Are you itching for the weekend? So excited to celebrate the 4th of July? Check out this slideshow highlighting some cool iPhone applications to test your knowledge, to show your love for the USA and, if you’re like me, to keep yourself occupied during that long car ride to the Cape. I’m not driving, don’t worry.

Have you tried any of these? Know of any other cool USA themed apps? Let us know!

-Cristina

Alhough Google has defined and become synonymous with search – most people say they are “googling” something when they use any kind of search engine – bing is proving to be a serious contender in the fight to be the search engine of the people.  bing is slowly insinuating its way into our lives through these examples:

• Showing up in advertisements through traditional media channels
• Yahoo’s search engine being powered by bing (projected to happen by the end of the year)
• Being the default search engine on Microsoft platforms and mobile devices
• BUT, perhaps most importantly, Steve Jobs announced on June 7 that bing will be a choice for searchers using Safari on the whole suite of Apple products (iphone, ipad, macbook, you get the idea).

Through these channels, I predict that bing will “own” approximately 25-35% share of the search market by sometime in 2011.  In other words, 25-35% of us will probably be using bing, if not on purpose, then by default.  I’ve found it to be a very functional platform and it almost seems as though it’s “hipper” than Google, which has recently been embroiled in privacy concerns.  (Of course bing is a Microsoft product, which many view as monopolizing technology in general) What are your thoughts?

-Mary Smucker-Priest

I left my house late yesterday and forgot my iPhone. I realized my mistake about half way to work, which was too late to turn back. “Ah well, I guess I can live without it for one day,” I thought.

What proceeded was a nightmare…

At about 9:15 AM, I left for my appointment located in an unfamiliar part of the city that is sprawling with factories, desolate parking lots, roads without sidewalks and broken payphones. Upon getting lost trying to find my destination (Mapquest, you suck), I started stressing because I couldn’t call my appointment to let them know I was running late. I also couldn’t call my office to make the call for me or get any assistance. Fun!

At exactly 9:50am (10 minutes before my appt.), I finally see someone that I can ask for directions. YAHOO! I asked, “Excuse me sir, could you tell me where Milton Street is?” To which the polite, but unfortunately rather unhelpful gentleman replied “No hablo Ingles.”

Knowing that a 45 minute pantomime session was out of the question, I sped off trying to find my destination. After five minutes of sweating (combination of nerves and high blood pressure) and more driving, I saw Milton Street. Thank you, God.

As I pulled the car over to make a U-turn to head back toward Milton Street, I hit a curb – not once, but twice. Instantly I knew my day had taken a turn for the worse. With the sudden pulling of the steering wheel to the right, my fears were confirmed: I had a flat. I had two flats.

At this point I only really had one option, so I grabbed my laptop and projector and hoofed it to my now nearby destination.

I recount this story on our blog because I want to stress how different my day would have been had I remembered my iPhone. I could have used my phone’s maps/gps to find my destination. I could have called my appointment to let them know I was running late or to get directions. I could have reached my office for help. Heck, I could have even called my sister who speaks Spanish and let her talk to the guy who could have given me directions!

I have heard a lot of people recently (not sure why) talk about how things were possibly better before cell phones, email, texting, and the gazillion other ways we communicate today with each other. People can feel or say what they want but I must admit, I would have loved to been able to text someone on my iPhone yesterday.

Was life better before cell phones? Do we rely too heavily on technology? What do you think?

-@ajgerritson

Boston is a city steeped in history. Outsiders associate us with conservative values, understatement and bare-knuckle street politics.

What many fail to realize is that Boston is consistently on the forefront of innovation.

This is something I am incredibly proud of as a Bostonian. I believe the city’s current administration has done a tremendous job of pushing initiatives through behind the scenes and I know people will continue to be surprised at what is yet to come.

Here are some examples of how Boston’s leaders are pushing us to the forefront of innovation:

1. Economic Development – Our city boasts an organization called the Boston World Partnerships. This new, non-profit organization created by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and run by Executive Director David McLaughlin, is a first of its kind. Its mission is to raise global awareness of Boston as one of the world’s foremost centers of intellectual capital and innovation, and to offer tremendous competitive advantages to growth-minded businesses. BWP is a public-private partnership with seed funding from P&G/The Gillette Company and the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The BWP generates high-quality leads for economic growth. Each high-quality lead represents a specific, actionable opportunity to create jobs, attract a business, strengthen an existing Boston business, support entrepreneurship, or enhance workforce development.

To achieve these goals, BWP has created a global community of people who have ties to Boston’s economy, similar to an alumni organization. This network exists around an information-rich website and an array of social media tools, as well as events here and abroad where Boston professionals come together to share ideas, insights, and other resources.

2. Tourism – Do you want to explore Boston’s legendary waterfront, Fort Point area, or Public Garden? How about doing it on a self-guided iPod tour? That’s right, Boston is one of the first cities offering such an experience.

3. Green Initiatives – Have you ever seen a solar powered street sweeper? We got them. We also have solar powered trash compactors on many of our street corners.  Here’s a photo:

Our city is also the first in the nation to boast green building zoning codes that require all building to be built to LEED certified standards.

4. Education – Boston’s Mayor has led the charge for transforming how we educate our young people. He has done this by pushing for legislation that includes greater flexibility in the classroom including longer school days for arts, music, more sports, and greater partnerships with area institutions to facilitate more learning opportunities. One example is the number of hospitals in the city that are partnered with Boston’s Health Career Academy. This partnership helps young people interested in the growing healthcare field learn on-the-job skills. Our city has also created partnerships between 5 of our universities and our most challenged schools to help aid in educational development.

5. Community – Boston created an iPhone application called “Citizen’s Connect”. This was a first in the nation for service requests. The city didn’t stop there either. They put together a team that the mayor calls the “New Urban Mechanics” that works with different departments to help them redesign how service delivery can be more user friendly and efficient.

These are only some of the great things that make our city innovative. I would like to hear from my fellow Bostonians as to what they are proud of around town. I would also like to hear from people in other cities about the great innovations that makes their lives better.

Please share!

I am excited to see where this year brings the mobile marketing industry and marketing in general. Most especially, I am excited to see the continued emergence of smart phones and the impact they will have on consumer behavior. Currently, smart phones are being used by 1/5 of the mobile market, there are more than 100,000 iPhone applications available, and Motorola’s Droid is growing in popularity fast. There are four times as many mobile phones in the world as PCs, and there are over 130 billion texts sent each month. Many predict that the number of smart phones in use will equal the number of basic phones in use within five years.

This will mean many things to marketers including: (1) More and more campaign plans will (or should) involve some mobile component. (2) More applications and mobile sites will be built (probably at a lesser cost with the emergence of more sophisticated building tools like Mofuse). (3) Expect more mobile couponing to take place as the number of people who use texting as a form of communication increases. (4) Companies and brands will have stronger relationships with their customers through the emergence of localized applications like FourSquare.

If you are excited about smart phones, mobile marketing and 2010, I would invite you to share your predictions here. We welcome your thoughts!

Useful links:

MMA Forecasts 2010 Trends

Mobile Trends 2010 for Asia