I recently had the honor of being profiled in a new Montana magazine called 406 Woman. The title of the article was "No Penalty for Paradise", reflecting an ongoing discussion between me and my fellow entrepreneurs in rural America about whether living in a desirable location was inconsistent with the idea of successful business formation. For many of us, transplants from urban life, when we first arrived in our new communities, we questioned whether building a business beyond a small sole proprietorship was realistic. We had the same concerns as any new business owner - staffing, funding, lines of credit, healthcare, and so forth. But added to those concerns were other worries specific to our locations - Can we hire qualified staff? Will they work hard? Do we have the necessary communications infrastructure? Can we get flights to required destinations? Will our infrastructure costs and capabilities allow us to remain competitive with businesses located in more accessible locations?
Question by question we figured it out. Staffing was the most pleasant surprise. Our employees want to live here, resulting in a highly qualified, truly dedicated team. Funding and lines of credit were a challenge, investors simply weren't familiar with investments in remote locations. But, even though money players would rather you were right next door, if the business plan works, the money will come. It's amazing the number of angel investor networks and strategic investors available to businesses in rural areas - never easy, but manageable. Healthcare costs were staggering no matter where we were located but not particularly higher here than elsewhere. Flights were and still are a problem. But, because flights were challenging, we relied even more heavily on our communications infrastructure. And the communications infrastructure is what truly allowed us to finally conclude that there is "No Penalty for Paradise".
For rural communities, distance has too often been a significant business challenge. But, as a result of advances in technology and infrastructure over the past decade, those of us living the rural life can now "reach out and touch" our colleagues nationwide and even internationally in a cost-effective and service-effective fashion. In my hometown in MT, we have great cell phone service with national calling plans. We have wireline DSL and cable broadband. We have more Wi-Fi'd coffee shops (all with free Wi-Fi) than I can find when I'm back in the city. We have video conferencing facilities for hire if we need them. As a result, we can stay on-line, talk live, and stay in touch with our customers, employees, vendors, and the myriad of others that it takes to launch a successful business. It's truly remarkable the difference that our communications advances over the past decade have made for businesses - so much so that we are now planning for our next title - "Rural America, Open for Business".
Summer is here in full swing and that means some hot new blockbusters are here! One way to keep up with what is playing at the box office when you are on the go is with moviefone.
Moviefone is packed with information regarding the lastest flicks. It has news, clips, and even a blog! Moviefone also offers a mobile website that is quick and user-friendly. Moviefone Mobile can be accessed by going through your web browser or you can download the application directly to your device (feature only available for Sprint consumers). I connect to moviefone mobile via browser and have my favorite theater saved to easily access showtimes near me. You can also easily enter other locations by zipcode (and get directions) when you are not in your neighborhood. An additional function Moviefone Mobile offers is a brief synopsis of the movie you have selected.
Check out Moviefone Mobile, bookmark it, and never worry about missing a movie when your on the move!
Congressman John Culberson has joined the mobile revolution and is currently utilizing his wireless device to stream video to his constituents. On a related new media note, the Congressman from Texas is also blogging. These are huge developments in the district of communications.
At a time when Congressional approval is at historic lows, looking for new ways to connect and communicate with Americans is the right thing to do. With the Congressman mobile broadcasting, he is allowing constituents to see and experience a typical day in the Capitol. Congressman Culberson is also showing his colleagues that devices today can do more than just make calls and send text messages. I applaud the Congressman's efforts!
As the famous coach John Wooden stated, "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." On that note, I hope other lawmakers join Congressman Culberson and the mobile revolution.
As some of you may have seen, we used to have a section our Web site called "Mobile Moments." Mobile Moments were for the times when you saw something and thought "I've got to take a picture of that," so you pull out your cell phone camera and snap a pic. The other day I had the misfortune of experiencing the kind of Mobile Moment that no one likes to have - a car accident.
It was a Monday morning and I was driving to work in DC-rush hour traffic, something I try to avoid at all costs. As I was circling the block looking for a parking spot, I got into a fender bender with a delivery truck. Luckily, no one was hurt and there was only some superficial damage to my car. However, as with any accident, my reaction to said incident was to become flustered and discombobulated. As I surveyed the scene and tried to keep from crying and/or cursing, one of my coworkers happened to be walking down the street. Fortunately, he was more composed than I was. He quickly assessed the situation and helped me tremendously by getting the other driver's information, saving it in his cell phone, taking pictures of the scene from all angles on his phone (Mobile Moment!), and then emailing all the information to me.
It probably only took about five minutes, but proved to be so helpful when I was making the claim to my insurance agency. Thanks to my colleague's help, I was able to reference the pictures to answer all of my agent's questions clearly, and was able to forward them to her so she could evaluate the situation herself for her report. While being in an accident is never fun, his cell phone assistance made the experience much less painful. While I hope that no one else has to experience the kind of Mobile Moment that I dealt with, it pays to keep your head and use your cell phone should it happen to you.
In the tech community, Robert Scoble is a titan. Accordingly, there was a great deal of buzz online about his trip to DC this week.
