(Annette Moser-Wellman) My smartphone isn't very smart.  It's supposed to do fancy things but has trouble just delivering e-mail.  While it was expensive two years ago, it now gets frequent brain cramps and the screen freezes. It comforts me to imagine it's possessed by an evil demon.  In fact, the $279 data charge I got last month confirms it.

But some smartphones are getting smarter and new technologies are making me envy my friends and neighbors.  The iPhone has ushered in a new enthusiasm for what is possible from the palm of your hand.  The higher end Nokia phones also have unprecedented computing power. And if you look overseas, you'll see how the intersection of quality phones and amazing technology is changing the landscape of news. 

Bhaskar Roy, Cofounder of Qik tells me, "What you see in Europe and Asia is the power of these high capability phones at work.  In countries where public transportation is important, people get their news off of their cell phones. So while they're sitting on the train, breaking news comes from SMS, video or audio transcript and is pushed directly to their phone. In the U.S., mobile content will soon become highly customized and will be designed to match a person's personality."

Qik provides a platform for streaming video from cell phones directly to the Web and soon to other cell phones. This means users can send high resolution video fast to multiple sites without being tethered to the laptop.  Qik is just that - quick video to many locations. With integration to Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, and more, with Qik on your handheld, you can send video immediately to a few or a few thousand. You can even chat over the video content.

The citizen journalism aspects of a technology like this are obvious.  Roy tells a story of one popular video blogger, Steve Garfield. Garfield approached Duncan Hunter as he was going to talk to CNN about the fact that he was still in the presidential race even though he was not invited to the Democratic debate. Garfield ran toward Hunter and said,"Duncan, can I interview you?" Duncan said, "Okay, but talk to one of my campaign folks." Garfield said, "No.  Right now through this camera on my phone."  So Hunter said, "Sure. What is it that you want to know?"  Duncan blurted the entire story and it hit the Internet immediately, before CNN even had the interview."

One global media organization, BBC Technology News, is using Qik in an interesting way.  Reporters conduct interviews on-site with technology firms and collaborate with viewers in real-time through the phone. "Reporters can stream the story live and BBC blog viewers can interact with the reporter and say, 'Hey, why don't you ask this question? How about this? Are they doing to do this?' So the overall conversation and the interview gets richer.  Now all of a sudden you have a collective mass of folks who are watching this interview and interacting to learn more. They stay engaged with the BBC Technology News blog," Roy said. In this video within a video example, a Qik user video streams an interview that BBC reporter Rory Cellan-Jones is recording on his cell phone.

Even newspapers have learned how to get more power in the hands of their reporters. The Fresno Bee and Sacramento Bee cover news with video using Qik.

Imagine what it will be like when consumers share video directly to each other as quickly and easily as they share text messages.  The sources of news will expand dramatically and include exponentially more sources than the Internet alone. Viewing time will include personalized video from friends and family.  Users will be able to share special moments immediately – like when a child speaks her first word or takes her first step. News events will be broadcast through informal networks and skip mainline channels.  What will be the fate of YouTube when we immediately share our funny videos with only those we know and care about?

The good news for media companies is they will be able to remain relevant by providing customized choices for news, information and entertainment for their various audiences.  News organizations would do well to start thinking about how to segment their consumers - to understand in detailed ways how news functions differently for different people.

To participate in this video revolution, you may need a higher quality phone.  And while you're at it, will you pick one up for me too?


What do you think? Please share your thoughts, experiences and reactions by clicking on the comment button below.

Annette Moser-Wellman is President of Firemark, Inc., an innovation consultancy, and author of Running While The Earth Shakes: Creating An Innovation Strategy To Win In The Digital Age, published by the Media Management Center. She teaches in MMC's Advanced Executive Program and Digital Strategies for Media Executives seminar.

This TechScout article is part of a new series of Moser-Wellman interviews commissioned by Media Management Center to explore opportunities and insights at the intersection of technology and the news media. Click here to view others in the TechScout series.