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I met Xen for the first time during 3GSM at the mobilists gathering but organising a cocktail doesn’t necessarily mean you have the time to talk to everybody as you would like to. Luckily I started this interview series so I can catch-up with Xen and talk a bit more in-depth with her. Let me share with you her passion for the mobile phone and its influence on people’s social behaviour.

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

I work at Comverse in the Avatars Group. Our group has developed a new mobile personalization service, called “The Klonies”, which brings the popular Web avatar experience to the mobile environment. This new communication experience enables mobile users to define how they appear on their friends’ mobile handsets.

“A Klonie” is basically an Avatar persona that can be created and personalized on the fly (from the handset or the web) and be used as caller ID; meaning that I can decide how I look on my friends’ mobile screen each time I call them or send them SMS.

Since it’s a web based service, we are about to launch a website and a blog as well. Currently we’re working on concepts, content, look and feel for the website and blog… it’s very interesting and creatively challenging!

- Are you more social, business or technical oriented?

I’m more social oriented, there’s no other way of looking at it I think today we have reached a point in which technology has a vast effect not only on the business, but also on the social. Take for example communication technology such as IM or Mobile - totally changing our social behaviors and lifestyle. I’m interested in people, in how they use technology, in how technology meets people’s need and how it influences social behavior. Of course learning and widening areas of expertise are always an advantage in life, you never know when knowing a thing or two might be handy…

- What got you into mobile?

Well, I did my university degree in communications so it was very natural for me to look for a job in the telecommunication field. It’s amazing to be in the place were the technology of tomorrow is being developed. I won’t forget one class when we discussed the influence of the bonfire as an important mean for communicating between distant tribes. And I was scratching my head and thinking to myself – “wake up academy! Haven’t you heard of NEW technologies? Web identities? Mobile? IP TV?”

DIGITAL LIFESTYLE

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

I think I have a little addiction issue… since my work can go with me anywhere - it does! I keep checking my emails, stats, comments everywhere I go. It is really hard to keep myself offline and do other things like go to the beach on a nice Saturday morning (Saturday here is like your Sunday). It’s very hard to draw the line between the personal and the professional. Oh, and we haven’t talked about the delight of working from home once in a while (eating cookies and not being forced to spend 4 hours on the road to get to the office and back)… That is something that in the past I really just *couldn’t do*. I served the army at the intelligence force so being 24-7 at the office meant being literally at the office.

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

I use TypePad as my platform, it’s very friendly to use but limiting when it comes to more advanced stuff… besides that I use Bloglines to get my readings and Del.icio.us to keep interesting things I come across the web.

- Which applications and services do you use regularely on your phone?

Making calls, sending SMS, downloading ringtones, taking pictures and changing my Klonies wallpapers. I also use the calendar and the reminders and I use my mobile as a watch because I don’t ever wear one. Oh, almost forgot, I use the mobile as my alarm clock… suddenly I remembered that before the mobile I had a radio alarm. I guess it would be nice to get the mobile to wake you up with a nice mp3 song, wouldn’t it?

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

I think that paying for small things like a pop soda at vending machines or paying for parking would be a great thing. It releases you from the need to always keep change (and makes my bag a little lighter). And on cold nights, it would be really great, if I could use the mobile to turn the heat on 15 min before I get back!

- Would you download mp3 tunes on your phone?

Sure, as long as the price is reasonable… my phone bill is already huge!

- What about Mobile TV?

Mobile TV is a great way to pass the time when you’re waiting for the doctor’s appointment or when you’re on the train\subway yet it’s a bit anti-social. Lately I take the train on my way to work and back so I’ve realized that people like to interact with their ride neighbors (Israelis are very friendly, sometimes too friendly if you’re trying to read the paper or to get a short nap). Only if there aren’t any interesting people to communicate with, they grab the mobile into their hands and pass the time (mostly talking, texting or downloading ringtones). However, TV has always been a conversation killer (don’t you know those moments when you have to turn the TV off to talk with your partner?), moreover with the size of the mobile screen - there is no social activity here…

GEEK STUFF

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

It’s so so so expensive here in Israel that I try to avoid it if it isn’t totally necessary. But if I really have to use it, I like the Opera mobile browser.

- Web 2.0? What does it mean to you?

Web 2.0 is a more pluralistic way of creating content, since new technologies make publishing and broadcasting a lot more accessible to anyone (we still have a long way to accomplish the vision of pluralism, but still). Web 2.0 is about changing the hierarchy and about nibbling media’s hegemony.

- MoSoSo + wi-fi + urban networks?

The ultimate mobile and social experience! And a great place for the Klonies!

- Do you develop content/technology yourself?

At the avatars group we’ve developed some new patent pending technological developments that allow us to bring the advanced personalization capabilities of the Web to the Mobile.

FUTURE OF MOBILE

- How do you see the future of mobile?

We will see more user focused technologies and content. Soon, the mobile could replace the PC and enable us total mobility and accessibility.

- What is gonna be the next *big thing* in mobile? - The mobile trend(s) in the future?

The Klonies!! Seriously, I think taking advantage of the visuality of the mobile phone would be the next *big thing*. It can be mobile avatars, mobile TV and F2F on videophoning.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

- Who inspires you professionally?

Two of my teachers (past and present) which are very dear to me:

• Dr. Ashley Tobias as an artist and as a person, with his devotion to his art, his profession and his happiness.
• Dr. Irene Einat-Confino as a top level scholar and as a person, with her wit, charm, and a big place in her heart for her students.

On the blogging sphere I appreciate Darla Mack’s honest and colorful writing. And I appreciate Russell Beattie’s incredible ability to write about anything (and nothing) and make me read it all the way through.

- Your favorite mobile technology blog?

Russell Beattie
GigaOm

- Your favorite mobile device?

Nokia phones.

- Favorite mobile application/service?

There are a few, actually… On 6 am it always looks like it’s going to rain so getting the weather forecast is a crucial thing to decide what to wear (and yet, I always wear more layers than really needed…) Texting is brilliant, especially when you don’t really want to get involved in a never ending conversation. And last but not least, the Klonies as the ultimate mobile self expressing service.

-Favorite quote?

“Give a man a mask and he would tell you the truth” (Oscar Wilde)

OTHER

- Your ultimate dream scenario including mobile?

Well, my *ultimate dream scenarios* don’t include a mobile… (Proportions, friends, there are more important things in life!) I wish for happiness, health, love and self-fulfillment. But if you insist on *the ultimate dream scenario including a mobile* issue, getting my Nokia upgraded would be a nice to have.

- The ultimate tech device not invented yet?

My mom’s dream has always been to invent a folding clothes machine. I’ll give the spotlight to her tech vision [Xen’s mom, you’re famous! ]

- Which links would you like to be included?

www.klonies.com (counting down for our launch)
http://xendolev.typepad.com

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?

Xeni Jardin

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

Uniqueness, creativity, inspiration, guts, belief and persistency distinct dreams and success.

TAGS: women in mobile Xen Mendelsohn Comverse avatars klonies m-trends.org

Lats week, Keren Flavell interviewed me for The Mobile Media Show.

The Mobile Media Show is an interview series discussing the latest trends in the emerging industry of content on mobile and wireless devices. The host, Keren Flavell, speaks with a range of guests from around the world who are pioneers, experts and observers of the new portable platforms.

You can listen to the podcast of the interview but you might as well subscribe straight to the audiofeeds, lots of interesting interviews there!

Tags: podcast podcasting Mobile Media Show Keren Flavell

Somewhere last year, when researching on network communities in relation to mobile, I discovered the blog of Amy Jo Kim - musings of a social architect. I was intrigued by Amy Jo’s background and started to learn more about her work that is quite impressive.

Amy Jo Kim is an internationally-known designer of social games and gaming environments, now specializing in mobile. Her clients include Digital Chocolate, Electronic Arts, eBay, Limelife, and Yahoo!. Her expertise in community architecture and social systems design was showcased in her book, Community Building on the Web, a design handbook for networked communities.

Recently, she designed the MetroGirl application for Digital Chocolate, and she’s currently working on a casual mobile game that’s not yet announced. Enough introduction, let’s hear it from Amy Jo herself!

WORK / BACKGROUND

- Can you explain a bit about your work and background?

