Exclusive fringe benefits for Mobile Heroes

Some of you may know I’m working on this little thing called the Heroes of the Mobile Fringe Festival which is happening at the end of this month. We have a load of events already listed from an energising yoga session to mobile marketing to innovation and the infamous Swedish Beers party and we are not done yet. There are many more to come so do keep an eye on the site and sign up to receive the newsletter too. Oh and you can check us out on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud (for our podcast series) and, since just yesterday, LinkedIn.

As part of the fringe festival, I’ve managed to negotiate some exclusive fringe benefits. One of them is your chance to win a ticket to the sold-out and hugely popular MEF Connects MWC13 Party (free to enter here) and the other is the fan-dabi-dozi business card offer detailed below from the marvellous MOO.com and our new pals at MOB Barcelona. So if you’re heading to Barcelona, or even if you’re not, why not order a batch of cards? You just pay small handling fee and Bob’s your uncle.

I’m very happy to announce a new Heroes of Mobile partnership with our friends at MOO.com. If you’ve met me before, then you’ve probably had one of my business cards and I always use MOO and use my own photos for them. I love the card quality and the fact that you can have a different design for each card. It always makes for an interesting conversation point at a networking event.

So what’s the deal here then?

Well, you can order a pack of 50 standard size business cards or 100 mini size business cards FREE*. How about that? You can even pick up your cards in Barcelona, if you’d like to, at Makers of Barcelona (MOB) on Sunday 24th February or Monday 25th February 2013.

You’ll notice there’s a teeny Mobile Hero logo on the card so the person you give the card too will remember that you met at Heroes of the Mobile Fringe in Barcelona. And hey, you are a mobile hero, right? That’s why you’re involved in the festival. Neat, huh?

You need to hurry though! If you order by 11.59pm (GMT) on Sunday 17 February (20 February if you pay a rush fee), you’ll be in time for the pick up in Barcelona. That doesn’t give you very long, so you’d better get on to it!

Click here to order a pack of 50 full-size Heroes of Mobile business cards.

Click here to order a pack of 100 Heroes of Mobile MiniCards.

You’re probably wondering what the mobile angle is here and why MOO.com is involved with us. Well, it’s all linked with their upcoming NFC card launch. These are business cards that link to your digital world that gives you the full capability to rewrite the information stored on the chip any time you like. That’s an exciting use of NFC and we’re keen to see how these work when we see some in the flesh. And it's especially appealing to mobilists. More info here and don’t forget to sign up to keep updated so you can be one of the first to try them.

*Only one pack of business cards (either size) per person. Excludes Euro 3 processing fee.

Getting a poor signal on your phone?

I just had an email newsletter pop into my inbox from John Strand. If you don’t know him already, he's a long-serving mobilist with many years experience of consulting for various organisations on the subject of mobile telecoms.

I’ve often wondered myself why my phone varies in performance. I get that different networks will have an impact, but I hadn’t really thought what the other issues might be. John explains it in his recent newsletter which I’ve copied below for you (with permission). I’m interested to know what you think. How much do these factors affect performance and are there other things that can affect it? I welcome your thoughts and comments.

“Various reports from around the world over the last three years note that have consumers increasingly experience poor coverage with their smartphones. The challenge for mobile operators is that the perceived coverage rarely reflects the quality of the network that the operators build and run, but rather the quality of the smartphones that people use. As a new ground-breaking study shows, the quality of the smartphone combined with how it is used and configured is more to blame that the mobile network.

Here are the 10 main reasons why you get a bad signal on you phone:

1. The wrong phone. There is a big difference in the quality of antennas in phones. As for the iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy S3, the previous versions of these phones performed better in a major study of phone quality performed by Professor Gert Froelund Pedersen from Aalborg University, one of the world’s leading institutes for the study on antennas in phones.
2. Too many apps. The more apps you install, the less coverage you may experience. Apps create unwanted signal noise.
3. Free apps. Free games such as Angry Birds don’t not cost a penny, but they are filled with advertisements that eat your bandwidth and can contribute to poor coverage on your phone.
4. Open apps. It is a good idea to close them when not in use. Even if you are not using an app, it will still send and receive signals to the network.
5. Too many friends on Facebook or a few really active friends. If you have a lot of friends who ping and update you all the time from Facebook, this can also affect your experience negatively.
6. Your operating system. Even if you make sure you version is up to date, you run the risk that the new version is actually worse than the old. Plus you have to be sure to install all the proper updates. Android is also available in a multitude of versions, but each phone manufacturers adapts them differently.
7. A Samsung Galaxy S3 is not a Samsung Galaxy S3. Mobile phones are produced in a vast global manufacturing network and supply chain. The same phone may be made with different components from alternate suppliers. The model can vary both by country and within country.  There are at least 10 variants of the same Samsung Galaxy S3.  Your variant may not be optimal with your network.
8. Rush hour. During times of peak traffic, the same mobile mast must serve more users, so the quality per user may degrade. It's like getting into a packed train during rush hour.
9. Train travel. The metal tubing around windows in trains and related materials can be killers of mobile signals. When the train moves quickly, it can be difficult for your phone to switch connection between masts.
10. Telecom service provider. There is no such thing as the best network. The network that is best for you depends on which has coverage where you are when you use your phone.
The next time you experience poor coverage, take a look at your phone. Remember there are many things that can impact your experience beyond the network itself.

