Can CitizenMade Satisfy our Hunger for Uniqueness?

It goes without saying that we all strive to be unique in our entity, tastes and preferences, even though we may show our conformist views openly. In this respect, the goods we purchase can also be taken as the reflection of our unique personality. Much because of this, customized products are recognized to be one of the most profitable niches on the retail market, including e-commerce field as well.

Nonetheless, online purchases of customized goods turn out to be a bit more complicated matter, much because users’ orders require the definition of numerous essential parameters beforehand. At least, this is how the things used to be like in the past until the brand-new service Citizen Made claimed to offer the most convenient solution, aimed at simplifying online purchases of customized goods.

What Citizen Made provides retailers with is the special software, which allows opting for certain characteristic features of goods, so that those will fit users’ tastes to the fullest.

Possible Underwater Stones

The solution, offered by Citizen Made, is, undoubtedly, beneficial for the majority of small and mid-sized e-commerce companies, which is, by the way, free for everyone’s usage. Supposedly, it should become a total must-have for online retailers, right? Now wait a minute…

Despite the fact, that the authors of Citizen Made state their service is free, they also mention that you are to pay them 2% of your earnings from every purchase made. Of course, it doesn’t look like a lot of money, yet if the goods you’re selling are pretty much expensive, you’ll have to count the actual sum you’ll have to give away.

Moreover, in spite of Citizen Made being rather helpful in making online purchases effortless, the first and the foremost thing is attracting more clients and users, who care more about their money security, than the convenience of e-commerce site UI.

In this respect, if you wish to maximize your profits, you should pay attention to placing one of the trustmarks to the site, like the one, provided by ITM Secure, for instance, and then try Citizen Made…or not. That is your own choice, actually.

Stay cool)

Andy

The Europas 2011 - European Technology Startups Awards

It’s true that the ecomomic crises happen majorly on a cyclic basis, and it’s almost impossible to prevent another cycle.

Yet, the the recent economical crisis which has touched upon the whole world has proven the fact that virtually nothing can prevent the technological progress and the invention of numerous useful products or the lauch of ingenious, still already highly-profitable start-ups.

Here, it hasn’t been the surprise for me to encounter the exciting news about the upcoming “European Tech Awards (The Europas 2011)” taking place on November, 17, 2011 in London, aimed at defining the best technology startups in 2011, although the experts are now predicting the 2nd wave of economic crisis that will affect the EU countries most of all.

Despite of the fact that The European Technology Startups Awards is rather young (started in 2009), it has good chances to become one of the hottest awards in European software industry.

The thing is that unlike slower European tech startups development, the new business in the US have already become countless and I have written about many of them already, the tendencies show that the major part of them is connected either to a fun, yet partially useless apps, or the marketing and social media marketing services (let’s recall Visual.ly, Epom or Fliptop, for instance).

There’s, of course, other niches, mostly related to internet security and created to prevent the customers’ loss of money (I have tested both the oldies like McAfee and have also learnt about ITM Secure, if to give the names).

How about the nominees in The Europas 2011? I promise to present you some of my favorites tomorrow)


Stay tuned)
Andy

The Battle - Next Round: Google Wallet vs. New Facebook Buttons

As the way to continue my previous post about the war on the current software market, I’ve got some news more about the upcoming and already happening miraclous new features from Google and Facebook (Twitter has to fasten its innovations, perhaps, in this case))

So, what are the impressive functions?

1. K, let’s start with Facebook this time. The company has lately officially declared the soon introduction of “Listened”, “Watched” and “Read” Facebook buttons except for the old-known “Like”. Do you think it’d be fun? Well, I guess it seems so. At the same time, if to look at the update from more general perspective, it doesn’t look like something really useful.

Just think about it: what have we had by now? If you press “Like” under the link with a magazine article, what could you possibly do with the article, except for reading it? Can it be something like, “I’ve listened to the article”?)))) Imaginable, but not probable. In this respect, the whole sense of inserting the specific buttons for watching, reading or listening in Facebook really lose the whole sense in them. Thank you, FB, or better to say, Captian Obvious)))

Moreover, there’s the hell of a tendency to make the social networks too multifunctional. It’s not that more possibilities available for users are a bad thing, but me personally has already stopped paying attention to pop-up feature tour offers and the number of features I’m now using is pretty limited. May be, if I didn’t have my job, my girlfriend, my friends, and my hobbys, I’d have enough time for using all of them.

2. Now, about Google. Have you heard the incredible news? Google has officially presented its Google Wallet app working on the basis of HFC.

What does Google Wallet have to do with Near Field Communication technology? The app has been created to enable the user's paying with cell phone without taking the actual credit card out of the wallet. Simple? Well, of course, it is simple. Useful? Well, certainly it is. Yet, can you use the app in every Android phone? No! Unfortunately, Google Wallet only works with Sprint Nexus S in this release. Can you use every credit card? No, at least for now you can enjoy google payment app only if you’re a CitiMasterCard owner. Oh, or in case you’ve got Google pre-paid card.

Is it safe? I dunno. I mean, of course, it seems safe, but I’m always pretty cautious about my credit card info, really. It took me like the whole half of the year to get accustomed to online purchases, but only if they aren’t very expensive (like, $10 for a monthly 4shared Premium, or $20 a new exclusively-designed T-shirt from eBay), and from the trustworthy sites only. Here, thanks god that we have the internet-security warriors, like ITM Secure providing you with the listings of reliable sites and online-shops)).


Back to the battle, with these updates from Facebook and Google, who do you think have won this round? As for me, we need to wait for the next one to decide.

Stay cool)
Andy