Look at the specific ways in which you compete in the marketplace as well as what makes you unique. Then decide how technology can redefine the way you compete. For example, when was the last time you bought something from the Polaroid Company? At one time, they were the king of instant photography. But then technology and digital photography changed their industry, and the way they competed (instant photography) changed…but Polaroid didn’t change with it. Instead, they made the mistake many businesses do: they used technology to get more efficient and lower their costs.

Similarly, the Kodak Company was failing for over a decade. Finally, they looked at how they competed in the past as well as what it would take to compete in the future. That’s when they embraced digital photography. And while they still have some traditional film labs across the country, it’s their digital products division that’s profitable today. The moral: The longer you wait to redefine how you compete, the harder it is to survive. However, when you pinpoint a way to use technology to create new products and services, you add new revenue streams and new jobs.

So when it comes to competing in a technology-driven age, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is there a way you can use technology to redefine how you compete?
• Is there a way you can use technology to change your product or how you service people?
• Is there a way you can use technology to redefine your customer’s experience?

A new lithium-ion battery platform for portable power applications offers faster charging and longer life than conventional cells by combining unique chemistry formulations with innovative mechanical and electrical designs.The Sonata4400 boasts a high capacity of 4400 mA-hours in a compact design that also has excellent thermal properties. It’s capable of charging to 40 percent capacity in 10 minutes and 80 percent capacity in 30 minutes. The patented battery also has the longest cycle life in the industry, retaining 80 percent of its original charge capacity for three years (as compared to the current industry standard of one year).

Hewlett-Packard is offering the new batteries as an upgrade for 18 models of laptops. www.boston-power.com

Can you imagine a laptop battery that charges to 40% capacity in 10 minutes and retains 80% of its original charge capacity for three years?

Look at how technology is affecting your customers in your industry right now. But don’t just look at productivity. Look at the overall customer experience as well as who is buying your offerings. For example, in the late 1970s, when ultra light aviation was born, the first ultra light aircrafts were basically hang-gliders with engines. The FAA decided, due to the size and weight of the plane, people didn’t need a pilot’s license to fly an ultra light aircraft. As a result, the first ultra light manufacturers targeted that demographic – people who wanted to fly but who didn’t have the time or money to get a pilot’s license. One company, UltraSports, thought they could attract a better customer, so they asked, “Why not redefine the product, the customer, and the market?”

Rather than target those who wanted to fly but didn’t have a license or the income to afford buying an aircraft, UltraSports decided to target commercial jet pilots and flight instructors for their ultra light aircrafts. After all, these pilots were the best pilots, they loved to fly and they had money. Then UltraSports went one step further and redefined the ultra light aircraft itself by adding a stick and rudder and instrument controls. They made the ultra light fly like an airplane rather than a hang-glider, which better appealed to their new target market. UltraSports went on to become a national leader in their first year, all because they redefined who their customer was and then made product changes accordingly.

When it comes to your customers, ask yourself:

• Is there a better customer? For example, maybe you’re selling to a customer who can only afford low-margin products and services.
• Who is your ideal customer?
• Is there a customer you don’t have but should have?
• Could you redefine your product and attract that customer?
• Is there a way to use technology to enhance your product or service in some way that opens up a market or creates a new market for you?

It was originally thought that the only cells capable of differentiating into a variety of organs (a.k.a. pluripotent stem cells) were those obtained from embryos. But researchers recently announced that they have successfully engineered stem cells from human blood – a breakthrough that could revolutionize how we diagnose and treat disease.Induced pluripotent stem cells, as they are called, can generate heart, liver, nerve, or any other type of tissue found in the body. They can be used to study specific mechanisms of diseases or model how a diverse population will respond to a certain drug therapy. In fact, the reprogrammed cells are already being used commercially for testing the toxicity of drugs.

But by far, the greatest hope for stem cells is in treating many conditions that are currently incurable, such as Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injury. So the company has plans to develop a “biobank” where people can store stem cells generated from their own blood DNA for use if and when they need them in the future.

This could prove to be exciting for the future of stem cell therapy. What are your thoughts? Do you think this practice will be embraced?

www.cellulardynamics.com

Today we’re in an era of technology-driven transformation. That means you can attain higher profits when you use technology to redefine your products, your services, and/or how the industry in general works. Unfortunately, most companies are using technology only one way – to lower costs and become more efficient. They view technology as a way to “do more with less,” “streamline the workflow,” and “trim expenses.” Sound familiar?

