Paul Walsh, the Irish Opportunist

I sent a tweet this morning to say I was going to do a ‘#followfriday’ for the very first time. A number of people asked me what that meant, so I’ve decided to write a short post to explain.

#followfriday is a way of recommending people you follow, to other users on Twitter. The idea is that those being recommended will gain new followers.

I feel so strongly about my recommendations that I’ve decided to write why I’m recommending them as potential people for you to follow.

People I recommend and why

@Sheetalmmehta (London)

Helping companies to go global, Innovation, Social entrepreneurship, Technology, Investment…

Sheetal is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. Sheetal is the UK Dealmaker for the UK Trade & Investment. She sits on several advisory panels including Shelter, UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women), Digital Diaspora Network for Africa, and the LSE Alumni Mentoring Committee. Her volunteer work is extensive and she is currently writing a book on Social Venture Capital. One of her most notable accomplishments is her new foundation that enables developing communities to access cutting-edge technology based on a social enterprise model.

@Mikeyfletch (London)

Technology journalist, Events, Networking

Mike is an established business & lifestyle journalist. He’s launched three magazines on behalf of UK publishing house Haymarket Media Group & specialises in marketing, media & live events. He is Contributing Editor for Visit London and also owns a part-share in digital networking company Net.works. Mike is also one of the best connected, if not the best connected person in the entire UK events industry.

@PatPhelan (Cork)

Technology with a bias towards mobile, Connector, Innovation

Pat is the founder and President of Cubic Telecom, a well known disruptor in telephony circles and one of the leading voices of Voice 2.0. Pat has developed a number of unique products for the USA, UK and Irish markets including MAXroam, and is a board member of Global Roaming, a NASDAQ listed company (OTCBB:GRDB). Pat has a genuine passion for connecting people and has been responsible for connecting me with some truely amazing people.

@JackieDanicki (San Francisco)

Marketing (true expert in the use of new tools, techniques and trends such as social and Web 2.0), Connector, Writer

Jackie is an extremely direct person who always speaks her mind. She’s an incredibly insightful marketer which is difficult to come by. Almost every marketer and PR expert think they know how to make best use of Web 2.0 tools and techniques. Jackie does - which is why she’s the Director of Marketing at Qik; one of the most innovative mobile products companies in the world. Like Pat, Jackie has a genuine passion for connecting people and has been responsible for connecting me with some truely amazing people.

@Jobsworth (London)

Technology, Social Enterprise, Innovation, Writer, OpenSource,

JP has  spent most of his life working in the space where finance meets technology, for a number of very large firms. Since 2006 he has worked for BT, as part of BT Design, where he is Head of Innovation and Strategy. He has a passion for how work is changing: the paradigms created by globalisation, disintermediation and the web; the implications of virtualisation, service orientation and commoditisation.  JP is an inspiring speaker and writer, who I admire most for his passion for how technology can be put to good use for the benefit of society.

If you decide to follow any of these great people, or you do already, please feel free to retweet my message - they all deserve to be heard by as many people as possible.

You can also leave a comment with the people you recommend on Twitter.

I haven’t been blogging much of late, mostly because I’ve kept my head in power point writing business plans for Segala and my latest venture (more about that soon). Perhaps I should video blog to ensure I commentate regularly. Loren Feldman and I are mates so he’s not likely to take the piss (often). Well, as long as I don’t try to call myself a professional.

I managed to squeeze in a lot of travel over the past couple of months too, most notable are my ventures to Dublin, Oslo and New York. I gave a talk about ‘Trust on the Web’ in Dublin, a keynote presentation in Oslo about ‘The Future of Mobile Video’ and took part in a panel discussion in New York about ‘Mobile TV’.

I’m gutted I didn’t stay an extra night or two in New York. What a cracking place with cracking people. I hope to get back there very soon to hook up again with Michelle Oshen, Loren and lots of other very cool people.

Here’s the section of my keynote in Oslo where I demonstrate how Qik, in my opinion, is one of the few ‘game changing’ technologies in the mobile/video space today.

Next stop is San Fransisco - will write about that separately.

