Building eCommerce Applications

Chapter 15. The Convergence of Local, Social, and Mobile, Part 1: Local

Travis Robertson

Have you ever had one of those “Ah ha!” moments? You know the ones: you’re going about your day, doing whatever it is you normally do, and then bam! It hits you. Hard. You weren’t expecting it. Nothing about the day seemed unusual. You didn’t wake up thinking to yourself, “I feel like I’m about to get hit with a lead pipe of insight today.”

But then it happens. And, all of sudden, you can’t help but look at the world—your world—through the lens of your newfound inspiration. You begin to see new opportunities popping up all around. It’s like springtime in your mind.

Now, lest you think I’ve smoked some sort of illicit drug, let me explain myself.

Back in October, I was watching a video (http://ustre.am/5UOE) from the PayPal X Innovate 2010 Conference to prepare for an article I was writing. It’s a keynote speech from Osama Bedier, PayPal’s former Vice President of PayPal Platform and Emerging Technology. About twelve and a half minutes in, Bedier made the point that prompted my “moment.” And it was fleeting—for Bedier, the point was simply intended to preview a few other ideas before he moved on. But it’s continued to stick with me.

So much so that when Matthew Russell approached me about doing an article series for X.com, I asked him if I could write a four-part series on this topic I found so fascinating.

What is this incredible, life-changing concept?

The convergence of mobile, local, and social, ...