All posts by Dana

News

NYCwireless on Advertising Age: Chasing Mobile Audiences Beyond Phones

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I was asked to sit on a panel last Thursday about “THE FOUR SCREENS: Everything you had no idea you needed to know but were afraid to ask!” by my friend Bill Sobel at SobelMedia. My fellow panelists represented a great variety of old and new media expertise, and I brought some mobile knowledge to the table:

What comes after television, the internet and mobile is what has been commonly referred to as the fourth screen. But what is the deal with all these screens. What are they, why are they important and what do we as producers, designers, technologists and marketers need to know?

  • SCREEN 1: Traditional Broadcast and Cable Television starring Steve Ronson: EVP/AETN (A&E Television Networks)
  • SCREEN 2: Desktop, Laptop and computers starring Lance Podell: CEO/NextNewNetworks
  • SCREEN 3: Wireless and Mobile starring Dana Spiegel: Executive Director of NYCwireless
  • SCREEN 4: Digital out-of-home advertising and everything else starring Michael Kogon: Founder and CEO/Definition6

The panel was picked up by Advertising Age: Chasing Mobile Audiences Beyond Phones:

http://assets.adage.com/podcastvideos/3min122209.m4v

Although they get all the press, phones aren’t actually the only devices that make up our rapidly expanding world of mobile communications. Laptops and portable game consoles are also being widely used by on-the-go consumers. And companies like Yahoo and Google are paying close attention to that. Both sponsored expansive free wifi services for the holidays. Yahoo’s blanketed Times Square, while Google’s took to the airports and skies beyond.

Events

Announcing: New York's Technical Community Holiday Party

NYCwireless is joining forces with a number of other prominent technology organizations in NYC to help host the 2009 Technical Community Holiday Party.

Be sure to RSVP!

More than a palindromic number, 12/21 is an evening for drinks, hors d’oeuvres, and special guests at the professional networking event for New York technology.
Our mission is to bring together all aspects of technology and the business of technology in one event.

Come rub elbows and connect with colleagues from every segment of NY tech, as we unite the technical and business communities that we’re all a part of.

All are invited – CTO/CIO, junior admin, engineer, developer, entrepreneur, manager, author, speaker, media, and business professional.

This, our third groundbreaking event, is co-hosted by Bootup and Girls in Tech (see our 2007 and 2004 events).

Space is limited and we may have to close RSVPs early.

Date: December 21st, 2009 at 7:00PM
Location: Forum, 127 Fourth Avenue
Business casual attire is required.

News

Update on Times Square Wi-Fi Network

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Our own Klaus Ernst had a chance to check out the new Times Square Wi-Fi network, and snapped some pictures of the network’s home page (on his iPod Touch) and some of the advertisements in the area:

I finally got connected at 43 and b’way. I tried saturday – no luck. No good at the steps either. Could this be new CBSmobilezone?

I tried again Friday (12/4). Same thing. Ok at 43, nothing at 46th St.

We don’t know of anyone that was able to get the CBSMobileZone network to work. Hopefully the quality and range of the Times Square Wi-Fi network improve.

Times Square Home Page

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Events, News, Policy

Community Broadband Hearing at Columbia University on Dec. 11

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UPDATE: This is a Community Broadband Hearing by Columbia University, not an FCC Field Hearing. Sorry for the confusion!

Friend Bruce Lincoln, Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Engineering’s Center for Technology, Innovation & Community Engagement, sent us an invite for a Community Broadband Hearing taking place next Friday, December 11 at Columbia. I’m planning to attend, and suggest those of you that fill the different roles outlined below attend as well.

If you are planning on attending, leave a comment so we can find you!

It is important that members of the local community have an opportunity to participate in the National Broadband Planning process which is currently underway in Washington.

Toward that end, I invite you to participate in an FCC Field Hearing on Friday, December 11, 2009 at Columbia University in New York. The meeting will be held in Davis Auditorium from 8:45 am until noon.

The field hearing will bring together policymakers, elected officials, not-for-profit organizations, small businesses, anchor institutions, public agencies, broadband providers, foundations, community-based organizations and community leaders, academicians, and researchers. Together we will share thoughts on how collectively we can ensure all New Yorkers have access to broadband and the educational, economic and social opportunities it can provide.

