Working Anywhere

Airport Broadband at San Diego Airport Part Two

I'm on my way to the Bay Area for a week's worth of meetings, meet up and to also assist winemaker friend Sylvain Fadat of Domaine d'Aupilhac on Monday at the annual Kermit Lynch Client event that starts tonight.

As I await my slightly delayed Southwest flight to SFO I ran a fast speed test.

Download 14403kb/s
Upload 8359 kb/s

To me, that rocks and shows that making pointed comments directly to the airport management as I have really didn't fall on deaf ears.

More UK Hotspots Get WiFi

It looks like BT's OpenZone has added Starbucks rival Caffe Nero to their growing list of locations.

I've been in Caffe Nero and enjoyed their coffee more. Now I'll have one more reason to linger around the storefront cafes when in London.

Lypp and WebEx Collaborate

Pal Erik Lagerway (SipThat) informs us that the soft-launch of the Lypp and WebEx collaboration suite is out for the masses.

Esme Dumps Her Dell, Office is Next

Esme Vos and I share alot of the same viewpoints. We both like posh hotels, fine dining, travel, wireless and on MuniWireless. Today when I saw her post about going non-PC, I couldn't agree more. This is more about going less Microsoft.

Basically as more and more of us live connected to the cloud and as Mac and Linux users figure out that first before the Windoze crowd wakes up, you'll find more of the tastemakers moving in that direction.

On my Asus eee PC I use Open Office, Thunderbird and Mozilla. On the Mac I'm using Mailplane and Google Mail for a cloned account of my Exchange server. At week five of my experiment I'm relying less and less on Microsoft Exchange. I'm even using Google Apps more each day.

New VoIP and Presence Applications for Symbian Series 60 Phones, New Phone from Nokia Too

Octro Talk is a new voip and presence application that works on Symbian Series 60 phones.

What's more interesting to me is that client Nokia has introduced the new 6300i that includes more than a SIP stack. They included a full SIP based VoIP client that is easily configurable. That means users of SIP based VoIP who are able to obtain their SIP credentials from the carrier can be totting around a VoIP phone that works over WiFi. The phone, which will retail for less than $300 doesn't have 3G capability.

A third company, Tpad has introduced a Truphone like clone that takes advantage of the stack already present in the N and E Series devices to create a full VoIP service.

What's New In Andy's Bag of Devices?

I've become hooked on the Amazon Kindle. I'm actually reading more, scanning less and finding that my mega fast reading and comprehension capabilities that I always had (I was tested in 3rd grade to be able to comprehend a college master's degree text book) have never left me. What's more the form factor is such that when you use the Amazon "book" jacket that no one asks you to "turn it off" when you're on the airplane, though I do turn off the CDMA radio that works over the WhisperNet that Amazon, Qualcomm (yes Qualcomm) and Sprint assembled.

The Kindle is long lasting. I'm getting three to four days of life with it turned on, and it downloads fast. Books download under a minute and I can even load in MP3 files via an SD card or USB cable to listen to music. That makes me think we're looking at the next iPod and that Amazon will be a Music powerhouse.

While it has a Web browser and works with Google Mail and such, I wouldn't use it for more than that just yet. That said, I do see all kinds of business uses for it.

The second device I'm very happy with is the Iqua Sun Bluetooth Headset. It's very "Green" and doesn't ever need to be recharged. Well, sort of. Basically it has a built in solar panel that even incandescent and ambient light provides. Think of it as the "always charged" headset for the "always on" generation.

But the main reason I like it is the fact that it has exceptional noise canceling, superb acoustics and best of all, isn't as obtrusively visible as the highly regarded, but almost Borg like looking Jawbone. Honestly, I can't hear any difference.

Being Virtual and Being In Person

Irwin Lazar has a post about the recent "virtual" conference that took place at VoiceCon.

As someone who uses the collaboration and conferencing tools more than most, I'm realizing the more I go on the road, the more I am not that far from others. My staff and I are making heavy use of client tools from Yugma for Web Conferencing, VAPPS for High Definition Audio and of course SightSpeed for video conferencing. Toss in some Skype here and there, and basically being away is not like what it used to be.

But one comment really reached out and hit home that we've been hammering on for over two years. You can meet with more people more easily with video conferencing, a point Irwin makes loud and clear.

One executive I spoke with cited the ability to meet with half a dozen clients in a day using telepresence compared with how long it would take to travel to each client location. He noted that he would normally conduct client or partner calls via telephone, but with telepresence, he felt that they were achieving a stronger level of client/partner interaction.

Let me take this a step further, for being a all star on the conference circuit means that you have to be both there and also at the other "there" virtually at the same time, and know how to do both with the same aplomb and dexterity.

Video conferencing is a great to maintain continuity and build rapport. It allows you to have meetings face to face without going away, thus there's no down time due to travel. Add in the ability to work the venue, find people face to face, socialize, meet in the hallways, press rooms, speakers lounges and in hotel lobbies, and have the bandwidth to do both and you have the winning combination.

