August 4, 2008
Carnival of the Mobilists #135: Olympics of the Mobilists !
Great title!
Carnival of the Mobilists #135: Olympics of the Mobilists !
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May 9, 2008
Classic Ray Charles - Hit the road Jack ..
Watched this song more times than I can remember. Enjoy!
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May 1, 2008
blogged.com rates OpenGardens blog 8/10.
I had an email from Amy at blogged saying that they rated OpenGardens blog 8/10.
Often this is a good way to get attention - so I was a bit sceptical at first. Still I had a look at blogged.com
And I liked it ..
Not because they rate me 8/10 :) .. and techcrunch has a mixed review(but some comments are positive) ..
But there is a more subtle reason ..
And at first I struggled to find it .. and the best way I can express it is by saying that it does one thing very well.
A good list of blogs is indeed valuable .. and although it exists in other places on the web(technorati and mybloglog for example) .. I like the simplicity and scope of this site along with a singular focus.
Certainly a valuable resource ..
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March 24, 2008
A landmark: The opengardens blog completes more than 800 posts in less than 3 years ..
Hello all
We have reached a bit of a landmark .. The OpenGardens blog now has more than 800 posts - and considering some of my posts are extensive(more articles than blogs), there is a lot of content here!
Thanks for all your support over the years - both online and offline where I have met various readers of OpenGardens blogs at conferences but also at airport lounges and hotel lobbies etc when people have stopped me to thank me / discuss this blog !
I know large companies who read it regularly and distribute some blogs internally and many small startups - both Web and Mobile - who also follow it
It all started with this post - Beatles to BT? would it work? way back on 26th May 2005 when I asked ..
Would 'Beatles to BT' work? i.e. If the Beatles had been starting out - would they have approached BT to sell their music? What would happen if they did? Would there be a Beatles - in the first place?
This set the tone for the whole blog - a balanced, human, personal and often extremely detailed view of the Mobile data industry with an emphasis on Open Gardens(opposite of walled gardens). It is an 'outsider's view' i.e. with a bias towards the Web and as the Web and the Mobile Web converge - with companies like Nokia, Opera, Google and Apple leading the way - there are many more interesting things to cover!
Along the way, various personal preferences like Tom and Jerry, ZZ Top, Tintin, Asterix, Snoopy and Pink Floyd have kept it interesting as have my personal ethos about Individualism, human rights, the free market economy and the belief that technology will enrich the lives of people and overcome poverty
Thanks for your support again!
Please subscribe to the OpenGardens blog at OpenGardens
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January 1, 2008
Happy New Year !
Happy New Year!
Thanks for all your support over the years!
kind rgds
Ajit
Image source: http://www.skinbase.org/files/archive/shots/271/Happy_New_Year_by_clwoods.jpg
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November 28, 2007
Leopard, spots change – Verizon ..
Verizon has opened up! What do we say? At this rate, my blog ‘OpenGardens’ will become redundant
:)
But seriously .. Like Om Malik, I am sceptical a bit .. But .. I am also an optimist ..
This is clearly a significant move ..
However, it should be looked at in context of the broader market .. iPhone, Google, Android, 700 Mhz auction etc etc ..
The walled gardens model is truly dead and a mixture of regulatory, competitive and customer led changes are the winners here ..
In many ways, such moves should be encouraged – like I blogged about Three’s about turn ..(Three was one of the closest operators in Europe at one time and now goes to the other end of the spectrum)
The bottom line is: Operators have little choice .. The customers are driving this change and history has always dictated this change(for instance in the case of AOL)
The real question we have to ask is: Is the phone a creation device(Web 2.0/Mobile Web 2.0) or is it a consumption device? That’s the difference between OpenGardens and Walled Gardens ..
As we go into an era of creation, openness is inevitable
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November 25, 2007
Tony Fish rated Top 10 for science and innovation by the Observer ..
The observer rates Tony Fish Top 10 for science and innovation / heading for the top
The entry reads as below
Congarts Tony for this!
Tony Fish, author and founder, AMF Ventures, London Fish is involved in technology, media and telecoms industries, building hi-tech companies since 1994. He is the founder of AMF Ventures, a strategic consultancy focused on the move to 2.0. He sits as a non-executive director at Chronos Technology, Hartwood, dotnet and C2G, chairman at Dot Mobile, and partner at MashUp Events LLP, a formal gathering of professionals who meet to discuss the digital world. Mobile Web 2.0, Fish's second book, focuses on the changing relationships between mobile, TV, web and print, and the uniqueness of mobile metadata.
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October 15, 2007
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.
<<<
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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September 23, 2007
Standardization across handsets, OMTP, 2D barcodes, Micro USB
Here is a practical way for operators to jump start the mobile web ..
I believe that there could be a role for bodies like OMTP
It came from a suggestion from Daniel Rosen (Head of AKQA Mobile)’s presentation’s at the Mobile Web 2.0 events(Daniel is a good friend whose views I like and respect)
Daniels’ suggestion was in a nutshell; Operators should standardise across 2d barcodes (also called QR codes)
I fully agree with this!
2d barcodes are ubiquitous and they are a key driver to the mobile web uptake because they can be in magazines and other publications and can be linked directly to a mobile web site
Others like Tomi Ahnonen also rave on about QR codes
This could be a role for an organization like OMTP which could undertake standardization which helps jump start the industry.
Recently, OMTP took the same role with standardisation on micro-USB - a positive step in my view
This form of cross synergy which help developers/customers is most welcome and indicate a role which a cross industry body can play
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September 17, 2007
kudos to the police blogger!
Well done Stuart Davidson . We would much rather trust a blogger than politicians or mainstream media .. Link to Policeman's blog
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September 12, 2007
OpenGardens network - launches next week ..
We continue to make good progress to the OpenGardens network
We will launch the OpenGardens network next week
The simple principle of focussing on bloggers who are insightful - but infrequent (especially bloggers who work in corporate blogs but have personal blogs ) gets us some very smart people!.
We are happy to work with such insightful thinkers like Martin Duval (who works for Orange) , Stephen Johnston (who works for Nokia), Daniel Appelquist(Vodafone) , C Enrique Ortiz , Simeon Simeonov(Polaris ventures), Chetan Sharma , Rakesh Radhakrishnan(Sun Microsystems) , Luke Razzell , Sergey Slovetskiy (Ericsson) and many others
I am looking for more insightful bloggers especially in the Web 2.0, Social networking and the enterprise space. Any recommendations, welcome
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August 15, 2007
Happy 60th birthday India ..
Happy 60th birthday India!
Interesting to see so much coverage - including from the official Google blog ..
