The ultimate labor market?

The trend known as ‘globalization’ tends to be the cumulative effect of many small, incremental steps. Once in a while there are technical innovations which result in a step change, or acceleration of globalization – the advent of shipping, flight, etc. Computers have also supported the increasing complexity of business, enabling more complex (but still economically and chronologically viable) sourcing solutions to be developed.

Recently I came across a website which, while relatively simple, appears to me to have potentially astounding consequences for globalization: peopleperhour.com.

Where next for smartphones?

Most of the discussions around the future of smartphones consist of comparisons of existing functionality on other platforms, taking the best bits of competing smartphone models, or hopes for incremental improvements in power/memory/speed. Relatively few discussions take a more creative approach to considering where the next generation of smartphones might come from.

In this post, I comment on the potential challengers to Apple’s smartphone throne and attempt to brainstorm some more creative thoughts about where smartphones might head next in the charge for market share.

Shop owners should not forget, that Amazon Remembers

I purchased some books on Amazon.co.uk earlier today, and came across an advertisement for Amazon’s new iPhone ‘app’ (application, for dowload onto the iPhone), and what it calls “Amazon Remembers”.

In summary, what Amazon Remembers allows you to do is to take a photo of an object/product, and store it in your Amazon profile as a reminder for you to later purchase the object/product on Amazon (if Amazon sells it of course, but nowadays Amazon’s store offering (categories of products) is almost as broad as a department store in a large shopping mall, and usually deeper (with regards to the product offering in a category). It addresses the “I’d really like one of those – I wonder where I can get one” moments in life.