Ten gallery owners have formed the Zionsville Art Gallery Association, a trade group that they hope will boost visitors to their galleries, provide more convenient hours for shoppers and then trickle down to other Zionsville businesses.

Gallery owners hired James Burnes, senior strategist at the consulting firm Project Brilliant, to help them form a plan and put it into action. The firm primarily uses Internet to enhance businesses.

(Read the complete article on IndyStar.com)

Below are a few excerpts from the article. (Article is premium content on IBJ. You can register for a free trial account to read the complete article).

Smart-phone fever is heating up the climate for innovation in the local tech community, as firms new and old try to cash in on the demand for applications that can be used on the iPhone, BlackBerry and other gadgets from the likes of Palm and Google.

Tech entrepreneurs also see opportunities in optimizing existing Web sites to make them easier to access and navigate for smart-phone users.

“Cell phones are the new computer. These are the only devices we carry with us at all times and the only device we put at our bedsides,” said James Burnes, CEO of upstart Mobiltopia.

Later in the article, James addresses the potential of web applications and why the market is prime for a business like Mobiltopia to build custom apps and mobile optimized web sites to leverage these legions of smart phone users.

Burnes points to other analyst estimates that smart-phone penetration could soar to 30 percent by the end of this year.

“Mobile has only begun to scratch the surface,” he said.

Yet a number of Web sites aren’t compatible with smart phones, Burnes said, pointing to research by Boston-based consumer research firm Compete. It found that 8 percent of smart-phone users surveyed said they were unable to complete purchases online, and 45 percent of those said it was because they couldn’t load the Web site.

Burnes said his firm has developed a smart-phone optimization system that allows a site to determine whether a visitor is using a phone or a computer. The software detects the particular type of phone and packages content to better suit the phone’s smaller screen size.

Burnes also contemplates apps that would allow a company’s employees to file their expenses, report their hours, request vacation days or conduct other mundane chores through their smart phones.

“We could operate our entire business, generally speaking, through a mobile device today.”•

While the new tools offer a host of marketing opportunities, Burnes says, it’s crucial that executives and others who understand their business brand thoroughly oversee the execution of such efforts.

“It is critical that companies don’t allow interns to be their social media manager,” he says, warning against the temptation to let fresh-faced new hires, who spend so much of their personal time with the online sites, take over.

“It would be the equivalent of having an intern write your corporate press release and send it out without review.”

Instead, Burnes says, leaders must learn the tools, gaining a mastery that will guide marketing efforts while dramatically expanding their own network contacts.

“Over time, you develop some of the skill sets of how to connect with different types of people in different environments,” he says.

Later in the article, James discusses why social networking impacts all business professionals, including those who don’t consider themselves necessarily ‘web savvy.’

“Even in the digital age, people are yearning for more face time. I can manage a lot larger social and professional network for a fraction of the time. If I use my social platforms effectively, I’m already caught up.

“They can turn relationships that have been collegial into business opportunities. It’s a research tool, too. It’s not just a relationship tool.”

It’s even a tool for friending or following competitors to keep up with their activities.

The evolution of social media tools — LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and a host of comment opportunities and self-produced blogs — depended on the development of economical, user-friendly technology.

“Social networking is just a digital version of what we have been doing for our entire careers,” Burnes says. “Social media can leverage new, positive opportunities for everyone.”