This is my blog.

Dear Team,

Whenever I encounter something strange while travelling, I inevitably hear the calming voice of my best friend saying, “not weird, just different.” She know what she is talking about, having lived all over the globe and takes in differences in culture with a grace and style that I can only dream of.

That being said, no matter how different things are, there are a certain number of things you can count on when abroad. For example, I’ve never been lost in an airport, I love the familiar fizz of Coca-Cola on my tongue and of course, the smile and laugh when someone realizes you are trying ever-so-hard to communicate, but cannot speak the language.

It makes me wonder, why are some of us obsessed with travel? This mix of seeking different while seeking same? Why is it when more than a month or two goes by, my feet itch and I long to once again wheel out my little carry-on and the awkward, hard shampoo I only use if a trip through security is required? Is it dissatisfaction or unhappiness? I hope its something with less discord. A sense of wonder and curiosity? Last year’s existential crisis aside (let’s not bring that up), I like to think that I’m quite happy…

My mother once said, “you’ve been here before, but you must look out the window, I promise you these mountains never look the same way twice.” It sounded rubbish at the time, but I believed it and still do. There is nothing more beautiful than climbing up to see the sunlight hit the icy blue water of a mountain lake. Or turning one more corner in a museum to unearth a hidden painting that one can briefly pretend is secret treasure.

My parents carted our family all over as a child, never wasting a Saturday, always driving to Cathedrals, castles and museums. “I’ve seen enough.” my brother says, now happy to be at home. He says his travelling days are done and prefers the company of his friends in the comfort of his own home to dingy hotels and back-aching plane rides.

I envy him, but remain a wanderer at heart. There’s nothing I love more than being in yet another city, drinking a coffee and watching the world go by.

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Dear Team,

I'm skipping my wrap up on Amsterdam, mostly because there wasn't much to report on WiMax post-Singapore. Conference went well, the sessions I attended ended up being really interesting, and the city of Amsterdam is perfection in the Spring. Ria, Ryan and I walked. A lot. Straight from there out to nextMEDIA - a conference with great content, people and location. Although I missed having Jasmine there with me this year, I still did some learning.

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Is cusp even the right word? 

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Dear team,

Ok, I tweeted enough about my love for Singapore, I'll give it a rest. What I didn't have much of a chance to talk about though, was the amazing people I chatted with during both the Mobile Marketing Forum and WiMax: Asia Congress. I came back feeling like I had the chance to connect with some true innovators. Definitely a great experience for someone like me who might sometimes feel a little jaded :) 

I'm lucky that my "several jobs" expose me to so much of the internet/mobile web. I see nothing but opportunity ahead!

That opportunity got me thinking with my crowdsourcing hat on - in the mobile space (what? I can't help it!). I definitely want to think on/discuss topics like the four below with other people. 

1.      Mobile commerce – micro-payments from your phone. Not just crowdfunding Kiva.org style, but “hey, I’ll give you $5 to do task A” etc. or using 2D barcodes as a means to interact with your customers – A 2D barcode on a poster at a movie theater – snap a picture with your phone, sms your feedback, get a coupon, etc. Very cool companies like ColourZip SEA working on stuff like this

2.      Going into green fields - Africa etc. How do we crowdsource best practises? Do we need to? 

3.      Using crowdsourcing to Innovate on emerging technology hurdles you don't think about. People talk about how India is this huge untapped market for mobile – but when Mobile Marketing through SMS and mobile web is just gaining traction, it won’t go anywhere in a market where most can’t read – how do you reach the illiterate?

4.      Crowdsourcing practical applications for new technology. Location based real-time information from your phone to ease everyday life - surveillance, health (monitoring patients, etc) Amber alerts with FemtoCells (lets you know when a phone/rfid chip is in the area), etc.

Huggles,

Blue

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Dear Team,

The good times are over and I'm back home. WIsh I could have hit up W2E and CTIA, very curious to read up on what went down in San Francisco, but for now, the last of my thoughts on CTIA.

People were in agreement that attendance was way down at CTIA Vegas this year, but this gave people the opportunity to spend upwards of twenty minutes with companies that they would have previously only been able to exchange cards with. The word is that deals were getting done all over the place. Less people, more value. I like it. The other loudly discussed feeling was that for companies, the Green Initiative isn't reason enough to do something. Companies are looking to save money on efficiencies and from this, there are side-benefits that are green/environmentally friendly, but no one is very concerned at the moment with Mother Earth :)

Got some great interviews and I'll try and post some of the more interesting ones on here as they become available. I very much enjoyed speaking with Harald Braun from Harris Stratex, ignore the hair RIGHT IN MY FACE and instead listen to what he thinks the four growth pillars of mobile are.

Personal thoughts about Vegas: Everything happens indoors. It is such an interesting mix of everything that isn't me! Also: it is just as dry in Vegas as it is in my home town of Calgary. I didn't know that was possible. 

