Recently I attended the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot. While Florida was graced with a cold front, making it enjoyable to walk around without suffocating from humidity, I encountered major network issues with my iPhone.

Not to beat a horse to death, but come on AT&T! Text messages were slow coming through, applications didn’t run smoothly, phone calls were choppy despite having several bars of service and opening web sites – forget about it!? So, not only did the mass amount of people at Epcot make it hard to keep a comfortable bubble of personal space, but they kept me from Tweeting!

CNET recently published an article, “Is the iPhone Hurting AT&T’s brand?” in which Rob Adler, vice president at Vantage, was quoted as saying, “AT&T can say that there is nothing wrong with their network all they want,” he continued. “But when someone is experiencing dropped calls and no access to the 3G network every day, they take it very personally. And it is very frustrating.”

Frustrating enough that after seeing the “iDon’t” ads from Verizon Wireless and reading this article from The New York Times though, I’m starting to wonder if people will sacrifice the Apple brand for Verizon/Google/Motorola Droid.

Just like the Mac vs. PC commercials, Droid’s ads continue to poke fun at Apple. While I wouldn’t give up my Mac at home, frankly, these AT&T network issues are quite a drag and joining Matt Marshall as a soon-to-be Droid user isn’t sounding too shabby! Consumers want reliability in any product they purchase. If you pay $200-$300 for an iPhone, plus the elaborate service plan each month, you want a network that works – and AT&T just isn’t cutting it these days.

While women have made some great strides in the tech world, there’s still a ways to go, as evidenced by Allyson Kapin’s Huffington Post article, “Giving Tech a Bad Name.” Some of the most amazingly gifted people in technology are women. Yet, women are underrepresented, making up only a small percentage of panelists at tech conferences and as go-to people for quotes.

Recently, Vantage Commubications CEO, Ilene Adler took part in a podcast interview with Suzanne Bowen of DIDXchange to explore this very topic about women and the tech industry. The two discussed how each got into working within the tech field and how it affected their lives. The conversation touched on how both women and men should support and encourage each other in order to surpass stereotypes. Also, how women should collaborate and encourage one another so more women can feel comfortable with entering such a dominantly male industry. The bottom line: to change the perception, people—women and men—need to take action and promote women in tech rather than wait for everyone else to change.

The Federal Communications Commission had begun work on a National Broadband Plan, which will benefit citizens and businesses. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act called upon the FCC to submit a national broadband plan to Congress by February 17, 2010 that discusses broadband deployment, adoption, affordability and the use of broadband in relation to education, energy, efficiency, and public safety.

Julius Genachowski, Federal Communications Commission chairman explained at the recent opening broadband workshop that broadband “is to us what railroads, electricity, highways and telephones were to previous generations—a platform for commerce, for democratic engagement, and for helping address major national challenges.”

The plan is to reduce the Digital Divide and bring broadband to nearly 40 percent of Americans not yet served by broadband to the home. In some areas, this figure is as high as 60 percent. The National Broadband Plan will also create jobs, spur innovation and promote competition. 

Technology vendors and service providers have the opportunity to unite the country in this initiative; one which is easily understandable by citizens, the press and legislators and bring the benefits of technology to underserved and un-served areas.  Who knows? Perhaps broadband can be for the early 21st century what putting a man on the moon was in the 1960s—a point of patriotism and progress for the country.

New technologies are always evolving and changing the way we communicate. According to research from IPG’s Universal McCann and AOL, “One out of every seven minutes of media consumption today takes place via mobile devices…That’s expected to grow by 60 percent over the next two years.” Many of our clients are looking into website redesigns in order to make them more mobile-friendly. It’s interesting to see this shift. No longer is just having a blog good enough. Now it must be mobilized. And in doing so, we are finding that content must be refreshed more frequently, so as not to get lost in the shuffle

MediaPost recently reported on a new survey by Princeton Survey Research International, which found that 90 percent of Internet users between 18 – 29 use video sharing sites, up from 72 percent one year ago. But that’s not all. Online adults ages 30 – 49 also showed big gains over the past year; 67 percent now use video-sharing sites, up from 57 percent in 2008. So we now work with our clients to produce more video content and add pictures and videos to press releases.

Additionally, how we get news and information is changing on a regular (dare I say, daily?) basis. As PR professionals, we focus on people who are influencers. Traditionally, this has been the media or industry analysts. While these folks remain influential, there is a new group of influencers. There are blogs that comment on or repackage the news, some of whom have larger followings than the original content (e.g. Gawker).  People  now regularly forward news to their friends and colleagues via social networks and Twitter.

PR is also an ever-evolving game. Not so long ago, press releases went out via fax. You read that right, fax. That little machine in the corner of the copy room that the interns look at in bewilderment. That was cutting edge. Then came e-mail. Now, as how people get their news is in a state of constant change, we are continually adapting to make sure that we are getting the word out to the right people in the way they want to receive it.  I guess it is not surprising that change has come to news, which after all, is the business of reporting on change.

