Blog

<div class="et_pb_row et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row_1-4_3-4"><div class="et_pb_column et_pb_column_3_4 et_pb_column_1  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et-last-child"><div class="et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_3  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light"><div class="et_pb_text_inner"><p>The ability of advertisers to have access to consumers’ online activity and behavior has been one of the most foundational drivers of the internet economy over the past two decades. It’s not a stretch to posit that online behemoths like Google, Facebook and Twitter wouldn’t be the juggernauts they are today without their ability to sell that data to advertisers. But that may all be about to change.</p><p><strong>iOS14 and IDFA</strong></p><p>The dominoes started to fall in June 2020 when Apple announced that the upcoming iOS 14 release would require every app developer to first ask for and obtain permission to track users’ activity across apps and websites. The new restrictions apply to Apple’s IDFA – an acronym for “Identifier for Advertisers,” which is an anonymous and unique identifier assigned to every iOS device and one of the primary mechanisms used to target mobile ads.</p><p><br></p><p>Until now, app developers, aggregators and websites could access users’ activity and behavior not just for their own apps or sites, but for every other app and website a user visits too. That meant that (unbeknownst to most consumers) your ridesharing app knows not just where your last pick-up was, but also what you ordered for dinner last night, what movie you watched afterward, and what banking app you used to pay for it all.</p><p><br></p><p>While it has always been a requirement for app developers to disclose cross-app and site tracking in their Terms of Service, those Terms usually go unread and almost never affect consumer behavior. Just about every mobile or online ad-based business model has been built on this murkiness, but the IDFA changes have the potential to throw a huge monkey wrench into that growth engine. Both developers and advertisers must now confront new rules of engagement with their audiences: If you want a user’s data, you have to get permission first.</p><p><br></p><p>Not surprisingly, the blowback was sudden and severe enough to cause Apple to delay the iOS 14 release. Opponents argued that app developers would be forced to introduce subscription fees and in-app purchases to offset the loss of advertising revenue. In other words, if you want to build a business model on iOS, you’ll have to convince consumers it’s worth paying for rather than surreptitiously monetizing their behavior. It bears noting that Apple receives a percentage of all subscription fees and in-app purchases associated with any app in its app store.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Chrome Crumbling The Cookies</strong></p><p><br></p><p>While Google has not yet announced similar intentions to limit user tracking for apps on its Android mobile operating system, it did announce in March 2021 that its Chrome browser will soon stop supporting third-party cookies. What started in the mid-1990s as a mechanism to make online shopping more reliable has since become one of the primary tools for advertisers to target ads based on consumers’ behavior online. The result could be equally seismic since Chrome controls almost 65% of&nbsp;<a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share">global browser market share</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>But why the privacy crackdown in its browser, but not with its mobile OS? It might have to do with the fact that in addition to dominating the browser game, Google wields dominant market share positions in search, online video streaming and consumer email. So when advertisers can no longer use the ecosystem of cookie-enabled ad networks to reach their audiences, where might those dollars flow instead?</p><p><br></p><p><strong>A Brave New (Old) World</strong></p><p><br></p><p>While these changes are unambiguously positive from a privacy perspective because they each return control over online data back to its rightful owner — you and me — they will also no doubt bring the importance of building authentic customer relationships back into focus.</p><p><br></p><p>I’m old enough to remember when it meant something for a business owner or its employees to get to know you as a customer — to know what you liked, what you didn’t and why you were a repeat customer. In contrast to voyeuristic monetization strategies based on monitoring huge swaths of online user data, businesses prospered in large part because they built, nurtured and valued each of their customer relationships, and understood that those relationships were a critical pillar of their success.</p><p><br></p><p>Many consumers would say that having access to anything you want in the palm of your hand at any time of the day for prices that are historically lower than ever delivered to your front door in an hour is a worthy trade-off for that loss. But the byproduct of that trade-off is an ecosystem that is a breeding ground for misuse, fraud and massive privacy risk. The changes to IDFA and cookie policies are ostensibly designed to mitigate that risk but at the same time will force many online and mobile businesses to reassess their fundamental business models.</p><p><br></p><p>What if, instead of using technology to watch what customers do online and bombard them with offers for what the advertiser wants to sell, businesses could instead use technology to rebuild the understanding of each customer relationship and offer exactly what each customer wants or needs? User data isn’t going anywhere, but solutions now exist that enable businesses to ethically and responsibly use that data in the context of an opt-in, secure and private exchange that ultimately delivers value to every customer.</p><p><br></p><p>For example, if a restaurant knows your favorite dinner based on your purchase history, wouldn’t you value an offer to get that item half off on your next visit? Or, if you share your location data with your favorite spa app, wouldn’t it be great to get an offer for a special massage upgrade after getting off a five-hour flight?</p><p><br></p><p>The examples of how a business can deliver relevant and highly personalized value to each simply by using our data in a responsible and private way are innumerable. Furthermore, the technology exists today to do just that — just how it was in the “good ol’ days,” but digitally. Call me crazy, but isn’t that what we all want as consumers?</p><p><br></p><p><em>This content was also posted as an article on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/05/19/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/?sh=4aef3b8f4fa6" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2021/05/19/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/?sh=4aef3b8f4fa6">Forbes.com</a> on 5/17/21 and on the <a data-mce-href="https://lighthousepe.ai/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/" href="https://lighthousepe.ai/how-new-privacy-restrictions-can-help-brands-rethink-customer-engagement/">LighthousePE Blog</a> on 6/30/21</em></p></div></div></div></div><div class="et_pb_row et_pb_row_1"><div class="et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et_pb_column_2  et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et-last-child"><div class="et_pb_module et_pb_text et_pb_text_4 freddie_blog_post_mother_love_blog_title  et_pb_text_align_left et_pb_bg_layout_light"><div class="et_pb_text_inner"><br></div></div></div></div>

