Jessica Simpson Does Text Messaging

Most of the mobile marketing campaigns I am seeing are all "pull" with very little "push" opportunities after the initiation. The key to sucessful mobile marketing will be to tie in relevant content with an advertiser. In this case, the advertiser (Jessica Simpson) has various forms of content.

Think MTV, iTunes, American Idol and even her own cosmetic line and blog could produce some great follow-up "push" mobile campaigns from this?

The McDonalds and Cokes etc are having to include outside "content" (movies, games) in order to keep the interaction with the consumer.

Mobile marketing powerhouse Ipsh! is behind the mobile campaign for Jessica Simpson and her new album.

Epic Records launched a mobile campaign for Jessica Simpson's fifth album, "A Public Affair." Ipsh! is behind the effort, which will see posters plastered up in multiple cities with copy inviting people to text "Jess" to the short code 33992.

A reply SMS includes a phone number recipients can dial to hear the album's title track single, plus instructions for downloading the ringtone and getting Jessica Simpson alerts.

In very exciting New York news, fifteen stories high in Times Square, scenes from Jessica Simpson's video will grace the nine screens comprising the Reuters sign at different times on Tuesday morning and afternoon, along with the message text "Jess" to the code 33992 for a listen to the new song.

If I was a mobile marketing company and wanted to get on the mobile map quickly here's what I would do.

Contact this company and give their CEO some creative mobile ideas for their numerous products and massive client list.

Carnival Of The Mobilists #34

This week Jan Kucynski over at w2Forum hosts the Carnival of the Mobilists #34.

I am honored that Jan chose Physical World Web 2.0 as one of the favorite posts.
The quality and variety of mobile writing make this the weekly must-read for the Mobile World. With Khosla Ventures sponsoring the forum, you never know who's reading them. :)

So guys, keep the relevant comments coming.

Make a Carnivalist's blogger day and vote for the favorite post here

Mobile Phone Counterfeiting

Would you believe there's an application coming that will use a mobile phone to verify authenticity of a mobile phone?

From Yahoo News Nokia sues Chinese cos for product copying

Nokia, the world's biggest cellphone maker, has sued two Chinese competitors in its first Chinese legal action alleging illegal product copying, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

In the lawsuit, Nokia is asking the court to force the two manufacturers to stop making and selling models that allegedly infringe on designs for its own mid-range 7260 model.

The lawsuit is Nokia's first in China related to product design, marking a milestone for the Finnish giant in what has become company's single biggest global market.

The mobile phone will play a big role in eliminating couterfeit goods. Stay tuned.

Reverse Physical World Connection Stops Scalpers

Let's call this reverse Physical World Connection. Instead of the camera on the phone resolving the barcode, the mobile phone will be "carrying" the barcode to be resolved.

There will be many forms of Physical World Connection. In this case, a barcode is delivered to mobile phone thru SMS, and a barcode scanner at the venue reads the mobile phone screen. The cell phone has the "barcode" on it and becomes the physical world object.


From 160 Characters m-Payment; Ticketmaster goes mobile

Ticket buyers will be able to receive their event tickets directly to their registered mobile phone as an SMS, which includes a unique barcode that is valid for entry to the event.

One MobileTicket and corresponding barcode is delivered per order and that MobileTicket is valid for the full number of tickets purchased in that single account transaction. The MobileTicket barcode is scanned at the venue’s point of entry when the party of attendees arrives together at the event.

The mobile ticketing solution is provided by Mobiqa

Why will this be big?

Nokia UK’s head of marketing Simon Lloyd reckons that m-tickets could eventually kill off the hated ticket touts who hang around outside gigs. “It’s removing the element of ticket touts,” he says. “It’s a secure environment, so you can’t pass these tickets on and can’t hack in. Paper tickets are always open to abuse

Text Message Price Compare From 4INFO

The 4INFO guys have done it again. They have introduced another service for their text messaging platform, this time it's price comparison using a barcode.

Simply send a text to 4INFO (44636) with "price + UPC number (barcode)"

I find using text messaging is much easier than going to the web for simple information. 4INFO is becoming my "text message portal". It's simple, it acts like most mobile search engines, and by using text, I don't mis incoming calls (when Web browser is on, calls go straight to voicemail).

I think if 4INFO sales guys can use some creativity, they have a great shot at being the "Google" for the SMS world.

Text Message Chat Room

When I did research to find out what teens want from their mobile, the application of a text messaging chatroom was high up on the list.

From Mobile Africa Onetouch introduces One Chat

Onechat enables Onetouch customers to communicate anonymously and instantly in virtual chat rooms by sending and receiving SMS.

Exciting chat rooms are available on OneChat: subscribers can join the Dating, Filla, Politics or World Cup chat rooms to share ideas with other chat members.

Only drawback, and it's a biggie.

Subscribers are charged ¢500 for each SMS received.

Comparison Shopping With Camera Phone

While I applaud the major media for exposing Scanbuy and the physical world connection, I wish they would use another example from it besides comparison shopping.

From Christian Science Monitor A new way to shop by phone

Many times, after returning home with my purchase, I discover (thanks to an ad in the newspaper or an Internet search) that I paid too much.

Lo and behold, that technology now exists. It's called Scanbuy Shopper. And some very smart people are suggesting that it has a very bright future that will make many retailers very, very nervous.

According to the New York company's website ( www.scanbuy.com), Scanbuy is a technology that "enables camera phones to capture and immediately decode printed or electronically displayed bar codes." Currently it works best with books, electronic equipment, and CDs.

When you're in a store and find an item of interest, simply take a picture of its bar code using an Internet-capable cellphone with a built-in camera. Then connect to the Web. (You don't have to take a picture.

Instead, you can just punch the bar-code numbers into the phone.) Scanbuy checks prices at comparison-shopping websites such as PriceGrabber.com and Amazon.com's Marketplace. It then sends you information on the best prices.

But as I mentioned earlier, some people see bigger things in Scanbuy's future, particularly working with the search industry's 800-pound gorilla, Google

Ga Ga Over Google Radio

Is there a bigger reason for Google's dMarc acquisition?

From Search Newz Google talking about radio advertisements

What do Google and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have in common? Apparently a lot. It seems Google can pretty much track you wherever you go online...
and GPS technology can track you wherever you go on foot or in your vehicle.

It seems Google had an extra $1.13 billion kicking around back in January and decided to cut a check to acquire dMarc Broadcasting. Although Google has been fairly quiet about its radio advertising plan.

