Frank Carver’s Punch Barrel

Looks like an interesting list, especially if you happen to work for a company which is looking for a new CEO right now

The Seven Things That Surprise New CEOs — HBS Working Knowledge

An interesting analysis from the New York Times of the progressive replacement of traditional fixed-line phones by mobiles.

The Count - Users Are Tossing Their Landlines Overboard - NYTimes.com

update: a similar conclusion about the European market

Working in a company which is very much involved in mobile and digital music publishing I’m always interested in how other parts of the industry views the key issues in this field. It seems like a few people got together for a conference on this topic on 23 September in London. Here’s a few links about the event

EconMusic - the economics of digital music : Blogs : BCS

EconMusic Video: Billy Bragg In Reuters’ Conference Wrap-Up

EconMusic: Direct-To-Fan: Radiohead, Marillion And The End Of Labels

At work, among other things, we make and sell systems which provide a way to buy and download mobile content, including games and applications. Over recent years I have found myself largely involved in the web and mobile front-end of such systems and I am always on the look out for information about what works and what doesn’t. Here’s a critique of T-Mobile’s App Store:

Wendong’s Smart Phone Weblog » T-Mobile’s new App Store: huge disappointment

We are currently in the middle of trying to improve a whole collection of process issues where I work. We have already put in place a fixed iteration cycle in development, but are having difficulties fitting post-development testing (a.k.a “system testing” or “integration”) into the mix.

The main problem with testing after development is that any fixes to problems identified in the follow-on testing have a tendency to become tangled in upcoming work for the next iteration. This in turn can lead to no iteration ever being “clean” enough to actually release.

One possibility for a solution is to reconsider the development-led nature of an iteration, and instead lead it from a set of acceptance tests which are estimated, developed and executed alongside the scheduling and implementation of code changes.

Gojko Adzic, one of my current favourite bloggers on the subject of testing, has attempted to map out an iteration structure which incorporates this approach:

Gojko Adzic » Fitting agile acceptance testing into the development process

the idea of giving away “free” wireless internet access to generally stimulate business may turn out to have been a bit of a bubble. Up-front costs can be quite high, and the payback is long-term and difficult to measure.

I’m guessing that the initiatives which succeed in this area will be the ones with a sensible business model at the heart of the operation, which supports the whole thing as it grows and becomes popular.

Technology News: Wireless Networking: Bye Bye, WiFi? Local Governments Abandoning Network Plans

I like this. halfway between the complex and largely unsolvable world of natural language processing, and the currently trendy area of domain-specific languages (DSL) lies the more constrained and useful area of domain-specific-language processing.

Why not use a structured subset/dialect of a natural language as a control interface - it’s a natural fit for mobile interfaces, and hands-free interfaces generally.

Interoperability Happens - The ultimate thin client

In my training and experience as a teacher, it was often emphasized that the presentation of subject matter should adapt to suit the learning styles of students. Now here’s a bunch of researchers from MIT looking at how to apply this to adapting the presentation of web sites.

As with any other form of personalization, it’s guaranteed to make things tougher for support staff, though

Technology Review: Adapting Websites to Users

Using social media for marketing is a hot topic at the moment. This article caught my eye as one view on how this can all fit together.

The Five Essential Elements of Effective Social Media Marketing | Copyblogger

Thanks to George Siemens for the link.

Sometimes it seems as if the practical difficulties of implementing mobile video outweigh its value, but it begins to look as if some operators and media providers have got it together enough to offer a somewhat compelling service. At least they seem to have gathered a creditable number of subscribers.

Mobile TV gathers momentum - International Herald Tribune

I’m currently pretty interested in how to model (and ideally predict) certain aspects of human behaviour, so I was particularly attracted to an article from the BBC about some information derived from recording the movement habits of a large set of mobile phone users.

Mobile phones expose human habits

It seems that alternative product outlets are good news, particularly ones which involve interaction with users. As a first-hand example of this, I spent this last weekend at a games con demonstrating board games and card games by just playing them with passers-by. Once someone starts playing a gem and getting emotionally involved, they are far more likely to consider purchasing it and associated products..

Mötley Crüe Song Sells More on Xbox Than On iTunes

A thoughtful article about the failings of on-line advertising and some consideration of how to address these problems.

Why Traditional Advertising Formats Fail On The Web

(via gsiemens)