Unfortunately, bandwidth tends to SUCK at most hotels and venue if you don't pick carefully, or the prices are so obscene that you won't dare want to pay the freight. Once the business world that makes the decisions catch on to the concept of Pay As You Go High Quality Public Wireless, the true value of all this "virtual" face to face will be met.

For now, practitioners like client and friend Peter Csathy CEO of SightSpeed are the pioneers in this approach. Peter spends two days in his office in Berkeley, CA while being almost a neighbor three days a week up the road here in San Diego, CA. His mantra is "drink your own kool-aid" and he makes extensive use of his own service, SightSpeed to organize virtual meetings. He also goes on the road to get up close and personal.

And personal is where the market is right now. I tend to be in front of clients more and more these days, especially at and around events. In a week I'll be in Las Vegas and will overlap with no less than six clients, all in town for either Electronic Telespan or CTIA's conferences, as well as for ShowStoppers and Mobile Focus. The time around these events gives me face time, and also expands the so called "network" of contacts we have to maintain. Most important though is the time I'll spend away from the event, holed up in my hotel room, or HQ office suite. Both will give me enough bandwidth to be up and online, in touch and very personal with the rest of the folks who aren't in Las Vegas. Using all these tools makes it easy to KIT (keep in touch) with those near and far

You see, with all this new technology means, "what goes on in Vegas, no longer only has to stay in Vegas."

Forbes Ranks Airport WiFi..I Disagree

Forbes somehow came up with a methodology to measure and rank airport WiFi. Unfortunately, my first hand experience in San Diego, Phoenix, Las Vegas and elsewhere, where the WiFi is free has demonstrated that Free is rarely as good as paid.

I caught up with Boingo CEO David Hagan who had some pointed and very relevant commentary:

"In our experience, you get what you pay for. Free networks in high usage locations like airports are a quality death spiral. As more consumers access the network, the quality goes down. It becomes uneconomic to add more bandwidth because no one is paying for it. Advertising doesn't come close to covering the cost so the end result is a poor user experience or a very expensive amenity for the airport to pay for that benefits a relatively small number of airport customers."

He's right. Why should public venues put more money into supporting free? They can't. Economically free WiFi doesn't work.

Link Love and Social Media Creates Business Opportunity

iotum's Alec Saunders loves to blog.

Abbeynet's Luca Filigheddu loves to blog.

Truphone's Dean Elwood runs a social community forum called VoIP User.

Together, as a result of the blogosphere, friendship and some wine, as well as a gentle push by moi, along with new opportunity to blend VoIP, alternative access, the hot Facebook platform with some very cool new ways to collaborate has been birthed.

Today, clients iotum, along with Truphone, plus Abbeynet and a French telco have joined up to make iotum's Free Conference Call solution truly global.

This direct strike is an crystal clear example of what Jeff Pulver calls "Purple Minutes." Those are where applications make the jump between PSTN, Mobile and VOIP, plus what else comes along. In this case, with Truphone we now have a Mobile VoIP/WiFi play which means when a user is in a hotspot, a SIP call goes to iotum, not a PSTN, further reducing the costs of conferencing, but also increasing the quality and the utility.

So where does wine come into all this? At my insistence, Truphone's Elwood had to skip the 2007 Fall VON Wine Dinner which I hosted to run his VoIP User gathering. Alec, who also loves wine, had to go hang at VoIP User, while Howard Thaw also of iotum, got wined and dined with the likes of GrandCentral's Craig Walker, Vincent Pacquet, PulverMedia's Scott Kargman and many others. But Alec and Dean were on a mission. The mission was to find a way to work together. Since both knew each other from their online communications, the prospects were good and the introductions made in advance. Over the next few months all parties worked together and the result is the iotum FaceBook Free Conference Calling service now has more ways to be reached in more places.

Link Love and Social Media Creates Business Opportunity

iotum's Alec Saunders loves to blog.

Abbeynet's Luca Filigheddu blog.

Truphone's Dean Elwood runs a social community forum.

Together, as a result of the blogosphere, friendship and some wine, as well as a gentle push by moi, a new opportunity to blend VoIP, alternative access, the hot Facebook platform with some very cool new ways to collaborate has been birthed.

Today, clients iotum, along with Truphone, plus Abbeynet and a French telco have joined up to make iotum's Free Conference Call solution truly global.

This direct strike is an crystal clear example of what Jeff Pulver calls "Purple Minutes." Those are where applications make the jump between PSTN, Mobile and VOIP, plus what else comes along. In this case, with Truphone we now have a Mobile VoIP/WiFi play which means when a user is in a hotspot, a SIP call goes to iotum, not a PSTN, further reducing the costs of conferencing, but also increasing the quality and the utility.

So where does wine come into all this? At my insistence, Truphone's Elwood had to skip the 2007 Fall VON Wine Dinner which I hosted to run his VoIP User gathering. Alec, who also loves wine, had to go hang at VoIP User, while Howard Thaw also of iotum, got wined and dined with the likes of GrandCentral's Craig Walker, Vincent Pacquet, PulverMedia's Scott Kargman and many others. But Alec and Dean were on a mission. The mission was to find a way to work together. Since both knew each other from their online communications, the prospects were good and the introductions made in advance. Over the next few months all parties worked together and the result is the iotum FaceBook Free Conference Calling service now has more ways to be reached in more places.

