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MyPolice launches to opens doors and conversations

17 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

MyPolice, the startup aiming to open up social engagement for Police forces in the UK, is launching today. In a nutshell, the web app aims to make it easier for the public to understand the way their communities are policed, while improving the ability of the police force to communicate new developments, explain its aims and achievements and even challenges.

Primarily, the engagement platform allows people to send feedback and give their opinion about about their experiences, both positive and negative. MyPolice aim to ensure this feedback is responded to by the relevant police department/ individual. Secondly, it is an impartial, independent space where people can find Continue Reading »

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Predictions for 2011 – 5. Massive Growth of iOS Content Management Systems

12 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

This is the last instalment of my predictions for the big tech trends this year. To recap, they have been:

1. Home Entertainment Embracing the Second Screen
2. Gamification of Everything
3. The Rise of Multi-user, Multi-device apps
4. A Re-Focus on Non-Smartphones

5. Massive Growth of  iOS Content Management Systems

Everyone wants an iPhone app. EVERYONE. Why? Look at the stats – according to one report, it is estimated that revenues will hit 2 billion dollars in the iPhone apps store this year … Just like everyone wanted a website back in the early 2000s, we’re seeing a similar trend with iPhone/Android apps.
Building websites back in 2001 was a pain, in the same way that building iPhone apps nowadays is not exactly a walk in the park (Objective-C is about as much fun as brussel sprouts – its an acquired taste). Thankfully, Content Management Systems (CMS) began springing up to help build and maintain websites in a much less painful way. Once configured and installed, a website could be handed over to your regular user and they could update as much as they want. And this year, I predict that we will see a similar trend with iPhone/iPad apps.

Two startups with iPhone building systems that impress me at the moment – Red Foundry and AppMakr. I’ve been lucky enough to beta test Red Foundry’s system in the last two months and I have to say, I’m really impressed with the look and feel of the final output of the app. There’s a CMS type option where you can produce a “magazine” type app using RSS feeds. There is also a more advanced version using a markup language. Either way, it is now possible for a non-programmer to build and update an iPhone app. To me, systems like these will help to bridge the demand for iPhone apps and the lack of iPhone developers.

I think 2011 will see a massive growth in the use of these systems – especially since the smartphone market is growing and growing.

This is the last instalment of my predictions for the big tech trends this year. Have you got a list of your own? or do you have any comments on this? Feel free to drop them below.

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Predictions for 2011 – 4. A Re-Focus on Non-Smartphones

11 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

This is the fourth instalment of my predictions for big tech trends for 2011. You can read predictions 1, 2 and 3 respectively.

4. A Re-Focus on Non-Smartphones

Remember the days when you didn’t have a smartphone? I only switched over to an iPhone in Nov (let me add that this was after some cruel bullying by all the other geeks in Appleton Tower about how the screen on my Nokia N95 didn’t ‘work’ – peer pressure is harsh 😉 and I don’t think I could ever live without it. But sometimes it’s hard to remember that people with smartphones are the exception rather than the norm. According to a recent report published by Nielson (Jan 2011), just under 70% of the phones are non-smartphones – a statistic that is sometimes forgot when the discussions about iOS vs android (vs Web OS) are dragged up.

This really means there is a huge market out there for any startup that can make feature phone services. Hailed as the next big startup – GroupMe – is a service which allows people to set up little groups that they can text with a single number. These groups can be set up for an hour, a day or a week. It just makes communicating with a bunch of people fairly easy. One scenario would be being on a long weekend with a bunch of friends; you can set up a short number to allow people to communicate with each other when everyone is off doing their own thing.

I know that local mobile design company – Yiibu – is re-focusing on mobile web design. Bryan has an excellent presentation on this:

The web isn’t just about smartphones and I think this year, with the upcoming success of GroupMe, we’ll see a bunch of new startups which will shun away from smartphones only and tap into the huge market of non-smartphones.

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The Art of the Cold Email

10 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

We all have to do it at some point… yep, it’s the cold email. Whether you’re going to a new trade show, or you’re looking for investment, you have to send that initial email. I’m not exactly an expert when it comes to cold emailing, so I thought I would ask the internet, and dug up a really interesting template from Thomas Korte – an angel based in San Fran:

  • Who are you and where are you located?
    Hi Thomas,
    I am a engineering student at MIT, I will graduate in 2010 and ….
  • How do you know me or who introduced you?
    … I saw your presentation about “social search developments at Google” when you visited MIT in 2007….
  • Why are you writing to me? What is your idea/ product/ vision/ company?
    This is your elevator pitch – do yourself a favor and spend $9 on the Pitching Hacks book.
    … Inspired by your presentation, I started to work on a product that aggregates a user social graph (FB, LN, Friendfeed), analyzes the content of posts to determine the users subject knowledge and uses that information to rank users for specific subjects. So, imagine you need to plan a wedding: You just login to FB and find your friend most likely to be helpful with weddings. Your friend might not even be aware that he/she is the most knowledgeable person you know about the subject matter in your social graph …. Continue Reading »

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Predictions for 2011 – 3. The Rise of Multi-user, Multi-device Tablet Applications

