TMCnet News
Execs at CTIA From W3C to Virgin Mobile and Start-Ups Produce Fresh Advice for Bringing Web 2.0 to the Handset(Market Wire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) LAS VEGAS, NV, April 3 / MARKET WIRE/ -- CTIA -- While thousands here shopped the aisles of this week's mobile industry center of gravity, a few dozen opinionated executives and bloggers met to wrestle with the upside and issues around mobile social networking, semantic web, location-based services, privacy, the role of operators vs. brands in mobile advertising, and more. The event, "Web 2.0 Hits the Handset," was sponsored by Airwide Solutions and produced in collaboration with the Mobile Messaging 2.0 group blog. Steve Bratt, CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), kicked off the standing room only session with his vision of a "One Web" user experience -- and a call for openness and collaboration to achieve it. Bloggers Debi Jones, Paul Ruppert, Peggy Ann Salz and Oliver Starr facilitated breakout groups that distilled diverse perspectives into some pointed advice for the industry. Click here to view videos of the event. Highlights include (find more at the Mobile Messaging 2.0 blog): -- The search for better search is on -- time and screen space is at premium when search goes mobile -- semantic web, with the promise of a faster route to what consumers are really trying to find, may be the answer. Watch for more on visual search, too. -- Carriers need to do more with their data riches -- or miss the advertising train. They have metrics and intelligence on what subscribers read, purchase, and where we go. Carriers' seat at the advertising table will depend on how effectively they share consumer data with third party vendors, brands and publishers. -- He who best enables consumer publishing wins -- Mobile needs to be true to the ideal of why we're here -- the read/write web. The handset must be turned into a self-publishing device to share information in new ways -- bridging screen-to-screen behavior with face-to-face behavior. -- Mobile ads a consumer can love? 100% advertising supported models like Blyk are testing consumers' thresholds for advertising vs. paying mobile services. Watch this space. -- Parents don't get a hall pass when it comes to protection -- no amount of techno wizardry or the best intentions of carriers and social networks will substitute for good old fashioned paying attention and weighing in by parents to control access, information and security. And parents should stop passing down the most primitive handsets to the youngest family members -- they don't have the latest protections built into them and can put information and young users at risk. Find posts, video, photos at www.mobilemessaging2.com. Present at the roundtable were: Kaj Hagros and Jay Seaton of Airwide Solutions; John Styers of Moblico; Laura Marriott of the Mobile Marketing Association; Steve Bratt of the W3C; Wade Vesey of Movial, Andy Miller of Quattro Wireless; Dominick Tolli of Virgin Mobile USA; Jonathan Steuer of Iconoculture; John Puterbaugh of Nellymoser; Jason DeWitt of Skydeck; Tullio Siragusa of M3Mobile; Mickey Alam Khan of Mobile Marketer, Paran Johar of JumpTap; Rudy de Waele of m-trends; and many others. "What's going to bring Web 2.0, or even 3.0, to the handset is bridging internet services and mobile networks -- and a whole new level of commitment, openness and collaboration for all of us in the value chain," said Kaj Hagros, VP of Market Development for Airwide Solutions. "The good news is that there's clearly a real passion to build the infrastructure that supports open standards, devices that support an enhanced user experience, brands rolling out new content that subscribers want to find and consume and an overall willingness to work together. And that's what it will take to bring the desktop experience -- or even better -- to the mobile." Hagros was also interviewed about mobile advertising and highlights of the roundtable by Debi Jones of Mobile Messaging 2.0. Full video of the interview is available at http://flixwagon.com/watch/10400. Said Steve Bratt, CEO of W3C: "While becoming increasingly popular with the rise of smart phone adoption, mobile Web access today still suffers from interoperability and usability problems. The W3C believes that through a concerted effort of key players, much like the thought leaders gathered here today in the mobile production chain, including authoring tool vendors, content providers, handset manufacturers, and mobile operators, we will see a sea change in the industry toward standardizing on a One Web idea, where the internet has the same rich functionality, no matter what device is used. W3C's vision of One Web is to enable people to use the Web anywhere, on any device, although one's experience may vary depending on the device. We want content providers and users to be able to take advantage of the strengths of each type of device and to eliminate unnecessary obstacles, without increasing the cost of doing so." "I think 2008 is going to be a very strong year for off-portal," says John Styers, a partner at Moblico and former MD for Sprint Media Network, referring to consumer demand and behavior moving beyond carriers' walled gardens. "There's definitely a growing interest to trial the open platform in some way or define what is an open platform. The fundamental question, however, is when is that inflection point for off-portal and on-portal. Brands can help promote the One Web concept by providing better consistency, billing practice and continually expanding access to content." For more information or to request photos or a podcast (audio/video) from the event please contact Elena Dunn at [email protected] or Lisa Rivero at [email protected]. We would also be happy to arrange a briefing for you with a spokesperson from Airwide or one of the participants from the event. About Airwide Solutions Airwide Solutions is the leading provider of next-generation mobile messaging and wireless internet infrastructure, applications and solutions. Its products help more than 120 wireless operators worldwide drive mobile messaging usage and revenues and enables them to leverage multiple delivery channels and next-generation infrastructure in new and more powerful ways. With a history of industry firsts -- including the first text message ever sent, the introduction of the first SMS router, the first A2P MMS push gateway and mobile service control which enables mobile context, personalization and profiling -- the company continues to pioneer new technologies. Airwide's open, tiered Fusion architecture offers mobile operators advanced revenue options, a practical pathway to Mobile Messaging 2.0 and a foundation to bridge mobile messaging and mobile internet. Airwide Solutions operates globally with offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Africa. For more information about Airwide Solutions, please visit www.airwidesolutions.com. Copyright ? 2008 Airwide Solutions Inc. All rights reserved. Airwide is a registered trademark of Airwide Solutions Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine For further information please contact: Brenda Suarez Airwide Solutions Email: Email Contact Tel: 781-229-2406 xt. 2731 Elena Dunn Skywrite Communications Email: Email Contact Tel: +44 (0) 20 7608 4646 Lisa Rivero PAN Communications Email: Email Contact Tel: 978-474-1900 Copyright ? 2008 Market Wire, Incorporated |