Why did the turkey cross the road? To get to the other WiFi hotspot…

By Rosalind Carr, @Rosalind_at_O and Rose Ross, @Rose_at_O

Just a little mid-week gobbledygook to make you giggle (we did!), courtesy of Dan Jones (@Dan_LRMobile) AKA Light Reading’s newly appointed ‘Poultry’ Editor…

To join in with the Thanksgiving festivities, Wireless access point provider Xirrus Inc. has egg-spressed their Thanksgiving wishes to one and all with this WiFi feathered fella…

Speaking of the logo Dan says, “Nothing really says Thanksgiving like a turkey with a big old blast of WiFi radiating from its cloaca, does it?”

Xirrus Turkey: Make of it what you will…Fowl, festive or felicitous – it was definitely an un-eggs-pected treat… (really ‘winging it’ with the puns here).

Thank you Xirrus for giving us a chuckle this season!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Countdown to MWC team!

Copyright ©Launchpad Europe 2014. All rights reserved. You may copy and distribute this material as long as  you credit the author where possible; the copies are distributed only for non-commercial purposes and at no charge; and you include this copyright notice and link to Countdown2MWC.com, the original source of the work.

If you have any questions, please contact Launchpad Europe,info@launchpad-europe.com.

Check out the 2015 Global Mobile Awards – deadline 5th December

By Rosalind Carr, @Rosalind_at_O

There’s still enough time to enter the Global Mobile Awards 2015 – with the deadline of 5^th December to pop in your diaries.  Whether you have an app, product, service, solution or initiative, the awards are worth checking out…

In search of the latest innovations in all things mobile, the 2015 edition brings some new and potentially exciting categories – seeking out the crème de la crème in wearable tech, music/media/gaming apps, and mobile services for the cloud, education, retail and many more.

What better occasion for winners to be announced than that of the infamous Mobile World Congress 2015. By day, check out the hottest new technologies on the mobile scene, and by night rub shoulders with industry leaders (and hopefully pick up an award or two!).

Mobile World Congress call for papers now open

Consider yourself a mobile guru? Want to bring your insights to discussion at the world’s biggest cellular event? Don’t miss out on your chance to present at 2015’s most anticipated mobile conference and show – you can now submit your proposal

The event, taking place in Barcelona on 2- 5th March 2015, will highlight and debate the most significant topics in the mobile industry today, in a range of seminars and sessions with world-class speakers.

Here are some of the hot topics for 2015…

• 5G
• Advertising/Marketing
• Applications
• Connected Living
• Health
• Joint Ventures/M&A/Partnerships
• Location Based Services
• Media & Entertainment
• Money
• NFC
• Security
• Social Media
• Venture Capital in Mobile

Interview with Desiré Athow (@desireathow), Editor of TechRadar Pro (@TechRadarPro)

By Rosalind Carr (@Rosalind_at_O) and Rose Ross (@Rose_at_O)

Following our article on Desiré’s key event advice and tips (“5 golden PR rules for events”), we chat top tech events, PR pitches and hot topics in tech for 2014…

Q.  Tell us a bit about yourself.

Originally from Mauritius, been in this country for the last 10 years or so. English is my third language and my degree is in sociology. So to land in this country and to work as an editor on one of the biggest B2B websites in the UK is an absolute treat. Prior to working on TechRadar Pro, I was the editor of ITProPortal for 8 years and have been covering and writing tech for my entire adult life.

Q. Tell us a little bit about the title you write for and its interest in data storage/mobile/cloud/infosec/virtualization.

TechRadar Pro is a fairly new title, we’ve been around for less than two years. However, because it has been carved out of TechRadar, UK’s biggest technology website, we already have a significant amount of uniques, far more than more established websites. I seldom write unless I attend an event, have an exclusive or snatch an important interview. As for our areas of interest, our roots lie in computing but my team and I have been working hard on diversifying the content production to include business technology at large.

5 golden PR rules for events…

By Rosalind Carr @Rosalind_at_O and Rose Ross @Rose_at_O

 

In the midst of a busy events period, the O-team have had some tips from Désiré Athow(@desireathow), Editor of TechRadar Pro, and are armed with a trusty event PR checklist at the ready!

 

Here are 5 handy hints for PRs looking to make the most of event opportunities with the press…

 1.      Timing is key in the run up to events – Do not wait for the last week to invite journalists to briefings- pitch as early as possible to bag a slot in their diary! With an initial conversation in advance, you’ll also have the time to get a sense of what they’d like to discuss, and can prepare accordingly if a briefing is arranged.

2.      Communicating with the press – Each journalist is different in the way they like to be pitched. For instance, we can definitely understand Désiré’s aversion to out of the blue PR calls pitching interviews with unknown companies. However, there are now so many ways of communicating, that over time, you can gage different journalists’ preferences for contact.

