Which is the best Blockchain for Mobile Apps?

"Here’s my learnings from developing Smart Contracts and mobile apps on 8 blockchains". Our technical director Nathan Challen goes deep on blockchain Web3 tech and DAOs over the last 18 months. Here’s his story on what he’s been up to and his findings.   I’ve been developing off-and-on with Ethereum for the last 5 years. Yes, Ethereum is the leading Smart Contract development platform but there were many more cheaper, faster, cleaner options out there. It was about time to do a detailed review. As a blockchain developer, I'll summarise my opinion of things important to me. Namely, the underlying blockchains…

Crypto Wallets now bigger than Credit Cards

Mobile wallets are fast becoming the preferred payment method when it comes to online purchases. According to the Mobile Wallets Report 2021, crypto wallets have now overtaken credit cards to become the most widely used payment type globally. The upward trend predicts that by 2025 mobile wallets usage will increase by 74%, reaching 4.8 billion wallets worldwide and bringing billions of consumers into digital commerce for the first time. Fast Acceleration of Crypto Wallets: Global Metrics & Trends In 2019 for the very first time, crypto wallets overtook credit cards as consumers favoured comfort, security and responsiveness over traditional banks accounts…

Mobile Commerce and the Rise of Shopping Apps

It should come as no surprise that the 2020 coronavirus pandemic accelerated the adoption of app technology by 2 to 3 years - changing worldwide consumer behaviour on mobile forever. During the lockdown people spent 4.2 daily hours on mobile,  surpassing live TV for the first time in history. From gaming to shopping, video conferencing or payments, mobile has taken centre stage in our lives — ingraining new mobile app habits and permanently shifting the consumer landscape to a mobile-first world. Today we will focus on shopping apps, and how crucial they have become for engaging customers and growing your…

How Coronavirus is impacting the Mobile Economy – Webinar

How coronavirus is impacting the mobile app economy in the APAC region? A rapid spread of the coronavirus aka COVID-19 in the last couple of weeks has seen an increased in consumers’ demand for mobile apps, as governments around the world introduce radical measures to stop its spread, including social distancing, work from home and lockdown policies. Now we are seeing how these measures are bringing changes to the way consumers interact and consume mobile technology. "Starting from Asia, coronavirus has gripped the world, work and life has been dramatically altered in every country and region. China's city lockdowns began…

Startup events in 2020

If you are lucky to live in one of the most entrepreneurial states in Australia, lead by Queensland Chief Entrepreneur Leanne Kemp, founder & CEO of the blockchain startup Everledger, then you may want to check out some of the awesome startup events coming up in 2020: QODE Pitch Black: As part of the Queensland's Innovation Festival you will have 3 minutes to pitch your idea to some of the most influential people in the investment and entrepreneurship community. When: 24-25 March 2020, Brisbane. Apply here. Gold Coast Startup Weekend: From idea to business in 54 hours. When: 21-23 February 2020,…

Why we don’t usually sign NDAs for startup ideas

Startup ideas often begin from a moment of inspiration: An innovative solution to solve a real world problem. At this early stage, it’s understandable if you want to protect your idea and keep it a secret. However, in order to capitalise your idea and turn it into a product, you’re going to have to share it at some point. And that is when we come into the picture: The app developer or software company: Them: "We will need to sign an NDA before we share" Us: "We don't usually do that at our first meeting" Them: "But I want to…

What are the costs of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Blockchain for Business Apps?

We are now at a technology tipping point where the application of blockchain technology is feasible for businesses and startups. The cost of implementing Blockchain applications has reduced through vendor support in the form of Blockchain as a Service (Baas) and open source libraries.  However, care should be taken before diving into implementing a project using Blockchain, as a number of hidden costs and variables must be carefully examined. What is Blockchain? You can read the comprehensive definition of Blockchain on Wikipedia; however, Dr Mark Staples (Data61) eloquently distills the essence of a Blockchain to simply, "A distributed database and…

Distributed Ledger Technology (Blockchain) Symposium 2017

This week, I had the pleasure of attending the SDLT 2017 at Griffith University on the Gold Coast.  It was an opportunity to 'nerd out' on one of the current most exciting areas of technology since the explosion of the Internet late in the '90s. The program covered technical, legal, regulatory and societal issues in Distributed Ledger Technologies (Blockchain). In this article, I have translated highlights of the Symposium from the computer science to business lingo. Dr Mark Staples of Data61 (CSIRO) opened the day with an interesting reflection on the history of software engineering; from its birth in the late 1960s to highlights on…

Intelligent Customer Service Chatbots – What do they do?

Many people confuse chatbots with the little windows that pop-up, like the one on this page. Contrary to popular belief, intelligent customer service chatbots that are based on artificial intelligence technology (AI) are capable of doing this and so much more. Instead of browsing a website, calling or emailing intelligent chatbots engage in conversations with your customers directly, mirroring the experience of a real person but in a more instant, accurate and reliable way. Benefits of integrating AI into Customer Service A conversational chatbot understands your customers, integrates with your existing database and handles your most common customer service requests. As explained in…

Myriad in Brisbane – Connecting the dot connectors

Last week I attended Myriad, a three day technology and innovation festival in Brisbane. According to their site, some of the highlights of this event were: * 50+ local and international speakers * Next generation technology & Interactive experiences * Workshops & Fireside chats * Global Investment and insights * Powerful and inspiring stories * Connections * Investor matchmaking * Sweet, sweet Queensland sunshine. It sounds great, right? However, personally the biggest highlight was the alluring atmosphere where community members, local & international speakers and investors gathered together to discuss inspiration, innovation and impact through a common theme: the use of…