Sure. I’ve been designing networked social games and communities for over a decade. I currently specialize in mobile, but I also design for game consoles and the Web. I love working on cross-media projects that embrace multiple platforms.

A few years ago, I wrote Community Building on the Web, a design handbook for digital communities. This “cult classic” is available in 7 languages, and has become required reading in game design studios and univerity classes worldwide.

I was formerly the VP Social Architecture for There Inc, a virtual worlds platform and services company. I was also Producer/Designer for Paramount’s Advanced Product Design lab, where I developed online service prototypes for MTV, Nickelodeon, and Paramount Studios. Prior to that I developed multimedia database interfaces for Sun Microsystems and NASA Ames Research Center, and designed signal-processing software for neurophysiology experiments. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool geek, and darn proud of it ☺

I have a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Washington, and a BS in Experimental Psych from UC San Diego. I occasionally teach Game Design at the USC Film School, and enjoy playing games on the weekends with my husband and son.

- Are you more social, business or technical oriented?

I’m a designer who specializes in social systems. My technical background helps me communicate with programmers and design within technical constraints – something that’s CRITICAL when working in mobile.

- What brought/brings you into mobile?

A few years ago, while doing some research for a project at There.com, I ran across some statistics about mobile devices and Internet usage worldwide. A lightbulb went off; mobile phones are the next major platform, and more people (worldwide) are accessing the Internet with mobile phones than with computers. When I looked at the growth curves, I realized that if I wanted to create applications that reached people WORLDWIDE, mobile was where the action is. I immediately started to educate myself about mobile design and sociology, and I’ve been working in the area ever since.

I also enjoy the “small client + BIG network” design space of mobile. It suits my stripped-down, clean-and-functional design sensibilities. I love thinking about how to create an easy-to-use client program that takes advantage of the full-blown network that lives behind every mobile device. Of course, there are roadblocks that are keeping mobile applications from reaching their full potential, but we’re getting there – slowly but surely.

DIGITAL LIFESTYLE

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

I use Typepad to publish my blog, socialarchitect.typepad.com.
I use Flickr to publish the photostream from my mobile phone. Instead of moblogging, I create photosets from my photos and annotate them with comments.

- Which applications and services do you use regularely on your phone?

SMS, ShoZu (picture uploads), Bejeweled (casual game), TheAstrologer (daily horoscope), iSync Connect (to sync my Mac and my phone)

- Would you download mp3 tunes on your phone? Share them with friends? Mobsharing? Any thoughts on DRM?

I’m pretty happy with my iPod, but if I could get the same sound quality and library size with my phone, I’d be thrilled to only carry around only one device!

- What about Mobile TV?

I might be interested in viewing short clips, but for longer-form shows I prefer the larger screen on my laptop.

GEEK STUFF

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

I use Opera Mobile, which ROCKS! When I’m out and about, I’ll often search for a phone number or address. I tried reading blogs on my mobile, but the small screen was just too frustrating. I much prefer my laptop.

- Web 2.0? Do you use it? What does it mean to you? Does/will these evolutions influence mobile technology? How?

To me, Web 2.0 means highly responsive applications, loosely-coupled systems, user-generated content (UGC), and open APIs. These evolutions will definitely influence mobile technology. We’re already seeing mobile applications that are built around UGC, like Dodgeball (from Google), Hotties (from InfoSpace), and BIMactive (from Bones in Motion). With the release of excellent mobile browsers like Opera, I expect to see more Ajax-like applications soon.

However, it’ll take a while for Web 2.0 to fully infiltrate mobile software, partly because of the “walled garden” effect of the operators. Once off-carrier sales become more common here in the States, I think we’ll see an explosion of interesting applications and services.

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

I’m intrigued with Hotties, a Myspace-like service from InfoSpace. I’m also impressed with BIMactive, a mobile-plus-Web GPS application from Bones in Motion that lets you track your training runs, hikes or bikerides.

- Do you develop content/technology yourself?

I’m a partner in ShuffleBrain, a design studio specializing in casual games and social applications. We develop content for our clients, and do a few independent projects as well. We handle all the product & UI design, and partner with developers to handle the technology side. For small projects, we produce art and text copy ourselves; for larger projects, we’ll hire and manage artists and writers.

FUTURE OF MOBILE

- How do you see the future of mobile?

I think the Web and mobile will become a seemless networked space. I also think that mobile applications will continue to replace many everyday tasks, and will take over SOME (not all) of the functions that we now use our computers for. Mobile payments will be commonplace; we’ll have easy access to our calendars and email; we’ll enjoy playing a game on our mobile, and then continue to play that same game (perhaps with a richer UI & feature set) when we’re at home, sitting in front of our computer or game console. Our mobile device will be just another way to access the rich functionally and data that’s stored on the network.

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

Europe and Asia are ahead of the USA, but we’re catching up quickly on certain fronts. It’s tough, because the pricing structure for mobile phone use is better in Europe – e.g. you don’t pay for incoming calls, like we do here in the states. Asia is definitely the most advanced market in the world, and I often look to what’s happening there to get ideas for new types of games and software that people in the USA might be ready for in a year or two.

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

Off-carrier sales – that is going to open up an explosion of creativity and innovation in mobile application design.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

- Who inspires you professionally?

Scott Kim - He’s got an incredibly fertile mind, and his understanding of puzzle and game design is profound. I’m constantly in awe of his ability to create wonderful content day after day, in a wide variety of media: mobile, Web, consoles, magazines, and even physical toys! This guy’s creative wellspring runs deep.

Caterina Fake, co-founder of Flickr. I greatly admire what Katerina and Stewart did – they started out creating a game, and morphed their efforts into a fabulous photo-sharing services that incorporates many game-like qualities. I’ve gotton to know Caterina a bit through my work with Yahoo, and I’m inspired by the grace and intelligence with which she handles herself.

Emily Turretini, blogger at textually.org and picturephoning.com. These are two of my must-read blogs. I love the angle that Emily takes on the industry, and I admire her dedication to blogging. I’ve learned a lot from following her work.

Mimi Ito - I’ve known Mimi for many years, and with delight I’ve watched her become a brilliant, articulate, insightful writer and researcher. I’ve learned so much from talking with her and reading her papers about mobile phone culture. She’s also a lovely, graceful human being who balances motherhood and career – something I’m struggling to do as well.

Tracy Fullerton - Assistant Professor, Interactive Media Division, USC. Tracy is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. We co-taught a game design class, and I learned SO much from her experience and overall approach. Tracy is a fantastic game designer and teacher, and an incredibly fun person to hang out with. I would jump at the chance to work with her again – anytime, anywhere.

Raph Koster, Game Designer - Raph is an old friend from the gaming industry, and an incredibly prolific writer on the practice and theory of game design. He’s a multi-media renaissance man; he designs games, creates music, writes poetry, and just generally oozes creative energy. Raph is supremely confident in his own opinions – something that I wish I had more of. I’m especially proud of him for “flying the coop” at Sony, and following his dream. Whenever we talk, I always end up creatively inspired.

The team at Harmonix – a game design studio that specializes in music games like Karaoke Revolution and Guitar Hero. They’re not mobile-centric, but they make incredibly beautiful, fun, worthwhile games that everyone should play. I am in total awe of their ability to create innovative yet simple-and-accessible entertainment. I learn something from every game they publish – and I’m starting to work with them professionally, which is a dream come true and a great honor.

- Your favorite mobile technology blog?

textually.org

- Your favorite moblog?

Darla Mack’s Moblog

- Your favorite mobile device?

My Nokia 6620 – (affectionately known as “short fattie” )

- Favorite mobile application/service?

Shozu – 1-click photo uploads to Flickr. This app has changed my life!

- Your ultimate dream scenario including mobile?

One mobile device that does EVERYTHING I WANT – crystal-clear phone calls that never drop out, plays my huge music library, maintains my schedule, acts like a digital wallet, plays my favorite casual games, sends me customized alerts about things that are important to me. That would be cool.

- Which links would you like to be included?

shufflebrain.com (my professional website)
socialarchitect.typepad.com (my blog)

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

We need to push for off-carrier sales to open up innovation and creativity in our industry!!!

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?

Mimi Ito
Gano Haine - VP Product Development, Limelife

Thanks A.J., on my way!

