4/5 (1)

Only two years ago, the TU University in Delft, launched the so-called ‘Ambulance Drone’, which would support our current ambulance services. Where ambulances take about ten minutes to arrive on-site, a drone is able to reach that site within one minute (within a distance of 12 km²). The drone takes along a defibrillator, such that the first aid could be provided by bystanders. While this idea is great, I believe that innovation could even be more advanced in terms of first aid, police help and firemen. There exist many more ways to create opportunities and advance our security and safety. Have you ever thought about IT opportunities for these institutions before you even heard about this ‘Ambulance Drone’? I for sure have not. But this innovative idea does open my mind and does make me wonder what IT could provide for among others, our policemen, firemen and ambulance workers.

Think about house fires… Today, people call 112 in order to report a fire or an accident, where after ambulances, the Fire department and the police are sent on-site. We currently react when events happen. Something happens, we start to move. However, information technology might lead to ‘prevention’ instead of this ‘reaction’. All the information we currently have about fires, accidents… Can we use this in order to find a pattern? To see whether if one thing happens, it structurally leads to a particular accident? Would we be able to predict where things will happen, such that our emergency services are already on-site, before something even happens? If this is the case, if we are this far to predict and prevent house fires, for example, how would this change the organization of the fire department? No fire means no firemen needed to put out the fire. Do we even need firefighters in the future? Would we even call them firemen?

I believe that many opportunities exist for our emergency services. IT could bring first aid to a whole new level. In the operation, internal communication and external communication. Maybe even a change in our society, because… Are we not all able to provide first aid or serve as an emergency service in the future?

 

References:

Communication, W. (2016). Ambulance-drone TU Delft vergroot overlevingskans bij hartstilstand drastisch. [online] TU Delft. Available at: http://www.tudelft.nl/actueel/laatste-nieuws/artikel/detail/ambulance-drone-tu-delft-vergroot-overlevingskans-bij-hartstilstand-drastisch/ [Accessed 23 Oct. 2016].

5/5 (3)

Remember the days when you went grocery shopping with your parents? First, you would pay a visit to the bakery, then the greengrocer, oh, and don’t forget the butcher. After a while, grocery stores started to expand and products were made of better quality. Why going to all those different stores for your weekly groceries, if you could get everything all in once at just one store? Why visit four, or five stores, when you could get (almost) the same quality at the supermarket?

Just a few years ago, I started to use the self-serving check outs at the local grocery store. They said it would improve the customer experience. It really did though, as I didn’t have to wait in long lines anymore and no slow cashier was annoying me. Especially since I often do small or daily groceries, I don’t feel like waiting too long in line behind people who are doing their weekly groceries.

At the same time, start-ups were basically popping out of the ground. Companies that started to disrupt the supermarket industry, by changing the customers’ shopping experience. Companies such as HelloFresh, Picnic and even Albert Heijn started their own home delivery. It’s not about me paying a visit to the store anymore. Today, it’s about them visiting my place. What makes it even better, is that they deliver my specific order. The delivery people will even put everything in my kitchen! Depending on where I get my groceries, I don’t even have to think about what I am going to eat. Eventually, I won’t have to think about my food anymore.

Thinking about all these technological innovations, makes me wonder about the future. How far will we go for more convenience and speed? How long will it take before there won’t be any checkouts anymore and that my electronic wallet will be the only way to pay for my products? Will there be a time that we are going to walk out of the store with our groceries, without even worrying about the payment? That there will be a 360 degrees’ scanner the second I walk out of the store, that I only need to scan my fingerprint and the system will identify my personal (literally!) data? Or I don’t even have to go to the store anymore? Will I use virtual reality to get the ‘grocery shopping’ experience without leaving the house? Or will the information system of the supermarket automatically know that I’m running out of food and will deliver everything I need, without an order placement? Will they decide what food I’ll eat, just for my convenience? How is my data going to be secured? How are we going to make sure that our personal information won’t be lying on the streets? Or better said, somewhere in the air? How am I going to be sure that they won’t know EVERY, SINGLE THING I eat?! And everything I poop…

 

References:

Heneghan, C. (2016). 7 grocery retail technologies to innovate the shopping experience. [online] Food Dive. Available at: http://www.fooddive.com/news/7-grocery-retail-technologies-to-innovate-the-shopping-experience/399553/ [Accessed 3 Oct. 2016].

