Media Manic and the age of the anti-blogger

I started this blog because I really need to start writing again, about anything really. The problem is trying to figure out what it is that I want to spill out onto this screen here in front of me. It's not like I don't have enough to talk about, or that I am not up on the latest news, or don't have time to sit down and bang them out. My problem is that by the time I am ready to sit down and write something about a subject I feel that I have been beaten to it or it has already become irrelevant. Or I have trouble organizing my thoughts into a work that makes sense.

For instance I was recently in austin visting friends and trying to do SXSW with no badge (worked out perfectly) by the time I got back to The Burg I was so exhausted that the last thing I wanted to do was write some completely unorganized post about how I ran around, drank free beer, and saw and insane amount of good music that I have never herd of. I feel my coverage of my trip on twitter and Tumblr was sufficient enough to anyone that really cared. 

I'm starting to realize that there was no real reason for me not to write the post. Even if there are thousands of posts already out there about the same thing. The simple exorcize of me writing it would have been good for me, and an interesting thing for my readers. 

I'm started to realize tough that this manic media consumption that I am living is really hindering me as a write and producer of content. I sometimes forget that not a lot of people are as insane about news feeds, twitter, and general blog trolling as I am. Just because I saw 10 articles on the same subject does not mean that my readers have. I'm coming to the conciliation that I am not taking into account who my readers are at the moment or who I really want them to be. 

Years ago when I was in high-school I kept a blog that I posted on obsessively. It was more of a journal of things I did day to day than really opinion pieces and what not. It was a lot easier to sit down and to write about what was going on in my life rather than to do research, and organise my posts into somewhat journalistically sound pieces of work. Time have changed tough. I feel if people really want to know what I am doing, where I am, who I'm hanging out with and see the pictures I take, they already are. A blog is not really the place for them to find it. 

So what should I be writing about? Do I data mine, and if so should I just spit out the info I find or put my own spin on it? Do I write opinion pieces with quotes form other articles and well research subjects. It's hard to figure out what to do. The bottom line is I need to stop worrying about how I am going to write or what I am going to write and just sit down and blast out some work. If it sucks I don't always have to publish it. 

Sprint, T-Mobile Merger.

T-Mobile will be merging it's 3G network with AT&T if it can get through the FCC. T-Moible's  lack of capital and need to upgrade it's network could not back up it's low cost plans and decided to sell in a 25 billion dollar deal. This comes as no surprise in the early stages of 4G networks. Soon 3G will be a much lesser option in a new wireless world that will be pushing HD Video and Cloud based systems. In 5 years it's not going to be enough.

AT&T needed to do something with their network as well. With the increasingly large number of data users the AT&T network has become boged down. Expanding this network with a purchase of another 3G network is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Most in the wireless industry were expecting a merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. This I knew would not work. The companies run on on two different wireless networks T-Mobile on 3G and Sprint on CDMA/LTE. This is a huge deal because the carriers networks would not meld together into one like AT&Ts 3G network would.

One thing for sure is that the 3G network will be a more widespread and more reliable network. It will also be largely in the hands of AT&T which is not a good feeling to have. The merger of the two 3G networks will create a stronger network for consumers and push the technology further. One thing that could get scary is AT&Ts continuing grasp on data boundaries.


 First I must say that I have been a AT&T wireless customer for along time, it's the only wireless provider I have been with. Second I have sold phones by all four providers and can say first hand T-Mobile has excellent people working for them on their service side. I can not say that for AT&T.

As I stated in a earlier post this can mean bad things for unlimited data plans. T-Mobile offered one of the lowest priced data plans customers could get their hands on. The problem was that their service is niter reliable or widespread. If your in an area that has good T-Mobile service then it is a fantastic alternative to other, more expensive providers. With this merger sprint will soon be the only provider of unlimited data plans  in the 4G compliant spectrum.

It's going to be very interesting to see how this plays out and if the FCC will even allow it to happen. The FCC has stated that the wireless communication market does lack competitiveness for the first time in several years.

It seems the future of wireless will not be unlimited

Verizon stated that their unlimited data plan that new iPhone 4 users enjoyed, is only temporary. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo stated that tiered data plans, much like AT&T's, will be implemented this summer. This is bad news for users who enjoy the freedom of unlimited data. Although the tiered data plans will be cheaper, it will limit users to 2 Gigs a month. WIth more and more people getting smart-phones the unlimited data plan will soon be a thing of the past. 


AT&T users like my self who started with an unlimited plan, can grandfather their Unlimited plan when they upgrade their phone, any changes made to a plan will result in never being able to go back to unlimited. It is assumed that the Verizon Unlimited plan will work the same way. 


 Some were hoping that since Verizon was offering unlimited data that AT&T would have to go back to theirs eventually to keep up with demand. It seems that this will not be the case. The days of the unlimited plan are numbered. By summertime the only companies offering Unlimited will be Spint and T-mobile, most likely due to their low user base. 


The iPhone creates a lot of data usage because it is the most popular handset in the country. and it's users enjoy sucking data through it, or do they?


When I looked at my data plan I saw that the highest I have ever sucked down has been 741 MB, well below the highest $25 2 Gig plan that AT&T offers. I consider my self a heavy data user. I upload photos all the time, listen to NPR streams constantly, watch youtube videos all the time, and email steady throughout the day. When I really thought about it tough I realized that I use WiFi a lot when I am doing a lot of these things. 

Click to view larger 


I bought the iPone 4 in early Feb, and since then my data has went up about 200 MBs. 


So do I really need an unlimited data plan? With the new iPhone 4's HD Video capabilities I feel like that I might. I have not really done so but I expect in the future that I will be downloading/uploading HD video more. I also have been useing video chat over 3G more, thanks to Skype and Fring, which uses up a lot of bandwidth (at least I think it does). Never the less my unlimted data plan is $30 a month and the 2 Gig plan is $25 dollars, so I don't really think it is worth it for me to change just yet. 


One thing that worries me is, with more and more technology coming through the pipe, is sooner or later 2 Gigs will not be enough, and I think this will be very soon. However on the other side, WiFi is becoming more and more ubiquitous around us allowing users to take a break from their 3G/4G/LTE data plans and use as much as their hearts desire.  


Users should be aware of is that the switch from 3G to 4G(or LTE), especially on AT&T may never be unlimited. With the lightning fast speeds of these networks, it will become a lot easier to go over the limit. I hope that this will not be the case, or that the caps will be well above 5 - 10 Gigs, but nothing is certain. 


I do encourage you all to go check you data usage and see how much bandwidth you are using and see if you should switch to the tiered package. You can do so by going to your wireless provider's website and logging in to you account much like you would play your bill.  I am very interested in seeing how much data people use every moth so if you would be so kind to report on it in the comments I would really appreciate it.