Losing the social in social networking: 1000 songs on your iPod and you can’t smell any of them ..

December 18, 2007 By

Last week, it was a privilege to be invited to address Professor Dr Andrea Back’s class in the University of St Gallen. The broad subject was The real life experiences of a blogger – and the format was an informal chat hosted by Dr Back and her team.

As is my style, I stress both the technical/content aspects of a blog but also the social aspects of blogging i.e. the online world causes us to lose the humanity of a personal interaction and successful bloggers, in their own small unique way, manage to bridge this disconnect.

I first touched on this topic in the blog Blogging: Of Tom and Jerry and craving the friction of a human being ..

In my view, far too many people worry about making money, ROI, Google coverage etc (by the way, if you are interested in SEO, see SEO: How to use blogs for Search engine optimization and to improve your Google ranking/Alexa rating) and lose the social aspects of blogging. I have yet to see a blogger become successful who failed to take this factor into consideration.

After the talk, I spoke to Dr Back about why the social context is so important and how digitalization causes us to lose our sense of connection with the sensual i.e. we may have 1000 songs on our iPod but we cant smell any of them ..

By that, I mean .. in the older Vinyl records, you had a lot of context which accompanied the music. For starters, the record itself had a distinctive smell. The jacket(cover) was large and colourful. The vinyl had a distinct feel to it. When the song is on an iPod amongst a 1000 others, you cant ‘smell’ it i.e. it loses it’s context(and by the same token – some of it’s richness)(By the way, this example comes from the book Distraction)

The same principle applies in blogging .. make it too efficient, too logical, commercial, too left brained .. and you lose the ‘social’ in social networking/blogging ..

Finally, The University of St Gallen has a reputation as one of the most prestigious universities in the German-speaking part of Europe

Dr Back and her team write a blog appropriately called Back on the future (currently in German) as a part of their Business20 program

Many thanks to the University of St Galen and Professor Dr Back for hosting me and I hope Dr Back’s students and industry invitees enjoyed my talk

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0 Tagged With: , ,

Mobile browser plugins: The browser as a platform la facebook platforms ..

December 14, 2007 By

Note: I changed the subject because the blog is emphasising Mobile browser plugins – which was not obvious from the previous heading

I have talked about browser plugins before in context of offline browsing. However, the concept of plugins could be an interesting idea in itself – independent of its use in offline browsing.

If browser plugins take off , then the browser becomes a platform much like the facebook platform. The analogy is not accurate of course since browser extensions are software extensions whereas facebook applications are extensions of the platform itself – which includes the software and the data i.e. people

Having said that, the idea of extending a browser could have some interesting implications – especially taking the idea of open source into the equation

If we take the vibrancy (and the irritability!) of facebook applications and extend that to browser extensions, then the act of extending browsers via plugins can have both positive and negative implications – for instance ..

a) People can create their own extensions – ideally very easily. Much like facebook apps

b) These extensions should installable at any time and by anyone(i.e. not determined at POS)

c) It should be possible to tell others what plugins you are already running(i.e. capability exchange much like what we see at WURFL)

d) Irritating applications should be removable(much like some facebook apps!)

e) It should be possible to ‘send’ extensions to others(again like facebook apps)

f) There should be a minimum set or configuration to start off with

g) The whole ecosystem should be open sourced – so that it takes off faster.

h) The plug-in interface should be defined separating the interface from the implementation

i) Testing and certification should also be decentralised i.e. not controlled as a revenue model – else things wont take off fast because developers wont have any incentive to work with it commercially

I am aware that as I mentioned in my previous blog, the missing link is access to device APIs from the browser – and by extension the security implications of the same i.e. merely having the ability to add these plugins on mobile browsers may have limited usage if the plug-in itself can do little .. But it’s a good start? No?

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0 Tagged With: , , , ,

Oxford university courses: user generated content, web 2.0, IMS ..

December 9, 2007 By

Another reminder .. and also to say that you get a certificate from Oxford for attendance!

I am conducting my courses at Oxford university in December.

The urls and dates are as below

If you are interested, please register for them through the Oxford university site

Dec 13 User Generated Content and Web 2.0

Dec 14 Mobile Web 2.0 and IMS:

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0

Mobile Ajax: The big picture ..

