ValleyShadow

The Wireless Video Surveillance Opportunity: Why WiMAX is not just for Broadband Wireless Access

My next column for WiMAX.com posted yesterday, and this one discusses the fact that WiMAX -- despite the unbalanced coverage it receives as a 4G access technology -- also has other market opportunities in which the is very successful. Here's a quick excerpt, followed by a link to the full article:

If you take a look at the WiMAX headlines on any given day, you'll notice that a vast majority of the coverage WiMAX receives focuses on broadband wireless access (BWA) - regardless of whether that coverage is praising the technology for its performance and ability to provide service to underserved areas, or whether its questioning the technology's viability as the 4G technology of choice. Don't get me wrong - WiMAX is absolutely deserving of its role in shaping the 4G and BWA landscape moving forward. The WiMAX Forum itself defines WiMAX as "a standards-based technology enabling the delivery of last mile wireless broadband access as an alternative to cable and DSL".

But, that's not the whole WiMAX story.

WiMAX can be - and often is - used for a wide variety of applications outside of last mile access. The technology was originally designed with wireless backhaul as one of the primary use cases (as opposed to the afterthought it seems to be in most coverage of the technology), and its ability to provide high-throughput wireless backhaul makes it an ideal candidate for deploying bandwidth-intensive applications. 

But there is one burgeoning market in particular that WiMAX has carved out a well-defined niche in, and that is the video surveillance market. This is a market whose growth has exploded over the past 5 years, and that ABI Research forecasts will be a $41 billion a year market by 2014. 

Read the full article at WiMAX.com. 

Streamy’s CEO Explains Why They Are NOT FriendFeed

As soon as news of Facebook’s acquisition of FriendFeed broke, the conversation almost immediately turned to “what will replace FriendFeed?” The reason this question is so important is because in the official press release about the acquisition, Facebook stated that "FriendFeed.com will continue to operate normally for the time being..." (emphasis mine). Based on that language (which was chosen carefully, you can be sure), it’s reasonable that people jumped to the conclusion that Facebook’s acquisition of FriendFeed was primarily a “talent acquisition”, and that the service would eventually be shut down as the key features are integrated into Facebook.

What’s very interesting is where the conversation headed next. The conclusion that many came to was that a service by the name of Streamy would be the service that most FriendFeed expats would migrate to.

Now, I have been an enthusiastic Streamy user since March, and as soon as I was turned on to the service it quickly became my de facto start page. So, I was excited to hear that the service was finally getting the level of attention that I thought it deserved. But, just as soon as Streamy was suggested as a new home for FriendFeed users, suddenly the criticism began. Folks like Duncan Riley at the Inquisitr quickly pounced on Streamy, pointing out that it “is not FriendFeed.”

I think this criticism is completely unfounded, for one simple reason – Streamy has never claimed, nor do they claim now, to WANT to be FriendFeed. Apples and oranges come to mind. In fact, Streamy has a tight integration with FriendFeed, enabling people to utilize FriendFeed from within Streamy. BUT, it also goes much further than FriendFeed, by integrating a full RSS aggregator, drag-and-drop sharing functionality that enables you to share interesting stories and threads with your friends and social networks, as well as built in chat functionality (supporting all the major IM clients) – making it a much more well-rounded social sharing site than FriendFeed set out to be in the first place.

Can't Meet the Broadband Stimulus Extended Deadline? There's Still Hope.

I was recently asked to write a weekly column for a great wireless industry publication by the name of WiMAX.com, which focuses on the issues affecting the broadband wireless community. My first post went live today, and it provides a primer on the recent Round One broadband stimulus funding deadline, as well as the options open to the organizations that missed that deadline.

With the first stimulus deadline set to pass tomorrow, many organizations are finding themselves unable to submit their applications in time. Thankfully, there is still hope and a bevy of options for organizations seeking funding.

To read the full article, please check it out here at WiMAX.com.

GigaOmPro Bridges Editorial and Analysis; Makes Research Obtainable for the Mainstream

With the myriad of conversations taking place at any given time about the woes of traditional media, the future and evolution of blogging, and the need for new models that can adapt to the changing media landscape – it’s refreshing when you see an organization actually act and introduce a new media model, instead of just talking about it. That is exactly what the GigaOm Network has done with the introduction of GigaOmPro.

Launched to the world at the end of May, GigaOmPro is Om Malik’s latest brainchild, and with the fee-based service he and his team have put an interesting stake in the ground when it comes to how they see people consuming content and research moving forward. It’s a model that blurs the line between free blog content and expensive technology research, adopting a hybrid approach that they hope will ultimately provide more value to a broader audience.