I hope you will be able to attend as a representative of your organization or constituency. To fully understand the importance of broadband access from all points of view, your participation is vital. The agenda includes a “community visioning session” where you will have an opportunity to share your thoughts, ideas, and concerns with the group.

You can confirm your attendance via e-mail to bl2317@columbia.edu.

Agenda

Friday, December 11, 2009
Davis Auditorium, Columbia University
8 am-noon

8:00 Registration and Breakfast
8:45 Welcome (Bruce Lincoln, Columbia Engineering)
8:50 Opening Remarks (Dean, Feniosky Pena-Mora, Columbia Engineering)
9:00 “An Overview of the New York State Broadband Vision and Strategy” (Edward Reinfurt, Executive Director, New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation, NYSTAR)
9:30 “Vision of New York City’s Broadband Future” (Gale Brewer, Chair, Committee on Technology and Government, New York City Council)
9:40 Short Break
9:45 Practitioners Panel Session
10:15 Audience Q&A
10:30 Community Visioning Session
11:30 Wrap-up
12:00 Adjournment
News

Free Wi-Fi Now Available in Times Square

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Our friends over at the Times Square Alliance just sent us word that their new Wi-Fi network is up and running, and will be launched today. This is a great new amenity for New Yorkers and visitors alike, offering Free Wi-Fi to everyone. So grab a coffee and have a seat in one of the new Broadway Pedestrian Plazas, and get online for free (Yahoo! is sponsoring).

Check out the press release below:

Times Square Alliance Provides New Amenity Marking the Next Stage in the Evolution of the Broadway Plazas in New York

NEW YORK, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ — The Times Square Alliance announced today that they have teamed up with Yahoo! to bring free wireless Internet access to Times Square. Times Square, long known as the Crossroads of the World, will also be the crossroads of the wireless world. Together, Times Square Alliance and Yahoo! are enabling you to connect within the Crossroads of the World so you can access your world and the world around you.

Whether you are accessing free Wi-Fi from your laptop or mobile phone, Times Square Alliance and Yahoo! are empowering visitors to do more with the Web so they can get more out of their experience within Times Square. Visitors gain access through a new portal that offers the latest information about Times Square events and businesses, as well as local weather and news from around the world.

“Times Square has always been a neighborhood on the forefront of creativity and technology,” said Times Square Alliance President Tim Tompkins. “It’s among the most plugged-in, linked up and media-saturated places on the planet. So it’s only fitting that visitors to the Crossroads of the World enjoy free Wi-Fi as the next step on Times Square’s journey to becoming a world-class 21st century public space.”

The Broadway Pedestrian Plazas have created a gathering space for the community and visitors alike, and now the addition of this new, free service further provides them with access to the level of cutting edge technology traditionally associated with Times Square.

Pedestrians on the new Broadway Plazas can sit down at a cafe table, or on Duffy Square’s iconic red glass steps, and access their email, read the review of a Broadway show they are considering, browse local restaurant menus, or simply see who’s playing at Caroline’s that evening. Locals could even use the free web access to translate conversations with interesting tourists from around the globe.

The service will be kicked off today, November 10 with a Times Square Internet Cafe operating from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. on the Broadway Pedestrian Plaza between 43rd and 44th Street, just east of Military Island. Patrons will be able to sit down in the internet cafe, enjoy a free cup of coffee and log onto the new Wi-Fi service. Tables will be provided for patrons that bring their own laptops and additional laptops will be available to visitors on a first come, first serve basis.

The Times Square Alliance expresses their appreciation to Newmark Knight Frank and Sherwood Equities for their invaluable assistance in bringing Wi-Fi to the Great White Way.

THE TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE (www.TimesSquareNYC.org), founded in 1992, works to improve and promote Times Square. In addition to providing safety and sanitation services, the Alliance coordinates many major events in Times Square including New Year’s Eve, manages the City’s busiest Tourism Center and advocates on behalf of its constituents with respect to a host of public policy, planning and quality-of-life issues.