While that is certainly one good use of technology, you can also use it to redefine the marketplace as well as your products and services. In this case, technology becomes a tool of creation. You can create new products, new services, and entire new markets, which then creates new jobs and careers. Why is this important? Currently the United States is digging out of the worst recession since the 1930s, and the global economy is suffering its worst setback in decades. The key to recovering is all about jobs and how to create them. You don’t create jobs by increasing productivity; you create jobs by creating new products, services, and markets. So even though we have a statistical recovery, we have a human recession. As such, recovery can’t be jobless.

The bottom line is that we can use technology to eliminate jobs or create them. It’s time for businesses to focus on redefining as a tool for job creation. Look at your product, service, or industry and see how you can use technology to redefine it. The classic example is Amazon.com. When they first started the business, they used technology to redefine how people sell books. But they didn’t stop there. They then expanded to other products and redefined how nearly everything is sold. Then they redefined again. They developed a large IT, logistics, and warehouse system and they now rent out their enterprise IT platform and warehousing space to other companies. So they are not only redefining an industry; they’re also redefining themselves.

When it comes to your company and your industry, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is growing and what is shrinking?
• Where is the direction of the future going based on technology? (For example, getting more energy efficient and going green are both long-term trends. Virtual marketing and social networking also represent long-term trends.)
• Based on where your customers and your industry are going, is there a way to use technology to create new opportunities?

A new material known as ARBOFORM® combines the sustainability of wood with the flexibility of plastic. Made of 100 percent renewable raw materials, the “bioplastic” not only reduces dependence on petrochemicals, but is totally biodegradable.

Originally used mainly for injection-molded wood applications, its developers have since found a way to make it suitable for other molded items, such as toys, by reducing sulfur content and adding compounds to keep it from dissolving in water. The goal is to create a material that releases no heavy metals – no matter how roughly its treated – and will retain its structure even when wet.

Can you imagine a computer, television or mobile phone casing made of “wood?”

www.tecnaro.de/english/willkommen.htm

A new scanner can turn any document into an audio document quickly and easily. Called BookReader, it scans books, magazines, or other documents, and then employs character recognition and text-to-speech software to play it back on your computer or portable audio device with an exceptionally human-like voice.

Its unique hardware design employs a patented technology called SEE™ (Shadow Elimination Element), which can scan up to the edge of a page without distorting the lines of text like traditional flatbed scanners. Scanned documents can be saved in text, RTF, MP3, WAV or PDF format for playback anytime and anywhere. BookReader also allows you to listen to PDF documents downloaded from the Internet. The PC compatible device will scan letter size documents and also includes graphic functions that allow users to read along.

How could a device like this be useful in your everyday life? www.plustek.com

Honda’s Asimo humanoid robot is now taking orders from a human brain using technology that allows a user to control its movements by thought alone.The Brain Machine Interface (BMI) consists of a helmet that measures brain waves using electroencephalography (EEG) and cerebral blood flow using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). During thought processes, small but measurable changes in these parameters are analyzed and correlated to specific movements, such as moving an arm or leg. Once calibrated to a specific user, the robot can be controlled simply by thought.

In about 100 tests over a three month period the system was shown to be more than 90 percent accurate, although it can take up to 8 seconds to register a command and respond. The technology will be used to develop a variety of human-friendly, hands-free electronic appliances in the future.

Imagine the possibilities for this technology. What uses can you think of that would benefit the general public? www.world.honda.com/ASIMO/

A Japanese paper manufacturer has come up with a low-cost method to use the parts of a tree that are not usable for making paper (i.e. bark, branches, and leaves) and turn them into bioethanol. The technology would not only make use of 30 percent of the tree that is currently discarded or used as fertilizer, but would also reduce the need to divert crops from the food supply for making biofuels.

Although timber can be converted into ethanol using current techniques, it is about three times more expensive than using sugar cane or corn. That’s because their cellulose fibers are bound together by a compound called lignin, which prevents them from decomposing. The chemical process that has been developed uses an alkaline solution to create fractures in the lignin sheath. Using the same mechanical methods used to produce pulp, it is broken apart. The cellulose can then be isolated and fermented to make ethanol at a cost comparable to using corn or sugar cane.

Using this alternate fuel source in conjunction with corn and sugar cane would give us an alternative to competing directly with our food supply. www.ojipaper.co.jp/english/

As consumer electronics (including televisions, computers, audio systems, and other peripherals) become more interconnected, the amount of data being transferred over home networks is increasing dramatically, especially in the form of high resolution images and video. Because of this, high-speed communication systems for the home user are expected to move away from USB and copper wiring to optical fiber and high-speed wireless.

