I've been remiss in publishing so over the past few days I've started to write again. Onmy blog, in the new LinkedIn Pulse (have you noticed how much LinkedIn has gotten into content?) and now again, here in the Comunicano Daily.

This month will go down as one of the most memorable in Apple history, and already the hype machine is in full gear. Venture Beat is calling it current CEO Tim Cook's Waterloo in so many words, casting doubt about him and saying the iWatch is a make or break play for him as the successor to Steve Jobs (I think its not make or break given how well Apple is doing as a company under Cook's reign.) For starters, moves are already underway to make Apple a major player in payments the same way they have disrupted mobile devices and content as the second and third news items surrounding Visa, MasterCard and American Express all will prove out.

So, let's have at it…and here's the news.

September 9: The beginning — or the beginning of the end — of the Tim Cook Era

It's going to be a big show in Cupertino September 9th. We'll see at least one new phone. But most importantly we'll see what could be called the first product of the Cook era, an Apple smartwatch. The unveiling will be held at the Flint Center in Cupertino, the same venue where the world got its first look at the Mac.

Apple Said to Team With Visa, MasterCard on IPhone Wallet

Apple Partnering With American Express On New iPhone Payments System

Apple has reached an agreement with American Express to work together on its new iPhone payments system, according to sources familiar with the talks. American Express is one of several partners Apple will need to sign up before it can launch its new payments plan, which sources say it plans to announce at its September 9 product event.

How dominant is Apple? Just look at how the iPad is walloping the rest of the devices when it comes to email. It's even eating into the iPhone's share but what's eye opening is that Windows is not doing that well either when you realize Microsoft has tried tablets too.

How Europeans email

As email turns 32 years old tomorrow, US-based email delivery service provider SendGrid has done a global study on email engagement. Today, the company is releasing Europe-specific data on 'email opens', based on an analysis of 8 billion unique emails sent by over 125,000 companies (including the likes of Uber, Spotify, Airbnb, Foursquare and Pinterest) over two 10-day periods in 2013 and 2014.

The FCC under Tom Wheeler will be controversial. Figuring out what side of the fence they are on will be a wait and see, but one things for sure, big telco isn't exactly sitting on their hands waiting. Regulatory work, lobbying and supporting political campaigns is running at a fever pitch, and with it, the Internet economy.

Can the FCC clear the way for cities to build broadband? Legal fight heats up over agency's powers

Gripes about internet speed are common across the country, but in certain towns the complaints have a special twist: the fact that local utilities want to offer faster broadband infrastructure, but state governments – at the apparent behest of the telecom industry – have passed laws to prevent them from doing so.

How big telecom smothers city-run broadband

State Sen. Janice Bowling, a Republican from Tullahoma, Tennessee, says she was surprised by AT&T's adversarial reaction to her bill to allow cities to expand their broadband networks. Janice Bowling, a 67-year-old grandmother and Republican state senator from rural Tennessee, thought it only made sense that the city of Tullahoma be able to offer its local high-speed Internet service to areas beyond the city limits.

Between the FCC and patent trolls, those delivering service have to watch over both shoulders. Now AT&T is exercising its war chest taking on a former large shareholder, Cox Communications, over some very fundamentally basic functions that appear to have patents in place. 

It's made-for-TV patent war, as AT&T sues Cox

The majority of patent lawsuits today are brought by "patent trolls" that do nothing but sue-but suits between actual competitors do still happen. Case in point: AT&T has sued Cox Communications, saying that Cox has infringed seven AT&T patents covering everything from DVRs to methods for hiding "packet loss or frame erasure" over a network.

I'm a regular user of UBER, the car service that makes life easier to get around. Of late they have been in the press with a war between they and rival Lyft over driver poaching and alleged trickery. The bottom line is just as there is Coke and Pepsi, there's going to be Lyft and Uber. Competition is good for the consumer, otherwise you end up with what we have in the way of "public transit."

Uber and Lyft Have Become Indistinguishable Commodities

If you need a ride, pull out your phone and load up the Lyft app. Or try Uber. Really, it doesn't matter which you pick. Though the two ride-sharing giants have carried on like the bitterest of enemies recently, their services have become pretty much indistinguishable.

We're big believers in the concept of "the story" as part of positioning and messaging. Telling the story is changing marketing communications and how it relates to the brand. and, it's all changing.

From Storytelling to Experiences: The Next Chapter in Marketing Communications 

The past decade has seen the marketing communications industry increasingly emphasize the importance of storytelling as a way for brands to better communicate with their audiences. From logo and corporate colours, to website content and advertising campaigns, to staff members and business cards, everything about an organization is now considered a part of its overall brand story.

Do you give a kick? Web sites like KickStarter and Indiegogo are making it easy to help get startups off the ground. 

Here are a few I'm supporting or have supported:

SparkAerial (note this is being supported by my other venture, VelocityGrowth)

Smart Wallet

The Return of the Upcoming

Dart-The world's smallest laptop adapter

Gramofon-the smallest jukebox from FON

Stand Desk

Tight-A new kind of wallet

TrackR

So here's the deal. I'm using Gramofon in my living room to play music, much the same way I can use Chromecast or Apple TV, but I'm also sharing WiFi without letting guests onto my primary network as it is built by FON. My wallet that I use everyday is from Tight and I carry a TrackR in it. What I'm finding is that like my LinkedIn post of a week or so ago, I'm finding products I can use every day, not at the store, or even in Amazon but in the world of startups in the rewards funded universe. Go find your next product there today, or better yet, come up with an idea and float it and see what happens.