Mobile Monday London

It’s a big topic. We’re led to believe that the mainstream media world is in trouble with declining advertising revenues and difficulty in matching available revenues with cost of production. And not only that, there’s a whole new world of mobile and social media out there with unclear revenue models. Where do you place your bets? Do you knock down your existing business to create the new one? Do you wait before making your move but risk missing the boat altogether. These are all questions the answers to which are still unclear.

And this topic was also on our minds in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress where the UKTI hosted a Mobile Monday London panel session discussing this very thing. Paul Skeldon from Telemedia 360 took some video of it, the highlights of which you can see below. It's in four parts with Russell Buckley, VP of Global Alliances at Admob chairing (and co-founder of Mobile Monday Germany and co-star at the Mobhappy blog), and Chris Boden from Lonely Planet in Australia, Lucie McLean from the BBC, Steve Ives, CEO at Taptu and yours truly on the panel.

Is Traditional Media Dead?

Is Advertising Dead?

Are Applications Dead?

Will the iPad Save Us?

Paul also covered the panel session in this month’s Telemedia 360’s PDF newsletter which is worth a read if media and mobile is your game. [You can download a free copy from their website.] I am widely quoted in the article but to get the full context, it’s probably best to view the videos *and* read the article too to get the whole picture.

You might also be interested to know that the FT Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference was on this week. Although not there, some of the tweets from it are worth a look. Have a look for the hashtag #FTMedia10 and follow FTDigitalMedia on Twitter. I’m sure there’ll be some news and blog coverage coming out of this conference too, so watch this space.

Another *must read* article is this one Understanding the participatory news consumer – a comprehensive breakdown of the latest Pew Internet research showing what the US digital news consumer is up to on their mobile phone. I’m not going to repeat what the article covers, but it shows that mobile internet users access the internet more often than their fixed line counterparts:

“On-the-go news consumers:  Who are they?

The typical on-the-go news consumer is a white male, age 34, who has graduated from college and is employed full-time.  Given their younger profile, it is not surprising that 40% of this group are parents of young children (compared with 30% of the general adult population), and 32% have never been married.  One in three (32%) live in households with incomes of $75,000 or more. As a subset of the broader mobile internet population, on-the-go news consumers reflect many of their characteristics (see table below).

Not surprisingly, on-the-go news consumers maximize their cell phone use.  They are 67% more likely than other cell phone users to text message, more than twice as likely to take pictures with their phones, and four times as likely to use their phones to instant message.  They are also especially heavy internet users—80% of this on-the-go group are online on a given day, compared with just 67% of other internet users—and they engage in activities such as blogging (20% v. 11%), using social networking sites (73% v. 48%), and using status update sites like Twitter (29% v. 14%) at significantly higher rates than other internet users.”

Labels: meetings, mobile monday, mobilemedia, mobilemonday, mwc

posted by technokitten  # 12:30 0 comments links to this post

Yes, it’s not going to be on a Monday and it’s not in London, but Mobile Monday London is indeed off to Barcelona to Mobile World Congress. And as part of that, we’re putting on a panel session for you. So what’s it all about then?

Probably preaching to the converted here, but we all know how much mobile technology has changed our lives. By the same token, we also know that the world of traditional media is in trouble. Or at least, that's what we're led to believe with declining advertising revenues and fragmented audiences. With all this change, what is the role for mobile? What are the opportunities and challenges? Is traditional media dying, and if so, what should be done about it? And what are the secrets of success for mobile companies wanting a slice of the global media pie?

In this panel session, you'll be hearing from some of the UK's biggest mainstream media owners and some of their counterparts from the mobile industry. All will be sharing their pearls of wisdom with you. We’re just confirming all our speakers but Steve Ives, CEO of Taptu and Lucie Mclean who is Senior Product Manager in BBC FM&T Audio & Music & Mobile will be two of them. They will be joined by an illustrious cast. Watch this space for updates.

