Mobile Diner® where wireless and washington meet….

What a difference a year makes…

I wrote Mobile Diner’s first post a year ago today, and I had no idea where it would take us. I just knew that listening and having a dialogue with wireless consumers was the right thing to do.

Along the way I have met and learned a great deal from many entrepreneurs, tech mavens, and videobloggers. All of you showed me how important it is to build community and have inspired me to spend more time on these endeavors.

On that note, in January, I’m launching a public affairs / new media focused communications firm that will offer services to companies, associations and non-profits. Utilizing social media tools to engage consumers or affect change in Washington will become increasingly important to businesses. Those who participate will win in the market and will win on Capitol Hill.

New times call for a new class of communications professionals. Accordingly, I hope to make a difference for a few select clients.

Stay tuned for more on the new company…

Related ingredient – I will still be collaborating with Capitol Solutions on the Wireless Broadband Coalition..

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now is gone is Geoff Livingston’s recent book for executives on navigating new media and this evolving world of communications. It is well done and I recommend it to folks that understand the basics and who are looking to learn more about social media tools.

Brian Solis provides an introduction to now is gone that really sets the tone and hits the mark. Mr. Solis explains how traditional PR efforts are no longer effective and that “the evolution of social media is also forcing the most dramatic transformation in PR and corporate communications to date.” Mr. Solis urges participation and “how effectively you participate will determine the success or failure of your company in the long term.” I couldn’t agree more.

The book continues at a nice pace with examples of companies utilizing social media and the success of having two-way conversations with consumers. There were some instances in the book where I was wanting more from now is gone. However, this topic is a big one to tackle and Geoff focused appropriately on those who might be interested in social media but have not committed to it. That is a growing constituency and this book could be a catalyst for engagement by some companies.

Mass marketing and press releases are not going away. However, in a world where consumers are being marketed to at all times, the companies that have permission and have built communities will be leaders of the pack.

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Thanks to Senator Tom Coburn (Oklahoma) – who has a hold on the WMATA bill that will let carriers into the Metro.

Photo – taken from my blackberry curve at Union Station

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This afternoon I attended a forum held by the New Politics Institute on leveraging social networks and it was a great event.  As we know, social media is changing the way we communicate and this event honed in on its utility in the political and non-profit arenas. 

Simon Rosenberg (President & Founder, NDN) kicked off the event and expressed the importance of new media in communications.  I’ve known Simon for a long time and he is often on top of political shifts and technology transitions.  He spoke about the rapid advances of technology and how far campaigns have evolved from Howard Dean’s successful efforts online in 2004.  Simon believes campaigns need to utilize new tools and social networking is one of the “most undeveloped tools out there.”

Chris Kelly (Chief Privacy Officer, Facebook) stated ”politics has always been about social networks” and that leveraging connections on sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube are unique ways to build communities.  He went on to mention 5 areas where social technology can play a role in politics.  Those areas are – branding, voter registration, fundraising, volunteering, and voter turnout.  For a full meal - checkout his paper on it.

Chris Kelly was asked by fellow lunch 2.0 DC member Peter Corbett about “what keeps him up at night.”  I followed up with Chris after the forum and asked him about dealing with Capitol Hill’s internet fears.  Specifically, the fact that many lawmakers are afraid of social networks and view it as a place for online predators.  Chris responded that by engaging facebook users who are active in politics that he is hopeful they will be Facebook’s advocates to push back on unnecessary regulations. 

Related ingredient – Friends of mobile diner are welcome to join me on Facebook.

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Gizmodo reports that T-mobile has joined Verizon Wireless and at&t by announcing to pro-rate Early Termination Fees (“ETF”).

Way to go T-mobile!

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   I just returned to the District of Communications after another insightful VON conference.  As always, great to see many friends attending the Video on the Net portion too. 

Instead of a full meal – here’s some hors d’oeuvres to chew on:

Mobile Envy – VON has always had panels on wireless (3G, WiFi & WiMax) but there seemed to be more attention than usual to folks / issues in wireless.  For instance, Tuesday morning’s keynotes were by Nokia and Sprint.  Amol Sarva also headlined a discussion about the upcoming 700 MHz auction and how his new coalition was backing Frontline wireless.

States have appetite for VON Coalition too - I had the opportunity to listen to what is occuring on the regulatory landscape for the VON Coalition.  It was very troubling (there are some growing international issues too).  It seems that a bunch of states are interested in regulating VoIP providers in various ways (sound familiar?).

Foneshow – It was great meeting with Erik Schwartz (CEO/Founder) of Foneshow.  They are doing some great stuff in wireless.  Basically, you can download (like a RSS feed) topics of interest (sports, news etc) to your mobile phone.  There are other ways this product can be utilized (campaigns, public safety alerts, advocacy) too.  Check them out…

Video on the Net – There are some exciting things going on in this space.  Specifically, I enjoyed hearing Ustream’s founder talk about the “live” opportunity on the web.  Live videoblogging / tv shows (Jonny’s Par-tay) / or even an episodic initiative like “35″ have potential.  On that note, I’m hoping to do some live videoblogging here at mobilediner.com in the future.

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