Category Archives: Medley

blogs

Nokia Debuts Conversations with the Blogosphere

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Nokia Conversations goes live April 21st, 2008, led by Nokia’s social media expert, Charlie Schick. As a member of the newly minted Social Media Communications group inside Nokia, Charlie has built what he refers to as a “mud hut,” and which he plans to transform into a blogosphere palace.Mark Squires describes the project briefly in my video interview with him at CTIA.

Many people will recall Charlie from his early work with Nokia’s first blogger outreach project promoting the use of Lifeblog. But for those who don’t remember. Lifeblog was a three-way (mobile, PC, Typepad blog) syncing application built in partnership with Six Apart allowing Typepad users to post images, photos, videos and text directly from their Nokia devices. That was over 3 years ago, and many of us have had the privilege of sharing conversations with Charlie since those early days in 2005.

Nokia Conversations highlights the developments inside the world’s largest device manufacturer, and new entrant into mobile content and services that the 60,000 employee company represents. Some of those 60K employees are also introduced along with their accomplishments and new products. Comments are welcomed, and engagement with the blogosphere has already begun as you’ll see. Welcome Nokia and we look forward to the “conversations.”

Congratulations to Charlie and his team for a job well done. If this is the “mud hut,” I can’t wait to witness the path of construction to the palace.

Nokia Conversations Blog

Annoucements

Nokia Debuts Conversations with the Blogosphere

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Nokia Conversations goes live April 21st, 2008, led by Nokia’s social media expert, Charlie Schick. As a member of the newly minted Social Media Communications group inside Nokia, Charlie has built what he refers to as a “mud hut,” and which he plans to transform into a blogosphere palace.Mark Squires describes the project briefly in my video interview with him at CTIA.

Many people will recall Charlie from his early work with Nokia’s first blogger outreach project promoting the use of Lifeblog. But for those who don’t remember. Lifeblog was a three-way (mobile, PC, Typepad blog) syncing application built in partnership with Six Apart allowing Typepad users to post images, photos, videos and text directly from their Nokia devices. That was over 3 years ago, and many of us have had the privilege of sharing conversations with Charlie since those early days in 2005.

Nokia Conversations highlights the developments inside the world’s largest device manufacturer, and new entrant into mobile content and services that the 60,000 employee company represents. Some of those 60K employees are also introduced along with their accomplishments and new products. Comments are welcomed, and engagement with the blogosphere has already begun as you’ll see. Welcome Nokia and we look forward to the “conversations.”

Congratulations to Charlie and his team for a job well done. If this is the “mud hut,” I can’t wait to witness the path of construction to the palace.

Nokia Conversations Blog

mobile-messaging-20

Crosspost from MM2 – Farwell Mobile Messaging 2.0

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A year ago I received an email from Francois Gossieaux about a new thought leadership blog that would focus on the mobile industry and specifically messaging.  Initially I thought it might be another among the countless offers I’ve received to provide content for free “to raise my profile.”  When I read that this was a Corante production, and that it was sponsored by Airwide Solutions I became intrigued.  Francois was on the phone almost immediately and he quoted a list of other mobile bloggers who I knew and respected.  I was quickly convinced that this new blog called Mobile Messaging 2.0 would be a great opportunity and said yes on the spot.

Mobile Messaging 2.0 has provided me with the chance to work and collaborate with the great team of writers assembled by Corante.  We’ve covered events around the globe including: Global Mobile Messaging – Monte Carlo, Brew Conference – San Diego, TechCrunch 40 – San Francisco, CTIA Fall – San Francisco, MWC – Barcelona, and CTIA Wireless – Las Vegas, just two weeks ago.  I’ve enjoyed the amazing thoughts and writing from my colleagues at MM2, and been privileged to share thoughts, brainstorms and disagreements with them in our weekly editorial conference calls.  Over this year,

  • Four of the top ten most popular posts on MM2 were written by me.
  • I’ve recruited two of the writers at MM2.
  • As Managing Editor, I’ve led our weekly conference calls and our monthly editorial calendar.
  • Brought the Carnival of Mobilists to MM2 along with securing the blog’s feature position at TechDispencer, Computerworld’s Blog Network
  • Covered conferences and other events

With my separate increasing demands from other projects and even the neglect of mobilejones.comto consider, it’s time to move on.  Mobile Messaging 2.0 will continue to be an important addition to anyone’s feed reader who wants to understand the evolving mobile industry, especially as we turned to the new opportunities related to mobile advertising.  I’ve very much enjoyed interaction with readers of MM2 and look forward to, now, becoming one of them.

