There had been that hype with this social software phaenomenon in the last two years, first in the private sector and now in the business-related area. The next vogue currently in the waiting room looking to become a real hip hype is definitely Moblogging. Mario Sixtus, who is a contributor for two weblogs (1; 2) published a short overview in August 2003: Moblogging - The next Big Thing (Unfortunately in german, so you´ll have to use a page translation service)? At least for the private sector the importance (in other words: it will become a hip hype) is quite clear.
What are the benefits of Moblogging for the professional sector, especially for the professional photographer?
Sixtus quoted Takashi Totsuka, President of Sonys Contents and Applications Lab: "There is a business model in Moblogging. Moblogging-based journalism has some attributes of a breakthrough-technology." Cave: he is talking about journalism.
Sixtus quoted Howard Rheingold being a bit more sceptical: " We don´t know who is going to be the winner and the loser in this era of mobile medias...it´s a new developing media culture... ."
The benefits in terms of self-advertising and promotion for the single professional photographer are obvious. I've got a reputation for unrealistic predictions and wild, unfounded speculation. In a few years this feature will be integrated in every available database technology/solution for pros: the moblogging feature connected to a background database for showing, searching and selling pictures. I know at least one case where a picture buyer (occasionally of course) discovered the appropriate picture in a weblog of a pro. And this picture had been rejected by his agency and was nowhere else available in the WWW. Rumors has it that a new service in the US will come up with this. I don´t know if they are starting from scratch... it´s easier for an agency or portal with clients on both sides, producing and buying pictures, to add this feature to the inhouse technology rather than starting with a new technology, but no real customers and clients initially.
