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June 30, 2007
Crossing the chasm with the long tail: Mobile web 2.0, mobile advertising, user generated content
In this blog, I ask the question is: How does Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm apply to a Web / Mobile Web based business? and I propose that : On the Web and the Mobile Web, you have to cross the chasm with the long tail
I was invited to be a part of the Nokia thought leadership program for the Nokia ad service facilitated by mobiadnews. This week, we had our first meeting. The group comprises some very interesting, senior people from some of the biggest companies in the world (I am not sure how much more I can blog about the attendees – but everyone in that room was very clued on – and I learnt a lot from it!). Many thanks to Nokia for inviting me.
I am interested in Mobile advertising because it is critical to the success of Mobile Web 2.0. In a nutshell, like Web 2.0, Mobile Web 2.0 involves User generated content driven by mobile devices. Obviously, the advertising model is the best way to monetise that content. I am of course a big fan of the Nokia Ad service program – mainly because it oriented to the Long tail.
I raised this (i.e. Long tail) as a critical success factor for mobile advertising services. It was not possible to elaborate in detail and I promised to blog about my reasons why. So, here we are ..
Let us first understand the advertising value chain and the flow of money in it.
Note that some of these roles are being blurred – but for the purposes of this discussion, these roles are good enough(If you can add any more insights to this value chain, please comment and I shall incorporate that)
Money starts with the ‘Brand’ the advertiser(say Nike). The brand approaches an agency. The agency works with the Media buyers – who in turn, approach the publishers(i.e. the sites /destinations where the advertisement is actually placed)
This is a well established value chain – and worked well prior to the Web.
Web 1.0 (around 2000), tried to replicate the existing advertising model to the Web. That was not very useful because the Web was behaving in a different way to the advertising industry.
I believe that to understand this, we have to understand how Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm applies(or not ..) to Web based companies .
The basic idea of Crossing the Chasm is:
A company should focus on a single market, a beachhead, win domination over a small specific market and use it as a springboard to adjacent extended markets to win. .
According to Moore, the steps are:
- Target the point of attack:
- Assemble an invasion force:
- Define the battle:
- Launch the invasion:
Source: parkerhill.com summary – as below
(If you have not read the book, see a summary HERE(pdf) )
The methodology has analogies with the D-day landings in Normandy
Question is: How does Crossing the Chasm apply to a Web based business?
More importantly, does it?
These ideas certainly do apply to a manufacturing type business .. but I believe that they don’t apply to a Web business.
Who exactly do we target?(because we don’t know who the customer is)
If we don’t know the customer, what invasion force will assemble?
Where is the battle?
What are we invading?
What if we can categorise the customer, but we are not sure that they will pay?
What if ..
We landed on the beach .. only to find sand?
Sand .. is actually a good analogy ..
Many small grains .. endless .. each with low value in itself ..
And that was essentially the genius of Google ..
Change the battle plan ..
Redefine the battle ..
Its ok if you don’t know the customer individually as long as you know the customer collectively aka the Long tail
Hence, on the Web, you have to cross the chasm with the long tail
If you think about it, it makes sense .. when a market is very tiny(as the Web was initially), it is difficult for the big media agencies to give it attention. When they did, it replicated their existing model – which does not go very far as we can see with Doubleclick v.s. Google(Google acquired Doubleclick .. and one would expect at the start that it may have been the other way round i.e. the big media model will acquire the new media)
The next big frontier is ‘mobile’ – and by extension mobile advertising
The same Long tail principles apply .. with one exception ..
Because the Mobile Web is fragmented, you need to unite it across some dimension across Operators. We see this with admob and screentonic .. both of whom have individually a billion ad impressions (across Operators) on the Mobile web.
If we naturally extrapolate this, the Nokia ad service is very powerful since it follows the same principles(Long tail) and unites the customer base across devices.
In some ways, this is counterintuitive – but the evidence of admob and screentonic shows that it is successful. As an industry, we are heavily oriented towards context .. context is great .. when we can achieve it .. but I believe that the Long tail + advertisement sponsored (user generated?) content could also be very successful – even if we had limited context – because the users would gain something of value.
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West end clubs – the music must go on
Inspite of the threats to our society, .. the music must go on!
Posted by ajit at 5:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
iPhone, Mobile ajax, Mobile widgets and insights for iPhone developers
On the eve of the iPhone launch, it’s almost obligatory to do a post about iPhone :)
With its emphasis on the Mobile web, Mobile ajax and widgets – the iPhone conforms very much to my vision of mobile applications when I said back on Jan 1 2006 that why mobile AJAX will replace both J2ME and XHTML as the preferred platform for mobile applications development (although then - I never thought that the iPhone would accelerate that vision so much)
Besides being good for the Mobile web, the iPhone will also set new standards for the whole industry.
How long can we continue to build old style WAP like applications?
How long will customers accept it?
Even those who have not bought the iPhone will have high expectations now.
The few companies like Opera and Nokia which adopted web standards and rich media
will be the real winners. Many like openwave have simply missed the wave .
In any case, with the genie out of the bottle there is no turning back
iPphone developers will be unique (at least initially) in the sense that they will mainly be from the USA and they may not have a background of working with mobile apps (often coming from the MAC development area)
So here are some of my insights for developers
a) Access to device APIs;
update: See clarification of this issue HERE
Another update:
>>>
I feel like a protector to walled gardens - however I stand by my belief that APIs must have some form of authentication.
This is not specifically a defence of Apple. But I believe that no one in the industry can afford to open up APIs without some restrictions/authentication.
For instance, as the phone becomes a wallet, free access to APIs would mean access to money. Similarly, other scams could be possible
Secondly, If Location is known, then there are protection and privacy issues especially for minors.
I believe for these reasons, we need some form of signing mechanism - i.e. a controlled access to APIs.
<<<
Many developers are disappointed because the iPhone does not allow access to device APIs. I believe that it is not absolutely essential to have access to device APIs. We can still build simple, useful applications which customers will like. Also, in many cases, device access may not be possible for more practical reasons like security, protection of minors etc. Thus, one would expect that over time some process like symbian signed applications will emerge and that would allow access to device APIs. The lack of such access is an interim measure in my view. It is not limiting in terms of the apps we can develop and we can still build useful applications even when we don't have access to device APIs. Other comparable platforms like Nokia s60 and Opera are also in the same boat. Security and safety are important in this context and they cannot be ignored.
b) To me, the support for Mobile widgets is critical and one to watch. Have a look
at this excellent post from Niall Kennedy and also my post on the potential for the iTunes to be a delivery mechanism for mobile widgets. I am watching mobile widgets with great interest.
c) The rollout of iPhone itself needs to be watched. It’s interesting to see how the
iPhone will work with the second, third and subsequent operators. For an analysis of
this see - The iPhone is extraordinary not because of it’s UI but because it’s the tail wagging the dog ..
d) Since the iPhone is never going to be a mass market phone, the real winners here
will be companies like Nokia and Opera - both familiar with the Mobile web, Mobile widgets
and Mobile ajax.
Dan Appelquist also has similar views .. when he says ..
