I barely seem to have sat down today!
So here’s a quick stream of consciousness post about the main launch event for Three’s MumsOnTheGo yesterday, before I lose it all. I’ll probably miss lots out, and no doubt come back to pontificate further at various points, but here’s a first try anyway.
First and foremost, it was great to go to an event where children had been considered. It was aimed at mums, and there was a creche laid on, activities for mums with kids and finally a celebrity for the children. Sadly my poor deprived child doesn’t actually watch CBeebies, so we had no idea who the lovely lady was, but the puppet monkey was cute 😉
Secondly, I’d like to again extend proper thanks to the team at Jojomamanbebe for helping me out with clothing. No disclosure required as this wasn’t a freebie (apart from transport 😉 ), all it was was I’d ordered dresses, they were the wrong size, and I left it too late to get the replacement sent out in time to reach home before I left iyswim. But they got in touch via twitter and arranged for my replacement to be sent to the event, meaning that when I turned up drenched in apple juice after a toddler style train drink disaster, I could swoop into the loos, baby wipes in hand and come out dressed to impress. And I love the dress too – so pleased I went bold and chose the plum instead of going for my standard black. (Apparently it was the founder who brought my dress over, so a big thanks for that too.)
And then, to the nitty gritty. Great fun, lots of gadgets to play with, and loads of stuff to learn. I think I’m pretty savvy when it comes to tech, but I’ve only actually been fiddling with smartphones on and off since November ish last year, so I know I’m still learning. I currently run an HTC Wildfire and have an HTC Desire HD on loan from Three. I don’t quite get the apple interest – I did have another play with one yesterday, but I’m still not seeing it. If you think you can enlighten me, there’s a lovely comment box below 😉
It was good to hear about apps that ppl like – no one else mentioned Swype or WordPress though, which surprised me a little. And while there was lots of discussion of shopping and money saving websites/apps like likebees and VoucherCloud, no mention of cashback sites like TopCashback (which I prefer to Quidco as you get all the cashback with TopCashback, and yes it’s a referral link, once you’ve signed up you get one too, and then you get extra money when you refer your mates. Win win).
And there was lots of chats about getting mums online to save them time and money, and what social networking can do for you. It’s a lifeline for lots of ppl, and I do wonder why more ppl aren’t using it, be it twitter, or blogs or facebook or forums. (And yes, I know I’m preaching to the converted here 😉 ) One thing I think could be helpful though is a budget smartphone package to get ppl started. I know that such things exist – but if you are just starting out, it’s bewildering trying to work out what you really need, and what is just bells and whistles. I’d love to see an absolute basic smartphone package, maybe featuring something like the HTC Wildfire or the Samsung Galaxy Apollo that dp has, that costs around £15 a month, but allows a sensible amount of internet usage, and comes with hints and tips on how to use the phone to save the cost of it, if that makes any sense. Perhaps one to punt to the marketing dept at Three 😉
Other than that, the person whose brains I’d have liked to pick most would have to be the one who chooses which phones they are going to stock. What a great job! Go and explore all the beautiful bits of gadgetry and choose a line up. Followed closely by whoever has most expertise in apps – I will get back in to programming one of these days, and Android could well be my way in.
But it’s late, and tomorrow is a horribly busy day, with appts left right and centre, so I’d best be off to bed. Whether you went or not, I’d love to hear what you think of this initiative – drop me a line, or ping me on twitter, use the #MumsOnThree hashtag because I’m keeping an eye on that. And like I said, more to come soon.
Disclosure. I was given expenses to attend this event. Opinions nevertheless are my own.
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