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October 31, 2007
umbrella social networks and Google's open social APIs ..
Interesting ..
In Beyond Web 2.0: The social web or the semantic web ? and the rise of the Umbrella social networks, I said ..
The idea is - we "log in' to a single profile on our social network. The resultant social network then becomes an ‘umbrella’ network encompassing your Web, Mobile Web and even the Enterprise Web. The concept of umbrella social networks becomes even more powerful when presence is added to the mix.
This is a concern to many including Google. Many people no longer use email because email is replaced by facebook messages. If your entire web experience is replaced by facebook and the advertising for facebook is exclusively from Microsoft .. this is clearly a threat for Google(and a master move on behalf of Microsoft). So, already we are seeing some moves in this direction – and one can expect some response from Google to this.
and today Google announces an open social API ..
OpenSocial is a set of three common APIs, defined by Google with input from partners, that allow developers to access core functions and information at social networks: 1) Profile Information (user data) 2) Friends Information (social graph) and 3) Activities (things that happen, News Feed type stuff)" Says Om Malik: "OpenSocial attacks Facebook where it is the weakest (and the strongest): its quintessential closed nature...Even if you take Facebook out of the equation, the task of writing and adapting widgets for the every increasing number of social platforms was going to be turn into a colossal mess.""
Fascinating development and good for the whole industry!
Posted by ajit at 2:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 30, 2007
I was on BB2 newsnight last night - 3 Skypephone story ..
Hello
You can see the 3 Skypehone story on BBC as below
Go to
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/video/default.stm
Then click on 'New Skype phone launched'
See my blog for my views on this
3 Skypephone and it's impact on the Telecoms industry and walled gardens ..
Also see Paul Mason's blog (BBC Newsnight) Paul Mason's idle scrawl. Paul and his team at Newsnight were great in preparing me for this interview since it was the first time on TV for me.
We got along great and share many common interests
Paul did this great story on Africa From Matatu to the Masai via mobile which was one of my inspirations for the blog The Masai warrior with a mobile phone
So, it was indeed a pleasure to meet Paul in person especially considering my own interests in social transformation through Mobile phones and Africa
Posted by ajit at 6:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
3 Skypephone and it's impact on the Telecoms industry and walled gardens ..
I was invited to attend the launch of the 3 Skypephone in London today. This was a meeting organised by Kevin Russell, Chief Executive Officer, 3 UK, and Michael van Swaaij, acting CEO at Skype for the launch of the 3 Skypephone.
The launch has made headlines all over the UK on mainstream channels like Channel five, BBC and others. In fact, I am on newsnight tonight (BBC2 10:30 pm) for this announcement as well! (The first time for me)
This announcement is getting a lot of coverage for the ‘free’ implications. However, there is far more to it than free Skype calls.
Hence, in this blog I will cover the basics which are significant in themselves and are getting a lot of coverage. Then I will add some more analysis about the long term implications of this announcement to the industry as a whole and to walled gardens
First the basics .. And these have got a lot of press today ..
Skype and 3 have launched a new mass market handset that lets you make free Skype to Skype calls and send free Skype instant messages from your mobile phone to other Skype users. The 3 Skypephone is a fully-featured 3G Internet phone with Skype built-in(The phone has a prominent Skype button). In addition to Skype calls the phone makes conventional calls and can be used to access 3’s other internet services.
Note that, Skype calls existed on 3 before. The difference today is mass market phones and deep integration(the Skype button)
All of the above is great .. But lets look beyond the free calls as to why this is significant for 3, Skype and the industry as a whole.
a) The phone is all about communication. Anything that brings people together is good from a user standpoint. Hence, if we consider the phone primarily as a communication device, then access to Skype(one of the biggest communication mechanisms on the Internet) is a good thing from the customer standpoint.
b) The customer sees one communications platform – hence in the customer’s mind – the Internet and the Mobile Internet world should be seamless. Hence, no walled gardens - and leaning to an OpenGardens philosophy.
c) The Internet in general and Skype in particular are free. And ‘free’ is a word the Mobile Operators dread ..
d) So, the perennial question arises – what happens when these two worlds(with their different business models) are brought together?
Lets look at it from 3’s standpoint. Three introduced fixed rate pricing through X series which I then said was very disruptive in a cheekily titled headline: The future is bright .. the future is Three. Today, other operators have tried to copy similar price structures. This is good for the industry but fixed rate pricing alone is not enough. The services are needed as well.
Which services? Ones that have been successful on the Internet. And it does not get any bigger than Skype.
Hence, the first observation is .. The 3Skypephone should be looked at as an extension of the broader 3 Xeries pricing announcements last year.
So, yes while this is about fixed rate pricing .. But it is also about getting exposure to Skype’s 246 million registered users.
With 100% market penetration in most mature western markets, this is an untapped area of growth for Operators and therein lies the potential of this announcement.
The second observation pertains to the ‘unified address book’. I have long talked of the unified address book as the holy grail which Operators will aspire to get to (because without services like unified address book, initiatives like Fixed to mobile convergence(FMC) make little sense).
Now, if we ask ourselves – what is our most important address book? To most people it is their phone address book and increasingly their Skype address book . Thus, we can now merge the two address books or liberate the Skype address book from the confines of the PC. The access to a unified address book is a huge win for the customer; and hence for both Three and Skype.
Thirdly, because the service is simple and easy to use, I believe it no longer remains ‘geeky’ i.e. becomes much more mainstream
And Finally .. How will we react to presence on the phone for the first time? The youth are already used to this. So are many of us who are already Skype users. How will our behaviour change with presence? Will we call someone because we see them online? (instead of having an explicit reason to call)? or will we now start using the Skype voicemail feature more by adopting a form of asynchronous communication based on leaving each other messages on Skype?
Thus, I see this announcement as very significant but also an evolutionary announcement. 3 is learning to work with Skype. And it will continue to do so(Skype existed on Three already – so this is an enhancement of an existing relationship). Skypeout may be next for example – and this means Operators who follow will always play catch up.
All this will give Three a first mover advantage.
Skype also benefits by being ‘in the pocket’ and potentially being now the centre of communications – both fixed and mobile.
Finally, to really understand the vision of OpenGardens, the breakdown of the walled gardens etc – you have to understand the impact of Reed’s law, Moore’s law and Metcalfe’s law.
I have had long discussions with Professor Ed Candy, Technology Director of 3 on these three laws. I admire Ed’s views and in my view, Ed is one of the few people in the Telco space who has the vision to understand the true impact and revenue potential of the Internet.
A discussion of the three laws and their impact on the Telco space is a topic for another blog.
However, what we have to remember is: fixed rate pricing is only the beginning and not the end! In that sense, other operators can copy the fixed rate pricing model and be mistaken that they are being radical when they do so .. but many will cringe when they realise that fixed rate pricing was just the beginning. There is much more change to come.
