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From mobile technology to outsourcing models, from New York to Silicon Valley, innovation abounds. Entrepreneur’s annual list of 100 brilliant ideas covers 10 fast-growing industries and reveals 10 mold-breaking companies in each sector.

The geolocation-based app Foursquare, which made a splash at South by Southwest in 2009, topped the mobile tech list after lassoing more than a million users. Other notable mobile tech companies that made the cut for Entrepreneur’s list include:

• BlockChalk: An app that turns mobile phones into digital news bulletins.
• Square: Turns mobile phones into credit and debit card readers.
• SwebApps: Lets business owners develop iPhone apps within minutes and track and update them.
  

See more top concepts in categories including green, home improvement, health and fitness, value and more in the full article here.

In my last post I talked about how Google has an insane amount of information on your personal web browsing trends.  Google is not the only one.  The majority of websites and search engines are tracking your every move while you are surfing their pages.  They want to know what you are doing, where you are going, and what you like to see.  It’s creepy.

And what happens to all of this data? 

Most companies just use the data to track their ROI (return on investment) so they can prove what they are doing is working.  This actually helps to improve user experience as well as improve the sites ability to convert users, which can mean making a sale or getting you to sign up for something. 

Search engines are also looking to target specific ads to a user based on data they receive.  When I look at an email from my bank in Gmail I get ads for mortgage refinancing and payday loans.  If I search for ‘books’ on Bing or Google I get sponsored links online book stores. 

Let’s try and equate this to something in the real world. 

Say you go into Target, just browsing for some stuff.  As you are walking through the store there is someone following you with a clipboard, noting everything you do.  Everything you look at, how long you are looking, and what you put in your cart.  As you are shopping they give you recommendations based on your behavior. “Hey I noticed you like these shoes.  You might also like this product.”

Really?

This would be annoying to most people and an invasion of personal space, but online it is considered a convenience.  I wonder what the mentality is.  Are people so accepting, or are they just ignorant of what is actually happening as they shop online?  No one would want someone following them around the store tracking everything they do. That would be weird. 

But online that is exactly what is happening.  Why is it ok there?  Is it because you can’t see a person physically following you?   It’s not like you have a clear option to turn this tracking off either.   I looked into Amazons’ conditions of use and found nothing actually saying that they are tracking data as you browse. 

The closest real world comparison to online tracking would be your QFC Advantage card or other grocery club card.  But it has nowhere near the detail that online tracking can provide.  These cards are given freely to you for store discounts. Every time you use them your complete transaction is recorded.  Now the company may be able to target you with specific coupons, or stock up on certain items based on shopping behavior.  This action is treated similarly to online shopping though.  If you don’t see someone/something actually recording your behavior, then you don’t seem to care. 

My point is that next time you are browsing online be conscious of what you are doing and try to understand that the big bot in the cloud is watching everything you do.

P.S. This is only such a small tip of how you are being tracked on the internet.  I haven’t even discussed Facebook and their new social graph model, and how it changes everything.  Coming soon…

From a cyborg anthropologist to the pioneer in peer-to-peer online microlending, the leading women in technology have been rounded up by Fast Company for their Most Influential Women in Technology 2010 list. The list includes top female executives, activists, media gurus, entrepreneurs, evangelists, gamers and ‘brainiacs.’

It’s a fascinating (and inspiring) mix of tech titans. . . have a look at the full lists and read through the profiles here.

Missing out on all the fun at Mix10 in Vegas? The Seattle Times published this rundown of the first day’s events. Technology reporter Sharon Chan shares info from the conference, including the latest on Windows mobile development, Silverlight, mobile apps and new devices.

Let’s take a quick (completely unscientific) poll here.

How many of you carry a sketchbook around with you?

Now, how many of you have traded in your old Moleskine or scrap paper for a digital sketching tool (or you’re holding your breath until there’s a tried and true stylus for the iPad)?

Whatever mode or mechanism you choose, what’s the role of sketching as part of the creative process, and how is technology supporting—or maybe even changing—that process?

Most designers and visual artists rely on sketching for a number of reasons. In her post Prisoners of Logic on Design Observer, Jessica Helfand talks about sketching as “a clearinghouse of subconscious thought,” a way to (ideally) move past logic and experiment with freedom of form. On another note, visual and web designers may use live sketching in meetings to make the discovery process more engaging, dynamic and collaborative. Sketching is also an integral step in designing user interfaces and experiences (and we’ve talked before about the pros and cons of computer-based sketchy wireframes).

And, of course, since designers of all types are pre-programmed to show, not tell, sketching is simply part of the thought process.

With that said, we’re interested in knowing what you find more useful—old school pen and paper (like Jason Robb on UX Booth supports in this blog post) or digital tools like Cintiq or Brushes on the iPhone? (And while you’re contemplating that question, check out this time-elapsed video showing how Jorge Colombo drew The New Yorker’s June 2009 cover by virtually finger painting using Brushes. . . it’s pretty sweet.)

