SMART WATCHES (WEARABLE TECH), FINALLY COMING OF AGE: IS IT FOR YOU!?

June 2015

Since the announcement of the iWatch, the Apple community and many other tech observers and first adopters went berserk with the possibilities, but for me and many skeptics, I wondered, do I really need another device??? my initial feeling is no, but most recently as many more companies have launched their own high tech wearable tech/Smart Watches with many many more features and compatible with Android devices I have begun to see a possible use for myself.

Motorola, LG, Huawei, ASUS, Fitbit, Tom Tom, Addidas, and Microsoft are now making these watches as a coordinated effort with Google to offer Android users a plethora of options, including Square and round designs, sizes and designs for women and men,  Multiple digital watch faces to choose from, sport & heart rate tracking for your exercise routines, whether running, walking or climbing, and of course you can check your Gmail, Calendar, Facebook and play music as long as it is linked and synced to your phone. Technically, your phone and Android powers the watch, with the watch being the truncated "display unit" for the information on your phone. So these watches won't function fully without your phone, at least not yet, I'm sure Google is working on building and further miniaturizing mobile cell technology so these watches can run on a version of Android built for watches. one day soon I expect, but for now, you need your phone nearby to use these watches. Of-course certain basics will continue to work without your phone's Android processing power, like the watch faces, time, date and GPS tracking. Some even offer music downloads so you can listen anytime.

For me the most attractive feature is the GPS tracking of my exercise and the main reason I would opt for one of these new devices, so I don't have to get a fitbit or sport tracking device. having all the other added features is a bonus, but then I think to myself, I could already do all that with my Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy 5S, so do i really NEED to get this watch!? what's the opportunity cost, what else can I spend this $400 on?? For me the LG Urbane is the most attractive of the bunch, offering a classic watch style with a round design and built in Wifi. However, I feel buying one of these watches is more for status symbol than actual utility of the device, so since I'm not one who typically runs with the crowd, for now I'll pass, I don't need this status symbol. You on the other hand may want it precisely for that reason. maybe you want to be the first among your friends to have this wearable tech. So this holiday season you can expect a lot of discounts and competition for these new devices as these manufacturers battle it out for market share.

UPDATE 11/20/15: It's about 5 weeks before #Christmas and one week before the biggest shopping day of the year, #BlackFriday, (the day after the #Thanksgiving #Holiday), and as #predicted #SmartWatch ads are becoming more frequent and repetitive with #Samsung leading the charge as HP and #Movado team up to build and share one #smartwatch. if you're in the market, i expect the best prices will come to you the week after Christmas.

Read more about these watches here, at the officical Android Blog: http://officialandroid.blogspot.com/2015/09/android-wear-new-watch-styles-and-sizes.html

How to create a blog: A tutorial which saves you time, one paragraph gets it done!

to do this you should use the Google Chrome browser, if you don't have it on your computer device click https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser/ and download it, just follow instructions. after you're done, then click or double click the icon to open it and then follow instructions below to create your blog. 

start your blog.

first log in to a Gmail account, if you don't have one then go here to create one now: mail.google.com

(you can forward all mail from this gmail to your existing account--it's free--just go to settings).

Now go to https://www.blogger.com/start to begin creating your new blog, you'll be asked to log in using the same gmail, do that, now you will see two options for creating a profile click "create limited blogger profile",

it will then ask you for a "Display name" which is your name on the blog--not the blog's name, you can use a sobriquet/nickname (or your real name) or a phrase. now click the orange button at the bottom "continue to blog", now click the grey button "new blog", a box will pop up asking you to fill in a few items including your blog's name and BLOG website address (URL), (think about this before you start creating the blog, they can be the same or different),  and to choose a template for the look of your blog, you can change the template later on so just pick one. once you're done with those selections click "create blog", and the dashboard will appear. Congratulations! you've created the blog. On the dashboard there are several buttons explore them and ask me questions--just use the comment box below.

posting articles

now click the orange button with the pencil to post the article, just copy and paste it into the box. you will see the usual formatting icons at the top of the box so you can edit accordingly. but also get used to using the online options which include links, tags/labels, photos, videos and ads. 

links: simply highlight a word, click "link" and type or paste the URL (web address). then click enter.

Tags/Labels: help readers to find all your articles with the same topic or mention of the same item.

photos: you can insert them anywhere in the article, just put the cursor where you want to insert it and click the photo icon in the formatting bar above the text box.

videos: you can add the code from any youtube video and that video will play on your blog. you can also add links to the youtube video.

Ads: you should include ads in your blog (it's automatic after you enable the widget) to earn money, you just have to sign-up for Google Adsense and follow instructions. It's free to sign-up. 

Schedule: you can schedule when your article goes live on the web, this gives you the freedom to write now and post automatically. So you could write recipes for thanksgiving now and schedule them to post on November 15th or a few days before thanksgiving. 

Comments: I recommend enabling comments for your articles, this will help drive engagement, shares and readership.

when you're done, click "publish", now the article is live on the web! congratulations! now send me a link to the article on your blog. 

Promoting 

• to help improve viewership of your articles/stories you should add links to words, names and phrases in your article, add at least 3 but no more than 7. for example, you can link the wikipedia page for Mississippi to any of the words Mississippi in your article. don't add the same link twice in the same article. 
• promote the article through social media including Google+, twitter, facebook, etc. do this every day for the first 5 days after you publish each article. but each time use a different snippet. be sure you make each posting "public". 
• create a group in Gmail (or any email service you use) of people you want to send the article to and email them a short snippet and the link to the article. but only send one email! for each article!
• ask others to share the article on social media. 
• Post it to your accounts or blogs on Buzzfeed and Huffington Post.
• you can also pay to promote your articles to thousands of people on facebook and google. 

Post questions or comments to this article. I will reply to each question, but it may not be immediate