Sounds like AdWords broadcasted over the radio.

The part that I have a hard time understanding is Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt's vision of streamlining the radio ads with GPS location-based technology for in-car radio use.

First, listeners must have a GPS enabled radio in their vehicle. I understand that many of the new cars on the market are being delivered with GPS and navigation systems built right in. But let me ask this question, how many people do you know with a GPS enabled radio currently installed in their vehicle?


Here's what I'm thinking.

There might not be a GPS enabled radio in every car, but every car today is usually carrying at least one GPS chip.

Do you know where it is? :)

Will this enable Google to tie your position to delivering ads, not only through your radio, but with your mobile.

Thoughts, comments?

Mobile Phone Point And Click In Japan

From International Herald In Japan, phone has the answer

If you stand on a street corner in Tokyo today, you can point a specialized cellphone at a hotel, a restaurant or a historical monument, and with the press of a button the phone will display information from the Internet describing the object you are looking at.

The new service is made possible by the efforts of three Japanese companies and GeoVector, a small American technology firm, and it represents a missing link between cyberspace and the physical world.

The phones combine satellite-based navigation, precise to within no more than 9 meters, or 30 feet, with an electronic compass to provide a new dimension of orientation. Connect the device to the Internet and it is possible to overlay the point-and-click simplicity of a computer screen on top of the real world.

In the United States, carriers have the option of a less precise locating technology that calculates a phone's position on the basis of its proximity to cellphone towers, a method precise only to within 100 meters or so. Only two American carriers are using the GPS technology, and none have announced plans to add a compass.

What Is The Physical World Web?

What happens when objects in the physical world are connected?

I got a lot of emails about my Physical World Web 2.0 post and I thought it would be a good idea to show how one industry is using the Internet of Things to solve just one of it's billion dollar problems.

There are endless multi-billion dollar problems (which create opportunities) that can be resolved using RFID. There are at least two revenue models from this.
The first is the cost to solve the problem initially, and then the recurring revenues generated from these solutions.

See the enormous opportunity?

Keep this in mind, here is a simple solution that solves a $7b problem, but will create some exciting revenue opportunities too.

"Liquor shrinkage amounts to a $7 billion problem each year in the United States.

Treasure Island (TI), a Las Vegas hotel and casino, has installed a system utilizing RFID to track the amount and type of liquor its bartenders pour.

The Beverage Tracker consists of RFID-enabled liquor spouts, an RFID interrogator (reader) and software".

Try to imagine these liquor spouts as being Internet connected PCs, and creating their own network.

How it works:

"The spouts, which TI employees attach to every liquor bottle, contain a battery-powered 418 MHz RFID tag and a measuring device. Whenever a bartender pours a drink, the tipping of the bottle turns on both the tag and the measuring device, allowing the spout to measure the volume of liquor poured (in ounces) before the employee tips the bottle back up.

The tag then transmits that information to the interrogator's antenna, attached to the ceiling above the bar.

The spout's tag has a maximum read range of up to 100 feet from the antenna.

It transmits not only the unique identification number of its microchip, but also the brand and size of liquor bottle to which it is attached, as well as the amount of liquor poured. All of this data is transmitted in real time to the receiver linked to the bar's existing computer network via a wireless Internet connection. The time of the pour is recorded by the time the data reaches the computer network, about one second after the liquor was poured".

This is your barcode.

The current liquor spout used today on most liquor bottles determines the amount of liquid to be issued per pour is informative, but to what degree.

This is your barcode on steroids.

This RFID spout not only measures the amount of liquid but provides through "push" technology, various information (what, when, where,) that will allow the retailer to make his business more efficient and offer other revenue opportunities.

Treasure Island, and all retailers will know number of drinks, when (time of day), where (what bar/restaurant, casino game), what (specific brand) and who (what bartender).

Procter & Gamble Selects Flytxt For Mobile Marketing

Procter & Gamble was looking for a mobile marketing company that could provide some innovative mobile marketing ideas beyond simple "text and win" for their products.

This is a big win for Flytxt.

Flytxt, Inc. (R) the leading mobile direct marketing company, today launched Irresistibility IQ for Crest(R) Whitening Plus Scope Extreme Toothpaste; the first in a series of mobile marketing campaigns planned for Procter & Gamble (P&G) brands using integrated short message service (SMS) messages.

Flytxt is providing P&G with a wireless strategy designed to stimulate brand awareness and drive sales of P&G's new Crest toothpaste by providing consumers with SMS-based promotions including sweepstakes and text-based trivia campaigns.

Flytxt, Inc. is the leading mobile direct marketing and services company. It specializes in cost effective tools and services to help businesses sell products and promote brands using the mobile phone channel. Flytxt customers include Levi's(R), Time Inc., Procter & Gamble (R), Target, Cingular, Yahoo! Inc., Capital Radio Group, HarperCollins Children's Books, British Airways, Orange (TM), and Virgin Mobile.

The Physical World Web 2.0

The Physical World Web 2.0

The Pondering Primate was created to focus on all forms of disruptive technologies.
A very disruptive technology and industry is being created when a physical world hyperlink (PWH) is used to link to the Internet.

A 1d code (barcode) and 2d code will provide a completely separate and powerful function when used with a camera phone/mobile phone to connect to the Net.

This is Phase 2 of the Internet. When objects in the physical world, with a PWH CAN BE linked to the Internet. This is static information though.

While we wait for the cameras on the phones to get advanced enough to read a barcode, and for mobile marketing companies to use innovation for 2d codes, another PWH is coming on strong with infinite possibilities over the barcode.

This PWH offers more and a much bigger opportunity than the barcode.

It is being called a barcode on steroids, otherwise referred to as the electronic barcode, or “e-barcode”.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a huge technological advance that will change every industry, last for many years, and represents an enormous ground floor investment opportunity, if you know how to invest in it.

Visionary Innovations sees this enormous opportunity and is tracking companies in this space.

What happens when physical objects ARE linked continuously to the Net?

This is another, and in my opinion, the most lucrative form of physical world connection

What if Smart Mobs don’t involve people, but they are comprised of all types of RFID tags and physical objects that are connected to the Net? This is dynamic information.

I would like to call this Physical World Web 2.0

The Internet is a useful tool when individual users/PCs can access information. But the Net becomes a really powerful tool when users/PCs form collaborative networks. This is the power of many.