So, irrespective of whether the iPhone itself is a success (and if Apple’s previous product launches are any guide, it will likely have its ups and downs) it will be a wake-up call to complacent industry executives and a needed shot in the arm for efforts to expand the Web developer ecosystem into the mobile platform.
update July 4 : iPhone APIs 2.0 :)
Posted by ajit at 12:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
iPhone has unlimited data price plans ..
unlimited data price plans are always of interest to me!
Not sure if this got missed ..
According to fiercewireless
>>>
AT&T finally announced three iPhone service plans, which start at $59.99. Each of the plans includes the same suite of "unlimited" data (email and Web), Visual Voicemail, 200 SMS text messages, roll over minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile. The plans are distinctive because of the number of minutes: $59.99 buys 450 monthly minutes; $79.99 buys 900 monthly minutes; and $99.99 buys 1,350 monthly minutes. There is also a one-time activation fee of $36. The carrier also mentioned that family plans are available for iPhone users.
"We want to make choosing a service plan simple and easy, so every plan includes unlimited data with direct Internet access, along with Visual Voicemail and a host of other goodies," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO.
Visual Voicemail is the feature both AT&T and Apple have been hyping the most for the handset, so it's logical to make it an included service. iPhone users will be able to "immediately and randomly" access voicemail messages that interest them the most--just like email. The iPhone costs $499 for the 4GB model and $599 for the 8GB model. The iPhone goes on sale Friday at 6 PM on the east coast.
Posted by ajit at 10:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
mashup event: July 18 - TV 2.0 ..
Tony fish is doing one more mashup event on July 18 on TV 2.0. More details HERE
mashup* Event - TV 2.0
A mashup of TV, Web and Mobile is transforming the broadcast content world which has gone largely unchanged for its entire consumer life. For more than 60 years the TV has entertained, informed and captivated but as the traditional model disappears, content promises to become completely personalized, interactive and enjoyed on-demand.
A quick search for "TV" will give you a wide range of opinion on what TV2.0 could be, the imaginary services, the level of choice, new shared social experiences, the endless possibilities for new services and technology choices. TV2.0 mashup* event will provide speakers who can provide expert observations and debate about what TV2.0 is and how it will be delivered?
The debate will address:-
1. Who will generate the most content for a fragmented world? Professional or Amateurs
2. Which line of site screen will be the most valuable?
3. What does 'no constraints' really mean and how can it be delivered
4. What will happen to content made for an audience?
5. Will there still be a shared social experience. "What did you think of the Eastenders story line last night"
6. Which platform will be the most important web, mobile or broadcast?
7. Sky, BT, BBC, ITV - who will win and who will loose?
Posted by ajit at 8:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 28, 2007
Mobile Web 2.0 applications: France Telecom and BT 21CN ..
This morning I was on a panel with Martin Duval Director Business Development – France Telecom and Jean-Marc Frangos SVP Technology and Innovation British Telecom Group at the California tech showcase in La Baule in France.
Both BT and France Telecom are doing some great work .. And they are each best of breed Operators in their respective segments(France Telecom for convergence and BT for network abstraction/21 CN)
Martin pointed me to three Mobile Web 2.0 applications which Orange Labs / Fance Telecom are working on ..
Pikeo Photos and geo tagging(pinning to maps)
Soundtribes user generated content and music
Bubbletop Organising information on the web
And Jean-Marc discussed BT 21 CN. 21CN is fascinating in itself .. But lot more seems to have changed every time I look at it. Have a look at the 21CN SDK
Both Orange and 21CN are text book cases of how to do convergence and network abstraction respectively. So, they are great showcases for the philosophy of Mobile Web 2.0 and it was great to meet Martin and Jean-Marc today
More on this soon ..
Posted by ajit at 10:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
McJobs ..
I have been known to support a number of issues – often which fit in with my libertarian/free market/ business friendly view of the world.
For instance:
Individualism – The Red Cockatoo
The US Customs and border security force
The Girl with a one track mind
Welcoming Dr. Condoleezza Rice to the UK ,
Women’s rights - Kathy Sierra ,
so here is one more ..
It’s McDonalds ..
The Oxford English Dictionary currently describes a McJob as "an unstimulating low-paid job with few prospects"
. McDonalds are creating a petition to change that definition
I fully support that petition!
I, for one, have fond memories of Mc Donalds. As a new immigrant .. And later as an impoverished entrepreneur – in the early stages of setting up my business :), McDonalds was a great place to go. The place is always clean. Open all hours of the day and night, the staff is polite, I see older and younger people working at Mc Donalds and I believe that there is a strong work ethic.
All qualities we should admire – rather than belittle – as the venerable Oxford English dictionary seems to be doing.
Further, anyone who has worked with me for even a modest amount of time, probably knows about my food allergies – especially to sesame seeds. Thus, with all my travel, to me – Mc Donald’s is a very safe place to go(try explaining to someone in Korea/Japan/Hong Kong – that you have allergies to certain things – it’s not easy!)
In any case, work is work .. No one should belittle it!
Posted by ajit at 9:51 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Chetan Sharma interviewied in Time magazine!!
OpenGardens blog contributing blogger Chetan Sharma interviewed by Time Magazine!
Well done Chetan!!
By
Wednesday, Jun. 27, 2007
The iPhone's Carrier Problem
By Jeremy Caplan
It's one thing to get your hands on an iPhone, as folks camped out in front
of Apple stores around the country will do by the weekend. But there's no
choice about the carrier: you only get AT&T (formerly Cingular) on an
iPhone. And so far, the early reviews have not been kind to the mobile
service and especially its cellular data network ("Pokey," says the Wall
Street Journal; "excruciatingly slow," says the New York Times. A spokesman
for AT&T said the company disagreed with those characterizations). Before
the reviews emerged, AT&T tried to play down the speed issue and play up the
new experience provided by Apple's so-far well-received iPhone software.
"It's not just the speed of the uplink," says Carlton Hill, an AT&T
Vice-President. "It's about the processor speed on a device and the
application design that enhance the customer experience. There are a lot of
ways to have an optimized data experience." And the iPhone's web capacities
are said to improve dramatically when it can sync up with local Wi-Fi
networks - if so, it would be a juxtaposition that may make the AT&T
connection feel even slower.
Nevertheless, analysts expect that millions of consumers will eventually
switch away from their current carrier to buy into Apple's offering - and
that says a lot about how frustrated people are with the wireless carriers.
Forrester Research has found that the percentage of consumers who are happy
with their carrier has fallen steadily year after year, and more than 80% of
those surveyed by Measuredup.com, a customer service rating site, aren't
satisfied with their carrier's service. Measuredup.com founder Marc Karasu
says consumers are tired of carriers burning through hundreds of millions on
ads while ignoring major service problems. "Customers are screaming for
better service," he says, "and if it doesn't come from the carriers, it will
come from someone else."
