#mwc13

[jollaes]

Jolla en el MWC13. Para aquellos que os lo perdisteis, o los que quereis volver a verlo. Un vídeo en el que se entiende la filosofía de Jolla.

[arnoldvansabben-blog]

‘They want to copy 7 years of failure at foursquare’

During the Mobile World Congress I saw the interview from Gray Stewart with Dennis Crowley. I met Dennis myself for a foursquare research back in the summer of 2011. From that time (okee from 2009) I follow foursquare closely.

Below you'll find 'the speech' of Crowley during the WDDBCN interview:

Foursquare will come up with more like advice services within 6 month.

Make people part of the story, that they can feel a sense of ownership and that they feel proud of it.

We didn't pretend to be a big company, we just wanted people to be part of it.

I use Evernote and write do's and don'ts for myself.

Top 3 tips for startups on pitching: 1) be clear about problem and product, 2) be passionate about it, and 3) talk is cheap: build it.

We got 32 no's before the first yes from an investor. We have been very patient and methodological about it.

Life of an entrepreneur is a roller coaster inside of a roller coaster.

Got to be focussed on what your roadmap is and stick to that. Ignore people who get inspired or even copy from you.

Dont get distracted by Yelp, Facebook checkins, and competition. Keep focused on your roadmap and your own passion.

Startups are about making staff that makes u happy.

Our road so far was 6-7 years of failure.

People can copy what you’ve done, but not the vision of what you want to do.

My lessons learn from that interview:

learn by your mistakes and capture those mistakes in a note. Read them back once in a while and learn from the mistakes.

if you start a startup write down what you are, what you are building and what you are not. Write everything on a whiteboard so that everyone can see it clearly. Make your brand manual (free tip Dens)!

[Update] MWC 2013 Keynote 7: Mobile as a platform for innovation.

Social maps make cities come alive. Static maps are boring.

We´re slowly becoming the location layer for the internet.

20% of users who use Explore to discover a place end up checking in to that place.

Venues that spend 100$ in Foursquare will get 50 loyal new customers

3bn checkins/day, adding 5m/day. Massive data from living maps. The location layer for mobile for everything

It's survival of the fittest: You build something great, people download it. It's easy.

Foursquare's MWC14 dream: We all use Google Glasses and get rec feeds by foursquare. We are inventing future of contextual aware computing.

[venglarcik]

Check out Ixonos video from #MWC13 - proud to be part of it.

[vikingkarwur]

Unleashing The Fox

[ogilvyatmwc2013-blog]

What does the Mobile World Congress mean for marketers?

The biggest news for marketers is that we are on the cusp of a new period where marketing, not just spectrum software or features, will begin to drive the growth of mobility. The marketing industry will be one important partner for operators in the fight against decreasing revenues from voice services. Since data revenues cannot make up for this loss yet, our industry can step in.

Exhibitors like Qualcomm have come to appreciate the power of the consumer’s demand for computing power in phones. These technology companies are showcasing marketing friendly solutions like the new Vuforia AR platform from Qualcomm. And marketers as attendees were actively looking for new opportunities, business models, and revenue streams. The packed house for Keith Weed’s keynote entitled “Marketing: Brands Go Mobile,” attests to the intense interest in marketing’s role going forward. We expect to see more active and tangible roles for marketers – beyond the technology companies – in future iterations of MWC.

The trends we forecasted (solutions, services, content, data and connectivity) were all present some extent or another:

Mobile Kung-Fu – Powerful solutions in a small package.

Speakers and exhibitors alike argued for (and even showed sometimes) solution platforms for marketers that set up bridges between individual operators, publishing networks, or operating systems. “OTT” (over-the-top or “services that sit across operators”) became a buzzword and was a favorite term used.

A loud ring in a quiet theater – Mobile services that disrupt status quo marketing - to the benefit of brands.

Successful mobile services for consumers in the future will have to be both contextual (time, location) and intelligent (personalized, predictive). This may not be surprising, but to hear it emphasized was reaffirming. Some services showed either commitment (Groupon, Metro Group, NTT Docomo) or positive consumer response (like AT&T’s alerts).

