It turns out someone has been sending out employment offers around the world promising a job at the Holiday Inn Kensington Forum in the UK. The letters are signed “Alex de Carvalho”.

For the record, I am not the Alex de Carvalho in question. I do not work for the Holiday Inn, I do not live in the UK, and I am not related to the person who is sending out these letters.

This 419 scam has been documented at the following links:

http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=36023

http://www.419scam.org/emails/2010–02/14/01009521.29.htm

For more information on what a 419 scams and advance-fee frauds, see the following: http://www.419eater.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_fraud

And that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

UPDATE: There’s a good thread on Yahoo! Answers about this: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100601231817AAml806

You may also contact the hotel directly:

LONDON KENSINGTON FORUM
97 CROMWELL ROAD
LONDON SW7 4DN
ENGLAND
Hotel Front Desk: +44–871-9429100
Hotel Fax: +44–20-73731448

419, fraud, scam, advance fee, holiday inn, kensington

corcovado
Originally uploaded by alexdecarvalho

One of the advantages of traveling on a major holiday is that no one else does, and so my flight to Rio was empty as my calendar turned its page to 2010 at 30,000 feet.

Corcovado (the Christ the Redeemer statue) is an inspiration to many for religious reasons. Standing high above the city with arms outstretched, it evokes feelings of protection, benevolence, compassion, charity, and friendship.

Have you seen videos of wingsuit flyers? What if Corcovado was also reminding us to soar in our daily lives?

Chris Brogan just blogged his 3 keywords for 2010. I’ll draw inspiration this year from Corcovado as a visual metaphor for soaring.

“Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.” –A.W. Tozer

Wishing you good fortune in the new year.

You brought joy to those you touched. You had an irresistible charm borne of innocent mischief. You saw yourself as more human than cat, and made your presence felt despite not speaking much. You participated in everything and your curiosity knew no bounds. You were a peacemaker and a soother. You ruled the house and you welcomed all into your sphere. You feared naught. You lived to eat and you ate everything — we understood this as a show of affection, of belonging, of participating in the daily family rituals. You lived a full life, and you gave more than you took.

So long, my steadfast companion. Thank you for the memories; you graced our lives. You are my friend and I miss you much. May you rest in peace.

The Best Thing in the World

What’s the best thing in the world?
June-rose, by May-dew impearled;
Sweet south-wind, that means no rain;
Truth, not cruel to a friend;
Pleasure, not in haste to end;
Beauty, not self-decked and curled
Till its pride is over-plain;
Love, when, so, you’re loved again.
What’s the best thing in the world?
–Something out of it, I think.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas

Panel on “Breaking Boundaries: Mobile Web Access in Emerging Economies,” with:

• G Kofi Annan — Annansi LLC
• Charles McCathieNevile — Opera Software
• Matt Womer — World Wide Web Consortium
• David Rogers — OMTP Ltd

In many regions, the mobile phone is the primary tool for Web access. As mobile Web connections increase in developing nations the impact will be significant. This panel examines the differences between mobile Web access in developing and developed regions and how the mobile Web can affect social development.

Why is the mobile web interesting in the developing world? More people have access to a mobile phone than to clean, running water. More people have a mobile phone than a computer. About 80% of the world has some sort of mobile coverage, so it’s obvious to say that mobile should be a point of online access. People in the developing don’t use mobile phones just for mobility. They are using it to access the internet with browsers like Opera Mini.

The uniqueness of the emerging economies is that mobile products must be adapted to how these economies are growing, so you need to analyze usage patterns, get feedback, and iterate often. Closed systems will not work because the barrier is too high; you need to be using open source software. Open source is also good because it avoids duplication of efforts.

In developing markets, the top applications are Facebook, MySpace. People are using this for entertainment and for connecting socially. There are many local sites that are big in their respective countries as well. Some examples of leading-edge applications in emerging economies include mobile banking, health care apps, and agriculture.

There’s a tendency to think that what we have in the West is what developing countries should aspire to. But if text is working, then that’s what should be used. There are a lot more options with text at this point and that’s what should be explored. What matters are the design challenges of “being local”, as you attempt to cater to locals and travellers. For example, the mobile capacity inside Australia matches demand (actually, you only really get about 2/3 of what is advertised). Because of the congestion of international lines, you only get about 10% when you travel outside of Australia.

Emerging markets are often in physically hostile environments. There is a unique opportunity now to provide a platform for the government or humanitarian organization to create a network that would constantly monitor the environment and give an early warning of impending natural disasters.

In developing markets, there is demand for either the most expensive smartphones, or the cheapes phones. There is not much demand in the middle: you can either afford the most expensive gear … or you can’t.

Last year flew by and I didn’t get the chance to spend time with family and friends in Brazil during the holidays. Instead, I spent a week in Israel, right as the war started.

I’m in Brazil now, though, and I look forward to meeting a number of people I’ve corresponded with on Twitter. Social media seems to be catching on here and this will be a good opportunity to catch up and build bridges with those making it happen.

I’ll be heading back before Campus Party Brasil, which looks like a great tech event.

