Mobile Technology Democratizes Commerce

Drew Griffin – Mojo Social Media Marketing

Mobile cell phone usage is growing exponentially and the ways in which we use them in our day to day lives is expanding too. If you stop to consider it, when we leave our homes, we almost surely take three things along with us. Those three things are our car/house keys, our wallets/purse and our MOBILE PHONE!

It's a certainty that I have my iPhone with me all of the time with the exception of the shower. I use it for a variety of functionalities. In my double life as a business owner and a Wound Care Certified Nurse, I have many responsibilities. As a Social Media and Mobile Marketing business owner, I use my phone to remain hyper connected to the Social Universe via Twitter, email, Facebook, and You Tube .  I also create content for my blog by taking and posting photographs which are posted on sites like Facebook and Flickr. I capture and create video to be posted on YouTube and shared again on Facebook as well as several blogs. As a Wound Care Certified Nurse, I use it to dictate, document and as an informational resource. Often I will need medical information and consult applications such as Epocrates or the Wound Care Education Institute's WoundCentral App as a vital resource. Oh, and let's not forget that I actually use it to make phone calls.  The capabilities of our mobile phones go beyond just being able to make a call to our wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, children, boss or co-workers.

The Mobile Phone is becoming so sophisticated that many of them are replacing the laptops, cameras and video cameras.  They are also replacing the time we spend working in the office. Many of us use our iPhones, Androids, or Blackberries to snap photos, capture video, email, text and interact on Social Networks. We are connecting with and developing relationships with acquaintances, friends, business associates and customers. I have developed friends that span the globe through my interactions on YouTube and Viddler. I've done this by commenting and sharing blog posts, as well as  capturing moments and business information while at networking events, MeetUps and conferences. One way I try to provide value is through video interviews while on location. I simply record a brief interview, capture the interviewee's contact information, publish the content and distribute it across social networks and video sharing sites.

Mobile is the GoTo Source for Info

For many of us, Mobile is becoming our go to source for news, as it is delivered right to us almost as it happens! Just the other night, I remarked to my wife as I heard the talking heads on the news regurgitate news I had read on a tweet or watched on a video almost 12 hours earlier on Twitter,YouTube, or one of the many RSS Feeds I follow. Breaking stories on the News aren't so ‘Breaking' anymore.

The use of QR Codes to access information takes my interaction to another level of On Demand. Purchasing Apps or using my phone to make a Mobile Purchase is defining how my commercial activities have been augmented and in some cases improved. Locating a destination via GPS right on my phone has saved me time and stress so I can arrive on time and without getting lost. Furthermore, as a business I can now make transactions through my iPhone with Square and not worry abut a credit card machine or company.

Don't have cash? We accept credit!

With the Square device, I can transform my iPhone or iPad into a Mobile Payment Processor and have the ability to take and make credit and debit payments. For a small or Mobile Business, the ability to make transactions via credit card can make or break a business. It makes the ability engage in commerce really accessible and convenient. In fact, Mobile Devices Democratizes commerce. It allows almost anyone that has a Mobile Phone to make or receive payments for goods and services quickly and portably. Have something to sell? Pull out you iPhone or Android, pop in the Square Dongle and swipe your customer's credit card. Don't have cash? We accept credit! This brings Yard Sales to a whole new level!