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Category Archives for Mobile

I’m Going Mobile

While not all that impressed with the iPad from a features standpoint (it does seem to be an oversized iPhone OS), you have to hand it to Apple for creating another revenue model off of its platform. The primary takeaway for me was Jobs defining and claiming ownership of the mobile device market while adding the next generation conduit into that family of products (and playfully ripping the Netbook concept in the process.)

The world used to be your Oyster. Now the world is your Apple: one that connects and collaborates on the move; yet, despite the connectivity, can be paradoxically extreme in its isolation. That ability to be remote, yet remain fluid and productive (not to mention entertained), with all of the content and functionality that is keenly addressed by Apple in its innovation trajectory, will have a profound impact on individual capacity to engage and produce. The enterprise will not lag far behind.

The iPad may not be anything more than an iPhone on steroids, but it changes the game nonetheless.

Written on 28 January 2010 by Michael Friedin under Innovation, Leadership, Media, Mobile, Strategy with No Comments
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TMobile Loses Sidekick Data - Can You Say Ooooops

T-Mobile, who last weekend had a major outage for all SideKick owners (yes, there are still some faithful who own Sidekicks, but not for much longer).  However, when I contacted customer service, they continued to feed me company lies that our data was not lost and to stay tuned for further word on the restoration efforts of our data.

Having spent more than 15 years in public relations, working for more than one major mobile provider, I could read between the lines.  When I first spoke to T-Mobile customer service on Mon., they reiterated the company mantra - that all things would be restored.  It was repeated again on Tues., and for the remainder of the week.

Well, you can imagine my surprise when I received an SMS alert today, Sat.  First, I didn’t even realize text messaging was returned to service, so any txt message was a surprise, let alone from the mouth of the best itself.  However, the link included in the TXT message was not clickable, perhaps an omen for what was to come.

Excitedly, I was awaiting word on when my mobile phone book, one which took me better than three years to build, would be brought back to life, after a full week of being assured the data would not be lost.  Following are the exact words that have put me in a bad mood on this Sat night, “Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger’s latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you that personal information stored on your device - such as contacts, calendar entries, to-do lists or photos - that is no longer on your Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure at Microsoft/Danger. That said, our teams continue to work around-the-clock in hopes of discovering some way to recover this information. However, the likelihood of a successful outcome is extremely low.

Yet another example of the man sticking it to the customer.  Where does the blame lie?  Is it in T-Mobile.  Or, perhaps Microsoft who recent acquired Danger, maker’s of the Sidekick and its Danger operating system.  Well, I’m sure after all of the finger pointing one thing is for certain, the rich get richer, while Rich gets screwed again.  T-Mobile, if you’re listening, a simple apology would be nice, but, why not go a step further, and do the right thing and bring back our data that we trusted you with.

Written on 11 October 2009 by Richard Krueger under Mobile with No Comments
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Digital Signage – the Next Big Thing

Not long ago, Times Square was the epicenter of digital signage in the U.S. It may still represent the highest concentration, but digital signage is exploding and you see it just about everywhere now. Digital signage is officially “the next big thing” for a lot of marketers. In a recent Razorfish survey it was ranked second to mobile as the most important emerging media channel in the coming year. Roughly 51 percent of respondents ranked mobile as the most important, followed by Digital Signage with nearly 32 percent. Other channels trailed by a wide margin.

Interestingly enough in a recent article in Wired Magazine they featured a company called MegaPhone that combined both of these emerging areas.

MegaPhone is a mobile gaming company whose latest project is to connect cell phones with games embedded in big-screen billboards in places like you guessed it … Times Square!

People can interact with these billboards via a special phone number which will show them as special avatars identified by the last four digits of the caller’s phone number.

When I first read the article I thought it was just another super geek application but the more I thought about it – the more you can think up new applications for this.

For example, Jumbotrons at sporting events where they can pick attendees to play an engaging mini game of basketball, baseball, football, hockey, or whatever sport you are watching. Rock Concert goers could dial into the Jumbotron to participate in a live chat with the band backstage. Tradeshow events could use this to allow real time Twittering and live Q&A via mobile. Anywhere you are waiting in line – airports, hotels, on airplanes, amusement parks (read Disney) could not only pre-engage their audience with the ride – perhaps they could let us sign up for tickets once we enter the park and call us when we are due to blast off!

This one article opens up the wide world of mobile marketing, digital signage and more importantly a glimpse at the future of social media marketing (SMM).

Written on 13 October 2008 by Paul Dunay under Advertising, Buzz Marketing, Digial Signage, Innovation, Interactive Marketing, Mobile, Social media with 4 Comments

New Rules of Web Marketing - a podcast with Michael Mace

Many marketing teams are being asked by senior leaders in their organizations why they aren’t using the same cutting edge tactics as some of their competitors. When is it right to use cutting edge tactics? When is it right to use traditional tactics? When and how should you integrate the two?

To answer these questions, I interviewed Michael Mace of Rubicon Consulting. He runs a Web Marketing Boot Camp to help marketing teams come together, discuss these issues, and learn what Web marketing tactics link best to their corporate strategy.

Here is a taste of what Michael covers and what he thinks the future looks like for Web marketers.

Link to Original Audio Source

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About Michael

Michael is a principal at Rubicon Consulting, where they help tech companies solve tough strategy and marketing problems. Michael is a former Chief Competitive Officer and VP of Product Planning at Palm, VP of Strategic Marketing at PalmSource, and director of Mac Platform Marketing at Apple. He also has served in many other roles. For more info on him please visit his website.

Written on 02 June 2008 by Paul Dunay under Mobile with 1 Comment

Mobile Marketing: What you need to be doing in 2008

You can’t hop into a cab, step into an elevator or walk down the street without passing someone using a Blackberry, iPhone or other type of mobile device. Business professionals, students, police and even your kids are connected every second of the day. As a result, more and more carriers are recognizing the inherent value of mobile technologies as a productivity tool and have embraced them.

But what does this mean for the marketer?

I decided to dig a bit deeper with two experts in the field, Jeff Sass, VP of Business Development at Myxer, and Greg Verdino, Chief Strategy Officer at crayon. I asked them to help us understand the state of mobile marketing and what we should be experimenting with in 2008.

Enjoy …

Link to Original Audio Source

About Jeff

Jeff Sass is Vice President of Business Development at Myxer, the leader in mobile content downloads. Jeff has more than 25 years’ experience in the technology and entertainment industries, with a major focus in the last 10 years in the Internet and mobile space. Jeff has also been the successful president/CEO of two Internet startups in South Florida and was a co-founder and CEO of mobile commerce pioneer BarPoint.com. He has also written and produced for film and television and has a deep understanding of the content business that is unique for a technology executive. He is a graduate of Cornell University.

You can text “Jeff” to “69937″ (MYXER) for more info. Jeff has two personal blogs, his Sassholes blog at and the parody blog.

About Greg

Greg Verdino is Chief Strategy Officer at crayon, a marketing consultancy that helps marketers join the conversation by leveraging the power of community, dialogue and partnership with consumers. Greg writes a widely read marketing blog, was a contributing author of The Age of Conversation (one of Advertising Age’s ‘Books You Should Have Read’ for 2007), speaks frequently at industry conferences and has been quoted in many publications including BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, Newsday, AdWeek, Ad Age and more. Prior to joining crayon, he led the emerging channels practice at Digitas and toiled for more than 15 years in advertising, direct marketing, technology and media.

Written on 07 January 2008 by Paul Dunay under Mobile with 1 Comment