Navigate the New Tech Frontier: Participate, Don't Just Watch, a chat with Evan Kirstel

Exploring the Future of Technology with Evan Kirstel

In this episode of The Wireless Way, host Chris Whitaker interviews Evan Kirstel, a B2B social media maven and tech industry storyteller with over 30 years of experience. They discuss Evan's journey in the tech industry, the evolution from 1G to 5G, and the exciting future of AI and 6G. Evan emphasizes the importance of being a content creator rather than just a consumer and shares insights on the impact of AI, wireless technology advancements, and the potential of new tech innovations. The conversation also covers the significance of continuous learning and staying adaptable in the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome
01:09 Evan Kirstel's Journey in Tech
03:03 The Exciting World of Content Creation
03:53 Advice for Tech Enthusiasts
09:19 The Impact of AI in Content and Business
12:33 Future of Wireless Technology
15:33 Closing Thoughts and CES Preview

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Transcript

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of The Wireless Way. I'm your host, Chris Whitaker, and as always, I'm grateful you're here to check this out. I'm even, as grateful for Evan Kirstel. he's a B2B social media maven, a tech industry storyteller and trusted partner to the global, technology brands. With over 30 years in tech, he helps enterprises turn content to measurable engagement and long-term growth. he hosts a Tech Impact airing on Fox Business and Bloomberg, and is the leading voice across AI enterprise IOT ucas. Cybersecurity, 5G and the future of work, reaching millions of decision makers worldwide through tv, social media, podcast, and live streams. Evan man, thanks for making time for us today. How you doing?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 0:49

I am great. How are you? Thanks for, having me.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 0:51

Oh man. No, I know you're a busy guy and I'm so grateful. I literally am grateful. I mean this, I talked to a lot of folks, as I know you do for sure. And, it's hard to schedule these things sometimes. Everybody's running and gunning, and here we are at end of the year, 2025. So, again, very grateful for your time and it's always my first question. You know, we all have our professional bios out there, what else can you tell us about who Evan is and how did you get here?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 1:17

Wow, how'd I get here?

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 1:18

How much time do we have?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 1:19

but maybe we'll go back. 35 years ago I was a double E, but I started working as a sales engineer. worked for the company that built the first voicemail, dialogic. And then I went into paging, pagers, paging your, you're a wireless old timer

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 1:35

Yeah.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 1:36

so that's how I got into. of wireless. Back in the day you had a phone and then you had a pager and you kind of juggled the two them and you had voicemail and, then I kind of got into the mobile infrastructure and mobile technology industry. And it was there from one G to two G to 3G to 4G. And now we're 5G. And you know, 35 years later we're still talking about some of the same and enterprise tech and iot and wireless and you know, different technologies, different frequencies, different. Methodologies. but, but you know, it's kind of what comes around, goes around, feels, feels like, deja vu in many ways. Back to the beginning of my career. Now we're kind of all in on AI and, and 60 is coming and all kinds of cool stuff. So I'm a geek. I'm a, I'm heart in, you know, particularly around wireless topics. So it's really great to have, you know, chat with like-minded. Industry insiders like yourself.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 2:35

I agree with that. I love to say that when like-minded people with all aligned goals and, similar interests get together. magic really happens and amazing things can happen. 30 years, in technology. what are you most excited about to talk about? I mean, there's a lot to talk about by the way, folks, check the show notes. I'll have links to his website. A lot of great content. Definitely learn more about. Evan, if you wanna learn more about technology, he's a great guy to follow, what are you excited about? What's really kind of making it work for you today?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 3:03

I think for me it's, it's, being a content creator, it's like the best of times it's, extraordinary. I mean, you know, putting, we see politics every day, but putting that aside, people like you and I just of average shows have their own TV station, their own channel, their broadcasting, they're creating content. I'm now using AI to create, you know, impossible content, fun content.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 3:26

A lot of fun stuff.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 3:26

just an amazing time be within the industry, using the technology, using the tools the platforms, and getting your voice out there making a living in the process. I mean, what a, golden era, of tech at the moment. And there, you know, we talk about the downsides and the risks and the dangers, if you read the media headlines every day, you really get absorbed by those. But man, the upside is just so exciting.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 3:53

You know, with all the interviews that you conduct, a lot of the suppliers you work with, do you see a common trend, I mean, for the tech enthusiasts listening, what do people need to be paying attention to? What advice you have for folks that maybe are novices or still trying to just get their arms around this topic of technology and ai.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 4:12

