technologies and development language methodologies and paradigms taking hold.

The two-way discussion was flowing, lively and very relevant. This group didn’t disappoint, responding with well-thought responses and questions. We left very impressed with the students we’d met and with many resumes to review for our open positions.

For more information about the Capstone project and r2i recruitment efforts, please contact us at info@r2integrated.com.

Black & Decker’s Highly Customized Mobile App

R2i created a highly social Black & Decker site, specifically branded “Recharge Your Yard,” which aggregates conversations about electric outdoor tools happening in real time, promotes widespread interactive features, and makes use of a range of user-generated content.

As a large brand, r2i recognized the B&D app needed to be scalable and assessable from an end-user experience, and the best way to do this in a high-value manner is through an web mobile optimized app. The app was designed to leverage the web site and content management system (CMS) including social media, conversation and user generated content while creating a mobile user experience tailored for all smartphone and tablet devices.

The site, built using an open source CMS, had many community portal content types such as Twitter & Facebook, videos, ratings, surveys, videos, discussions, detailed product specifications and a store locator map. Calls to action were created to engage the users deciding what products to purchase and to encourage switching from gas powered to electric powered equipment.  This includes the “Should You Go Electric” wizard, which helps the consumer determine whether or not they would benefit from their outdoor tool. Widgets were also created that presented a real time Twitter conversation stream with integrated geographic tagging displayed on a Google map. R2i also created a B&D story submission section to showcase specific user experiences with the products.

View the B&D case study here.

Mobile Optimized Design & Development Best Practices

When developing a mobile optimized app there are a number of design and development best practices organizations should follow. First, design for the optimal mobile experience (UI/Design/Functionality) then, content decisions will fall easily into place. Here are a few key details to remember:

• Create re-usable business logic and data layer methods

• Use mobi/m.dot – with automated redirection

• Don’t just re-purposed your website- it needs to feel personalized & interactive, be populated with high value content, render quickly and have analytics/behavior tracking in place / SEO.

• Coordinate Your Resources- U/I Designer (for usability), developer/QA (for functionality), information Manager for content)

Template Considerations:

• Keep file size small – Consider the end-user’s bandwidth and data rates

• Keep server requests to a minimum – Keep files to a minimum: combine CSS files for skin, combine images into sprites, and combine JavaScript (JS) files

• Resist heavy script usage – Utilize CSS 3 transitions and animations for a smoother look

• Use a server side detection and redirection – This approach keeps device from loading the desktop version until it hits a JavaScript or meta redirection

Business Considerations:

• Information Architecture & Content  – Filtered to what is most needed

• Functionality First – keep the end-user experience in mind at all times; K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Silly)

• Differentiate – if the market is crowded with identical concepts, do something different

• But Learn from Others – check out similar/competitors apps, use what features and design elements works, change what doesn’t

• UI Design is Critical – clear and accessible to all potential users; screen size, resolution, “touch-ability” are critical; test wireframes and mock-ups with potential users

• Don’t Forget the Icon – your app and brand needs to stand out in both graphic and name

R2i understands that a mobile app is an extension of your brand, a platform connecting your target audience through a seamless online experience. We help with the vision, creation, and tracking of your mobile apps to achieve your marketing goals and functional objectives. Working together, r2i can help you leverage your brand by providing cross platform mobile apps. Learn more about Black & Decker’s “Recharge Your Yard” today or contact us at info@r2integrated.com for more information.

As a follow up, Tatango has released a new infographic highlighting HOW people are using smartphones (including text messaging).  With smartphone penetration at 40 percent, it’s interesting from a marketing AND development standpoint how people are using smartphones (see infographic below).

The first thing that jumps out is the heavy internet browsing usage.  From an organization deciding on whether to build a native or mobile optimized application this would be front and center justification of sticking to a web mobile solutions as a more effective platform and distribution model.

One other point is the heavy use of navigation.  So the cross section of text messaging with location centric messaging is only going to continue to grow.

Check out the infographic and let me know what you think and how you’re using your smartphone.

Check out the infographic and let us know what your thoughts are on this new information.

In an amazingly short time, Facebook has become a standard part of our personal and business lives, both online and offline. Facebook is an “unconditional opt-in,” that is, either you have a Facebook account or you’re an outsider. Just think about all the places that Facebook is located beyond the Facebook.com turf. In fact, it’s hard NOT to find it. It’s used by the news, ads, websites, blogs, comments, pictures, videos, and mobile/tablet apps. Whether by accident or brute force, in less than five years Facebook has gone from nothing to a universal phenomenon with ever-increasing influence.