How New Privacy Restrictions Can Help Brands Rethink Customer Engagement

<div id="player" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy"><div id="player-container-outer" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy"><div id="player-container-inner" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy"><div id="player-container" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" role="complementary"><div id="container" class="style-scope ytd-player"><div id="movie_player" class="html5-video-player ytp-transparent ytp-exp-bottom-control-flexbox ytp-exp-ppp-update ad-created ad-showing ad-interrupting ytp-fit-cover-video ytp-fine-scrubbing-exp ytp-hide-info-bar ytp-large-width-mode playing-mode" data-version="/s/player/6ed0d907/player_ias.vflset/en_US/base.js" aria-label="YouTube Video Player" data-mce-tabindex="-1"><div class="ytp-chrome-bottom ytp-volume-slider-active" data-layer="9"><div class="ytp-chrome-controls"><div class="ytp-left-controls"><div id="player" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy"><div id="player-container-outer" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy"><div id="player-container-inner" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy"><div id="player-container" class="style-scope ytd-watch-flexy" role="complementary"><div id="container" class="style-scope ytd-player"><div id="movie_player" class="html5-video-player ytp-transparent ytp-exp-bottom-control-flexbox ytp-exp-ppp-update ad-created ad-showing ad-interrupting ytp-fit-cover-video ytp-fine-scrubbing-exp ytp-hide-info-bar ytp-large-width-mode playing-mode" data-version="/s/player/6ed0d907/player_ias.vflset/en_US/base.js" aria-label="YouTube Video Player" data-mce-tabindex="-1"><div class="ytp-chrome-bottom ytp-volume-slider-active" data-layer="9"><div class="ytp-chrome-controls"><div class="ytp-left-controls"><div class="ytp-time-display notranslate"><span style="font-family: var(--head-fontFamily); font-size: 32px; font-weight: var(--head-fontWeight);" data-mce-style="font-family: var(--head-fontFamily); font-size: 32px; font-weight: var(--head-fontWeight);">Andrew Steele says a lot of digital marketing relies on trust. And he knows how to build it.</span><br></div><div class="ytp-time-display notranslate"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p>Andrew sat down with Dustin Trout from <a data-mce-href="https://eic.agency" href="https://eic.agency">EIC Agency</a> on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPAFWEQJeLl1ODMqrXFJ53Q" data-mce-href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPAFWEQJeLl1ODMqrXFJ53Q">Rise Grind Repeat</a> podcast to talk about the importance of trust in digital marketing.</p><p>LighthousePE is a pretty specialized brand, providing proximity marketing primarily for the travel, casino gaming and hospitality industries. But Lighthouse CEO Andrew Steele has a lot to teach anyone who deals with customers in the digital realm. He has tips for easing customers’ minds when it comes to privacy — “We are very strict that the data we collect is only to enable LighthousePE to work for them.” — and on relationship-building through a crisis like COVID-19. “Just the ability to be able to maintain mindshare and touchpoints has value,” Andrew says. “It’s engagement that makes consumers feel you understand them.” </p><p>Rise Grind Repeat Podcast powered by EIC Agency<br>Hosted by Dustin Trout <br>Produced by Andrei Gardiola</p><p><br></p><figure id="figure-f04nx6fl8wlj6e37kx"><iframe id="f04nx6fl8wlj6e37kx" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fTgtmZq3ZYo" class="w-full bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;" allowfullscreen="" data-url="https://youtu.be/fTgtmZq3ZYo" data-corners="no-rounded" data-mce-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fTgtmZq3ZYo" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;"></iframe></figure>

