Biggest Patent Goof in History?

The history of the original Bell Telephone patent for the telephone is thick with claims, lawsuits and races to the patent office. In the midst of all this, the information giant of the late 19th century had a perishable opportunity to become the information leader for another century. They blew it!
This has to [...]

Twitter : Getting New Management?

The rumor mill of possible suitors for Twitter blogs, buzzes and Tweets with different theories. The largest speculation, at least in terms of media attention, has Twitter pairing up with either Google or Apple. While these reports are officially unsubstantiated – they did get me to think about what Twitter would be [...]

Piracy of the High C’s (Carriers)

The news is filled daring raids by pirates from the Gulf of Aden to a new breed of Pirates of the Caribbean.  While the World’s Naval powers grapple with a response, the blundering, ransoming and mayhem continues.  For the businesses in the digital content and application world, piracy is a constant companion.  Without the benefit [...]

Going Off (Portal) in Vegas

Next week I will be attending my 25th CTIA conference. This year’s Vegas show will occur with the twin backdrops of the overall economic mess coupled with the positive trends in mobile application use.
On Thursday April 21, I will be on a panel discussing the Off-Portal business models. The irony is that although [...]

Open Letter to Madison Avenue

This past week the New York Times had an article about the convergence of contextual advertising and Smart phones. The potential for highly targeted advertising including the use of GPS is a trend I have been discussing in this blog for over a year.
 
The interesting angle in the NY Times piece , “Is [...]

Mobile Content : Case Study for Economic Recovery?

 
The deluge of economic doom and gloom in the news would make Chicken Little seem like a wide-eyed optimist.
Headlines scream at consumers with news like:
-Auto Sales Plunge 45% to 27-Year Low
-Unemployment Rate hits 8.1%, Most Jobs lost in a short time period since they started keeping track in 1939
-Citicorp stock dips below $1
With all of [...]

Cheers and Jeers for Mobile without Numbers

My article “The Future of Mobile – without numbers” created a large reaction.  I received a full inbox worth of cheers and jeers.  For those who cheered, I say “thanks.”
For those who jeered, I say, “Thank you very much!”  I have always believed that when people challenge your thinking and your logic, you have the [...]

The Future of Mobile – Without Phone Numbers

The most striking exchange at the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was the give and take of jabs between Sol Trujillo , CEO of Telestra and Josh Silverman, CEO of Skype.
Sol represents the mobile business of the present and the past.   Josh is the future.
The rate of innovation and fundamental change in [...]

Mobile Application Stores Change the Game

For years the availability of applications on mobile devices was determined by a handful of executives at wireless companies. They choose what apps got the penthouse placement of being placed on the carriers’ mobile web portal. Placement on the “home-deck” was the Holy Grail for every business development executive.
In recent years, off-deck players have [...]

Does President Obama Need to Bail Out Twitter?

During this historic week there will be many pressing issues for the new administration: The Economy, Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and Hamas, Global Warming, Energy, Education, Social Security, Health, and lastly Twitter.
Billions are being given to GM to build more car&trucks that the public really no longer wants. For a fraction of that investment we [...]