Following up on my earlier post about the Developer Pitch Sessions at CTIA in Las Vegas, CTIA just added a second panel on”Gaining Distribution” to the official agenda.  I’m looking forward to moderating this new panel, “Gaining Distribution- Panel B” on Wednesday, March 24, 3-4pm.

So far, there is a great panel of experts confirmed for this session including: (more…)

I just updated the SocializeMobilize calendar with some new events – including those that I’ll be attending at CTIA in Las Vegas March 22-25th.  You can check it out here.

When I’m not in client meetings or on the road, I am usually working from my home office.  Friends and colleagues regularly ask whether I get lonely or distracted working from home, and my answer is always  “no.“   They often say things like, “I don’t think I could work from home…” “I’d get lonely…” “There are too many distractions at home…” etc.  Feeling lonely is a rarity since I’m in meetings and/or phone calls every day.  As for distractions go, in my experience there are way more distractions in an traditional workplace environment then a home office… (more…)

Open Mobile Solutions is offering a free Platinum Pass to CTIA at Las Vegas in March.  They’re also organizing several Developer Pitch Sesions including:

• Raising Money – a panel featuring Venture Capitalists specializing in mobile.
• Gaining Distribution – a  panel featuring various mobile distribution channels.
• Monetization – a panel of key decision makers in the mobile advertising space – agencies, brands and networks

The Open Mobile Solutions Marketplace is currently in stealth mode, but you can learn more here.  In the meantime, why not take advantage of the great panel sessions they’re organizing at CTIA and the opportunity for a free pass?

As day 2 of Mobile World Congress rounds to a close, and day 3 begins (ahem – it’s nearly 3am), I thought I’d point out a few highlights from Mobile World Congress so far:

Pre-MWC: I started the pre-MWC whirlwind with The NAVTEQ awards party, in which the EMEA winners of the Global LBS Challenge were announced.  It was a good event.  A handful of promising companies showcased their LBS-enhanced mobile products.  From there, I went to MobileSunday, which was, as usual packed with a great crowd of mobile enthusiasts bracing for the week ahead.  After that, I hit the town with the team from Skyhook Wireless (whose wi-fi location-based technology is embedded in the iPhone and millions of others worldwide) and a few of their 3rd party developer partners – all of whom are working on things that would set any mobile enthusiast’s heart racing… I’d tell you more, but that’d be like ruining a good surprise, and that’s no fun.

Day 1: I kicked off Monday by moderating a couple of panels in the “Mobile Applications – Innovation Vs Fragmentation” stream.  The first was “Attracting investment to the apps market – Identifying the key success factors,” and the panelists were fantastic: (more…)

Apple is making its big (rumored Tablet) announcement tomorrow, and the folks at StageTwo and I are organizing a tweet-up afterward to chat about whatever is announced and the impact it will have.  Whether you’re going to the Apple event or wish you were, everyone is welcome.  We’re also thinking of this tweet-up as a pre-cursor event to meet others who are heading to Barcelona for  Mobile World Congress in mid-February. (more…)

I’m looking forward to attending Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona this February.  It’s going to be a great show… This year, apps take center stage, and GSMA has taken a huge step forward, investing a lot of time and effort in showcasing them in App Planet, and making sure the conference agenda appeals to the people that are shaping the mobile ecosystem.

I’ll be moderating two panels on Monday, February 15, 2009 in the “Mobile Applications – Innovation Vs Fragmentation” stream.  A few of the details are still being confirmed, but here’s what’s been announced so far… (more…)

UPDATED: 2/12/10 6:32 CST: Last year, I created a list of networking events and parties at Mobile World Congress. This year, I’ll be doing the same, updating the following list and the Socialize Mobilize “Events” page until the Congress kicks off in mid-February 2010.  If you have a party or event you’d like me to add to this list, please send me the details and RSVP requirements. (more…)

If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area and are interested in learning more of the “how to” behind social media and networking with marketers who have successfully leveraged social media channels, check out “Social Media Matters.” It is a new, monthly event that shows marketers, brand managers, and advertisers how to use social media successfully.  It’s being organized by Covered Co. (one of my former clients).

The first event will cover “Building Brands on Facebook,” and it’s being held at 6:30pm on December 3rd at Fenwick & West’s office in downtown San Francisco.  (more…)

After listening to the podcast I did on Wednesday with Motodev on how to incorporate social media into mobile applications, Matthäus Krzykowski,  (a fellow mobile consultant, freelance writer for VentureBeat, and fascinating guy) tweeted: “@motodev @lisawhelan is great, enjoyed the podcast. However, as @danshapiro http://bit.ly/3eRvaK says viral broken is in mobile. Thoughts ?” It’s a good question.  The short answer is “he’s right,” but while the mobile ecosystem sorts itself out, there are things developers can do to make their apps more viral… (more…)