Well, I think the advice I have is be a practitioner. don't read the headlines. Don't just scroll. a big content consumer. You know, I'm always on YouTube. I'm always consuming content. Your content, everyone's content. that, that, that shouldn't be 99% of your time online. You, you need to be a creator. You need to add your voice, your value, your point of view. Whether it's in the written word on a blog or posting, whether it's a format like this, should have a podcast in their own show. Um, or whether it's a bigger platform like radio or even tv, have a voice, be a creator. Don't just consume, create. I think that's the message. I spent, 20 years, in corporate life at a good run, made money. It was very, satisfying. But the last 10 years as an independent have been the most satisfying. So arc you're on in your career, you gotta think more entrepreneurial out of the box. And even if you have a side hustle. time is now to start, so make that your New Year's resolution, depending on when this will air.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 5:21

So you're saying stop being a observer and be a participant. be on the field playing.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 5:26

a consumer. I mean,

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 5:27

That's right.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 5:28

whatever your background or bio education, you have a point of view, you have certain insights, know-how knowledge, particularly in, you know, within the industry, let's say in and get those out there. A lot of people shy away from that. They're not comfortable putting that them out there. And that's fine. I hated video, like pre pandemic. I did everything I could to avoid video looking at myself, seeing myself, but I think that's the new reality. The new normal. If you look at this generation, they're born digital, they're born on TikTok, they're born on YouTube. And

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 5:59

Oh yeah.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:00

us old guys, you not get sidelined.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:06

So do you find yourself interviewing folks more or being interviewed yourself What's the ratio?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:13

a daily podcast,

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:14

Yeah,

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:14

God, I'm not that interesting. I tell people like, you are, whatever you put out there, you're not the most interesting person in the room. I'm sorry, Chris. Sorry.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:21

I agree.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:22

the way I manage to have a daily show is just by finding. The most interesting and informative, people I can find and, and ask them deep questions and them a platform. And I learn a lot. That's how I learn through that style. it's a tremendous, opportunity to learn from others, to connect, even if you're in sales and marketing to sell our market through channel. that's how I learned. So after, probably 2000 interviews over different channels, I feel like I have a whole new education just from talking with and asking questions of others.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 6:59

Interesting is, is there. Any one takeaway you have or from thousands of interviews? I mean, what I'm thinking, you know, you were talking about, being a podcaster and being a content creator, you know, for me. This exchange, you know, having you for 20, 30 minutes just to talk to and pick your brain is invaluable to me. That's how I learn too. That's how I, I try to, collect information. is there anything else for you personally? is there any trends or observations you have with all the different people you've talked to over time that you can share with us?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 7:30

Yeah, I think the ability to learn and, you know, I've been outta school for 35 years. learning is as important now as it ever has been or will be. using the a AI tools that are out there to learn, to satisfy your curiosity always be learning. through whatever channel, whether it's, books, whether it's audio books or podcasts or YouTube shows. having a curiosity and a voracious appetite learning and asking questions. I think that's what. Is enabling folks to succeed in this new economy. It's not enough to have your qualifications from 20 years ago and your certificates even if you're an engineer, it's not enough these days. So find that mode of learning that works for you. and embrace it. you gotta do it. Otherwise, in this AI age, you're really gonna fall behind because knowledge is no longer enough. It used to be knowing a lot of stuff

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 8:33

Yeah.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 8:34

if you knew a lot of stuff, you were different from the next person. Anyone has access at their fingertips to everything now, so that knowledge is no longer

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 8:44

Yeah, the information you have to know is more than your brain, almost can, hold it seems like. Right? I mean, there is a lot to know. in my day job we do these things called ai masterclasses, where we take these technology architects on this journey of how to. position the sell, do these AI assessments, understanding where the end user, where are they on their AI journey. Do you have any thoughts on, sharing advice or, observations around, where are we with ai? Is this something to be scared of? Is this something to embrace? So, any other thoughts on AI and business and, and where you're seeing it, make a difference?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 9:19

no, it's a huge multiplier effect. I mean, just take a little example of this podcast. AI can format that into, a video for five different channels. It can find the interesting. Clips and talking points and post that on social channels. It can edit and record the audio from the video and publish it on, you know, 20 different podcast channels. can create a really interesting blog, based on the discussion and talking points, and on and on. So all of a sudden one discussion turns into 20 pieces of content, and that's just one little example. So every. app that you try now every, iPhone is gonna have AI infused empowering it in ways that are really new and novel. So it's giving us all these superpowers, and whether you're a field technician out. a site or whether you're, making content, you're gonna have these superpowers, they're not always obvious. You have to, try and discover them and leverage them in new and different ways, and then share that with your colleagues or collaborators. Collaboration is more important than ever. Learning, like I said, is more important than ever just being open to doing things differently. more important than ever. in a couple years my avatar is gonna have a podcast with your avatar, your digital twin, and it will have a great podcast without ever even having to show up. so that's just, an example how everything is changing.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 10:52

