GLOBAL – We’re not normally ones to blow our own trumpet but given that it isn’t entirely our trumpet to blow, we thought it’d be okay. See, last week a Nokia online ad campaign bagged top slot in the prestigious Webby awards. The Webbys are seen as the primary Internet awards and snapping one up is like strolling up to receive an Oscar (but with much less fanfare and rubbish goody bags).
SAN FRANCISCO, USA – The humble SMS text message was a throwaway by-product of mobile network service messaging – 160 characters to shuttle unimportant service and billing information into and out of the mobile phone. At one point, some realized that maybe, just maybe, business people could use it for important business messages. It was ridiculed, though – what could anyone say in 160 characters or less? Also, operators created a whole range of SMS-based services, mostly info or download services.
Yet, it wasn’t the business-types who took to SMS. And the only SMS service that really raked in the money was ring-tone downloads, which has been declining in recent years. The real use for SMS originated with the youth who viewed it as an easy hack for communicating easily and on the cheap. They had a lot to say in 160 characters or less, to the tune of almost 2 trillion messages globally last year. Communication has trumped consumption.
And SMS still has far to go. Its simplicity is its strength. Case in point: Twitter.
ESPOO, Finland - When it comes to search, the likes of Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! are friends, not foe, of Nokia. The services complement what Nokia offers, rather than competes against it. Not because Nokia doesn’t think finding stuff is important, but because what and how you find using your Nokia is totally different. Moconews.net recently caught up with Nokia’s head of search Jussi-Pekka Partanen who talked openly about this and other search related issues. It’s well worth a read, and we’ve picked out a few of the choice bits here.
AUSTRIA – How fast is your broadband at home? On a good day, we get about 3Mbps, which is good enough for most activities, though downloading big files does take a little time. Now how about if we had 10Mbps? That’d be quick, certainly fast enough to do pretty much anything we want online. Now how about if you had 10Mbps on your phone? That’s just what Nokia Siemens managed in a recent test with mobilkom Austria.
THE INTERNET – We’re not sure about the provenance of this video, but we do know one thing – it’s well worth a few minutes of your time to watch. It might resemble something a couple of students might have knocked together as part of their art class, but it is in fact brilliantly done. What’s more, the message is pretty important too.
ESPOO, Finland - Wow. It’s only been a week since Conversations went live but already we’ve had some fantastic feedback and input. Thanks to everyone who’s taken the time to comment on the conversations so far.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Over the next two days, over 100 journalists from all over the world will see how mobile devices and services are changing people’s lives across Africa.
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