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May 21, 2007
social computing v.s. multi nationals
My friend Duane Nickull Senior Technology Evangelist, Adobe Systems posted this on his blog
Duane says:
It occurred to me a natural aspect of social computing is rising up against multi nationals. After getting ripped off by a company named Rheem, I felt compelled to post this on my blog:
His blog entry is HERE
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May 13, 2007
Håkon Wium Lie CTO of Opera software - Significance of Widgets - Web and Mobile
I am reposting this podcast because I am now looking at Widgets very strategically. We recently did this podcast with Opera (Håkon Wium Lie ) and we are also doing more with Nokia(see following post)
Expect a lot more talk of Widgets/books on Widgets etc etc
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April 24, 2007
Lanetro Zed symposium and Peter Cochrane ..
Last Friday, I spoke at the Zed symposium organized by Lanetro Zed
at Sotogrande in Spain
Besides me, the other speaker in the morning was Professor Peter Cochrane. Peter is a legend in the industry and it was great to meet him for the first time. Also, we discovered that our presentations had remarkably similar themes and messages although independently created – which was very flattering to know
I learnt a lot in the day. The focus of my talk was on Web 2.0, Mobile Web 2.0 and User generated content.
Peter Cochrane talked about the future – but some of what he talked of – was reflected in my talk as well (which pertained to the present). I was followed by Mr Javier Perez (La Netro Zed cofounder) – who talked about the implementation (i.e. how Zed was incorporating these ideas into their product set). And finally, in the afternoon, various Operators and key industry players talked about how they are actually changing (for instance flat rate seems to be coming in many regions).
Thus, I was left with the thought that much of the future is here and now and we have many new and interesting services to look forward to
Many thanks to Ana, Maria and Eduardo for the flawless organization and to Mr Perez and Zed for inviting me over. The lovely Ana especially seemed to defy the laws of physics by being in more than one place at once!
I was especially impressed by Peter’s talk. It was great to meet Peter and his charming wife Jane. Peter was head of Research and CTO at BT and Peter's PhD was pivotal in BT deciding to go all-digital and all-optical in the 1970's
There are many things I could pick up – even with casual conversation – for instance: at lunch – someone asked ‘What would be Peter’s advice to Telcos? – (considering he said in his talk that very few would survive in the next few years in their current form)
I think his answer was: As the mobile network mirrors the Internet (and by extension – value shifts to the edge as opposed to the core), the Operator can survive only by leveraging what is in the core (and ONLY in the core). This means (in my view) – Identity, Payment, Location, Customer profiles.
Its little things like that ..
In the presentation itself, there were many cool things for instance 405 the movie - which is the most viewed movie ever I believe.
However, the historical perspective of industries in transformation was even more interesting for me. For example: Supermarkets went through a dropping profit margins (22%, 16%, 8% and ultimately to as low as 2%). Operators may also go through the same – hence the consolidation and the need to rethink the business model.
I look forward to meeting Peter again soon ..
I will also be following Zed more closely. Much of their new strategy is very consistent with Mobile Web 2.0 - and it is great to see content players evolve in the new world of User Generated Content
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April 5, 2007
McKinsey Global Survey: Tim O Reilly must be having the last laugh ..
The McKinsey quarterly had a recent article on How businesses are using Web 2.0: A McKinsey Global Survey.
Requires a free registration – but well worth a read.
I am a paid subscriber to the McKinsey service and my yardstick is: when McKinsey write about it – it’s mainstream.
Considering how much flak Tim O Reilly received when he put forward the seven principles of Web 2.0, I guess Tim must be having the last laugh.
The adoption of Web 2.0 by corporates is even more interesting. I already follow Dion’s work on Web 2.0 and Enterprise and am helping Hinchcliffe and co in their expansion of Web 2.0 University to London
So, have a look at the McKinsey report and also these three other blogs on the same theme from Dion :
The rise of the DIY phenomenon
The challenges of moving the Web-based world into the enterprise
Emerging new ideas for SOA architects
I am very much looking forward to meeting Tim when I am speaking at the O Reilly Web 2.0 expo
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April 4, 2007
Dion Hinchcliffe launches the Web20University ..
Dion Hinchcliffe is a Web 2.0 pioneer and is also a good friend. Dion is totally committed to the ethos of Web 2.0 and in partnership with O'Reilly, the firm that introduced Web 2.0 to the industry, Hinchcliffe and co have launched the Web20University. Knowing Dion and the depth of his thinking, I have no hesitation at all in recommending the courses being held in various parts of the USA(Please see their web site for details)
Hinchcliffe and co are a platinum sponsor at the web20 expo and you can meet Dion and co there.
Some excepts from their official email about their bootcamps are as below
Designed for business executives and technical leaders alike, these
intensive one-day courses help you understand the potent set of new
business models and technologies known as Web 2.0. Whether you're with an
established Fortune 500 firm, an Internet startup, or a government
agency, you'll learn the actionable strategies, design patterns, and best
practices needed to rapidly bridge your organization's products and
services into the new online world of Web 2.0.
The meteoric rise and industry dominance of Internet sites like YouTube,
MySpace, and Google shows just how quickly traditional business models
and companies -- from broadcasting to publishing to financial services --
are being eclipsed by fundamentally new Web 2.0 approaches that harness
collective intelligence, leverage The Long Tail, and maintain control
over hard-to-recreate data, to name just three.
Web 2.0 has clearly captured the world's imagination as evidenced
by appearances on the cover of Time, Newsweek, and on major TV news
shows. Hundreds of new Web 2.0 companies have been formed in the last
year alone. More importantly, business leaders are increasingly hearing
this call to action. Major corporations including American Express, AOL,
GM and XM Radio are now actively embracing Web 2.0 concepts.
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An unexpected walled garden - Patientline : Hospital phone charges up 160%
From the BBC article below.
This is sad because we, who understand technology, know that voice charges are leaning to zero! Thus, increase voice rates by 160% for patients in hospitals - is not good. In fact, I think voice calls should be free(no problem charging for movies etc). Maybe it is time to look at mobile phones in hospitals(as we are reconsidering mobile phones on aircrafts).
From the BBC below >>>>
Hospital phone charges up 160%
Patientline also provides bedside TV, radio and internet
A firm that provides phone services at thousands of NHS hospital bedsides is to increase the cost of calls by 160%.
Previously, calls made by NHS patients through Patientline phones cost 10p per minute, but that will now rise to 26p.
Patientline, which is a private company, told the BBC it had invested £160m in the system and needed to recoup its costs and make a profit.
In 2005, the firm was investigated by regulators over its charges, but was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Patientline also provides television screens and radio and internet services at hospital bedsides.