TAGS: women in mobile Amy Jo Kim ShuffleBrain m-trends.org

One of the remarkable woman in mobile I discovered lately is Judy Breck. During the early Internet period, she led HomeworkCentral.com’s open content collection and she has since written four books about knowledge digital migration and connectivity.

Howard Rheingold says on her latest book 109 IDEAS for Virtual learning:

“Judy Breck is onto something — something big. If you are interested in the future of knowledge and learning, her big idea will be useful to you.”

Judy’s central idea from her book is the following:

“the network, patterning structure of what a mind can know is mirrored in the network, patterning structure of the open Internet. That idea is not only theoretically elegant. It is so powerful that it has been a self-fulfilling prophecy: over the past decade what is known by humankind has spontaneously nestled into the Internet and begun interconnecting itself into a cognitive network…”

Her vision is resolutely mobile so I thought it’s about time I’ll ask her all about it. Judy is also part of the SmartMobs.com Blog Mob, you can follow her other activities and personal blog at GoldenSwamp.com.

DIGITAL LIFESTYLE

- How does mobile technological progress influences your daily routine in your work (or as a writer/blogger)?

My digital lifestyle is that of an author. My writing is devoted to the global virtual knowledge ecology. In 2005, I wrote my fourth book on the subject: 109 IDEAS for Virtual learning: How open content will help close the digital divide.

I also showcase learning links and comment on the ecology on my blog: GoldenSwamp.com.

The global virtual knowledge ecology, as I define it, is the network of open content for learning that has formed over the past decade within the Internet. Because of this new ecology, students everywhere can literally learn from the same virtual page! But to do that they have to have a connection to the Internet. Mobile is almost suddenly my major focus because it has now arrived as — I am convinced — the last key step toward worldwide engagement by students of the global virtual knowledge ecology.

To sum up what I just said: I am thrilled, excited — blown away! — by realizing mobile is the next really big thing for global learning. Bottom line: mobile is how learners are getting connected to knowledge!

- What do you mean by learning from the same page?

I mean exactly the same page! Let’s take Wikipedia, for example. If you pick an article to learn from in Wikipedia — and study it in English — you could be in any culture or country on the planet. You would be learning from exactly the same page of knowledge as everyone else using that page. You can click a different language from the choices in the left column of the Wikipedia page and study almost the same material in that language. This sort of same page learning is light years away from learning that now goes on from school textbooks printed in different cultures and countries. I’ve heard it said that some of the Brit kids still learn in school that we upstarts in the States really didn’t win much in what we call the American Revolution. Kids in the States learn quite the opposite.

I learned the most about the digital revolution as Contentmaster (1997-2001) of HomeworkCentral.com. At that point I was a player in the Internet boom and actually got myself a page in the now defunct (R.I.P.) Industrial Standard. I had a very typical “ride” on the Internet boom and after it was over I had been so impressed by what I thought could be done for learning I have written four books about that.

DIGITAL VISION

- What do you think mobile brings to learning that is new and important?

I do not look at mobile and Web 2.0 from a geek viewpoint because I am not a geek. What Web 2.0 means to me is that a profound revolution is happening from which mobile will emerge as the leading individual/personal digital content device. That is a hugely important deal for commerce, and for education which is my strongest interest.

- What role would mobiles have in education?

Education is a huge topic with lots of issues ranging from nurture, culture, discipline, skill practice, community learning, and acquiring subject knowledge. My focus is the last one — knowledge. The mobile can play roles in many of the other aspects of education, but for knowledge it is pretty simple: the mobile can deliver it to one learner at a time. It can put you, as a learner, on the same knowledge page as other learners. If you have a mobile in your pocket that has Internet access, you have just about any subject knowledge you might want to learn in your pocket. That is HUGE when you think of the fact that already a couple of billion people have mobiles. (And that is twice as many as have other Internet access.)

- But the mobiles don’t all access the Internet?

Not comprehensively — yet. Already though, even the simplest handset can access some knowledge.

- Don’t’ mobiles cause distraction at school?

I think it is insulting to kids to give their parents their own PCs at work and make students share at school. Yet we have been doing that for years! And now that the kids mostly have a computer of their own (a mobile) I also think it insults youngsters not to trust them to use their mobiles for learning. My view is that the mobile should become the new device used in education for delivering knowledge. Let’s scrap the shared PCs at school and upgrade the mobiles. Why? Because each student then has his or her own learning device where that student can customize and personalize to have the device integrated with the individual learning process. (Yes, I believe kids will do that! Don’t you? When we expect them not to, it is hardly likely that they will.)

- How does mobile affect the individual? How is it personal?

This can be thought about philosophically, but it is very practical too. Since this series is about women, Rudy, let’s use them for an example.

There is a problem called gender parity that is worried about in a lot of developing counties. It is the result of cultural factors which cause girls not to get equal education to that which the boys get. This is a deep and old cultural challenge. In the United States there was a woman named Mary Lyon who was a pioneer in battling gender parity in the early years my country. She founded Mount Holyoke college, which has her story on this webpage.

Mary Lyon’s problem was the one that a mobile can now solve for a girl anywhere: the delivery of knowledge equal to what boys are learning.

- How would girls affected by gender parity use mobiles to get equal knowledge?

It’s really wonderfully simple: if a girl has a mobile she is a knowledge equal to a boy who has a mobile. So, the more knowledge becomes available by mobile, the more everyone gets regardless of gender. The problem for girls now is that – as they were in the States in Mary Lyon’s day - they are often not allowed to attend schools. Today schools are where PCs are available, thus where Internet learning is possible. So, lots of girls around the world miss out on Internet learning.

- Will girls really be able to get the mobiles?

I recommend an article about Nigeria that the BBC published on March 18, 2006 to get a sense of what is happening with mobiles in Africa and other developing countries. In pertinent part it says:

“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.”

- What about more remote areas?

There are lots of statistics to show the penetration is widespread and cascading. I’ll just point to an observation in an email I received a year ago from an Afghan friend of mine who lives in Austria and works to aid Afghan school children:

“May 2005: I am in Afghanistan, recently. I returned from three days trip to Afghanistan eastern province of Laghman, during my stay in that province I saw unbelievable developments and change in the life of people particularly in access to satellite TV and mobile telephone. Just within three years, people even in the mountainous area using satellite TV, mobile Tel - using by people in everywhere some people jokily saying even Kabul’s beggers in the street using mobile Tel . . . .”

- How do you see the mobiles, once they have them, changing the lives and status of women?

Let’s go back to Mary Lyon, who was a girl born into a colonial home in the United States. When she was school age the best she could expect was to go some of the time for a few years to a school where girls were taught less than boys. If Mary had had a mobile loaded with knowledge, she could have learned the basic knowledge first, and then continued to use her mobile to learn the sciences that interested her, etc. She could have sat in the corner of her log cabin by the fire where she cooked and done her learning there, or under a tree by the field she helped to farm.

Girls could do the same thing in Nigeria at the tables where they sell phone cards and in the mountains of Laghman, Afghanistan. Mary or a Nigerian or Afghan girl could study from a mobile in privacy under a veil if that met the cultural traditions.

Rudy, the girls have or soon will have the mobiles. We just need to make sure the mobiles offer the knowledge the girls are missing for cultural reasons.

- Is the knowledge content available on the mobiles?

Now, Rudy, you have come to what I am hoping my work will help push into more public action and thought: let’s get that knowledge available on the mobiles!

At one end is a mobile with full access to browsing the Internet. Open content for learning is already out there. For example, MIT is about to finish putting the courseware from everything they teach openly online. A mobile that can browse the MIT Open Courseware materials makes that knowledge available to its owner wherever he or she is. I have posted many examples by study subject of excellent learning links on my GoldenSwamp Subject Sampler.

In the middle of the range is the walled gardens challenge. I hope the mobile community rises against any temptation to wall in learning content so that it is useable by limited platforms and applications.

At the other end of the range are the millions of simple handsets that are in use now where features are limited to voice and text. Of course, those are powerful features for conveying knowledge. Text tutors, podcasts that can be transmitted to the simpler handset and other methods that readers will think of can all be used right now to reach the kids in the mountains of Afghanistan, the streets of Nigeria and millions of kids elsewhere.

- I assume the Mobile Web is not yet implemented or accessible in underdeveloped countries or am I mistaken?

