We're about to enter a holiday season like none other with more shoppers bringing their megaphones to retail locations where they will comment on Moments of Trust via Twitter, Facebook, text and more.

I'll discuss the implications Nov. 16 at the Mobile Marketing Association's Forum.  Details are here http://forum.mmaglobal.com/losangeles2011/agenda.>

Ping me if you would like a discount code.

Mobile Marketer asked me to name one unexpected thing that may happen during the holiday season.

Here's what I told them:

“Retailers who provide poor customer service will suffer as mobile subscribers armed with what I call megaphones take to their social networks and use messaging to voice their displeasure.

“The adage forever was that you could lose the battle for public opinion in two hours. It is now more like two minutes when experiences at these Moments of Trust touch points get communicated on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks.

“How bad can this get for a retailer? Smartphones now have eight megapixels, HD capabilities and near-instant posting options. It can get very bad very quickly.”

The full article is here http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/commerce/11257.html

In this interview, I discuss why consumers look to network speed when they get a new mobile device, plus the employment opportunities in mobile, and how the industry's rules and regulations are taking shape so we don't follow the mistakes made in the early days of the Internet.

My first hours with my new personal assistant had me wondering if I should do more interviews to fill the job.

Siri, through my new iPhone 4S, was spotty -- and I'm being generous. Frequently, she said she couldn't find the network. Requests in a loud envionment were a waste of time.

But synching helped the network problem and things have gotten somewhat better.

She's no All-Star. I'm still shaking my head over how she delivered Washington DC results when I specifically asked for a gym near Seattle.

But adding an appointment to my calendar couldn't be easier and sending a text to someone in my contact list is a breeze.

I'll get to know her better and report back. 

I spoke to BNET TV about the Ford 15.4% lead conversion program, Macy's Backstage Pass, geo-fencing from MillerCoors, and overall mobile trends,

The video is here http://www.bnettv.com/ctia-san-diego-2011/hipcricket-steve-hasen/

We all need an assistant. The more intelligent, the better.

In addition to the announcement and news around the soon-to-be-introduced in iPhone 4S, this week’s conference gave us a deeper view into how Siri – the technology Apple quietly (and cleverly) acquired last year — plays in a bigger ambition to deliver us suggestions, recommendations and assistance on our mobile devices. Apple’s Siri is marketed as the smart helper that gets things done. All we have to do is ask.

Think of Siri as an electronic concierge and virtual assistant at our call 24/7. No job interviews, hourly wages or background checks before we take Siri into our employ. Siri is trusted and smart — equipped to manage our lives as if she came right out of Harvard or Oxford. Or so we’re told.

According to Apple, Siri understands context and natural language. No need to tailor how you talk to match a machine. Imagine you ask Siri: “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” Siri understands you are really looking for a weather forecast.

Apple also tells us that Siri — like any capable and qualified assistant — is knowledgeable about using the personal information we allow it to access. For example, if you tell Siri: “Remind me to call Mom when I get home,” it can find “Mom” in your address book and carry out the task. Ask Siri “What’s the traffic like around here?” and it can figure out where “here” is based on your current location, data communicated by the GPS capability in the device.

And the list goes on. Siri supposedly helps you make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, search the Internet, find local businesses, and get directions. You can also get answers, find facts and even perform complex calculations — all this just by asking Siri.

There are obvious benefits to having an electronic concierge to help us manage our lives and work – if the technology works, of course. However, voice recognition is not entirely suited to how we live our lives. There are times when you can’t speak out loud (in class or during a play to name two).  And let’s not forget that voice recognition has been inexact for years, especially in loud places where the technology often can’t distinguish one voice or noise from another.

But, for the sake of argument, let’s imagine that Siri does exactly what Apple says it can. There are huge implications for brands when our personal devices are equipped with personal digital assistants. Are companies going to continue to pay for an ad in a Google query if a mobile subscriber can bypass traditional keyword search altogether by just asking their new and knowledgeable pal, Siri? Will advertisers still sponsor the traffic alerts if Siri can tell their customers all they need to know?

On the positive side, the concierge concept could deliver marketers deeper demographics and more insights into what people want, prefer and demand based on what they ask Siri to do in the first place. Siri may be the next big thing, but we won’t know for sure until the devices are on sale and the service stands up to consumer road tests in the wild. The big question is: how much will people trust and rely on Siri for assistance. It’s one marketers will have to wait out. One thing is certain: marketers won’t get the answer just by asking Siri. This is where first-hand experience, knowledge and interacting with customers will give us the ability to gauge their real interest and actual participation.

