Follow up 3GSM 2007

Well, GSM World 2007 has come and gone and I am truly grateful to all the work and effort that went into the planning, preparation and execution because the results were amazing. The week before GSM World the EU and 23 of the largest European mobile operators reached an agreement on protecting children on the mobile internet. So Karina and Deborah quickly arranged a press conference at GSM World and an accompanying press release. The press release alone garnered so much interest that the news of how GenMobi Technologies, Inc. had the only solution available to protecting children on the mobile internet reached literally hundreds of news sites in a day. During GSM World we had government officials come to us asking how they could protect children and some of the top telecom companies in the world came asking that same question. Needless to say the next few months are going to be busy meeting prospective carriers, helping legislatures around the world understand how it is possible now to protect children on mobile and the internet, driving our product development to meet client requirements and growing the company to handle this huge demand. But just as important as all this business news what I found from GSM World is that I actually do speak Spanish and that allowed me to get to know the wonderful people of Barcelona, appreciate the beauty and culture that is Barcelona and enjoy the outstanding culinary and wine delights that are unique to Barcelona. The children and teens of Spain are like any other country - they are growing up with a cellphone in their hands and in my talks with them I found that they all wanted (1) ease of use, (2) knowing who the other people in their communities were, (3) protection from bullies, predators and more dangerous people as well as (4) claiming a piece of the mobile space as their own. I loved interacting with them and that is the best part of my job - getting to know the kids and teens who will use our products. That is why I created GenMobi and why I am so very proud of the entire GenMobi family.

GenMobi Technologies Article at Yahoo News

US-based technology group Genmobi believe they have found a solution for parents wanting strict powers of censure and supervision. They have developed customised programmes called “Buzz Kidz” and “Buzz Teenz” that allow junior phone users access to only authorised sites and chat services. It also includes a built-in bad language detector that informs parents when expletives are exchanged. “We’ve developed a lexicon that is updated on a daily basis because the language morphs that quickly,” says chief information officer Bill Kehoe. read more

Meanwhile, at 3GSM

CNN: Developing countries will acess the Internet on mobile phones

Thanks to jetleg, I have been waking up on a daily basis at 5 AM and starting my day by then. While I was working today early this morning I had the TV on the background and interestingly enough what I heard on CNN is what we have been saying for years. On today’s coverage of the 3GSM, they showed how Asian companies came to Barcelona to exhibit not only their handsets but also software for migrating social networking and instant messaging to cellphones. These companies are targeting developing countries and claim that people who cannot access the internet (and internet based applications) on a PC will do it on their mobile phones. And if we think about it, the claim is plausible and is very likely to happen. I remember talking to a VC during a mixer this year in San Francisco and his disbelief that people would access the internet on mobile phones. While it may be relatively true for the US market today, the younger generations in Asia and Europe tend to access the internet from their mobile handsets. And that brings back to the problem of younger users (minors) accessing the internet on their mobile phones, being exposed to inappropriate content and also vulnerable to cyber predators. And it also shows how crucial EU’s last week’s decision was. That’s exactly what we have addressed on our press conference this years at the 3GSM and why we have developed technologies that proactively protects children and teenagers on any mobile platform.

GenMobi Technologies répond à la question de l'Union européenne concernant la protection des enfants naviguant sur leurs téléphones mobiles

La semaine dernière, l'Union européenne et 23 opérateurs de téléphonie mobile européens se sont accordés sur la nécessité de fournir une protection accrue aux enfants dans le cadre du cyberharcèlement et des prédateurs sexuels. Le BAM (TM) répond à la préoccupation de l'UE et permet aux opérateurs de réseau de protéger les utilisateurs mineurs contre les contenus choquants. read article (in French)

Our press conference yesterday at 3GSM

We held a spontaneous press conference yesterday to address the latest EU requirements for children’s safety on mobile internet. What I personally noticed is that kids’ safety on mobile internet was in the back of people’s mind, but the difficulty in finding an effective solution made them somehow put a blind eye on it. Fortunately, actions like the EU combining forces with the largest carriers in Europe are bringing back the awareness and importance of this subject. Later in the afternoon, our CEO headed to a partner’s booth for another interview as a children’s safety expert.

Getting ready for our press conference yesterday