Meet James Laird (@scavgourmet), Senior Staff Writer at IT Pro Portal (@ITProPortal)

By Rosalind Carr @Rosalind_at_O and Rose Ross @Rose_at_O

The Countdown team present tech journo James Laird – chatting ‘phablet’s, food blogging and CODE_n startup buzz at CeBIT 2014!

James gives his insights into the current mobile tech and gadgets trends, THE tech shows to go to and the do’s and don’ts of pitching stories…

Q.  Tell us a bit about yourself:

I moved to London back in 2005, having grown up in Boston, and I’ve been involved in journalism ever since graduating from Goldsmiths College. I worked my way around a fair few local newspapers learning the art before entering the tech journalism world roughly two years ago and joining ITProPortal.com as an intern. Since then, I’ve risen to senior writer and am looking forward to the future.

Q. Tell us a little bit about the title you write for and their interest in mobile technology: 

Mobile became my primary beat pretty much as soon as I joined ITProPortal.com and I’ve been developing and refining my knowledge ever since. I’ve learned from some great people and am now enjoying tutoring some our younger writers in the finer points of processors, displays, and operating systems. We try to position ourselves as a unique proposition, covering mobile from a more business, enterprise, and IT relevant perspective than some of our competitiors.

Q. What’s hot in mobiles and telecoms this year?

There’s a number of key trends in mobile this year, including the rise and rise of the phablet, but what’s potentially the game changer is wearable tech. In my opinion, no one has really got it right yet, but it is likely to happen. The key for me will be when the style element begins to match the functionality – for example, when I can have Google Glass-like features built into my Ray-Bans. The features are developing quickly and hopefully the fashion element will catch up soon.

Check out The Mobile Network (@TMNmag) – new publication for all telecoms enthusiasts by @keithdyer and @shr_ldn

The Mobile Network Quarterly launch issue

By Rosalind Carr, @Rosalind_at_O

Former Mobile Europe colleagues Keith Dyer and Shahid Ramzan have recently combined forces to launch a new publication called The Mobile Network. We met with them to discuss this new venture.

Launched at Mobile World Congress, The Mobile Network aims to make sense of a broad range of networks, “mapping” them out for the most part in an easy to digest infographics style. The Mobile Network puts the businesses that walk in this space into context, asking who they are and how they fit within the telecoms ecosystem.

Interview with Mats Sjödin, Editor in Chief, Telecom News & TV News (Sweden)

By @Rose_at_O, @Olivia_at_O

Mats is the Editor in Chief of Swedish publications Telekomnyheterna and TV-Nyheterna, or Telecom News and TV News.

Q.  Tell us a bit about yourself: 

From being the silent boy who had to leave school because of my poor results, I have had a long journey. Nowadays I run two newsletters for professionals within the telecom and TV industry in Sweden. I also arrange seminars and networking meetings in these two businesses. In practice this means that I’m working hard to build relationships with important people in both industries – to be first with the best news, of course, but also to find the right speakers for the right events and to attract more people to attend our events. When not working I love fishing, hunting and of course sporting. Something I am particularly proud of is that I made The Swedish Classic 2011. That means I skied Vasaloppet (90 km), biked Vättern runt (300 km), swim Vansbrosimmet (3 km in a really cold river) and run Lidingöloppet (a very hilly 30 km race), in one year.

Q. Tell us a little bit about the titles you write for and their interest in mobile technology: 

Telekomnyheterna is Sweden’s leading news source for decision makers within the telecom industry. We focus on the operators’ businesses, and from that perspective we try to cover

Note for your calendar: US Daylight Saving Time Begins This Week; European Summer Time begins March 31

By Olivia Shannon, @Olivia_at_O

Check your calendars, everyone — US Daylight Saving Time began yesterday, although European Summer Time does not begin until March 31. Marketers  and PR pros should brace themselves for a conference call Armageddon as confusion over the new time difference causes some people to miss scheduled calls. Our advice is

The 451 Group Announces 3rd Acquisition of 2013 @The451Group

By Olivia Shannon, @Olivia_at_O

The 451 Group (@The451Group) has announced its third acquisition of 2013 – Applied Velocity Labs. According to the press release, Applied Velocity Labs is a Charlotte, NC-based strategy, advisory and research firm and the developer of a proprietary digital infrastructure strategy framework. It is hoped that the acquisition will “strengthen The 451 Group’s thought leadership around digital infrastructure.”

Martin McCarthy, The 451 Group’s Chairman and CEO,  commented, “The proprietary Applied Velocity Labs strategic framework will broaden our capabilities and expertise, helping enterprises transform their technology operations to support the evolution of the digital enterprise.”

With the Applied Velocity Labs acquisition, Tony Bishop, founder of Applied Velocity Labs, becomes  The 451 Group’s chief strategy officer and co-head of 451 Advisors.

This news marks The 451 Group’s third acquisition since the start of 2013.