Huggles,

Blue

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Dear team,
CTIA is eff-bomb huge. This is fantastic, and I love checking it all
out, but you know I've walked all over the Las Vegas convention centre
- several times!
 
When at a mobile conference, as opposed to a web-two-oh one, it is ONE
HUNDRED PERCENT acceptable to walk around with the ol' jawbone on. In
fact, from where I am now, it seems to be encouraged.
 
BnetTV got some great interviews today, I was lucky enough to chat
with a number of founders that are really innovating and changing the
way we use wireless. Most of the focus today was really about
practical applications with wireless - the convergence of wireless and
health, security and of course, advertising.
 
It was a long day and it appears to be only just starting. I'm lucky
enough to be the official 'bag watcher' at Pepcom, meaning I'm getting
a quiet moment. From here, its on to check out fierce wireless and the
skype party, which promises to be awesome.
 
Looking forward to another packed day tomorrow!
Huggles,
Blue x

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Dear Team,
First, the bnetTV crew is rollin' in a serious serious van. I'm
talking captian's chairs and thicker carpet than I've ever seen.
 
We arrived at the Las Vegas convention centre bright and early and
have been busy all day.
 
First up, a great Q+A with Greg Clayman, from MTV. He talked mostly
about mobile is changing the way they deliver content - instead of
being static, it is more interactive, like Comedy Central captioning,
where people caption photos then others voting on the captions. He
also mentioned how confusing the landscape of mobile is, there is no
winner yet so now is the time to experiment.
 
Then a panel with serveral big players in the mobile advertising
space. Transpera, youTube, admob, Pandora and GMR marketing. Great
conversation mostly around how effective mobile advertising works and
how little people are taking advantage of it. Some of the highlights
were Frank Barbieri talking about Trent reznor's campaign, solving
global puzzles, etc - really making the fans feel connected to the
brand. Frank and Cheryl, from Pandora really drove home the message
that now is the time, there is such a huge opportunity while mobile
advertising is so uncluttered. It was a really interesting panel.
 
We interviewed a few people, including a guy from Fun Little Movies.
He was fun, but fairly tall - not so little.
 
 Cheryl Lucanegro from Pandora (self-proclaimed 'oldest' person at the
company) was an absolute delight! She really knows her product - she
gave us an awesome demo on her iPhone. Main two points - you can
target advertising on mobile phones way more than the internet and you
have a captive audience there - click-throughs are way higher.
 
We had a quick interview with Rob Thomas, who has really embraced
twiiter, etc as a way of connecting with his fans. Check his new
single, "Cradle Song," yo.
 
Next up, I got to go in an electric drag racing car from SSI racing.
The guys that built it were great to hang with and it was crazy fun to
be in amazing car like that, I want one!
 
Showstoppers was in the evening and we interviewed a bunch of
intereesting companies. I loved chatting with Vitality - inventor of
things like an umbrella with a handle that glows. They have a new pill
cap that interacts wirelessly with your computer to remind you to take
your pills, and set up refills. Slacker and RocketVox were also super
interesting.
 
Day Two looks to be exciting, I'll write down all the highlights!
Huggles,
Blue x

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I'd say everything I do is about building a community, whether it is around a product, on a website, or in my city. I really see the value in meeting others and figuring out how I can help them. Getting that going and seeing how it affects people's lives is definitely one of the best feelings I know of. 

The community environment is where one starts to see extreme periods of growth. Sharing a wealth of knowledge leads to rapid innovation, sharing the workload leads to individuals being able to take on more - history tells us this is a good thing, we are all not our own islands.

Unfortunately, it would appear that everyone wants something for nothing...and I can't bankroll that attitude :(

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Dear Team,

If all of the world is a stage, community managers are not the stars of the show. They're the ones behind stage, making sure everything is running smoothly. WIth everyone and their twittering plant being a social media expert these days, I'm coming up with my own parameters to decide who I think is amazing. Some new universal truths I've noticed (you know, like how all girls like candles and Dirty Dancing):

Great community managers don't ask you to buy their book

Great community managers get media attention for interesting community members, not for themselves

Great community managers ask how they can help - and actually mean it

Great community managers know metrics, but couldn't tell you how many people follow them on twitter

Great community managers make you feel as though you've got a friend

I'm going to keep these in mind and hopefully, they'll help me better at what I love to do :)

Huggles,

Blue

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Dear Team,

I've officially launched The Boys Club today (prior to now, you couldn't actually, BUY tickets on the site, so I don't think it counts).

I'm a slight bundle of nerves. What if I've made a horrible spelling mistake that turns a random word into a racial slur? What if I've messed up my paypal account and all ticket sales go to charity? These are things one can never recover from. Although, they would make good fodder for my as-yet-unwritten book. Somewhere inbetween the chapters, "How come you can't settle down and make your mother happy" and "Yes, 30 is too old to learn how to skateboard, you'll probably break a hip"

Ugh...being a grown up is so grown up. I will now go and make dinner by buying it from the store. Solely to prove that I'm not THAT grown up yet.

Huggles,

Blue

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