Coming out of a restaurant yesterday I noticed a guy selling a Big Issue magazine. In case you don’t know, The Big Issue is a magazine published especially for homeless people trying to get back on their feet. They get a percentage of each one sold.

So this guy, Carlos, grabbed my attention as he flipped one of the magazines up and down his arm with a beaming smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile and stop to watch him. We could all take a leaf out of this guy’s book. He didn’t jump in my way to ask for money. Nor did he try to sell it in the same way that the rest of his pals do; by shouting out ‘Biiiig Isssue’. He, like the few companies that get the ‘art of conversation’, managed to get my attention by demonstrating how much he enjoyed selling his product. It’s not about ‘telling’ people why ‘you’ think you’re the best.

I don’t buy the Big Issue often. Actually, I think I’ve bought it twice in the past. However, I was so compelled to buy it this time that I went into a shop and bought a bar of chocolate that I didn’t want, in order to get change. He wouldn’t take the chocolate without paying for it either, which I admired.

This guy, who is likely to be starting from a much lower point than most of us, is getting himself out there. He’s determined to make it by doing jobs which may be beneath others, so he can put money into his new business idea. Check out his exhibition.

Check out my video of Carlos that I streamed live to the Web yesterday. He did end up on camera but for some reason it’s cut short.

On that note

1. Never expect things to happen… struggle and make them happen
2. Never expect your business to be given a high value, create a high value propisition
3. A drop of water that falls in a lake has no identity. But if it falls on a leaf of lotus it shines like a pearl. So choose the best place where you would shine. Network and connect like crazy.
4. Falling down is not defeat… defeat is when you refuse to get up
5. A ship is always safe at shore… but it wasn’t built for it. Take calculated risks
6. Even the word ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ says ‘I M POSSIBLE’

The funniest and most cringe-worthy job I ever did was advertising a woman’s clothes shop by sporting a sexy sandwich board on the middle of the high street where I come from. I don’t know how I plucked up the courage because I was a young teenager at the time. So, never believe your mother when she says “I’ve got a great ‘opportunity’ for you son”. Thanks mother, it’s your fault I’ve turned out this way. It’s no wonder you ended up as a brilliant physiotherapist, psychotherapist - I was your experiment

What’s the one job that you did which makes you cringe?

I gave a keynote presentation in Norway tonight. I completely changed my talk 5 minutes before walking on stage. I seem to do that a lot and I think it went well. So, absolutely everything was ad libbed, as you’ll probably guess when watching it on the video below.

I streamed some of it live to the Web from my mobile phone. Unfortunately I forgot to interact with everyone in the chat room but it was difficult to concentrate on my message while keeping an eye on the room. Thanks to everyone who dropped by the chat room, hope you enjoyed it.

[Update it might look like my entire presentation was about Qik but it wasn't. I gave a talk about the entire mobile ecosystem and how Operators need to remove the barriers that prohibit the uptake of 'existing' technology.]

I’m giving a keynote at Mobile Monday Norway on March 3rd and I’m hoping you can join me via live streaming using Qik.

The evening is about

The past, present and future of USG mobileTV from a global perspective with focus on the key technologies/infrastructure, empowering end users and to bring all UMTS license holders in Norway together at one table to find out what the current status are.

Carl Taylor and I will be giving the Keynotes, followed by panel discussions. I thought it was impressive to say I was one of the first to join AOL as a small startup during the mid nineties until I met Carl. Carl was employee no 1 at mobile operator, 3.

Carl’s keynote is entitled ‘The Past, Present and Future of mobileTV ecosystems and emerging business models for User Generated Content…’

Mine is entitled ‘How much I love Qik and how User Generated Content is drastically evolving the business models of the media world…’

It almost sounds like I’m sponsored by Qik but I’m not! The title was chosen by Shaun Thanki who was kind enough to offer me the opportunity to hit Norway for the first time

I’m going to do some live streaming during my talk, so I hope you can join the live chat room to have a chat and perhaps ask me, or other people questions. I’m likely to start streaming at around 19:30 (Norway time). Check out what time that is in your country.

What is Qik?