It said that while call charges would increase, the cost of the complete bedside "package" would fall from £3.50 a day to £2.90.
Calls to patients from outside the hospital cost 39p per minute off-peak and 49p a minute at peak times.
'Luxury service'
Patientline systems are installed at more than 75,000 hospital bedsides.
BBC Breakfast's Graham Satchell said the government had always maintained that these services were a luxury and should not come at a cost to the taxpayer or the NHS.
And he said Patientline had admitted it was £80m in debt and currently had enough money left to only operate for the next 12 months.
The Patients Association says patients often have no choice but to use Patientline because many hospitals no longer have public pay phones.
It added that contact with relatives can have a significant impact on a patient's wellbeing.
Mobiles ban
Andrew Stronach, from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said he had written to Patientline to formally object to the price rise and demand a meeting.
"They have agreed a stay of execution for two weeks and as a result they will not be putting up the charges here from today."
Telecoms regulator Ofcom investigated Patientline two years ago after complaints that charges were too high.
In the past, many hospitals have operated bans on or restricted the use mobile phones within their buildings, meaning patients often had to use other phone services.
But last month, Health Minister Andy Burnham said he saw "no reason" why they could not be used within hospitals.
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February 18, 2007
Happy Chinese New Year to our readers ..
Happy Chinese New Year to our readers !!
Image source: BBC
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January 2, 2007
Seeking guest bloggers for the OpenGardens blog ..
Hello all
In 2007, I have some big plans for my blog.
Much to my surprise last year, it has become a runaway success
Alexa ratings of 67,000 odd and growing, syndicated on the W3C, Top 20 fierce wireless blogs, Top 20 mobile blogs by technorati links etc etc ..
It also has some industry experts like Simeon(general partner of Polaris ventures), Dr Paddy Byers and Chetan sharma blogging on it.
This year, I am looking for more bloggers who want to contribute occasional articles. This means, your article / post would have your photo against it and would be edited by me(and of course authored by you)
You can get a general ethos of the blog by looking at the blog (essentially web 2.0, mobile web 2.0, Open Gardens etc).
You can talk about your own expertise/company.
For instance, see this blog -
Yes, we are talking about a specific company - but also its of general interest to peopleand its unique and it fits with the broad ethos of the blog.
Ideally, I would like you to contribute a series (for instance a set of five posts on a theme) etc.
I can work with you to edit etc.
If you are interested, please email me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com giving me an outline what you want to write etc etc
kind rgds
Ajit
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September 23, 2006
Apple bans the use of 'podcasting' ?
How interesting!
I don't cover Apple a lot because its a walled garden.
Now, it seems that Apple is trying to trademark the term podcasting
Maybe Mr Ahonen and Mr Moore were right after all .. Tomi / Alan / Apple story
At least Tim O Reilly made an honest mistake in my view and the circumstances were much more complex .. lets see how the Apple story pans out ..
The timing could'nt been worse for Apple .. both mobile ***casting and zune?casting are here ..
Once again, it seems like they did with the PC world, Apple is pioneering a whole industry segment but failing to execute when that segment crosses the chasm
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September 4, 2006
Opengardens blog is amongst the top 10 mobile blogs according to Technorati ...
What a pleasant surprise! After the last post which made me sad, it's a bit of good news to know about the list of top mobile blogs worldwide as per Technorati compiled by Rudy De Waale. OpenGardens blog is amongst the top 10 mobile blogs worldwide .. and that comes as a bit of a surprise to me as well!
Many thanks for all your support. Thanks to Rudy for tracking this on Technorati and for Mr Ahonen for pointing this out to me! ..
I also want to thank our two new contributors Dr Paddy Byers and Chetan Sharma for their brilliant contribution ..
Its great to see so many friends make the top 10. Congrats to all and especially to Howard and Co(Smart Mobs), Emily(textually), Oliver Starr(Mobile crunch), Russell and Carlo(Mobhappy) and Rafe(All about symbian) who I personally know.
Once again .. thanks for making this a great place!
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August 7, 2006
Introducing our second contributor: Dr Paddy Byers
Following the introduction of Chetan Sharma yesterday, I am pleased to introduce Dr Paddy Byers.
Dr Paddy Byers is the CTO for Tao Group, creator of intent, a virtualisation technology used for delivering multimedia content portably to mobile phones and other consumer devices. Paddy has 13 years mobile and embedded software development experience and prior to joining Tao was an independent consultant working in computer security and safety-critical systems. Paddy holds a degree in Mathematics from Cambridge and a PhD in Theoretical Computer Science.
Paddy’s interests cover all technical means used to deliver services to mobile devices, and the role that technology might have in supporting the value chain. Specific interests include the possibilities offered by web2 technologies such as ajax; decentralisation of service creation; how to support communities of subscribers with widely diverse requirements; and technology “post-modernism” generally.
The views expressed here are personal and not necessarily those of either his employer or any customer or partner.
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August 6, 2006
Introducing our first contributing blogger: Chetan Sharma
As per my previous blog, Would you like to blog at OpenGardens, I am pleased to introduce Chetan Sharma as our first contributing blogger to the OpenGardens blog
Chetan is a recognized industry expert in strategy and implementation of wireless data and pervasive computing solutions. He has a strong background in developing and launching technologies, products, and solutions for the wireless Industry, including extensive experience in managing and delivering all phases of the product development cycle. His areas of focus are product strategy, patent and IP strategy, and business and technology strategy.
Executives from leading wireless companies around the world seek his accurate predictions, independent insights, and actionable recommendations. He has served as an advisor to senior executive management of several Fortune 100 companies in the wireless space. Some of his clients include NTT DoCoMo, Disney, KTF, Reuters, Sprint Nextel, AT&T Wireless, Cincinnati Bell, Qualcomm, Reliance Infocomm, SAP, Merrill Lynch, American Express, Infospace, BEA, and HP. Chetan is author or co-author of 3 books and dozens of articles and reports on the wireless industry. More information at his site Chetan Sharma
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would you like to blog at OpenGardens?
As many of you know, this blog has become widely read in the last few months, especially within the wider web community, because of my membership of the web 20 workgroup (which in effect resyndicates my blog globally) in addition to the links from the Mobile/Telecoms industry.
In addition, I am now running the mobile web 2.0 spotlight at sys-con
(Sys-con are a US based publisher of technical magazines and web content and one of the largest technical event organisers in the US). Thus, the opengardens blog would get even more publicity through my synergies with the sys-con blog.
As many bloggers are now doing, I am looking to open up the OpenGardens blog to a few good contributors.
Thus, I am now looking for either guest(one off) or contributing (ongoing) bloggers on the OpenGardens blog.
