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Regarding mobile... based on consumer observation (5 years in industry including visiting merchants and consumers for months), I would like to see payment-related features that:Increase top of mind awareness: As people are used to paying with cards and cash... almost by instinctReduce usage friction: Most of this friction is not in the payment itself but in other parts of the surrounding experience. A few of those are: (a) Sending money to people when cash is not available or they are not nearby, (b) saving time during the ordering/preparation process (i.e. eliminating queues), (c) storing loyalty cards, (d) splitting bills...Provide more value/incentives to consumers: In case the two above are not enough, you'll need an extra carrot on that stick.to use mobile payments vs. (very well functioning) current card payments solutions.Google Wallet, Square Wallet and PayPal's mobile app seem to be in the right direction. Listing those and others that would be useful (most of them a "must") in the most common settings (store, restaurant, P2P, transportation).PaymentPeer to peer: a big chunk of my mobile payments are of these type.Pre-store ("Order ahead"): Let me order/pay for my latte before I get to the coffee shop... it might even be ready when I get there. This is complementary to in-store you need both as people will show up to the cashier without having pre-ordered.At-door (In-store proximity): A la Square wallet. This one is the most convenient form (assuming cashier can find you and recognize you in their nearby list). As this consumer habit will take a lot of time to build, you'd like to have this feature as well as the tap feature (you don't want people to arrive to the cashier and then turn their proximity feature "on").At-register: Two alternatives, contactless would be the ideal feature. 2D can be a preliminary stage until contactless becomes ubiquitous (I assume re-training consumers and store employees in mass would be a challenge and shouldn't be taken lightly).In-store tap (contactless) payment: It is the simplest interaction as long is it defaults to a specific payment service as soon as phone is tapped and does not require opening/selecting apps. It is the closest experience to what people already know (aside from the card swap).2D bar-code: For phones who do not have contactless capability and merchants who don't have a traditional POS.At-check delivery (restaurant check split): No specifics on how this would flow... yet it is important to recognize that this is a pain and doing something about it would add value to consumers... and hence adoption.Compatibility with prevalent verticals: Some of these features have to be adapted to specific yet prevalent-enough verticals. A few examples are subway and street parking systems (PayByPhone is a great example)This PayPal feature allows you to check-in, order and pay before queuing inside the establishment.There should be a way of packing the first 5 basic touch-point specific features in a product that does not present them as a discrete kitchen list but intuitively adapts to use cases. Most of these features fit in the following frame:Pay ->To (likely to provide a list based on context) ->Amount (may or may not appear depending on who receives the money) ->Interface changes depending on input/context in last stage. i.e. app recognizes you are interacting with a "parking" merchant and pops up a "select parking time feature".*A contactless tap would override any other flow and impose a different flow.*ComplementsPoints or cash back rewards: We are all used to this already (at least in payments to merchant), anything less will be a huge disincentive.Merchant rewards: A la Starbucks. They have had success with this, seems loyal people like it.Merchant reward-card scanning/storage: Addicted to this Google Wallet feature. No need to carry my Supermarket (note: Giving cashier your phone number is way easier than this, but the option is not available everywhere).Pre-paid card scanning/storage: again, it is a blessing to digitally have my cards with me at all times (never know when I'll have the chance to swing by Best Buy and finally use that credit).Order tracking (from your inbox' shopping receipts): While not essential, it is a great feature to make you use the app more often... this creates the habit and top of mind awareness (huge challenge).Offers: Same as above. Has to be done in a context-smart way that is not too intrusive.1-click reintegration of wallet money into my bank accountFinger print scanning in lieu of PIN entry where availableThis Google Wallet feature scans and stores loyalty cards... which at least to me are a hassle to keep.Do not include:Locate merchants where you can pay with this solution. Nobody is looking forward to making a payment. Most people don't spend more time paying than the minimum necessary. From what I have seen nobody engages in this treasure hunt to help your company.Lastly as Kris said, another thing to consider is availability in a high % of the places a given consumer shops in every week. This, at least within the right categorization of verticals (i.e. parking solutions drive enough usage on their own). Apologies about the length of this answer! I've clearly been wanting to see this in the street for a long time!!