My guess is we cannot generalize on this since underdeveloped areas can be overlapped by developed ones. In the least developed countries there are some wireless hotspots – probably Mobile Web is available in the poorer neighborhoods of Kabul, for example. Even here in New York City, there are neighborhoods where schooling is pretty bad yet mobile transmission is excellent. Also, it is proving true that mobile technology is leapfrogging into remote underdeveloped areas where landline transmission may never go.

- If learning through Mobile Web browsing becomes accessible, how long can people read continuously information on a small screen; how do you see this evolving to an ideal learning process?

Can reading really be done on small screens. This WIRED article from a year ago explains the craze for reading entire books on the mobiles in Japan.

As to the ideal learning process, I feel sure you have readers, Rudy, who can come up with some very great answers to that question.

- Do you know about any concrete examples of mobile learning projects? I mean through SMS/MMS now?

Here is an example of SMS/MMS study system to prep for tests: Sparks Mobile. Yes, this is doable; it is happening. Imagine a tutor like this for arithmetic in the Swahili language that could be text beamed to be shared among students.

As I say a lot in my book 109 IDEAS, about my opinion that the main reason the Internet (and now mobile) are not already the big main thing in education is that the education establishment has conditioned us to keep kids back in 19th century schools.

Why has the education establishment not gone to mobile, creating lessons like the Sparks Mobile? Rudy, my focus in life right now is to ask that question and see if there are smart and able people among groups like your readers who will do something about making it happen!

- Do your see opportunities to develop products for these markets?

Bottom line, we must not do the walled garden thing with learning. That may sound altruistic, but it is not. Closed off learning content atrophies and dies off. Learning content must be open and connectible to stay current and in use. So how do we make money off of building learning assets for mobile? Here are three ideas, but your readers can think of others.

First, education establishments are rolling in cash (even though they say they are not). Get a grant to build an arithmetic tutorial in Swahili. Turn the tutorial loose as open content among African schools and social organizations. Go back and get a grant to do a geography tutorial and repeat the distribution.

Second, go to some of the great open content websites and get them to pay you to mobilize some of their content. For example, approach Mathworld and convince its host to underwrite your work. Mathworld is open content owned and hosted by the software company Wolthram Research.

Third, build a terrific tutorial and then get a paid sponsor whose name goes on to the tutorial. If every student in Asia is learning geography from a tutorial that kids are texting to each other, having a company name on that tutorial should be worth good money

OTHER

- Your ultimate dream scenario including mobile?

I’ve pretty much described it above, and it is actually simple: a mobile with full interactive Internet browsing capacity in the hands of each kid on earth.

- The ultimate tech device not invented yet you would like?

Something that will simplify mobile open content so that it will become fully integrated into what W3C calls One Web with Internet content. This standard should be applied to all learning content.

- Which links would you like to be included?

109 IDEAS book link
GoldenSwamp.com blog
Mary Lyon story
BBC articleMIT Open Courseware
GoldenSwamp Subject Sampler
W3C One Web

NOTE on the picture above: For over four decades I have coached and judged high school and middle school students in debate competitions. This a picture of debate “Judge Judy” taken with some middle school rhetoric students I was coaching in 2004 in New York City.

TAGS: women in mobile Judy Breck Smart Mobs goldenswamp.com m-trends.org

In 2001, pioneering mobile marketing actions were coming out of Australia. I remember the first Virgin FlirtFest as an interesting SMS brand concept and the MMA Awards always had nice entries, in 2006 this mobile marketing celebration is going to celebrate its fifth edition!

But only recently I discovered the works of Keren Flavell, the woman that hosts the Mobile Media Show, a weekly podcast and OMG.tv, an entertainment channel producing innovative, interactive and addictive content for the mobile and web. Keren is also the convenor of the Mobile Monday Melbourne networking event.

I am very happy to present her here in this interview in the Women in Mobile series.

- Can you explain more about your work and background?
I started my career in traditional media by writing a guidebook and dozens of magazine articles before starting to produce documentaries and radio shows. Once I stumbled onto the internet in 1994 I was hooked. I taught myself how to create basic HTML pages and then went on to be a successful website producer - managing teams and major site builds.

Now I am working on made-for-mobile projects, running the Mobile Monday Melbourne networking event and producing a weekly podcast called the Mobile Media Show.

- Are you more social, business or technical oriented?
I try to cover all aspects because as a producer you do need to be across all fields.

I focus on the user needs first and foremost, then work backwards to understand the best technical and business requirements that will enable the best user experience.

As I’ve only dabbled in the technical aspects I always try and find the best programming expertise I can. Then I do my math and work out how much it’s going to cost and how it’s going to be financed. So anyone who has cash to invest just give me a call. ☺

- What brought/brings you into mobile?
In late 2004 I began to be very interested in what the mobile could offer and how I could translate my skills and knowledge to this new platform. I got my first 3G phone and started playing around with it, streaming video clips and accessing information like movie timetables and horoscopes. When I started to show my friends who work in television and film their eyes were popping out of their heads - they could not believe it. I’ve since been directing a course at the film school in Melbourne – design to help content producers understand the opportunities of mobile distribution.

- How does mobile technological progress influences your daily routine as a producer/writer/blogger?
Well for a start I no longer have to get on my bike and ride for 20 minutes to go and record my radio show at the radio station.

I record my show on my laptop using skype and it has wireless, so I could be down at my local wi-fi café and be interviewing you in Spain.

I haven’t done a blog via my phone yet, but now you mention it that’s not a bad idea.

- Which tools you use to publish, blog or moblog your work?
I run three blogs now and all of them are using Word Press. It’s a simple system and once I’ve set up my theme I can easily go in and hack away at the code to add extra elements to the page.

The sophisticated CMS systems that run blogs make it a breeze for non-technical people to be able to up-date the blog information.

- Which applications and services do you use (daily) on your phone?
The RSS reader through the Opera Mobile browser is essential. I am subscribed to the YourMovies guide, which I access through the 3 portal. I used to go and check out lots of things in the 3 portal, but now I’ve got Opera Mobile browser I find there’s nothing in there I really want. I would use Lifeblog a lot more but I’ve been unable to get the upload function to work, so now I just use it to sync my shots to my laptop. I am looking forward to testing out MobUp, an app that let’s you upload to Flickr.

- Would you use your device to interact with other machines?
I am keen to get the Skype Bluetooth software working on my phone so I can be chatting via Skype on my handset. Apart from that, gee, paying for parking, film tickets and train passes….I’m not so sure. It’s already scary enough getting my phone bill now, I can’t imagine the size of it if I’m using it like a credit card.

- Which machinery can you think of would be handy to interact with?
Well I would love to be able to have it talk via Bluetooth with an overhead projector so I can do presentations straight from my phone (they probably already have this on the market now).

Also, I think blue walls - patent pending – would be great. Imagine being in downtown anywhere and standing in front of a digital screen and being able to beam your screen image directly onto it.

- Would you download mp3 tunes on your phone? Share them with friends? Mobsharing?
Unfortunately my Nokia 6680 is very memory challenged. I’m going to try and get a bigger memory stick which might help. If memory weren’t an issue I’d be more interested in beaming around cool animations, video ringtones and other visual materials – copyright and DRM permitting.

- What about Mobile TV?
I don’t use it now. The mobile TV content offerings through the 3 portal - Rage, Cricket, Sky News, ABC Kids – just don’t appeal to me.

I would be interested in watching long form video material if I am on a flight or long train ride. However, in these instances I would prefer to do this on a PSP or video I-pod, but if I don’t have those gadgets, and my phone had a better screen res and higher memory capacity, then I might use it for that. I guess the DVB-H rollout could mean that it’s easy to go channel surfing and viewing TV content for a low cost. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s compelling enough.

My hunch is that we are going to see new and innovate content available on the phones that is very different from traditional television offerings – and not just short edits of what is currently offered on TV.

- How do you experience the Mobile Internet? Which mobile browsers do you use?
Oooohhh, so glad you asked. I am thrilled with my Opera Mobile browser. I have blogged about how good it is. The full screen option is just fantastic and I have got the hang of the shortcut keys so it’s very easy to navigate around and have a good time. Unfortunately I’ve been clocking up some fairly high data charges as a result though!