December 9, 2007 By

Many thanks for your comments on Mobile Ajax, Google Gears on mobile and Offline browsing

Over at forumoxford, I entered into a discussion about more clarifications about this blog

In my view, the big picture comprises of

a) Mobile RIA/Mobile Ajax

b) Offline browsing

c) Network / IMS integration

d) Device API integration

e) security + Identity

f) The ability to choose the best network connection(wifi,wimax etc) from the browser

g) payment

h) location

Then the picture is complete! We are getting there ..

Some of these issues are addressed in an older Opera platform DOM specification

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0

Stanford University Program – Future of Indian Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS) Market

December 9, 2007 By

Chetan Sharma gives a great account of Stanford University Program – Future of Indian Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS) Market on his blog

It was an event I was invited to attend but it’s a pity I could not make it. My compliments to Prof Tom Kosnik and Graduate Student Mohit Gundecha for the success of this event. Mohit and Tom partnered with BDA India to create the event, the document, executive summary, and video. The team from BDA’s India office was led by Kunal Bajaj and Girish Trivedi, and included Deepshika Garg, Rahul Gupta, and Smita Sharma.

To watch the event over internet:

To watch the event over Mobile phone:

They have released a free report called Why Mobile, Why India, Why now .. which you can access from the link

I am looking forward to collaborating with Prof Kosnik’s team in future

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0

Mobile Ajax, Google Gears on mobile and Offline browsing

December 9, 2007 By

After two big announcements from Google, i.e. OpenSocial and Open Handset Alliance/Android .. I believe that the third missing announcement is Google gears on mobile. Google gears on mobile devices would solve a key problem for the Mobile Web and I have blogged about it’s potential almost as soon as the announcement was made.

With Android, Google has not gone RIA (Rich Internet Applications) but for a large measure, the rest of the world has already gone RIA for mobile browsers. If you accept that technologies like Mobile Ajax are now becoming mainstream just within two years after my now well publicised blog about the same topic Mobile web 2.0: AJAX for mobile devices – why mobile AJAX will replace both J2ME and XHTML as the preferred platform for mobile applications development – Part two , then it is indeed time to address offline browsing in tandem with Mobile Ajax.

In a nutshell, Google Gears comprises of a local database, local processes and a web server – with the logic being written in Javascript. Hence, Gears potentially fits in well with Mobile Ajax and Gears also fits in well with Mobile Web Widgets(and by that I mean Widgets created using Web standards as opposed to Widsets and similar products)

The acceptance of common standards between the Web and the Mobile Web is a good thing and while Gears is not a ‘standard’ – it is open sourced – and it’s acceptance on the Web would definitely help to promote it on the Mobile Web. As far as I can see, the only other group/body addressing this problem is HTML5 and even those efforts appear to be mainly to be for the Web(and not the Mobile Web)

While I am a big fan of standards, W3C etc .. in this case, I think Google is leading the way. And if they do the same as they have done in case of Android(An alliance rather than ‘doing it Google’s way’) – then we have the potential of a truly interesting service.

The most logical way to implement Gears on browsers is through a plug-in such as the Netscape plug-in API followed by Mozilla, Opera and most major players(except Microsoft). I am a bit unsure about Mobile browser plugin standards(as opposed to Web browser plugin standards) but I hope to find out soon. Google may well opensource Gears on mobile just as it does on the Web creating a de-facto standard if one does not exist.

Soon, I see Mobile development to be dominated by two open source products: Google Gears and the OHA. And that is a good thing because it allows other players in the industry(including Operators, device manufacturers etc) to have a role.

For instance, If vendors like Nokia, Opera and others support Gears in their respective Rich Web browsers – then we have a good way to overcome the fragmentation issue that has ailed the industry from the outset . Furthermore, it is an alliance founded on the basis of Open source with each party playing to their respective strengths.