We are opening the event to other Mobile Monday chapters so it’s a good chance to meet and mingle with some new people as well as some familiar faces and try and make sense of the madness that is Mobile World Congress. We will be providing refreshments too – drinks and tapas -  thanks to the generous support and hosting skills of the UKTI. You will need an exhibition pass for Mobile World Congress in order to attend as it is on site at La Fira.

This event is hosted by UKTI.

Date: Tuesday 16th February 2010 – 4pm - 6pm

Place: Sala D, Mezzanine floor between Level 0 and Level 1 in Hall 2, Fira Barcelona in Montjuic. This is more or less opposite the UKTI stand so quite easy to find.

Agenda:

Doors open at 4pm. Please be on time. We have a tight schedule.

4.10pm - welcome and introductions

4.15pm - panel session with questions and discussion from the floor

5.00pm - 6.00pm - networking, tapas and drinks

Please RSVP at: http://momolo.org

* Places are limited. Early confirmation of acceptance is advisable *

Please contact Helen Keegan helen@[removethis]mobilemonday.org.uk or Daniel Appelquist dan@[removethis]mobilemonday.org.uk if you have any questions.

We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona!

Labels: 3gsm, mwc, ukti

posted by technokitten  # 20:50 0 comments links to this post

After putting it to a community vote, we’re pleased to announce that we’ve put Audioboo forward to represent us at The Mobile Premier Awards in Barcelona during Mobile World Congress. It’s not a given yet that they’ll get to present. The jury needs to whittle down the long list of 48 to a shortlist of 20 who will get to present on the day and have a chance to win the award. We wish Audioboo the best of luck.

It’s also good to see that our friends in Mobile Monday Belfast and Mobile Monday Edinburgh have also put nominees forward so there’ll be a good contingent from the UK.

The Mobile Premier Awards announces 48 nominated startups to the Mobile Premier Awards in Innovation: The best grassroots startup innovation chosen by their peers in partnership with MobileMonday, the global community of mobile professionals. The nominees were chosen by participating MobileMonday chapters from over 250 participating startups.

An international jury of the most recognized mobile industry experts will select the 20 finalists who will pitch their idea, application or project at the Mobile Premier Awards event that takes place in Barcelona, at the Petit Palau of Palau de la Musica on February 15, 2010 in front of investors, operators, media companies, peer entrepreneurs, and press and influential bloggers.

The year's MPA best in Mobile Startup innovation Nominees are:

MobileMonday Austria - Mobilizy
MobileMonday Bangalore - mobiSiteGalore
MobileMonday Barcelona - fonYou
MobileMonday Belfast - SpeechStorm
MobileMonday Bergen - ComCom
MobileMonday Berlin - spendino
MobileMonday Bogota - RedSalvavidas
MobileMonday Brussels - Getyoo
MobileMonday Buenos Aires - Beepoint
MobileMonday Caracas - Consorcio Si-SMS
MobileMonday Copenhagen - Cepa Mobility
MobileMonday Dallas - Wave Integrated Marketing Solutions
MobileMonday Dublin - Locle
MobileMonday Dusseldorf - Yoose
MobileMonday Edinburgh - Mobile Acuity
MobileMonday Estonia - TaxiPal
MobileMonday Frankfurt - match2blue
MobileMonday Hamburg - apprupt
MobileMonday Hungary - InfomatiX
MobileMonday Jakarta - dotus indonesia
MobileMonday Kuala Lumpur - CWorks Mobile
MobileMonday Lithuania - SendFlow
MobileMonday London - Audioboo
MobileMonday Madrid - Tooio
MobileMonday Malmö - Color Monkey
MobileMonday Medellin - Industrialmedia
MobileMonday Melbourne - Callernizer
MobileMonday Mexico - Binbit
MobileMonday Mid-Atlantic - Amphetamobile
MobileMonday Milan - Soundtrckr
MobileMonday Mumbai - Umundo
MobileMonday Munich - Aloqa
MobileMonday New Delhi - Voicetap Technologies
MobileMonday New York - PercentMobile
MobileMonday Oslo - Bipper Communication
MobileMonday Paris - Presselite
MobileMonday Rest of EMEA - Layar
MobileMonday Rio de Janeiro - iMusica
MobileMonday Rome - Mobnotes
MobileMonday Sao Paulo - Atope
MobileMonday Shanghai - mInfo
MobileMonday Silicon Valley - CloudMade
MobileMonday Singapore - Just Mobile
MobileMonday Slovenia - Visionect
MobileMonday Sofia - Bianor
MobileMonday Stockholm - MoSync
MobileMonday Tel Aviv - waze
MobileMonday Vancouver - Sort Shots