From a high level, GigaOmPro is a subscriber-based service (with a current price of just $79 for the first year) that gives subscribers all-you-can-eat access to more in-depth analysis and market research than is traditionally found on the other GigaOm Network properties. GigaOmPro currently offers content covering 4 markets – Infrastructure, Mobile, Green IT, and the Connected Consumer. They then break the content down into 5 categories, which are:

Why the VoIP-Only Phone Was a Great Idea (and Why it Has Already Failed/Would Fail Again)

Ever since the Google Voice app was denied by Apple, interest in the application has soared through the roof (over 9,000 stories written about Google Voice in the last 30 days).  And personally, I understand the interest – Google Voice is a great service (I’ve been using it for a few weeks now after waiting for an invitation). I would love to have the freedom to use Google Voice directly from my iPhone, and am equally peeved that Apple has squashed it. So I read with interest the article by James Kendrick (editor of jkOnTheRun) that he wrote for GigaOmPro entitled “Could Skype in Your Pocket Beat the iPod Touch?” (Subscription to GigaOmPro required, but I highly recommend it)

Of course, the reason why VoIP applications like Google Voice have been squashed by the carriers like AT&T is because they fear that giving the ability to make VoIP calls will cut into users’ cell minutes (an argument I disagree with for several reasons, but that’s another post). James proposes a great idea – what if some device manufacturer that had no (or little) ties to the carrier industry created a device similar to the iPod Touch with the primary feature/selling point being that it would be a VoIP-only phone with no carrier contract required? He then proposes all of the features it would need to be a contender (Wi-Fi, a Wi-Fi hotspot roaming agreement, Skype and other VoIP service functionality, great Web browser, touch-screen UI, audio player, etc.), and suggests a few vendors that might be able to pull it off.

Sounds like a great idea, right? A device that has no ties to any carrier, no contract requirements and no set monthly fees – yet allows you to make free or cheap calls whenever connected to a Wi-Fi network. Sadly, though, this is an idea that has already been executed, but failed. And it’s likely an idea that will be executed again, and it will likely fail again.

BART DECREM: Aligning People, Passion and Purpose

*NOTE: This post was written and based on an interview I did with Bart Decrem (currently the CEO of Tapulous, the maker of one of the iPhone's most downloaded apps, Tap Tap Revenge), way back in 2007. This interview was before he founded Tapulous, but gives some great insights into Bart the person and innovator, as well as the motivations that drive him. I'll catch up with Bart and post an updated post soon. Til' then, enjoy. 

_ _ _

When Bart Decrem talks about his passion for world travel, it becomes very clear that his interest lies more in the people he meets along the way than the places he visits. While he’s clearly passionate about experiencing new places and cultures, I get the sense that for Bart, it’s all about collecting the background information to help him understand people better.

 And though his interest in people is certainly global, there is no doubting Bart’s love for the Valley’s tech culture as well. Bart, who was born in Belgium and attended a French university, landed himself at Stanford Law mostly because he wanted to be in the Silicon Valley, though he knew he’d, “never be an engineer.”

 “I knew I wanted to be in the Silicon Valley, so I figured Stanford was a good place to be – if nothing else – for the sake of the proximity,” says Bart.

His first year at Stanford, he attended his first MacWorld Expo and ran across a booth for a program called Computers and You, which was a free program run out of San Francisco’s Glide Memorial Church that taught people computer skills. Someone suggested that Bart start something similar in his own area. He was living in East Palo Alto at the time, and decided to start volunteering at a local Boys and Girls Club in East Menlo Park where he taught kids how to use the Internet.

 “It was great. I got to be a geek, but still help kids that needed help,” says Bart.

Welcome to ValleyShadow.com

Sure, we all know that the Silicon Valley is a virtual fountain of ideas and innovation. Over the years, one thing that has continually baffled me about the Valley is that in so few cases are the people behind the innovations and ideas truly recognized for their achievements. Yes, there are plenty of stars born from their Valley successes – but for the most part the folks who scrap it out and pump out idea after idea go largely unrecognized.

And, even when the behind-the-scenes technology innovators are recognized, the media innovators – both the media professionals discussing the technology and the PR/marketing folks that they work with – that help bring those technologies and companies to the attention of others receive even less attention for their role in the Valley’s innovation ecosystem.

ValleyShadow.com is a place for discussion on the behind-the-scenes innovations and innovators – from both the technology and media side of the fence. The cool ideas that go unnoticed, the innovative new approaches to media, the great efforts and campaigns that went into promoting ideas, and the people pulling the strings – not of just the headline grabbing stuff – but also the behind-the-scenes advances in the technology and culture that shape the Valley.

So thanks for stopping by, and please join us in the discussion. We’d love to hear your stories. Whether you are the brains behind the next big tech innovation, the engineer designing/programming 'til all hours of the night to bring a dream to reality, someone working to innovate and adapt the current media landscape, or anyone doing anything to advance and shape this Valley of ours, drop me a line and let me know what you're up to at robb(at)valleyshadow.com.