Thoughts from Nokia World 2011

A few weeks ago, Nokia Connects held a media contest to award tickets, travel and accomodation for some lucky blogger to express why he or she was excited about Nokia World 2011.  I already had all that covered, but gave it a shot just in case my wife or a friend could use the prize.  Worth a try, right?

Granted, my entry began by addressing cynicism, some personal but largely general, which had to make it a long-shot.  I walked readers through my Nokia journey for this year, with the aim of providing an objective yet ultimately optimistic view of the company’s prospects.  

Why am I Excited about Nokia World 2011?

Today I was challenged to share my anticipation for the next instance of Nokia’s landmark celebration of mobile ingenuity.  So, what will it take to excite me in London on the 26th of October?

Something big.

As regular readers will recall, in May 2010 I asked if 2011 would be make or break for Nokia.  While hoping it wasn’t, I feared it just might be.  Pessimism wasn’t helped later when at least one analyst answered.

This has been an interesting year for the Finnish giant.  It started with a singularity, was punctuated by an Elopocalyptic big bang, and has since churned in an expanding universe of naysayers.  I’ve lately been concerned about Nokia’s universe contracting.  I can’t recall any companies cutting their way to success.

So I’m looking for a great big MAKE from Nokia World 2011!  I’m expecting rocking revelations.  Passion-fueling presentations.  News that assures us a fantastic rebound is closer than anyone dared hope.  Something that restores universal faith in a company I know still has what it takes to not just succeed but exceed.

I’m convinced that much of the recent quiet hints at just that big surprising something.  Bring it on, Nokia!

Getting Down at AppUp Elements 2011

In June of this year I was pleasantly surprised when Intel’s Dawn Foster asked me to join a community panel for AppUp Elements 2011. I’ve been admittedly making only rare appearances in the AppUp community so far but the focus here was on Intel-sponsored communities in general, so if nothing else my MeeGo journey was relevant.

Closer to the event itself, Kira Boyko let me know that a separate talk I had proposed was accepted. More on that… later. 

Getting to MeeGo Conference May 2011

Yet another post before getting into actual MeeGo Conference coverage.  I’ll share some logistics lessons in the hope that some will find them helpful,  along with some related details.  I’ve written on this subject before but there’s more and newer stuff to cover now.  

Wrap-up at MIX11

Me in the Pictage booth

Sorry for the delay– here’s the MIX11 wrap-up!

Keynotes

Wednesday MIX11 keynotes opened with a video that turned out to have been developed by 24-year old Brandon Foy, by request of Microsoft after being made aware of a fan video he had made.  Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore told the audience that if the Youtube video gets 200000 views, then Brandon’s video will be made an actual Microsoft commercial.  So support crowdsourcing and help the guy out (he’s at 83890 as of this writing)!

Joe went on with a lengthy apology/explanation for the latest WP7 update delay.  Their goal, he continued, is ‘more, clearer, disclosure’.  The complexities of the mobile phone world seem to have caught Microsoft by surprise… something perhaps Nokia can help them with (Joe is excited at the prospects, and at one point invited Nokia’s Marko Argenti onstage to present on their behalf).  

MIX11 Tuesday: The Start of a 72-hour Conversation

source: microsoft.com

Warning: those with tl;dr allergy may want to skip this article.

Tuesday morning at MIX11 began with a nice continental breakfast courtesy of Infragistics.  During the meal I chatted with various people about Nokia and the mobile world in general.   Listening to the thoughts of those outside the MeeGo world is really helping me formulate messages to help them understand what’s going on but even better, to communicate the skeptical view to the MeeGo community in ways that they will find challenging instead of threatening.  

Texas Linux Fest 2011

The Texas Linux Fest is a new one-day technical conference, just in its second year.  I was not able to attend last year due to it being held at the same time as the 2010 Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit, and this year it was looking questionable also– but thanks to Gabriel Beddingfield all obstacles were removed.  Gotta love the Linux community!

The conference was held at the downtown Hilton in Austin, Texas, a great central location for the state in general.  Attendance of over 550 looked to be on par with expectations, as the keynote room was full.

Delivering the keynote this year was Ken Starks of the HeliOS Project.  His subject was “How Desktop Linux is Shaping the Future.”  I enjoyed his talk but have to admit I didn’t see much of a link between the body and the title.  The talk was engaging, a bit rambling, and to me was more about improving the Linux experience for end users.  

Will 2011 be make-or-break for Nokia?

As many know I was recently privileged to attend the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit 2010 in San Francisco, California.  After running out of juice trying to maintain community enthusiasm at maemo.org while simultaneously whipping it up for MeeGo, I was reinvigorated by the fresh energy permeating the conference.  Seeing old acquaintances again, finally greeting others in person for the first time and making new friends always helps… as did the endless talks at various pubs and eateries about MeeGo’s future.

One aspect that renewed my faith was that even though 2009 did not turn out to be the breakthrough for open source that I had hoped, it looks like 2010 is setting the stage for this to be the case in 2011.  For one, Nokia and Intel’s MeeGo venture strengthens the possibilities in my opinion.  True, proprietary solution drivers are hardening their positions more now than ever, setting the stage for an eventual showdown that’s long overdue– but I expect open source to ultimately prevail and allow us to move past that exhausting argument and into the next awaiting world.

But even with its 5-year Maemo (along with Moblin) legacy, MeeGo still represents a beginning of sorts, and it will indeed be 2011 at least before it truly bears fruit– especially if recent product launches are any example.  Meanwhile, what else will Nokia be doing to ensure its continued relevance?