Andrew on the Rise Grind Repeat Podcast

<p><em>This interview originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of <a data-mce-href="https://inbusinessphx.com/leadership-management/case-study-format-valuable-lessons-ceos" href="https://inbusinessphx.com/leadership-management/case-study-format-valuable-lessons-ceos">InBusiness Magazine</a></em></p><h3 class="entry-title">The Case Study Format – Valuable Lessons for CEOs&nbsp;</h3><p><span class="author vcard"><span class="fn">by Bennett Curry</span></span></p><div class="entry-content"><p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-49815" src="https://s4769.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_195037466.jpg" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" srcset="https://s4769.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_195037466.jpg 600w, https://s4769.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_195037466-300x175.jpg 300w" alt="" width="600" height="350" data-mce-src="https://s4769.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_195037466.jpg"></p><p>As the CEO of a mobile communications platform in the healthcare sector, Andrew Steele maintains a sharp focus on the rapid growth of his early-stage company,&nbsp;<a href="http://beckoncall.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://beckoncall.com/">BeckonCall</a>. Like many entrepreneurs, he is hard at work attracting capital, networking and managing a growing team. It’s the nature of the business for CEOs, he says, to have a strong emphasis on aggressively scaling a company in the early stages.</p><p>“If you don’t focus, it can be fatal,” says Steele, a self-described “serial entrepreneur” who spent 17 years in Silicon Valley’s tech community before moving to Arizona in 2014 to help grow BeckonCall along with its founder, Jeffrey Becker, D.O. That narrow focus among CEOs is one of the chief reasons Steele calls the&nbsp;<a href="http://azcommerce.com/small-business/professional-development" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-mce-href="http://azcommerce.com/small-business/professional-development">Arizona Commerce Authority’s CEO Corner Office</a>&nbsp;a valuable learning experience for executives like himself. Why? It challenges participants to broaden their thinking.</p><p>“It reminds you of the value of taking a step back and looking at things through a different lens than your own,” Steele says. “We are all wired differently, and think differently, and approach challenges and problems differently, so I think in that sense it was good to have that variety of perspective.”</p><p>Steele and 10 others were members of the inaugural CEO Corner Office cohort last year. The four-month-long program was created by the ACA to develop and engage CEOs of rapidly growing companies. Each session began with a facilitated case-study discussion on topics such as scaling, financial literacy, culture, decision making, leadership and evolving as a CEO. The program features case studies from some of the top business schools in the country.</p><p>The first meeting of the CEO Corner Office introduces a case study about a fictional young software company, Maximiser. Members explore the company’s strategic decisions (some good and some not so good), organization structure, culture and its leadership. Participants throughout the eight sessions use case studies to get peer-to-peer feedback from the group and to discuss innovative ways of tackling challenges young companies typically face in the marketplace.</p><p>“I like the case study approach — reminds me of business school — and it’s been valuable to hear how other CEOs think and approach the issues put in front of us,” Steele says. “In some ways, it was almost like having a board meeting. You may be a CEO of a company and view things through your own lens, but when you sit down with your board, you naturally get different perspectives.”</p><p>BeckonCall is like Uber plus Slack for healthcare providers, and replaces decades-old technology still widely used, such as pagers, fax machines and answering services that add cost, time and mistakes into the care continuum. Just as Uber built a logistics automation platform to connect riders with available drivers through its mobile app, BeckonCall does the same to connect patients and nurses directly with the right on-call physician through its app.</p><p>Additionally, it incorporates secure, Slack-like communication capabilities that allow physicians to respond in real time and easily collaborate with their colleagues and care team through the very same app.</p><p>The company has more than 60 clients on the platform, which include hospital systems, independent practices and provider groups. The goal? Streamline communications and give physicians more time in their day to practice medicine and see patients.</p><p>Being a first-time Arizona CEO — after successfully growing companies in California — Steele was interested in joining the CEO Corner Office to gain an understanding from other CEOs about approaches they took to fund growth and attract capital in the state. “I’m still learning how capital works here in Arizona, but I was particularly interested in hearing from other CEOs the approaches they had taken to fund growth in the early days of their companies,” Steele says.</p><p>The program’s “roundtable experience,” as Steele describes it, forces CEOs to view business challenges through different lenses from their own. “What interested me was the chance to be at the table with other people who were in similar positions, and you’d be able to have frank conversations about what’s working and what is not working, and to hear other CEOs talk about the challenges they face and how they dealt with them,” he says.</p><p><br data-mce-bogus="1"></p><h3>CEO Corner Office: A Three-Part Series</h3><p>Over three months, we share the stories of three small businesses and their participation in a CEO development program created by the Arizona Commerce Authority.</p><p>The Arizona Commerce Authority’s CEO Corner Office, a four-month program to develop and engage CEOs of rapidly growing companies, features facilitated topical case studies derived from top business schools, technical assistance and peer-to-peer advice and feedback training.</p></div>