The speed and amount of information these Internet “communities” (WikiPedia, MySpace, Flickr etc) generate is opening up some exciting business opportunities. Now apply the same collaborative concept when all forms of RFID tags, work together to form a different kind of community.

This is called "The Internet Of Things".

In my opinion, the real opportunity with RFID will not be in the tags and readers, but with the solutions/information that those RFID tags (all forms) will provide.

The high margin, recurring revenue, investment opportunities will be the perpetual monitoring (dynamic) solutions for all forms of RFID tags.

I have highlighted the endless applications that will be offered when a barcode and camera phone can be linked to the Net. The big opportunity comes from the various forms of RFID tags, and the endless dynamic information possibilities they will provide.

Where a barcode will be linked to a specific website, an RFID tag will deliver various types of real time information. It’s called the barcode on steroids for a reason.

When most think of RFID (as the media relates), they are seeing a 915 MHz tag that provides identification of a consumer good (static information) and will act like “Big Brother” by tracking every move the consumer makes (dynamic information).

With every new technology, there are people that don’t take the time to do their research, and end up making dramatic statements that misinform.

First, there are many forms of RFID tags that can be read/monitored in various ways and distances. Each one of these tags has its pros and cons.

I will explain the various RFID tags and their pros and cons in a follow-up post

Second, the “Big Brother” stigma is an example of dynamic information, and has big corporations practically drooling over the possibilities, but not in the way the media has portrayed.

Here are a couple examples.

The manufacturer doesn’t care if Sally Smith bought Tylenol at Walmart, they care if the pallet that package of Tylenol was in, was opened in a shipping port in Los Angeles and then repackaged.

Soon there will be a way to authenticate every package of Excedrin.

McArthur Dairy doesn’t care if you bought a gallon of milk at Publix on 6/10/2006, what they really want to know is if that gallon of milk was in a 75 degree room for 2 hours before it was sold.

Which is the greater loss to a retailer?

Destroying a pallet of Tylenol, or finding out they sold hundreds of Tylenol that have been contaminated?
Throwing out a pallet of spoiled milk or finding out they sold a pallet of spoiled milk?

These are consumer good examples.

“Big Brother” will save corporations billions of dollars from RFID. The ability to track a good is the smallest value added, it’s the other forms of information they will receive that will be invaluable. The real opportunity lies in finding "Big Brother" solutions FOR CORPORATE USE.

The real value of RFID is not from scanning the tag (static), but what real time information (all forms of) RFID are able to convey (dynamic).

Let me explain the difference between static and dynamic information using a daily example.
A highway sign that says Exit 15 Old Way Thinking Blvd Exit Right is a form of static information, it stays constant.

An LED sign flashing saying “ Exit 15 delay due to accident, Use Exit 14” is a form of dynamic information.

A N.Y Times newspaper is static info, the N.Y. Times website is dynamic info. Which one is seeing increased subscriber growth and offers more opportunities?

A barcode provides static information about an item. All forms of RFID working together to form mesh networks will provide endless forms of dynamic information.

The Physical World Web 2.0, an exciting opportunity.

Coming up Part 2, What Will Corporations Do With Physical World Web 2.0?

Carnival Of The Mobilists #33

Rudy at M-Trends hosts this weeks Carnival of the Mobilists .

Take a peek at some of the best writing for the week in mobile.

Please note that Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures (Carnival's sponsor) is listed in this month's Business 2.0 magazine as one of "The 50 Who Matter Now".

See what he thinks the next big trend to invest in is.

FHM 100 Sexiest Women Uses Physical World Hyperlinks

The right demographic to introduce this PWC concept to. The next step is to introduce PWC and 2d codes to the advertisers in the magazine.

Mobile barcode tickets, supplied by local solutions supplier, Mobicode , allowed guests at the recent FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006 Party, sponsored by AXE, to gain prompt and easy access to the event by having the 'mobicode' scanned directly from their mobile phone screens.

The same mobicode was scanned at the bar, allowing the guests to enjoy their first drink on FHM and again at the exit to get a complimentary copy of the FHM 100 Sexiest magazine

Location Based Advertising Showdown Coming

Not so fast there Google.

As Google starts to implement Google Talk and free Wi-Fi for more advertising revenue streams, they might just have an obstacle in their way from the boys in Redmond.


See the New American Business Model now?

Innovation Fund offers location based patents exclusively to Microsoft

Innovation Fund LLC (http://www.innfund), which already has patents issued in the field of Location Based Advertising, has been developing proposals to go to the leaders in the field, which include Microsoft, Google, and Time Warner, as well as the telecom companies.

The Innovation Fund basic patent has been granted and there are continuations-in-part that are current. In making the determination to present a proposal for exclusivity to Microsoft first, Innovation Fund was obviously aware of Google’s openly stated objectives to WiFi cities in exchange for location based advertising.

The Innovation Fund patents quite some time ago envisioned the fact that people not only can be located by geopositioning but contacted, changing the face of retailing.

"We are not going to be bugging people with 25 cent offers.

"Shopping malls, restaurants, entertainment venues and the travel industry will be able to give consumers great bargains on items that otherwise would lose value.

Tickets to a game that is not sold out can be directed to a passing car making the customer an ‘offer he can’t refuse,’”

Now THAT'S mobile marketing.

What Really Is Mobile Search?

As a Google executives publicly state that the big growth ahead lies in the mobile search market, I thought this would be a good time to review what Physical World Connection really is.

The search wars are heating up and it is becoming clear who is winning. But, what happens when Google runs out of runway space? What happens when the race changes venues?

PC Search is about finding the best solution/answer. And advertising. Advertising drives search. There are only so many programs on your pc (surf, chat, email and now desktop) that you can find ways to advertise on. When you cant put any more pay-per-clicks on your pc screen, then what happens?

How will search advertising continue this growth once this happens? How will advertisers shift their advertising dollar to the mobile device?

There will come a point when there is more internet traffic from mobile devices than PCs. What happens to search engines then? What happens to the Golden Goose of advertising when people wont be using a search engine to do their surfing?

That screen on your cellphone will be the most coveted piece of real estate to advertisers. People wont be using search engines on their phones.

What replaces the keywords model for the advertising dollars?

Physical World Hyperlinks.

Now that the hyperlink owner has a direct connection to his site using a 2d code, outside of advertising, where is the need for search engine optimization? You are already optimized!

So now every barcode on every can of Coke, 2d code on a movie poster, becomes a hyperlink, or direct connection to wherever Coke wants you to go.