I was on Amazon, as I am nearly every day in some form because we’re business partners and as I was adding a book on book design to my cart I noticed a blurb under the price—-SNAP/EBT is now accepted by Amazon for food products. It went on to explain how certain foods are Food Stamp eligible.I was like….huh.I mean logically okay, I get it—-it’s a legal form of tender for food but it’s also an inclusion/democratization of Amazon that I hadn’t considered was delineated.I thought of another point that I teach and discuss with my students who are on EBT/HASA, etc..I’m of two minds:One, I want people to be taken cared of, eat, live and I think that with a little saving off of the industrial-military complex of the USA, whose military is 15x larger than any other on the planet, we could not only spot every American $200 a month in Food Stamps but we could also provide city and state-level college education for 4–7 years.BUTTwo, I also think that as it exists now, if we completely democratize things like Food Stamps, to even something like Amazon, then there is no incentive to get off of Welfare because your “money” is just as “good” as mine.Part of why we work is to have cash that’s usable everywhere but we also have to either save insane amounts of money or learn to manage credit to have credit cards, get a mortgage, buy a car. Money/resources in society are staggered to maturity levels and maturity is more often imbalanced against those in poverty because there’s no incentive to become more mature.(Now you understand why when I read EBT was accepted my “HUH” was loaded like an everything on it baked potato, right, right?)Okay, I’m not about the Amazon Fresh—-I’m a bougie Fresh Direct whore here in NY. So the whole Amazon-EBT debate is rather academic to me. I’m FD’s man-bitch. Don’t judge.But then I thought about it and then this question popped up and I realized that yeah, Amazon and I get a little bougie together. The most expensive item I’ve ordered from Amazon has been a few hundred dollars though I’ve never had any problems with Amazon, use it to randomly send friends, relatives, students, all manner of stuff—-mainly books, occasionally hilarious toys, flowers, music CDs. I use, as a column of my media business, Amazon, I’ve been ordering from them and their independent sellers since at least 2000.One of the reasons why I’ve increased from say 15% of my purchases on Amazon to maybe 50–75% is that I think Customer Service, where so many less than Middle-Class people have to work—-hopefully moving on up—-is rather dicey in NYC at certain levels.Our NYC minimum wage went up to $15 but that doesn’t always translate to better service just people paid more to be…themselves. Some are young and frankly…dumb…or obtuse. Others are older and either doing a second gig or did not do the things in life that would have worked out so they are forced into jobs that are very A to B. Supermarkets, convenience stores, CVS, Rite Aid, fast food, retail.I detest lines. Not because there’s a mass of people, that’s to be expected—-how you say? When I worked at supermarkets or retail at the end of the evening there is a print out from all the registers. The print out details what was sold, when, how much, etc to balance out the receipts and tills. But this print out can also do something else that I’ve been able to do on cash registers since the mid-1990s it can extrapolate when the MOST sales occurred and figure out median times.You can ask the register: Hey, what hour span is our busiest?The register can then calculate based upon sales that on Monday it’s from 645pm to 745, on Tuesday from 630pm to 730pm, so on and so on and even saying that on Friday and Saturday it’s from 545pm to 8 pm.Amazon, upper class, ordering, I’m getting there………hang on.For 6 months I worked at WalMart in Charlotte, NC while visiting dying family. At the Customer Service desk, one got the pleasure of a double Masters degree associate in me but I was also able to pay deep learning attention to the WalMart system and why they’re financially so successful. They pay attention to the above data from their registers and schedule staff, hire staff, restock, damn near twinkle the lights based upon this data.Most stores in NYC don’t.I just walked out of Rite Aid 6 hours ago, leaving Jersey because there were a dozen people online…and 2 cashiers. And it didn’t seem like the brainiest, fastest cashiers on the planet. My first move was I’ll go get my items, take my time in the A/C and when I get back it will be a reasonable single digit in line. I went and got a sewing kit which ironically was right above the material dye, and took my two items to the line—-that was now 15 people deep—-still 2 cashiers. I put my stuff on a shelf and walked out. Ridiculous.But I possess credit cards, cash, buying power that when I walk into Barnes & Noble, they’d sure as shit better give or offer me a discount because all that’s between me, the book, them and shutting down is that Amazon delays gratification a few days. But here’s the thing when you have more disposable cash, you’re not as impulsive. The psychology of the person buying from Amazon tends to be someone who might have more money.Here’s a human experiment I do—-I watch people.I get on several elevators in my travels. Two are on the subway, another in a mixed class apartment building, an office building and stores. I watch people who after I or they have pressed the button—-and generally there’s a screen showing where the elevator is—-press the lit button again…and again…and again and again. And I often want to tell them that doesn’t speed up the elevator—-that has never been built into an elevator. They move at the speed they move when in motion. Or I watch them push the floor button several times, door close several times—-again and again and again.And again, it doesn’t make the elevator go faster. Sometimes the door might change its cycle and close earlier but really, those 5 seconds, was your life improved?Initially to use Amazon you needed a credit card or a debit card. The debit card connected to a checking account and maybe gift cards. I’ve done minimum of a few hundred thousand dollars of business through Amazon and one of the things that came up when I started was that I had to have multiple accounts to keep track of sales, purchases, payments, etc.. While Amazon is simple to use, you have to be at a certain level to use it often because you’re generally trying to solve several problems—-one, no lines;two, you’re willing to be patient to gratification;three, you have the disposable income to buy now, receive later;four, you might be interested in some esoteric items that logically you somehow know exist but might be difficult to physically find;five, Amazon has sellers/vendors worldwide (I’m one of them!) but a worldwide customer is of a different mentality than someone in a rural or urban setting.six, Amazon rewards and the relationship is different when you’re a long term customer than if you’re a one or two off customer. They send me things, offer me