UPDATE: Today is the last day to register and get one of my specially discounted VIP passes.

Here’s a link that will take you straight there: https://www.openmobilesummit.com/lon/register/step1.aspx?dc=MSEARCHVIP

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Now in its second year the Open Mobile Summit (May 26-27, London) covers all the bases to again set the bar. I attended and spoke at this exceptional event last June and was struck by to things: the sold-out crowd and the balanced mix of speakers and authorities from companies and organizations across the entire ecosystem.

Doing business (and making money) in an Open Mobile world will require new thinking and business models. The caliber (and variety) speakers my esteemed colleague, Robin Batt, Open Mobile Media Founder & Executive Producer, has brought together for this purpose will undoubtedly deliver the audience some answers.

This is not just another mobile conference; it’s an industry happening – which is why MSG is extremely proud to be a media sponsor. It’s rare to find such an impressive gathering of thought leaders in such an intimate setting, and I look forward to connecting with this year’s speakers (participants include Spotify, Gowalla, Admob, Ogilvy, AKQA, Yahoo, the BBC, Google, BSkyB, MTV, FT.com, Opera, Vodafone, O2, HTC, Nokia and more – and all at the top executive level.

It’s just four weeks away and there are limited seats remaining, so you should register now.

MSG has 5 guest passes at just GBP850 (retail GBP1395). If you’d like one, register here with VIP code MSEARCHVIP . https://www.openmobilesummit.com/lon/register/ (First come, first served.)

WHY ATTEND

Whether you’re a start-up or a media giant, Internet company or mobile operator, ad agency or software company, mobile and Internet convergence presents a huge opportunity. Over two days the Open Mobile Summit provides participants a clear vision of how the industry will evolve in the next 12-18 months, which – in our fast moving space – is invaluable.

At the Open Mobile Summit you can:

• Understand the business drivers of all the players in this fast converging ecosystem – the key to finding a successful business model for your services
• Explore all the hot topics –mobile advertising, the future of search and discovery on mobile, the role location and social, content monetization models and mobile payments, apps in the cloud vs. the mobile Web and the impact of the iPad, to name a few
• Do business with all the influential people –operators, handset manufacturers, Internet and media giants, agencies, software and application start-ups
• Meet with me (a little humor here, of course)

So, register as soon as possible to ensure your place – if you’re quick, you might get one of my specially discounted VIP passes.

Here’s a link that will take you straight there: https://www.openmobilesummit.com/lon/register/step1.aspx?dc=MSEARCHVIP

However, smart companies know that a sluggish economy spell opportunity for businesses that know how to move forward when the economy is standing still. Indeed, the doom-and-gloom mood hasn’t stopped 50+ industry heavyweights from around the world from meeting in London in June for an executive brainstorm about the future profit opportunities in an open mobile world.

I am reminded of the recent MSG podcast with Tom Huseby, Managing Partner, SeaPoint Ventures, and his observation that there is plenty of money and opportunity in mobile, but it’s up to entrepreneurs to structure their good ideas so VCs get it. Mobile has enjoyed an exceptionally high growth trajectory and even the credit crunch can’t discourage VCs from investing. “On the whole, venture capitalists have not run out of money. The bars are high and it’s difficult, but my gosh, my advice to entrepreneurs is keep working on your idea until it does appeal to the money, or don’t use the money to do it.” What has VCs excited? Open systems, open storefronts and open operators – and lots of apps.

Against this backdrop, the timing couldn’t be better for an industry event sharply focused on what open is (and isn’t). Yes, it’s about new and increasingly open business ecosystems (where mobile operators can still play a central role provided they play according to the new rules). But open means much more. It’s about the convergence of platforms and devices to blur the boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds, and transform communication, content, advertising, search and retail.

More importantly, open is about the shift from command-control to coordinate-cultivate, a seismic shift in how we do business and make money.

How do we get there from here? What models are sustainable and which are hype? There are no easy answers. However, the Open Mobile Summit (June 10-11 in London), produced by Robin Batt, an independent consultant with 13 years experience in the space, certainly covers all the bases to offer attendees insights that will allow them to take charge of the wave of change rather than be crashed by it. (In fact, even Google is attending!)

I was so impressed by the line-up of topics and top-notch speakers that I immediately signed on to be a premiere media sponsor and moderate the session on mobile advertising. I am pleased to report I now have 5 heavily discount passes to share with readers at just £995, valid until 26 May. VIP code: MSG. Register here http://www.openmobilesummit.com

The Open Mobile Summit, like the emerging value chain it represents, brings together world-class speakers from mobile operators, handset OEMs, wireless software houses, and Internet and applications companies, to explore how to profit in an open mobile economy. I hope you will join me and senior executives from T-Mobile, Vodafone, TeliaSonera, O2, Google, Nokia, Yahoo, RIM, Acer, LG, Motorola, and Symbian – plus a mix of VCs and industry analysts at this powerful cross-industry networking event.

