I wrote the below blog post for the Phone.com blog earlier this week and I wanted to get everyones opinion on it.  Do you check someone’s Klout, Twitter numbers and posts and FB friends before you respond to them for the first time?  I get the feeling that some companies don’t respond as quickly to people with lower numbers.  I was trying to interact with a UK mobile telco who responded once to me but nothing after that.  They don’t want to treat each customer as a unique person versus a 24month contract and that’s the problem.  That aside, I get the feeling my (for example) Klout number was high enough for an initial response to my question but not high enough for them to go out of their way to help me.

Here’s a portion of the Phone.com blog post, please click through if you want to read the entire thing.

When you interact with customers or potential customers online do you check what their social media standing is?  
I was thinking about this on my way into my office this morning.  I know that I usually read recent Tweets of anyone that interacts with us on Twitter.  Same for Facebook, I’ll read what they’re posting about.

But what about their followers on Twitter?  Do you check that number and decide accordingly how to interact with them?  I make it a rule that someone with 1 follower or someone with 100,000 followers gets the same attention from me.  I won’t “number profile” someone like TSA may do at the airport.  I treat everyone the same.

Do you number profile???

Android is getting a bad name in terms of fragmentation. It really is if I’m getting asked about it by my non mobile/non tech friends and I am, every weekend when I see them let alone the parents at my daughters school asking me about it.  Android is just getting slammed.  people know what they are getting when they buy an iPhone or BlackBerry but each Android handset manufacturer typically produces their own flavor of Android and this is where the problem lies.

I won’t make this a long wordy post, I’ll just suggest that the phones should be made compatible with the newest version of Android and are future proof for at least a year, preferably 2.  So any new HTC devices comes with Sense UI (they’re flavor or skin for the UI) but is open to have vanilla Android installed on it.  No problems, no issues and no boot loader BS.  It needs to be part of the licensing rules/regulations to use Android.  Nothing complex, just make your phones OPEN to this kind of thing.  Maybe even

It would be a huge selling point for many people I talk to.  HTC could advertise this as a feature of the phone, just like a camera or a qwerty keyboard, it’s part of what should be included in the specs for every Android device

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I’ve been noticing over the last few years that the more successful PR firms in terms of getting bloggers to write about whatever their clients do are doing 1 specific thing.  They are all creating relationships with bloggers that aren’t about the product.  They aren’t only building on “look at this phone or that phone and write about it”.  The most successful firms can change phone companies they’re working with and stay successful because they are building their relationships with the blogger about things besides a phone.

The 2 most successful firms in this field are both huge multi national companies.  One has a thousand heads all doing the same, making the blogger feel important, flying them all over the world for all different kinds of adventures.  The other firm is a huge spark of fresh air, they throw intimate catered parties at some of the nicest locations near by trade shows.  The parties are fun because the bloggers get to hang with their peers who they may only see a few times a year at these shows, but rarely see any branding or products from the PR firm at the party.

These 2 firms as I’m sure many others really seem to get the human factor.  They seem to be building armies of bloggers willing to do the bidding of the firm. I’m wondering when they may ask for a favor but in all honesty, I’m willing to write about their clients in my field if they ask me to.  For example if they specifically ask me to cover some news of their client on a certain day, I’m in.  They’ve made friends with me and I’d like to think vice versa.

So bravo to the 2 unmentioned companies and the rest that are doing in right.  The ones that aren’t need to step into the new world and get on board the “building an army of bloggers” train.  If you’re one of the latter, feel free to ask me for some input, but that’s not what this post was for.  I’ve been meaning to write it for ages, so yes it’s dated but it’s still very pertinent to some firms that just aren’t there yet.

So last night I pulled into my driveway after a nice birthday dinner for my mother in law to find someone waiting by their car with a shattered window and 1 less purse then she started with when she pulled up infront of my house.  This is very disturbing by itself but even more upsetting because last week cat burglers attempted to break into a house 2 doors down from mine.  I’m horrified because this is a very quite and calm neighborhood.  The only time we ever see police on my street is when one of my elderly neighbors passes away at home.  We’ve never seen anything like this crime spree in the 7 years I’ve lived here.

