Who's Who in mobile?

For a long time I’ve been really frustrated that I couldn’t find a comprehensive ‘who’s who’ of people in Mobile.   I wanted it for reference and for networking.   I wanted to know who the right people were to speak to.

What’s more, I wanted to be able to whack people in this directory a message with my question, enquiry or business proposition.

I’ve tried LinkedIn.  It’s pretty useful if you’re ok winding up the 17 people between you and the guy at Vodafone you want to connect with.  Other networks such as OpenBC, Soflow, Ecademy and so on are definitely useful.  But they’re not dedicated to mobile.   There’s various GSM and industry body sites — again, they’re a bit limited in terms of comprehensively covering the industry.

I’ve hunted around looking for a decent Who’s Who.  A list, a directory, anything — I found nothing.   It’s not good enough.  In fact it’s a complete and total arse for me, as someone working on mobile, for a Who’s Who not to exist.  I can’t take it.

So I walked up to the plate and decided to do something about it.  So today, I bring you  http://whoswho.smstextnews.com.

I’ve no idea if I have the time to actually do it properly however in the spirit of the true entrepeneur, I didn’t bother relaxing in my spare time over the past few weeks — instead, I sat, stared at the screen and worked away to create this.

My mission is to add as many people as possible to the directory.

I’ve been trying to think of the best way of dealing with the ‘contact issue’.  That is, if you’re in the directory, I, as a viewer, would like to be able to contact you to put a business proposition to you.  Or ask your opinion.  Or hire you.  Or whatever.  Clearly I can’t just publish email addresses.

I thought of publishing a form beneath each profile and automatically mailing you the message.  However, I doubt anyone would be impressed at receiving 27 ‘HI PLEASE BUY MY PRODUCT’ spam messages sent via the service.  Huge abuse problems.

I modified the ‘form on the profile’ idea and I’ve settled on a strategy of moderating every single message prior to sending to you.  I reckon that’s the best way of doing things.  Could be a bit of work but I reckon I can get through’em quickly.  So if someone spots you in the directory and writes you a note, it’ll come to me first.  That’s clearly marked on the site so that any senders know this.  I will then check that the message doesn’t contain a load of shit.  If it’s clean — and if it looks as though the sender is genuine and they’re not trying to waste anyone’s time, I’ll forward the message to you.

I reckon if I can get a few people on to the Who’s Who directory, it could be a really useful resource.

I’ve added 3 people so far.  Including me.  😉  (I’ve been working on the back-end, okay!)

I’m going to try and add almost everyone I come into contact with, from public relations professionals to investors to mobile executives.   But I could use your help:  If you work in the mobile industry or a related one, please go ahead and add yourself to the directory here.