Annoucements

Crosspost from MM2 – Farwell Mobile Messaging 2.0

Published by:

A year ago I received an email from Francois Gossieaux about a new thought leadership blog that would focus on the mobile industry and specifically messaging.  Initially I thought it might be another among the countless offers I’ve received to provide content for free “to raise my profile.”  When I read that this was a Corante production, and that it was sponsored by Airwide Solutions I became intrigued.  Francois was on the phone almost immediately and he quoted a list of other mobile bloggers who I knew and respected.  I was quickly convinced that this new blog called Mobile Messaging 2.0 would be a great opportunity and said yes on the spot.

Mobile Messaging 2.0 has provided me with the chance to work and collaborate with the great team of writers assembled by Corante.  We’ve covered events around the globe including: Global Mobile Messaging – Monte Carlo, Brew Conference – San Diego, TechCrunch 40 – San Francisco, CTIA Fall – San Francisco, MWC – Barcelona, and CTIA Wireless – Las Vegas, just two weeks ago.  I’ve enjoyed the amazing thoughts and writing from my colleagues at MM2, and been privileged to share thoughts, brainstorms and disagreements with them in our weekly editorial conference calls.  Over this year,

  • Four of the top ten most popular posts on MM2 were written by me.
  • I’ve recruited two of the writers at MM2.
  • As Managing Editor, I’ve led our weekly conference calls and our monthly editorial calendar.
  • Brought the Carnival of Mobilists to MM2 along with securing the blog’s feature position at TechDispencer, Computerworld’s Blog Network
  • Covered conferences and other events

With my separate increasing demands from other projects and even the neglect of mobilejones.comto consider, it’s time to move on.  Mobile Messaging 2.0 will continue to be an important addition to anyone’s feed reader who wants to understand the evolving mobile industry, especially as we turned to the new opportunities related to mobile advertising.  I’ve very much enjoyed interaction with readers of MM2 and look forward to, now, becoming one of them.

carnival-of-mobilists

Carnival of Mobilists #119

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Welcome to Carnvial of Mobilists #119. What’s amazing about this week’s offerings is that they themselves are a reflection of mobile’s push to data and multimedia in 2008. Handset companies, former handset companies, Internet companies, new entrants and social networking giants are all involved in mashups of services. And this CoM is a mashup of various media types to capture it all and bring to you. A photographic collage, video, audio and even the old school written article converge in the CoM to bring together the best thinking, talking and writing about mobility around the world.

From China, Anina of 360fashion.net and 360fashion.tv, delivers a video recorded with a Nokia 7900 which features a discussion with a Chinese fashion booker on the usefulness and utility of Anina’s own mobile game for girls called, Dress Up Anina. Some will be aware of Anina’s efforts through her 360fashion network to mashup the fashion and mobile industries. And if you’re not, you should be.

From the UK, Rafe Blandford of All About Symbian, creates his media mashup of a visual commentary of CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas.

Andrew Gill of blog.andrewgill.com introduces us to a mashup of Facebook and LBS which allows tracking of friends and family including wayward spouses. Channeling Dr. Suess: Oh! The Places We Will Go! The service is made available by UK mobile operator O2.

Vero Pepperrell of Taptology brings more news of O2 which reveals that 3G isn’t necessarily about speed for this operator. Read this one as “trust but verify” might be the best advice for those who think the iPhone’s Edge radio doesn’t meet their demands for 3G speed, especially those in the UK.

Ajit Jaokar of Open Gardens talks about his mashup of Gmail with Blackberry. This article asks a very simple direct question, but it’s hinting something bigger.

Kiran Bellubbi of Small Doses reflects on last week’s attendance at OvertheAir mobile development camp and champions the browser as platform for mobile devices. Let’s repeat together….iPhone, iPhone, iPhone.