Thoughts on Being Away For So Long and Trying To Stay Somewhat Connected

One has to admit to oneself from time to time when you're a Type A, Cell A personality, who also understands that the agency world is a service industry, that we all need a break and need to balance the always on, always want to help and be helpful, with the "I want to be alone darling" approach to solitude. Being on the road means for me, simply working someplace else. Being on the road with my wife means working less, playing more, but its not usually a "vacation." It's more of just being together and my working while she shops, but since we both lead highly professional practices we've adopted an always on or in her case on-call approach to things. While I can work anywhere, its not exactly the same for a physician, so her work is mostly notes and billing, while mine is simply an extension from being in the home office or on a client site. Thankfully technology is giving both of us more tools to make it easier to be together more often and to take more short breaks without always being "away."

Sometimes those breaks are self designed, other times they are forced upon us. My so called vacation last week, that was really more of me and my wife spending an entire nine days together with lots of friends, drinking wine, planning upcoming events in San Diego, and in France that are romantically, emotionally and by nature linked to our wine country wedding was a lot of fun, but I am also realizing that I needed some time "away" as part of a very important discovery process around working anywhere.

Now for me, away never means "AWAY" or DO NOT DISTURB. I have the Blackberry for email, my Nokia E90 and N95s for voice calls, and of course my N810 and MacBook Air as well, so staying connected is never that hard. Or so I thought.

You see, Orange France, which just so happens to be the countries biggest WiFi hotspot operator and the new Mac OS Leopard are seriously not friends. While in the past, I could skirt around some issues with a VPN, the new OS is so authentication rigid that I found it impossible to use Entourage to send mail via my hosted Exchange server, unable to even use the Web interface for it due to port issues, and worst of all, I found that regardless of browser (Firefox, Safari or Camino) that even some financial services sites or travel related sites proved impossible to manipulate.

It also impacted my ability to even post to Typepad or to use MarsEdit, my laptop blogging program of choice. While I likely could have used the N810 for some posts, I just resigned myself to the fact that I'm on somewhat of vacation, posted when I could, and left it at that.

While I was able to do a lot at the Vinisud event, banging away on the keyboard instead of drinking wine, wasn't my idea of fun, though I had to get a kick out of the WiFi sign in the Montpeyroux AOC stand, and my winemaker friend Sylvain Fadat explaining how he asked them to install it so "you can work here." Those kinds of friends and random acts of kindness are why Helene and I are such good friends with them, and why I just shipped him a new Asus eee PC (French model) so he doesn't have to lug a humongous Dell or HP around with him any longer.

The week before at Mobile World Congress was so busy that trying to post what I saw was always interrupted by what I was seeing next, or some email from affair. That week, as host to a group of bloggers made being in front of the Mac more challenging, and the occasional hotel WiFi outage never seemed to help either.

Here in Paris, the Pullman Bercy has two networks, one from Orange and another wired network. On the wired network I simply connected my Linskys travel router and all is like being at home and Entourage had no issues. When I'm roaming around, my Boingo accounts, both Premiere and Mobile have been a big help, and the automatic log-on for the Nokia N810 is a real treat. I've used that to make calls over various services, including a real SIP connection from Junction Network's OnSip platform that just rocks.

The so called vacation week also allowed me by necessity to get more familiar with Google Apps, something I'm liking more and more. While it's not perfect, I am leaning more and more for cost reasons alone to moving my business mail, calendaring and contacts over there, thus making less dependent on Microsoft. The word processor, spreadsheet and mail all are very solid, with calendaring and presentation (i.e PowerPoint clone) leaving a lot to be desired. The calendar app lacks a key function a global nomad needs. Time zone setting. I'm having to constantly change the default to make sure time zone sensitive items are properly placed. That's a big hurdle. Plus how it receives items from different versions of the same program are also a bit of a challenge too. But all in all, I'm more pleased with it than I thought I would be. As for the Mail platform, I love it, but I'd also like to take a good look at Zimbra too at some point, especially now that they've been bought by Yahoo. But my guess is time will be the key enemy here, and Google will win the business.

As I wrap up the the European leg of the trip starting Monday with meetings in Brussels and London all week, I have to admit, being away is not that hard, but being away and trying to take vacation in the middle of the heavy season is.

Now I'm back and I feel better than ever...so I guess it's time to find a cup of coffee!

Let The Good Times Roll with a Rolling Hotspot

Autonet has taken an idea a long time business colleague and I suggested to a now defunct mobile data company back in 2001. The idea was to take mobile data, turn it into Bluetooth and WiFi so any device could access it, all in one box.

The idea is very plausible and for low bitrate data like IM and email, it could be the solution to remote computing.

We Need More Power

LooseWire's Jeremy Wagstaff reminded me of an ever present peeve that I have when I travel. Trying to find an open power outlet.

