Long time readers would know that this blog is named (AORTA) after a term Mark Anderson coined in 1997. I have been reading Mark’s work since the mid-nineties. His newsletter “Strategic News Service” was the first paid newsletter subscription model on the Internet and is read by the likes of Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Steve Ballmer, Mark Hurd, Sol Trujillo, Paul Jacobs, and a whole list of luminaries from around the world. You should check it out. You might also want to check out his blog to get a taste.

Mark has this unique ability to look at trends across multiple industries and different diverse segments from energy to finance, from IT to wireless, from politics to trade and use that to make very accurate predictions much before the mainstream press comes to the realization of what’s happening.

Needless to say, his work is of the highest order. That’s why I am extremely delighted and humbled by the opportunity to write for the SNS. My piece which was adapted from our Mobile Advertising Book and titled “Mobile Advertising: from cautious optimism to contextual nirvana” was published in SNS yesterday as a Special Letter. Over the years, several prominent authors have written for SNS and I am grateful for the opportunity. Thanks Mark.

Mark has also invited me to moderate a session on Mobile Advertising at his annual “Future in Review (FiRe 2008)” conference in May. We are putting together a pretty exciting panel. The Economist called this conference “The best technology conference in the world” and is perhaps the only conference of its type where such diverse technology and industry topics are discussed. It is known for the participation of high profile visionaries, noble laureates and prominent technologists from around the world and is truly an intellectually stimulating experience. Check out the list of who is coming.