Bringing you the best of mobile blogging from around the Web, the Carnival of the Mobilists (COM) comes with a selection of the posts over the last two weeks that set the bar. We will be back to our weekly schedule next week (April 2nd) when the COM is hosted by our esteemed colleagues over at Tego Interactive.
Meantime, there are still openings for bloggers to step up and host the COM. I encourage everyone to check out the schedule here, and let me know which dates you would like to step up to the helm.
I might add that there is more to this task than the personal satisfaction of being able to read and curate the week’s best blogs (submitted by passionate Mobilists everywhere on the planet). Hosts also get great exposure and extra traffic for the week that they host. Once the Carnival is live on your site, bloggers that submitted blogs that made the lineup (and the greater COMmunity) will amplify your post, link to your page and — ultimately — send you lots of their traffic.
Before we dive into the week’s best blogs allow me (as COM Coordinator and Connector) to run through a few housekeeping items:
- The COM is also there to promote your work, your services and your sites — so please start off by emailing me (peggy@mobilegroove.com) your image or avatar (thumbnail), your Twitter handle and a 100-word description of what you do.
- I am looking for another place to meet, but until I find another virtual space that covers all the bases please join the Google Group (Carnival of the Mobilists) and provide your email so you will be sure not to miss out on announcements and updates. You can also sign up here when you visit the homepage: http://mobili.st/
- And don’t forget to follow the COM on Twitter (@TheMobilists) and keep up to date on Facebook.
Best & brightest
Over the last two weeks we received a large number of submissions — no doubt due to the shout outs from Tomi Ahonen, one of our most loyal and passionate Mobilists.
With that in mind I have submitted his latest blog on his behalf. His controversial blog (The CEO Insane – How To Rescue Nokia) focuses on “catastrophic situation with Nokia’s smartphones unit and the Lumia line.” Tomi also interjects some humor and hard-hitting sarcasm to drive home his key points — arguments that have caused a tidal wave of comments on his blog and across the blogosphere. Do Stephen Elop’s actions scream “insane CEO” and allow us to pigeonhole him as an exec who consistently “puts his own ego ahead of the profitability of Nokia”? Read the blog and decide for yourself
Tomi’s blog is also my Pick of the Week, all the more reason to check it out (and be sure to share your views in the comments).
Other blogs that made this week’s lineup include:
Mobyaffiliates has a double-dose of mobile advertising insights. First is a detailed SWOT analysis of Facebook mobile advertising and the likely impact. Is Facebook a game-changer? Read on and find out. The second post looks at the pros and cons of rich media advertising. Running a rich media campaign requires some more effort, but the pay-off can be worth it. James Coops shares the example of one rich media mobile campaign that “saw its brand awareness increase by 10 percent” as a result.
Jonny Evans over at Orange Business blog brings our attention to their most recently-published infographic and post, which explores the security implications of the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend on business. What are the risks when 60 percent of enterprises follow a policy allowing employees to use the device of their choice (and so connect it to the wider company network)? Just one of the tough questions this infographic addresses.
Chetan Sharma brings us another installment of his must-read U.S. Wireless Market Update, providing us insights about the market in 4Q2011 and forecasts for 2012. It is chock-full with key data points and the deep analysis that is synonymous with Chetan and his management consulting and advisory firm (Chetan Sharma Consulting). But it’s also livened up with some humorous observations sure to make any Mobilist LOL! (“If the Martians landed on earth in early 2012, they will conclude the following: there are only 3 things certain on earth – death, taxes, and the direction of Apple’s stock price.”) From the growth of Big Data, to the impact of miniaturization, this report (and post) has it covered. I don’t want to give it all away here, so please read it for yourself. And — if you missed it — check out Chetan’s detailed analysis of the Chinese and Indian mobile market. The next global update will be released in April 2012.
MobileGroove brings us a companion analysis of the latest episode of M-Pulse, the weekly video show with UNTETHER.tv (@untether) that continues a month-long look at the developer economy. They welcome Caroline Lewko and discuss WIP’s new must-read guide for developers, as well as what it really takes to cultivate developer community. Another post from MobileGroove is a podcast interview with BJ Emerson, VP of Technology at Tasti D-Lite, a company that literally wrote the book on SoLoMo. Will Social CRM be the next big thing for marketers and brands? Listen in and find out.
Lynette Anthony Hundermark, new to the COM, sends us two submissions as well. First, she road tests a mobile-optimized site by Four Seasons and critiques its (many shortcomings). The hotel may be a crowd-pleaser, Lynette argues the site disappoints when it comes to functionality, usability and understanding the requirements of a user on mobile. Her second post didn’t make this lineup But it does receive an honorable mention on the COM companion post going live tomorrow.
The Voice on Telecom suggests that all companies (retailers, banks, the works!) could drive money (and more importantly, stickiness) if they were able to support/enable voice, text messaging and video chat via their own sites. Read between the lines, and the next Big Opportunity for mobile operators may be in serving these companies. The post doesn’t present us with a new idea, but it does gives this idea a new immediacy.
Anne Thomas (Wapple’s COO and @Miss_mobile_web to me and all her other followers on Twitter) gives us a new twist on an old dilemma. Her post, playfully titled Unrequited love on mobile web, makes a hard case for mobile-optimized sites. Consumers love the mobile web, but brands are not returning the affection. Instead they direct them to not-made-for-mobile sites and deliver a bad user experience. Will consumers break off the relationship? Anne shares some numbers and observations sure to get brands thinking.
Nigel Scott submits several posts, but the one that makes this week’s lineup is a hard look at the business value of gamification. Does this approach build brand awareness? His controversial look at this approach — titled Here’s why Gamification = Garbage — is sure to spark some lively debate. (Nigel’s other posts are listed on the COM homepage.
Ged Caroll draws from his personal observations (overhearing a loud business meeting and pitch) and draws our attention to deeper questions about the state of the Android ecosystem. I miss a stronger conclusion in his post, but maybe your comments will fill in the gaps.
And we wrap up with Steve Litchfield, whose submissions focus on the practical side of mobile. First, he takes us back 10 years to recount the top 10 Qwerty Symbian phones. Did he miss any? Then let Steve know. The second blog comes from his colleague David Gilson and looks at the evils of Micro SIM cards. His hands-on post walks us through our options if we want to use our Micro SIM in a Mini SIM device. Adapters? Cutters? It’s a confusing world when standards are in flux.