Seizing the Mobile Opportunity, Revisite...

Last August I blogged about the rapid rise of mobile financial transactions. I pointed to the purchase of Square (the mobile payments startup) by Starbucks, and the rise of mobile financial transactions as proof of large companies betting heavily on mobile for the near future. With skyrocketing smartphone penetration and increasing adoption of...

Optimizing for the Device, and the User

There are a lot of devices enabling online media consumption these days. Mobile phones, computers, tablets, smart TVs, Kindles, the list goes on and on. In large part, the online experience is now defined by the device we connect with. We read emails differently on our laptops than we do on an iPhone. Search results are impacted by screen...

Where Hard Work Pays Off

If you are like most organizations, you have a website that you know could and should be doing more. Like generating more visits and more transactions. And the way to begin making it happen? With your content. When it comes to a better site experience, content is king. Whether you are Mercedes, REI, Canyon Ranch, or the corner grocery, you need to...

Seizing the Mobile Opportunity

Last week, Starbucks announced that it would partner with Square, the mobile payments startup, to process all credit and debit transactions in the United States. Starbucks is also infusing the young company with $25 million, and adding Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, to Square’s board. Why does this matter? By itself, this deal isn’t...

Taking Efficiency to the Bank

KSV focuses both on Smart Energy and the financial industry, so I was intrigued when I learned yesterday that PNC Bank, the gigantic financial institution with more than 2,900 branches, announced that it would build its first net-zero bank branch.  Net-zero means that the building is expected to produce more energy than it uses.  According to...

Budget Handcuffs

Remember the last time you went on vacation and blew your vacation budget?   Remember when you built that addition on your house and you went over budget?  Now think back and ask yourself if going over budget was worthwhile.  Would you have vacationed elsewhere?  Built your addition differently?  Chances are you would answer...