And without understanding the impact of Reed’s law, Moore’s law and Metcalfe’s law (i.e. services exhibiting the network effect) .. adopting fixed rate pricing alone will only take them on the road to being a pipe.
In conclusion, if we accept that business models are going to change(and with the rise of the iPhone even the most conservative person cannot ignore the changing business models), then the entity who can navigate this disruption in advance and on it’s own terms(i.e. proactively rather than being forced to react to market changes), will be the winner. That’s why I believe that this development is disruptive.
I will blog more on Reeds Law, Moore’s law and Metcalfe’s law and their impact on the Telecoms industry.
Any comments welcome ..
Official web page and press release is HERE
Posted by ajit at 12:22 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 29, 2007
Carnival of the mobilists: At Andreas Constantinou’s blog ..
Like many in the industry, I am an avid follower of Andreas Constantinou’s blog visionmobile. And hence, it’s no surprise that he comes up with an excellently edited carnival on his blog. Don’t miss carnival of the mobilists at Andreas Constantinou’s blog .. .
Many great links and insights.
My post Widget once run anywhere - Opera Widgets on new 3G handsets from KDDI makes it on Andreas's list as well and Andreas captures the sentiment in :
Ajit makes a thought-provoking observation when he says “widgets are a much more likely driver of client side service convergence”; in other words if operators can ensure that the same widgets are available across handsets and terminals, they have a better chance of delivering service convergence and reducing churn.
And interestingly a second post about Opera also made it to the carnival(Dennis Bournique at WAP Review on how to keep your web surfing activity synchronized across all the browsers you use, on multiple desktops and mobile devices, even if they aren’t all running Opera browsers.).
It’s nice to see some of Opera’s good work on the convergence / integration space being recognised.
Thanks Andreas for this great post
Posted by ajit at 8:53 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
I am very happy: Google page ranks OpenGardens blog .. 7/10
Hello all
I am very happy today ..
As many of you may know .. Google did a page rank change last week .. and now the OpenGardens blog is 7/10 ..
I am very happy about this .. and thanks a lot for your help and support. I will be doing a lot more with the OpenGardens blog - so stay tuned.
Thanks for your support again
Posted by ajit at 6:59 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 27, 2007
Mark Knopfler’s new album - Kill To Get Crimson is fantastic ..
I heard Mark Knopfler’s new album - Kill To Get Crimson
last weekend and it is superb
I always thought – a simplified version of Dire Straits(Knopfler + Guitar + lyrics) would be great.
This album achieves that brilliantly with a folk theme.
It’s almost like Knopfler on MTV unplugged .. and that would be fantastic as well. I have always believed that only real talent can do well on MTV unplugged due to its back to the basics format
Great album .. very simple and that makes it so great
Here is the link to buy it or you can get it from iTunes
and here is a teaser of the album itself ..
(Many thanks to Dr Andrea Back for recommending this to me)
Posted by ajit at 3:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Two well respected bloggers in the social computing space cover the beyond Web 2.0 - umbrella social networks - cloud computing blog
Two well respected bloggers in the social computing space cover the beyond Web 2.0 - umbrella social networks - cloud computing blog
See Judy Breck's views and Tom Mandel's post. Thanks Judy and Tom!
Posted by ajit at 10:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Spinvox enables Voice-Driven Posts to Facebook, Jaiku and Twitter.
Spinvox enables bloggers to generate posts by speaking into a mobile handset. The voice is then converted to text and is posted on their social networking site
Interesting idea
Posted by ajit at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bill of rights for the social web ..
Bill of rights for the social web is a great idea considering my previous post Beyond Web 2.0: The social web or the semantic web ? and the rise of the Umbrella social networks and the idea of the social network being the first point of contact to what we currently call the Web, the Mobile Web and the Enterprise.
The fulfillment of an umbrella social network definately needs the social network to be an open network.
Thanks to Dr John Breslin for pointing this out to me
Re umbrella social networks .. from my last post ..
>>>
It can be summarised as ‘facebook(or similar) as your primary interface to the Web’.
The idea is - we "log in' to a single profile on our social network. The resultant social network then becomes an ‘umbrella’ network encompassing your Web, Mobile Web and even the Enterprise Web. The concept of umbrella social networks becomes even more powerful when presence is added to the mix.
This is a concern to many including Google. Many people no longer use email because email is replaced by facebook messages. If your entire web experience is replaced by facebook and the advertising for facebook is exclusively from Microsoft .. this is clearly a threat for Google(and a master move on behalf of Microsoft). So, already we are seeing some moves in this direction – and one can expect some response from Google to this.
(Note: I can't find the reference but JP Rangaswami had spoken of a similar idea – which I call ‘umbrella social networks’ - in one of his blogs. If I find the blog, I shall link it.)
To really work, this idea needs a fine grained privacy control and an open social network. But it is not so strange to think that our entire web experience may be driven from a facebook(or similar) profile. Facebook is already courting the enterprise
Also, in the article 15 reasons Facebook may be worth $15bn, here are some insights ..
7. Facebook is the new web: The decision to open up the network to outside developers turned Facebook into a destination for many uses, like messaging, photos and video. Of course, as Facebook is on the web it could never really be the new web.
11. Facebook messaging is the new e-mail. Everyone feels stressed from a deluge of e-mail from unwanted people and companies. But Facebook messages are always from friends.
12. Facebook's "status updates" have become the easiest way to let friends know what you are doing and how you are feeling at any given moment.
<<<
Posted by ajit at 8:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 26, 2007
Yahoo opens up ..
Jerry Yang seems to be making some positive changes and going away from the old media centric approach of Yahoo .. This makes far more sense to me ..
Yahoo recasts site as “starting point,” plans Asia deal
Yang said Yahoo would focus on getting its 500 million monthly users to consider its email, search, mobile Internet site and main portal essential tools to which they return multiple times daily.
Posted by ajit at 7:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Beyond Web 2.0: The social web or the semantic web ? and the rise of the Umbrella social networks
Synopsis:
Beyond Web 2.0 is still more Web 2.0(for now). The full impact of Web 2.0 will be felt only in 2008 and beyond. The Semantic web is not the future of Web20. The full impact of Web 20 itself has yet to be felt because Web 20 technologies like cloud computing and 'umbrella social networks' (i.e. social networks encompassing the personal web, enterprise and the mobile web and incorporating presence) are still emerging and will gather momentum in 2008 and beyond.
Introduction
It seems ironic to talk about ‘beyond Web 2.0’ almost a week away from the Berlin Web 2.0 expo (where I am speaking).
Extending the ‘2.0’ numbering notation, we could naturally think of Web 3.0.
Much has been already said about Web 3.0 – most of it self serving.
