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I would like to introduce you to Heike Scholz in a new series of “Women in Mobile” with a lot of revised and updated questions. Heike is working in Hamburg, Germany, her blog - recently renamed to Mobile Zeitgeist (it’s all in the name - is capturing everything in her specialised field of mobile Advertising and Marketing, covering mobile Couponing, mobile Payment systems or mobile Ticketing.

Heike’s German-only blog came on my radar a couple of months ago and is probably one of the finest around in this field, her radar reach is definately global with a quality nose to pick out the finest and most relevant news she summarizes in her style often many times a day; she must be one of the fastest bloggers around blogging on mobile, but enough introduction, let’s hear it from Heike herself:

YOUR BACKGROUND - YOUR WORK

- Can you explain more about your work, your background?

My background is product management and business development in the telecommunications industry. Since the early 2000s I’ve been working as a self-employed consultant and interim manager on different marketing projects and assignments in the ICT and media industry. In 2006 I was engaged in various mobile projects and got infected with some weird mobile viruses.

Today, as an analyst, consultant and marketer, I help (mobile) companies on their business and marketing strategy and how to enter new markets, on product and service optimization. Furthermore I rediscovered my passion for writing articles and became a passionately blogger in this particular fast moving arena. It is fun, helps me to separate the wheat from the chaff in my daily work and builds up my personal reputation - everything at the same time.

- Are you more social, business or technical oriented? How does this reflect in your work?

Totally business oriented. I think this is a freelancer’s obsession.

- What brought/brings you into the mobile/mobility area?

For me there are no philosophical reasons behind my passion for the mobile industry. Almost everything in this area is constantly evolving, mobile devices are almost always online, at the reach of your fingertips and we act in a highly potential market. What else does a marketer need to become enthusiastic?

I lurked for some years on mobile issues and fortunately markets are developing today. It is great to be a part of this trend.

MOBILE LIFESTYLE

- What is your personal ‘big issue’ in life? Can the mobile phone or technology in general help improving situations?

I think we see a lot of great things in developing countries. In Nigeria for example voluntary observers can submit their observations on the election process via SMS. 30 Million Nigerians armed with mobile phones are supposed to become a part of ensuring impartial elections. If mobile phones manage to bring more equity, democracy and equality to the people they would help to make our world a better place. But mobile phones are just the means to an end, people are the crucial factor.

- Do you think mobile phones empower women via different dimensions such as equality, self esteem, safety and security, social networking,… ?

Never thought about that. Maybe in developing countries mobile phones can help women to become more independent. In our western countries I cannot see any effects from mobile phones in regard to your question. But I am convinced that women interact in a different way with their mobile phones. They rarely use it as a gadget like men are doing. They rather use their phones for communication and entertainment purposes.

- How does mobility technological progress influences your daily routine in your work?

For my work it is essential to be up to speed. So I take care of getting all necessary information no matter where I am. All my mobile devices have internet access and this became vital for me and sometimes it has a whiff of addiction. Yes, I am an internet junkie but my family and my friends are a loved reason to quit.

- Which tools you use to publish, blog or moblog your work?

I am a Wordpress rookie as I just switched from a German blog provider that did not suit my needs. Moblogging will be my next step. Podcasting and vlogs are not my focus as for now but might be in the future along the development of my blogging career.

- Which applications and services do you use most often on your mobile phone?

I make/take calls, check emails, read blogs, send/receive text messages and take pictures.

- Do you use your device to interact with other machines?

My mobile phone, PDA and notebook are connected via Bluetooth primarily for synchronization of data. In my work some kind of radio-based connection from my mobile phone to projectors could help a lot. It makes it easier to present mobile applications to a bigger audience using the phone and not static screen shots. Maybe there are already solutions of which I’m not aware of.

In my daily life it would be useful to have a universal key for my home, car and office respectively. To have all the cards in my wallet e.g. debit -, credit -, club - and loyality cards on my mobile phone.

MOBILE GEEK?

- What do you think about the next wave of Mobile Augmented Reality tools coming?

I would love to use PWC-Components (Physical World Connection) like Image Recognition, Code Reading or NFC. I have different Code Readers on my phone for testing purposes but in Germany there are too few services available. In the near future we will see different PWC-Solutions which will change our usage of our mobile devices. We can see in Japan and South Korea already what could be possible. In Asia Code Reading is as common as making phone calls.

In my home market I am expecting a big change after the German railway operator introduced 2D-Code-Ticketing and will start a NFC based check-in together with Vodafone.

In my daily routine it would be great to use 2D-Codes for scanning business cards or directly connecting to mobile websites instead of fiddling around on a small keypad.

- Do you download audio/video files on your phone? Any thoughts on Digital Right Management (DRM)? Future Business Models?

I have to admit that I am using my old MP3-Player for listening to audio books (what I love the most). It is possible to watch YouTube-Videos (or MyVideo, Clipfish and other) and even complete DVD-Movies on mobile phones but it is not my favorite mobile application.

Media groups are too restrictive with their content and we see now international superstars like Chinese Wei Wei by using cell phones for direct distribution of their music bypassing all media companies. Similar effects we will happen with video. I do not have the solution of striking simplicity for the media industry but they have to face the fact that the good old times are gone and digital/mobile life needs totally different business models.

- How do you experience the Mobile Internet? Which mobile browsers do you use?

