Eye-Fi’s patented and patent-pending technology works with Wi-Fi networks to automatically send images from a digital camera to online, in-home or retail destinations. One product in particular, Eye-Fi Share, a Wi-Fi enabled Secure Digital (SD) card, makes it easy and affordable to add Wi-Fi to any digital camera by means of an SD card slot. The Eye-Fi card is the first wireless memory card. It stores media and fits into cameras just like a regular SDHC card. As soon as setup is complete you then specify which networks the Eye-Fi card must use to transfer your media. One can add up to 32 networks for the card to use. The next time the camera is within range of one of the specified network, your images and videos will immediately transfer to your computer or to your preferred sharing site.

Combining Wi-Fi and a digital camera began back in 2003 when Nikon introduced the WT-1 wireless transmitter attached to the bottom of a Nikon D2H DSLR. But bringing the two technologies together has put the cost of the camera out of reach for the average consumer. In 2006, Nikon introduced a more affordable point and shoot camera integrating the Wi-Fi feature enabling consumers to afford and benefit from the features of a wireless camera. Eye-Fi was born from an opportunity to provide wireless connectivity while still leaving the choice of camera up to the consumer.

Controversy has arisen in the world of memory card standards. The SD Association has just recently announced the iSDIO (intelligent secure digital input/output), which deconstructs how SD cards can use Wi-Fi to communicate with other devices to transfer files. CEO of Eye-Fi, Yuval Koren, argues that the SD Association has not followed its own rules in publishing the standard and that standard violates Eye-Fi’s patents for Wi-Fi-enabled SD cards. Koren claims that before the Association can approve the new standard, it must first accept contributions from its members about whether or not the proposed standard violates any of their property. Eye-Fi, a member, has informed the SD Association that iSDIO did actually do this but the group published the standards anyway despite the fact that the window for IP review had not yet closed. The SD Association is equally irritated saying that it went ahead with publishing the iSDIO during the IP review period because according to them only licensing could change and not the technical details.

Benefits Google+ brings to brands

Powered by Google, Google+ is proving to be competition for the highly popular social network, Facebook. In the shadow of Facebook, Google+ may well be the only other contender that stands a chance of being noticed. This doesn’t exclude Twitter as tough contender but when it comes to features, Facebook is the site to outdo.

Although it isn’t an immediate replica of Facebook, Google+ has very clear similarities. The primary way of interacting with Google+ is by posting messages and watching and responding to content other people post. In Facebook, these updates move on to a news feed. In Google+, it materialises into a stream. Like Facebook, Google+ allows you to share photos and videos. Google gives virtually unlimited storage: 1GB, but photos that are 2,048 by 2,048 pixels or smaller, and videos that are 15 minutes or shorter don’t count toward that limit. Unless photography is what you’re into, most online photos are smaller than 2,048 by 2,048 pixels. One key difference from Facebook is that Google views “friendship” more on the same lines as Twitter. In Facebook, friends must have a mutual relationship. If someone wants to be your friend and see your updates in their news feed, you have to agree to a mutual friendship. Google+ works more like Twitter, where anyone can follow you whether you follow back or not, although you do have the choice of blocking unwanted followers both in Google+ and Twitter. Moreover, both Twitter and Google+ can notify you (or you can disable the notifications) when new people start following you. You can choose either to block the person or accept by viewing the link to their profile page.

Recently the web giant has launched a new feature that allows users to record a video using their webcam and post it as part of their updates to their preferred social media platform, according to Shana Gitnick, an engineer on the Google+ Photos team. “Google+ has long been the place to share and interact with video – whether it’s using Hangouts (a video conferencing feature) with your friends or watching YouTube videos,” Gitnick added. “Today we’re making video a bit more fun by letting you record and share videos of yourself using your webcam.” The new feature which was debuted last week, allows users to avoid the extra step of having to upload a video to YouTube before sharing it on Google+. Users will now be able to upload videos directly to their Google+ homepage. The new feature requires Adobe Flash so those without it will be left out.