Nova Spivack and Jason Calacanis have each attempted to define Web 3.0 corresponding to their respective companies (Radar networks and Mahalo)
In a world of hyper connectivity and information sharing – such definitions don’t go very far because of their inherent limitations based on their proponent’s businesses. So, I won’t go into those in detail. You can read more about these definitions HERE
Even Tim Berners shrugs at the term Web 2.0 but ironically does not hesitate in attempting to speak of Web 3.0 as a form of Semantic web. Of course, the semantic web is defined in an article from Tim Berners Lee himself as early as 2001 in the Scientific American magazine (The Semantic Web A new form of Web content that is meaningful to computers will unleash a revolution of new possibilities By Tim Berners-Lee, James Hendler and Ora Lassila)
But to understand ‘beyond Web 2.0’ – we have to appreciate a bit about why Web 2.0 took off as much as it did .. and why so many people did(do!) not get it.
Social software and social computing
In defining the Web 2.0 paradigm, Tim O Reilly’s genius lies in taking computing along the social domain and in laying the intellectual foundations of a new class of software i.e. social software.
Even before the seven principles of Web 2.0 were postulated by Tim O Reilly, we intuitively accepted the social aspects of the Web(for example Wikis existed before that time and were created by Ward Cunningham). However, Web 2.0 brought all these ideas together and provided us a common lexicon / framework to discuss these terms
Critically, Web 2.0 comes under the umbrella of social computing/social software. The term Social software is normally applied to a range of web-enabled software programs that allow users to interact, share, and meet other users. (Adapted from wikipedia definition of social software)
One might view ‘social software’ as a contradiction in terms. Traditionally software is almost ‘antisocial’ (i.e. logical – with little or no human interaction)
Consequently, many people from a programming background find the idea of social software as ‘marketing driven hype’. And some from marketing – do indeed hype it as the next big thing.
However, that should not take us away from the basic merits of the Web 2.0 definition as defined by the seven principles of Web 2.0 and a new class of software that is underpinned by Web 2.0 principles like harnessing collective intelligence, the web as a platform and so on.
Beyond Web 2.0
If we recap the title of Tim Berners Lee’s article on the semantic web, it says : A new form of Web content that is meaningful to computers
So, to me; it is all about meaningful to computers(semantic web)? OR meaningful to people(social software/social web)
Of course, they are not mutually exclusive .. hence they will coexist – but the emphasis on each is important. The semantic web is oriented to a new form for content that makes sense to machines. The social web(which includes Web 2.0 ) relates to web enabled software that facilitates communication between people.
The paths of machines and men .. are both divergent and coexisting.
So, let’s start with the machines(the semantic web)
The semantic Web
The end goal of the semantic web is to extract meaning from data. Hence, content should be machine readable, machine interpretable(the computer must make sense of it) and machine actionable. In its ultimate incarnation, it leads to the rarified world of science fiction bots negotiating deals on behalf of their creators.
How practical is all this?
Not very – in my view.
Avatars and bots aside, the more basic question is: Who will add the semantics(structure) to the semantic web?
The semantic web needs someone to do the semantics before it becomes truly useful. This is a chicken and egg situation – to make the semantic web useful, you need content to be tagged – but who would tag the content in the first place(and why)?
Semantics for a specific vertical are relatively easy. Semantics for 'Joe public'(consumers) are another matter entirely.
And to be really useful; the semantics must be for all .. And this is where almost all efforts led by specific companies may fail because the web cannot be expected to cede control to a company - it must be an open standard. And even if islands of semantics evolve(one for pharmaceuticals, one for automotive and so on), they may be just that - islands ... Islands of semantic content are useful – but do not translate into a semantic web.
Ironically, the best solution to the semantic web ‘chicken and egg’ problem(aka who will create the semantics for the semantic web) comes from Web 2.0(social web). Web 2.0 ‘works’ because it solves this very fundamental chicken and egg problem by getting the users to do the semantics in return for some benefits(storing and sharing pictures for example as in flickr). Thus, it provides a ‘lite’ solution to the semantic web problem.
This illustrates the limitations of taking a software only approach of the semantic web. If you ignore the social aspects of the Web, then software can take you only so far ..
Web 2.0
Before we proceed with this section, A quick note: I do not consider either Mobile Web 2.0 or Enterprise 2.0 as ‘beyond’ Web 2.0 because they are sub memes of Web 2.0 i.e. extend the basic idea of Web 2.0 along specific dimensions.
Unlike the semantic Web, Web 2.0 addresses a completely different problem domain – that of social computing.
Thus, if we consider web 20 as primarily a manifestation of the social web, then it follows that the idea of 'beyond web 20' has to address the evolution of the social web (and not the semantic web)
In my view, the two Web 2.0 concepts that pertain to the evolution of the social web are
a) Social network as a 'meta/umbrella' layer above the personal, enterprise and the mobile web
And
b) Cloud computing
The full impact of both is yet to be felt.
The first is a relatively simple idea – but very disruptive ..
It can be summarised as ‘facebook(or similar) as your primary interface to the Web’.
The idea is - we "log in' to a single profile on our social network. The resultant social network then becomes an ‘umbrella’ network encompassing your Web, Mobile Web and even the Enterprise Web. The concept of umbrella social networks becomes even more powerful when presence is added to the mix.
This is a concern to many including Google. Many people no longer use email because email is replaced by facebook messages. If your entire web experience is replaced by facebook and the advertising for facebook is exclusively from Microsoft .. this is clearly a threat for Google(and a master move on behalf of Microsoft). So, already we are seeing some moves in this direction – and one can expect some response from Google to this.
(Note: I can't find the reference but JP Rangaswami had spoken of a similar idea – which I call ‘umbrella social networks’ - in one of his blogs. If I find the blog, I shall link it.)
To really work, this idea needs a fine grained privacy control and an open social network. But it is not so strange to think that our entire web experience may be driven from a facebook(or similar) profile. Facebook is already courting the enterprise
Also, in the article 15 reasons Facebook may be worth $15bn, here are some insights ..
>>>
7. Facebook is the new web: The decision to open up the network to outside developers turned Facebook into a destination for many uses, like messaging, photos and video. Of course, as Facebook is on the web it could never really be the new web.
11. Facebook messaging is the new e-mail. Everyone feels stressed from a deluge of e-mail from unwanted people and companies. But Facebook messages are always from friends.
12. Facebook's "status updates" have become the easiest way to let friends know what you are doing and how you are feeling at any given moment.
<<<
Related to the idea of umbrella social networks is the idea of ‘Cloud computing’ – I have spoken of cloud computing many times on the OpenGardens blog for instance : Mobile Ajax- more than a pretty face and Cloud computing in the context of enterprise 2.0 . The idea has many adherents – especially Nokia and Google.
It is related to the idea of umbrella social networks since to have a seamless experience between the Web, the Mobile Web and the Enterprise; the data has to ideally reside in the ‘Cloud’.
So, the core idea is of this blog(and the evolution of Web 2.0) can be summarised as:
Cloud + a social network user interface to the cloud(where the cloud spans the Web, the Mobile Web and the Enterprise).
Eric Schmidt also refers to cloud computing as the future of applications with applications having characteristics like : being pieced together, small, data is in the cloud, run on any device PC or mobile phone, fast, customizable, distributed virally(social networks, email etc).
