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Greetings and welcome to our Newsletter! I want to share the many photos I have taken of places, people and things throughout the country and beyond. Each month our headline photo will be something new and different. The caption will present a small explanation. We hope you enjoy. Keep in mind, we don't want to waste your time. Articles will contain generally less than 250 words. Please have a look and give us your feedback. By all means, forward to a friend using the link at the bottom of the Newsletter. Thanks. Questions? Send me an email!

First Look at the Apple Watch

The Apple Watch was introduced last week. It looks to be a ipod that wraps around your wrist. It is significant in a number of ways. First, it has WiFi (802.11 b/g/n) just like Starbucks, your place of business and your home. It has Bluetooth, like your new car or phone. It can read your heart rate as well as your movement with a gyroscope and accelerometer. It has a speaker and a microphone as well.

We can now all be Dick Tracy for real! Unlike Google Glass, this little guy has some real potential because it has real applications.

You will be able to buy things at the store with the Apple Watch because it will be synced with your Apple Pay account. Apple says there are already Apps available from airlines and department stores. Social Media will be a buzz as Twitter and Instagram take hold.

Not all these applications sit on the watch however, like Google Glass, the Apple Watch will sync to your phone and become an extension of your phone. Notifications of texts, email, phone calls, scheduled tasks can come from your watch. It can become a remote control for your phone's camera improving all of your selfie's. You can control Apple TV or control your phones music. You can use the "digital crown" to view photos, read the weather, look at a map, check stocks or review your workout. You can even talk to Siri if you wish. Rumor has it that this new device will tell time as well.

Sorry, you won't see one of these devices on my wrist anytime soon. I like the technology, call me old-fashioned, but I'll continue to reach for my phone.

How Fast Do We Need To Be?

I was reading the blog by my friend and marketing guru Dan Kraus on What's the new thing? and it got me thinking about how technology has changed since I began this company in 1982 and the role we have played in that change. I pondered the question, how fast do we need to be tomorrow?

Back in 1986 when we created our first Freight Accounting system, we were striving to replace ledger books, index cards and Mom & Pop mentalities. When we added zip code based tariffs to these systems to automatically rate shipments based on freight class and weight, it was a real breakthrough. We were the first to implement 3-digit zip code rating systems in New England by creating our own zip to mileage conversion system making it easier, faster and more accurate to provide quotes to customers.

Then came the Internet and on-line information. We stepped up. ,We switched to SQL Server based software, put in our own Web-Server farm and began to flow information from client to customer via the web. We then added the customer to client connection with on-line order entry and rating.

Not fast enough? No, not yet. As the digital infrastructure took hold, we needed to go mobile. We needed to pass information from the office to the customer in the field and back again. Dispatch tickets automatically got sent to mobile devices in the field, delivery signatures were sent back to the office and then pushed out to the Web. All in a matter of seconds.

Are we fast enough yet? I guess not.

If we accept the premise that we are not yet fast enough, what else do we need to do? The answer is clear because we have been doing it for more than a year. What comes before the order is placed? For our clients, it is the sale. That is where our new development is right now. Working on the sale.

Using the web to harvest and evaluate new prospects is a growing trend and requires some pretty fancy integration to make it productive and effective. That is where we come in. We have become specialists in this type of integration. Curious how? Read more next month.

Dan Kraus is President of Leading Results specializing in inbound and referral marketing coaching, strategy development and social media effectiveness based in Charlotte, North Carolina. info@leadingresults.com

Coming Soon? Force of Touch

Continuing with the Apple theme, it looks like Apple intends to introduce pressure sensitivity to its devices. Apple Force Touch technology is something that has been available with Intuos Wacom Tablet Pens, but never for the iPhone or iPad. It will be a very big hit for gaming and drawing applications. Applying greater pressure can be used to make a line darker or wider in a drawing application. In games, pressure can make the difference between a small or large swing, short or long throw, slow or fast pitch. It will change how you use the device.

Currently, you can purchase a pressure sensitive stylus for your iPad. Jot Touch, Adonit and Intuos all make these. But the new technology will allow your fingers that same capability.