Author: jacapps

“We all have our challenges in life – physical, mental and emotional. Some are bigger, some are smaller, and some need more assistance than others to overcome.”
-GoodNet

This statement could not be more true. With this being the digital age, we have a plethora of technological tools that can help and enrich the lives of those with disabilities. According to GoodNet, there are more than a handful of mobile apps ranging from helping the blind and deaf, to people with speech disabilities and autism.

These are 7 of the best apps for people with disabilities:

1. Talkitt

Talkitt is an app that can help those with motor, speech, and language disorders. The app allows the user to use their own voice, and translates language that may be difficult to understand into speech that is understandable.

2. Be My Eyes

Be My Eyes is an app that can help those who are blind or visually impaired.  The app connects users with sighted volunteers who help via video chat. Volunteers can help with tasks such as reading, or helping the user around a new area.

3. Avaz

Avaz is an app that can help those with autism, Downs syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Angelman’s syndrome and other speech disabilities. The app allows the user to improve language skills by “speaking” using pictures and high-quality voice synthesis.

4. RogerVoice

RogerVoice is an app that can help those who are deaf or hearing impaired. The app uses voice recognition and converts voice to text. This will transcribe a phone call into a text message.

5. LOOK AT ME

LOOK AT ME is an app that can help those with autism. The app helps to improve socialization skills by turning interactions into a game. This will help the user with making eye contact, remembering faces, and expressing themselves using facial expressions.

6. HearYouNow

HearYouNow is an app that can help those with hearing difficulties (who don’t use a hearing aid).  The app is supposed to help the user hear in public settings such as a restaurant or a party, but can also be used while watching TV or listening to the radio. Using headphones, the sound is controlled and amplified per ear.

7. Stepping Stones

Stepping Stones is an app that can help those with developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, auditory processing deficits, or anxiety. The app allows users to create visual guides to make sense of daily routines, helping increase independence as well as life skills.

According to Mashable, Alibaba, a Chinese owned company, will be coming out with a facial recognition product called “Smile to Pay”.  This will allow users to pay for online purchases just by scanning their faces. With growing password and security concerns, Alibaba believes this new technology could be the future of online payment.

As we all know, mobile payments have been the buzz for a while now, especially with larger companies such as Apple, Google, and Samsung. Apple has even included fingerprint scanning so users can pay with ease.  Alibaba’s idea is similar when it comes to making payments easily, but we will see after more testing if the product is as reliable as fingerprint scanning when it comes to making secure purchases.

This interesting new feature is still in development, but whenever it does launch, it should be making a big splash in the mobile space.

The idea of a smart home has been on our minds for a while now, and recently, we have taken small steps that could soon make this a reality. According to Mashable, GE will soon be coming out with LED lights that will be compatible with Apple’s HomeKit software. You will be able to use Siri to control these LED lights by just using your voice.

Lately there has been some major talk about how blue lighting is better for us during the daytime, and amber lighting is better for us at night. The blue lighting suppresses the output of melatonin while amber lighting allows for a better transition to sleep. GE’s Align Technology, paired up with HomeKit bulbs will enable users to set the lighting to match up with their sleep cycles. Pretty neat, right? Users will have the ability to sync and control the lights with any iOS device when the HomeKit enabled lighting system is offered later this year.

This new and innovative lighting system is extremely exciting for many different reasons, especially because this could be a major stepping stone when it comes to the potential development of smart housing. We can’t wait to see what’s next.

The idea of a smart home has been on our minds for a while now, and recently, we have taken small steps that could soon make this a reality. According to Mashable, GE will soon be coming out with LED lights that will be compatible with Apple’s HomeKit software. You will be able to use Siri to control these LED lights by just using your voice.

Lately there has been some major talk about how blue lighting is better for us during the daytime, and amber lighting is better for us at night. The blue lighting suppresses the output of melatonin while amber lighting allows for a better transition to sleep. GE’s Align Technology, paired up with HomeKit bulbs will enable users to set the lighting to match up with their sleep cycles. Pretty neat, right? Users will have the ability to sync and control the lights with any iOS device when the HomeKit enabled lighting system is offered later this year.