My favorite browser is Opera Mini – release 3.0 now available. Best handling, performance and a big advantage is the reduction of sites when they are not in a WAP format.

- Do you think web 2.0 technology influences mobile services and tools?

No comment. Ignorant marketers can’t even write things like Jawa or Adgax.

- Mobile 2.0? What does it mean to you?

I think mobile 2.0 is a concept, an idea not a technology. User’s intelligence will create new benefits for themselves and for other users. There is nothing really new. In the past centuries people always collaborated in that way and thus created innovations. Today we have the same effects just based on a new technology and on a global scale. Web 2.0 shows how the internet is coming back to its roots of producing and sharing ideas, content and values. Mobile 2.0 will enrich this with intuitive elements. Mobile technology will mature to a more “human” interface as it will provide opportunities to use internet technology spontaneously and without a planned behavior.

Mobile technology has to follow these requirements. Mobile devices will be integrated in clothes or become “wearable” in another way. Mobile devices will recognize the user’s current situation and will provide context sensitive services. Speech and image recognition will substitute the usage of keypads.

- What are your favourite mobile user-generated content projects?

Currently I like wattpad, a story sharing community where you can read and share stories with others over your mobile phone. If you are a writer or poet you can publicize your work so others can read it for free. Recently wattpad included over 17,000 eBooks from Project Gutenberg, the oldest digital library, and now has close to 25,000 stories in its database. When I am on the way and have some waiting time I enjoy wattpad.

- What about Mobile Social Networks?

Some time ago I tried Qiro. This is a cute little application which gives you individualized information about your surroundings via cell positioning. It displays current events, cinema listings, restaurants or the location of your buddies. One of the first location based services in Germany I know of. But I have to admit that I am not using it anymore. Mobile Social Networks are not my favorite way to misspend my time on it.

- Do you use wi-fi on your phone? Is it really a thread for 3G? What about Bluetooth and Near Field Communication (NFC)? Solutions for the future?

No, I don’t have wi-fi on my current phone but will certainly get it with my next mobile device. Bluetooth is a great technology which makes many things more comfortable. I use BT for synchronizing my devices and to connect my wireless headset. In times I’m not using BT I keep it switched off because of security concerns. Another reason is that too many companies are doing Bluecasting now and although I am working in this industry I don’t want to get “bluespammed”.

NFC is the future for short distance communication. It is easy to use and secure. Several solutions in the areas of mobile ticketing, access control, payment, marketing and content distribution will spring up once NFC enabled mobile phones reach a critical penetration rate. Getting more product information, using my phone to access my car or just waving my phone for check-in at airports will become as usual as typing a SMS. There are so many challenging opportunities that I am often amazed of the fact that so many companies are not making use .

FUTURE OF MOBILE

- What do you understand by convergence?

Convergence is a concept that gives users freedom to use digital services when, where and to what ever extend they like. Users will no longer rack their brains on deciding which device and which network they should use for which action and what they have to pay for it. Mobile phones will be like Swiss army knifes and provide individualized, beneficial and contextual services. The device picks the best network depending on place and requirement. And for all this the user pays an adequate fee, predominantly a flat rate. The mobile phone will be the jack of all trades device.

- What differences do you see of mobile use in USA – Europe - Asia?

Are there any? Of course there are some little differences today. But I think in some years we will have similar behavior all over the world like we can see it today with clothes. Nowadays Asia is in front, Europe tries to keep up and USA is close behind us. China and India are the countries we should look at in the next years. They will dominate worldwide usage and development.

- What is going to be the next *big thing* in mobile?

Speech recognition will be the absolutely biggest “thing” on mobile phones. Complete control over my phone without touching it will be the next evolutionary stage in man-machine interaction.

- The mobile trend(s) for this and next year?

GPS will be the biggest trend on mobile phones in the near future. In Germany already three million people have GPS on their mobile devices. Positioning is the crucial step on the way to location based services and context-sensitive mobile marketing.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

- Who inspires you professionally?

Definitely my partner. He is a salesman, up to every trick and we are working on some very interesting projects together. He brings me down to earth when my head reaches the clouds and takes care that my work does not become too academic which is a constant threat.

- Your favorite mobile technology blog?

Michael Mace’s Mobile Opportunity. Oops, and yours of course, Rudy.

- Your favorite videoblog?

Elektrischer Reporter

- Your favorite mobile 2.0 service?

Shozu. A nice little tool that immediately up-loads my pictures unto my flickr account. Now used by Warner Music and EMI Records for connecting their artists with their fans.

- Your favorite mobile device?

My motor-bike.

- Favorite mobile application/service?

Cellity – Least cost routing on mobile phones helps me reducing my bill.

- Favorite mobile website?

New CNN Mobile.

- Favorite mobile search tool?

Google Mobile. Brand-new Yahoo oneSearch is not available in Europe yet.

- The ultimate tech device not invented yet?

A machine doing my housework.

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?

Dr. Bettina Horster, board member Vivai Software AG, member BITKOM Dialogkreis Konvergenz.

- Anything else you would like to add? Something the big players are missing?

Imagination, flexibility, foresight, speed and managers with the power of making decision.

Thanks Heike and good luck with(in) the Mobile Zeitgeist!

18, Analysis, heike scholz, Mobile Lifestyle, mobile marketing, Trends, Women in Mobile, womeninmobile