This would suit someone who does not want to blog regularly but still wants to get the benefits of blogging - especially by association with a well known blog which is widely syndicated. If you want to be a contributing editor, then I can have your name on the front page of the blog. If you want to be a guest contributor(one off) then that means you simply let me know a post you want to add.
Obviously, all this is good for your brand etc. Plus, you would save the trouble of starting and popularising a blog from scratch.(with one blog created every second, blogosphere doubles every five months , making it all the more difficult to set up a new blog from scratch and make it popular )
Also, there are two other advantages
a) The blog will get additional exposure due to my work with sys-con and
b) The OpenGardens blog is one of the few blogs that spans both the Web and the Mobile domians. Long term, I believe that the Web is the where the real action is!
The overall theme of the blog is web 2.0, wireless/mobile, open networks and mobile web 2.0. The quality must be consistent with the existing blogs/articles.
I will help with the editing.
Ethos and principles
My vision behind the OpenGardens blog has been :
a) The blog is about the Mobile data industry and Digital convergence - what I call 'Mobile web 2.0'
b) Analysis is more important than 'story'/controversy. I don't believe that bloggers are true journalists. The blog does not have to be about the latest 'story' but it's more about independent 'analysis'/viewpoint
c) It is broadly about opening up the networks, growing digital usage and digital businesses i.e. we don't advocate closed networks, broadcast media etc
d) It is about disruptive digital technologies
I shall introduce two contributors this week : Chetan Sharma and Dr Patrick Byers
So, watch this space!
Pls let me know at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com if this is of interest
kind rgds
Ajit
see my new book mobileweb2.0
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August 4, 2006
futuretext is accepted as a full member of the Independent publisher's guild ..
I am happy to announce that futuretext is now accepted as a full member of the Independent Publisher's Guild. Membership of the IPG gives us recognition in the publishing industry (for instance, you need to have published a few titles before the industry accepts you as a publisher). This means, it’s easier for book stores to accept Futuretext books from authors. I thank all our authors and partners for making this happen!
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June 10, 2006
A sad day for the Internet ..
As per savetheinternet
Last night’s House vote against an amendment that would make Net Neutrality enforceable is the result of swarming lobbyists and a multi-million-dollar media campaign by telephone companies that want Congress to hand them control of the Internet.
The fight now moves to the Senate, where there is stronger bi-partisan support for a bill — put forth by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota) — that would protect our Internet freedom from AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth.
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March 19, 2006
How mobile phones are transforming societies
Another interesting article from the BBC about Africa (Nigeria) about how mobile phones are transforming society
I find this bit interesting
Telephone entrepreneurs
In any big town you just have to look around and there will be a boy within hailing distance ready to sell you a top-up card.
Girls are less likely to be scampering about in traffic jams with strings of cards. But give them a picnic table, a red, yellow or green umbrella, and a "make your calls here" sign, and they are set up in the telecommunications business.
The mobile phone companies have done more to tackle youth unemployment than any government project.
Being able to make phone calls has transformed working life in Nigeria.
I blogged about this phenomenon a while ago with - The mobile Internet will do more for Africa than live 8!
An extension of this level of communication is - news can no longer be controlled by governments and the Philippines government knows this only too well!
The interesting bit is - I observed the same phenomenon with Cable TV more than twelve years ago when I last lived in India. Once people get connected, their aspirations rise, they become more informed, corrupt politicians can't cheat them, governments can’t censor information easily
This is just the beginning ..
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March 9, 2006
The resurgence of browsing applications
Not sure if I blogged about this before.
I have been speaking of a resurgance of browsing applications led by Ajax. Its nice to see this link from Russell Beattie which talks of the resurgance of browsing in general(independent of Ajax). And it seems Open Gardens as well!
he says:
> The key takeaway for me was that browsing is
> the number one (by far) mobile application
> that uses data, and interestingly, carrier
> decks only account for 50% of the traffic. >
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March 6, 2006
Mobile Strategies - Understanding Wireless Business Models, MVNOs and the growth of Mobile Content
I am happy to announce that Tom Weiss will be publishing his book on Mobile Strategies with futuretext. The book will be called 'Mobile Strategies - Understanding Wireless Business Models, MVNOs and the growth of Mobile Content'
Tom's knowledge of the mobile content business is par excellence and his talk at the OpenGardens event last year was a huge hit.
The book will be available on March 30 2006 and we have a formal launch event for the book at Waterstones Piccadilly (Europe's largest bookstore) on April 11. If you are interested in the book or the event, please email us at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com
More about the book
Mobile Strategies explains the different business models and strategies available for businesses looking to enter the mobile sector. Starting off with a historical overview of the telecommunications business, the book explains how mobile has developed into the business it is today, what models have made money, and which ones haven’t.
With a straightforward, practical style, the book gives an advice on
• Starting an MVNO
• Using SMS to build revenues
• Selling handset ring-tones, wallpapers, and games
• The future of mobile media, including Mobile Music and TV
• Services for 3G and next generation networks
• Mobile marketing, advertising, and customer interactivity
• Convergence and Triple Play
In each area, clear guidance is provided on what customers are looking for, the possibilities and limitations of the technology, effective go-to-market strategies, business models, costs, risks, and an overview of the operational requirements.
All models are illustrated with case studies from companies including Virgin, NTT DoCoMo, Disney, Vodafone, Apple, ITV, Blackberry, Nextel, and Skype.
The book would appeal to anyone deciding whether their business should enter the Mobile sector, those currently operating in the sector, MBA students, and aspiring managers within the industry
About Tom
Tom Weiss was Vice President Key Service Introductions at T-Mobile until August 2005, and was responsible for the launch of T-Mobile premium services across Europe, including T-Mobile EURO2004 campaign.
Prior to T-Mobile, Tom was a key figure in the development of the Content Management industry and developed online strategies for a number of UK organisations. He is lives in London with his wife Jane. Mobile Strategies is his first book.
Posted by ajit at 1:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 22, 2006
Open systems, Information technology and blossoming (or not) of Civilizations.
On holiday, I met VC Bothra who started off this discussion in context of India and the Gutenberg press. Having an interest in history and archaeology - I have enhanced it with examples of other civilizations and the impact of the global spread of the Internet and Open systems
There are two points I am making here
a) Information technology gives cultures and civilizations a 'once in a lifetime' chance to leapfrog / totally transform themselves
However, it's not enough merely to create a new 'information innovation(a language, a printing press etc)' - it's necessary to remove barriers so that it can spread fast, create new nodes and enrich itself. Leading to the second point
and secondly.
b) 'Closed' civilizations and knowledge centres do not grow. In fact, they shrink and die
Information technology and the transformation of cultures
The best example of this is the Gutenberg press - which created a whole new competitive advantage for the Europe.