deals, remember stuff, fulfill orders of sometimes dozens of books for me for a class and on the vendor side they print, distribute and then mass distribute, schedule payments—-and I’ve been multiple kinds of a vendor on Amazon—-to larger and larger transfers/payments and at the time are impeccable in their records for my tax and business records.But just from #6 alone, I’m using Amazon in markedly advanced, social class different way than most Black men. When I try to explain it to street vendors, how to sell their inventory faster, they literally can’t understand me—-then they continue staring at their smartphone—-which is all you need to sell and receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from Amazon.So yes, the convenience, speed, diversity and “form” of customer service that doesn’t mean I have to wait in a line that could be changed with some forethought, means they are targeting—-and I’m sure there’s a demographic breakdown those of us who probably earn $40k or more. Now they’ll, of course, accept customers (the whole EBT expansion) lower than that but I’m so far a 20-year customer/vendor who has purchased with them AND brought in revenue that we split. And they’ve treated me pretty well because of that.The more you do for a company, retail even, in purchase and revenue generation, the more they steer towards you.Racial Wealth Gap/Digital DivideI would further add that when we compare racial/economic demographics, over 90% of White homes have computers, less than 50% for Blacks and Latinos with internet access—-there’s a digital divide.Whites have $141,000 in net worth compared to $6000 for Latinos and $5300 for Blacks according to Tom Shapiro professor and author of several books on the Racial Wealth Gap.If you look at those statistics, then certain people have more money to shop online and have greater capability to shop online.Racially and economically I’m somewhat of an outlier. I’ve had a PC since I was 11, having bought it with the revenue from a national business I started. I got my first Mastercard and Visa at 18. By then my mother had her own computer and we were both online. I bought my next super-duper PC Junior year in college and I started an online business with Amazon and eBay drop shipping about 3 years later using my computer. I sat at home for several years earning $50k on the side of taking consulting paralegal projects—-where I spent a lot of time online when not working.But, and I’ll get personal here, it’s not the same, based on not just socioeconomic class but also directly race, there’s a huge Digital Divide and Racial Wealth Gap within my family of 40–60 people. One cousin has an Associates in IT and a BA in Liberal Arts, another a Masters in Education, then there’s me and my parents with Masters degrees. 6 of us have been online, computer savvy, with credit cards over the past 20–30 years. Out of 60.Okay, let’s lens this deeper, I teach/have taught:MSOffice to certificationDesktop Support TechnicianA+System AdministratorGraphic Design courses using Photoshop, etc.I’ve worked extensively in law firms on their softwareI’ve also worked extensively on finance software at places like Goldman Sachs.Again, I’m a Black Digital Outlier. By that, I mean racially Black and Latino people have less “trust” of the internet because of less trust of financial tools, less understanding of the internet itself and less trust of big business and not physical cash to hand transactions. So many of the reasons for the Racial Wealth Gap and Digital Divide have to do with a lack of understanding of money and technology to combat, reduce, demand dismantling the institutional structural racial obstacles. What I offer you as an Outlier, is that some of us pointedly, Black, pointedly, over a certain income level, business owners can traverse the internet/cyber shopping better than most others of us (Blacks and Latinos).So when you combine it into Amazon—-let’s just say that even my parents were a little confused about how I performed drop shipping online without touching a thing except for the keyboard but receiving cash deposits. But their experience in owning a business, teaching me about finance, money, and credit—-my mother’s confusion was about how I bought say a book from A to send to B after B had bought it from me, which I never had physically.Further, as I published books and eBooks my mother, even after mini-strokes was able to understand the differences and that I never even saw the books, the files, nor my customers—-she was deeply interested in the international taxes, overall revenues, hard business questions. But she was a Black, Middle Class/Higher Outlier who had received gifts from me, ordered stuff, maintained credit, bought things online, mortgages, annuities, etc. so she was simply of a slower Outlier level than my drop shipping capability, she had a physical store and business so cyberspace was new to her but she learned it.Smartphones have democratized ACCESS to the internet more but not usability. I often challenge, particularly, my Black and Latino students when I mention something they don’t know—-a word, a concept, an idea—-to look it up on your damn phone!Most people play games, watch videos but aren’t using smart phones as assistants in the ways that are totally possible. And that has to do with educational level which is generally 8th/9th grade for the masses (hence TV at that level) so engaging Amazon which entails retail experience, and a form of imagining things-—like clothing, shoes, understanding dimensions of objects, technical aspects of items—-it’s easier for the less educated to go to a store, wait in line, pay more and ask a billion and one questions.My next big purchase on Amazon is a Lacey hard drive for TV show editing/episodes. My question is whether I should get a 4 or 5 or 8 TB one and the cable attachments? I’ll go to the studio and I’ll ask one of the Production Assistants (experts) that works there, I’ll then click on my phablet (it’s a phone and a tablet—-it’s a phablet!) and purchase it from my saved credit card on Amazon, getting a 30% discount on the $300-$500 I’ll spend—-the retail price being $500-$700 at Best Buy and B&H.Harshly, I can see those poor people, lacking education, access, and knowledgeable usability pay more and by paying more they have less and by having less they are economically lower in social class.Middle class and higher have been taught the intricacies of systems and technology enough to be able to access a space like Amazon with ease and at leisure or work, do a mental comparison and have the means (credit cards, debit, etc) to purchase AND have insurance against loss, damage, theft in the delivery process. We also have built up a trust so that the biggest snafus I’ve had with Amazon is that I clicked office address vs home address and told the doorman to expect a package that came to my office.I’ve never had to wait in line for anything from Amazon and I’ve never returned anything in 20 years. Hell, it’s why I do publishing business with them, drop shipping and I even buy the stock.#KylePhoenix#TheKylePhoenixShow