Conclusion
Let me recap the synopsis as the conclusion ..
Beyond Web 2.0 is still more Web 2.0(for now). The full impact of Web 2.0 will be felt only in 2008 and beyond. The Semantic web is not the future of web20. Instead, the full impact of web 20 itself has yet to be felt because web 20 technologies like cloud computing and 'umbrella social networks' (i.e. social networks encompassing the personal web, enterprise and the mobile web and incorporating presence) are still emerging and will gather momentum in 2008 and beyond.
Please contact me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com if you want to meet me in Berlin for the Web 2.0 expo where I am speaking next week
Image: http://cies.fsu.edu/images/Brochure%20pictures/Umbrella%20group%20shot.JPG
Posted by ajit at 9:17 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
October 25, 2007
Of politicians, light bulbs, trieing and anti file sharing legislation ..
How many politicians does it take to change a light bulb?
None. Politicians only promise change.
And let us hope this one is only promising change!
In the UK, the good Lord Triesman has proposed Anti file sharing legislation. Of all the things, he is a minister at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills!
The good lord triesman may well live up to his name and try to introduce such legislation .. but I am with Cory here ..
Cory Doctorow described the idea as "misbegotten".
>>>
"It represents the opinion of someone who doesn't understand technology very well, and hasn't really thought through the implications of what he's promising.
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who's an actual computer scientist involved in digital signal processing who believes that you can accurately identify copyrighted works with any kind of reliability in a variety of situations," he said.
He believed the idea would createa "giant toxic pool of personally idenitifying private information" that ISPs would not be able to keep secret.
"You will dismantle the fundamentals of the democratic state, which is to be free in your person, your mind and your conversation from scrutiny and surveillance. So this is a really misbegotten idea," he told iPM.
<<<
I don’t condone file sharing – I don’t want to see legislation against it
In an ironic twist, the Lord/Baron has an ultra left background ; communist party, unions, protests against nuclear scientists .. that sort of thing .. interesting what he is doing here proposing such legislation as our minister of Innovation, universities and skills!
Posted by ajit at 7:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 24, 2007
Widget once run anywhere - Opera Widgets on new 3G handsets from KDDI
I could not resist the title :)
Opera today announced that Opera Widgets will be shipped on Toshiba W56T, Sony Ericsson W54S and Sanyo W54SA from KDDI. Branded as "au one Gadget" by KDDI, this is the first time Opera Widgets have shipped on mobile phones.
Opera Widgets are small and often single-purpose applications built using open Web technologies. Users can select widgets, and install it on devices that support Widgets. They provide access to services such as RSS feeds, game results, weather, traffic information, stocks, news, SNS etc.
There are two significant aspects of this announcement
Firstly, Opera widgets run on the device’s idle screen .. As I said in the post On device portals - ODP, Widgets and the Phonetop: The iPhone killer, Saviour of IMS and the future of mobile apps, the first screen and the idle screen will be increasingly battle ground for Widgets.
Secondly, Widgets were also included in the Opera Powered, Internet Channel 2 on the Nintendo Wii that shipped a few weeks ago
This manifestation of Widget once run anywhere is the holy grail of convergence(As I said, I can’t resist the headline!). I have been following the idea of service convergence for a long time now.
The mistake in my previous blog was equating mashups with convergence. Looking back, Widgets are a much more likely driver of client side service convergence. In fact, with the Wii and KDDI announcement from Opera, convergence driven by widgets is a reality.
Convergence is important because - Services driven by open standards are the glue that stop churn and attract new users.
By that I mean
a) A user is not likely to leave an Operator if they are connected into the same service from multiple devices. Hence reducing churn.
b) If the user is exposed to a service from a specific device(say Wii), then if she knows that the same service is also accessible from another device(for example the Phone), she is likely to become a potential new user of the service on the second device(in this case, the phone).
c) Finally, why open standards and widgets? How else do we do achieve convergence across devices? You can’t ‘write once run anywhere’ – there is nothing to ‘write’. It has to be the Web and on limited devices – it has to be widgets based on Web standards.
Interesting to see where this takes us.
With convergence being a priority for Telecoms operators(for example see the work of France Telecom/Orange with iPTV, general discussions of fixed to mobile convergence, the iPhone and so on) – this trend may be much more common soon with Operators seeking ways to differentiate themselves post iPhone
Posted by ajit at 8:55 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
California fires ..
Our thoughts and prayers go out to friends in California and Mexico affected by the fires .. in these difficult times.
Posted by ajit at 7:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Peperonity announce 3.5 million individual user page marks
Today, Peperonity announce 3.5 million individual user page marks. Their main target audience for the service is between 16 and 25 years old.
I love the way Peperonity is going .. and to me, it’s a clear indication of the dominance of the mobile web and the power of the mobile advertising model on the Mobile Web.
Their network of mobile social services is used by more than 10 million monthly unique visitors. They currently host more than 750,000 user sites both on- and off-deck and see approximately 300 million mobile page impressions every month.
These are serious numbers .. and as I said in the keynote at Java One – you don’t see these kind of numbers on Java ..
Also, admob manages advertising on Peperonity .. another plus for the ever growing kudos they seem to get globally.
Posted by ajit at 6:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Half of AT&T 3Q subs bought iPhone
According to telecoms.com/Informa, Half of AT&T 3Q subs bought iPhone
very impressive indeed. Also good for the whole high end/media rich phone segment - both for carriers and for device manufacturers ..
Apple has shifted a total of 1.4 million units in total and even if 250,000 of these have been hacked, that still means almost half of AT&T's net additions over the past three months were on the iPhone.
Posted by ajit at 8:25 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 23, 2007
Collaboration Opportunities with Canadian Companies in London
Interactive Ontario requested me to post this and it may be of interest to you. If so, please contact Gillian directly on the email address below
Interactive Ontario is hosting a Trade Mission in conjunction with UKTI. Meet with Canadian interactive companies on 29 October, at the Tower Hotel in London with 1-2-1 meetings between 9.30 and 3.00pm.
Venue :The Tower Hotel, St Katharine's Way, London E1W 1LD
Date and Time: 29 October, 9.30 - 3.00pm.
The companies below are available for 1-2-1 meetings:
White Pine Pictures - www.whitepinepictures.com
An award-winning Canadian company, with an international reputation for working with top directors and producers to develop, license and produce outstanding factual and dramatic content for countries around the world including the UK, Netherlands, France, and the U.S.
Type of partner sought: New Media content producers at major broadcasters.
Zinc Roe - www.zincroe.com An Emmy-award-winning interactive studio that specializes in creating online tools and content for children and youth. Their clients include broadcasters, marketing firms, government agencies and non-profit foundations.
Type of Partner sought: companies that are involved in commissioning, producing or distributing interactive content for young audiences.
Zap Dramatic - www.zapdramatic.com - A producer of serious games for soft skills training in negotiation, dispute resolution and ethics as well as a pioneer in interactive narrative.