India, today, is another example where the IT revolution has led it to effectively 'skip' the industrial / infrastructure changes. In other words, as countries like Singapore, South Korea and Japan developed after world war two, there was first a corresponding increase in industrial output and infrastructure development. In contrast, India still has a long way to go in infrastructure - BUT has effectively levelled the gap using information technology
Another example is China. The invention of paper in ancient China - led to the development of a rich civilization. In contrast - note that the current Chinese development is based on industrial production and not information technology
I have long believed that Africa will be a key beneficiary of the mobile revolution (see The mobile internet will do more for Africa than Live 8 !) i.e. the lives of ordinary citizens in Africa will be transformed by the rise of the mobile internet
Now, let’s come to the second part
'Closed' civilizations and knowledge centres do not grow. In fact, they shrink and die
The Sumerians invented one of the first languages as we know it. As per the link above Sumerian, the oldest known written language in human history, was spoken in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and peripheral regions) throughout the third millennium BC and survived as an esoteric written language until the death of the cuneiform tradition around the time of Christ.
It was the first but it was 'elite' i.e. for aristocracy, esoteric (like Greek and Latin today) and different to almost all the then contemporary languages (like Hebrew).
The result is - inspite of being the first - it's an extinct language today
So, what does that tell us today?
Information technology is enabling pockets of cultures to leapfrog decades of underdevelopment. This development is taking place primarily due to 'links between nodes' i.e. easier communication between people which enables creation and development of the whole body of people.
This phenomenon is being played out at local levels (like India) but also at the global level (the Internet)
In contrast, societies which will not interact or which will choose to erect barriers will shrink (like the Sumerian language)
Finally, I will end this article with another insight for us to ponder about.
Japan and South Korea excel in industrial production and they have been largely successful in dominating western companies in terms of physical goods
BUT .. I believe that the same will not happen with respect to Information technology. Essentially, there are too many barriers to entry for western countries to 'sell' to Japan and Korea(and also China). These are useful to keep competition out BUT are also succeeding in stifling the exports of Japanese and Korean information technology products (i.e. those not based on physical hardware). The only way out is to 'export' a hardware/a standard FIRST (think betamax, VHS etc). This, in my view, is a no win situation i.e. the nations being 'exported to' are not likely to adopt a proprietary standard and give up competitive advantage in the current climate
In the information technology game, the winner is not the one with the best (or earliest) breakthrough(like the Sumerians) - but rather the one with the greatest number of 'links' i.e. an open system
In conclusion ..
History is a wonderful teacher.
There is much we can learn from the Sumerians(in English!)
Image source: wikipedia
Posted by ajit at 8:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 21, 2006
Good blog about the mobile data industry in India ,,
I met Veer Chand Bothra when I was on holiday in India. Veer runs a good blog about the mobile data industry in India. The link is mobilepundit
Posted by ajit at 7:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 21, 2006
the carnival is back after a break ..
See it at Judy Breck's blog HERE
I would also recommend Judy's book which I am currently reading
Posted by ajit at 9:15 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2006
supervillanos - the first mobile only soap opera ..
In the previous blog entry, I mentioned the FT article on mobile video. There is an interesting side article by Leslie Crawford .. about a spanish soap opera called 'Supervillanos' which may well be the first soap to come to the small screen.
Drawing from this article and my own insights, this blog gives an outline of the lessons we can learn from the first soap opera
Here is what I could discern
a) Supervillanos is created exclusively for mobile. Its not an adaptation of an existing screen serial
b) In its first two weeks, the series had 350,000 downloads surpassing all expectations!
c) The series is about a family of aliens who take on a human form and it includes such characters like a sex hungry grand mother .. and I thought that the sopranos were dysfunctional!
d) Episodes are only 3 mins long. There are 40 episodes. They cost euro 60 each.
e) They also sell video games, logos, ringtones, music.
f) The article also says that at present, data accounts for 12-20 percent of most mobile operator's revenue but is expected to be 20-30 percent of their revenue
from the site globomedia
Transmission date: 2005
The first series produced for cell phone transmission in Spain. This 120 minute feature film is divided into 40 episodes, each 3 minutes long for cell phone transmission.
An intergalactic family from planet Oluk Xramtá get lost during a family vacation and are forced to make an emergency landing on Earth. As they repair their ship, they must repress their superpowers in an effort to look like normal humans and survive. Ultimately, the inconveniences they are forced to endure on Earth make their evil nature come to light.
Mankind is in danger!
Numerous interactive possibilities: downloads, on-line chats, videogames, web pages, etc. This next generation format is ideal for an organization who is looking to expand their original content reach, especially with the use of the 3G cell phone.
Posted by ajit at 10:14 PM
January 8, 2006
Interesting mobile video stats from the financial times .
Hello
Since my trip to South Korea, I have been following mobile video. Here are some interesting facts .. as per the financial times print edition(Dec 30) in an article by Andrew edgecliffe johnson and mark odell(Small screen dreams: mobile operators set their sights on the moving image)
I liked the starting comment in the article – ‘Mobile TV is like sex in the open air – jolly exciting idea – but not always practical’ says Dick Emery – chief executive of UKTV
Everyone is into mobile TV nowadays. One minute ‘mobisodes’ for ‘snacking content’ is the motivation behind deals between broadcasters like HBO and mobile operators like Vodafone
Having spent £40 billion 3G licenses – the operators are keen to recover their investment. But the market landscape has changed – with video broadcasting – now seen as the big driver for video.
But do people want to watch video/TV on their mobile devices?
In a survey of 1500 people aged 13-55 for olswang only 17% wanted to watch television content on the mobile phone but 44% said they would watch programs on their PC. 70% did not want to watch TV on their mobile phones at all!
Similar results were reported by strategy analytics where fewer than 20% of the people polled(in UK, Germany., Italy and France) expressed an interest in watching mobile video.
Inspite of this, the Global market for mobile video(including streaming and broadcast video) is estimated to be £1.56 bn pounds by next year and $12.2 billion by 2010
The revenue models also differ. UK operators like Orange charge a flat fee for video (£5). The operator ‘3’ charges a fee of £35 including all data services – not just video
Several continental operators like TIM in Italy and SFR in France charge a metered rates of euro 0.25 to euro 0.50 per minute
Rates of revenue share vary depending on the parties involved. In a SKY – Vodafone partnership, the broadcaster(SKY) would get 50% the operator would share the balance with the aggregator. Adult video services typically get a quarter of the revenue with the operator keeping half and the rest being shared with other parties like the aggregator
What I find most interesting is the possibility of ‘user generated’ video content. 3UK is launching a mobile community called SeeMeTV . People are charged 10p to see the clip of which the authors receive 1p if enough people(in this case 1000) download it
I believe that user generated content is the one to watch.