Of your last dozen or so interviews and contents you created, do you have a favorite, I mean, do you have like a favorite go-to topic that you just really prefer over anything else?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 11:02

Yeah, I love big thinkers. I love people making, big impacts. I had the head of it CIO for who had the world's largest hackathon. Internally, something like 600,000 employees, if you can imagine that.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 11:15

Mm.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 11:16

Not just techies and developers, but all employees like building and no low-code and no-code building apps and trying them out and learning so that was really interesting. But I love, I love people really making impact in a meaningful way, doing things that no one's done before, In the UK and Ireland, you can actually get, unlike here in the US most places, you can get a coffee delivered to your porch, anywhere in Ireland right now via drone. And so, you know, there are people, changing the way we work and live and experience reality and medicine and healthcare. Just so many breakthroughs happening. quietly behind the scenes. You know, they don't make the headlines of the Wall Street Journal, but new cancer drugs being developed, new, novel therapeutics, digital therapeutics, digital health apps. there's like a quiet revolution happening beyond all the hype about LLMs and data centers and the cool stuff, there's a quiet happening in the background that's gonna make our lives, much better.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 12:16

Yeah, I think it's never been a better time to be alive in terms of technology, you know, all the things you mentioned, working in technology. I mean, it makes me cringe sometimes when I go to an event. I'm introduced as a wireless expert.'cause what's the saying? The more you learn about something, the more you realize what you don't know. I've been diving into your, your, your knowledge around wireless technology and six GI was talking with a engineer from Nvidia recently, a, a month or so ago, and he was telling me they're, actively working on all the different protocols for six G, sub 10 milliseconds, latency, more throughput, AI at the edge. I mean all kind of cool things going on. he said something I thought was pretty interesting and I happen to agree, It's not gonna be that much longer, maybe five to 10 years where that last mile will be wireless. I mean, what are your thoughts on that?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 13:04

Yeah, it's an amazing revolution. A family has a cabin up in New Hampshire and they have a 5G fixed wireless, cheaper, way more performance than cable. Way better customer experience. I mean, I look at my, you know, little device here. It's got three eims. I can use it as a hotspot. I get a gig up and a gig down. It binds, you know, multiple carriers together. I can travel around the world and I have a studio. so for as much you, you know, abuse as 5G gets for not delivering on this promise of, you know, telesurgery and remote. applications that maybe it overpromised on it, it's amazing to, to see once you have perspective of where we were, you know, five years ago, six years ago, 10 years ago, where we are now with devices, with, with speeds and up links and down links with satellite. The fact that I can take this or my Apple watch. in the wilderness or God forbid, in an accident and get, a service emergency services, in the middle of nowhere up in New Hampshire. these are just amazing breakthroughs. The rise of, of starlink and. Not just, you know, broadband satellite, but, but mobile satellite for messaging, voice, video, in the world. I mean, these are incredible breakthroughs. They've kind of just snuck up on us, right? if you would've told me five years ago we'd have satellite broadband, satellite mobile messaging over satellite, I would've said, no, it'll never work. The physics, you know, won't happen. So, you know, we always overestimate. what technology can deliver on a certain time horizon, we underestimate it. What it can do over the years, over the decades and particularly when it comes to wireless, the best is really yet to come.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 14:49

Yeah, it reminds me of a friend of mine, Greg Plum. He did a TED Talk on what would George Jetson think. Of where we are today. His thesis was that in the cartoon, the Jetsons, George Jetson was born around this time. We meet George Jetson, like in his early thirties, you know, so we're talking, you know, 30 years from now or so, and, we're not too far off. He said. I don't think George Jets would be too disappointed. we're on track. I mean, mine is living in an apartment nine miles above the earth. but everything else, you know, 3D printers, you know, robotics,

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 15:20

That's been the big disappointment. Although I, you know, go to China, I think they're already having flying cars. They certainly have drones everywhere. Every city you can get your fast food delivered by a drone.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 15:33

Gosh. Well, Evan, I know we kind of just scratched the surface on so many topics, and again, you know, if you're listening, check the show notes. There's so much more to learn from Evan. But is there anything else we haven't discussed, Evan, you wanna share with us? any kind of last words or nuggets you can, leave us with?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 15:48

