Wrapping mCal Up

As I first introduced mCal: My idea is to create a web-based application that would allow groups of people to sync their calendars together. Since then, mCal has developed to a bigger and broader idea. Now it will have applications for most mobile smart phones, personal-computer operating systems, and a  web-app. It will become a larger business that will serve large and small companies (ideally) and, of course, the average family. 

My experience with the project was pretty good. I enjoyed thinking through many of the things and steps that I would need to make this idea a reality. I had a good time writing my posts each week and figuring out new ways to move the idea forward. At times, the project was difficult to apply to Professor Jeff Rubin's lectures because the topics did not alway mesh exactly with the sort of project mCal is. However, overall, mCal was successfully applied and got bigger and better as the lectures went by. Each topic brought a new idea and perspective to the features my idea could incorporate and my idea is better for it!

In order to turn mCal into a reality, I would need a large budget to start out with and man power. I would need experienced developers and all of the hardware that was mentioned in previous posts. I would also need patients because, realistically, mCal would take a long while to get off the ground floor. 

To me, entrepreneurship is finding or having an idea and developing it to a point at which it can realistically be implemented for a market. My project started as an idea with potential features that could appeal to a larger market. Now, it has been developed, although not fully, to a point where it could actually begin to be implemented. At this point, it would need another set of eyes so that I dont miss anything when I do reach the implementation stage. I think it is a worthwhile project that has good potential to have a market, especially in the future.

mCal would be challenged by the other applications that have similar features even if those applications only preform the more simple functions that mCal will also have. It will be challenging to market this product to a population that is making due with what they have. It will be challenging to convince people and companies that this solution will be beneficial to them. Once there is a base though, it will be easier to get clients when they know that other people use our product.

At this point, mCal can only grow. I would not necessarily make too many changes or cuts to mCal yet, however, I feel that it would be better to continue to add to its functionality by adding features, no matter how little. At this point, it can only get better and become bigger. Changes and modifications will come before the final product is released and after it has had a trial period. 

If you have any suggestions, feel free to send them Max's way! mggreenb@syr.edu

mCal with different Operating Systems

Since one of the great appeals of mCal is its use with any device, it will be extremely important for mCal to be compatible with different Operating Systems (OS). mCal will have versions, as previously explained, for Windows, Mac OS-X, as well as mobile devices such as Apple iPhone OS, Google Android, Palm OS, and BlackBerry OS (and perhaps Windows Mobile).

Since mCal will be supporting many different devices/OSs, its program will have to be rewritten for each Operating System that it supports. It will most likely be written and tested for Windows, then for Mac, then, once settled on regular PCs, it will be submitted as an iPhone app, an Android app, a Palm app, and a BlackBerry app.



Since each OS supports similar features, mCal will generally be the same from system to system, however, some devices, in particular mobile devices, do not support some features which PCs do which could limit mCal On-The-Go. Mobile devices also have certain features that PCs do not have which could also help enhance and appeal mCal On-The-Go (working title: a.k.a. mCal-Mobile).

Identity Theft and mCal

mCal users are going to demand that their identities are protected. This will be guaranteed by the way mCal accepts credit cards using a site such as Authorize.net and by the way we destroy customers information after they leave mCal or after we take a server or hard drive out of commission.

mCal may choose to keep all of their old hardware just incase anything will need to be accessed or referenced at a later date. For example, if mCal was ever required by a court to give the calendar of  particular user, we would be able to recover a potentially deleted event from our system or go into an older unit and look up the files necessary. 

How mCal discards of hardware and old storage will have to be addressed since it is an important precaution but at this point in its existence, it is not necessary. mCal may never have to get rid of any hardware. However mCal decided to address this issue, we will definitely do it in the most secure way possible.

Fitting In a Lecture That Doesn't Fit: Audio Compression and mCal

In a world of ones and zeroes...


For one of mCal's features, file storage and sharing in calendar events, file compression is going to be very important. When a user uploads a file to a calendar event it will go through a compression system depending on size. Especially for audio files in WAV formatting, these files can be compressed to mp3 format to save space on mCal's servers. This will also make downloading and distribution of the files to other users quicker and easier.




(Please note: This is a difficult lecture to fit in to this idea...)

mCal & its Hardware

In order for the customer to be able to use mCal and have it sync amongst their family/business, they will have to create a "parent" account on our server(s). Once they do this, the other accounts that will be linked to the parent, will be able to sync and plan their schedules out. All of the devices that use mCal (computers, smart-phones, etc.) will be logged in through the server.

This server is going to need to be fast.



The processor will most likely have to be an industrial standard processor such as a Intel Xeon. It will need server RAM--preferably more than necessary in order to get the best speeds for commands and to eliminate risk. This also means that the server's motherboard will have to be able to handle this amount of RAM. The cache should also be large--but most servers are fast enough to handle what mCal will be doing.