Along with Facebook’s dominance comes the power (and responsibility) of all that data. Facebook has your personal profile information, including such things as your age, demographics, political and religious affiliation, interests, relationships, the books and music you enjoy – not to mention your entire network of friends and connections spanning six-degrees of separation. With Facebook’s recent announcements, we now can see the true commercialization strategy: a gold mine of social and behavior data.

Via those unconditional opt-in actions and plug-ins, Facebook is able to build a detailed profile on you, based on things you “like,” your comments and opinions, status, location identification, use of time (e.g., how long you spend gaming), shopping habits, travel destinations, and more. Websites, mobile apps, and widgets use the Facebook plug-ins. This has enabled Facebook to be a social repository for tracking and logging your personal information and the aggregate profile of your extraneous group and community. Facebook already knows more about you than your friends and family, and now they will start connecting the dots. They’ll be able to anticipate your destinations, events of interests, related news, and products of interest.

Sure, you could have your cake and eat it too by joining Facebook and never divulging any information about yourself, but it is like being a fan of coffee and never trying Starbucks. It’s everywhere, you break down and give it a try at some point, and then it becomes habitual. It remains to be seen if the massive power of groups and communities will give Facebook the same staying power as the morning cup of Joe.

These diagrams and meta dictionary will help other organizations understand the DNN architecture and save development time. Given that DNN Community Edition (CE) has several versions we reverse engineered the latest 5.42 (and for reference 4.95) versions to create the ERD and meta data dictionary. In addition there is additional reference defining the database differences between the versions.

DNN Community Edition 5.12 to 5.42

• CE 5.42 ERD Data Model (pdf)
• CE 5.42 Meta Data Dictionary (xls)
• CE 5.12 – 5.14 ERD Data Model (pdf)
• CE 5.12 – 5.14 Meta Data Dictionary (xls)

DNN Community Edition 4.95

• DNN495_ERD (pdf)
• CE 4.95 Meta Data Dictionary (xls)

WAP vs. Native Application Decision Matrix

These diagrams and meta dictionary will help other organizations understand the DNN architecture and save development time.  Given that DNN Community Edition (CE) has several versions we reverse engineered the latest 4.9x and 5.1x versions to create the ERD and meta data dictionary.  In addition there is additional reference defining the database differences between the versions.

DNN Community Edition 4.95

• DNN495_ERD (pdf)
• CE 4.95 Meta Data Dictionary (xls)

DNN Community Edition 5.12 to 5.14

• CE 5.12 – 5.14 ERD Data Model (pdf)
• CE 5.12 – 5.14 Meta Data Dictionary (xls)

Google Chrome O/S has a simple UI and a low footprint that fires up quickly – plus, it manages multiple sessions in a secure manner. It will be distributed as an open-source O/S, focused entirely on serving Web-based applications in a browser. This is a different architecture than Windows and Linux where the browser runs “on top” of the O/S and is at the mercy of how the O/S manages such things as the resource pool, memory, and other process-based calls. Why is this groundbreaking?

Because it’s breaking the barriers of Operating System, Browsers, mobile and your desktop.

Dynamic Web applications and user interaction require the browser and O/S to be as efficient as possible for speedy page-load times. This is a huge issue, especially if you consider a browser on a mobile device with less bandwidth. Google Chrome O/S is built to support and optimize a browser environment with a goal to load Web apps and pages fast. Processing power is relying on distributed server-based cloud computing.


In the past two years, phones have started to become mini-computers with applications ranging from games and personal finance management to corporate file access, word processing, email, and more. The introduction of the iPhone along with Apple’s notion that there is an application for everything has created a new consumer mindset. From a trend and forecasting perspective, the Chrome O/S will extend its provide power and simplicity from the phone to the workstation.

Does Google want to compete with Microsoft head to head? Probably not. However, considering that Google makes money from search and selling advertising, it’s in their interest to have more people spending time on the Web, preferably using their own platform. The Chrome O/S rollout is more than a year away, so there’s a lot of time for Microsoft to react. Given Microsoft’s 90-percent market share in the desktop market, Google has its work cut out. It looks like Google wants to initially attack the low-hanging fruit market of notebooks and PDA-type devices at the consumer level. I doubt corporations will adopt quickly, especially when you consider that the official release is more than a year away. They’ve succeeded in getting attention in Seattle, as Microsoft executives ponder the meaning and potential effect. Google Chrome may not deliver to all the hype, but the innovation, the momentum of cloud computing, distributed Web application access, and serving of digital information are certainly here to stay.

Related Video:

• Cloud Computing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplXnFUlPmg

Wikipedia -

• Chrome Browser: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome
• Chrome Operating System: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS
• Chrome Blogspot – http://chrome.blogspot.com/