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What I've been reading this week

I’m easing myself back into my weekly blog after a long absence. So here’s a brief roundup of stories from the TMT industry that caught my eye this week…

Traditional business models

MPs criticise the process for rolling out rural broadband in the UK and BT in particular… but as I said on these pages 2 years ago, it’s no surprise that the national incumbent telco is the only provider who can make these rollouts even slightly economical. Seems very harsh to single them out. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24227096

Telefonica raises Telecom Italia stake – the consolidation of operators into super-majors continues. Particularly true in Europe, where we have far too much fragmentation to effectively negotiate with global suppliers. http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2013/09/25/telefonica-raise-stake-telecom-italia.htm

A really interesting IPSOS study on the continued growth in size and changing makeup of the American affluent consumer. Worth a read, even if you aren’t US-based. http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=6257&wt.mc_id=1110521&ce=jc@watershed-publishing.com&link=6257&top=

The end of RIM is nigh. I imagine it’ll be snapped up for its brand by one of the big Chinese manufacturers… No tears from this guy. Blackberries have been irrelevant for years. http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2013/09/23/blackberry-slashes-bone-z10-failure.htm

China has removed the ban on games consoles in the country… but the games have to be made in China. Could be an exciting time for the games industries – sure there’ll be studio partnerships aplenty. http://www.slashgear.com/china-approves-removal-plans-for-video-game-console-ban-after-13-years-27299390/

New business models

Storygami offers an interesting twist on online video. Every frame is rendered in HTML 5, making it much more interactive and extending opportunities for advertising. One to watch. http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-09/27/storygami

Digital culture

Wow – Turkey has decided to train people to tweet the “correct” version of events. I presume that they’ve never heard of bias? Or perhaps they’ll average out the opinion with a giant Thought Police style computer? www.ft.com/cms/s/0/13c035f6-1f06-11e3-9636-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=uk&siteedition=intl#axzz2f97gD9ry

An opinion piece on the advantages of crowd-sourced journalism/ investigations using Reddit. http://gigaom.com/2013/09/17/reddits-crowdsourced-media-is-a-lot-like-the-regular-kind-good-at-some-things-not-so-good-at-others/

Breakthrough technology


An advanced material that allows you to stick your phone to any surface… clever, but pointless! http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/123704-stick-your-mobile-to-any-glass-without-glue-using-a-15-goo-ey-cover

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