I could do an interview. I have even written a document on losing things titled Losing It. Wrote it a few years ago but once in awhile fix it up.Through I am a bit bitter I am of the few foreigner who seems to lose his wallet and never get it back.Here is a cut and paste of the aforementioned document.Lately, I have noticed that people seem to be losing their phones and other items. So here is some long advice in which to prevent you from losing your phone and other personal items. Also, on what you do when an item is lost and on how to find it. Yes, some of this advice is basic and very common sense. I am, well hoping to impart some wisdom and ideas for people.How Not to Lose it!Idiot CheckThe idiot check, has saved me from a whole bunch of grief. Every time you get up from sitting down. LOOK BACK AND CHECK. Really. Stop. Turn around and look behind where you were sitting for a good long look. Getting out of a taxi and look at where you were just sitting. If needed turn on the overhead light. The taxi driver will not mind, too much. Even a quick swipe of the seat with your hand will help. The idiot check will surprise you. You will be amazed at what can slip out from jacket pockets or from bags. What might be forgotten when you put to the side for a minute while doing something else. That wet umbrella you put on the floor or the sunglasses you put aside while you organize your purse. So whenever you get up from a bus seat, taxi backseat or subway seat. Do the IDIOT CHECK. Make this a habit!Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet, and WatchThe classic joke on how the Catholic prayer goes. Well, mine is more of a left hip/pocket, right hip pocket and right ass cheek check. I give my pockets a pat to feel for wallets, phones, or keys. Plus, I even give my bag a a reassuring tug. Learning to do this throughout the day is good habit to do. The occurrences of me leaving home or school without phone or wallet is really reduced. Even when I just go to the bathroom, I give my bum a little pat check for my wallet. So practice whenever you are on the move or going someplace to do the pat check.Everything in it's Place and Place for Everything.Most people have this already developed. Some people not really. Maybe you could work on this a bit more. Consider all the stuff you carry around. Where do you put it? Really think, where do you put each thing. Wallet in the back pocket? Phone in front left pocket or in bag/purse? Once you have in mind that, make it a habit to ALWAYS put it there! Do not change things around too much or often. If your phone alternates between pockets, hand, or bag, then the chance of it being absently forgotten goes up. Cause you think it is in your pocket or you thought you put it in your bag. Thinking and thought are not proof of where it is.Even think about where you put things down when you take them out to use them. Have your handphone out at a cafe. Where do you put it down? Do you put it usually the same place or does it move around the table. Is it by your cup or maybe farther away near the table edge? Like putting things away, you need to practice where you put it down. Once you know where the phone usually goes, the chances of it getting lost or forgotten goes down or even roughed up. You then will learn to automatically put it away in its proper place or put down in it regular position.If you have the will, you can learning the basic of just learning to feel for the absence or presence of said item. Some people can just physically feel without hands an item is in their pocket or if bag is on their shoulder. The know the weight of items on them. Develop that personal instinctHave a Place to PUT it.Amazingly sometimes people do not have a place to put things. Like a bag or pocket. Girls out for the night take a small evening bag, which holds only so much. Problem is the woman might not have a place for her phone. So now she has two things to look after. Even the purse needs a place to go as it is small. Same with guys, smartphones are getting bigger and can not always fit in the pants pocket. So do your things have a place to go? Bag, belt clip, at home on the desk, or a pocket. Sorry the bar or table is not always a good place.Learn the Ways You Lose itAn example of this. One way I have lost a few items is with food trays. I have lost pens and notebooks on fast food trays. I think almost a phone too. All because they got hidden under receipts and napkins on the tray. Then thrown into the garbage. So I have learned to not do that. Go to the urinal and put your phone down on the ledge. Look down to zip up and turn go, thus forgetting handphone on ledge Think about all those times you almost forgot things. Where and what happened? Why did you lose it? So when similar situations come up you are mentally prepared to not lose it. Change your bad forgetful habits.It is Here Somewhere?An interesting behaviour I have noticed with waygooks in Korea is the use of bags and knapsacks. Myself included. Some waygooks like to carry a lot of things with them. They have a knapsacks filled with books, devices, and cords. Women haves purses and some people well big pockets! Koreans are amazing, I have seen them travel with just a coat for overnight to another city!The problem comes with the more