The Case Study Format – Valuable Lessons for CEOs

<p>BeckonCall founder &amp; CEO Andrew Steele appeared on Worldwide Business with Kathy Ireland to discuss how its technology solves the efficiency, reliability and cost effectiveness problems with traditional call-center based medical answering services.</p><p><br></p><figure id="figure-j4azbbut4alj6d1frm"><iframe id="j4azbbut4alj6d1frm" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vGbgK6WlWnc" class="w-full bg-gray-100 " style="aspect-ratio: 16/9" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowFullScreen="" data-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGbgK6WlWnc" data-corners="no-rounded"></iframe></figure>

Andrew Steele on Worldwide Business with Kathy Ireland

<div class="chunk chunk--flex@lg chunk--static-1"><div class="primary@lg u-has-tertiary"><div class="content mb-0"><div><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content"><em>This article originally appeared in the <a data-mce-href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/print-edition/2016/03/11/entrepreneur-beckoncall-aims-for-better-doctor.html" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/print-edition/2016/03/11/entrepreneur-beckoncall-aims-for-better-doctor.html" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Phoenix Business Journal</a> on March 11, 2016.</em></p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">After spending 18 years in Silicon Valley, app designer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/search/results?q=Andrew%20Steele" data-mce-href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/search/results?q=Andrew%20Steele">Andrew Steele</a>&nbsp;decided it was time to move to metro Phoenix and become CEO of a startup company focused on improving contact between patients and doctors.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">The app, BeckonCall, is for patients who want to reach their doctors after business hours. Instead of getting an answering machine, patients connect to an on-call doctor through the app.</p><aside class="inset inset--major"><div id="cxense_in_content_link"></div></aside><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">“There’s a lot of latency between the time a patient calls and the time their message is delivered to the doctor,” Steele said. “With live answering services, it’s relatively common for messages to not only take a long time to get delivered, but to get delivered incorrectly, and sometimes not get delivered at all.”</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">Steele and his partner, neurologist Dr.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/search/results?q=Jeffrey%20Becker" data-mce-href="https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/search/results?q=Jeffrey%20Becker">Jeffrey Becker</a>, set out to solve the communication problem by connecting patients and doctors directly though a user-friendly experience.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">When a patient needs to talk to their doctor after hours, they call the same number they normally would to connect with the doctor’s office. If their doctor uses BeckonCall, the call will be directed to the app’s platform. The platform leads the patient to a customizable “smart attendant,” then directs the patient to the proper answering service.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">The BeckonCall platform delivers messages right away, before the patient hangs up.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">“With our technology, we automate that entire process, so no human being is making the decision of how to forward that message after it comes in from the patient,” Steele said.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">Steele said the app aims to streamline the explosion of mobile health apps.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">“There’s no smooth, proactive or logical connection between all of those products that make it easy for the doctor,” Steele said. “The doctor is the one that has to take the data that all of those apps generate and apply it during care delivery.”</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">BeckonCall’s initial investment was just under $400,000 that was primarily given to the company by doctors interested in the product’s development. Beckon Call is generating revenue, although the executives declined to discuss it. The company also declined to discuss how many clients it had, but that those doctors manage “thousands of cases per month” on the Beckon Call platform, Steele said.