4 Billion websites and hundreds of billions of physical objects have now found their own way to direct traffic without using a search engine.

Companies wont give out websites to go to, they will advertise using 2d codes and get a direct connection, bypassing a search engine. They will put a code on a poster, or magazine ad, or a short code on the tv screen. When any user types, scans, texts this code, they will be directed to the specific site that company wants you to go.


What happens when the physical world hyperlinks can link to the Internet? How does Google sell their keywords to these sites now? There wont be algorithms to decipher to put your site at the top of the search request. The physical world hyperlinks will be the direct link. How will Google and other SEs get a piece of these 4B plus unique hyperlinks? This registry will replace keywords.

Will you really want to see the first page of 1200 top ten results for a search on your mobile?

Between the slowing growth of PCs and the number of mobile devices connected to the Net, search and advertising will change. What companies will see this first and dominate Phase 2 of the internet. Offer the browser for the physical world?


Phase 1 was about surfing, searching, chat, email. Machine to machine form of communicating. It was revolutionary, it disrupted many industries, it made our economy so much more efficient and it created many new powerful companies. The Ebay, Amazon, PriceLines found a way to create businesses from Phase 1. They recognized how commerce would change with the introduction of the internet and created businesses to accommodate this change. Not only did they disrupt the traditional method but by utilizing the internet they opened up the boundaries for potential customers.


Now comes Phase 2. This is what ubiquitous computing is all about. Phase 2 is when every physical item in the world can, and will be, connected to the internet. People are no longer stuck at their office, home pc, they are mobile, using their mobile devices for more than speaking.

The combination of a portable microprocessor and trillions of objects having their own link to the net, this is Phase 2.


When you walk down the street, look at how many people have their cell phones/PDA's in their hand or in their pocket. How many operating systems are now mobile? How many browsers are there that are untapped? Everyone of those cell phones represents an internet user. Another pair of eyes for Google. A way for Google to generate advertising, but how?

How can Google continue their search/advertising dominance in the mobile world?

What if MSFT unveils the browser for the physical world. The PCs are walking, untethered.

This is transformation.

How does Google and others get these users to their site when I'm not at a desk? What does search look like when it's mobile? How will we surf/search when we are mobile? How do advertisers and service providers generate revenues (more than the 15.00 unlimited web access a Sprint has).


What happens when society is surfing more w/ their mobile device than the pc? What does Google do when this happens? Will they recognize there will be more Google eyes on mobile devices than pcs? How do you sell keywords for this?

The bigger question, as an advertiser, how do I advertise with this new medium?


Advertisers are still trying to catch up with the eyeballs that left TV to the stationary Net. What happens when the net shift goes from the pc to the cell phone. Will advertisers realize their new mediums are the supermarket, the restaurant, sporting goods store, billboard, movie poster,..or in other words, every physical object in the world with a unique identifier.


Google says their database is up to 8B now, MSFT bragging about 5B. The 1B cans of 12 oz Coke represent 1B ways to get to just one site. So instead of offering access to 8B sites, there are now 1B ways (just 1 12 oz can of Coke alone) to get to Cokes site. Remember search/surf changes when it goes public.


What happens when every can of Coke can be hyper-linked to the net? Or every Elton John CD, or every menu, concert ticket, street sign, business card, bag of Pringles. With a direct link to the net, why do I need to pay Google for this? If I'm Pringles, I don't need to pay ANY search engine to get me at the top of the list. I'm already there and I am interacting w/ my consumer.

Advertisers will now have a service that measures an ads effectiveness immediately. It will merge the advertising in the physical world (magazines, TV, cereal box) with the internet.


How much is this worth to a brand manager? Now every physical item in the world becomes a hyperlink to the net, bypasses any search engine, and is the medium by which advertisers will advertise and conduct e-commerce. What companies will see this first?

Will Google realize the PC market is finite? The vehicle for their advertising is shrinking and is now becoming mobile? There is a head on collision coming. The search engine and the physical world hyperlink are on the path for a head-on collision.

I'll put my money on the hyperlink, it is everywhere, doesn't matter who's OS is, will be marketed by the advertisers, and will give me a direct connection.


MSFT, Symbian, Palm are on all of those untethered pc's (cellphones/ PDA's) where is Google? Texting isn't a direct connect. The question is who will have the physical world browser/OS for this?

Google is stuck in the electronic world.

A New PWC Player?

Wonder if Metrologic and their OmniPLanar subsidiary could get into the Physical World Connection space?


Metrologic Instruments, Inc. announced today its image-processing software subsidiary, Omniplanar, Inc., is launching SwiftOCR and SwiftVerify, new software compatible with its premier two-dimensional bar code decoding engine -- SwiftDecoder.

SwiftOCR software provides high-speed optical character recognition (OCR) of capital letters, numbers and punctuation for area-imaging devices used primarily for established format applications such as reading passport and ISBN codes.

The SwiftVerify bar code verification modules quickly and accurately decodes and verifies print quality of one-dimensional bar codes.

SwiftVerify easily integrates with any Windows or embedded platform and turns any document scanner, fixed-area imager or hand-held imager into a bar code verifier

Innovation The New Currency For Competition

Last week's BusinessWeek Magazine has a great report on our New Economy and why innovation will be key.

They are the best-kept secret of the business world: a whole new breed of "C-suite" managers who wear titles such as "chief marketing officer," "director, design and brand experience," or the voguish new moniker "chief innovation officer."

Some key sentences I picked out of the report .

Patrick Whitney believes that companies today face an "innovation gap." They have the tools of technology to make virtually anything, but lack the tools of empathy to understand what consumers really want. Filling this gap is the task at hand. It is also the sweet spot for top-line growth and high-margin profit.

But who really wants to hire people with masters degrees in "administration" when today's business culture demands managers who can master the process of innovation.

When outsourcing to China and India is universal, when creeping commoditization of products, services, and information hammers prices, innovation is the new currency of competition.

It is the key to organic growth, the lever to widen profit margins, the Holy Grail of 21st century business

Some interesting stats for where innovation will be key.

What The Future Holds For Advertising

Hans-Peter Brondmo over at ClickZExperts has some parting words on what the future will be like for consumers and advertisers by 2010.

A word to traditional advertisers when trying to compete against Google.

Make big, bold bets now, or be relegated to a curious artifact of a foregone era.