This is really evident when I fly on SouthWest out of San Diego or Oakland where there isn't an airline club to be seen. Its enough for me to sometimes even fly American Eagle down the coast from San Jose sometimes because at least with an AMEX Platinum Card or my HQ Network Access privileges I can score "free" admission to the American Airlines Admirals Club, which has amazing WiFi and power to spare.

Oh and San Diego Airport still has lousy WiFi even if it is free.

Andy In The News--Flying In Style

Megan Scott of the Associated Press caught up with me last week when she was working on a story about the resurgence of the in-flight sleeper seat. As someone who is on the road more and more, knowing the value of a good nights sleep on an overnight flight from the west coast to Europe is something that I've learned the hard way. She's done an incredible job of capturing what the experience is really like in the story which has moved earlier today and was picked up by CNBC.

While an international daytime flight doesn't have the same impact on my body (or my mind) when flying frm the east cost as the often required west coast red-eye, I've found that upgrading using Frequent Flier points on BA or Virgin Atlantic to fly in Upper Class makes the trip really worthwhile.

In the past year I've flown L'Avion to Paris and taken both Virgin Atlantic over twice, and used MaxJet as well to get to London. All offer a more restful way to travel, and the wallet isn't hit as hard as the body is when you fly coach. The key is to know your way around the airfares and not pay more than you have to.

Just like VoIP, the Internet is what makes all this possible. I find airfare and hotel deals all the time, and always travel in style, without breaking the bank.

Telepresence Being Hyped

Baseline has a first hand report on the impact of Telepresence from Cisco just a few days before Cisco's analyst conference in San Jose begins.

I'm expecting some news about how they are going to extend below the $300,000 an install price point and make it easy for inter-connection between their platform and the road warrior. I mean, what good is having to go somewhere if you can do it from anywhere...?

Video Conferencing Is Green

A story in today's Ottawa Citizen highlights lots of facts and figures about why Video Conferencing is such a good idea for businesses. Another story on CNet's Asia news site pretty much says the same thing.

Little Wireless Network In San Diego Hillside With The Right Big Idea

Yesterday i wrote about the ridiculous approach companies like Earthlink took to bring WiFi to the communities that already have plenty of broadband.

Here's an example of what I consider the right approach. Ramona, CA is in the deep suburbs of San Diego county. It's a bucolic part of the county, more rural, than true suburbia and the people who live out there choose to for a very good quality of life.

Some smart technology folks banded together and started a wireless network for themselves. As time passed, demand increased to where now 400 users are on a shared 50 megabit pipe, but the service is delivering 3-4 megabits all the time. They don't allow web servers to run, which is smart, and they seem to be growing.

It's not WiFi. The technology they are using is very similar to what Covad is delivering now wirelessly in the Orange County, Los Angeles and Bay Area. It's a combination of fixed point to point and point to multipoint spectrum. As the company adds more radios the coverage only increases. Once they reach a WiFi router the distribution works just like MuniWiFi. Add in some Meraki or FON access points and the community gets even more coverage in my view.

Way to go Sky Valley Networks. I need to take a drive to Ramona!

A New Way For Public WiFi

Let's face it, the business model that Earthlink and a few others took for Muni WiFi sucked wind in most places. San Francisco still doesn't even have a test site. Chicago is wireless-less while other cities that pursued a different plan like Minneapolis all have seemed to at least deploy. I'll admit in Philadelphia Earthlink is up and running, but I wouldn't be surprised to see that network get taken over by Comcast or Verizon at some point down the road at the request of the city, once Earthlink says No Mas.

For the past two years I have been both a champion for Muni-WiFi and at the same time verbally critical to those in the industry for the approach that was taken by the big players.

Going into markets where broadband was available was the wrong model. Creating systems that work only two stories high, and barely penetrate walls deeper than the first window basically created a service that I have dubbed "Homeless Wireless." Even in the city of my birth, unless I'm outside getting on the Feather by Earthlink network inside the city's finest restaurants is such a challenge, and is so consistently inconsistent, I end up using my 3G cards from either AT&T, Verizon Wireless or Sprint.

Too much money was spent seeking to make the networks end to end, city wide. Instead the cities should have been taking the approach of the creation of hot zones that really worked, and the system builders should have looked at communities where broadband wasn't broadly available.

That's why I'm actually intrigued by the move in New York City that CBS made this week. Leveraging their already installed asset, a network of outdoor billboard, the media company has in affect created their own advertising network within a 20 block radius. That means if you want access, you watch CBS sold commercials, see CBS content, but then get access to the Net.

This is a brilliant idea. With one move, CBS has bypassed the carriers, circumvented the municipality and because WiFi is in unlicensed spectrum, basically become free of the FCC for what they broadcast over the network. They have in effect made their billboards worth much more than anyone else's.

Skype Journal on Yugma

Jim Courtney has an extensive review of the new version of the Skype enhanced Yugma which works with more than just Skype.

Between this and Unyte for Skype, it sure looks like Skype is becoming the collaborator's platform for ease of use and low cost compared to WebEx.

WebEx needs to begin to look outside themselves for options to be "better" otherwise Cisco will find that investment may be their first "bad" move.

