Mobile Web and Community Benefit…

for the record, i am not just focused on phones. i do think web media will look different from what we see today with web media in terms of devices and applications.

one thing i am noticing is a huge interest in development of networks and services in developing regions. the interest makes sense given that those regions skipped traditional telecommunications networks due to poor infrastructure. indeed, some of the population is being trained in computer science and technology to address it. nathan eagle is doing work in africa that seems particularly interesting. a guy i used to work for wrote an article on grameen bank’s phone program running into a wall. for the most part, it’s a product life cycle issue (i believe). i think interest and investment in mobile tech and web could be the solution, especially if platforms like android by google make their way across the pond. btw- android aka open handset alliance is google’s effort to create an open source platform and network for mobile phones and applications. it’s going to be interesting to see if apple’s approach of working with streamlined design for mobile apps will survive or go the way of the dinosaur. i think they were counting on iphone to pretty much do what windows and microsoft did in the 90s but the open source movement should have taught everyone a lesson about the power of closing things off too tightly. there’s a fine line between protecting ip to remain competitive and becoming a resented juggernaut in industry.

so this brings us back to the u.s. i sense we are dramatically behind when it comes to prevalent deployment of innovation in these areas because we expect to offer higher end, pricier services. this could end up hindering us as a top-level producer of such and things could get worse without a home-grown brain-talent pipeline to draw from.

the links:

http://eprom.mit.edu/
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/technology/25proto.html
http://mobileactive.org/
http://www.womenwhotech.com/