The Open Mobile Summit provides an executive summary on all the key strategic developments – and growth areas – in mobile today. Including:

• App Stores: Fad or Future?
• Who will own the mobile desktop?
• Beyond the phone
• Internet vs made-for mobile
• Future of the Operator Deck
• Inter-connected Entertainment
• Mobile Advertising
• Where’s the value in open mobile
• How to monetize mobile Internet
• Open APIs and Smart Pipes

Full agenda here http://www.openmobilesummit.com/agenda.aspx

Speakers include:

Operators:

• Christopher Schläffer, Group Product & Innovation Officer, Deutsche Telekom * Keynote Speaker
• Kenneth Karlberg, President Business Area Mobility Services, TeliaSonera * Keynote Speaker
• Yves Maitre, SVP Devices, Orange
• Dr Mike Short, Vice President R&D, Telefonica O2 Europe
• Hossein Moiin, Fellow Mobility, British Telecom
• Tanya Field, Director, Mobile Data Group, Telefonica O2
• Pieter Knook, Director Internet Services, Vodafone
• Ed Candy, Former CTO, 3
• Nabeel Mardi, VP Device Development, T-Mobile International
• Christiane Vejlø, Head of Innovation, 3 Denmark
• Chris Bruce, GM, BT Openzone
• Geraldine Wilson, CEO, Truphone
• Martin Wrigley, Director Technology, Orange

Devices:

• Alan Brenner, SVP, RIM * Keynote Speaker
• Christy Wyatt, Vice President, Software Platforms and Ecosystem, Motorola * Keynote Speaker
• Aymer de Lencquesaing, Senior Corporate VP, Acer
• Marco Argenti, VP Media, Nokia
• Jin-Sung Choi, VP Mobile Communications, LG Electronics
• Jon ‘maddog’ Hall, Chief Advocate, openmoko

Internet / Applications:

• Hugo Barra, Global Director Mobile Applications, Google
• Mitch Lazar, MD, Yahoo! Mobile, Europe
• Frank Keeling, MD Europe, Glu Mobile
• Steve Ives, CEO, Taptu
• Ray Anderson, CEO, Bango
• Paran Johar, CMO, JumpTap
• Ted Wugofski, CTO, Handmark
• Russell Buckley, VP Alliances Admob / Chair MMA
• Ilja Laurs, CEO, GetJar
• Jakob Berg, CEO, Popcatcher
• Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone
• Sean Kane, Head of Mobile, Bebo Inc

Software and Silicon:

• Lee Williams, Executive Director, Symbian Foundation * Keynote Speaker
• Morgan Gillis, Executive Director, LiMo Foundation
• Kiyo Oishi, CEO, Access Systems * Keynote Speaker
• Rich Green, former EVP, Sun Microsystems
• Jon S von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera
• Jay Sullivan, VP, Mozilla Foundation
• Enrico Salvatori, SVP & GM, Qualcomm Europe
• Gil Rosen, Vice President – Strategic Initiatives & Customer Experience, Amdocs Interactive

Analysts and Organizations:

• Henry Stevens, Entertainment and Media Director, GSMA
• Philipp Diebert, Executive Program Manager, NGMN
• Tim Raby, MD, OMTP
• Mike Grant, Partner, Analysys Mason
• Matt Hatton, Principal Analyst, Analysys Mason
• Caroline Gabriel, Rethink Research
• Simon Torrance, CEO, STL Partners / Telco 2.0
• Philipp Hoschka, Deputy Director, w3c
• Peggy Salz, Editor, MSearchGroove
• Ajit Jaokar, Founder, Futuretext
• Stewart Anderton, Principal Consultant, Ovum
• Robert Andrews, Editor, paidContent:UK

Content / Media / Agency:

• Christian Lindholm, Partner, Fjord
• Scott Seaborn, Head of Mobile, Ogilvy Group UK
• Sunil Gundeira, VP Mobile, Disney EMEA
• Barney Wragg, Independent Media Consultant
• Rob Unsworth, VP, Digital Chocolate

Investment community:

• Rajeev Chand, Managing Director Wireless, Rutberg & Co
• Rod Hall, Executive Director European Comms, JP Morgan
• Kaj-Erik Relander, Partner, Accel Partners
• James Enck, Senior Partner, mCapital

I hope to see you there, and if you want to catch-up or meet-up, then please reach out to me at peggy@msearchgroove.com – or schedule a slot with my PA Andrea Henninge (andrea@msearchgroove.com).