- Web 2.0? What does it mean to you?
Although there is some heated discussion about the validity of Web 2.0, I am pleased to be acknowledging that the internet has evolved from last decade and we can now fully engage with one another in an entirely new way. My company, OMG.tv, are experimenting with user-generated sites, because this is the most interesting dynamic of Web 2.0 for us. Our ridiculous online gallery site, Spot Da Bot, invites people to submit photos that follow a theme. We offer prizes and other incentives that encourage people to participate, compete and ultimately to have a lot of fun.

- What are your favourite mobile user-generated content projects?
I was really impressed with the Glastonbury website that featured photos sent from their Nokia phones using Lifeblog. I think the phone is a brilliant tool in producing user-generated material and I can’t wait to get the script working that allows users to MMS a photo straight to my website. In terms of viewing user-generated content on the phone I’ve not been too impressed from what I can access from the 3 portal in Australia. I’d love to see Rabble as I hear that is brilliant.

- MoSoSo + wi-fi + urban networks = ?
Totally connected! It’s an exciting prospect. Ubiquitous internet access and devices that are smarter, faster and more usable than today will mean that things will really start getting fun.

- Do you develop technology yourself?
We do by way of creating website and m-sites. We always try and add a few extra smarts in there so we continue to innovate in how things can be done. Just depends on the budget really.

- How do you see the future of mobile?
There’s still a long way to go before it becomes and shiny and bright as we would like it to be. The carriers will have to start stepping back from being content providers and assisting their customers in understanding how to enjoy their mobile internet experience. Afterall, there portal sites just can’t compete with the vast resources of the internet.

People need to keep up-grading their phones (I am shocked when I see a mobile with a ‘flash light’ advertised). Users need to start experimenting with their handsets and pushing them to the limit. In a way it’s like the fixed-line internet – it was the majority got onto broadband that things got really interesting.

- What do you think about the Fixed-Mobile-Internet convergence?
I think all the carriers are trying to bundle together their mobile and broadband offerings so they get every dollar from the consumer. If this means costs savings and cheaper wi-fi and mobile data charges then great, but if it just means the operators are able to dictate what content people receive, then I am fearful that the open network might start to be locked down.

- 3G vs. Wi-Fi?
Well money talks and at the moment it is screaming at me – wi-fi, wi-fi, wi-fi. However, as I said, I think if the carriers start assisting in a better internet experience – mainly by dropping their data charges to a respectable level – then I’d be happy to stay with the 3G experience all the time. Of course, for the heavy data usage I have for my laptop means that I’m happier on wi-fi. If I can be reducing my costs by calling using Skype or exchanging large files via wi-fi on my mobile then yes, I’d do it.

- Hybrid phones?
I am guessing that in the foreseeable future there is going to have to be a hybrid solution, because here in Australia, you’ll always be going out of wi-fi range at some stage.
I’d be interested in going with the hybrid solution but I wonder why the carriers don’t drop their charges so I have no reason to.

- What is gonna be the next *big thing* in mobile?
I think the next big thing is when there are effective widgets and applications on phones that transfer the dynamics of community and user-generated content onto the phones. Here in Australia there is still a lack of really great software that makes for a compelling experience of user generated.

- The mobile trend(s) for next year?
The trend that is starting to emerge is for non-portal players to start working out how to reach the market and bill for their content without having to make a deal with the telcos. There is a funnel effect happening now whereby hundreds of content makers are trying to get their materials onto the telcos who are just too swamped to be able to effectively assist them to do it.

This is going to lead to a massive turn away from telco portals and a rise in off-portal access. The key things to resolve are marketing and billing, so it will be interesting to see how this trend emerges.

- Who inspires you professionally?
Great interactive applications that connect people to have fun together.

- Your favorite mobile technology blog?
Mobile Crunch

- Your favorite moblog?
http://www.jamieoliver.com/moblog/

- Your favorite mobile device?
My Nokia.

- Favorite mobile application/service?
Opera browser

- Your ultimate dream scenario including mobile?
Never having to sit in an office again and being totally connected all the time.

- The ultimate tech device not invented yet you would like?
Cordless everything.

- Which links would you like to be included?
Mobile Media Show
OMG.tv
Mobile Monday Melbourne

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?
Kylie Robertson
www.girlfriday.tv

- Anything else you would like to add? Something the big players are missing?
The cacophony has become so loud that no one is listening to advertising any more. It’s time for brands to listen to their users and to build up the voice of their users, who can actually start speaking on their behalf.

There has never been such a vibrant environment for communication and exchange on a global level. Niche interests can flourish and few friends can be made that will bridge the divide of distance and difference.

TAGS: women in mobile Keren Flavell m-trends.org

Emily Turrettini is the sympathetic woman behind textually.org. Her blog “about text messaging and how cell phones are being used around the world” is one of THE reference points for anyone interested in mobile and wireless technology. Every day she posts different articles in her own original, smart and to-the-point style.

I am pleased to present her interview here in the Women in Mobile series. Let’s learn about how she got started, the people that are inspiring her and how she personally experiences mobile.

- Can you explain a bit about your work?
I’ve been publishing on the Internet for 10 years, first on a Web site covering Internet news and in the last three years, I’ve been updating 3 blogs related to cell phones; Textually.org covers the different applications of text messaging, picturephoning.com follows the many issues surrounding camera and video enabled cell phones, (privacy issues, the emergence of citizen reporters, content…). Ringtonia.com covers the many new ways music is being played on cell phones.

- Are you more social, business or technical oriented?
I’m not a technical person at all. I’m interested in the way people are using mobile phones and how it’s affecting the world around them.

- What brought you into mobile?
When following Internet news, as of 2000, I started to pick up on text-messaging stories. So I started a daily SMS Chronicle (in French, published on netsurf.ch). When the US voted for the first time by SMS on TV for American Idol, I figured the time was ripe to publish news in English, to reach a wider audience. Blogs were the perfect medium for this new venture. Fast to update with automated archiving and categorizing, all features I used to perform painstakingly and manually on my website.

- How does mobile technological progress influences your daily routine as a writer/blogger?
It doesn’t really, I spend my time in front of my laptop (Apple PowerBook G4) and my blogs are text based. I take pictures with my phone only for personal use.

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

- Which applications and services do you use (daily) on your phone?
I call, text message and take pictures. Download ringtones. I periodically check out what’s available in terms of content on Vodafone. That’s about it. Oh, I also use my cell phone as a flashlight to get my key in the door and as a clock to see what time it is.

- Would you use your device to interact with other machines?
With a parking meter would be good. I never have change.

- Which machinery can you think of would be handy to interact with?
I think it would be nice if my cell phone could turn off my son’s phone, iPod, Odigo, laptop after I say good night and return downstairs, so that just once in his teenage life, he get’s a full night’s sleep.

- Would you download mp3 tunes on your phone? Share them with friends? Mobsharing?
My phone does not have MP3. I would probably only share with my son, or mostly the other way around.

- What about Mobile TV?
I’m looking forward to mobile TV. Not much here yet (Switzerland), just the news or sports.

- What is going to be the next *big thing* in mobile?
The next big thing in my books would be alternate technology that would make battery life last longer, so that developing nations which are low on electricity, don’t have to worry about recharging their cell phones (walk miles to do so).

- The mobile trend(s) for next year?
Music phones will continue to be big in 2006. Video/TV content tailored for cell phones. I think this year will be mostly about content.

- Who inspires you professionally?
As bloggers: Régine Debatty, Peter Rojas.
As an entrepreneur: Anil de Mello and Rafat Ali.
As a visionary: Howard Rheingold.

Steve Jobs for Apple computers and everything else he has accomplished. And above all others, Tim Berners-Lee, because without him the world would be a much duller place.

- Your favorite mobile technology blog?
As of this second? mopocket.com. Just opened. Looks very good.

- Your favorite moblog?
mobuzztv.com

- Your favorite mobile device?
My Nokia cell phone.

- Favorite mobile application/service?
A text alert service which would remind me to take out the garbage Tuesdays and Fridays. Not available where I live though.

- Your ultimate dream scenario including mobile?
I guess that would have to be someone buying my blogs on cell phones for a small fortune.

- The ultimate tech device not invented yet?
A device than would enable me to always connect my laptop to the Internet, anywhere on the planet. Even on a boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

- Which links would you like to be included?
we-make-money-not-art.com
engadget.com
mobuzztv.com
moconews.net
smartmobs.com
apple.com
mopocket.com
Tim Berners-Lee

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?
Régine Debatty

Thank you.