Whether you think the "mob" is smart,(reference to Howard Rheingold's Smart Mobs book) or gets it or not, is of little consequence. With consumers enabled by new technologies and pervasive connectivity, you can engage with them one way: facilitate and join clean, well-lighted virtual spaces where they can congregate and share with you, and each other, exactly what they think, what they like, and how they feel.

When every phone has a 5 megapixel camera that can scan barcodes for any product and instantly compare prices and pull up reviews.

Notice the two applications he sees for the physical world connection are geared TOWARDS the consumer.

Veritec Signs Barcode Deal With Chinese Partner

From China Knowledge U.S. barcode tech co signs Chinese deal

Veritec Inc., a U.S. barcode technology company, has signed a distribution deal with Shanghai Fang Lai Information Technology Co., a Chinese verification technology company.


Under the terms of the agreement, Shanghai Fang Lai will market and sell Veritec products in China, and translate Veritec software products for use in China.

"It was Shanghai Fang who identified and re-confirmed my belief for the need of Multi- Dimensional Matrix-Symbologies(TM) in China; and who understands the enhanced storage and data retrieval capabilities of VSCode® and VeriCode® as being essential to effective imaging and biometrics applications" said Ms Tran.

Mr Zhou of SHanghai Fang stated "We believe Veritec's VSCode® and VeriCode® Multi- Dimensional Symbologies will become the standard matrix symbols for ported applications in the future."

Nielson To Track Mobile Ratings

This could have some interesting implications for the search engine optimization industry.

From Marketing Vox Nielsen to track TV viewing online and on mobile devices

As people increasingly watch TV shows outside the home and on computers, mobile devices and cell phones, TV audience tracking firm Nielsen Media Research and sister company Netratings on Wednesday announced plans to track TV viewing online and on mobile devices, as well as in restaurants and bars, reports Reuters.

The move may have a serious impact on ad spend and advertising revenues.

The creation of new research for measuring viewer "engagement" with TV programming.

I wonder if this includes SMS text messaging.

Carnival Of The Mobilists #32

Carl Longino over at MobHappy hosts the 32nd edition of Carnival of the Mobilists

Some new names and excellent writing is making this the must-see weekly mobile review site.

It never hurts to have a big name VC like Khosla Ventures sponsoring innovative mobile ideas.

Codecheck A Useful PWC Tool

Ars Electronica highlights Codecheck and their physical world connection application in their 2006 Awards

In the category of Digital Communities:

Codecheck

www.codecheck.ch

The Codecheck project is an effort to create an informed “community” of consumers who are able to critically assess products prior to reaching their purchasing decisions.

Whereas certain initiatives pursue this aim primarily by condemning retail offerings that are potential health hazards, Codecheck takes a different approach: it helps consumers decipher the product’s barcode. The way this works is as simple as can be.

A potential buyer uses his/her PC to enter the product’s numerical code and sends it via Internet to codecheck.ch; what immediately comes back are comprehensive definitions and information from experts about ingredients like sodium laurent sulfate and E250.

The result is the creation of a reference work that is constantly being expanded and updated with contributions from manufacturers, wholesale distributors, specialized labs, consumer organizations and individual consumers. Potential purchasers thus have access to a wide variety of information, opinions and reports, a body of knowledge that constitutes a solid basis on which to form an opinion about a particular product.

Plans are currently in the works to enhance this system by building in mobility.

For example, a shopper in a supermarket could use his/her cell phone’s camera to photograph a product’s barcode and then send this image as an MMS to codecheck.ch, and the relevant information would immediately be transmitted back.

By linking up diverse technologies (photography, Internet, telecommunications) in this way, Codecheck represents a step in the direction of well-informed consumers.

Cobblestone's PaperDisk A PWC Pioneer

After I added and PaperDisk to the Physical World Connection list and gave a
brief summary I got a chance to hear their story told by CEO Thomas Antognini.

The company tells their story, I highlighted the points I found of interest.

As a company, Cobblestone Software regards itself as the true pioneer of the concept of hyperlinking the physical world using bar codes.

Cobblestone was incorporated in March of 1995, and, to the best of our knowledge, is, by a good distance, the first company formed with print-to-digital-world as its express goal, where a key part of that concept was print-to-internet. As early as 1996, in a paper and presentation delivered at a US Postal Service conference, we had described our revolutionary concept of hyperlinking the world of printed media, and more generally the physical world, to the web and other resources. It is, so far as we are aware, the first such public description of this powerful idea.


Cobblestone's licensed its technology to Mitigo (formed in 2001), which, we believe, was the first company formed to target the camera phone print-to-internet market. As many pioneering companies do, Mitigo essentially ran out of money before the market could develop -- but Cobblestone now retains full rights to our technology in this market.

Cobblestone has also been targeting "data heavy" applications -- that is, applications that require a great deal of information to be stored on paper. For example, Cobblestone has licensed its technology to DeLaRue, the premier passport company in the world, for use in SecureIDs, encoding biometric information in a barcode of many kilobytes. It has worked in the past at some length with Kodak, and is also now working with other major companies in other industries.

Cobblestone, at this stage, is deliberating whether or not to enter on its own into the mobile market, to license its IP and technology, or to sell its assets in this area.

We've developed technology that works robustly on a large variety of camera phones, and can in principle work on ANY camera phone, no matter its optics. We have versions that work on the Smartphone, but also on the Nokia 6680, 3650, and 7650. On the Nokia phones, for example, we have implemented an API that would allow people pretty much to encode, on a desktop, whatever they may want into a code, and then decode that code on the phone to do whatever they may choose to do.

Cobblestone has already been granted three basic patents 6,098,882, 6,176,427, and 6,820,807, and has a number of others still in progress.

One of these patents, 6,820,807, clearly covers the basic concept of using bar codes as physical world hyperlinks, a breadth that is unsurprising given our own priority as the pioneering company in this space. In fact, for example, here are the first two claims of the patent:

1. A method of accessing data comprising: producing digital instructions for accessing data, formatting into a pattern the series of digital data values representing said digital instructions for accessing data, distributing the pattern of formatted digital data, decoding the pattern of formatted digital data, and activating the digital instructions for accessing data, whereby the data is accessed.

2. The method of accessing data of claim 1 wherein said digital instructions for accessing data consists of hyperlinks to information extraneous to said formatted digital data.

While interpreting claims is always a tricky business, and must be understood in the light of the description, it's pretty obvious that on its face these claims would comprehend, at minimum, ANY use of bar codes as hyperlinks to the digital world, the web most obviously; even the term, "hyperlink", is used explicitly. And the description in the patent itself, along with the descriptions in our other patent applications, makes it quite evident that the generalized notion of hyperlinking the physical world to the web, and more generally the digital world, was being clearly envisioned.

