Alec Saunders SquawkBox

Apologies for not getting this posted until today.  At the Mesh conference, while WiFi is free, most ports are blocked.  Uploading audio with FTP is problematic as a result.

On the call, we talked about Microsoft’s new “pay the user” search model.  Consensus? A desparate bid.  None of us felt that we would change our behaviour as a result of micro-payments.

And what about the rash of lawsuits being launched in the US by consumers against wireless providers? Finally fed up with byzantine contracts, billing plans, and high handed behaviour by the carriers, consumers are fighting back.  No surprise to any of us.  We’ve all experienced a carrier “sting” after tripping some unknown carve-out in the terms of service.

And finally we talked about Warner Records VP Technology Ethan Kaplan’s comments at Mesh.  Unfortunately, a glitch in the conference recording meant that I lost most of the tail end of that conversation.

On the call: Dan York, Brad Jones, Jim Courtney, Jeanette Fisher, Dave Brown, Adam Somer, Jeb Brilliant, Ian Hood, and Neal Saferstein

 

 Squawk Box May 21 [25:05m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I’m at Mesh ‘08 this morning in Toronto.  Looking forward to a dynamite line up of speakers, including two men with opposing views on copyright — Time Warner’s Ethan Kaplan and Canada’s Michael Geist.  Mesh has become Canada’s Web 2.0 conference over the last two years, as the team here in Toronto have grown this into a world class event. 

Stay tuned.  Follow the conference on Twitter using the hash tag #meshcon

This morning’s call was with Marc Gingras, CEO of Tungle.  Tungle announced today that they’ve built a Blackberry integration for Tungle, allowing users to respond to Tungle requests while mobile.  It’s a big step forward and Marc generously answered all of our questions.

On the call: Marc Gingras, Mike Pruyn, James Body, Dan York, Jim Courtney, Jeanette Fisher, Dave Brown, Jeb Brilliant, Jonathan Jensen and Frank Abrams.

 

 Squawk Box May 20 [25:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Gillette’s Fusion branding is pretty eye catching.  With it’s distinctive metallic orange and blue colouring, the Fusion razor fairly leaps off the shelves.

What I didn’t understand was the extent to which they have taken their brand identity.  At least, not until I visited the supermarket this weekend. Having travelled to visit family in Kitchener, and having left my razor in Ottawa I was forced to pick up a new razor and a can of shave gel at the local supermarket.  I was struck by how Gillette has changed the identity scheme for all of their products — not just the razor, but also the gel and aftershave — to the same orange and blue.  The effect at retail was as if there was an entire wall of Gillette products, and nothing else to choose from.

Paying attention to brand at this level isn’t something that just the big guys can focus on.  In the software industry, we can incorporate UI, corporate image, and more in the identity that we create for our businesses.  Gillette just happens to be very good at it.

And how far did Gillette take their identity?  Well, even the gel dispensed from the can was coloured Gillette Fusion blue.

Obsessive?  You decide.

Tungle is announcing this morning that they’ve extended their super meeting coordinator software to include Blackberry support.  What this means is that on the go Blackberry users will now be able to respond to meeting requests created by Tungle from their Blackberries.

But wait… doesn’t the Blackberry already let you coordinate meetings?  Yes,

1. if you are using a Blackberry Enterprise Server and…
2. if the meeting is between one or more people in the same organization.

Tungle’s Blackberry integration may solve a huge problem for mobile professionals and fill a gap that the team at RIM hasn’t seen fit to plug.

Join us at 11 AM this morning to chat with Tungle CEO Marc Gingras on the SquawkBox.