Last evening, NextGenWeb was proud to host the monthly meeting of the Social Media Club’s DC chapter, a local gathering for people involved in the emerging world of social media.   The event, titled “Mobile Technology: The Future Fits in the Palm of Your Hand” drew an energetic crowd to discuss the latest mobile applications and trends.

PANELISTS:
•       Chris Parandian, Tin Can Communications (moderator)
•       Chris Hopkinson, DubMeNow
•       Barg Upender, Intridea
•       Dave Levy, Edelman Digital Public Affairs

The conversation got off to a great start with the astonishing statistic that 91% of people are within 3 ft. of their phone 24 hours a day, also noting how far we’ve come since mobile was all about wallpaper and ringtones.

A question from the audience on the potential impact of mobile technology on the health industry led the discussion to mobile health applications.   Moderator Chris Parandian found this to be a big buzz at the recent CTIA conference and an area with tremendous potential in the future.

Both location-based and citizen journalism mobile applications generated the most excitement from the panel and audience alike.   Foursquare, Google Latitude and Dopplr were named for the former and Qik, Utterli, and of course Twitter, for the latter.

It’s hard to have a discussion of all of these great tools without at least touching on some of the potential concerns, like security and privacy.   However, the panelists all agreed that the benefits far outweigh the dangers, noting that all of these services are opt-in.

Bottom line is that mobile technologies are only growing in utility and popularity.   NextGenWeb looks forward to being a part of that movement!

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