The problem is that home applications of fiber optics typically involve shorter distances and sharper angles than conventional silica-based fibers are designed to handle. But a new fluororesin-based plastic optical fiber (POF) has recently been developed which is unbreakable, bendable and capable of transmitting data at speeds of more than 10Gbps even when it’s tied in a knot! In addition, it can be installed by virtually any user with simple, inexpensive connectors. www.agc.co.jp/english/index.html

A new Internet service called touchatag (formerly tikitag) allows you to create your own radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and 2D barcodes (QR codes) that automatically launch online applications (including Skype, iTunes and Web browsers) using a variety of devices.

For example, you could attach a unique smart tag to a souvenir and configure it so that it points your Web browser to a picture album from your vacation. You could place a smart tag on a photo of your mom and automatically place a call to her when you scan it with your RFID-enabled mobile phone. Or you could seamlessly link clients to your Web site using a 2D matrix code printed on your business card or brochure.

An application correlation service (ACS) database manages the link between each unique tag and the action that is to be initiated. You can even program a single tag to perform up to four different functions depending on the reader that is used. The system uses passive high frequency RFID operating at 13.56 MHz and is also compatible with near field communications. A starter kit, which includes the programmer module and ten tags, retails for about $50.

Do you have a need to create your own RFID tag? What uses would you have personally or in your business to use something like touchatag?

www.touchatag.com

A new medical device, which is scheduled to enter clinical trials later this year, will make it possible for doctors to more accurately dispense drugs that treat gastrointestinal (GI) disorders such as colon cancer, colitis, and Crohn’s Disease. The ingestible electronic capsule, called the iPill, uses a pH sensor and thermometer to determine its location within the GI-tract. A radio transmitter and antenna are used to communicate with an external computer, and a tiny pump controlled by a built-in microprocessor dispenses the on-board supply of drugs at the optimal time.

The biggest benefit of such a system is that it minimizes the toxic side effects of chemotherapy, steroids and other drugs on surrounding organs and tissue by more closely targeting the affected area. It will also open up possibilities for promising new treatments that could otherwise not be administered in high enough concentrations to be effective.

Someday, doctors may be able to deliver life saving drug right to the problem spot. Imagine the possibility of treating cancers by using the iPill to deliver targeted chemotherapy.

www.research.philips.com/newscenter/index.html

The phone was designed for two-way communication and since social media marketing is a two-way dialogue, it’s a natural extension to have mobile cell phone applications for social media programs that allow you to view and post to various social media sites.

With mobile social media, we’re no longer just sharing information; we’re dispersing knowledge in an organized way, getting feedback, and gaining additional knowledge to help us grow. Between text messages, tweets, blogs, and other social media posts, we’re seeing a shift in how people discover, read, and share news, information, and content. We’re learning information in real time before the evening news or morning paper reports it.

In short, the mobile era takes all the benefits of social media marketing and puts them in your hands at all times. It also frees you from your computer so you have more time for other activities.

As the business world evolves, our ways of communicating with prospects and customers must evolve too. Reme

mber, it used to be about distributing content; now it’s about getting people’s attention and engaging with them. It used to be about gaining shelf space; now it’s about gaining mind share. It used to be about mass marketing; now it’s about niche marketing. It used to be about trying to control your customers; now it’s about using influence and reputation to generate desired results. When you incorporate your mobile device as a key way to achieve your business objectives and attain these benefits, you open your company up to a whole new world of sales and profits.

If your company is using social media marketing but has not yet gone mobile with it, you must do so as soon as possible. Here’s are some compelling reasons why:

It expands your Internet footprint. You can only monitor and respond to so manyFacebook,Twitter, and other social media posts from your desk. However, when you can post from your phone, you can say what’s on your mind whenever you want.

It improves your search engine rankings. Each post you put out on the social media networks points back to you or your company. That increases your listings on search engine results.

It establishes you as the expert. When you can post your information and ideas at any time, it will happen more often, which builds your reputation and credibility.

It improves communication and feedback. Many companies are monitoring people’s tweets on Twitter and posts on Facebook. If they notice people who have problems with their company, products, or services, they find out about it right away and make changes in real time. This, in turn, builds positive relationships with customers.

It drives a steady stream of prospects to your business. All of the social media sites are becoming business friendly, enabling you to create a business-oriented presence.

It fuels content generation. Because you’re micro-blogging and doing Facebook entries, you’re creating content and getting it out there. And since content is king these days, you definitely need a way to keep your information flowing into your prospects’ and customers’ hands.

It supports decision-making. You can make better decisions if you’re monitoring what’s going on in social media about your industry, marketplace, etc. And when you get these updates directly to your phone, you don’t have to wait until Monday morning when you get to your office to make a big decision. You can make it and implement it in real time.

What other benefits can you imagine by going mobile with social media marketing? How could these benefits impact your job with your company?

