Join industry leaders at the annual MMA Forum in New York, as they discuss where the mobile channel is now, and more importantly, where it’s heading next. There is no doubt that in the past year, the mobile industry has grown by leaps and bounds and truly evolved. Seemingly implausible predictions from 5 years ago, promising that over a billion mobile devices will be sold annually, are a reality in 2010. For marketers, this tremendous growth raises important questions about engagement, best practices, and gauging the success of their mobile campaigns.

This is sure to be an amazing event.

CTIA Wireless 2010
March 23-25, 2010
Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV.
www.ctiawireless.com

Ad:tech San Francisco (MobileMix)
April 19-21, 2010
www.ad-tech.com/sf/adtech_san_francisco.aspx

FIND AN EVENT NEAR YOU:

Mobile Monday
www.mobilemonday.net/about
Go to the bottom and look for a city near you.

Qittle presents:
Social/Mobile Media at its Best “Live The Dream”
This is a really fun idea. Town by town Qittle is covering America with informative talks about mobile. Love it!
See entire schedule here:
http://qittle.eventbrite.com/

WHERE TO LOOK FOR EVENTS (and List Yours):

http://mmaglobal.com/events

www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/general/104.html

http://events.linkedin.com/mobile-marketing

www.tsnn.com/

If it sounds intriguing just sign up to be kept informed here in the upper left corner.

From the moment I stepped into the room at CWC I started looking around for familiar faces. And I found them. All over the place. Ladies I had seen virtually every day in my Twitter stream. Even if I hadn’t met some of them in person I knew what they did, what their latest blog post was, what they were looking forward to about the conference.  When we met in person we started with common ground already in place. It was so much easier to work the conversation around doing business together – the ultimate goal of a networking function.

It reminded me of growing up in a small town. When you went to the grocery store you saw people you knew. Eating out at restaurants was fun because the people at the next table were your friends and neighbors.

By Twittering during the event we got to know each other even better. Throughout the whole day there was constant chatter on the hashtag #cwc09. (See it here.) This extra layer of conversation during the event made it so much richer. As people were learning and networking we were talking about it. It made it entirely possible to talk with everyone in the room and get to know people who were sitting at different tables. It made the whole day dynamic.

By contrast when I walked into the MMA room I looked for familiar faces and found only a handful. The folks I had met in real life at other functions. Of course it was great to see them but everyone else was a complete stranger. I knew nothing about anyone – where they worked, who they were. Nothing. It made walking up to someone to say “Hi” seem uncomfortable. Just like networking used to be all the time.

During the meeting we sat there listening to the presentations in our own island. No one knew what anyone else was thinking about the topic. No one was commenting about how smart the speaker was so that people who didn’t attend the conference could check out their site and make a connection. The people running the event who were trying desperately to get more feedback and input missed out on the natural flow of feedback that could have been there.

For me this is proof positive that social networking is so much more powerful than we give it credit for. It adds a layer to business that feel s like breathing when you are used to it.

If you are interested in learning more about Social Media and how to move yourself forward with this powerful set of tools, please look into the Social Media Telesummit starting next week. I am just one of dozens of great speakers and you will find your business so much more dynamic because of it.

The report quotes Chris Rust of US Venture Partners indicating that areas such as …. mobile internet, internet advertising, massive multi-player online games, virtual worlds… are continuing to launch new VC-backed companies at a healthy pace.

To bring together the best and the brightest minds in the mobile media industry, from start-up to investor, Strategy Institute presents the Mobile Media Investor Conference, supported by numerous industry experts in the emerging mobile media arena. The event will be held December 9 & 10, 2008, at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.

“The goal of the event is to bring forth the realities and economics of mobile media, educate the investment community, and to create a forum for emerging growth mobile media companies to connect with other key players in the mobile ecosystem,” stated Vijay S. Chattha, Chief Talker of VSC Consulting, and Chairperson of Strategy Institute’s Mobile Media Conference.

Sponsored by radar, the Mobile Media Investor Conference offers many industry leading presentations during the two-day event including:

“Monetizing the Third Screen”
Eric Ver Ploeg, Managing Director, VantagePoint Venture Partners moderates:
Cheryl Dalrymple, CFO, AdMob;
Zaw Thet, CEO, 4INFO;
Scott Dunlap, CEO, NearByNow;
Jason Gruber, VP of US Mobile Strategic Development, AOL

“Scenarios and Predictions in the Mobile Channel”
Rhonda Wickham, Editor-in-Chief, Wireless Week moderates:
Jeffery Litvack, Global Director, New Media Markets, Associate Press;
Louis Gump, VP, Mobile, The Weather Channel Interactive;
John Smelzer, SVP & GM of Mobile, Fox Interactive Media

Leading Venture firms discuss
“Deals Being Funded, Where Money is Flowing, and Industry Trends” with:
Sharon Wienbar, Managing Director, Scale Venture Partners;
Ben Choi, Senior Associate & Kaufman Fellow, Storm Ventures

CEO and Founders’ Roundtable Discussion on “Raising Money”
Blake Warner, Managing Director, Software, Media & Telecom Investment Banking, Thomas Weisel Partners moderates:
Dorrian Porter, Founder & CEO, Mozes;
Brian Cowley, President & CEO, Ad Infuse;
Zohar Levkovitz, CEO, Amobee Media System

To register for the exclusive Mobile Media Investor Conference call 1-866-298-9343 or email Registrations@strategyinstitute.com Mention the code “KD995″ to get a registration discount.

