LukeRivera.com

Even if you don’t follow the mobile industry you’ve probably heard of mGive. The company was behind the Haiti aid campaign that has raised over $40 million.  Interest in mobile giving has since skyrocketed.

So what can we learn from this story?  I see several takeaways but the big one I see is how your choice of channel can make all the difference.

Here is an excerpt from the article BNet recently ran:

On Jan. 13 at 4:30 a.m., James Eberhard was awakened by a phone call from the U.S. State Department. A huge earthquake had hit Haiti and the government wanted Eberhard to put together a donation program as fast as possible.

Two hours later, his 25-person mobile software company, mGive, launched a national campaign that let people donate $10 to a number of charities via cell phone.

Read more here:
How We Raised $40 Million for Haiti via Text Messages
mGive

IBM was recently awarded a $17.4 million contract to upgrade the GSA’s  Integrated Acquisition Environment.   The part of the article that caught my eye was the statement that IBM will integrate 9 applications into 1 system based on open-source software.  I’m curious what open-source software/platform is being used as that basis.   Here’s an excerpt from the article:

The project will include the integration of nine key GSA applications into a single system—based on open-source software—designed to simplify the entire acquisition and procurement process. This integration will allow the GSA to provide a one-stop online resource where federal agencies and suppliers can access information ranging from approved products and services and existing GSA contracts to contractor registrations and certifications, project reports, and federal business opportunities.

Read the full article here:
IBM Awarded $74.4M Contract to Upgrade Federal Procurement System – eWeek

The National Security Agency is set to help help Google analyze attacks against its systems that possibly came from China. There are already rumblings about privacy and how much the NSA will have access to but in terms of cybersecurity the partnership should be a win-win. Google with more secure systems and the NSA with new info on how hackers operate doesn’t seem like a bad thing.

Read more here:
Google to enlist NSA to fight off cyberattacks
Google charge highlights China-based hacking

Here’s a quick look at a current technology (JavaScript) and new version of a current one (HTML 5). Both are are being touted as a possible replacement to Flash. I’m not personally convinced it will happen but its good to see JavaScript and HTML becoming more powerful web development tools.

Infoworld recently ran an article about the creator of JavaScript, Brendan Eich. In the article Ben Eich tells InfoWorld that “The browser vendors are making super-fast implementations of it, so JavaScript’s gotten very, very fast, and this is helping developers use it more…”. Later it quotes Eich as saying “Activities now done in Flash would be done in the browser via JavaScript”.

In another article, InfoWorld discusses the role HTML 5 will play in web development, “The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) HTML 5 proposal is geared toward Web applications, something not adequately addressed in previous incarnations of HTML, the W3C acknowledges. In other words, HTML 5 tackles the gap that Flash, Silverlight, and JavaFX are trying to fill.”

Read more here:
Eich: JavaScript getting faster, could displace Flash – InfoWorld
HTML 5: Could it kill Flash and Silverlight? – InfoWorld
HTML 5 Overview and Resources Showcase – Webitect
Yes, You Can Use HTML 5 Today! – Sitepoint