The one additional bit missing here is security .. as a study of Google Gears on the web demonstrates. The implementation of Google gears on the Web gives some clues of the issues involved and we can expect the same issues on Mobile devices(plus security and device APIs unique to mobile devices)

As per the Google gears architecture on the web, some of the issues involved include ..

a) The lack of a data layer: For instance, AJAX calls can originate from anywhere within the code without an interim data layer. This is fine for existing Ajax applications since the only source is the server. However, when we also have local storage, there are potentially two sources (the server and the local storage). Hence, a common data layer is needed(which currently does not exist)

b) Features available offline: Not all features may be optimal offline – for instance rapidly changing stock quotes are best accessed from the server than offline

c) Modality – Managing the transition process i.e. switching between online and offline modes(explicit or user driven)

d) Synchronization: explicit, in the background etc

And then there is security .. a major topic in itself. According to the Google Gears site

, Gears follows the same origin policy

and security at the file system level is enforced by the Operating system.

However, when it comes to Mobile devices, there is a lot more in relation to offline storage and security. For instance

• Can the browser access content from removable media?

• Can the browser read/write data from the terminal’s file system programmatically?

• What restrictions are placed on personal data(stored in the cache) for ex data types like SIM contact data, Phonebook contact data, Diary elements etc which are normally protected but can now be cached.

There have been other references to Mobile offline browsing – most notably from the Register and CEO

To conclude, sqlLite is part of Android. It is also a part of Gears. Google could easily use a similar architecture and experience gained from Android to solve the problem of persistence in Mobile Ajax applications. A problem whose resolution would help the industry and encourage the growth on Mobile Ajax/Rich Internet Applications on mobile devices.

Comments welcome as usual

update from Stefan at intomobile

Thanks Stefan!

>>>

Actually Nokia is already implementing something called the Web Runtime with their next edition of S60 that will allow devices to do what you just said: http://www.intomobile.com/2007/11/27/widgets-the-s60-web-run-time-what-is-it-and-how-can-i-use-it.html

Motorola, in their next version of Linux, is also working on a web runtime.

What you want requires platform level support, something that even the mighty google will have a hard time with unless they pull a Yahoo 2 Go and build a mobile application platform in which developers work.

Who knows, too early to tell, but I agree with your basic logic that Google Widgets + Open Social + Google Gears for Mobile makes the most sense. The key is the implementation.

<<

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0 Tagged With: ,

Carnival of the mobilists: No 102 ..

December 3, 2007 By

Carnival of the mobilists: No 102 .. at Tarek’s blog Symbiano-Tek

My post P2P may be Google’s biggest weakness and an Operator’s biggest asset won the best post :) which is nice!

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0

Nokia: UGC to account for 25% of entertainment

December 3, 2007 By

Nokia: UGC to account for 25% of entertainment

Interesting study from Nokia .. I agree with this. It is an interesting trend(see highlighted portions). Nice to see Mr Selby in the news!

source: fiercewireless

Up to a quarter of the entertainment consumed by people in five

years time will have been created, edited and shared within their peer

circle rather than coming out of traditional media groups. This

phenomenon, dubbed ‘Circular Entertainment’, has been identified by

Nokia as a result of a global study into the future of entertainment.

The study, entitled ‘A Glimpse of the Next Episode’, carried out by

The Future Laboratory, interviewed trend-setting consumers from 17

countries about their digital behaviors and lifestyles signposting

emerging entertainment trends. Combining views from industry leading

figures with Nokia’s own research from its 900 million consumers around

the world, Nokia has constructed a global picture of what it believes

entertainment will look like over the next five years.

“From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the

entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call

‘Circular’. The trends we are seeing show us that people will have a

genuine desire not only to create and share their own content, but also

to remix it, mash it up and pass it on within their peer groups – a

form of collaborative social media,” said Mark Selby, Vice President,

Multimedia, Nokia.

Selby continues, “We think it will work something like this;

someone shares video footage they shot on their mobile device from a

night out with a friend, that friend takes that footage and adds an MP3

file – the soundtrack of the evening – then passes it to another

friend. That friend edits the footage by adding some photographs and

passes it on to another friend and so on. The content keeps circulating

between friends, who may or may not be geographically close, and

becomes part of the group’s entertainment.”

