FirstGroup launches contactless payment across England

FirstGroup (UK) plans to invest £27 million in contactless fare technology for its 5,000-bus fleet. Starting this fall, the new fareboxes will be introduced in cities across England, including Manchester, Leeds, and Southampton. Customers will be able to pay with an ITSO smart card initially; contactless bank cards will be accepted starting next year andRead… Read more »

Congrats To Sony Corp! This is a very good move

Sony Corporation just announced the appointment of Phil Reitinger as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer. For those in the cybersecurity community you probably know of Phil and his many contributions. He is known as an action-oriented leader who understands the complexities of enterprise cybersecurity. We have reported on two of his keyRead… Read more »

Joichi Ito (MIT Media Lab) & Rolf Heuer (CERN) on innovation, dot-connecting and other things

Yesterday I was made aware of a discussion between two brilliant men that was uploaded to YouTube Sunday at the Ars Electronica Festival. The first nine minutes provide a couple of perspectives on innovation, but more that, listen to Joi Ito’s reasons for accepting his new position as Director of the MIT Media Lab.

Picking Up Where We Left Off…

Every year come August I sort of fall off the web for a month or so. It feels great to unplug, and it allows me to update my ideas/positions on things, by letting me distance myself from the ideas I’ve been constantly thinking about for the past 11 months. This year was no exception. MyRead… Read more »

Trends on Tuesday: Location Location Location

28% of cell owners use phones to get directions or recommendations based on their current location—that works out to 23% of all adults according to new research from Pew. The report goes on to talk specifically about smartphone users: Younger adults are more likely to use these [location] services, as are those in households makingRead… Read more »

The Reinvention of Government Talent Management in Crisis

Spending agreements, pay freezes, tax cuts, budget crises, hiring stops, smaller government: all this equals major talent management challenges for federal agencies. Additionally, in the 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama spoke a call to action; the U.S. must be number one again and this must start with every citizen, every business, andRead… Read more »