Tag: mobile technology

Venmo is finding success among a younger generation

Venmo, a payments firm based in New York, may become the flagship mobile commerce facilitator among millenials. Younger generations are finding physical currency to be bothersome, opting instead to use digital currency and store their financial information online. The massive popularity of mobile technology has begun causing a major shift in the commerce world, and millenials choosing to forsake physical money are at the heart of this shift. Firms like Venmo may stand to benefit from this trend.

Younger generations often cause a shift in technology and society and mobile commerce is coming out on top

This is not the first time that a younger generation of people have caused a major shift in society. Traditional telephone land lines are no longer popular thanks to the growth of smartphones, which received strong support from young consumers. Young people are also abandoning traditional television services, opting instead to get the majority of their entertainment online in some form. Mobile commerce has managed to find a great deal of success in various sectors, and young consumers have helped secure this success.

Venmo processed $314 million during the first quarter of 2014

Venmo has processed some $314 million in mobile payments during the first quarter of this year, a 62% increase in the payments it processed in the prior quarter. The Venmo application has become quite popular with younger consumers, with many of these people using the app to send money to their friends and pay for products online. One thing that sets Venmo apart from its competitors in the mobile commerce field is that there are no fees associated with transferring money through the mobile application.

Some mobile payments firms are finding more success than others

Venmo is not the only mobile payments firm that has found success by engaging younger consumers. There is no singular platform that these consumers favor, however, and they frequently jump from one mobile payments service to the next. This fickle nature has made it difficult for some firms to find lasting success in their competitive market.

Post-secondary students will spend more time receiving their education online.

A recent study discovered that students engaged in post-secondary education spend a third of their time conducting school work online and this had nothing to do with the use of e-textbooks (electronic textbooks), the increase in online activity is due to mobile technology, which enables students to always remain connected beyond their desktop or laptop computers they may have in their homes or dorm.

Mobile tech gives students the power to create their own classrooms.

According to Canada research chair on information technology and communication in education at the University of Montreal, Professor Thierry Karsenti, “Mobile technologies are changing the landscape of the classroom, of post-secondary education.” Karsenti added that “Simply put students are capable of creating their own classroom, a classroom they can access almost from anywhere, at anytime.”

Karsenti explained that students underestimate how much time they spend online learning. For these students, using e-textbooks is normal so they don’t consider it as being online. There are times when they do not even realize that they are on the net.

The way in which students learn and how teachers provide course material is changing because of Mobile technology.

The study, which involved interviewing 845 students and educators, was conducted by H+K Perspectives, Hill + Knowlton’s research arm, and yconic. It found that the majority of online tasks in which students engaged involved collaborating with peers (87%) and communicating with professors and teacher’s assistance (86%).

That said, with the freedom to be online everywhere at anytime, this also means that the risk of engaging in distracting online activities, such as monitoring or posting on social media sites or playing games, becomes an issue. Thus, one of the challenges that professors face is to make certain their students will use mobile technology for the purpose of learning. Karsenti noted that “It is probably one of the greatest challenges teachers are facing.”

The professor also said that for students who are interested in using mobile technology for learning, they will want to invest in a device that is powerful, has a good battery life, and will suit their specific needs. It needs to be powerful and flexible so it doesn’t create learning barriers.