Sicilian Culture: The News & Views: Wireless Portal for Italophiles on PDAs by Mobilito Media

Sicilian Culture

The People, The History, The Culture

The News & Views

Wireless Portal for Italophiles on PDAs by Mobilito Media

St. Anthony, an early Italophile and Patron Saint for Lost Travelers Celebrated as Mobìlito Relaunches to better serve Today’s Traveling Italophiles. As many commemorate the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, more than 1700 busy Italian enthusiasts downloaded Mobìlito, The Wireless Portal for Italophiles™ onto their handheld devices last month. Linked to by a growing number of Italian sites, many have also read about Mobìlito in leading Italian-American publications including F & L Primo Magazine and Fra Noi.
Beloved by Italians and affectionately known as “Il Santo,” St. Anthony was actually born in Lisbon, Portugal on June 13, 1195. At the age of 15 he became an Augustinian; after ten years he left that order to evangelize as a Franciscan. He is known to have preached and worked extensively across the Italian penninsula notably in Messina, Rimini, Montepaolo, Assisi, Forli and Camposampiero. In 1231 St. Anthony died near Padua at the age of 36.
As another busy Italian enthusiast, “Il Santo” would have found Mobìlito’s local events, travel tips, electronic postcards, exchange rates and Italian-related news incredibly helpful throughout his extensive travels.
While praying Sant’Antonio’s Guide of Pilgrims might help you safely find your way, Mobìlito’s relaunched wireless portal certainly wouldn't hurt either! The new EZ registration system provides better localization of events, news and listings for all users. Plus, several new features have recently been added to enhance the user’s palm-top experience. Users can now meet fellow Italophiles in their locale while posting in the on-device community Forum. What’s more, Mobìlito users may now give new meaning to the phrase, ‘reach out and touch someone’ by sharing the handy Italian Question-of-the-Day with friends and family – a great way to learn about Italian and Italian-American history.
In addition, subscribers to the premium content D'Oro version of the channel can now pick and choose the specific premium features they want at any time. Along with the Wine Helper, Regional Wine Guide, Wine-Spirits Glossary, Guide to Little Italy’s and Clothes/Shoe Conversion Charts, users may also access: North American Italian Festivals Directory, Recipe Finder (great when shopping for ingredients), News Archives Search, a fascinating Guide to Saffron (a/k/a 'Gold Dust') as well as a useful Metrics Conversion chart for preparing your favorite Italian dishes. “We recognize that many PDA users are constrained by device memory and are very busy…so for users that want more content, we give them greater control over their wireless experience,” said Massimo Mobìlito Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief. Continuing Massimo highlights, “…especially D’Oro users who can now search our helpful archives not only for news articles but to find new Italian recipes searching by ingredient. If only, ‘Il Santo’ had this 800 years ago… È la convienza del’ ultimate!”
Mobìlito is also pleased to announce an expanded FIERI partnership, on the heels of the association’s successful 6th National Convention. While hundred have already seen the public service advertisements for FIERI on their PDAs’ (personal digital assistant), dozens have responded to learn more about the fast-growing organization of young Italian-American professionals. “So much for the so-called, ‘twilight of ethnicity’,” says Massimo. In addition, Mobìlito is offering active FIERI members a special deal - 33% off the regular price of enhanced D'Oro subscriptions, or just $19.95 per year.
Advertisers of Italian-oriented goods and services are growing increasingly interested in the wireless platform and it’s attractive demographic. According to Dominic Tassone, Publisher and Founder of Mobìlito, “Advertisers are finding us. Clearly we have begun to amass a very desirable audience that is otherwise hard-to-reach. Our users are well educated, well traveled and looking for Italian quality offerings. Mobìlito puts branding, response and even buying opportunities in our users hands…and can now target by DMA. The great response to the FIERI ads evidences the new medium’s potential for marketers interested in this audience.” Mr. Tassone invites Italian-oriented advertisers, especially local retailers, to take advantage of their no-obligation FREE wireless listing offer. The directory listing is delivered to all Mobìlito users in the area for six months and may include the business name, street location and phone number.
Last, in cooperation with the authors of “Italian Pride: 101 Reasons,” Mobìlito will feature Storiello, a new monthly column covering Italian and Italian-American history - optimized for palm-top viewing and sure to delight enhance Italian aficionados everywhere. Mobìlito users will also be able to request a sample chapter and even purchase an expanded version of their eBook.
If Interested Contact: Massimo Mobilito massimo@mobilito.com