In the report “How to reduce the cost of mobile masts and improve regulation”, Strand Consult describes the challenges that operators face as they build and run mobile networks. In addition to Strand Consult reports, a number of institutions have recognized the role that smartphones play in the quality of coverage. If you want to know more about the report or about Strand Consult's experience in this field, click here..

Thought for the day

I was having a sort out of a box of cards the other day and I found this one that a friend had sent me. It’s such a beautiful photo and a pertinent quote that I thought it worth sharing.

If you’re reading this on a device that doesn’t show pictures or you’re unable to see very well and are using a screen reader, it’s an image of an alley way, or ginnel (as you’d say up North), lit at ground level by many very bright lamps which illuminate the whole path.

The quote on the card is from Ben Sweetland, an American author, and says: ‘We cannot hold a torch to light another’s path without brightening our own’.

Have a happy weekend.

Key trends for 2013

Service design consultancy, Fjord, has presented its annual trends prediction. It’s in a lovely slideshare format (see below) with some thoughts on the rationale, impact and what you can do about each trend. Some of the trends resonate more with me than others. And for those who are reading this on a mobile device and, perhaps, cannot access the slideshare content, here are the key trends.

1. People are ruining everything… for traditional business. This is a big one! The technology users are doing it for themselves when it comes to crowdfunding, content creation and more. And it has never been easier. There’s no point fighting this one either. Embrace or die.

2. I belong to me. The personal data battlefield. Ah yes, the ‘Big Data’ chestnut coupled with users growing understanding of what it means to them personally, and how some of them raging against the big data machine and are demanding control of their own information.

3. Dawn of the personal ecosystem. Connected objects start to take their place right by your side. The internet of things becomes a reality. Access to data means we can make decisions about our house, our shopping, our health and more from the comfort of the palm of our hands. This creates what Fjord calls the ‘personal ecosystem’. No question, items like fitbit and Nike’s fuelband have been a runaway success and we’ll see many more of these kinds of gizmos being used in day to day life. We’ll definitely see more of these in the coming months and years.

4. Keep it simple stupid. Good old-fashioned KISS principles make a comeback. I’m wondering if this is just wishful thinking on Fjord’s part or not? I agree, they’re great principles to stand by and I wish more businesses and developers would use them but I fear humans are not always that smart! We’ll see.

5. Revolution in Retail. The online/offline distinction disappears. We are right in the heart of the retail revolution right now. If retail doesn’t change, our High Street will continue to die. Traditional retailers have been far too slow to adapt and understand the changing customer needs. Pop-up stores, virtual stores, payments on the move – they’re all here.( At the same time, I don’t want to see the High Street die and for retail to become solely a warehouse distribution business. I hope that we see some innovation this year to make the hybrid sustainable and to find new ways of invigorating the High Street. Says the former shop assistant, so I may have some personal bias here!)

6. Access is the new ownership. What does it mean to own something in the digital age? This is a really interesting area. We’ve seen the rise of rentals and subscriptions from cars to holiday homes to music to books and more. How many subscriptions can one person manage? And what happens if you have no money and lose access to everything? Where are the swapping platforms, the digital versions of our libraries? And what else will we see going to this model? I still haven’t manage to get rid of my books, CDs, vinyl, videos or DVDs. And I could certainly use the space, but the online services aren’t quite there yet that meet my personal needs in those departments. It’s only a matter of time though.

7. Learning gets personal. How being online is transforming the way people learn. This is very exciting. And game changing. What will the future of learning look like? What will a text book become? Will we need to remember things in the same way? Does this change our attention spans for the better or worse? What about accessibility for those with visual, hearing or other impairments? We’ll be looking at this in one of the Heroes of the Mobile Fringe sessions next month.