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">“There’s credibility that a doctor is involved and that he understands how to design a product that doctors are going to use every day,” Steele said. “The product is designed by a doctor, for doctors.”</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">Another reason for BeckonCall’s initial success is the positive relationship that Steele maintains with Becker.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">“I feel blessed that Andrew has decided to come on to the team,” Becker said of Steele. “Since he has gotten involved, the growth of the business has been wonderful; I wouldn’t be here today without his involvement.”</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">Steele became motivated to join BeckonCall because he believed the company offered a solution to a problem.</p><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">“We’re all patients at some point,” Steele said. “It’s a problem that resonated with me, and I think there’s an opportunity for us to have a huge impact.”</p></div></div></div><div class="secondary@lg u-flex-justify-start"><div class="c1-ad-sticky hidden--print"><aside class="inset inset--major hidden--print"><div class="x-module x-module-stack-l"><div class="ad-container ad-container--in-inset"><div id="c1_1" class="gpt ad" data-position="c1" data-priority="1" data-sizes="[[320,50],[300,250],[300,600]]" data-mapping="[[[300,600],[300,250]],[[300,250],[320,50]]]" data-params="{&quot;set&quot;:1}" data-google-query-id="CMD4-vzF1f8CFeHe_QUdWLUEpw"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/c1/print-edition/1_0__container__"><iframe id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/c1/print-edition/1_0" title="3rd party ad content" role="region" name="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/c1/print-edition/1_0" width="300" height="600" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" aria-label="Advertisement" data-load-complete="true" data-google-container-id="2" data-mce-tabindex="0"></iframe></div></div></div></div></aside><div class="hidden--xs hidden--sm hidden--md"><div class="x-module x-module-stack-l"><div class="x-module__header"><div class="x-module__title"><h2 class="sans-serif x-module-t-zeta x-module-t-uppercase x-module-t-bolder">RECOMMENDED</h2></div></div><div class="x-module__body"><div class="js-gpt-set not-empty"><div class="js-gpt-item not-empty"><div id="trending1_1" class="gpt ad" data-position="trending1" data-priority="99" data-sizes="[[1,1],&quot;fluid&quot;]" data-mapping="[]" data-params="{}" data-google-query-id="CM-U9fzF1f8CFeHe_QUdWLUEpw"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/trending1/print-edition/1_0__container__"><iframe id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/trending1/print-edition/1_0" title="3rd party ad content" role="region" src="https://5dbd89468b274f670596a6d327b67906.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html" name="" width="0" height="18" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" data-is-safeframe="true" aria-label="Advertisement" data-google-container-id="7" data-load-complete="true" data-mce-src="https://5dbd89468b274f670596a6d327b67906.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html" data-mce-tabindex="0"></iframe></div></div></div></div><div id="cx_a24e1b0f416b52de636da03f0fb3cbc49b33ea3c"><div class="pt-2 pb-3"><div class="meta"><div class="meta-item meta-item--small cx-meta-item--gold"><strong class="cx-meta-item--gold">TRAVEL &amp; TOURISM</strong></div></div><div class="media"><div class="media-body"><h3 class="item__title item__title--small">Minneapolis hotels swiftly filling up ahead of Taylor Swift concerts at U.S. Bank Stadium</h3></div><img class="ml-3 mt-2" src="https://content-thumbnail.cxpublic.com/content/dominantthumbnail/276a73d80cbf65d7040672d28b5dd7d011f4eb50.jpg?64935551" width="112" height="63" data-mce-src="https://content-thumbnail.cxpublic.com/content/dominantthumbnail/276a73d80cbf65d7040672d28b5dd7d011f4eb50.jpg?64935551"></div><a id="cXLinkIdlj6d4zjnsqha4uyf" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2023/06/21/taylor-swift-concerts-minneapolis-hotel-occupancy.html" target="_top" data-mce-href="https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2023/06/21/taylor-swift-concerts-minneapolis-hotel-occupancy.html"></a></div><div