Too much of a good thing? – Learning to swim and not drown in the flood of mobile data.

Data underpins intelligent context services. And while speakers and attendees agreed, that it largely depends on the value in exchange for personal information (i.e. location), the topic of privacy for data in personalized CRM solutions went largely undiscussed. We, as the mobile marketing industry, have not found the golden key to this kingdom yet.

Brave old world – Content, coming soon to a device very near you. 

Content itself was not at the heart of the debate of the MWC. While we learned some best practices from the Olympic Games in London as well as high ranking representatives from publishing houses, the conference focused more on distribution solutions, than the content itself. This is where we think marketers will have an impact in the future.

The unconnected life is not worth living – Connection is breaking free from communication.

Connectivity was the big news (whether in cities, homes or cars). It dominated many exhibits and conference sessions just as it will pervade our cities, homes, and cars. The commitment from Ford and GM to launch fully connected cars, including open software platforms for developers is an appealing frontier for digital marketers.

We saw developments beyond these trends and the highlight was the burgeoning consumer adoption of services in a relevant cultural context in developing countries. Claro presented culturally adopted ideas that address very specific solutions for Kenyan citizens who travel bus and taxi. Firefox launched its first mobile OS targeted at a generation in developing countries that is transitioning from feature phones to low-end smartphones running HTML 5. On the other hand, NFC still seems technical and lacking in true use cases outside of payment pilots.

From a broader purview, we saw that many technology solutions are still just that: technology solutions. Everybody can somehow envision a totally connected city, but we have some ways to go to create people centric and friendly environments. As one speaker put it, “the industry has to go from network-centric to customer-centric.” Marketers can take a leading role in addressing this challenge with truly relevant and consumer-centric services and benefits. But please, make it simple!

[ogilvyatmwc2013-blog]

NFC at the MWC 2013

Near Field Communication (NFC) was prominent at the MWC this year. GSMA even made sure more people were using the technology by giving away NFC enabled Sony Xperia T to some lucky attendees (our Martin Lange among them). Basically, what NFC technology does is to allow NFC-equipped smart devices to exchange information with each other by tapping them or waving them at each other. If you think this sounds quite like Bluetooth, you’re not too far off.

Proponents of this technology will shoot you murderous looks if you dare to express that thought out loud, but really, just stare back. Same goes if you compare it with QR codes.

NFC is being sold as an effortless solution for a lot of mundane, and not so mundane, tasks. From mobile payments to tracking medical patients, downloading or sharing any kind of information, even social networking or opening doors can be done with an NFC-abled phone and some programmable tags you can buy. They are very much like stickers that can be placed virtually anywhere. They are quite similar to QR codes (there goes another murderous look) although, and that’s a check in the Pros column for NFC, tags allow two-way communication so you can establish a dialogue with the consumer, for instance. When you wave your phone in front of an NFC tag, you can automatically turn on the TV, get information on the painting you’re looking at, transfer pictures, and even listen to music on an NFC sound deck as Sony was demonstrating in Barcelona.

It is clear the industry (wireless carriers, banks, credit card companies) is waiting with baited breath for NFC to take off. What’s not so clear is whether it will or will not make it as is it.

NFC is touted to reduce lines and wait times, and generally, lower the level of irritation daily tasks put into our lives. Help us optimize our time. However, it remains to be seen that’s really the case.

Lines for NFC holders at the MWC were indeed shorter or nonexistent, but that was mainly because most of the people there did not have an NFC-equipped phone or had not bothered to download the necessary app to use it on premises.

Even when you own the right handset,you still need to tap your phone to the receiver and that will take a second assuming you know where the NFC chip is in your phone, longer if you don’t. There is a reason for such close contact (NFC only has a 4-inch range of communication), but while that makes it very secure (unlike Bluetooth) it also renders the experience not as smooth as it could be when standing in line.