As more people realize and embrace the fact that social media marketing is a real time experience rather than a “wait till I get to my computer” experience, they’re taking advantage of the processing power today’s mobile phones have to offer. So while real time does mean you have to have your computer with you at all times, that computer is now your cell phone, not your laptop or desktop.

Why should businesses focus on mobile social media marketing? Consider this: Right now around the world, 1.1 billion people use the internet, 1.4 billion people watch television, and 2.2 billion people use mobile phones. So if we look at the power of social media going mobile, we quickly see that it has the potential to be more powerful than television watching, simply because it’s interactive and with you at all times.

Both technology and people are driving the prevalence of mobile social media. One of the basic human needs since the dawn of time is to connect with others. Additionally, today’s increased processing power, bandwidth, and storage available on mobile devices enables people to have better audio and video capability on their phones. This means people can communicate with their phone more effectively, in a way that goes beyond your basic phone call. And anytime technology allows you to communicate and connect better, you have a revolution. From smoke signals to telegraphs to telephones to cell phones to the mobile social media, all are evolutions that cause revolutions.

Are you using your cell phone for social media marketing? What successes have you experienced?

Wind Tower is designed to address many of the drawbacks of conventional propeller systems. Called the Windspire, it combines low cost and aesthetically pleasing design with ultra-quiet operation and rugged construction to produce approximately 2000 kilowatt-hours per year in 12 mile per hour average winds. At only 30 feet in height, the vertical-axis turbine falls within typical residential and urban zoning restrictions. It operates at a low tip speed ratio of 2 to 3 times wind speed, making it very quiet. It’s durable enough to withstand winds of up to 100 miles per hour, and can be installed in a matter of hours. Best of all, the cost (complete with generator, inverter, monopole and wireless performance monitor) is only about $5,000.

Would you consider a Wind Tower in your backyard? Do you feel that the initial investment of $5,000.00 will be worth your utility savings each month?

http://www.mariahpower.com

Timely diagnosis of a heart attack is the first and most important step toward initiating appropriate treatment. Currently, an accurate assessment involves multiple laboratory tests, which are time consuming and require multiple blood samples. Now a new lab-on-a-chip allows clinicians to diagnose a cardiac event quickly and easily using a simple saliva test. Called the Electronic Taste Chip (ETC), it analyzes a sample for a variety of biomarker proteins that have been linked with coronary heart disease (CHD). Instead of waiting for tests at the hospital, the test can be administered in the ambulance, saving valuable time and allowing for earlier intervention.

Could the future of this technology allow for easy and early diagnosis of other diseases including cancer? Think of the ease in performing this test versus taking a blood sample.

http://bit.ly/6XIwKW

The same bug that can cause upset stomachs in humans is now being used to produce a biofuel that could someday replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. The process uses a genetically modified version of E. coli, which is mixed with sugar cane in large vats of water. As the microbes metabolize the sugars, they produce fatty acids with the same hydrocarbon configuration as petroleum. The fuel has a higher energy content than ethanol or butanol and can go directly into vehicles or be further processed at a refinery. The price is already competitive with conventional diesel. Large-scale production is expected to begin as early as 2011.

Could the process work with other biomass, making it even more cost effective? What other trends do you see happening in the race for crude oil independence?

http://bit.ly/71cnCY

Czech scientists recently announced that they have discovered a way to identify potentially dangerous substances – the kind that could be used to prepare explosives – without the need to open the bottles. The detector reportedly takes about one second, and would alleviate the need to inspect liquids while going through x-ray at airports. Current systems are plagued by inaccuracies caused by different shapes of plastic and glass bottles. In addition, certain non-dangerous substances, such as nail polish remover and peroxide, may produce erroneous results. The researchers are working with Prague Airport to test the new device.

Could this device have prevented the airplane terrorist attack scare a few weeks ago? Could a system like this revolutionize our current airport security procedures?

http://bit.ly/4DhYh0

Honda has rolled the first mass-production fuel cell automobiles off the assembly line. Called the FCX Clarity, the revolutionary new car looks and drives just like its gas-powered counterparts, but produces no harmful emissions. It’s powered by a specially designed, 100-kilowatt fuel cell that’s 65 percent smaller than other designs, leaving enough interior room to carry four passengers comfortably, while boasting a top speed of 100 miles per hour and a range of 280 miles. The FCX can be leased for $600 per month for 36 months, but because of limited access to service and fueling, they are currently available only in Torrance, Santa Monica and Irvine, CA. Honda is also working on development of a Home Energy Station, which will be able to generate hydrogen from natural gas while providing heat and electricity for the home.

Would you consider purchasing a fuel cell automobile? Do you think fuel cell cars are the answer to oil independence in America?

http://www.Honda.com