Here's a look at what frustrates consumers most (some solved on the iPhone,
others not):
ONE: VOICE MAIL
Consumers are tired of wading through eight messages to hear the one they
need (an inconvenience the iPhone is said to solve). And they are frustrated
that carriers erase old messages and tightly cap your inbox. With data
storage costs dropping, why can't you keep your messages, or download them
to your computer? Imagine if Yahoo! let you keep just 30 or 40 email
messages at a time. (Instead they offer unlimited, free email storage).
"People treat voice mail like toxic waste," says Craig Walker, CEO and
founder of GrandCentral, a startup that offers unlimited voice-mail storage.
"They feel like they have to delete every single message. But what if they
want to save something?" says Walker. "I have 10,000 emails in my inbox,
which is incredibly valuable. I can go back and find an old message. People
should be able to do the same thing with voice mail." Consumers have long
been able to save e-mails, forward them at will and access them in whatever
order they want, so why is voice-mail stuck in the dark ages? The carriers
haven't improved voice-mail because it's harder to market service features
than, say, sexy phones that work exclusively on one network.
TWO: FEE CREEP
After shelling out $40 or $50 a month for a basic calling plan, carriers
pinch consumers for additional bucks over and over again. Starting with an
activation fee and ending with a cancellation fee if you decide to switch
carriers or want to cancel your service, consumers are squeezed for dozens
of add-on charges. For ring tones, video services, text messages, and just
about any specialty service that comes along to provide a convenience,
dollars are tacked on to your bill. Apple and AT&T are taking a step away
from that fee-squeezing model by offering all-in packages that include data,
video and text messaging. They start at $60 a month, though, and climb to
$100 for 1,350 monthly minutes of calling. That means that if you get the
$600 model and choose the top minutes package, you're going to shell out
more than $3000 over the course of the required two-year contract. Oh, and
you'll still have to pay $36 for activation.
THREE: WALLED GARDENS
The carriers continue to block access to their networks by mobile startups
even as these innovators offer new ways to watch and share video, trade
pictures, and use phones in new ways. "They control the industry but
strangle innovation," says mobile industry consultant Chetan Sharma. They
limit the things you can do with your phone. They want you to pay them for
picture messaging, so they restrict independent providers of that type of
service. They want you to buy ringtones from them, so they cut off growth
and innovation in that mini-industry. They would prefer you to buy music and
video from them as well, and they would rather you not call internationally
without using their high rates. All of this means that consumers are
consistently cut off from inventive startups. The carriers control billing
for add-ons, and service providers selling ringtones, music, video, etc are
so new that they need the carriers' help to gain a foothold. When the
carriers do open up to partners, they often demand a 50% of revenue, far
exceeding the below 20% share carriers get in other countries.
FOUR: SLOW INNOVATION
The mobile carriers have maintained unchallenged dominance over their
markets - and their customers. That's allowed them to preserve their
potpourri of fees and to go slow on innovation, thus the stale approach to
voice-mail and other services. Google recently proposed an auction system
that would enable new players to buy into the wireless spectrum, an idea
that could open the door to the sort of competition in the mobile world that
enabled the high-speed access offered by better Internet Service Providers
to topple AOL's old stranglehold on its customers. The carriers argue that
they have continued to innovate: "Over the last five years," says Verizon
Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney, "wireless phones have gone from simple
calling devices to multifaceted device entertainment and productivity tools,
because of broadband-like technology." But American carriers have a long way
to go. Phone service in the U.S. remains several steps behind Europe and
Asia.
FIVE: SERVICE FAILURES
The leading Web merchants have set a high standard for quick response times
and satisfaction guarantees. Consumers want to be listened to when they
e-mail or call customer service. They hate waiting for 20 minutes on hold
and they despise droning voice-mail menus with seven options, none of which
is a real human on the other end of the line. If the carriers don't step up
their service, Google and other Web giants may find alternative routes for
getting mobile services into the hands of consumers. Daniel Doutol,
co-founder of SpinVox, an innovative voice-messaging startup, says it's just
a matter of time before companies like Google and Yahoo! compete more
directly with the carriers. Both portals, like Apple, have fiercely loyal
fans. About 55% of those asked in a survey by Equs Group, a market research
firm, said they would happily buy a Google or Yahoo-branded phone. It's a
lucrative market: by 2010, about as many people will have a cell phone as a
toothbrush.
link HERE
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June 27, 2007
Goodbye Tony Blair - welcome Gordon Brown ..
Goodbye Tony Blair ..
One of our greatest prime ministers – except for Iraq ..
And
Welcome Gordon Brown ..
Posted by ajit at 11:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Backbase to Deliver Ajax SDK for Apple iPhone
I am seeking more information about this announcement .. According to the backbase press release ...
- Backbase's Enterprise Ajax software suite will support iPhone.
- In coming months, Backbase will also deliver Widgets and components designed to take advantage of iPhone specifications.
This is interesting and I suspect probably the first vendor to annonce iPhone support ..
Posted by ajit at 10:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Masai warrior with a mobile phone
I had the pleasure of meeting David Cushman yesterday. Although we have met briefly before, it was great to catch up with David in London.
I follow David’s views and his blog. He told me this amusing story.
David had gone to Tanzania and was meeting the Masai warriors there; in traditional dress and spears in hand.
Suddenly, a phone started to ring.
And it was the warrior!
He quickly whipped out his phone from under his robes .. And was off speaking to someone ..
It seems that the Masai use the phone to ‘find water’ – i.e. where should they take their cows next.
I found this a fascinating story!
Considering my belief for mobile phones causing a social transformation in Africa
Image source: http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/ask/archives/AMB%20Single%20Masai%20on%20Cell%20Phone.jpg
Posted by ajit at 10:20 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 25, 2007
Microlearning2007: Mobile Web 2.0, Mobile Widgets, Microlearning and Intertwingularity
This post summarizes the interesting people and ideas I encountered when I spoke at Microlearning2007 in Innsbruck – Austria last week. It also includes my keynote at this event
Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking at Innsbruck at the Microlearning conference (Microlearning2007)
I have known the work of Dr Martin Lindner for a while now. Dr Martin Lindner is responsible for Microlearning R and D strategies at the research studio(who organize this conference). (The research studio
are an Austrian Research Centers GmbH - ARC division, the leading non-university research institution in Austria, and are comprised of individual studios acting as operative units. )
The research studios refer to my work in their publications – so it was a pleasure to present a keynote at this event at the invitation of Martin.
Apart from Dr Martin Lindner, the key people I met here and whose work I will definitely follow are
Dr Martina Roth of Intel
Prof Dr Andrea Back at the University of St.Gallen in Switzerland
Teemu Leinonen Research Group Leader, Learning Environments research group, Media Lab – University of Art and Design Helsinki
and especially the shedlight application from Teemu's group.
And Roger Fischer of kaywa. I first met Roger in 2003 and they have come a long way since then with their 2D barcodes . I am convinced that this is a technology worth watching
Many thanks to Martin, Birgit Berger , Dr Peter Bruck and Dr Martina Roth for some great Tyrolean hospitality
Here are details of my keynote at the Microlearning conference in Innsbruck.