class="border-top py-3"><div class="meta"><div class="meta-item meta-item--small cx-meta-item--gold"><strong class="cx-meta-item--gold">TRANSPORTATION</strong></div></div><div class="media"><div class="media-body"><h3 class="item__title item__title--small">FedEx reveals Q4, full-year results, notes major cost reductions</h3></div><img class="ml-3 mt-2" src="https://content-thumbnail.cxpublic.com/content/dominantthumbnail/c0364fe81ac7d0bcc8d8266597a8f74bbc77a015.jpg?6492ca75" width="112" height="63" data-mce-src="https://content-thumbnail.cxpublic.com/content/dominantthumbnail/c0364fe81ac7d0bcc8d8266597a8f74bbc77a015.jpg?6492ca75"></div><a id="cXLinkIdlj6d4zjnyjngeluz" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2023/06/20/fedex-transportation-logistic-q4-full-year-results.html" target="_top" data-mce-href="https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2023/06/20/fedex-transportation-logistic-q4-full-year-results.html"></a></div><div class="border-top py-3"><div class="meta"><div class="meta-item meta-item--small cx-meta-item--gold"><strong class="cx-meta-item--gold">RETAILING</strong></div></div><div class="media"><div class="media-body"><h3 class="item__title item__title--small">Turtle Bay renovates spa</h3></div><img class="ml-3 mt-2" src="https://content-thumbnail.cxpublic.com/content/dominantthumbnail/19e7ade7b0b6e098c8eaeb31d4b6541a57b57558.jpg?6492ca35" width="112" height="63" data-mce-src="https://content-thumbnail.cxpublic.com/content/dominantthumbnail/19e7ade7b0b6e098c8eaeb31d4b6541a57b57558.jpg?6492ca35"></div><a id="cXLinkIdlj6d4zjnwyn7bfn2" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2023/06/20/oahu-resort-renovates-spa.html" target="_top" data-mce-href="https://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2023/06/20/oahu-resort-renovates-spa.html"></a></div></div></div><div class="x-module__footer x-module__footer--sponsored hidden--print js-gpt-set not-empty"><div class="js-gpt-item not-empty"><div id="trending2_1" class="gpt ad" data-position="trending2" data-priority="99" data-sizes="[[1,1],&quot;fluid&quot;]" data-mapping="[]" data-params="{}" data-google-query-id="CNCU9fzF1f8CFeHe_QUdWLUEpw"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/trending2/print-edition/1_0__container__"><iframe id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/trending2/print-edition/1_0" title="3rd party ad content" role="region" src="https://5dbd89468b274f670596a6d327b67906.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html" name="" width="0" height="18" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" data-is-safeframe="true" aria-label="Advertisement" data-google-container-id="8" data-load-complete="true" data-mce-src="https://5dbd89468b274f670596a6d327b67906.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html" data-mce-tabindex="0"></iframe></div></div></div></div></div></div><aside class="inset inset--major hidden--print"><div class="x-module x-module-stack-l"><div class="ad-container ad-container--in-inset"><div id="c1_2_1" class="gpt ad" data-position="c1_2" data-priority="3" data-sizes="[[300,250],[320,50]]" data-mapping="[[[300,250]],[[300,250],[320,50]]]" data-params="{&quot;set&quot;:1}" data-google-query-id="CMH4-vzF1f8CFeHe_QUdWLUEpw"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/c1_2/print-edition/1_0__container__"><iframe id="google_ads_iframe_/4635/bzj.phoenix/c1_2/print-edition/1_0" title="3rd party ad content" role="region" src="https://5dbd89468b274f670596a6d327b67906.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html" name="" width="300" height="250" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" data-is-safeframe="true" aria-label="Advertisement" data-google-container-id="3" data-load-complete="true" data-mce-src="https://5dbd89468b274f670596a6d327b67906.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html" data-mce-tabindex="0"></iframe></div></div></div></div></aside></div></div></div><div class="chunks js-chunks"><div><div class="chunk chunk--flex@lg" data-v-3a84d26a=""><div class="primary@lg u-has-tertiary" data-v-3a84d26a=""><div class="content cXenseParse" data-v-3a84d26a=""><p class="content__segment combx paywall__content">The company was named a winner in the Arizona Commerce Authority’s fall 2015 Innovation Challenge and will receive a grant of up to $250,000. Steele said the company would use the money to market beyond Arizona and try to build national recognition for the service.</p></div></div></div></div></div>

