The Networking with Technology event hosted by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Pittsburgh Social Exchange last Wednesday on September 19th was a success!
The event was buzzing with technology driven business professionals. Immediately entering the event I was introduced to the "Bump" app. An application completely new to me (not being an iPhone or Droid owner) however not new to some, making me feel somewhat out of the loop with currently technology. I was amazed that the all-important 3.5 by 2 inch business card was being outdone by simply smashing two phones together! But it makes sense! An instant exchange of contact information that is environmentally friendly. I remember getting my first box of 100 business cards and how excited I was. I probably still have about 80 of those 100 cards...
Later in the night I was fortunate enough to meet Eric Boduch, CEO of SMaSh Technologies. SMaSh Technologies is a "next generation mobile platform that allows businesses and advertisers to capitalize on the moment a mobile user’s interest is initiated or peaks and to extend that interest into an interactive and content-rich, transactional experience.
SMaSh brings many of the best facets of Internet information access to the world of the mobile consumer: menu-driven choices, integration with web-based systems, session management and transaction enablement-- all without requiring those users to perform any downloads or make changes to their existing phones."
"Through SMaSh Text Merchandising, businesses can send their customers important product information through mobile texting such as pictures and videos to keep them up-to-date with what's new and hot in their business."
So is this the direction communication and businesses are going? Will the idea of emailing soon be similar to that of the old fashioned letter? It will be interesting to find out!
-- Jillian F. Walker