Boingo Buys Sprint's WiFi Business

Sprint wants you to use WiMax or EVDO, but they don't care about WiFi. In what is a great move for Boingo, the L.A. based company has acquired eight more airports, giving them the exclusive wireless rights.

Since we all know territory establishes control, and there are how many million of 802.11b/g ready PC's this gives Boingo, one of the most reliable operators out there (just fly through O'Hare and see) a large number of the major USA airports, thus putting them head to head with the "free" airports model.

As a regular traveler its much nicer to have a 1 meg plus connection from Boingo versus the paltry sub 128k connection I get at San Diego International, or the 256 found in Las Vegas. In Phoenix where the service is also free I was only able too eek out a 68k connection.

With Boingo the airports get a company which has a revenue model and current technology leadership. With free WiFi the airport subsidizes and has to pay for the bandwidth and the upkeep, but plays into the hands of the mobile operators who offer PICO cells to improve coverage for EVDO and HSDPA by renting out storage cabinets.

Don't be fooled. This is a game all about money, not about access, but for Boingo it gives them the upper hand and for those of us who travel, the Boingo name on a WiFi network is a welcoming sign.

Living Virtually, Working Virtually In A Time Of Crisis

The fires in San Diego have created some panic and pandemonium with friends and colleagues. I awoke to many emails, all expressing concern. I am thankful that so many people care and are expressing their concerns. It's touching and heartfelt.

Let me set everyone at ease who cares. I'm safe. Danielle and Michelle who assist me in the home office are safe, and the only thing to worry about is the wine, but even that is safe as I've spread the collection across the county and none of the places seem to be in the path of the fire (yet!) Many of you also know I also am living a nomadic life. The house is under renovation as is my entire development so while I have a house in the Del Mar/Solana Beach area of San Diego County, my wife also has a home and medical practice in Sacramento, and with this being conference season, my road warrior like life predominates so hotels are more like home these days.

When I launched my company, an Asymmetrical Marketing Communications agency, Comunicano in 1993, it was built around the model of working anywhere, at anytime. For years my motto has been, "all I need is an American Express card, FedEx and an Internet Connection, and I am in business." It has never been more true and really hit home more than today with the fires that are raging in San Diego and Los Angeles County. Something we're very much prepared for.

While I'm genuinely concerned about friends and neighbors, I'm also comforted by the fact that my team whom I consider like family is geographically spread out across the nation and we are able to keep things running to benefit our clients from around the globe we serve and service. Those on our team in the San Diego area are thankfully either not residing in the projected path of the fire or are now on the road. One member who is based in Los Angeles is keeping a close eye on things and can leave on a moments notice to higher and safer ground if needed.

As professionals in the PR industry we preach crisis management, so when put into a state of emergency like this is when all the planning ahead of time really comes in to play.

First all my team is on the Internet and can be on the Net almost anywhere at anytime. They are spread out in every continental United States time zone. I call that human redundancy.

Second, those that are in San Diego have Sprint or Verizon wireless data cards to use as needed if they have to hit the road. They have broadband in their homes and apartments as well at the homes of their families. We have multiple Boingo and T-Mobile accounts and I can easily add other T-Mobile accounts so using WiFi Hotspots (no pun intended) is also easy in case they have to leave the area so they can stay connected on the go.

Third-We're all on Gizmo Project, Skype and SightSpeed so we can stay in contact with clients and each other without touching a cell phone. Just this morning, client and friend Peter Csathy, CEO of SightSpeed agreed to make SightSpeed Pro free to business users affected by the fire at our suggestion. This is very important as people want to see their families and friend and also still need to stay in touch with their customers and colleagues. With the local governments discouraging the use of cell phones during this state of emergency this is where the Net plays the starring role and services like SightSpeed come to the forefront to keep things up and running, and making business stay "business as usual".

Anyone with a broadband connection, a webcam and a PC or Mac can talk and see one another. What's more since business needs to continue, the multi-party video conferencing feature can play a pivotal role in keeping things going face to face over the Internet, in case cell service becomes even more difficult to use. With many people evacuating for shelter, heading to hotels, houses of friends and elsewhere, as long as they have access to the 'Net, like my business, they can keep up and running. During the 911 crisis in 2001 the Metricom Ricochet network was turned back on in New York City. It helped work around the crisis and enabled communication to flow over the Net, when the cellular services got bogged down. I'm sensing the same thinking can apply here.

We're following the preachings of Michael Robertson and keeping things cloud based. We also use Basecamp from 37Signals. That allows us all to see and work on documents, track projects. It keeps me sane and our clients up to date that we've migrated over. In addition there is JungleDisk and Microsoft Exchange. Lose a laptop or crash a desktop's hard drive and most people panic. By using services like those, and having everything backed up, we're working and storing everything virtually and having it there when we need it again.

In times of emergencies, using the Internet for public safety is crucial. For business, staying connected is what the 'Net provides. Smart companies are already online, but having the tools on your tool belt and being ready to go is the key.

Like the Boy Scout's motto "be prepared" was never better echoed, and never more in practice. This is an example of "drinking my own wine" or "eating our own dog food."