The topic was: Mobile Web 2.0, Mobile Widgets, Microlearning and Intertwingularity
Note that this talk covers A future and not THE future (i.e. there are many ways to implement the principles of Microlearning – other than those outlined here)
Once again, this was not my usual audience. I am not an expert on Learning or Microlearning. Hence, I had to draw on the expertise of Judy Breck and David Smith for some of the learning related ideas in this talk especially around the ideas of Intertwingularity.
Judy Breck introduced me to this idea of Intertwingularity and it is also the title of a forthcoming book by Judy and David Smith. ( Judy and David are writing a book called Intertwingularity: For the students, parents and teachers living in a socially networked digital world. A compelling story of what is possible in the Digital world of the future for the MySpace, Facebook and Second Life generation)
I saw this as a practical talk i.e. a ‘how to’ implementation of the Microlearning vision. It covered (Web 2.0), Mobile Web 2.0, Mobile Widgets, Microlearning – all within the context of a concept called Intertringularity
Web 2.0
To understand Web 2.0, you have to understand four ideas
a) Web as a platform
b) Harnessing collective intelligence
c) Consumption v.s. participation (user generated content)
d) Pushing content out: consuming content away from its source (RSS, mashup, Widgets etc)
Mobile Web 2.0
Mobile web 2.0 extends the principle of ‘harnessing collective intelligence’ to mobile devices. This seemingly simple idea of extending Web 2.0 to Mobile devices raises many questions, for example:
a) What are the implications of extending the Web to mobile devices?
b) As devices become creators and not mere consumers of information, What categories of intelligence can be captured/harnessed from restricted devices?
c) What is the impact for services as devices start using the Web as a massive information repository and the PC as a local cache where services can be configured?
When we extend this definition to ‘Mobile Web 2.0’ – there are two implications :
a) The Web does not necessarily extend to mobile devices
b) Even though the Web does not extend to mobile devices, intelligence can still be captured from mobile devices.
Thus, the Web and the Mobile Web cannot be viewed in isolation. Further, the rise of networks and the breakdown of hierarchical structures are also key factors to be considered.
The good news and the bad news
The good news is: There are more people with phones than PCs
The bad news is: These phones have nothing in common except voice and SMS. There are limitations to what you can do with voice and SMS
The Web and (specifically Widgets) could be the common element
That has implications for Microlearning
Microlearning
Wikipedia definition:
Microlearning deals with relatively small learning units and short-term learning activities.
Conference definition:
• Microlearning is what people are doing, knowingly or not, when they face the challenge to find new information
and build new knowledge in networked digital media environments.
• With e-mails, mobile phones, Google and the Web 2.0, they have to deal with small chunks of microcontent, loosely joined, permanently changing, re-arranging and circulating.
• We will have to find new mental and learning strategies, by analyzing and putting further the practices and behaviours new disruptive technologies are bringing with them.
• Microlearning is a catchphrase bundling a number of new technologies und applications relevant fore-learning, whose common denominator is the processing of digital microcontent.
• They tend towards dissolving the more static and macro-sized structures that have dominated our education and learning systems so far.
Intertwingularity
Intertwingularity is a term coined by Ted Nelson to express the complexity of interrelations in human knowledge. (also created the word hypertext)
Intertwingularity is not generally acknowledged, people keep pretending they can make things deeply hierarchical, categorizable and sequential when they can’t. Everything is deeply intertwingled.
With a fragmented Web (and subsequently reused content away from its source) via Widgets, we see the fulfilment of Intertwingularity vision
Hierarchy is the opposite of a network. As networks emerge (the Internet, MySpace, facebook) - hierarchies break down. With fragmentation (widgets), comes aggregation (through a network). With a fragmented Web (and subsequently reused content away from its source) via Widgets, we see the fulfilment of Intertwingularity vision
e-learning – replicated the classroom
Traditionally e-learning modeled existing class room environments. They did not the use the Web and Mobile Web as it is truly intended.
microlearning is much more natural because:
Creative - fun - network oriented - the minds of the young are adapted to learning in that way - suited to their attention span - conflicting perspectives (critical thought) - Long tail education, education for the disenfranchised
Tap into the collaborative, conversational exchanges in which today's students have become so fluent outside class are the best way to deliver learning inside it.(source: Wired)
Happening at both school level and higher ed.
Some schools ban MySpace, Facebook etc. Others are incorporating it as part of their curriculum
Personal learning environments -- mashup spaces comprising del.icio.us feeds, blog posts, podcast widgets -- whatever resources students need to document, consume or communicate their learning across disciplines.
The widget model is attractive because of ease of development. Most widgets can be created with a few images using from less than ten to several hundred lines of XML/JavaScript/VBScript, depending on their complexity.
screensavers, quizzes, flashcards, word of the day – in a networked environment spanning the Web and the Mobile Web
Microlearning characteristics : short time, small content, complement curriculum, create into an ongoing process, informal, collaborative
Widgets
I believe we are living in a Widget Widget Web i.e. the Web as we know it has fragmented into a million pieces (Widgets) and these Widgets are being assembled into new, as yet undefined services.
What is a widget? - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_widget
What is a widget made of(technically) - Javascipt, Ajax
What is a mobile widget?
Whats needed for a mobile widget? - Web
Who is supporting widgets and mobile widgets?
Web / desktop widgets: Apple, Google, Microsoft, netvibes, Yahoo
Mobile widgets: Opera, Nokia, Apple?
The concept of Widgets lends itself to the ideas of Microlearning very well.
Widgets (both Web and Mobile) are ideally poised to exploit Microcontent and Microlearning – especially because they use open standards.
Conclusions
A holistic trend, not in isolation (networks, widgets, mobile)
Extension of the continuous connectivity (esp. for kids)
A wider socio economic impact – rise of networks, break down of hierarchies, Open standards go together
Web 2.0 – pushing content out – leads naturally to microcontent
Microcontent, microlearning and widgets go together
Web is the unifier
Mobile is a strong driver
Network (community) is the enabler
Widgets is the mechanism – especially within a network spanning the Web and the Mobile Web
Widgets are suited to small chunks of information
We already use them on the Web
We will be using them on the Mobile Web
Sources
http://www.wired.com/culture/education/news/2007/04/myspaceforschool
http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2007/06/16/nature_goes_bot....html
http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2006/06/adults-and-myspace.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widget_engine"
http://www.pavingways.com/mobile-widgets-the-ubiquitous-mobile-web_84.html
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/09/01/8384338/index.htm?postversion=2006091105
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_widget
Posted by ajit at 1:32 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 24, 2007
Peggy Ann Salz launches msearchgroove
Like many people, I have been following Peggy Ann Salz ’s thinking from her days at the Feature . I met Peggy Ann when I spoke at Mobile Monday in Düsseldorf last year .
I have known since then that she was working on a site focusing on Mobile search and Mobile content. This week, her site msearcggroove has formally been launched and the press release is HERE .
Search on mobile devices has always been of interest and with Google moving increasingly towards Mobile, I expect that it will be of even greater interest going forward
The site will have many exclusive interviews with c-level execs - and the will aim to spot upcoming trends in Mobile search and personalization.