Image source: http://www.geekzone.co.nz/images/articles/video/FEscr(4).jpg
Posted by ajit at 7:14 PM
December 30, 2005
syscon media republishes my mobile web 2.0 article ..
Hello all,
I am pleased about this!
My blog on mobile web 2.0 has been republished by
syscon - one of the most respected internet group of magazines.
You can see it HERE
By the way, syscon also publish Dion Hinchcliffe's blog which gets as many as 40,000 hits and is one of the most respected web 2.0 blogs.
NOT being an expert on web 2.0(as I state in my blog early on) .. this is indeed an honour.
However, it's very nice for my views to be accepted at such high levels(i.e. the philosophy of OpenGardens - the impact of the Internet on mobility - which is very similar to the basic web 2.0 concepts as I have written)
I am happy!
Kind rgds
Ajit
Posted by ajit at 8:22 PM
December 25, 2005
Mobile web 2.0: Web 2.0 and its impact on the mobility and digital convergence (Part one of three)
Mobile web 2.0: Web 2.0 and its impact on the mobility and digital convergence (Part one of three)
By Ajit Jaokar (Ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com)
Introduction and Objectives
This is a series of three articles – the first(this one) outlining the significance of web 2.0 technologies , the second article discussing the impact of web 2.0 technologies on mobility and the final article on the impact of web 2.0 technologies on digital convergence.
If you are already familiar with web 2.0, my goal, in a nutshell (no pun intended!) is to extend Tim O Reilly’s seven principles
to mobility and digital convergence.
Thus, I will not attempt to add to the body of knowledge in terms of basic web 2.0 concepts themselves. I would rather prefer to build on some of the excellent work done on the subject from folk such as Tim O Reilly , Richard Mc Manus and others. I will use their work as a background and extrapolate the basic web 2.0 principles to mobility and digital convergence (areas which I am more familiar with).
My approach will be to ask a series of questions based on my understanding of web 2.0 and mobility. I also welcome your questions. In the two following parts of this paper, I will seek to answer them. Also, if you are a company doing some interesting work in this space, please email me on the address above.
A bit about me
I live in London (England) and am the CEO of a publishing company futuretext.
I wrote a book called OpenGardens advocating openness in the mobile data industry. I also chair Oxford university’s next generation mobile applications panel. In 2006, I am commencing a PhD on IMS (IP Multimedia Systems). If you have an interest in IMS, please contact me to keep in touch. My blog is at OpenGardensBlog
Some definitions
A few quick definitions before we start – just to be sure we have the same frame of reference.
Mobile vs. wireless: In Europe, the commonly used phrase for Telecoms data applications is ‘Mobile’. In USA, it is ‘wireless’ or ‘cellular’. In this article, ‘Wireless’ simply implies connection without wires. Mobility or ‘Mobile’ on the other hand describes a whole new class of applications which permit us to interact and transact seamlessly when the user is on the move ‘anywhere, anytime’. Hence, I use the term ‘Mobile’ independent of access technology i.e. 3G, wireless LANs, wimax, wibro, Bluetooth etc.
Mobile Internet: ‘Mobile IP data service’. It is not ‘Internet on the Mobile device’ since mobility also includes other elements such as ‘messaging’ i.e. non-browsing modes of access.
The mobile data industry: The ‘data’ i.e. non-voice side of telecoms. The telecoms operators are an important part of the mobile data industry.
Web 2.0
Within the mobile data industry, ‘openness’ is still an alien concept. I wrote a book called OpenGardens alongwith Tony Fish which advocated openness in the mobile data industry (OpenGardens is the philosophical opposite of ‘walled gardens’).
When I talk to senior telecoms people about ‘OpenGardens’ – they are still hung about ‘on portal’ or ‘off portal’. Further, most cannot see beyond the traditional ‘song and dance’ applications (ringtones/wall papers etc).
In contrast, I find web 2.0 concepts refreshingly intuitive and they formalise many things which we know and use. For example – in OpenGardens, we talked about an application called ‘Splash messaging’ also called air graffiti or spatial messaging.
Contrast this with a very different type of application called ‘splash messaging/air graffiti/spatial messaging’. In its simplest case, it’s the ability to ‘pin’ digital ‘post it notes’ at any physical point. Suppose you were at a holiday destination and you took a picture or a video of that location. You then ‘posted’ that note digitally with your comments and made it accessible to your ‘friends’. Many years later, one of your friends happened to come to that same place and as she walked to the venue, a message would pop up on her device with your notes, picture and comments.
The Splash messaging application is a ‘mashup’ of many different feeds (for example a location feed and a mapping feed) and it has other features like user created content. Its characteristics are very similar to a web 2.0 service.
So, coming back to my question, what’s web 2.0 and how does it apply to the mobile data industry?
Background
There appear to be two early origin points for web 2.0
Firstly, a business week article:
It's A Whole New Web And this time around it will be built by you
and secondly .. a conference ( web 2.0 conference created by a discussion between O'Reilly publications and MediaLive International (a technology conference company – if you want to put a label around it)
Currently, there is a lot of hype around web 2.0. But also a lot of cynicism. Predictably, the VCs are excited
Like the web 1.0 – It even has a ‘bible book’ as we had the cluetrain manifesto for web 1.0
For web 2.0 it is Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series) (Hardcover)
And finally .. it has an odd ‘new agey’ feeling to it .. with words like ‘collective intelligence’, feng shui and morality being bandied about in the context of web 2.0 -
Starting with Nicholas Carr’s The amorality of web 2.0
And Kevin Kelly’s we are the web
and finally .. Tim o Reilly’s response to Nicholas Carr’s article at
Some questions to think about
The mobile device has the potential to act as a significant reporter of data rather than a mere consumer of data. The Web 2.0 / mobility interplay needs more thought. Consider principle two from the list of seven principles (harnessing collective intelligence).
Functionally, we must be able to –
a) collect intelligence unique to being ‘mobile’
b) share that knowledge
c) enable others to comment on that knowledge
d) Ensure that the enhanced body of knowledge so created can be shared with the community.
This leads to more questions - What type of information can we collect when we are mobile(location, pictures(MMS)), How can it be shared?, How can it be enhanced?
Some initial questions which come to my mind:
1) If a web 2.0 service is treated as an amalgamation of data and enabling software, which data elements are unique to mobility (for example location feeds)?
2) How are these data elements captured?