10 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

This is the third instalment of my predictions for big tech trends in 2011. Read prediction 1 and prediction 2 as well …

3. The Rise of Multi-user, Multi-device Tablet Applications

Multi-user games and apps are not new (just look at World of Warcraft), but alongside the rise of the new multi-touch tablets, a new type of user experience is possible: co-located, multi-user applications. In other words, apps which allow two or more people to simulatenously interact together over the same device. Continue Reading »

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Predictions for 2011 – 2. Gamification of Everything

9 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

Yesterday I posted my first prediction for big technology trends for 2o11 – home entertainment embracing the 2nd screen. Today’s trend is …

2. Gamification of everything

I was first introduced to the concept of Gamification back in Nov by Alicia Dudek at one of the Girl Geek Dinners. In brief, gamification is the use of gaming priniciples for everyday life. 4square is often mentioned as an example, as well as Farmville/FrontierVille/CityVille. While the ‘theory’ behind gamification is drawn from the recent invention of video games, it can be applied to a number of seemingly unrelated fields such as marketing and web app design. Not convinced? Just look at loyalty schemes where Continue Reading »

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Startupcafe: A Year in Blogposts

9 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

Jan

We kicked off the year with Jess’s visit to CES, followed by the first release of tickets for TechCrunch Edinburgh.

Feb

New spoken word startup Said.fm looks for interns, Ryan Connolly talks about the edge of success, Social Innovation Camp non-profit – FlockLocal – ended up going through to the John Logie Baird Awards, a new coffee club for SMEs starts up, local Appleton Tower residents CereProc gets a fury of publicity after giving movie legend Roger Ebert his voice back.

March

We encourage people to apply for the Saltire Fellowship, tell people about the Strategy Society’s first meeting, talk about BraveNewTalent raising £350k of funding, highlight the fight between MyPolice and HMIC.

Also in the news, Flamina from Theory Mine scoops the Scottish Institute of Enterprise (SIE) New Ventures prize – making Edinburgh University one of the most prolific winners of the prize, we launch our startups listing page and Jess is featured on the BBC!

April

We played a bit of an April Fools on our readers, get featured in a US radio show, Hubdub closes Hubdub to focus on Fanduel, Mr O gives us advice on getting the most out of exhibitions, the Java Users Group moves to Appleton Tower. Continue Reading »

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Predictions for 2011 – 1. Home entertainment embracing the second screen

8 January, 2011 by Kate Ho

So, the naugties are over and we’re heading straight into 2011. Over the next five days, I’m going to writing about what I think will be the next big tech trends this coming year.
1. Home entertainment embracing the Second screen

CES 2011 has already seen titles like “tablet wars“. The iPad has made the tablet form factor /the/ latest gadget to have back in 2010, and this year, a whole pile of Windows and Android based tablets are coming out making them even cheaper and more accessible. What does this mean? Well, most people have commented on how iPads are the perfect sofa companion. Its Continue Reading »

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Can you hear me now? 4D Sound is a blast at CES!

7 January, 2011 by Jessica Williamson

Tablets and headphones and giant massage chairs… Oh my! It’s been a fantastic first two days at the Consumer Electronics Show and I thought I’d better press pause to mention some of the initial highlights. I’ve been wandering the halls in a whimsical fashion and crashing events wherever the wind takes me (ie. sneak preview event PepCom, Lenovo party, iHollywood demo party, CES tweetup) and I’ve been lucky to meet tons of great people along the way. Shout out to Paul, John, Craig, Jeff and Dave – you know who you are.

So, what’s the gossip?! My favourite innovation so far is KOR-FX “4D sound” from company Immerz, which may sound a little far-fetched but it is awesome. I experienced Iron Man 2 last night in a whole new way, and let me tell you, I’m sure I was physically there on the set! The tech consists of a headphone-like device worn around your neck, down near your collar bones instead of your ears. You play the audio as normal (via headphones, speakers) and the KOR-FX device vibrates against you so you FEEL the sound in your body in addition to hearing it audibly. You will feel directional input depending if the sound is coming from the right or left, which really brings the whole scene to life like a hologram jumping off a page. Continue Reading »

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A visit to CES 2011: Any missions for me?

6 January, 2011 by Jessica Williamson

It’s that time of year again! Time to escape to Las Vegas with a legitimate cover story, and see what new technologies the world has in store to make our lives cooler, easier, and more bling. Running 6th-9th January CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) is upon us!

I survived what can only be explained as a “shady” bus ride from Los Angeles, and I’m incredibly excited to adventure around CES and see where it takes me. I’ll momentarily be running off to PepCom Digital Experience, so I’d better keep this brief, but I am curious if there’s anyone I can help while I’m here.

Personally, my goals are to (1) explore new technologies, (2) meet cool people doing cool things, and (3) have fun! However, I’m also happy to investigate if there’s a product you want the scoop on, a company you want a contact for, a person you’d like to track down… Is there a way I might be able to help you? I can’t promise miracles but I’m up for giving it a shot! Heck, it will make that 6 hour Greyhound bus journey more worthwhile 🙂

Who has a mission for me? Add it to the comments below and I’ll keep you posted on progress!

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