The finalists chosen to the Innovation Awards will be announced on January 25, 2010. They will present along with the winners in the other categories chose by our partner networks (see below).

The event takes on February 15, 2010 in Barcelona at the Petit Palau of Palau de la Musica. Registration to attend this event opens on January 19.

About the Mobile Premier Awards

The Mobile Premier Awards are the biggest mobile startup innovation competition and event in the world and the point of reference in startup premiers during the Mobile World Congress on February 15, 2010 in Barcelona. The awards are organized in collaboration with some of the main networks in the industry including MobileMonday, Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), MEX, MobileActive.org, Women 2.0 and the Women in Mobile Data Association.

This year we have received over 600 startup submissions from all continents to the different awards.

* MPA in Innovation - The classic peer-reviewed, global grassroots competition where MobileMonday chapters nominate a local startup to eventually pitch in Barcelona.
* MPA in Marketing - The best startup in Mobile Marketing - in partnership in partnership with the Mobile Marketing Association.
* MPA in Entertainment - The best startup in Mobile Entertainment in partnership with the Mobile Entertainment Forum.
* MPA in User Experience - The best startup in Mobile User Experience in partnership with MEX.
* MPA in Social Change - The best startup using mobile for social change in partnership with MobileActive.org.
* MPA in Female Entrepreneurship - The best woman-lead mobile startup in partnership with Women 2.0 and the Women in Mobile Data Association.

The Mobile Premier Awards are a once a year opportunity to reach the most influential professionals and companies in innovation in the mobile industry and so it offers unique opportunities for visibility and communication. If you are interested, ask us for some more information at info(AT)mobilepremierawards(DOT)com.

The Mobile Premier Awards online

• Mobile Premier Awards RSS Feed
• Mobile Premier Awards on Twitter @mobilepremier
• Visit our Facebook Fan Page.

• Please use hashtag #mpa10 in your online communications.

Labels: Awards, mwc

posted by technokitten  # 12:13 0 comments links to this post

Hello folks --
I'm afraid we've had a bit of a snafu with our selection of a nominee for the Mobile Premier Awards in Barcelona on Feb 15 (http://www.mobilepremierawards.com/). The deadline for submission of the nominee for the Mobile Monday category has taken us a bit by surprise -- It's our fault, we weren’t paying close enough attention to the emails we got from the MPA team.

In any case, we (Jo, Dan, Helen & Alex) have gone through the companies that nominated themselves and come up with a short list of nominees. We need to pick one of them to put forward to the final in Barcelona on Monday 15th February during Mobile World Congress. Dan has put these into a simple Yahoo! poll, which will be open for voting until end-of-day (midnight, UK time) today (Thursday the 14th January).
The poll is here: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/momolondon/surveys?id=2264209

Our nominees are:

Audioboo - http://www.dotopen.com/organizations/view/audioboo  http://twitter.com/audioboo  http://audioboo.fm

Little World Gifts - http://www.dotopen.com/organizations/view/little-world-gifts http://twitter.com/lwgifts http://littleworldgifts.com

Flook by Ambient Industries - http://www.dotopen.com/organizations/view/flook http://twitter.com/ambientwit  http://flook.it

Zkatter - http://www.dotopen.com/organizations/view/zkatter-ltd  http://twitter.com/zkatter  http://zkatter.com

Apologies if the voting URL gets corrupted or you can’t read it for some reason - if it does, just login into the yahoo group, visit "Polls" on the left-hand navigation bar and vote from there. Good luck to the nominees and let the voting begin!