My mind is filled with questions as I ponder the history, culture, and current events of the region. I’ve heard so many positives and negatives, and it is with a great sense of curiosity and excitement that I travel to Israel and Jordan next week. In particular, I am anxious to meet some people from the tech community, although the timing is not great since most will be busy for year-end holidays and festivities. Still, I’ve been able to contact some thanks to the serendipity of Twitter, and hopefully this will reinforce bridges across the Atlantic. After all, looking at this picture of Tel Aviv, you’d think you were in Miami!

This has been a turbulent year by most accounts, so I spent Thanksgiving remembering those who stuck by me through thick and thin:

Brian Breslin has been a constant friend as well as a partner in organizing RefreshMiami, BarCampMiami and building StartPR. When I struck out on my own earlier this year, Brian lent me office space: thank you. Whether it’s to bounce around an idea, startup something new, evangelize the South Florida new media community, or just chew the fat, he has been a welcome and much appreciated source of support. Yvette Ferry is another friend who also always present with good advice and great cheer through the best and the worst of this year, and I could not have made it without her either.

BarCampMiami was held in February 2008 just prior to FOWA, the Future of Web Apps Conference. About 16 sponsors and partners chipped in to make our BarCamp possible, where 300 people attended. People who had travelled from across the US, Latin America, and even Europe for FOWA, took time out to attend BarCamp. We could not have held the event without the help of Mel Kirk, who was with FOWA at the time, and from Nick Dominguez, Michael Montgomery, Yvette Ferry, Brian Breslin, Chris Saylor, and our local community (RefreshMiami) who helped spread the word about both BarCampMiami and FOWA.

We hope to three-peat BarCamp next February, now with a WordCamp organized by Alex Harris. A number of people are heping this year, including the already mentioned and Agustina Prigoshin, Christine Adolf, Ulisses Orozco, Michael Castilla, George Drage, and Christian “Fanless” Calzadillas.

The RefreshMiami community is a regular source of inspiration, motivation, and friendship for me, and I appreciate all that this passionate community of technologists and new media practitioners does throughout the year. They have enriched my life in ways untold. Thank you also to our great sponsors, including Ali and Eduardo at Brikolodge coworking, and the Yahoo! Latin America team.

Paul Kruger: thanks for your support and your advice.

Chris Heuer and Kristie Wells championed the Social Media Club and it is an honor to work with them at the national level as well as in organizing the new chapter of Social Media Club South Florida with Yvette Ferry, Christine Adolf, Agustina Prigoshin, Ulisses Orozco.

The Knight Center for International Media and the University of Miami School of Communication (UM SoC), where I teach social media and work on new media projects: in particular, I appreciate the help, encouragement, and friendship of Kim Grinfeder, Lelen Roberts (retired), Sanjeev Chatterjee, Christiane Delboni, Lauren Janetos, and Trevor Green. In addition to their support, they also push my limits and I’ve learned alot from them.

UM SoC students involved in the Knight Center, including Greg Linch, Walyce Almeida, Andrea Balloch, Matthew Byrnes, and Shell Jun Zhu. Among other things, they recently successfully petitioned to have a class on social media taught at the university, based on my syllabus. I am deeply honored by their collective action on my behalf and I look forward to great things from them. They are absolutely brilliant!

Mark Krupinski of Rasmussen College and Doterati in Orlando. He’s organizing a quickly growing and very active web/tech community in Central Florida and it’s been a real pleasure to work on some joint projects with him this year.

Mobile Monday Miami is a budding community of mobile phone professionals in South Florida, and my gratitude goes to Michael Tangemann and Jeffrey Sass as we get this started. We appreciate Nokia’s support with their sponsorship and hosting.

Alfredo Sanchez of QoS Labs, Victoria Edwards of The Collins Center for Public Policy, and Melissa Raulston of Florida State University, who included me on discussions about statewide digital divide issues with the objective of setting up a Florida 2.0 social network. It’s an ambitious task and a work in progress, but the interaction has opened new possibilities for all of us. I also appreciate Alfredo’s collegiality and the new doors he has opened for me.

Pat M., Laura V., Susan K., and Bill R.: thank you for looping me into your projects whenever you get the chance.

Shel Israel, Tara Hunt, Leah Jones, Fred Pullen: thank you. You know why.

It’s been amazing to work with such talented and motivated people throughout the year on such diverse projects. More than just colleagues, they have motivated me to see things in new ways and to learn new skills.

A huge word of thanks goes to the those who interact with me on Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook. Individually and collectively, they have propelled me forward and have propped me up. I can only hope that I am adding to my connections’ lives as much as they are adding to mine.

I am also thankful for my family and friends that I have not named here; I would have been toast without them! They know it, and they know who they are

Note: I apologize for any omissions, they are not intentional.

Quote attribution from the post title: “La reconnaissance est la mémoire du cœur.” –Jean-Baptiste Massieu, French ecclesiastic (1742 — 1818).

Trying out a first post using Blog Writer Lite.

I’m giving a quick primer on blogging today at the University of Miami School of Communication.

Please bear with me while I migrate my blog at Tapio to WordPress.