Type of Partner sought: production partners to customize their simulations for the UK and European markets and to participate in distribution and sales.
Ajetv - www.ajetv.com provide all genres of factual entertainment for the international broadcast market, creating high concept signature programming married to passionate storytelling. Their series are now broadcast around the world and include high-profile programming. They create online content in connection with their programs.
Type of Partner sought: collaborations with UK companies to create interactive and mobile content for both the UK and Canadian markets.
Wireless Studios - www.wirelesstudios.com
provides leading-edge wireless content and technology solutions, and is focused on creating value for content developers, operators, and mobile consumers in the global wireless marketplace.
Type of Partner sought: video games and application content providers, broadband and mobile portals
Sweet Caesar - www.sweetcaesar.com develops custom media and applications that are intuitive and engaging for today's mobile audience. A hybrid media and mobile company, with expertise in both technology and telecom and media and production.
Type of Partner sought: mobile content creators and distributors
About Interactive Ontario (www.interactiveontario.com), is a not-for-profit industry trade organization committed to the growth of the Ontario interactive digital content industry.
There is also an opportunity to meet Interactive Ontario regarding speaking opportunities and company showcases at the Interactive Content Exchange, to be held in March 2008 (http://www.ice07.com/ - the 08 website will be available shortly) which attracts a worldwide audience and speakers.
Please contact – Gillian Hatton – ghatton@cybersensibilities.com
Posted by ajit at 6:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Italy - not Burma ..
Diabolical!! Of all the places .. in Italy - hopefully this draconian law will be changed ..
This would require even the lowliest Italian blogger or MySpace account holder to go through the hassle of filing personal details with the national registry of "communication operators" currently reserved for professionals of the publishing sector.
Posted by ajit at 4:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 19, 2007
Looking for an author for a book on the impact of mobile phones in Africa ..
Hello all
I have long been a believer of the power of mobile technology to transform Africa at a grassroots level.
Hence, I have always wanted to publish a book about the impact of Mobile technology in Africa.
So, I am looking for an author who can write this book
I want this to be a positive, vibrant, forward looking book highlighting the social impact of mobile technology from real life stories of people.
I see this book as a major commitment from us as a company - and I like it’s inspirational/transformational themes.
So ..
Any recommendations?
All we need is the person to be actually based in Africa at a minimum
If you are interested or can recommend someone, please send me an email at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com
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October 15, 2007
One of my authors is on CNN: Tomi Ahonen/Digital Korea on CNN - A great day for us!
This is a great day for futuretext. Tomi Ahonen – the co-author of Digital Korea is on CNN this morning. You can see the video HERE.
(My company - futuretext - is the publisher for Digital Korea)
I can’t say how happy I am to see this!
Tomi has been a great friend and a mentor to me in setting up futuretext as a business – and getting Tomi as a futuretext author (he was thrice published elsewhere before) has been a big turning point for us as a publisher
Tomi and Jim O Reilly(the other author of Digital Korea) put in a lot of effort for this book .. It is truly unique .. And we planned it on a flight to Seoul in Dec 2005 – and now it’s been recognised by CNN!
This is Tomi’s second book with futuretext(the first being Communities Dominate Brands with Alan Moore)
Please join me in congratulating Tomi and Jim for all their efforts
Posted by ajit at 9:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Today's internet communities are a fad, social networks will dominate
Jouko Ahvenainen of xtract has this fantastic post at forumoxford
The basic premise is: Communities / Social networks as we know them today are a fad - However social networks (as a philosophy) will dominate
Jouko's post below ..
>>>>
There has been an active discussion whether social communities are a fad. I also asked here a couple of weeks ago, what is the relationship of real social networks and communities people create around them in the Internet. Finally I have come to some conclusions in my thinking.
Here is my prediction: Internet communities as we know them today are a fad, but social networks and communities will be a fundamental part of all Internet and mobile services and marketing.
I just flew from London to San Francisco and had time to read some articles and really think this question. Communities like Facebook and MySpace are now very popular, but I see they are only the first step and still quite artificial social networking between people. Advertisers have seen the value already today. Individual community services comes and disappears but the phenomenon itself will live. And we have already seen that people are not always loyal to a community service.
But this is only a starting point. People have many other services they use daily in the Internet. They live with their mobiles 24/7. It cannot be so that your social activities and at the same time community marketing intelligence is limited only to certain web sites. Social network awareness will be a fundamental part of everything people develop for the Internet and mobile in near future. And community marketing intelligence will live inside all services and platforms in the future to offer better usability and more relevant and effective advertising.
This is also why mobile data is so powerful if we want to know the real social networks for advertising and better usability. Today it is operators' data to analyze social networks as Xtract already does but in the future it will be much more data from handset and also from Internet and Mobile Internet usage. And those who own the data and powerful tools to find relevant out from the data will be the big winners.
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I agree .. and I said once at a presentation ..
Content may be king - but metadata is King Kong! i.e. he who owns the metadata about the customer will be the real winner. Operators have potentially a strong case here - definately. Assuming they use the right tools and have the right mindset
Jonathan Marks added ..
I asked the CEO of Flickr if she could guarantee me access to my own photos in 2012. In fact she couldn't. Since I keep a copy of what I upload to Flickr, if I lost access to my photos it wouldn't matter so much. But all the effort put into labelling material, building sensible collections, tagging etc which builds value to a collection, I see no guarantee that I would be able to download that at any time in the future. My time, my effort, but apparently not my data.
and as I said in the last blog .. Google's answer to facebook .. I totally agree with Dave ..
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October 14, 2007
Google's answer to facebook ..
I am with Dave Winer on this one!
Sometime in November Google is rumored to be revealing their answer to Facebook. Whatever it is it will surely have an API, and will allow Google apps to share the info, and it will, if it hopes to compete with Facebook, provide some access to this data to app developers. But the true measure of their gravitas will be whether they give full control of the user's data to the user. If they do that, no matter what's missing from their software, it won't suck.
Posted by ajit at 11:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Where to buy the Nokia N81?
It is irritating to see Operator after Operator in the uk ban the Nokia N81. When I go to the stores like Carphone warehouse, I see boring phones as 'exclusives'. Qs is: where can we buy phones like the N81 when they are not easily available?
Surely there must be an easy way to do this? Conversely, if none of the operators support N81, can it work unlocked?
This is a general principle though .. not a specific phone .. I just feel that the phones we are being marketed to may not be the best ones ..
Posted by ajit at 11:24 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Extending the definition of Mobile Web 2.0 ..
I have always been exploring ways to extend the basic definition of Mobile Web 2.0.
In it's original incarnation, Mobile Web 2.0 extends the ideas of Web 2.0 to mobile devices by considering the core principle of harnessing collective intelligence.
