It was 6 months ago today that I, along with about 35 others, arrived in Helsinki, Finland for the very first Nokia OpenLab. This 3-day event was a gathering of people from around the world - from musicians to nuclear scientists to photographers to, well, me – who had a passion and interest in how mobile technology can have a positive impact on the future.

If you are a regular reader of The Hot Iron, you will know I have written about OpenLab many times before. It truly was a unique event and I am proud to have attended it. The following video is the official video produced by Nokia of the event, which us attendees first viewed at OpenLab’s conclusion. If you can’t see it in this post you can view the Nokia OpenLab video here.

So what’s happened since? For myself, the biggest change is I have shed my frustration with the Palm brand and am now a loyal Nokia owner, touting the E70 while I determine which model I am going to buy next. The biggest impact for me has been conversations with other attendees. Some are just in passing, following their blogs and tweets. Others I have engaged in more direct conversations, some who I spent a lot of time with when I was there and others who I didn’t, but have made up for it since I left. Even though there were only about 50 people (including Nokia people) it was hard to spend time with everyone. I also had the good fortune to see Steve Lawson and his lovely wife Lobelia when they performed in a house concert in Chicago last December.

In the hectic pace of how our days go, it’s nice to reflect on great experiences. Now back to strategizing and building that future.

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Business • Mobile Technology • Technology • (14) Comments • Permalink

The next likemind will be Friday, March 20, 2009 in dozens of cities around the world.

In Chicago, it will be at Spa Cafe, 112 W. Monroe, between Clark and LaSalle Streets in the Loop at 8:00 am. Check out the Spa Cafe Web site for more information, and you can find your way with a Google Map to Spa Cafe here.

I call likemind a gathering of creative-minded people, from various disciplines including Internet, advertising, art, social media, et. al. For more information on likemind, you can read this great article on likemind from the New York Times.

No RSVP is required. You are also welcome to join the likemind Chicago Facebook group.

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Sometimes you have to work with what you have, especially when you’re lacking elsewhere. In these tough times, thinking outside of the box is required, even if it means covering the windows of the very box.

Below is a photo of a window on the Randolph Street side of the Macy’s store in Chicago, the former flagship store of Marshall Field’s.

The window is covered with an ad for Clorox wipes, and outside of this photo is another similar window ad. I forget if these windows previously had a display case in them or not. Someone realized they could leverage this asset, which is along the path many people take to and from a nearby commuter train station. This someone could have been Macy’s themselves, or the ad agency representing Clorox. In any case, it can be considered a win-win situation, where the message is communicated and Macy’s is making money renting the space.

This is probably Macy’s only option as they have blatantly chosen not to leverage signage already on the building, and clearly shown in this photo – the Marshall Field’s brand. When Macy’s bought Field’s parent company they killed off brands like Field’s and Filene’s in the Boston area in favor of the moniker of the New York store in hopes of developing a nationwide brand. It cost them a lot of money which they never recouped, lost customer loyalty built up over decades, and then along came the economic condition we are in.

Perhaps Macy’s should look at the bigger picture and reconsider what they put on the outside of their stores?

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Being the good Catholic boy I am, every Lent I give up something for the season through Easter. Without getting into a religious conversation, whatever I give up should be a sacrifice. In the past I have given up desserts, various forms of adult beverages and using choice adult words. However this year I thought long about what I could sacrifice that would surely make me a better individual.

I am giving up non-essential spending. For both myself and my business, I will not spend money on anything that is not required. A non-essential business expense is one not directly related to revenue generation, and one for personal is one not vital to my very survival.

To ensure I am keeping my word, I am keeping track of any purchase I don’t make, and its dollar value. The accompanying picture to this post lists the first 2 items I did not buy. Amazon had the Nokia E71 for almost US$150.00 off this past weekend, but I declined. I recently bought some adapter tips for my iGo portable charger, only to realize once I got them I need another cable, which I decided not to buy as I had no essential travel planned through Easter. I have a couple of personal items as well, but nothing stellar to mention. The list is more to track my decisions rather than to be a shopping list after Lent is over, though some items I still may buy.

Some people think my Lenten sacrifice is a sound decision, especially those who know me and my continuous quest for electronics. Others think my decision is lame, and instead I should be supporting the economy or I probably shouldn’t be spending these days anyway. In any case, I feel good I have gone week only buying essentials.

What do you think, and if you celebrate Easter as well, what did you give up for Lent?

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“Now I am wondering what is next to fall.” I asked this question the other day when I wrote of the demise of Yahoo! Briefcase. The next thing I know, I get an email in my inbox from Vindigo. The message, in plain text, stated the following:

“Please be advised that Vindigo is no longer in business and your account information on file will not be billed again. We appreciate your past business and apologize that we are no longer able to provide it to you. This email is a service announcement in regard to your Vindigo account and was sent from Vindigo, Inc., 500 Seventh Ave, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10018.”

That’s it – no link, or anything.

For those unfamiliar with it, Vindigo was a service where you could sync content with either a Palm or Windows Mobile device. With that definition and the proliferation of real-time wireless services, you could guess their business model would not last too long. Plus the service was free, so they were not getting any money from me. As I have migrated from my Palm 680 to my Nokia E70, I wasn’t using the service anyway.

Even though there were no links in the email, I attempted to go their Web site at vindigo.com. Even though there was a “404: File Not Found” error message, I noticed the favicon showed up in the browser. This indicated to me the Web site still may be there in some form. So I Googled “vindigo” and it gave links to other pages on the site – including the profile login page – which were still in place and functioning. Removing the home page is one way to take down a Web site, but remember there are other pages people can easily get to.

I am not trying to build a deadpool here on The Hot Iron, only mentioning 2 sites that are shutting down. As things commonly happen in 3’s, dare I wonder who’s next?

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Business • Mobile Technology • (5) Comments • Permalink