Life on the Other Side of the Digital Coin

Jul 24, 2008 By Mark Evans in Web-based Services, Wireless 5 Comments Tags: bayfield, wi-fi

So, my hunt for Wi-Fi in Bayfield, Ont. was finally successful as the public library offers free access.

What’s interesting is the library seems to be the place in town where most people go to get online. With a large retirement community that only needs occasional access to the Web, the library’s computer and its Linksys router meets the needs for many people who may not have a computer at home.

When I told the librarian how it was difficult to find Wi-Fi in town, she said so many people depend on the library’s Internet connection that there is much unhappiness when technical issues knock out its service.

So, what are people doing online? Mostly, e-mail and paying bills. No mention about Twitter, Techmeme, Facebook or Friendster.

What I found funny and interesting is the librarian told me that when people want to get online when the library is closed, they park their cars outside, and then jump on the wireless network.

You figure with this kind of demand, an enterprising cafe owner would offer free Wi-Fi to paying customers, or even a little CyberCafe.

Let’s Focus, People

Jul 23, 2008 By Mark Evans in Wireless 9 Comments Tags: bicycling, blackberry, ipod

There was a story in the Toronto Star earlier this week about how 100 drivers a day fail to stop behind the open doors of a streetcar, putting them at risk of hitting a disembarking passenger.

So what’s one the big reasons for the failure to stop?

Cell phones. Yup, drivers are so busy yacking away that they often fail to see a large, red public transportation vehicle come to a stop ahead of them.

Why people in many places are still allowed to drive and talk is a mystery. There’s no way you can truly focus on driving if part of your brain is paying attention somewhere else. People who check their Blackberrys are even worse.

The lack of focus is becoming a pandemic. Rather than paying attention to the task at hand, we’re distracting ourselves on purpose.

Along with cell phones, Blackberrys, iPhones et al, one of the biggest distraction culprits is the iPod. People plug in and tune out as they walk, bike and take the bus, subway and streetcar – oblivious to their surroundings.

As I ride back and forth to work on my bike, I’m shocked that so many people ride while listening to their iPods. They can’t even hear me coming alongside them, let along a car. Given how little respect Toronto drivers give bicyclists, the last thing I’d do as a bicyclists is not be completely focused on the task at hand.

Perhaps multi-tasking is to blame. We live in a world where doing more than one thing at a time is totally acceptable. How can anyone be super productive if they’re only doing one thing at a time?

Truth be told, we all need to focus on being focused – be it driving, biking or working.

Technorati Tags: bicycling, ipod touch, wireless

The Death of Free Wi-Fi

Jul 22, 2008 By Mark Evans in Wireless 11 Comments Tags: boingo, cisco, ISPs, linksys, wi-fi

It used to be that jumping on a free Wi-Fi network to check e-mail or do some casual Web browsing was easy. Most people didn’t lock down their networks because they were happy to share and/or they didn’t know how to do lock down their networks. Few people abused the privilege, and it was a win-win all around.

Today, it’s a different world. It’s increasingly diificult to find a free and open Wi-Fi connection. Most networks have the evil “lock” icon. This is all the fault of Linksys, Cisco and D-Link, which have made security on new routers far too simple to set up. What ever happened to the complex process of configuring a WEP password!?

Meanwhile, the media has done a great job convincing everyone that open Wi-Fi networks are just an invitation for strangers to download gigabytes of music, movies and porn.Unlike the credit card business that forgives its customers if someone else uses their cards without authorization, the ISPs – and, for that matter, the music industry – put the onus on the subscriber for whatever happens on their -Internet connection.

Then, you’ve got the bandwidth caps being quietly applied by the ISPs to “manage” their networks. Of course, it’s also a way to monetize their networks given the emergence of bandwidth-sucking video services such as Hulu and YouTube. When you have a bandwidth cap, there’s far less incentive to share.

What it means is the free ride is over. It was fun while it lasted but the party is being shut down. In it’s place, you have hot-spots run by the ISPs; services such as Boingo, (which offers access to more than 13K hotspots in Canada but, sadly, none in Bayfield, Ont.); the occaisonal independent cafe that offers customers quasi-free Wi-Fi to lure people away from Starbucks; and altruistic, but under-funded community groups that try to offer free Wi-Fi.

