Category:  Pundits & Blogs

Pundits and Blogs

Following the writings of pundits or Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) is like having a tutor - somebody really smart who can explain new things to you in new ways to both increase your knowledge and broaden your perspective. Weblogs (aka blogs) - well, that's one of those new things that's on the fast track. Blogs are a new phenomenon in journalism followed by a small but growing number of online readers. Blogs are getting more and more attention, not only from the press, who are starting to incorporate this grass-roots journalism into their more main-stream material, but also from corporations who see an alternate means to reach their constituencies. Readers and writers of blogs are becoming highly influential. I've learned a lot from the experts below and so can you.

Clay Shirky has some of the most insightful commentary on the changes that wireless broadband and pervasive Internet are likely to bring about, to be found at Clay Shirky's Internet Writings. Clay is a consultant on the social and economic effects of Internet technologies, as well as an adjunct professor in NYU's graduate Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), where he teaches courses on the interrelated effects of social and technological network topology.

David S. Isenberg Check out David's site, David Isenberg's Home for Stupid Networks and SMART People, as well as his newly launched annual get together, F2C: Freedom to Connect. David is a self-described "former Bell Head," who wrote a seminal essay on the "dumb network," wherein intelligence is out at the edges in PCs, rather than inside the network. I find his writing to be consistently thought-provoking and you should too - check out his blog, isen.blog.

Esme Vos, This municipal wireless pioneer has put together one of the most helpful sites around. Published out of Amsterdam, Muniwireless is a great tool to track the wide-ranging events occurring around the globe with regard to metropolitan wireless deployments and includes a newsletter option as well. Sign up for the newsletter, and be sure to check out Esme's site today. Don't miss the free downloads of these three valuable tools : a) the Muniwireless March 2005 Report, which has a comprehensive listing and description of municipal wireless deployments; b) RFP Heaven, which has a model RFP; and c) the City Wireless Network Cookbook provided by municipal wireless consultant Civitium .

EuroTelcoblog This blog gives a good perspective on what's happening in Europe. James Enck, European Telecom Analyst and Global Telecom Strategist for Daiwa Securities SMBC Europe Ltd., publishes this blog to track disruptive influences on the telecom industry. This offers a great perspective on wireless in Europe, which provides nuances to understanding what is going on here in the US.

Glenn Fleishman Glenn's blog Wi-Fi Networking News features daily news on wireless, as the title suggests, and some of the best editorializing on wireless that you can find on the web. Wi-Fi Networking News dates to spring 2001, and since its founding it has been an independent editorial entity devoted to regular news on wireless data networking. Owned and operated by Glenn, the site sometimes features other writers and/or partnerships with other sites, but throughout, Glenn's editorial presence is strong. See also Glenn's email newsletter WeeklyWire.

Greg Richardson has rapidly become one of the leading municipal wireless consultants in this new industry. His company, Civitium, is the consultant on many of the RFPs for new metropolitan wireless deployments. Be sure to download his City Wireless Network Cookbook off of the www.muniwireless.com website.

Howard Rheingold's blog, Smart Mobs, was set up to discuss topics in his examination of "A Website and Weblog about Topics and Issues discussed in the book Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution". I recommend the book to get an idea of how a ubiquitous Internet in your town could begin to change the way your town operates and interacts.

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Jim Baller, founder of the Baller Herbst Law Firm in Washington, D.C., is the leading legal expert on municipal broadband networks and his website has the best resources to keep track of this fast moving issue of state prohibitions and barriers to municpal wireless networks. Jim is a great resource for city planners, and is closely aligned with the American Public Power Association, which is an advocate of community broadband for its 2000 members and the cities they represent.

Kevin Werbach simply is one of the most experienced and best connected mavens in the wireless industry. The Supernova Report is a regular newsletter published by Kevin Werbach. Formerly an FCC wireless expert, and now on the Wharton Business School faculty, Kevin is a leading wireless pundit. His annual conference, Supernova, offers insights into the future of wireless applications and lifestyles, and his blog, Werblog, is timely and insightful.

GigaOm , the blog by Om Malik, covers a wide-range of topics, including broadband, voip, and other digital lifestyle issues. This is a very timely blog, and well read. He seems to have his finger on the pulse.

I, Cringely | PBS I could write a short description, but the blog description is so much better: For eight years from 1987-95, Robert X. Cringely wrote the Notes From the Field column in InfoWorld, a weekly computer trade newspaper. He is also the author of the best-selling book "Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date." Most recently, Cringely is the host and writer of the hit PBS-TV miniseries "Electric Money." (If you'd like to own "Electric Money," you can.) Cringely's work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, Upside, Success, Worth, and many other magazines and newspapers. The sex symbol, airplane enthusiast and adventurer continues to write about personal computers and has an active consulting business in Silicon Valley, selling his cybersoul to the highest bidder.

And then, this gem:
Cringely on Cringely, On Why You Should Pay Any Attention to Him

When it comes to information technology, I know what I am talking about. Twenty years in and around the PC business have earned me wisdom, if not wealth. It's not that I am so smart, but that my friends are smart. The best and brightest in Silicon Valley talk to me all the time. It's my job to sift through their thoughts for valuable bits to share with you. But wait, if I am so great, why is this service free? Good question! Maybe it's time to renegotiate my contract with PBS.

Steve Stroh publishes a private newsletter called FOCUS On Broadband Wireless Internet Access.

The Wireless Weblog has fresh news on wireless. This site is worthwhile to track developments more from an industry perspective.

Posted on February 03, 2006 at 08:40 PM | Comments (1)