Data Voice Solutions

Voice over IP technology is has been growing quickly, especially once “VoIP” could be found on the shelves at Best Buy and Circuit City. In fact, as you surf the Web, you can find countless blogs opining about various VoIP services and products and how they make users’ lives easier and more productive. Of course, blogging is the other area that has taken off — though more recently than VoIP. But until now, the two were largely connected only by the blogging community discussing VoIP.

But in this world where anytime, anywhere communications is dominating conversation in the communications space, it stands to reason that blogging, too, would become part of the rush for a completely converged communications solution. Indeed, there already exist means for blogging remotely from mobile devices — indeed, TMC’s own Rich Tehrani submits most of his blogs remotely via email — but they typically require special scripts to be written into the code on the blog servers.

Now, however, there are at least two different options for blog enthusiasts who are often on the move — one is a Web-based tool and the other a voice blogging capability.

Mdog.com, is a Web portal that optimizes Web pages for viewing on mobile devices — in fact, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes both have used it to mobilize their Web sites. Extending that service to blogs, then, is a natural extension for mdog.com, freeing bloggers from their desktop PCs and laptops, freeing them to blog more freely from wherever they are, spontaneously and in real time.

Via mdog.com’s new Mobile Blogging Portal, bloggers on the go no longer have to wait until they are back at home or at the office to post blogs — they can post and read blog entries, upload photos, and respond to comments using any Web-enabled mobile device. Indeed, the process is as simple as pointing the mobile browser to mdog.com, selecting “Blogs,” and entering the blog’s URL. Then, users are able to perform all their usual blogging tasks, no matter what device, service provider, or blog platform they use.

For bloggers that want an even easier mobile blogging (or blogcasting in this case), VOIP5000, a technology holding company specializing in emerging VoIP technologies — it already provides services like Clixme and other VoIP applications for online businesses — has a solution in the works. For bloggers that want a truly quick and easy mobile blogging solution, VOIP5000 is developing an audio blogging solution that will allow users to call into its service, record an audio message, and post those recordings to their blog sites in real time leveraging the company’s VoIP technologies.

This solution, of course, is completely device agnostic, as it doesn’t even require a Web-capable mobile device. In fact, users could even blogcast from a public pay phone if they so desired. Users will be required to incorporate a small piece of code into their blog that will enable their audio clips to be added in real time. Other than that, there is little extra bloggers will need to do in order to take advantage of the service.

“With a service like this, people are no longer tied to their computers when they want to update their blogs,” said VOIP5000 CEO Fotis Georgiadis. “All they need is a phone, and, literally, within 60 seconds of recording a message, it’s available for the world to listen to.”

Both of these breakthroughs in mobile blogging will be compatible with today’s major blog engines and will extend mobility to the blogging community with simple, easy to use technologies.

To learn more about developments in mobile services and technologies, visit face to face with hardware and software developers and solution providers in the wireless space January 23-26 at Internet Technology Conference & EXPO in Fort Lauderdale. At ITEXPO you will have the opportunity to hear about recent trends in mobility and discuss your specific concerns with countless industry experts.

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Erik Linask is Associate Editor of INTERNET TELEPHONY. Prior to joining TMC, he was Managing Editor at Global Custodian, an international securities services publication. To see more of his articles, please visit Erik Linask’s columnist page.