Qik is an application that enables you to broadcast live video straight from your mobile phone. As soon as you start streaming, friends are invited to join a live chat room so they can see you stream.

As soon as I stream, a message is automatically sent to Twitter enabling friends to join the chat room right away.

So, why not subscribe to my Twitter feed and get notified of my live streaming. I’m particularly keen to get as many people as I can into the live chat tomorrow night.

Subscribe to Twitter

My Qik Channel

Hope you can make it!

Every month, Robert Loch and I host an event called Top Cats. The goal of the event is to forge stronger ties and greater collaboration between the internet start up, mobile, interactive marketing, TV and advertising communities.

There are no formalities apart from my introduction to the evening and we don’t have speakers. It’s an informal gathering of likeminded people, many of whom end up collaborating on very interesting projects.

Who qualifies to be a Top Cat

• Established Agencies = Founder/CEO/Chair
• Technology Providers & Brands (big companies such as Microsoft and the BBC) = Director/Head or other senior decision maker
• Startups = Founder/CEO/Chair + secured VC funding or have a seriously good track record
• Other = Publishers, Editors, Authors, TV Personalities, Establish Journalists, you get the picture.

I’m going to have a chit chat with a few people tonight and stream it live via my mobile. Keep an eye on my Qik account and feel free to comment and ask questions in the live chat room. It might be better to subscribe to my Twitter feed so you get a text message each time I stream live.

So, another Top Cats event is upon us. Check out the names of those who have said they can make it this month.

Who’s coming tonight

• Alex Hoye, Chair, Faction/Buildersite
• Alexis d’Amecourt, 19 Entertainment
• Andrew Shorten, EMEA Platform Evangelist, Adobe
• Andy Co Founder, Agency Mobile
• Andy Finney, Founder, ATSF
• Andy MacLaren, Co-founder, Agency Mobile
• Angela Kirkham, Publishing Manager, Online Marketing, O2
• Armando Ruffi, Co-founder, Zubka
• Ben Johnson, Principal, Both Vitruvian Partners
• Brian Hoadley, Managing Director , phunQube
• Caspar Craven, Co-founder, Trovus
• Catherine Toole, MD, Sticky Content
• Cathy Grimes, Marketing Manager Personal Solutions, Equifax
• Charles Astwood, Founder, London Eating
• Chris Wood, CEO, Top Table
• Craig Hill, Founder / Chairman, Digital Outlook
• Dan Morris, Managing Partner, Splendid
• Daniel Appelquist, Senior Technology Strategist, Vodafone Group
• David Hart, Director, Codegent Ltd
• David King, Director, APCO Online
• Dennis Greene, Head of E-business, Royal Mail
• Dr Anxo Cereijo Roibás, User Experience Research manager, Vodafone
• Edward Charvet, Co-founder, Trovus
• Elizabeth Varley, Editorial Director, Online Content UK
• Farzad Jamal, Group Internet Controller, Northern Shell
• Felix Velarde, Founder, Underwired
• Hamish Gordon,
• Irfon Watkins, CEO, Coull
• James Booth, Co-founder, Rockabox Media
• James Pimentel-Pinto, Managing Director, Agency Mobile
• Jasmine Birtles Founder/MD, Moneymagpie.com
• Jemima Kiss, New media reporter, Media Guardian
• Josephine Fraser, Social/Educational Technologist
• Julia Eilon, AMF Ventures
• Justin Bradley, Head of Digital Television, Sixth Sense UK
• Justin Champney, Head of Brand Innovation EMEA, McCann Worldgroup
• Justin Cooke, Managing Director , Fortune Cookie
• Mairi Clark, Editor , Revolution Magazine
• Mark Fallons, Head of interactive, McCann
• Mark McDermott, Director, Codegent Ltd
• Martin Lowde, 19 Entertainment
• Mike Butcher, Editor, TechCrunch
• Mike Risman, Managing Partner, Both Vitruvian Partners
• Nick Halstead, Founder, Fav.or.it
• Omaid Hizwazi, Co-founder, Crayon
• Paul Canty, Founder, Preloaded
• Paul Duncanson, Managing Director, Creativebrief
• Peter Ogden, Producer, ITV
• Richard Daish, Head of Mobile Services, Chelsea FC
• Richard Titus, Acting Head of UX&D, BBC FM&T
• Rob Corradi, Founder, Preloaded
• Rob Walk, Managing partner, NovaRising
• Robert Killick, MD, cScape
• Robin Charney, Sr. Marketing Manager - Web Platform Solutions, Adobe
• Robin Howard, Client Services Director, BT
• Satish Jayakumar, Co-founder, AdJug
• Scott Gallacher, Director of Online & Partner Marketing, BskyB
• Simon Grice, Founder, ideas.org
• Stephanie Bouchet, Marketing Director, Joost
• Theodore Emiantor, Managing Director, Westminster Accountancy
• Tim O’Neill, Founder / MD, Reactive
• Tom Nixon, Founder, Nixon Mcinnes
• Tom Sacchi, Founder / Director, Unit9
• Tony Cocks, Microsoft
• Will Jeffery, Managing director, Maverick Media
• Will McInnes, MD, Nixon McInnes

