I always find a gem or two within the Carnival of the Mobilists, even if there are those moments when I’m not able to keep up with the weekly postings. Over the past two weeks, the Carnival has had plenty to choose from in terms of relevant articles which create some avenues for thought and potential activity.
For example here’s a snippet from the 263rd Carnival, posted at MobyAffiliates:
First up Carnival Queen Peggy Anne Saltz who brings her regular video blog providing analysis on the evolving mobile voice market, looking at new developments such as Siri and similar innovations. There’s loads more in this vodcast, which is full of really rich and useful information and discussion so go check it out:
Second-up a guest post from Michelle Manafy drawing on her new book, Dancing with Digital Natives, looking at how to motivate the ‘Millenial’ generation in a world of changing economics, high youth unemployment and rapid change:
Second in the ring is Yomi Adegboye from the excellent Mobility Blog. Yomi has a quick post about his plans to go “mobile-only” and use mobile computing for all his IT needs. Armed with just an iPad and an assortment of handsets can Yomi stick to this mobile-only regimen? This blog is well worth checking out for a view of the burgeoning mobile market in Nigeria.
And then there’s this snippet of insights from No. 264, posted at MobiThinking:
First up, we have an avalanche of mobile stats and analysis from Tomi Ahonen’s Communities Dominate blog The State of the Union blog for Mobile Industry. This is a must-read piece for any marketer that wants a true picture of the mobile business. Did you know that the global installed base of smartphones is 19 percent and that Nokia’s Symbian still has the largest share (just ahead of Android) or that SMS has overtaken voice as the number one activity on mobile devices?
Well some brand marketers are clearly getting the message… After flirting with apps, it seems that brand marketers are re-embracing text as the most important channel. But SMS should focus on customer engagement, rather than just being one-way conversation, i.e. more than just a money-off voucher, points out Mobile Insider’s Steve Smith, and their role model should be Obama 2012. Read: From Obama to Brands: Leveraging Participatory Engagement.
A sobering piece by Matt Kapko at Eye on Mobile highlights the plight of those workers at Foxconn in China who make sought-after mobile devices for Apple, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and many more, in The real human cost of our mobile devices. Foxconn employees regularly work 12-hour shifts at a starting salary of US $1.78 an hour… so how many hours must they work to buy an iPad (assuming they don’t eat)?
As you can tell, there’s much to be said in and around mobile. The various perspectives of those folks who work in the industry, in-line with and apart from larger organizational directives, tends to give mobile that taste of something a bit more than just “fast food.”
If you are invovled within the mobile minsitry (#mobmin) space, and you’ve been writing about mobile from that perspective, I’d really like to encourage you to submit your writings, case studies, or proejct summaries for inclusion into the Carnival of the Mobilists. Information on how to do so, and what your response needs to be if selected, is noted on the website. If you are a causal reader of things online and just looking for something a bit different, the Carnival of the Mobilists is an excellent means to spread your reading wings a bit as well.
Personally speaking, there’s not much better in terms of “readers digest”-style reads than the Carnival – especially when joined with a hot tea or coffee beside.