3) What are the pitfalls associated with accessing(sharing) these data sources
4) Will the mobile web 2.0 be seamless as we all hope? If not, what are the options and choke points in extending web 2.0 ‘anywhere anytime’?
5) The impact of IMS. As per wikipedia
The aim of IMS is not only to provide new services but all the services, current and future, that the Internet provides. In addition, users have to be able to execute all their services when roaming as well as from their home networks. To achieve these goals, IMS uses open standard IP protocols, defined by the IETF. So, a multimedia session between 2 IMS users, between an IMS user and a user on the Internet, and between 2 users on the Internet is established using exactly the same protocol. Moreover, the interfaces for service developers are also based on IP protocols. This is why IMS truly merges the Internet with the cellular world; it uses cellular technologies to provide ubiquitous access and Internet technologies to provide appealing services.(By the way, IMS is the topic I am looking to commence my PhD in this year.)
6) How does the network effect work within the mobile data industry ?
7) How does network effect work in terms of user contributions(i.e. can small contributions created by users be shared easily across to the larger body of users) ?
8) What are the examples of harnessing collective intelligence / peer production on the mobile data industry ?
9) Contrasting the iPod/itunes models with other models of sharing data in the mobile data industry
10) Which companies are leading the way in this space ?
11) How will search be affected by ‘anywhere/anytime’ ?
12) Airwaves are not free i.e. there is a cost of transmission over the air through a telecoms network. Will that impact the wider deployment of web 2.0?
13) Impact of dual mode phones(WiFi and 3G phones)
14) IP /IMS does not mean ‘open’. Does openness matter ? If information can be accessed via a browser(and initiatives like the t-mobile web-n-walk initiative are already under way http://digital-lifestyles.info/display_page.asp?section=cm&id=2658 ) – what’s the impact of the ‘walled gardens’ ?
15) What type of data can be captured on a mobile device(music, video, images) and how can it be enhanced(tagged, shared etc) ?
16) What services can be mixed and what new services can be created ? Any examples of these?(citizen’s reporting, real time traffic monitoring are obvious examples)
and so on ...
To understand web 2.0, I am going to mainly use Tim O Reilly’s original article alongwith other references from the web as linked.
The seven core principles of web 2.0 revised
As I understand them, according to the article, a web 2.0 service should have as many of the following seven core characteristics as possible. I have outlined these principles partly as a foundation for subsequent discussions but also for my own clarification. Please refer the original link as above for more details.
1. The Web As Platform
Software as a service is data plus software:
A web 2.0 service is a combination of software and data. The term ‘web as a platform’ is not new. Netscape used this term first but the Netscape application (i.e. browser) was created in context of the existing ecosystem (‘WebTop’ instead of ‘desktop’ mirroring the famous ‘horseless carriage’ analogy). While Netscape was still ‘software’ – in contrast, Google is software plus a database. Individually, the software and the database are of limited value – but together they create a new type of service. In this context, the value of the software lies in being able to manage the (vast amounts of) data. The better it can do it, the more valuable the software becomes.
Harnessing the ‘long tail’: The term ‘long tail’ refers to the vast number of small sites that make up the web as opposed to the few ‘important’ sites. This is illustrated by the ‘double-click vs. adsense/overture’ example. The DoubleClick business model was not based on harnessing the vast number of small sites. In contrast, it relied on serving the needs of a few large sites (generally dictated by the media/advertising industry). In fact, their business model actively discouraged small sites(through mechanisms like formal sales contracts). In contrast, anyone can set up an adsense/overture account easily. This makes it easier for the vast number of sites(long tail) to use the service(ad sense/overture).
In general, Web 2.0 systems are geared to harness the power of a large number of casual users who often contribute data implicitly as opposed to a small number of users who contribute explicitly. Tags are an example of implicit contribution. Thus, the web 2.0 service must be geared to capturing ‘many implicit/metadata contributions from a large number of users’ and not a small number of contributions from a few ‘expert’ users.
2. Harnessing Collective Intelligence
In this context, collective intelligence can mean many things
- Yahoo as an aggregation of links
- Google page mark
- Blogging
- Tagging and collective categorisation for example flickr and del.icio.us
- Ebay buyers and sellers
- Amazon reviews
- Wikipedia
And so on ..
All of the above are metadata/content created by users that collectively adds value to the service(which as we have seen before is a combination of the software and the data).
Harnessing the collective intelligence involves understanding some other aspects like peer production, the wisdom of crowds and the network effect.
Peer production as defined by the professor Yochai Benkler’s seminal paper peer production . A concise definition from wikipedia is a new model of economic production, different from both markets and firms, in which the creative energy of large numbers of people is coordinated (usually with the aid of the internet) into large, meaningful projects, largely without traditional hierarchical organization or financial compensation. •
The wisdom of crowds – as discussed in the book wisdom of crowds by James Surowiecki whose central idea is that large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant—better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.
And finally, network effects from user contributions. In other words, the ability for users to add value (knowledge) easily and then the ability for their contributions to flow seamlessly across the whole community – thereby enriching the whole body of knowledge. A collective brain/intelligence of the blogosphehe if you will – made possible by RSS. A living, dynamic entity not controlled by a single entity.
3. Data is the Next Intel Inside
We have seen previously that a web 2.0 service combines function(software) and data(which is managed by the software). Web 2.0 services inevitably have a body of data (Amazon reviews, eBay products and sellers, Google links) Thus, it’s very different to a word processor for example – where we are selling only software (and no data).
Data is the key differentiator. In most cases, the company serving the data (for example Google) also ‘owns’ the data (for example information about links). However, that may not always be the case. In case of Google maps , Google does not own the data. Mapping data is often owned by companies such as NavTech and satellite imagery data is owned by companies like Digital Globe. Google maps combine data from these two sources(at least).
Taking the ‘chain of data’ further, sites like housing maps are a mashup between Google maps and craigslist. The more difficult it is to create the data, the more valuable it is(for example satellite images are valuable). In cases where data which is relatively easy to create, the company providing the most useful service and hitting critical mass will be valuable.
4. End of the Software Release Cycle
Web 2.0 services do not have a software release cycle. While Google reindexes its link indices every day, Microsoft releases a major software release every few years. That’s because there is no ‘data’ in windows 95, windows XP etc. It’s pure software. Not so with Google. Google is data plus software. It has to reindex its ‘data’ every day else it loses its value. Thus, operations are critical to a web 2.0 company. There is no ‘release’ as such. The flip side of this coin is – there are widespread beta releases and users are treated as co-developers.
5. Lightweight Programming Models
Distributed applications have always been complex to design. However, distributed applications are central to the web. Web services were deemed to be the mechanism to create distributed applications easily. But web services, in their full incarnation using the SOAP stack, are relatively complex. RSS is a simpler(and quicker) way to achieve much of the functionality of web services.