2009 has been coined a time of “change.” From the White House administration to the green movement, from technology to journalism and communications, change is a constant theme no matter what industry you’re in.

While new technology and online media are forcing a lot of the change in the field of public relations, the same is being done in the field of journalism. There is no denying that economic pressures are partly responsible for forcing some sort of change, but what isn’t always recognized is that these pressures can also stimulate innovation and reinvention.

What we have seen over the past few months is that some of the publications we regularly read have only taken a brief hiatus to reinvent the wheel, and come back with a new approach to getting the news out to the audience that has respected their editorial expertise for the past several years. Most recently, Network Computing has resurfaced with its first digital issue. RCR Wireless News is also on its way back, and set to re-launch come September 1, distributing its news online and via e-newsletters. Both of these are examples of publications that have reinvented the wheel in an otherwise difficult time.

So while “change” can have varying definitions depending on circumstances, in this case we see it as a welcome occurrence for these tech publications, and look forward to gathering our news from them once again.

It’s time for a fractured fairy tale: Spinning the Web: P.R. in Silicon Valley, courtesy of the New York Times.  Once upon a time in a Sand Hill Road conference room, an entrepreneur, a VC and a PR consultant met to discuss the launch of Wordnik, a website about language and word usage. The PR person suggests a press tour of leading tech blogs (TechCrunch, GigaOm, etc.).  This suggestion is rejected by the VC as not a good match for a language website. Instead, they decide that they would have influential Silicon Valley entrepreneurs mention Wordnik in social media.  As so it came to be.  Digg founder, Kevin Rose, twittered that Wordnik was “truly amazing.”

From there, people started madly retweeting, which led to Wordnik becoming a trending topic on Twitter. Then, everyone in the Valley was abuzz about Wordnik. People will look back on these past few months as the “Summer of Wordnik.” And they all lived happily ever after.

Except that in the real world, the launch of Wordnik went virtually unnoticed.  As Michael Arrington reported in TechCrunch, Wordnik received a small blip in traffic and then quickly returned to its previous minuscule level. Since this is a fractured fairy tale, the frog doesn’t get turned into a prince.  But there are some lessons to be learned.

Hipsters vs. Word Nerds:  Before starting a launch plan, the first imperative is to determine “who is the target audience?” Then, look for the best way to reach them.  Here the target audience was …. Wordniks. The VC was correct that word nerds really don’t follow mainstream tech blogs.  But targeting hipsters using twitter is more about making a fashion statement than a viable launch plan for a language website.  

Something Old, Something New:  Much of the debate generated by the Times article is about whether social media is replacing PR. This is based on a false premise. The rise of new technologies doesn’t mean that the old technologies are banished to a virtual thrift shop. The new supplements the established. The old technology adapts to fit in with the new. At the time of the original Fractured Fairy Tales, PR people mailed press releases to the local newspapers. Today, the number of communication tools and influencers has increased exponentially. But press releases now incorporate SEO and still remain in the mix.

PR and Social Media, Better Together: Combining PR and social media into an integrated strategy can deliver great results. PR provides an efficient way to quickly gain traction with the targeted influencers and audience. Social media builds connections with these folks.  By social media, I mean participating in conversations on Twitter and Facebook, joining the blogosphere by writing and commenting on blogs rather than having Internet celebrities tweet on your behalf. You could argue it would be better to just use social media to gradually grow an audience (especially with a niche product).  But these days, VCs and board members want to see immediate results, as evidenced by Wordnik’s VC participating in the PR discussion. Though prior to launching a PR campaign, it is important that the product is ready for the attention (see: PR for Tech Start Ups – Are you ready for your close up?).

The Happy Ending: Completion of a product launch should be the first of many interactions with customers, partners, and influencers. There are many opportunities to build, even on a less than successful launch. After all, it’s more important where you end, than how you start. And this is where this post happily ends.

Given the short week, Vantage Points is taking the week off as far as new posts are concerned. Stealing a page (and a title) from our friends in the TV and radio businesses, we are digging into the archives for some of our favorite undiscovered  posts:

Rebuilding the way we look at Green Building: Most people assume green building is expensive. An interesting post about a recent study published by Good Energies, a global energy efficiency and renewable energy investment company, shows some surprising conclusions about green building costs…

Millionaire Cat – Marketing Promotion Hits the Litter Box: Channel surfing last night, I came across Meow Mix Think Like a Cat Game Showwhich purported to be the first game show in which “catestants” (I did not make that one up) and their owners compete as a team for $1 million….

A Global PR Perspective: Differences in China and the United States: High tech companies are eager to enter the Chinese market for its endless opportunities, and successful PR will help them to engage the local markets….

It begins with energy…: Green building in particular is thriving in America right now.  Michael Kanellos of Greentech Media said it best yesterday, “For green building companies, the good times have just begun.”…. 

We hope you enjoy these posts and will be back with fresh ones next week. Have a great holiday weekend and stay cool!

Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that AT&T is looking to extend its exclusive deal with Apple to sell in the United States until 2011. This news is not particularly surprising considering the company’s business model for the popular handset.  AT&T’s iPhone business model is like a crack addiction. It delivers a short term high, then sinks into an addiction and ends badly.

The High:Selling iPhones for less certainly helps increase Apple’s sales volume and AT&T’s short term bottom line. There were 1.6 million new iPhone subscribers on AT&T’s network in Q1 2009, with 40% of  those customers new to AT&T. According to the New York Times, iPhone customers are particularly valuable because their average bill is 60 percent higher than the company’s overall customer base. The Times estimates that iPhone exclusivity generates $700 million per year in operating profits.

The Addiction: Where’s the problem in millions of profitable new customers?  As I discussed in AT&T’s Value to iPhone Users: Negative $400/phone?!, these customers are really Apple’s  with little loyalty to AT&T.  AT&T’s business model is based on subsidizing the cost of the iPhone and making its profits from high monthly fees over the life of a 2 year contract. The Wall Street Journal estimates that it has spent upwards of $1.3 billion to discount the iPhone.  So the company relies on higher service fees that is supported through exclusivity.

Given this business model, you would expect that AT&T would make its customers feel like they get great value and service from the carrier to mitigate the effects on the eventual loss of exclusivity. Unfortunately, they do exactly the opposite.  Despite claims of the fastest 3G network,  a Gartner research study found that AT&T customers often receive half the advertised data rate.  Contact from AT&T is pretty much limited to the bill and text messages upselling higher priced services. The popular applications come from Apple and not AT&T. So customers get cheap phones and applications from Apple, and poor service and high fees from AT&T. Not surprisingly,  iPhone customers love Apple. AT&T? Not so much.

 It Ends Badly:  So, what happens when the exclusivity ends? On this issue, iPhone customers fall with three categories: customers who will leave AT&T as soon as they have an alternative, customers who might stay with enough incentives, and AT&T employees. Without customer loyalty, the company will take a significant revenue hit both from lost customers and additional subsidies and lower monthly frees that will be required to keep existing customers.

So AT&T is left with two expensive choices. To feed the addiction caused by its business model, it can pay Apple dearly to extend the exclusivity. Also, Apple will likely hold AT&T’s feet to the fire regarding expensive service upgrades to its 3G network.  Still, this only  staves off the inevitable. Eventually, exclusivity will end. At that time, profits will drop through defections to other providers and lower monthly fees. Cutting corners on communications combined with a poor business model always is very expensive.

Update: Tweet Up location: The Las Vegas Hilton, the Pool Area on the Third Floor. The Hilton is connected to the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Attention all folks attending CTIA in Las Vegas. Our friends at Qik will be hosting a Tweet Up on Wednesday,  April 1, at 7-10 pm.  This is a great opportunity to connect with people interested in the intersection of social media and the mobile industry. This also is a great opportunity to build on the success of the Tweet Up at Mobile World Congress.

The location is still being determined. You can sign up and get more information at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=69119667494. If you are not on Facebook, feel free to post in the comments section if you are interested in attending. I will pass the information to the folks at Qik.We will post updates here on Vantage Points and on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Check for hash tag #CTIA on Twitter.  For more information about networking events at CTIA, check out the awesome list from:

Mobileslate: http://www.mobileslate.com/blog/2009-ctia-spring-networking-events/

Look forward to meeting you there.

This year, I used the power of social networks to expand my Mobile World Congress experience. In past years, I took a tunnel vision type approach to the show with my experience the sum of previously scheduled meetings and press briefings at the show.  With social networks, you get the sense of being part of a larger experience.

Following other Mobile World Congress attendees on Twitter gives the effect of flipping across multiple channels where you tune in and out of different people’s show experience. Before the show everyone is preparing for and traveling to the show. The effect is like the opening number of a Broadway show, where everyone sets up their roles in the show – like Putting it Together from Sunday in the Park with George. It is hard not to get caught up in the anticipation and the sense that you are part of something bigger.

Each day before I arrived at the show, I checked in on Facebook and Twitter to see what my Tweeps were up to at the show. It ranged from reporters who were providing real-time reports from a seemingly endless run of handset and OS press conferences to hung over people that missed their first meetings of the day. If it was happening people were tweeting it and it created a fascinating kaleidoscope.

Readers of Vantage Points know that I was part of arranging the first Mobile World Congress Tweet Up (an in-person meeting of people on Twitter and other social networks). The Tweet Up was an opportunity to share opinions about the show and the future of mobile. It also generated over 300 hits to Vantage Points. Between the Tweet Up and posts on Facebook and Twitter, I now am part of the global mobile community, although I never had met most of the people before the show.

As we move from Mobile World Congress to CTIA, I intend to build on expanding this social approach to trade shows. Look for a Tweet Up in Las Vegas, and more interaction with the global mobile social community.