In this scenario, the Mobile Device becomes the key element to harnessing collective intelligence since it is always available at the point of inspiration. The problem is – if the mobile device does not add something special - then we end up feeding the Flickrs and the YouTubes of the world i.e. chucking all the content to the ‘Deep blue sea’ of the Web where it merges with the vast oceans of already existing content.
The paradoxical challenge is to provide something unique from a mobile angle but at the same time, maintain the ethos of the Web(open standards, no walled gardens, customer choice etc).
In overcoming this problem, different strategies could be used and we discuss some here. Ultimately, I see these techniques as extensions to the core definition of Mobile Web 2.0(beyond the idea of harnessing collective intelligence)
a) Unique client side features and One click uploads: One way is to provide unique client side features. This is where the concept of ODP is relevant(both from an Operator and from a device manufacturer standpoint). This has been covered in my previous blog. One click upload is also a part of the same strategy.
b) Upload gateways: The second way is to provide some kind of ‘upload gateway’ for the lack of a better word. This is an ‘interim area’ between the device and the Web and provides the context based on a number of rules/content feeds etc. Obviously, this is a key value add for the end user. I have seen at least two operators develop/propose this concept. In addition, Shozu also works on similar principles. I like this concept because it is ‘open’ (in the sense that it does not confine the user to a specific social network) and at the same time the mobile ecosystem(operator, device manufacturer, application provider) can add value ..
A block diagram from TIM(Telecom Italia Mobile) is as below. Many thanks to Dr Massimo Valla for his kind permission to include this from his presentation.
The basic idea is: The operator adds some kind of processing in this gateway. The gateway then connects to any social network or web site (such as flickr/youtube etc). Depending on what is being added, it adds value to the user i.e. the user must want to use this gateway. For instance by adding machinetags . Other functions that could be included as part of the gateway include
- Add context to content
- Support deferred / interrupted uploads
- Synchronize content on the mobile terminal
- Publish content on multiple sites
Orange is doing the same through pikeo (still in beta)
c) Device manufacturers/Ovi: The interim gateway, one click and other strategies are not necessarily confined to the Operator. The same could also be used by device manufacturers. Especially Nokia, with Ovi
and it’s acquisitions like Navteq have critical advantage to provide a ‘One stop shop’. The Ovi solution could be hosted at an Operator or could be independent – but in either case, it is a powerful mechanism from the end user perspective.
d) Network abstraction: Network abstraction(In essence abstracting telecoms APIs and providing the facility to mashup between telecoms and non telecoms services). Is another way. I have covered mobile telecoms network abstraction before, hence I am not covering this again.
e) Identity: This is a key telecoms industry advantage and operators like T-mobile are doing some interesting work in this space. For instance, Dr Jörg Heuer’s team working on papers like: A role-based architecture for seamless identity management and effective task separation
All of the above is a much more sophisticated proposition than simple deals like the Vodafone – Myspace partnership. It gets good press but nevertheless a good starting point.
The trouble with single partnerships is : how many such partnerships can be done? The number of social networks are increasing and the number of social networks a person belongs to is increasing as well. So, individual partnerships between Operators and social networks will never work. Hence, the need of an open architecture but with something to leverage the unique potential of mobile devices.
I am exploring this whole area in detail and any comments/feedback welcome. I will also add more blogs later this week about extending the core definition of Mobile Web 2.0 along the mobile differentiation problem.
Posted by ajit at 3:25 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
October 12, 2007
Options for Royal Mail?
What are the best options for Royal mail? As a publishing company, we can't live with such idiocy of these unions. I think people here in the uk will actively shift to online business cards for Christmas as well to overcome Royal mail
Posted by ajit at 4:17 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
All packets are created equal: An understanding of net neutrality, innovation and it’s significance to the mobile networks
I have been meaning to do this blog for some time .. It discusses the core ideas of net neutrality and how they play in the mobile telecoms arena and why making the network smart could be a dumb move!
Excuse the very basic starting points of this article, but it’s important to explain the perspective from first principles.
Lets start with the Internet
The Internet comprises of any device that uses the IP(Internet Protocol) . The most common user interface (service layer) to the IP protocol is the Web. The Web is built using the HTTP protocol (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and mark-up languages like HTML (Hypertext Mark-up language).
The wikipedia references give more information about these three protocols.
It might appear frivolous to explain the entire Internet and the Web in a mere three sentences; but none the less – the Internet is nothing more than a set of devices connected by the IP protocol with HTTP/HTML (Web) as the most common user interface.
The primary goal of the Internet is to connect people(and don't let anyone convince you otherwise!)
Hence, it is suited to person to person communication type applications. The Internet is also a packet switched network . In a packet switched network, the message is broken up into a set of packets (a unit of information) and these packets are routed between nodes over data links.
The philosophy of the Internet lies in the belief that ‘All packets are created equal’. This is also known as Net neutrality.
In other words, the network is dumb and intelligence shifts to the edge of the network(i.e. to the nodes or the applications). This philosophy of ‘dumb pipes and smart nodes’ has fulfilled the vision of ‘Let a thousand flowers bloom’ and has led to the unprecedented innovation we have witnessed in the last decade. We take this innovation for granted .. But its worthwhile spending a bit longer on some of the ideas of Net neutrality.
The effect of net neutrality is so prevalent around us now that the best way to understand it is to consider it’s converse i.e. what happens if ‘All packets were NOT created equal’.
In a scenario where all packets are not created equal, the network becomes ‘smart’ i.e. has some intelligence. In that case, the proposition is: fewer new services will arise leading to a drop in innovation.
We can best explain the ideas of net neutrality by considering a simple networked example where you want to play chess over the Internet. This example is adapted from the book : The 3G IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS): Merging the Internet and the Cellular Worlds (Hardcover)
It is the best illustration I can find to explain the idea of Open systems and net neutrality.
Suppose you want to design a system where two players are playing Chess over a network. Since this is a connected(networked) application, to create this application, we need to know two things:
a) Knowledge of the network protocols to program the connected application and
b) Knowledge of the application itself (in this case Chess).
Now consider further, two scenarios:
a) The protocols of the network are free and open.
OR
b) The protocols of the network are closed and proprietary
Scenario (a) is the Internet. With an Open system like the Internet, the knowledge of the network is openly available. In this case, the application developer can focus on creating the best Chess application. This is the case of ‘Smart nodes – dumb pipes’ and the ‘Intelligence shifting at the edge of the network’ i.e. to the chess application. It is what we see on the Internet today and it is so common that we take it for granted.
The converse happens if the network is not built on open protocols. If the network is not built on open protocols, then we have a ‘smart’ network. By extension, this leads to a ‘dumber’ application and less innovation.
Taking the example of Chess, if knowledge of the network was a necessity to create the application; then the person with the best knowledge of the network(and not necessarily the best knowledge of chess) would create the best application.
Obviously, the application created by the person who knows Chess best and operates in a scenario of Open systems (i.e. he does not need to know anything special about the network) will be the superior application.
