I recently came home from the CASE Summit in San Francisco and recommend this conference to anyone who wants to hear new ideas and learn about cutting edge applications. One session I particularly enjoyed focused on social networking and new technology. One third of the session focused on Fresno State's new phone application for IPhones and Blackberry's. They are serving as a beta test for Harris. I have seen Stanford's application (recently bought by Blackboard for 4 million), and it was exciting to see the potential unleashed to the rest of the colleges and universities. I love the idea that you have your alma mater/favorite institution only a click away. You can check out news (perhaps the latest information on Musketeer basketball), You Tube videos, or find a bullding on the campus map using GPS. Stanford's application has been downloaded over 45,000 times by students, parents, alumni and those who just think it's cool. I am sure Harris's system will be comparable but having two companies out there will brig this concept to market even faster. As any other new concept, those that adapt it first will get the most mileage out of the communication device. For the rest of the institutions it still an effective way to connect to your most important markets. Hey Xavier, I'm waiting!

Tom Hayes

http://simpsonscarborough.com/hayes.html