Mobile Diner® where wireless and washington meet….

On Friday, I had the pleasure of having coffee in Adams Morgan with Jill Foster. Jill really need no introduction in the world of social media. She is the co-founder of DC Media Makers and her efforts in new media have been highlighted in the Washington Post… However, for folks in the telecomm policy space, Jill actively utilizes wireless to augment her contributions as a “roving” reporter and to make media.

In this interview, we discuss the mobile-social convergence and her upcoming trip to Denver to cover the DNC convention. Jill has access to many events in Denver and she will be utilizing Utterz to capture the action.

Make sure to check out her reports from Denver here…

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Everyone seems to be trying to benefit from social communities these days, including corporations. Even that little show about a company based in Scranton, The Office, made a spoof of this – seen when Ryan, the greasy exec from corporate, extols the merits of his newly launched Infinity website where customers will buy paper products – and will stay to chat!

According to a Deloitte survey, most company sponsored social communities don’t upkeep their site, then bomb as a result. Most people don’t want to spend more time engaging in work than they have to. There has to be a value, beyond banal conversation, to drive participation.

For instance, female employees and customers may find it difficult to work away from their kids. You could allow these employees to shape a space in the social network to suit their need. Maybe they can find other parents in their neighborhood to start carpools with. Or maybe the feedback from these forums cues an organization in on the need for enhanced childcare. This is a great way to soften your brand – putting a personal feel on an organization, and maybe enhancing customer loyalty at the same time.

There is a misperception that if you build social communities people will automatically engage, and I think that’s where corporate social networks go wrong. That’s what she said.

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Senator Stevens, we love you in the diner.

For someone who has always seemed overly concerned about online social networks, I find it interesting that you are looking for “friends” online… MySpace??

Once again, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think parents would be too excited to find their children (especially millenials) friending, sharing photos, videos, or participating in your online communities.

With your election on the horizon, I’m sure someone in your campaign thought this was a brilliant idea. You’ve seen others in the political space embrace social communications and reap the enormous benefits. However, for you sir, your efforts in this space lack passion and just ring hollow.

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I just got back from China (specifically Beijing and Hong Kong), and I’m fascinated by what’s going on worldwide in communications. It was a great trip and I wanted to share a few perspectives from my travels…

China

With the upcoming Beijing Olympics, China’s government seems to be making some crucial strides towards opening up, particularly in the arena of new media. My buddy, a writer for Sohu.com (China’s answer to Google) agreed that bloggers are blowing up China, allowing a previously unheard avenue of free speech.

An example of this in action is President Hu Jintao, who interacted with “netizens” for the first time on the internet forum Renminwang. According to many people I met in China, prior to the Sichuan earthquake, the government officials seemed completely out of touch with the public.

New media has the ability to bridge this gap and give the people of China a voice. A provincial Chinese official, the Secretary of Party Discipline, made waves when he stepped out of line and began to blog in response to government complaints by local citizens, opening up discourse towards the free flowing of information.

Granted, the Chinese government has a long way to go. Click here to watch an interesting podcast by Thomas Crampton of Danwei on the use of Twitter, and other forms new media, as vehicles for censorship. Continue Reading »

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I’d like to briefly introduce myself as the newest member to the diner, and I look forward to  engaging with this great community. Ashley got this ball rolling, and I look forward to continuing her work in the kitchen.

A little about me, I’m currently a graduate student at Georgetown with a keen interest in social communications, and I can’t wait to test my cooking skills in the diner.  Although I hope to bring some new southern flair to the kitchen (yes I’m from Virginia, and yes that’s southern), and to serve up lots of interesting (comfortably filling) dishes.

As a member of the millennial community (unlike Chris) I was born with a gadget in hand, and (as Ashley did) I look forward to augmenting the conversation on social technologies and wireless. I look forward to learning from you all on the ins and outs of the marketplace.

That’s all for now!

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A few months ago, I had the pleasure of catching up with Tamara Gruber of Crisp Wireless. I have always enjoyed using mobile websites powered by Crisp Wireless. Accordingly, I was psyched that she wanted to take a moment to give the mobile dining community some 411 about the company.

Crisp builds and powers mobile websites for some of the biggest names in media and entertainment. They also help monetize those websites too. Some of the biggest news destinations are also powered by Crisp Wireless. For instance, LA Times, USA TODAY, and the Washington Post come to life on your mobile (via Crisp) and these folks are leveraging the mobile opportunity by providing content between publishing cycles.

On a related note, Crisp also allows consumers (depending on your device) to access audio and video clips. I have actually seen this in action via an NPR clip (which was click to call). It is very smooth…

Crisp is answering a much needed call for both consumers (providing a nice experience) and publishers (making sure the product is rich). Those goals have been tough to achieve and Crisp is delivering for both camps. In a larger sense, they may also help provide a jolt in getting folks to use mobile broadband. With a less clunky and more crisp experience, folks may be more inclined to check weather, news and sports from their favorite web destinations. Continue Reading »

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We have discussed how the winners in the wireless revolution will be the ones that collaborate. In this new world of communications, it is a must. Rapid advances in technology and a hyper-competitive environment no longer allow companies to have monopolies on innovation.

In the consulting world, same story. An organization can no longer hold all the intellectual property under one roof.

At Tin Can Communications ™, we are co-creating with one of the best interactive companies in the market – Blue State Digital. On that note, we were delighted to see them highlighted in a recent article – Obama’s Secret Digital Weapon – in Business Week. BSD are leaders in digital communications and we add some firepower for one of their clients in the telecommunications space.

Prahalad and Krishnan (Professors at the University of Michigan’s B-school) are credited for coming up with the term co-creation in academia. For many folks, this might be a novel concept and you should pick up their latest book. However, for others, keep co-creating and increasing your contributions to consumers.

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