Simpler technologies like RSS and AJAX are the driving force behind web 2.0 services as opposed to the full fledged webservices stack using mechanisms like SOAP. These technologies are designed to syndicate rather than orchestrate(one of the goals of web services). They are thus opposite to the traditional corporate mindset of controlling access to data. They are also designed for reuse. Reuse in the sense of reusing the service and not the data(i.e. they make it easier to remix the service).
Finally, innovation becomes a case of mixing (cobbling together) services existing services – something which we talked about in OpenGardens in the mobile context.
6. Software Above the Level of a Single Device
The sixth principle i.e. ‘Software above the level of a single device’ – is an obvious staring point when we think of the impact of web 2.0 on mobility and telecoms. At one level, the whole of the ‘new’ web should be transparent and accessible across any device. Indeed a browser is the least common denominator in all mobile data devices - and that’s a sobering thought. But there is more to the sixth principle than merely access via the browser.
iTunes leverages data(music) through the service and provides some data management/metadata functions. The mobile device has the potential to act as a significant reporter of data rather than a mere consumer of data. This data, like all web 2.0 services, may be implicit or explicit. This point will be a significant area for discussion in the next two articles.
7. Rich User Experiences
While mechanisms like RSS are being used to syndicate the content of web sites out to a much wider audience, the user experience at the client itself is undergoing a dramatic improvement. The collection of technologies driving this enhanced user experience is Ajax popularised by Jesse James Garrett in the AJAX essay
AJAX is being used in services like gmail, Google maps and Flickr and it already provides the technology to create a seamless user experience combing many discrete services. The impact of RSS and AJAX is to create a service spanning content from many sites. To the user, this is a single, transparent experience. Effectively, content is being freed from its original container. Instead of the user going to the content(as in a user navigating to a web site), the content is going to the user(through RSS). Technologies like AJAX are making it easier for users to create the glue which binds the various content sources(RSS) together.
Conclusion to part One
This article laid the groundwork for the next two articles. It was an introduction to web 2.0 and a series of initial questions which came to my mind when discussing the interplay between web 2.0 and mobility. My objectives, as I have stated, are to extend Tim’s seven principles to mobility and digital convergence. I welcome your comments and questions and I shall answer them in the next two sections of this article.
Many thanks.
Ajit Jaokar
www.opengardensblog.futuretext.com
Ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com
References
http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2005/10/the_amorality_o.php
http://webservices.sys-con.com/read/161874_p.htm
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,69114,00.html
http://web2.wsj2.com/web2ishere.htm
http://web2.wsj2.com/the_best_web_20_software_of_2005.htm
http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/10/the_amorality_of_web_20.html
http://digital-web.com/articles/web_2_for_designers/
http://www.adambosworth.net/archives/000031.html
Image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Web20_en.png
Permanent link: http://opengardensblog.futuretext.com/archives/2005/12/mobile_web_20_w.html
Posted by ajit at 11:23 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 24, 2005
Crazy frog: Should mblox be fined?
Hello all
The crazy frog episode seems to have culminated with mblox being fined by the ICSTIS
Qs is - should mblox be fined and not Jamba(the creator of the crazy frog)
The mblox argument (as you can see from the press release below) is - the current regulation implies that only the provider(and not the creator of the content) can be fined.
That may be so(and I believe that the regulation needs reviewing) BUT ..
Is that not the role of the provider to advise the client about exactly such potential issues? Afterall, mblox are members of every organization under the sun from the MDA, MEF , MMA, 160 characters , Australian direct marketing association !
Surely, they can't claim innocence?
Either it's collusion(with Jamba) or incompetence ..
Not a pretty choice .. But a brutally frank one ..
What do you think?
In addition, what do you think this does for the reputation of the mobile marketing industry? Such behaviour merely tars mobile marketers with the same brush unfortunately.
However, I do think that the rules under which they are fined are unfair
Seek comments?
mblox press release
160 characters article
Posted by ajit at 11:18 AM
December 23, 2005
Carnival of the mobilists - Christmas special ..
A great bunch of people. Their christmas special is HERE
Happy holidays everyone - although I shall still be posting
Posted by ajit at 8:14 PM
December 18, 2005
NFC - the answer to mcommerce woes?
Is NFC (Near field communication) the answer to mcommerce woes?
The FT on Friday seems to think so (Near field communication – the mobile phone that puts cash out of business by Ben King Dec 16 2005 – financial times – London ).
This blog draws on some insights from this article and adds some of my own thoughts to the uptake of NFC
Every time I use my ‘Oyster’ card – I think about how easy it would be to extend the same concept ‘beyond the London underground’. i.e. use the Oyster card to carry cash and pay for items.
The Oyster card (and other similar cards such as Octopus in Hongkong and suica in Japan use a technology under the umbrella called NFC (Near field communication) governed by the NFC forum
What possibilities does an amalgamation of NFC and the mobile phone hold? How will it boost mcommerce? Mcommerce has had a chequered history. Is NFC the answer to mcommerce woes?
So far, mcommerce does not seem to have taken off in most parts except oddly in places like Africa (and also of course Japan and Korea).
In Europe, the last attempt to create a ‘top down’ mcommerce body ended in disaster (Simpay).
But Simpay was only the latest disaster. There were many more previous attempts at mcommerce such as the mondex trials with BT , Dual chip phones as early as May 1999 in Helsinki.
Other scenarios were tried out - for example, collaboration between one Mobile operator and one bank (e.g. Postbank and Telfort in the Netherlands) or one Mobile operator and several banks (e.g. the Mobile operator TIM and Italian banks in Italy). Pure play vendors – such as Paybox who were solely in the business of providing a payment platform also were an option.
Ofcourse there are the more successful options such as premium SMS and SMS payment systems such as in Korea where you accept the transaction by SMS (but still use your credit card).
Still .. mcommerce is not mainstream though .. and that’s sad.
Will NFC change that?
Like many ideas, mcommerce has clear practical benefits to consumers and businesses but the incumbents(like banks and credit cards companies) are too deeply entrenched especially in western countries. The operators also cannot seem to agree on a standard.
At first glance, NFC seems to be yet another forum. If you remember the old days prior to OMA, there have been many previous attempts prior to simpay and many fora (many of which merged under the umbrella of the openmobile alliance .
Then, there was Bluetooth – full of promise but low on execution.
However, NFC may well gain from the Bluetooth experience. Its not enough to create a technology like Bluetooth and have some start-ups create applications. In most cases, these applications remain in the prototype stage. Its far more important to have a major non operator consumer body behind the execution