BLACKBERRY COUP OF THE PRESIDENT-ELECT

NEWSPAPERS and TV are loudly proclaiming that President-elect Obama is refusing to give up his BlackBerry because it keeps him in touch with the world.

THIS is fantastic coverage for the little Canadian company that could, Research In Motion located in Waterloo, Ontario, that makes the BlackBerry.

WITH the world eagerly awaiting every single word from the President-elect's mouth, this type of advertising is PRICELESS.

MONEY just could not buy an Advertising Actor of this caliber nor the press channels that the President-elect has access to.

HOWEVER, with BlackBerry's easy access to the Internet, it makes you wonder how vulnerable the President-elect is to his email and web surfing habits being eavesdropped on by unscrupulous and malicious snoopers.

AND what happens in a serious crisis that requires the President-elect's attention and some snooper finds out that he is surfing the web for a gift to buy his daughter?

PLUS, look at the advertising revenue ripple effects. Why it opens up a whole new revenue corridor for all those websites and servers that keep track of all the IP addresses that visit their web pages, which could include the President-elect's. That doesn't even include massive companies like Google with their Google Analytics nor Akamai nor DoubleClick and their serving services.

Imagine advertising that the President-elect visits your website(s).

WOW!

AND then there's the problem of making sure that the President-elect's location is private and secure. No such thing with the BlackBerry with its Berry Locator and the GPS hardware installed on it. A simple email locates it quickly.

THAT simple process does not include the myriad of other devices that can easily triangulate the BlackBerry's location using WIFI such as Mexens Technology, Navizon, which pinpoints the BlackBerry's location on a map.

NO, Mr. President-elect, the winds of change you're promoting must include another form of communication.

--November 27,2008, by Gerald Tooley