(first appeared here http://www.mobilegroove.com/remebering-steve-jobs-why-siri-wont-provide-mobile-marketers-all-the-answers/)

Much like I remember where I was when I learned the tragic news that John Lennon had been shot (I was watching Monday Night Football and heard it from broadcaster Howard Cosell), I’ll now never forget where I was and what I was doing when I learned of Steve Jobs’ passing.

It’s rather fitting that I was 36,000 feet in the air connected to an in-flight Wi-Fi system working on a MacBook Air at the time. Thus, I was able to benefit from the technology advancements made possible by visionaries (like Jobs) who have brought us all advantages that generations before us would never know.

And that brings me to another connection between Lennon and Jobs. Each asked us to imagine and look beyond the ‘here and now’ to what will be – if we are open to it.

In this respect, the contributions by Lennon and Jobs are tied to imagination and what can happen when we free our minds. They reshaped our thinking about peace, technology and the world around us. And through their vision and passion they made our world a better place.

To me, this is their legacy and the biggest lesson they have taught us. Dare to dream. Strive to have impact. Rather than accept limitations that would normally convince us that “we can’t”, these two men – in their own fiercely individual ways — showed us that “we can.”

My friend and one of the smartest marketers I know, Mario Schulzke, asked me to be a regular contributor to his outstanding IdeaMensch site www.ideamensch.com. For those out of the know, IdeaMench is a community of people who, in Mario’s words, do ideas rather than talk about them.

I'm honored.

My first piece ran today on what I believe is the coolest thing in mobile today – a 15.4 percent lead generation rate garnered by Ford and its dealers.

You can read it here http://ideamensch.com/the-coolest-trend-in-mobile-marketing/.

Siri, please don’t let us follow the same foolish path again.

Nearly a year and a half ago, the pundits told us that Apple was irreparably damaged during “Antennagate”, when the most revered brand in the world was slow to admit, then fix issues with the antenna on its then new iPhone 4.

Now many of the same pundits are at it again, expressing contempt for Apple for “disappointing” us with incremental improvements to the iPhone 4 rather than introducing an iPhone 5 that, many hoped, would wash dirty socks and run marathons for us.

Siri, just who did Apple disappoint?

Not consumers who made the iPhone 4 the best selling smartphone despite being a little long in the tooth in technology years.

With the 4S, we get Siri, positioned as the intelligent assistant you need that is now a voice command away. We get over 200 new features including Notification Center, an way to easily view and manage notifications in one place without interruption and iMessage™, a new messaging service that lets you easily send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS 5 users.

We also get a new camera with the most advanced optics of any phone. The 8 megapixel sensor has 60 percent more pixels to deliver high quality photos. On top of that, Apple delivered the ability to capture video in full 1080p HD resolution and with new video image stabilization.

Then Apple lowered the price of the iPhone 4 to $99 and put the 3GS on sale for free with a two-year contract.

Siri would be the first to tell you that consumers care about features and benefits, not model numbers.  Outside of the pundits, there likely wouldn’t have been one person storming Apple’s Cupertino campus if the company named the soon-to-be-released product iPhone 5.

Maybe Apple’s marketing team blundered by sticking to the iPhone 4 model line.

Did it irrevocably damage the Apple brand? It’s laughable to even suggest that.

(Article first published as http://technorati.com/business/article/taking-a-bite-out-of-the/ on Technorati)

Sadly it wasn’t news to me when Nielsen reported recently that more in Africa have access to a mobile device than clean drinking water.

We pray that technology advances will improve the water situation soon.

Other data points from Nielsen were new and fascinating:

South Africa ranks fifth in the world for mobile data usage, ahead of the United States, which ranks seventh.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform, used by 85 percent of mobile subscribers. Half of all users of Facebook in South Africa access the site via their mobiles.

Text messaging is used by almost 4.2 times more people than e-mail. More than two-thirds (69%) of consumers prefer sending texts to calling, in large part because it is less expensive, and 10 percent believe texting to be a faster way of communicating.

The majority (60%) of South African mobile users said they are aware of mobile banking services offered by banks, but only 21 percent say they use such services. A much larger number of those aware of the services said they would never use them, suggesting banks might need to invest in communicating the benefits and security of mobile banking.

Nielsen’s blog post on the study is here http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/mobile-phones-dominate-in-south-africa/.