stuff a person has, the more items they have to watch out for. Plus things can get lost on the assumption of it is amongst other things. Here is a test, look around a busy place. See the people, lets say they are all friends. Now leave the place. Somebody has left. Now go to the entrance and do not go inside fully. From the entrance look around for 5 seconds. Turn around. Now who is gone? Pretty hard to do. The same with a bag. Your phone or that book might be in the bag but a quick feel around or glance in does not mean it IS in the bag. Things can be deceiving People need to learn to actively check for things or consider not taking too much in their bag or pockets.Make It Distinct!Is your phone black with a touch screen? Really! So is mine. Your phone looks about the same size as mine, too. Ok, your phone has a hard case? White, wow same here! Did you steal my phone?A problem is many people's phones look the same or similar. Mistakes happen, people grab things that will look like theirs. Phone, umbrellas, coats. Do not go the same as every other person like get a phone and a basic hard case in a basic color. Do something to make your items distinct. Take the chance to do some art or express yourself. Like unicorns, get a unicorn case. You should be easily able to to pick out your phone from a similar looking one. Heck if you can spot it across a room, you have done your job. For example, I got a bright orange nylon strap added with the words "Not Yours! F- Off!" to my umbrella. Have not lost it in over a two year.The same can go with bags and coats. Sometimes things are very unitarian and similar. Once black coat can look like another persons.Watch Where You Put It.A hypothetical question for you. You are at a bar, it is busy. Now would you decide to put a pile of 500,000 won in bills down on a table. Take your hands off it and look away. It is still close by. What about take your eyes off it for a few seconds while you talk to someone or drink? What about leave it there for 30 seconds and get up to get a drink. Bet you are likely not going to do that, with that much money. Yet, of course people do the same with their smartphones.You sign a contract for a nice expensive phone and then proceed to exhibit behaviour that has that phone gone within a couple of weeks or months. Even places that are less crowded like a cafe can be just as prone. Really it takes less than 5 seconds for a phone to walk off. If you would not do that with money, why the same with your other expensive devices. Change your attitude on how your treat your things.Free for the Taking.Here is an amazing thing about Korea. You can lose your wallet or leave your handphone behind and most Koreans will be honest enough to hold it and return it to you. Sometimes, even run after you to return it. This country can be very safe and honest at times. This is wonderful to see, yet three things develop with this.First, here is the disappointing part, this honesty is mostly with the Koreans. Waygooks don't trust the fuckers. They will likely steal from you. Just because you can trust the Koreans and most of the time anyplace in Korea, does not mean this similar behaviour is done by foreigners. Do not trust the waygooks! Sorry to disappoint there is a higher chance of a theft with waygooks then Koreans. So, if you are out on a night at the local waygook hangout, don't leave your shit lying around. Because all it takes is one asshole waygook, to decide to walk off with your phone or camera.The second aspect is since Korea can be so honest, behaviors change. I mean it is nice to be relaxing at a cafe, go to the bathroom and leave my bag unattended. Two minutes later, back and relaxing again. My stuff is still there. This starts to build a complacency towards your stuff. So in the back in your home country, 49 times out of a 50, your stuff is unmolested and fine. Yet because of that 2 percent chance you would not likely do that and leave things unattended. The odds here in Korea may be much lower like 999 out of 1000. Yet people ignore things more often as the chance of theft is lower. That hundreth visit to the cafe, maybe prove to be the time when the odds flip. All it takes is that small chance and it is maybe a Korean who decides to walk off with your phone or walletThe third aspect is why trust? You might need to learn to never trust anything fully. Yes Korean people are honest and odds of things being stolen are low compared to other places. Still do not TRUST ANYTHING OR ANYONE FULLY. Odds maybe be low, but that does not that nothing will happen. So even just consider NOT trusting Koreans not to steal or playing on the odds of leaving you bag while you go to the counter. Do not reduce vigilance, keep paranoid, do not let up at all. The sad part is it might affect how you see and deal with http://life.So be careful on treating your items too casually.Activity and BehaviorPeople handle their items differently from one time to another. Where, when, what is happening, etc are going the effect behavior towards handling items. Going out for drinks. Getting drunk or buzzed is going to change your behavior towards how you deal with your phone. Out on a date, your attention is going to be towards your date, not your items. Out with friends and behavior becomes lax as people trust each other to watch out for each other. You will not always be able to do the same thing all the time. If you are going to be do something that increases the chance of loss, consider having less with you. Do you need those sunglasses or to bring that book?Safe PlacesWhen you are out, learn to use and find safe places to put items. Pockets are the best. Sometimes pockets are not enough. Behind the bar, ask the bartender to hold the purse for you. a tip will help things. Are there lockers or cubby holes to put things? Learn to use and find safe places. Use them to your advantage.Yet be careful with safe places. Not all of them are safe. You think your coat would be safe in a pile with 10 other coats. Yet people are going to be coming and going to the pile and not everybody will be trustworthy orThe Finer Things in Life!You have the new Iphone 6. You spent a whole bunch of money for