Last year Google finally unveiled brand pages for Google+, allowing businesses and brands to join Google’s social network. The new Google+ brand pages look similar to Google+ Profiles, except for the little square icon that marks it as a Page rather than a Profile. Users can add brands to their circles; it increases that brand’s follower count. When Google first launched Google+, brands immediately wanted to take the opportunity to gain additional exposure. Google soon asked brands to stop creating Google+ profiles. It soon escalated into a controversy that forced the company to speed up its plans for business pages. It’s not just the big companies which are opting for the brand pages: Google+ Group Product Manager Christian Oestlien says small businesses are also jumping on the Google+ bandwagon. “We have obviously a lot of involvement in the local space; we’re seeing a lot of small businesses get on Google+ and use that to directly engage with their audiences.”

If you’re thinking of starting your own brand page the best way to learn how to manage a brand page is to find those leading by example. These are three tips taken from companies already successful with the Google+ brand pages.

Putting a Face on the Company:

Google+ offers a comment system that forms an integral part to social interactions. This gives brands the opportunity to portray an outward image and connect users with the people who run the company. Oestlien explains that brands that opt to be more personally involved on Google+ reap the benefits. “The ability to move beyond a post and understand that there are really people behind these pages really deepens the experience and lends itself to a loyal, more engaged audience.” One of the easiest ways to connect with users on Google+ is to use the Hangouts feature. Brands have been using this feature to personally involve users with a person in the company. Oestlien says that he’s seen successful usage of this feature in different instances, such as computer companies who connect users with their tech support to department stores that allow fashion bloggers to give style advice to other users. Hangouts are also about to expand to involve even more people. Employing Hangouts gives users a personal experience with a brand, one that is bound to create loyalty and increase the brand appeal.

Broadcasting fresh and different content:

Content must be available for brands to be engaged with followers, but caution must always be taken when deciding what content to post. Something which is unaccepted on Google+ is reposting content on the platform from other social media websites. Users will realise when a brand company is not fully engaged in the information it’s posting. Instead, Google+ users see success in producing interesting and new content that is both applicable to the brand and communicable. Non-profit LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights group NOH8 uses its Google+ brand page to not only share videos and images that are in line with the organisation’s core message, but also showcases photos of regular people participating in shoots for NOH8 all across America. Their mission is to promote marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media and visual protest. NOH8 co-founder Adam Bouska says that sharing these photos on Google+ allows the group to connect with a whole new audience while engaging them towards the cause. “As a smaller non-profit with limited funds, being able to promote our message through social media photos and updates has allowed us to effectively transmit our message worldwide,” says Bouska. The key to a successful brand page is posting contend that is not only interesting but also meaningful.

Engaging Power Users:

Such a close proximity between the audience and company means that businesses can customise the message to their fans in any number of ways. Brands are able to categorise their content and engage along with influencers in the social media space to produce maximum effects. One of the best ways to engage these influencers is to use Circles (sub-groups of friends) and segment major brand influencers to provide even more customised material to those who matter most. Oestlien says that when brands provide highly specialised content to a group of core fans they are encouraging those users to involve themselves and communicate the brand’s content to their own circles. This promotes feedback which is vital for a company’s survival. Engaging with the right people in a smart and efficient fashion leads to a more meaningful relationship in the long run resulting in stronger voices which support the brand.

The Malta Independent ICT Feature

Whilst assessing methods which could improve a company’s market position, one must not neglect the investment potential of research and innovation. These two elements are key to gain a competitive edge. Today’s feature will highlight ways how to adopt innovation which enables growth and yields profit. Companies ready to take on this step must first be ready to invest in training and equipment for employees to flourish. There is also the question of whether to conduct research in-house or procure it externally.

This week we will also see how the relatively new Google+ has set its sights on businesses. With new features like Hangouts, companies are able to interact with their followers more than they would with other social media sites. This week’s article will show instances where companies have gained tremendously from Google+ brand pages.

If you’re into photography you know that to upload photos onto your computer you either need a cable or else you need to remove the memory card from your camera and insert it in your computer. In today’s feature we will look at how all this can change with an Eye-Fi SD Wi-Fi enabled card - the first wireless memory card which allows the user to send images to online destinations.