You must be an existing registered member of our Yahoo! Group to vote and we will not be processing any new memberships until after the voting has closed tonight.

If you have any questions on this please contact Dan Appelquist. He’s in charge of this one!

Get voting folks!!

Labels: Awards, mwc

posted by technokitten  # 10:21 0 comments links to this post

Contact Justin Email: justin@reventz.com Phone:   +44(0)2071937952   Mobile:  44(0)7507861533 

rEventz is the premiere events agency throughout Europe, specialising in Spain and are Mobile Monday London’s latest partner during the run up to Mobile World Congress. rEventz expertise lies in making attending Mobile World Congress easy for you by finding you the right accommodation, the right meeting places, and making sure your stay in Barcelona is fuss-free.

Justin and his team have been working closely with the Mobile World Congress for over 5 years with some of the biggest (and smallest) companies in the industry and with a large stock of hotel rooms and other services; we can tailor every package perfectly to the individual needs of each individual client. And Justin knows Barcelona backwards which is a great help, especially if you’re new to Congress.

Every client has their own dedicated project manager working on their booking and only their booking so you so there are no distractions and all of your requests are handled immediately. If 100% perfection is the minimum that you ask for – trust rEventz with your next Event and see what 110% satisfaction feels like. Previous satisfied clients include O2/Telefonica, Tele Atlas, Cisco Systems, Verisign, Seven, Opera, Aliph, NXP and more.

All of rEventz’s hotels are located in the heart of Barcelona with easy access to the Fira Exhibition Centre and the Placa Cataluña (the very centre of the city) where most of the restaurants are and where most of the evening networking happens.  So rest assured with rEventz we will keep you central and where you need to be avoiding unnecessary travel. All hotels are located within 5 mins of the nearest Metro station and all have taxis readily available. 

Listed below are the most up to date list of available hotels with rEventz; with pricing on average less than the official organiser is offering.  For further information about any of these hotels including pictures don’t hesitate to contact Justin. Yes, we know hotel prices are expensive during Mobile World Congress, but these are below the usual rate for the week of Congress when all prices seem to go up – sometimes double or even treble the usual room rates. Yes, it sucks, but Justin’s negotiated some good rates for Mobile Monday London members.

• Hotel Paral.lel 2* - This hotel is an excellent budget hotel and although a 2* offers superb service and rooms for its rating, the hotel also has the added bonus of being just a 10 min walk to the Fira Exhibition Centre and just 10 mins to the centre of town – Placa Cataluña .  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  20 rooms available: €250/night inc tax and breakfast
• The Hotel Aston 3* - This first-class business is well priced and is just 10 mins by taxi or metro to the Fira Exhibition Centre and Placa Cataluña.  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  17 rooms available: €240/night inc tax and breakfast
• Hotel Junior 3* - Another first class, budget business hotel and the sister hotel to the Hotel Aston (located 30 seconds from it) and is located 10 mins to both The Fira Exhibition Centre and Placa Cataluña via metro or taxi.  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  15 rooms available: €235/night inc tax and breakfast
• The Hotel Ramblas 3* - Excellent budget hotel offering all of the services that you could need during the event, located in the heart of Barcelona on Las Ramblas; a 5 min walk to Placa Cataluña and under 10 mins via taxi or metro to The Fira Exhibition Centre.  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  10 rooms available:  €240/night inc tax breakfast
• Hotel H10 Cataluña Plaza 3* Superior - This hotel is located right in heart of the city in Placa Cataluña so you couldn’t be more central and has recently been refurbished to the highest standard.  5 mins to the Fira Exhibition Centre via metro/taxi.  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  10 rooms available €315/night inc tax and breakfast
• Hotel Reding 3* - This very comfortable business hotel is centrally located at just a 2 min walk to Placa Cataluña and 5 mins to the Fira Exhibition Centre via metro or taxi.  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  14 rooms available: €325/night inc tax and breakfast
• The Sunotel Central 4* - This great business hotel offers everything that you would expect from a 4* hotel and is ideally located at just a 10 min walk to the Fira Exhibition Centre and under 10 mins to Placa Cataluña via metro or taxi.  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  14 rooms available: €345/night inc tax and breakfast
• The Hesperia Del Mar 4* - This new 4* hotel is another good excellent hotel.  Although located by the port of Barcelona its still just 10 mins in a taxi or metro to the Fira Exhibition Centre and Placa Cataluña (you don’t have to go through the centre of town – thus avoiding traffic).  Due to the fact that it is slightly further away though it offers 4* hotel rooms at 3* prices!  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  20 rooms available: €275/night inc tax and breakfast
• The Grand Hotel Central 4* Superior - Saving the best for last: this gorgeous boutique hotel offers unparalleled comfort and style.  The hotel is also ideally located right in the heart of Barcelona offering perfect quality at unbeatable prices.  The hotel is just 5 mins on foot to Placa Cataluña and under 10 mins to the Fira Exhibition Centre via metro or taxi.  Free Wi-Fi is available in all of the rooms of the hotel.
  20 rooms available:  €320/night inc tax and breakfast