Entrepreneur: BeckonCall aims for better doctor-patient communication

<p><em>This post orginally appeared on <a data-mce-href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nothing-neutral-andrew-steele/" href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nothing-neutral-andrew-steele/">LinkedIn Pulse</a> on February 26, 2015.</em></p><p>Today, three unelected commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission passed - 3-2, along party lines - perhaps the most sweeping and potentially destructive regulations related to the internet since its birth. Let that sink in for a minute. Not Congress. Not the Supreme Court. Not a resolution ratified by a 2/3rd majority of the states. Not even a Presidential Executive Action. Three unelected Federal government bureaucrats. Three Americans that have to wait in line at Starbucks and go through the TSA line, just like you &amp; me.</p><p>You may have heard about it - a little something that has been swaddled with the innocuous enough sounding nickname "Net Neutrality".</p><p>On the surface, the objectives seem noble enough. Prevent the big, bad cable &amp; telecommunications companies from sticking it to the people (by way of sticking it to websites that use a lot of their bandwidth) by throttling throughput, assessing surge pricing (now that would be a horrible business model, wouldn't it&nbsp;<a href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-mce-href="https://support.uber.com/hc/en-us/articles/201836656-What-is-surge-pricing-and-how-does-it-work-">Uber</a>), or just plain throwing up roadblocks to keep bits from reaching their intended destinations. Sounds fair enough.</p><p>And if the FCC had adopted specific rules to address that very specific set of scenarios - as have been the talking points behind the ruling today - there probably would be little in the way of backlash.</p><p>But that's not what the FCC did today.</p><p>The action today reclassifies the Internet as a utility, and subjects it to the regulations contained in Title II of the&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Act_of_1934" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_Act_of_1934">Telecommunications Act of 1934</a>&nbsp;(which somewhat ironically, was the law that created the FCC to begin with). An act 300 pages long and written almost a century ago, when the 'state of the art' in telecommunications technology was the telegraph. And if you're now thinking to yourself 'how in the world could rules written to regulate telegraph transmission lines possibly be relevant to today's dynamic broadband networks, you're starting to see the issue here.</p><p>But it goes deeper than that.</p><p>First, this action attempts to address an issue that really isn't an issue at all. The examples of this sort of abuse are neither pervasive nor widespread, and in most cases, when carriers have been caught behaving badly, the consumer backlash was more than sufficient to cause them to snap back in line. Despite David Karp's most valiant effort to&nbsp;<a href="http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/112051894678/video-tumblr-ceo-david-karp-demonstrates-utter" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-mce-href="http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/112051894678/video-tumblr-ceo-david-karp-demonstrates-utter">educate us otherwise</a>&nbsp;(dude, did you even rehearse before going on air??), there has yet to be a strong, salient case built to justify such sweeping regulation based on actual, past transgressions. There's not a systemic wrong that the FCC needs to right.