I’ll be representing my client, Telesocial, at Mobile World Congress this year. Telesocial brings mobile voice to the social web.  If you’d like to learn more about Telesocial, the only free API for making mobile calls AND safely enabling mobile to mobile voice calls via social apps and the web, and please contact me.

If this is your first time attending Mobile World Congress, I’d encourage you to check out this post from Helen Keegan, who has great advice for first timers and suggestions on where to score free tickets.  You may also want to check out the Mobile Fringe Festival, the first fringe festival to be held the same week as Mobile World Congress.

Sunday, 26 February, 2012:

Mobile Sunday 2012

• About: “The seventh annual Mobile Sunday – the now classic meet-up of mobile influencers, developers, investors and entrepreneurs will be taking place in Barcelona on the eve of this year’s Mobile World Congress.  Mobile Sunday is also a unique chance for you to meet AppCircus organizers and winners and to meet the MobileMonday global chapter founders in one spot during the conference.”
• Time: 26 February, 2012: 7pm CET
  
• Location: City Hall, Rambla de Catalunya 2-4, 08002 Barcelona (right next to the Plaça Catalunya)
• RSVP: Required. Please register here.
  
• Cost: Attending Mobile Sunday is free. Registration required.

GoMo News Lounge Sponsored By Lumata

• About: “GoMo  News will be hosting a lounge with the fabulous mobile advertising company Lumataon February 26th from 8pm at Mobile World Congress.  This is an invitation only event and is only for mobile marketers or highly connected gurus. It is going to be relaxed and chilled an ideal opportunity to do network ahead of the show with “same page” individuals.  If you would like an invite – please email bena at: benagomo<at>gmail<dot>com”
• Time: 8:00-11:00pm
  
• Location: Provided with invitation.
  
• RSVP: This is an invitation only event and is only for mobile marketers or highly connected gurus. It is going to be relaxed and chilled an ideal opportunity to do network ahead of the show with “same page” individuals.  If you would like an invite – please email bena at: benagomo<at>gmail<dot>com
  
• Cost: Free

Monday, 27 February, 2012:

Mobile Premier Awards 2012

• About: “Don’t miss your chance to witness the best of the best from the AppCircus 2011 World Tour –  46 winners from 30 countries will take part at this year’s Mobile Premier Awards on February 27th.  You will have a rare chance to meet developers from all over the world competing for the best app of the year. The competition is the largest open and global cross-platform app competition in the mobile industry, it provides the point of reference for the startup and developer community during Mobile World Congress. Why attend?
  • Discover up and coming apps from all over the world
  • Learn how the app business ticks by watching our international jury of experts analyzing the apps live on stage
  • Profit from great networking opportunities  with an audience made up of developers, industry experts, investors”
• Time: 4:00-8:00pm
  
• Location: SALA APOLO, C/ Nou de la Rambla 113, 08004 Barcelona (a jewel of the classic dance hall design!)
• RSVP: Sign up here.
  
• Cost: Free! Registration required.

Mobile Marketing Mixer // During Mobile World Congress

• About: “Join us for the Mobile Marketing Mixer powered by Smaato and sponsored by Adfonic, Celtra, Mobile Marketing Magazine and Poynt.  Come out and start Mobile World Congress with the first night out in a proper way!  Join us at the lovely and legendary Incognito Bar in Barcelona – we will have great drinks, open bar and the most important thing – fun people like you the whole night long!”
• Time: 6:30-11:00pm
  
• Location: Incognito Bar, Calle Fusina 6, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
• RSVP: Required here.
  
• Cost: Free
  

Networking By Moonlight

• About: “New this year! Join the GSMA for casual “Networking by Moonlight” events at the Magic Fountain.  Included in all passes at no additional cost, these events provide attendees the opportunity to network and enjoy drinks & light bites before their evening plans. In addition to the spectacular fountain display, entertainments will include music and a stunning aerial dance performance taking place right over the audience.  Whether you stop by for a few moments before leaving the venue or stay until your dinner plans begin, don’t miss this fun opportunity to network with fellow attendees! More details coming soon.”
• Time: TBA
  
• Location: TBA
  
• RSVP: TBA
  
• Cost: Free for MWC pass holders.

Tuesday, 28 February, 2012:

GoMo News Blender

• About: “Velti is the headline sponsor of The GoMo News Blender February 28th 2012 at Mobile World Congress.  Diffusion PR will sponsor the cocktails and the event will be a full on get down and excited about mobile marketing event.  If you are in mobile, keep your tie on; get your business cards out and make sure you do some great business!  We look forward to welcoming you to our open bar!  We start at 6pm local time!”
• Time:  6:00-11:00pm
  
• Location: Marmalade Bar Barcelona, Riera Alta 4-6, 08001 Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
• RSVP: Register here.
  