Cobblestone's emphasis was on 2D codes from its inception, because we believed that, over time, 2D codes would inevitably win the technology war as imagers became cheaper and more powerful. In fact, this has clearly proven to be true in the mobile market among others: any camera phone very naturally can handle our 2D code, but typically requires special macro, or add-on, lenses to do standard 1D codes; moreover, for new consumer applications, our 2D code requires vastly less space.

So not only was Cobblestone the first company out with the concept of print-to-internet, it was first to recognize the crucial role of 2D codes in the emerging market. We believe that our IP backing up our concept is very strong, and the early priority dates should allow us full freedom to pursue this market, or to so enable anyone to whom we may sell or license the technology and IP.

What If MySpace Launched A 2d Code Application?

How could physical world connection get adopted en mass?

A idea I have created, could allow this quickly.

Who has 75 million, ideal demographic users and one of the most visited sites on the Internet?



The owner of this site may be hooking up with a search engine, but has he ever thought of really leveraging this powerful portal?

Rupert, here's what you do.

Provide a free 2d code generating application on the MySpace home page. Call it MyCode or something catchy.

Let the users create codes for URLs, text messages, phone numbers (and I'm sure the kids will find other innovative ideas).

Find a 2d code scanning application for a camera phone that is compatible with as many phones as possible. There's your service provider opportunity..hint hint.

Put up a little summary on MySpace what can be done with a camera phone and 2d code.

Now let the kids/users decide what they want to click on, don't force mobile advertising down their throats.

With 75 million potential users, the MyCode could become the standard 2d code.

Here's the key.

Advertisers will cater to these users and put the MyCode on their advertising.Instead of having consumers download a code scanning app to win some free fries, the advertiser can place a MyCode on THEIR advertising to get interest.

Let advertisers adapt to consumers, not the other way around.

MySpace then sells codes and marketing campaign ideas to advertisers.

I spent 6 months asking teens what they wanted to do with their cell phone.

In my opinion, you're going to have to give away a truckload of french fries to make PWC work the way it's being done now.

Abaxia Offers Great 2d Code Mobile Campaign

This is a great viral mobile marketing idea using a physical world hyperlink.

Abaxia, a physical world connection player has found a great way to get people to scan a datamatrix code using their camera phone for more information.


Kelly Clarkson, Shakira or any of the big name music artists could create a viral campaign that would get a code reading application on a mobile phone.

Abaxia brings music industry into Mobile Tag era

Abaxia , a leading specialist in embedded mobile software solutions, is set to take the music industry by storm with its new technology, by including a MobileTag voucher with every copy of leading French singer Garou's new CD, released on June 12th.

When scanned with a camera-phone, the Tag will give Garou fans the chance to win an exclusive meeting with the artist during his show in Paris in November.

"Sony BMG is happy to be able to promote and strengthen the image of its artists through the use of new technologies such as MobileTag. This technology offers new opportunities of privileged exchange between the artist and his public," says Christophe Waignier, Executive Vice President, Sony BMG.

Here's an innovative idea , why doesn't Sony offer to sell/create a 2d code for all of their artists on their packaging?

The MobileTag concept has already come to the attention of Orange, who tested it at the end 2005, and Nokia, who took part to the launching of the application in France on its 60 series handsets.

I see this type of mobile marketing campaign having so much more traction, and catering more to the consumer, than getting a free box of fries from a burger chain.

Think of all of the possibilities SONY and the artist could follow up with.

Mobile Phone Wars..Who Wins?

From CNN Money Phone Wars: Operator vs. handset maker

Great quote.

"Consumer mobile behavior is in the early days of changing, and how the operator vs. the handset vs. the media company benefits is up for grabs,'' says Frank Sixt, chief financial officer of Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa.

I suspect the physical world connection application will play a key role in this war.

Kim Komando Recognizes Physical World Connection

A couple weeks ago the Wall Street Journal highlighted how a camera phone and barcode would offer new opportunities, and this week Kim Komando recognizes the Physical World Connection.



Kim Komando presents a Cool Site that allows consumers to Be A Smart Shopper


I downloaded SCANBUY Shopper to my phone. Now, when I'm at a store, I can easily check prices at online merchants. I just open the program and type the barcode. Then, I can find the cheapest prices on the Net!

SCANBUY also lets you check out reviews. That way, you know if something is worth buying. Not only do you know if you're getting a good deal, you know if you're getting a good product

xVista Uses 2d Codes For Biometrics

Add xVista to the physical world connection list as a biometric application.

A 2d code, created from the iris, will act as a physical world hyperlink.

From Security Document Iris matrix ideal for security documents

xVista – has come up with a way to convert iris image data into a datamatrix, small enough to be printed on an ID card, passport or other secure document.

The datamatrix is effectively a 2D bar code measuring 3mm by 3mm, and can be created from an iris image acquired using xVista’s newly launched portable iris scanning and verification system, which can be housed within low power computing systems, such as a standard camera mobile phone.

Once the iris is scanned, the template is converted into a 2D barcode and can be printed onto documents such as an identity card, voucher or ticket. Subsequently, using a device such as a camera-based mobile phone, this datamatrix can be read and compared to the holder of the document to verify identity.

There will be a major player that will come out with a 2d code generator site. When people realize how easy it is to create one and then link to a specific (site, phone number, SMS), mass adoption will occur.

I see 2d code registration/creation as the next boom to occur with mobile phones.

Who makes money from this? I don't know, but I do think that linking the physical world with a mobile phone will offer plenty of lucrative business ideas.

XXTremeMeasures Produces Innovative Mobile Campaign

In my opinion, it will either be the pornography or gambling industry that kickstarts a 2d code application on a mobile phone.

XXTremeMeasures realizes that and created a mobile marketing campaign that includes both.

Xxtreme Measures has been proclaimed the most complete digital, wireless, mobile marketing company in United States, and this campaign shows why.

Xxtreme Measures also demonstrated their cutting edge X-Code technology and premium SMS capabilities. The special "2D bar code" was displayed on the "First Interactive Apparel" caps, tank tops and posters, featuring the "ALL IN" movie trailer and its sponsors on the latest cellular phones upon scanning the 2D X-Code image.

