3rd World Mobile: Sounds good now but…

The article references the annual $93 billion migrants send back to their homelands.  I wonder what the current facilitators of this process (Western Union, etc.) think about this evolving technology??? Will Western Union, et al, attempt to stake out a mobile niche for themselves or form some sort of partnership with a major player like Nokia?

With the increasingly widespread adoption of mobile devices, and the increasing ways people use them, is there a risk that mobile companies could become too powerful and exploit the third world much like other business mega-entities (oil companies, Dow chemical, Dutch East India Company) have over the past few centuries?

As the mobile industry expands and evolves, will local governments and/or international bodies be willing and able to provide effective oversight and regulate the industry to minimize harmful monopolies?

Mobile Best Practices: When to implement?

The Mobile Web Best Practices 1.0 Basic Guidelines, brought to you by the Best Practices Working Group as part of the Mobile Web Initiative, offers 60 pointers to creators, maintainers and operators of Web sites. The article states however, “Readers are not expected to have a background in mobile-specific technologies.” What is unclear to me is whether these guidelines are specifically designed to optimize existing internet web pages for mobile devices or how to best create web pages intended mostly for mobile users?

The article attempts to answer this query by explaining, “Some services have a primarily mobile appeal (location based services, for example). Some have a primarily mobile appeal but have a complementary desktop aspect (for instance for complex configuration tasks). Still others have a primarily desktop appeal but a complementary mobile aspect (possibly for alerting). Finally there will remain some Web applications that have a primarily desktop appeal (lengthy reference material, rich images, for example)…It is likely that application designers and service providers will wish to provide the best possible experience in the context in which their service has the most appeal. However, while services may be most appropriately experienced in one context or another, it is considered best practice to provide as reasonable experience as is possible given device limitations and not to exclude access from any particular class of device, except where this is necessary because of device limitations.”

Thus, it seems the authors suggest that web developers should try to hedge their bets about how people are viewing their site. But apart from standard best practices that cross all platforms (be consistent, minimize pop-ups, etc) which guidelines are most important for web pages that cater overwhelmingly to mobile users and can designers implement them without taking too much away from occasional desktop user?

Moreover, I am curious about determining at what point should a web page invest the resources to adapt some of these guidelines to cater to the mobile user?

Additionally, as I have only minimal experience and skill in building web pages, I’d be interested in seeing a guide to developing a basic site intended solely for mobile users.

Jamster: Stealing Candy From Babies

The first thing after the title,  “Jamster Slammed for Mobile Selling Practices” that caught my attention was the big chunk on the  right 1/3rd of my screen packed with ads offering 100% free ringtones.  Perhaps GoogleAds isn’t the all-powerful Matrix of consumer habit wisdom I thought it was?

Another issue this article raises concerns the legal status of minors who are on a “family plan” (ie, the parents pay the costs and are legally responsible but the phone is in some form in the child’s name).  Is there any technology, company policy, or legal protocol that prohibits minors from entering into a subscription and/or contract, as is the case in other forms of business? (This issue reminds me of when I was about 11 and Columbia House Music was angry with me for taking them up on their 12 CDs for a penny offer, but not purchasing all of the required $16.99 CDs in a timely fashion…What good is the signature of an 11 year old???)

As the author points out, “Mobile operators may get a per-message charge of a few cents but end up alienating confused subscribers”,  I’m surprised the major carriers would risk involvement in what seems to be a very petty scam.  How many parents will simply cut cut off or diminish cell privileges out of frustration and spite when the contract expires?

I’m also not impressed by the wireless carriers’ “decline to comment” stance on this issue.  To me it seems as though they want this story to go away rather than standing behind the product they choose to affiliate with by saying something like, “The vast majority of our customers absolutely love Jamster and this is all just a misunderstanding that we will address etc… etc…”

Putting aside all the major issues, I wonder how much profit the carriers are actually making when you factor in the cost of paying customer service reps to deal with angry/confused customers???

Considering how much money major carriers spend on advertising and brand building with debatable results, do they understand how being linked to this type of practice can substantially damage their “street cred”?

Business ventures like this, along with Video Professor, Cash-For-Gold, and Extenze, have totally obliterated what little trust I held for just about anything advertised on TV.  I wonder if we’ll ever see a mob of quality product-makers go after these type of scammers for undermining the credibility of their communication media?

txt gr8 way 2 fight crime

Over 100 cities of varying size, including Seattle, have implemented systems that allow citizens (or non-citizens) to text SMS reports of crimes into police departments. The tipsters retain anonymity because, “The Internet-based systems route messages through a server that encrypts cell phone numbers before they get to police, making tips virtually impossible to track.”

The article cites Louisville, Ky. Sgt. Brian Bernardi explaining how the system could be beneficial, “If somebody hears Johnny is going to bring a gun to school, hopefully they’ll text that in.”

Highlighting the SMS tips that led to the arrest of a murder suspect and a drug suspect, as well as information on lesser crimes such as illegal dumping and vandalism, the article paints a very positive picture of the system.

However, the article fails to address some practical and conceptual issues presented by this new method. For example, songs such as N.W.A.’s F$%# tha Police and Public Enemy’s 911 Is a Joke and Fight the Power indicate that teens and 20-somethings, whom the SMS campaign specifically targets, don’t always hold authority figures in the highest regard. If police possess no means to track the source of an SMS, do they have any credible way to deter bogus tips? Likewise, how can police differentiate a hoax from a serious message?

Additionally, wouldn’t sending SMS messages be an easy way for a criminal enterprise (especially one that engages in activities that are somewhat out in the open such as prostitution, drug dealing, selling stolen goods, etc.) to rat out their competitors? Should society encourage and aid criminals because they are slightly more tech-savvy than their rivals are?

Furthermore, would a text message provide enough probable cause to search private property, justify a warrant, or send in the SWAT team? No? How about two texts? Five? Ten? Fifty? Likewise, assuming police make an arrest based on SMS tips, would they have any way to reach the tipster to testify as a prosecution witness?

Also, because a text message, even with the best use of emoticons, can’t match the emotional range of a voice phone call, will the officers who monitor the SMS feed receive any training on how to assess the urgency of incoming messages and deploy limited resources accordingly? What could such training entail?

http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/1991

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/02/national/a104443D84.DTL