It always strikes me as somewhat amazing how much SMS and MMS services have seamlessly integrated themselves with mainstream activities.  As an example (and no surprise to those who really know me!), I will use this afternoon's Ranger/Bruin hockey game as an example.  Before you send me lots of comments and e-mail pointing out that what I really wanted to write this blog installment about was the thrilling game, I plead 100% guilty.  I will try to at least give some lip service to mobile Internet services while I carry on about the thriller in the "World's most famous arena."

The Rangers and Bruins started the day separated by just one point in the standings, with the Broadway Blues holding the advantage.  The Eastern Conference is very tight this year, with only 6 points separating the top 7 teams! 

The teams traded excellent scoring chances in the first period with the Rangers testing the Boston goalposts, back boards and protective netting, as much as they challenged the Bruin goaltender. But with no pucks finding the twine of either goal, the period ended scoreless. 

The second period was similar to the first, with the intensity turned up several notches.  Jaromir Jagr powered by the Bruin defense on three occasions for close-in tries, denied on each by Jay Auld, the Bruin net minder.  The Bruins finally did put some sustained pressure on the Rangers, with Henrik up to the challenge.  The second intermission came with no goals.

A special shout-out at this point must go to a Blue Shirt faithful in the "Blue Section."  With exactly 1 minute and 5 seconds left in the period, he yelled out, "Hey, how much time is left in the period?"   The announcer of course then followed with "One minute left in the period."  The fan responded with a loud "Thank You!"   19,000 people laughed.  At least the tension of the game was broken for a bit.

The third period was frenetic.   Both goalies made acrobatic saves that seemed to defy the laws of physics.  At one point, Sean Avery made a great power move to the net and flicked the puck off the left post -- groan!   Both teams tried the old tried-and-true method of pushing the defenders and the goalie, along with the puck, into the net.  In both cases, the referees were close at hand to restore order.

 With about 7 minutes left in the game, Scott Gomez completely undressed a Bruin defensemen, stealing the puck in the offensive slot area.  Gomez came in on Auld totally uncontested ... and missed.

Both teams traded some good scoring chances in the 5-minute overtime, but it was obvious that this one would be settled "Mano a Mano" -- with a shootout.  After regular and OT play, both goalies had turned away a combined  64 shots.   That's a whole season of shots for a soccer team!

(If you've stuck it out this far in the blog, I promise to have something about mobile services at the end!)

(Also, if you've stuck it out this long, there is a good chance we share some DNA!)

The shootout -- a best of three -- was as nerve- racking as it gets in a big game.  Both teams missed their first shots.  Nigel Dawes, a Ranger rookie, took the second shot and ringed it off the left post and into the back of the net!   After nearly 3 hours, a puck finally entered the net!  The Bruins missed their final two shots and as Henrik stopped David Krejci, bedlam broke out at the Garden. 

Playoff-atmosphere hockey in mid-March.  Very nice.!

If you want to see video highlights of the game, follow this link:

http://rangers.nhl.tv/team/console?hlg=20072008,2,1037

So here is the wireless angle on this joyous day:

 At that start of the game, I updated my "microblog" with my whereabouts and the status of the game.  During the game there were three wireless polls taken of the audience.  I sent an MMS picture of my daughter to be displayed on the arena's Jumbo-Tron.  At one point, my daughter got lost in the arena (actually, she knew where she was;  I didn't).  She texted me her location, which was back at our seats. ( I can put this in here because my wife does not read this blog!)  And lastly, this entire blog was written on my BlackBerry on the train ride home.  A very full day indeed!

Flat Rate for Wireless: Is this the way of nature for all telecom services?

In the last couple of days, the major carriers have announced competing flat-rate wireless deals. No more counting minutes. These new plans might be as significant as the original AT&T one-rate plan that revolutionized wireless pricing. I say “might” because the price is still rather high and the plans all but eliminate the family plan users. For the heaviest of wireless users, this plan can save money and eliminate hassle, and follows on the heels of similar flat-rate plans for wireless messaging and data usage.

My Favorite LBS Services

This is the big travel weekend, so a short review of my three favorite LBS services seems in order. In the New York metro area there are four main destinations, each with its unique lingo. For the Labor Day weekend people leave “The City” and go either “Upstate” (which for City dwellers is anywhere that is more than 1 mile north of the Bronx!), “Out to the Island” (which is what you say if you go to Long Island but don’t have a place in the Hamptons), “Down the Shore” (that’s the Jersey shore), or “in the mountains” (either the Poconos or Catskills – Since there are no coal miners in the city – the phrase “in the mountains is curious)

 
In my previous blog I presented a slice of the diverse life we have in New York. Living and working in New York provides a Mobile company such as Upoc Networks an advantage in providing innovative services that reach a diverse marketplace.