To access "ALL IN" THE MOVIE mobile community, users instantaneously receive a mobile coupon by sending a text message to, (99606) along with the key word, "ALL IN THE MOVIE1." Users will be charged $.99 cents per message with the charge appearing on the user's phone bill.

With this special promotion "ALL IN" THE MOVIE will reveal a special code to receive $50 cash for joining Party Poker or you can also go to www.themovieallin.com to scan the barcode to receive it as well

Dwango Wireless Drops Their Signal

I guess not all mobile marketing companies are thriving. Dwango Wireless had some great clients, but management couldn't put it together.

From RCR News Dijji, formerly Dwango Wireless, liquidates assets

Dijji Corp., formerly known as Dwango Wireless, is closing its doors, according to documents filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

I found this quote interesting:

But while it managed to generate $3.5 million in revenue last year, the company couldn’t keep pace with its intellectual property costs and bloated payroll.

Go Ahead Create Your Own QR Code

Ichiba has created a site where anyone can create a QR code.









Try it out, it's free and you can see how a QR code can offer a link to a website, create a text message , phone number or simple text.

10 Wireless Companies To Watch In 2006

IDC says 10 of these wireless entertainment companies have the potential to make a significant impact on the marketplace in 2006 and 2007.

In this study, IDC highlights:
Action Engine , PP posts
Airplay ,
iLoop Mobile
LOC-AID
Physical World Connection player Neven Vision... PP posts
Promptu
Roundbox ,
Surfkitchen ,
Third Screen Media , PP posts
Volantis

as the 10 emerging wireless entertainment companies to watch in 2006

To purchase this report call IDC's Sales hotline at 508-988-7988 or emailsales@idc.com.

Nokia 2D Code Reader...What Happens To PWC Companies?

Something I want PP readers to think about and provide comments to.

When Nokia added a 2D code reader to some of their high end phones, did they create THE standard for physical world connection?

The question is "What if Nokia, decides to offer a code generating application that is used in conjunction with their 2D code reader?"

Will wireless providers incorporate this into their marketing?

Could the mobile phone manufacturers turn the tables on the wireless providers?

I think it's safe to say that it will be a while before 1D codes and RFID tags are scanned using a camera phone, so the market for 2D codes is where the focus is now.

Nokia has already joined forces with Yahoo and Flickr, but could Nokia be "THE" physical world connection company if they did? Will they create the "standard" for PWC?

All of the PWC companies are trying to get service providers to put their code scanning application on the mobile phone, what if there is one on it already?

How does PWC company go to a brand manager and ask them to pay a fee to use a code that is NOT in the Nokia world, and get the consumer to upload their application on the phone?

If you're a mobile marketing agency or a physical world connection company, where is your added value?

Thoughts and comments welcomed.

Scanbuy Uses Bar Code And Cell Phone To Check Prices

Scanbuy is doing a great job of educating the masses to physical world connection.
I think every major TV market now has been exposed to the capablities of using a camera phone and a barcode. After people realize that other codes besides a 1D code can be scanned, you will see other applications than price comparison.

From CBS3 Cell phone price check

Scanbuy's Shopper takes the camera's that are built in on the cell phone and essentially uses them as a scanner.

The server will then take the bar code, will interpret it, will match it against an online price matching service, and then send you back a message.

The Scanbuy Shopper also works by just punching in the bar code number, instead of taking a picture so you don't need a camera phone.

Scanbuy searches sites like Amazon and Price Grabber to find you the best deal.

The Cell Phone...A Universal Remote Control

The majority of my posts discuss the ability to retrieve information from physical objects from camera phones using physical world hyperlinks.

Another function for your "universal remote control", will be the ability for a cell phone to operate and interact with the "Internet of Things". One of the ways will be using Zigbee technology.

The ZigBee standard which offers the mass production promises of adding a radio to anything for less than one dollar in the next few years.

This is called Phase 2 of the Internet, it will dwarf Phase 1 (email, surfing).


Freescale is targeting for future Zigbee products is the consumer cell phone market, with an eye to providing home owners with the ability to control various home automation functions as easily as they would call in a pizza order.

Zigbee in cell phones is part of a larger evolution of the IEEE standard for industrial and home automation.

The next generation of Zigbee, which is a wireless peer-to-peer mesh network protocol, will more deeply penetrate the residential space. So why not use a common device such as a cell phone to control the network.

“The remote controls that you use in the home will transition from infrared to RF,” said Brett Black, commercial wireless operations manager at Freescale. “RF offers two-way acknowledgement.

There are some exciting companies that are working on making Phase 2 happen.

A Message From The Mobile Monkey

Click on the image for a message from the mobile monkey.

Consumers Want Bar Code Or QR Code Reader On Their Mobile

Japan has given us great insight into what mobile applications will be accepted.

From What Japan Thinks a survey was done asking what people use and want on their mobile phone

From the total of 300 people, 234 of them, or 78%, used their camera once a month or more.

Q1: Please tell me all the things you use your mobile phone camera for. (Sample size=234, multiple answer)

Votes Percentage

Still camera 233 99.6%
Bar code or QR code reader 131 56.0%
Moving picture camera 113 48.3%
OCR 21 9.0%
Other 1 0.4%

A bar code reader used more than video.

American Idol did a great job of introducing text messaging to the masses, maybe Kelly Clarkson could put 2d codes on her marketing material.

ABBYY Offers 2D Code Toolkit

Add ABBYY and their optical character recognition toolkit to the Physical World Connection list.

Have you noticed how the list is growing faster in the last couple months? I have said many times that this space is too big for just a couple players.

I expect to see some of the bigger names be added to the list shortly.

ABBYY Mobile OCR SDK is an OS-independent, small code-size OCR development toolkit specially designed for creating OCR solutions running on mobile devices or in "instant OCR" applications. It can be integrated into any mobile application or platform including Windows Mobile, Symbian, and LINUX, as well as into PC utilities.

With OCR on a mobile phone, photos of business cards can be converted in to text for direct storage into phone books. Clippings from magazines or other documents can be converted and sent via email or SMS.

The quicker consumers are able to create their own 2d codes and scan them, the quicker we can see what other applications (besides price comparison) will be adopted.

Vibes Media And CBS Radio Do Mobile Marketing

Keep an eye on Vibes Media . Their iRadio platform is making some nice inroads with the radio industry.

CBS Radio and Vibes Media in text messaging deal

CBS Radio on Wednesday will announce a deal to offer text messaging to listeners, a new service that it said will help stations and their advertisers reach and interact with consumers.