RIP, free and open Wi-Fi; it was nice knowing you.

Technorati Tags: wi-fi

New Facebook: Does it Matter?

Jul 21, 2008 By Mark Evans in Uncategorized No Comments Tags: Facebook, friendster

Hey look, Facebook has a new look – sort of like adding a new coat of paint after seeing what the neighbours (aka Friendster) are doing.

There’s nothing wrong with spiffing up the place but is it going to make much of a difference? I mean, Facebook is now what it is – an interesting service but no longer the compelling entity it was a year ago. This is due to a combination of strategic mistakes, new players and the novelty factor wearing off.

Then again, I tried to leave Facebook recently only to realize it’s still a relevant tool if you’re a digital creature of habit. Like many people, Facebook has its uses but it’s not something I need or use every day.

Fox Creating Social Media Empire

Jul 21, 2008 By Mark Evans in M&A 4 Comments

Within Toronto’s tech community, Maggie Fox is widely recognized for being one of the social media gurus. Her company, Social Media Group, has established itself as one of the leading consulting firms, highlighted by its relationship with Ford Motor Co.

With so much happening on the social media front, it is not surprising to see Maggie and SMG make a bold move by signing a letter of intent to purchase Washington-based Livingstone Communications. This will expand SMG to 20 people, and make it the “world’s largest independent social media marketing and communications firm”.

Geoff Livingston, CEO of Livingston Communications and author of Now Is Gone: Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs, will become executive VP, Americas for SMG, and continue to head the Washington office. Social Media Group will also acquire the Buzz Bin blog (www.livingstonbuzz.com/blog) and the BlogPotomac conference.

Congrats, Maggie!

Technorati Tags: maggie fox, social media group

The Week That Was (aka The Josh Hamilton Story)

Jul 19, 2008 By Mark Evans in Web 2.0 1 Comment

If there was a dominant theme on MET this past week it was Josh Hamilton.

Hamilton is a baseball player with the Texas Rangers whose comeback from drug and alcohol addiction was capped in fairy tale style when he hit a staggering 28 home runs during the All-Star home run derby. Inspired by his comeback and performance, I wrote a quick post.

In no time at all, the traffic started to soar on MET – strange given this is a tech blog. I discovered that doing a Google search for “Josh Hamilton” would also highlight blog posts at the top or bottom of the page. Ah, the power of Google!

There was also a lot of interest in a post about how the buzz about the iPhone has overshadowed the reality 3G networks are going to be a golden goose for wireless carriers as consumer demand access to the mobile Web.

And my continued obsession with the iPod Touch also got some traction with posts on whether the Touch is the new XP, and how the Apple App Store makes the Touch even sexier.

Interesting Web Sites

I’m not sure whether there’s a business to be had but Bitstrips is definitely cool. It’s a Canadian start-up that lets you create comic strips. It’s also received some impressive media coverage. You can see Bitstrips in action on StartupNorth.

For Canadians looking to save a few bucks (Note: This is a Canadian obsessions that ranks alongside hockey.), check out Smart Canucks, which bills itself as the “First Canadian Deals Blog”.

Twitter for Travel?

As you can imagine, I spend a lot of time scouring the online travel landscape for new, different and interesting start-ups. When you work for a start-up, it just seems to be part of the gig to see what others for inspiration, ideas and insight into what and what not to do.

It’s not often that I write about competitors but Trazzler caught my attention, mostly because it involves Twitter founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone, who are listed as Trazzler’s founding advisors.

Trazzler is service offering travel inspiration. Clearly work-in-progress, it features articles on things to do and places to go. If you see something you like (e.g. Buying Heavenly Breads at Alain Decasse’s Boulangepicier in Paris), you can add it to a wish list. Perhaps the most intriguing part of Trazzler is a yet-to-be-released feature called the Travel Personality that using algorithms to figure out your interests.

Weekly Poll

Technorati Tags: ipod touch, josh hamilton, trazzler, Twitter

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mark Evans Tech

Thoughts on Startups, Entrepreneurs and the Web