rEventz
rE...Inventing Corporate Solutions
www.rEventz.com
Tel:               + 44 (0) 207 193 7952        

Fax:              + 44 (0) 207 900 2357
Mobile:         + 44 (0) 750 786 1533

Labels: 3gsm, mobilemonday, momolondon, mwc

posted by technokitten  # 13:12 0 comments links to this post

UK Trade & Investment has created a unique opportunity for 20 UK companies to engage with the media in the run up to Mobile World Congress 2010.

On 20th January 2010, UKTI will be hosting a media speed networking event in London for the successful companies, these companies will be selected from a panel board and notified of their involvement by 10th December 2009.

The event will enable UK companies to meet with relevant journalists with an interest in Mobile World Congress in advance of the show to share news and generate interest in their company's products and services.

It can be notoriously difficult to gain the attention of journalists at Mobile World Congress, particularly for smaller companies. This event aims to provide an opportunity for companies to do so before the Congress takes place.

There is a strict limit to the number of companies that can benefit from this event and for this reason companies that wish to be considered will need to complete a simple form and also be able to fulfil some strict criteria.

The criteria are:
» Submission must be made by 30 November 2009
» You will need to have someone available to be present in London on 20th January
» You will need to have a newsworthy story: product, innovation, or development that you are able to speak with the media about
» Whilst we will ask journalists not to use the information that they receive until Mobile World Congress, companies attending will need to be certain that the news they have will be ready for public release on 15th February 2010. It will not be possible to include innovations or agreements that are not certain to take place
» You will need to be available on the telephone during November or December 2009 to discuss the news that you will be announcing at Mobile World Congress

What kind of journalists will be attending this event?
We will invite journalists from national, trade, technical and consumer technology publications that have an interest in Mobile World Congress 2010. We will also invite the Mobile World Congress show newspaper and television station.

Will I be certain that my news will be published?
No. This will depend on the news agenda for journalists and the newsworthiness of your stories.

What is in it for me?
You will get the chance to tell the story of your company to up to 20 journalists with an interest in mobile communications before they arrive at Mobile World Congress.

