Earlier this week PayPal Canada GM Darrell MacMullin blogged about their new iPhone App that lets Canadians send money for free. With the PayPal Send Money application for iPhone, Canadians can now pull out their phone instead of their wallet when they want to send or receive money.
If you are like me, whenever you leave your house you check to make sure you have three things – your keys, your wallet and your phone. With the launch of our next generation Send Money application, PayPal took one step closer to a future where your phone will become your wallet.
Unlike EnStream's Zoompass Mobile Payments solution which amounts to a sticker on the back of your iPhone, PayPal actually allows users to make payments from their mobile device.
We’ve also added some unique and useful features that will make Send Money one of your favourite apps. Send Money features integrated Bump technology which lets two iPhone users transfer money by bumping their phones against each other. Split Check helps you divvy up a restaurant bill and then request as many as 20 people chip in their share. Collect Money helps people remind their friends to square up for group gifts, team dues or concert tickets.
The new PayPal iPhone App is free at the iTunes Store.
Earlier this week Calgary's Mob4Hire released a first look at the results of their Global Wireless Satisfaction Survey conducted in collaboration with Business Over Broadway in February of this year.
The unprecedented 111 country survey analyzes the impact of mobile apps on operator’s churn - # of new customers acquired minus # of existing customers lost - as well as many dimensions of the app ecosystem as it relates to mobile user behavior and satisfaction.
This Mob4Hire research results demonstrate the importance of mobile apps to today's sophisticated mobile phone users with 75% of respondents reporting that mobile apps are important when choosing their new operator.
While Mob4Hire's research indicates that the dimensions of wireless coverage and service are still the MOST important factor when choosing their new operator, the importance of mobile apps are a close second and will no doubt raise the bar for operators.
Kudos to Mob4Hire for assembling this data - it demonstrates a great use of their community of more than 40,000 people in 146 countries on 364 network operators.
Mob4Hire has made the research available free of charge on this 8-page report on Slideshare.
Mob4hire is crowdsourced mobile application testing. [more]
Looking for an Angel investor?
The Angel Forum is calling for company applications to present and exhibit to pre-screened private equity investors at the 27th Angel Forum on May 18th in Vancouver.
At the 26th Angel Forum on November 24th of last year, 32 selected companies were selected from 60+ applicants and nearly 90 investors registered from Seattle, Bellingham, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Kelowna, Victoria and Vancouver.
Founded in 1997, the Angel Forum - Vancouver semi-annually introduces emerging companies to private equity investors. As one of the oldest &... [more]
This blog post is part of a series about Coworking around North America & is sponsored by The Network Hub. To learn more about The Network Hub, visit www.thenetworkhub.ca.
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The future of work is evolving. The recent economic downturn has encouraged the growth of independent knowledge workers and entrepreneurs willing to strike it out on their own. This group of workers, armed with their laptops, smart phones, and web apps, can work from their homes or coffee shops. However, an alternative option has been gaining popularity amongst this group over the past few years. Referred to as ‘Coworking’, it’s a movement to create a community of cafe-like collaboration spaces for developers, writers and independents. Pioneered in San Francisco by the Hat Factory and Citizen Space, these places provide a space for web workers, consultants, freelancers and entrepreneurs to work independently, together. In the coming weeks, we will be highlighting a few spaces that have embraced this philosophy and its new breed of workers.
A perfect example would be Rachel Young and Wayne Lee. Seven years ago they were freelancing out of cafes with friends and local writers for, what they called, ‘creative’ sessions hoping to get out of the isolation and rid the distractions of working from home. Realizing that they were building the same foundations for a business, they recently launched Camaraderie, a coworking facility located in Toronto.
"Wayne knew firsthand the value of co-working, so we decided to open a space we could both work from and open it up to the community,” Rachel says, “because cafes have their own set of issues. "There's the expectation to purchase something every hour so it's not considered loitering, the noise of the coffee grinder whirling mixed in with the music in the background, and to face the dilemma of what to do with your laptop when nature calls.” And when you're working from home, "sometimes the video games call too strongly or the bed is too comfortable, says Wayne, "regardless, isolation is still an issue any freelancer has to deal with. While it can be great to focus, we are still human and still need some sort of social interaction to maintain balance.”
Based on years of facing these challenges, the two made sure their space provided a perfect harmony of seclusion to find focus and communication for networking. At coworking spaces, you can expect to meet a diverse community of outgoing entrepreneurs and freelancers with many opportunities to participate in open source projects. “It's a productive work environment where one could hold client meetings, leave their laptop when they run out for lunch, and drink unlimited coffee or tea. Most things that an entrepreneur or freelancer would need is already here, plus more. All they need to do is walk in with their work implements, take a seat, and get going.”
Camaraderie’s large workspace includes two meeting rooms and a communal kitchen surrounded by white walls and dark floors. Adding to that, tenants are welcomed to a stunning view of a beautiful park right by the building. Transportation is also made easy as the nearest subway station is in walking distance. Rachel and Wayne plan to get a transit pass discount program for their tenants and even want to work on healthcare coverage for their full time members!
Camaraderie truly presents a great relaxed, organized, idea-driven, resource-sharing workspace by integrating the basics of a cafe in a functional environment so lonesome entrepreneurs and freelancers are able to mix and share ideas to progress and gain… camaraderie.
The Network Hub provides various options to meet different working styles, from private offices, coworking, shared work space, meeting rooms, as... [more]
Imagine a shared office space with the best elements of café culture and a productive, functional work environment that is affordable for... [more]
Whether Canada owned the podium or not, one thing is clear: The Olympic Consortium, headed up by CTV, owned the Olympics. Over the course of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, over 28 million videos were viewed and more than 215 million pages were viewed on CTVOlympics.ca and RDSolympiques.ca.
According to their press release, the 28 million+ videos totaled more than 7 million hours of video consumption. Furthermore, more than 12 million unique visitors viewed the more than 215 million pages.
Want some more stats? Check these out:
Alan Marcovici is the Vice President of Digital Media and Research for the Consortium:
These are staggering numbers. As proven by the average length of online viewers, the Consortium set a benchmark for what can be achieved through a quality video experience online. Canadians were given choice as to how, when and where they wanted to experience the Games, and we’re ecstatic they responded with such enthusiasm.
What are your thoughts on these Olympic games? How did you consume them? Are you also watching the Paralympics?