it. Maybe you bought a nice original Prada handbag. You spent your hard earned money on something really good. Now that something good is going to bring trouble with it. People covet and get jealous of what other people have. They want it and they just might take it. The finer an item is, the higher the chance of it being stolen goes up. Unless you can afford the loss, do think about where you take that item out to. True, you can not always leave that expensive item in its package or in a locked drawer at home. You want to enjoy it, use it and show it off. If you are taking it out, some attitudes and behaviours need to change. More care in handling is needed. Your older phone could be left and ignored for a minute. That brand new phone is not going to get ignored. Now most people can adjust and up the awareness level when needed. Yet if you are going to a place where your attention is going to be lax or distracted, then reconsider bring the item. Consider an alternative.Who Watches the Watchers?Sigh, friends. You can trust them to watch out for you. Going to the toilet, your can trust your boyfriend to watch your purse. Your friend can hold on to your phone in their coat pocket for a while. Once again the unpleasant aspect of life comes up. People do not care about you and your things as much as you care about themselves. Your friend can be trusted to keep an eye out. It is rare to find a friend who will pay really close attention and protect your items. They say yes, but they might have other things on their mind or are doing? They are busy chatting with a cute girl. So that please can you watch my..., might just become person remember to look at every few minutes to see if it still there. The phone is in a pocket of his tenth favourite coat and he is not worried about losing it. Here people need to dial back expectations and at times consider alternatives.How to Lose It. Maybe and Gracefully that is.ExpendablesDo you have items that you could lose and you will not care much about. Some people have items they can live without or replace easily. From umbrellas to pens. Make the choice at times to use items that can be lost. Get a cheapish umbrella, rather than super nice and expensive one. Have a nice fountain pen given as a gift. Leave it at home on your desk and take a cheap ballpoint. Same with a lighter. We now live in a very throwaway world. Use those throwaway items to your advantage. Sometimes being able to relax and not worry about an item because it is cheap is worth it.Reduce the Load, Reduce the GriefIt amazes me what some people have in their wallet. That drivers license of you with a mustache from ten years ago that is funny conversation piece. Important cards and contacts that are difficult or impossible to replace. A lucky or special memento like a child’s photograph. Now banks cards, money and some items can be replaced or dealt with if lost. Those special and unique items will be missed when the wallet is lost or stolen. If you want to keep them, consider leaving them at home or in safe place. Go through your stuff and find the things that if you lost you would really miss. Do you need to carry it? If so, can you do something to reduce the grief. Get a scan of the special photo. Or people have many things in their wallet that they use sometimes or rarely. From points cards, to second bank cards, to chargers and USB drives. Do you need that UK drivers license here in Korea, when you have no car? People keep things and take around on the idea of what if or maybe they will use. Give your wallet or bag a clean out Take some items out. Maybe the item might be needed later and not around but the grief of not getting some worthless points is less than if you lost it.One? No, I Have a Couple. One here, One at Home, ....You need to have some ID, but do you need to have originals? Or can you have more than one.Yes, Mom That is Me In The Video With The Two Girls, but…It is amazing what people do or leave on their devices. They do not even use some basic methods like encryption to protect their privacy. In this day and age it is astounding on the personal information that is on people's devices from credit cards numbers to personal photos. Not counting the personal pictures, videos or documents. Have some intimate pictures of you and your girlfriend? Sexting with a married woman? If that phone gets lost do you think it will stay private. People who find a lost phone or even steal one are going to snoop.So if your device has password capability, then consider setting it. Even a basic password can make people reconsider keeping a device. Consider getting programs or apps that can secure or even encrypt files. With some more effort and possible cash a person can set up devices to be even secure and next to impossible for someone else to use.Do a security sweep. Give a regular clean of the data both private and personal. Are there files on your device that you want people to see or that could be used to hurt you.Plan to Getting it BackLabel It!For the cost of 1000won and help from a Korean you can save yourself a whole bunch of money, stress and leg work. Get some sticky labels and label your stuff. The label may look tacky on your phone, but it really helps. You can even find nice looking ways to label. Consider getting etching done. Your name and email carved into the phone case. Label it more than one way. If you can open the phone up to change batteries. Put a label inside under the frame. Now here is the key. Do the label in two languages. Here in Korea, most people are going to speak Korean. Surprise! So have the label in Korean first and English second.Electronic LabellingHave you labeled your phone electronically. Added your name to the front lock screen wallpaper. Name the phone. Some phones allow you to give a system name. Add a text file with your contact details to the root directory. You can even get apps that will display owner information when a person clicks on a widget or button. Even other electronic items can be labeled. I changed my Kindle wallpaper to include my contact details.Get Those Numbers.While you are labeling the device, why not get any all distinct ID numbers and info you