Posted by ajit at 11:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
While we await the iPhone .. interesting to see Google's strategy ..
This, from a press release back in March ..
Reading between the lines
a) The operative word is 'pre installed'
b) On specific devices ..
c) One click access to Google search through an icon in the application menu i.e. search is still the main driver for Google
d) The services are Google maps, Gmail and Blogger
I am not sure what this means in context of other Google announcements - like SMS gone wild - but what is interesting is
a) Synergies with device manufacturers
b) An emphasis on search and
c) One click access to search
I have said before that devices are going to be the key drivers in future .. And ultimately the customer - because we decide if we want one click access to Google from a device or not ..
It leads to a broader question of: Is Google's search better than other forms of search from a Mobile device. With location via GPS, the device is capable of doing location based searches - and that combined with search offers interesting possibilities ..
Posted by ajit at 9:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
MyStrands raises $25 Million in Series B funding
I have covered mystrands before, and it is nice to see a European company raise $25m
MyStrands have been covered by both ReadWriteWeb and Techcrunch, so the only two additional things I want to add are
Its nice to see a company in Europe get substantial funding - and mobility is going to be a key element of Europe's future as I spoke at the European parliament earlier this month
And secondly..
Antonio Asensio of Grupozeta now 25 seems to be someone dynamic and interesting ..
Certainly one to watch.
Official press release follows below
Corvallis (OR), June 18th, 2007.- MyStrands, a leading developer of social recommendation technologies, announced today that it has raised $25 million in Series B funding lead by Antonio Asensio, 25-year-old Spanish media mogul and CEO of Grupo Zeta, the third largest media group in Spain. Existing investors Debaeque and Sequel backed this round which brings total investment in the company to $31 million.
Founded in 2003, MyStrands develops technologies to better understand people's tastes and help them discover things they like and didn't know about already. MyStrands has developed a social recommender engine that is able to provide real-time personalized recommendations of products and services through computers, mobile phones and other Internet-connected devices. Currently, MyStrands employs a team of 50 people.
The future of the web is about personalization. Personalized TV stations, personalized advertising, personalized news, personalized shopping, personalized music and entertainment experiences, wherever you happen to be whether it's at home, on the go, at a friend's house or bar...This is what our team has been focusing hard on and where we are headed with this funding.
In a world of content overload, aggregating and understanding people’s preferences is going to be key to personalizing the way people access and enjoy digital content, says MyStrands’ CEO Francisco J Martin. The new funds will allow us to remain independent and continue investing in developing technologies and new services to help people organize and explore digital media.
Recommendation technologies will allow media companies to deliver personalized content and targeted advertising to consumers, says Antonio Asensio. MyStrands technologies could become the standard for content personalization on the Internet.
About MyStrands
MyStrands develops social recommendation technologies that help people organize and discover digital media, products and services they like. MyStrands’ technologies work across platforms in computers, mobile phones and other Internet-connected devices. More info: www.MyStrands.com/corp
About Antonio Asensio
Antonio Asensio is the Executive President and owner of Grupo Zeta, the third largest media conglomerate in Spain. Now 25 years old, Antonio assumed the control of Grupo Zeta at the age of 19 and since then has expanded and grown the media group. Grupo Zeta owns among other assets 10 newspapers, 16 magazines, TV initiatives, etc.
For further information, please contact:
Gabriel Aldamiz-echevarria
VP Communications, MyStrands
+1 541 829 0097
ENDS-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted by ajit at 7:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 21, 2007
They are live twittering about me in my keynote .. Is this a first?
I have not seen this before. I am giving a keynote at Innsbruck at the Microlearning conference. The conference organizers have set up a Twitter session and there is a whole backchannel going on about the talks! Interesting.. I have seen live blogging .. But live twittering is a first ...
Posted by ajit at 11:44 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 19, 2007
Opera mini v.s. the iPhone ..
Nice video : ) Opera mini v.s. the iPhone ..
Posted by ajit at 11:22 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Of OpenGardens, Walled Gardens, Coffee, Fax machines, Ostriches, Dodos and User generated content
Of OpenGardens, Walled Gardens, Coffee, Fax machines, Ostriches, Dodos and User generated content
(I like that title :) )
Opengardens 2.0?
When I spoke at the European parliament last week, after the talk, I mentioned that: with a blog called OpenGardens – you would expect me to speak about opening up the walled gardens, Open systems etc etc
While I am best known for my second book Mobile Web 2.0, I co-authored a book before called ‘OpenGardens’ (which is now also the name of my personal blog i.e. this blog)
When I first wrote OpenGardens, the industry was a very different place. In just a few years, things have changed dramatically. Its not just the most obvious changes – such as Operators like Hutchinson 3G doing a total U turn – its all about the direction things are heading and the accelerated pace of change we are about to witness
The debate between OpenGardens and walled gardens is accelerating – especially in the world of user generated content.
Every time you drink a cup of coffee, think about this: Do we want to model the industry on coffee or on the fax machine?
A cup of coffee is a personalised, unique consumption experience. It does not matter who else drinks coffee as long as the cup of coffee I consume – is perfect for me. In this scenario, to create that perfect cup of coffee, someone needs to manage the whole process and provide the superior experience.
We are happy to let that happen.
And to pay a premium for that experience – just ask Starbucks if you don’t believe that!
But then you have a fax machine ..
It absolutely matters how interoperable the fax machines are .. In addition, no one needs to manage that experience for us .. As long as we can connect to people ..
The experience itself is in ‘connecting to people’
Think of that when you have a cup of coffee ..
Currently our industry is all about coffee .. But really it’s all about fax machines in the minds of our customers ..
More so as we enter a user generated content world .. After all, user generated content is about communication. It needs interoperability.
That means no walled gardens simply because our customers want to communicate!
I have two motivations in reviving the OpenGardens debate in this series of posts ..
a) I intend to open up the book OpenGardens i.e. there will be a print version but all the content will be freely available online
b) The debate has moved on a lot since we last addressed it – and the pace of change is accelerating as I discuss below
The problem
From a customer standpoint, there are two problems
a) Interoperability and
b) Service discovery
By extension, developers also face the same problems. Thus the walled gardens debate is much more than ‘on deck – off deck’(or on portal/off portal – in Europe) – it is a wider interoperability debate. Indeed, the biggest successes we have seen so far are from applications that are cross Operator. For instance: admob and screentonic , each of whom have a billion ad impressions per month
Note that: the content consumption industry will always exist. Yes, there will be some elements of personalization and some context we could add to content. But primarily, I would argue that it is not ‘our’ industry. It rightly belongs to the Warners and the Disneys of the world.
Times they are a changing ..
But things are changing ..
There are two related changes :
a) The network is becoming dumb and
b) Power is flowing to the device – because devices can access more than one network type – and are at the edge of the network.
And the third change is the launch of the iPhone.
In a post iPhone era, people will simply not accept an inferior user experience(WAP/XHTML) – and the excuses that ‘That’s all we can do on the phone’. Increasingly, we will see richer and better interfaces which customers are willing to pay for .. leaving behind those who continue to insist on the old style interfaces
Much of my thinking is driven by these two core principles. To me, it follows that for an application to be successful, it must be cross Operator.