This is the crux of the net neutrality argument i.e. All packets are created equal
The observation is: The Mobile Internet is also now mirroring the fixed line Internet and hence will display the same characteristics(for instance a blooming in applications) as the fixed line Internet. Admittedly, this is taking some time but the trends in this direction are very clear.
Historically, telecoms networks were not IP based (i.e. followed protocols which were different from the Internet protocols). With the global spread of the Internet, the telecoms networks are also increasingly adopting the IP protocol. This is facilitated by a technology called IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem).
I have had the dubious distinction of comparing IMS to the Sith lords (Of Sith lords and the dark side of IMS). And some have an even more interesting take on that blog
(Does my picture look like the Sith lord? :) )
This might sound extreme .. but it underpins a vital observation.
In a wireless network, we all accept that conditions are different(and harsher) than on the fixed network. Hence, some form of optimization(AKA intelligence) is necessary. In theory, that defeats the principle of ‘All packets are created equal’.
The real question is: What is the basis of the ‘inequality’?
If it is truly for technical reasons, then it is fine.
However, if commercial considerations creep in, then we have a big problem. With commercial considerations, the person paying the most will have their packets moved faster.
In any case, making the network smart is a dumb move .. because it penalises the ‘chess experts’ i.e. domain experts and ultimately is a reversal of the innovation mindset we have witnessed in the last ten years.
Let us not take this blossoming of innovation for granted. Competitive natures of whole countries could be decided on the basis of the decisions we make today(both for fixed and mobile Internet)
Cartoon source: slowpokecomics.com
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October 11, 2007
Nokia - Telefonica announcement .. - game changing ..
Just saw this from Dean's blog .. Telefonica + Nokia services agreement
>>>>
Fascinating announcement today from Nokia & Telefonica which is potentially game-changing, in that it recognises Nokia as a key partner for services as well as handsets:
"Nokia will customize the new Multimedia Menu to provide easy access to Telefónica services.. Similarly, Telefonica customers will be able to access all Nokia services through the Multimedia Menu"
I presume this opens the way for things like Ovi, and maybe Nokia-optimised versions of popular web apps like Flickr. Using Nokia as an intermediary could be a way around the current problem with the mobile/web collaboration model - web services companies really don't want to do 100 separate operator-specific optimisations, and 100 separate negotiations, to get their application deployed widely (and hopefully virally).
<<<
Great to see these synergies .. kudos to Nokia and Telefonica .. expect more of this as per The chicken and egg blog ..
Posted by ajit at 12:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 10, 2007
Five reasons why Operators will not dominate Mobile Advertising ..
I have had this discussion with a number of people – and again today with a person working for an Operator.
My view is .. Unless Operators change their current thinking, they will not dominate Mobile advertising .. (and as a caveat I believe that Mobile advertising will be very big in the next few years .. )
Here are five reasons why
a) People don’t buy music from their electricity company .. i.e. the Telco brand is basically not suited to media(and hence by extension –advertising). The customers know this – and many in the Operator community also recognise this.
Thus inspite of good intentions, the world of media and advertising does not come as naturally to a Telco exec as does networks and devices. Customers will never see an Operator as a cool brand(and by extension be reluctant to accept advertising from such a brand)
2) Operator portals have never quite taken off. This means advertisers don't really have a property to advertise on
3) The operator's x million customers don't really equate to eyeballs. This is a big problem. Yes an operator has x million customers. A very small portion of these use data services(excluding SMS). Even smaller numbers use their own portals
4) The operator does not grasp the concept of self service and long tail.. Whichever way you look at this, the mobile advertising market is in a nascent phase. The top down heavy handed approach does not work for this stage. See Crossing the chasm with the long tail: Mobile web 2.0, mobile advertising, user generated content for a more detailed explanation as to why this is the case.
5) Most importantly, while the Operator ponders – others grab this space BIG time. So, a market exists – it’s just that the Operators are not getting anything there(and this is before Google has entered the fray!). Admob continues to go stratospheric with about 8 billion ads served in total and averaging 1.5 billion ads a month. Itsmy (gofresh) serves 250millionth Mobile Internet Ad
Both are 100% mobile web and 100% off portal.
Contrast this with very few operators who will release stats for their portals!!
So .. I think
a) Mobile advertising will be huge .. there is direct evidence for this for ex: admob and itsmy
b) Unless the Operators change their current thinking, their share will be very low
Thoughts?
Posted by ajit at 11:30 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Are social networking and ugc cannibalising ringtones, wallpapers, mobile games etc ..
Hello,
Are social networking and ugc cannibalising mobile ringtones, wallpapers, games etc ..
There was a time when these content types were the rage. Today, you hardly hear anyone talking about them.
Especially with the rise of user generated content and social networking sites(on mobile and especially on the web) .. Ringtones, wallpapers etc seem to be no longer a fad.
My theory is:
People(especially teens) are fickle. They have limited attention spans. They like 'free'. Thus, every teen that spends time on sites like MySpace and Facebook is not going to download that ringtone or that game or use that wallpaper to glam up their phone
With so much attention (both individual and industry) going to user generated content; ringtones, wallpapers and games are on the decline
Thoughts?
Posted by ajit at 10:55 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Deitel associates – free web 2.0 ebook
Many of us, including me, studied programming using books from Deitel and Deitel (and we all remember that familiar bee logo!).
Hence - I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from Abbey Deitel – President Deitel and Associates informing me about their free e-book on Web 2.0
Deitel have launched a free ebook about Web 20 and from what I see, it’s very comprehensive as I remember all the Deitel books from so long ago.
Links are:
In Deitel Web 2.0 free e-book in HTML format
Definitely worth a read.
Posted by ajit at 10:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 9, 2007
3rd International FOKUS IMS Workshop 2007
I am speaking at the 3rd International FOKUS IMS Workshop 2007
You can get the full agenda from the link above. Some of the sesions in this workshop are as below(they cover a range of things from IPTV to Mobile Web 2.0 and FMC - all within the IMS perspective)
"IMS Basics, Standards Update and Future Challenges in Face of Web 2.0"
Presented by T. Magedanz & N. Blum – TU Berlin / Fraunhofer FOKUS, Germany
The tutorial material will only be provided in electronical format (PDF) on-site!
"IMS and Web 2.0/SOA"
Led by N. Blum,T. Magedanz – Fraunhofer FOKUS, Germany and A. Jaokar - Futuretext, UK
"IMS and IPTV"
Led by S. Arbanowski – Fraunhofer FOKUS, Germany
IMS Market and Challenges
S. Krems - Detecon GmbH, Germany
Roles of NGN applications for potential IMS deployments
E. Mikóczy - T-Com, Slovak Telekom A.S., Slovakia
IMS for NGN - Triple Play and FMC
T. Murakami - NTT, Japan
IMS Standards Status Check and the Path ahead
D. Boswarthick - ETSI/TISPAN, France
IMS Management Issues
A. Zehl - Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Online, Germany
IMS Client Issues
M. Wardlaw - BT, UK
Session 3: IMS and PES, Triple Play & IPTV
Chair: S. Arbanowski – Fraunhofer FOKUS, Germany
Next Generation IPTV - A view from the BBC
S. Broad - BBC Strategy Group, UK
Next Generation Media Ecosystem
J. Novak - University of Zurich, Switzerland/European Institute for Participatory Media, Berlin
Session 4: IMS Future Directions – IMS vs. SDP, IMS and Web 2.0, IMS and P2P
Chair: H. M. Arnold, Deutsche Telekom AG, Laboratories, Germany
SDP as an Enabler of Convergence, Quad-play and new value added Services
E. Solbes - Hewlett Packard Espanola, Spain
Posted by ajit at 9:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Padmasree Warrior's keynote at Wimax world ..