As the USA Celebrate Independence Day, busy Italian enthusiasts enjoy Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of La Dolce Vita
7/5/01, CHICAGO. As Americans across the nation celebrated the Declaration of Independence yesterday, Mobìlito Media, LLC publishers of The Wireless Portal for Italophiles™ announced a host of new features, a special subscription sweepstakes and an open invitation to Italian-oriented organizations to take advantage of a FREE wireless community calendar. In short, Mobìlito has made it even easier for busy Italian enthusiasist to declare their own “Indipendenza!”
While Italophiles everywhere recognize the birth of The Republic (a form of government devised by the ancient Romans) on land discovered, charted and named after Italians few realize the direct influence of Italians during the American War for Independence. While most started a tradition of military service others contributed in their own way. Though Francesco Vigo was actually the first Italian to become an American citizen, he is mostly remembered as being a successful entrepreneur who’s personal sacrifice helped make the new nation possible; Vigo advanced substantial armaments to the growing American militia and as a result literally died a pauper.
In honor of the USA’s birthday, it is also important to appreciate the prolific Tuscan Filippo Mazzei who played a little-known but key role in the formation of the new American government. Among his many accomplishments, he created a constitutional salon and penned many articles in Virginia newspapers - platforms he used to advocate independence from England. If Mazzei had subscribed to Mobìlito some 224 years ago, he would have tasted true independence before 1776 with some 20 useful D’Oro features from which to choose for his Personal Digital Assistant (PDA.).
New announced features for subscribers to the enhanced Mobìlito D’Oro service include musical greeting cards, Italian phrases, an expanded Guide to Little Italies and a search tool for the Italian fact-of-the-day feature.
The recipient of a greeting card can now receive one of several songs chosen by the sender including for example, “Volare”, “Bella Notte,” “Fly Me to the Moon” or “La Tarantella Napolitano” with a photograph of an Italian town. Plus, Italophiles interested in boosting their Italian language skills are now greeted with a new Italian phrase or proverb with a link to the English translation; both can be forwarded. In fact, busy “Inamorata” users are already are passing Italian love-notes to each other! The Little Italies section has been expanded with twice as many Canadian and American cities, and now with usable maps - the first being of Manhattan’s Mulberry Street neighborhood; maps of Italian cities will soon be provided. In addition, curious Italian enthusiasts may now easily perform searches of Mobìlito’s Italian fact-of-the-day archive by simply entering a keyword on their handheld device prior to synching. Like Mobìlito users, Mazzei’s busy social schedule just got a little easier to manage with an event RSVP feature and the ability to more easily coordinate attendance with others by forwarding event info right from their handheld!
Indeed, Filippo Mazzei could have taken advantage of many of the free features as well. Mobìlito now provides images with certain news stories and more Italian facts and recipes than ever (all of which may now be forwarded from the user’s PDA to a fellow Italophile). For example, Mazzei would likely have found Mobìlito especially useful finding Italian recipes, researching his family tree, keeping up with news from Italy, meeting other Italophiles in his locale, shopping and otherwise impressing the likes of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Adams with historical facts about Italy and Italians! When all is said and done, Mazzei is still best known for promulgating the unique political concept that “all men are created equal.”
In keeping with that theme, all Mobìlito users likewise have an equal chance to win a free yearlong subscription to the enhanced D’Oro version of the service during the month of July. Particpating è molto facile (very easy): one user per week will be selected at random to win, starting July 13, 2001.
On the following Monday, the winner’s name will be announced. To qualify for the sweepstakes, users of the free version of service need only complete an on-device informational survey and sync up before midnight Chicago-time Fridays through August 3rd, 2001. Entrants that do not win will be offered a special deal as a consolation - 33% off, or $19.95 for a new subscription or renewal for one full year. Subscriptions can be purchased on-device, or on the Web for another as a gift.
What’s more, in cooperation with the authors of the popular “Italian Pride: 101 Reasons to be Proud You’re Italian,” Mobìlito will feature Storiello, a new monthly column covering Italian and Italian-American history - optimized for palm-top viewing. As part of the partnership, Mobìlito will offer users a FREE sample chapter sure to delight Italian aficionados everywhere. In addition, users may even purchase for just $5.95, a tree-friendly 273 page expanded electronic version of their book.
In kicking off the summer processional season, Mobìlito is also issuing an unprecedented open invitation to organizations seeking to promote events of interest to Italian enthusiasts. To participate and reach busy Italophiles, organizations need only contact Mobìlito for directions to access the appropriate Web page where they can provide event specifics. Once submitted, the event can be delivered to all Mobìlito users in that locale.
Editor-in-chief, and co-founder Massimo Mobìlito added, “For Italian-American or Italian cultural organizations with limited resources, the calendar is a great way to quickly get the word out to people that are typically very busy…and it’s free! As always we seek to provide - La Convenienza D’Ottimo”
For more information contact: Dominic Tassone at 435-603-1620 or dominic@mobilito.com; additional information available at: www.mobilito.com

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