Blogger Review

Ryan Lawler received a BA in English Language & Literature and Religious Studies in 2000 from New York University. He is now a writer for TechCrunch but has previous experience with New York and San Francisco publications. Ryan focuses on business, technology, and telecom-related subjects. His work for TechCrunch can be found at http://techcrunch.com/author/ryan-lawler/.

TechCrunch describes itself as "a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news" (AOL Inc., 2013). As such, these are the main topics of Ryan's blog posts. However, he seems to monitor and review new and changing apps quite frequently. Such posts include "Socialcam Improves Video Quality On iPhone App To 720p, Adds Video HDR And Redesigned Visual Effects," "Group Photo Sharing Is a Fustercluck, But It Doesn’t Have To Be With Cluster," "With Help From Watchwith, Fox Syncs Social TV Content With Second-Screen Apps Shazam, Viggle, ConnecTV, And NextGuide," and "Mark Cuban And 500 Startups-Backed Switchcam Launches iPhone App And Director Dashboard In Public Beta," just to name a few. In the posts related to apps, as well as in his other posts, Ryan often discusses how the change impacts the industry, the company, and the end user.

After reading several of Ryan's posts, I have gotten a sense of his blogging style. He does a good job at explaining the implications of new technology, especially in language that an average, non-tech-savvy individual can understand. Despite that, he does rely heavily on facts to drive his posts. Less personality is apparent and he expresses fewer personal opinions than many bloggers. In other words, he has a very formal and professional tone, and he remains objective in his posts. His posts are very factual and focused, but I think that they are generally a good length. His direct and focused statements make his posts easy to read and leave the reader feeling more well-educated.

Lecture Post 3: Photoshop, Cloud Computing, & Bits & Bytes

Pace Mate is a program that uses motion-sense technology to gauge a runner's stride and pace. The program then selects songs of a matching tempo and generates a playlist. Pace Mate ensures the songs listened too actually match the tempo of the run, creating a more effective, enjoyable workout.

Cloud computing is extremely relevant to Pace Mate. The product can best be described as a cross between Pandora and Nike+, and Pandora is a perfect example of cloud computing in that all of its songs are streamed to devices like iPods and iPhones from servers. If the device has a Pandora app, it can stream music. There is no need to install software, and the service can be accessed anywhere. Pace Mate would likely utilize the Software as a Service (SaaS) model, only managing the software.

Using cloud computing would greatly increase the quality of the Pace Mate product. Because there is little to no limitation on storage space, Pace Mate could build a large library of songs and be able to cater to various listening preferences. It would also result in lower support and operating costs because there would not be a need to purchase a server. The only concern with this would be the possibility of down time, which would disrupt Pace Mate use for runners.

Additionally, cloud computing could be useful to other aspects of the product. Information regarding a runner's pace, time, and distance from a workout could be stored in the cloud. This would allow the user to monitor their workout history and track any progress they have made and then access the information at any time or place. This information could also be used in determining what types of runners use Pace Mate, contingent on managing privacy issues. Knowing the target market would lead to more effective marketing and a more customized product experience.

Competitive Analysis

Pace Mate is a program that uses motion-sense technology to gauge a runner's stride and pace. The program then selects songs of a matching tempo and generates a playlist. Pace Mate ensures the songs listened too actually match the tempo of the run, creating a more effective, enjoyable workout.

Competitor #1: SynchStep

http://synchstep.com/

SynchStep is probably the closest competitor to Pace Mate. It matches a runners music to his or her pace using a step-detection algorithm. SynchStep pulls songs from the individual's library that match the pace, but not all songs in the library will necessarily work. Pace Mate is slightly different in that it collects songs from a master library of music rather than the runner's own library, preventing a runner from getting sick of their songs. In this way Pace Mate has the benefit of providing more musical options and exposing the listener to new songs. Additionally, Pace Mate has a shoe-chip-type component that makes the application more accurate in terms of measuring BPM and provides the opportunity to develop the product further to include a heart rate monitor and other features. On the other hand, Pace Mate could benefit from SynchStep's step-detection algorithm and could also provide the option the choose songs from a runner's iTunes or the broader library.

Competitor #2: PaceDJ

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pacedj-sync-your-running-pace/id446225183?mt=8

PaceDJ is similar in that it selects songs from those on a user's phone. However, it is slightly different in that it alters the BPM of songs in a playlist to match the runner's target tempo. It also measures a runners strides per minute, and this information can be uploaded to a website to find other songs that match that pace. PaceDJ provides more musical options in this way, and being able to track strides per minute could be a useful training tool. However, once again the runner is limited to the songs they actually find and place on their device.

Competitor #3: JogTunes

http://jogtunes.com/

JogTunes helps runners create playlists based on a chosen tempo. The user determines his or her "favorite pace" based on samples of music. They then browse a "Tunes List" to buy and download songs of that particular BPM. Finally, the user creates a playlist of the songs they have picked. The process is much more manual than the other competitors, and it seems time consuming and even expensive to buy and download enough songs for a quality playlist. Pace Mate is superior in that the measurement of pace and finding of music is automatic, which also makes it more accurate and effective. It is more conducive to active individuals with busy schedules looking to just run out the door and have an appropriate running playlist with one tap of their finger. Taking ideas from JogTunes, Pace Mate could increase its setting options to allow a user to have automatic BPM measurement and song selection or to let the user select a desired BMP manually.

Lecture Post 2: Computer Forensics, Hardware, & the System Unit

Pace Mate is a program that uses motion-sense technology to gauge a runner's stride and pace. The program then selects songs of a matching tempo and generates a playlist. Pace Mate ensures the songs listened too actually match the tempo of the run, creating a more effective, enjoyable workout.

Identity theft is becoming an increasingly prominent issue as the world becomes more digitized. 18 to 29 year olds account for almost 30% of all identity theft complaints, meaning they are a major target. Potential causes of this are their lack of attention to credit, as well as the mass amounts of information consolidated on college campuses. Another potential explanation could be that this age group is the generation that grew up with technology and utilizes it the most. 

Relating to this, the 18 to 29 age group is likely the major market for the Pace Mate product. These individuals are physically active and utilize readily-available technologies, especially those associated with music. With this in mind, Pace Mate managers will need to carefully monitor what information they collect from consumers and where this information ends up. The product does not require much personal information for use, so risks involving identity theft should not be a major concern.

The immense capabilities of hard drives and memory will be very beneficial to Pace Mate. Most consumers are likely to use Pace Mate on an iPhone, or similar mobile device, which utilizes a solid state drive. This means that there are no moving parts and the drives don't get fragmented. Their spin-up time is instantaneous, so accessing data is much faster. This is a useful trait because it will allow various metrics, preferences, and song-play history to be stored without affecting device performance. It will also be more convenient for someone who's on their way out the door for a run because they will be able to access and use Pace Mate quickly and easily.