This new and innovative lighting system is extremely exciting for many different reasons, especially because this could be a major stepping stone when it comes to the potential development of smart housing. We can’t wait to see what’s next.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal over the weekend, killing more than 3,000 people and leaving many injured and homeless. Facebook, as well as several other organizations, are looking to help these people. One of the great things Facebook has done, is create a feature that will keep people informed on the safety of friends and loved ones called Facebook Safety Check. With this feature, you can quickly find and connect with friends in the area, and mark them as safe if they are ok. Facebook has also encouraged users to donate to the International Medical Corps by adding a message tab on the top of the news feed section. With this, Facebook has decided to match any contributions made up to $2 million.

Here are some other ways to help and donate:

The Nepal Red Cross Society 
AmeriCares Disaster relief fund
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 
CARE donation page 
Oxfam International 
UNICEF 
Save the Children

Sources: CBSNews.com, Mashable.com, Facebook.com

Smartphones have been quickly surpassing the use of desktops for a while now, especially when it comes to online usage. Mobile has even expanded from portable tablets to the newest wearables. The mobile space is always evolving and changing, and because using smartphones for almost everything has become the new normal, marketers have been taking up new opportunities to utilize mobile marketing.

Mobile marketing requires new approaches and ideas, especially because the use of mobile is a lot more of a personal tool. If you are like most marketers, you are likely not utilizing the mobile space in the correct ways.

Here are 5 ways you may be doing mobile wrong:

1. You are treating the mobile screen as just another screen
Many marketers use the same content that they would use on other mediums, but that simply will not give you the best performance.  If you want to utilize the mobile space in the best way possible, it is necessary to design and optimize for the mobile screen and user experience.

2. You are stopping people from doing what they want
Interrupting consumers with advertisements in exchange for free content has become pretty normal. However, it is not okay to interrupt someone from checking a game score, or to disrupt an entertaining video. Your brand needs to figure out a way to not take advantage while also being fair about it.

3. You are selling, not adding value
Marketers sometimes see the smartphone as just a handset, and forget that there is a person on the other end holding onto it. People treat their smartphones as a sort of “companion”, so marketers should try to go beyond just making a sale, and gain trust and loyalty.

4. You are focused on awareness and acquisition, but not on loyalty
You are easily able to reach those who may already have your app, so focus on your existing leads as well as your current customers. This will allow the opportunity for deeper engagement, as well as help grow your relationships. This will help your customer feel better connected to your brand.

5. You are not concentrating on driving customers to the store
iBeacons are very popular and are a great way to gain data on your customers in store, but you can not forget about the approaches that drive customers to come into your store. Geo fencing is a great tool for targeting customers and trying to get them to come visit.

Source: streetfightmag.com

Chevrolet has recently placed digital video ads in print. Yes, that is right…. in print! It reminds me of the moving images in the Harry Potter films, which is pretty neat, but how and why are they doing this?

Well, the advertisement promotes Chevy’s Colorado truck and it will appear in the May issue of certain subscriber issues of Popular Mechanics and Esquire. Chevy has determined which subscribers would likely be interested in purchasing the truck, and those subscribers will be receiving the copies with the digital advertisement. The original plan for the advertisement was to promote on the magazines websites, which then brought about the idea to actually have them run in print. Americhip, the “global leader in the design, development, and manufacture of advertising and marketing technologies”, is the company behind the technology that allows the videos to play in print.

To see more on the Chevy ad, click here.

As a Michigan based company, we are excited to see our neighbors in Detroit take advantage of the mobile space that will help residents in a big way.

Detroit Mayor, Mike Duggan, has recently launched the Improve Detroit app for Android and iPhone. This new app gives Detroit residents the ability to report problems that need to be fixed.  In this first version of the application, residents will be able to select from various different service issues, which include:

• Water Main Breaks
• Potholes
• Illegal Dumping
• Street Light Pole Down
• Running water in an abandoned home or building
• Abandoned Vehicles
• Dangerous Trees (on city property)
• Missing or defective manhole cover
• Broken fire hydrants
• Clogged drain

With the Improve Detroit app, reporting your problem is made easy with a 3 step process.  You can select your issue, provide a description, and enter the location. The app also allows you to upload a photo or video so city employees can better understand the issue(s) at hand. You can then view when an issue has been reported, if city workers have acknowledged it, and when the issue is resolved.

Sources: www.detroitmi.gov & www.detroit.curbed.com