Quick update on mishing...

Phew! - mishing doesn't appear to be a rude word, but it is a group of people. It is also used as a mushy way of say missing - as in "I'm mishing you". I love it - that seems like a good name then for mobile swishing via NFC!

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Tags: mishing, mobile, nfc

Swapping and swishing...

Swapping stuff is ages old. We swap things all the time. There used to be a great kids breakfast show on Saturdays in the UK called Swapshop (The host was Noel Edmonds, who now writes books about self-improvement: definitely not on my swap list, but My Blobby videos are a must have for kids (Blobby himself last seen in myspaces). The nostlagic could always use the theme tune as a ringtone.)

Swapping mobile content needs to be made easier. The obvious one is contacts, but I suspect that many youths will want to swap photos - "here's my gig last night!" or "me with Mr Cool" - and let's hope not trophies from happy slapping. We need NFC! No. Not Nirvana Fan Club, but Near-field Communication: chips in our mobiles that can speak to each other when placed within mutual proximity (about 4 cm). A quick swish and we could swap stuff in a jiffy. No doubt, swishing will become mishing or mashing or moshing, or some other slang word - let's hope I coin them all and claim the credit. (I still say I invented the term mobilist, not that it's important - it didn't make me any money!)

Mishing (I hope that's not a rude word) would be a great way to do the social network tagging I mentioned in a recent post. A quick mish and I have your Linkedin or myspaces links safely tucked away in my mobile, automatically sychronised of course to a list of faves in Firefox (or Flock probably).

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Tags: social networking, mobilist, nfc, nearfield, mobile, swapping, flock

Sony Mylo is where we're headed...

Sony's Mylo is a really interesting device. I believe that these larger format keyboard-based devices are the future (the present!). It's a no-brainer really, especially if you're already a DS or PSP user. I remember working on early wireless PDA solutions and there was always this debate about size - does anyone really want to carry a large device? The issue is framing again. Adults thinking about mobile phones, size is important - slim, smaller, sleeker. PDAs seem like bricks. But for kids who carry a DS - which they do - then the comparison isn't with mobiles anymore, nor about size - it's all about what can this thing do and how "cool" it does it. Mylo brings all those increasingly can't-do-without Internet services into the "carry with me" space, NOT the mobile phone space.

I like the Mylo's What's Up screen - shows who's online. The interface looks great. I've been waiting for someone to take the UI out of its mundane "must be like a phone" design. The UI on the DS is simply fantastic, as one would expect from a company concerned solely with graphics. It simply makes the thing a joy to use - why can't a mobile be like that? I was expecting Apple to be there, but that remains a now boring speculation.

My two eldest kids use a DS and they also are starting to use mobiles - they borrow one of my many (they like the Razr). However, I was thinking that what I really ought to get them as their "first mobile" is something more like a Blackberry as it opens up messaging, including email. Problem is it isn't kid friendly - the only game is brick and even I can play that! However, it occurs to me that going straight to mobile for email is a possibility for a lot of kids in the future - simply never bother with a PC. Why not? Devices designed like a Mylo tend to suggest this isn't such a fantastical idea as I first thought.

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Tags: Sony Mylo, DS, PSP, messaging, mobile, email

Ajit's new book...

Just got my copy of Ajit's new book - Mobile Web 2.0. Will post a review soon...
Thanks Ajit for the copy.

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Tags: mobile web 2.0, ajit jaoker

Fourth places?

Howard Schultz, of Starbucks fame, didn't come up with the phrase "Third Place" - he just gave us a lot of them to hang out in. Ray Oldenburg wrote about this topic and its importance in civic life. A short overview is on Wikipedia . Personally, I would be tempted to talk of cyberspace meeting points, like Second Life, as a fourth place because it has a very different time-space dynamic than a physical third place, especially when taking into account the possibility of perpetual access via mobile. I haven't seen Starbucks turn up yet in Second Life, but probably will soon. At least when travelling in cyberspace, location-based services will work with hyper-accuracy. I wonder if there should be a cross-over though - if I post a message about Starbucks lousy chai tea latte (it seems the most inconsistently made drink they offer) in the virtual store, will it make its way to the physical one?

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Tags: third places, second life, ray oldenburg, location based services, mobile, starbucks, cyberspace