Pandora’s Neocracy #3, The future of mobile communication

Communicating, interacting and participating by means of mobile apparatus is booming; social networking, banking, navigating, watching (delayed) television. The mobile communication trend seamlessly fits in the development in which more than one media is available and used (crossmedia) to provide in the (information) needs of civilians and consumers. It also has an impact on the social and commercial development.

Tagged with: neocracy, mobile, communication,

A personal history of gadgets

In 1966, when I was about 6 years old, I was a gadget myself. We had a black and white television and it had just three channels. Netherlands 1 and 2 and we could receive Belgium 1. Every time my father or an older member of the family wanted to change the channel, they asked me to change it for them. And I, thinking that they let me do that because I was so good at it, proudly walked up the television and changed the channel for them. My parents, brothers and sisters (all 10 of them) had a remote control ‘avant la lettre’.

Tagged with: gadgets, iphone, mobile,

Pandora's Neocracy #1

Let’s not argue over the fact whether Pandora had a box or a jar. According to my source her original container was called pithos. Whatever may be the ultimate truth, as we may learn from Greek mythology, Pandora gave us ills, toils and sickness. And hope. Zeus ordered his friend Hephaestus to create a woman – Pandora – to punish mankind after Prometheus stole the secret of fire. As the story goes, Pandora had been given a large jar [pithos] and instruction by Zeus to keep it closed, but she had also been given the gift of curiosity, and ultimately opened it. When she opened it, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar, but it is said, that at the very bottom of her box, there lay hope, good old hope. Apparently, once Pandora understood what had been in her pithos, she quickly closed it.

Tagged with: social, pandora, crossmedia, mobile,

A mobile hoax and a minor

I came upon a nice picture of a layar (that’s not a mistake. It is the commercial name of virtual layers on mobile phone applications) on a mobile phone. We see Keizersgracht in Amsterdam on a nice autumn day through a VodaFone branded cell phone. We can look through the phone and the apparent Funda site, the Dutch real estate site. Intriguing. In the same image, we read information regarding a house at Prins Hendrikkade, costing about 349,000 Euro. As an example of what’s coming up, I’d say it is a great picture. From a reality point of view, I tend to say that this mash-up is a hoax. The picture we see is indeed Keizersgracht. The bridge you may spot at the end of the canal is Leidsegracht. It is where I walk the dog twice a day. The shot is taken at the bridge of Leidsestraat. Prins Hendrikkade is by no means even close to this point. I know because I live just behind the left-side houses. And, a propos, there’s no way one might acquire a flat for that price in the Prins Hendrikkade area (which happens to be near Amsterdam Central Station and Nemo. But, who cares. VodaFone has made its point.

Tagged with: hoax, education, crossmedia, mobile,

Reverse Engineering Business Models on Mobile Television

Two months ago I started my graduate research for CrossmediaLab on business models. My main focus will be the STOF-method as it was developed in the Freeband program. In March 2008 a book was published concerning the STOF method: “Mobile Service Innovation and Business Models”, which is more or less my reference source for the coming months.

Tagged with: business models, mobile, television, research,