The hard-drive that calendars will be saved on (in order to be synced) will be attached to the server. This will be extremely large in order for a lot of content to be saved; SATAII with at least two terabytes at  7200RPM for the fastest access and efficiency. Since mCal will be a small company at first, the sever should be fast enough with a enough storage--both temporary and permanent--so that customer/client information and financials can be stored on it, as well as the actual program's information and sync data. The systems used later down the road in mCal's future may be more advanced and intricate once the company has had time to grow and evolve, and once the "current"set up no longer fits the needs of the business.

Digital Imaging and mCal

Any client/customer or potential client/customer who is going to be using mCal, is not going to want an unattractive interface. mCal has to make a good impression. Not only do the features mCal offers have to be top of the line, but the aesthetics of mCal must also be pleasant and appealing.

The layout of mCal will have to be carefully developed as well as the standard colors that will be automatically used unless the user changes the color preferences. The most likely way that each individual day (box) will be colored will be by using hexadecimal colors.

The user will be able to change the the colors to anything they would like. They will be able to choose from a variety of other colors that will be displayed on a spectrum. The user will also be able to use their own colors by inserting a 6-digit hex value for the colors that they want. A company could use their company logo's colors, a team could use their team colors, etc.



By allowing the colors to be customizable, it makes the users feel like they are using a customized product that was made for them. This could be a big factor for marketing mCal.

Advertising and Selling mCal

For mCal, the traditional avenues for advertising are available, such as television, radio, newspaper and magazine ads, etc., but there are cheaper, and farther reaching methods of advertising nowadays.

For mCal, using internet advertising methods such as Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, or Twitter could be useful. The way AdWords works is by inserting your advertisement or product on the search results page when someone does a web search using the selected words on Googles search engine. This would be a way to reach people who are looking for a calendaring system already but it would most likely only reach few of the people who do not know they need this kind of system yet. Facebook Ads work similarly in that the ads show on a users home screen if words in their profile match certain criteria that have to do with the content of the ad.

One of the growing ways to advertise anything these days is to do so on Twitter. With approximately 300,000 new users per day, using Twitter correctly could be a great way to spread the word.

In order to start "tweeting" about mCal, using "hashtags" (i.e. #_____) such as #calendar, #business, #organize (tenses), #company, etc., could be incredibly useful. This is because searching for any of these words on Twitter would show all of the tweets that used those words. If someone sees an interesting tweet about a new product that may seem useful, they may decide to follow the company's account on Twitter, and even look at the company's profile and/or website. Using Twitter has shown to be effective in the job market and new businesses that are offering a unique product, like mCal.

When a new customer wants to register a new personal (1-2 users), family (2-15 users), or enterprise account (2+ users) they will have the option to call in to make the order during business hours or to pay using a credit card, 24 hours a day, online.

When a customer chooses to pay online they will have the option to use PayPal or to insert their credit card information directly into mCal's website.  mCal will use a website such as Authorize.net as a method of managing payments. This way, the company will not have to deal with the complicated systems of getting credit approved by banks, etc. When the new customer puts the payment information into our website, the data will be transfered to Authorize.net who will handle the payment from there. Payment will be approved or not within 3 seconds.

By using Twitter as well as other advertising methods and by offering online payment options, mCal's clientele will have a much easier time finding the services mCal offers, as well as ordering and setting up mCal and its features.

mCal

For many families, companies and organizations, scheduling is one of the most difficult things to organize. My idea is to create a web-based application that would allow groups of people to sync their calendars together.

Administrators would be able to manage the calendar and broadcast it to the employees' accounts and the employees would be able to add their personal schedual to their version of the calendar (which only they would be able to see). Admins may also allow for the group members to upload other events to the public calendar and even make a poll to see which times work best for the most people.  Users would also have the option to sync their Facebook© events with their mCal.

mCal would have a desktop application, a plug-in for current OS calendar applications, as well as a mobile application for Android phones, BlackBerrys, and Apple iPhones. All of the features would be availible from the desktop app, website, and mobile apps.

For each event in the calendar, information like picture, links, as well as downloadable files that can be uploaded by admins would be visible to group members.

A Family:
An example of what mCal could be used for in a home would be for organizing all of family members busy schedules. Each family member would be able to add their doctor's appointments, sports practises, and school play rehearsals to the calendar which would automatically be synced on each of the family member's smart phones and computers, as well as being availible online. mCal can help keep everyone of the same page.

An International Company:An example of what mCal could be used for would be for an international company who will be hosting a large buisness meeting with all of the employees in the headquarters, and all of the employees around the world via conference call or video call.. Each employee would automatically have the call-in information for the conference call, and the video information for the video call. All of the documents for the meeting could also be synced into the calendar event or posted at the time of the meeting, live.

A licence of mCal's software could be purchased for larger scale organizations and smaller scale users would be able to buy a subscription directly from mCal. Subsciptions would be hosted by mCal's servers. mCal applications (for smartphone & computers) would be availible for free download.