* NOTE: the book on Emily’s picture is “Blog Story” which she co-wrotes with Cyril Fiévet. It was published in October 2004. (only available in French).

TAGS: women in mobile Emily Turrettini textually.org picturephoning.com ringtonia.com m-trends.org

Let’s start the year by publishing one of the Women in Mobile interviews I promised you still for 2005, the only one I did until now the old-fashioned way, with pen and paper… btw: my first real time interview, yeah one’s never too old to learn new things

I had the pleasure to meet Anina in person on an evening after the Nokia Mobility Conference here in Barcelona. Besides the classic interview questions we drifted off the whole evening trying out our mobile media on each other and exploring what web 2.0 was all about, especially within a mobile context; an Anina made media clip of that evening can be viewed here.

But let’s get on with Anina herself! Praised by many, criticized by some, but undoubtedly a real mobility queen. She uploads her life on anina.net spiced with stories including pictures and video clips of her day-to-day life as a fashion model. She is truly globally connected and mobile all the time. Don’t miss her 360º Fashion project she launched last year, sponsored by Nokia, with some other people working in fashion, which shows us the life behind the scenes of the fashion business.

Since I met her mid-November, Wired News wrote about her, she has been speaking at Les Blogs 2.0 and she has been visiting Nokia in Finland, check the other stuff, not mentioned here, on her blog.

If you want to know how urban globetrotters use their mobile nowadays, you have to read this.

- What brought you into mobile?
In the beginning of my modelling work I used a PDA to organize my global activities while travelling but the PDA was too big and not practical to do what I wanted to do so I switched to a Nokia 7650 phone that was able to combine both, so I just started using it.

-What brought you into moblogging?
In November 2004 I organized an exhibition in Paris and started the Lifeblog project. It was there I realized the power to use the mobile phone as a media tool. I realized I could present myself as a different kind of super model, and become a positive role model for teenage girls and women in general.

What’s the point of being famous? We are living in an image-based society so I want to take maximum advantage of the media to explain there are possibilities for women to do things different, become a personality. If I can do it, anybody can…

My new objective became to become an Icon.

- Can you explain more about your work? Not the modelling but the coding?
(FYI: Anina does a lot of the coding herself on anina.net)

I am a living test lab for Nokia developers (LOL)

Models are the most mobile people in the world so it’s so obvious we start using the tools that are out there. I develop myself certain applications since I’m using the phone, its’ applications and possibilities at its most intense level. I am having fun doing it and I can help non-technical people how to use technology and show him or her that if I can do it anyone can.

Anina.net is for the people, by the people, with the people!

- Geek model nº1 combined with fashion?
Fashion needs technology as technology needs fashion; I want to bridge the two.

- How does mobile technological progress influences your daily routine as a globetrotter?
I rely heavily on my mobile in my profession; I am travelling all the time and need to stay connected 24 hrs/day. My agents on different continents need to get in touch with me whatever time zone they or I am in, it’s all about global business, staying connected all the time, being reachable.

- Which tools you use to publish (moblog) your work?
Lifeblog
Email
Bluetooth to PC
MMS (hardly, last option!)

Global interoperability is really important for me to be able to moblog what I’m doing whenever, wherever; this is sometimes really difficult due to different roaming agreements between operators.

- Which applications and services do you use often on your phone?
In general I use ALL applications extensively but since you insist, here my favourites:

Camera phone
Video
Lifeblog
Calendar
SMS
Email
Muvee (FYI: Nokia video editing application)
Photo recording
Voice recording

- Would you use your device to interact with other machines?
Absolutely, I use it now already to connect to my PC, PDA and other devices, for example I use it with a Bluetooth keyboard and headset.

- Which cool interactive machinery can you think of?
Nokia jewellery
iFrame
Web cam
Mediacenter
Jukebox
Car
Data-matrix (semacode)
Screens (SMS2TV)
RFID

- Would you download mp3 tunes on your phone? Share them with friends? Mobsharing?
Yes, and even share them with my friends, why not?

- To browse the Mobile Internet, which browsers do you use?
Integrated Nokia browser.

- Web 2.0? What does it mean to you?
Reinventing the web, it’s all about new services and content to be distributed in a different way to any device, no? Also I think the key element here is the user-driven content; the new applications/technology will create a new boom for anybody to create his own content.

- User generated content?
360º Fashion

- Mobile web 2.0?
micro.anina.net (on your mobile!)

- What are the next trends presented at the Nokia Mobile Conference?
It was all about convergence… But my attention went especially to:
Browser M80
Mobile TV
FlashLite 2.0
N71 (Bluetooth + Wi-Fi)

- Mososo + wi-fi + urban networks?
= meet your next boyfriend
+ craigslist = find a place to live

- 3G vs. Wi-Fi?
3G = for anyone, everywhere (assuming 3G becomes affordable for everyone)
Wi-Fi = for urban nomads and mobile jet setters

- Applications? Flashlite? SVG?
… Beam me your business plan!
Quick Office applications: Word for press releases, then to PDF, Spreadsheet for figures and PowerPoint to show my presentations.

- How do you see the future of mobile?
The interconnectivity of (the) human spirit(s)

- Who inspires you professionally?
360º Fashion project people

- Your favourite mobile technology blog(s)?
mobilejones
Boingboing
Darla Mack
Slashdot
Anina.net

- Your favourite moblog?
Loic Le Meur moblog

- Your favourite mobile device?
Should be able to create, send, and interact contents with my contacts.

- The ultimate tech device you would like to have but not invented yet?
The mobile as my ultimate remote control to interact with anything I want/need:
STOP-REWIND (a situation)
ERASE-PLAY AGAIN possibilities for good or bad moments in life
PAY-PLAY

INTERACT WITH REALITY so you can stop and redo it better.

- Which links would you like to be included?
All the ones mentioned before?

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?
Jennifer Byrne from MFORMA.

- Anything else you would like to add?
May all being be happy and free.

TAGS: women in mobile anina m-trends.org

Helen has been working in mobile since the early days; she’s one of the first women I noticed when I started mingling in online discussion groups and forums related to mobile back in 2001. I am happy to have her here in the “Women in Mobile” series.

Helen learned how consumers interact using the mobile channel along with Russell Buckley over at ZagMe in 2000/1. Early 2002, she founded BeepMarketing, one of UK’s most hands-on wireless marketing agencies. She also also runs mobile marketing training courses with the Institute of Direct Marketing, 160 Characters and New Media Knowledge and she also lectures on mobile marketing at the Universities of Westminster, Hertfordshire and Newcastle… Do you need more as an introduction? Let’s hear it from Helen herself!

BACKGROUND

- What brought you into mobile?
I have an eclectic background ranging from putting on and acting in theatrical shows, making videos, running ladies fashion stores in London’s West End to implementing major marketing projects for the likes of FirstGroup, TNT, Inter-Continental Hotels and HP. I did the obligatory term in a dotcom at the end of the 90s and my boss there was Russell Buckley (who now writes at Mobhappy). Next thing I know he’s started working at ZagMe and is looking for someone with retail experience to work with them to send text messages to shoppers at Lakeside and Bluewater shopping malls. Well, as I have 10 years retail experience, I was invited in to meet the CEO and the next thing I know I’m working out how to get which message to which phone at what time! This was positioned as ‘a bit of a spreadsheet project’. It wasn’t. It was actually a very complex thing we were trying to do, but I did work it out in the end with a little help from some friendly developers. Unfortunately, ZagMe didn’t stay the course so when it sadly went under at the end of 2001, I set up my own mobile marketing company, BeepMarketing.

- Are you more business, social or technical mobile oriented?
I’m fascinated by the social aspect and impact of mobile technology but as I run an agency, I need to focus on the business benefits for my clients balanced with a good user experience for the end customer. I’m not a programmer or developer but some of my friends now call me a geek so I guess I know something of the technical side.

WORK

- Can you explain more about your work?
BeepMarketing’s premise is very simple. In a mobile marketing world where the focus is on the technology (how big is my server, how fancy is my widget) or on ‘deals’ (I can sell sms cheaper than your sms), I decided there was a need to focus on what happens when a customer actually interacts with your brand whether that’s marketing or customer service (you see, you can take the girl out of retail but you can’t take retail out of the girl!). I also wanted to tell it like it is and offer a practical viewpoint to balance the heady vision of a mobile world.