8. You talking to me? Exploring new challenges in human-machine communication. Ah, yes. Voice. What do we do with that? How many times have I found myself typing furiously on Skype or email or Facebook to an individual when it would have been a whole lot quicker and easier to talk? I’ve just gotten out of the habit and am now forcing myself back into it because, it’s, you know, productive! I still can’t see myself talking to my phone or laptop, but hey, I never thought I’d be working in the mobile industry so anything can happen. I’m interested to see what innovations happen in this area and what it takes to succeed.

9. The mobile gap. Business plays catch-up with adoption. Fjord says it so much better than I can. ‘The speed of movement to mobile has amazed everyone. But it has not been matched by the speed with which most organisations are able to monetize it.’ There’s nothing I can really add to that although Fjord does have some good tips of starting points and things to think about in the slideshare below.

10. Think like a start-up… and act like one too. Wow. That demands massive change for most big companies. One that they’re probably able to embrace in concept only rather than actual delivery. We’re talking culture change here and that’s hard to do. It’s worth thinking about though and anything that brings down barriers in companies and aids collaboration, serendipity and innovation, I’m all for and I would definitely encourage. Not everyone is ready to be in a start-up though so you may lose people along the way…

Thanks for the food for thought, Fjord. What do you think?

Fjord trends 2013 from Fjord

None of us are getting any younger

Which means that us younger ones have a duty to create the digital future we want for ourselves. As we get older, our faculties inevitably decline. I have already noticed my hearing and my eyesight isn’t as good as it was and I still consider myself young. It’s just a fact of life. No-one else is going to create this future for us, or if they do, we may not like it, so we have to get on with it ourselves. And there hasn’t been a better time to do this. The barriers to entry haven’t been lower, access to technology is easier, we all have smartphones or tablets or both and they’re getting cheaper, and now, organisations like IC Tomorrow is helping fund the prototyping of some new ideas too.

They recently held a call for entries for their Digital Inclusion Innovation Contest in three specific areas – Sensory Assistance, inclusive media and accessible internet of things. The finalists have been chosen and they’ll be presenting at the final to be held on Thursday 7th February in London. Tickets are free and can be booked here. The contest is in collaboration with the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) and the National Licensing Agency (NLA), University of York and Scope

The following companies will be presenting at the event:

Sensory Assistance – using smart phones to assist older people and people with sensory disabilities. Partner: University of York

· Georgie Last 10 Yards by Screenreader.net CIC

· Mobile-phone assisted navigation for visually impaired people by Spiral Scratch

· Tribble Doorbell Alerts by Novoda (video entry below)

Inclusive Media – creating a new digital reader and search tool for newspapers and magazines. Partners: RNIB & NLA

· Matopy, the app that makes newspapers and magazines truly interactive by Matopy

· Georgie Bookreader by Screenreader.net CIC

· NewsReader by Assistive Solutions

Accessible Internet of Things – enhancing physical home functions for disabled people. Partner: Scope

· The Smart Hub by Therapy Box

· StarInterface by National Star Foundation and College

· Assisted Independent Daily Able Platform (AIDAapps) by BioDigital Health

In addition to the £48,000 of funding the winner in each category receives, each successful participant will also retain their intellectual property and receive:

· Further exposure to a range of leading sector partners

· The opportunity to test their proposed application with leading sector partners

· The opportunity to promote their prototype solution via the IC tomorrow programme

I know I’m a bit biased here as I know some of the companies presenting. I do have my fingers crossed for Georgie and Tribble.

I’m planning to go to the event. It’s free to attend but there will be limited places so if you want to come, you’d better get your ticket booked.

Oh, and if you can find the video entries from any of the companies listed above, please add it in the comments. Thanks!

The Road to Mobile World Congress 2013

Goodness me, time doesn’t half go quickly! Thoughts are rapidly turning to what’s going to be happening in Barcelona next month and the annual shindig that is Mobile World Congress. There are a few changes to this year’s event so I thought I’d update you with what I know.
It’s bigger. Quite a lot bigger. They welcomed 67,000 visitors last year and they’re expecting that figure to go up again. It will still cover a huge variety of sectors and covers everything to do with mobile from the boxes that drive mobile telcos to the deeply technical sessions geared at mobile developers to mobile marketing and advertising to the new handsets and tablets to the start-up and entrepreneurial community and everything in between. There is a well-attended conference too but that’s really expensive to attend unless you’re speaking. And with so much going on in the exhibition halls and the fringe events in town, you won’t be able to fit everything in. The theme for this year is the ‘New Mobile Horizon’ (I’m not sure what that actually means, mind).