What if your handset dies on you as you’re about to pay for your subway ride? Supposedly, you’d still be able to make it to your train. NFC does not require for the phone to be on for payment or access control because it benefits from the SIM card, however, a SIM is not mandatory for implementing NFC (think tablets) and some of its implementations use interactive authentication and network connectivity which means you do need battery life.

Arguably there are uses, mostly annoying tasks that require some tinkering and battery life, that can be made easy with NFC (think about connecting to a Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth pairing), but if we still have to carry our wallets and keys when we go out just in case, or if we still have to walk up to the TV remote or tap a tag in order for us to turn that same TV set on (okay, we can turn on the TV and the lights in the same move with NFC), I’m not so convinced it’s going to make that much of a difference.

Still its biggest issues remain adoption and retail penetration, especially the latter. The most optimistic research indicates that 51% of US cellphone owners will use an NFC-equipped handset by 2015. The same numbers seem to hold true for other mature markets like Germany, but who cares if you have an NFC smartphone if you cannot tap, pardon the pun, into its benefits? POS technology for NFC is expensive. ROI remains to be proven. Retailers are not convinced and without market presence there’s no way to test it.     

The guys at the openTrends booth –the ones behind all the NFC connectivity at MWC 2013- told me they had received great feedback from some of the NFC abled people in there. I, on the other hand, would also like to be excited about it, but I’m afraid Near Field Communication might only be a step in a much awaited direction.

[ogilvyatmwc2013-blog]

CONNECTED LIVING: the Automotive Sector Moves Up a Gear

When I used to think about connected cars, former smart cars, visions of the Knight Rider came to mind. Today, thanks to mobile technology, that fantasy has morphed into a vision in which automobiles are connected to everything. A vehicle is no longer just a way of transportation but a way to enhance the driving experience. The connected car offers convenience services, infotainment, and social features. It becomes a mobile device that must safely connect drivers and passengers to the world around them.

We often forget there are three different contexts for the connected car (the driver, the passengers, and the vehicle itself), and each one has distinct consuming patterns and connectivity, as well as different value propositions. What that means for the industry is that the ability to collect data and turn it into useful information is critical. Moreso when consumers are billions of different people with different interests and needs. This is the mobile world after all: context, value and customization.

Most of the auto industry, not to mention the wireless operators and app developers, are more than ready to uncover the business potential of the connected car, however, their vision is still blurred by some interesting challenges. Issues like driver distraction, environment (weather differs greatly around the world), the much longer lifecycle of a car when compared to that of a mobile device, software issues like virus or crashes, or privacy and security breaches (what if somebody breaks into your car or hacks into the system?) are just some of the obstacles that keep automakers from deploying a true connected vehicle.

So then, should automakers embed mobile technology in their vehicles? Should consumers be able to synch their mobile devices in their cars? Synching limits functionality and embedding costs a lot of money and renders systems obsolete very quickly since customers go through several versions of their devices in the lifecycle of a car (about ten years). Nevertheless, predictions are that by 2015, over 50% of global vehicles sales will be connected (either by embedded tethered or smart phone integration) and by 2015, every car will be connected in several ways.

But there is still another major unresolved issue surrounding the connected car. What business model should it follow? Will wireless operators cover the extra costs for the services the connected vehicle provides? Will customers be willing to pay for them? The consensus in the room of the MWC seemed to be that as long as you offer value to customers, they will pay for those services. And how do you offer value to very different users? By using Big Data. Problem solved.Or not.

No matter how elusive the right formula is, like it or not, we are on the brink of the connected car. As the consumer awareness about its benefits grows and the cost of telematics lowers, there will be no limits to the connected services it will offer. The world might still be dangerous, but we are a lone crusader no longer.

[ogilvyatmwc2013-blog]

OMNIDIRECTIONAL

Trend: services

It still feels like a gimmick, but could turnout to be a very useful one: Ricoh’s 360 degree camera. Or omnidirectional. While the camera itself still feels a little quirky from a product design perspective, the results are fantastic. Shooting high def pictures that are directly transfered to the phone. The pictures can be morphed any way one would like and will surely become the playground for developers to overlay functionality on top of them.