Scoble who many credit as successfully changing public perception about Microsoft (remember "Evil Empire") is currently Managing Director for Fast Company.tv. Mr. Scoble is also known as "Scobleizer" online and his blog (by the same name) is a favorite destination for many techies.
In any case, Scoble decided to follow the advice of Andrew Feinberg (tech blogger) who opined a few months ago that many policymakers in DC were disconnected from the tech community and that a more concerted effort to enlighten the folks who make the laws needed to occur. Accordingly, Scoble arrived this week where he had a few meetings on Capitol Hill and it culminated with a party last night which I attended (with about 200 other people).
I met Scoble nearly two years ago at a VON conference and I am glad that Scobleizer took the time to come to DC. His enthusiasm for "bright shiny objects" is second to none. Accordingly, it is extremely important for those who are passionate about tech (not politics) to discuss what is on the horizon and how future decisions in the regulatory arena can affect our future. This is a cause I have been committed to since starting mobile diner and joining mobile future's efforts in February.
Consumers depend on their wireless devices and the rules being made will impact everyone. This isn't the 80's when you had to work on Wall Street to own one (channel Michael Douglas). Today everyone can participate and we hope you'll stay tuned to our efforts.
On Friday, I attended Blog Potomac
over at the State Theater in Falls Church. Blog Potomac is a gathering
of local bloggers and social media experts discussing the latest trends
and best practices.
With that in mind, I had the opportunity to do a brief mobile broadcast with Maggie Fox (CEO, Social Media Group). Maggie is a social media guru and has developed some high-profile marketing campaigns for Ford and other companies.
In
the following interview, I asked Maggie about the mobile opportunity
and whether companies were utilizing this channel. She gives her take
and videoblogger extraodinaire Jonny Goldstein decided to capture the action via Utterz (a member of Mobile Future).
The Meridian International Center in Washington DC, with Mobile Future Coalition as a co-convener, hosted last week a productive roundtable focusing on how technology can catalyze international engagement and cultural understanding. It was a fascinating and highly practical brainstorming session on where and how new platforms like mobile and wireless technologies, social networks, virtual worlds, and other technology applications and services are inspiring important forms of civic and social engagement, and facilitating the development of civil society and diplomacy.
Ambassador Stuart Holliday, the President of The Meridian Center, convened a diverse group of practitioners from the worlds of business, technology, new media, government, and academia to begin this important discussion. At issue was "what technologies can and can not do to accelerate international engagement on social, political, and economic issues, and what are the "best-of-class" examples of technologies and technologists that are deploying useful products and services to these ends.
"In a short amount of time, there will be more cell phones than human beings" said Ambassador David Gross, the coordinator of International Communications Policy at the US State Department, in his scene-setting introductory remarks to the group. The policy and social implications of this massive transformation towards mobility need to be thought through with care.
On behalf of Mobile Future Coalition, I presented an assessment of how mobile technologies, services and applications are shaping entirely new paradigms of human interaction and offering powerful new solutions to such important human needs as data aggregation for public health, early-warning indicators for human and natural disasters, and cross-border diplomatic interaction.
Mobile Future member Greg Fawcett, CEO of the political social network Politics 360, offered an illuminating survey of the inroads social networking has made in connecting communities of interest across geographic and demographic lines.
Some among the innovative technologies that have been deployed to facilitate cross-border engagement include "Peacemaker", http://www.peacemakergame.com/ the serious game published by Impact Games, whose founders Eric Brown and Asi Burak demonstrated at the roundtable the power and ubiquity of gaming - including mobile applications for gaming - in the service of international understanding. Peacemaker is one of the world's fastest growing gaming platforms focusing on diplomacy simulations.
The founders of Dancing Ink Productions, http://www.dancinginkproductions.com/ Rita King and Joshua Fouts, offered a glimpse into the work they were doing to facilitate greater understanding of Islam through the vehicle of virtual worlds.
What is striking about these examples, and many of the other creative projects and innovations that were introduced at the forum, is the increasing centrality of technology - as well as mobile technology - to the pursuit of human understanding and well-being.
Mobile Future was proud to participate in The Meridian International Center's path breaking roundtable, and is looking forward to continuing to participate in this increasingly important dialogue.
The world of wireless is changing. Ten years ago, it was inconceivable that you could check email, surf the Internet, listen to music and play games using only your phone. Today, you need only look at the iPhone, Blackberry Curve or Palm Treo to realize that you can do all of the activities listed above and so much more. The advances in cellphone utility is just starting to realize its potential, and experts forecast that in the next decade the wireless industry will continue to boom.
Forecasters predict that:
By the year 2018, wireless broadband technology is expected to generate approximately $860 billion in additional gross domestic product.
In the next eight years, the projected total value of wireless broadband and mobile voice services is expected to exceed $427 billion.
By 2016, the US is projected to have 81.9 million enterprise users, with 83% using wireless broadband.