Apart from some enlightened operators opening up, providing fixed rate tariffs etc .. (and may their tribe increase!) ..
There are four key ways to bypass operators
a) At the application level, encourage Open source, unify the Web and the Mobile web. Distribute applications over the Web. This is where Ajax and widgets come in.
b) At the network level, encourage devices that support multiple network types(Wifi,Wimax etc). Make the network agnostic(and hence communications seamless and Open gardens). Ensure that the Carterphone and net neutrality principles are applied.
c) Discovery: Application discovery and distribution should be over the Web.
d) Billing : Bill via the Web.
I seek thoughts on this
Much more coming soon .. including the carterphone principle , Net neutrality, legislation, Mobile Widgets, IMS etc etc
Finally, in popular mythology, the Ostrich is famous for hiding its head in the sand at the first sign of danger . Even as the iPhone is almost upon us and customer expectations are going to change forever, we see a lot of Ostrich like behaviour amongst many players in the industry today.
The risk is .. we end up not like the Ostrich but like another VERY rare Mauritian bird
Image: wikipedia
Posted by ajit at 8:54 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 16, 2007
The rise and rise of facebook ..
Is it just me .. or is the world going facebook? At least here in the UK, I see a big uptake of facebook - and it seems to be across the board. I am well networked in a new media/telecos/web/mobile circles .. so maybe I am seeing this as an early adopter here in the UK. Luke Razzel also well networked in the same circles called it 'a stampede' .. So it’s not just me!
Any one else have a similar observation?
Posted by ajit at 10:16 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
YouTube m.youtube.com
I don't usually do 'news' but this is very interesting. YouTube launches as m.youtube.com
Says David Cushman ..
>>>
Youtube has just launched m.youtube.com
Go to your mobile's browser now and give it a try.
This has been threatened for a long time - and as recently as June 13, promised for 2008. But it's live and kicking now.
So, where does this leave revenues from video access/downloads on mobile?
The porn industry will remain pretty much untouched - but everyone else?
When youtube deploys a viable payment-for-ugc model, too - imagine the consequences for mass media.
Also significant - youtube has chosen a m. address - not a .mobi
<<<
What does it say about Google's mobile strategy?
m.youtube.com starts with a warning
Information: YouTube Mobile is a data intensive application. We highly recommend that you upgrade to an unlimited data plan with your mobile service provider to avoid additional charges
and the menus as
Find
Featured
Recently Added
Most Viewed
Top Rated
Top Favorites
People
Entertainment
Grab Bag
Posted by ajit at 7:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 15, 2007
iPhone v.s. MusicStation
Source : the FT. Emphasis mine
By Maija Palmer
Published: June 14 2007 03:00 | Last updated: June 14 2007 03:00
The mobile phone industry will today launch a challenge to Apple's iPhone by unveiling a low-cost, flat-rate music service that can be accessed on most handsets in Europe and Asia.
MusicStation has backing from the handset makers Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung and 30 mobile phone operators and all four music majors - Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, EMI Music and Warner Music International - as well as several independent labels.
Note: The people involved are music labels and device manufacturers(not Network Operators). Increasingly, we will see a divergence of strageties between network operators and device manufacturers
Music companies hope MusicStation will kick-start mass-market consumption of music over mobile phones. The service launches ahead of Apple's iPhone debut in the US on June 29.
The iPhone will give users easy access to Apple's iTunes online music store, building on the success of the company's popular iPod portable music player.
Rob Lewis, chief executive of Omnifone, the privately owned UK start-up company behind MusicStation, said: "All European and Asian consumers will have access to MusicStation well before iPhone's arrival in those regions."
Telenor, the Scandinavian operator, will be the first to launch the service in Sweden, but it is expected to be rolled out throughout Europe, Asia and Africa over the next few months.
Manufacturers will begin producing handsets re-loaded with software to access MusicStation. Many of these devices will be mid-priced, in contrast to the iPhone, which will have a price tag of about $499 (£253). It is estimated 100m MusicStation-enabled handsets will be sold over the next 12 months, dwarfing the 10m iPhone handsets Apple aims to ship in the next year.
The industry estimates that mobile music consumers on average download six songs a year, at a typical price of £1 a song.
Music groups stand to increase their earnings significantly by taking a share of the weekly €2.99 (£1.99) flat fee MusicStation charges for unlimited access to a catalogue of more than 1m songs. The fee includes all downloading charges.
Users will not be able to burn songs on to CD or distribute them over the internet.
Posted by ajit at 4:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 14, 2007
Disappointed with Video iPod - help! - Official Apple response ..
In response to Disappointed with Video iPod - help!
Many thanks for all the comments all.
I thought I was making a mistake .. apparantly not.
The official response is: 'Coming soon ..' i.e. indeed there is no video content as such.
Ofcourse we can get video podcasts from anywhere but iTunes itself does not have any video content for the UK as of now(apart from music videos and a few videos).
Posted by ajit at 8:49 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mobile web 2.0 conference ..
There is a mobile web 2.0 conference coming up soon. Watch Mobile Web 2.0 and monetizing the Mobile Internet!
Posted by ajit at 7:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Disappointed with Video iPod - help!
Anyone else having this problem???
This is my very first Apple product – so I am hoping I may have made a mistake here and there is a solution somewhere!
I am trying to get iTunes to work
I have a video iPod (80G) which I got from the States
I live in the UK - so signed up to UK iTunes store
The UK store has no videos, no TV shows etc
I can't sign up to the American store because my credit card billing address is in the UK
So, qs is: how do we get videos in the UK?
Am I missing something?
For instance, I can see some movies, CNN, Discovery channel and even the Cartoon network in the us ... but not in the UK!!
To me, it seems that at the moment, there is no point buying a video iPod outside the usa because there is no content for it
Posted by ajit at 6:35 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
June 13, 2007
Tim Berners Lee gets the Order of Merit ..
Well done! and about time TBL got the well deserved award
Source: The BBC
The inventor of the world wide web has been awarded the Order of Merit, one of the UK's most prestigious honours.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee joins an elite group who have received the honour from the Queen for exceptional contributions in arts, sciences and other areas.
The British academic invented the web's address system and layout in Switzerland in 1991, ultimately revolutionising global communication.
Previously, he was named Greatest Briton at a ceremony in 2004.
Information sharing
Sir Tim was given the honour along with the President of the Royal Society, Lord Rees of Ludlow, and the Rt Rev Lord Eames, ex-Anglican Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh.
In 1991, Sir Tim came up with a system to organise, link and browse pages on the net.
He created his hypertext program while he was at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva The code he crafted made it far easier for scientists to share their research and information across a fledgling computer network.
He is now director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, where he is based as an academic.
The Order of Merit is in the Queen's personal gift, meaning that ministerial advice is not needed.
It is restricted to 24 living members, who are entitled to use the initials OM after their name.