DIGITAL LIFESTYLE

- Is technology surrounding you making your life easier?
Not really! If anything, it’s making it more complex. I’m having to juggle communications more – the phone can be ringing, clients or suppliers will be instant messaging me, email is hitting me thick and fast, comments on my blog to answer, text messages and some. There are times when I’m overwhelmed by it, but then when nobody is contacting me I feel strangely alone and unloved. The constant contact thing is very addictive and I’m just glad I can touch type really fast.

That said, having a phone with you at all times does mean, that provided you have signal, you are connected to the outside world – you can ring anyone up, you can text, you can browse the mobile internet. And it’s good to feel connected.

- Which tools you use to publish/blog/moblog your work?
I use blogger to publish my blog and I also contribute to Moblog and use flickr as a picture archive.

- Which applications and services do you use (daily) on your phone?
The alarm clock + talking and texting. I take a lot of pictures – especially now I’ve gotten into the whole moblogging thing. And I use Bluetooth to sync files with my pc.

- Would you use your device to interact with other machines?
Yes, I already sync with my pc and other phones to share and manage my pictures and video clips.

- Would you/do you download mp3 tunes on your phone?
Probably not yet. The battery life on my phone is not great so I keep my MP3s separate. I also keep my mp3 player with me in case I get a chance to do some podcasting as it’s also a recorder. I guess if I had the hard drive and better battery life, then I would download to my phone, but only if it was cheaper and I could then use the files on other devices (pc, mp3 player or whatever).

- What would you like to film with your camera phone?
Something longer than 10 seconds (I’ve worked out how to do this now…). Actually, I need a better quality lens and zoom ability and then I’d be filming antics at festivals.

- Where/When would you not carry your mobile or would you like to be disturbed by it?
I keep it turned to silent in meetings and at public events like the theatre or cinema. I can’t imagine going out without my mobile now – it’s as important as cash and keys to me.

FUTURE OF MOBILE

- The mobile trend for next year?
One of the mobile marketing trends next year will be the mobile media bandwagon – especially TV. We’re already seeing the start of it with the plethora of mobile TV projects. However, until data pricing and technical compatibility issues are sorted out for MMS, let alone video or TV, I’ll be viewing all this skeptically from the sidelines.

I think we’ll also see richer mobile media as part of marketing campaigns next year. And we’ll see lots of text and win activity and text responses to above the line advertising.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

- Who inspires you professionally?
Lots of the people I meet – creative, energetic, enthusiastic, collaborative, open-minded and bright. It makes me feel that we can really be a force for change for the better.

- Your favorite mobile technology blog?
Well I’d have to say Mobhappy of course. But seriously, even if I didn’t know Russell, I still think he and Carlo write really well. I subscribe to lots of blogs but Mobhappy is one of the few that I actually read. I also check out what Tom Hume has to say too and Mike Butcher.

- Your favorite mobile device?
My trusty Sony Ericsson K700i soon to be upgraded.

- Favorite mobile application/service?
The alarm clock on my phone – I don’t know how I used to get up in the morning.

OTHER
- Your ultimate dream scenario including mobile?
Checkout the Starsight Project by the Kolam Partnership. They’re planning to bring solar lighting and wi-fi (and in time, telecoms) to developing countries. Giving those people access to technology, and therefore markets, will be a fantastic start to tackling poverty and encouraging entrepreneurship as well as cutting crime (wherever you include street lighting, crime reduces dramatically). This dream scenario could really happen and it’s not necessarily that far away.

- Which links would you like to be included?
www.technokitten.com
www.beepmarketing.com

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?
Gillian Kennedy from Emap, Angel Gambino MTV, Lisa Modisette, founder of Women in Mobile Data and mobile consultant, Jessica Sandin at Informa Telecoms and Jelly Ellie as well.

- Anything else you would like to add? Something the big players in mobile are missing?
It’s not about the technology, it’s about the experience. Yes, the technology has to work, but it’s easy to get carried away with it all. As Bill Gates says (and I paraphrase here), “we overestimate the technology change in 2 years and underestimate the change we’ll see in 10 years”. 5 years ago, we were talking about the advent of picture messaging, location based services and more besides. We’re still waiting to see picture messaging take off and location based services are barely off the starting block. That said, I think the impact of mobile and internet technologies (especially the MSN generation) in 10 years time will be enormous.

Thanks!

TAGS: women in mobile mobile woman m-trends.org mtrends

If you want to get smart opinion and insights on mobile products and services, you should definately have mobilejones.com aka Debi Jones on your blogroll. Having worked previously for companies like Netscape, SGI, Palm and Microsoft, she just joined the team at Intercasting Corp., the populist media company and makers of Rabble. An interesting choice I guess, it’s a startup who builds the applications and services which I believe that gonna make a difference in mobile in the near future, but let’s hear what Debi has to tell us about all this…

BACKGROUND

- What brought you into mobile?
My exposure to wireless communications and using it to transfer data started in the late ’80s when I worked in the military industrial complex for the Army Research Institute in Human Factors Engineering. My first project involved the Army’s first deployment of ground based GPS technology. I gained knowledge of various wireless technologies in the period between 1986 and 1992 including: satellite communications, wireless communication of graphical data and radar imagery, and navigation and tracking of mobile vehicles. Since 1992, I’ve held positions in software developement, systems engineering, professional services, product & program management and consulting. I’ve also had a turn at being an enterpreneur. Between 2002 and early 2004 I worked with a small team on a social software application. We were overcome by the rush in the market and dismal funding environment that existed in 2003. I’ve worked for some great companies including Netscape, SGI, Sendmail, Palm and Microsoft.

- Did you study technology?
Actually, I orginally went to college on a music scholarship. Few things I’ve done in my career require the courage that is needed to stand on a stage in a dark auditorium and perform alone in a scholarship competition. And if that’s not enough of a challenge, try site reading music in an augmented 4th above the key it’s written in while being judged by 4 or 5 professors. It’s also interesting to note that I’ve met many musicians at the technology companies where I worked in Silicon Valley.

- Are you more business, social or technical mobile oriented?
I’d say all of the above. It’s impossible to be really involved in the development of mobile products and not consider the business, social and technical challenges and implications of those products.

WORK

- Can you explain more about your work?
I’ve recently worked for a number of companies mostly on mobile applications. I’ve contributed to interaction design, relationship management, and more traditional product management tasks. Much of that work was performed under NDA, so that’s about as far as I can go to explain it. However, I do have an announcement to share that is truly exciting for me. I’m joining the team at Intercasting Corp. makers of Rabble the populist media application which integrates location and social interaction around user created media. Rabble is currently available through Verizon Wireless in the USA and will be launching on other US operator networks shortly. Intercasting Corp. is among a new classification of companies described by CEO Shawn Conahan as a LMNO. My role with the company is as Director of Product Development.

DIGITAL LIFESTYLE

- Do you work from home?
Yes, I often work from a home office. Of course, I also have worked at client sites and while on the move between work environments.

- Does this influence your private life in a positive way?
Through the 1990s work and life have merged to the extent it’s hard to tell anymore. When I write for mobilejones.com sometimes it’s because I’m thinking through ideas and impacts to what I do for a living. Other times it’s more recreational. I enjoy spending time thinking and pondering mobile applications, mobile uses, users and how to improve the experience.

- How does mobile technological progress influences your daily routine?
Given that I’m responding to your questions on a sub notebook PC which has great media production and consumption capability using a broadband connection over a wireless network might be the best answer. In addition, I’ve stopped twice while writing this to respond to incoming txt messages on my mobile phone.

- Which applications and services do you use (daily) on your phone?
I use all of the classic applications like PIM, text messaging, and deeply love the alarm function of my phone. More than once it’s save me from a sticky social situation. When you’re talking with someone who wants/needs your time right now, but you’ve got to break away for another meeting, the phone alarm going off provides that interrupt that makes the “I’ve really got to go” ending easier to navigate.

