Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is a few easy items to throw in your bag: Single-sign on for all applications -- so I don't have to constantly go through several levels of security to look up my passwords that are hidden in well guarded files on well-secured devices. I'll settle for biometrics that really work. Anything that minimizes all the steps required to just get through the day, get real work done and live our lives. True connectivity everywhere --...

4 PR Tips For Embracing Remote Meetings

 I recently read an article in GigaOm, How to Embrace Remote Meetings and it got me thinking about my own experience. Since starting at LP&P almost six years ago, one of the things I've really enjoyed has been learning how to effectively work with team members at our Boston headquarters from my "remote" office in Austin. Not only do we have clients all over the map - across multiple different time zones, but our internal team structures often require...

The Communicator's Dilemma

The PR and communications lessons to be learned from the demise of the Flip camera.

RIM Plays Rope-a-dope

It was fascinating to watch the smartphone wars live and in color yester as they raged around RIM's announcement of its new OS and Blackberry Torch. Rumors have been rampant about the pending announcement. Even before the actual announcement occurred in New York on today, data emerged about Blackberry users preferring iPhones or Droid devices, along with reports that the United Arab Emirates were set to shut down Blackberry service in their region because RIM would not allow their government...

Going from "are you kidding?" to "could this be great PR?"

Everybody has their favorite mobile app - you might like to 'pop' bubble wrap on your iPhone, or Tweet from your Blackberry. Me? I appreciate the simplicity of the WSJ Mobile Reader. I have easy-to-read, quickly-downloadable headlines and stories at my fingertips from not only the Journal but the other feeds I've set it up to pull in for me. I tell you this only because I thought it was playing tricks on me last night. I took a few...

TV and PC, Collision or Convergence?

On Monday night I attended yet another informative session by MassNetComms. The session "Is convergence finally here? Web Video and TV get ready to collide," wasn't just informative though, it was lively as well. The panel was moderated by Will Richmond of VideoNuze and included Chris Gardner of ExtendMedia, Hilmi Ozguc, formerly of Maven Networks (which was bought by Yahoo last year), Andy Roberts of Azuki Systems and Neil Sequeira of General Catalyst. Best anecdote of the night? How one...

NFL Secret Sauce: Telecom

At yesterday's ACG Boston DealMaker's breakfast, Jonathan Kraft spoke to a packed room of investment bankers, venture capitalists and financial consultants about the business of football. I've heard Jonathan speak before and he was equally engaging, compelling and interesting this morning. He redirected the topic of the meeting from the business of sports, to what he claims it really is -- the entertainment business. While so much of the discussion was fascinating to me, it hit home when Jonathan talked...

Greed is Good

Last night I attended a MassNetComms gathering of 100+ people, hosted at Battery Ventures, which included a panel of investors offering perspective on wireless, networking and telecom opportunities. John Dix, editor-in-chief of Network World, hosted a lively, optimistic discussion that kept coming back to mobility and video. In particular, challenges to be tackled, according to this group, are monetization of content; getting content from our computers to our TVs; and watching the smaller video players (e.g. Joost) figure out ways...

I Want my Internet TV

After listening to a few friends discussing two new TV shows, Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle, I decided to engage. Our terrible weekend weather this month made it fairly easy for me to commit a few hours one Sunday to watching several episodes of each show on my laptop via the on-demand options the networks are offering. I have to say, it was pretty great. (I have a cable to connect my MacBook to my TV so I could have...

Finger in the wind decision-making

What's a journalist to do these days? It's very hard to get a straight story from anyone regarding whether the U.S. truly is in a THAT WHICH CANNOT BE NAMED AND BEGINS WITH "R." In fact, FierceTelecom's Dan O'Shea is trying to determine where things stand in the telecoms market, the same way CNBC Moneyline and AP-Ipsos in their respective broader markets. He is doing a straw poll. Telecom service providers for the most part reported pretty solid fourth quarter...