Past recipients have included Florence Nightingale, Sir Winston Churchill, Bertrand Russell, Graham Greene, Sir Edward Elgar, Mother Teresa and Baroness Thatcher.
Posted by ajit at 11:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mobile Web 2.0, Mobile Widgets, Microlearning and Intertwingularity
I am speaking at the Microlearning conference in Innsbruck – Austria next week. The topic I have chosen to speak on is: Mobile Web 2.0, Mobile Widgets, Microlearning and Intertwingularity
The session combines three distinct ideas – from different application domains
a) Widgets – Web and Mobile
b) The idea of mobility and
c) Microlearning and Intertwingularity
I believe we are living in a Widget Widget Web i.e. the Web as we know it has fragmented into a million pieces(Widgets) and these Widgets are being assembled into new, as yet undefined services.
The concept of Widgets lends itself to the ideas of Microlearning very well.
Widgets (both Web and Mobile) are ideally poised to exploit Microcontent and Microlearning – especially because they use open standards. My friend Judy Breck has done some great work in this area. She adopts the concept of Intertwingularity to education. Intertwingularity is a term coined by Ted Nelson to express the complexity of interrelations in human knowledge. Intertwingularity is not generally acknowledged, people keep pretending they can make things deeply hierarchical, categorizable and sequential when they can’t. Everything is deeply intertwingled.
With a fragmented Web (and subsequently reused content away from its source) via Widgets, we see the fulfilment of Intertwingularity vision
Hence, my session explores the fulfilment of Intertwingularity via Mobile Widgets.
Anyone doing some work in this space or attending the conference, please email me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com and we can catch up
Posted by ajit at 10:52 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Social computing, viral marketing and widgets
Simeon has an interesting post called The art of viral distribution is becoming a science
Dont miss two other links from that article:
Simeon's article: The rise of social infrastrucure
Posted by ajit at 6:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 12, 2007
iTunes as a delivery mechanism for Mobile Widgets ..
Here is a thought ..
Currently, application discovery is the key issue ..
Extending this to Mobile Widgets, the question is 'How will people discover Mobile Widgets?'
If iTunes(and I am using this generically, i.e. trying to illustrate the concept through iTunes - anyone could do this - for instance Nokia or Opera) .. were to be used to deliver iPhone widgets .. then .. it has some unique advantages ..
That is been hinted HERE
>>>
NPD analyst Rubin sees iTunes as being one possible vehicle for delivering applications to the iPhone. Besides giving users a familiar interface, it will also give Apple the chance to certify applications for the device.
For example, Apple tightly controls all development of software for the iPod. All games developed for the iPod are distributed by Apple via the iTunes Store, rather than being made available for individual download on developers’ web sites.
<<<
This would be good .. But my qs is: even today, sites like handango do offer application downloads ..
So, qs is: What would iTunes do differently?
Does the fact that you will have content + apps together for download .. help apps(Widgets) download? (I think it will)
i.e what I am saying is: sites like handango are used by techies ..
Its when Joe(and Jane) public start to 'discover' mobile apps, they will take off
We already go to the iTunes store to get content. The process of application discovery(specifically widget discovery) is but a natural extension
Actually, this could be an interesting insight because anyone could sell content and apps together (like widgets) along with it(not just Apple)
Consumers would be drawn to content .. but in the same process could also start to explore widgets ..
Adds William Volk:
Normally, selling mobile content sans a P-SMS arrangement would be the kiss of death BUT 99%+ of iPhone users are going to have a iTiunes account anyway. Unified billing is unified billing so this could work. There's even a RINGTONE tab in the new iTunes (Google the story). So yeah, widgets and ringtones from iTunes.
Posted by ajit at 10:01 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The iPhone as a catalyst to Mobile Ajax ..
According to fiercewireless ..
At the WWDC conference yesterday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs told developers
that they didn't need an SDK to write apps for the iPhone--they can
start building Safari-based mobile Web 2.0 apps now. In other words,
don't expect to be able to develop native iPhone apps any time soon.
Looks like Ajit Jaokar was probably right when he predicted
the iPhone would be a major catalyst for mobile AJAX back in January.
More on this soon ..
Posted by ajit at 9:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 11, 2007
And then there was one: vodafone also launches fixed rate pricing - and that leaves only O2 ..
I have hinted before at at a revamp of the vodafone strategy is due later this month and I will be watching it with interest
Vodafone also launches fixed rate pricing - and that leaves only O2 ..
source cnet:
>>>
Vodafone has finally launched data bundles which take it into competition with rival mobile operators.
Like Orange, the operator is relatively late in introducing significantly sized monthly data bundles, but Vodafone claims that its timing relates to the launch of its mobile-Internet strategy, which is due later this month.
The tariff -- available as of Friday to the operator's contract customers -- is priced at £7.50 per month and includes 120MB of data usage. Extra data will be charged at its standard rate of £1 per day.
By comparison, T-Mobile's basic Web'n'Walk mobile-Internet package, which is also priced at £7.50 per month, offers 1GB of data per month.
A spokesperson for Vodafone said that the operator has always bundled some megabytes into certain enterprise tariffs, but this was the first time it was offering a full-blown monthly data pack. Asked why it had taken Vodafone so long to offer the bundle, the spokesperson said the timing would make sense when taken in the context of "a number of other initiatives" due to be announced later in June.
As with comparatively priced tariffs from other operators, Vodafone is discouraging the use of VoIP and instant messaging in its data bundles, and it may charge customers extra if those services are used.
<<<
My friend Nic Brisbourne also offers a good analysis on his blog
Posted by ajit at 8:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 10, 2007
Carnival of the mobilists No 76 ..
forgot to add the link .. :( better late than never, See here for Carnival of the mobilists no 76 ..
Posted by ajit at 3:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 9, 2007
My talk at the European Parliament on the O Reilly Radar + Barrack Obama on net neutrality ..
Many thanks to Tim O Reilly for covering my talk at the European Parliament on the O Reilly Radar
My comments on the O Reilly blog as below. Watch this space!!
>>>>
Yes, there is definitely a lot of interest in the Web 2.0 space (and by extension Mobile Web 2.0) from many members of the European Union.
I think we will see more from the European Union in this space.
I viewed my talk as a catalyst – i.e. setting the right framework (perspective of Web 2.0 and Mobile Web 2.0) and asking the right questions (the future is about Identity, mobile, Open Gardens, open source, WiFi/Wimax etc etc)
Like I said in my talk, I was pleasantly surprised that many more ideas came from the MEPs – especially in the Q and A sessions.
One such idea was from Malcolm Harbour MEP – who talked about the idea of ‘democratise’ i.e. for instance using Web 2.0 techniques to interact with grassroots members of the public. Piia-Noora Kauppi MEP has a video blog. And Bartho Pronk of the European commission also added insights by covering the whole spectrum (both good and the risk factors).
As I write this, I see a new report featured at the BBC which says Government must do more to embrace Web 2.0 tools and communities
So, – we can expect a lot more here.
With a blog like ‘OpenGardens’ you would definately expect me to talk about Open systems, Web, Open Standards, Open source, Net neutrality etc etc ..