The event is in a new venue. Yes, that’s right. They’ve moved it up the road to an industrial zone nearer the airport. That means it’s quite a lot bigger and there’s more room for the conference so they can fit more people in. There will also be more space for exhibitors, more networking space and more food outlets onsite. The latter two are essential since there’s nothing nearby at all – not a tapas bar in sight. The nearest places you can go to enjoy off-site hospitality are the very fancy-schmancy high-rise hotels (and their prices to match), Ikea (so you can always get meatballs and a flat-pack cupboard) or a local shopping mall. That’s it. I’ve walked the whole way around the site and that’s all I could find. I took a few snaps as I walked around (see below or take a look on flickr).


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

You’ll need to allow extra time to travel to the new site as well. Your options will be a taxi, a free shuttle bus between the old site and the new one or the train. I don’t think the new Metro route will be up and running in time for this year’s show. Please do leave a comment if that’s changed. You can get an overground train at Placa Espanya. All the overground trains actually start underground and they all go through the station, Europa, which is the stop for Fira Gran Via. Then it’s a 10 minute walk to the venue. I’m not sure how often the trains run, but I think it’s probably every 10 minutes or so. So with having to change trains, navigate Placa Espanya station, get on the train and walk to the new site, it’s going to be a good half an hour at busy times. So you need to allow for that.

Rather disappointingly, once you get there, there is no historical palace for a backdrop, no gorgeous fountains and no view of the city. In fact, there’s nothing there to identify the location as Barcelona save for the odd street sign in Catalan. To get your dose of Barcelona culture, you’ll need to head back into the city as you won’t find it at Fira Gran Via. But don’t worry, I’ll be running the Heroes of the Mobile Fringe festival again and all the events will be in the city so you’ll be able to learn, network and enjoy some Catalan atmosphere there.

And as happens every year, I’m asked the same question, ‘how do I get a ticket?’. Read on for hints and tips on how to secure your free exhibition ticket. The emails have started, so I’ve updated my top tips for you. And just to be clear, I don’t have a secret stash of tickets! I don’t even have one myself yet.

Buy a ticket. A ticket that gives you access to the exhibition is 699 Euros. The price is the same as last year so that’s some consolation. Yes, I know it’s not free but thought I’d better get this one out of the way. Not such a big deal for a senior exec at a large corporate maybe, but certainly a big deal for us lesser mortals who have to watch our budgets more closely. Conference tickets are even more expensive. The good news is that with an expo pass, there are still plenty of sessions you can attend and plenty of things to do do and see.

Buy a reduced price ticket. This one is aimed at SMEs. If you sign up to the B2B Matchmaking service, they put on a speed networking service where you can meet a lot of people in a relatively short space of time. The meetings are all held on site and for the Euro 310 registration fee, that includes your exhibition ticket. So you get some meetings and you get to access the exhibition. Not a bad deal. More info on their 'how it works' page.

Apply to attend one of the App Planet days. This is where the bulk of the tickets get allocated within the developer community. Several App Planet days are scheduled and each host will have an allocation of tickets to give away to ensure attendance at their developer sessions. I know that most of the WIPJam passes have now been allocated, but the others have not yet been allocated. So press the big button on this page to ‘indicate your interest in attending Featured Programme Sessions’. These tickets should be allocated over the next three weeks or so. If you’re allocated a ticket, you’ll get a reference number and a URL and you have to go and claim your ticket. If you don’t claim in good time, your code will be allocated to someone else. So if you do get a code – use it or lose it. At the time of writing, you can apply via Nokia, the Car Connectivity Consortium, Plantronics, Samsung and WIP.

Apply to attend one of the MPowered Theatre days. This is a relatively new stream for Mobile World Congress and is geared towards brands, media owners and the agencies who look after them. Nielson and InternetQ are confirmed partners for this, with more partners tbc. Here’s more information about those sessions and you can click the big button to register your interest for them.

Get a press pass. If you have an audience or community in the 1000s, then you may qualify for a press pass. Details of how to do that are here. I have never done this so do not know what’s involved or how hard it is to get a press pass. If you do have experience of this, then please share it in the comments.