• Cost: Free
  

Wednesday, 29 February, 2012:

WipJam Party

• About: “We’re holding another one of our famous parties in a great new venue on the Wednesday night of MWC. Be sure to register now to get on the list — you won’t want to miss out on the great crowd and networking, free food and drinks, and of course, JAMEOKE. And this year the WIP party meets the Android Barcelona User Group!  One more year Mobile World Congress is coming and Android Barcelona User Group is ready for the Android party. This year inside the WIP party, join the Android corner to meet  all the major players of the Android ecosystem as well local developers.”
• Time: 7:00-10:00pm
  
• Location: Museu del Rock, 4th floor, Arenas de Barcelona (the big round building across the Plaza from MWC), Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, 373-385, local PC2 CP08015 Barcelona
• RSVP: Register here.
  
• Cost: Free. Registration required.
  

Swedish Beers Party

• About: “Like our previous events, this is a relaxed evening, no formalities, no presentations, no business cards thrust in your face as soon as you arrive. Just come with an open mind, be prepared to see friends old and new, talk nonsense, enjoy a drink or five and have yourself a good time. Oh, and leave the ties, the corporate personas and the sales spiel at the door please. The Swedish Beers crew will be on hand – Helen, Jenny, Gabriel, Shafiq, Cat, Sarah, Russell – and the friendliest bar staff in town are all waiting to welcome you.It is likely to get a bit busy at times. But don’t worry, people will be coming in and out all evening. That’s kind of the point as we know there’s always a lot going on and you might want to check out more than one party. If it’s very busy, there’s no need to queue to get in. Just check out one of the other bars nearby and come back a little later when it’s a bit less frantic.”
  
• Time: 7:00pm-2:00am
  
• Location: Dos Trece, 40 Carrer Carme, Barcelona, Spain
• RSVP: No need to RSVP unless you want to. There’s no guest list, no tickets and there’s no guaranteed entry. Just come and go as you please.
  
• Cost: Free
  

Thursday 1 March, 2012:

MLove Mobile World Congress 2012

• About: “You are invited to the second MLOVE @ MWC the final after work party!  So let’s paint the town RED and maybe even dance the night away, please check-in to reserve your space in the cool Incognito club in the hip El Born neighborhood.  SURPRISE:  We are preparing a launch of a new service together with TREND ONE that night – please stay tuned.  SPONSORED by Mobile Marketing Magazine & TrendOne.  To become a sponsor for this exclusive party event, feel free to contact: sponsor@mlove.com.”
• Time: 6:30pm – 2:00am
  
• Location: Incognito Cocktail Bar, Calle Fusina 6, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
• RSVP: On Facebook.
  
• Cost: Free
  

I’ll publish another post when the units arrive… Who knew buying a thermostat could be this much fun?!

• A typical US mobile device contains 18 apps?
• 10% of adult cell phone users have downloaded an app within thepast week, 20% of those under age 30?
• 8 in 10 Americans own two or more mobile devices?
• Mobile advertising will cross the $1B mark in 2011 on its way to $2.5B in 2014s?

With staggering stats like that, it should come as no surprise that the App Economy is changing the world. Come to APPNATION III November 30-December 1, 2011 at the San Francisco Design Center in San Francisco and find out what’s next and how you can profit from this burgeoning marketplace.  Socialize Mobilize is a media sponsor of APPNATION again this year, and you’ll save 30% off registration when you use the code “SOCIALIZEMOBILIZE”

This year’s speakers include:

• Anna Bagger, GM Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence, IAB
• Cathy Edwards, Co-Founder and CTO, Chomp
• Kara Nortman, GM, UrbanSpoon

The agenda is full of good sessions including:

• How Do We Grow the App Economy? What’s Working and What’s Next?
• App Marketing Do’s and Dont’s
• The Rising Influence of Search in App Discoverability
• Platform WarsCross-App / In-App Advertising Best Practices
• Free, Freemium or Paid? How Do You Value Your App And (What) Should You
• Charge For It?
• Tablet-based Advertising: Real-world Case Studies And Emerging Best Practices
• And  more…

At APPNATION III you can also attend:

• Boot Camp: A kick-butt workshop series for Facebook, Verizon, and Android developers
• AppCircus Hackathon: Where developers pitch on stage in front of an international jury, formed by industry experts, and an opportunity to be nominated for the Mobile Premiere Awards 2012
• Isobar Create 32 NFC Hackathon: Build Something Epic. Watch (or take part) as developers develop, simulate and test apps for the NFC chip.

APPNATION is the first conference to focus 100% on the business of apps and their transformative impact on consumers and enterprise technology, devices, commerce, media and social interaction. Register here.