But before we dive into this week’s line-ups of posts from bloggers, pundits and practitioners, allow me to thank Judy Breck, the “Keeper of the Tents” at the Carnival of the Mobilists. She is stepping down (but still blogging up a storm at Golden Swamp, where her passion for learning and listening has earned her recognition as the Internet’s most persistent connective education advocate). Her post on mobile, society, woman and education made an impression I can’t forget, which is why I’ve also asked her to be a voice in the “future of mobile” chapter of the Netsize Guide 2010.

I am honored to follow Judy as the new Keeper of the Tents. It’s also a good time to consider new directions and activities to grow the Carnival and its roster of contributors. Thanks to the Mobilists who have contacted me to wish me the best in this new role, and a special thanks to Volker Hirsch and Srinivasarao Nandiwada (nsr), who have reached out to me to help guide the Carnival through this transition period.

It’s all about new energy, new idea and new horizons — and a new phase in the development of the Carnival. If you’re a member, submit your suggestions for consideration by the group. If you’re not a member, then get involved!

Now let’s get this show on the road!

Over at Volker on Mobile Volker Hirsch challenges us to rethink what we mean by “social media.” In his view, “empowered media” is a much better term since we are literally empowered to create, capture and communicate everything around us. The question is: how should we wield this power? Fortunately for us, Volker doesn’t settle for a philosophical discussion of the issue; he uses the recent incident involving Ian, the London subway worker (now unemployed) who threatened a passenger to drive an important point home. Was it Ian’s misfortune that Jonathan MacDonald – a social media authority well-known to us at the Carnival – was nearby? Or was it Jonathan’s responsibility to capture the “rant”, publish it, tweet it and tell us all? Read and decide.

But mobile is more than a social media (or empowered media) tool. Over at mobiEnthusiast.mobi Holly Kolman draws our attention to mobile’s potential as an educational tool with the example of BuckleUp.mobi. The mobile site urges people to use their seat belts and features important related for drives on the fly. Check it out and spread the word.

A truly eye-opening post from Mark Jaffe over at Mobile Mandala based on a chance meeting with a Flirtomatic executive. Mark walks us through some surprising numbers from the source and wakes us up to the wealth of opportunities around giving people who don’t own smartphones a good user experience. Are companies leaving money on the table by catering to the high-end device crowd? Read Mark’s insightful post and decide.

And while we look for answers to these questions James Coops over at mjelly reminds us that it’s the search for apps we like in the App Store (actually all applications stores) that will likely take up the lion’s share of our time (and patience). His extremely helpful and worthwhile post (which includes a list of sources and services that assist in iPhone app discovery) provides us a how-to to navigate the confusing terrain. From social discovery tools to app review sites, his post is one to bookmark. Check it out and add your suggestions.

(For another look at the issues around content discovery and some helpful stats to put the problem in perspective, you may want to check out last’s week’s submission from Tego Interactive, a company out to tackle this issue head-on.)

Another valuable resource is a must-read list of mobile marketing case studies via mobiThinking.com. The list includes many campaigns (from a who’s who of brands and agencies) that were submitted to the Mobile Marketing Association. (The winners will be announced on November 17 at the Mobile Marketing Forum in Los Angeles.) But it doesn’t stop there. Andy Favell, mobiThinking.com editor, has invited agencies to send in their case studies, an admirable outreach that will likely turn the site into a top-notch destination for what’s new in mobile advertising. Check it out and contribute to the conversation!

And finally, Enrique Ortiz at About Mobility: A Technology & Products Weblog About All Things Mobile gives us his take on the seismic shift in the Nav market. Does Google Maps Nav — now with real-time always up to date maps and nav info, turn by turn directions, live traffic information and even street view – disrupt the market and threaten the likes of TomTom? Read on and share your views.

My pick of the week? Although the resources provided by mjelly and mobithinking deserve special mention (I’ve bookmarked both for my ongoing work in content discovery and my new mobile advertising project), Mark Jaffe’s down-to-earth post speaks volumes about the biggest challenge facing the mobile industry: it’s own inability to see the pent-up demand among ordinary people – with rather ordinary devices – for extraordinary service.

Thanks to Mark for pointing this out and let’s all work to spread the word!

Next week the Carnival moves to Mobileslate. See you there…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 8:13 am and is filed under Carnival Of The Mobilists, Content Discovery, Location-based services, Mobile Advertising, Mobile Research, Mobile Search, Mobile Social Networking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.