Roderick Spiteri is Marketing and Communications Manager at MITA and editor of Malta Independent ICT feature

Seeking competitive advantage through research and innovation

Investing in research and innovation is unquestionably one way for a firm to seek a competitive edge, says Alexander Borg. However it is primarily more important to decide how to engage: should we conduct the research in-house or should we source it externally?

In a bestselling 1985 book on how firms should achieve competitive advantage, management guru Michael Porter argued that investing in research and technology development as a specialised support activity was one good way of how a firm could add value to its output and therefore seek a competitive advantage over its rivals.

This does not mean that all firms should gear themselves up to start systematically investing in research. The key is not in research per se but in adopting innovation as an enabler of growth and profitability. Carrying out research in-house is not an easy thing to do, particularly for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Firms that want to pursue such an approach must first be ready to invest in specialised laboratory equipment, infrastructure and skilled employees trained in research. They must also be prepared to manage the inherent risks of research, as the return on investment may not be quick enough and at times even none at all. Moreover, the resources and equipment deployed may end up being underutilised in off-peak periods, or become redundant once the research is over.

Advocates of the ‘external innovation’ model argue that, where possible, firms without the resources for conducting research should opt to procure ‘fully fledged’ technology - technology that is already tried, tested and packaged as a product - if this is easier and cheaper to source from the market. On the other hand, depending on size and market, firms should research, develop and protect those technologies that are rare and hard to imitate.

In a country like Malta where nearly all enterprises are SMEs, most firms adopt the external innovation model. In this model, innovative products or services are sourced externally and deployed within the firm or its market to improve processes which consequently increase sales and productivity for the purpose of securing higher levels of profitability and growth.

Research consistently shows that innovation brings many advantages to firms. In a 2005 survey on innovation, Statistics Canada found that companies that innovate stand a greater chance of success as opposed to those that do not. Innovative firms are not only more productive and generate more sales, but also gain bigger market shares and increased profitability.

The following scenarios give an idea of the strategic advantages firms can gain from innovation.

Selling an innovative product that no one else can make - such as when the first Macintosh was first launched in 1980s;

Being the first to offer a new type of service, even if it is done using known technology - internet banking is a good example;

In contrast to the previous point, being the first may not always be advantageous if there are teething problems and initial costs - so it may be better to learn how to innovate from other first starters that already burned their fingers on the technology;

Setting a new trend which brings about a significant change to the rules of the game - consider the iPhone revolution, or the World Wide Web which in the 1990’s created the new concept of separating information from the medium that carries it, thereby overcoming the economic limitations;

Changing an organisation’s paradigm and its taken-for-granted assumptions to match changed market conditions - IBM made a radical transformation from a semi-conductor and hardware based manufacturer in the late 50s to the early 90s, to a successful service-oriented integrator of IT solutions which is now a globally integrated enterprise that boosts its clients’ innovation and competitive capabilities.

Sceptics may argue that the local context is different. A small island state with a tiny market and no hinterland to use as a springboard for internationalisation is definitely a disadvantage. Malta also has the lowest average number of employees per SME (2.5) compared to the EU average of 4.3 per SME according to 2009 statistics provided by the European Commission. However, research in the US and Europe has shown that start-up firms (typically under eight employees) that are successfully innovative and differentiate their products, are also able to avoid scale disadvantage and occupy a small market niche if they play their cards right.

New insights can be gained on how much Maltese firms invest in innovation when the National Statistics Office publish the results of the recent Innovation 2010 survey . Until then encouraging signs coming from the EU’s Innovation Scoreboard 2010 indicate that Malta ranks among Europe’s faster growing innovators .Together with Portugal, Malta also proved to be a growth leader among the Moderate Innovators group of countries surveyed.

In later articles I will be discussing what help is available to ICT companies that wish to use research and innovation as a means of achieving competitive advantage through internationalisation.

Alexander Borg is an R&I Consultant at MITA