Bye Bye Receipts!

Shopper Receipts Join Paperless Age

A few years ago I had visited the Apple store and purchased an iPod and noticed something rather interesting. When I finalized my sale they asked me for my email address and told me I was all set. When I inquired about my receipt, the associate then told me that he had sent a copy to my email address. Oddly I was very impressed by this simple luxury that Apple had offered. One less thing that I would have to worry about, my receipt was already saved and filed away for me.

I had thought Apple was the only company that was utilizing the technology of emailing your receipt but apparently I was wrong.  According to the article by Stefanie Clifford "Major retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Nordstrom, Gap Inc. (which owns Old Navy and Banana Republic), Anthropologie, Patagonia, Sears and Kmart, have begun offering electronic versions of receipts." It seems to be that this technology has been catching on and it is taking the retail industry by storm. It is such a simple concept, but provides consumer with a convenient option rather than having to collect and file away receipts from their many purchases.

Paperless receipts could completely eliminate the frustration of filing away receipts. Not only is this new concept helpful to the consumer but it could have a major impact on the environment. If this technology becomes the norm this could be the ultimate "go green" project.  Electronic receipts could also significantly reduce the headache that many of us endure looking for our receipts during tax season. Everything could already be previously filed and organized with the click of a button.

Who knows how far this technology will be taken as it begins to catch on.  As stated in the article by Stefanie Clifford "Mr. Nordstrom said Nordstrom was also thinking about ways to make its e-receipts more appealing, perhaps by adding a picture of the item to the receipt so a shopper could post it to a Facebook wall." Simple additions such as this could make the shopping experience all that more appealing to the consumer.

I personally believe that within five years we will look back and be astonished by the fact that we ever used paper receipts. The world is always evolving in regards to technology and simple functions such as this will do away with the processes that we have known since we were kids. The convenience that the electronic receipt brings will leave no other option for retail stores than to convert from physical paper receipts to electronically emailed receipts. 

iCloud

Apple Reveals iCloud Details and Pricing

Since the first day the iPod was introduced to the public, the technology world has never been the same. It started with the conversion of our physical CD collections into well organized mp3 libraries. As the iPod technology became more sophisticated, more and more of our personal possessions were stored on these apple devices. Many of us use our iPod, iPhone, or apple computer to hold everything from our music to our most important documents. These advancements in technology have made our lives more organized and accessible than ever.

These technological advances have brought the public many new conveniences, but they also come with some negatives. For the average user of these products it may be hard to figure out how to transfer all this stored information from one device to another. Not only that but many times a user of these products does not know how to back up this information in case of a lost or broken product. I can't even count how many times I've heard a story of someone's lost iPhone and their "entire life" being stored on that phone.

With the launch of Apple's new service iCloud.com, the concerns of your data being locked up in one place are gone. Apple realized that the common man is not always technologically savvy so they have come up with the answer. The iCloud is a website that will let you store all of your data online and download it on any new apple device that you buy. This will allow you to share your music library from your IPod with your Macbook, or iPad. It will also serve as a backup for your data so you do not have to worry about a lost or broken device. They have taken the external hard drive and placed it online for your convenience.

This seems like a simple idea but Apple is the first company to offer this service conveniently to their customers. Not only is this new site useful for the most avid technology guru, but any casual user will be able to access all of their files with ease from numerous devices.  Apple is offering the first 5 gigabytes of storage for free and then allowing you to buy larger quantities for a set amount. They are also offering all iTunes music, movies, and books to be stored for free. With 5 gigabytes of extra space, the iCloud website should be free for most casual Apple product users.

Although it is a good idea to back up all of your important data on an external hard drive or flash drive, iCloud could certainly cut into the need for these devices. I don't believe that this service will do away with flash drives or external hard drives, as you can only access this storage website in places that have internet.  That being said, this is still a very convenient and helpful service that Apple will be providing. Apple will also be locking down customers for many years to come. If you store all of your most important files with the Apple iCloud, chances are you will be buying an Apple product to access these the next time you're in need of a technological upgrade. 

Google + Impressions

Google +

Social networking has become a driving force in areas such as business, media, and each one of our personal lives. Industry giants like Facebook and Twitter have dominated the social networking phenomenon. It was inevitable that Google would eventually take a try at this growing industry. Google has launched their own social networking site called Google+. 

Google+ is not Google’s first attempt at breaking into the world of social networking. In February Google launched a site called Google Buzz. There was a lot of potential surrounding this site, primarily because of its easy access through Google Gmail accounts. Although this site had great potential, the hype quickly fizzled once it became apparent that the public was not ready to convert from Facebook.

In a review written by blogger Ben Parr, he describes Google plus as “a bold and dramatic attempt at social networking.” He also makes it clear that Google wants the site seen as a “project” and not a “product”. Google wants to portray this as an ever evolving technology rather than a final product. They are mirroring the strategy of Facebook and continuously changing and growing in order to satisfy the needs of their customers.

After reading the review for Google+ I have noticed one glaring difference that outshines Facebook. It is a function that is offered called Google+ Circles. This function lets you allocate different friends into particular groups. By doing this you will then be able to decide what information you share with each group. This could be a very useful function when separating work, family, and friends on your social networking account. This is a function that Facebook has not yet been able to offer. Other than this function I do not see any significant differences from the social networking king Facebook.

Personally I do not believe that Google+ is ever going to get off the ground. Facebook has completely monopolized the social networking industry. It is not the layout, the available functions, or the accessibility that Google+ won’t be able to compete with. It is simply the amount of time each individual has invested in Facebook over the years. For years people have uploaded all of their pictures, searched for family and old friends, and uploaded all of their personal information. People have put in hour after hour to create their own personal web page. I do not believe that enough people are willing to let that all go and start from scratch on Google+. Sure some people will convert over but I cannot realistically see Google+ ever competing with Facebook.