can. Model number, serial number, ESN, MAC Address, etc. Go through the settings and get the numbers. Record them down in a safe place. While you are at it if the phone is labeled anyway, take a photo of the phone. Highlight what makes it distinct. Have those numbers accessible and photo for when the phone gets lost, email, Dropbox, piece of paper back home. These numbers can come in hand with any police reports or insurance claims.OK, I Found a Phone and What do I do Next?Great you labeled the phone. You lost it and someone has now found your phone. They even know it belongs to John Smith. And now what? How does the person who finds your phone contact you? How is your phone going to be handed back to you? You need to provide contact information for the person to call you or email you. Some ideas areHome/landline phone numberWork business numberSignificant other's numberTrustworthy friend.Secondary/backup phoneA lost and found partnershipIf that is not doable, an email or drop off address should be provided. Even better is provide more than one way to unite owner and item.Anyong? Anyong? Anyong? Hello? Hello? Who was that?Still one key point is the person who is going to be contacted has the ability to communicate with the finder. So once again, ability to speak Korean is key. If the finder gets frustrated, your chances of getting the phone or item back drops.Lost Phone. Reward if Found.Next you have to provide an incentive for the finder to take the time and effort to returning your handphone. The best incentive is money. So figure in the cost of a nice reward and even transportation costs like running around in taxi. Which would you rather spend 100k or 500k plus for another new phone.I think this is the start of a beautiful....Money is a great motivator. Yet other incentives should also be played upon. Pile them on. Some of them can be psychological.Friendship. If the person has the ability to make a friend or meet someone new they will be more eager.Gratitude. Sometimes that little extra to feeling good is when someone sees you as an honest good person.Ego. Flatterly and ego stroking is that little extra good feeling when someone thinks, you are fucking awesome!Religion and Ethics. Remind them that God or society is watching and judging them.Sex. Really a nice good looking photo of you will entice some people of just the possibility.Adventure.Easy Peasy,Japanesey, KoreanSorry. One key thing in getting people to do things, is you need to make doing it easy. So fucking easy! If all the finder has to do is drop it off at a near-by business, then it will likely get done. Push a button and the phone is picked up in 15 minutes. Done.! Or the the finder has to wait 15 minutes, enjoy a drink, get thanked profusely and paid (do not forget to pay the tab). THE PHONE will be return. Have some plans on what to do. Provide the person with a couple of options.Central drop off location. Like a favourite cafe or bar. Maybe a good friends business. A well known spot. Remember easy to find and get to. If they have to look around and search it is not a good drop point.Place close to the finder.Place to send it. Envelope, COD at shipping counter, and done.Somebody will pick it up, where they are.Okay, How About at 6:00 or 7:00pm.Timing is also an obstacle to plan around. People are busy, they have jobs. Or are not eager (lazy) to run around. They are comfortable on the couch or heck even naked, too. So you also need to provide the person the options concerning time. If the person does not feel too pressured, the chance of them returning your phone to you goes up. Or course this might not help as you have your own life,too. You can not leave your job when it is convenient for them.Finding ItWell, sometimes the phone is just not found by someone honest or competent. So you need to track down the phone.Freak out! Finished? Good. Now Think.Freak out! Cry, scream, whine, panic. Do whatever needs to be done. Get it out of the way. Then calm down, sit down and think! Even better, get a pen and paper. Think about where you were and what happened before and after you lost your thing. Who was with you? What needs to be done to protect yourself? Get it all down on paper. Now using those notes come up with a plan. Make a list of places to check and people to call. Rather than blindly running around, calling around and getting nowhere fast. Develop a plan. The plan and notes can reduce the blindspots and forgotten answers.Tell the AuthoritiesReport the loss or theft to relevant authorities. Call and notify police, phone provider, bank, and so on. This will increase the chance of it being found and returned. Also, these authorities can help give ideas on finding it or replacing it. Also notify places like bars and cafes where you might have lost it. Maybe they found it or know something about what happened.You Want!! You Do the Work!Here is the thing about life and people. It is not always going to be easy. It is going to take work and effort. Sometimes there are no short cuts or easy answers. Plus people are not going to care about things as much as you and will be lazy in their help. A phone call to the cafe where you lost it might work, but an actual visit will do better. Yea the bar owner might give a look under a counter for something, but you will do a better search then him and look under tables and in garbage cans. So accept you might have to do a whole bunch of running around. It is your work to do.Incentive!As mentioned above, people are lazy and will not care much. Here is the thing, you can make people care by providing an incentive. So when you are looking, add that little push of a reward. Tell the bartender there is a reward and he/she will give a closer and more thorough look around. Tell your friends drinks are on you next time, if they find your phone. People will pay attention for free things.Help People to to Find and Spot it.Which description will is better?Hey did you see my iPhone, I think I left it on the bar last night?ORHey did you see my new IPhone 5, it is white in a BRIGHT NEON PINK hard case. There is a unicorn and rainbow stickers on the case. Also, the screen is cracked a little bit on the right upper edge. When