The difference now is: Web 2.0 is mainstream and also there is a direct, tangible benefit to politicians interacting with the people.
I gave many examples of Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama and others in my second(breakfast talk) to the MEPs(which included demos)
I think many are watching the American election very closely now – and especially with the use of Web 2.0 techniques.
There is one classic clip I used from Barrack Obama where he talks of ‘net neutrality’. This is what I call Long tail campaigning i.e. Net neutrality is an issue which is of vital importance to many people – but its unlikely that Barrack Obama will use it in a face to face campaign. However, he has this classic clip on You Tube which I used
(well worth seeing if you have not seen it)
Finally, I am glad that the Kamala Bhatt interview got the coverage it deserves. I even email Kamala offline to say that – I am surprised how this had been missed by the blogosphere. It took me more than two hours to create a summary on my blog – and with 31 bullet points, it was very well worth it
Considering this was not my usual audience .. I was truly happy with the feedback and with the many more new friends I have made ..
So, yes, expect a lot more in this space!
Kind rgds
Ajit
Posted by ajit at 10:02 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 8, 2007
Oxford Web 2.0 course , Mobile Web 2.0 and IMS course covered on O Reilly radar ..
As many of you know, I conduct two courses at Oxford University .. Web 2.0 and user generated content and Mobile Web 2.0 and IMS. Both of these were covered by O Reilly radar last week.
I did Web 2.0 and user generated content before. This is the first time I am doing Mobile Web 2.0 and IMS .. And that should be also very interesting!
Thanks Tim.
Posted by ajit at 6:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 7, 2007
Web 2.0, Mobile Web 2.0, Social Web and beyond - My talk at the European parliament ..
This is the full text of the my talk at the European parliament covering Web 2.0, Mobile Web 2.0 and beyond. I spoke at an evening meeting and then another breakfast session the next day on the social web
There are three key themes I was covering in both my talks
a) The future of Web 2.0 is mainly about Mobile Web 2.0(in addition to Enterprise Web 2.0 – which was not the topic of my discussion)
b) Europe already has expertise with Mobile. Hence, Europe should leverage that existing knowledge base into the world of mobility and convergence based on Open standards. However, if we don’t adopt the spirit of the Web, we will lose that expertise
c) The third topic of my discussion was ‘engagement’ i.e. as politicians, Web 2.0 and Mobile Web 2.0 offers the opportunity for politicians to engage with the people – not just at election times(as Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama are doing brilliantly) – but also in a much more ongoing fashion(like MEP Piia-Noora Kauppi is doing through video blog on YouTube)
I must admit I was not quite sure what to expect with this audience – considering that
a) This was not my usual tech audience
b) This is the very first time either Web 2.0 or Mobile Web 2.0 has been discussed at this forum before.
However, I was pleasantly surprised at how my message was received and also how engaged the audience actually was. I have already mentioned specific quotes from Malcolm Harbour MEP, Piia-Noora Kauppi MEP and Bartho Pronk of the European commission - but overall, everyone was keen to understand and engage with the brave new world of Web 2.0, Mobile Web 2.0 - with questions ranging from Identity, net neutrality, the 'dark side' of the Social Web(i.e. cyber bullying etc etc), Long Tail education and so on.
So, my talk was as follows ..(10 mins)
Intro
Show of hands –
Who has heard of Web 2.0? (Many hands!)
Who understands Web 2.0? (A few brave souls ..)
When Basecamp asked 1000 of their customers what Web 2.0 meant to them:
13% answered that they didn‘t know what it was 87% who answered yes on the question, nearly everybody came up with a different description
So, you are in good company ..
What is Web 2.0
I follow the Tim O Reilly definitions as much as you can .. and so should you!
a) Web as a platform:
pets.com TV(vs. Google)
Can you build a web of mainframes?
Only the Web can connect the smallest farmer in Africa to the rest of the
world(inclusive)
b) Harnessing collective intelligence : Google page rank
The platform is the Internet, On the Internet, the rules are different. Information sharing is actually better than information hoarding. With enough people sharing information – you build a database and the database becomes bigger and better with incremental users
If it is so simple, why don’t people get it?
a) Some don’t want to understand it
b) Some have their own agendas(dreams of defining Web 3.0!),
c) Some see it as ‘software and not data’ and
d) Some others see it as a part and not the whole(Ajax, mashups etc)
Business models
User enhanced databases - Amazon reviews
On the Internet, you build a product that gets better as you harness the intelligence of the users. Hence, users must contribute. Amazon is a commodity business on one hand (you can’t get more commodity than selling books!) but has implemented many small Web 2.0 innovations(like reviews) so that they are far away from the commodity.
Web 2.0 is all about building systems that get better the more people use them
Philosophy
• People are sharing more – esp. personal information.(ex Twitter)
• In an era of commoditization, people are looking to express themselves ..
• What is the difference between a song and a ringtone: A song is something you consume vs. ringtone is something you display. Hence ringtone has ‘more’ value than the song even when it is a poor copy of the song
• As computers become commoditised .. people buy the Apple for what it means!(and less for what it does) – i.e. a means of expression
Beyond Web 2.0
• Enterprise Web 2.0 and Mobile Web 2.0
• Mobile Web 2.0 = Harnessing collective intelligence from mobile devices
• Location/tags etc
Top 6 areas to look for …
a) Identity
b) Mobile TV – and to me that’s increasingly DVB-H
c) Mobile payments
d) WiFi and Wimax(More the connectivity – the better)
e) Opening networks
f) Long tail education ..
Concluding thoughts
I was born in India and am a naturalised British citizen and by extension a European citizen. So, I have an interest in fostering a vision that benefits the European union ..
The future belongs to pockets of technical excellence ..
As my friend from Tel Aviv said to me once: ‘We Israelis don’t do web 2.0’. That’s an astute observation. Israel has technical competence in security, communications and networking. India – has a more broad based business software experience. Brazil is developing expertise in bio fuels.
So, I ask you as MEPs .. if we fast forward the next few years .. what technical area do we want to dominate? What technical legacy will we leave our children?
And I propose to you – that it is ‘Mobile’
We already have an ecosystem in GSM and we have world leading mobile companies in Nokia and Ericsson based here.
Let us not look to the east – nor the west
We lead America i.e. the West (for once!) with mobile technology ..
Let us not look to the East(Korea and Japan) for innovation. Yes, a lot has been achieved there – but based on closed standards. That innovation is not globally technologically scaleable.
What we are doing here in Europe is fostering innovation based on Open standards and the ethos of the Web. That innovation is globally scaleable and is (globally) inclusive.
Our biggest advantage is our existing infrastructure and a spirit of cooperation!(Both the European Union and the GSM standard are a testament to that .. )
In a world of contribution(Web 2.0) – cooperation is a competitive advantage.
Many thanks to for their help especially to the following
MEP Piia-Noora KAUPPI
EIF and especially Peter Linton and
Sean Krepp of Nokia
And finally, an interview of me on Piia’s video blog on YouTube
Posted by ajit at 11:43 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack