eComm is just getting going here, and I'll blog about that as time allows. WiFi is slow, so I just have time now to get this post done.
My son, Max, is with me at eComm, so he's getting a great education about IP communications and innovation - lucky guy. Anyhow, we're working together - he's just written his Nokia N81 review, and I'm just about done with my N95 review.
So, I wanted to quickly share this with you now. Max posted his N81 review to his blog yesterday. In time, it will be posted by Andy to the Nokia N81 Blogger Relations blog page - will share that with you when it's up.
Technorati tags: Nokia N81, Jon Arnold, Max Arnold
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
IP Communications Insights is Launched
Well, the day has finally come. The venture I've been working on with fellow indie consultant, Marc Robins is finally hatched. We remain indie consultants, but are pitching our tent a bit further out under the guise of IP Communications Insights. The press release hit the wires this morning, and if you haven't seen it, you can read it here.
So, after reading the press release, I'd love for you to visit our portal, IP Communications Insights, and tell us what you think. We have a newsletter that you can subscribe to, with the first issue posted on the site. We're also launching our own branded industry studies, which we think will fill a growing need for independent analysis at an affordable price point. There's quite a bit more to explore at the portal, so take your time!
And more than anything else, we're trying to give a louder voice and a home for the independent analyst perspective. Marc and I have been doing our own thing for a while now, but together, we think this idea makes sense, and we very much want our portal to be a voice for other independent analysts and thought leaders.
More to come, for sure, but I have to get on my way to eComm now, and maybe I'll see you there, and we can talk more about it.
Technorati tags: IP Communications Insights, Jon Arnold, Marc Robins
So, after reading the press release, I'd love for you to visit our portal, IP Communications Insights, and tell us what you think. We have a newsletter that you can subscribe to, with the first issue posted on the site. We're also launching our own branded industry studies, which we think will fill a growing need for independent analysis at an affordable price point. There's quite a bit more to explore at the portal, so take your time!
And more than anything else, we're trying to give a louder voice and a home for the independent analyst perspective. Marc and I have been doing our own thing for a while now, but together, we think this idea makes sense, and we very much want our portal to be a voice for other independent analysts and thought leaders.
More to come, for sure, but I have to get on my way to eComm now, and maybe I'll see you there, and we can talk more about it.
Technorati tags: IP Communications Insights, Jon Arnold, Marc Robins
Monday, March 10, 2008
Spring VON.x Preview
I don't often post about shows I'm not attending, but the buzz around Spring VON - now VON.x - is starting to build. As readers of my blog would know by now, I'm only able to attend one event over the next 2 weeks, and the way the calendar falls, it won't be this one. I feel badly about that, so the next best thing is to blog about what's coming.
There are two items I want to draw your attention to about the show. First is the news the other day announcing the VON Magazine Innovators Award. This is the inaugural award under this banner, where a panel of VON Magazine contributors selects the top 65 innovators, all of whom will receive formal recognition at the show. Am not sure where the number 65 comes from, as this intiative succeeds the Pulver 100, which I have posted about in previous years.
Anyhow, the press release lists the winners, and there are lots of promising companies in there. A few that stand out for me based on what I'm familiar with include BroadSoft, Dialogic, Intelliverse, Iotum, LifeSize, M5, MetaSwitch, Pactolus, Sangoma, SightSpeed, Sonus, Sylantro, TalkPlus, TalkSwitch, TelcoBridges, Thomas Howe Company and VoIP Logic. Special kudos to the Canadian companies which are underlined in this list!
Now I'll make a clever segue to my second item around VON.x. Iotum is one of the Canadian companies I follow closely, and most recently, they've been focused on their free conference calling application - Talk-Now - that runs on Facebook. It's been a nice success, and to keep this visible and valuable for the IP community, CEO Alec Saunders has recently initiated an ongoing concall forum called Squawk Box. He's been building this into a really nice forum for everyday commentary and thought leadership about the latest IP/telecom news and events. I've been wanting to contribute to these calls, but just haven't found the time yet. Hopefully after eComm.
Anyhow, on his March 6 Squawk Box segment, Alec's guest included Jeff Pulver. They had a great chat, and you won't find a better way to get a preview of what to expect at VON.x, as well as where Jeff is at in his latest thinking and projects. Jeff is Jeff, and he never stands still - if you don't know why, then you need to give this a listen! Sorry I won't be there, and after listening to this, I know I'm going to miss being there even more.
Technorati tags: VON.x, Jon Arnold, Jeff Pulver, Alec Saunders, VON Magazine
There are two items I want to draw your attention to about the show. First is the news the other day announcing the VON Magazine Innovators Award. This is the inaugural award under this banner, where a panel of VON Magazine contributors selects the top 65 innovators, all of whom will receive formal recognition at the show. Am not sure where the number 65 comes from, as this intiative succeeds the Pulver 100, which I have posted about in previous years.
Anyhow, the press release lists the winners, and there are lots of promising companies in there. A few that stand out for me based on what I'm familiar with include BroadSoft, Dialogic, Intelliverse, Iotum, LifeSize, M5, MetaSwitch, Pactolus, Sangoma, SightSpeed, Sonus, Sylantro, TalkPlus, TalkSwitch, TelcoBridges, Thomas Howe Company and VoIP Logic. Special kudos to the Canadian companies which are underlined in this list!
Now I'll make a clever segue to my second item around VON.x. Iotum is one of the Canadian companies I follow closely, and most recently, they've been focused on their free conference calling application - Talk-Now - that runs on Facebook. It's been a nice success, and to keep this visible and valuable for the IP community, CEO Alec Saunders has recently initiated an ongoing concall forum called Squawk Box. He's been building this into a really nice forum for everyday commentary and thought leadership about the latest IP/telecom news and events. I've been wanting to contribute to these calls, but just haven't found the time yet. Hopefully after eComm.
Anyhow, on his March 6 Squawk Box segment, Alec's guest included Jeff Pulver. They had a great chat, and you won't find a better way to get a preview of what to expect at VON.x, as well as where Jeff is at in his latest thinking and projects. Jeff is Jeff, and he never stands still - if you don't know why, then you need to give this a listen! Sorry I won't be there, and after listening to this, I know I'm going to miss being there even more.
Technorati tags: VON.x, Jon Arnold, Jeff Pulver, Alec Saunders, VON Magazine
Friday, March 7, 2008
eComm2008 - Last Call
As the week winds down and I tie up loose ends before next week - and March Break - I just wanted put out a final call for eComm2008.
I've posted about it previously, and if this is news to you, have a look, and hope you can make it. And if you want the 15% registration discount, the details are in my last post.
I'll be moderating the session on Mobile Voice Mashups at 2pm on Thursday, and if you're coming, please drop by. Otherwise, I won't be hard to find, and will blog as time allows.
Technorati tags: eComm2008, Jon Arnold
I've posted about it previously, and if this is news to you, have a look, and hope you can make it. And if you want the 15% registration discount, the details are in my last post.
I'll be moderating the session on Mobile Voice Mashups at 2pm on Thursday, and if you're coming, please drop by. Otherwise, I won't be hard to find, and will blog as time allows.
Technorati tags: eComm2008, Jon Arnold
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
VoIP, Vonage and Skype - 3 of my Favorite Things - Ike Elliott Too
I've done plenty of blogging, writing and podcasting about these 3 topics - VoIP, Vonage and Skype - over the years, and sometimes I feel I'm the last one standing pointing to any signs of hope for Vonage.
Well, I may have a kindred spirit in Ike Elliott, whom I've been getting to know better recently. He's turned up in a few of my posts, and his blog, Telecosm - love the name - is really starting to find its voice. Ike has a long history in telecom, and many people associate him with Level 3, but for me, it's been our common focus on these VoIP topics. Oh - and music. We're of the same vintage, and our musical tastes are very similar. Maybe we'll come out with a blog about that some day - now THAT would be fun.
Anyhow, his posts from today and yesterday have dug a little deeper into this territory, and he's put together some nice trend data showing how well everyone is really doing with residential VoIP. "Everyone" is basically 3 parties - the cablecos, Skype and Vonage.
In today's post, Ike shows that the trend for residential VoIP is actually slowing down across the board, which is very interesting. The exception is a big Q4 uptick from Skype, but otherwise, the revenue growth rate is decreasing. He speculates that competition is one cause, and wireless substitution is another. I agree with these, and he also cites Vonage's shaky existence, which is probably giving a black eye to all the remaining pure play VoIP providers. Lots to talk about here, but let's move on.
Yesterday's post has Ike digging into what Skype's numbers really mean, especially around the definition of "registered users". Very interesting reading, and a topic that deserves exploration, for both Skype lovers and nay-sayers. On that note, you should also bookmark Skype Journal, which touches on this topic from time to time.
All good stuff here, and I just want to shine some light on Ike and the good work he's doing. Am sure he and I will find a way to tease these ideas out further another time - maybe here, maybe on his blog, maybe on a podcast. And if you want a bit more, come visit the IP Convergence TV portal, which I am the Editor of. Ike has just written a Guest Opinion article on this topic, and it will be posted in the next day or so.
Technorati tags: VoIP, Jon Arnold, Ike Elliott, Vonage, Skype
Well, I may have a kindred spirit in Ike Elliott, whom I've been getting to know better recently. He's turned up in a few of my posts, and his blog, Telecosm - love the name - is really starting to find its voice. Ike has a long history in telecom, and many people associate him with Level 3, but for me, it's been our common focus on these VoIP topics. Oh - and music. We're of the same vintage, and our musical tastes are very similar. Maybe we'll come out with a blog about that some day - now THAT would be fun.
Anyhow, his posts from today and yesterday have dug a little deeper into this territory, and he's put together some nice trend data showing how well everyone is really doing with residential VoIP. "Everyone" is basically 3 parties - the cablecos, Skype and Vonage.
In today's post, Ike shows that the trend for residential VoIP is actually slowing down across the board, which is very interesting. The exception is a big Q4 uptick from Skype, but otherwise, the revenue growth rate is decreasing. He speculates that competition is one cause, and wireless substitution is another. I agree with these, and he also cites Vonage's shaky existence, which is probably giving a black eye to all the remaining pure play VoIP providers. Lots to talk about here, but let's move on.
Yesterday's post has Ike digging into what Skype's numbers really mean, especially around the definition of "registered users". Very interesting reading, and a topic that deserves exploration, for both Skype lovers and nay-sayers. On that note, you should also bookmark Skype Journal, which touches on this topic from time to time.
All good stuff here, and I just want to shine some light on Ike and the good work he's doing. Am sure he and I will find a way to tease these ideas out further another time - maybe here, maybe on his blog, maybe on a podcast. And if you want a bit more, come visit the IP Convergence TV portal, which I am the Editor of. Ike has just written a Guest Opinion article on this topic, and it will be posted in the next day or so.
Technorati tags: VoIP, Jon Arnold, Ike Elliott, Vonage, Skype
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
eComm2008 a Week Away/Discount Registration Offer
Time sure flies and I just realized eComm2008 is only a week away. I blogged about it last week, and since then I wanted share this promo video message that one of their sponsors just put together - it's a good 2 minute take on why this event is shaping up so well.
There's also a press release that went out today with conference updates, including a preview of what Skype's Jonathan Christensen will be talking about during his keynote as part of an interview he did with Lee Dryburgh. The full transcript is posted on the eComm blog if you want the whole thing.
As mentioned last week, I'm happy to extend a 15% discount on your registration if you haven't done so yet. Just drop me a line, and I'll pass along the code you'll need to get that. Hope to see you there!
Technorati tags: eComm2008, Jon Arnold
There's also a press release that went out today with conference updates, including a preview of what Skype's Jonathan Christensen will be talking about during his keynote as part of an interview he did with Lee Dryburgh. The full transcript is posted on the eComm blog if you want the whole thing.
As mentioned last week, I'm happy to extend a 15% discount on your registration if you haven't done so yet. Just drop me a line, and I'll pass along the code you'll need to get that. Hope to see you there!
Technorati tags: eComm2008, Jon Arnold
Monday, March 3, 2008
Webware 100 - I'm Voting for Octopz and Mobivox
CNET's Webware 100 voting commenced last Monday, and I'm just coming across this now.
This initiative sure looks like a great barometer of Web 2.0, and I would think that anyone following this space would want to be watching this group of companies closely. In some ways this reminds me of Demo, with the idea being that any company making this group is in good company. However, this a very different process where the nominations are determined by Webware's Editors, and the winners are chosen by readers/visitors to the site who make the effort to vote. So, it's not as gruelling as Demo, but it provides a great forum to recognize up and coming - as well as established companies.
To vote, the Web 2.0 space is grouped into 10 categories, and there are about 30 companies nominated in each category. Scrolling through these, there are lots of familiar and large names - Google, Facebook, Blogger, Flickr, etc. - so there's always a risk of this being a popularity contest. Sure, they'll get their share of mainstream votes, but for those of us watching smaller companies more closely, this is your chance to speak up.
There are tons of interesting companies in here, but I want to note two in particular - Ocotopz and Mobivox. Aside from being Canadian, these are the ones from all the nominations that I follow the closest. Toronto-based Octopz made the short list for voting, as did Montreal-based Mobivox. Readers of my blog will know I've followed both companies for some time, and have posted about them previously, here and here.
Whether I'm waving the Canadian flag, or you want to support a couple of really great companies, I would urge you to check both out and decide for yourself if they're worth your vote. I have voted for both, and would gladly recommend them to others if you wanted a second opinion.
At this time of writing, the Webware 100 has tallied around 1 million votes, so this thing is pretty popular. Voting ends March 31, and the winners will be conveniently announced just before the Web 2.0 Expo, which starts April 22.
Technorati tags: Webware 100, Jon Arnold, Octopz, Mobivox
This initiative sure looks like a great barometer of Web 2.0, and I would think that anyone following this space would want to be watching this group of companies closely. In some ways this reminds me of Demo, with the idea being that any company making this group is in good company. However, this a very different process where the nominations are determined by Webware's Editors, and the winners are chosen by readers/visitors to the site who make the effort to vote. So, it's not as gruelling as Demo, but it provides a great forum to recognize up and coming - as well as established companies.
To vote, the Web 2.0 space is grouped into 10 categories, and there are about 30 companies nominated in each category. Scrolling through these, there are lots of familiar and large names - Google, Facebook, Blogger, Flickr, etc. - so there's always a risk of this being a popularity contest. Sure, they'll get their share of mainstream votes, but for those of us watching smaller companies more closely, this is your chance to speak up.
There are tons of interesting companies in here, but I want to note two in particular - Ocotopz and Mobivox. Aside from being Canadian, these are the ones from all the nominations that I follow the closest. Toronto-based Octopz made the short list for voting, as did Montreal-based Mobivox. Readers of my blog will know I've followed both companies for some time, and have posted about them previously, here and here.
Whether I'm waving the Canadian flag, or you want to support a couple of really great companies, I would urge you to check both out and decide for yourself if they're worth your vote. I have voted for both, and would gladly recommend them to others if you wanted a second opinion.
At this time of writing, the Webware 100 has tallied around 1 million votes, so this thing is pretty popular. Voting ends March 31, and the winners will be conveniently announced just before the Web 2.0 Expo, which starts April 22.
Technorati tags: Webware 100, Jon Arnold, Octopz, Mobivox
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