"Products are Useless Without a Platform"

"A product is useless without a platform, or more precisely and accurately, a platform-less product will always be replaced by an equivalent platform-ized product," says Steve Yegge at Google. Steve Yegge, Google software engineer. 


He rants about that matter in an "internal memo" that accidentally got published externally. 

Google Platforms Rant  


It might make most sense for those of you who do coding. The larger issue, for those of us who do not code is the importance of platforms. Some of us might use the term ecosystems.  


Those of you who just like gossip will be amused as well. 

T-Mobile USA Extends VoIP Features

T-Mobile’s Bobsled service, a VOIP-based communication platform that initially allowed smartphone owners to call their Facebook friends from their mobile device, has been expanded to provide free calls to any mobile or landline number in the U.S, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere in the world, simply by using their desktop browser.

The move is one more example of what normally happens in competitive markets, which is that the contestants lagging most in a market are most likely to embrace disruptive changes.

Whereas before, Bobsled would allow you to call Facebook friends from a dedicated smartphone application, the service has been adapted to give users the opportunity to call numbers in North America directly from the browser using their desktop computer and iOS or Android tablets or smartphones.

The Android/iOS version currently only supports calls direct to Facebook contacts, but that will be upgraded soon, one assumes. If an iPhone or Android user wants to make free general calls, users will need to log in through the browser interface instead of placing calls directly from the mobile.

Still, using the mobile apps, users already can make Bobsled to Bobsled calls, cross-platform between Android and iOS, and leave voicemails that show up on Facebook contacts’ walls.

It’s also possible to record a voice message and leave that pinned to someone’s wall, rather than actually talk to them.

In effect it’s a clever way for T-Mobile to potentially get onto hundreds of thousands of iPhone home screens, despite being the only major US carrier not offering the new iPhone 4S. The immediate revenue for T-Mobile is nil, of course, but the potential for mind share and awareness at least is enhanced.

"Bobsled Calling" allows users to make high quality calls to Facebook friends and any number in the United States, Canada or Puerto Rico from anywhere a user has an Internet connection, even when they phone isn't available. Bobsled

To download the application on your smartphone or tablet device, click here.

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The Federal Reserve Plans To Monitor Facebook, Twitter, Google

The New York Federal Reserve Bank is embarking on an ambitious social media monitoring project, starting in December 2010. The key phrase is "monitoring." At least so far, the New York Fed does not seem to have plans to do anything other than listen to what people are saying. 


The Fed will be monitoring Facebook, Twitter, and the broader Web to gauge public response to economic policy. The New York Federal Reserve Bank wants to know how they are perceived, so social media is one way to do so.

That's part of the larger way organizations can use social media. In this case, the aim is "listening," rather than content marketing that would be an outbound attempt to change whatever perceptions the Fed might find. 

The Federal Reserve Plans To Monitor Facebook, Twitter, Google News

22% of U.S. Smart Phones Sold were 4G Capable

About 22 percent of smart phones purchased by U.S. consumers in the second quarter of 2011 were capable of running at 4G speeds. 


A year ago, just three percent of U.S. smart phones sold could run on a 4G network, according to the NPD Group. 

The top four smart phone 4G manufacturers, based on consumer sales in Q2 2011:
1.HTC: 62%
2.Samsung: 22%
3.Motorola: 11%
4.LG: 4%


What the study did not look at, but seems correct, is that "4G" is not yet a distinct "service." It is faster than 3G, which is good, but not yet in any way a truly different "service" than 3G. So far, 4G is a "better pipe," but just that: a better pipe, as a 10 Mbps connection is better than a 5 Mbps connection. 


For 4G is anything more than "table stakes" for mobile service providers, the end use experience will have to change. So far, that hasn't happened. 

20% of Smart phones Sold in Q2 2011 Were 4G-Capable

How to Estimate Your Social Media Return on Investment

The real problem for any manager, owner or executive when trying to quantify the return on investment from any social media investment is that the results are highly dependent on the assumptions. Change the assumptions and you change the "return" on any campaign or channel.

That can be especially tricky when trying to figure out the value of "avoided" activities. Any customer support group can estimate the cost of an average call simply by dividing wages or contract costs with the total number of "completed" calls. None of that will measure the effectiveness of call handling, though.

A firm might rationally want to process more calls per hour. What isn't so clear is how the value of those calls might change if the metric is simply "calls per hour." Handling calls faster might mean higher rates at which customers depart, fewer "account saves" or less "incremental new sales."

In the U.S., the average support call cost is approximately $10 to $25 per call, depending on the product, services and the vertical. So one way to create a metric is to forecast the number of support calls a firm believes it will get in the future, implement a social media program to circumvent those calls, and then measure the difference between the number of calls the firm actually received, versus the number it expected.

You see the conundrum. "Success" depends on the assumptions about future call rates. Set a high-enough expected future rate and a firm can "succeed" with or without a social media program. Set a low-enough rate and a firm will "fail," no matter how good its performance at avoiding calls in the first place.

It's a good thing, and often necessary, to measure social media effectiveness. The problem is simply that success or failure mostly is determined by the assumptions one makes.

How to Estimate Your Social Media Return on Investmen

VoIP Will Cannibalize Mobile Voice

VoIP always has been a troublesome issue for established voice providers. On one hand, it has promised the ability to create and deliver new and richer services. On the other hand VoIP has had the potential to essentially cannibalize the single most important revenue stream a telco or mobile service provider possesses. VoIP will cannibalize existing voice

O2's plans to offer VoIP technology are an example. O2 Connect is a new mobile service that allows smart phone users to use voice and text services over Wi-Fi networks from their mobile number. Users can call or text to any U.K. mobile or landline number using the service.

O2 Connect will initially be available on iOS and Android smart phones and will subsequently roll out to other devices. O2 Trials VoIP Service


The trial will commence in October 2011 by invitation only and will include O2 consumer and business customers. All of the traditional challenges are present in the test. O2 hopes to provide higher value and greater flexibility for its customers. But O2 Connect also can displace some of the revenue O2 otherwise might earn from voice and text messaging services.

"Internet of Things" has Same Attraction as SMS, for Mobile Service Providers

The "Internet of things" has gotten attention recently for several reasons. 


One reason is that analysts, academics and journalists, not to mention mobile service provider executives, need something new to talk about. 


Another reason is that machines and sensors represent the clearest way for mobile revenue and services to grow. Most people who want a mobile device now have one.

Mobile broadband for smart phones and tablets will be an important source of revenue growth for some time. Beyond that, to keep the business growing, service providers must tap a whole new class of services and devices other than "phones" or other devices people use. That means sensors, security cameras and other telemetry devices. 

But there are some other benefits as well. Many telemetry applications do not use much bandwidth. So the attraction is similar to that of short message service: high margins and low bandwidth consumption. Industrial and other specialized applications also will be more churn resistant.


“A machine is not going to churn as fast as a consumer,” said Robert Mesirow, CTIA vice president. In part, that is because specific sensor applications typically will be embedded in some larger business process with scale implications. One consumer can swap a phone or a service provider without hassle. That will not be true for large sensor networks.


There are challenges, to be sure. Many sensor applications will feature low gross revenue, which has significant implications for the design of such services. Sensors often will have to be very low cost, very easy to deploy and support, while the recurring service costs also will have to be optimized. 


Still, when an industry runs out of customers, finding new customers is highly significant. That's why much attention will be paid to sensor networks and applications. 

Why M2M is important