Happy Blog Day!
It actually falls on August 31st. On this day I went fishing with my daughter (it was Sunday) so I missed the posting part as prescribed here:
(and this is just a Technorati tag)
Anyway… 5 blogs which are unrelated to my blog? Well, I will post what I have REALLY enjoyed recently. (Some are not blogs but blog-like-community sites.)
1) Jon Stewart’s Daily Show (can it qualify as a vblog or video blog?). The particular link is very funny true.
2) iReport (Isn’t it a great idea? Having a “superstar” status there, I have recently received an amendment to the license terms for MY content.)
3) In the Russian blogosphere I enjoy habrahabr.ru. For instance, check out the latest Humor section about Web Evolution:
WEB 0.0 – the user dreams of connecting to somebody, something
WEB 1.0 – the user receives content
WEB 2.0 – the user creates content
WEB 3.0 – collective creation of content
WEB 4.0 – content thinks instead of the user
WEB 5.0 – content communicates with content
WEB 6.66 – content deletes users once it understands that they make no sense
WEB 7.0 – content deletes itself once it understands that it makes no sense
Yes, the last 2 I will report later (i.e. this post is the one to be continued…)
MTS On Air
MTS has completed its pilot project of launching mobile TV in 3G test zone in St. Petersburg. The operator is satisfied with the project’s results and is planning to launch mobile TV in DVB-H, as well as in 3G networks. According to MTS forecast, the number of 3G TV subscribers will exceed 1 million people. Analysts evaluate the company’s plans positively but note the shortage of DVB-H terminals.
Source: http://www.comnews.ru/, 07 May 2008
MTS, a leading Russian mobile operator, deployed a mobile TV pilot project in 3G test zone in St. Petersburg, announced Press Secretary of MTS, Irina Osadchaya. MTS is planning to attract 10% of its 3G subscribers to mobile TV service in a year after the service is launched. The operator predicts its 3G subscribers’ base to be 11 million people by 2011.
Earlier MTS was planning mobile TV service as DVB-H only, aiming at broadcasting without using mobile networks. Originally DVB-H broadcasting was provided by Mass Media System (MMS). But the company has not yet received a DVB-H license and currently it can only broadcast two TV channels. MTS and MMS have decided to start a new project where MMS will provide content for MTS, reports Press Secretary of MMS, Khabib Abdullaev.
“Simultaneously MTS will be developing mobile TV services for 3G as well as for DVB-H. These two technologies are complementing each other,” – announced Mrs. Osadchaya. In her words, mobile TV in 3G networks allows subscribers to personalize services and content, and DVB-H, at the same time, does not limit mass consumption of the service. “DVB-H and 3G technologies are complementing each other: subscribers will be able to use DVB-H where 3G coverage is small,” – explains Mrs. Osadchaya.
Additional services will be offered on the basis of MTS 3G mobile TV service, some services are already tested within the framework of the pilot project. One service is online communication as a part of various TV shows, such as See Me on TV, and a special service for car owners enabling them to receive video streams on their mobile phones from various web cameras, called Site Cam.
MegaFon, one of the largest Russian mobile operators, already provides mobile TV in its GPRS/EDGE network. In the future, the company plans to offer this service in its 3G network. “We are satisfied with our mobile TV revenues, although we understand that in 2.5G networks this service can’t have a large enough scale,” – said Press Secretary of MegaFon, Marina Belasheva. “For us the launch of DVB-H mobile TV is a higher priority. And the main 3G service will be broadband Internet access.” – said Press Secretary of VimpelCom, Ekaterina Osadchaya.
Analyst of iKS-Consulting, Maxim Savvatin is pessimistic about development of mobile TV services in Russia. “Mobile TV did not become very popular in Europe with exception of Spain, France and Great Britain. This service is popular in Asian countries, but Russia is closer to Western markets,”- said Mr. Savvatin. In his forecast from 3% to 20% of MTS subscribers can become mobile TV users. “Everything depends on how active MTS will be promoting these services and how it will motivate its subscribers,” – explained the analyst. He believes that each mobile TV subscriber will be paying for the service more than $10 a month.
Today Mobile TV can not become widespread in Russia due to the lack of DVB-H and 3G mobile phones, thinks Anton Pogrebinsky from AC&M Consulting. According to J’son & Partners, the share of 3G mobile phones has reached 10% in the overall volume of mobiles sold in 2007, and the share of DVB-H terminals is less than 1%.
