It's more than just a software project. It's also about a whole new way of doing things in O2. There is nothing "Telco" about the project. It will be an experiment in new ways of working and new platform approaches. Lots of open source software will be used, including some platforms from the so-called "No SQL" pattern of data stores. It is also an exercise in design and design-driven innovation. It will be an attempt to find new meaning in old telco habits. As I have argued and blogged for nearly 10 years now, there is just so much wrong with the telco user experience, which is still predicated on old switch-based ideas: connecting numbers, not people.
The web has taken the innovation initiative with so many new ways of connecting and communicating. It is no longer a case of "telco versus internet" - we have, at last, moved on from this, although many old-guard executives still cling to this idea, as reflected in so-called initiatives, like the JIL and RCS. They might happen, but they won't change an industry.
Hopefully, #Blue will set the scene for a swathe of new projects. If I can succeed in influencing a major telco like O2 - by far one of the best operators in the world - to adopt more internet-like ways of thinking and working, then I will be satisfied that my years of running workshops and training courses for operators globally on the theme of "mobile 2.0" will finally have paid off.
So-called "Mobile 2.0" is just a logical conclusion of what mobile and web convergence should have been about - socially enabled apps. It's not as if I'm new to this. I built one of the first ever SMS-Web gateways (96), the first ever SMS connector for MS Exchange (98), then the first WAP connector for MS Exchange (99), designed the first converged mobile/web portal (Zingo) back in 1998 for Lucent, later modified for NTT DoCoMo. I helped launch one of the first ever LBS start-ups in Asia (Metrowalker, HK). And on the list goes...
And this year I am hoping that mConnected, a company that I advise in Singapore, will become successful in the relatively crowded area of mobile social networks, thanks to some interesting features they have planned for the launch. The difference is that back in the 90s, we had to invent and code nearly everything. Today, the array of seriously cool and useful software platforms out there makes it almost impossible to fail - at least at building something interesting. Getting users onboard in the dizzying world of "there's an app for that," is a whole different ball game.
Of course, with O2's acquisition of Jajah, a new era is possibly now under way. The team I work with in O2 was responsible for building the acquisition story and they did a great job of pulling it together. There are some exciting possibilities for O2 with the availability of an all-IP platform and an incredibly talented team. James Parton has already mentioned the intentions for API integration, but I'm hoping that the #Blue project will pave the way for new levels of API performance and functionality, long overdue in the operator world, where they mostly spend years talking about these things, killing innovation in the process.
Similarly, the O2 Incubator, whilst still in its infancy and received with some trepidation by Techcrunch, will hopefully demonstrate new ways of working in the mobile industry. There has been lots of interest from the right sorts of people - including those with a contrary view, which are usually the people I listen to most.
In open source land, one of the most interesting projects to me, apart from the nearly inevitable dominance of Android in 2010, is Project Raindrop over at Mozilla labs. It has a cool architecture and some really great intentions. It has some great intersections with #Blue, which, if I get my way, will also become open source. Let's see....
In any case, I intend to get involved with Raindrop - I've already emailed the key designers - and see whether or not this is a project that the mobile industry should rally behind. If it is, then expect me to be pushing this agenda hard in 2010.
Good luck with all your projects in 2010. If you're interested in working with me on any cool projects, then track me down.... and let's meet up for coffee, chat and back-of-napkin scribbles...
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