Make friends with colleagues and contacts who are exhibiting. Each exhibitor gets an allocation of exhibition passes to distribute at their discretion. This includes stands organised by trade bodies representing countries and regions. Ask, and maybe you shall receive. This one is going to be down to your existing relationships and networking skills. So check the MWC website and see who is exhibiting who you can ask. They’re expecting 1500 exhibitors this year. The site may take a little time to load for you to be able to search.

Keep an eye out on social networks. Every now and then, tickets become available and get allocated through social networks (twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) and/or through various mobile and developer communities such as Mobile Monday chapters globally or local developer user groups. These are either competitions (sign up to our newsletter, add your app to our app-store) or they’re fairly last minute and get allocated very quickly, so you need to be quick off the mark. The twitter hashtag for Mobile World Congress this year is #mwc13 or #mwc2013. Current competitions to win a pass include Appsfuel and InMobi.

So that’s how to score a ticket. Last year, I ran a competition to win free expo passes, but at the time of writing, I have no plans to run a competition. Obviously, if that changes, you’ll hear about it!

So what about the networking? How do I make the most of it?

Good questions.

Congress is huge and quickly  becomes overwhelming. With 1500 exhibitors, after the first hour, every stand seems to look the same and they all merge into one. At least, that’s how it feels to me. Everyone seems to be your ‘best mobile partner’ or ‘best mobile solution’ or carrier grade technology’. Not terribly helpful when you’re trying to navigate around eight very large halls. Equally, everyone is in town and it’s the ideal opportunity to network, to build on existing relationships, to discover new things and to make things happen. However, you have to put the legwork in. So this is what I recommend…

1. Shameless plug alert! There will be a wide selection of events, meet-ups and things to do, see and get involved in at the Heroes of the Mobile Fringe Festival. Background to last year’s festival is here and I’ll start to list events later this week over at http://mobileheroes.net. Most events will be free to attend.

Heroes has moved on somewhat from last year’s festival. Although the festival will be similar in flavour to last year, we’re also running events throughout the year in other cities. Next month in Barcelona, we’ll be covering a wide range of topics from start-ups to security to finance to emerging markets to mobile marketing and lots more besides. And there’ll be a whole bunch of parties to attend too. So allow yourself some time to attend some of these sessions as you will most definitely meet people there.

2. Create your own event. That’s what the fringe festival is for. Create an opportunity for like-minded people to get together, whether that’s a round-table discussion, a panel session, a lunch or dinner, or something else, then go for it. You can promote the event yourself and we can promote it on the fringe festival site too. Please get in touch. I’m very happy to discuss.

Please note, the Heroes of the Mobile Fringe Festival is not associated with or endorsed by the GSMA or MWC in any way. I just want to make that clear. Also, all our events will be in the city centre. We will not be including anything at Fira Gran Via this year.

3. Schedule meetings in with people you *can’t* see easily at home. There’s no point having a meeting with someone who is in an office down the road from you. You can do that any time the rest of the year. Make your meetings brief and to the point and at sensible times. If you’re partying into the wee hours (and some of the best networking happens then), then a 8am breakfast meeting may not be appropriate. Also allow time to get to and from meetings. At peak times of day, and the main drag is very crowded, it can take a good 20 minutes or more to get from the front entrance of La Fira to App Planet (assuming you know where you’re going). And with the new venue being even bigger, it could take even longer. Plus you won’t know the layout until you get there.

4. Be clear on who it is you want to meet there  and why so that when you’re at a networking event, you can say that. The person you end up talking to may not be the right person, but they may know someone who is if they know who and what you’re looking for. Hone that elevator pitch.

5. Attend the parties. To some people, these will seem like jollies and just an excuse to get drunk as a skunk. And true enough, there is an element of that. However, the mobile industry is very sociable and the parties and meet-ups are where I have always met the most interesting people. You need to allow for serendipity at large shindigs like MWC. Hint, Swedish Beers will be on the Wednesday night as usual.

For more tips on networking at tech events, you could do worse than check out Kevin McDonagh’s post on how to attend a conference.

Let’s not forget personal safety.

My last bit of advice is about safety. Barcelona is still notorious for theft. I’ve written about this before. Please be street smart and heed the warnings. It can happen to anyone. And it is an all too frequent occurrence. There are 60,000+ gadget-geek execs in town with pockets stuffed full of devices. It’s like bees to a honeypot where thieves are concerned. Consider yourself warned.

And where to stay.

I always stay in an apartment. I’ve never stayed in a hotel the week of MWC so have no pointers there.
Please feel free to add your own top tips in the comments.

Last year’s Road to Mobile World Congress post can be found here. The comments are worth a look for more advice.