it rings it might play Gangnam Style. It has my name on - Jane Smith. Now, I think I lost it last night while I was ordering some Jagermeister shots for me and my four friends. It was between 10pm and 11 pm. Your name is Suenhoon right? I think I asked for your number last night. You had the cute vest on. You looked very busy, but I hope you remember seeing me and my phone. Later I was the girl dancing on the table and swinging her shirt over her head last night. Oh, here is a picture of the lost phone and my contacts details.The later one, right? I think that one will work better. The more your separate and identify the item and who you are. The more you increase your chance of person remembering things that can help in finding it. Help develop that mental image of the item, who you are, and what might have happened? The more vivid and interesting you make things, the higher the odds. Or course the problem arises of here in Korea of language. Trying to explain things to people who very likely have a low level or none of English.Help People *TO* Remember It.Similar to above, the more info you give the more it helps. Problem is life goes on. That taxi driver will think about it for a minute and maybe give a look. Later he will think less of it and forget to look or keep an eye out. He has other things to do. Your woe is soon put aside and forgotten. You need to help people to remember you and your problem. So later that taxi driver when he is cleaning out the car and finds the phone under a seat. He will remember the story. How do you do this remembering.One, physical reminders. Did you give a picture and info about the lost item Is your business card in their view and in their mind. When you give such info, try to place it somewhere where the person can not ignore it. A business card taped to a register is more memorable than a business card shoved into a drawer. Make sure you have them look at it.Two, mental reminders. Remember the second description above about the lost iPhone. Do not look up. What kind of stickers is on it? Did you guess right? Let me guess Unicorns and or rainbows are unique. They are memorable! Unicorns are something that are going stick around mentally in peoples mind. Through out the day, the person might give an extra thought about the lost item. What you want to do is hook mentally the idea of your phone and story. You might be out of sight, but not out of mindThree, personal reminders. What was the person above drinking last night? Plus what were they doing? By adding to the description of what happened and even personalizing it the person who might find it makes the event more interesting. Making the person who might find it, part of the story. This makes them want them to finish the story and even better a try to provide a happy ending. Making it personal will help remind people over time.Four, memento reminders. You left a picture and info and you added a package of cookies with it. Each time the person see and eats the cookies, the more they remember of what is lost. You want that person looking at the physical reminder or thinking about the reminder. Reinforce things. Repetition is key.You're Fucked! It's Gone!Whew, Thank Goodness I Had an Extra Copy....Like any electronic device from computer to camera. It has important documents, numbers, pictures, on it. And have you backed it up? If the information on your phone is important, should you not have another copy. Really learn how to use various programs and ways on how to save and backup your information. Spending 1 hour learning how to do it and do regulars updates, can save you hours of rebuilding. Even betters memories or information that cannot be replaced. Consider once a week or twice a week in backing up your devices.Wallets contain important info, so have you got the numbers from the cards. What about scans of the cards. How do you deal with the catch 22 situation of needing info from a lost card in order to get a new card.Replacing It.Lost your phone and for a couple weeks after you will flounder around and have some difficulties as you deal with the loss. What kind of makes life better is to have some plans ahead of time on what and how to replace the item. If you know the process to replace a phone like who to call or what to know and tell. Thus knowing the quicker you will have a replacement and life can go on. So think about the what if's. What if, I lost my bank card. What needs to be done to get a new one. Spend a few minutes and do some research. Thing about and answer questions. That bad event can quickly be moved on from with plan prepared ahead of time.Think about alternatives to items. Do you have a backup phone to use, before you move onto a new one. That MP3 player is gone but I can buy another and replace the music today. I know what to do. How are you going to replace the item?Monkey Haunting.Make sure you get things wrapped up and finished. Let people know it is gone and you are moving on. Make sure all relevant authorities know. Make sure things are canceled, secured, or replaced. Nothing can be worse than getting a surprise later like a large phone bill or a fine for ignoring things out of hope it might come back. It is lost, make sure it stays lost and not come back with a vengeance.Reducing the LossIt really does suck to lose something but what can make losing something less sucky is things like insurance, warranties or other alternatives. An outlay of money now can save a person a whole bunch in the future. Some phone companies provide extra plans or insurance on. Check it out. A loss that could have cost more before might just be less if a person enrolls himself. Here is the key you have to do it yourself, many people assume that it is automatic or can be done after a loss. Nope the world usually does not work that way. If a person made the plan before of an item being lost the will be better prepared and less financially or personally hurt. Many places are even reluctant to mention things. You make the choice and effort now. Also accept that it might cost money that might not provide a benefit. You are paying on a bet. Make the judgement call of some cost now or a whole bunch of cost later.