Hosts

• Robert Loch, Founder, Internet People & Founder, That’s Useful
• Paul Walsh, Chair, BIMA & Founder, Segala

Thanks to Adobe for their sponsorship this month.

Why is it that my trips abroad always end up as a story telling exercise?

Check out my Qik Channel

A fellow Twitter buddy asked for feedback regarding the hardware and software we use. I twittered my answer but it’s something I’ve been meaning to write a post on, as I think it says a lot about who we are in the context of our working environment. Drew Buddy is the Head of ICT at his college and I think, he’s using this feedback to collate a report.

So, what does the picture above say about me? Well take a close look. It’s a sticker of the Microsoft Blue Monster eating the head of Mozilla on my Apple MacBrook Pro. That sums it up nicely; I’m happy to use the most approproate hardware and software as long as it meets my requirements.

The picture should demonstrate that I’m open minded because although I’m a known standards enthusiast, I like to use the proprietary technology produced by Apple and products produced by the perceived monster and non-standards compliant Microsoft.

My hardware

• Apple MacBook Pro
• Apple iPhone
• Apple iPod
• Cannon Ixus 950
• N95 for Qik streaming

Software

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Vista (but don’t use it often)
• Waiting for Live Writer for the Mac (blog authoring tool)
• Apple Mail (the ‘geniuses’ at the Apple store recommend Entourage)
• Apple iCal

Internet

• BT Broadband (they are the most reliable!)
• Google Docs (but don’t use it often)
• Google Reader for keeping up to date on blogs
• Gmail (but only as a backup for my POP account)
• Wordpress for Corporate Web site and personal blog

My Social

• Facebook (for connecting/communicating with non-geeks)
• Twitter (for community building with early adopters/geeks)
• Qik (for live streaming my presence)

Office environment

• Home office
• Adam Street private members club

The fact that I’m happy to work from home demonstrates that I’m overly generous to my staff as our HQ is in the heart of Dublin’s most affluent area and designed by John Rocha

This post is intended for Drew, but please feel free to help him collate enough data to produce a meaningful report by leaving a comment about the stuff you use every day. I’d like to know also.

I wrote a post earlier in the week with my travel plans for the 3GSM Congress. I can now provide the names of those of us having a get together on Tuesday.

Attendees confirmed so far

Paul Walsh
Pat Phelan
Sean O Mahony
Florian Seroussi
Jenny Callicot
Bhaskar Roy
Loren Feldman
Oliver Starr
Paul Walsh
Frank Hannigan
Dennis Howlett
Daniel Appelquist

Time: from 7 pm till 9 pm
5 mins from exhibition

Institut del Teatre,
Plaça Margarida Xirgu, s/n
08004 Barcelona

Join us for a beer and a snack, lots of surprise guests, relax with some of your fellow mobile twitter peeps. (I got lazy and did a copy ‘n paste job on Pat’s post)

Watch all the news live from our dedicated 3GSM video channel

Please leave a comment here or on Pat’s blog if you wish to attend. Hope to see you there.