August » 2011 » mobilegroove

#FF at MobileGroove amplifies the voices you need to hear, and profiles Derek Johnson, CEO of SMS marketing company Tatango and -- more importantly -- a brave (sometime edgy) voice in the mobile marketing space. This week Tatango published a controversial infographic that shows the real impact of spam on users in the U.S. (and the size of the lawsuits for leading companies that blatantly disregard best practices).

Editor's note: From mobile professionals and practitioners to outstanding and passionate individuals doing their part to improve mobile communication, connectivity and collaboration the world over, this new feature introduces you to new people and new viewpoints that merit our attention (and a 'follow' on Twitter). In the next weeks we'll profile Chetan Sharma, David Berkowitz, Judy Breck, Nora Goodman and Ajit Jaokar - to name a few. If you would like to be considered for this series (or suggest someone you admire), then reach out to me directly (@peggyanne).

The Pew Internet Project is consistently a source of valuable data and this week the organization has again produced fascinating research into how technology is changing our lives.

The wide-ranging report, which details people's use of and behavior on social network sites (SNS), is full of insights and analysis explaining how use of these technologies is related to trust, tolerance, social support, and community and political engagement.

Where can you get the inside track on the developments that will transform the next five years in mobile, while connecting with the executives that are leading change? Spend one day (September 12) at Mobile Future Forward in Seattle.

From disruptive technologies to new ways to monetize mobile networks, and from connected devices to the dilemma of delivering content and advertising to the 20+ screens that play a role in our daily lives, this high-caliber, thought leadership summit -- organized by consultant and industry authority Chetan Sharma -- covers all trends that truly matter.

When Apple officially threw its hat into the ‘content cloud’ services ring with their iCloud announcement last month, it capped a trifecta of launches from the three leading over-the-top (OTT) players: Apple iCloud, Google Music and Amazon CloudDrive. Does the advance of these giants mean everyone else should hand over their first-mover advantage?

Definitely not. Granted, it is a crowded space, but there are also clear lines that define their market reach and target audience. Some players are competing on services (sync, backup, media management) and others are betting to win based on their customer focus (consumer, small & medium business (SMB), enterprise and/or selling white label solutions to operators and device makers). A quick scan of the competitive landscape in the D2C (direct-to-consumer) space reveals an interesting mix. Some might sound familiar (like DropBox, SugarSync and Box), while many of the 'white label' firms that play behind the scenes might not (NewBay, Funambol and FSecure).

Thank you for your question. I am sitting here smiling. Social media has been compared to a cocktail party, high school and a Bruce Springsteen song. While each of these different analogies has their merits, I don’t think the writers were thinking big enough. Or hairy enough. Social media is like a big, hairy spider. "Social media is like a tarantula?!", you ask, out of breath from jumping on top of your nearest chair. Yes. It is. Here’s why.