WHEN IS THE NFC NOT ABOUT FOOTBALL?

KAINOA

 8-Year-Old Quarterback Prodigy

(Photo courtesy of Richie A.)

My young grandson, Kainoa, has probably thrown more touchdown passes than I've seen birthdays. 

From the age of seven, Kainoa has excelled as a field general, leading his respective teams to first and second place in Oahu peewee football leagues.  As of this writing, he has just completed his baseball and flag football seasons and is currently training for his first year of tackle football.

His family members, other players' families, football fans, coaches, and officials have collectively recognized Kainoa's potential to mature into a gifted athlete.   My son, Richie--Kainoa's dad--and I have even mused about this young lad's chances of forging a successful path all the way to the professional ranks.

But for Kainoa and other aspiring football stars, the NFC challenge will not be played out on the gridiron.

Instead, their NFC playoffs will be played out in corporate boardrooms all across America.

What in the world is this guy talking about?  You might be silently asking yourself right now.

Sorry.  I've been toying with you.  

Everything I've shared about Kainoa is true.

But the NFC I'm referring to--something I just learned about yesterday when I read an informative document--stands for Near Field Connection.

Near Field Connection technology seeks to make life easier and more convenient for the global consumer to conduct transactions, share digital content,  and link high tech gadgetry with a touch.


Here, let me show you what I mean.  Watch this video.  It's a great example of what this technology can do...and mind you, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

NFC and Theater

(Video courtesy of NFC Forum)

For other cool videos demonstrating the application and efficiency of NFC technology, you can peruse the following web page:

http://www.youtube.com/user/NFCForum

Just as revolutionary as was the transition from cash to credit and debit cards will be this amazing quantum leap from cards to smartphone payments.  Indeed, the day will come when the object you're swiping or tapping at the grocery store, ATM machine, Redbox, or public transportation terminal won't be a plastic card but an appropriately named smartphone.


According to the NFC Forum, a consortium of prominent corporations, NFC is a connectivity technology that unifies and brings into harmonious working order the wide spectrum of contactless technologies, thus facilitating current and future solutions in areas such as:

• Access control
• Consumer electronics
• Healthcare
• Information collection and exchange
• Loyalty and coupons
• Transport
• Payments.

Let's take a look at just that last category alone--Payments.  A prominent research group, Forrester Research, has found that over 12% of Americans and 6% of Europeans have ALREADY

paid for products or services by utilizing mobile devices.  In addition, the Wall Street Journal reports that $32 billion worth of merchandise were made by using mobile gadgetry in just the last year alone. But that's not all.

The statistical analysts at Generator Research believe that current numbers will jump to an astounding $633 Billion in the next three years.  They also predict that  490 million people around the world will utilize this technology by 2014.

Can you imagine the serious money to be made?  

I am seriously considering investing a humble amount in NFC.  A small and affordable amount is all anyone needs to risk in order to get HUGE returns on investment.

And that is precisely why the behemoth corporations like Google, Apple, Microsoft, AT&T, Nokia, Sony, Samsung, Texas Instruments, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PayPal, Motorola, Hitachi, Sprint, Panasonic, and Toshiba are jockeying for position and leverage in preparation for this dynamic wave--no, make that a TSUNAMI!--of transition from the old school methods of payment--credit cards, debit cards, checks, and even cash--to NFC integrated mobile devices.

Knowledge, inventions, and technology are rapidly increasing.  Man made the machines, and now the machines are helping man make even more sophisticated and intricate machines.  

Machines that communicate with each other more efficiently and peacefully than man communicates with his fellow men.  

It's a Brave New World, alright.

And for Kainoa and his generation, I can only pray that they will adjust well to the innovative and advanced technologies.

The possibilities are awesome!