Yeah, I always go to CES every year and I'll be there from January 3rd in Las Vegas, of course. And it's just a great showcase of the new, the wacky, the crazy, the cool, a lot of B2B applications. It's not just a gadget show anymore. There's a real lot of cool technologies are kind of bubbling up, under the surface that I'm really keen. check out, including a lot of, iot and devices and silicon, that that's being developed as, these things take years to develop and excited to check out the smart home and the Internet of things as it really begins to mature. I'll see you there. Hopefully anyone listening, watching can, meet me at cs.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 16:28

Are you gonna have a, a presence, a booth, or a recording studio set up?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 16:32

No, it's just this thing with a gigabyte up and down. You get, fantastic coverage and with a mic a ring light and a, tripod. a studio,

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 16:41

That's right.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 16:42

needs a booth or who needs, a, you know, a, a podcasting, office or something. You just, it'll be an amazing time to cover and explore the event.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 16:52

So for those of you, if you're watching this on YouTube, I mean, you'll, you'll see, the background behind you, Evan, is that, is there virtual? Are those real plants?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:00

Those are real plants. inside, of course I'm in Boston, so everything, you know, will die outside, but we keep it toasty

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:08

are you got a green thumb or is that someone else's work?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:10

My wife does the heavy lifting this far. I managed to keep them alive by

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:14

You,

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:14

that,

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:14

there you go. you play your part. you help. that's the awesome one. They look very, it's very cool to see that. That's a very creative, way to have a backdrop there that's not virtual. I know you do your fair share of virtual background, so I love your videos. using AI to go back in time with different.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:30

Sora. Sora is, one of the top five apps now in the app store. And then people are like, well, I don't wanna give my voice and my likeness, but if you ever had ambitions to be a TV star or a movie star, you can get in there. You can create pretty much anything, you know, so, good and bad, you know, we call it deep fakes, but there's a positive, fun, uplifting educational side. And I think, people who embrace it in a positive way gonna, have fun and do some good work.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 17:56

You know, as you're, you were describing that situation, you're right. Some people say that. They're like, well, you know, I don't like the idea Big Brother watching man. I'm like, man, we're so far past that. I mean, there's cameras everywhere to facial recognition that that ship has settled a long time ago. But I came across a company called Verify. Now, I dunno if you've heard of'em, outta California. And, his whole shtick is live, personality, you know, verification and he was telling me how, you know, even. Major universities, people are applying for scholarships, bots are applying for scholarships and getting them, and before the university figured out, it's not even a real person. You know, tens of thousands of dollars have been sent to some, some account somewhere. But he is talking about how now you know, a lot of these universities and credit card companies and high dollar. You know, if you're like buying a hundred thousand dollars Rolex online, you have to submit your government issued id, you have to take a live picture and, you know, turn your head and there's all these software, you know, just making sure you're, yeah, you're not a bot, you're not some AI generated image. And even with your voice, you know, it is able to detect if it's AI generated or if it's live. how long before AI learns to beat that system? Who knows?

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 19:04

Yeah, the bad guys will have ai.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 19:05

I wouldn't bet against ai.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 19:07

happening there. But, we try to keep positive and use it for good. And I think over time, the tools, the technologies, the platforms will mature. I mean, when the internet first came on, as you know. were reluctant to put a credit card online. Look at us now, so, you know, things will evolve and change, for the better. I hope.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 19:25

No, you're right. Every technology man's ever made could be used for good or could be used for evil, you know, and it's really up to us as a society to, embrace that positive. All these tools we're discussing really are making our lives better. It's, making us more efficient, more effective. But yeah, back to your comment earlier, if you're resisting, if you're not trying to learn, you're gonna get left behind. and what's the saying? It's not ai. I won't take your job. Someone that knows how to use ai, I will take your job. Well, Evan, it's been great. Thanks for this time together, man. enjoy your holidays. maybe we can get together next year and get your download or I could share your, I'm sure you have a lot of interviews while you're out there in Vegas, so, thanks. Thanks again.

evan-kirstel_1_12-22-2025_154723: 20:02

Much for having me.

chris_1_12-22-2025_154723: 20:03

You bet. And there you go folks, another episode of The Wireless Way. And as always, if you heard anything that kind of hit a nerve with you or something you thought a colleague might be interested in, please share this episode with'em. And as always, you can also check the wireless way.net. Hit the contact us button for any input or feedback. Love to hear from you. And with that being said, we'll see you next time on the Wireless Way.