Pay As You Go Data Plans Is The Way To Go

Having spent almost ten days in London this month and experimented with Pay as You Go Data plans from T-Mobile and Hutchison 3, I have to say the USA carriers are missing the mark big time.

Forget the fact that to use them you need a SIM card capable PC like the Flybook or Sony Vaios, or an unlocked USB Broadband modem like what I'm using from Sierra Wireless. That's the price to come to the party. But at a pound a day, and with unlimited data use, I'm finding that staying connected is a whole lot easier.

Here's how it works. You buy a SIM. Depending on the carrier you have to notify them via their web site or by calling up that you want their data plan, otherwise you get charged against your minutes on the pre-paid SIM. For five pounds a month you get unlimited Data from 3. For a pound a day you get Web N Walk from T-Mobile UK. For me, with a schedule that takes me to or through London every two months or so these days, its a great deal.

Need to add more to your balance? No worries. You just go into almost any supermarket or news agency, and buy a Top Up from a the pay point.

One more benefit. With T-Mobile, I can make calls back to the USA for 4p a minute. That's 8 cents and that means when I'm not using VoIP, I'm really saving money. 3 has similar plans.

The bottom line here is voice and data on the pre-paid front makes working anywhere in the UK an interestingly different proposition now for me.

Thanks, Stuart for the Kind Word

Stuart Henshall had some kind words about me, my company and our clients last week.

Over the weekend we chatted about the state of marketing communications, and specifically, the concept of blogger relations. He went on to write another very insightful post yesterday, again drawing attention to how we at Comunicano tend to approach the needs of companies seeking to work with bloggers and social media types.

Sitting on all sides of the equation-blogger, agency and media member (or having sat as a client in the past) it is sometimes easier for me to draw the distinctions than those who only share one perspective. Stuart is clearly seeing all sides.

1-Blogger relations is not about generating PR by the pound

2-Blogger relations is not about giving away free stuff (products, services, accounts, etc.)

3-Blogger relations is not about mass. It is about those that matter, in essence it is not how many, but who

4-Blogger relations is about conveying a message to the customer and enabling additional commentary beyond what the official company line is that provides insight and even unpaid endorsement

Let me now address the value of bloggers

1-Media are paid to cover stories that meets the interest of their readers; they are filters and gatekeepers. They keep companies honest in the court of public opinion

2-Analysts are paid by their clients to provide insight and opinion. Their first responsibility is to their employer, then to their clients. They take briefings to be better informed and to provide informed opinions

3-Bloggers for the most part are not paid to blog, but blog to be both better informed and to inform others. Like reporters they bring a degree of filtering, but compared to consumer media, tend to be more granular in expertise, similar to trade reporters or industry analysts, and by nature cover a subject more deeply, but have a narrower audience of loyal and regular readers

4-Media Bloggers-These are bloggers who are usually paid by a publisher. They report to an editor, fall within guidelines set. They are the new breed of journalist, and blend the best of the traditional media, analyst and blogger mentality

Each of the above plays a key roll in positioning, messaging and story telling.

The Blogger is the Tastemaker, relying on their own intuition and knowledge base and then sharing their opinions.

The Media Blogger is the Trendsetter, they pick up on the buzz or help shape it.

The Opinion or Thought Leader is usually an analyst or a mass media type. They rely in part on Tastemakers and Trendsetters to help understand and sometimes to explain what is important and why. They bring it to a wider audience, help to humanize the story and usually carry respect by a large number of people based on the universe of potential interested parties.

The Followers--these are people who tend to ask others for opinions, or seek out opinion, on things before they act. Mass Market consumers are one example. If its at retail, they figure it has to be ok for them to buy. They are different than the early adopter who finds out from the Tastemaker or Trendsetter what's new and take risk. In some cases a Tastemaker or Trendsetter will be considered an early adopter.

Fundamentally at the heart of all of these segments are two key groups. The "Free It's Me Crowd" and the "I'll Pay For It And Take My Chances" bunch. The Free It's Me crowd jumps on and off the free ride as soon as something new comes along and while experimental, and helpful at making something better, they are not the ultimate customer. The Pay For It and Take My Chances is the real consumer (even in a business to business sense.) The distinction is very wide and very deep and helps shape the target audience's opinions.

In establishing Blogger Relations programs it is very, very important not to just be talking to the "Free Its Me Crowd." For consumers or buyers at the business level, it is very important to discern the reviewers with the "free its me" mentality versus those who "would pay" for something.

When we establish programs we work towards a happy blend of both, as that creates a fair and balanced program and reporting, which is far more valuable to clients, than just being all about only generating ink and web pages of coverage.

That's why receiving the "I would pay for this" or "this is something I would keep using" type of endorsement is step one, of thinking about blogger relations, but steps two through xxx has to be supportive of the concept of telling the story right, having it retold and then told by others to others in the same way over and over again.

WiFi @ Amtrak Stations In Northeast Corridor, On Board In Seattle

Hat tip to Matt Miller for this one.

