Flybuys mass mail out

The Coles Myer + other partners loyalty program 'flybuys' was recently re-birthed somehow issuing brand new cards and collecting updated information. According to the informational video on the Flybuys website and other promo videos flybuys have been sent out to 16 million houses.

I am a member of this system simply because I can earn some gift cards every so often for doing my regular shopping.

Anyhow I received my flybuys activation package that included the envelope, an activation form, a little presentation sleeve that housed the new plastic cards, a guide booklet and a piece of associated advertising.

I decided to figured out how many resources were involved in this mass scale send out. The total amount of paper weighed 47 grams - Multiply this by 16 million and that totals 752,000Kg or 752 ton. That is a lot of paper/card.

Not to mention the computer time and printing works with their demand on electricity and inks/dyes. Then there was distribution via the postal service and the fuel they use. Finally the time it took of someone's life to deliver the mail.

Worth it? How should the delivery be different?

I'm not convinced this roll-out was such a good idea...aren't we headed in in the direction of using our 'smart' phones/devices to minimize the amount of cards people handle?

Digital Swiss Army Knives

I've been doing a lot of de-cluttering of my home recently...call it a Feng shui attack - a lot of 'crap' is gone, a lot is lined up ready to ship out. If the last box remaining isn't the last of it, it's very close to it.

I've done the same to my car which was a mess inside and out (now it's looking good) and my work space at work.

Something about work is I finally feel as though I am fully equipped to take on any challenge that comes in for me. I feel my major clean up (after 5 years of hard work, living and travelling) gave me a condensed look at what I have achieved. Usually I don't stop to take time and appreciate what I have done.

As most regulars might have already picked up on :P is that I have a background in 'Information Technology' and I still have a strong interest in developments in most, if not all, aspects of what is known as simply 'technology'.

I've been at my current place of work for over 7 years now - To young people that sounds like a lot, to others...they'd say that time passes so fast 7 years would have went by quick.

Anyhow in 7 "short" years (I still consider myself somewhat 'young') the reduction in size for pieces of technology and their increased abilities is really quite fascinating...not to mention the prices.

When I first started I had a 'tower' PC with a 15 or 17 inch CRT monitor, then during computer upgrades it became a 'desktop' computer with a 17 inch flat screen display that outperformed its predecessor AND took up less space...now I have a i5 Laptop which outperforms its predecessor and takes up even less space.

Now I think I could almost, perhaps get away with working with a current, or upcoming generation 'smart' phone running Android. Why not get a tablet? I imagine some of you are thinking. My answer to this is the issue is size, I want something that takes up as little of possible but is still usable.

If I were provided with one it would replace the following tools of my trade both out in the field and in the office.

- Digital Camera (with ability to capture location)
- Audio/Video recording
- Clock/Watch//Stopwatch/Timer
- Clip board and pen/pencil
- In car navigator
- Phone Directory
- Calendar
- Communications (Phone, SMS/Pager, Email, GPS)

And no doubt potentially a lot more It sounds like I'm preparing my speech to management doesn't it? :P All I need now is USB input, better software support...and an everlasting battery!

The sad truth about Australian Retail

Recently I've read speculative reports that 2012 will see mass lay off's in the Australian retail sector. The thought of this coming to fruition unsettles me. Why? Because I too believe that there is a good chance that this scenario may be experienced.

A local trade 'n' sell page on Facebook saw one individual listing for sale a copy of a particular SONY PS3 game for $75 (firm lulz) that they had only played once but didn't like, adding that they had only recently paid $109 for it.

See the thing is I can buy this on-line at a vendor I know of for $57.99...it's overseas of course but it does offer free shipping and secure payment methods. To those wondering if $109 for a game is a ridiculous claim...sadly, it might not be as Australian gamers suffer having to pay premium prices for pretty much everything gaming such as software and hardware (those following from the earlier days might remember THIS older post about Australian video discrimination when it comes to release dates and prices http://viewknowdo.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-it-sucks-to-be-aussie-gamer.html

Apple were (/are still??) doing something similar; read about that HERE 

If these offers are recognised by the surging numbers of people activating Android and iOS devices (especially over Christmas + Boxing Day Holiday's) and Facebook being a massive scale Bulletin Board System (BBS) chances are word will get out and become 'viral' as they say these days...which could be catastrophic to 'traditional' stores.

What's worse for retailers is so-called 'Smart Phones' capability to act as a sophisticated bar code reading  device that can potentially return price results from a number of stores advertising their price and categorizing them by parameters such as how has the cheapest price.

I guess the real winner where all this takes off, will be the consumer. The effects of everyone having everything they could ever want and need plus more? That's a little harder to predict this early :P 

Thanks for reading, if you know anyone that might enjoy this site please let them know about the place. 

Seeing as how my visitors like pictures here is one of Gil from The Simpson's with a timeless quote that may unfortunately be echoed by some retailers here in Australia. I do not own this image it is merely a URL so if you are the owner and have objections please speak with me...Using the work in good faith