Blog - A Mobile, Geo Social Networking Experience at Nokia OpenLab
Written by Glenn Letham
Tuesday, 07 October 2008
I'm back from a whirl-wind journey to Finland where myself, along with
about 3 dozen other bloggers, new media technologists, early adopters
of mobile technology and social media technology gurus, had a chance to
discuss the what, where, when and why of the future of mobile,
particularly with respect to our social networks - This was Nokia OpenLab 08.
I have to admit, like many others in attendance, I'm still trying to process fully what transpired! Made up of several "workshops", one on Geo which I moderated, we shared our tales and thoughts on the likely direction that social networking will take, and in particular, the role that the mobile web will play as things evolve. Myself and some of the others seem to indicate that we felt rather like lab rats participating in a clever social experiment where our social interactions and use of technology [mobile] was monitored and scrutinized.
There were no correct answers, there were no stupid comments, there were no misfits or outcasts, there was simply a group of cool, clever people sharing their stories and offering up insights from their own special corner of the social web. I was there providing insight into my thoughts on the geo-social web and other location-aware solutions that enables users take advantage of to expand their networks and share their experiences. If I left with anything, it was the reinforcement that geo-social networking is hot and it's going to be HUGE! Opportunities are a plenty and users are soaring... the sky is the limit in this space.
If anything, the event not only enabled us to brainstorm, but we also had a chance to take part in a very interesting social networking test where a group of 35 people were introduced to each other, provided with a mobile device (Nokia E71 in this case) and told to go to it... setting us free in Helsinki to collaborate, socialize and communicate via whatever means we could. At the end of the day, the group Wiki, Twitter, Jaiku, Flickr, Qik, and Ovi proved invaluable in bringing us closer together and enabled us to have a much different experience had these mobile technologies not existed.
I also couldn't help but ponder how crucial the latest social networking tools and mobile devices were to us all to help us enjoy the event and communicate with each other... indeed if we could build on the geo-social web experience we could have benefited even more - there's opportunity a plenty in that space in my mind and this has been validated just this week via research finding that reveal that the really exciting (and profitable) future of mobile lies in social networking, presence and location aware technology, user generated content, and gaming... oh, and the main revenue stream to look at, what else, mobile advertising. To get a glimpse of some of the ways that mobile technologies are eveolving and being used in clever ways, check out this cool promotion billed as Nokia Legends...
Thanks again to Nokia and their PR teams for the opportunity to take part. (Glenn Letham @glenn95 /Jaiku; @gletham / Twitter)
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Social Location Directory
Do you have a location-aware application, social location service or other location-sensitive service that you'd like to share with us? Please browse this growing directory of Social location Services and feel free to leave a link to your favorite service! See the Directory HERE
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