Matt Radford of AllAboutiPhone discusses the iPhone’s Over-the-air (OTA) syncing opportunities and possible roadmap through an analysis of recent announcements from Apple along with it’s other properties. Interesting assessment of what syncing could mean for enterprises and for Apple.

James Cooper of mjelly delivers a comprehensive recap of this month’s Mobile Monday, London discussion on mobile user experience. The enthusiasm James has for the topic is palpable and contagious.

Dean Bubley of Distruptive Analysis takes on the disruptive possibilities of m-commerce for brick and mortal retail. Leading with the impact of Amazon on traditional retail, Bubley extrapolates the potential for m-commerce and how traditional retail can deliver unique value in the face of additional price and convenience competition.

James Whatley, aka Whatleydude of SMSTextNews,  advocates replacement of standard device OS user interface with the Facebook interface.  During the Mobile Messaging 2.0 led Roundtable at CTIA 2008, the group I led took on the topic of user experience.  After a discussion of consumer research results on user desire for integrated social networks from Jonathon Steuer, vp, consumer strategist at iconoculture, Facebook, and Helio’s MySpace interface, then the natural next step was expanding the concept to User-defined UI.  Or more correctly expressed….use case defined UI.  Some examples discussed included media creators, sports enthusiasts, and social network addicts.  Take a look as James recounts the discussion.

From the cyber bridge between the UK and US, Chetan Sharma of AORTA delivers the Mobile Data State of the Union for 2008 and the US market. Sharma continues his on target analysis of the mobile industry combining quantitative measures with enlightened commentary which extends beyond the common narrative into the reality of the US mobile market.

From the cyber bridge between Germany and the US, Peggy Anne Salz of MSearchGroove (MSG)connects the dots of Qualcomm’s seemingly disjointed services strategy and roadmap. The article features an extensive discussion with Qualcomm’s Herbert Vanhove, Vice President & General Manager, Qualcomm Internet Services, Europe, with Salz’s own analysis of the meaning and opportunity for Qualcomm’s service M&A activity.

From the US, C. Enrique Ortiz of About Mobility defines the drivers of the wireless/mobile usage boom. Ortiz draws out the factors that are converging to move mobile usage to a critical mass.

Jamie Wells of Mobilestance zeros in on the glut of mobile advertising inventory and mobile publishers engage in experimentation with multiple sales partners. Wells offers some advice for big brands and publishers.

Barbara Ballard of Little Springs Design uses her love of basketball national champions, Kansas University, as a metaphor for success in mobile application design. Ballard answers the question of where the challenge is won.

Judy Breck of Smartmobs features to an article from the New York Time Magazine on the travels and intelligence gathering of Nokia’s Jan Chipchase. With the ubiquity of the cell phone comes opportunities beyond sales of games and dating applications. Breck’s headline says it best, “Can the Cell Phone Help End Global Poverty?”

And finally we come to my pick discussion this week on the mobile industry via audio: Vizard and Gillmor on the Mobile Shakeout from Mike Vizard and Steve Gillmor. Featuring an in depth discussion of Intel’s new Atom chip, these technology industry veterans lead us down the twists and turns of the path to what’s happening next in mobile development. Of course, it wouldn’t be Gillmor without discussion of the iPhone. What do the recent product shortages mean?

From a photo essay to video, to audio and even the written word the Carnvial of Mobilists continues to feature the best thinking on and from the mobile industry. There’s a feast of information available as the CoM continues to grow and incorporate new voices along side long-time contributors. It is a reflection of the industry as a whole. I’m confident that all audiences will find value in the variety of perspectives and commentary featured this week, and would encourage everyone to follow the CoM next week at its new host location, Skydeck’s blog.

If you have articles, videos, audio or photo commentary on any and all things mobile, visit the officialCarnival of Mobilists site and join to have your voice featured in a future CoM. And better yet, if you would like to host the best source for thinking on mobility anywhere on the web check out the instructions to volunteer as a host.

