Business briefs: Tampa tech firm’s new identity, automation and jobs, and more

Pat Bhava

PikMyKid, with school dismissal automation products, now is part of an umbrella brand called Kid.io.

After Saravana “Pat” Bhava launched PikMyKid five years ago by, he heard from school clients that they wanted additional features so as to better ensure the safety of their children. He has since developed products such as parent messaging, an emergency alert system, an anonymous tip line and social media analysis.

“Instead of rebranding we decided to create an umbrella brand whose mission is ‘keeping kids safe’ under which PikMyKid is a product category which only does dismissal management. In 2017 we acquired the coveted domain kid.io and started gradually branding around the overall message of school safety,” Bhava said.

Job security

How likely are you to lose your job to technological disruption? A new report from Pinellas County Economic Development tries to quantify that, using an automation index that measures the likelihood of job automation.

At the top of the list of occupations most likely to be automated, based on their prevalence in Pinellas County, are dishwashers, painters,  helpers for electricians, carpenters and plumbers.  Lease likely to be automated are medical and health service managers, clergy and environmental scientists and specialists.

“Generally, the jobs more apt to be automated are in more typically male-dominated fields such as construction. Another concerning trend is that the jobs most vulnerable to automation are disproportionately staffed by minorities,” the executive summary of the report says. “Newly unemployed workers will likely need rapid job training programs and more workers, particularly men and minorities, will have to migrate into the service economy.”

Read the full report here.

Alexa, call HSN

Photo by Jan Kolar on Unsplash

Qurate Retail Group, the company that bought HSN in St. Petersburg last year, is rolling out new digital initiatives, including one for voice-activated technology.

Consumers can now interact with the company by voice, using Alexa, according to a a news release. Currently, users can watch or listen to HSN live and obtain information about HSN’s broadcast and products. By early next year users will be able to order products from the live broadcast, search for and order other items from the full product assortment and check on shipping updates, as well as other account details, all via voice.

Inventors

An exclusive “club” whose members range from Henry Ford and Thomas Edison to Sara Blakely, the inventor of Spanx, is now taking nominations for its next class.

Inventors whose achievements have advanced the quality of life for the state and the nation are eligible for the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame. The nominee must be a named inventor on a patent issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. They can be alive or dead, and must have a connection to Florida. The deadline for submitting nominations is Feb. 1, 2019. To nominate an individual,  click here.