- Would you use your device to interact with other machines?
Were it possible today, I’d love to use my mobile phone as a personal remote control for the physical world around me. One of the applications that I truly miss from my Palm days is the beaming of business cards and being able to distribute a single contact list to a variety of other applications where I need it. I’m looking forward to a time when mobile wallets work and we’re able to point and click mobiles at parking meters, vending machines, the DMV, point-of-purchase systems, and a variety of other places where I might normally be required to submit a credit card.

- Would you/do you download mp3 tunes on your phone?
My first MP3 phone was purchased in 2001 from the US operator SprintPCS. The phone came with some really lame software for syncing MP3s to the phone, and cute little earbuds (they were even white) and a toggle switch allowing me to leave the phone in my pocket or purse and still easily switch between a call and the music. The phone was made by Samsung. So, I’ve been accustomed to sharing music between phone and PC for a while. Downloading over the network is a completely different thing. That I won’t do. The value-price just doesn’t exist.

- What would you like film with your camera phone?
I’ve made several videos using the N90 and a 6800 from Nokia. The quality of video on the N90 is excellent. I video’ed some people I met at a conference, took video of my dog running on the beach, captured a firey street preacher in downtown San Diego, video’ed some sites and sounds of my neighborhood type stuff, and even took one of myself making bizzare faces late one night while suffering writer’s block and some undefined form of dementia. The world will be spared that little production. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I video’ed a cop giving me a ticket. He seemed very concerned about my use of a camera. It was just one of those impulse moments. I think lots of people will find what I call impulse media attractive. Something odd, funny or important happens around you and an impulse causes you to reach for your phone and start recording.

- What will you definately NOT film with your camera phone?
People who ask not to be video’ed would be a top choice. Also, I wouldn’t want to produce any sexual content allow there are people who will use the technology that way.

FUTURE OF MOBILE

- How do you see the future of mobile?
There are so many things happening in mobile today. It’s a very exciting and frustrating time. I’d like to see things move faster and see more people adopt mobile solutions. There are still some obstacles which have little to do with the technology that are stunting the adoption of mobile applications and services. One problem area is the pairing of device purchases and service provider selection. In the US, many people when asked what kind of phone they have, will respond with the name of their operator/service provider instead the handset maker. Imagine how things would have gone for the Internet if people were required to purchase PCs from their ISP. Other difficulties for consumers are the complexity of plans and the lack of data only plans. We need flat price pricing, and in the near future this is an opportunity for the MVNOs that are springing up in every market. One of the trends that will become more important is mobile Linux as it simplifies the burden for application developers and opens the door for more open source development. There’s little doubt that the bricks of mobile operator walled gardens are beginning to fall away. Much as been reported lately about consumer behavior shifting to off portal transactions for mobile content and applications. I think it’s safe to say we’ll see this trend continuing creating more opportunity for small developers who can bring the type of innovation to mobile that we’ve seen on the Internet. I think between network choice and the increase of OSS platforms the next 5 years are full of opportunity, but also some risk. Mobile developers must keep a keen eye on the developments in network options and how those changes will impact their services and applications. VOIP, WiMAX and new Wi-Fi standards will be distruptive influences on today’s mobile services.

In addition, there’s been the recent discussion around device convergence and separation. The fact that more device diversity is occurring isn’t a future bet. It’s happening now, and I’m convinced that it will continue. This doesn’t mean that all in one devices won’t be available, but the converged device won’t replace special purpose devices. This best analogy I’ve heard to describe why device diversity makes sense came from Donald Norman. In an interview on his Invisible Computer, Norman compared the evoltion of computing capability to that of electric motors. In the early days of the electric motor, people would purchase the motor and add task specific attachments to the motor. Today no one thinks in terms of buying an electric motor, but they are inside most of the household appliances that we use everyday. Vaccum cleaners, hand mixers, blenders, refrigerators, fans etc. all have electric motors embedded in them and those motors are essential to the function of that appliance. No one goes to a catalog or store and requests an electric motor with attachments to suck dirt off the floor.

- Mobile trend for next year?
Media creation at the edges of the mobile network will be very big next year. User created media is a perfect fit for the devices that we have with us always and the social context in which we already view these devices. Consumer appetite is very high for self expression and media creation, and finally rather than mobile being a bolt-on for web platforms and services those activities will mobile initiated and mobile syndicated and mobile consumed.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

- Your favorite mobile technology blog?
mobilejones.com, of course. *wink* I say this mainly because I enjoy producing it. I only wish I could spend more time blogging.

- Your favorite mobile device?
As a sign of the times, I have a preference for different devices depending on the use. I love mobile impulse media, so I tend to choose devices that will support those activities. The N90 is a great device for mobile video, and the sharpness of the screen is delightful. It’s transformer like swivel is definitely an attention getter, but the form factor is just too big. I have a Nokia 6800, a Motorola Razr, but ideally I’d love to have about 15 more devices. For example, I’m eager to test the voice interface of the Samsung P207.

- Favorite mobile application/service?
Well, this is tough to admit, but my favorite is still voice. I interact with people in a variety of environments and applications. I still find people to be the most interesting objects and voice provides so much more context about a person than any of their work products, emails or text based communications. People are more interesting than buildings, songs, street signs, animals, sunsets, machines, sun rises, flowers or any other object you can imagine. When you move a conversation from text to voice there comes a several degrees of magnitude gain in context. Of course, face to face is the most informative, but the leap in context isn’t as extreme from voice to f2f as it is from text (IM, SMS, forums, blogs) to voice. Also, people are natural data reduction machines. Interacting with data in a database requires navigation or clicks along a tree or a pre determined schema. Conversation zigs and zags in and out of topics, references and queries. How long does it take to get a response to: what are you doing? versus sending an email, waiting for a response, going to your PC opening email, and finally reading the response?

Don’t get me wrong there a number of mobile applications and services that make my life easier, and that I love. But today’s limitations on those mechanisms means that they still pale when compared to a live conversation.

- Your ultimate dream scenario including mobile?
Now this could be a dangerous question. There are all sorts of scenes and fantasies that float through my mind when you say “ultimate dream scenario.” But I’ll try to be good and focus on technology. I think most of want the information and services that simplify life’s tasks for us. Services that make production for professional and person reasons easy and ubiquitous. One of my fantasies would be to have a personal holodeck. Yes, I’m a Star Trek fan. The computer with the one true interaction interface, voice. The presention layer for information multimodal, but commands are mere speech. Imagine having a holodeck where you could create any environment, circumstance or scenario you are capable of imaging. Your fantasy might involve playing in the World Series with the NY Yankees, or studying philosophy with Aristole, or having a conversation with anyone living, dead or fictional. Of course, you wouldn’t want to live in that environment, but it would be one helluva playground.

- Which links would you like to be included?
mobilejones.com
mobilejones WML site
moblogher
intercastingcorp.com

- Who else could you recommend to be interviewed next?
Younghee Jung, Nokia Research and Designer of the Sensor application.

- Anything else you would like to add?
Red Herring on LBS startups to watch

TAGS: women in mobile mobile woman m-trends.org mtrends

We receive daily loads of news about mobile business in US, Europe and Asia but what about the ex-USSR? Quiet on the easthern front? I decided to have a closer look what’s happening there and fell into the ‘ravissante’ Julia Palatovska, PR Manager of QArea, a software development company in Ukrainia. The point of this Women in Mobile series is to hear the woman’s view on mobile business and their personal mobile lifestyle from different locations on this planet. I can still wonder how lucky we are to be able to communicate so accurate, cheap and fast from one continent to another? But ok, let’s hear it from Julia:

BACKGROUND

- What brought you into mobile?

Before I started to work for QArea, I had been working in entertainment
area. I organized parties and birthdays and gave interactive lessons of
English language. Max Garkavtsev, the founder of QArea was one of my
students at these lessons. While practicing his English speaking skills,
Max convinced me to try myself as Public Relations Manager at his company.

- Are you more business, social or technical mobile oriented?

QArea provides any kind of technical software support for any kind of Mobile devices. So mobile phones just wouldn’t work without us! As for me, I play a social part in this business.

WORK

- Can you explain more about your work?

My work is very interesting. I communicate with our partners and potential customers from all over the world, share knowledge with them and try to make cooperation between QArea and our clients the most smooth.

- What is QArea’s key expertise?

QArea is a privately owned offshore software development company that provides a wide range of offshore IT outsourcing services and innovative solutions with primary focus brought upon PDA software development and mobile application development. The company has been operating in this area since i