I saw an iPhone the other day and was given a quick run through by a friend who had just got it. The features are very impressive, great looking, great music player, camera,  web browser, video player etc. etc. Just what you'd expect from Apple. Then I asked if you could make calls on it and my friend replied 'Yes, but the quality's poor and the bluetooth doesn't work, but look - I get YouTube.'

Maybe I'm an old fashioned technologist but I think phones should excel at making and receiving phone calls first and the rest is extra. We use HTC Vario's and they've got slide out keyboards, video conferencing functionality integration with Outlook, mobile office and (just like any Windows device) crash on a daily basis. What annoys me most is that I struggle to answer a call half of the time because the buttons or the screen freeze.

And don't get me started on ring tones... 

Of course, if you want your WCM to output mobile friendly content then I'll happily discuss how Mimtech can help you. 

Here's an interesting 'fact' I read today:

Option A: If a content publisher takes 10 minutes to quickly publish a piece of content as a PDF document on the intranet, staff will take 30 minutes to find and understand it. Option B: If a publisher takes 30 minutes to properly publish the content, then employees will take 10minutes to find and understand it.

The article went on to explain why this doesn't happen in the real world. The argument is that content owners seek to protect their silos of information and thereby defend their perceived importance. For example, HR content is easily found by the other staff in HR and is easily understood by them.  This content is written by HR for HR not for wider consumption.

Another important influence on this 30:10 rule is that wasted time by content consumers is not measured or even recognised as a cost in most cases. This is bad in an intranet but even worse when it is true in a website where content consumers and often customers.

The customer is not and should not be concerned with organisational politics. The intranet content consumer should not have to contend with them either.

We recently signed up for a Webex account which allows us to host online presentations and teleconferences. We have also used Skype for video conferencing and we've even tried it using our phones. The quality is not great but it works.

Then I read yesterday about Cisco's TelePresence product. Here you have true video conferencing capabilities where you communicate with life size screens and surround sound audio that really looks like you could be in the same room. There is a brief (very cheesy) video on their web site that's worth a look. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7060/index.html

 Interestingly one of the big selling points so far is the green credentials (or how much money is saved in air travel) that the big companies around the world are now concerned with. Cisco estimate they will save $50 million in travel cost alone themselves by using the TelePresence product and the executive have it in their homes. It is expected that similar (but much cheaper) versions will be in homes in the next couple of years. Puts a new imperative on working from home.

Recently, Google announced it's Open handset Alliance Project - Android. It looks like a revolution is about to begin on the mobile Web application platform. It will be interesting to see an array of web based applications being developed to make the best of the stored mobile phone data. Will this have any implications on the CMS market and the CMS development tools?

With mobile phone browsers becoming faster and Mobile infrastructure more reliable, organizations will make the best of this, as the phone is one thing that stays connected to the network and truly brings the power of the web to your hands 24 X 7 (if you sleep with the phone in your hands!).

Hope I have a better reception in my area before these applications are launched on the mobile!

'When Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was asked why Amazon.com scaled back spending on marketing and public relations, the Web executive said a better customer experience leads to word-of-mouth recognition that cannot be duplicated via marketing or PR.

'That’s wisdom worth noting.'

This is a quote from a CMS industry site that I follow and I whole heartedly agree. However, one of the main difficulties in achieving this is managing customer expectations. I worked in retail management many lifetimes ago and I remember my staff would often moan about 'bad customers'. One member of staff one day suggested that all customers should have to work in a shop for at least one day so that they could understand the stresses of that environment and the importance of treating shop staff with respect.  In an IT project this would not be necessary as long as expectations are managed well. With budgets tight and competition intense clients often get a great deal from IT suppliers, especially in services, but must understand that they are getting a great deal. This is the job of the account manager or the project manager.

It is also the job of the business manager to ensure that all staff understand the importance of Jeff Bezos's statement too.