So the question remains: does the convenience of a multitasking tool like a phone, digital display or software win out? Or do you relish the tangible nature of hand grasping pen? Whichever you prefer, the only non-argument seems to be that sketching remains a prevalent and important part of design in all forms, whether as a problem-solving approach or simply a means of finding inspiration—and maybe even sheer enjoyment. 

Image: Jorge Colombo’s June 2009 cover for The New Yorker was created using Brushes on the iPhone.

Designers and developers will be falling in love all over again (with the web, that is) at Mix10. The year’s biggest designer/developer love fest is right around the corner—March 15th to 17th in Las Vegas—and the action-packed lineup is one you won’t want to miss.

To put it in their own words, Mix is all about “exploring the art and science of creating great user experiences” while also investigating the interplay between design and technology. Seeing as we at Filter are rather smitten with the convergence of design and technology ourselves, we couldn’t have said it better.

Over 3 days, Mix10 will offer a glimpse into the next generation of ecommerce, technology, mobile, design and more. (Can you feel the butterflies already?!)

Curious about who else will be there? Mix draws a sharp crowd of designers, developers, strategists, information architects, visual designers, UX professionals and digital marketers (plus other web-savvy professionals). Whether you’re a designer, developer or a hybrid devigner, you’ll no doubt feel the love at Mix10.

(Planning to attend? Share your comments, experiences or thoughts about Mix here on our blog!)
  

Springwise, the spotters of emerging global ideas and trends, recently reported on how the internet is reaching people in remote areas while also shifting how the internet is used (hint: no computer, no screen).

Question Box, which launched in Uganda, brings offline communities online with a solar-powered intercom box. Users are connected to an operator sitting in front of a computer who searches the web to answer the user’s question and relays information back.

The Question Box connects communities without electricity; plus, as Springwise notes, it’s a powerful way to transcend literacy barriers.

I can’t help but think about how else the usability paradigm can be shifted to make technology more accessible to more people. See any other good ideas out there? 

As innovation in technology, design and media accelerates rapidly, it’s increasingly tough to make your message stand apart from the crowd. An antidote to mundane communications, the website Brilliant Useful Things shows creative examples of engaging ways to present users, consumers or the general population with content.

The examples range from pragmatic (a 3D New York subway map on the iPhone) to indulgent (using social media to alert consumers to freshly baked cookies); philanthropic (Good Deed Cards) to purely artistic (crosswalk artwork and Lullaby Moon).

While we may sometimes feel inundated by the information constantly hurled at us, Brilliant Useful Things demonstrates that advertising, social media, design and technology are still ripe with possibility when it comes to creative (and relevant) communications.

A few days ago I wrote a post on The Social Web and Foreverism. In that post, I discussed how one of the new paradigms emerging as a result of technology is the trend towards ever-evolving content (think social media, omnipresent interaction, and constant dialogue).

While the technology that drives these behavioral and social changes is apparent, a question remains: What’s the driving force behind the web and technology movements themselves? And how is it all related?

I’m sure there’s a whole host of answers. And probably a host of blog posts commenting on each of them. But the factor I’d like to shed some light on is people.

Baba Shetty, Chief Media Officer at Hill Holliday in Boston, puts it much more eloquently when he says: “Fact is, the best interactive experiences always had less to do with the technology and more to do with what makes us human.”

In a column titled Humans vs. the Hype in Communication Arts, Shetty poignantly observes how easy it is to be swept up in “the hype” surrounding the latest technology (and the accompanying jargon and buzzwords) without thinking about the human elements that ultimately make that technology relevant or obsolete, enduring or fleeting.

Shetty relays a story about a panel discussion years ago where Benjamin Palmer from The Barbarian Group commented “that the animating spirit of the Internet is generosity.” Shetty explains his reaction to Palmer’s genuine comment, saying, “This simple human thought stood in extreme contrast to the overheated hype-speak by the other participants . . . And it predicted in broad strokes the cultural development of the social Web better than any technology-based analysis could have.”

So to get to Shetty’s point, whether you’re designing user interfaces or driving marketing campaigns (or in my instance, writing blog postings), a more powerful product will ensue when empathy, compassion, and a touch of humanity are infused in place of trends and catch phrases.

Again, Shetty puts it far more eloquently: “For lots of us, the fashions of technology will always have a certain allure. And that’s natural. There’s a nice shorthand that says if a lot of people are jumping on the train then there must be something there. But left unchecked by our better instincts as students of human behavior, technology won’t help us as much as we hope.”

BRINC (Bel-Red Incubator) and Seattle’s Dorkbot are joining forces to explore ways to create and improve local resources for interdisciplinary artists, designers, technologists and other hybrid thinkers working at the convergence of art, technology, and community.
 
If you live in the Pacific Northwest and you use technology as a creative medium in your projects, BRINC would appreciate your response on a brief and anonymous survey. Your input and time is appreciated!

The survey is available at: http://arttechnorthwest.questionpro.com/