NOTE:
I will be attending this workshop and will be debuting The Mobile Marketing Handbook at it. Please let me know if you are going. I’d love to chat with you there.

The webinar, “Making Money with Mobile Coupons,” is scheduled for November 11, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. (Pacific time) and will be led by Jared Reitzin. The discussion will focus on how the integration of mobile coupons into marketing campaigns can maximize revenue for small- to medium-sized businesses.

Attendees will also receive specifics on how to launch a mobile coupon campaign, expected start-up costs, and success stories of companies using mobile coupons today.

Topics to be addressed include:

• Consumer response to coupon offers sent to mobile phones.
• Using mobile couponing to increase sales and support consumer loyalty programs.
• Best practices for SMS mobile coupon campaigns.
• Choosing the right SMS coupon technology.

To register, please go to https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/846137529.

To bring together ingenious minds in the mobile media industry, from start-up to investor, Strategy Institute presents the Mobile Media Investor Conference, supported by numerous industry experts in the emerging mobile media arena. The event will be held December 9 & 10, 2008, at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.

“The goal of the event is to bring forth the realities and economics of mobile media, educate the investment community, and to create a forum for emerging growth mobile media companies to connect with other key players in the mobile ecosystem,” stated Vijay S. Chattha, Chief Talker of VSC Consulting, and Chairperson of Strategy Institute’s Mobile Media Conference.

Among the many industry leading presentations during the two-day event are:

Eric Ver Ploeg, Managing Director, VantagePoint Venture Partners moderates the panel discussion on “Monetizing the Third Screen” with key panelists including:

Cheryl Dalrymple, CFO, AdMob;
Zaw Thet, CEO, 4INFO;
Scott Dunlap, CEO, NearByNow;
Jason Gruber, VP of US Mobile Strategic Development, AOL

Rhonda Wickham, Editor-in-Chief, Wireless Week moderates a panel discussion on “Scenarios and Predictions” in the Mobile Channel with leading content providers:

Jeffery Litvack, Global Director, New Media Markets, Associate Press;
Louis Gump, VP, Mobile, The Weather Channel Interactive;
John Smelzer, SVP & GM of Mobile, Fox Interactive Media

Leading Venture firms discuss “Deals Being Funded, Where Money is Flowing, and Industry Trends” with:

Sharon Wienbar, Managing Director, Scale Venture Partners;
Ben Choi, Senior Associate & Kaufman Fellow, Storm Ventures

Blake Warner, Managing Director, Software, Media & Telecom Investment Banking, Thomas Weisel Partners moderates the CEO and Founders’ Roundtable Discussion on “Raising Money” featuring:

Dorrian Porter, Founder & CEO, Mozes;
Brian Cowley, President & CEO, Ad Infuse;
Zohar Levkovitz, CEO, Amobee Media System

GET MORE INFO:

Strategy Institute works to provide decision-makers with strategic business information and executive education to enhance their business judgment. With focus on emerging markets, technologies, and applications within various segments, Strategy Institute offers annual conferences that provide practical solutions to business challenges.

If designing for the mobile web is even part of what you do, there is an upcoming conference that you should know about.

The Mobile Web Megatrends is a unique one day event that addresses the strategy and best practices relating to key current trends for the Mobile Web. It will be held September 8th at the University of California, Berkeley.

Designed to be an interactive conference with participants getting an opportunity to discuss mobile web develop with some of the best and brightest thinkers in the mobile space, this conference is worth considering.

Speakers Include:
Ajit Jaokar, Futuretext
Micheal Mace, Rubicon Consulting
Dan Mason, ESPN Mobile Web
Kevin Leong, Mo’Blast
Mike Rowehl
Barbara Ballard, Little Springs Design
Jason Spero, AdMob
Priscilia Grison

Tickets are only $195. Registration is still open, but September is a lot closer than you think, so don’t delay if you want to sign up.

Host, Krishna De and I will cover topics including:

• The different elements of a mobile marketing strategy
• Top three mobile marketing strategies I recommend
• How to get customers to register to receive SMS from your business
• My predictions for mobile marketing

Register here:
BizGrowthLive Complimentary Tele-Seminar

Check out the System Seminar Program Guide to see everthing that is being presented. If you are going, please let me know and we’ll meet for a coffee, tea or beer.