I’ve been looking at alarm systems but don’t know what to get.  I want something simple because I’m concerned my wife, kids or I will set it off to often if it’s to complex.  I’d also like something hightech.  Wireless so I don’t have to go into my attic or under the house is preferable.  I was thinking motion detectors but then my family isn’t protected at night if someone comes in and the system isn’t activated.  I don’t feel like it needs to call the police, I’m convinced if a loud ear piercing siren goes off it will scare the criminals away.  But I’d love for it to connect to my wifi and send me an sms or email if the alarm is sounded.

So I want something wireless, techy, with keychain activation and probably a keypad near the door.  I also need it to protect my family at night when they could get up and move around so motion detectors in the house would be useless, so I guess window magnets it is.

What do you all have to say?  What is your best economical but still VERY safe for my family system out there?  I don’t want to spend a ton but money doesn’t matter if my family is in danger.  Thoughts?  Advice?  This is all new to me so I’m open to hear it all.  Thanks everyone.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I feel like AT&T service for all their niggles has gotten faster and more reliable.  I was thinking about this just last week.  I drove by a street corner where I used to drop calls most of the time but guess what, no dropped call.  I was at dinner the other night and my 2 daughters finished before my wife and I did so of course they were going bananas (they’re still young) and we didn’t bring any coloring books or toys in for them so I handed over my phone with a YouTube video playing and guess what, no stuttering or “Daddy it’s not working” because of a freeze.  I was truly impressed.  And I don’t say that often or easily about AT&T let alone any telco.

Then this morning I read a press release that came across my desk saying exactly what I noticed.  ”More than 1,700 network improvements were completed in Los Angeles, many in the last few months.”  Translation, more towers and better coverage/service.  Also mentioned is the fact that there are 41% fewer dropped calls.  Color me impressed!

It goes on saying “AT&T has added thousands of more lanes to its mobile super-highway.”  That doesn’t give any solid numbers about internet speed or capacity but I’ve personally noticed a bump in service.  I don’t even know if it’s faster speed or more lanes as AT&T says.

What ever this is I like it.  They’re doing something right over there and doing it well I must say.  It’s not all rosy for AT&T these days but that’s for another blog post and a private chat with corporate suits.

Keep up the good work AT&T!!!

Note: I couldn’t find the press release on line to link to sorry.

I’ve been against this whole AT&T – T-Mobile merger from the start.  I didn’t think it was good for the many thousands of T-Mobile employees who’d lose their job.  I didn’t think it would be good for international travelers roaming in the US.  And I didn’t think it would be good for AT&T customers.

That’s all in the past now it seems.  Now that the deal is all but dead, for the time being at least I imagine AT&T is scrambling to replace the bandwidth it was expecting from the merger.  AT&T needs to work on their 4G, LTE or whatever it is they’re calling it today.  They need more bandwidth but not more bands.  I’ve heard rumors that AT&T is still trying to work with T-Mobile to share their bandwidth.  I’m not sure what exactly T-Mobile will get out of it but AT&T will get more speed and a wider internet highway.

The problem I see is this, T-Mobile uses 1700MHz for much of their high speed internet.  That’s nice and all but no one else uses it.  meaning AT&T will have to get new phones with new radios that will use that space.  This is a bummer for current users with new phones, it’s a bummer for current iPhone users and it’s a bummer for travelers to the US from foreign countries.  None of these people will be able to access the 1700MHz band and get LTE.

I never liked adding a new band that no other carrier world wide uses (as far as I know) on T-Mobile, let alone now onto AT&T.  This is a horrible idea and I hope it doesn’t go through.  AT&T needs to use bands that are supported on most current smart phones around the world and they must not even consider T-Mobile’s bands.

That’s just my 2 cents but it sure seems valid to me.

I was very excited to wake up this morning to read what Nokia had announced.  I’ve been stewing on it all day and intentionally not commenting.  I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like let alone be impressed with today’s announcements.  I’m still bitter about Nokia fumbling Symbian so badly and going with Windows Mobile.  It may be petty but I’ve been a Nokia fan since 1997 and I don’t like big changes all that much.