As someone who grew up in Philadelphia and remembers 30th Street Station very well (have you seen Witness with Harrison Ford?) having WiFi in there and elsewhere is a big plus. Adding it in three other stations including New York City's Penn Station is a really good step in the right direction, and AMTRAK's selection of T-Mobile is the right choice. I'll be in Philadelphia in the next month and will stop by the train station just to see how well its working.

Matt's comment about WiFi on board the train in Seattle is also encouraging. After my more than positive experience on the Heathrow Express in London I wish all trains had WiFi on board. Yesterday I ended up using my HSDPA connection via 3 here in the UK. With all the tunnels and underpasses on the route the Gatwick Express takes, the connection dropped regularly, and speeds went from 3G down to GPRS. Boy, did I miss that WiFi.

Some InSightful Thinking About Video Conferencing for Business

I woke up this morning in Madrid, feeling wonderful after another great night of sleep, following another amazing meal, this time at a fantastic Galician inspired seafood restaurant.

As I was going through the inbox of topical Google hits, I sat back and read this story in the Newark Star- Ledger, a paper whose hockey reporter of days gone by I used to read regularly, Walk McPeek. The Star Ledger always has had reporters and writers who put personality into what they wrote, and at the same time made the story so relevant to their audiences. The story followed a SightSpeed video mail from my wife that also was in my in box and he segue actually got me thinking.

The piece in the Star-Ledger by Steve Adubato is a must read for anyone in the video conferencing industry. The column sums up, in a very persuasive manner, what's wrong with video conference platforms from Polycom, Tandberg, H-P's Halo, Cisco's Telepresnece, Life SIze and the other "facilities" focused and "on premise based" video conferencing solutions that hat is as akin to be using a landline in todays world versus a cell phone. Who wants to be in the office? Not anyone making money for their company. And who wants to put people in places where rents are high and quality of life is low? Not this CEO.

As a road warrior, running a growing virtual agency, with a client base spanning the Middle East to the South Pacific and everything in between, it is easy to relate to Adubato's remarks. The only people who would want to invest in a system that is "based" in a "fixed" location would be the status seeking, sedentary executive who wants to "show off" what they have. But for the members of the team that needs it most, the sales force in the field, who are always either the first to adopt-can you spell pagers and RIM Messengers--or the most resistive to change because anything that takes them away from selling is something to get around to later--no one is thinking of them. What good does it do to invest the kind of money these "business communications solutions" offer, when only those who are in a "studio" can use it.

Let me compare it to an industry we all know and see daily. The world of television news gathering and broadcasting.

In the 50's there was a newsreader. Now we call them the anchorman. In the 60's news was (and still is) studio based. In the 60s it was either live or film that was converted to a transmittable form, but for the most part most "news interviews" were done in the studio. The cameramen and reporters had to come back to the station's studios and broadcast. So did the guests. In the late 70's Electronic News Gathering (ENG) started. Microwave signals made it possible via line of sight to transmit stories from remote locations. Now news sources didn't have to come to the studio, the studio went to them. In the 80's these ENG based crews became the rage of the television news-reporting world. Finally TV news had its equalizer to radio for instant journalism. TV stations added more cameramen and hired more reporters, and by doing so they were able to create more "local" community news bureaus and became more responsive to the FCC's requirements to provide more local news in the areas their licenses covered. In the late 90's and now in the 21st century we're seeing TV stations and Networks make use of webcams to provide field level reporting.

To draw the comparison, the current telepresence products being peddled by the "big boys" are a throwback to the way news was gathered and presented to our parents in the 60's. Is that where business is today? I think not. For the video conferencing industry, Adubato's story is a stake right through the heart of the "big and heavy" offerings that are getting the attention of the media. His criticisms are also more than likely music to the ears of Peter Csathy and Aron Rosenberg at SightSpeed, as their new Small Business release that's due out any day now is exactly the antidote to the ills that Adubato has gone to great lengths to point out. The big boy's (spelled Cisco and HP, etc.) idea of video conferencing is still a take the king to the mountain, not bring the mountain to the king. In reality their thinking is more along the lines of the story behind the "King and I" and the Emperor's new clothes where all but one young boy dared to say what he really saw.

Well, I'm being that young boy today and I'm calling it as I see it.

Knowledge workers are no longer toiling in the ivory tower. Decisions get made in the field. Executives come and go to and from hotel like desk arrangements in offices. They make use of shared temporary office spaces in places like Regus Group's HQ locations. They hold meetings in airline club conference facilities with fly-ins and outs being the biggest expense and more and more are scheduling their face-to-face partner meetings around key industry events. They do very little in the office. Back at the ranch are the worker bees. The support teams. But even the engineering team is usually far from the "head office." So while the "big guys" are selling the Street that this all means the need for more installations of the "big guys" technology, it really means the ROI on the installs is perverted. High cost. Low utility. Lost time. Usable by only a few and not by the many. It is a preservation of the power elite, and a perk for upper management, and a treat when a staff member is allowed to use it. Does that sound like a "club membership" to you? From a cost efficiency perspective, its not very (efficient) which unfortunately is the critical claim that the "big guys" are all making wen they start selling the features and benefits. How can a single system be efficient until you add more locations and endpoints. And based upon the prices I'm seeing, we're not even close to there yet from the "big boys" which play in the same club.