APPLICATION FORM:

Name of Company:
Year founded:
Number of employees:
Turnover:
Primary spokesperson for the media:
Company description:
Company primary market:
Company primary customers (eg manufacturers, mobile operators):
Company's target media publications:
Briefly describe the news you will be announcing at Mobile World Congress 2010:

Submit you application to Jessica Eddens on mobileworldcongress[at]tradefair[dot]co[dot]uk

STOP PRESS: Please note that we will have tickets to give away for Mobile World Congress in a draw for delegates of Heroes of the Mobile Screen on 7 December. You can buy tickets now for £99 (ex VAT/bkg fee) at http://mobileheroes.net/register

Labels: mobile, mwc, ukti

posted by technokitten  # 22:51 0 comments links to this post

Mobile Monday London in association with UK Trade & Investment present the Future of Mobile Lunch at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona

– Wednesday 18^th February 2009 at Restaurant Oleum –

We are living in an age of digital convergence. Not only that, but our creative and technology industries are also converging. So what does this mean? What are our mobile customers up to? Who are they and what do they want in their mobile future? What kind of businesses will succeed in this new climate? What services, devices and infrastructure are needed to create this future? And how do we support this future commercially in terms of resources and business models? And is the UK the hotbed of creative and technology talent that we like to think it is?

Exploring these key themes over a relaxed lunch at Restaurant Oleum are some key industry players who, between them, have many decades of business experience across the creative, marketing and mobile industries. Lord Davies of Abersoch, Minister of State for Trade & Investment will open the proceedings and then we’ll follow with a panel session. Our panellists are

• Dr Walter Tuttlebee from the Mobile Virtual Centre of Excellence who has recently been working on comprehensive research on how to support the 2020 Mobile Vision. Walter is the nearest thing we have to a crystal ball for the mobile industry.
• Alistair Hill of comScore M:Metrics who knows who our mobile customers are and what they’re up to across Europe. The emerging trends happening right now should help us plan for the near future at least.
• Jennifer Grenz, VP of Marketing at Shozu will be sharing her insights into customer behaviour, marketing and working within a company that crosses the gap between creative and technology industries.
• Pamir Gelenbe, a partner with Newton More Venture Capital and Private Equity and co-founder of mobile marketing company, Flytxt. Pamir knows where the money is and where it’s going, and maybe even how to get it. He might just be worth listening to.

The event is proudly supported by UKTI, who have been invaluable in their support to both the Mobile Monday London community and to British business in general. They are one of our unsung industry heroes and we’re thrilled to be working with them on this very special lunch event.

There are just 80 places available at this lunch and we wouldn’t want you to miss out so be sure to RSVP promptly. 50 places will be made available to Mobile Monday members globally via local Mobile Monday chapters.

The Details

Location: Restaurant Oleum, C. Mirador Del Palau Nacional (MNAC Palau Nacional, Montjuic) 08004 Barcelona [Google map link]

Time: Doors open at 12:45pm for a prompt 1pm start.

Panel session: 1pm until 2pm, which will be followed by networking

*Lunch and drinks will be served during the event courtesy of UKTI*

RSVP to Helen Keegan, Mobile Monday London, helen@mobilemonday.org.uk by 9am Friday 13th February please.

About UK Trade & Investment

UK Trade & Investment is the Government organisation that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. Our range of expert services are tailored to maximising the international success of individual businesses. UK Trade & Investment also helps overseas companies bring high quality foreign direct investment, including R&D, to the UK’s open economy – acknowledged as Europe’s best place from which to succeed in global business. UK Trade & Investment offers expertise and contacts through a network of international practitioners throughout the UK and in British Embassies and other diplomatic offices around the world.

For further information please visit http://www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk

Ph: +44 (0)20 7215 8000

About Mobile Monday London

Mobile Monday London is a community of around 3,000 individuals, primarily in London, with a common interest in mobile communications in general and mobile data in particular. We now reach beyond the mobile industry specifically and cross over into media, marketing and web 2.0 where there is also an interest in things mobile. Mobile Monday London is part of a grass roots network of Mobile Monday chapters globally. We've been operating since November 2005 and organise free monthly topically themed events of interest to our mobile community and beyond, detailed at our Web site http://www.mobilemonday.org.uk.

Labels: 3gsm, events, mobilemonday, momolondon, mwc, ukti

posted by technokitten  # 16:55 0 comments links to this post