These figures are all from the recently-released Ovum Report. The Ovum Report is a study funded by the CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association), which focused on the impact that the use and deployment of wireless broadband technology currently has, and is projected to have on the U.S. economy. The 2008 study was a follow-up to the 2005 Ovum Report, which studied the macroeconomic impact of the U.S. industry.
These findings affirm that while wireless technology is important to most Americans, it's continued growth is also vital to the U.S. economy. Economic gains were most evident in the healthcare and small business sectors. According to the report, "in 2005, productivity improvements due to use of mobile broadband solutions across the U.S. health care industry were valued at $6.9 billion." That number is expected to triple by 2016. While healthcare has witnessed big gains, the increase in productivity due to mobile wireless services carries across the board and was valued at $185 billion in 2005. And despite current economic difficulties, wireless technology has enabled businesses to increase efficiency and productivity benefitting the economy.
With figures quoted in the billions, I sometimes find it hard to wrap my head around the reality of the situation. However, when I look at my cellphone, I realize how far the industry has come. What was once a brick-sized calling device is now a computer weighing only ounces. Yet, this realization is dwarfed by the enormous potential that the wireless industry has in store for the future. What is technologically inconceivable today may be the reality of tomorrow.
Building on Jonathan Spalter's blog from a few weeks ago, I would also like to discuss the application of cell phones to the dilemmas faced in rural medicine. When my family moved from Washington, D.C. to Montana, I realized that there was a lot more than just real estate to consider when moving from a busy metropolis to quieter community. When you live in large city, your healthcare options are numerous from different hospitals to alternative medicine and cutting edge technology. In many rural areas, it's not that easy.
However, advancements in cellular and medical technology and the expansion of network coverage have resulted in healthcare breakthroughs in rural areas that are applicable in the U.S. and abroad. Recent achievements include:
Cell phones attached to EKG (electrocardiogram) devices that can continuously collect and monitor data on heart rhythms. If a patient's heart rhythm becomes dangerous, the cell phone calls the emergency room. Doctors are alerted by the phone call and can then begin to diagnose and prepare to treat the patient upon arrival at the hospital. This is critical for long ambulance rides to the hospital in which every minute counts and can literally be the difference between life, disability or death.
The scanner mentioned in Jonathan Spalter's blog can spot simulated breast tumors and is field testing spotting internal bleeding, a frequent cause of post-childbirth deaths in developing countries.
A speech therapy program, nicknamed Baldi, is a computer program that features an animated language tutor and has helped autistic and hearing-impaired children learn to talk. This program is currently being adapted for the cell phone screen and is hoping to aid Malaysian stroke victims. Forty-thousand Malaysians suffer strokes each year and a third of survivors have speech impairments. Cell phones reach about twice as much of Malaysia as Internet access so if the Baldi program is successful at virtual therapy via cell phone, the government of Malaysia has agreed to "help provide cell phones," according to the leader of the research team, Sri Kurniawan.
To learn more about these research efforts, you can read about them in this article from the San Jose Mercury news.
Additional medical applications of cellular technology are utilizing the text message feature on cell phones. With over 250 million wireless subscribers in the United States, many of whom take one or more prescription drugs, some companies have created applications that allow you to look up your prescription drug information and sends text reminders for when you are supposed to take your pills. These applications are particularly useful for avoiding negative drug interactions. For those of us who are extremely busy and/or forgetful, it's great for keeping track of dosages and following the prescribed schedule set by your doctor.
With all the advancements in medical and cellular technology, there are sure to be many more healthcare breakthroughs in the future, and this can only mean good things for rural healthcare in the U.S. and abroad.
Howard Rheingold covered the text messaging phenomenon that was occurring abroad in "Smart Mobs" six years ago. It is a fantastic book that takes a close look at many technologies. As I reflect on it, Mr. Rheingold really hit the mark on wireless. Smart Mobs laid the foundation for what is happening now and the explosion of social-mobile technologies.
On that note, in a recent report by eMarketer, they forecast that "mobile social networking will grow from 82 million users in 2007 to over 800 million subs worldwide by 2012." As they noted, this creates significant challenges and opportunities for carriers.
Opportunity
As we know, carriers are counting on data to drive ARPU's higher as voice revenue continues to decline. Data growth will be fueled by users constantly interacting in their social networks. This will have other downstream benefits beyond just accessing the social network.
For instance, let's say I want to let my "followers" on Twitter know I am shooting mobile video. I can enable my qik channel to send a "tweet" to my social network once I began shooting video. Accordingly, any follower on twitter can click a link and watch my live mobile broadcast while I'm streaming over the cellular network (or Wi-Fi hotspot).
Challenge
I see a technical challenge for carriers on the horizon. In order for these applications to thrive, carriers must have the adequate capacity to deliver these bandwidth intensive applications. Accordingly, the FCC and policymakers must make sure that spectrum is available and the regulatory environment is favorable for deploying next generation networks.
Facebook, MySpace and Qik did not exist when Mr. Rheingold wrote his book. However, he was one of the few who studied how "generation txt" was participating and foresaw what the next wireless revolution would look like.
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