That's why Peter and Aron have to be dancing in the aisles of the Southwest flights they take so often, just like I do. They've built the Southwest Airlines equivalent to H-P's Halo or Cisco's Telepresence platform and taken it much further, stretching the limits to anywhere there is real broadband, but at peanut prices that are like Southwest tickets, with very few user friendly strings attached. The difference. You can get SightSpeed's soon to be released new Southwest priced like product for "peanuts" (i.e. its cheaper and does the same thing) and keep your costs down. Or you can go with the big boys just like you would fly American or United or US Air, and pay more, and not even get the peanuts, but have the "points" that you bought an expensive system that puts you back in the 60's approach to how things were done.

As often as I'm flying I know first hand that the "smart companies" are putting their executives on Southwest now to fly, which is why Southwest is focusing on the business traveler more and more with new boarding gate areas, new boarding procedures, more at gate power for laptops and cell phone charging stations, etc. You don't see the old "big guy" airlines moving that way that fast. Smart types who want to be ahead of the game have been flying Southwest. So if video conferencing is supposed to reduce travel and stimulate the concept of collaboration, and bring people together face to face more often, then saving money using a Southwest Airlines like approach would make more sense. I mean isn't Southwest more profitable than their fat cat "big guy" competition? Yup. Isn't Southwest the airline that gets blamed for so much that has hurt the other airlines long term plans? Yup. And now with an ever increasing number of more "big guy" type company executives flying Southwest, isn't time those same big guys took the Southwest approach to their video-conferencing technology too before making the investment in what already can be looked at as "dinosaur" technology?

As a member of the SightSpeed Advisory Board, I know the story by Adubato sure made my morning.

Hotel Report-Madrid, Spain

I'm in Madrid Spain at the Hotel de la Letras, one of the hip and cool places one finds on Tablet Hotels.

They have WiFi and wired options available. My WiFi connection yielded me over 2.5 megs down and just under 512 up, consistently.

The broadband connection is so good that VoIP really works well, amazingly well. This is the same experience that I had a year or so ago here when I stayed at the Hotel Urban and in Lisboa when I stayed at the Sofitel.

The key to the connectivity isn't so much the speeds alone. It's the low latency and very fast return path from speed test sites. What I'm finding is fewer hops, and better connectivity to the net is what matters for voice, video and streaming and when I'm in Europe those things are a given.

The TechTraveler

I'm a big fan of blogs that make the traveler's life easier so when I spotted the TechTraveler I had to start reading. Now I see the author has taken a liking to a client of my agency (smile), Mobivox.

Mobivox is a unique new calling service that uses the power of voice to make calls easier. It lets you call your Skype buddies from a regular phone, and it also provides a combination of free calls to other Mobivox members, as well as very, very low priced calling to others.

Mobivox is a cross generational. Given how it works on a regular phone or mobile phone, without the need for expensive data plans or special attachments to computers Mobivox is to this era what call back systems and calling cards were in the 80's and 90s. That being a great way to call for less, but with one major difference. Mobivox has made it simple.

Southwest Airlines Getting Business!

I just received an email about the improvements SouthWest is making to their boarding process. Okay, for some of us that's old news. It will sure give business travelers another reason to LUV Southwest. I know I sure do. Living in SoCal and being a regular flier to Silicon Valley, Phoenix and elsewhere they fly, I've learned to really enjoy the attitude and approach they have over the older and perceptually more established airlines.

Now in the email they sent out they have given me even more reasons to LUV them. It seems they are going "extreme" and in doing so, really want more business travelers as well as families.

In early November, we will start the new boarding systemwide (view new boarding demo). And at the same time, you’ll start seeing these updated gate areas pop up in airports across our system, with a complete makeover of all 64 cities in early 2008.

This “extreme gate makeover” is designed to improve the airport experience for each and every one of our Customers, including: a business focused area with padded seats, tables with power outlets, power stations with stools, and a flat screen television for news programming; a family area with smaller tables and chairs, “kid friendly” programming on a flat screen television, and power stations for charging electrical devices (such as portable DVD players, etc.). Check out the new gate design.

Charging stations are essential. In my book they rank up there with really good WiFi.

Mobile Broadband Operators-EVDO and HSDPA Now Bundling In WiFi

The nations number five mobile operator, Alltel, will begin bundling in WiFi with their EVDO service packs. This is a step in the right direction.

What I liked about this story is it told me that AT&T has made WiFi free with mobile data plans, with a catch. I didn't know that, and candidly, as someone with three AT&T data plans on various cards and phones, nowhere have they pushed that message so its easily known.

Add in Truphone or GizmoProject and they would have both have a rival to the easy to use T-Mobile UMA product offering.

FightStats.com Considered Best For The Road Warrior

I've been using FlightStats for over a year now and am elated to see that my judgement was confirmed by the Wall Street Journal. With all the travel I've been doing, this is one service that really helps keep me well informed about my own travel and that of colleagues.