Winch, J. (2013). How technology will transform your visit to the supermarket. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/money-saving-tips/10172480/How-technology-will-transform-your-visit-to-the-supermarket.html [Accessed 3 Oct. 2016].

5/5 (3)

The press industry has been going through some changes since the introduction of the first newspaper in the 17th century. Radio and television, introduced from the 1920’s onwards, were used as new communication channels. Traditional newspapers cannot keep up with the market due to an acceleration of the information flow and the availability of more communication channels. Customer needs have changed. A lot of information is available online for free. Online start-ups are popping up both competing and collaborating with the traditional newspaper companies. Two of these start-ups will be discussed: Blendle and Maggy. Both offer online versions of magazines, newspapers and/or separate articles.

Blende uses an online platform and an app to distribute separate articles to its 1 million global customers. Through a differential pricing strategy called versioning, they offer the customer to select the articles that they want to read for approximately 20 cents per piece. If customers dislike the article, they can get a full refund. The platform has attracted global investments by the New York Times and Axel Springer SE for 3 million dollars.

Maggy is available as an app. It is very recently founded, in January of 2016, and its user number has just reached 3000. With a one-price-fits-all model, their users pay a monthly fee of €5,99 and get access to all of the available magazines. Financing is done through crowdfunding via Leapfunder. People fund them with loans and these are later converted into shares. The target amount for the crowdfunding is €150,000. The app is, at least for now, only available in the Netherlands.

When comparing the strenghts and weaknesses of Blendle and Maggy, several differences are found.

 

Blendle:

Strenghts

• The opportunity to select and buy single articles
• The collection varies from entertainment topics to articles on current affairs
• Blendle’s content is viewable with smartphones, tablets and online
• Already a leader in the market, better market position
• Caters to high-educated audience because of intellectual content

Weaknesses

• Buying single articles could end up in spending more money, more than if a subscriber would stick with one magazine/newspaper
• Not a pre-fixed amount of revenue
• Privacy issues due to storage in the US instead of in The Netherlands

 

Maggy:

Strenght

• Fixed prices and thus fixed revenues

Weaknesses

• Only a mobile phone application
• Just entertainment articles, no current affairs

The industry has changed significantly since the launch of Blendle and Maggy. Publishers were not able to keep up with the changing customers’ needs, such as the need for personalization and adaptive pricing. Ever since, Blendle and Maggy serve as a mediating party, while reducing the costs significantly compared to the ‘old’ model. However, this also clears the way for free media platforms to enter the industry, meaning that the overal rivalry has increased between all parties. Pusblishers are currently trying to maintain their buyer bargaining power, by not giving to much potential to these new entrants, and to raise their customer base. The publishers’ dominance may lead to future transformation within the industry.

 

References

Shapiro, C., and Varian, H. 1998. Pricing Information. In Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
http://www.telegraaf.nl/digitaal/23157231/__Blendle_biedt_hele_kranten_en_tijdschriften__.html
https://blendle.com/signup/kioskhttp://www.maggy.nl/https://medium.com/on-blendle/pay-per-story-platform-blendle-goes-live-in-germany-37b53dbf360b#.usiz3w3nm
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-times-axel-springer-invest-in-dutch-startup-blendle-1414408997

Blendle heeft 1 miljoen geregistreerde gebruikers

Digitale leesmap Maggy: op naar het grote publiek

https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2014/04/28/blendle-is-er-vijf-vragen-over-de-concurrent-partner-van-kranten-en-tijdschriften-a1425423
http://www.historicpages.com/nprhist.htm
http://www.localhistories.org/media.html
http://www.marketingfacts.nl/berichten/uitgevers-verhinderen-dat-blendle-een-echt-succes-kan-worden
http://www.mt.nl/604/87419/gamechangers/de-3-grootste-uitdagingen-voor-blendle.html