Enjoy Carnival of the Mobilists #119. I certainly have.

carnival-of-mobilists

Carnival of the Mobilists #108

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The first Carnival of the Mobilists of 2008 is up at Mobile Point View.  The year begins with a very robust Carnival with many contributed articles offering a strong starting point for what will – no doubt – be another landmark 12 months for the mobile industry.

Enjoy the reading and watch for the CoM here on February 4th, 2008.

Happy New Year!

blognation

Sam Sethi – ScamtonesTM

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A triple pack of ScamtonesTM for the final day of LeWeb. If you are enjoying these, please toss $1, 1 euro, 1 pound sterling per ScamtoneTM into the donation account for Marc Orchant. Of course, more is always welcomed. Thank you.

I removed the donate button because it wasn’t working as coded. Please go to this post and click the donate button there. Sorry for the extra step and we’ll sort this out over the next day.

 

 

 

 

blognation

Sam Sethi Shuts Down Blognation

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Sam Sethi has thrown in the towel. There’s no place to take Blognation given the reality of zero funding and mounting debt. No bills were paid and the train wreck has run over Sethi. He announced today that he will not continue and steps down from Blognation.

The tally of debt is daunting. The developers of the site are owed $60K USD. The debt to, at least, 3 bloggers tops $20K with one owed $35K USD not including travel expenses. These figures are just the beginning.

Tristan Louis who owns the Blognation domain name may try to relaunch the site under a different corporation that will be free from all debts incurred by Blognation, Ltd.

Turn out the lights; the party’s over.

The irony of timing must be pointed out. Dennis Howlett observed that LeWeb and Sam Sethi controversy must be intertwined. For the Blognation Staff, LeWeb was to be our first team gathering – a chance to meet, a brainstorming session and a face-to-face social event – all courtesy of Blognation Ltd. As LeWeb shuts down today, so does Blognation.

blognation

Sam Sethi – Blognation Funding Web of Lies

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One would need a secret agent decoder ring to untangle the web of lies Scam Sethi has spun across the blogosphere this week. I suppose the most pervasive lie he continues to perpetrate is Blognation’s funding status and what he told his editors. According to his update on Blognation, Sethi falsely claims the following.

I explained we were in the process of raising funding and that we were already in discussions with several Angel and VC’s as far back as July. Each editor was aware they would be paid in full, back dated from when they joined upon closure of the funding. I also said I expected to have closed it at the end September if not sooner.

In addition, a commenter pointed out that the About page at Blognation in FAQs clearly states that,“Blognation is backed by undisclosed venture capital by vendor advertising and through affiliate advertising.”

Also compare his statements this week with those in his own words to a prospective Blognation editor.

So what we’re offering everybody is a base salary, a percentage of the ad revenue based on how much traffic….  So the way the ad revenue works, the more people generate page impressions the more ad revenue we generate and you get a percentage of that revenue.

Pretty simple model really.  And then we offer stock options.  And we do that for everybody. And that just makes life useful.  Because as we said, there’s no point – bloggers make no money and if they make no money their not interested.

 

Sam compounds his twisted accounts of Blognation’s funding status by assuring Jemima Kiss of The Guardian that funding is imminent.

He gave me the name of the investor and said money is due to come through on December 10th.

“Anyone raising money knows that it takes time, and it can be a horrible business. It has taken four months to grow this idea to a brand. Every editor has a contract and has the right to sue me, but there are nine editors on the backchannel that are aware of what is happening with the funding.

Let me state the obvious and point out that today is December 11th and there’s been no word from Sethi on the checks he’s written or electronic transfers completed to his beleaguered editors.

Sethi does get one part of his quote to Jemima correct. All of those who joined Blognation have contracts and have the right to sue him.

blognation

Sam Sethi, Triumphant Return to LeWeb

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Scam Sethi might be dodging the queries of concerned bloggers at LeWeb3, but his badge made an appearance this year. Not the triumphant return that Sethi dreamed of, I’m sure.

scam sethi who?

I’m already a fan of Pat Phelan after meeting him and interviewing him at TechCrunch 40. But now, he’s helped me find another Irishman to love. Paul Walsh Segala’s CEO – love the badge – love you for thinking to do it. Trust the Irish, indeed!

Today’s Bonus ScamtoneTM.