TAT to improve the reputation of Thai tourism
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has begun new campaign to “improve and edit all the information about Thailand”. The online campaign includes editing of articles about Thailand on Wikipedia and developing of web-portal with TAT’s and traveler’s UGC content about the country.
Good initiative.
TAT should also pay more attention to mobile media (in addition to this online campain), helping tourisits in a time of visit.
Now, for example, AIS mobile service for travelers doesn’t work. ConciergeGo, another source of information about major Asian cities on mobile, has no information about Thailand too.
Lonely Planets mobile plans
“Lonely Planet are planning a smorgasbord of mobile content for its readers, ranging across SMS, WAP, downloadable Java apps and rich content. [...]
Mobile services will be complementary to guidebooks, allowing people to stay in touch with other travellers and with people back home, through mobile blogging.
Web 2.0 is the answer: For Lonely Planet Web 2.0 solved a lot of problems, or at least pointed the way to the solutions. People are now a lot more comfortable providing reviews and content, and the problem of restaurants (for example) submitting fake reviews is combated by people having a reputation in the forums. “When someone submits a review we know all about their previous behaviour in our digital community,” said Hitching. The company plans to link its mobile efforts to its online sites like the forums Thorn Tree and the accommodation and booking site Haystack.
Part of Lonely Planet’s strategy is community-based, and part is building off the existing content the company has. The revenue stream will depend on the type of content—SMS services lend themselves to premium SMS billing while other content could involve sponsorships or other forms of mobile advertising.
Location-based services are ideally suited to travellers finding their way around a new city. At the end of this month Lonely Planet is launching a new series of books—Encounter—which will be more concise and direct, designed for people who are spending only a short amount of time in a city. It’s launching SMS services to coincide with that”.
The first company’s mobile effort – ‘CityPicks’ in 2005:
“Aussie telco Optus has launched a service with Lonely Planet called CityPicks, which are basically destination guides for more than 40 cities around the world with at least 50 recommendations per city”. www.moconews.net
Сollection of world-wide tourism and travel marketing best practices
The book titled “Tips from the T-List” is a collection of the best posts from T-List bloggers from around the World. The audience for the book is executives, marketers, and decision makers from DMOs, tour operators, and large intermediaries from across Canada. e-versions of the book have been made available for the Travolution conference in London and the Web-in-travel conference in Singapore.
New research on how and why people use mobile social networking.
BuzzCity worldwide survey conducted with users on its ‘myGamma’ portal showes:
[cited]
Mobile social networkers are addicted to their sport, with 90% accessing the service more than once a day. In fact, half use the service at least five times a day. For the majority of users (62%), each session lasts between 30 minutes and one hour, which shows that most mobile social networkers access the site long enough to check messages from friends and see what their group is up to. In Thailand, nearly three quarters of respondents spend more than one hour online in any one session, while in the US one in five logs on for less than five minutes.
35% of members have made a purchase online: “What we find really exciting is that members not only use the service to network, but also to buy goods and services. This augurs well for our advertisers and merchants, who will benefit from the influence of social networks on members, and the power of referral and recommendation.
Facebook in Nokia handsets
January 21 2008
guardian.co.uk
Facebook is negotiating with Nokia over a mobile tool that could see the social networking site built into hundreds of thousands of phone handsets.
The Finland-based mobile firm is said to be exploring ways of promoting a mobile version of Facebook through specific handsets in the same way that YouTube features on Apple’s iPhone, website paidContent said today.
Nokia is also reported to be negotiating with Facebook about buying a small stake in the company and an unnamed executive confirmed that “a partnership is in the works”.
Dopplr now works on mobile phones
Dopplr, an online service for frequent business travellers, announced their mobile site at Nokia World. The mobile service will be available at 25 leading mobile network companies.
About service:
Dopplr lets you share your travel plans privately with a group of friends and colleagues whom you have chosen. It then tells you when people you know will be in the same cities. It also reminds you of people who live in the places you’re planning to visit.
Sell Your Application on InsideFacebook
August 1st, 2007
InsideFacebook will now be accepting FREE listings for Facebook applications for sale by developers!
With Facebook application acquisitions already happening at a rapid pace (many more have not been announced), my intention with this service is to enable a broader marketplace that will help the hundreds (now thousands) of Facebook application developers gain access to a larger community of investors and entrepreneurs, and help investors gain access to a larger group of developers and opportunities.
By listing their applications for sale using the instructions on our Sell Your App page, developers will be able to solicit offers from interested parties.
