Back in NYC...

And having a well-earned, very apple-y Albariño with my late lunch.

A free day tomorrow to catch up on my to-do list, followed by three weeks of more-or-less non-stop travel (east coast next week, west coast the fortnight after). Ugh!

Back to business!

Following a frenetic two weeks, I have finally managed to complete all of my backlog of work - 27 priority 1 emails sent this evening. And relax...

I have gone to the dark side...

...and am now a Blackberry owner. All part of the settling-in-to-the-USA that almost never happened. Next stop: driving test for NY licence. One word springs to mind: faith.

Now blogging at...

http://www.insidermobile.com for mobile, mCommerce and mobile advertising related things. I suspect I will double up and put anything I put up over there on here too. Or at least mention it here!

New apartment, new danger

Finally move into my new place today, hurrah! That might make things a little more settled so that I can sit down and write something about this manic week. Short version: I'm liking the new job :)

Mobile Marketing Forum

Since this has been on since Monday here in NYC, everybody who is anybody in this industry is in town. Consequently, this has been the busiest two days ever - back-to-backs meeting partners and prospects. I should get a chance to relax tonight, but then even the relaxing is taking it's toll, with a mischievous Argentinian mobilista getting me into trouble two nights in a row.

MoMoNY

Last night saw the relaunch of MoMoNY on the rooftop terrace at 230 Fifth. From what I can tell, about 350 people arrived in a space designed for 250. It was chaos, and carnage. Of course, I managed to be one of the last to leave :)

But overall, perhaps, finally it is the 'year of mobile' (like it has been every year since 1999) - with this much influx of talent and interest, so many startups, and with an industry so ripe for consolidation. I garnered many a business card, re-met some interesting people, and met some even more interesting new ones ;)

Yay :)

Never have the words "Welcome to the United States, Mr. Beverley, enjoy your stay" sounded so good :)

Hotel-bound for the first couple of days, until my new apartment is ready.

Another day, another airport...

Sunday, so obviously yet another airport. LHR en route for a marathon business trip around the US of A, taking in NYC, Baltimore, Boston, Atlanta, San Fran, LA and Miami. I'm exhausted already, and I haven't set off yet. Just hoping US Immigration let me in, otherwise my marathon business trip is going to be back to Berlin...

So how come the little (and I mean little) guy at the check-in desk responded to my suggestion that, as I was 6'4", a window seat in an exit row would be ideal for me, and he promptly put me in a middle-of-the-middle seat, on the basis that 'there were no window seats left'. I arrive at the gate, and speak to a guy who obviously doesn't have a Napoleon complex, due to being slightly more normal-height, and he promptly puts me in a window seat in an exit row... Gah! Human nature!

Kettled!

OK, so I say this with the best will in the world, since one of the people I'm closest to (my littlest big sister) is a copper...

I was 'kettled' once before. For those who don't know, this is the process by which the police keep 'rogue elements' contained in the same space until they basically get bored. It sometimes works...

My last occasion was in Shoreditch, and I was walking Henry, and I fortunately got let out on the basis that I obviously wouldn't bring a 9 month old Golden Retriever pup (who was NOT on a string) to an ecological sandal-wearing muesli-knitting protest wearing a pinstripe suit on purpose...

Tonight, I ended up leaving a delightful sushi restaurant in mittel Berlin at exactly the same time as a Turkish anti-Israel protest decided to walk past...

Say what you like about the police anywhere and everywhere else in the world (the French have their moments, as do the Americans), but German - specifically Berliner - polizei have a whole different level of attitude. As in 'bad' attitude. I was downright scared! And my lack of ID (despite looking as Turkish (despite the current tan) as, umm, Turkish delight) other than a driving licence (who carries their passport, I ask you?) didn't appear to help matters. So I just spent 45 minutes walking at a safe distance from a Turkish protest until it finally dispersed enough that they started letting us out of side-streets!

Ah, all in a day's fun! A better-deserved glass of Gruner I have never experienced...

Berlin again

And so exhausted after all this travel that I stumbled into my hotel room from the office at 8pm, and fell asleep until now (3am local time), and now I can't sleep, so I'm catching up on some work email :(

My plans have changed this week, on the basis that I'm obviously the last romantic on the planet, and it's difficult to persuade someone who barely believes in love to believe that it can conquer all, especially 'in Summer', for some reason. Seasonal dating, it's the new black. I'll be interesting again when the sun disappears.

So no Rome. Paris instead, and then back to London to squeeze in a few more meetings before going trans-Atlantic again.

Henry!

with little Josh, proving what a sweetie he is (Henry that is!)

Reunited!

(albeit briefly)

Missed my big bear, and counting down the months now till I get him over :)

Last night in Londres...

And a fab time with Martine: oysters, champers and lobster at J.Sheeky, followed by yet more cocktails and then a bizarre interaction with a lovely salt-of-the-earth couple who felt out of place at St. Martin's Lane Hotel. The bar was a bit wanky tonight - Friday night n'all... a little modelesque again...

A brief respite

An hour of peace in my hotel room's garden (yes, really) before some agency drinks and a drinks engagement this evening. I'm imbibing caffeine at a rate of knots to keep me going through this week - hectic is an understatement.

Breakfast with Neil Norman, through a fog of night-before vanilla martini haze, who had barely changed a jot in 20 years, and a really good catch-up and realization that maybe being expelled from school together turned us into very similar people in the end! Now if I can just think of an idea to use his funding...

Lunch with Mairi, which was a blast, and laughs were had (I think I had blocked out the phrase "it's a flan, not a cake" from my memory!) - if only all relationships with exs could be so relaxed and non-threatening! 

Business aplenty, including a brief but delightful catch-up with Rob J., an idealab/Scan alum now running InMobi in EMEA.

...and relax.

Google-AdMob acquisition cleared by FTC

OK, so this is big news, and counter to the way the wind seemed to be blowing. And, yes, it creates a powerhouse that is difficult to fight in the marketplace.

But, hey, with every door that closes, another one opens, or something. Firstly I'm particularly happy for Mr. Buckley, since as we said to one another a few months ago, it's about time one of us had a decent exit... Secondly, I don't really fear Google-AdMob. In a nascent market, people will choose a supplier for all sorts of reasons. Being big is one of those. Being nimble is another. And I say this as a direct competitor.

This isn't monopolistic. It's an opportunity. I'm meeting with Russell next week, actually. Obviously he needs to buy the drinks :)