</p><p>Second, while in the 20th century, Telco companies were indeed the only game in town when it came to 'broadband', e.g. a de-facto monopoly, that's no longer the case. Cable is a major player now, technology is enabling wireless, mesh, etc. to become legitimate alternatives, and new entrants into the market like Google are giving consumers and businesses more options than ever before when it comes to broadband. That creates a little thing called competition, and when there's competition, market forces exert monumentally more influence over behavior than government oversight.</p><p>We don't need new regulations passed by 3 unelected bureaucrats to fix a problem that isn't really a problem when competition is increasing and there are multitude incentives for carriers are to provide better and faster service to their customers. That's called 'incentive alignment.'</p><p>Finally, there is the not-insignificant matter of subjecting the Internet (inside US borders anyway) very broadly to the whims of politicians. There isn't a single example - save potentially national defense - of an industry that is more efficient, more cost effective and provides better services to its customers that is managed by the Federal government. Not one.</p><p>Unfettered innovation fueled by smart people and forward thinking investors has gotten us to where we are today. Which is pretty awesome. By contrast, how much VC investment has gone into the Federal Government contractor sector recently? Know any entrepreneurs that are losing sleep coding disruptive technology for the Feds? Uh huh.</p><p>So how much longer will carriers and new entrants continue to invest heavily in improving technology and service quality when the FCC gets the final say on what is &amp; isn't allowed?</p><p>As an aside, my cable company now offers&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cox.com/residential/internet/giglife.cox?sc_id=cr_dm_camp_z_giglife_vanity" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" data-mce-href="http://www.cox.com/residential/internet/giglife.cox?sc_id=cr_dm_camp_z_giglife_vanity">gigabit internet speeds</a>&nbsp;to the home because Google is planning to launch Google Fiber in this market. Not even 'launched' - planning to launch. Competition works.</p><p>Now, there's a lot of hand waiving about how the new regulations 'forbear' more onerous elements of Title II like pricing controls, and don't impose new restrictions like tariffs or content filters or rules about how &amp; where broadband infrastructure can physically exist. But the ruling qualifies that forebearance with 'at this time.' Oh really? Now that Pandora's box has been opened, who's to say how future unelected FCC commissioners might interpret this precedent? Or decide 'at this time' is in the past? If it really is so easy that 3 unelected government employees can unilaterally and fundamentally change the rules of the internet, there really are very few limitations on how far that regulatory power can go.</p><p>Even if you support the ruling today, the 'ends justify the means' process by which it was adopted should concern you. The shoe will always be on other foot at some point, and this sort of de-facto quasi-legislative rule making can cut both ways. It's a dangerous precedent to set.</p><p>The proclamations are that 'consumers won today.' But it's a Pyrrhic victory. There was really never any enemy to vanquish, and the new dangers this kind of action introduce far outweigh any potential benefit to the consumer - if there even are any.</p>

Opinion: Nothing Neutral About It

Growthplane

We help growth-stage MedTech ventures close the Adoption Gap between pilot success and becoming the industry standard of care using the Pilot-to-Protocol™ Method.

Insights

How New Privacy Restrictions Can Help Brands Rethink Cust...

Andrew on the Rise Grind Repeat Podcast

The Case Study Format – Valuable Lessons for CEOs

Andrew Steele on Worldwide Business with Kathy Ireland

Entrepreneur: BeckonCall aims for better doctor-patient c...

Opinion: Nothing Neutral About It