At the other end of the spectrum, this shift in mindset also turns up the pressure on mobile search providers to develop services that are (likewise) more useful, engaging and personal. Indeed, improving the mobile search user experience is at the center of a sustainable and successful mobile search and advertising strategy. Users are encouraged to explore the wealth of content and applications at their fingertips, and their urge to discover leads to more queries and more opportunities to deliver paid search advertising. It’s not quite the fixed Internet all over again, but there are similarities.

The outcome is a virtuous cycle where useful search results and targeted advertising convince users that mobile search is a useful way to find content and applications that matter to them. What’s more, the advance of app stores (similar to the excitement the industry experienced when content portals were the rage) underlines the critical importance of a better interplay between search and advertising moving forward.

I am therefore encouraged by improvements (from companies such as Yahoo), and excited by the increasing popularity of new mobile search paradigms, ranging from multimodal search (which has received a much-needed boost thanks to the iPhone); to approaches that integrate human input/judgment to deliver search results we’re much more likely to appreciate. (I am currently compiling a comprehensive directory of mobile search providers, so please contact me to be included. If your story is interesting, I will also profile your company on MSG.)

A category of mobile search high on my radar is visual search. (Companies include: Idée, IQ Engines, Kooaba, Mobile Acuity, Searchme, SnapNow and SnapTell.) I am pleased to report I am close to confirming a date for a podcast with Philipp Schloter, Nokia’s general manager of Point & Find. Nokia (which MSG covered here) just last week took the wraps off a new beta of its visual search service. The technology is cool but the real excitement is about the fit with mobile marketing campaigns. As Julian Pate, Client Partner at interactive marketing agency AKQA, put it in a statement: “The Nokia Point & Find service marries the digital world with the physical world in a way that actually has meaning for brands and consumers. Not only does it allow consumers to engage with brands in an innovative way but provides brands ‘point and purchase’ opportunities with an on-the-go audience.”

This same value proposition is echoed by SnapNow, a U.S.-based visual search company I profiled in my regular column for EContent magazine.

In it I examine the proliferation of pilots and projects that harness mobile to hyperlink images and items, enabling consumers to access information, make purchases or just browse the Web for similar cool content, by simply snapping a picture using their cameraphones. I also interview Tony Keaveny, Head of Sales for SnapNow UK, who updates me on what the company is doing to “snap-enable” content ranging from print to video.

As Tony puts it: “Your phone becomes your mouse and the world around us becomes the Web. It’s about transforming print, packaging, video, outdoor, or just about any other advertising into a portal enabling communication and – more importantly – commerce.”

Tony walks the talk, which is why he has also kindly offered to “snap-enable” the MSG logo, which means you can get more information about MSG by taking a picture of the logo with your cameraphone and sending it to pic@snapnow.co.uk. I’ll think of a contest to make it worth your while. In the meantime, this is  great (!) because MSG is in demand as a media partner and now you can connect to MSG via the  logo on brochures and posters  at industry conferences such as the Open Mobile Summit, June 10-11 in London, a top-notch industry conference organized by OpenMobileMedia, where I chair the session on mobile advertising.  I invite you to read the column here – and to explore the other great content at EContent.

On a personal note, I am proud to be a contributing editor and look forward to collaborating with Michelle Manafy, EContent Editor-in-chief on a special social media issue sure to set the bar. More about that when I put out a call for pitches here and on Twitter (@peggyanne). Michelle is also the programming chair of Information Today’s Enterprise Search Summits (ESS), annual events that encourage deep discussion and practical analysis of the search space. The next one is May 12-13 in NYC. This week Michelle wraps up Buying and Selling EContent Conference, an event that brings together leading executives knowledgeable in the techniques for buying and selling content. She gives her views on the marketplace and the role of user-generated content in this pre-conference audio interview.

But visual search is just one of the 15 categories I have identified in the process of compiling a comprehensive overview and SWOT analysis of the major mobile search players, together with Rudy De Waele, Mobile Web 2.0 luminary and founder of dotopen, an open innovation consulting firm advising start-ups and established companies helping them define business models, forge alliances and pursue funding opportunities.

Our work is in preparation for a workshop on Mobile Search Future Prospects organized by JRC IPTS (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the European Commission), an organization providing customer-driven support to the EU policy-making process.  The purpose of the workshop next week in Seville, Spain, is to identify mobile search trends and recommendations for policy makers. I cannot attend the event, but look forward to publishing a summary analysis of key points raised during the workshop on MSG.

Connect the dots, and mobile search innovation is shaping up to be a major focus in 2009.

The last word on the increasing importance of mobile search comes from Nokia (via AltSearchEngines.com). During his presentation Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President of Nokia’s new Markets unit, told the audience mobile is the future of search. (Hmmm…Does this conviction mark a new chapter in Nokia’s own mobile search strategy? It’s a topic I’ll raise in my upcoming podcast…)