Tom Savigar, Trends Director at The Future Laboratory added,

“Consumers are increasingly demanding their entertainment be truly

immersive, engaging and collaborative. Whereas once the act of

watching, reading and hearing entertainment was passive, consumers now

and in the future will be active and unrestrained by the ubiquitous

nature of circular entertainment. Key to this evolution is consumers’

basic human desire to compare and contrast, create and communicate. We

believe the next episode promises to deliver the democracy politics can

only dream of.”

Of the 9,000 consumers we surveyed:

- 23% buy movies in digital format

- 35% buy music on MP3 files

- 25% buy music on mobile devices

- 39% watch TV on the internet

- 23% watch TV on mobile devices

- 46% regularly use IM, 37% on a mobile device

- 29% regularly blog

- 28% regularly access social networking sites

- 22% connect using technologies such as Skype

- 17% take part in Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games

- 17% upload to the internet from a mobile device

As part of the research we have identified four key driving trends;

Immersive Living; Geek Culture; G Tech and Localism. These trends are

currently sitting on the edge, but as these trends become more

mainstream, they will have a collaborative, creative effect on the way

people consume entertainment and, we predict, will lead to the Circular

Entertainment phenomenon.

Immersive Living

Immersive Living is the rise of lifestyles which blur the reality

of being on and offline. Entertainment will no longer be segmented;

people can access and create it wherever they are.

Geek Culture

This triumph marks a shift as consumers become hungry for more

sophisticated entertainment. Geek Culture rises, consumers will want to

be recognized and rewarded – the boundaries between being commercial

and creative will blur.

G Tech

G Tech is an existing social force in Asia that will change the way

entertainment will look. Forget pink and sparkly, it is about the

feminization of technology that is currently underway. Entertainment

will be more collaborative, democratic, emotional and customized – all

of which are ‘female’ traits.

Localism

The report uncovered a locally-minded sprit emerging in

entertainment consumption and Localism will become a key theme of

future entertainment. Consumers will take pride in seeking out the

local and home-grown.

The extensive research identifies the trends, along with the

technologies, that will be pivotal in the next episode of

entertainment. In conclusion, the results of the survey lead Nokia to

believe in the next episode; entertainment will be circular.

Notes to Editors

The research took place between July and September 2007. 9,000

consumers, who are active users of technology and own a mobile device

[not restricted to Nokia] aged 16-35 were questioned. In addition 17

correspondents from the Future Laboratory’s LifeSigns Network were

interviewed. LifeSigns network is a community of 3,000 ‘superconsumers’

thinkers, doers, creators and authors of culture. Interviews were also

conducted with 10 leaders in different areas of entertainment who

provided us with in-depth proven insights into this subject and what

lies ahead. Experts were chosen from the areas of radio, internet,

gaming, device developments, mobile telecoms, music, computing,

legislation and marketing.

About Nokia Nseries

Nokia Nseries is a range of high performance multimedia computers

that delivers unparalleled mobile multimedia experiences by combining

the latest technologies with stylish design and ease of use. With Nokia

Nseries products, consumers can use a single device to enjoy

entertainment, access information and to capture and share pictures and

videos, on the go. http://www.nseries.com

About Nokia

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation

and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries.

Nokia makes a wide range of mobile devices and provides people with

experiences in music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games and

business mobility through these devices. Nokia also provides equipment,

solutions and services for communications networks.

http://www.nokia.com

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0

P2P, Google, Seamless mobility ..

December 2, 2007 By

Many thanks for the great feedback on my article: P2P may be Google’s biggest weakness and an Operator’s biggest asset

I agree with Tope in the comments (and which was my point) i.e. we can’t look at the future with the ecosystem of the present. P2P is highly disruptive and no one really knows(and I dont claim to make any predictions either) how users will use all this bandwith and connectivity in a P2P mode.

I am however a BIG believer in the power of grassroots and in the belief that empowered,connected individuals can drive grassroots change(much the same optimistic view I take for Africa and mobile technology – of which I am a big advocate) i.e. the more links you can create between people, the more the emergence of an ecosystem which will be truly vibrant – and whose ultimate form we cannot see based on the views of today .. Thanks all – appretiate the feedback

Filed Under: MOBILE WEB 2.0
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