Padmasree Warrior's keynote at Wimax world ..
Very interesting .. especially the impact of Wimax on
Emerging markets(Pakistan),
Smaller communities - new entrant (Germany),
Seamless connectivity(Sprint)
Wholesale providers (Holland)
An event which I wanted to attend but could not .. see my blog .. Motorola - Sprint announcement may be bigger than iPhone announcement ..
Posted by ajit at 1:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Speaking at the O Reilly Web 2.0 expo in Berlin ..
One more conference .. I am speaking at the O Reilly Web 2.0 expo in Berlin. I think I will be in Berlin for the whole week(week beginning Nov 4). So, happy to meet in Berlin.
Posted by ajit at 12:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
My first Enterprise 2.0 talk .. Fidelity investments - Galway Ireland ..
My first Enterprise 2.0 talk .. Fidelity investments - Galway Ireland ..
Love any talks in Ireland .. and my first time visiting Galway. Should be interesting - covers mobility and enterprise. A niche event covering the financial services sector
If you would like to attend this, please email me
Posted by ajit at 12:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 8, 2007
Visiongain Mobile Communities and User Generated Content Conference 2007
Hello
I am chairing Visiongain Mobile Communities and User Generated Content Conference 2007 in London (Oct 10 and 11). The web site of the conference had a problem in the last two days, so posting agenda here if anyone wants to attend
Some key speakers include
Mark Watts-Jones, Head of Product Management, Orange
Jane Wilding, Product Manager of Social Neyworking, 3
Richard Blades, Commercial and Development Director, Europe, Novarra
Jeanette Carlsson, Communications Section Lead – Value Creation, IBM Global Services
Matthew Menz, Head of Interaction Design, Motorola
Peter Richards, CEO, Mobestar
David Springall, CTO, YoSpace
Dr Nagappan Arunachalam, Chief Marketing Officer, NewBay
Ziv Navoth, VP Marketing, Bebo
Neyran Sen, Product Manager, Turkcell
Ziv Navoth, VP Marketing, Bebo
Mark Watts-Jones, Head of Product Management, Orange
Chris Goswami, Principle Product Manager, Openwave Systems
Jane Wilding, Product Manager of Social Networking, 3
Dror Liwer, CMO, IXI Mobile
Patrick Stanton, Head of content operations, Nokia
Julia Dimambro, Founder and Managing Director, Cherrysauce
If you want to attend, please let me know
Oct 10 and 11
09:00 Refreshments & Registration
09:30 Chair’s opening remarks
Ajit Jaokar, CEO & Mobile Web 2.0 Author, Futuretext
09:10 Analysis of the mobile communities and user generated content market: what does the future hold?
Mark Watts-Jones, Head of Product Management, Orange
09:50 Panel Discussion - Overall strategies to get mobile communities moving
Jane Wilding, Product Manager of Social Neyworking, 3
Richard Blades, Commercial and Development Director, Europe, Novarra
10:50 Morning refreshments
11:10 Understanding how operators can maximise their revenue through UGC and mobile networking
Jeanette Carlsson, Communications Section Lead – Value Creation, IBM Global Services
11:50 Is UGC the next WAP?
Matthew Menz, Head of Interaction Design, Motorola
12:30 Networking lunch
13:50 Solutions to optimise mobile social networking and UGC from your client – base, content and device
Peter Richards, CEO, Mobestar
14:30 Charging for UGC and mobile communities – what to price or do you to price at all?
David Springall, CTO, YoSpace
15:10 Afternoon refreshments
15:30 Monetizing social networks for operations
Dr Nagappan Arunachalam, Chief Marketing Officer, NewBay
16:10 Case – Study – Operators UGC and mobile communities strategy and how it will develop over the next three years
Ziv Navoth, VP Marketing, Bebo
16:50 Chairperson’s Closing remarks
17:00 Networking drinks reception.
Day Two: 11th October 2007
BSG House, London
08:30 Refreshments & Registration
09:00 Chair’s opening remarks
Ajit Jaokar, CEO & Mobile Web 2.0 Author, Futuretext
09:10 Balancing your Web & Mobile Community
Neyran Sen, Product Manager, Turkcell
09:50 Panel Discussion – Creating brand loyalty through user generated content – how a loyal community can become a profitable community
Ziv Navoth, VP Marketing, Bebo
Mark Watts-Jones, Head of Product Management, Orange
10:50 Morning refreshments
11:10 Advertising to the mobile community – will it be accepted and will it be the main source of revenue
Chris Goswami, Principle Product Manager, Openwave Systems
11:50 Content convergence for your community on your wireless handset
Jane Wilding, Product Manager of Social Networking, 3
12:30 Networking lunch
13:50 Using youth friendly devices as a differentiation factor for mobile IM
Dror Liwer, CMO, IXI Mobile
14.30 Case – Study – Mobilize and share from Nokia an information real world example of a new service from Nokia that is
Patrick Stanton, Head of content operations, Nokia
15.10 Afternoon refreshments
15:30 Panel Discussion – Where does the boundary lie? Promoting this profitable area while maintaining your brand
Julia Dimambro, Founder and Managing Director, Cherrysauce
16:30 Chairperson’s closing remarks end of conference
Posted by ajit at 11:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Carnival of the mobilists: at the taptu blog ..
Carnival of the Mobilists – now live at Taptu
Have a look at the Carnival of the Mobilists now live at the Taptu blog. My post
On device portals - ODP, Widgets and the Phonetop: The iPhone killer, Saviour of IMS and the future of mobile apps? Made it to the carnival. Its nice to see it getting so much coverage
And since us Mobilists are an incestuous little bunch and help each other out where we can :) don’t forget to look at the sneak preview from Taptu ..
>>>
And Finally… The Sneak Preview!
This brings me to the sneak preview you’ve been waiting for; we’ve decided to invite Carnival readers to have an early look at the Taptu mobile search beta, before we launch publicly. Want to have a look? Just leave a comment using a legitimate email address or email me on hello@taptu.com and you’ll get access to our private beta tomorrow.
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Posted by ajit at 6:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 7, 2007
Awesome David Wilcox song/video - The Bearcat ..
Great song. Fantastic guitaring! And great Bearcat walk .. towards the end ..
From the Canadian David