Life Management Platforms

Kuppinger Cole, an analyst firm headquartered in Germany, has been hip to VRM for a long time. They gave ProjectVRM an award (that’s it there on the right) at the EIC (European Identity Conference) in 2008, and have been following VRM developments closely ever since. A number of VRM developers were there again at this year’s [Read More →]

VRM at IIW

VRM was a hot topic at IIW last week, with at least one VRM or VRM-related breakout per session — and that was on top of the VRM workshop held at Ericsson on Monday, April 30, the day before IIW started. (Thanks to Nitin Shah and the Ericsson folks for making the time and space available, [Read More →]

Your actual wallet vs./+ Google’s and Apple’s

Now comes news that Apple has been granted a patent for the iWallet. Here’s one image among many at that last link: Note the use of the term “rules.” Keep that word in mind. It is a Good Word. Now look at this diagram from Phil Windley‘s Event Channels post: Another term for personal event [Read More →]

A bar(code) too high?

Two pieces in today’s Boston Globe worth checking out. Pun intended. First is “Some markets bagging self-checkout: Cite problems and variables with system,” by Peggy Hernandez. Second is “Scan on a mission: Stop & Shop’s new smartphone app works as a super-fast self-checkout,” by Jane Dornbusch. I’ve played quite a bit with self-check-out, and with [Read More →]

Prototyping a new business model for everything

For IIW next week, Craig Burton and I have been working on a prototype demonstrating EmanciPay, using ListenLog on the Public Radio Player app from PRX.  The description at the EmanciPay link is minimal so far, but the model has a great deal of promise, because what it puts forward is a new business model for [Read More →]

Google’s Wallet and VRM

Yesterday Google opened the curtain on Google Wallet. I think it’s the most important thing Google has launched since the search engine. Here’s why: Reason #1: We’ve always needed an electronic wallet, especially one in our mobile phone. And, although others have tried to give us one, it hasn’t worked out for them, because… Reason #2: We’ve [Read More →]

IIW dev job: ListenLog

Craig Burton has a nice tutorial on developing VRM applications, using ListenLog as both an example and a challenge for next week at IIW. ListenLog is the brainchild of Keith Hopper and the collaborative result of efforts by folks from NPR, PRX and other public radio institutions, as well as the Berkman Center and volunteers [Read More →]

To your owned self be true

After getting this provocative tweet, I checked the source (@NZN), and found Ready to make change? A sample: …my son BELIEVES he OWNS the Internet. His Internet. His Facebook. And in case you think that is not how reality works, I suggest that you also consider that my son also BELIEVES that he OWNS his [Read More →]

State of the VRooM

A lot has been happening in VRooMville lately. (Testimony: over there on the right at the moment we have three different #VRM tweets, in three different languages.) Rather than summarize things, I’ll let writers and developers in the VRM community give us a rundown. In no special order, here goes… Reverse the Paradigm, by Uwe [Read More →]

Awake at the wheels

A year ago, at VRooM Boston 2009, Ben Rubin, founder and CTO of Zeo — the hot new sleep fitness company — visited questions  about who owns and controlled personal data. Was the sleep data you produce as a customer entirely Zeo’s? Was it yours? Both? Neither? What right should anybody have to use it, [Read More →]