I didn’t think Nokia would be able to pull it off, I didn’t think they would show up with guns blazing and deliver the goods.  Well I’m happy to report I was seriously WRONG.  Nokia has done it again.  Nokia launched 2 pretty darn good devices from what I’ve seen and heard.  I’m impressed and that’s not easy anymore, I’m genuinely interested to give the Nokia Lumia line a shot.  I’d like a chance to play with one to really decide for myself, right now I’m just reading what my trusted friends are writing and making assumptions from that.

I am happy to be able to say that Nokia may have done the unexpected and created a line of devices that the masses will want and the masses may be able to afford.  Nokia may also have in the meantime made been able to shine some much needed light and life into Windows Mobile phones.  They had been looking a little lackluster to me though I must admit a tad tempting (of late).

I can’t wait to get my hands on the Lumia 710 and 800 and give them a real play with, until then I’m not going to pass any greater judgement.  Congratulations Nokia and credit is due for cranking out 2 impressive devices in such a short time.  I’m happy to see you back on the world platform.

Image Credit to Ben Smith

This one is for the carriers out there that might be reading this.  If you work for a carrier send this up the pipe so the right execs can smoke it.

Now to business, I’m tiered of our current mobile service plans.  I use my iPhone for everything, voice, SMS and data.  But my problem is I like many people don’t do a lot of talking, only SMS a bit now (because of iMessage), but use a GREAT deal of data.  I upload pics of my kids, I have email running constantly, I surf the web, but I also run my apps like there’s no tomorrow.

I don’t like to worry about uploading home made movies or downloading huge apps, I want to just be able to blow through data.  I’d also like to use my iPhone as a data connection every so often.  Can I do any of that? NO.  Why you ask… Because I don’t want to pay the carrier through the nose.

I propose the carries offer updated plans.  I’d personally like a large data (throttling is ok after at least 5GB) plan, 500 SMS and maybe 200-300 minutes to non in-network numbers.  Yes it’s asking for a lot, but the networks are taking a lot of money from us.  My parents pay over $80 for service, pay $15 for 200MB and probably never use more then 20MB, never SMS and don’t talk on the phone all that much.  Other friends use 3GB or more per month of data but rarely make any calls.  We need more options from the carriers and I think a good start for people in their 20′s and 30′s (that’s just where I see the need the most) would be huge data plans and smaller voice plans.

Maybe I’m just tiered of feeling used and abused by carriers but something needs to be done and it needs to be done NOW!  If not the big 4 carriers are going to start bleeding subscribers at a rate they can’t fathom to smaller telco’s like Metro PCS and many of the other MVNO’s.  I know I’ve considered it and a handful of my friends are going that route.

UPDATE: I was just informed that T-Mobile USA now offers 100 voice minutes / unlimited SMS / 2GB of data for $30.  This might be the answer for a lot of people.  Kudos to T-Mobile for leading the way (as usual).

What ever happened to Latitude?  I had such high hopes for Google Latitude back in the day.  It had so much potential to be a game changer.  I was hoping to have heavy tie in to Android devices but haven’t seen it once.

I loved the idea of landing in London and having all my friends within 50 miles get a message telling them I’m in town, but also alerting my driver to come pick me up.  I’d really love for them to be able to SMS or IM me instantly and we could set up a time to meet.  I’d love for my credit cards to monitor my location so I don’t have any problems using my cards while overseas.

Even more importantly and a big money maker for the telco’s is that they could charge the credit card companies for knowing where my phone is in relation to my credit card and if they are more then 1-3 store lengths apart there is a problem and don’t let the credit card charges go through.

Latitude could alert my wife each time it comes back online in a new city after a flight and SMS my wife letting her know I’ve arrived.  It could tell the person I’m supposed to be meeting that I’ve just entered the building.  Latitude could alert me when my kids (when they get a little older) get home from school or if they leave their school campus during the school day.

I had a wonderful experience with Latitude years ago when a friend and I were trying to find each other in San Francisco, we didn’t have to talk, we just walked toward each other using Latitude to guide us.

I’m thoroughly disappointed that I haven’t seen any change in Latitude in what seems like years.  A really strong API for it could really be another game changer but that may be asking a little to much right now.  Either way, what has happened to Latitude?  Is it on it’s way to it’s deathbed?