The 41 station deal between CBS Radio, a unit of CBS Corp., and Vibes Media, provider of the iRadio Instant Response Text Messaging Platform, marks the largest text messaging deal in broadcast radio to date, Vibes said

"This is the first massive group deal. They're not just putting their toe in the water. CBS is making a strategic commitment to this space and that speaks volumes," said Jack Philbin, president and co-founder of Chicago-based Vibes.

This is the second major deal for Vibes.

Wouldn't this complement this acquisition ?

I don't expect Vibes Media to be independent much longer.

DoCoMo Develops Sound QR Code

I am thinking of the endless mobile applications for this. Musicians and their songs, TV and radio ads. It wouldn't have to deliver ads, but something that keeps the consumer connected.

This is another type of physical world hyperlink.

I talked about this concept just a month ago. NTT DoCoMo is the type of company that imagines and then implements innovative mobile technology.

From Unmediated DoCoMo develops sound QR code

NTT DoCoMo yesterday announced that they developed the acoustic OFDM (Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing) technology, which can be used to embed URLs and text data in broadcast music/audio.

Consumers' mobile phones "listen" to the music/audio and extract the embedded URLs/data. About 100 characters can be transmitted in a second. (To deploy this technology, broadcast stations will need to install a dedicated encoder. Mobile phones need to be enhanced with a decoder mechanism as well.)

DoCoMo thinks this technology can also be used at shopping malls and supermarkets. Then, the sound from in-store speakers would probably be delivering information about specials, ads, discount coupons, etc. ITmedia describes this technology as "Sound QR Code" or "Sound Toruka".

A similar technology exists for ultrasonic sound, however, DoCoMo's technology uses audible sound that can be transmitted through regular speakers.

Innofone A Physical World Connection Player

Add Innofone to the Physical World Connection list.


I missed this story when Innofone acquired 2D code player Mobile Technology Group.

Mobile Technology Group just did a 2D code mobile ticketing campaign with Twelve Horses. 2D Data Matrix barcodes were delivered to mobile phones. They also provided a mobile ticketing campaign for Las Vegas Monorail

Quoting the release:
"Square in shape and made up of a pattern of smaller black squares, they are replacing with greater frequency the 1D barcodes found on cereal boxes and scanned in supermarkets everywhere.

2D Data Matrix barcodes are much more compact, can contain far more encrypted information, and are less likely to be misread. In other words, it's able to send more information in a smaller space more reliably with greater security and accuracy"

See why 2D codes will be adopted first?

Nokia Offers M-Tickets

Is this a new trend?

Will we see mobile phone manufacturers take stakes in mobile application companies?

From Digital Lifestyle Nokia's offers M-tickets for Guns'nRoses

Powered by technology provided by Nokia spin-off Ticketrush.co.uk , headband-toting rockers arriving at the gig will have to form an orderly queue to get their barcode tickets scanned by door staff.

Not only could you get gig tickets before they go on sale, you could even get tickets when they're sold out and have them delivered to your mobile

Get all the latest gig news and ticket alerts straight to your mobile here

Is Google Looking At Scanbuy?

It is only a matter of time before Google realizes how big a role Physical World Connection will play in their services, especially for mobile. Will they go after Scanbuy ?

Google Watch has an interesting piece called Ten Things Google Should Develop

The product that caught my attention is Google Barcode.

1) Walk into a store (grocery, clothes, computer)
2) Take a picture of the barcode of an item
3) Get Froogle Local Search results of which nearby stores carry the same item more cheaply. Google BarCode would even add in the cost of time and gas and only show those products which were lower overall.

In a twist on the system, merchants would be automatically informed if you located cheaper products and could then bid for your business by offering you an electronic coupon, a discount on the product in their store if you bought it in the next say, half hour.

Based on:
SCANBUY

Nathan Weinberg, at WebProNews has his summary and why Google should take advantage of Scanbuy.

Quoting Nathan Weinberg:

"I am an investor in Scanbuy, and have, on occasion, an advisor.

The reason: I see so much untapped potential in this space, (I agree Nathan) providing a cheaper, more secure and easier system than RFID, and I hope to see someone do some great things with it.

Certainly, Google's the type of company to develop some powerful mobile applications that involve camera phone pattern recognition, and could at the very least use it to improve their current mobile offerings, like Froogle"

Here's how Google Makes A GoogOL

Coming Soon...A New Physical World Connection Player

There will be a new player to add to the list shortly.

A well-known company alerted me today of their ability to resolve the largest suite of barcode symbologies using a camera phone.

They have stayed under the radar with this technology and will be unveiling their Physical World Connection application soon.

I imagine their name will have enough pull to expedite this industry.

Details shortly.

Scanbuy And Nextcode Use Camera Phone To Compare Prices

E-Commerce gives a summary of all types of price comparison engines.

Comparison shopping engine vendors have developed new services to support wireless devices, such as cell phones.

Mobile searching also offers users new functions: they can have their camera phones scan bar codes with their phones for instant price checks.

Scanbuy and NextCode have developed such features and comparison shopping engineers are reportedly ready to incorporate them into their services.

Carnival Of The Mobilists #30

This week Carnival of the Mobilists, sponsored by Khosla Ventures, is hosted by our own Mobile Diva Darla Mack.

Take a peek at how she summarizes some of the best mobile blogger contributions for the week.

I tried to bribe Vinod for best post of the week, but he found out that my currency was only valuable to people in my closed network :)

Mytago Is CueCat With A Camera Phone And 2D Codes

We can't put Mytago on the physical world connection list yet. They offer the ability to scan a 2d code with a camera phone, but they dont follow through on the direct connection part.

I will give them an "A" for effort though. They are showing how easy physical world hyperlinks can be created and they are allowing consumers to decide what they want to connect in the physical world.

They really just offer 2d code bookmarks.

I expect more of these "create and scan your own code" services to be popping up, but they will need to offer a direct connection function. Mytago is just CueCat with a camera phone.

Nokia phones come with 2d code readers preinstalled, and then you see how a mobile marketing powerhouse gets built.

Mytago tags are a new version of the common barcodes. Instead of the barcode scanner, you scan tags by taking a snapshot with your phone camera and later get the details of the tag on your PC.

You scan it by taking a snapshot with your mobile phone camera as a bookmark for the event. Later at home, you transfer the tag to your laptop and upload it to mytago.com and get all the details about the event.

That seems like a lot of work doesn't it?

The flowchart of how it works is just confusing

Nice find teach42.com