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Many consumers are finding ways to shop online without being on the computer. Orders being placed through mobile devices accounted for 5% of online sales this year. Busy retailers are providing apps that make it easy to shop while waiting in line. In other news, The Wall Street Journal did a privacy investigation on 101 of the most popular iPhone and Android apps, revealing that nearly 60 sent users’ information without their consent. Information like the phone’s unique ID, location, gender and age are transmitted regularly to advertising agencies. Among the worst offenders is popular music application, Pandora. And finally, location based services like Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook Places make it easy to contribute to charity this holiday season. By using these geotagging services many retail locations will donate to charity based on the number of tweets or check-ins they receive. Not only will your purchases contribute to charity, many companies are offering discounts for using the services as well.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.