 

 

 

Many companies spend endless hours training and talking about diversity in the workplace; we live it, at work and at home.

When I think of diversity I add other factors such social-economic background, age, education, work experience and sexual orientation. My awareness of our total diversity is obviously incomplete, but I would venture to say that we would be hard pressed to find more than a couple of employees who were similar in all aspects.  This is the workforce we draw from, this is the city where we are headquartered, and most importantly , this is representative of the marketplace in which we compete.

We did not sit down as a Management team and place various diversity hiring goals, it has been not necessary. I have observed throughout my career that if your existing organization has diversity, it will attract and retain diversity.

There are obviously many companies and regions that have diversity, but no city has the history and the reputation of being the world’s melting pot.

New York is a city with over 100 nationalities, every major religion (and probably more than few that are not so “major”), every ethnicity, culture, race, creed, sexual orientation, political affiliation and social/economic status. 

What is perhaps truly amazing is that this patchwork quilt of cultures co-exist in relative harmony within New York.

Moslems and Jews, Blacks and Whites, Japanese, Chinese and Koreans, Catholics and Protestants , Serbs, Russians, Hispanics, the list goes on and on. In other areas of the world the same groups might be at war, but in New York they seem to blend and even feed off of each others culture.

It must be something in the water!

New York, New York.

Here is the list:

Immediate family, extended family, school friends, religious network, sports team members, high school friends, college friends, work colleagues, business networks, and neighborhood friends.

One observation I made was that the number of active social networks was at the highest and potentially most volatile in my teen years and early 20s. These are the social networks that set the foundation for adulthood. How I related to each social network was slightly different. 

Sometimes the social network would define who I was, and sometimes the opposite was true. Even the name I was (am) known by in the different social networks varied.

 The obvious example are: Steve (Parents and Family), Dad (Kids) and Spence (School, High School and College Friends).  

Thinking about Web 2.0 in real life social networking terms yielded me an epiphany. You can imagine how difficult it is in anyone’s teen years to be labeled and categorized within a particular social group. The virtual social networks are a way out of that dilemma for teens. They permit high school and college students to take more direct control of defining who and what they are. 

It allows them to redefine themselves at will. It grabs control from the mass network at large and creates a better sense of ego. It is no longer the roll of the “in crowd” to define the social network and status of others. 

The virtual social networks are the great equalizer in the social status game. This is a game that is most important to high school and college age students.  

Next installment is the most interesting social network I ever belonged to …

There are several reasons why the CB radio phenomenon died out. Here are my top reasons and why they relate to today’s big social networks:

The stated motivation for entering the social network was not consistent with the activity of the network. Uh? Let me explain. Most people bought into the commercial promotion that the CB was a safety and security device. You could somehow contact help if you broke down on a lonely deserted road. Help was just a “breaker, breaker, good buddy, please save my butt!” call away. So, you would tell your friends and family, “I’m getting this to be safe!” 

Of course that was a total lie.

The CB was a social networking toy! You could play at creating and honing a new persona every time you pushed the transmit button. You could be Southern (which was the favorite, especially of Northerners, or you could be "the boss" or the man "the man"). Women were treated with equal status (especially if they knew the 10-20 of "smokey and his camera"). While there were no doubt illegal or immoral activities, the norms of the community and the total openness of communication served as a self-regulation. It gave the user of CB radio freedom to be however they wanted to be. It was the first mass social network with anonymous communication that created its own social norms.

The times that I actually discovered who I was really talking to, well, became kind of boring.

The main usage as a social networking device let to that need being more powerfully filled by the explosion of instant messaging in the late 1980s and 1990s. Social networking was no longer limited to 5 miles of random road, but the whole world. 

Strike One for the CB  

The consumers who actually used the CB because of safety reasons probably discovered that relying on random strangers to help you in your hour of need is as likely to bring “bad guys” as it is “good guys” to your rescue. Another device was now being marketed as the safety device you should have in your car – the mobile phone.  The mobile phone is of course a social networking device with one-to-one precise communication. It was better to call the AAA to fix your car than rely on “Cruisin' Cougar,” “Lusty Lady,” or “Bandit Eye.”

  Strike Two for the CB

 The CB Social networks were random and without context other than you were traveling somewhere and didn’t want to get a speeding ticket. This is not the form of social networking that creates “sticky” bonds. No one really grew attached to their “Good Buddies.” It was rare that you would find the same person twice, and if you did, it could just be another person with the same handle. In general, you did not care – no context means no passion about a topic and no ties amongst the members. Thus, when alternate means of random social networking emerged, or safety devices became available, there was nothing underneath all the hype of the CB craze to sustain it. 

 Strike Three for CB.

 Some more thoughts on today’s social networks in my next installment.