As I recently wrote in a piece “Mobile in the 3G Era” for a forthcoming book “Mobile Mania”, the future of mobile is smart-following. This means following what others do. If a trusted and respected friend buys brand X, then his or her followers might buy brand X too. Ditto, what they read, watch, listen, surf, where they holiday, who they network with etc.

This is nothing new, but mobiles enable a kind of agility and immediacy with information that once users become accustomed to, there’s no going back. Also - and critically - much smart-following (or leading) will be permission based. This means smart-leaders can give permission for others to access their digital alter-persona. Permission granting is more viable with mobiles because the one granting permission can do it there and then, as requests come in.

When such a trusted network is working smoothly, I envisage that we have entered into the Semantic Web era more fully. Meanwhile, there are very simple steps that can be taken to enable mobile users to influence each other. I already mentioned how a MIDlet programmer should always consider adding viral features to promote their MIDlet to others.

Allowing referrals is not difficult, but we can go one stage better. Pay users to do it!

Yes. Click-throughs on referrals should be rewarded on mobile services. In fact, it is possible to go another step further and allow users to advertise actively to each other. Let the users do the segmenting of the market, not some horrendously complex data-mining effort. The principles of sell-side advertising apply equally to mobiles as they do the Internet, if not more so.

In mobile applications, there is a real cost to finding things out. Going back and forth between pages takes real patience. If a user finds a gem buried away somewhere, they should be able to tell others and get rewarded financially for it.

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These past few days have been spent in anxiety. My wife had a major operation. It has been stressful for all of us.

I’m not going to voice my complaints here about the healthcare service in the UK, as I know that with it being “free”, we’re luckier than most. However, I can certainly suggest some improvements. One of them is automated patient tracking that allows wireless querying of patient status.

As patients get moved from one phase of administration to another, this should be tracked in real time electronically. From what went on - and wrong - during my wife’s 3-day stay, it is obvious that tracking would be useful for all kinds of internal procedures. For example, after coming out from surgery, there could be an automated notification to remind the consultant to do the post-op check.

What really sparked my interest in automated patient tracking is making it available to friends and family. I imagine that I can’t be the only relative who keeps phoning the hospital to find out what’s going on with their loved one. This phone polling is terribly inefficient for everyone.

An alternative is to issue me with a code that I can text to an enquiry number and get an automated status response, such as “out of theatre”, “awaiting consultant”, “staying overnight”, etc. These states would have to be thought through carefully, but the general idea seems both possible and hugely beneficial.

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It looks like the country is watching(listening) to find out what will happen in White County High School, relating to their students proposed Peers Rising in Diversity Education club. It has realized a national scope, and can be listened to at NPR’s All things Considered.

“February 26, 2005 · High school students in Cleveland, Ga., are trying to get permission to form a club that promotes tolerance of gays and lesbians. But they’re running into tough opposition from religious and parent groups”

Another story entitled: White County, Georgia: Controversy in Gay PRIDE, can be found here.

Email to Principal Dorsey of White County HS

This is the email I wrote in response to White County, Georgia: Controversy in Gay PRIDE

Principal Dorsey,

I have been following the news about your school, and its formation of PRIDE, which I fully support. I think there is no better place to teach tolerance and acceptance to students than in schools, and as educators, you have an obligation to lead by example. You must realize, what was once a town squabble has now become national news. At this time the nation is watching to see which actions you take, and what you are doing will reflect on Georgia, the south, and the United States. I can only hope that you take a responsible action, and allow Kerry Pacer to form her club.

Sincerely,
Eric Carlson

I encourage all of you to get involved as well, and email Principal Dorsey at bdorsey@white.k12.ga.us and tell him what you think. (Please feel free to copy my email if you cannot think of one on your own)

In the mountains of Georgia lies a school of a thousand students where religious beliefs and personal rights are conflicting.

In Cleveland, Georgia there has been a lot of controversy over a clubs formation; the Gay-Straight Alliance. All of this was started by a Junior named Kerry Pacer. The proposal of the clubs formation sparked a religious fervor in the community surrounding White County High School.

This clubs attempted formation was partially prompted by boos from a crowd as Kerry, an openly gay Junior, joined a procession at the Sweetheart Assembly the Friday before Valentine’s Day while holding a rose given to her by a female classmate.

After much Baptist pressure, the group decided to pull out their request for the GSA club and instead requested permission to form a PRIDE club (Peers Rising in Diversity Education). The proposed club will be “a broader-based tolerance group” rather than just a support group for gay students.

However, the controversy did not stop merely for a change in the club’s name. On February 25, the White County Board of Education allowed 30 minutes for comments from the public, eight people for and against the group’s formation, including parents and religious leaders.

Rev. Chris Anderson, Pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist says, “Our children’s education is in jeopardy,” and says that there is no reason to form a club “because there have been no reports of bullying or harassment.”

This was joined by Lee Moore, a parent who does not want to see this club formed, “I don’t think the students this age, should be subjected to [this] or have it shoved down their throat.”

The students are not alone in their ongoing battle to form a club; Kerry Pacer is joined by her parents, and a good chunk of the community.

The ultimate irony is that while Kerry is trying to start a club based on tolerance and acceptance there are community members who are trying to stop its formation with bullying and harassment.

“Everyone at school is like ‘It’s against God. It’s against God,’ “Kerry said.”They tell me God is watching me, but who is watching them?”

We are watching them Kerry, and we will do what we can to support you, and your quest in tolerance.

You can reach Principal Bryan Dorsey at bdorsey@white.k12.ga.us and tell him what you think.

Written by: Eric Carlson

::Update - March 13, 2005::

For more information on this story, I point you to:

• White County Gay Club Draws Kansas Protests
• News updates:Cleveland Georgia Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
• Georgia School’s Gay Pride Effort Hits Hurdles
• Email to Principal Dorsey of White County High